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It has been a while, but hopefully the Twitter/Facebook updates have kept folks abreast. I have been busy, but not all my time has been spent on bikes. In fact I find it a bit refreshing to have cycling as an escape to fall back on — as opposed to living and breathing it 24/7. Bikes are fun, first and foremost… even when they are a bit unpleasant to ride.

Like I mentioned, personal pursuits and otherwise have kept me from maintaining a semblance of proper training for racing. While I love racing, it’s not the sole reason I ride — in fact it’s kind of secondary. Anyway, the Glencoe Grand Prix is a great event and a crit I plan to continue racing in every year — regardless of my fitness, etc. (unless I become dangerously out of shape).

Yesterday’s event was, again, run superbly. Every volunteer, official, etc was really cool (they we’re probably actually very hot) and helpful. Everything within their control, IE: not the weather, was great. All that was left for me was to have a good race. Well…

While I know that my fitness is not its best right now, outside of training with power, there’s really no way of determining just how much of a downturn I’ve taken without testing myself. The scale let me know I’ve gained ten pounds — that’s about all the measurement I’ve got to work with. So, on the hottest day of the year, I lined up with about 50 other racers, soon to find out just how out of shape I’d become.

Not ideal conditions to do so. I was more frightened about this race than any in a while. The course is a great one, but pre-race I honestly felt like I could be a liability. I hadn’t raced a criterium in close to three months and I was out of shape I honestly did not know what to expect of myself.

While you could pedal through three of the four corners, there was immediately a ton of braking going on in each. I found myself towards the back of the pack and with each l corner it became a bit more difficult to stay on. There were a few laps that I solidified a middle position, but more times than not I was dangling off the back. Then I got dropped. My only goal was to not let this happen, but there was no way around it. I felt like garbage and rightly so.

Quite a few others we dropped before me — and there was some work in vain done by myself and a few other to bridge/keep from getting lapped, but at the bell I looked back to see the break and the peloton chasing closely behind. I promptly pulled myself for a DNF as to not pose a threat to the field.

Most of my surprises, though, were pleasant ones; that my base fitness is still there for the most part, that handling and pack riding are still strong points of mine and that I can still recover very easily after hard workouts — it’s the intervals that I’m not doing that effect the opposite of that though… It really makes me think about shifting focus next year… we’ll see. Congrats to Tom MacNeill-Zimmerman on his podium in the men’s 5! Also to Stanley Sterlinski for 6th place in our race (men’s 4) and the rest of the team that braved the humidity!

Hanging out for the remaining races was a blast — after I attempted to “cool down” with some fluids. The women’s 1/2/3 race in the rain was awesome to see. And, as I’ve said before, just hanging out at the event was nothing but a good time. The only bummer was I broke another rear wheel on my ride home. I’ve broken four so far this year. Wow!

I gotta get fast (maybe lose the ten lbs.?) and get a wheel sponsor… Check out some great photos from teammates/friends of the team.

It’s worth mentioning, before I get fully into this report, that I crashed at my first (and possibly last) mountain bike race about 2 weeks ago. My thigh was bruised pretty badly and it kept me off the bike for a week. When it felt good enough to ride again, I still didn’t push it. Then, I barreled headlong into the Vernon Hills Grand Prix.

I knew I had lost a little bit of fitness due to the injury, but I was feeling good about the whole race experience. I now realize that I race much better when things aren’t going so well. 2 of my teammates and I rode up to the race – making for a nice warmup, though.

Upon arrival we all took a pre-race lap to note the turns and the wind direction. Then I registered very smoothly in comparison to some other people, as witnessed at the table. After that I found a field house men’s room entirely to myself (and the cleanest I’d ever experienced at any cycling event). I even wheeled my bike in with me! Done with that, I then went on to achieve a personal best at number pinning (which still needed an amendment later, but a big step forward for me nonetheless). Things were on the up-and-up!

This was my first race in a Category 4 only field. I had raced with many of the guys out there before in combined fields, ‘cross, etc, so it felt no different. The pace was also no different. And, my penchant for making aggressive moves early also went un-changed.

I was unable to start in the front, near where I wanted to be, but after a lap and a half was able to make it up there. After railing the 3^rd turn hard, I found a wheel ahead of me that I wanted and thought could work with on a break. The wind hit me before I could latch on and make the suggestion. Then the rest of the pack swallowed me up and spit me out.

After that I was a bit confused as I looked back and only saw my teammate, Joe. The aforementioned pack now seemed much smaller that the field did at the line, numbers-wise. In retrospect I would find that my jump had dropped tail end of the peloton. So, it was just me and Joe, in “two man’s land.”

Me and Joe; pre-race. Photo: Zach Thomas.

