I ask this question because there is a rider that was doing a race I was in earlier in the year that will pass away in the next week or so from his injuries. He crashed during the sprint of I think a Cat 5 race maybe it was a 4/5 because I heard the rider used to be a Cat 2 and had just came back to racing. I did not see the crash nor did I go and see the rider lying on the ground after but I heard it was bad bad bad. The story I heard was that he landed on his face without putting his hands down and was going at a good clip. He was taken to the local hospital and the local cycling community really rallied behind this family and raised money, and donated food to help them in their time of need. My team donated some money as well and I hope that it somehow made the family's life a little better but I doubt it. How could anything make their lives better with their father, husband, son, friend laying in a bed fighting for his life. We were given daily updates on how he was doing over the local forums and I checked multiple times a day praying for some good news. But massive brain swelling has taken its toll and the doctors have see no improvements for some time now, and the family was faced with the horrible decision of "pulling the plug". My wife and I have talked about this happening to one of us multiple times, about what we both would like, and I am sure that this family has done the same. But still the final decision to say good bye has to be the hardest thing anyone would ever have to face.
I know that I have often said that I would love to go doing something that I love to do. Not wasting away in a bed of some cancer or something like that. I don't think that I mean in my prime though. When I say that I mean when I am 100 years old I want to be riding my bike in some group ride and my heart just explodes as I reach the top of some mountain. The sun shining, with the whole world stretching out in front of me. My last breath is a gasp at the beauty of the moment, and then it is over. To pass at such a young age leaving a family behind is not how I would want to go.
One of my teammates said that this crash made him think, he has his first baby coming in less than a month and has a lot of responsibility coming up. It makes me think as well but mostly that I have to be as vigilant as I can be while racing. Try to stay out of trouble and just ask God every time that I start a race that I, and every other guy out there makes it home safe that night. I know the danger involved, I have been in dangerous sports my whole life. I could die slipping in the tub. This just hits close, and I know that I will keep this with me for a long time.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
A little over a month left
There isn't much road racing left in the season. There are only a couple big races left and I think I can feel my legs coming back. After my big block of racing earlier this year I hit a big slump. It was pretty much right after the tour of Lawrence. I got sick, couldn't ride much, and my fitness dropped quickly. The toughest part about it was the mental let down. You work so hard for this level of fitness and ability, and you want it to last forever. But it wont and it doesn't. Part of the reason for the drop also is that I had very few miles even with all the racing. These races are only about 30 miles or less on average and to be able to remain at that level you need miles and you need lots of miles and lot of intensity.
Well I am finally putting in both again. Did 80 miles on Monday with 30 of it averaging 25 miles per hour. And then I road over to Tuesday night Worlds yesterday where we averaged 26 and I ended up with almost 40 miles. I will probably get out tonight and ride around Forest Park for a couple hours in the twilight and dark to try and beat this crazy heat. I have had just about enough.
Not much to talk about today, maybe after I get back from vacation in Utah. Later.
Well I am finally putting in both again. Did 80 miles on Monday with 30 of it averaging 25 miles per hour. And then I road over to Tuesday night Worlds yesterday where we averaged 26 and I ended up with almost 40 miles. I will probably get out tonight and ride around Forest Park for a couple hours in the twilight and dark to try and beat this crazy heat. I have had just about enough.
Not much to talk about today, maybe after I get back from vacation in Utah. Later.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
708 Racing, a game changer?
I started Wild Card Racing STL, now 708 Racing with Mike Rickey because I didn't want to be just another rider in a group. I wanted to be part of a real team. I think a lot of people in the STL racing scene dont want to race as a team. Maybe they never were part of a team when they were younger and don't understand or appreciate the positives to it. Since I was a Cat 5 just about every race I have been in with others there has been a team plan. They don't alway work and we didn't always win but they made racing more enjoyable and filled my need to be part of something more than just me. Now that I have this great team around me and we always race as a team people are really noticing. Again we don't aways win, and we often have more than one plan, sometimes up to 4 plans, but they are there.
