High tide on the Lakefront Path!
I hope my shoes and socks dry out before its time to ride home.

So I've finished my last race of the season. I'm sad. It was really SO much fun, I don't want it to end. But unless I take up cyclocross [not likely], there really aren't any more races until March. And Jackie would divorce me.

I raced in the Fall Fling road race--the Fall Fling is a series of 4 races, two crits, a time trial and a road race, with an overall winner. The women's cat 4 road race was three laps equalling 24 miles. We got there early and I rode a warm-up lap --- very valuable to learn exactly how strong the wind was and where it was a serious factor [Very strong. Very serious.]. Jeanette and I were there to try to keep our teammate Cecile in the overall leaders jersey. We were thinking we'd try and push the pace and see who we could drop, but a triathlete in her her first road race got on the front almost immediately and singlehandedly pulled us all around the course at a very strong clip. So we let her do our work for us. I sat on her wheel waiting for attacks and Jeanette sat back with Cecile.

On the second lap, I attacked up a hill. But no one chased. I figured they were going to let me dangle out in the wind until I died. I sat up a bit and they finally caught up. Soon after, we started dropping women. By the third lap we were down from 12 to seven, and dropped one more in the rollers. Cecile's two main competitors attacked after the third turn. Jeanette helped Cecile bridge. It took me longer to catch up, but that is a long uphill section and I had the triathlete's help. [this is the same place there was a big attack in the road race two weeks ago, and that didn't stick either. Its just too long of an incline into the wind. I think you need to either go earlier or wait until just before or after the fourth turn.] When we regained the leaders, Jeanette was pulling and Cecile was fourth wheel. On the next attack, Jeanette was left behind. I stayed with Cecile, hoping to give her a leadout . . . but I couldn't get into position and I didn't want to alert the other riders by talking about it. So when the sprint started, I just tried to keep up. We left the triathlete behind, and the four of us raced to the line. I saw one of the other women crack and I passed her! Unfortunately, Cecile wasn't able to outsprint the other racer, and she came in second, with me right behind [taking points away from everyone else].

I enjoyed the race a lot. I should have done some things differently, but I guess I'll work on that next time. In March.

I'm back from my conference in Toronto. Great conference, a wonderful, relaxing time with Jackie. And 5 days off the bike. Eating way too much. I thought the hotel gym and lots of walking would be enough, but my ride this morning was awful. I'm so slow. Or at least I was until I started trading pulls with some strong guys. I finally got warmed up and started feeling OK. I'm still fat and slow, but its not as bad as I thought at first.

My teammate Cecile is currently #1 in the overall at the Fall Fling Omnium. So I'm going to ride the road race on Saturday in support of her. I hope Jeanette and I can help her keep the yellow jersey another day!

Ha, I just remembered something funny [or sad, depending on your outlook]: the official at the cyclocross race told us that racing ages have moved up to the age the racer will turn in the 2008 calendar year. Which means that while I am still 39, my racing age is now 41.

On Sunday I volunteered at the first Cyclocross race of the season. Cyclocross is amazing. The racers navigate a course of grass, dirt, sand, and mud, uphill, downhill, dismounting and carrying their bikes over multiple barriers often positioned so the bike has to be carried uphill as well . . . its a crazy, fun circus. Seriously, there should be cotton candy and balloons. Except that its usually done in the cold — cross season runs from September to December.

I should try it. I don't have a cyclocross bike, but I should figure something out and give it a go next year. Its such an all out intense workout. It would be super fun.

I cheered on my teammates, and every woman who raced by, and men in attractive kits. Everyone looked to be absolutely at their max and grimly determined to pick up the bike and get it over the barrier and up the hill . . . except this one guy, Paolo. Every time I cheered for him, he'd yell back "Rock'n'roll!" He wasn't drenched in sweat, he wasn't gasping for air, he didn't set his bike down and roll it up the hill, he carried it the entire way. And he wasn't losing ground either. He must be made of steel. So aspirational.

———

I was on the lakefront this morning and they seem to be repairing the most egregious bumps and hazards. Yay. I wonder how long before the asphalt gets pushed into new and exciting bumps.

Things I like about the Lakefront path before dawn:
90% fewer people to dodge!

Things I don't like about the Lakefront path before dawn:
Its REALLY dark. You can't see anything.

Today, I learned that some of my teammates were assaulted by a driver during our Saturday team ride. You can read details at Chicago Bike Racing and Decisive Moments [links below]. Its shocking and infuriating. I'm very glad that no one was seriously injured and that the driver was arrested and charged.

I raced on Saturday — the ABR Master's National Road Race Championships. We had a very small field, four 40+ riders and three 30+ riders, so only seven of us altogether, four of us from xXx, two in each category. We didn't have a chance to discuss tactics beforehand, so I wasn't sure what my role should be going in. So I sat in at first. But my teammates were doing a lot of the work, so I started doing my part too.

After a few laps, it was extremely apparent to me that I was not going to be able to break away, so I figured I should work for our sprinter, the other 40+ rider. So on the last lap and a half I tried attacking over and over, forcing the other 40+ racers to chase me. My attacks got weaker and weaker, and finally before the last turn, my teammate Jeanette [in the 30+ category] put in a big attack on a hill and I got gapped. OK to be fair, her main opponent, a cat 2 rider, was on my wheel and I was blocking. But when she finally went around me, I couldn't catch her wheel and got left behind with another 40+ racer. I chased, and soon caught up to Beth, our sprinter. She'd redlined and fallen off. So I urged her to grab my wheel, and she and I worked together to catch back onto the lead group — pulling the other 40+ racer with us.

So we were all back together going into the homestretch descent. I didn't want to lead out our opponents, so I was trying to figure out where I should be. The one strong 40+ racer finally went, and then the sprint was on. The other 40+ racer, the one Beth and I had pulled back up to the front group, unleashed her sprint. I tried getting on her wheel, but wasn't definitive enough — the cat 2 racer got it and they both sailed to victory. Beth came in third, behind them, and I actually sprinted past the other 40+ racer and crossed the line fourth, third in the 40+ race.

So overall, a fun and educational race. I'm very happy that I'm strong enough TO experiment and learn. Big lesson: have a game plan going in. There's no excuse for us not controlling that race better when we were over half the field. Lesson 2: Jeanette has an awesome uphill excelleration, and I have to do some work now so that I'll be able to keep up with it in the future. If I can get stronger on the hills and build more high-intensity endurance, we could tag-team the hell out of this kind of race.

It was VERY cool to actually outsprint someone. She went too soon, I think, but still. And afterwards, she was shocked to learn that I was only a cat 4 racer. That was nice.

This was my first road race since the Proctor road race where Beth K. was killed. Two of my teammates and a number of other master's racers at this event had been in that pack. It brought up a lot of feelings to again be in a race where the course is open to motor vehicles while the race is going on. I can't express my sadness about that horrible, tragic accident, or my anger. But I think this was an important step for me. It was good to spend some time decompressing with my teammates afterwards. I hope they are doing OK.