Crit Racer..

an old grumpy guy i know has long been a firm beleiver that in order to be a biker racer, you must, on occasion, RACE your bike. My fitness this year is better than last, but not up to snuff where i was hoping to be. This past weekend was the Cobb Park Classic in Kankakee, IL. In the list of favorite races ever, this one is certainly in the top 10. I have been racing there since 1988, and it was missed for a few years when it vanished from the calendar. I have some great memories of racing there as a junior, then going back with The Enmark and Dennis - we watched in delight as The Enmark single handedly devastated and completely decimated the cat 4 field there, going solo for a good chunk of the race, only to fall victim to a late effort by the only remaining few guys that had some gas, and he got caught with the finish in sight. 2 years ago i made an appearance there after building confidence by winning the Monsters of the Midway race the day before. Cobb park has a great set of sweeping corners and 2 tight 90 degree corners. I bring up this point for 2 reasons - the first one, is that there are a lot of jumps in the race, so after having my confidence pulled out from underneath me because i had no fitness for jumps but i could go full gas for 200m, i went from race winner, to race DNF in a weekend.
The second reason i bring this up is to talk about being a Crit Racer. Its no secret that here in the midwest we really don't have many road races, nor are we known for breeding good road racers. For years the midwest was Crit central, a place to work on your speed, bike handling and CORNERING! The sweepers at kankakee are not the wide open easy to get through even if you are a tri geek kind. The 90 degree turns are even tougher. Its a technical course, and a course that guys like me drool over. Having the skill to blast through corners at speed, jump out of turns and get on the gas hard to stretch out the line, these are the things that i distinctly remember from the days when i truly was a Crit Racer. Do we have no more races where bike handling is essential? have we gone too safety conscious that all turns must be gentle? are races planned Dan Daly style like this coming weekends Eagle Creek 500 where there are NO TURNS? its one big oval folks! No i don't think that everyone needs to be a demon through the corners, but in order to progress as a bike racer, you should have a minimal level of competence at turning your bike without screwing up the line, braking in the corner, etc. There was a dude from a certain chicago based, messinger originated , black and white kitted team in the 1/2/3 race at Kankakee that COULD NOT turn. This dude would over brake going in, screw up the line going through, then flat stand on it to get back in line and if i was behind him of course he would gap me off the wheels. Now its my own damn fault for getting gapped, but for god sake dude, we dont need to go through the turn at 17mph!
I was fortunate enough to have some clean air to run in a few times when i was attacking and got a good look through them and BLASTED it at full till. Curb to curb, tubbies on the edge of skipping, full gas on the exit, like a Crit Racer is supposed to turn. Of course i was smug seeing the carnage behind as the accordion was in full effect from my effort.
Over time, those that ride with me have seen me be able to dig deep. To go inside and find another speed, another degree of suffering. Brown County state park is such a place, another was some long training days in Mallorca. Cobb Park is certainly one of those places and for the first time in a few years, i was feeling the juice. I was a Crit Racer again for 45 min + 3 laps.

Here is how the racing shook out -
masters 30+ - i was working for Haas. Heavy turnout from Mack and Lucas Oil. I covered some stuff, and would launch the occasional attack to help narrow a gap or make a launching pad for Haas to counter off of. I went all in, light the whole match book and throw gas on it about 9 times in the race. I ended up getting dropped and sitting out a lap on 2 occasions, but they were not pulling guys so it was cool. Seems like every time i would come back from almost dropped or dropped, Haas was ready to give it another shot so i lit the candle again. My last efforts was with about 3 to go, so i bowed out of that one to watch the finish. He ended up in the top 10, after the break of 6 which lapped the field.
Cat 1/2/3 - there were only about 4 cat 1/2 riders, so they combined the 2 races - I was a Crit Racer again. I was totally cooked after the masters race and had even changed and packed up to head home. After guilting Haas into doing the 1/2 race and hearing it was combined, i decided i should race with him. I was able to comfortably ride in the front, this race was all about me. Hung out in the wheels, stayed smart, stayed cool. Prime lap - Smott takes it. Indeed i was beside myself, smiling ear to ear. Crit Racer. the pace dulls, what the hell - ATTACK. Blast through some turns, string it out, be the giver instead of the taker. I was even able to get right back in line with ease. All i needed was some Bolle sunglasses and a sweet Mullet and it was the Rich from years ago at Cobb Park on sunday. Very pleased with the day, but also living in reality that it may be a while for that to come together again.

