Yesterday was the Forest Park. I entered the Masters and CAT 3's races. I was a little skeptical that my legs wouldn't hold up since I moved a bunch of stuff into our new place over the weekend, but thought I couldn't miss an opportunity to gain some fitness.
The first race was the Masters. I think there was anywhere from 30-50 guys in it. The race was pretty smooth. I chased down a few breaks and tried to catch another group of two up the road. I got caught in no mans land and realized my legs didn't have overdrive so I gave up the chase and fell back into the group. About 2/3's through the race there was several guys up the road a bit. A couple guys jumped and another groups was slowly starting to form. At this point I found myself in front leading our the main group only to watch a few guys jump to catch the few up the road. I saw that Denny was one of the guys that jumped so I held off and just held my ground allowing the group to form. It was at that point the lead break formed. I was relegated to the second group. I think by the end of it we widdled our group down to about 10. One guy jumped before the last corner and I thought he would take our sprint. I was about third or fourth wheel and as we sprinted towards the finish we caught that guy and I ended up getting second out of the field sprint.
The CAT 3 race was right after the Masters. I got one cool down lap before lining up for the 3's. I changed water bottles, but had no gels. I forgot them all in the car. The goal for this race was to just have a respectable finish and get more racing in the legs. I would also try to help my teammates in any way I could having just done the masters race. The only problem was that we didn't communicate anything to anybody and had no idea who was doing what. We basically had no gameplan, well, at least that I knew about. We also had several new faces that I never raced with before. The Dogfish representation was by far the most talented I've ever seen in a CAT 3 race. We had a mix of everthing, sprinters, all-arounders, workers, you name it. This race had at least 50 guys in it. I was a nice sized field and not too shabby for an early season race. The race finally settled after about 20 minutes and I was able to get into a rythm. I started to position myself on the last few laps to get towards the front. I thought the best line would be to stay on the outside on the turn heading into the headwind. I seemed to be getting boxed in on the inside. Well, that was the wrong decision. On the last lap a couple guys bumped and they were swerving from left to right. Finally, the guy absolutely lost it and turned right in front of me. I had nothing to do, but T-bone him. Fortunately for me he broke my fall and I was unscathed, just a chip taken off the paint. I was back on my bike in a matter of seconds, but long enough that the group was out of sight. I checked my bike, jumped back on, and rode to the finish. That's when it got a little embarrassing. After I crossed the line I looked down to check my bike and when I looked up I nailed the curb and fell into the grass. I played it off as best I could, but still pretty embarrassing.
All in all it was a good day. Afterwards I drove to Kansas City and then straight into work.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
2011 season begins......Froze toes
It's been a while since I've updated this. Since December I've started working and commuting to Kansas City. I finished off the 2010 season with the Missouri State Cyclocross Championships where I got 2nd place in the 35+ Masters. I then took a month off the bike until early January where I hit the trainer pretty hard. With the winter being what it was this year I spent all my training indoors on the trainer, except for the bikejoring with the dogs. That hardly counts as training though.
I hadn't had good starts to the last two seasons, but mainly because I stopped after Gateway Cup and did little winter training. This year racing cross I hoped to take my season deeper and have a little less time off the bike. With that being said, Froze Toes was this past Sunday so I figured on getting a headstart on the season. It was also my first ride outdoors for 2011.