Racing a bike is different then running or triathlon because when we line up to race we are not doing it just to finish or get a personal record time. Most of us are doing it to try and win. The thing is that only one man can win and with bike racing it is very hard to win every race. But when you race as a team every rider has a job to do. Your job my be simple, it could be to make the first five laps of a race really fast, or it could be hard, go away on an all day break away. Some guys will have the job to chase break aways, some will have lead out duties, and one guy is going to be picked to win. And because everyone has a job everyone can win. You can feel fulfilled by your day's work because you did what you were supposed to do to help the team attain their total goal.
Our team also gives all our members their shot at their goals. We all have favorite races that we would love to win. And everyone at some point in the year will get all the resources of 708 Racing at their disposal. We do have a couple riders that if we worked for them at every race we would have had a pretty good shot at winning 3/4 of every race we entered or more. But what type of team is that? Sure as a pro you may be paid to race for the same rider at every race, the key word being paid. As amateurs we do this because it is our passion. We dream of riding across that finish line with our arms raised in triumph, and we make sure everyone gets their shot. My two shots I got this year I was not able to bring home the gold, but I was so grateful for all the help from my team that I have also buried myself for others on my team. It is that total sacrifice that separates 708 Racing from all other STL teams.
I feel like I have already started to see changes in the fields though. Other teams are starting to see that if they are going to keep up with us they are going to have to start adapting similar tactics. I think this is a great thing for bike racing in St Louis! If there are a good number of teams that learn to races with each other instead of just wearing the same kit St Louis could become a region know for great racing and maybe start to produce great young cyclists. Now that could be a big jump to make that just because a few guys who like to ride bikes together could change a whole cycling culture. But things have to start someplace and why not try to push things in a direction that could make us all better.
So even though I may be making it harder for me and my team to race and win, I am throwing out the gauntlet to those who suit up to race every weekend. Make plans, race as a team, I think that you will find that your passion for the sport only intensifies. And when it is all said and done this could be the start of an era, and you could say you were there.
Racing a bike is different then running or triathlon because when we line up to race we are not doing it just to finish or get a personal record time. Most of us are doing it to try and win. The thing is that only one man can win and with bike racing it is very hard to win every race. But when you race as a team every rider has a job to do. Your job my be simple, it could be to make the first five laps of a race really fast, or it could be hard, go away on an all day break away. Some guys will have the job to chase break aways, some will have lead out duties, and one guy is going to be picked to win. And because everyone has a job everyone can win. You can feel fulfilled by your day's work because you did what you were supposed to do to help the team attain their total goal.
Our team also gives all our members their shot at their goals. We all have favorite races that we would love to win. And everyone at some point in the year will get all the resources of 708 Racing at their disposal. We do have a couple riders that if we worked for them at every race we would have had a pretty good shot at winning 3/4 of every race we entered or more. But what type of team is that? Sure as a pro you may be paid to race for the same rider at every race, the key word being paid. As amateurs we do this because it is our passion. We dream of riding across that finish line with our arms raised in triumph, and we make sure everyone gets their shot. My two shots I got this year I was not able to bring home the gold, but I was so grateful for all the help from my team that I have also buried myself for others on my team. It is that total sacrifice that separates 708 Racing from all other STL teams.
I feel like I have already started to see changes in the fields though. Other teams are starting to see that if they are going to keep up with us they are going to have to start adapting similar tactics. I think this is a great thing for bike racing in St Louis! If there are a good number of teams that learn to races with each other instead of just wearing the same kit St Louis could become a region know for great racing and maybe start to produce great young cyclists. Now that could be a big jump to make that just because a few guys who like to ride bikes together could change a whole cycling culture. But things have to start someplace and why not try to push things in a direction that could make us all better.
So even though I may be making it harder for me and my team to race and win, I am throwing out the gauntlet to those who suit up to race every weekend. Make plans, race as a team, I think that you will find that your passion for the sport only intensifies. And when it is all said and done this could be the start of an era, and you could say you were there.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Get better already
I am still a bit under the weather. I am feeling better than I did during the week but still not good enough. I have not done a whole lot of riding hoping that resting would be the best thing. I am not willing to give up all my fitness though so I am anxious to get back at it. On the other hand if I try to come back too fast I will just dig a deeper hole. Fuckin A!
