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The O’Fallon Grand Prix No-Drop Group Ride

“Enough of this Sunday stroll. Let’s hurt a little.”

-Barry The Cannibal Muzzin (American Flyers)

Saturday was the Illinois state championship cycling road race. A decent group of riders from my Wild Card Cycling team headed down to O’Fallon for the race. The hot weather and rolling hills should have provided a very challenging race. I wanted to do what I could to help my teammates out before dropping off the pace by the end.

We had five Wild Cards from Champaign in the cat 4 race (Jason, Tom, Luke, Scott, and me), along with one Wild Card from St. Louis (Mike). The races started a bit late, at which point the weather was already becoming a bit unbearable. The temperature was in the low 90’s and the humidity was high. Fortunately the skies were still overcast at this point, though the sun would come out later.

Mark and Nick rode the cat 3 race

I made a point to start near the front, after starting too far back in my last three races. The speed was moderately easy the first part of the race. Nobody pushed the pace, nobody broke away. The course had an awful lot of turns (I’m not sure there was more than one mile straight the entire 22.5 mile loop), which caused some accordion effect at the back of the group. Later in the first loop a few people tried to push the pace (mostly my teammate Luke) but nothing stuck. At one point I almost shouted out “Enough of this Sunday stroll. Let’s hurt a little.” but I didn’t think anyone would get the American Flyers reference.

Scott put in a pretty good attack at the start of the second and final loop. I thought this would finally heat up the race, but it was not to be. The other teams chased him down and sat on his wheel the same as they had been doing to Luke the whole race. Scott and Luke alternated near the front trying to push the pace, but nobody else and any interest in working… but they also had no interest in letting Luke or Scott go.

Luke and Scott both spent a lot of time at the front when nobody wanted to work with them

Mid-way through the second lap Jason got a flat tire. He was probably our best chance for a win. The hills hadn’t made as much of a difference in the race as I had hoped. First, they were all big ring climbs, not steep enough or long enough. Second, with narrow roads and slow riders in front, we climbed… the… hills… so… slow… and then slowed down even more once we reached the top. I don’t think anyone dropped off the back.

At one point I passed a few guys on the right and, without trying, somehow ended up off the front of the slow-moving group. Whatever. Let’s push the pace a little. I ramped it up to 25-26 mph and pulled for a mile or so to try to string the group out a little. I flicked my elbow for the next guy to pull through. Nothing. I pulled a little longer. Nothing. I slowed down. They slowed down with me. I slowed down more. They slowed down more. I stopped pedaling. Nobody passed me. By the time I was coasting at 16 mph someone eventually reluctantly passed me and I dropped back in a few places.

Art and Shea (not pictured) rode the cat 5 race

The last 10 miles of the race were 10 of the most frustrating miles I’ve ever ridden. We were going 16-17 mph. The whole group was still together. The group was all bunched up and nobody had any room to move up. I don’t know who the hell was blocking the entire race or what the hell they were thinking, but I was pissed. 2000 meters to go, 18 mph. 1000 meters to go, under 20 mph. The last hill should have split the group, but again we took it incredibly slowly. I had no room to move. I had to stop pedaling several times to avoid running into slower riders.

800 meters from the finish line the race started. This final stretch was closed to traffic and the road was five lanes wide. 40 relatively fresh riders now decided to sprint to the finish. It was pandemonium. People were weaving all over the place. 500 meters from the finish I sat up and soft pedaled. I had no interest in dying for some shitty race.

We waited three hours (for a chip-timed bike race!) for the results to be posted, only to find out Luke & Tom (and about 10 other people) had been disqualified for crossing over the centerline of the road at some point during the race. Now, I’m sure they did cross over the center line. I certainly did a few times. Everyone in the race did a few times. The DQed riders can’t really complain that they didn’t break the rules, they did. I’m completely baffled at how a dozen riders were DQed and the many, may others who broke the same rule weren’t DQed.

So, the good news is I had a decent training ride and got a chance to improve my group riding skills. I handled the heat surprisingly well. The hills were a non-issue despite no hill training. The bad news is that the race was frustratingly slow. I got caught in the middle of a 40 person bunch sprint, which was scary as hell. Jason got a flat. Luke & Tom got DQed. I’m not upset that I didn’t win–I should have had no chance to win. I was far from the best rider in that race. I shouldn’t even have finished with the lead pack. The race should have been a lot harder. More riders should have been dropped. That wasn’t really even a race. It was more of a group ride that ended with a sprint finish.