My racing age is 40 this year(that doesn't sound right!), but here in Missouri most masters fields start with 40+ for some reason. Anyways, Denny talked me into doing the Masters race. It's a smaller field with less riders then the CAT 3/4 field so I figured I'd get a better workout since this is what it's all about this early in the season. I had to park pretty far from the start so I had to go back to my car and when I rode back the Masters field was rolling out. I guess I timed it just perfect. I only knew it was the masters because I saw Denny in it. With only 20 or so guys I was able to make it to the front pretty easily. Klages from Bigshark started out at a decent pace for the first few miles before we mixed it up a bit alternating pulls. A few breaks tried to get away, but none ever did. I had just taken a pretty good pull and then an attack went, Denny was in it so I didn't chase. The everyone else started to chase it down and I had to jump on. That one really hurt, but I was able to latch on and recover for a bit. About midway through the CAT 3/4 field was smokin' up our rear so they neutralized us and let them pass. Upon our restart we finally got our shit together. We soon came to the rollers and I went to front and started to drill it the best I could. Then more breaks tried to go. Denny tried one, but no one went with him and he dangled out front for a mile or two. He was finally swallowed up and the another guy went. He got a pretty decent gap and then Sherkat from Mack went, then I followed. Nobody else went and before we knew it we had a sizeable gap. I actually looked back and thought with the three of us and all the rollers we had a chance to stay away. That is until we caught the CAT 3/4 field again and came to a crawl because we couldn't go around. They finally let us pass, but at that point we were caught and we were all together again. We took our small group to the finish and the sprint seemed to start from about a mile out for some reason. My legs were toast at that point and I was only able to muster up a 10th place. Denny was able to get sixth. I was satisfied with my performance in the race considering it was my first actual ride outdoors since early December.
I hadn't had good starts to the last two seasons, but mainly because I stopped after Gateway Cup and did little winter training. This year racing cross I hoped to take my season deeper and have a little less time off the bike. With that being said, Froze Toes was this past Sunday so I figured on getting a headstart on the season. It was also my first ride outdoors for 2011.
My racing age is 40 this year(that doesn't sound right!), but here in Missouri most masters fields start with 40+ for some reason. Anyways, Denny talked me into doing the Masters race. It's a smaller field with less riders then the CAT 3/4 field so I figured I'd get a better workout since this is what it's all about this early in the season. I had to park pretty far from the start so I had to go back to my car and when I rode back the Masters field was rolling out. I guess I timed it just perfect. I only knew it was the masters because I saw Denny in it. With only 20 or so guys I was able to make it to the front pretty easily. Klages from Bigshark started out at a decent pace for the first few miles before we mixed it up a bit alternating pulls. A few breaks tried to get away, but none ever did. I had just taken a pretty good pull and then an attack went, Denny was in it so I didn't chase. The everyone else started to chase it down and I had to jump on. That one really hurt, but I was able to latch on and recover for a bit. About midway through the CAT 3/4 field was smokin' up our rear so they neutralized us and let them pass. Upon our restart we finally got our shit together. We soon came to the rollers and I went to front and started to drill it the best I could. Then more breaks tried to go. Denny tried one, but no one went with him and he dangled out front for a mile or two. He was finally swallowed up and the another guy went. He got a pretty decent gap and then Sherkat from Mack went, then I followed. Nobody else went and before we knew it we had a sizeable gap. I actually looked back and thought with the three of us and all the rollers we had a chance to stay away. That is until we caught the CAT 3/4 field again and came to a crawl because we couldn't go around. They finally let us pass, but at that point we were caught and we were all together again. We took our small group to the finish and the sprint seemed to start from about a mile out for some reason. My legs were toast at that point and I was only able to muster up a 10th place. Denny was able to get sixth. I was satisfied with my performance in the race considering it was my first actual ride outdoors since early December.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
2010 race season comes to an end........