Well today I did a ride to see how my body is doing. I was going to do a few hard intervals to see where my heart rate and power numbers are. Turns out they were great, so why do I still feel like shit? I was going to do a power test tomorrow but now I am thinking that I will hold off another couple days and hope that I am feeling even better. Now that it is later in the day though I don't feel so great again and I am worried that I will feel shitty again tomorrow. I don't know maybe I will feel even better.
I think that I am going to riding with my wife and just see how it goes again. She is getting better at riding. We did 25 miles today and she was riding pretty good until the last few miles. I just need to get her to drink more water and eat food while we ride. Especially if we start doing more miles. Man I would really love to get her into racing. She just looks good on a bike, and I could get her some good wins.
It is getting late, I'm going to bed.
Well today I did a ride to see how my body is doing. I was going to do a few hard intervals to see where my heart rate and power numbers are. Turns out they were great, so why do I still feel like shit? I was going to do a power test tomorrow but now I am thinking that I will hold off another couple days and hope that I am feeling even better. Now that it is later in the day though I don't feel so great again and I am worried that I will feel shitty again tomorrow. I don't know maybe I will feel even better.
I think that I am going to riding with my wife and just see how it goes again. She is getting better at riding. We did 25 miles today and she was riding pretty good until the last few miles. I just need to get her to drink more water and eat food while we ride. Especially if we start doing more miles. Man I would really love to get her into racing. She just looks good on a bike, and I could get her some good wins.
It is getting late, I'm going to bed.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Tour of Lawrence
Mike and I traveled to Lawrence KS this last weekend to race the 3 stages around the University of Kansas. Day one was a 200 meter sprint down one of the main streets in Lawrence. Day two was a circuit on the UK campus going up and down some very big hills on a 3.9 mile course. Day 3 was down on the same streets as the sprint. This was an eight corner figure 8 crit almost completely flat.
Street sprints are not something that you see very often. It is a standing start all out single elimination race contested over 200 meters. Every rider was given pretty much a free race on the first round. The organizers said that it was for seeding the racers but I didn't really see it doing a very good job. I don't really know a better way and I did like the free race to figure out how I would react in real race conditions. I was given some good tips for this race that I am going to keep to myself because you would never guess the best way to do these races. And I want to have another good shot next year. Every race I did I had a great start and didn't really have any problems qualifying to later rounds. My last round I was just too jacked up. I had the whole shot and was in the lead by a bike length right away. I got too far forward though and caused my rear wheel to jump twice. That was all she wrote. When you are going close to 40 miles per hour and power not getting to the road means you are going backwards compared to everyone else. I ended up being knocked out one round from the money. I was happy to be able to get so far and beat some top sprinter but pissed about the mistake I made and that I was so close but didn't make it.
One day 2 Mike and I were going to race with a new team member for the first time. Eric Finks came to us from Bicycle Shack located out near Clinton, MO. He is a guy we have been racing against all year and we were really interested in him coming over to our team. He is super strong and really nice cool dude. The course for the day was not suited for me as my memories of it was of me getting my ass kicked. I told Eric and Mike that I would do what I could to help them. There were two climbs on each lap. One was a gradual grind that took about 3 min to climb. It was never too steep and it was the kind of climb that I liked. The second climb was shorter but much steeper lasting about 2 min. It started out steeper than the first climb and half way up it kicked up more and then again right at the top. This was an out of the saddle climb almost all the way. This was where most of the day's attacks went. To my surprise I was able to go with every one of them and not go too deep ever. Don't get me wrong it hurt, but before those attacks would have put me off the back, not passing guys to stay with them. There was never a time that I thought I was going to be dropped, that is a first, EVER, in a race so hilly. With one lap to go it was only Eric and I left in the race, and there were only maybe 15 guys. I asked Eric how he was feeling and if he wanted to stick with the plan. He said yes to I was going to lead him into and up the last climb until I exploded. Then we hit the first climb of the last lap and the guys on the front were hammering. Gaps started to form and at the top Eric was letting a big gap open. I went around him to close it and hoped he would be on my wheel. Going into the last climb I couldn't find Eric so I started to think about what I should do. Then about halfway up the last climb Eric pulled up next to me and I knew what I was going to do. I pulled in front of Eric and started to steadily pull him up to the front of the pack. I went as hard as I could for as long as I could and then Eric went for it. He ended up 9th, and turns out I need to learn to count better because if I had just stayed on the gas I would have been 10th, instead I was 11th and out of the money. I am stupid. After the race I was soooo hot I jumped into the fountain at the end of the finish straight. That was nice.
