Fox River Grove 5/20

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Known for the Norge Ski Jump the town also plays host for the Psimet Fox River Omnium.  Its a multiple day points road race for the bikes.  The first day was in Elgin and I attended the second day in Fox River Grove.  The race was a Criterium, with a monster climb right out of the gate.  There isn't much elevation to train on within city limits so I didn't really know what I was getting myself into.  I woke up early and packed up the Go Fast bike and was about an hour early for my 10 am race time.   Perfect for pre riding the course.  In my smallest chainring and largest cog I crawled up the incline at 9 mph.  It was probably a good 2-3 min climb.  Once at the top the winding suburban subdivision street, complete with hay bales padding mailboxes, there was a wide and smooth down hill allowing me to easily reach speeds north of 30 mph.  If you were confident you could really lean into the corners taking them at speed without hitting the brakes and slingshot yourself into the next climb.  I rode the course a few times planning where and when to shift to higher and lower gearing.  I felt my confidence building.  I lined up at the start/finish and eaves dropped on racers' plans to kill themselves to grab points and fall back.  I was collecting all this race intelligence to make my own plan.  The whistle blew and the climb started.  I let the points racers go figuring I would pass them late.  At the summit I geared down to gain any lost position, banked in the corners and then shifted to my small chainring on a false flat of the course only to drop my chain.  My legs spun like a silent movie sped up for comedic effect.  I didn't know what happened right away, was I just in too high a gear?  Nope.  I had to stop.  I pulled off to the side forcing another rider into the grass.  Sorry bud.  The intangible happened.  All that strategy now meant nothing.  With the adrenaline pumping, and not wanting to unclip entirely from my pedals, it took me 3 tries to get my chain back on.  I went from the front of the peloton to the back in the longest 15 seconds ever.  I got back in the action passing one or two riders and then came the climb again.  There would be no passing on this beast.  There is a cheering section on the left.  I'm being yelled at to go faster, stand up on those pedals, pass that guy.  Equal parts encouragement/annoyance.  I'm at the top, I take a deep breath and down shift.  My legs are shaking but I'm determined to pass everyone in sight on the way down.  I take every corner on the inside and sprint on the straightaways.  I will regain my position.  Now more climbing and no passing.  My manhood is now being challenged by hecklers/cheerleaders.  At the summit I go for my water bottle.  The sugary sports drink makes my lips sticky and its an extra effort just to open my mouth, I wish it was water.  I'm passed and I can't even be bothered to use his draft I so I over take him on the down hill along with a hand full of other riders.  Finally I see some teammates.  The top 20 must be right around the corner.  More climbing.  The cheering section.  I don't even know how many times I've done this now.  With a glance, my bike computer read the ride time at 22 min.  This is either the finial lap or I have one more to go.  I'll give it all I got just in case.  I sprint to the finish.  Its the last lap.  The run out is strait ahead and I'm so happy I don't have to climb that hill again.  I finally see the riders ahead of me.  I was kidding myself, there are a lot of riders in front of me.  If I cracked the top 20 Ill be happy...wait, no scratch that, I'm happy now.  I don't have to climb that hill any more.  Where is the water?

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 

Cobb Park 4/29

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I must really be digging this racing action.  Little habits are changing and forming like spending the evening carb loading for the morning's race.  I even decided to spend the night at my sister's house in the south 'burbs on Saturday night so I would only have a 40 min drive to Kankakee on Sunday allowing me to sleep in for an extra hour.  The only bummer with that was no carpool with the team.  Unlike last week I got to the race early enough to ride the course before the start time.  The criterium was set up great with a long stretch along the Kankakee River and then through side streets of a historic homes district, with some tight 90° turns, a dog leg, and a nice sloping curve that was uber fun.  Besides overdressing for the race I felt great going into the start.  If last week taught me anything it was to stay with the lead right out of the gate so I stuck to it this time too.  The tempo really picked up after lap 7 and one of the tighter turns I tried to pedal through and struck my inside pedal on the pavement.  It was never more evident that I was surrounded by five racers at speed.  The sloping turn became more and more fun with every revolution.  If you found yourself on the inside corner you could really lean into it and pedal out of the turn and gain a ton of ground.  I did this the second to last lap and it shot me to the front five competitors.  It was the key to a nice finish.  With that in mind, I don't know what happened on the last lap 'cause I ended up on the outside and took the turn wide for the final sprint.  As I got on it I saw a top ten finish slipping away and gave out a rebel yell as I pedaled.  I do believe that war cry freaked out some other riders.  In fact teammate Mike H. the only other Half Acre rider in the pack told me so.  Not a big deal for me, you should hear me on the crux of a climb.  I'm nothing but grunts.  No harm no foul it kept me in the top ten at 9th and quite possibly encouraged Mike to get away from me fast.  He came away with 7th.  Two Half Acre riders making up the top ten.  I like the way that looks.

