Carpenters Park Cyclocross Race

After having to miss the third race of the season (which I heard was another rousing success) I was ready to race Carpentersville. This will be the first time I will have raced in the same race three years in a row and I was hoping the experience would help. I also remembered that Carpentersville was one of my favorite races of the Chicago Cross Cup. Great venue, technical course layout and a variety of obstacles.

I carpooled with Paul again and we got to the park early, around 8:00. It was 33 degrees and there was frost on the grass when we got there. Still, it was sunny and beautiful out. They were still putting the finishing touches on the course as we took the bikes off the car and got ready.



Another thing I like about Carpenters Park is that it is secluded from high traffic roads and it's easy to warm up by riding some easy laps on the road around the park. With the leaves changing on the trees and the morning light, I couldn't resist taking this shot.



Registration opened at 8:30. We got our numbers and prerode the course. It was similar to previous years, but improved in subtle and significant ways. This year the course started on the road in place of the U-turn they had last year (which I didn't like). The hole shot is pretty long and the actual first turns weren't that sharp although it tightened up into some off camber turns. This led to the first barrier with the added bonus of a jump into and out of a sandy dry creek bed. Some more turns and a straightaway leading to the sand. Two years ago, it was a sharp left turn right turn into the sand forcing all but the strongest riders to dismount and run. Last year, there was enough room for me to accelerate and ride through the sand. This year, it was a U-shaped path through the sand. If you wanted to ride it, you were going to have to be strong and maintain your balance and control. During the race, some riders did ride all the way through. I ran it each lap while a number of riders rode part of the way, some intentionally and some not.



Our race started at 9:30. I was in the middle of another pre-ride lap when I checked my watch and saw that it was 9:24 and I had to get moving. I was quite warmed up by now and the sun was out when I lined up at the start. I took off my jacket and felt really warm--too warm, even. I began to reconsider my balaclava (one does these things). Seeing that I was the only one there with my ears covered, but having no time to return to the car for a headband, I made the decision to take it off and go without. This made my helmet slightly loose, but at least I wouldn't spontaneously combust during the race.

And we were off. I hit it hard and, as usual, lost a lot of ground to the stronger riders into the first turn. Several riders took some risks in the first turns, but I stayed up and no one went down around me. I passed a few riders after the barrier with a fast clean remount, but I was still with riders that were eventually going to pass me. Well, there are 43 minutes to go and lots of racing to do.

My first lap into the sand, I had trouble unclipping and lost my balance. Seeing that I was going to fall and there was no way to catch myself, I dropped the bike and jumped over it into a shoulder roll in the sand for a nice soft landing. I got up grabbed the bike and continued around. This turned out to be the only time I fell in the race. I did miss one turn late in the race which may have cost me one place, but otherwise, I raced clean (skillz-wise).

After a straight section and some turns around the trees we come up to a set of triple barriers and more turns through the trees. Then another straight section led into a turn and an off camber climb up the hill and down into a corkscrew. I'm getting better at these, but still have to learn to carry more speed through the turns and trust the bike to maintain traction. Out of the corkscrew, speed up and ride over the hill. After the hill, something new--a series of six humps to ride over.



I'm told that a skilled, practiced BMX rider (three things I am not) can enter this obstacle and, without pedaling, just using balance and weight shifting, can exit faster than entering. I was content not to fall and to carry most of my momentum through it. You'll be happy to learn that I did just that, although it did beat my body up a bit.

Now it's the home stretch with some more straight sections and gentle turns. There was a gully to cross, which one could do slowly at the correct angle. Still, some racers dismounted and carried through. Then it was one last U-turn onto the asphalt and about 100 yards to the finish line.

The laps were long and hard (but fun, I keep telling myself that). By the second lap I had pretty much settled into the bottom quartile. I was in a group of four including Paul and we were trading positions depending on who cleaned an obstacle best or who misjudged a turn or who had the best legs on the straight sections.

At the end of the third lap, I remembered to check to see how many laps we had left. Two. @#$%! I don't have the legs for two more laps. One was going to be hard enough, but two was going to take a loooong time.

