Beverly Bike-Vee Pak, Inc. Racing Team

WONDER LAKE AND OTHER THINGS

2010-06-07T15:54:00.000-07:00

First off Wonder Lake. We had two guys in the masters 50+. Actually one and a half. The Chicago fire department started a team for the police and fire games so we as a team are trying to get them to ride for us. Ronnie is that half rider in the 50+. The field was small but both finished in the pack. Unfortunately for the first lead rider of the day into turn 3 there was no corner marshall so he proceeded to go straight instead of turn.
In the cat 5 race we had Tom, Jack who we support, also on the fire department team and Ronnie. Ronnie came in 15 tom in 21 and Jack got lapped. This is the thing with cat 5 racing that I don't understand. The race seemed too fast. I like how ABR has a beginner cat with 10 or less races. It does not seem like we or USA cycling are really fostering new riders. I can only imagine how crushing it would feel to keep on getting dropped week after week, knowing you trained a little and have no good results for your efforts. I could see how it would make people want to quit.
Some other people languish in the lower cats waiting on the USAC rules for 5th place or higher, not being able to cat up. I admit to a point I am one of the people who needs to cat up. Not because of performance mind you, but because I need a change. I'm pretty sure I have my pack finishes. One dear friend of mine, who I admire as a rider and a steward of this sport Mike Seguin xXx told me not to cat up until I get good results. I disagree with him. It is time soon. Why would I want to keep on riding at the level I am without pushing myself with supposed higher caliber riders? Isn't it better to burn out than to fade away? Are my results really going to get any better in cat 4?
Back to the subject. The cat 4 race was next. And guess what? The first 2 guys on the front went straight at turn 3 also! I understand that it is the riders responsibility to know the course, but when you are racing and you have a guy sitting in a chair in front of a barrier lazily waving a flag, with a car sized gap to go straight, you couldn't tell if he was telling us "watch out for this horse and stay straight " or "go left". Some constructive criticism: next time if you can't barricade the whole turn off, please at least have a marshall blocking off the rest of the street. I turned on the power a little too soon coming in 8th.
Next up the 4-5 masters. It was a slow paced race with just a couple of accelerations. This time there was no big jump in speed at the end, just a long windup. I felt I had good postion in about 7th wheel, but couldn't gain ground on the guys in front of me. Next time I got to get a little closer to the front. Nice course, nice people and safe.
Rambling #1: I have been doing more riding in the city lately. My job is 9 miles away from my house so it ecentially takes me just as long by car or bike. Coming home one morning at 7AM from work I went under a bridge and made a nice sweeping right hand turn. I have made this turn numerous times and knew the pavement was smooth without any debris. It just so happened this time I went down. Thank goodness there were no cars by me. What I didn't see while riding was there must have been oil on the ground. No glossiness or discoloration of the pavement to tip me off. So with that being said, eventhough you might think you know your way or the streets, BE CAREFUL!
Rambling #2: I like Chicagobikeracing.com. Luke Seeman provides a host of info on the bike scene of Chicago. The last rambling on there was from a guy about the O'Fallon race and other things. He is a guy who has risen quickly in the cats. If he has a problem with where a race is located, then just don't go. Did he ever ride the course to see how nice it was? Doesn't he have teammates he could ride down there with? Chicago is 1 hour from Wisconsin, O'Fallon is what, 30 min from Missouri? Don't people make the hike down to Hillsboro? I am not trying to inflame, but come on. Keep to racing. Obviously you are a good rider and suck just as much as I do trying to get your point across on paper. Suggestion for Luke: Give people only one chance to pitch their bitch on your site and not allow them any more than that. And as for hosting races JUST DO IT. Stop asking the questions and get your ass to work. We are just a handfull of riders and have put on a time trial, cyclocross race and have sponsored the Beverly Classic and some of the categories in the state road race championship when it was in Oak Brook. Not trumping ourselves up, but where there is a will there is a way. Tony

Monster Crash

2010-05-16T10:49:00.000-07:00

Another big crash in the 4's field. I was glad to have hit the grass and not the Pave, Because I'm taking the family to Disney this week. It would have put a damper on things if I couldn't move good do to road rash. I put a link to my Garmin so you could see me slummin in the back. All I did was sprint and brake. Then come to a sudden stop.