On day 3 we lined up to race a great crit. I took 7th last year being passed by 6 riders about 10 meters from the finish line. This year the guys were racing for me again and I would try to do a little better. The race was never too hard for me. I stayed on Mike's wheel almost the entire time and never used too much power. At the end of the race Eric and Mike were going to lead me out for about half a lap into the last corner. When the time came Eric was off the front, I think he forgot he was racing for a team and was going for a flyer. I don't blame him it will take time to learn to race how we race. Eric did end up getting into the lead out but he used a little too much energy and when he started he couldn't hold it long enough or fast enough. When Mike took over he was sitting 5th wheel and me 6th. Coming into 2 corners to go we were slowed up but a rider that didn't know how to turn and we lost ground on the first and second riders. Mike kept the speed up though and I took off going through the last turn. I passed Mike and the slow rider but was passed on the left by another rider. I finished 5th and was very happy. We took away a good amount of cash from the weekend and met a lot of new great people.
I have this next weekend off and then I race the Wildwood TT and the Babbler State Park Circuit. I am also going to the Mesa Cycles TdF party on the 16th. If you are in the STL it is the place to be!
Street sprints are not something that you see very often. It is a standing start all out single elimination race contested over 200 meters. Every rider was given pretty much a free race on the first round. The organizers said that it was for seeding the racers but I didn't really see it doing a very good job. I don't really know a better way and I did like the free race to figure out how I would react in real race conditions. I was given some good tips for this race that I am going to keep to myself because you would never guess the best way to do these races. And I want to have another good shot next year. Every race I did I had a great start and didn't really have any problems qualifying to later rounds. My last round I was just too jacked up. I had the whole shot and was in the lead by a bike length right away. I got too far forward though and caused my rear wheel to jump twice. That was all she wrote. When you are going close to 40 miles per hour and power not getting to the road means you are going backwards compared to everyone else. I ended up being knocked out one round from the money. I was happy to be able to get so far and beat some top sprinter but pissed about the mistake I made and that I was so close but didn't make it.
One day 2 Mike and I were going to race with a new team member for the first time. Eric Finks came to us from Bicycle Shack located out near Clinton, MO. He is a guy we have been racing against all year and we were really interested in him coming over to our team. He is super strong and really nice cool dude. The course for the day was not suited for me as my memories of it was of me getting my ass kicked. I told Eric and Mike that I would do what I could to help them. There were two climbs on each lap. One was a gradual grind that took about 3 min to climb. It was never too steep and it was the kind of climb that I liked. The second climb was shorter but much steeper lasting about 2 min. It started out steeper than the first climb and half way up it kicked up more and then again right at the top. This was an out of the saddle climb almost all the way. This was where most of the day's attacks went. To my surprise I was able to go with every one of them and not go too deep ever. Don't get me wrong it hurt, but before those attacks would have put me off the back, not passing guys to stay with them. There was never a time that I thought I was going to be dropped, that is a first, EVER, in a race so hilly. With one lap to go it was only Eric and I left in the race, and there were only maybe 15 guys. I asked Eric how he was feeling and if he wanted to stick with the plan. He said yes to I was going to lead him into and up the last climb until I exploded. Then we hit the first climb of the last lap and the guys on the front were hammering. Gaps started to form and at the top Eric was letting a big gap open. I went around him to close it and hoped he would be on my wheel. Going into the last climb I couldn't find Eric so I started to think about what I should do. Then about halfway up the last climb Eric pulled up next to me and I knew what I was going to do. I pulled in front of Eric and started to steadily pull him up to the front of the pack. I went as hard as I could for as long as I could and then Eric went for it. He ended up 9th, and turns out I need to learn to count better because if I had just stayed on the gas I would have been 10th, instead I was 11th and out of the money. I am stupid. After the race I was soooo hot I jumped into the fountain at the end of the finish straight. That was nice.
