Recap of Gapers Block Crits March 26-29

Monday the 26th I took my "Go Fast" bike to work it would be the first of 4 days the commuter bike would be neglected. The messenger bag was called to duty, packed with a big lunch and I rode to work in my team kit. The commute to work has always been shared with a variety of people donning their bicycle team's jerseys. Today I would be one of them. The "Jeep Affect" was apparent less than a mile into the lake front path. Team xXx racers, of which there are many, would pass and nod or hand signal as they would pass my Half Acre adorned torso. Through out the day I felt I knew something that everyone at work had no clue about. I split work early and rolled out onto the lake front path and immediately met up with a guy named Brandon from Team Pegasus who was also riding down to Calumet Park for the crit racing. Having only been to the park once it was a godsend for someone to lead the way. Once registered with the number 128 pinned on my back I took some revolutions on the course and realized how cold it was and the sun was still going down. With the pre-race warm-up completed I lined up next to some teammates on the start/finish line listened to the race official's safety talk and then the whistle blew. What happened next is now one of my new favorite sounds, all in unison for a second and a half a field of 40 racers clipped into their pedals. The race was on. The first turns were unnerving but I fell into a rhythm and began to understand the ebb and flow of the race along with how fast the races really are. 30 mph was not uncommon. Then I heard my new least favorite sound. There was a wreck right behind me. It sounded like a garbage disposal trying to grind up a fork. It is not a sound I want to hear up close if you know what I mean. A few laps later one of my teammates, Ross, was right beside me with some nasty road rash where pieces of his jersey and shorts used to be. Clearly he got wrapped up in the crash and caught back up to the field, what a monster! The last laps came along with tiring muscles, however I found myself in the front of the pack and I didn't want to be there so I slowed my pace.  Unfortunately as I did this the pack sped up and I did not have the gas to keep up. I fell back and finished by myself in the bottom half of the field. The rest of the night, now humbled, I volunteered with the rest of my teammates to marshal race corners and help out with tear down or the course. Teammate Ian offered to drive me home which was a great way to recap what each of us did wrong. Both disappointed with our race we agreed tomorrow would be better.

The next day was more of the same but with a carb heavy lunch and lots and lots of fluids all day long. The weather was perfect and I got in a solid warm up. Once the race started I kept to the inside corners and dug a little deeper, breathed like there wasn't enough air the atmosphere to fill my lungs, and stayed on the wheel of my teammates. As we rounded the last corner, I caught the inside and it shot me ahead of some strong riders.  I sprinted like a maniac for the finish. Ian got on my back wheel and I pulled him to a 6th place finish and as I crossed the line I had grabbed the 8 spot. Flying pretty high the conversation on the ride home was all positive.

Day three was cold and I had dressed for warm and I felt it was the fastest race of the series. The course was also reversed so we were now making right turns. This changed the dynamic in one huge way. The stretch to the finish would be a 60 yard straight away. I stayed as close as I could but I just couldn't keep up. I swear I was pulling 30 mph just to keep the field in view. I found a rider from Team Tuxedo Thunder that was struggling with me so we made our own pack and raced against each other which made for a fun sprint between the two of us. The results put me in the middle of 40 racers for the night. Thankfully I had some friends to cheer me on that night as it gave the night some extra meaning.

The finale of the series was the best yet. It was the coldest night and I dressed better and warmed up with pants and a jacket on. The pace was perfect.  The course was familiar and my jitters were at a minimum. Breathing went well, I took my corners smart, and all of us Half Acre Teammates were in a blue train at the front for a half lap. Feeling good as the final lap cowbell rang I tried to corner wisely and as the final turn came I was on the outside which I would have thought was a bad move but I had a wide open view to the top 3 sprinters so I sped up and started my sprint. Unfortunately the finish line was misjudged by about ten yards. As is topped out on my sprint no longer able to accelerate I held my pace as Ian passed me. It was an exciting finish that I felt good about. Ian checked the standings and came back with a big ol' smile on his face. He placed 6 and I placed 7 with fellow teammate Sean in at 8.

