No no - i did not race it...
it was easy to make the decision looking out the window at 7am and seeing it grow darker, not lighter. The thought of spending 30 bucks to get in 8 laps of racing was not very appealing, especially not in the rain. Don't get me wrong - had i been a favorite, i would have toed the line with 85psi in the tubulars and let it rip. Favorite I'm not. Speaking of un-favorites, why is it the Chicago Special Event Management cant figure out how to host a full weekend of racing. For the last 16 or 17 years that i can recall, Downers Grove has been an advertised 25min plus one lap event that gets cut to 20 min plus 1 lap at the line, then they shank time out of it so you get about 8 laps in. The lats time i recalled it being a quality event time wise was back in 87 or 88 when it was the old rectangle - yes, i raced it then, and i believe i have a hot pink shirt somewhere to prove it! My beef is this - for years we had to share the weekend with the rollerbladers. Not fun - the girls were pretty hot, but it made my bike race shorter. I distinctly remember one year i did the Juniors race AND the cat 3 race, and my total race time was UNDER 40 minutes... UGLY.
finally the Rollerbladers left, no more 200m sprint out to watch, but now the weekend SHOULD be open enough to host a full schedule. NOPE. The saturday events now start at 1pm.. WHAT??
there are like 5 hours of racing you missed out on. Now granted they shirk some categories, men and women must share cat 3/4, and the masters race is merely 30+ cat 4/5, or 30+ cat 1/2/3. But hey, take those five hours of racing, add a few categories, and everyone can race another 15minutes plus 5 laps.
I'm drawn to Downers because its my unicorn - the one race i have yet to crack into the podium on. I could have wrote the book before Jonas Carney won enough times to write the book on how to win, it was just a matter of never being able to pull it off. I have had my fair share of leading out some speedsters, both on my team and not on my team at the time ( Jay Keltner was the benefactor of a late race deal as we took 2 to go with none of his team near the front, and i knew he was and is just plain faster than me). so believe me, i know how to get a bike across the line first there. Its a great course, the city rallies behind it, and its just plain fun to turn your bike that many times in a lap.
Now its also my nemesis - its the Chicago Worlds...
guys show up with hairy legs and a license that haven't waived at registration all year. Guys that show up in the shape i am in this year, and they are all just pack fodder. The difference is, at only 8 laps to race, they all have 1 load to blow, and are constantly a race nemesis. Superweek - no way, they couldn't get thru the first hour. At Downers, they have a way of being exactly in the places i want to be, but barely just barely have enough gas to completely screw it up for others. YES YES, i know the good guys get into the right place, and believe me, the years i am going well i can get by, BUT, the years i need that extra gap to be closed, they only open it more. anyway - someday i will get my unicorn. That's my rant.
What i love about Downers - walking the course. I have probably walked that course for 60 laps worth over the years. I absolutely love bumping into the guys you used to ride or race with, guys in my shoes who are doing the family thing, but are drawn out to see the fireworks at DG. You get to say hi to all the guys you wish you could have found earlier that year to get a riding partner. everyone is there to enjoy the pro race and to provide their commentary about what break will not work and why, and which team needs to take control when in order to have the launch at just the right time between 6 and 7.
the included pic is great because it sums up all the beauty of DG - the final few sprinting for the jersey and cash, while the rain and course takes its toll on the unlucky ones, just as it does almost every year.
