Carpenter Park Cross pics

Yesterday i took my oldest son ryon out to the carpenter park cross race to watch a couple of races and we had a blast. It was great to see some friends and hang and be able to take some pictures and watch other people suffer instead of suffering myself. you can see the albums here.

Saturday i slept in and skipped the harper ride in favor of going out by myself later in the day. The weather was beautiful and i decided to test my back a little bit. right away while on river road i was passed by a car who kept doing the speed limit which meant i had a nice little motor paced interval for a few minutes. that was followed by my pushing myself up the little climbs that are my barrington hills loop.

Long story short is that later that afternoon i was feeling pretty stiff. I really can't ride like that yet. Oh well.

RC

Back update

I've finally gotten back on the bike which is good. After the fall fling road race i didn't even think of getting back on the bike until this past saturday morning. I rode for less than an hour on the bike path by my house. Took it real easy. Yesterday i rode for about an hour taking pictures and just having a good time on the bike. Today i rode for 1 1/4hrs and felt ok. Each ride i'm picking up the pace a little and it's getting better but i'm still a way from feeling normal.

This episode has been the worst one i've had in a while. Back in july when this happend at the Proving Grounds RR, i was racing again 4 days later. After a week and a half this time around there's no way i'd be racing. The main thing this does to me is affect my flexiblity in my left leg/hip. When i lay flat on my back i can raise my straightened right leg off the floor as far as i want. The left leg i can't even get past 30 degrees off the ground.

So thursday i have my first physical therapy appointment. I found a sports therapy place 1.5 miles from my house so i'm happy about that. I definately have something to do this off season. Fix the back. I'll keep posting updates.

RC

10.06.07 - Fall Fling RR

So yet another race has me scratching my head wondering what the heck happened. After doing too much in the front half of the crit last week i was determined to do as little as possible and just hang in the back for as much of the race as possible. I also had a couple of cat 3 guys that i wanted to keep my eye on and try to stay with as much as possible. Our 1/2/3 race was 6 laps of an 8.1 mile circuit out in the farm wasteland that is west of rockford. No real hills but plenty of little rollers to keep you occupied. The main feature is the wind. Coming strong out of the south.

Lap 1: After turn one someone up front starts to drill it and we get all strung out. Somewhere during this time the rider in front of me hits a rut and almost goes down. I thought my race was going to be over in less than 5 minutes. The rest of the lap is uneventful.

Lap 2: Even more uneventful than the first. Almost downright boring until after turn 4. On the stretch with a massive cross wind from the left somebody up front throws it down and we are off. At some point i check back and i don't really see anybody left behind me so i'm thinking, this is it. I have to make this group or i'm done. So i ride like mad to stay in the group and i make it. But now i'm trashed.

Lap 3: I hang on thru the first half of the lap and start to struggle on one of the hills when one of the abd elite guys give's me a little push and puts me back on the group. Then i hear move up the side. So with his coaching i move up and almost get to the front of the group just in time to watch another attack go and the group chase. That's when i get popped. I'm toast. As the lap continues i catch a rider and we get caught by a couple but none of us really stay together.

Lap 4: I notice a small group of riders coming up from behind me and i wait for them thinking at least i can finish with these guys. There's a couple of 3's and we're together for a while until one of them picks the pace up and i'm off the back. That's ok, here comes a bigger group of 3's that i can ride home with. I sit on the back for a while and the bang, i'm off the back again.

Lap 5, 6: I ride by myself. Trashed. I finish but have no idea how far down. Pretty disappointing. What seems crazy to me is that i have the power to make that initial move but then i'm toast and then i can't stay with guys who popped way before i did. I gotta figure that one out.

This turned out to be the final race of the season. I intended to race on sunday but my herniated disc in my back flared up sunday morning so that was it. I guess i'm gonna really have to figure out this back think. I can go pummel myself on the bike for 50 miles but i can't play catch with the kids for 5 minutes. Very frustrating.

That's it for now.

Transfer news

That's right. I am switching teams for next year. I will be moving over to Project 5. Below is the contents of the email i sent to the abd squad thanking them for the last 3 years.

Thanks ABD!



This season was my 3rd year on abd and you guys have been great. The team has been a great place for me to enter back into racing. With that said I want to let you all (ok, the few who know me) know that i am moving over to project 5 for next year. The main reason is just location. I live in algonquin and never get to train with anybody from abd. I almost never get to take advantage of any bootcamps, workouts, or even the shops. For the last year and a half i have been able to train regularly with the guys from project 5 and it just makes a lot more sense for me to join them.There are so many people who have made the last 3 years a ton of fun for me. When i started racing again after a 15 year break i never thought it would be this fun or go as well as it has for me. I'm gonna screw up now and miss some names but i'd like to mention some people. mike e, mary, scott ligocki, ben springer, alex sharon (who's still listed as a 4 on our roster), steve parrish, pete hill, and all the 3's that were on abd last year and are now on get a grip.Thanks for all the support, camaraderie, tips, and friendship you all have given over the past couple of years. Keep doing what you're doing and have a great year next year.

09.30.07 - Fall Fling Criterium #1

So yet again i found myself taking pictures of the finish of the race i entered. I'm still ticked off at myself for dropping out but it wasn't before i totally tanked myself.

I went into this crit wanting to help out the team. I figured i'd try to do what i could so i stayed at the front early. John, Josh, and Jeff did their part by constantly jumping into breaks and steve and i would try to sit on the front and disrupt whatever was going on as far as a chase.

About 30 minutes in I had drifted back in the field a little and decided to move up the right side. Just as i was almost to the front an attack went from the left side and since i was the only abd rider there at that moment i decided to go with the break. I ended up in a group of 5 or 6 and we actually made a nice little gap. I made a couple of tactical mistakes by not making a guy or 2 pull thru.

Then jeff or john (not sure who) bridged up to our group and then kept going. I was happy cause then i had a reason no to take any more pulls. By this time i had been riding at my max for far too long. From the start of the race my heartrate was pretty high and during the whole breakaway i knew the end was coming sooner or later.

Finally the field caught us and i sat as long as i could at the front while we still had a solo rider off the front but then i started to drift back thru the field. I was done. I ended up getting dropped and then spun a couple of easy laps until i was about to get lapped by the field and then i dropped out.

Not the result i was looking for but i was still happy to be active during the first half of the race. I spent way too much time unshielded on the hill with the massive headwind we had so i'm gonna have to make sure i ride smarter next week.

Here's a couple of pics of the finish.