CX Report-NE State and Jingle Cross

It was an interesting end to my racing season. Three races in 8 days. Subtracted some machismo points yesterday: I was a big weenie and bailed out of the last Jingle Cross race because of conditions (check out this video of the elite women's race or this photo album of the elite men and women to see why). So what happened?

Lincoln CX Weekend started well, finishing in the money with a 4th place on Saturday, beating a guy in the sprint. The course was terrific-fun and fast-and conditions were perfect. Got a poor start as usual but made up some time on the first lap. Andy Lucas blew everyone away. I tried to stay with Dan Hansen but his conditioning is getting better while mine is getting worse. I beat him at Boulevard and Omaha, but now he's 30 seconds ahead of me in any race. Looks like I hit my cx peak in late October. I chased down a guy from the front group over the last two laps and caught him with one to go, sat on his wheel until we started the climbs, then tried to put some distance on him. Got a small gap, but he got back on my wheel for the last 1/4 mile of pavement, but he gave up on the sprint for 4th.

Next day was the State Championship race. Kevin Burke and Marc Walters were racing, so I was looking at trying for 3rd Nebraskan. I was in a group of 4 by the end of the first lap: John Vondracek I had poor starts (I really need to work on my starts and be more aggressive), got gapped by a group of 7 on the first lap, and had Keith Walberg and Rich Pearson join us. Rich and Keith stayed on for two laps and then John and I dropped them. We caught one guy from the original group of seven and were closing on another with one lap to go. I had about a 5 yard lead on John as we went through the barriers. I heard a bang, and it turned out that John smacked his bike on the first barrier, then hit the second barrier with his bike and dropped it. Knowing something bad happened, I turned on the gas to take advantage, but couldn't quite catch the 5th place guy. So 6th place and 3rd Nebraskan. The nice thing was that I wasn't that far behind Walters or Burke-around 30 to 40 seconds.

Jingle Cross #1 had a fun, but tough, course. The picture is of the run-up from the first day (shot with the camera level to the ground). What it doesn't show is the mud on the steepest part just around the bend, then the addition they made that has you riding all the way to the top (where those tiny people are standing). The course got a little too cute this year-a spiral, then a weave through cattle pens slowed the traffic down a lot. I had an uncharacteristically good start and managed to ride a nasty mud section that a lot of people crashed on (pays to pick your line through the sections as you preride the course). The biggest problem we had was the 65 riders in the 35+ race starting in front of us. We immediately made up the minute gap on the slow ones and it turned into a mountain bike race with all the tight turns-impossible to pass in a lot of spots. I think it cost me 15 seconds on some of the front riders. I made up a lot of ground on the run-up, and was third for a good chunk of the first lap. I had a brain fart 3/4 of the way through the third lap by not hammering on the flat sections. Dan Hansen did hammer and gapped me. A couple of other guys passed me and I held off the rest for 7th place. The stupidity of relaxing on the flat sections cost me. A good result against a strong field, but with a better training program I think I could have finished 3rd or 4th. Next year I'll aim to peak for this race.

I skipped the second day. Iowa City got about 2 inches of snow Saturday night. The course was already gooey in spots on Saturday. I stopped by Sunday morning and saw that the course was a big sloppy mess. According to Troy Krause, it was "mud mud mud". Also, that run-up became a greasy descent on the second day. I did not want to be the victim of someone's inability to handle a bike, so I went home. Season's over-time for some fun rides.

First Solo Road Ride

Gusty winds and lots of road kill. Roadkill starts small: SQUIRREL: flat as a pancake and stuck to the concrete except for it's tail flicking in the wind. It gets larger as you leave the city and approach the country: RACCOON: struck and down, but still alive! One foot away from me and looking straight at me as if saying "..Please, just put me out of my misery, now..." ..."No, I'm sorry Ricky, you're going to have to suffer like the rest of us. Don't worry, you'll get through it..." Finally, here I am on Buffalo Road, here we go. You know how you're stomach drops before you go descending down a rollercoaster because you've just mentally seen what you are physically going to go through? Well, that's what Buffalo Road does, it bites you - OOH! I squealed (squeeled?) with delight and was ready to conquer. Sadly, I did not see any buffalo; happily, there was no BUFFALO road kill. Buffalo Road ends fast and abrupt, so be careful while you're going as fast as you can. Largest roadkill: DEER: well at least half of one, and um never mind. This was an awesome ride. Sunshine on my shoulders may make me happy, but so do the 18-wheelers that come up from behind and suck you in the slipstream. Special thanks to Pete, who could'nt go after all, which was just more fuel on the fire to make me venture out on my own, and to of course, Nancy, who told me about this ride, and taught me to ride like I mean it out there.

