Monday June 21, 2010
(Al) Hemme and I rolled into the John Muir trailhead with plenty of time to warm up. We got a spot in the shade, got-in a decent warmup, then found Julie, Ben and Molly in the lot. Ben was gonna ride with us while we raced while Julie took Molly for a hike. We ran into Gerred coming off a lap at the start line and he said conditions pretty sloppy but improving, but still a lot of slick spots. Mike was going to start for us to set the pace. The officials told us that the best lap time thus-far was about 1:04, so we had an idea of what to expect.
Continue reading »
— Al Thom & Mike Hemme
Tuesday June 8, 2010
Just a simple 6.4 mile route carved out of rural hilly roads with a parking lot plopped down on a small slice of field. Ronit and I were surrounded by many other team colors but ours. Not a big deal, but a rarity. Nobody seemed any too eager to mingle. To mention, though, it was a junior heavy race, so most of the crowd were parents focused on the kids. After two junior classes were released, the Cat 4 ladies gathered. It was there we found out: neutral rollout but we had to ride “the wall” (18% grade hill) to start atop. From there on out, the 6-8% grade hills would put a continual burn in the thighs, with a brief stretch of down (top speed 35 mph…wee!).
Continue reading »
— Jen Groen
Monday June 7, 2010
O’Fallon, IL was the scene. it was hotter than two rats doing it in a wool sock behind a wood burning stove.
we took off nice and easy on lap 1 and it soon became apparent that no one wanted to work, guys were peeling off the front and looking back waiting for someone to come up and take a pull. it was during one of these exchanges that I decided to take an 8-mile “flyer” off the front to get some camera time for our sponsors. all the motorcycles and flashbulbs were a distraction but this is life at the front… you get used to it. after awhile I felt like our great sponsors got adequate time so I came back to the field and recovered for the rest of lap 1. during this time, Todd did a lot of work countering moves here and there and generally controlling the pace. the rest of us did a nice job getting organized behind and we all got in position for the final climb/attack. Adrian made a key move on the inside to get me into perfect position. the lead-out started with Isaiah who took off like a rocket. Patrick was there. Todd was there. the pace was fast and everyone was looking for daylight and it was hard to stay organized. Todd and I realized that the centerline rule no longer applied so we found space on the left and went that way. it was so cool approaching the line. we had 4 guys in great position going for it. I crossed the line in 2nd. Todd-3rd. Isaiah-4th (sick lead-out!). Patrick-6th. we were bummed not to get the win but were super stoked about how we worked as a team. after the race, so many riders came up to us and complimented us on our teamwork.
so after about 3 hours and as many gallons of water consumed we FINALLY got our race results. there were rumors of centerline disqualifications in some of the races (~10 racers were DQ’d in the Cat 4 race alone!!!) and it turns out that the winner of our race was nailed on the final climb advancing his position. I felt bad for him because he’s a nice kid and that’s not the way I wanted to win a race but what am I supposed to do? I think the answer is CELEBRATE! and we did with an all Half Acre podium.
the O’Fallon trip was also highlighted with busted toilets, pet cemetery, the world’s largest catsup bottle, snakes and tornadoes.
— Jamie Sanchez
Monday June 7, 2010
For some unknown reason, I decided that the Spring Prairie Road Race would be my introduction to road racing. Maybe it was the allure of the brochure boasting “tendon tearing climbs.” Maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment.
My racing experience has been in mountain biking, which means I understand mud and grime, rocks and roots. This year I’ve been doing a lot of road training – learning about drafting and spinning, and figured why not, let’s try this road racing thang.
Spring Prairie was 26 miles (Women’s 4s). Four 6.5 mile loops. I’m more of an endurance athlete, so that was a little short for me. But, I figured it also might be a good first race.
Continue reading »
— Ronit Bezalel
Monday May 3, 2010
Wake-up call Saturday Morning: 3:30am CDT
Miles flow from ATL to ORD: 606
Time in car (Chicago to Winona Lake round-trip): 6 hours
Category entered: 3 (30-39)
Miles of 1 lap of Winona Lake Trail: 10
Chains broken due to me being dumb: 1
Miles run to finish the race: 4 (approximate)
Place finished: 14/30
Place i would have finished were there no mechanicals: 1
Beers drank Saturday night at Toyota Park: 4 12oz cans
Score: 1-1 (Fire vs Chivas USA)
Wake-up call Sunday Morning: 6:30am CDT
Time in car (Chicago to Fort Custer round-trip): 5 hours
Category entered: 30-34 (Sport)
Miles of 1 lap of Fort Custer Stampede: 9
Laps in Sport Class: 2
Place finished: 3/???
Delicious tempeh sloppy joes consumed at Bell’s Brewery post-race: 2
High-fives at team meeting Sunday night: 11ty,000,000,000
My high score vs Ronit’s high score at Millipede: 8635 vs 34855
Would do it all over again (boolean): 1
— Chris Jensen
