2009 Chicago Cross Cup #9 - Woodstock 4B's

All i can say is that it was very nice to be back racing again. I had been feeling good the last few days and i was feeling like i could have a good day but i knew my form was down after missing a couple weeks while nursing the knee. While i have no ill effects from the knee, while riding the course i knew that this would be a hard one for me. It was a fun, fast course but the short, steep uphills killed me. For whatever reason it felt like i just couldn't go uphill very well. After riding around the course during the 4A race i worked my way back to the start. As i came down a hill at the bottom there was some tall grass and it turned out that although you couldn't see it, there was a ton of water in the grass. I found the only real mud in the whole park and it wasn't even part of the course. I showed up at the start line with shoes and shins covered in mud.

For the start i wanted to be on the right side cause as you went around the baseball diamonds there was a muddy section on the left. As we started i was where i wanted to be but was getting bogged down i ended up on the left side. Luckily when we hit that patch, there was a solid section on the left so it ended up not being an issue. As we enter the woods for the first time i'm in the top 10 or so. I knew i wanted to stay right on this hill cause of the rocks and uneven dirt on the left. Well i was too far over cause i look down and right in front of my wheel is huge root. I slammed on my breaks (sorry Shawn) and of course ended up loosing a couple spots there but i'm still in the front group.

We exit the woods ride the paved path for a bit and then make the turn back into the woods for the fast descent. As we come back out of the woods up the dirt hill for no reason that i saw the rider in front of me slammed on his brakes. (what goes around comes around i guess) I almost came to a complete stop and lost 3 or 4 more spots. By the time we crested the hill there was a gap to the front group and that's the last time i saw them.

After going thru the toilet bowl and over the barriers on the back it seemed like the rest of the race i was on my own. A group of 3 or 4 caught and passed me and then a group of a couple of guys on mtb's passed me. After that i held my own until the last lap.

"Bacon Alley" was where the crowd was and they made this hill really hard by placing a barrier in the middle of it. This was brutal. By the time i would dismount i would almost come to a complete stop and then you had to run up the rest of the hill. No riding this one. Because it was hard and because i wanted to finish as best as i could i wasn't in the mood to take a handup. It was still a blast and the atmosphere was incredible but i wasn't taking anything.

On the last lap i had been passed by a rider before bacon alley but as i came over the top he had dropped his chain and so i was able to get past him. Then as we hit the last downhill sections i was able to pass another rider who had a dropped chain and then was able to hold him off at the line for 21st.

One of my favorite moments was as i was on the downhill section before the start finish line there was a spectator yelling at me as I went by. He actually noticed the uniqueness of my bike. It's an old Cannondale sm500 mtb frame with cross tires on it. As i'm flying by i hear this guy yell something like, "go cannondale!...what is that?!...26"?!..." Cracked me up.

Here's some videos...

2009 Kneegate

This past Wednesday I met Tim at the Deer Grove Forest Preserve for a lunch ride. I had never been there but heard it was a great place so we got suited up and headed out. About half way into the ride i see a couple sections of puddles ahead and i decided to have some fun and ride thru them. I know that was stupid but what can i say. I get thru the first section ok but the last puddle i hit ends up being a deeper hole than i imagined. Before i know it i'm flying over the bars and flying superman style. My right knee makes impact first and then my left side.

The first thing i remember is thinking that this "trail" was not very soft. it was more like a road underneath some dirt and leaves. I stand up, look down at my knee and blood is flowing from a nice hole in my brand new pearl izumi knee warmers. I do the waddle in circles that you see whenever a rider gets up from a crash and quickly determin that i can put weight on the knee and other than the blood it seems to be ok.

I then notice that not only is the knee bleeding it is also bulging out of the hole in my knee warmer. Tim and i get back on our bikes and start heading back. I'm able to pedal ok and we ride the 25min or so back to our cars. I'm riding gingerly and although there's no internal pain in the knee i now have a softball size lump on top of the knee.


After getting back to work and getting cleaned up, i was hoping the swelling would go down and the knee would stop bleeding but it didn't. I drove myself to the Acute Care Center by my house and got it x-rayed. Thank God nothing was torn or broken. In fact i have almost no pain at all. The Nurse Practitioner was bending, pulling, and twisting my knee and i had no pain or restricted movement. The funny moment was having her call another doctor in basically saying, "you gotta see this."

I ended up walking out of there with a full leg immobilizer walking around like c3po. I was told to wear the brace thru this weekend and i should be fine unless the swelling doesn't go down.

I wore the brace until yesterday. I couldn't take it anymore. walking around like C3PO was messing with my lower back and hips. Now i'm just waiting for the stifness to go away. I'm hoping i can be riding by tuesday. we'll see.

2009 Bartlett Sunrise Park Cross

This race would be different for me. I knew from the warmup lap it would not be a good day for me. Running over the barriers felt more like walking. I had no snap in my legs. I again had my top 20 or so for the holeshot and passed a couple guys on the first half lap but then that was it. I started getting passed by people and switched into survival mode for myself. I ended up finishing 30th.

The real story of this race is the race for last. There are guys showing up to race who have barely ridden a bike before this fall but that hasn't stopped them. It's been very inspiring and very cool to watch. you can read more here.

Scroll down to the pics and begin reading.

2009 Carpenter Cross 4b race

I've been ignoring this blog for a while. I've just been busy and updating friends via facebook and twitter. But i will try to play a little catchup here.

On October 18 i entered my first ever official cyclocross race. I've attended the Carpenter Park Cyclocross race the last 2 years and last winter i finally got my hands on a mtb so i've been practicing and learning the techniques of cross and will be entering a couple of races this year.

I lined up with close to 75 other riders. I felt really good on the warmup lap but knowing that i'm on a mtb and having never done a real race before i opted be conservative at the start. I wanted to be up far enough to avoid the logjam in the first turn but didn't want to get in the way of anybody who could actually win this thing.

I ended up in the top 20 into the first turn and was in front of the first crash in the switchbacks that followed. As soon as i could i would pass whoever i could and after about 1/2 a lap i was at the back of a group of 4 or 5.

As we approched the sled hill i was able to pass a couple of them and after the toilet bowl it was Brian Morresey of XXX racing and i. We were together for almost the rest of the race. On the final lap Brian biffed on his remount after the barrier/creek bed combo and i thought that maybe i could drop him but i couldn't. He caught me and soon dropped me. i was gassed and a Pegasus rider caught and passed me as well. I ended up crossing the line in 10th which i was very happy about.