Ride fast, Turn faster

Smoooooooooottt

chickenride

ride report...
i suck.
guys that actually ride bikes went fast

for sale:
50cm cannondale system six
full SRAM Red group
SRAM SRM
mavic kyserium equipe wheels ( low mileage)
$2500 or a few grams of coke so i can go party with Boonen

Empty Spaces

Pink Foyd had a song about empty spaces. BKW has had posts about a space for you rig, a wall or a room, or what-have-you. i am fortunate enoug to have a modest bike room with way too much stuff piled into it as i am a packrat.

there are some classics, such as the 50th anniversary paramount that was my first REAL race bike, that is now the trusty steed for my wife. there is a super nice dual suspension Haro on loan from Tawse. there is my super slick Colian track bike with an old school curve in the top tube. there is my state of the art Cannondale with full SRAM Red and SRM, and so on and so on. i recently sold my old cross bike, the pumpkin has been passed on. for those of you that knew my old cross bike, it was a pile of extra parts, 2 sizes too big for me, but it was orange and it had character (and as a side note it ripped it on the knobstone trail in indiana). she will be missed, but i have a sleeker lighter replacement filling her shoes already. the issue here is an empty hook. a place to park one of my stable-mates. could this be a new project rig? a single speed? or better yet a 29er to romp around at Palos wit the crew?

my friends, i have every cyclists dream problem and every cycle-spouses nightmare... i need a new project rig.

Things i have learned on my commute...

Wednesday the group rode out from the city to the Chickenride, Bos and i were chatting about all the interesting things we have learned on our commute.
I could put a blurb in here about how this is no intended to harm anyone, or intended to be stereotypical, but lets face it - most stereotypes out there were self imposed and self proliferated.
here is the list...

Most car sold in the inner city, especially Pontiacs and Buicks do not come with Turn Signals

Inner city school have a hard time teaching the alphabet - we hear " A A A A A A" quite a bit when riding. We should focus some efforts on teaching the full alphabet, i try to do my share by coaching them and saying " B B B B"

There must be a Chicago share a bike program that we have not heard of, again we hear " hey gimme your bike" quite a bit

The vision of residents is impaired in the early morning, as they tend to wander out into traffic frequently - on accident I'm sure.

Plastic bottling has not yet reached Chicago, as is evident by the multiple piles of glass in the roads - see next reference for another theory...

Alternate glass theory - in effort to reduce littering on the roads, residents smash and grind down glass bottles to get them back onto the earth's soil. ( i have often pondered how hard it would be to collect these glass piles and relocate them onto area basketball courts so athletes of all kinds can share in the experience of dodging glass, i hate keeping it all to myself as a cyclist)

The bike lane is an excellent place to double park your car and lay on the horn when picking up people in the mornings. I'm sure area neighbors enjoy this, and i especially love having to dart into traffic when traffic invades the bike lane.

for those of you reading that may be under the age of 18 - please have your parents skip this next entry - The hookers on Washington Blvd only come out after 7:30am, and the warmer the weather, the more there are. I rarely see any when i go in early, and when i was wearing tights it was only the occasional one solicitor. Now that its shorts and short sleeves, they are out in force. Now by contrast, the ones i see off of Homan and Fulton going home are much more plentiful, and must have taken the advanced sales classes as they will impose conversation unlike those on Washington that just walk back and forth.

Churches makes great spots to change flats if you need to do so on the commute. They provide a slight sense of sanctuary and i feel less likely that the rest of my bike will be removed from my possession compared to when I'm changing flats in front yards.

That's all for now... happy weekend to all!!!