12 years ago
Monday, December 28, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Thanks....
Planet Bike/WCA Series Win
A special thanks to our supporters, sponsors and Aaron Hayes for building me an exceptional bike frame. Alex from Roscoe Village Bikes was a great help...building multiple wheel sets, bikes all at the 11th hour before the first race. He dropped what he was doing in terms of his business and always supported us with last minute fixes and building all this stuff Wednesday before the first race. Even if I needed wheel builds for my mountain bikes or stringing up cables on a travel bike.
Thanks again to Brian Conant for helping me get faster this year and properly managing fitness peak and dealing with my last minute business travel and schedule changes.
Also, thanks to the individuals, sponsors, organizers for the Chicago Cyclocross Series and the WCA Planet Bike Series. 4 years ago there were few cross races in the area. Next year, I hope both series can better coordinate to offset the overlap of these races. More racers more fun for each event. We still had 22 race days this year but could always do a few more.
Thanks again to Brian Conant for helping me get faster this year and properly managing fitness peak and dealing with my last minute business travel and schedule changes.
Also, thanks to the individuals, sponsors, organizers for the Chicago Cyclocross Series and the WCA Planet Bike Series. 4 years ago there were few cross races in the area. Next year, I hope both series can better coordinate to offset the overlap of these races. More racers more fun for each event. We still had 22 race days this year but could always do a few more.
Mens Masters 35-39
Epic conditions with standing water, mud and slick grass with a few icy corners to make it interesting. Pre riding the course felt better with more confidence inspiring traction than early this week. Call up spot in the middle of the 4th row.
Had a good start and it was elbow to elbow with a lot of pushing for the hole shot. Nowhere to really go and it was hard to get ahead with riders wide across. The start of this race was as fast as the USGP Madison and Jingle Cross races. No one is giving in inch.
First lap was still hard to pass but I was staying on my bike scrubbing speed in corners. Next couple of laps, pushing as hard as I could and not able to pass anyone sitting about 25th.
Last 3 laps, things started coming apart for me. The new defrosted ground conditions unearthed some softball sized rocks that were hard to see in the mud in corners and I found a few of them sending me over my bars twice, once in the "Velonews" corner to watch section and another at the end of the straight going by the pits. I dropped a chain and watched about 5 guys ride by my. With 3 to go, I felt like I was gaining some momentum and feeling settled and could move a up a few spots. My hands froze after going into the water.
Finishing 28th overall. I had hoped for a top 10 finish.
A special thanks to Mike Hemme and Aaron for giving me a spare derailleur hanger the day before the race.
A couple of takeaways on Nationals...
The course conditions were epic muddy and I have not been riding this stuff all year. Jingle cross was the only mud race. Probably will spend some time on the cross bike on trails. Handling skills and keeping pedal inputs smooth don't seem as well rehearsed for me versus the mountain bike. I can ride shit like this all day on fast 29er wheels but bringing it together on a cross bike is different. Can't make any mistakes since there's limited power spots to make up time. I recognize, I am better suited for dry, fast courses with limited climbing. It's all relative...the people that compete here all fast.
Can always start better. Lined up with guys just as fast or faster. Most races, there's maybe 5 guys and you can make up an average start during the next lap. With this level of comp, going into the hole shot elbow to elbow with these guys, have to expect more from a fast start. If you lose 5-10 seconds, you won't get it back.
It was still worth the trip coming out here though. Bend and Portland have alot more to offer in terms of cycling and awesome food, coffee and the best beers. I might never have come to this part of the country if it were not for this race. Plenty of nice bike shops to fix bent derailleur hangers and parts. For anyone considering the trip next year, I would suggest it. Not sure if I will come out again for Bend since I have already experienced it though. The people here were beyond enthusiastic to have all these bike racers which will be hard for any other venue to replicate. It was cool wearing the Courage Portland kit to get some extra cheers from strangers.
It was very difficult managing race days with proper warm up and mechanical support. The race site had neutral support but I would have liked to have all my tools, multiple wheel sets and spare parts. The race site had no neutral warm up tent. How do they expect people that travel all this way to bring a trainer? Thanks to the folks at Planet Bike for extending their hospitality with a warm tent and trainer.
So, Nationals will definitely be in the cards again but I would like to drive my truck there with all of my bikes, wheels, tent, trainer and my own power washer and a bad ass set of tools.
Plans next year will be the same, all about cyclocross with a couple of more WORS races in July and perhaps IceMan and Chemequon.
Though I had hoped to do better at the Wisconsin and Illinois state race and Nationals, still felt like I had a good season and I am satisfied with how things went. Certainly had alot of fun and always enjoy the camaraderie of the cross scene.
Looking forward to not looking at my bike for a couple of months.
Had a good start and it was elbow to elbow with a lot of pushing for the hole shot. Nowhere to really go and it was hard to get ahead with riders wide across. The start of this race was as fast as the USGP Madison and Jingle Cross races. No one is giving in inch.
First lap was still hard to pass but I was staying on my bike scrubbing speed in corners. Next couple of laps, pushing as hard as I could and not able to pass anyone sitting about 25th.
Last 3 laps, things started coming apart for me. The new defrosted ground conditions unearthed some softball sized rocks that were hard to see in the mud in corners and I found a few of them sending me over my bars twice, once in the "Velonews" corner to watch section and another at the end of the straight going by the pits. I dropped a chain and watched about 5 guys ride by my. With 3 to go, I felt like I was gaining some momentum and feeling settled and could move a up a few spots. My hands froze after going into the water.
Finishing 28th overall. I had hoped for a top 10 finish.
A special thanks to Mike Hemme and Aaron for giving me a spare derailleur hanger the day before the race.
A couple of takeaways on Nationals...
The course conditions were epic muddy and I have not been riding this stuff all year. Jingle cross was the only mud race. Probably will spend some time on the cross bike on trails. Handling skills and keeping pedal inputs smooth don't seem as well rehearsed for me versus the mountain bike. I can ride shit like this all day on fast 29er wheels but bringing it together on a cross bike is different. Can't make any mistakes since there's limited power spots to make up time. I recognize, I am better suited for dry, fast courses with limited climbing. It's all relative...the people that compete here all fast.
Can always start better. Lined up with guys just as fast or faster. Most races, there's maybe 5 guys and you can make up an average start during the next lap. With this level of comp, going into the hole shot elbow to elbow with these guys, have to expect more from a fast start. If you lose 5-10 seconds, you won't get it back.
It was still worth the trip coming out here though. Bend and Portland have alot more to offer in terms of cycling and awesome food, coffee and the best beers. I might never have come to this part of the country if it were not for this race. Plenty of nice bike shops to fix bent derailleur hangers and parts. For anyone considering the trip next year, I would suggest it. Not sure if I will come out again for Bend since I have already experienced it though. The people here were beyond enthusiastic to have all these bike racers which will be hard for any other venue to replicate. It was cool wearing the Courage Portland kit to get some extra cheers from strangers.
It was very difficult managing race days with proper warm up and mechanical support. The race site had neutral support but I would have liked to have all my tools, multiple wheel sets and spare parts. The race site had no neutral warm up tent. How do they expect people that travel all this way to bring a trainer? Thanks to the folks at Planet Bike for extending their hospitality with a warm tent and trainer.
So, Nationals will definitely be in the cards again but I would like to drive my truck there with all of my bikes, wheels, tent, trainer and my own power washer and a bad ass set of tools.
Plans next year will be the same, all about cyclocross with a couple of more WORS races in July and perhaps IceMan and Chemequon.
Though I had hoped to do better at the Wisconsin and Illinois state race and Nationals, still felt like I had a good season and I am satisfied with how things went. Certainly had alot of fun and always enjoy the camaraderie of the cross scene.
Looking forward to not looking at my bike for a couple of months.
Women's Masters 35-39
So Friday afternoon was the big race I had been preparing for all season, the master's race. We got to the course around noon to preride during the open hour. The preride sucked. It was so crowded that there was no way to tell what the conditions would be like at any speed since we were going slower than a snail. Also, with everyone preriding it, it was kind of like a Zamboni making every bit of it a slick hard packed ice rink. I was hoping the sun would come out and warm it up by 2 because the thought of riding ice the whole time got me even more nervous.
One of the things that the venue did not have(Kansas City did) was a warm up tent. It is hard enough coming from so far away with four bikes and all your gear to then bring a trainer to warm up on. Riding around the streets wasn't the best since they were so slushy and full of traffic due to street closures. Planet Bike said I could warm up at their tent except they had a few other racers racing at the same time and I didn't want to intrude. So my warm up consisted of hanging out with Kevin in the car with the heat blasting and a quick 15 minute ride on the slushy road that just soaked my feet. On my way to staging I ran into Diane O, who had just won the National Jersey for 55-60. She wished me good luck and said that some of the ice had melted and I would enjoy the course. That was reassuring.