Thx to the person that collected my things from the road. I lost my glasses, water bottle and the garmin in the crash. You can see who ever picked it up walking around with it.

Bob

Vernon Hills 2010

2010-05-04T10:51:00.000-07:00

Butting Heads

I felt pretty confident going back to Vernon Hills I had done well there and felt I could repeat that effort. The pre race went great our cat 4 race was last so there was nobody left at registration and it was a breeze to get my number. I quickly got back and started my warm up. I only had about ten minutes or so. Also on the pre-race agenda going over our race strategy I always like to follow the K.I.S.S. formula –keep it simple stupid. Clark was coming of f of a 5th place in Wisconsin on Saturday so I figured he couldn’t have much in the tank. Tony, Sergio and Jorge were also present so I filled them in on the game plan. Everybody was on board and the race was off to a fast start…

Quickly we all got going the pace was fast and the corners 3 and 4 were tight. Sergio and Jorge were getting there lump in the back of the peloton, while the rest of us were trying to mix it up with the front of the pack. Around midway through the race Clarkie decided to test the legs and went on the attack and Tony and I were trying to cover any chasers but it was obvious it was not going anywhere.

It was coming down to the wire and we had two laps left to get some thing done. I look over at Tony and gave him the two finger sign and he acknowledged my hand signal. As I moved up I could sense the pack getting anxious and squirrely. Now was the time to move up and get in position. Before I new it I was passing up all attackers and found my self at the head of the peloton going into to bottlenecking 4th and final turn. It was time to move aside and prepare for the final sprint. I had excellent position and was licking my chops at the position I found myself in. There was a row of about 3-4 riders in front leading out everyone for the sprint and I was in the middle. As I started revving up for the sprint, I felt and heard a bang, I thought for sure I’m going down and there is nothing I can do about it., and even worst I was about to get run over by about 60 riders going about 30+ mph. After the initial shock I was amazed I was still upright, but now an even scarier scenario the rider that bumped me and I were stuck together by our handle bar and some how tangled and we could not break free. Now I know what two rams feel like when they butt heads and get stuck. I knew the only way was to stay cool and not panic. We started wiggling out and finally we broke. But the fast moving peloton was already around us. All I could was try and muster up all my strength and come in with a decent finish. I was not to be!

Clark 15th
Tony 16th
Elvis 17th
Jorge 48th
Sergio 50th

See you next year!

E

LELAND, OR THE HARDEST RACE I HAVE EVER BEEN IN

2010-04-17T20:26:00.001-07:00

First off, thanks for my family for letting me go. For that matter, thanks to all of our families for letting us go and putting up with our absenteeism even for training.
So, what to wear? What the hell is the temp? I ask around. 44 degrees with a windchill of 34. Nice. Knee warmers and regular socks it is with a windproofed front coat. Note to promoters: MORE PORTAPOTTIES.
The race goes off on time and fast from the get go. On the main road, not even in 3 miles there were pot holes right in the middle of the road. These took out at least one rider with a flat and a couple of water bottles. Onto the gravel going fast I see William Pankonin from xXx go down in the middle of the gravel road. What an eye opener that first gravel section was. Not only were we going fast, but there was barely any hard pack. I was expecting at least tire ruts, but for most of the sections the closer you were to the grass, the better. For me the speed we were carying would soon be unobtainable. A little space opened in between me and the rider directly in front, so I paced myself to catch up. Here is where my brain locked up. A left hand turn was coming up, gravel to pavememt I thought I had the angle on the turn to the inside, but carried too much speed coming off of the gravel which I now saw on the inside of the corner was gravel on top of pavement. I tried not to turn and go straight through until clear pavement, but went down.
What to do? I see I was about 10Th wheel and the rest of the pack blows by me. I jump back onto the bike, not wanting my day to be over so soon. Plus I rode with Mike Seguin xXx in his car and didn't have access to it. On the bike I assess the damage: handlebars off center to the right, crooked right brake, and a front wheel rub. All in all not too bad. Brakes opened all the way up and off i go to chase.
that was actually fun, to chase. I really didn't pay much attention to my physical injuries as the adrenalin was rushing. I did notice my shorts, and much latter my left sleeve was ripped, but felt fine. So I pick up 2 riders in front of me. This increased to 6. We worked well together. Finally an Iron Cycles guy had enough of us and actually did bride the gap between us and the pack in front of us which was about a block ahead. What a stud I thought. So here we go dropping some and picking up some.At one point it was only me and Pat from Tati doing the pulls. Here Pat says lets get rid of the baggage, which we did with ease. With 1 1/2 laps left, to my surprise, somebody tugs at my water bottle in my pocket. It's Mike Shea from Spider Monkey and Rich from Spin Doctors. The were the only ones to catch us as well as a MS rider.
Last lap and my legs and butt are about to give up. Plus I have to go pee. Last gravel section and Mike pushes the pace. I maintain 3rd wheel, but don't have anything for the finish.
Post race I am achy all over. Time to assess the physical damage. Left hip road rash. No problem, I'm used to that, unfortunately. I attempt to take off my jesrsey, but it is stuck on my arm. i twist it and notice that almost the entire back of my forearm has congealed blood on it. Shit, I think to myself, what the hell is under there? So I had to soak my forearm with the jesey on just to release it from my arm. On inspection of my elbow, there is a crater the area of a little less than a dime. Stitches I think to myself.
No doubt, to the hospital I go, albiet 5 hours after the injury. Sure enough 6 stitches, but they are affraid they won't hold, because it is not a clean cut, but looks like hamburger.
So the good things: I finished, and no broken bones. Not only did I finish, but to my surprise I came in 20th.