Oh well, settle in, get your rhythm back and make sure you take the turns and obstacles cleanly and before you know it the race will be just some great memories.

As I entered the corkscrew I heard someone call out "leaders coming!" This was great news because when they pass me it means that this will be my last lap. With this new information, I started to pedal harder (not that it generated any additional measurable speed). I got passed on the way up the hill and set my sights on trying to catch up and pass Paul and the other two racers. As I entered a turn I saw the race leader fall as he crossed the gully just ahead of Paul. "Get up damnit! I don't have anything left for another lap!" I thought (do you put your thoughts in quotes?). He got up fast and kept his lead. I crossed the gully and passed one of my small target group, but Paul still had me by about 40 feet. I took the U-turn onto the asphalt carefully (remember muddy tires+asphalt+too much speed=fall on a hard surface) and then hit the gas with everything I had left. It was Glencoe all over again, but this time I had a lot of ground to make up. I was hoping that Paul either wasn't expecting me or didn't have a sprint in him, but it didn't matter. I didn't have enough time or distance to pass him. I probably got within 10 feet which is a victory in itself (yeah, yeah, I know).

Result: 36th out of 45 (not counting the two that DNS). I tell myself that this is a good result for me. Heck, I'm nearly the oldest guy in the 40+ group as if that matters at all.

How to Get More Bicyclists on the Road

This month's Scientific American has an article with the above title. I quoted David Byrne several months ago about getting more people to ride and now this article continues the thought.

In the U.S., men’s cycling trips surpass women’s by at least 2:1. This ratio stands in marked contrast to cycling in European countries, where urban biking is a way of life and draws about as many women as men—sometimes more. In the Netherlands, where 27 percent of all trips are made by bike, 55 percent of all riders are women. In Germany 12 percent of all trips are on bikes, 49 percent of which are made by women.

“If you want to know if an urban environment supports cycling, you can forget about all the detailed ‘bikeability indexes’—just measure the proportion of cyclists who are female,” says Jan Garrard, a senior lecturer at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, and author of several studies on biking and gender differences.

An article in their July issue (the abstract is online--full article requires a paid subscription or a visit to your local library) discusses the powerful link between physical activity and mental acuity. Staying fit helps us maintain our cognition as we age.

As if I need more reasons to ride.

Cycling Safety Video

I played with LEGO a lot when I was a kid. One thing I didn't know was that LEGOman can do a track stand. Caution. This video contains LEGO-on-LEGO violence.



Did you notice the look on his face right before the car hit? I'm not sure if that was fear or FU and if was he one-finger-saluting right before impact.

More Like This Please

New York City built a protected bike lane to solve the problem of how to make biking along the approach to the Manhattan Bridge safer for bicycles. After completion, bike traffic more than triples.

Jackson Park Cyclocross

It was a great day for a race. Mild temperatures and little to no wind was going to make finding excuses difficult. Paul and I arrived at the park just around 8:00, about two hours before our race (40+ Masters). We got the bikes off the car, put the wheels on the bikes, suited and helmeted up and took a few easy laps before registering. Easy, right? This was going to be a beast of a course (aren't they all?) It was very similar to the layout that I remembered from two years ago, but the organizers had added a few tricks. My favorite was using the baseball field to ride from home to second base (approximately). There was also three fence posts laid across a slight uphill spaced about two bikes lengths apart. This was easily ridable, but with low pressure in my clinchers, I thought it would be a pinch flat hazard, so I decided to run it. This also turned out to be faster for me. I guess the running I had been doing the last four weeks has helped.

Two laps, a couple of additional practice runs in the maze and it was time to register. Kudos to the Chicago Cross Cup for adding pre-registration this year which made the process fast and easy.

