Are you Kidding me?? and Doubling Up is not for Me

Are you kidding me?? And Doubling up is not from me

Check this out. Am I heading to Louisville of Belgium? Stair run-up to a remount followed by a steep ramp descent back to the dirt is going to be a ton of fun. On top of that the pass under will be awesome along with the 6 sandpits. I better put on my hardman helmet and get ready for some serious pain.

Photo from truesport.com

Raced at Carpenters Park in Carpentersville, IL on Sunday. This race was the 2nd stop in the Chicago Cross Cup Series. The guys at North Branch Cycling put on a great event and make the most of the small venue. The course had plenty of dismounts and twists and turns to keep things interesting, and the speakers pumping out the tunes was great addition. After getting registered and changed I headed out for a quick inspection of the course. Very similar to last year, with the exception of relocating the sandpit. Last year it was an easy entry into the sand that allowed for riding through each lap. This year the pit had a foot drop off from the grass, and after watching others warming up I decided to run the sandpit during the race. I don’t think I lost any time with this strategy early in the race, but towards the end it was taking a toll on my legs. The course was also soft and sapped the energy from the legs, definitely a power course. I lined up with 32 or so riders, with some big guns such as Brian Conant, Kevin Klug and Lou Kuhn. I knew these guys were on a different level, but I hoped I could make the most of my first Masters 30+ event. After introductions by Jeff from Main Street Bicycles we were off. Surprisingly I didn’t feel that the pace was unbelievably fast from the start, and I moved into a Top 10 position heading into the first set of barriers. A rider in front of me bobbled at the first barrier and left his bike on the ground while he continued forward. After a slight slow down I was back at it, trying to close the gap to the lead train. Through the up/down turns heading towards the bumpy downhill remount I was behind Kevin Heppner from Killjoy. Over the barriers, followed by a jump over the sandy creek bed (This seemed wider than last year and was difficult to completely clear). Back on the bike through the narrow chicane section. 180 degree turn onto the asphalt. Top guys are starting to create gaps. Off the asphalt at high speed and onto the grass, dismount over the barrier to the stone lined creek crossing jump. Back on the bike and pack on the power (For some reason this was the remount that was killing me. I bobbled several times, either getting my shorts stuck on my saddle or having a hard time getting clipped in. I was also not shifting to an easier gear before the dismount and it was taking too long to get back up to speed). Around the baseball field to the off camber 180 degree turn. Around the Hawthorne tree to the soft rideable creek crossing. As the laps progressed the crossing was getting deeper and deeper. Each time I told myself just point the wheel straight and everything will be a-ok. Through the creek, back on the gas around a sweeping righthand turn to the sandpit. Off the bike and run. The sandpit for the early laps was hardpacked on the right side, which made running easy, but later the pit was deep and rutted. Back on the bike, 180 degree turn to a bumpy section followed by a really short steep uphill dirtectly into a downhill. Power section back to the start/finish. Now I just had to do the same thing about 8 or 9 more times. Unfortunately I started moving back throughout the race. Stupid mistakes led to gaps opening which led to loss of places. In the end I finished 15th.

Two hours later I lined up for the 3’s. Small field of only 15 racers. The temp was much warmer than earlier and I was trying to down as much liquid as possible before the event. Race started and my legs were dead. I got a decent start, but was quickly moving back. After about 4 laps I was done and headed to the officials to let them know I was a DNF. It was good to experiment with the double, but I am definitely better off putting all my energy into one event. These next few week should be fun with lots of great races on the calendar. This is the part of the season where I am hoping for some good results.

Second Chances

Sometimes when I first listen to a new album it just doesn’t grab me and I end up putting it one the shelf, only to listen to the album at a later date and realize it is a well crafted piece of music. This happened with the album “Boxer” by The National. The first time I heard the album was back in June while driving with Kelly from the Grand Canyon to Telluride. A good portion of the ride was flat, wide open expanses of land. It was a beautiful landscape, but became monotonous after awhile. The album is very similar in that the lead singer’s voice is droning and can become tiring. At the time I was definitely disappointed that I didn’t like it, as I had read many good reviews of the album, and it just didn’t seem to live up to the hype.

A couple of weeks ago Kelly and I were out and she threw the album into the CD player. I was really amazed at how much I was liking the album. Once accept the singers voice, the songs are really beautifully sculpted, with a mix of strings and electronics. Quite nice stuff, and now I highly recommend it.

Other albums that I am glad I gave a second chance:

Wilco “A Ghost is Born”
Interpol “Antics”
Ryan Adams “Cold Roses”
LCD Soundsystem “LCD Soundsystem”

21/32

This years race at Cam Rock was much different than last year when Brian Parker and I were greeted by snow, mud and riders moving at 5 mph looking like there legs were about to explode. This year we had cool temps, and a super dry course. Kelly, Bernie and I made it to the park with plenty of time to spare. We had enough time to cheer on Jeff at the end of the 4's race. He was looking really strong and hopefully had a good finish.

