Angela & I went for an easy spin today in Chicago. Lazy days are fun but they fly by entirely too fast…
News Flash*** Check out the links to yesterday’s Cat 3 race finish. I think you’ll see just how rough it can get up here.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfs55TB9srg
Photo Series: http://flickr.com/photos/margaretandjeff/sets/72157606284078252/
*Warning-The video is very graphic. If you’re a racer you may not want to watch this…
Monday, July 21, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Superweek Day #9 Welcome back legs! Welcome to Chicago Angela!!!
It’s amazing how bad you can feel one day and be strong the next. I was really nervous going into today’s stage. I had no idea how my legs would feel and I didn’t want to deal with another disappointment like yesterday. Thankfully that wasn’t an issue.
Angela’s flight arrived at 930am so I picked her up from O’hare airport and headed directly to Evanston for her race (start time 1pm). Thankfully, everything was running on time so we were in Evanston with the bike built and ready to warm up by 12:00. Perfect!
Angela’s race was 15miles and she managed to find a good spot in the pack early on. With 4 to go there was a stoppage due to a wreck (10miunte delay). Officials declared the lead racer (maintaining 15-20 second gap on field) the winner and the field would race for the remaining spots with only 2 laps remaining (they shaved 2 laps) at the re-start. Angela finished 3rd in the field sprint 4th overall! Not a bad first day…
Meanwhile, I’m watching (and yelling) her race thinking “she’s doing really well and I’d better step it up today.”
I managed a 2nd row spot at the start line (80+ racers) only to be hear that they would be drastically cutting laps from our race (NO GOOD) due to time****See notes below. I was quick to move to the front and stay out of trouble (tight figure 8, 6-turn course). Going into the 2nd & 3rd lap I knew my legs would be ok today-no repeat of yesterday. So, that was a big relief. About half way through the (40 mile) race the race was stopped due to downed riders on the course. During the stoppage, officials shaved more laps-NOT GOOD. Restart! We went from 18 to go to 14 to go after the restart. This caused a large portion of the field to LOOSE THEIR MINDS! Racers were making extremely dangerous & stupid moves on an already technically difficult course-it was really quite unnerving.
With 10 to go I moved up to the front (15 or so) only to see the lap counter go from 10 to 8 to 6 to 4 laps. That’s right; they were shaving laps in the race with fewer than 5 to go. Unacceptable!!! Racers were going crazy with attack after attack. I had a good spot going into the last turn only to get my wheel cut (moron). The finishing sprint ended in total carnage. Somebody near the front went down in the middle of the road and there were bikes and bodies everywhere. I had to weave between the bikes, bodies, and wheels all over the course just to cross the line. CRAZY finish! Glad to be upright…
Angela’s flight arrived at 930am so I picked her up from O’hare airport and headed directly to Evanston for her race (start time 1pm). Thankfully, everything was running on time so we were in Evanston with the bike built and ready to warm up by 12:00. Perfect!
Angela’s race was 15miles and she managed to find a good spot in the pack early on. With 4 to go there was a stoppage due to a wreck (10miunte delay). Officials declared the lead racer (maintaining 15-20 second gap on field) the winner and the field would race for the remaining spots with only 2 laps remaining (they shaved 2 laps) at the re-start. Angela finished 3rd in the field sprint 4th overall! Not a bad first day…
Meanwhile, I’m watching (and yelling) her race thinking “she’s doing really well and I’d better step it up today.”
I managed a 2nd row spot at the start line (80+ racers) only to be hear that they would be drastically cutting laps from our race (NO GOOD) due to time****See notes below. I was quick to move to the front and stay out of trouble (tight figure 8, 6-turn course). Going into the 2nd & 3rd lap I knew my legs would be ok today-no repeat of yesterday. So, that was a big relief. About half way through the (40 mile) race the race was stopped due to downed riders on the course. During the stoppage, officials shaved more laps-NOT GOOD. Restart! We went from 18 to go to 14 to go after the restart. This caused a large portion of the field to LOOSE THEIR MINDS! Racers were making extremely dangerous & stupid moves on an already technically difficult course-it was really quite unnerving.