Waiting to be staged we were behind the masters 30-34 women. They had about 35 racers in their group. We were going to be going off 30 seconds after them. I was worried about that because 30 seconds isn't alot of time in between especially since the back rows of the 30-34 are Cat 3 and 4s. They finally got to us and I was in the 2nd row. I think our race had about 40 women.
The first gun went off and the younger group(their numbers were different colors) went and we pulled to the line for our gun. It went and it was a frenzy to grab positions. I was happy with my start but when we hit the hole shot left turn I lost a few spaces. As we went through the straight away before turning right to go by the pit we were already hitting traffic from the younger group. This was very frustrating because the course was still icy and slushy they were afraid to move to get out of the way. So for the rest of the race we would be dealing with traffic. This just really threw off my game. I let it frustrate me too much that I started to take risks in corners and spots that were still icy sending me down multiple times. I would gain a spot or two and then go down or get caught behind a rider with nowhere to get around. I was constantly yelling not in your age group but some of the women would still try to race you to the corner instead of letting you by.
Finally the bell lap came and I could see 2 women in my age group and 1 not ahead of me. I pushed as hard as I could and closed the gap. The woman that wasn't in my age group was on the same team as one that was in my group. I kept on saying that I wasn't in her age group but she would not move over and it even seemed that she slowed down to create a gap between herself and her teammate. By the time the course opened up for me to get around the gap was too big in the short amount of course left to the finish line. I came in 12th, pretty much where I started. I did have a huge smile on my face knowing the season was over. 21 CX races in a span of 4 months. It was a great season!~holly
One of the things that the venue did not have(Kansas City did) was a warm up tent. It is hard enough coming from so far away with four bikes and all your gear to then bring a trainer to warm up on. Riding around the streets wasn't the best since they were so slushy and full of traffic due to street closures. Planet Bike said I could warm up at their tent except they had a few other racers racing at the same time and I didn't want to intrude. So my warm up consisted of hanging out with Kevin in the car with the heat blasting and a quick 15 minute ride on the slushy road that just soaked my feet. On my way to staging I ran into Diane O, who had just won the National Jersey for 55-60. She wished me good luck and said that some of the ice had melted and I would enjoy the course. That was reassuring.
Waiting to be staged we were behind the masters 30-34 women. They had about 35 racers in their group. We were going to be going off 30 seconds after them. I was worried about that because 30 seconds isn't alot of time in between especially since the back rows of the 30-34 are Cat 3 and 4s. They finally got to us and I was in the 2nd row. I think our race had about 40 women.
The first gun went off and the younger group(their numbers were different colors) went and we pulled to the line for our gun. It went and it was a frenzy to grab positions. I was happy with my start but when we hit the hole shot left turn I lost a few spaces. As we went through the straight away before turning right to go by the pit we were already hitting traffic from the younger group. This was very frustrating because the course was still icy and slushy they were afraid to move to get out of the way. So for the rest of the race we would be dealing with traffic. This just really threw off my game. I let it frustrate me too much that I started to take risks in corners and spots that were still icy sending me down multiple times. I would gain a spot or two and then go down or get caught behind a rider with nowhere to get around. I was constantly yelling not in your age group but some of the women would still try to race you to the corner instead of letting you by.
Finally the bell lap came and I could see 2 women in my age group and 1 not ahead of me. I pushed as hard as I could and closed the gap. The woman that wasn't in my age group was on the same team as one that was in my group. I kept on saying that I wasn't in her age group but she would not move over and it even seemed that she slowed down to create a gap between herself and her teammate. By the time the course opened up for me to get around the gap was too big in the short amount of course left to the finish line. I came in 12th, pretty much where I started. I did have a huge smile on my face knowing the season was over. 21 CX races in a span of 4 months. It was a great season!~holly
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Killer Bs
pictures by pdxSo Thursday morning was the start of our racing at Nationals. My race was at 8:30 and was a balmy 9 degrees. I wasn't too worried about the cold except for my hands and feet. I popped some feet warmers in my shoes so that was solved but I knew I couldn't race in my lobster gloves because they are so bulky it makes braking and shifting really impossible. So I threw on some liners and my pink Defeet wool gloves and held on to hand warmers until right before the gun.
There were 40 of us for this race. Call ups were done the Cross Crusade way by random drawing of numbers. If the number drawn matched your last digit then you went to the line. My number came up 3rd and that meant third row start. I was fine with that since my starts have been really on this year and there was enough straight away before the hole shot to maybe get up towards the front. The gun went of and we were off. I made my way to about 10th for the hole shot and as soon as we hit the snowy course girls were down. Making sure that I didn't get too close to anyone since some were going down on straight aways. I decided to take the thick untraveled line as we passed the pit to pass a few more girls. We then hit the back part of the course where I was able to pass some more until I got behind the leader. I stayed behind her trying to get around her but there just wasn't room on the course to pass without taking the risky icy line. We got to the stair run up and I finally was able to pass her there. I was then able to really open up a gap on the barriers and the run up which I was able to ride.
On the second lap my fingers became numb heavy blocks and I couldn't tell if I was shifting or braking. I went down on some black ice on a corner but was able to recover quick enough to keep my gap. I yelled to Kevin in the pits about my hands but he really wasn't sure what to do except offer me his gloves when I came around again. I declined the offer and just told myself to suck it up. I rode the next 3 laps clean maintaining my lead and finally began to feel my fingers again. On the bell lap I went down on the off camber after the stairs. As I was running with my bike I saw that I dropped my chain and had to stop for a moment to put it back on. As I hopped back on my bike I could see 2nd and 3rd together coming strong. I needed to stay upright for the last bit of the course and ride the run up. I was able to do that and got the win.
It was a great way to start off and I was feeling a little bit more confident for my Masters race the next day. Since the Bs race isn't a national champion jersey race I won a really cool bag.
~holly
There were 40 of us for this race. Call ups were done the Cross Crusade way by random drawing of numbers. If the number drawn matched your last digit then you went to the line. My number came up 3rd and that meant third row start. I was fine with that since my starts have been really on this year and there was enough straight away before the hole shot to maybe get up towards the front. The gun went of and we were off. I made my way to about 10th for the hole shot and as soon as we hit the snowy course girls were down. Making sure that I didn't get too close to anyone since some were going down on straight aways. I decided to take the thick untraveled line as we passed the pit to pass a few more girls. We then hit the back part of the course where I was able to pass some more until I got behind the leader. I stayed behind her trying to get around her but there just wasn't room on the course to pass without taking the risky icy line. We got to the stair run up and I finally was able to pass her there. I was then able to really open up a gap on the barriers and the run up which I was able to ride.
On the second lap my fingers became numb heavy blocks and I couldn't tell if I was shifting or braking. I went down on some black ice on a corner but was able to recover quick enough to keep my gap. I yelled to Kevin in the pits about my hands but he really wasn't sure what to do except offer me his gloves when I came around again. I declined the offer and just told myself to suck it up. I rode the next 3 laps clean maintaining my lead and finally began to feel my fingers again. On the bell lap I went down on the off camber after the stairs. As I was running with my bike I saw that I dropped my chain and had to stop for a moment to put it back on. As I hopped back on my bike I could see 2nd and 3rd together coming strong. I needed to stay upright for the last bit of the course and ride the run up. I was able to do that and got the win.
It was a great way to start off and I was feeling a little bit more confident for my Masters race the next day. Since the Bs race isn't a national champion jersey race I won a really cool bag.
~holly
Friday, December 11, 2009
Thursday Course
As each day passes the course is changing dramatically. Here are some pic links to cyclingnew.com's website of pictures from Kevin's race Thursday at 11AM.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/photos/usa-cyclo-cross-national-championship-course-preview/97821
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/photos/usa-cyclo-cross-national-championship-course-preview/97821
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Bend
Been a while since I posted. Work, life etc.
Scott McLaughlin told us about the Bs race so we decided to do it as a leg opener and course familiarization. I have not ridden since Montrose. Brian told me at this point, it doesn't matter, but I usually do best when I have some kind of hard effort right before the race.
Holly won the Bs race, I took second. I raced with my Craft lobster gloves on since it was a balmy 4 degrees at the start of the race and I could not get through a lap on the pre ride in my full fingered gloves without freezing my fingers.
I was able to take the race lead after 2 laps and the corners were already getting iced up and I started losing my wheel through turns. Eventually, my gloves were waterlogged with sweat and I lost the ability to smooth out my braking in these sections since my hands were slippery and I had no feeling on the levers. I wanted to take the gloves off but Holly told me to keep them on.
2 laps to go, I went through the pit (without stopping) and tossed her the gloves. I thought I would have to come in for any exchange, however, I was supposed to come to a complete stop or would be disqualified for riding a better line in the pit.
Next 1/2 lap, I had to come in again, and stop and get off the bike or the judge would have DQ me. The gap I had was lost with 2 pit stops and Shad from KCCX was able to take the lead. I felt pretty strong but this was a blunder that cost me the race. My fault for not knowing the rules.
