Tour de Champaign/Urbana

Meg and I had planned a fun weekend away to go race the Tour de C/U. From the looks of it it seemed like it was going to be a pretty nice weekend when it was all done. The weekend though started at the Lab Rabbit first anniversary party on Friday night, a good pre-race weekend. The next morning we picked up a car I-Go gave us to use for the weekend and made are way down to Champaign. We got to the course with a lot of time to spare, which allowed us to have a relaxing lunch and stay pretty calm before the race.
I prerode the course a few times and thought that this would be a pretty fun race. Overall it was rectangle, with a small hill exiting the 2nd and 3rd turns. The turns were nice enough that you could pedal though them and they had a lot of lines. Unfortuntly this would soon be forgotten by a lot of racers. The course was less technical then the 8 turner we thought we were going to have the next day, but it would still suit a cooperative break away.

After the kids did a lap it was time for the 5/4's race. The race had 50 starters with only four xXxer's. We started the race hot, since in the past few weeks a race with the cat 4's seemed to resemble a demolition derby more then race. Sadly this became true very quickly. Riders started taken the turns stupidly if there a person on each side. People in the middle of the pack would try to dive bomb the corner, cutting into other rider's lines to save an imaginary fraction of a second. I tried to stay at the front so as to stay out of the mess, but was still being unnecessarily bumped and cut into. The race had at least two crashes in it, one resulting in the ambulance taking a rider off. I got 14th, but had a very bad taste in my mouth that I was going to be racing tomorrow on 8 corners with a group that could barely manage 4.

Meg raced next in what has to be the most unfair race style, womens open. This race can be pretty disheartening to new racers as they are tossed into a race with Cat 1/pro women. You don't see any Cat 5 men racing against the Cat 1's do you? Meg was one of only a handful of Cat 4's and and few more races then the newest racer in the bunch. On the third lap Meg was dropped by the pack which was driven by some cat 1's. She did get her moment in the sun as she felt the race was going to slow and she set pace for the 2nd lap.

Right after Meg's race came the Cat 3/4's race. I had signed up for the race as a sort of watermark, I wanted to see how a faired with a higher cat racers. I haven't really been training(for a few reasons) so this was going to be a pretty hard test. Compared to the 4/5's race 45 minutes before it was like night and day. All the turns were clean. All lines held, pedaling through. It was like a completely different course. I tried to stay mostly to the front and middle. During one lap I thought I was near the middle of the pack and when I looked there was no one else. A good sign I thought as we had kicked a lot of people of the pack. I then went about moving back up. Ultimitly the race came down to a sprint, which I haven't been training, but with that said I got a good line out of the turn and held my momentum as I am accustomed to go at speed over bumps, which lined the finish. I got 28th out of 52(and 11th for cat 4's). This race and the free massage afterwards made up for the sour taste that was left in my mouth by the 4/5's.  Sadly Sunday's race would trade the sour taste for a  bitter one.

After the races ended, we headed to our lovely hotel, which sorta resembled Norman Bates' residency. Not wanting to stay in side, we quickly headed out, grabbed some ice cream and tried to scout out the course for tomorrow. It was going to be a technical 8 turn figure eight, is a small downhill on a rough-for-this-area street and then an immediate uphill. Preriding the course I fell in love with it. nice technical turns that the front could drive though, and then a iffy little downhill that wasn't as bad as some streets in Chicago. If only it was going to be raining, this would be perfect for me. Sadly it was not to be.

We got there sunday bright and early as we wanted to see the fives and juniors handle course before Meg's race. After we registered and said hi to the officials and talked about the previous days crash fest(more on this later)  we learned that there was a major course change. Instead of being a figure 8, the officials cut out the downhill becaus eof how bad the road was cut up. Instead we would make a right turn head down a 5 lane street and then do a 180 around an orange cone before racing to the finish. Ugh, we were glad we got there early. It was possible to ride the inner most line on every corner and pedal through, except for the 180 where you had to be sure to not to take it to fast and risk sliding out or running into a curb.  The fives were the first to tackle with and I met up with Paymon and John from the team. The best plan for this was stay at the front and if a break forms go with it. John agreed and was gunning to do just that. Meg and I positioned ourselves at turn four, were the racers would ride by us twice and we could see the 180 turn.  John patrolled the front and when the first prime came he and one other rider went for it and got 5 plus seconds on the field, which had already been reduced in numbers. When John came around by himself, I yelled at him to keep going. From that point on it was his race. Each lap he would increase the time gap, to the point that instead of them chasing him he was 20 seconds from lapping the field. John looked to be wanting to take the last lap as more of a parade, but I conveyed the point to stay down and not risk anything with that turn as that was the only way he would lose. That was advice I should have also used.

My race was pretty eventful but I'm only going to give bullets points

• It started hot, and I lead the first few laps and got a gap in my small chainring. I was then caught as I was putting my chain back on while riding. 
• People turned better in this race then the previous day's. There was some people going down as tires blow out.
• It was hot. Some people likely dropped because of that. It was so hot the parking deck's fire alarm went off.
• I fell off the lead group but got a second wind and hooked up with Joseph Berenyi of PSEMIT racing for the last two and half laps.

Now the last lap was the dumbest lap of racing I have done. Joseph and I headed in to the first turn with me in front. Upon exiting the turn, we immediately encountered a random person biking haphazardly the opposite way on the course.  I scream more louder then possible and made sudden moments so as not to run head first into a person at 25+mph. For some reason the marshals just thought yelling at this guy would stop him from getting on and riding the course in reverse. And that it was enough to announce it over the intercom that couldn't be heard between the 4 radio station booths playing one of Lady Gaga's songs and the fire alarm going off.  Did no one think I should grab him? That it was safer to just let him keep going and hope the racers move out of the quick enough? It's nice that the organizers decided some pot holes that don't move were to dangerous for racers, but a random biker on the course? 