With 10 to go I moved up to the front (15 or so) only to see the lap counter go from 10 to 8 to 6 to 4 laps. That’s right; they were shaving laps in the race with fewer than 5 to go. Unacceptable!!! Racers were going crazy with attack after attack. I had a good spot going into the last turn only to get my wheel cut (moron). The finishing sprint ended in total carnage. Somebody near the front went down in the middle of the road and there were bikes and bodies everywhere. I had to weave between the bikes, bodies, and wheels all over the course just to cross the line. CRAZY finish! Glad to be upright…
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Superweek Day #8 Worst race ever...
Things can only get better from here. LOL! I got shelled 20 minutes into the race. I felt like a first time Cat 5 lining up for a P/1/2 race-pathetic.
I warmed up for about 30 minutes and felt pretty good but we ended up taking a 30 minute delay due to a bad wreck & race stoppage in the Pro-women’s race.
In order to get a good spot at the line (a MUST at these races with 120+ racers & tight courses) I had to stand around in staging for 30 minutes.
Basically, I set myself up for failure today (I think). I took yesterday off-totally off. I did nothing all day except get a massage and eat a lot of food. I should have done some easy spinning last night but I was exhausted. I sleep 10+ hours a night and I could lay down and fall asleep at the starting line… NOT GOOD.
I returned to Chicago tonight, ate a good dinner and went for a 1:30 easy spin with some short intervals. It felt good so we’ll see about tomorrow.
Angela arrives in the morning and we go straight to Evanston. It’s going to be CRAZY FAST &
crowded. I’m excited for her and hopeful for myself.
Forecast of rain. Rain + 160 racers + technical 8-turn race = Good Fun!!!
I warmed up for about 30 minutes and felt pretty good but we ended up taking a 30 minute delay due to a bad wreck & race stoppage in the Pro-women’s race.
In order to get a good spot at the line (a MUST at these races with 120+ racers & tight courses) I had to stand around in staging for 30 minutes.
Basically, I set myself up for failure today (I think). I took yesterday off-totally off. I did nothing all day except get a massage and eat a lot of food. I should have done some easy spinning last night but I was exhausted. I sleep 10+ hours a night and I could lay down and fall asleep at the starting line… NOT GOOD.
I returned to Chicago tonight, ate a good dinner and went for a 1:30 easy spin with some short intervals. It felt good so we’ll see about tomorrow.
Angela arrives in the morning and we go straight to Evanston. It’s going to be CRAZY FAST &
crowded. I’m excited for her and hopeful for myself.
Forecast of rain. Rain + 160 racers + technical 8-turn race = Good Fun!!!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Superweek Day # 7 Rest Day #1
Well, today’s my first rest day. There will be more! I’m exhausted… This tour combined with a long season has really taken its toll on me. I’m having a hard time finding snap in my legs so I’m having to take some rest days to salvage the remainder of the tour.
The most frustrating part of the whole thing is that I’m not racing like myself. I’ve spoken with Shaun Taylor about some nutrition and strategy-it was very helpful. I appreciate him taking the time out of his very busy schedule-while preparing for his 24 Hour World Solo Championships MTB Race. Thanks Shaun!
The most frustrating part of the whole thing is that I’m not racing like myself. I’ve spoken with Shaun Taylor about some nutrition and strategy-it was very helpful. I appreciate him taking the time out of his very busy schedule-while preparing for his 24 Hour World Solo Championships MTB Race. Thanks Shaun!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Superweek Day #6 "Sooooo tired..."
WOW. What a difference a day can make. Yesterday I felt strong & full of energy, today, not so much. We started with about 60 in the field. 10 miles into it and we had shed about 20. I got gapped behind a wreck in turn 1 (right before the climb) about 20 minutes in but managed to catch back on.