Either way, it was great to get out on the course and open my legs and ride everything at race speed. The course is starting to ice up in corners which is much different from my 830am pre ride. I am sure it will be different for Saturday since they're calling for mixed conditions, but it's nice to know the line. I probably went down 5 times with black ice corners. No tire can help with those but I really like riding the Fango 34s.
A couple of other mistakes.....forgot my other wheel bag in the garage so Holly and I have 4 bikes and 2 sets of wheels. Also, brought my road shoes instead of my cross shoes....they look exactly the same. Went out last night to Webcyclery and picked up some Shimano mid level shoes and eggbeater cleats. Pretty good shoe for the money. Gave us a chance to try the new Shimano electric group which was really killer.
Bend is really cool...a drive through the mountains in Mt. Hood National forest which then become high, dry desert in Bend. Obviously, cool bike friendly town. It was great they did a news piece last night on the race and hyped up the location as a hot bed for cycling. Cool people, great crowds...
Tomorrow, Holly races at 2:30 and I will probably ride the course at noon for an hour again.
Scott McLaughlin told us about the Bs race so we decided to do it as a leg opener and course familiarization. I have not ridden since Montrose. Brian told me at this point, it doesn't matter, but I usually do best when I have some kind of hard effort right before the race.
Holly won the Bs race, I took second. I raced with my Craft lobster gloves on since it was a balmy 4 degrees at the start of the race and I could not get through a lap on the pre ride in my full fingered gloves without freezing my fingers.
I was able to take the race lead after 2 laps and the corners were already getting iced up and I started losing my wheel through turns. Eventually, my gloves were waterlogged with sweat and I lost the ability to smooth out my braking in these sections since my hands were slippery and I had no feeling on the levers. I wanted to take the gloves off but Holly told me to keep them on.
2 laps to go, I went through the pit (without stopping) and tossed her the gloves. I thought I would have to come in for any exchange, however, I was supposed to come to a complete stop or would be disqualified for riding a better line in the pit.
Next 1/2 lap, I had to come in again, and stop and get off the bike or the judge would have DQ me. The gap I had was lost with 2 pit stops and Shad from KCCX was able to take the lead. I felt pretty strong but this was a blunder that cost me the race. My fault for not knowing the rules.
Either way, it was great to get out on the course and open my legs and ride everything at race speed. The course is starting to ice up in corners which is much different from my 830am pre ride. I am sure it will be different for Saturday since they're calling for mixed conditions, but it's nice to know the line. I probably went down 5 times with black ice corners. No tire can help with those but I really like riding the Fango 34s.
A couple of other mistakes.....forgot my other wheel bag in the garage so Holly and I have 4 bikes and 2 sets of wheels. Also, brought my road shoes instead of my cross shoes....they look exactly the same. Went out last night to Webcyclery and picked up some Shimano mid level shoes and eggbeater cleats. Pretty good shoe for the money. Gave us a chance to try the new Shimano electric group which was really killer.
Bend is really cool...a drive through the mountains in Mt. Hood National forest which then become high, dry desert in Bend. Obviously, cool bike friendly town. It was great they did a news piece last night on the race and hyped up the location as a hot bed for cycling. Cool people, great crowds...
Tomorrow, Holly races at 2:30 and I will probably ride the course at noon for an hour again.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Shhh, I Should be Packing!
I should be helping Kevin pack up the bikes for Bend so here are a few pics from Sunday's fun. Top picture by Rusty. Bottom pictures by Cecile R.
(And yes, I still think the knee sock look is so UGLY and UNFLATTERING, but I was being festive!)Leaving for Bend tomorrow morning. Racing the Bs on Thursday for a leg opener and my big race, Masters Women 35-39, is Friday! Wish me luck~holly
Monday, November 30, 2009
Jingle CX Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!
all photos by maurioIt was cold and windy and my body was pretty fried from 2 days of hard racing. Not my best day out there.....
All in all, Kevin and I got lucky to have no broken parts. Mike Wakeley was our saving grace in the pits and Fri and Sat we sure had him working. The Eriksen is awesome!!!!! Raced it all 3 days and when I was on the Rock Lobster I couldn't wait to come in for a bike change..
Jingle CX Saturday
all photos from maurioSunny skies made for a beautiful day. Had some brake issues that made me lose a few spots.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Mens Wisconsin State Championship Race
photo by djonnymacMy goal was to finish behind Tristan. After him, it's really the rest of us. Had a great start behind him and Travis Brown and Kyle Jacobsen. I rode really strong but my bike handling skills left alot to be desired. First half of the course was dry and bumpy, back of the course was a hill, downhill and some off camber in wet grass and mud.The barrier was uphill and felt pretty high so remount was tricky. The race did not go how I wanted to but I think I learned a little bit about tire selection in mixed conditions for next time.
photo by offonst
I pre rode twice, once with Challenge Fango 34 in front and Grifo 32 in rear, then the next ride Grifo 32 x 32. I should have used the former but I thought the more aggressive tread would slow me down uphill. My cornering in this section was slow and I lost my front wheel 4-5 times. On the uphill barrier run up, lost my pedal engagement a couple of times with the mud. Every time I lost contact with Tim I was able to catch him but I made too many mistakes to place ahead of him. Either way, he was great competition for me this year and I enjoyed the racing.
In thinking about tire selection, the Grifo is really dry condition only tire. I have the Fango 34s but the rolling resistance is surprisingly pretty good, the difference is with a 34 I can run pressure 1-2 psi lower, it absorbs bumpy stuff in corners and on the mud sections and off camber the diamond tread holds the line more. I should have used that tire but I know for next time.
I am thinking next year 34s with the XS file treads, 34 Fangos and then 32 Dugast Rhyno for my tire quiver. On the mountain bike I tend to favor low knob tire with round casing either in 2.0 -2.2 and find the low pressure and contact patch allows me to rail corners better. Should be the same for cross.
Looks like conditions at Jingle will favor Fango in 34. Usually mixed conditions or maybe it will be outright wet the first 2 days.
photo by offonstI pre rode twice, once with Challenge Fango 34 in front and Grifo 32 in rear, then the next ride Grifo 32 x 32. I should have used the former but I thought the more aggressive tread would slow me down uphill. My cornering in this section was slow and I lost my front wheel 4-5 times. On the uphill barrier run up, lost my pedal engagement a couple of times with the mud. Every time I lost contact with Tim I was able to catch him but I made too many mistakes to place ahead of him. Either way, he was great competition for me this year and I enjoyed the racing.
In thinking about tire selection, the Grifo is really dry condition only tire. I have the Fango 34s but the rolling resistance is surprisingly pretty good, the difference is with a 34 I can run pressure 1-2 psi lower, it absorbs bumpy stuff in corners and on the mud sections and off camber the diamond tread holds the line more. I should have used that tire but I know for next time.
I am thinking next year 34s with the XS file treads, 34 Fangos and then 32 Dugast Rhyno for my tire quiver. On the mountain bike I tend to favor low knob tire with round casing either in 2.0 -2.2 and find the low pressure and contact patch allows me to rail corners better. Should be the same for cross.
Looks like conditions at Jingle will favor Fango in 34. Usually mixed conditions or maybe it will be outright wet the first 2 days.
Hales Corners CX-WI State Championships
photo by jeffkaoWe had some great weather this weekend for racing. Hales Corners is a great course. It has everything, sand, climbing, bumpy terrain, pavement, downhills, slick off camber turns, open stretches and a great set of spectators!
As we got off the line Sam got the hole shot followed by Meghan then me. I decided that there was enough straight away to make my way to the front so I got out of the saddle and sprinted to get the first left turn. I then led the first lap and halfway through the second lap when Sam came around to take a pull. As for the all of the races when Sam takes a pull she drops us and of course this happened but I had a gap on Meghan that grew and got smaller throughout the race. This was the order we came in at the end. Sam, me, Meghan. Since I don't have the WI house address on my licence, Meghan got the silver and Katy got bronze. I still got the nice $100 bill for 2nd though! I then hung out with the Pegasus crew and ate some tasty soup from their new sponsor. Kevin put in a great performance and took 3rd. (his report to come)
Monday, November 16, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Gibbs Lake
photos by djonnymac
One of the best settings in the WCA series. I was excited to see some of my Chicago brethren make the trip for more cross racing, Scott McLaughlin, Wayne Simon and Tom Boundy from Verdigris and I also ran into a couple of guys from the Iron Horse team.
I wish we had the camera. Scenic route through trees with used trail, fast off camber downhills and some power sections thrown in. An ideal setting for me. There were 3 barriers at the end of the lap through the finish, 1 barrier by the "beach" which was a 4 foot drop trench by the swap. The rest was double track, some single track and grass and the ground was super hard except for a few corners through the pine trees at the start finish. I think we did 9 laps.
So I was looking forward to seeing what I could in favorable course conditions against some the areas best riders with 4 weeks to go to Nationals. The field was not very deep, but lining up next Tristan and Scott, it was going to be fast. My goal today was to stay with Scott. I use him as mark since we're close in age, have the same goals with age group national jerseys, and have raced in contact with each other before, though this year I am not even close. With the exceptional year he is having, I felt that if I could pace with him, I would have a really strong shot at stars and stripes in the masters race in Bend.