May 2010 Stats

Photo of the Day

Still going.

Running

After the Illinois Marathon at the beginning of the month I took a week off, then I took another week very easy. Half way through the month I picked up my training again and I feel that I am getting back into shape pretty well. I had a decent run at my first Buffalo Trace trail race. Then I ran pretty well at the Memorial Day 5K at the end of the month. Of the seven times I ran in May, three were races.

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	109.05 Mile	10	10.905 Mile
February	76.18 Mile	8	9.5225 Mile
March	84.86 Mile	10	8.486 Mile
April	83.15 Mile	9	9.23889 Mile
May	57.95 Mile	7	8.27857 Mile
Total	411.19 Mile	44	9.34523 Mile

Cycling

Cycling also took a bit of a back seat while I recovered from the marathon. Since then I’ve stepped up the quantity and quality of training and I definitely feel like I’m starting to get into decent shape on the back after a very slow start to the season. I did the two local criteriums, as well as a practice time trial on my new bike… all with slightly disappointing results. But I’m getting there.

May 2010 by bike

Bike	Distance	# Rides	Avg per Ride
Bianchi	52.6 Mile	9	5.84444 Mile
Big Red	14.5 Mile	2	7.25 Mile
Lynskey	15.85 Mile	1	15.85 Mile
Pocket Rocket	69.85 Mile	2	34.925 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird	213.09 Mile	6	35.515 Mile
Total	365.89 Mile	20	18.2945 Mile

January – May 2010 by bike

Bike	Distance	# Rides	Avg per Ride
Bianchi	225.4 Mile	30	7.51333 Mile
Big Red	14.5 Mile	2	7.25 Mile
El Fuego	40.9 Mile	11	3.71818 Mile
Lynskey	15.85 Mile	1	15.85 Mile
Pocket Rocket	101.12 Mile	4	25.28 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird	1102.85 Mile	35	31.51 Mile
Total	1500.62 Mile	83	18.0798 Mile

Cycling 2010 by month

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	166.25 Mile	20	8.3125 Mile
February	140.67 Mile	12	11.7225 Mile
March	508.83 Mile	18	28.2683 Mile
April	318.98 Mile	13	24.5369 Mile
May	365.89 Mile	20	18.2945 Mile
Total	1500.62 Mile	83	18.0798 Mile

Walking

I think all the walking really helped me recover from the marathon. Probably half of this was to and from work. The other half was pushing Will around town in the stroller.

Month	Distance	# Workouts	Avg per Workout
January	28.66 Mile	9	3.18444 Mile
February	51.45 Mile	16	3.21563 Mile
March	34.7 Mile	10	3.47 Mile
April	44.35 Mile	11	4.03182 Mile
May	48.75 Mile	14	3.48214 Mile
Total	207.91 Mile	60	3.46517 Mile

Rage

I’ve witnessed a number of crashes and other incidents while bicycling: bikes running into other bikes (usually on accident, but not aways), cars running into bikes on accident. I’ve never seen a car intentionally hit a bicycle. Until last Wednesday. As far as I know the victims suffered only minor injuries and property damage.

A group of around 20 riders was traveling west on Champaign county road 1100N, ½ mile East of county highway 6 (Seymour slab). I had just rotated to the back of the group when a short while later I heard a car horn honking several times in rapid succession. There was already enough room for the car to pass, but as is customary in this situation (even if the driver is an asshole), I was preparing to hug the shoulder to provide the driver an excessively wide berth. I don’t like to take chances.

The driver had different plans. Just a very brief moment after I first heard the honking (and I was at the back of the group, so I heard it before anyone else) the driver was already up along side of the rider next to me, passing within maybe a foot or two. This scared the hell out of me. As the driver continued passing the group he (I’m assuming it was a he, I’d like to think women aren’t this stupid) moved closer and closer to each rider. As the car moved up I could see a good four feet of pavement and at least one or two more feet of solid grass shoulder to the left of the car. It was absolutely, unmistakably clear this was no accident. This was intentional.

