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!