Thursday, July 23, 2009
Soon.
I know I haven't updated. I have had nothing to write about. Marquette was the last race I did. I am racing this weekend so there will be updates from Fenton and the state TT. I also purchased a new wheelset and will have a review of them on here. So just be patient and soon something will appear. Also, Monday-Sunday I am going to Isle Royal in the northwest part of Lake Superior for a week of kyacking, camping and hiking. T'will be fun.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Superior Bike Fest - Circuit Race
What is harder than a 35 minute crit? A 19 minute circuit race.
Sunday was the 3rd and final day of racing. The clouds had left and the sun returned, but the sun brought its friend, the wind. The race was held on a 2 mile closed circuit around Presque Isle. The road was about 8 feet wide all the way around but smooth. On the back side of the loop there was an 1/8th mile steep uphill section, from there it leveled out and gradually dropped to the finish line. There were really only 2 turns on the course and both were right handers that came at the end of the lap. The first one was really rough on the inside and still downhill. Not bad if you can handle a bike, but as there were wooden posts every 3 feet around this section on the side of the road, if you overshot it you were done. The other one was smooth and fast, but you needed every edge of the tiny road. From there it was a short sprint to the line. Where ever you were on the first right hander, was probably where you would finish.
Our race was 4 laps, 8 miles. We knew it was going to be fast. From the gun (whistle) I went to the front to dictate a pace, but 3 seconds later York flew by me going for his inevitable breakaway. Everyone chased and the peloton got back together as we hit the bottom of the hill when another rider attacked. I rode around everyone on the climb to get to the front and set pace for Adam, but he sat up and the next thing I knew, I was bridging a gap for a breakaway. Florian, Rodd and a 5th guy from either Fusion or Leadout all bridged over and we had a 5 man break with major teams represented.
We tried working together, but people were so tired from bridging and the weekend of racing that most of us had nothing left. Florian, Rodd and I continued to take pulls despite being tired. Crossing the line with 2 laps to go the peloton was not far behind us so we sat up. A teammate of the original breakaway rider then flew past us and Florian gunned it and caught up with him. I tried but had nothing and went to recover in the group.
The next two laps saw attack after attack and the hill got harder every time we hit it. Both Colin and I were dangling on the back just trying to finish the race. On the final lap there was a split in what was left of the peloton. I went to the front to get York so I could pull him across to the 8-9 riders going off the front. He didn't seem interested so I used what I had left to get to the group and try for the best position possible. I picked up two spots in the corners and sprinted for the line. King of 12th place. York crossed the line a second later and yelled "Was that it? Oh, dangit!" He didn't realize that was the last lap.
All in all it was a good weekend. 3 races, 3 destroyed pelotons. 10th, 12th and 12th place finishes with an 11th overall. Adam was 2nd overall and Colin was 9th. Not a bad weekend for MCG.
Sunday was the 3rd and final day of racing. The clouds had left and the sun returned, but the sun brought its friend, the wind. The race was held on a 2 mile closed circuit around Presque Isle. The road was about 8 feet wide all the way around but smooth. On the back side of the loop there was an 1/8th mile steep uphill section, from there it leveled out and gradually dropped to the finish line. There were really only 2 turns on the course and both were right handers that came at the end of the lap. The first one was really rough on the inside and still downhill. Not bad if you can handle a bike, but as there were wooden posts every 3 feet around this section on the side of the road, if you overshot it you were done. The other one was smooth and fast, but you needed every edge of the tiny road. From there it was a short sprint to the line. Where ever you were on the first right hander, was probably where you would finish.
Our race was 4 laps, 8 miles. We knew it was going to be fast. From the gun (whistle) I went to the front to dictate a pace, but 3 seconds later York flew by me going for his inevitable breakaway. Everyone chased and the peloton got back together as we hit the bottom of the hill when another rider attacked. I rode around everyone on the climb to get to the front and set pace for Adam, but he sat up and the next thing I knew, I was bridging a gap for a breakaway. Florian, Rodd and a 5th guy from either Fusion or Leadout all bridged over and we had a 5 man break with major teams represented.