• I then went into the final turn to hot and slid out. I got back up as fast as possible, only to have my chain drop. I put it back on again while riding and kept 13 place. 

After the race, I informed the officials and the head organizer of what happened on the final lap. While the whole weekend was really nice, well put together and I will likely come back to race again, I was left with a bitter taste. The riders safety should be the biggest concern. The biker going the wrong way didn't just appear in the middle of the street. The marshals should have been more proactive in getting the guy of the course or flagging down the racers.

Work in the summer.(Or why my job is better then yours for a few days out of the year)

Yesterday it was 70's, and I got to ride around Chicago, stopping at a few cars and reading a book while waiting on some. Today it will be about the same. For the days that I loath going outside and riding, these days make a major difference.

Monsters of the Midway and Fox Rive Grove and the race to Berwyn

My birthday weekend was filled with three races and a 4th to a bbq. It started with the fairly straight forward Monsters of the Midway. I had done this twice previously. The first time to see if my knee felt like holding up and the second to see if my body felt like holding up. I guess it turns into a good barometer of where I am*. Saturday was a touch chilly of a day for May, requiring arm and knee warmers. I arrived after the 3's race to find out that the crashes that are normally in the turns had decided to move to the straights this year. Luckily this wouldn't Change my plan to much, stay near the front and be ready for the bunch sprint. As I was warming up for the race, Meg arrived to provide support and cupcakes.

The race started fast and stayed that way pretty much through out, a style that I like. Only a few times did it slow and bunch. This though would provide the problem. On the third of fourth lap to go the pack bunched up on the back side by the dip(think upside-down speed bump) and somehow the rider next to me's bike went out from underneath him. I imagine that the bump caused his weight to get off the saddle and someone touched his rear wheel. This then spread though out the group, ultimately taking out half of the racers. With everyone in the front turning to look back at the crash while going fast in to the turn, I kept my head forward and yelled at people to do the same. It was easy to tell the riders still up were now a touch shaky and had stopped with the unnecessary tapping and rubbings. Soon enough we were on the bell lap and it was fast. I found myself a touch further back then I wanted coming into the final turns. That left me sprinting for 11th. So as barometer goes, I was planning for top half and got top 1/6.

The next race was a 4/5's and proceeded to be my dumb mistake. It started the same as the 4's race, fast to shred as many 5's. The team did a good job keeping the pace high. Coming into the finally turn on the 7th lap to go, I was pushed into the gutter(there was a lot of gutter ball going on in this race). This caused me to think I had flatted, so I went straight instead of turning in order not to sharply turn on a flat wheel. As I got back to the line to get a spare and free lap I find out that I was not flat. Thus began 6 laps of chasing, I lapped a ton of riders, and slowly caught some people of the back. but ultimately I finished way down.

The last race was a new one for me, Fox River Grove Crit of Hill Repeats. This wasn't my race. I went in knowing that I was going to be just surviving not winning. I was ready to drop prior to the start. But going up the hill each time and having four different groups(Tati's, CCC, and xXx, and Grayson) cheering me on meant a lot and caused me not to quit. In the end I finished and got 35th. Higher then I expected and almost within my overall goals.

The final race was from FRG to Berwyn for a BBQ at Pete's. It only took the metra, a bike ride, the CTA, and another ride but we got there and had a great time. It was a great way to cap a nice weekend.










*Those two previous times the answers were yes.

A new beginning.

Through out the past year I have gained and lost a lot. The strange thing though, is that the losses add a heavy weight and the gains help remove it. It is the loss of friends, though, that ultimately weigh the most. The wondering of what went wrong and if it could be fixed. I have spent many nights awake, angry at myself for things that I can and can't control. It is only after confirmations of what might have been true, that I allow myself to let go.

From an early age I was taught to assume the best in a person. It is a fairly large part of the Jewish code and guides a lot of actions. While justice is also a major point, more emphasis is put on not making ill assumptions. Not wrong assumptions, just ill ones. I should assume that a person is not trying to purposefully harm me. I should assume that it is by accident or unintended. For thinking the opposite, that a true accident is done in spite and anger, is a worse and more dangerous assumption, both to me and to the other.

This is not to say though that actions are to be forgotten. A set of actions will ultimately show a pattern, both for good or bad. It is then that judgments should be made.

The Rider and The Frenchman

I am currently reading a book called The Rider by Tim Krabbe. It tells of his race at the Tour de Mont Algoual. In between passages about the race, he feels in little antidotes as his brain moves from one thought to the next.
This is one of the passages that stood out.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100: numbers worn by riders killed in races.

It's a pretty stark and honest passage, he mentions it and seems like he moves on. but the weight of it is very apparent. It forms a large block, different from all the other text. You only need to read the first few and last few numbers to know whats there, but chances are you go back and look at them to make sure one is not left out.

In the past few months there has been a few deaths. Some it was the rider's error and some the rider did nothing wrong. I never knew any of them, but it still rests heavy on my mind. I think about it each time I ride my bike. The thoughts I have are the same that I had years ago.
Don't be the reason your family can't see you.
You need to be able to help them.
Don't give others the ability to take you out.
Every now and then a friend comments that I ride a little dangerously because I am more into the street. Cars honk at me every now and then because I'm almost in their lane. These are reassuring. The car can see me and I won't be a number.

A french man is in our house.