More Cross News

Two more races; two more bridesmaid results. Spooky Cross in Des Moines had a great course and really tough conditions. The rain from earlier in the week made for PlayDo mud in several long stretches, which were energy-zapping (but fun). The wind was howling out the west and turned what was supposed to be a rest stretch into the toughest part of the course. Rode reasonably well and was closing in 5th, but dropped a chain in a bad spot on the 2nd to last lap and lost him, so I ended up 6th (out of 18).

Yesterday was Boss Cross in KC on the new Nationals course (there's a great helmetcam video of the course here). Quite technical and very bumpy (a mountain bike would have been handy), it was still a lot of fun. The whole course is on a hill side. There's a lot of off-camber stuff that, if the weather does not cooperate, will not be fun to ride. Two of the descents in particular are tricky-look for a lot crashes in December. Got a decent start, even with all of the team 360 guys hogging the front row. I was still within 20 yards of Steve Songer midway through the second lap, so I knew it was going reasonably well. Had a slight bad patch with three laps to go, so Songer dropped me like a bad habit. I dueled it out with another guy for the next lap and a half, then managed to get a 10 seconds gap on him with a lap to go (he was very slow on the stairs and the hairpin that followed it near the finish-dropped him there), and ended up 4th (out of 19). If I had enough discipline to eat better and drop a few pounds, I think I could more successfully compete for the podium in KC races.

Boulevard Cup

I went down to KC last weekend and raced in the Boulevard Cup. If you're thinking about trying cross and go out of town, that's an excellent race, as it's well organized, and has free beer--Boulevard is a sponsor, after all--and food. We had great weather. I competed in the master 45+ race which was combined with 35+ and 55+. A group of five got a great start and opened up a gap in the first lap. I got trapped behind some slower people, so had to work hard to get up to a faster group (not the top five, however). I opened a small gap between me and some chasers, but they worked together to catch me. Five of us stayed within 5 seconds of each other until the last lap. I made a move to escape from the others, really pushing it in corners and any uphill sections. I dropped three of them, but the fourth stayed on my wheel, and outsprinted me for 3rd in the 45+, so I ended up 4th. Would have been nice to make the podium in this race, but the result is still pretty satisfying.

Bubble

Here's the link to a great piece on how ridiculous bike prices have gotten.