We tried working together, but people were so tired from bridging and the weekend of racing that most of us had nothing left. Florian, Rodd and I continued to take pulls despite being tired. Crossing the line with 2 laps to go the peloton was not far behind us so we sat up. A teammate of the original breakaway rider then flew past us and Florian gunned it and caught up with him. I tried but had nothing and went to recover in the group.
The next two laps saw attack after attack and the hill got harder every time we hit it. Both Colin and I were dangling on the back just trying to finish the race. On the final lap there was a split in what was left of the peloton. I went to the front to get York so I could pull him across to the 8-9 riders going off the front. He didn't seem interested so I used what I had left to get to the group and try for the best position possible. I picked up two spots in the corners and sprinted for the line. King of 12th place. York crossed the line a second later and yelled "Was that it? Oh, dangit!" He didn't realize that was the last lap.
All in all it was a good weekend. 3 races, 3 destroyed pelotons. 10th, 12th and 12th place finishes with an 11th overall. Adam was 2nd overall and Colin was 9th. Not a bad weekend for MCG.
Superior Bike Fest - Road Race
So after getting 7 hours of sleep I woke up and got ready for our 55 mile road race that was not flat. Unlike the previous day, the weather was overcast, cooler and threatening to rain. With Mark in the hospital, he said I could use his bike if I wanted to. So I did. Tipping the scales at just under 14 lbs and outfitted with American Classic carbon wheels and SRAM Red, it was a great bike for the undulating day.
The cool thing is that Mark and I have the same pedals and inseam, so I can just jump on his bike and go without adjusting it. I got kitted up and rode up to a bagel shop to have breakfast with my mom, dad, brother and his wife. After I finished my super nutritious breakfast of a sausage egg and cheese bagel accompanied by hot chocolate, I made my way down to the staging area about a mile away.
At the start some people were giving me crap about riding Mark's bike saying that it is crash prone. I didn't care, if Mark couldn't be racing, then his bike was. There were about 35 guys on the start line and we went 8 minutes after the Cat 1/2s. The first 2 miles of the race were a neutral roll out. The lead car (corvette) drove about 18 mph and we just talked in the group. At the official race start the car took off, but the peloton didn't want to play. We all sat there and just kept our nice light tempo. As we approached Marquette Mountain about 2 miles later the attacks and racing started. York took off up the 1.5 mile long climb and the group followed. It was obvious no one was getting away on the climb, so we rode it steadily as a group dropping 3-4 guys by the top.
Once over the top, it was about 10 miles of flat, smooth, HEADWIND roads. I capitalize headwind because it had to be an 18-20mph wind in our face. I stayed tucked in the group with York as Colin went on a breakaway that eventually got pulled in. Teams were keeping the pace pretty steady and we hit the turn as one group. This section of road was about 3 miles long before we were headed back in the direction of Marquette. There were several attacks in this area that had the peloton strung out, but on an uphill section after the next turn, Jones dropped his chain, only for 3-4 seconds, but that's all that was needed. York, Birmann and Kuyper all went flying off the front because York attacked knowing Jones couldn't go with him.
Over the next 30 miles the peloton averaged like 25mph. We were just flying because the other teams wanted to pull the break back. I have to give a lot of credit to the Leadout guys, Mike Jones, Andrew Florian, Joe Lekovish and Colin Snyder. With all of us blocking we allowed the break to stay out front. At one point the break was about 5 seconds in front. By the finish, they were about a minute out. For some unknown reason, as the peloton entered the two house village of Palmer, we sat up and rode slowly. I wasn't complaining, but no one knew why.
As we came back down Marquette Mountain, it started to rain a little. We knew at this point the break was sure to win so it was time to think about positioning for the sprint. Jones and I were near the front without being on the front as we came into the urban area. Interesting little bit: There was a pickup truck driving in the middle of the road in the same direction we were headed. But they were driving at 15 mph. The guys at the front of the group didn't know what to do, and next thing you know, Florian, Jones and I had flown around the truck and were on the front of the group. A police officer stopped the car but we were already mostly around it.