This bike racing stuff is a blast but chilling with the team is really where its at.
Check out the photos here and official news and standings here

Racing in the Street

Me in the Team Kit

The team kit has come in along with the USA Cycling license with the Half Acre Cycling team affiliation.  Relationships with team members are developing and I am registered for my first criterium race, The Gapers Block Crits at Calumet Park on Chicago's south side.  In preparation for the race some team members and I headed out to the Museum Campus for some practice after work.  The crew started as 4: Ian, Michael, Sean, and myself.  Vanessa joined us later for some racing and we were 5.
View Museum Campus Practice Crit in a larger map

The street dead ends at the planetarium with two large median separating east/west traffic. The streetlights light up the area great so we rode into the evening with no issues.  From this peninsula you get a great view of the city.  I have often come here to take pictures of the skyline.  The temps were spring like with 60°+ and wind gusts at 40mph. from the south.  It made the south east corner turning west down right scary.  We practiced turns solo and then 2X2 followed that up by hitting it at speed.  After that we took a 3 lap race which found me overtaking the leader in the final sprint for the win.  Once it was all said and done I gazed at the view in the top notch weather feeling lucky to be in such a great city.  15 miles of riding in a circle and it was time to pedal home.  The "Go Fast" bike, true to its name, was picked up by the wind and sailed us home in record time.  Not bad for a Wednesday after work.

Team Ride

View Half Acre Team Ride in a larger map
Sunday I pedaled out with the Bicycle Team I joined in January.  It was the first time I rolled out with the other members.  There were about 12 of us riding two by two for most of the ride up to Highland Park.  All of the riders met at the Damen Brown Line stop around 9:15am.  After we decided that we had everyone that was coming we hit the road cruising north up Damen towards Evanston where we met up to Sherridan Rd and hit that up to Green Bay Rd where a group of us including me got on it for a sprint into Highland Park.  The route ended at Perfect Blend Coffee where another crew of cyclists were already hanging out.  It must be a popular route because there were plenty of cyclists riding through town.  We didn't stay long before we were back on the pedal monsters heading back to Chicago.  I was on my "Go Fast" bike which is what I call my Specialized Allez Pro from the late 90's.  Mine was certainly the oldest bike there and I knew it would be so I dolled it up the night before with some fresh grip tape, tires and a new saddle I'd been meaning to swap for some time now.  There was a brand spanking new Giant in the mix and the rear wheel got up close and personal to a pothole on the way back.  The pothole won.  Not only did the rider get a flat but she broke a spoke too.  By the end of the ride the rear wheel had a nice little wobble.  The plan was to head right back to the shop she purchased it at to warranty it out.  I hope it all goes smoothly for her.  What a bummer.  On a positive note the weather was great, around 45°, and the crew was topps.  The ride was pretty social.  There was talk about racing but it wasn't too technical.  It was more on the theme of what races and in what towns everyone was interested in.  Shop talk was minimal.  Don't get me wrong I like talking "bikes" but if that is all we have in common it could get old quick and that was really not the case.  The route wrapped up around 1:15pm with about 40 miles behind us and I felt great by the end.  Oh and I think there was a football game on later that night.     

The Versatile Blogger

So there is a little award thing going around that has found it way to me. Its called The Versatile Blogger and as far back as I have traced it I don't see too many other dudes who have received it so consider me flattered two times.  I have made two friends that started with brief in-person interaction and carried on ten fold by way of writing.  A pen pal you could say.  My Kiwi friend Susie whose emails brought me to England and New Zealand to visit.  I was also able to show her Chicago a few times.  The other keeps the blog Existimatio which I link to off to the side of this site.  Her comments are always welcome surprises and they encourage me to write more often.  She has tossed the nomination to Medio-Core Chicago.  Apparently there are rules involved such as 7 things about me and nomination to other blogs.  Its a little like those "forward this to a million people" things but Ill bite.

Thanks Theresa.

These are the rules:

1. Nominate 15 bloggers for the award.  
2.  In the same post, add the award.
3. Thank the blogger that nominated you, and give the link back to their blog.
4. Share 7 random things about yourself.
5. Include the rules in the post.
6. Inform every blogger that you nominated of their nomination by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. At nine years old I flew over my bicycle handle bars and chipped my two front teeth.
2. I still want to be an Astronaut.
3. Airport bars are my favorite. 
4. I pinned a microphone on George Lucas.
5. In the summer of 2004 I was in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, by way of land, within 7 days.
6. I love a good junk yard.
7. I used to drive a John Deere Tractor for a living.

The whole 15 blogs thing aint gonna happen. My variation:  These are the newest blogs I'm paying attention to.

Biking in Tandem 
Schwartzography
Semi-Rad.com

Snow Shoe Action at LaBagh Froest Preserve.

The snow started falling Friday morning and there was about a 8-10 inches by the time it was all done with about 6 of that on the streets by the time I got out of work.  My bike ride to the happy hour at the Empty Bottle was quite the journey.  Milwaukee Ave which is one of main routes to the north western neighborhoods was jam packed with cars and my bike was fishtailing like crazy.  Once I got to the intersection of Ogden and Milwaukee the cars were gridlocked.  I maneuvered my bike through and it was a beautiful sight.  For a mile and a half to Augusta st. not one car came up behind me I had the road all to myself.  Quite the experience.  The night ended at the California Clipper which was a nice respite from the Alberta Clipper which gave us the snow and biting cold.