I obviously don’t know whether the driver intended to hit anyone or just to drive really close to teach us a lesson for daring to travel on his road, but after passing within inches of a few people he finally bumped one (who managed to stay upright), then struck the next one pretty hard knocking him halfway across the road into the other riders. Fortunately, they all also managed to stay upright. Then, as would be expected from any individual this classy, he sped off, leaving in his wake at least three crimes, 20 witnesses, and one photograph which clearly shows his car and license plate number. What a fucking idiot.

Taking a look at Illinois state Rules of the Road we can see the following:

On most roadways, bicyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as other roadway users. Bicyclists are prohibited on limited-access highways, expressways and certain other marked roadways.

Following are laws and safety tips you should know:

Drivers must yield the right-of-way to a bicyclist just as they would to another vehicle.

When passing a bicyclist do so slowly and leave at least three feet of passing space.

And:

Offenses for which your driver’s license may be revoked include, but are not limited to:

Felony Offense – A vehicle was used while committing a serious crime.

Leaving the Scene – Leaving the scene of a crash that killed or injured someone (minimum three-year revocation).

Offenses for which your driver’s license may be suspended include, but are not limited to:

Traffic Crashes – Refusal or neglect to report a traffic crash.

As of now the incident has been reported to the police and the police have identified the owner of the vehicle. Hopefully, this reckless driver can be brought to justice in the near future.

Stay safe out there.

TT

I have an old time trial bike, but it’s showing it’s age… and more importantly it uses a non-standard (650c) wheel size. I wanted to get a nice(r) set of wheels for both road races and time trials/triathlons so last October (on my birthday) I purchased a new frame, planning to build the bike up over the winter. Winter came and went. Spring came and went. I finally got around to ordering the parts last week. I wanted to do my first Seymour TT of the year on Tuesday of this week, so Monday night I spent five hours assembling the bike. I was missing a few parts, so I had to scavenge some from two other bikes… but I made it work.

16 pounds of titanium, carbon, & aluminum

The time trial was my first actual ride on the bike, which may not have been the best idea. I did figure out pretty quickly what adjustments I still need to make. My time was actually the slowest I’ve done for the course by a couple seconds. I haven’t done this time trial in nearly two years. Last year I was injured and I’ve trained very little on the bike since Will was born. I’m rapidly gaining fitness on the bike at the moment, so I think by the end of the summer I’ll have a new best time.

Urbana Grand Prix

The weekend of racing concluded on Sunday with the Urbana Grand Prix, another criterium, this time in downtown Urbana. The course was shorter than Saturday’s course and it was actually modified at the last minute to include a 180˚ turn (the course was shaped like the letter “b”). This would be tricky to navigate.

Mark rounds the 180˚ turn in the cat 3 race

Slow motion video of 180˚ turn in cat 3 race

Another situation to deal with was the heat. It was unseasonably hot at 80˚ on Saturday, while on Sunday it was even hotter at 90˚. With two hard races in my legs the day before, this race had disaster written all over it.

Chad

Alexei & Luke

Fortunately, I had a few things in my favor. Despite the previous day’s efforts I felt somewhat fresh. Also, Sunday’s race was cat 4 instead of cat 3-4 like the previous day. I would not be up against many of the fastest riders from yesterday’s race. Also the field was smaller, so it wouldn’t be quite so crowded in the corners.

Despite my best effort to start a little farther up the field I ended up about 3/4 of the way back at the first turn and I gradually drifted backward from there. I wasn’t off the back yet, but I was dangling there pretty quickly. The first four turns each loop went fairly well, but the 180˚ was a killer. The group accelerated really hard out of that turn, and at the back this effort was even further exaggerated for me. I would slip off the back, chase for 2/3 lap, catch back on just before the 180˚, the slip of the back again.

I wasted a lot of energy this way, but I hadn’t completely popped yet. A dozen or so short laps into the race a guy crashed in front of me in the 180˚, forcing me to swing wide and nearly come to a stop. At that point I had no chance of catching back up, but I hammered on. I chased solo for a few laps, then I started working with another rider, then another. We would catch up to another dropped rider around the time someone from my group would slip off the back. I spent the rest of the race in a pack of 2-5 riders. I think I was taking longer pulls than the others, but I didn’t really mind. At that point I was in it for the workout and the race experience. I wasn’t going to finish high up in the standings.