I officially finished off the 2010 bike season yesterday in Kansas City, which could also be my new hometown. I did two races on Saturday, the Masters 35+ in the morning, and the CAT 3 in the afternoon. We drove up the night before so we wouldn't have to drive up so early, plus it gave me a chance to check out the area since I may be moving there in January. I was able to get in a warmup lap and that was about it. This being my first year doing cross, I'd have to say this course had the most to offer. A little bit of everything. The Masters race was first off in the morning. It was so freaking cold out and wasn't quite sure what to wear, but made do with just some legwarmers and an extra jacket. Could've used some warmer gloves as my fingers started to become numb, but I managed. There were only about 20 guys in this race, and not too sure who was who as to know who to mark. Getting a good spot wasn't too bad since there were only about two and a half rows of guys. My only concern was that I was right next to the tape and I was in that half row. I didn't want to get crowded and boxed in. It didn't matter that I didn't know who to mark, teammate Denny set out first and I was able to make my way pretty easily to the first couple guys. Denny stayed out in front keeping the pace. I maintained about third of fourth place right behind Bowen. As the laps ticked off the other guys started to fade and I just maintained my own pace along with Bowen until he finally faded. I could see a guy in the background making up ground on me every lap and thought he'd catch me at that rate. I was right, at this point I was in second, but there was about a 15-20 second gap behind denny. I could see he had caught Laberta so I'm sure they worked together. This guy finally made the catch and I let him do some work for a lap or two so I could catch my breath. I then proceeded to take over. There was now another lap or two left and I was sure this guy was gonna stay on my wheel until the finish and then try to outsprint me. I thought about letting him take over for a while and use those same tactics. Well, I don't normally follow Denny's all or nothing tactics, but I did. I just kept my pace high and tried to shake him. He stayed right with me until the last 1/4 mile or so until I was finally able to get rid of him. I ended up 20-30 seconds down on Denny to take 2nd.
The CAT3 race was three hours later so denny. We waited around in the cold for the awards ceremony then drove to starbucks. We got back with enough time to get dressed and do it all over again. There was around 35 guys or so for this race. They had callups for this race and after it was all done myself and denny were in the last row or somewhere near there. This race was all about survival and hopefully not dfl. The race started and I found myself able to move up a little. On the first little technical off camber 90* turn someone stumpled and everything got jammed up. Denny and myself were able to ride right around everything. I passed up Denny at some point and then he passed me for the final time. There was a St. Louis group of three that formed, a Bigshark guy, Stu, from Off the front, and myself. We rode together for a while until I bit it at one of the barriers. My foot never came out of the pedal and plastered myself right into the barrier. It caused Stu to readjust and the Bigshark guy saw it so he saw the opportunity to get on the gas and he put a gap on us. Stu and myself rode the rest of the race together until the last lap when I started to get gassed, actually, I already was at the start of the race, and he put a small gap on me. I ended up 15th, Denny was 12th. The worst part of this race was at the midpoint and I heard over the loudspeaker, "six laps to go". It really mentally demoralized me, but I pushed on.
All in all it was a good, cold day of racing. I got second in the Masters 35+, and I didn't DFL the 3's race. A good way to cap off the season.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
I love cross!!!
Once again, it's been a while since I've updated this. A lot has gone on since then, pretty much since the Gateway Cup. The biggest thing thats happened to me is getting back together with my girlfriend. We were only broken up for two months, but it was the best thing to happen and now we're back together even better then ever. I also did my first cyclocross race and absolutely love it. They're pretty fun. My $200 frame is awesome matched up with my Campy Chorus group. My first cross race didn't go so well, but considering I was up all night and never slept I'd say I did alright. I've really taken to it and it suits my off road skills from mt. biking. I'm doing ok in the Pride CX series with two seconds and an eighth place, and an 11th place(in the lead group when my crankarm fell off). I also had a 12th place in a Chicago Cup race. My most recent race was last week in Bubba #7, The Seminary. I was able to manage 3rd in that race. Today is the last race in the Pride series over in Alton. It's a smaller series, but pretty fun nonethless and the fast guys are still the same guys doing the Bubbas. I was hoping to make the overall podium, but after my crankarm fell off during the race two weeks ago I went from 4th in that race all the way down to 11th. I'll have to pull off a great result today. I'd like to make more Bubbas, but the schedule just doesn't work with my work schedule since I'm up in Chicago every Sunday.