On day 3 we lined up to race a great crit. I took 7th last year being passed by 6 riders about 10 meters from the finish line. This year the guys were racing for me again and I would try to do a little better. The race was never too hard for me. I stayed on Mike's wheel almost the entire time and never used too much power. At the end of the race Eric and Mike were going to lead me out for about half a lap into the last corner. When the time came Eric was off the front, I think he forgot he was racing for a team and was going for a flyer. I don't blame him it will take time to learn to race how we race. Eric did end up getting into the lead out but he used a little too much energy and when he started he couldn't hold it long enough or fast enough. When Mike took over he was sitting 5th wheel and me 6th. Coming into 2 corners to go we were slowed up but a rider that didn't know how to turn and we lost ground on the first and second riders. Mike kept the speed up though and I took off going through the last turn. I passed Mike and the slow rider but was passed on the left by another rider. I finished 5th and was very happy. We took away a good amount of cash from the weekend and met a lot of new great people.
I have this next weekend off and then I race the Wildwood TT and the Babbler State Park Circuit. I am also going to the Mesa Cycles TdF party on the 16th. If you are in the STL it is the place to be!
Glencoe, Webster the end of a great series of racing.
Man I am getting behind on these races. I happen to be under the weather right now so I have time to weave you a tale of pain, sacrifice, and glory though.
Glencoe IL hosted the IL state crit championships this year. It is an awesome course that weaves through a very nice neighborhood in the Norther suburb of Chicago. The roads are tight, but smooth, and with 9 turns this course was made for those with nerves of steel and bike handling skills to match. Mike, Mark, and I had raced this course last year and knew that the first rule of Glencoe is you don't talk about Glencoe.....no that's not it, it's that you have to be at the front. The yo-yo affect is crazy bad at this race with the hard turns, some at the bottom of a down hill section where you are carrying about 40 miles per hour. All of 708 was able to get a good spot on the line at the start and we were comfortably at the front right away. I was the first break of the day, not on purpose though, I just took the tight section with some speed and took a huge gap going into the small climb on the course. And what is becoming almost comical at this point I went through the KOM (really? on a crit?) and the called a preem. I have probably gone one 15 breaks this year and maybe one or two have not been right before a preem lap. Maybe I need to go for breaks after the start line so I know if we are going to have a preem or not. Ok so anyways, I decided I would hold this break and win the preem. With the technical aspect of the course I was able to use my pure turning skills and stayed away for what turned out to not even be a preem but just a race for some stupid points, DAMMIT! Right after the KOM a rider from Rhythm Racing bridged up to me and we went for another lap together and were caught. I really don't know why I was putting in another lap. I was there to work for Mark and try to get him the W. When I was caught I went to the back and let Mike, Mark, and Keith patrol the front of the pack and that is when a rider from xXx got away. This is a rider we were watching and I feel like if I had not put in a unnecessary effort I would have been up there and been able to do more sooner to keep that guy close or chase him down. Instead I made it back to the front of the race with xXx off the front, and chase group behind him and my team chasing them all. I was able to help Mark bring back the larger chase group between us and xXx but after that effort I needed a rest again and did not see that we didn't bring back the lead guy. That is the tough part about racing on a tight course, once a rider is out of sight a lot of times that means he is out of mind. Well once we realized there was a man 25 seconds up the road Keith and I went to the front and put everything we had into trying to bring it back. There were a couple Rhythm Racing guys trying to help and a couple individuals in there but they never tried to start working into a rotation so we were never able to get a good rhythm going and start bringing the leader back. With 3 laps to go the pack knew that we were racing for 2nd and I knew I still had a very hard job to do. We hoped we would have 3 men left at the end of the race to lead our top racer Mark out. The idea was that I would start the lead out going up the hill at the halfway point of the race and try to take it almost to the 90* left hand turn. Then Keith would take it from there around the next 90* right hand turn. Mike would take over after that and bring Mark to about 30 meters from the last 90* right hand turn. The last turn was very wide and you could really hold a lot of speed through it. That meant that you needed to be in first at that turn to win the race. We knew if Mark was leading he could hold off all comers. So it turned out I was the only rider left to help Mark. I let him know that I was right behind him and that I would get him to the last corner. We got split going into the hill when I went wide and Mark stayed on the inside. We both blasted up the hill on our respective sides and met near the front at the top. It was to our benefit that we didn't make it all the way to the front as we were able to get a draft from some other riders. We were also luck that Rhythm was trying to lead out there man too so I jumped in behind their lead man on the front and took his draft almost to the second to last right turn. I hit the front and put my head down and told myself to hurt bad and that it would be over soon. Halfway up the slightly uphill straight I stood on the pedals to pick up the speed some more and when I sat Mark took off like a rocket, leading the race all the way to the line for his second 2nd place for IL state races.