HILLSBORO

2010-04-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

Me, Clark and Elvis went down on Friday. Joe came later and Paul on Saturday morning. It's funny, the ride down there this year seemed shorter. It was still 4 hours though.
We drove the course, remembering things from years past. We liked the new back section that they put in. We pulled the bikes out at the start finish ride and did 12easy miles. Clark looks at the last hill and states it doesn't look too bad. Oh yea? wait until after 58 miles. So we rode the hill twice and formulated a plan, knowing where the dogs, pheasants and goats were on the course.
We had a good dinner at the cafe that seemed to be filled with riders. Good night sleep and of course a walk to breakfast at Denny's.
Off to the race on Saturday morning. Wait a minute where are Clark's keys? After a little while and head skratching he finds them where else but..... Denny's. Now off to the race. We have a meeting place off the course that gives us a parking lot to ourselves with a nice bathroom at the Baptist church. Belive me a nice bathroom before a race is much appreciated.
So we are behind the start finish line and a race goes off. Paul lines up with the next raceers to go off. "Paul that's not our race!"... It was our race. Thank goodness for Paul getting us in the middle of the start and for holding onto the bikes while we check our bladders one last time.
The first lap was exactly what I thought it would be, everybody feeling eachother and the course out. Nickie, Joe's girlfriend, gives me a good bottle handoff in the feed zone and here we go up the last hill. I get caught behind some slower riders on the right side from another category, so my momentum is gone. No excuses though, I shouldn't have been in that postiion to begin with. So now I'm dangling off the back of the lead pack. Luckily I was able to calm down and finally catch on again right at the turn going out onto the road after the s/f line.
The second lap had a 4 man break go off on the little uphill right before the right hand turn off the main road. No big deal. Bad thinking. Two of those guys stayed out the rest of the race. I have to commend Tati and Psimet and Wild card for their effective blocking. We go around with no major problems. I take that back, Clark botched his bottle hand off, so now he's mooching on my last bottle. Thanks to the Psimet rider who gave up one of his three to Clark. I think I'd say 2 guy's with blown tires, 2 dropped chains and one guy in a ditch by himself. I don't know if he was in that 4 man break or in another field, but he looked ok.
The hill before the feed zone took some casualties and I was not one of them. I was just behind Clark when the last hill came. I was only 4 houses in when the legs shut down. So what do you do? I started fishing for a gear that just wasn't there. It was good to see some guy's hurting in front of me. Now for the hunt. There's a guy in front of me on the hill I was able to pick off before the left hand turn. I notice 2 guys on the hill not peddaling, so I exert a little energy and get them also. One more around the turn and on right after it. Now it's time to calm down. Got the next guy's wheel. What I didn't know, is the guy I picked off just before that grabing the wheel grabbed my wheel. Around the last turn still behind the guy. When do I jump? I'm trying to find the 200 meter post, but couldn't see it. After one fake it was time to sprint. One guy passes me from I don't know where and the guy who grabbed my wheel just gets me at the line. 2 tenths of a second to be exact.I came in 19th. Clark even did better at 13th. Elvis 56th, Joe and Paul with DNF's.