The Other Side

To actually work a race is to know how a race is run. It is conducted to ensure a positive and successful event. I am excited to say I was a part of the Swanson Cross Race on Saturday, Oct. 4th.
Upon arrival at 8:15am I observed Blaine the X-treme Wheels person (the man with the knarly one-eyed pirate dog - "AYYY Matey!"), and Randy (who I still haven't recognized by now, so I stayed in my car) who were setting up cones and crime tape; I was already feeling left out.
Fred arrived and Randy gave us instructions what to do. Fred was super apologetic; for it had been a year since he's last helped put on a race, but what did I know? Not much, except that the car that Fred stuck Randy's keys into was not Randy's car. It wasn't Fred's fault, Randy said all the stuff was in his car, the green one.
Right then and there I knew I, Speed Queen, the Design and Color Connoisseur, was going to be of help, because there wasn't a dang green car in the whole parking lot (and that is one small lot).
We got to set up the amps and speakers, er, Fred got hook it up, but I did set one tripod up and popped a speaker on the top. I felt like partying now, nice! No, not yet, we needed gas for the generator. The generator?
Umm, yeah I can go get gas Randy( and believe me I don't know if I'll be back on time for the race). I almost had to get gas in order to get the gas: I already used alot trying to find Swanson and went passed Capehart Road, at 7:45 am.
Okay, here come some people, it looks like they want to race,but wait- no one arrives in their team kits, they all have to change somewhere. I'm pretty sure I was glad to be under a tent and behind a table. And a BIG THANKS to Pete's wife, C.K., for wanting a mate for me and screened the potential regestries for me. C.K., you rock!!
The most frequently asked question: "Does anyone 'got' a hammer?" That's it. I'm not going to speculate on this one ("...why sure I do, right next to that handy wrench I also keep back there, and it's sooo handy..").
Categories: Okay, if you're and old guy, you COULD be a Master. If you're 35+, you MAY be a Cat 4. If you're a 1-2-3, you can do anything you want, because you're actually a +35, +40,+45. If your license says you're a 2, you'll probably race as a 4, because you really wouldn't want to challenge yourself that much now would you?
Oh, and if you're a woman, there just isn't going to BE so many categories to even GET to qualify at podium level, so just pick your prize and go read your results, the last ones to be posted. Umm, yeah.
But I love biking. The race was hard for me: I had to sit still. I had to be talkative. I had to stay put at that table pretty much. But I did good (not to mention the fact my pants split under the right glute cheek and wrapped my jacket around the waist for the rest of the time). I wanted to try out the course. I was going nuts. And this volunteering stuff was starting to feel beneficial.
I put my energy to good use to help others launch an awesome race, and it was worth every smiling, fatigued race face I saw, I loved them ALL! God Bless you and your awesome human engines you have nurtured so wisely...

bike trivia - (the answer is backward)
Q: What was Robby McCuen's nickname?
A: tekcoR tekcoP ehT
o-o~ Speed Queen

Fred's Excellent Adventure

Fred reporting on his race in South Dakota:

I participated in the Black Hill Road race this past Saturday - a 42 mile race through the Black Hills in Custer State Park. It is a mass start race with no race categories. This annual event typically has 40-60 riders, but only about 35-40 riders were present this year, mostly from South Dakota and Wyoming.

When we left our cabin and drove the 20 miles to the start, the car thermometer bottomed out at 36 degrees as we drove along the famous "Needles Highway" - the same route that I would soon encounter in the early stages of the race. However, the sun was shining and the winds were light - by all local standards, a quite spectacular day!.

Early in the race we encounter a small band of bull buffalos feeding along the road, that started to get a little anxious as we approached, so the race was neutralized for a few moments. A few were crossing the road in front of us, a little confused on who or what was approaching them. About 6 miles into the race, we turned onto the Needles, where the 2,000' elevation started to kick in. This 14-mile mostly uphill portion of the course had been recently re-asphalted, and so was very smooth and fast. The center lines had not yet been painted, but maybe that was the plan, as the road width was often times too narrow for both lanes! We passed through several tunnels carved into the granite hills where only one vehicle at a time could pass.

After a relatively short climb, the road made a fast descent into a blind, sweeping downhill turn. I was up near the front and suddenly a tire blew from behind. At the same time, a car was approaching up the hill. I yelled "car up", about the same time the tire blew, and the next sound was the blood-curdling sound of a bike crashing. I road hard to stay with the riders in front, who then quickly accelerated. Rumor had it that someone had slammed into the car, but not sure if it was the same rider who blew the tire. But we understood that he/they continued the race!

Several other surges occurred, and I found myself chasing a lead group of three riders. On one particular long, steep uphill, I was able to bridge up to them. One of the riders glanced back at me and said "good job". When the other two heard this, they picked up the pace started to ride me off their wheels. However, I was able to increase my lead on the ensuing riders behind me.

The race proceeded passed the cabin where we had spent the night, and turned off the Needles at an elevation of 6,250-ft and onto the highway towards the town of Custer. On a long fast descent, I passed the lead follow vehicle which appeared to be making a wheel change with several riders. It was a fast decent, and I had my head low in a tuck position to stay aero, so didn't get a good look at the situation. Occasionally, I would take a peek behind to see if anyone was gaining on me. I finally started seeing the lead vehicle about 6 miles later, once I turned onto the next highway. Were they pacing riders up to me?