Today was the first day in Wisconsin so there were a lot of fresh legs in the pack & it was obvious. Guy’s were getting popped & just sitting up all over the place. So much in fact you’d be in a line and next thing you knew the guy in front was 10 bike lengths off the back. That’s pretty much what happened. I chased for 3 laps on a very hilly 1 mile course… Friends of mine (already dropped) said my chase was “valiant.” LOL I’m tired…
When I dropped there were 28 in the field. The field finished with 20. 1/3rd of the starters made it to the line…
I’m hoping Shaun Taylor can give me some sort of magical nutritional concoction that will help. Otherwise I’m thinking about taking a rest day tomorrow. I’d like to say I did all 16 stages but I’d also like to put up some strong results… We’ll see. It's going to be a LONG week...
Travis Troxtell finished 5th in the field sprint & Robert Biard did some quality work in the last lap to help keep it strung out. Unfortunately he went down but he'll be ready for tomorrow.
Tonight I stay with Megan & Mike from Milwaukee. They hosted me last year and were kind enough to invite me back again this year.
Today was the first day in Wisconsin so there were a lot of fresh legs in the pack & it was obvious. Guy’s were getting popped & just sitting up all over the place. So much in fact you’d be in a line and next thing you knew the guy in front was 10 bike lengths off the back. That’s pretty much what happened. I chased for 3 laps on a very hilly 1 mile course… Friends of mine (already dropped) said my chase was “valiant.” LOL I’m tired…
When I dropped there were 28 in the field. The field finished with 20. 1/3rd of the starters made it to the line…
I’m hoping Shaun Taylor can give me some sort of magical nutritional concoction that will help. Otherwise I’m thinking about taking a rest day tomorrow. I’d like to say I did all 16 stages but I’d also like to put up some strong results… We’ll see. It's going to be a LONG week...
Travis Troxtell finished 5th in the field sprint & Robert Biard did some quality work in the last lap to help keep it strung out. Unfortunately he went down but he'll be ready for tomorrow.
Tonight I stay with Megan & Mike from Milwaukee. They hosted me last year and were kind enough to invite me back again this year.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Superweek Day #5 "Thank You Shelby"
So I started my day with a wakeup call from Shelby Reynolds. For those of you who don’t know Shelby, she’s a 17 year-old that races for the Sugar Cycles-Specialized Regional Women’s Racing Team. So basically she rocks the house… Anyway, Shelby’s racing in Portland this week and called me to see how my racing was going. More importantly, she was calling because she had read my blog and was concerned that I wasn’t having any “fun” because I wasn’t winning (she knows me). So I set out to have fun today, because damn it-Shelby says so!
Well, fun I had… Although my results wouldn’t reflect said fun-I managed to find my legs & mix it up like I usually do.
Same course as yesterday, 35 miles, 40 laps, with attacks, and breaks all day long. I managed to jump into 2 attacks but they only lasted a couple laps each. With 5 to go there was a group of 6 up the road about 100 meters and they were just hanging there-but nobody was going to bring them back. With 2 to go they were still out there and we were not making ground-just letting them have the top 6 places… Hell no! I’m tired of that. As we were coming out of the last turn I was sitting about 5 back and I launched an all-out attack in an attempt to bridge the gap. I tried to bring a GS Tenzing racer with me but he couldn’t jump on fast enough so it was a clean break. I managed to reel in the leaders just past the 2nd turn. They all jumped as I joined and I held onto the rear for about 15 seconds. Coming into the 2nd to last turn our field split (everybody cratered) and I didn’t have enough to bridge to the leader again. We got swallowed up in the last turn-I ended up finishing at the end of the pack. 1 managed to stay away for the win. Again, the group would have just let them have the top 6 places.
In the end I got dropped but A. I tried something new-and avoided the dangerous group sprint and B. I really ruined 5 guys’ day. Now that’s fun!
Thanks Shelby!
Well, fun I had… Although my results wouldn’t reflect said fun-I managed to find my legs & mix it up like I usually do.