THINGS TO REMEMBER WHILE RACING

2010-03-28T16:30:00.000-07:00

Keep mouth shut, use brain when finishing. Tony

The Gapers Block Crit Series

2010-03-27T08:09:00.000-07:00

I decided that I would try and ride all of the Gapers Block Crits put on by Half Acre, since I only worked 2 blocks from the Park. I would be a fool not to.

Day 1, well the goal of today was to just hang in the pack and see how the legs were going to react. I should have known that there would be a massive attack as soon as the whistle blew. I was in no way ready for that. All the training I have been doing has been base for the most part. I still managed to stay with the pack and coasted in to the finish for a top 20.

Day 2, I felt better today, and I knew that the first lap attack would be covered immediately. To my surprise, they waited untill the 3rd lap. When it happened, the field split with 15-20 riders making the split. I was not one of them. I did do some work in the front for a lap or so, then just sat in the field being sheltered by the wind. In the last lap, I took an inside line and was sitting around 4th as the field started to ramp up for the finish. I was able to make my way into 2nd position at the turn where I was able to pass that rider and won the field sprint. That was for 16th place. (Note, do not sprint in the 53/11, it looked good but didn’t get any speed)

Day 3, today is a good day. I felt good. The legs are starting to come back and the accelerations were not hurting as much. I received some good advice before the race from someone I respect. Basically, sit in the top 6 to 10 positions until the end and not to do so much work. Well, I stayed in the top 10, but I did way to much work. I reeled in a few brakes and pulled on the front more than I should have. In the 2nd from last lap, we had a solo rider go off the front, but I already burned all but one match so I didn’t chase. I was hoping that the field would drag him back, but they ended up slowing down. On the last lap, I wanted to be on the inside sheltered from the wind, but that didn’t happen. I ended up on the outside and fighting the wind as we all ramped up the speed. As the field strung out, I was able to work my way in to 7th from the front. We were now single file and going into the corner. I made it around one rider, but didn’t have the legs to really open up, so I ended up in 7th place. (Note, the one who does most of the work usually doesn’t take the win.)

Day 4, it was too cold and windy for me. LOL, I sat this one out. Those guys must be crazy. ;-)

Day 5, it’s the last night and there are not as many riders. I guess they are resting for the races this weekend. I already put it in my head that I was going to sit in and do no work on the front unless it was absolutely necessary. That’s when Adam Herndon, from XXX, made a huge acceleration off the line, and I wasn’t going to let him go. As we started into the wind on the back side, I looked back and we had gotten a good gap on the field, but I was in no mood to hold off the pelaton for 30min. I knew that some teams were going to be really working hard for the win on the last night. I told Adam that I wasn’t going to go for it, so he really had no choice but to let the pack get us. As the race went on, I did exactly what I planned, sit in the top 8 riders and cover all the big moves that came. With 2 laps to go, I started to move myself into the spot I wanted on the inside in 4th or 5th. The field was kind of hesitant to do anything, since no one wanted to start the lead out. On the last lap, I was sitting in a good spot. I’m on the inside with plenty of room to make a move. That’s when the field went in to sprint mode. A rider made a move, and I was able to get on his train on the inside next to the curb. I’m now sitting 5th. I have two riders in front of me, with two more riders sitting to my right just in front of me. We had about 75 meter till the turn when Teodoro Ramos from Iron Cycles came flying in on the inside. There was really no room, but he mad a nice shoulder dip away from me but we still bumped pretty good. I saw him take a look back, and I knew this was the move that I was waiting for. He made a huge acceleration to the front and I was right on his wheel. As we entered the last corner, we were sitting 1-2 with me on his wheel. He was still building speed, so I had to launch as soon as the bike came upright out of the corner. I was able to come up to the side of him as we were flying to the finish line. At this point, it was either of us to win or lose. At the last second I threw my bike at the line and took the win by a foot or so. That is my first win in cycling, so I was very happy. I only hope that this is a sign of things to come.

