Cyclocross

So cyclocross…

Last Saturday was my first cyclocross race in Jackson Park located on the south side of the city just past the field museum via lake shore drive.

This race is the first of a series called the Chicago Cyclocross Cup that runs from September thru I believe January? The points and structure of the series is very similar to the Illinois cup that runs throughout the road racing season. I have to honest though, it seems like this series is taken a little more seriously than the ICA cup.

All of you Chicagoland residents know what a pitiful and depressing day last Sunday was, it was nothing but overcast skies and intermittent showers all day long. While Corie and I were driving into the city from Naperville I was thinking to myself “I wonder how many people will actually show up in this weather”. It didn’t take long after arriving at the park to realize my thoughts were those of a true roadie that had no idea what the CX culture was like. Yes, I had heard of the European like hooligans, costumes, and alcoholic post-race recovery beverages, but I had no idea how fun the environment was! On a day that would have cut road races fields in half and sent all 5 spectators indoors this place was jamming! All I can say is I truly enjoyed being there and getting to race almost seemed like an afterthought, almost.

Now the race…

As I said it was obvious that the weather didn’t stop anyone from pining on a number so I was pretty confident that the 100 riders pre-registered for this race were here and ready to ride. Due to the size of the field I knew that starting position would be important so I made sure to be at the staging area 20 plus minutes or so before the start of the race.

Just a quick note for those of you who don’t shave their legs for competitive reasons, Cyclocross is the red headed step child of road racing and mountain bike cross country racing. Meaning that you take a slightly modified road bike and race it around an off road fully flagged course while navigating obstacles such as sharp S-curves, off camber up/down hills, barriers, (forcing you to jump off the bike and then quickly back on all the while maintaining forward momentum (hopefully))sand pits, low trees, and much much more. This course also included a turn that in the slick conditions would gracefully deposit you in a pond should you not handle your bike properly.

Back to the racing, after the aggressive back and forth for starting position I was second row dead center for the start. After the whistle blew I knew it would be a crazy dash for the first turn but I had no idea just how nuts it would really be! Let’s just say next time the whistle blows its game on punks!

After witnessing the mayhem of the start I was able to settle into a bit of a groove navigating the obstacles and riding fast enough not to get passed (much) but not so fast as to eat it on every turn. It seemed like the couple times someone would try and pass me it would be headed into a corner and seconds later I would be running over their dumb A$$ as they thrashed about on the ground after dumping their bike. In fairness I wasn’t exactly making up ground on the riders in front of me but I certainly wasn’t falling behind.

I finished the short 35min race in 38^th place, not too bad considering the conditions and my novice but certainly not satisfying. I am looking forward to racing in more controllable conditions and hopefully placing higher in the field but I absolutely enjoyed every minute of my new found down and dirty method of getting my competitive “rocks” off.

I will be in London, Paris, and Brussels next week for work so keep an eye out for some quick post and fun pictures.

That’s all for now…

Gateway Cup Race Report

The Gateway Cup is a 4 day race series held over Labor Day Weekend in St. Louis MO and as I learned firsthand, a highly contended and hugely attended series.

I made the 4hr drive down to St. Louis on Friday afternoon for the first race of the series held on the streets surrounding Lafayette Park. Races were already underway when I arrived 3 hours early for my race slotted at 7:15pm, now you may be thinking to yourself “hmm… 7:30pm this time of year, isn’t it pretty dark?” well… YES it’s very dark!

These types of races are commonly referred to as twilight races and usually take place middle of summer in the late afternoon/evening sunshine, but for twilight races held late in the season, the higher category elite races normally held last get to race in the DARK.  Don’t get me wrong, darkness falling on the final few races of the night is NOT an oversight by the planning committee nor is it a surprise to any returning riders or the community of fans that show up in the thousands to line the streets with glow sticks, light sabers, and beer.