But when the lead vehicle passed me, there were no riders with it, so I realized I was now in the lead. I had to climb several shorter hills, but most of the next 15 miles were fast downhills. I dared not coast in a tuck position, but continued to pedal my bigger gears in TT mode, keeping as aero as possible. Here, I averaged around 30 MPH. I crossed the finish line in first place overall. The ensuing riders later told me that they were gaining on me, and at one point thought that I had taken a wrong turn, since they lost sight of me. But I had successfully increased my speed enough to ride out of their line of sight.

Then the story started to unfold. The lead group of riders came across a pair of mule deer during their descent, when one of the deer suddenly darted out onto the highway between the riders, causing a terrible crash. They eventually made wheel changes and chased, and I also joined forces with some of the ensuing riders. But one of the crash victims eventually had to drop out (from shaking and likely in shock) and was taken to a nearby hospital (I heard that his helmet had been split upon impact). During my solo ride, I came across another small group of bull buffalos along the road, as well as mule deer and pronghorns, that spooked as I quickly (and quietly) descended past them. So, my win was really by default, and the race director summed it up by saying that I was "...the only rider to have escaped bad luck and misfortune..." along the way. After a group potluck picnic after the race, I spent the rest of the day fishing and relaxing.

Nebraska State Championship Road Race results

An excellent turnout for Velo Veloce at the recent (Sept. 6th) Nebraska State Championship Road Race. We were even missing two of our stalwart racers, Randy and John Dean. First time Velo Velocers Troy Perry, Gene Ray, Rusty Reno and Todd Eyberg raced wearing the infamous and beloved Tony-the-Tiger gear.

The weather was splendid for racing. Cool temps and no wind. Troy, Rusty and Todd had a reportedly great time racing in Cat 5. The field was nearly full in Cat 5 with close to the maximum 50 person limit. I heard nothing but good feedback from those fellas and how much they enjoyed the race. I think they're hooked!

Jackie frolicked to a fine finish in the Women's 4 division. Thanks Jackie for your hard efforts.

Andy Keffer, Gene Ray, Fred Galata and Pete (me) all raced together in the Masters. It was a fast and tough group. The winner in the Masters 35 was from South Dakota, so didn't qualify for any state medals. As a result both Andy (bronze) and I (silver) medaled, although finishing 4th and 3rd respectively. Gene challenged and rode strong, but was limited with his single-speed on the descents. I'll have to get a report from Fred on his perceptions of the race, but Fred did come away with the silver medal in Masters 55+. Congrats to Andy on his impressive comeback to road racing. He rode fast and strong.

I felt good during the race and (my perception) took a lot of time at the front, closing gaps, chasing breakaways, etc. It was disappointing to see the two fellas (both Cat 2s) who finished 1st and 2nd "sit in" the entire race and conserve their energy till the last 1/3 of a lap. Oh, well. It was really fun racing the entire race, even if the end results were not as I had hoped.

Now it's time to start the training for next year's road races. Can you say cyclocross? I need to get a wheel-length faster! A tenth of a second faster! Motivation! Goals to be met!

Xtreme Century report

Xtreme wheels, our Velo Veloce Cycling Club sponsor, put on their 2nd annual century ride last Sunday, August 31st. We met at the shop at 530ish in the morning. Barbaric! Bill, Colleen and Blaine had breakfast all lined up, including some jet-fuel strength coffee to get our motors started.

Besides the VV racing team, we had lots of recreational participants. We all enjoyed each other's company until the first hill about 5 miles away. Then the carnage began. The peloton quickly splintered as heart rates went up. It was a great ride, with good pacelines and quick coverage of miles. Afterwards, we rallied at the shop again and chowed down on giant sub sandwiches. Thanks to Tom Winfield for the fine photos! Let's do it again next year.

RAGBRAI kid's report:

Ragbrai was super fun but hard work. We met lots of new people. (Some were freaks like tarzan a guy with only a rag of clothing.)But most of the people were old guys. There were lots of good places to eat. My favorite was Farmer Boys breakfast burrito. (see pic) There were tons of hills. My top speed was 34mph! I only did 2 days but that was plenty of fun for me. Ragbrai is a chance to hang out with family and friends and also get a lot of biking and hard work in too. I can't wait to do Ragbrai next year. Simone Duryea

Velo RAGBRAI

RABRAI 2008 report. The clubbers met in Mizzou Valley on Saturday evening in preparation for the Sunday launch. As you might expect, the town was inundated by legions of bicyclists. It was great!