Rob chasing alone

Rob chasing with Erik

Chase group. It’s kind of funny how my face never changes.

Before too long we got lapped by the field. Not too long after that we got lapped a second time by the lead breakaway of two riders, including my teammate Jason (2nd in the cat 4-5 race the previous day). He looked very strong. He pulled away from the other guy and went off on his own. It was the last lap before the rest of the field lapped us the second time, apparently the other Wild Card riders did a good job at disrupting the chase, bettering Jason’s chance of staying away. He won by a sizable margin. Three other Wild Card’s finished 4, 6, & 7. I ended up 21. Of the 10 or so criteriums I’ve raced, I only managed to finish with the lead group once. This type of racing does not suit me… but I feel a lot better about it now than I did one week ago.

Jason finished 1st in the cat 4 race

Later in the day was the cat 3 race, featuring Wild Cards Mark & Nick. Both were active in breakaways early on, but eventually fell off the pace and both dropped out.

Mark

Nick

The heat was brutal

The cat 3 race had a photo finish, which I captured with the high speed camera. I guess this wasn’t a great angle because I still can’t tell who won. The judges awarded the victory to the rider nearest to my camera (in the orange).

Thanks to Melissa for the photos of the cat 4 race.

Tour de Champaign

Following the Buffalo Trace trail race on Saturday morning I took Will for a three mile walk in the hot sun (hot for me, he was covered) to get a smoothie and some lunch. The smoothie really hit the spot. After we got back home I packed up my camera gear and headed over to the Tour de Champaign, the first of two days of bicycle racing in town last weekend. I had already pre-registered for the Sunday race. I didn’t plan to race on Saturday because of my running race that morning. Plans change.

After getting there and watching my friends in the cat 4-5 race I just had to do it. I borrowed some money, registered for the later cat 3-4 race, rode home on my commuter bike, changed clothes, swapped the wheels on my race bike (which also involved swapping the cassette and brake pads), rode back to the race, pinned on my race number (thanks Karl), handed my wallet and phone to Melissa (who had since walked over to the race), and went straight to the starting line with just a few moments to spare. It was hectic–probably not the best way to prepare for a race… particularly my second race of the day… in this heat… with this many good riders (I’m a cat 4, but this was my first race against cat 3 riders)… after walking three miles… I’m getting good at making excuses.

Needless to say, I didn’t have a stellar performance. I stayed with the main pack for a few laps, but the brutal accelerations wreaked havoc on my tired legs. I popped off the back and began chasing. Eventually I started working with my teammate Scott who was in the same position. Frankly this was probably better for us as we both have a lot more experience with time trial racing than with criterium racing. We worked hard together, though Scott was a little stronger than I was. After 20 minutes or so the main pack lapped us, at which point we stopped. It was too hot and I was too exhausted to keep racing that far behind.

DNF

It was fun anyway, and good preparation for Sunday’s race. I haven’t raced a criterium in almost two years. I was definitely not accustomed to the fast cornering in the pack and the accelerations out of every corner. So, if nothing else, it was good practice.

Alexei in a breakaway in the cat 4-5 race

Art in the cat 4-5 race

Shea in the cat 4-5 race

Luke finished 3rd in the cat 4-5 race

Jonathan (Olympic silver medalist speed skater!) in the cat 4-5 race

Jason finished 2nd in the cat 4-5 race

Cham-Pain County TT

This morning was the Cham-Pain County 40km Time Trial bike race organized by Wild Card Cycling. It would have been really great to participate, but I’m still not 100% recovered from the marathon and I’d probably just injure myself if I tried. I may be up to racing again by next weekend… we’ll see.

Anyway, I showed up to see if I could help out and to take some photos. I ended up taking around 500. Whoops. I normally don’t like to dump every photo I take somewhere online (I prefer to just post the best ones) but this was simply too many to sort through in any reasonable amount of time. I also figured the racers would like to see all the photos I took of them rather than my favorite one.

Here’s a few of my Wild Card teammates.