I had read in the race description that the latter categories race “under the lights” to me meaning that the entire course would be sufficiently illuminated to facilitate a large peloton at high speeds. Well… half of that was right…the half about a large peloton at high speeds, not the part about being sufficiently illuminated. 

 Here is a clip of the race...

Well enough about the conditions and on to the race. As the whistle blew the last remaining light had disappeared off the horizon and the 80+ rider peloton tore off down the course. Knowing that my fitness has suffered over the past two months, and my novice of racing in a 80+ rider group at NIGHT I decided to stay tucked away in the upper third of the group thinking to myself I would stay out of the wind and still be able to keep tabs on the front of the group.

The first couple laps were nail biting and fun all at the same time, once I figured out that the majority of the group knew what they were doing and had the same priority of self-preservation I felt more comfortable staying tight in the group and rounding the corners at 27mph+.

The most interesting challenge of racing at night with inconsistent lighting (besides the obvious) is the ever changing and deceptive shadows. Over the past year I have learned to keep my peripheral vision locked onto my flanks in an attempt to predict moves coming from behind me but during this race I had to do my best at ignoring my peripheral vision and focus only on what was in front of me.

The rest of the race and the following day’s race are pretty anti-climactic, I finished upper half in both races and left empty handed. I’m glad I made the drive down and pinned the numbers on but it’s a hard pill to swallow when you realize that you just don’t have the legs or the lungs to get yourself into position for a good finish.  My success during the first ¾ of the season came from having the fitness to not only get myself into position but also dig deep when it counted in the race to the line. No excuses should or will be made just a lesson learned for next year.  

Next up… ICA Cup review and my first Cyclocross Race.       

Life and Racing Updates

It’s been a while since my last entry and a lot has happened in August so I have tried to summarize for you below.  

As many of you know last October I was given the privilege to take part in a startup company located in Plainfield. I specifically say “take part in” and not “given a position” because I was the second person to come on board and the last thing we had time and money for was to define and hold to job descriptions. One minute I would be talking to a VP of a large company and the next I’m emptying a container of product using a forklift. Needless to say the variety and challenge were great but we knew it would be a long hard road ahead.  

What lead me to leave my well-paying, highly stressful, and slowly marriage killing previous job was to help build something from the ground up and for an owner who believed in taking 80% of this companies’ profits and donating them to ministry.    

To make a long story short 10 months later God has closed the doors of this company, but God is faithful and he never closes a door without opening another first.  When the owner of Kingdom LED announced to me that he would be closing the company he also told me that he had created a new position at his manufacturing company down the road with me in mind.

So once again a guy who painstakingly analyzes every decision in his life will once again in a split second jump head first into a position and a company that I know little about but am confident this is the right move.    

So… what am I doing now? Well my new company is called Sennco Solutions, started about 10 years ago in a basement and has grown to a 10+ million dollar a year retail security manufacture. By retail security I mean the devices that keep display electronics and high theft items in stores from growing legs and walking out the door.

I specifically was brought on board to manage Sennco’s international relationships. I will be taking over the 3 existing distributor relationships in the UK, Canada, and Mexico and in the next 6-12 months finding and establishing distributors in South America, Asia, and Australia.  What exactly this position is going to look like day to day no one knows but I am ok with that. What I do know is that I am flattered to have been given this responsibility and am confident it will be a fulfilling and beneficial career step for both Corie and me.

So that’s the scoop on the work front, now for the two wheeled stuff!

To say the last month on the bike has been hard would be an understatement! Since a crash last month in a race where I was anticipating a great result that would have both awarded my final upgrade points needed for my CAT2 license and clinch the Illinois Cycling Cup Championship I have been a disaster.

Now don’t get me wrong, when you race your bike you will crash it’s just part of the sport. What was most damaging about the crash was not the missing skin or damaged bike parts but the implosion of my well thought out plan for the rest of the season.

Since I don’t get to race 30+ races a season the races I do attend need to count and now that time is running out on the season I am finding myself under the gun to perform and the frustration of not is really getting to me as a competitor.   