I arranged a nice spot to stay on Saturday evening. We threw our mini-tent city up in the yard then ventured downtown to enjoy the festivities. Then things got worse. When we tried to sleep, the dad-gum trains rolled through every 8 minutes and yanked on their whistles, just to make sure every biker started Sunday bleary-eyed. I envision some fat, blob engineer getting sheer delight out of radioing back to the other following trains and telling them to blast their horns the whole way through town.

Sunday, Simone (my 12 yr old daughter and I, Joe, Cathy, Alex and J.P., Kim and John Carpenter, and Steve Sayre (see pic) rolled out towards Harlan, 58 miles of rolling hills away. We stopped at Farm Boys for their tasty burritos. Simone and J.P. did really great. I think Simone actually might like road biking now. Look at the big smile on her face in the picture with all the tasty road bikes.

Cathy, Kim and Alex and Seth headed back to Omaha on Sunday evening.

We spent Sunday night in Harlan in someones yard. She said we could use her showers after she returned from work at midnight, but we opted for the garden hose job. We enjoyed the festivities downtown that evening. That night of sleep wasn't any better, with bad weather sirens all night. We survived.

The next day the kids did about 20 miles, then Joe and the kids headed back to Omaha. John's dad Mike came and picked us up in rockin' Coon Rapids. All in all, really fun. Can't wait till next year.

Gold Rush

Cornhusker State Games results are in! Velo Veloce goes two for two in gold medals!

Fred, John and Pete (me) raced in the CSG last Saturday the 21st of July out at the Yutan course.
Fred swept to the Masters 55+ gold medal and I won the Category 4 race.Here's a picture of him firing up the turbo to his Scott Plasma at the start line. The other picture is me after the damage was all over, being propped up by the gate and my trusty Cervelo steed.

John raced well, felt strong and finished just outside the medals at 4th place in Masters 55. So, while Randy was out doing his billy goat imitation on Mt. Evans, Velo Veloce was also well-represented locally. Congrats to Randy for a impressive 27th position finish in that demanding Mt. Evans bike race.

The Yutan course treated us right. It has more rollers to begin with, then the middle half is long straightaways.Ireally love this course.

We got a nice southerly 10-20 mile wind on the return trip. The starting positions were kind of weird, with Fred (the defending champion) starting in the first position in his race. I was second in his group of ten. It's not as advantageous if you don't know what is happening behind you. I caught my one minute man about a fourth of the way into the 24 mile course, but had to keep pressing hard because most of his competitors were still behind him.

There were some really fast times posted on Saturday. Follow this link to the CSG results:http://www.nebraskacyclingnews.com/content/view/1029/246/

Made it!

Got to the top of Mount Evans. Finished 27th (in 2:33:00) out of 82 riders in cat 4 35+, averaging 11 mph-not bad for a flatlander. It was hard, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Might go back next year if I don't do Etape d'Tour.

Norfolk Races

Fred nailed it on a couple of Sundays ago, winning the State Criterium Championship for Masters 55+, with John finishing just outside of the medals in 4th. Good work, guys!

That Saturday, John, Fred and myself raced the Norfolk Classic road race. Of course, the Masters field was combined with the cat 4 field, adding an element of danger to the affair. So it was warm, humid, and 64 miles of cat 4s sucking on our wheels. Mark Brackenbury, Fred and myself tried repeatedly to create a break that would stick, but some pinhead group of 4s would always chase it down (even though we weren't racing against them). The inevitable crash occurred about 35 miles in, taking out several riders. I went on my own at about 46 miles and stayed away for 8 miles, but Mark and Shim decided that I would not be allowed to stay away. It stayed together the rest of the way for the sprint, except for one small move that eventually got shut down with 4 miles to go. With all of the work we did, Fred and I were cramping, so I ended up 2nd in 45+, Fred ended up 3rd. We had fun in masochistic sense.