That brings me up to my next topic. I've really thought long and hard, but I've decided to transfer from Chicago to Kansas City. As it is now, I'm commuting every weekend between St. Louis and Chicago and that's almost a five hour drive, longer if I hit Chicago traffic. The commute to KC is only three and a half hours and should I decide to move there long term it's a hell of a lot cheaper to live there then Chicago. There's also other factors like traffic, congestion, and two more months of winter. Just as a comparison I'm paying $1200 for a two bedroom apartment and I can get the same size apartment in KC for under $700. I also don't see too much riding in the winter months up in Chicago.
That brings me up to my next topic. I've really thought long and hard, but I've decided to transfer from Chicago to Kansas City. As it is now, I'm commuting every weekend between St. Louis and Chicago and that's almost a five hour drive, longer if I hit Chicago traffic. The commute to KC is only three and a half hours and should I decide to move there long term it's a hell of a lot cheaper to live there then Chicago. There's also other factors like traffic, congestion, and two more months of winter. Just as a comparison I'm paying $1200 for a two bedroom apartment and I can get the same size apartment in KC for under $700. I also don't see too much riding in the winter months up in Chicago.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Gateway Cup weekend.....
It's finally over. Going into this weekend I didn't have really high hopes. I thought I'd give it a decent effort and see if I could break a top 20. I was feeling pretty decent last year and broke the top 30 a couple times, so a top 20 would be an improvement on that. The fields were as normal for this weekend, easily over 90 guys in each race.
Here's a rundown of each race:
Friday night, Lafayette Square: I had just driven into town and went straight to the race. I got in a good warmup and was feeling pretty good. As the gun sounded and we were off I could tell my legs were feeling a little fatigued. It was my long work week, meaning little sleep and no riding. I did, however, have the day off before to make up for it. I also road the trainer for about an hour which is all I did for the week. It was pretty uneventful for most of the race. With this race being held in the darkness it usually causes a few wrecks. I stayed around the middle of the field for the most part. With about seven minutes to go in the race I saw a guy in the distance trying to go it alone. I really didn't know what I was thinking, but I decided to join him. We had a nice gap for a lap before we were both gassed. I still found myself hovering middle of the pack when there was a crash just a few bikes in front of me. My butthole puckered as his bike came right into my path. Then as I was about to crash into it the thing just bounced straight into the air and I gave it a karate chop out of my way. Needless to say I lost contact with the rest of the group as I almost came to a complete stop. I was looking forward to seeding it on my video camera, but do you believe it ran out of juice on the last lap?
Saturday, Tour des Hills: This was another basic four corner crit. Not much to say other then stayed about mid pack. I made a futile prime attempt. Attacked from about mid pack and already had one guy that got a good jump on everyone. Myself and another guy tried to bridge, but he did a good job to hold us off. A few other guys tried to make the bridge, but they failed too. There was one crash right in front of me. A guy tried to cut into my teammate and he just shrugged him off and then that guy went down. Maintained that position until the finish where once again there were a couple crashes.
Sunday, Giro della Montagna: The gameplan was to go after a prime. I usually do pretty good on this course on the slight uphill where I usually have no problems gaining multiple positions. That went out the window after the first lap. I got a light massage after Saturdays race and my legs just felt like crap. I guess I got them too loosened up. Now I maintained a position in the middle of the field, but it hurt a little more then it should have. I was slowly making my way up towards the front when my front spoke popped off. I shut it down, went to the pit and got a replacement. Luckily it was just prior to the five to go. Now I had to make up all those positions again. I ended up finishing in the middle of the field. This race was certainly harder then I remember it.
Monday, Benton Park: I had about four hours of sleep. The parents pull out bed and basement finally getting to me. My legs were really feeling fatigued and my whole body was really just spent. This race really left a sour taste in my mouth. I really liked the course, but with all the turns I could never find a good spot to get a little recovery in. It was pretty much on the gas after each turn, and there were 10 turns. With as bad as I was feeling I was able to stay with the main pack for the most part. Then with what I thought was about 15-20 minutes to go I gave it one last effort to stay with the main group, but dug too deep. I decided to pack it in. At that point I wasn't even the last guy, there were still another 10 guys behind me at least. I thought with the way the whole weekend was going I'd had enough. I rode back to the start/finish are only to see like 6 minutes left. Had I known that I propably would've found the extra motivation to at least stay in the race. Oh well, I still got most of the race in, but a thought I should've just finished it. There were still a lot of riders behind me formed in small groups that I could've latched onto. That'll teach me to quit a race. Next time I'll make them toss me out of the race.
