Matteson and Hyde Park Crit Racing

Last weekend I couldn't get down to Champaign Urbana for the bike racing so I decided to check out the Matteson Tuesday Night Race series.  I love these races.  The first Criterium race I ever competed in was here.  Of course I lived on the south side then and it was so much easier to get to.  If I lived down there for sure I'd be a regular.  3 races 1 night back to back to back.  They start at 6pm so leaving work early is a must.  I staged my bike at my folks house and took the Metra to their house where they picked me up and drove me to the race.  The South Chicago Wheelmen host the night at the ACE Hardware paint factory at Central and Rt. 30.  Its a 4 corner course with wide 90° corners.  I raced in the B group set up for Cat4/5 racers and had a great time.  I had 2 top 5 finishes and posted the in the 1 spot in the finale which placed my at 3rd overall for the night.  Its such a fun evening of racing.  Its pretty chill and everyone there is out for a low key, smart race.


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Racin' 'Round the 'ol Paint Factory

On Saturday I pointed the compass south to my old neighborhood and competed in the Monsters of the Midway race.  My event wasn't until 4:30pm but the women's race was at 12:30 so I packed a lunch and cheered on 6 of the Half Acre women.  The entire race the clouds opened up and rained on them and there were plenty of spills on the four corner course which broke up the field and scattered racers in small packs 15 seconds behind each other.  Robin H. was able to hold on to the lead group and earned herself a podium finish at 3rd.

Photo Thanks to Velogrrl

 I missed most of the Men's category 4 race warming up for my upcoming cat 4/5 heat.  However I did manage to see a handful of slips and slides.  I'm told there was a line for the ambulance to get cleaned up after.  My race started out wet and quickly dried up as the laps were counted down.  It was a pretty fast race and I was doing my best to stay in the front 5 but I didn't see myself gaining a whole lot of ground.  After sprinting for a mid race prime (prize) I was reminded of a conversation I had with Mike A., the road race captain, about breaking away.  I decided to give it a go and I sprinted like a madman about half a lap in front of the field and held it for almost two laps.  Once the pack caught up to me I settled in for a mediocre finale.  With most of the fuel out of my tank I stood up for a sprint and crossed the finish 20th.  Little did I know Mike A. was going to convince me to line up for the second race.  Had I known that would have been an option I probably wouldn't have gassed it so hard.  Erica pinned a new number on me, Mike hydrated me and Bevan gave me an energy bar.  They should have slapped my ass and yelled "giddy up" as I rode to the start line.   It was all good fun.  The second race started and I settled in the back of the pack and started taking the turns.  Eventually I progressed to the middle and then I found myself in the top ten.  At this point I had my legs back under me and feeling good when a rider veered into my front wheel with his rear.  It was on a straight away and I had some room to move but my recovery took me into his wheel 2 more times in the matter of 3 seconds.  I didn't panic and was able to stay upright, much to my amazement and to the pleasure of the riders behind me.  I had a solid sprint to the finish and grabbed the 9 spot, happy to be in one piece.  The team went out for dinner and drinks afterward and I spent the night pretty geeked about the day of racing.

Photo Thanks to Velogrrl

Photo Thanks to Velogrrl