After some food and a few more laps, I notice that there's about 20 minutes to go before the race. I dismount the bike, feel a pull and hear a noise. I look at my saddle and half of it is pointing upwards. I try to fix it and  get it snapped back on the rail and see the real problem:



It's either going to be a short day or a bad ride. I brought spare tubes, a spare tire, tools and Paul brought a pump. Who thinks to bring a spare saddle? Would the mechanics tent even have one? I headed over to the Get a Grip Cycles tent and asked Mike, who wrenched at my local bike shop for a couple of years. Jeff says: "Take mine, I'm not racing. Looks like it's the same one, too." This is Jeff who saved my day:



And damned if it wasn't the same saddle, just a much newer one! Comfortable too! Jeff and Mike take nearly no time to fix me up and I head over the the start. It's a big field and with the trip to the tent and the last minute repair, I'm near the back. Heck, I'm going to wind up there anyway so I might as well start here.

The start was, as usual, fast. We rounded the first turn into a wide grassy section and then we all bunched up rounding the fence leading to the infield. We entered the infield at less than a walking pace so I decided to dismount and run it. This was a good choice, passing a number of racers and getting back on the bike without incident. I did fall on the first lap, back by the water where the shade kept the grass moist and slippery (how did I miss this on the practice laps?) but what would a cross race be without getting some grass and dirt in the shift levers? On a later lap, I would pass a guy who must have brutally missed the entry turn into this section as he was furiously putting one of his shoes back on.

As the race wore on, my body was getting more and more beat up. Some of this was probably muscles that hadn't fully healed after a spectacular endo at Kettle Moraine a few weeks ago which, I'm sure, also didn't like being fallen upon in lap one. I did get into a reasonable rhythm as the race wore on. I wound up running the fence posts each lap to save my tubes and make up time. I also decided to ride the dirt infield after running it the second lap. I figured it was better to ride it and save energy rather than try to make up some time running it and tiring myself out. The rest of my skills seemed pretty good to me. I did make one poor remount, missing the sweet spot of the saddle by about 3 inches aft, but, luckily, no major damage done.

I finished. Tired, beaten up and happy to get the first cross race of the season under my belt. We did hang around about 45 minutes after the race. Time to change, eat and for me to get a few pictures. The results weren't posted yet, but I think I might have cracked the top 75th percentile.

Just two weeks to DeKalb!

Tattoo Combines Science and Cycling

How's this for a cycling tattoo? It's the the power equation which describes the power needed to propel a bike against everyday forces: gravity, weight, friction and wind resistance (link).

My First Crit

Yesterday, I finally went and did it. I raced my first crit. Two years ago, I course marshalled the inaugural Glencoe Grand Prix. At the time, my impression of a criterium was a race where crashes were common and painful. It's one of the reasons I started to race cyclocross figuring that a) I wanted to race a bike b) cross was slower and c) if you fell, it was on grass, dirt, mud or sand. Crits had the risk of high speed + sharp turns + hard asphalt (or concrete) and I didn't want to complete that equation. However, after watching the GGP, I thought, I could handle this one and made plans to race it in 2008. Unfortunately I got invited to a wedding and couldn't sneak in a race in time, so I had to put it off a year.

Finally. 2009. I registered a week early and got my number and timing chip the night before (an excellent idea, by the way). Had a nervous night followed by a nervous morning. Drank some coffee, ate a Pop Tart and a banana and drank some water to fuel up. I got in my kit and did a 30 minute warm up before returning home to pick up my back pack and rode to the race.

I got to the event about 20 minutes before my race, Cat 5. This gave me some time to visit with some friends before the start. We did get in a practice lap before lining up for the race. I was still quite nervous while the preliminary announcements were going on. It didn't help that there was a problem with the count in the race which delayed our start another 10 minutes.

I looked around and saw two familiar faces, Paul and John. These were wheels I could trust, even if they weren't strictly teammates in this race. There also was quite a turnout from XXX Racing--15 or 20 racers, I think. It was at this moment I realized that I was still in my small chainring from the warm up lap and made the quick decision to unclip and shift into the right gear for the start. I sure didn't want to drop my chain ring at the start. I was a novice, but I didn't want to be a rube.

And then, we were off. I clipped in and got underway without causing or being part of a collision. First goal achieved. The initial acceleration was pretty fast, similar to what I experienced at at cross race. The pack slowed for the first turn and accelerated out quickly. Then we were coasting, then braking into turn 2 and accelerating out. This became the pattern for the race. It wasn't what I expected (what was I expecting?) but soon I settled in making sure to hold my line and watch for the riders in front and around me. The first three laps I stayed with the pack, holding my position near the middle and just feeling out the rhythms as we went around the course. I knew that this constant accelerating was going to wear me out and was looking for a way to take the corners smoother to save energy.

