Monday, May 17, 2010

KAWOR

5/15/2010 Monsters of the Midway Crit, Chicago, IL.

it was held at the University of Chicago Campus on the South Side. i was going to tackle the 4/5 and 5 race, which were the last two races of the day. i think i prefer the early starts. waiting around for a 4:40pm race start is lame.

this was the first race where the family would be in tow. also, PSIMET Racing was going to be well represented with riders and families in tow. as we loaded up the car i rummaged through my cycling stuff and took out what i thought was unneeded winter gear. i mean it was calm and sunny in my neck of the woods.

hello, Chicago sits on this big arse lake where cold winds from oh Canada blow in.

the 4/5 was up first. i hit the start line in some borrowed team arm warmers. i would not retain feeling in my fingers until these were removed an hour later. yes, they are oddly tight.

i had no expectations for this race. i am 5, i need starts, i need experience and i needed a warm up. the course is completely flat and FAST. it was very easy to move up and very very easy to fall back. in a blink of any eye, or is that a tap of a brake, 20 riders could fly past.

about three laps in i noticed i was fairly comfortable taking those hard lefts at speed. that made me happy.

fast forward to the final lap. this would be after Mr. Rob yelled at me for being at the back. with one to go coming out of turn 2 i blastedup the inside. as i zoomed past EC from BH i yell lets go. then i hit turn 3 and remember being on the inside of this turn is the wrong line. see ya pack. i didn't bother with the sprint for 30th since i had the 5s race right after this one. placed 52nd out of 71.

TrainingPeaks Link/Stats

the 5s race went off 10 minutes after the 4/5. thanks to solid advice from, Mr. Rob ,the team owner, i was four pins and one gel away from being ready. 3 of us from PSIMET Racing who just finished the 4/5 would roll the 5s.

as we lined up second row i noticed a guy on the line with a saddle bag. clearly he didn't get any sage race advice from his team owner and manager. wait, his saddle bag, that is attached to his Trek Madone with HED carbon wheels, is open. i mention to Cook that he should watch out for flying CO2s.

the race was fast, just like the previous, and pretty uneventful as far as racing goes. the wind was not a factor and the course does not lend itself to breakaways. i found myself near the front & on the front the beginning of the race. i thought about going for a bread prime at one point. i love bread, but the xXx rider looked hungry.

as we approached the start/finish line for the one lap to go bell i was stuck in the back. i don't recall how i got there, but i must have been hurting. i spotted xXx gathering at the front and i shot up the left side. we hit the start/finish line and i was flying.

i passed teammate Cook and thought "Let them do the work" (when i say thought i mean i yelled it out) AND "Where the hell can I squeeze in this pace line" (which i did not yell, but should have).

i didn't get back in the pace line. i stepped on the gas some more. i hit turn 1 in front and i knew i had one rider on my tail. this lead me to believe they were all there. i didn't look. i should have looked. maybe i couldn't look? so, i slowed in order to "Let them do the work." nobody came around. we hit turn 2 and nobody came around. in fact not until the middle of the back straight away did some one come around. they all did and i was caught on the outside when a move went on the inside.

20 or so riders zoomed past. i was pissed, made an attempt, but failed. as i came out of the last turn i strolled in for 35th out of 50.

according to my wife there were three of us, including teammate Cook, and we had a gap on the pack. it must have been a decent one for her to mention it.

TrainingPeaks Link/Stats

all in all, i was not a happy camper at the end of this race day......


*KAWOR - Kick Ass Weekend Of Racing* has been and is coined by PSIMET Racing and may not be used without prior approval of PSIMET himself. jus sayin.

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