With a bit of a late start and a gift certificate to REI burning a hole in my pocket I headed out to purchase some snow shoes to have some fun in the powder that had fallen.  I had rented the MSR EVOs a year or two back to hike the Indiana Dunes and had a blast.  However I ended up going with the Atlas Snowfall.   The EVOs have some really heavy duty crampons and serrated edges which make them more suited for glacier summits.  Well I don't know if you noticed but the glaciers left the Midwest at the end of the Ice Age.  I'm a big fan of buying gear for what you do not what you want to do.  These Atlas shoes are light and ridiculously simple.  There is no hinge just a piece of thick vinyl that flexes with your foot.  K2 is the parent company and not over engineering the shoe let them drop money on a great binding system.  Any how they are cheap and light and perfect for what you can get into on the occasional snow dump in the flat-lands.


View Larger Map
I tried them out at LaBagh Forest Preserve. I took my mountain bike out there this summer and it lends itself to snowshoeing and cross country skiing perfectly.  By the time I got there the sun was setting and the snow was still fluffy.  It made for some great pictures of the Chicago River.  I rode the bike there with the shoes hanging out of my panniers.  I love the fact that I was able to do the whole day on two wheels.  Enjoy the pics.

This whole family was CC Skiing.  I got to get in on that next time.

 

Of Beer and Bikes

A few years back when my brother was getting hitched I phoned up a local brewery, Half Acre Beer Co., to give us and his buddies a tour.  They had just opened up in the neighborhood of North Center and didn't even have an official tour but they were happy to pour us some brews and give us a spiel.  Having been on a number of brew tours this one stands out as one of the best.  One of the owners led the tour and it was mostly about how they run a small business.  It was a nice break from the old standby of ingredients and process talk.  The beer was great and the dudes working there were super cool.   Immediately I knew that I wanted to live within walking distance and that this was going to be my new neighborhood.  When my lease was up later that year that's exactly what happened.  Breweries and churches used to be town anchors in fact North Center was originally called St. Ben's due to the huge church in town.  Prohibition put a stop to the brewery and it seems that only now the local brewery is coming back to communities.  I mean it when I say communities too.  When I fill up my growler I ride my bike though the bay door and rest it against a wall of the inside of the brewery and I might hang out for a while before pedaling off.  Much to my excitement I found out they sponsor a bicycle team.  With my bicycle crew no longer in Chicago I was in dyer need for people to ride with, so when my friend Laurie from work said she joined Half Acre Cycling, I asked her to put in a good word for me.  Much to my surprise she sponsored me to join.   Within a month I became a member.  I have raced in exactly one criterium and that is the extent of my competitive cycling.  I have now committed myself to 7 races this year.  I figured a few road, mountain, and possibly cyclo-cross too should make for a fun year.   Hitching my wagon to this brewery has been coming up aces for sure. 

Cascade Mountain Dec 31-Jan 1

Jenny, Me, Colleen, Rachelle, Steve.  Taking some turns at Cascade.

Seven of the last ten years I have brought in the new year by skiing.  It started as my first introduction to my career as a ski bum when I rang in the new century.  Since resort life meant work would be mandatory on the 1st, getting blotto drunk was out of the question.  This has led to a sober start to the upcoming 365 as a byproduct.  Now I can't imagine a better way to start the year.  I get the holiday off now and I commit myself to something physical as a celebration of the new year, to start things off right so to say.  I figure I'd rather look forward to the new year instead of hating life nursing a hangover all day.  The years that I couldn't get out to the mountains I dragged out the mountain bike and got in some single track.  Some years, just as this year, I drove up to Wisconsin to enjoy the Midwest's down hill skiing.  The crew this time around were my friends Steve and Rachelle. Rachelle was learning to ski for their upcoming Colorado ski trip (which makes me infinitely jealous).  Along with two other gals, Colleen and Jenny.  We chose Cascade Mountain which is in Portage, WI. within 3hrs of driving its the best skiing option in my opinion.  They had plenty of man made snow.  Talking to some of the folks on the chairlift they said it is the best snow of all the Wisconsin resorts.  Cascade had fireworks at 8pm on New Years Eve so we stuck around to see them, then headed into town for dinner and drinks.  The bar we chose to countdown to midnight was a local hang out for sure, it was clear that none of us graduated from the local high school.  The night was spent at a Super 8 off the highway and they had a gangbusters continental breakfast for getting us ready to ski a second day.  My buddy's wife really picked up the two sticks on her feet by the end of the second day and we hit the road early enough to get back to Chicago by 7pm.       

Rachelle, Steve and Me

I took the opportunity to see how the helmet cam works in the snow. Enjoy!