The next day was Webster groves just 5 min from my home in Clayton. It would be a great way to end my 9 days of racing and traveling around the Midwest. This race was going to be for Chris Connally but Chris came down with a pretty difficult illness and was unable to race. It was really cool of him to come and cheer us on even though he was still feeling pretty shitty. With Chris out we made new plans for the day with Keith and I going for breaks or on chasing duty and Mike, Mark, and Matt on preem duty. It was for sure the hottest day of all the racing I had done. For those who don't know you need to train in the heat to compete in the heat, or you need to be pretty fit. I'm thinking my fitness was doing ok because I was hurting really bad pretty early in this race from the heat but was able to recover quickly and stick with it. I tried a couple digs to get away in the race on my own and tried to go with a few other breaks. All that work plus the previous week we almost too much and there were a couple times I thought about calling it quits. Mike and Mark did a great job picking up two preems that I had no idea were even on offer. The announcer was not calling the preems for the whole field so many times people won preems they didn't even know they were racing for. Matt did a great job mixing it up in the race as well. For a guy that spends most of his time on the trails around the STL he really can put the hurt on the road. So with about 4 laps to go I found myself on Mark's wheel and started to feel a lot better. Mark kept us near the front and we were looking very good. The pace was staying high enough that not many guys were trying to move up. But then with two laps to go Mark went to the front to start a lead out with me trying to tell him not to go. At the end Mark said all hear heard was go.....ok so he did a great lead out but not long enough and when he pulled up the rider on his wheel from Dog Fish just sat up! WTF! He has riders on his own team lined up in front of my and behind and he just sits up? I really don't know what those guys think. So with this all going on I now have to be ready for the surge that will for sure be coming. With 3 turns to go it came and I had to use a match to stay near the front. I knew I had to not go too deep but if I dropped too far back it would be all over. There were now 7 riders in front of me instead of 3 and they all were very fast. Coming out of the final turn I hit the power as fast as I could passing on rider who had tried his bid for victory too early crossing the line 6th. I was moved to 5th after Luke from Dog Fish was DQ'd for a pretty shitty ruling IMO. I felt bad but I'll take the points and money. Sorry Luke.
Wow, that was just a ton of fun and I really can not wait till next year to do it all over again. Next up ToLawrence Street Sprints, Circuit, and Crit. Fun Funner Funnerest!!!!
Glencoe IL hosted the IL state crit championships this year. It is an awesome course that weaves through a very nice neighborhood in the Norther suburb of Chicago. The roads are tight, but smooth, and with 9 turns this course was made for those with nerves of steel and bike handling skills to match. Mike, Mark, and I had raced this course last year and knew that the first rule of Glencoe is you don't talk about Glencoe.....no that's not it, it's that you have to be at the front. The yo-yo affect is crazy bad at this race with the hard turns, some at the bottom of a down hill section where you are carrying about 40 miles per hour. All of 708 was able to get a good spot on the line at the start and we were comfortably at the front right away. I was the first break of the day, not on purpose though, I just took the tight section with some speed and took a huge gap going into the small climb on the course. And what is becoming almost comical at this point I went through the KOM (really? on a crit?) and the called a preem. I have probably gone one 15 breaks this year and maybe one or two have not been right before a preem lap. Maybe I need to go for breaks after the start line so I know if we are going to have a preem or not. Ok so anyways, I decided I would hold this break and win the preem. With the technical aspect of the course I was able to use my pure turning skills and stayed away for what turned out to not even be a preem but just a race for some stupid points, DAMMIT! Right after the KOM a rider from Rhythm Racing bridged up to me and we went for another lap together and were caught. I really don't know why I was putting in another lap. I was there to work for Mark and try to get him the W. When I was caught I went to the back and let Mike, Mark, and Keith patrol the front of the pack and that is when a rider from xXx got away. This is a rider we were watching and I feel like if I had not put in a unnecessary effort I would have been up there and been able to do more sooner to keep that guy close or chase him down. Instead I made it back to the front of the race with xXx off the front, and chase group behind him and my team chasing them all. I was able to help Mark bring back the larger chase group between us and xXx but after that effort I needed