The race started off with Tim Pacholski from Vel Trocadero getting a great start and pulling through with about 1/2 lap. James Lalonde picked up the pace halfway through and spent the next lap pulling all of us. The pace was manageable and I was waiting for Tristan to get bored and shoot off the front. Tim also tends to do that as well.
The next lap, I decided to pull through and I went off the front pretty hard since I wanted to open the race so I would have a clean shot through the rideable log sections. I was afraid with a pack in follow, someone would make a mistake and I would get caught up. After I cleaned that section, Scott and Tristan went right ahead of me and I sat on with James behind me.
The next section of course was super fast downhill followed by left hand turn and then we had 1 barrier before riding near the swamp that sat about 4 feet lower than the ground that required a run and remount back on the course. I slipped on the exit and fell, and James went into me and I felt like an ass. I brought us both back up to Scott and Tristan.
Lap 3, right when we come through the start, Tristan opens it up and puts an easy 40 feet ahead of us. It was really impressive. James passed me and went on Scott's wheel with me behind him, but I was riding the corners slower and I was starting to feel the lactic acid in my legs.
Next lap, James gets a gap on Scott, just enough for him to get ahead. I am probably sitting about 10 seconds behind Scott. He started to open a gap on me and I had no response.
With 5 laps to go, it pretty much stayed that way. I saw Tristan and James lapping through down by the swamp trading pulls and I was trying to chase Scott like he was the metal man on a Computrainer ride. Through the race, I can see him ahead and I would get close through the open sections then through the logs but I was bombing the downhill so much faster than I was. After hitting the 3 barriers in front of the course, he had alot of power through the start finish section.
With 2 laps to go, I went as hard as I could and felt like I was closing a little bit on a 20 second gap but it really put the knife in me. Last lap I had nothing left and he made sure he put me away with a much faster lap. It went Tristan, James, Scott then me for 4th and I did not get a chance to see the final race results for the other spots.
It's getting into that time of year where people are starting to peak. I could ride with James last year and most of this year, but the last few weeks it's really coming together for him. As far as Scott, he has alot of power and strong technical skills. With the way he his riding right now, I think he can win his masters national race.
I am pretty happy with how things turned out today. I was able to push the race a bit and rode my ass off trying to catch Scott. My fitness feels better than it ever has at any point I have ever raced and it's a month away from Nationals. I have to thank Brian Conant again for his guidance in coaching. Before it was riding so hard that I wanted to go tell him to F7ck himself during the workout then to getting a point where I want more and he's backing me off. On top of it, time management and flexibility with business travel has been a huge plus.
Holly took second today and was able to hold Megan off. Pretty impressive performance again. I am going to have to find a way to get her to get coached for next year and build on a break through year.
I wish we had the camera. Scenic route through trees with used trail, fast off camber downhills and some power sections thrown in. An ideal setting for me. There were 3 barriers at the end of the lap through the finish, 1 barrier by the "beach" which was a 4 foot drop trench by the swap. The rest was double track, some single track and grass and the ground was super hard except for a few corners through the pine trees at the start finish. I think we did 9 laps.
So I was looking forward to seeing what I could in favorable course conditions against some the areas best riders with 4 weeks to go to Nationals. The field was not very deep, but lining up next Tristan and Scott, it was going to be fast. My goal today was to stay with Scott. I use him as mark since we're close in age, have the same goals with age group national jerseys, and have raced in contact with each other before, though this year I am not even close. With the exceptional year he is having, I felt that if I could pace with him, I would have a really strong shot at stars and stripes in the masters race in Bend.
The race started off with Tim Pacholski from Vel Trocadero getting a great start and pulling through with about 1/2 lap. James Lalonde picked up the pace halfway through and spent the next lap pulling all of us. The pace was manageable and I was waiting for Tristan to get bored and shoot off the front. Tim also tends to do that as well.
The next lap, I decided to pull through and I went off the front pretty hard since I wanted to open the race so I would have a clean shot through the rideable log sections. I was afraid with a pack in follow, someone would make a mistake and I would get caught up. After I cleaned that section, Scott and Tristan went right ahead of me and I sat on with James behind me.
The next section of course was super fast downhill followed by left hand turn and then we had 1 barrier before riding near the swamp that sat about 4 feet lower than the ground that required a run and remount back on the course. I slipped on the exit and fell, and James went into me and I felt like an ass. I brought us both back up to Scott and Tristan.
Lap 3, right when we come through the start, Tristan opens it up and puts an easy 40 feet ahead of us. It was really impressive. James passed me and went on Scott's wheel with me behind him, but I was riding the corners slower and I was starting to feel the lactic acid in my legs.
Next lap, James gets a gap on Scott, just enough for him to get ahead. I am probably sitting about 10 seconds behind Scott. He started to open a gap on me and I had no response.
With 5 laps to go, it pretty much stayed that way. I saw Tristan and James lapping through down by the swamp trading pulls and I was trying to chase Scott like he was the metal man on a Computrainer ride. Through the race, I can see him ahead and I would get close through the open sections then through the logs but I was bombing the downhill so much faster than I was. After hitting the 3 barriers in front of the course, he had alot of power through the start finish section.
With 2 laps to go, I went as hard as I could and felt like I was closing a little bit on a 20 second gap but it really put the knife in me. Last lap I had nothing left and he made sure he put me away with a much faster lap. It went Tristan, James, Scott then me for 4th and I did not get a chance to see the final race results for the other spots.
It's getting into that time of year where people are starting to peak. I could ride with James last year and most of this year, but the last few weeks it's really coming together for him. As far as Scott, he has alot of power and strong technical skills. With the way he his riding right now, I think he can win his masters national race.
I am pretty happy with how things turned out today. I was able to push the race a bit and rode my ass off trying to catch Scott. My fitness feels better than it ever has at any point I have ever raced and it's a month away from Nationals. I have to thank Brian Conant again for his guidance in coaching. Before it was riding so hard that I wanted to go tell him to F7ck himself during the workout then to getting a point where I want more and he's backing me off. On top of it, time management and flexibility with business travel has been a huge plus.
Holly took second today and was able to hold Megan off. Pretty impressive performance again. I am going to have to find a way to get her to get coached for next year and build on a break through year.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Team Polska Kletsch Park
photo by ron(squeezing into Holly's jersery)
Photos above by djonnymac
photo by mtbgirlWe keep forgetting the camera but I should be able to find some flickr and cell phone pics. It was a good day, Holly took 1st and I got 4th.
Kletsch Park is one of the better courses with some singletrack sections that make cornering at speed on a cross bike a blast. There's something about riding offroad on something that resembles a road bike, kind of like taking a production car and modifying it race offroad courses in WRC rally competition. The Polska Team always puts on a great show and let their enthusiasm known on top of the hill run up with beer dousing, ass slaps, cowbells and yelling Davai! Davai! and screaming in Polish every time through.
The hill run up is a real bitch and it resembles Mt. Krumpet at Jingle Cross. After the hill run up, you have to ride downhill on a steep section, offcamber before coming around and climbing the other side of it.
The payout was $600 for the Mens, $220 to the winner so I was not surprised to see Tristan there. They did call ups for WCA points, which was new. I got a good start and ended up behind James Lalonde and Tristan and it seemed like a mellower pace 1st lap to feel things out a little bit. Despite good position, I really struggle with these damn hills in comparison to the faster racers in the area. Though I have improved, I am still a couple of steps behind. After a couple of laps, I fell back to 4th with Tim Pacholski getting ahead of me. I was able to stay with him for a couple of laps and lost some time on the hill run up. With 4 laps to go, my front tire washed out on the offcamber downhill seciton after the run up. He had a pretty nice gap on my the entire race. I felt like I could close some but just could not hang with him uphill. I was hoping for a better result but I am stoked as my fitness seems to be improving.
With Planet Bike womens team in New Jersey, the race was up for grabs in the Elite field. Holly battled it out with Megan and got the win, her first Wisconsin race ever. She really drilled the race and held nice gap. She's getting stronger as the season progresses. Given the payouts Polska set up, 1st place was $170 which which was really cool. When I assumed it was the hill run up that got her the gap, I was corrected it was actually all the open riding sections where she felt she was making time. Awesome.
We're going to head to Janesville tomorrow. I've heard alot of good things about this course but have never raced there. It should be flatter and have regular trail type of use as opposed to grass which are conditions that tend to suit me. Legs have been feeling really good the last 3 weeks, so with the course conditions I am excited for this one.
The hill run up is a real bitch and it resembles Mt. Krumpet at Jingle Cross. After the hill run up, you have to ride downhill on a steep section, offcamber before coming around and climbing the other side of it.