After getting changed and warmed up, we were given enough time for one lap of the course. The course included a bunch of the same stuff from last year, with a few changes to keep it interesting. Upon examination the course was really fast with a bunch of off camber turns, roots and loose mulch . These aren't my favorite conditions, as I have a hard time judging how fast I can push it through the turns, but that is what makes cross great; each course is different and conditions always vary.

32 riders lined up for the start of the 3's race. The start consisted of an uphill asphalt section into a 180 degree turn down a rutted double track into a sharp left hand turn. My start has always been a week point for me, and this race was no different. I felt like I was engulfed by the entire field field, and found myself sitting about 15th after the first few minutes of the race. The course had a bunch of short steep sections, and at the top of one hill there was a guy playing a trombone, which was a cool addition that had to the Euro feel.

From this point I yo yo'd back and fourth anywhere between the mid teens and the low 20's. This course was all about holding speed through the turns and hammering the flats and hills I felt like I did a good job with the power sections, but really struggle with the loose off camber turns. Any gaps I would open on racers would be gone after a couple of turns. While I did struggle I did feel more comfortable towards the end of the race, so that is a good sign, but as they say too little, too late. In the end, I finished 21st.

My goal for the race was to hopefully finish in the top 1/2 of the field and possibly compete for a Top 10 finish. While this didn't happen, I still see a ton of room for improvement, and know these results are in my future.

Bernie was nuts as usual at the race, and Kelly has banned him from future cross races. He told us to give him one more chance, so we will see.

Next week I will definitely be racing the Chicago Cross Cup race in Carpentersville and am still debating racing the Whitewater cross race in Wisco. I've heard bad things about the Whitewater course and from photos I have seen from last year, if it rains the course becomes a mud bog.

Finally Fall??

Last night I could feel the cool winds blowing in as I finished up my cross practice. On top of that, it was only 6:30 and the sun was almost set. It seems that the seasons are finally changing and Fall is on its way. Fall has always been my favorite season; growing up it meant cross country races, University of Louisville football games and trips to Hubers for apples. Now that I am older, cross country races have been replaced by cyclocross races, but there is still football, and a trip to Hubers for apples. Kelly and I will be making our annual trip to Hubers on our way down to the USGP races the end of this month.

I will be racing at Cam Rock this weekend near Madison, WI. It looks it will be nice and dry, which is a huge change from last years event; where we were dealing with snow and deep mud. Last year ended up with my rear derailleur in small pieces along the trail and a bent hanger, so hopefully things will be different this year. The last few weeks I’ve had some good training, and with Jackson Park behind me I am hoping for an improved performance.

Thrown into the Pain Cave Blind

I have been helping out a teammate, Jonathan Dugas, with a performance testing project he is completing with some students. He really knows his stuff, as can be seen here. This stuff is way over my head, but I am a good at being a guinea pig. The testing is taking part at Benedictine University out in Lisle, IL. We started back in July with two different max power tests. These are done on a Velotron bike. This is a really cool piece of machinery. If I had an extra $10,000 lying around it would be a great home trainer. The fist max test consisted of staring a ride at 150 watts. The watts increased 20 watts per minute at a constant rate. The goal of the test was to ride as long as you could. I maxed out at 408 watts, so I rode for about 13 minutes. The next max power test consisted of riding for 3 minutes at a given wattage followed by 3 minutes rest. The test started at 150 watts, and increase by 25 watts for each hard effort. I made it through the 350 watt test, and halfway through the 375 watt test. The hardest part of the tests was breathing through the mask, and not being able to breathe through my nose. It becomes very claustrophobic and the nose portion of the mask feels up with snot.

These first two tests were to ensure I made the cutoff to continue in the program. The cutoff was a max wattage of 4 watts/KG, which I easily made. Jonathan was running into some roadblock with getting the testing protocol approved through the school, but after a few months we could now continue with the testing. The next portion of the testing consists of completing four-20 KM time trials. These tests will be done over several weeks. The first is a baseline test followed by 3 more TT’s. Jonathan says there is normally a learning process from the 1st TT to the next 3 efforts. Most riders improve by one to two minutes. The toughest part about these TT’s is that I have to do them “blind” and have no information to look at. All Jonathan provided is a that he lets me know when I have completed each 2 KM segment.