I stuck around for the women's race to cheer on the Half Acre ladies.  They put a great race together and I like cheering.  The race made for some great photos too.

April 22- Alderman James Cappleman's 46th Ward Lincoln Park Criterium

Someone caught my Grrr Face.
Titled Grrr by: ewwhite

Race Day comes again.  This time at Montrose Beach.  The first races I attended were organized by my team and this race was set up by the racers at xXx-Athletico.  They are a pretty large team.  I think I see at least one of them every day on the lakefront path.  Complete with announcers and a pace car it was apparent this race was not a training or intro to racing race.  I planned to get to the event early to ride the course before it was being raced.  I knew the races were back to back and I would have no time to scope it out before my start time.  However with freezing temps I figured any knowledge I would have gained would not have benefited cold bones.  The time was better spent eating and keeping warm.  With a lousy warmup ride I got to the course, registered and found the new Half Acre Team tent waiting for me.  I tossed my messenger bag inside ditched my water bottles and started riding around to keep loose.  I had invited a cheering section consisting of a half a dozen or so relatives that gladly froze while rooting on Half Acre racers.


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 Team captain, Mike A., tipped me to position myself away from the wind at certain spots and it helped tenfold throughout the race.  The course contained a hairpin turn that was at the bottom of a hill.  After the turn my climb slowed me down a few positions but was easily regained positioning myself with riders between me and the crosswind.  The tip was the difference maker that kept me in contention for the half hour.  Surprisingly, the pace was extremely manageable and had I not taken the lead earlier in the race I might have placed higher but I'm pretty geeked with a 7th place finish.

Trek to Three Floyds Brewery

The Riders at Queen's Landing

Making the trek to Munster, Indiana is one of the mainstay bike rides in Chicago's bicycle touring community.  Having grown up nearby and being extremely familiar with the area its a wonder why I have never made the trip before, by car or bike.  It was high time to join some friends and make some new ones on the ride down.  So on Saturday the 10th of April I did a brewery to brewery bike ride.  I began at (a still closed) Half Acre at 9:15am and met up with a group of riders at Queen's Landing across from the Buckingham Fountain at 10:30am.  We introduced ourselves and waited for the rest of the group and hit the path south at 11am.  Along with a few Half Acre teammates there were another handful of riders all as nice as can be.


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The bike path ends at the South Shore Cultural Center so we took the street bike lane on Rt. 41 down to the Burnham Greenway bike path.   I have never been on this path and loved it.  It bisects the East Side Neighborhood and the town of Burnham Il. The bath abruptly ends and turns into Ave O which then becomes Burnham Ave. where the two towns meet.  We continued south on Burnham Ave until State St where you can head east or west to meet up with an unknown Indiana bike path to the east or pick up the Burnham Greenway path again to the west (recommended).  The path ends at the state line so the best bet is to take Ridge road east to Calumet Ave and head south.  The brew pub is across from the Centennial Park in an industrial corridor.  If you choose to take the eastern route which we did on the way down I would suggest exiting the path on Columbia Ave south.  It dead ends at Rt. 45 and that is where you can pick up Calumet Ave just to the west.  Its about 25 miles from Queens Landing and a 35 mile one way trip for me starting in North Center.  Its a great trip unfortunately the kitchen at the brew pub is under construction and the BBQ they were serving was way overpriced.  For $12 dollars a four inch bun with a couple cuts of pork roast and a bag of chips did not cut the mustard.  The beers I had were excellent Belgium style ales and most of their fans are in love with beers hoppy enough to wake the dead i.e. Zombie Dust so for y'all its a super treat.

Some of our group split off to take the Metra Electric Line back to the city.  Its about 10 miles to the west in Flossmoor Il.  Which incidentally also has a brew pub in it.  I could have made it a Triple Brewery Trip.  Hey, I might be on to something there.  The rest of us bought some beers to imbibe along a secluded point of the path for the ride home.

Peel back some layers.

Pit stop with the Chicago Skyway in the background.

Underneath the Skyway is the Burnham Greenway Path.

As the sun was coming down we got back into city limits and as we cornered the South Shore Cultural Center heading north we got the big skyline reveal which really made the entire trip top notch.  About a mile later I got a flat.  Booooo.  We were back to it in no time and we one by one peeled off the path to go home or make evening plans.   

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.
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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.