Ponca Bronze, Silver and Gold

Pete won the Beginner's 45+ by several minutes, so he's the new state champ (He'll have to report on how it went). His daughter Simone also raced to a win in the junior women's division. Great job!

Andy and I competed in Sport-Andy in the Open, while I raced 45+. Andy had an excellent race, overcoming the loss of a chainring bolt, finishing 5th and 3rd Nebraskan, earning a bronze medal in the state championship.

I managed to crash twice during the race. First I missed the holeshot into the course and had to dump the bike to the side to prevent a big pile-up (I went from a 10 meter lead on the field to last place), then did an endo over my bars during a tricky dropoff while leading the race. That shot down my chance to win, losing a great deal of time having to gather myself after that more painful wreck. Even after that, I managed to stay second (Mark B. and I were dueling it out for first before the crash, and had a huge lead over everyone else). Had the third fastest Sport time over all classes as well, so I can't complain (would have won 35+ or finished second in Open). Good weekend for VVCC.

The "junior varsity" Xtreme riders did the Tour De Cure ride from Springfield, NE a couple weekends ago. Jeff, Joe, Steevo, Dave, John and I sported the colors and led the throngs through the rolling country side. We did the 50 mile loop to Elmwood and back. It was the most FABULOUS day from a weather perspective; 70's F and no wind.

Our group was joined up by the Bike Masters group about 5 miles from Elmwood. They were riding with a Team Type 1 pro rider, Tim Hargrave. Tim is doing RAAM this year too! We had an opportunity to meet him after the race, err....ride. Nice guy!

Team VeloVeloce at State TT championships

Hey,

This is a pretty good looking crew for having just completed a beastly State Time Trial Championship course in Norfolk, NE. The 25 mile course (40K) was 12.5 miles out, turn around and 12.5 miles back. The first easterly part of the course was marvelous. Wind at our backs, speeds were really fast. Then we turned into the 25-35mph wind out of the northwest. That last hill to the turn-around point was a killer. After the turn, we had some relief, but only temporary. The last part of the race was westerly into the teeth of the howling wind. Never mind the endless hills without any flats.

Afterwards, we all gathered around the awards tent. While waiting for the collection of hardware, we snapped this team photo. Fred, Pete, Jackie, Randy and John! Good showing for our sponsor, Xtreme Wheels of Council Bluffs. Thanks Bill and Blaine!!

Two State Time Trial Champs!

We have two new state champions: Fred Galata and Pete Duryea. Fred won the Masters 55+ with a great time of 1:00:55 in extremely windy conditions on the tough 40km Norfolk course. Pete finished first in the Masters 35+, riding the course in 1:04:15. I managed to snag third place in Cat 4, riding 1:03:14. Jackie Weires finished 6th in the Womens Cat 4, while John Dean finished 4th (just out of the money) in 55+. A strong showing by the team.

Galata at Joe Martin

Fred is doing well at the Joe Martin Stage Race in Arkansas. He finished on the podium in the uphill time trial, and is currently 4th on GC (must be an extremely tough field). Given his ability to race crits, he has a great chance at a GC podium placing in the 55+ Masters. Good luck, Fred!

Johnny hits the spot!

Don't forget John the Carpenter's inspirational performance at the Swanson MTB race. After being knocked senseless by an offending tree when his front wheel falls off, he remounts his steed and finishes the race. Next time out, fellow VV racers will do a pre-flight check on his Ritchey.

Swanson Pictures

Here's a few pictures of the Swanson race from Tom Winfield. More are available here.

Swanson Sunday

Big turnout today at Swanson. We had six people racing-Jeff, John C., Pete, Andy, Ted and myself. Great day for racing-course was dry (even dusty), and it seemed that every one in Omaha showed up. Jeff and John did well in Beginners (don't know exact placing, but they seemed satisfied), and Pete won his division of 45+ Beginners. He would have done well in any of the Beginner classes based on the time I saw. Second race featured Sport and Expert classes. Difference in speed between them is remarkable-I was turning over lap times averaging 25:30, while Kent McNeill (overall winner) was running 21:00. Ted finished well in Sport Open, placing 18th out of 30; Andy rode a great race and ended up 7th in Open. I rode Sport Really Old Guy division (45+) and finished 2nd out of 11 (nosing out Mark Brackenbury by 4 inches). I was 42 seconds behind the winner.