Bob Murray

A WHOLE NEW SEASON

2010-03-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't been on this thing for a while, but it's hard to post anything when you forget the password.
A lot has happened since last year. Some old faces, some new faces, some faces we will not see again unfortunately. Old bikes (Cannondale), new bikes (Giant). Old friends who we have bonded with and new friends who we are always open to meet and welcome with open arms.
Training in the off season for me was less intense, but with more hours in the saddle. We will see if this pays off. The problem with me in the past was more on the mental side. Seeing that I am mental to begin with, this is somewhat of a challenge for me when it comes to bike racing. I always felt like the legs were there, but applying them was a different race in itself.
The new bikes I can say are better than the old. I don't see myself as a bike snob, but the one noticeable thing I can do on these new Giants is ride without my hands. Bike or skills? I don't know. I would lean to the bike side because my skills have always sucked.
Onto the first race of the season. Gapers Block. Thanks to Half Acre for hosting, especially on the south side! Preriding the course you felt as if the wind was in your face for about 75% of the course. Monday nights wind was even worse from what I was told. The race went off with me in the second row. After a couple of laps and some hard efforts in the front, I was told after the race that the field split with About 15-20 riders in the front pack. Needless to say, I did not look behind myself during the race. The race ran as smooth as a 4-5 race should until I heard in front of me a whole lot of "woa's!" What it turned out to be was a girl all of 12 riding her bike on the course. The best was, as we are passing her telling her to get off the course, she gave us the buisness right back! She didn't even skip a beat, expecting to get hollered at in the first place. Did I mention I love the south side? With the final lap there was some good speed on the front stretch leading in to the wind. On the lake side guys were just shutting down, waiting for the lead out. I saw two guys jump and thank goodness I wasn't pinched on the inside curb like I think a lot of guys were. I didn't grab a wheel, but was able to go to the ouside of the pack by myself. And that's the way we ended with myself coming in third.
Not a bad start for the season. Tony

2010-03-14T12:17:00.001-07:00

Beverly Bike & Ski is now on Facebook, you can now follow whats going on at the shop any time. Like Friday when Dereck Woodward, originally from Hull. Yorkshire,England stopped in to check out the shop. Check out his Bob Jackson he just happened to have out in his car. It was one sweet ride. The pic is on the Facebook page if you want to see it.

2 1/2 Hours in the Rain.

2010-03-14T11:48:00.000-07:00

It's always a good day if you can smile after putting in a few hours in the rain.

2010 Sponsor Serfas

2010-01-28T10:19:00.000-08:00

SERFAS

I want to take this opportunity to announce another great sponsor for 2010. Of course no one can top our team sponsors Beverly Bike and Ski www.beverlyallseasons.com and Vee Pak, Inc. www.veepak.com . Serfas optics has decided to sponsor us. The team has had the pleasure of using these great glasses in 2009. They are top quality at a very affordable price. How many times have you thrown down $100 for a set of Oakley’s or Rudy Project’s and just lose them at race or crashed and totally destroyed them. Well for less than half the price you can have the same quality and a company that backs their product.
Last year, Tony was at race and crashed go figure, right? Anyway, of course he doesn’t break any bones but the glasses didn’t make it. He asked me about it and I told him you’re SOL. I also told him check with the bike shop. The shop called Serfas www.serfas.com direct and they said they would cover it. That’s pretty good of Serfas to back their product. We made the right choice and BB/VP is sticking with Serfas for the 2010 race season. Give them a try you won’t be disappointed!!!
E

These are the glasses I have.

ISLA
(picture upper right)
Features:
(H.O.T.) Helmet Optimized Temples reduce Helmet interference

Each Model comes with 4 sets of Interchangeable Lenses

Infinite bend temples to customize fit

Extra nose pads included

Furnished with EVA hard case and micro fiber bag

RX compatible clip in frame included

FORCE 5
(pictured top left)
Features:
Each Model Comes With 4 Sets of Interchangeable Lenses

(H.O.T.)Helmet Optimized Temples Reduce Helmet Interference

TR-90- Frame Construction For Extreme Durability

Decentered Polycarbonate Lens Technology

Soft Elastomer Nose Pads and Temple Inserts

Metal Side Panels

Designed for Smaller Faces

Separate Polorized and Photochromic Lenses Available

A New Look

2010-01-19T16:05:00.000-08:00

The BB*VP racing team will be sporting a new kit later this season. Thanks to Tony and Eric Nelson who have been working on this project for the past two months. They came up with a fresh design, while keeping the classic look. They went through many variations and came up with two that we brought to our sponsors Beverly Bike & Ski / VeePak inc. to get the OK

So here it is, let us know what you think?