The payout was $600 for the Mens, $220 to the winner so I was not surprised to see Tristan there. They did call ups for WCA points, which was new. I got a good start and ended up behind James Lalonde and Tristan and it seemed like a mellower pace 1st lap to feel things out a little bit. Despite good position, I really struggle with these damn hills in comparison to the faster racers in the area. Though I have improved, I am still a couple of steps behind. After a couple of laps, I fell back to 4th with Tim Pacholski getting ahead of me. I was able to stay with him for a couple of laps and lost some time on the hill run up. With 4 laps to go, my front tire washed out on the offcamber downhill seciton after the run up. He had a pretty nice gap on my the entire race. I felt like I could close some but just could not hang with him uphill. I was hoping for a better result but I am stoked as my fitness seems to be improving.
With Planet Bike womens team in New Jersey, the race was up for grabs in the Elite field. Holly battled it out with Megan and got the win, her first Wisconsin race ever. She really drilled the race and held nice gap. She's getting stronger as the season progresses. Given the payouts Polska set up, 1st place was $170 which which was really cool. When I assumed it was the hill run up that got her the gap, I was corrected it was actually all the open riding sections where she felt she was making time. Awesome.
We're going to head to Janesville tomorrow. I've heard alot of good things about this course but have never raced there. It should be flatter and have regular trail type of use as opposed to grass which are conditions that tend to suit me. Legs have been feeling really good the last 3 weeks, so with the course conditions I am excited for this one.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Too Tight
photo by djonnI definitely ate too much candy on Halloween and the days that followed. This isn't really a smile, it is actually a grimace because my skin suit was just too damn tight!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Estabrook Park
Yesterday's course felt like a hill repeat workout on a back yard versus a bike race. Estabrook is much better course in park venue with small single track section with a log, hill run up that was rideable with a bunny hop. There were also 4 barriers before the circle of death spiral, aka the Chicago Cross Cup swirl. There were 2 barrier sections also in the back of the course to slow things down on a straightaway before twisting and turning through some rooted sections between trees. I've always liked this course and have done pretty well, winning the masters race last year. These are the type of courses that I generally do well with.
I got off the line in 4th position, behind James Lelond and Chad Hartley form Gear Grinder. After lap 1, James flatted and pitted his bike. I went to the front and tried to go hard with Chad and Kyle on my wheel. I spent the first 2 laps in front trying to surge to see if I could drop either one of them but it did not seem to work, so I wanted to back off a little bit. James finally caught on and I ended up trading pulls with him the entire race. We would gap chad through the corners and then attack to open things up, but this guy is strong in the flat open areas, he would get right on. Through the rideable log section, James kind of slipped and I lost my momentum riding up so ran it. He had a gap, attacked by I followed but I noticed we lost Chad. I went to the front again after sitting in with James and this guy still finds a way to get on our wheel. Finally on the last 2 laps, we lose him but are holding about 7 seconds and we each work the front. James lost it on the back course barriers, but I had a hard time attacking and opening a gap through the sections with all the corners so he caught on. By now Chad is far enough behind where I thought I could leave it to sprint between James and I but with 2 laps to go people are yelling at me that he is still in contact and able to make time on the open course sections. So, I did not want to let up and we made sure we kept the gap. Final lap, James attacks the open section before the log hill run up and has about a 3 second gap. I wanted to stay on his wheel until the straightaway finish, but after riding the log hill he attacks again and this time I could not respond.
I rode a strong race for 2nd. Spent alot of time in front, did not make any mistakes and felt like I had good power throughout. There was really nothing else I could have done tactically or effort wise. So I have to hand it to James, 1 mechanical and 1 barrier miss yet he still rides in front the whole race while trading the work effort and had enough gas left to throw down a massive attack at the end. It can be very hard to get back into a race mentally but he kept bringing it on and I always enjoy racing with him.
Also, I have to give Holly some credit for her 4th place finish. Kristin Wentworth dismantles every race with Sam, an up and coming pro road rider and Katie Antonneau who gets top 5 finish in Toronto. It's fun to watch these girls race, they're so fast. She's also been battling it out with Meghan Korol, top 5 WORS elite racer. Holly was about 5 seconds behind Katie for the first 5 or so laps before she lost contact, but her riding and bike handling is way ahead of where she was the last 2 years.
Next week...Kletsch Park for some crazy Team Polska cyclocross and Gibbs Lake.
I got off the line in 4th position, behind James Lelond and Chad Hartley form Gear Grinder. After lap 1, James flatted and pitted his bike. I went to the front and tried to go hard with Chad and Kyle on my wheel. I spent the first 2 laps in front trying to surge to see if I could drop either one of them but it did not seem to work, so I wanted to back off a little bit. James finally caught on and I ended up trading pulls with him the entire race. We would gap chad through the corners and then attack to open things up, but this guy is strong in the flat open areas, he would get right on. Through the rideable log section, James kind of slipped and I lost my momentum riding up so ran it. He had a gap, attacked by I followed but I noticed we lost Chad. I went to the front again after sitting in with James and this guy still finds a way to get on our wheel. Finally on the last 2 laps, we lose him but are holding about 7 seconds and we each work the front. James lost it on the back course barriers, but I had a hard time attacking and opening a gap through the sections with all the corners so he caught on. By now Chad is far enough behind where I thought I could leave it to sprint between James and I but with 2 laps to go people are yelling at me that he is still in contact and able to make time on the open course sections. So, I did not want to let up and we made sure we kept the gap. Final lap, James attacks the open section before the log hill run up and has about a 3 second gap. I wanted to stay on his wheel until the straightaway finish, but after riding the log hill he attacks again and this time I could not respond.
I rode a strong race for 2nd. Spent alot of time in front, did not make any mistakes and felt like I had good power throughout. There was really nothing else I could have done tactically or effort wise. So I have to hand it to James, 1 mechanical and 1 barrier miss yet he still rides in front the whole race while trading the work effort and had enough gas left to throw down a massive attack at the end. It can be very hard to get back into a race mentally but he kept bringing it on and I always enjoy racing with him.
Also, I have to give Holly some credit for her 4th place finish. Kristin Wentworth dismantles every race with Sam, an up and coming pro road rider and Katie Antonneau who gets top 5 finish in Toronto. It's fun to watch these girls race, they're so fast. She's also been battling it out with Meghan Korol, top 5 WORS elite racer. Holly was about 5 seconds behind Katie for the first 5 or so laps before she lost contact, but her riding and bike handling is way ahead of where she was the last 2 years.
Next week...Kletsch Park for some crazy Team Polska cyclocross and Gibbs Lake.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Whitewater
The course was all climbing, no straightaway, no flat sections for 10 laps. Sprint uphill, ride down, bumpy corner, then turn. 1 barrier section uphill on slow grass section. Not my kind of course and nothing interesting about it. But, it's better than the Trash dash venue they used to have. Either way, it was a bike race and 1 hour of hard effort hitting hills is good training. Holly and I each got 4th.
Friday, November 6, 2009
MASTERS WOMEN!!!!
If you are a masters woman and are heading to Bend for Nats this year, there is a party Thursday night just for us! Here is the info.....spread the word.....
http://www.crosscrusade.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2633 or http://cxingbarriers09.blogspot.com/
Hope to see all you ladies there!~holly
http://www.crosscrusade.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2633 or http://cxingbarriers09.blogspot.com/
Hope to see all you ladies there!~holly
Monday, November 2, 2009
St. Charles
Brian Conant told me before the race it was an epic cross course. I usually do not like this course since it's so open and full of head wind but I have to admit he was right, these were the type of conditions you love to watch as a spectator. Every section either was mud or standing water and the barriers were placed strategically in the worst sections were you were either climbing through standing water or riding so fast into a corner, it was impossible to time your braking before the barrier.
We left Wisconsin and got to the course in time for 40+ and it was a real shit show. I left the Fango tire said up at home since Washington Park was dry and every course this year was optimal for file treads. I thought it might dry for my race but wondered how Holly would do in the mud with the Grifos. It didn't matter...she went right off the front and I was impressed with how smooth everything looked with her riding.
I did one lap on the B bike to get a sense of the course. While riding on the Grifo's I realized I had plenty of traction. BTW, thanks to Lou for offering me up his Ryno wheels. Mike from Kenda was kind enough to offer me pit support in light of some of my circumstances earlier this year. It was really cool of him to offer; he says he loves to spectate but he's a real pro managing the Planet Bike guys.
Start went great since I was right behind Brian and had no problem getting to the front. My legs felt a bit tired from the day before but I was not losing ground as a result of that. It was really a combination of candy ass riding, especially through the first set of barriers that was holding me back. I kept losing my front wheel and veering into the tape the first 3 laps. Another downhill section, I went slow and washed out in front of the Cuttin' Crew. Ideal scenario for Scott to ride off. I was able to ride with Mike Hemme for a while which was really cool for a couple of reasons. First, he's doing well right now and starting to show some progress with training. Secondly, there was a alot of wind on that course and it's always nice to pace and work together.