Same course as yesterday, 35 miles, 40 laps, with attacks, and breaks all day long. I managed to jump into 2 attacks but they only lasted a couple laps each. With 5 to go there was a group of 6 up the road about 100 meters and they were just hanging there-but nobody was going to bring them back. With 2 to go they were still out there and we were not making ground-just letting them have the top 6 places… Hell no! I’m tired of that. As we were coming out of the last turn I was sitting about 5 back and I launched an all-out attack in an attempt to bridge the gap. I tried to bring a GS Tenzing racer with me but he couldn’t jump on fast enough so it was a clean break. I managed to reel in the leaders just past the 2nd turn. They all jumped as I joined and I held onto the rear for about 15 seconds. Coming into the 2nd to last turn our field split (everybody cratered) and I didn’t have enough to bridge to the leader again. We got swallowed up in the last turn-I ended up finishing at the end of the pack. 1 managed to stay away for the win. Again, the group would have just let them have the top 6 places.
In the end I got dropped but A. I tried something new-and avoided the dangerous group sprint and B. I really ruined 5 guys’ day. Now that’s fun!
Thanks Shelby!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Superweek Day#4 Lame, lame, lame!!!
I’ve been waiting for my legs to come back to me… This has not been Jason Danvir racing. Day #1 I felt really strong but I’ve been struggling to find my rhythm ever since. So I mentally prepared myself to move to the front early and STAY there. I did.
The course was probably the nicest we’ve seen so far (repeat tomorrow) with good roads and no major death traps along the course. We started at 2:35pm and it was hot-not Houston hot, but hot & windy (previously mentioned WINDY City) for the 35 miles we covered. In the end I felt better about my legs today but am frustrated with the fields & local teams here. Area teams show up in packs of 3-10 and DO NOTHING. There will be a break up the road 20-30 seconds and teams with NOBODY in the break just sit in and sandbag! Worthless! Racing for 5th and 6th isn’t racing-you should just go play golf.
So if you haven’t figured where this is going-a break (one of many attacks today) went 25 miles in and stuck. In the end I felt like I had something to offer (so did the other 55 guy’s in the field) so I moved up to a pretty good spot until the joker 2 rows up decided he forgot what the last turn looked like (even though this was our 35th lap) and laid it down-taking 3 others with him.
No injuries here but I nearly came to a complete stop about 400 meters shy of the finish. Oh well, 4 days down 12 to go… That just sounds wrong…
Side note-Travis & Robert from TX Tough looked good today. Robert went down in the aforementioned wreck but he’s ready to go for tomorrow. Travis ended up 12th I believe. Nice!
A local blog to check out: http://thefattym.blogspot.com/ Matt's a pretty cool guy I met last year and he's looking strong again this year.
Local website: http://www.chicagobikeracing.com/ An interesting read with daily recap & locals feedback and comments.
The course was probably the nicest we’ve seen so far (repeat tomorrow) with good roads and no major death traps along the course. We started at 2:35pm and it was hot-not Houston hot, but hot & windy (previously mentioned WINDY City) for the 35 miles we covered. In the end I felt better about my legs today but am frustrated with the fields & local teams here. Area teams show up in packs of 3-10 and DO NOTHING. There will be a break up the road 20-30 seconds and teams with NOBODY in the break just sit in and sandbag! Worthless! Racing for 5th and 6th isn’t racing-you should just go play golf.
So if you haven’t figured where this is going-a break (one of many attacks today) went 25 miles in and stuck. In the end I felt like I had something to offer (so did the other 55 guy’s in the field) so I moved up to a pretty good spot until the joker 2 rows up decided he forgot what the last turn looked like (even though this was our 35th lap) and laid it down-taking 3 others with him.
No injuries here but I nearly came to a complete stop about 400 meters shy of the finish. Oh well, 4 days down 12 to go… That just sounds wrong…
Side note-Travis & Robert from TX Tough looked good today. Robert went down in the aforementioned wreck but he’s ready to go for tomorrow. Travis ended up 12th I believe. Nice!
A local blog to check out: http://thefattym.blogspot.com/ Matt's a pretty cool guy I met last year and he's looking strong again this year.
Local website: http://www.chicagobikeracing.com/ An interesting read with daily recap & locals feedback and comments.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