At first I thought we could work together to bridge, so we traded hard pulls and tried to get some other stragglers to latch on and help with the effort. No one else could hang, so my pulls became less and less strong due to the fact that bridging was becoming impossible. That didn’t stop Joe and me from working together and finishing strong. It was truly a team effort and I felt very proud to be out there lap after lap working with him for the crowd to see. I wanted to “fist-bump” at the line but he ended up a little farther back on the final straight and I didn’t want to hit the brakes.

This was the best crit I’ve been to yet. The combination of the amenities, the weather, the team work and the course itself was not to be beat. I, on the other hand, was. I often don’t look for my results, but this time I really don’t mind not knowing. I raced well and am happy. I initially wanted to pass this one up but now am looking forward to next year. I think that says a lot!

… as a Cat5. Also the last race I completed. The last road race for a few weeks too. Anyway.

Hillsboro Roubaix delivered yet again, with drop-dead gorgeous weather, great racing and a banner day for my team.

As for my race; it seems as though I was one of the only ones in the field that had raced, possibly at all, this season already. There was almost a crash not 2 miles in and on a straight. The pack could keep no semblance of steady pace, so i attacked at just about mile 5 (of 22). I felt good. Too good. As I kept looking back I really started to believe my break could stick, so I stopped looking and put my chin on my stem.

After a while the wind got the best of me (they should call it Windsboro Roubaix). 2 other racers had chased me down and we began to work together. After we all took a few pulls, I was unable to hold their wheels up one of the climbs. It wasn’t such a bad ascent, but I was cooked and it was beginning to show. I decided to let them go.

Apparently I did a good job of breaking up the pack. Another chase group of about 6 picked me up and in in was my teammate, Stan. Again, we all tried to work together and I tried to keep Stan out of the wind. After getting stuck behind the women’s PRO field on a descent — rendering us unable to pass legally — the climb back up “broke” me (according to the wheel-truck driver’s assessment of my facial expression). The rest of the group got away and I was alone.

Recovery being a strength of mine, I was at least able to catch up with Stan again. He was having a hard time getting his heart-rate down so I kept him in the gutter (see photo) as best I could until the final climb into town. Having just ridden Georgia’s mountains, Hillsboro’s “toughest” climb seemed like a cakewalk compared to last year. So, i just spun up it as fast as I could. I did not realize that I was dropping Stan.

The 40+mph descent into town is always one of my favorite parts, so I laid it all down. I had slight concerns regarding the remaining pack and I wanted to ensure a spot for both Stan and I in the top 10. Unfortunately Stan got nipped at the line in a sprint with a xXx rider, but he still got 10th. I got 8th. Our teammate, Mia, in her first race ever got 9th in the women’s Cat4.

I wish all road races could be like this… but it’s back to “reality” now. Can’t wait ’til next year.

If there was ever a reason — albeit far-fetched — to dislike Levi Leipheimer, there is no longer. The man has my utmost respect. I know it helps that he lives in California, but the early-season training he puts in order to perform year-in and year-out at the TOC is amazing. His time-trial performance was ridiculous — even with last year’s still fresh in my mind. Wow. And Lance as domestique???

Whatever happens in the long run, this year will no doubt be a memorable one for American pro-tour cyclists.

On Sunday, December 7, I raced at Montrose Harbor for the final installment of the Chicago Cyclocross Cup. It is a race that I and many others try to have a peak performance at, and this year’s race was no different. With a layer of snow over ground frozen by winds nearing sub-zero levels and several highly technical sections of race course, it proved to be a great challenge.

From the beginning the atmosphere was charged. There was a palpable seriousness amongst those who toed the line in the first few rows. At the whistle they exploded away with an intensity not seen in the races prior to this one. And, as a result, there was a spectacular crash less than 75 yards into the race.

I was able to escape the tangle of bikes and bodies unscathed, and was actually in a very good position due to the fact that many series leaders had gone down. I took that opportunity to push harder in hopes of developing a gap I could work with. In my haste I took a corner too fast and did a textbook “high-side” (in motorcycling terms). I got up fast, ran and remounted my bike, but when I pedaled I went nowhere – I had thrown my chain.

After getting my chain back on, I had fallen to the tail end of the pack. I wanted to get back up to the front, but soon realized I’d be unable so I conserved energy and passed about a dozen people as well as I could. This put me into a place I was familiar with – roughly the top 15 racers.

From here on out I played it cool where I needed to and gave it all I could intelligently give when it came time to put the hammer down. I was specifically able to gain ground on what I’ll call a “step-up” right turn. A ledge of frozen sand stood before a 90 degree right turn and I was able to ride over it every lap while other racers ran or floundered with their bikes.

Other than in that particular section, the race was physically just like any other for me. I was able to give some fellow races a run for their money and it was an intense display of pure sport and competition. So, despite not being able to beat one particular opponent and getting passed at the finish line by another, I was totally pleased with my race (after 5 minutes of trying to get my breath back).