Anyways....the final 2 miles were fun as guys had their teammates drilling the front. I was trying to pick out my spot for the last corner and decided 4th wheel was best. So I rode around a few guys and literally elbowed my way into the spot I wanted. As we rounded the last corner I thought to myself "Yes this was the perfect spot" but then I also thought to myself "Crap, I'm not a sprinter". Went around the corner 7th (remember breakaway of 3 already finished) and ended up 12th. Kuyper won again with York in 2nd. Birmann 3rd, Jones 6th and Colin 11th. The overall now had me tied for 9th, Colin in 8th and the podium of Kuper, York and Jones.
With a super fast circuit race in the morning it was time to get some rest and catch up on lost sleep.
The cool thing is that Mark and I have the same pedals and inseam, so I can just jump on his bike and go without adjusting it. I got kitted up and rode up to a bagel shop to have breakfast with my mom, dad, brother and his wife. After I finished my super nutritious breakfast of a sausage egg and cheese bagel accompanied by hot chocolate, I made my way down to the staging area about a mile away.
At the start some people were giving me crap about riding Mark's bike saying that it is crash prone. I didn't care, if Mark couldn't be racing, then his bike was. There were about 35 guys on the start line and we went 8 minutes after the Cat 1/2s. The first 2 miles of the race were a neutral roll out. The lead car (corvette) drove about 18 mph and we just talked in the group. At the official race start the car took off, but the peloton didn't want to play. We all sat there and just kept our nice light tempo. As we approached Marquette Mountain about 2 miles later the attacks and racing started. York took off up the 1.5 mile long climb and the group followed. It was obvious no one was getting away on the climb, so we rode it steadily as a group dropping 3-4 guys by the top.
Once over the top, it was about 10 miles of flat, smooth, HEADWIND roads. I capitalize headwind because it had to be an 18-20mph wind in our face. I stayed tucked in the group with York as Colin went on a breakaway that eventually got pulled in. Teams were keeping the pace pretty steady and we hit the turn as one group. This section of road was about 3 miles long before we were headed back in the direction of Marquette. There were several attacks in this area that had the peloton strung out, but on an uphill section after the next turn, Jones dropped his chain, only for 3-4 seconds, but that's all that was needed. York, Birmann and Kuyper all went flying off the front because York attacked knowing Jones couldn't go with him.
Over the next 30 miles the peloton averaged like 25mph. We were just flying because the other teams wanted to pull the break back. I have to give a lot of credit to the Leadout guys, Mike Jones, Andrew Florian, Joe Lekovish and Colin Snyder. With all of us blocking we allowed the break to stay out front. At one point the break was about 5 seconds in front. By the finish, they were about a minute out. For some unknown reason, as the peloton entered the two house village of Palmer, we sat up and rode slowly. I wasn't complaining, but no one knew why.
As we came back down Marquette Mountain, it started to rain a little. We knew at this point the break was sure to win so it was time to think about positioning for the sprint. Jones and I were near the front without being on the front as we came into the urban area. Interesting little bit: There was a pickup truck driving in the middle of the road in the same direction we were headed. But they were driving at 15 mph. The guys at the front of the group didn't know what to do, and next thing you know, Florian, Jones and I had flown around the truck and were on the front of the group. A police officer stopped the car but we were already mostly around it.
Anyways....the final 2 miles were fun as guys had their teammates drilling the front. I was trying to pick out my spot for the last corner and decided 4th wheel was best. So I rode around a few guys and literally elbowed my way into the spot I wanted. As we rounded the last corner I thought to myself "Yes this was the perfect spot" but then I also thought to myself "Crap, I'm not a sprinter". Went around the corner 7th (remember breakaway of 3 already finished) and ended up 12th. Kuyper won again with York in 2nd. Birmann 3rd, Jones 6th and Colin 11th. The overall now had me tied for 9th, Colin in 8th and the podium of Kuper, York and Jones.
With a super fast circuit race in the morning it was time to get some rest and catch up on lost sleep.
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