Early in the race, heading into turn 2, I saw a rider plow right into the back of John's bike. I was close enough to get spooked, but far enough away to avoid it without slowing down. I found out later that John wasn't hurt, but the collision broke his bike's derailleur hanger.

I have to admit that I was so focused on riding safely and holding my line that most of the race is a blur to me. I remember that after about 5 laps in, I was feeling more confident in the turns and was using them to advance forward in the pack. Usually about 2-4 positions at a time. At one point, I took turn 2 on the inside perfectly and accelerated out so smoothly that I found myself at the front. This couldn't be, could it? I was convinced that due to the lack of XXX jerseys around me that they were out in front and we were chasing. It was then I noticed the pace car in front of me ("And I had never seen a hole...playing for Temple.." -Bill Cosby) and realized that indeed I was in front. What the hell was I doing here? I spent about 15 seconds up there and realized I had no business being where I was and that there was no way I could maintain 26 MPH for long unless I wanted to get dropped (I didn't) so I pulled off to the inside to allow the front riders to pass me. Not being a friendly group ride, they let me stay in front for a bit (softening up the fresh meat) before accelerating past me into turn 3. I got back in the pack about half way back and realized that I really ought to plan on what to do in case that happens again.

The next laps were uneventful for me. I was riding well and maintaining my position. Barry told me that I was third wheel on several laps. Honestly, I don't remember. I was concentrating so hard on holding my line and riding smoothly that I don't remember hearing grandstand announcements or keeping track of what position I was in. I just thought I was mid-pack or at least in the front third.

There were about three laps to go and I was feeling remarkably well. The jitters had gone and I was moving with the rhythms of the race and feeling reasonably well. Coming out of turn 3 something felt wrong ahead of me and I tightened my grip on the brakes slightly. That's when the rider ahead of me plowed into the rider ahead of him. I think one of them veered wide on the turn and the rider behind just plowed into him. I had opened up enough room in front of me that I was able to brake hard and avoid hitting them (and praying no one would plow into me). I kept it upright, avoided the collision and the rest of the lead group passed me. I tried to get on, but just couldn't grab anyone's wheel.

OK. I can do this. They're not that far ahead and I can now take the turns as fast as I want. I put my head down and went into time trial mode. Or at least what I thought was TT mode, since I have never done a TT. And, based on the next 3 laps, I'm not likely ever to do a TT. I just couldn't catch them. They seemed within reach the first lap, but after that the pack just got farther and farther ahead of me. On the bright side, every time I looked behind me I saw nothing. No one. I heard the bell lap and still, there was no one behind me. As I rounded turn 4 and hit the home stretch, there continued to be no one behind me so I just rolled in, as it turns out, to 27th place out of 50 starters.

Well, not a bad result. I rode safely, competitively and, had it not been for the bad luck getting caught behind the collision, I would have done better. Still, a good first time.

As I rode over to my friends, I realized that in all my nervousness, I had forgotten to remove my saddle bag before the race. What a rube.

Now I had 90 minutes to relax, unwind, eat and drink before the 30+ 4/5 race. The next two races were the Womens 4/5 and Masters 45+. I had friends and team mates in both races so I took a few (OK, 175) pictures before taking a quick spin around Glencoe to loosen up before the race.

I did remove my saddle bag before the race. The field was bigger (72) and I was still pretty tired, but the nervousness had left. The race started, much like the first and the first 15 minutes found me in familiar territory: Accelerate, coast, brake, turn, rinse, repeat. Around the 20 minute mark, I could tell my legs weren't going to make it. All those accelerations were doing their cumulative damage and wearing me out. Around 25 minutes in I got dropped. I was done. No chasing for me. I was content to ride the course at 20-21 MPH and finish. After a while, my speed dropped to 19-20 and I had thoughts of dropping out. And then I thought no. Harden the fuck up and ride. A couple more laps and I met up with two other riders and they were willing to work together to make finishing the race easier for all of us.