Beginnings

2010-01-08T18:09:00.000-08:00

A new year, A new decade, A new look. The members of the BB*VP racing team are looking forward to the upcoming racing season. Training is well underway, and the standards for the rest of the season are being set now. We have plans that are currently being worked out to re energize the team, and to hopefully make an impact on the local racing scene. More to follow as things work out

IF

2009-11-16T07:59:00.001-08:00

If, I was faster, I would place better. If I had better handling skills, I would place better. If I would fall less, I would place better. All if's. Well this week The if's were kept to more of a minimum than usual.
I did my first masters 30 plus this week seeing as how the race was on Saturday. I liked the start. Not as hurried as the 4's. The start was definately more relaxed seeing as how I know I'm completely outclassed. Up the hill the first time after the double barriers I ran, passing a couple of people. The first time in the sand, I had good speed going into it and ended up slamming into the back of Joe Callo from Tati who was bogged down in front of me. Running and getting out of the second sand pit just killed my legs. The good thing is, it killed everybodies legs. After the turn onto the straightaway after the shouts of encouragement from Rhythm Racing, i was able to turn the gass on again. The mud pit didn't get me in this race, going wide only once and just touching a foot down a foot, nothing more. With my horrid bike handling skills, I was actually able to handle the back section fine. I was gunning for Joe who was two in front of me the whole race. He made a mistake in the mud pit on the last lap so I was able to pass him. I toyed with the guy in front of him too much and he blasted by me on the back half. I ended up coming in 31. Not too bad for my first 45 min race. My two goals for the race were not to get lapped and to beat my teamates. Done and done. Sorry guys, nothing personal, just a goal.
The 4A was my second race. As usual there was an early lineup. I was able to get into the second row. The thing that I noticed in comments earlier this year was " why do guys who usually come in less than 30 place clog the front?" It's on the hope that THIS race will be our break out race. All of our shortcomings won't rear their head and we wil actually surpass our mediocrity. And that's the way it is for all of us who don't do good week after week. The race was pretty much a repeat of the previous one, until the mud pit got me. It was my only large gaff of the day surprisingly. There were 4 riders in single file going through right hand side of the mud. Here's me thinking I can get around them by going straight through. Almost half way I knew I didn't have the momentum to take me through.Soin my attempt to dismount,while I was in the process of swinging my leg over, the front wheel hit the lip of the sinkhole, sending me right on my butt. Even with that I ended up 32nd. This was my second best placement of the year.
Little steps, little steps.
I would also like to thank everybody for their shouts of encouragement and the occasional "Go geisha!"

Best of Both Worlds

2009-11-10T10:16:00.000-08:00

I think the wife and daughter are more excited about this weekend than I. They get a chance to stay in a hotel with a indoor pool, not to mention the all day buffet. It’s not often when the wife tells you, did you sign up for that race yet? Don’t forget to get a reservation for a room.

I get the chance to race on a golf course, and take my frustration I had for many years of chasing a little white ball around with a stick. We know how I race bikes, well my golf game isn’t any better. Now vengeance will be mine, I shall crush the Kentucky Blue Grass under my wheels, and slice though the sand of a fairway bunker. Just knowing that I don’t have to rack the sand after is enough to make me smile.

Bob

2009-11-02T17:43:00.000-08:00

Pic By Frank Shapiro

This is the report, short and sweet. I suck LOL... But all the kids loved Sponge Bob.