For these tests they switched to a mouth piece instead of the mask. It is a little bit better, but your nose is still clamped shut, and by the end I was covered in drool. After getting the bike setup and a good warm-up, I was off. My goal, go as hard as you can go, but don’t blow up. The first 2 km seemed like it took forever, and quickly realized this was going to be long and painful. I settled in trying to keep the pedals moving at a good rate. Not knowing my speed or watts, made it really difficult from a mental standpoint. I just kept pedaling, switch to a harder gear for a bit, then back, increase the cadence, keep ticking over the pedals. 4 km’s past, and I really thought I was going to have trouble completing the TT. I had the same sensation from Sunday at JP, where my legs just felt dead, there was no snap. I kept pedaling. I told myself to hold a stead rate up until 4 km’s to go, and then hopefully kick it up a gear for a strong finish. The km’s went by slooowly, finally reaching the 4km to go mark. Put it in a harder gear and go. I finished fairly strong, really sprinting to the finish. I have no idea how long it took me to finish, or my average watts. I will be provided this info after the testing is complete. Cycling is such a mental sport, and I realize now that I do much better when I have a carrot in front of me to keep me moving; whether it be a rider in front of me or a rider behind chasing me, or a wattage reading to follow, I really need something. Now I have to complete 3 more of these TT’s. Should be fun?!?!?

Moving in One Gear

My day started with a 5:20 wakeup call. Threw on some clothes, loaded up the Curtlo and the Paragon and put some coffee in the travel mug. Next was a quick stop at Dunkin Donuts for some coffee and donuts for the volunteers. After a quick drive to Jackson Park it was time to get the course up and running before the first race at 10:00. We had a small, but very focused group of guys to help set up the course, and after a few minutes of discussion we set off in different directions to play connect the dots with survey flags and SRAM tape. Riders started showing up around 8:00 in the morning for registration. Big thanks have to go out to Cecile for getting registration up and running, and making sure it ran like a well oiled machine throughout the day. After a mad scramble at 9:30 the course was finalized and we were ready to go. We had over 90 riders line up for the first races (Masters and Women 1,2,3). It was awesome to see that all our hard work had paid off and people actually showed up to compete. During the first races I realized that one section had been laid out in a different design and was allowing some riders to bunnyhop a barrier. Brian Parker and I had to quickly run and get some zip ties to hopefully keep the barrier in place. Lap after lap the barrier was taking more a beating. By the end the rebar was bent, and we decided to make a change prior to the next race. After some quick decision making we scrambled to move stakes and tape to create a really fun snakey section around some shrub plantings.

After watching a bit of the Juniors/Women 4’s race it was time to get ready for my race. I did a quick change into the XXX kit; and had enough time to eat a PB&J sandwich, down a couple of bottles of water, and head out on the course for a warm-up lap. The course was super fast, and I realized we were going to do a ton of laps in our 45 minute race. I lined up at the start with fellow XXX’rs: Nico Westlund, Brian Parker, Mike Stanley, Adam Clark, and Brian Boyle. The week before the race I told this guy that I fully expected him to win, and I was right. He was off like a madman never to be seen again. The race started, and I got an OK start. After rounding the baseball diamond, I was able to pass several guys heading into the first tech section with a fast move up the outside heading into the quick right, quick left section.. I nailed the barriers, and had a good run up. After the 180 degree turn, I had difficulty clipping in. I have new pair of shoes, and still haven’t been able to “stomp and go” the way I would like. After the 180 degree turn around the thorn bushes I still wasn’t clipped in, and lost several places. Finally back in the pedals and I was off. I jumped on the back of a train with Brian P. and Nico, and couple of other riders. I was hanging on the back, as we came into the newly designed snake section. I was trying to hang on for dear life, and knew being with this group was the difference between a top 10 placing and a Top 20 placing. As we came out of the snake I was gapped. I just didn’t have that next gear that I needed to hold on. It was one of those days, when your legs can’t keep up with your lungs. I never felt redlined, but I couldn’t get the legs to push a bigger gear. I rode the next couple of laps with a Turin rider. We battled back and forth, eventually being caught by Rich Delgado of Redline Racing. A few laps later Rich proceeded to dropped us, and I was left to battle it out with the Turin rider. With 3 to go, I could tell he was slowing. I put in an effort on the backside of the course and was able to open a gap. Unfortunately with one lap to go he was able to get back up to me. I really need a moral victory, so after the snakey section I put in one more effort to get in front of him, and was able to hold it to the finish, for 16th place.

After my race I had a short cooldown, and was back at it making sure the race was running smoothly. The Pro 1/2 race went off without a snag, and it was time for the best event of the day. The Men’s 4 race is really entertaining, with people of all different abilities out on the course. With 80 riders there is no doubt that there will be some entertaining moments. The looks on some of the rider’s faces are of pure terror, while others are smiling and having a great time. We had a couple of XXX’rs in the Top 10, which was great to see.

After the 4’s race it was clean up time. With a bunch of helpful people we were able to get everything torn down quickly. After a few minutes discussing the day’s events, I loaded up the car and was home by 5:30. The day really was one speed, and that was “Go, Go, Go”. My race was also done in one speed, and I know there is a ton of room for improvement. Not sure of my plans for this next weekend. I may do the Fall Color Festival race at Kettle Moraine or head to the Wisconsin Cross Race that has a strange TT format and two events on the Saturday schedule.

STAR-CROSSED cyclocross 2006