With around 4 laps to go, we got lapped by the field. And that was it. We kept riding, no one else gained on us and we didn't catch any dropped riders. On the final lap, after turn 4, I decided to make a sprint for the line. What the hell, I might was well finish in style. With about 200 yards to go I jumped. So did the XXX guy and it was on. Mano a mano in a race to the death for 48th place (because, ya know, 49th is for losers). I pushed harder and passed him, but he countered and was gaining on me. I pushed harder and my legs were burning. I remembered some research about how cursing makes it easier to bear pain and then thought better of it since the GGP is a family friendly event. So I just let out a blood curdling yell.

I thought he had me, but chip timing reported that I took 48th place by 0.002 seconds.

I'll take my victories any way I can get them.

Cross Season is Coming!

The 2009 Chicago Cyclocross Cup schedule is posted at the newly redesigned ChiCrossCup web site First race is Jackson Park on September 20. See you there.

The Phrase that Stays

This article brings an entirely new meaning to Phil Liggett's expression: "the Hard Men of the Tour".

Totally Tubular Design

A great use for old tires and tubes.

What I Learned on the Internet Today

For best results, don't visualize yourself winning, imagine yourself training. The Secret fails!

Caffeine consumption may help prevent Altzheimer's. But don't overdo it, there's a possible link between significant caffeine consumption and hallucinations. So, that's why I thought I remembered where I put my car keys.

Curse while sprinting or climbing to deaden pain. That would have made the HHH much more interesting.

Stupid Headline

Sorry if it seems like I'm beating up on Bicycling Magazine too much, but this type of stuff drives me nuts.

Headline: "Fignon Wonders if Drug Use Caused Cancer"

Halfway through the article Fignon says: "I'm not going to say no that it didn't play a role, [b]ut I didn't hold back any details of my drug use with my doctors and they said, 'It can't be that. That would be too simple.'"

A little later he adds: "If there was a direct link with my cancer I think there would be a lot of other cyclists that would also be suffering from the same cancer."

I wish Fignon the best in fighting his Pancreatic cancer. It is a serious condition and 5-year survival rates are pretty low. There's no reason for him to add to his misery by blaming his drug use for the disease when his doctors and his intellect say it's not likely. And there's no reason for Bicycling to emphasize this when it's hardly relevant.

Brews and Bikes in Bicycling Magazine

Bicycling Magazine has a feature on their web site called "Brews and Bikes: The best bike-related summer beers." Being two of my favorite topics, I took a look.

First, let me say that I'm not a fan of the format they chose for this feature. You see one slide at a time and when you click for the next, the entire page reloads. They also have a popup window ("We are conducting a research survey on this site. You will be invited to participate when you leave. Please do not close this window") which, will trigger your popup blocker (I'm using Firefox) every time you click to see the next beer in the article. I switched over to Google Chrome to avoid this and to see what the fuss was about the constantly blocked popup windows. My last complaint about the article is that it does not give you a link to any of the breweries mentioned or a final list of all 12 beers. Yeah, I know, I can search for any of the breweries myself, but I shouldn't have to. This is the internet, not a magazine.

The article was well written and got me interested in trying to find at least one beer I hadn't tried, like Pike Brewing Company's Tandem Double Ale. Unfortunately, their web site had no information on whether it's distributed in my area. I also liked that the article emphasized breweries that didn't just have a picture of a bike on the label, but also showed support for cycling in some other way like Full Sail Brewing Company and Oskar Blues. In any event, I learned about six or eight bike-related beers that I can add to my "to-drink" list.

This also gives me an excuse to plug a local brewery that is heavily invested in the local cycling community, Half Acre Beer Company. I have seen these guys on the road in their Half Acre kits and at many of the cyclocross races that my faithful readers know about. I also like that their web site gives me everything I need (tell me about your beer and where I can go get/drink it) in an easy-to-navigate layout.

Oh, and that survey I was promised? Would it surprise you to learn it was to see how well Nissan's latest marketing campaign was working? After the basics, there were a lot of questions about how much you like several of their ads. "Don't care" wasn't one of the choices.

