So, not really all that much has been going on lately. A little bike riding, lot of work, and just the slightest bit of homework.
Last Wednesday evening, I got behind the car and had a really good motorpaceing session. K is really getting the hang of making me suffer. We came home and chilled out for a bit, then hit up the local grocer.
Thursday, was a super easy ride, with work and another short spin after work. I also rode my bike downtown to meet up with Keven and Dylan for a drink...coutner-productive?...Possibly.
Friday, I had a bunch going on, and I can't remember getting on my bike. I think by the time I got packed up for Chicago, and ready for work, I had to bolt. After work, TJ and I rolled up to STL and stayed with his aunt and uncle. We have been so lucky this season with finding places to stay.
The next morning was an early one; we jetted out of the city around 6:30. After missing coffee shops left and right, I crossed through three lanes to exit at Soulard for one of my favorites, Soulard Coffee Garden. We even ran into Joe and Jane Hill; only one problem, the shop was closed until 8. So, we hit the road.
As we crossed into Illinois, we pulled over at the local Denny's for some breakslow (you guessed it, a slow-ass breakfast). The coffee was only slightly above tolerable, and the lack of caffeine had me sleepy in just a matter of an hour after hopping back on the road.
After a slight traffic jam, we arrived in Downers Grove about an hour before TJ had to race. He got a decent warm up in, while I walked around to check out the event. If you have never been to that race, it is one to see. While most of the courses we race on claim to be "closed", there always seems to be some jackass in a car that gets on the course, and scares the crap out of everyone involved with the race. It is a bit different at the National Championships. There are 4 ft barricades that surround the majority of the course, not to mention the gang of officials, and army of corner marshals.
Downers Grove is a Western'burb of Chi-town, and has a trendy little downtown scene with Irish pubs, coffee shops (which thank you Caribou coffee, you saved my day), and several other restaurants and shops that give it a small town feel. In reality, it is part of the Urban sprawl of Chicago, and it is far from small.
TJ had a good ride, he maintained good position for the most part, and then attacked a bit too early at the end. Unfortunately, you have to do that a few times in order to not do that at all. I have made the mistake many times myself, and I am sure there are more to come.
And then there was the Pro-Am race. I have been to road races with a boat load of people before, but a 200 person crit??? Well, lets just say that you get used to it pretty quickly. It was disgustingly fast from the whistle (averaging nearly 30mph). All the pro teams were at the front, just trying to kill all of the amateurs. I was sitting about 2/3's the way back in the field just dying. I finally fell into a little groove about 5 laps in, but then gaps began opening. So, after closing the door several times, I was back in the hurt box.
A mouth full of pasta-puke and a few lost wheels later, I had popped off the back with 15 to go. With no hopes of catching back on, I did a cool down lap, and pulled out. Johnny had a few more laps in him, but had the same story for the end. A few of our Indy riders stuck it out, and I think Michael Kerberg my have snuck his way into the money.
We stayed with Java's sister (thanks again for making out trip cheaper) that night, and headed out to OTB for dinner. We had a much better experience at the Mexican chain this time around. Both TJ and I hit the sack pretty quickly that night, due to the long day.
A 6am wake up call was in order for Sunday as well. I ate very minimal food, and we got down to Caribou Coffee to get hyped up. The 2' s race was much more manageable than the Pro-am (28 mph seemed like a walk in the park...Well not really, but much easier than 30) race. Attacks started flying off the front like a box of saturn missiles on the 4th of July. I worked my way up to the top 20 or so, and watched who I thought to be the key players. About halfway through the race, there was a huge pile up in turn 7. I got caught behind it, along with 150 other guys. We chased back on to the 30 or so who avoided the spill, and I noticed there were four up the road. I hit the gas, and bridged the gap without bringing anyone with. The four of us kept it wound up through the remainder of the lap, but no one was willing to make the break stick. I managed to hold my position after towing the field around for a lap .5, and kept the 5th wheel going into the last lap. At the 5th corner, the front got swarmed by 50 riders and my position now sucked going into the kick. I took a lot of chances, and dove into the last two corners making up about 30 positions, and taking 25th.
So, I was not really pleased with my result, as I felt things could have been different. However, I was happy with the way I rode, and I too learned from some mistakes made during the race. Today is looking like a core workout, with a pedal session to and from work, and plenty of relaxing.