Pete took some pictures at the race-hope he can post them soon.

Tres de Mayo Ride at Xtreme wheels

FUN RIDE FOR BICICLETA AMIGOS
(bike friends)

Tres de Mayo (May 3rd)
5:00 p.m.


Meet at Xtreme Wheels and ride the Wabash Trace to Margaritaville.

Beverages will be provided compliments of
Xtreme Wheels Bike & Sports

Please bring your favorite
Mexican dish to share at the shop after the ride.

PRIZES AWARDED FOR BEST COSTUMES!!
R.S.V.P. to Blaine, Zach, or Bill
712.388.0800

70 miles ride on Sunday?

Hey fellas,

Who's up for the 70 mile Loess Hills ride this Sunday? Should be great weather.

When will the wind end?

Rode out to Swanson Park to see what's new on the mountain bike trail. The journey south was excruciating, going straight into 30 mph winds. Swanson was worth the trip. The trails have been rerouted by the training center, extending it significantly. It eliminates the very fast downhill, replacing it with some twisting off camber turns-I like it a lot. Racing on the 3rd should be more fun. Andy was starting at the same time I arrived, so we did a lap together-good times. Riding back was entertaining, hitting 28.5 mph on the mountain bike with mud tires. Would have been interesting to try on a road bike.

Spring Classic Criterium - Fred Crashes

This year, they decided to run the Spring Classic as two separate races, rather than a Stage Race. And they also eliminated the Time Trial. Randy reported on the first stage. The second stage was a criterium at Pioneers Park in Lincoln. Run as a separate race enabled the Cat 1/2's to double up on their races, since there was over 3-1/2 hours between them. Randy reported them "stealing our lunch money" on Saturday, and this trend continued even more so on Sunday than Saturday, since riders had to commit to one race on Saturday (since they all started within a few minutes of one another) but could double up for the Crits on Sunday. And this is what they did.

With the Masters 35+/45+/55+ "Open" Division Crits, you were allowed to race Masters, no matter what your Cat rating, as long as you were 35+. And due to minimal sponsorship of the race, all 3 age groups had to compete for the same 5 places overall. The Masters Crit on Sunday consisted of a stellar field of a handful of Cat 1/2's and mostly 3's making up the balance.

The winner of the Road Race, Chris Spence, took off with his teammate Joe McWilliams (both Cat 1's). I was chasing with the pack of 13-14 riders with less than 4 laps to go. At the base of the climb up to the finish, several riders went down in front of me. I thought I was clear but a wheel appeared in front of me at the last second and I went down. This year they had us using computer chips clamped to our front skewers. As I got up to remount, I saw my chip laying on the ground. It took me several seconds to finally tuck it into my jersey pocket (oh, I didn't tell you, that it was VERY cold and WINDY - in the low 30's - and I was wearing my heavy winter gloves!).

The pack disappeared up the hill at an alarming rate, so I chased. I found out later that Mark Brackenbury's bike sustained heavy damage and he was not able to continue. Don't know what happened to the other 1 or 2 guys who went down. With half a lap to go, I caught the pack, but was too pooped to contest the sprint to make it in the money. I ended up winning the 55+ category (beat Rich Pearson in the sprint) but only place 9th overall.

The top 6 Masters finishers, in order, were Chris Spence, Joe McWilliams, Jon Nelson, Marc Walters, Tom Price, Dave Rogers.

I missed not having any of my teammates with me in the race, but everyone had extenuating circumstances. My wife said that race director/announcer John Lefler said some nice things about my accomplishments as I tried hard to catch the pack. I didn't know this at the time, but she later told me that he announced that I WOULD catch the pack, so I'm glad I didn't let him down!

As I told Randy and Pete, the horrendous race conditions this weekend (especially Saturday) help make you mentally tough for future races. Also, I feel strongly that if racing is going to grow in our area, race promoters need to rethink how they structure events. This weekend was a classic example of how to discourage entry by more Masters riders, which is a faster growing segment of our racing community.