Memoirs of a Geisha

2009-11-01T18:04:00.000-08:00

So how did I come up with the costume? With one day left before Halloween, I raided my wives vast wardrobe. It's truly a magical place. I came across a leather coat and leather shorts from the 80's with all these wild colors. But what could I do with that? Next I found a sari. Should I go as Ghandi? I had the glasses, but I couldn't pull off a shaved head over a helmet. Next I found some authentic Japanese robes. I know I had white grease paint and a white long haired wig. Could I transform the white wig into a geisha's headpiece? Well, we all know what the answer is to that question. With two rubberbands, scissors, a can of black spray paint, chopsticks, and some fake flowers for color, a geisha was born! Tony Yashimoda.
While checking in to the 4A race my name was called and I corrected the official of my last name. On the final check to see if everybody was present, my name was called again and again I corrected the official. She got it the second time around. I have always liked this course, seeing that this is my third season riding it. I can definately say that was the most stakes I have ever run through or broken, inadvertantly and also on purpose. I think I made it through there cleanly only once and every time I went trough people were saying " which spectator is he aiming for this time?" Not everybody noticed, but one time after the single track that I went through the tape instead of going around the greasy turn I let the two riders past me who I unfairly passed. Out of the eight times I went up the hill I ran once. Outside of that, if you stayed far left you were fine. No real big problems outside of that. It just feel like whenever I get off my bike to run I feel like a clydsdale.
This was my first time doubling up. If it doesn't kill you the first time, might as well try again. I really didn't fare any better. I wasn't expecting another call up. I do appreciate that the organizers recognized the women in the race and flannel guy, and the other guy who goes nameless, but plugs away race after race. It's just nice to see that our cycling community is not full of itself and hospitable to every caliber of rider. So after a thurough washing I'm back to plain old Tony Rienks.

Chicago Cross Cup Race #5

2009-10-25T18:17:00.000-07:00

And the pain just keeps coming at you. It was another tough race this week brought to you by ABD. The course was long and set up for the power riders, with long straight false flats. The ground kinda soft for my first race, the masters 30+. I am still in a fog with all of the non-training that we have been doing. (The price for puting on our first cross race, well worth it.) I’m not worried anymore about placing in the rest of the cross races. I just want to ride hard and get as much benefit as I can out of them.

One thing that was good was I raced on a set of carbon tubular from Rob Curtis. He is renting sets at each race, so you can try them before you buy them. I will post a review of the wheels on my blog in a few days.

On another note, I had the opportunity to meet some of the upper crust of the local cross scene. One being Tim Boundy from Verdigris Cycling. He gave our team some great praise for our race that we put on. When someone like that says that it was UCI caliber, and very euro, you have to stop and take notice,and he is not the only one. Trust me when you get people of that caliber commend you on your course, it gives you a sense of accomplishment. A bit of fear that you will have to step it up again next year. I’m sure that we will be up to the challenge. We have an outstanding core of riders and sponsers who have stepped up to the plate all the time. To which a lot of the credit should go to. VeePak inc. & the Beverly Bike Shop For now we have more pressing things to tend to. We have shown that we are a good team in retrospect to always being out there, but now we need to work on our commitment to training to achieve better results next year. Only time will tell on that one.

To all of those who were yelling for me all over the course, THX. I was ready to die out there. The cheers were the only thing that was keeping me going in the last race. You are all the best.

Bob

2009-10-20T18:56:00.000-07:00

As the World Turns

2009-10-20T18:45:00.000-07:00

I thought our course was hard. But man, all those turns made me as dizzy as a kid getting off the tea cups at Disney; by the way, which I also experienced. I got there last minute as usual, and I met Bob for a little pre-course strategy. He gave me some tips on the course. It was nice having someone on the team ride 30+ with me. It gives me support and motivation to do well and I hope I have the same effect on others. Bob has been riding well so I had to be on my game. As we took off, Bob got to the front of the race quickly and in good position. I tried to use him as a carrot but he was riding well and I felt he was pulling away. I’m very sketchy on the turns and with so many of them I could sense I was dropping back. More confident riders were easily passing me. What little I could make up was on the straights and clearly this was not going to be enough. As I started losing sight of Bob, all of a sudden I see him standing by a tree I thought for sure he crashed. As I approached him I asked “you crashed?” He held up the top of his saddle while the metal rails remain on his bike. Enough said. That sucked for sure.
As I continued the race, it got harder the more turns I made the more squeamish I got. I crashed last Sunday on our own course.. Go figure? I didn’t want to crash today.(what a Wuss) The sand pit had a nice twist to it or shall I say turn, also those rolling bumps were equally challenging. The course was awesome my skills suck, but I still had a blast and my sweet wife got some nice pics. Thanks for your support!!!!! See you next week.