Bicyclist Harassment Ordinance Passed

Via Levi Leipheimer's twitter feed and Bike Monkey, We learn of an ordinance passed by Columbia, Missouri that "makes harassment of bicyclists — including throwing objects, verbal assault and other offenses — a misdemeanor offense punishable by a $1,000 fine or one year of jail time"

Following the lead of South Carolina and Colorado, the ordinance "makes it a misdemeanor to do the following: throw an object at or in the direction of a cyclist, threatening a cyclist to frighten or disturb the cyclist, sounding a horn with the intention to frighten or disturb a cyclist, knowingly placing a cyclist in the path of physical injury, or knowingly engaging in conduct that creates a risk of death or serious physical injury for a cyclist."

Full story here.

Legislation that helps cyclists doesn't just happen. We have to get involved. That's why attending the upcoming meeting of the Highland Park Traffic Commission on July 22, at 6:30 pm is important (put that in your calendar now). Lina Hoffman from The Active Transportation Alliance (formerly The Chicagoland Bicycle Federation) will be making a presentation on Complete Streets. The goal is for the Traffic Commission to begin taking all users (including pedestrians and cyclists) into consideration when making decisions that impact the roadways in Highland Park. We need to have strong representation at this meeting. The meeting will be at Highland Park City Hall, 1707 St. Johns Avenue.

Cycling Art

Seen in Saugatuck, Michigan.

Help A Fellow Cyclist In Her Fight Against Cancer

This is worth reposting from Ride-Strong.

Colleen Whealdon-Haught is a cyclist fighting metastatic breast cancer. Read her story and help her out if you can.

Funny PSA

Fast at the Giro

Twitter updates from Lance and Levi. 70+ MPH descents today at the Giro. YIKES!

Stupid Doping Tricks.

So, Tyler Hamilton announced his retirement from cycling after testing positive for a banned substance. "He had tested positive for Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) a multi-functional steroid he said was in an herbal remedy he took after he had stopped using prescription anti-depressants."

Self-medicating for depression is stupid. Self-medicating if you are a pro athlete subject to random drug testing is really stupid. Self-medicating after serving a two-year suspension for doping is pretty well off the charts stupid.

Depression sucks. If you are not getting well with your current medication then either change it, change your program or change your doctor.

The reports say that Tyler got caught using a "'homeopathic' remedy - Mitamins Advanced Formula - that included herbs, such as St. John’s wort, and DHEA". Let's break the stupidity apart from that sentence. First a "real" homeopathic remedy contains no active ingredients and is just water, so if the lab at UCLA was able to detect it, it's either a miraculous test or a false positive. Second, if that remedy actually contains St. Johns wort (which is nearly useless in treating depression, anyway) and DHEA, then it is not homeopathic. This either means that Tyler didn't get what was advertised or Mitamins was being misleading when they called it a homeopathic remedy (and either way, my head hurts). Finally, DHEA won't help his depression, is banned (and he knew it) and probably didn't provide any performance enhancing benefit (so then why is it banned?)

I wish Tyler well.I hope he gets his depression under control. I morn for the racer he could have been, without the doping drama. So I'll continue not to watch or pay attention to the pros very much. Instead, I'll just ride.

Bicycle Dreams

Bicycle Dreams (note: music autoplays on the site) is a documentary of the 2005 Race Across America. During this race, Bob Breedlove was killed by an oncoming vehicle which just adds to the drama and poignancy of the event and movie. From what little I could read about it, I'm interested enough to want to see the movie. Unfortunately for me it is currently only scheduled to play at film festivals in Colorado, New Jersey and California. I'd love to see it added to the Bicycle Film Festival which typically comes to Chicago in August.

As it is, I have two quibbles with their web site. First, their home page plays music as soon as you load the page and there is no (obvious) way to turn it off. The music is pleasant, but the idea that I want to listen to this as the default mode is incorrect, obnoxious and just bad design. Quibble #2 is that there is no way to subscribe to a mailing list if I want to be notified when the movie is scheduled to play in my area. They do have a Facebook page, which might serve this function.

Here's the trailer for the movie.