Wind, wind and more wind, and Fred kicks some hiney

Pete, Fred and I set out today into the wind in the Spring Cycling Classic. 30mph from the NNW, which made for fun 48 mile race day. They ran the Masters, cat 4s and women 1-2-3 together in our heat. Fred had a great result, beating all the Cat 4s and all of the Masters except two cat 2s (guess the 2s like to beat up on kids for their lunch money, too), finishing third in our heat. He also initiated the second break, after the 2s took off in the first 5 miles. Pete had his shifter die during the race, so no big gears for the 40 mph sections. A shame, since he was riding well. I had my worst day ever on the bike-had a very bad patch into the wind during the first lap, got dropped and finishing many minutes down from everybody-a good day for me to forget. But....nice work, Fred!

Maskenthine XC

Ted, Andy and I headed up to the Norfolk area to race the first Psy-cow-path race of the year, the Maskenthine cross country race. With a 30 mph wind blowing, nasty small climbs, and a technical stream crossing, we all had a fun filled afternoon. Ted and Andy raced Sport Open, while I wimped out and raced Sport Masters 45+. The race went well for Andy, finishing 6th in Open; Ted clobbered a tree and still finished a respectable 13th; I managed to end up in the mud during the creek crossing on the first lap, but ended up 2nd in 45+ (and had the third fastest time over all Sport classifications-within 6 seconds of the best time-I was very happy about that). Excellent race put on by the Elkhorn Valley Cycling Club.

The Washington Monument calls on me!

I rode up to the Monument for this picture, but visited earlier in the week and actually went to the top. I had to take the elevator. In the old days, they used to let you walk (or run) up the stairs to the top, but that isn't allowed anymore. Sometimes, you can walk down the stairs too, but I didn't have that chance. There are neat engravings on the various blocks that can be seen when you take the stairs. Each state sent a block, so the engravings include those inscriptions.

Stepping out to the Capitol

Here I am at the other end of the Mall. Looking south you see the Monument and Lincoln Memorial.

T.J.'s crib!

The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is nearby. TJ stands up inside. Personally, I would prefer Abe's crib and chair, but it's cool anyway. The cherry trees weren't in bloom (usually April), but the weather was great during my stay. This picture was taken when temps were around 45.

Abe and I hang out!

So, another popular attraction is the Lincoln Memorial. It's cool, Abe just sits in there staring down the Mall to the Washington Monument and the Capitol. Heck, he doesn't even have a remote control or lazy boy, but seems quite content.

Viva DC!

Hey gang,

I went to Washington for work for two weeks. My good buddy Chris Gould loaned me his steel Zurich to bomb around on. I hit all the historic landmarks, as the photos attest. Let's start the tour with the White House. My hotel was about 10 blocks away, so I was within walking distance. But why walk when you can ride? I even got to tour the White House on Saturday morning, without my bike (sniff...sniff).

TOUR OF MISSOURI PHOTOS!

Randy and Pete stumbled on a primo spot to watch the end of the stage, about 10 yards from the finish line. We had a great time. I also stumbled on the ideal spot to grab autographs from the riders after they signed in. I scored hugely, getting Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer, George Hincapie, many others, as well as a the entire Navigator's team (my favorite). The Navigators were impressed that I was wearing the Stars and Stripes National Champion jersey when they (Chris Baldwin) won it a couple of years ago.

The peloton rounding the corner at warp speed. This particular stage was won by Toyota United's Ivan Dominguez, who happens to be Randy's favorite rider. Sprinters (like Randy and Ivan) tend to admire other sprinters. Kind of an odd breed, those sprinters.

Tour of Mizzou photos!

Randy and I went to the first state of the inaugural Tour of Missouri awhile back. I finally got around to downloading the photos. Check some of these out:

Tour of France winner

Alberto Contador signing Pete's program -->

Winter Grind

Another ugly winter on the trainer. The lack of success in keeping off weight together with a loss of fitness makes for a bad mood. Once nice thing from all of this is the chance to watch a few DVDs while spinning away indoors. Saw a racing video put together by Robbie Ventura that was entertaining today, taking you along for one of the Downer Grove races. Great intro for a couch potato to what a crit feels like.