E

Carpentersville Race Report

2009-10-20T05:37:00.000-07:00

I changed up races and road in the 30+ event. Not wanting to interfere with the real racers I lined up in the back. I figured if I started in the back and moved up past riders it would be good training. The plan started off well enough, I went into turn 1 DFL, and by the middle of the first lap I was sitting mid pack. I was leading a group of 6 to 8 riders into the last two turns when I hit a large root on a turn and went down. I heard a few of the guys ask if I was ok, and I told them yes, and to go. I jumped up and hopped to remount the bike, but when my leg hit the seat, the seat snapped off the rails with a loud snap. I jumped on the bike anyway, saying to myself, I’m going to finish one lap. That’s when the officials saw me cross the line and laughed as they told me I was done if I didn’t have a saddle or pit bike in the pit. They did say AAAAhhhhhh that’s the noise we heard, as they chuckled.

Bob

Who Designed that F'ing Course?

2009-10-12T14:42:00.000-07:00

Uh, we did. Oh yeah, I forgot. Having this as our training grounds and riding it so many times was nothing like racing on it with tape and the hoopla that goes along with race day. I would first like to thank my team for their support and all the riders who came out also. All 344 of you. See the south side has something to offer afterall!
We started getting ready the night before by cleaning under the trees, pruning low hanging branches and flagging the areas we knew would be ok for the night. Elvis ended up looking like a bush himself with all the burrs he got attached to his whole body while cleaning up the single track.
We got there at 6:45 in the morning on Sunday and started to set up the course. There were some game day changes to the course which I think now enchanced the course itself. It felt like it took too long to set up, but we were ready at 9:29. The first race started on time at 9:30. If I knew it was OK with the officials to keep both sides of the run up open that's how we would have ran it the whole day instead of just for the 4's races.
So, onto my race. I suck. Nothing like going down twice on the switchback on the hill when that was my bread and butter while training. In all I went down two more times. Actually down one more time, coming around the 360 at the bottom of the run up hill, and a complete dead turn-your-bike-around 180 degrees dead stop at the bottom of the other hill. That was the part of the course we changed. Coming down from the big hill was supposed to go around one tree where you would have to apply your brakes. We made the turn around two trees where you didn't need brakes and could just fly. Well after the two tree turn I didn't lean in enough catching an outside tape post with my handlebars. Now I'm thinking that I must have hit that post almost with the center of my bars because it stopped, and jumped the rear of my bike 180 degrees so I was facing backwards without falling down. It took me a second to figure out that I had to get off my bike just to get back in the right direction on the course.
With all that being said we suck, but hopefully our course didn't.

ATTENTION TIMES HAVE CHANGED!!!

2009-10-05T17:59:00.001-07:00

Going Backwards

2009-10-05T08:53:00.000-07:00

I have so much on my mind with our race coming up that training hasn't been a top priority. Then again, I think I just suck no matter how much training I do. It's a little disheartening when you find people who are in their first cross races beating somebody who has been riding cx for 3 years now.
Enough of the pitty party onto the race. I got to the chute and placed myself on the front line. Then it was monkey see monkey do with everybody linning up behind me. I thought I was golden. I didn't have great postioning at JP and it hurt in the end. This Sunday was going to be different! So after the call ups the rest of us mopes moved to the line. I got in the second row right behind the guy in 8th on the call up. I was happy with this postion knowing that somebody with skill was in front of me. Too bad he wasn't paying attention for the whistle. So the whistle blowes and for a couple of seconds I'm not moving. So much for good starting position. Needless to say I gas myself to on top of the hill. I'm done at that point, knowing that what little I gain or loose is'nt going to make that much of a difference. Another disheartening thing is to find people who went down in front of you, when you didn't fall down, beat you. OUCH. The rear wheel got loose 2 times, but I was able to save a high side both times. I think it's a cool feeling to know you averted getting thrown off your bike by sheer luck rather than skill.
Well it's over with probaly my worst finish since my first race of cross coming in 40th. Onto Dan Ryan Woods. We'll see if there is any home field advantage. I doubt it with 74 other guys who are more fit than I am. Tony

ATTENTION TIMES HAVE CHANGED!!!

2009-10-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

Please look at our flier. As of our race and all races thereafter, Chicrosscup has made time and category changes. This is to better accomodate the ammount of riders who are coming to these events.