Overall I was happy with the weekend. While I didn't get my top 20 it was good racing. I think the fields were as strong if not stronger then they've ever been. I got some awesome video footage of each race that'll be posting soon. Now it's time to get that cross bike built and prepare for the upcoming race.
Here's a rundown of each race:
Friday night, Lafayette Square: I had just driven into town and went straight to the race. I got in a good warmup and was feeling pretty good. As the gun sounded and we were off I could tell my legs were feeling a little fatigued. It was my long work week, meaning little sleep and no riding. I did, however, have the day off before to make up for it. I also road the trainer for about an hour which is all I did for the week. It was pretty uneventful for most of the race. With this race being held in the darkness it usually causes a few wrecks. I stayed around the middle of the field for the most part. With about seven minutes to go in the race I saw a guy in the distance trying to go it alone. I really didn't know what I was thinking, but I decided to join him. We had a nice gap for a lap before we were both gassed. I still found myself hovering middle of the pack when there was a crash just a few bikes in front of me. My butthole puckered as his bike came right into my path. Then as I was about to crash into it the thing just bounced straight into the air and I gave it a karate chop out of my way. Needless to say I lost contact with the rest of the group as I almost came to a complete stop. I was looking forward to seeding it on my video camera, but do you believe it ran out of juice on the last lap?
Saturday, Tour des Hills: This was another basic four corner crit. Not much to say other then stayed about mid pack. I made a futile prime attempt. Attacked from about mid pack and already had one guy that got a good jump on everyone. Myself and another guy tried to bridge, but he did a good job to hold us off. A few other guys tried to make the bridge, but they failed too. There was one crash right in front of me. A guy tried to cut into my teammate and he just shrugged him off and then that guy went down. Maintained that position until the finish where once again there were a couple crashes.
Sunday, Giro della Montagna: The gameplan was to go after a prime. I usually do pretty good on this course on the slight uphill where I usually have no problems gaining multiple positions. That went out the window after the first lap. I got a light massage after Saturdays race and my legs just felt like crap. I guess I got them too loosened up. Now I maintained a position in the middle of the field, but it hurt a little more then it should have. I was slowly making my way up towards the front when my front spoke popped off. I shut it down, went to the pit and got a replacement. Luckily it was just prior to the five to go. Now I had to make up all those positions again. I ended up finishing in the middle of the field. This race was certainly harder then I remember it.
Monday, Benton Park: I had about four hours of sleep. The parents pull out bed and basement finally getting to me. My legs were really feeling fatigued and my whole body was really just spent. This race really left a sour taste in my mouth. I really liked the course, but with all the turns I could never find a good spot to get a little recovery in. It was pretty much on the gas after each turn, and there were 10 turns. With as bad as I was feeling I was able to stay with the main pack for the most part. Then with what I thought was about 15-20 minutes to go I gave it one last effort to stay with the main group, but dug too deep. I decided to pack it in. At that point I wasn't even the last guy, there were still another 10 guys behind me at least. I thought with the way the whole weekend was going I'd had enough. I rode back to the start/finish are only to see like 6 minutes left. Had I known that I propably would've found the extra motivation to at least stay in the race. Oh well, I still got most of the race in, but a thought I should've just finished it. There were still a lot of riders behind me formed in small groups that I could've latched onto. That'll teach me to quit a race. Next time I'll make them toss me out of the race.
Overall I was happy with the weekend. While I didn't get my top 20 it was good racing. I think the fields were as strong if not stronger then they've ever been. I got some awesome video footage of each race that'll be posting soon. Now it's time to get that cross bike built and prepare for the upcoming race.
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