Brian got ahead of us but Mike and I traded pulls. My halfway race surge came on and felt like I could chase him down. I told Mike I was going to hit it hard on the straightaway and to stay on my while but I lost him. I was hoping he would stay with me. I bridged and caught Brian and worked with him for a little while. After trading some pulls with Brian, I pulled through I saw he fell off for 5 seconds so I surged with 2 laps to go and rode all out. By now, I had the lines and the barriers figured out and felt like I was gaining some speed. I was not able to catch Scott but I could see him ahead but wanted to keep riding hard since I know how strong Brian is. So, I took 2nd this race. Mike Hemme took 4th so the 3 of us put in a great day.
I felt like I could have done better riding some sections cleaner but that is part of cyclocross racing, the unexpected circumstances that create game changers that make this style of racing interesting. This was really the first mud race this year. Other than that, I was real happy with the weekend overall, especially with power on the bike. Starting to reach that part of the season; a timed peak where things are starting to come along and feel easier than before and everything feels good and works. This year was a really crappy start with the mechanicals and the UCI performance, but it's starting to come together now.
We left Wisconsin and got to the course in time for 40+ and it was a real shit show. I left the Fango tire said up at home since Washington Park was dry and every course this year was optimal for file treads. I thought it might dry for my race but wondered how Holly would do in the mud with the Grifos. It didn't matter...she went right off the front and I was impressed with how smooth everything looked with her riding.
I did one lap on the B bike to get a sense of the course. While riding on the Grifo's I realized I had plenty of traction. BTW, thanks to Lou for offering me up his Ryno wheels. Mike from Kenda was kind enough to offer me pit support in light of some of my circumstances earlier this year. It was really cool of him to offer; he says he loves to spectate but he's a real pro managing the Planet Bike guys.
Start went great since I was right behind Brian and had no problem getting to the front. My legs felt a bit tired from the day before but I was not losing ground as a result of that. It was really a combination of candy ass riding, especially through the first set of barriers that was holding me back. I kept losing my front wheel and veering into the tape the first 3 laps. Another downhill section, I went slow and washed out in front of the Cuttin' Crew. Ideal scenario for Scott to ride off. I was able to ride with Mike Hemme for a while which was really cool for a couple of reasons. First, he's doing well right now and starting to show some progress with training. Secondly, there was a alot of wind on that course and it's always nice to pace and work together.
Brian got ahead of us but Mike and I traded pulls. My halfway race surge came on and felt like I could chase him down. I told Mike I was going to hit it hard on the straightaway and to stay on my while but I lost him. I was hoping he would stay with me. I bridged and caught Brian and worked with him for a little while. After trading some pulls with Brian, I pulled through I saw he fell off for 5 seconds so I surged with 2 laps to go and rode all out. By now, I had the lines and the barriers figured out and felt like I was gaining some speed. I was not able to catch Scott but I could see him ahead but wanted to keep riding hard since I know how strong Brian is. So, I took 2nd this race. Mike Hemme took 4th so the 3 of us put in a great day.
I felt like I could have done better riding some sections cleaner but that is part of cyclocross racing, the unexpected circumstances that create game changers that make this style of racing interesting. This was really the first mud race this year. Other than that, I was real happy with the weekend overall, especially with power on the bike. Starting to reach that part of the season; a timed peak where things are starting to come along and feel easier than before and everything feels good and works. This year was a really crappy start with the mechanicals and the UCI performance, but it's starting to come together now.
Washington Park
Washington Park was an awesome course. Alot of speed and hill climb sections with fun cornering in a nice long loop. I loved the twin coffin bunny hop section...no flames to leap through this year. There was only mud at the start through the grass so they started us on top of the hill and made us ride through a 5 foot wide section.
My start was OK and watched Ben Popper go off the front and establish a tempo. It took a lap for things to settle in and thin out and by then Tristian was well up on his own and James Lalonde was making some progress getting on Ben's wheel. I started to pick my way through riders and then I settled in with Kyle and Tim Pacholski for pretty much the entire race. Tim and I traded alot of pulls and Kyle was there every time on his 29er, a great choice for this course. I could tell he was catching up to me on the off camber downhill sections and was able to keep it close on the run up.
There was an offcamber corner before the hill run up that I would always take slowly and I yet still crashed and Tim road off. I have to thank Kyle since he brought me back up to Tim's wheel with a lap to go. I knew it would come down to a sprint and felt I would have better acceleration versus Kyle on his mountain bike but Tim has been riding pretty strong.
On the in your face wind section on the concrete portion of the course, Tim sprinted but it felt like a lead out; no problem staying on his wheel then 20 yards before the turn I winded up my sprint and took 3rd overall.
Alot of fast people here today so I felt good about my result. Alot of hard work into the wind and up and down some hills.
My start was OK and watched Ben Popper go off the front and establish a tempo. It took a lap for things to settle in and thin out and by then Tristian was well up on his own and James Lalonde was making some progress getting on Ben's wheel. I started to pick my way through riders and then I settled in with Kyle and Tim Pacholski for pretty much the entire race. Tim and I traded alot of pulls and Kyle was there every time on his 29er, a great choice for this course. I could tell he was catching up to me on the off camber downhill sections and was able to keep it close on the run up.
There was an offcamber corner before the hill run up that I would always take slowly and I yet still crashed and Tim road off. I have to thank Kyle since he brought me back up to Tim's wheel with a lap to go. I knew it would come down to a sprint and felt I would have better acceleration versus Kyle on his mountain bike but Tim has been riding pretty strong.
On the in your face wind section on the concrete portion of the course, Tim sprinted but it felt like a lead out; no problem staying on his wheel then 20 yards before the turn I winded up my sprint and took 3rd overall.
Alot of fast people here today so I felt good about my result. Alot of hard work into the wind and up and down some hills.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Prime!
At the Halloween CX race Sat., Kevin won this awesome Snuggie for being the first across the line in a costume. It even came with a free night book light(modeled in my pic). There has been a little arguing as to who gets to use it as it is super snuggly!
Halloween CX
photo by sheri 
I went as Cruella Deville and Kevin went as a 70's porn star.(although, James looks more like the porn star with that stash) Kevin had to ditch his rockin' pants because he was having a hard time remounting. His mustache wasn't fully in since he had a business meeting Thurs and had to shave, but he did try to muster up a small stubbly one.
I got a good start and stayed behind Kristin, Katie, and Sam for most of the first lap. Somewhere I then lost contact and just rode the rest alone seeing Sam at turns now and then. Running up the hill was hard since my bike had a little extra weight of the dogs.
photo by mountaingoat
photo my madcrossMy head also felt pretty heavy and the wig did not help with the sweat and strands of it flying in my face but I had fun being in costume. I passed Katie as she was running with her bike right before the start of the bell lap and was able snag 3rd place.
Expo did a great job with setting up the festivities and I had a blast hanging on the run up with everyone! What a fun day ~holly
Monday, October 26, 2009
First Win of Season
Start of race, photo by Pony shopOur plans for this weekend changed quickly Friday when both WI cross races were canceled. Since Kevin was up in WI and I was in Chicago, heading down to Louisville wasn't an option, plus to race the Elite UCI race one needs to preregister. So we went to the CCC's Bartlett race. This course is not one of my favorites but it is nice and long so that is always a plus.
We got to the course around 9:30, just in time to see Tom racing the 40+. He looked smooth and strong on his Eriksen singlespeed and had a great finish. I paid my $35 dollar registration fee(charged $5 more since I didn't prereg) and then went for my warm up. It was a nice feeling lining up with the other women in front of the Cat 3 men.(Finally a little respect for the ladies!) After call ups, none for me since I have been racing in WI, I rolled to the line. The official said go and we were off.
Lately my starts have been really good and today was no exception. I got the hole shot taking the first corner with a few seconds of a gap and by the barriers I was able to make it stick and grow. Let me comment on the barriers, the first set were 3 barriers set on a downhill. They were extremely fast and you really needed to scrub speed before hitting them. The second was also slightly downhill on a hard right hand turn, weirdly positioned. I was actually cringing when a photographer was taking pictures, as my barrier work today was embarrassing! Going into lap 2 I kept my gap around 20+ seconds and kept hammering. Lap 3 I started to get worried because I could see the Cat 3 leaders making their way through and I was worried one of the ladies would grab and use wheels to close the gap. I just kept hammering on and actually grabbed a wheel or two myself. I then heard Kevin and Tom scream that I had opened the gap even more and to just stay steady and strong. I rode out the last 2 laps grabbing my first win of the season!
Here's my little rant: After getting changed I went to pick up my payout. Now, I don't do this for the money but I have been spoiled from racing in WI where Renee of Madcross has fought for many years to get equal payouts for women. Unfortunately her fight has only effected the WI series, as my payout was $30, not even covering the cost of registration. Kevin though got 3rd and came out even. ~holly
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Bartlett
The Wisconsin races were flooded out apparently and the Park District didn't want people riding at the venues so we took off to Bartlett. 2 mile loop mostly grass with the usual wind. Terrain was slick in the morning and then turned to super soft tacky by the afternoon races where you wanted file treads. They did a nice job using all the terrain at the park for a long loop, the small heckler hill climb and 3 barriers strategically placed downhill and 1 placed up hill to slow things down. Not too many places to rest.