a rest again and did not see that we didn't bring back the lead guy. That is the tough part about racing on a tight course, once a rider is out of sight a lot of times that means he is out of mind. Well once we realized there was a man 25 seconds up the road Keith and I went to the front and put everything we had into trying to bring it back. There were a couple Rhythm Racing guys trying to help and a couple individuals in there but they never tried to start working into a rotation so we were never able to get a good rhythm going and start bringing the leader back. With 3 laps to go the pack knew that we were racing for 2nd and I knew I still had a very hard job to do. We hoped we would have 3 men left at the end of the race to lead our top racer Mark out. The idea was that I would start the lead out going up the hill at the halfway point of the race and try to take it almost to the 90* left hand turn. Then Keith would take it from there around the next 90* right hand turn. Mike would take over after that and bring Mark to about 30 meters from the last 90* right hand turn. The last turn was very wide and you could really hold a lot of speed through it. That meant that you needed to be in first at that turn to win the race. We knew if Mark was leading he could hold off all comers. So it turned out I was the only rider left to help Mark. I let him know that I was right behind him and that I would get him to the last corner. We got split going into the hill when I went wide and Mark stayed on the inside. We both blasted up the hill on our respective sides and met near the front at the top. It was to our benefit that we didn't make it all the way to the front as we were able to get a draft from some other riders. We were also luck that Rhythm was trying to lead out there man too so I jumped in behind their lead man on the front and took his draft almost to the second to last right turn. I hit the front and put my head down and told myself to hurt bad and that it would be over soon. Halfway up the slightly uphill straight I stood on the pedals to pick up the speed some more and when I sat Mark took off like a rocket, leading the race all the way to the line for his second 2nd place for IL state races.
The next day was Webster groves just 5 min from my home in Clayton. It would be a great way to end my 9 days of racing and traveling around the Midwest. This race was going to be for Chris Connally but Chris came down with a pretty difficult illness and was unable to race. It was really cool of him to come and cheer us on even though he was still feeling pretty shitty. With Chris out we made new plans for the day with Keith and I going for breaks or on chasing duty and Mike, Mark, and Matt on preem duty. It was for sure the hottest day of all the racing I had done. For those who don't know you need to train in the heat to compete in the heat, or you need to be pretty fit. I'm thinking my fitness was doing ok because I was hurting really bad pretty early in this race from the heat but was able to recover quickly and stick with it. I tried a couple digs to get away in the race on my own and tried to go with a few other breaks. All that work plus the previous week we almost too much and there were a couple times I thought about calling it quits. Mike and Mark did a great job picking up two preems that I had no idea were even on offer. The announcer was not calling the preems for the whole field so many times people won preems they didn't even know they were racing for. Matt did a great job mixing it up in the race as well. For a guy that spends most of his time on the trails around the STL he really can put the hurt on the road. So with about 4 laps to go I found myself on Mark's wheel and started to feel a lot better. Mark kept us near the front and we were looking very good. The pace was staying high enough that not many guys were trying to move up. But then with two laps to go Mark went to the front to start a lead out with me trying to tell him not to go. At the end Mark said all hear heard was go.....ok so he did a great lead out but not long enough and when he pulled up the rider on his wheel from Dog Fish just sat up! WTF! He has riders on his own team lined up in front of my and behind and he just sits up? I really don't know what those guys think. So with this all going on I now have to be ready for the surge that will for sure be coming. With 3 turns to go it came and I had to use a match to stay near the front. I knew I had to not go too deep but if I dropped too far back it would be all over. There were now 7 riders in front of me instead of 3 and they all were very fast. Coming out of the final turn I hit the power as fast as I could passing on rider who had tried his bid for victory too early crossing the line 6th. I was moved to 5th after Luke from Dog Fish was DQ'd for a pretty shitty ruling IMO. I felt bad but I'll take the points and money. Sorry Luke.
Wow, that was just a ton of fun and I really can not wait till next year to do it all over again. Next up ToLawrence Street Sprints, Circuit, and Crit. Fun Funner Funnerest!!!!
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