If there is a guaranteed way to not win a bike race it’s to overthink it and try too hard. Many would assume I’m racing scared for fear of crashing, this is not the case but what I am doing is just as bad! I am racing under personally inflicted mental pressure that is hurting my confidence and ability to make smart decisions in a race.  

Fortunately this mental pit I’m in did not cost me or my team the ICA Cup Championship.  However, I still need one last result to make my upgrade possible this season, and this Friday and Saturday is where I plan on making it happen.

I know this mental barrier is just another obstacle in my pursuit of being a decent bike racer and it’s a challenge I welcome because I know the end result will reveal a stronger wiser competitor.

Here we go…

Coming soon… ICA CUP review and this weekend’s Gateway Cup Race Reports...        

Tour of Elk Grove and ABR State Road Race Recap:

In competitive cycling races rarely go according to plan, and perhaps it’s the unpredictably that makes it so fun and incredibly satisfying when all the cards fall perfectly in place (or at least most of them).

Tour of Elk Grove Crit Course

TOEG:

The Tour of Elk Grove is a National Racing Calendar event and is a pretty big deal for both men’s and women’s domestic pro teams. This means that all of us armatures get to enjoy the well-organized, well-supported, and largely attended race in our own backyard complete with Jumbo-Tron!  

My CAT 3 race was slotted for an 11am start including 52 riders and some strong team presences. Our race was 60 min long and would take us around the 1.2 mile course more times than I can count. The course included a long dog leg right finishing straight, a notable 180 degree turn #1 and a touchy (thanks to a few slick manholes covers) 90 degree turn #2. The surface was still drying after the morning thunderstorms but by half way through the race I felt comfortable taking most the corners at full tilt.   

I knew this race would be one of positioning and accelerations, but I had not previously raced this course so I didn’t really know how true that would be until the whistle blew, well I was right! Since the surface was still wet at the start I reverted to my “fight for the front” strategy to one, hopefully stay out of any crashes and two, keep my eyes on any team tactics that I could potentially join in on.    

The usual attacks went off the front, a couple of which by riders I know are strong and enticed me and a couple others to pull them back. I couldn’t help but notice that I was usually the only sprinter at the front of the race surrounded by team work horses and break away artist, but I didn’t really have a choice and continued to fight for position. I can’t say that I was on the rivet the entire race but I surely wasn’t comfortable.   

Headed into the bell lap I knew my positioning at the 180 turn would be very important, what I did not anticipate was the importance of my positioning headed into turn #2. I was sitting tight in about 5th wheel half way down the straight approaching turn #2 when the pace let off and before I knew it I was surrounded on both sides and squeezed back, coming out of turn #2 I was now 20 plus riders back.

Had a really thought about the final lap I should have known that this corner would be crucial to a good position going into the finish but a mental lapse struck again and I paid for it. In the second half of the bell lap I tried to claw my way back up but by then the lead outs were at full speed and there was no catching them. I was placed half way down the results page and right next to many of the guys who I had been racing with at the front most of the race. 

It’s not impossible to be a strong solo rider and do well, I know a couple of guys that do and consistently place well, but you are not afforded any lapse in aggressiveness or judgment without paying dearly for it.     

ABR State RR Course

 ABR Road Race:

This race was organized very last min and was a replacement for the previously scheduled and canceled ABR State road race earlier in the year. 

For those of you not familiar with ABR, it’s a grassroots racing league that takes a more relaxed and laid back approach to racing. This is not to say that these events are not great, they are often highly contested and lots of fun, but sometimes require a little flexibility and patience.

My race was a CAT 1,2,3,4 open race, meaning mixed ability and age levels. Our race was the longest of the day at 72 miles equaling 4 laps on the 18 mile course. I had one teammate in toe who is a very strong rider and one of the most unselfish racers I know. In staging I immediately noticed a couple heavy hitters among the CAT 1-2 guys most notably Mark Swartzendruber  and teammate, whom I know from talking to other riders have a wicked one two punch.