Holly killed it in the women's race. Great start at the whistle. It was exciting to watch, super smooth and strong and the time kept building. First win.
My race did not go as well as I had hoped. I felt very rested but flat throughout the entire race and could not jump and accelerate. My legs were not hurting but could not go harder. I ended up settling in and there was a 5 man pace group gaining. I rode with Eric Sontag most of the race and we traded pulls. He did the 30+ race that morning and yet was riding very well this afternoon, pulling hard. Look at his results and you can see he's having an awesome year. As we traded pulls, we could not shake the chase group. Last lap, I try to go harder on all the hills and out of the turns and opened things up about 5 seconds. Took 3rd overall, a distant 3rd to Scott and some guy from Michigan who won the 30+ in the morning. It was great to ride with Eric so I could sit.
A hard effort Thursday or race day Saturday might have helped open my legs a bit. Still good time and great to catch up with alot of people I had not seen in a while. Next week, we'll hit Washington Park and then St. Charles and I am planning on sporting a grown in porn mustache for costume.
Holly killed it in the women's race. Great start at the whistle. It was exciting to watch, super smooth and strong and the time kept building. First win.
My race did not go as well as I had hoped. I felt very rested but flat throughout the entire race and could not jump and accelerate. My legs were not hurting but could not go harder. I ended up settling in and there was a 5 man pace group gaining. I rode with Eric Sontag most of the race and we traded pulls. He did the 30+ race that morning and yet was riding very well this afternoon, pulling hard. Look at his results and you can see he's having an awesome year. As we traded pulls, we could not shake the chase group. Last lap, I try to go harder on all the hills and out of the turns and opened things up about 5 seconds. Took 3rd overall, a distant 3rd to Scott and some guy from Michigan who won the 30+ in the morning. It was great to ride with Eric so I could sit.
A hard effort Thursday or race day Saturday might have helped open my legs a bit. Still good time and great to catch up with alot of people I had not seen in a while. Next week, we'll hit Washington Park and then St. Charles and I am planning on sporting a grown in porn mustache for costume.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Jingle Cross Inspiration
Cool video from Jingle Cross 2008. You will recognize lots of the racers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmpRM69TjNo
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Louisville
Looks like alot of poeple are going and kind of wish I was too. Traveling for work, by the time the weekend comes,I get tired of it. Good luck to all that are going. All the riders between Chicago and Wisconsin that are traveling are putting in some fantastic results and I am looking forward to reading about it next week.
K
K
Monday, October 19, 2009
CAM-ROCK
photos by sheri
Literally a repeat of Saturday's racing. I got the hole shot and led for a lap. Sam and Megan got around me. I lost Megan's wheel. Sam then rode away from Megan and that was the order for the race. Cam-Rock was awesome this year! Great weather and good times had by all. Another $80 bucks in my pocket. Kevin killed it in the Men's 1 2 race. His first WCA elite men's win. Oh and we got some more cool pint glasses to add to our collection!~holly
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Badger 1/2M
photo by SheriCourse was alot of climbing, with leg snapping soft grass. Really long laps, almost 10 minutes.
Finally got the brakes fixed on the other bike to pit.
Had great start. Marko Lalonde sat in for 1 lap then took off and stayed out front the whole race leaving the rest to us. Scott McLaughlin ended up crashing the first lap. I traded pulls with Tim Pacholski and Brian Conant the first couple of laps. Tim had a problem with his chain and I hit him on one of the climbs, Brian got away but caught him. Scott McLaughlin battled back and caught us both and passed us both on one of the climbs. Brian accelerated and stayed with him part of the way, and I fell off the back. Finished 4th. Not my style of cross course, but it was fun and well put together. Like the payouts up here too.
Camrock tomorrow.
Finally got the brakes fixed on the other bike to pit.
Had great start. Marko Lalonde sat in for 1 lap then took off and stayed out front the whole race leaving the rest to us. Scott McLaughlin ended up crashing the first lap. I traded pulls with Tim Pacholski and Brian Conant the first couple of laps. Tim had a problem with his chain and I hit him on one of the climbs, Brian got away but caught him. Scott McLaughlin battled back and caught us both and passed us both on one of the climbs. Brian accelerated and stayed with him part of the way, and I fell off the back. Finished 4th. Not my style of cross course, but it was fun and well put together. Like the payouts up here too.
Camrock tomorrow.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Badger Prairie W 1,2
photo by SheriHad another awesome start and led for the first long lap. Sam came around me on a climb to put in a pull and the next thing I knew she was gone with no way to reel her back. On the 3rd lap Megan put in a great effort on a climb and I just couldn't respond. I tried to close the gap and went down on a gravel corner and from there it was just riding for third. I was a good race and I made 80 bucks! Cam Rock tomorrow-my favorite course!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Grafton Pumpking CX
The Grafton course was fun. Not much to say except I was on time for my race. I got 3rd and had some stomach issues that kept me at home for Sunday's race in Chicago. Really bummed that I missed it since I heard it was an awesome course.
Tuesday my Courage should be ready! Got a sneak peek of it today and it is beautiful. I can't wait to take it for ride.! Will post pictures tomorrow. ~holly
Tuesday my Courage should be ready! Got a sneak peek of it today and it is beautiful. I can't wait to take it for ride.! Will post pictures tomorrow. ~holly
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Dan Ryan woods
Beverly Bike and Chicago cross cup put on an awesome venue. Outside of Camrock this has to be the best local course I've ridden in either the Wisconsin and Chicago Series. A long loop with fast sections, hill section with trail, offcamber down hills with great corners and they brought in some good food and gave us free meal tickets. The weather was 45 degrees and sunny....cyclocross is good.
Great start. Singletracky hill climb, Luca Lenzi puts his foot down and I get off my bike to run the rest....bye Scott and Brian. They opened a huge gap. Too bad I couldn't enjoy this course.....after 2.5, laps, my chain snapped. After the Jackson debacle, I may have taken too many links out. However, the chain was snapped mid cog. Truth be known....I have never broken a Sram chain but could not find them and used a Connex. Could have over stressed it yesterday on the hill....who knows. I've beaten the shit out of Sram chains going up the gnarliest root and rocky filled climbs mountain biking and never broke one.
I had no pit bike because of the Paul brakes were still not working on the Eriksen. I order new springs and sleeves and the stoners out in Chico California send me sleeves but no springs. Well...I come back last night and the springs come in the mail. I should have brought the other bike home! I could have made it to the pit and atleast salvage 4th.
I bummed because I liked the course and felt good enough to catch Luca for 3rd. Also, if I am not racing, I am drinking beer and getting slower while everyone else is getting faster. Reminds of the scene from Apocolypse Now when Martin Sheen is waiting for his mission while Charlie is in the bush....getting stronger.
Next weekend....2 Wisconsin races. I like Carpentersville and would like to come back and do the Chicago one but I love Camrock. Hopefully, I will have a new chain, Holly will have her bike and she'll be feeling better next weekend.
Great start. Singletracky hill climb, Luca Lenzi puts his foot down and I get off my bike to run the rest....bye Scott and Brian. They opened a huge gap. Too bad I couldn't enjoy this course.....after 2.5, laps, my chain snapped. After the Jackson debacle, I may have taken too many links out. However, the chain was snapped mid cog. Truth be known....I have never broken a Sram chain but could not find them and used a Connex. Could have over stressed it yesterday on the hill....who knows. I've beaten the shit out of Sram chains going up the gnarliest root and rocky filled climbs mountain biking and never broke one.
I had no pit bike because of the Paul brakes were still not working on the Eriksen. I order new springs and sleeves and the stoners out in Chico California send me sleeves but no springs. Well...I come back last night and the springs come in the mail. I should have brought the other bike home! I could have made it to the pit and atleast salvage 4th.
I bummed because I liked the course and felt good enough to catch Luca for 3rd. Also, if I am not racing, I am drinking beer and getting slower while everyone else is getting faster. Reminds of the scene from Apocolypse Now when Martin Sheen is waiting for his mission while Charlie is in the bush....getting stronger.
Next weekend....2 Wisconsin races. I like Carpentersville and would like to come back and do the Chicago one but I love Camrock. Hopefully, I will have a new chain, Holly will have her bike and she'll be feeling better next weekend.
Grafton
I got 2nd, Holly 3rd. I think Mike Hemme took 6th. Alot of people in Ohio but there were some fast racers out today.
Fast course, 1 barrier section, easier cornering with some elevation changes and sand pit and a hill climb. Hitting the hill 11 times was tough but atleast there was a fast descent. Had sluggish legs first 3 laps like Madison but I had a good start falling in behind Brian Conant. He pulled really well first 3 laps and I had trouble staying with him but he let up a bit and I sat on. Legs responded lap 4. Noticed Brian's pace slowed a bit and but we had about 20 second gap and felt the chase group was closing so started taking pull through. I pretty much pulled the last 5 laps, which was a mistake on my part, and Brian nailed it on the hill and opened a gap. Wasn't like last week where my legs felt like unlimited amount of power but I hope I've opened them up for the Dan Ryan Woods race Sunday. It's hard to keep up with training, riding when I have to travel to that sewer called New York city every week.
Registered for Nationals over weekend. To put it bluntly, the website experience for registration sucked. Could not get into website at 12 EDT after already having it ready to refresh on my PC. Given the popularity of our sport, you would think the race promoter might want to invest in a dedicated service not shared in some 15 year old's basement. Luckily, USA Cycling has found a way to create some merit consideration with Nationals racing so they moved the Cat1 racers in front of the line, so I am sitting in 25th which should be 2nd line based on 13 riders each row.
Fast course, 1 barrier section, easier cornering with some elevation changes and sand pit and a hill climb. Hitting the hill 11 times was tough but atleast there was a fast descent. Had sluggish legs first 3 laps like Madison but I had a good start falling in behind Brian Conant. He pulled really well first 3 laps and I had trouble staying with him but he let up a bit and I sat on. Legs responded lap 4. Noticed Brian's pace slowed a bit and but we had about 20 second gap and felt the chase group was closing so started taking pull through. I pretty much pulled the last 5 laps, which was a mistake on my part, and Brian nailed it on the hill and opened a gap. Wasn't like last week where my legs felt like unlimited amount of power but I hope I've opened them up for the Dan Ryan Woods race Sunday. It's hard to keep up with training, riding when I have to travel to that sewer called New York city every week.
Registered for Nationals over weekend. To put it bluntly, the website experience for registration sucked. Could not get into website at 12 EDT after already having it ready to refresh on my PC. Given the popularity of our sport, you would think the race promoter might want to invest in a dedicated service not shared in some 15 year old's basement. Luckily, USA Cycling has found a way to create some merit consideration with Nationals racing so they moved the Cat1 racers in front of the line, so I am sitting in 25th which should be 2nd line based on 13 riders each row.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Lapham
I like the Wisconsin courses much better, they just have the terrain for it and have more liberties in terms of use of the venue. But man, they really love high barriers here, each set was sitting 4 inches above the ground.
We had a 2 mile loop, mostly double track dirt with off camber corners. The cornering sections were mowed long grass which made the ground super soft and kept losing traction with my front tire. There was a hill climb (rideable) that seems to be a part of every course.
At the USGP I felt like I could not get on top of my bike, whereas this week, when we got the lap marker for 5 more, felt like I could do 10. After James Lalonde lead out a nice start, I attacked on the 2nd lap to break things up a little bit and knew James would stay with it. I had trouble staying with James on the hillclimb and he was cornering better through the mowed corners. Did not have to redline my efforts through the double track and did not think attacking would shake him since he was riding really strong everywhere on the course. He got me at the end and then put in a nice effort to keep the gap open. We had atleast 2 minutes on the field.
Field seemed pretty thin due to the WORS race. With the usual suspects present, maybe would have had 5th or 6th. Just glad to have really good legs today.
Not sure what Holly was thinking. Spend all weekend drinking, start 45 seconds back at your own race, then ride into 3rd. Must be nice.
We had a 2 mile loop, mostly double track dirt with off camber corners. The cornering sections were mowed long grass which made the ground super soft and kept losing traction with my front tire. There was a hill climb (rideable) that seems to be a part of every course.
At the USGP I felt like I could not get on top of my bike, whereas this week, when we got the lap marker for 5 more, felt like I could do 10. After James Lalonde lead out a nice start, I attacked on the 2nd lap to break things up a little bit and knew James would stay with it. I had trouble staying with James on the hillclimb and he was cornering better through the mowed corners. Did not have to redline my efforts through the double track and did not think attacking would shake him since he was riding really strong everywhere on the course. He got me at the end and then put in a nice effort to keep the gap open. We had atleast 2 minutes on the field.
Field seemed pretty thin due to the WORS race. With the usual suspects present, maybe would have had 5th or 6th. Just glad to have really good legs today.
Not sure what Holly was thinking. Spend all weekend drinking, start 45 seconds back at your own race, then ride into 3rd. Must be nice.
Edge Wheels & Hollys bike!!
All coming together now.
Edge Wheels are in. The crappy cell phone pick in haste on Sunday morning leaves alot to be desired but they rode awesome. Lighter than the ROLS (1200 grams) and noticed improved acceleration and felt a bit smoother. I liked the higher profile 45 versus the 38. Still running the Challenge Grifo, 28 front and 30 rear seem to be best.
Holly's bike looks awesome. Aaron was going to use it at Interbike with another new design concept of his, the Paul specific machined post mounts. They're a little lighter and should provide some stiffer brake modulation. The paint...the pink will definitly stand out yet still wears the Courage race stripes. We hope to get it this weekend.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/couragebicycles/3975344831/
Edge Wheels are in. The crappy cell phone pick in haste on Sunday morning leaves alot to be desired but they rode awesome. Lighter than the ROLS (1200 grams) and noticed improved acceleration and felt a bit smoother. I liked the higher profile 45 versus the 38. Still running the Challenge Grifo, 28 front and 30 rear seem to be best.
Holly's bike looks awesome. Aaron was going to use it at Interbike with another new design concept of his, the Paul specific machined post mounts. They're a little lighter and should provide some stiffer brake modulation. The paint...the pink will definitly stand out yet still wears the Courage race stripes. We hope to get it this weekend.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/couragebicycles/3975344831/
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Time Warped
I guess being at my 20th High School reunion all weekend helped in my loss for time. I missed my start at Lapham. For some reason I thought I hade 15 minutes and it was really only 8. I went to do a lap before my race and as I came in, Kevin was yelling that we missed our start. The 50+ men just went off and I at first was going to just call it the day, until someone was helping me out of my jacket and Kevin was yelling go.
So after some really hard laps, I was able to catch and pass some people and came in 3rd. It was a great fun power course and I am sorry I put myself at such a disadvantage from the start since I was already dealing with no sleep and too much boozing the past 2 nights.
Kevin's race was awesome! He and James Lalonde killed it. They were stuck like glue the whole race! James ended getting Kevin on the climb at the end.
Great Day, rookie move!
*Holly
I guess being at my 20th High School reunion all weekend helped in my loss for time. I missed my start at Lapham. For some reason I thought I hade 15 minutes and it was really only 8. I went to do a lap before my race and as I came in, Kevin was yelling that we missed our start. The 50+ men just went off and I at first was going to just call it the day, until someone was helping me out of my jacket and Kevin was yelling go.
So after some really hard laps, I was able to catch and pass some people and came in 3rd. It was a great fun power course and I am sorry I put myself at such a disadvantage from the start since I was already dealing with no sleep and too much boozing the past 2 nights.
Kevin's race was awesome! He and James Lalonde killed it. They were stuck like glue the whole race! James ended getting Kevin on the climb at the end.
Great Day, rookie move!
*Holly
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Planet Bike Day 1 and 2- Elite Women's Race
photo by AmyElite Women's Field Start line above.
So Sat and Sun I was all signed up for the Elite women's race. I registered early and watched the confirmed rider's list get bigger and bigger with names I couldn't believe were going to come. Wow, I mean, I will be in a race(not racing against) Katie Compton, Allison Sydor, Alison Dunlap, Kelli Emmett, Sue Butler, Katrina Nash, Amy Dymbroski, and Devon. Crap, how cool yet scary. My goal was to not get lapped and race against the women that I knew were in my league.
Photo by Renee
Above Renee captures how freaked out I was at the start of Saturday's race, waiting for the gun to go! I had a good start until I rammed into Kristin's cassette. The person in front of Kristin didn't have a good start and caused a bit of a back up for like a split second. Off we went. Boy was it fast but I felt like I was right in there. Made a few mistakes, not being aggressive in blocking turns and not trusting my tires in certain areas where I needed to let it rip. I came in 19th but was pleased with my racing.
Day 2 came and again I was nervous and worried how my legs would react. Usually I do better on the second day of racing but this is the first double of the season so I wasn't too confident. The course changed a bit and had this fun 180 degree downhill to steep climb. The picture below shows a nice perspective of it.(Yeah, not digging the butt shot).
photo by Renee
photo by MikeI got a great start and stayed more aggressive. I kept on letting this girl in on the corners and then figured that was her tactic to scare me. When we came to the blacktop climb by the playground I decided to show her I could play those games too and gave her a bump as I went by. I was then able to gap her and another group on the steep climb. I rolled in 17th and again didn't get lapped by the leaders. It was a good race and my body responded well. Renee and John put on an amazing USGP race! They had 2 great courses and everything seemed to run effortlessly. We had a blast cheering for everyone and it was awesome to hear everyone cheering for us.
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