In the spirit of ABR I was intent on trying a more relaxed and unconventional approach to this race. Don’t get me wrong I would never enter a race that I didn’t want to win or had a specific team goal to achieve but if I was going to win today it would be because of a new and risky strategy and not my usual and often boring sprinters gamelan.     

The race rolled off with about 25 riders or so, under overcast skies and light to moderate winds. The first lap was pretty tame mostly due to the wrong turn our pace car made and an early group approved nature break.

At this point my eyes were on the 4 CAT 1-2 riders and especially on Mark and his teammate. I know enough about Mark to know he is a very accomplished and racer with a specialty in solo breakaways aka time trials. So it was just a matter of time before the attacks started. With the large majority of the 3’s hiding in the back it was not hard to hold position or to move about the group freely. Mark and his team mate both took some fliers off the front to test the field and their eagerness to chase and each time either I or my teammate Ralph jumped on quickly and willing to work but were brought back within moments to the main group. It seemed like this group was only willing to work if it absolutely had too!

Heading into the 3^rd lap I was feeling spontaneous and decided to go off the front to test my legs and see how vigorously I would be chased.  I collected at most a 10 second gap until the 3’s realized that the 1-2’s had no interest in chasing me and that they would have to stick their nose in the wind to pull me back. I was keeping an eye on my proximity to the group and the gap seemed to be coming down at a rate that I did not want to outrun and I decided to sit up and take a drink and gel before I was caught.  

Going into the bell lap Mark went off the front again this time getting a pretty good gap when I was 5 or so wheels back. When no one jumped to chase I figured I would let the gap open and then hopefully bridge up to him solo since attacking together was not working. I casually made my way up to the front and jumped off the front in pursuit.  During my chase I passed a couple other tower riders in their master’s race and gave them a loud shout on my way bye.

I was so focused on getting up to Marks wheel that I failed to realize I was dragging the entire group along with me. When I finally reached Mark in the last corner he was less than pleased to see that I had brought the whole party with me. He quickly and very politely pointed out to me that I had nothing to gain in chasing him since we were technically not racing against each other, and all I was doing was hauling his competition back up to him on my effort.  He then mentioned I would be wise to stay on his partners wheel in the next turn headed into the cross wind. 

Just like clockwork his teammate attacked and I was right on his wheel along with another wheel sucker whom I am not too fond of, I came around full speed for my pull and once I was cross eyed and needing a short break I had to practically grab rider “X” by the handle bars and pull him up front. We stayed away for a few min but I later heard that the group had to really dig deep to pull this one back. Just as we were coming back together I learned step #2 of the Mark S. one two punch. Mark shot off the front not to be seen again until the last turn where he soloed across the finish for the CAT 1-2 win.

It was now up to the 3’s to sort out the winner, I was leading into the last turn when Ralph came

around me and started to lead out the group with me 2^nd wheel. I knew my legs were shot and the best chance I had was for a sit down sprint and hope for the best. I know we started the lead out to far out but when I did come around it wasn’t with much acceleration and with 20 yards left to the line I was swallowed up and finished mid pack, again. However, this time I felt great, I felt like I had actually raced my bike and enjoyed doing it.  

If you are an experienced racer and reading this you’re probably thinking to yourself “um yeah, it’s no secret just go out and be aggressive mix things up and if you work hard enough it will pay off!” but coming from a rookie racer who has been so wrapped up in upgrades and high finishes for points I have forgotten that racing is about taking risks followed by either epic success or epic fails, not just playing it safe and hoping for the best.

This isn’t to say that I’ll never sit in during a race and smoke the field in a sprint but it’s certainly not how I want to be known as a racer.               

 
Next Up Winfield’s ABR P 1/2/3 main event on Sunday afternoon!