[Zach Watson is an ABD Club member and Elite Team rider living in Boulder, Colorado. Zach has been an ABD member since the team’s original inception as a Junior program in the mid 90’s and we are proud to still have him on board]
Hello, ABD Club. Here’s a quick report on some races this past weekend. Next up: the Quad Cities races.
Saturday: Sunshine Canyon Hillclimb. Basically a mass start 9 mile climb up one of the nastiest climbs in Boulder, last 3 miles on dirt. Chilly start, headed off and the smack went down as soon as the gun went off. Oooh that hurt, watching the watts at 425 or so and we're on the lighter grades in the first mile! I yo-yo'ed a bit and caught back on about 3 times after getting detached, but I got dropped for good a little over halfway up. Just couldn't hold the pace and my legs were fairly blown from hanging on during the steep stuff. So I rode to the finish by myself, with a few others, the race exploded and everyone just came in one-by-one. I was fairly upset since I had climbed well at Gila, but I am learning that a "sprint" up a climb like that really isn't my niche in the climbing world. Probably would do a lot better if we did about 80 miles beforehand. I climbed the course 2 mins faster than I did last year so there is improvement, but 25th out of 41 isn't great! The wattage numbers were pretty high, 10 min average was 405, overall 329. Ouch, that hurt.
Sunday: Bounced back nicely. North Boulder Park Crit, apparently a coors classic heyday classic course. They did like a dozen call ups, everyone showed up today. Frischkorn and Donald from Slipstream, Baldwin from Rock, Garcia from BMC, Chris Wherry, Scott Moninger, Colby Pearce, Dan Schmatz, Ian MacGregor and another Type 1 guy, a Bissell guy, and the regular Boulder fast guys. So a pretty stacked field for a local race, a lot of horsepower present. The race splits due to the narrow roads and dodgy turns so I kept to the front. Frischkorn took off with about 30 mins to go and I stuck right on his wheel and was joined with Colby Pearce and a couple others. A good move but alarm bells went off in the field and we got reeled back in. So it came down to a few laps to go and a couple guys got away, and we almost got them on the line, but Ian MacGregor won. I kept a good position and launched out of the last corner about 6th wheel. Sprinted hard and passed a couple, got 4th place.
So my crit riding is spot-on and tactically I am playing well. I got pretty down after the drubbing I took in the hillclimb so I was pretty low on morale at the start but I got out of that funk pretty quick and rode a smart race. Looking forward to memorial weekend!
Thanks, hope you're well!
Zach
5/20/2009
4/14/2009
Prinner Report: Hillsboro Roubaix
Hey Team,
I’m sure most of you tuned in yesterday to watch a very eventful Paris-Roubaix unfold, even though I’m still a little bummed they never show a women’s Paris-Roubaix. I’m sure women racers have just as much, if not more, enthusiasm about racing those cobbles as the men. I know I was envious. I just hope that one day maybe I’ll get the chance to race on one of those cobble stretches with an impossibly long and unpronounceable name, strewn with crazy spectators that make obstacles of themselves. For now, though, I’ll just have to settle for the bastard son of the Queen of the Classics; Hillsboro-Roubaix.
With this having been my fourth year of racing the grueling Hillsboro road race, I was surprised at how familiar I was with it. I could even point out the exact spot along the side of the road that, four years prior, I literally stopped mid-race and lay in a ditch. Better yet, my mom (who was also racing that day) eventually found me sprawled along the road and even stopped to give me a massage. Believe it or not, I actually got 13th place that year in the cat 4s.
But looking back on that pitiful day, I realize that I have come a long way, and I finally see how ridiculous I must have looked laying by the side of the road. I hope that most people have erased that from their minds by now. I can’t have Webcor or Colavita knowing about this. Quick roadside breaks are not exactly smiled upon in Paris-Roubaix, and worse yet, there’s a slight chance my mom might not be there to give me a massage.
Anyway, I felt confident as I lined up for the Roubaix once again. The course consisted of two 22-mile laps with a tough course mixed with nasty little bumps (as Sarah Tillotson once called them) and long, blustery stretches of road with no shelter from the wind. The final mile to the finish is a loop around the downtown area that takes you up a long, killer hill that leads into town (actually I think the only reason it seems so bad is because it’s at the very end) followed by a sharp turn and a fast descent onto…drum roll…THE COBBLES. I wish I could say Hillsboro contained 37 miles of cobbles like Paris-Roubaix, but I think it’s more like 0.37 miles. It’s just enough to make you realize that cobbles really aren’t that much fun. Just a tip: they look a LOT smoother than they really are.
Well, the race began and I made sure to situate myself in a decent position in the top fourth of the field. I figured I would have some time to get settled in before any major attacks came, but apparently the field thought otherwise. Rebecca Much (a Webcor Pro) sat in second position from the gun, using her unique ability to smell attacks and knowing that the winning move was just around the corner. We were not more than three miles into the race when the attack came on only the second hill of the day, and the field shattered instantly. A break of three ladies formed (including Rebecca, Catherine Walberg, and Sydney Brown), setting a record from the year before of the earliest successful break I have ever seen. Three other ladies and I formed the chase group. Indeed, this year the field was far more intense than the year before. Not only was it bigger, but the teams more vast and some of the big guns had come out to claim the prize of a stipend for free racing and lodging for Nature-Valley. There weren’t just cat 1’s in the field this year; there were Pros.
Since the break was not so far up the road (just a few hundred yards), I assumed we would reel them in in no time. 15 miles later, the three ladies were still just a tantalizing distance away. There is a possibility they could have been playing with us as a cruel joke. And just when I was starting to convince myself they were just a hallucination, the gap closed and we finally joined the front riders.
With my sharply honed senses, I could tell some of the ladies were getting tired. My first clue was after turning a corner when one lady hit the apex and made a straight, unwavering bee-line into the ditch. I battled internally on whether or not this was intentional. I, too, might have done the same thing four years ago. It was to no one’s surprise that she got dropped at the beginning of the second lap; I didn’t even see her go, she was just there one instant and gone the next. Perhaps a spectator can recount seeing a cat 1,2,3 lady laying by the side of the road, and maybe even stopped to give her a massage.
Once again we set off into the backroads rotating in our neat little paceline for one last 22 mile loop. We made good time at a pace of a little over 21 mph, especially considering the killer winds, which in some places seemed to be coming at us in all directions except from behind. The field was nowhere in sight, and a lady wearing all pink got a flat tire.
So coming into the final downtown mile there were only five little Indians left; the survivors on a long and treacherous journey over the Roubaix. The decisive attack came on the final long uphill when Rebecca Much exploded past the pace car (which got caught behind some other finishing riders) and gapped us as if we were standing still. My legs were shot from the many hard miles of racing, and I was instantly separated from the other ladies, and forced to finish in a grueling solo to fifth place. I was still pleased as punch that I managed to not only hang with, but work alongside the top riders in the region, not to mention racing and actually competing against a seasoned pro racer like Rebecca Much.
That definitely gives me incentive to train hard and race even harder to reach my goals this year. That includes making the junior national team and qualifying for Junior Worlds that will be held in Moscow, Russia in August. My first test in going to be in late May at the Junior World Trials in Nashville, Tennessee (Jenny Busch, I know you will be happy about this). If I manage to qualify, I’ll see if I can get away with wearing my ABD booties with my Team USA kit at Worlds.
Until my next adventure,
-Jessi
I’m sure most of you tuned in yesterday to watch a very eventful Paris-Roubaix unfold, even though I’m still a little bummed they never show a women’s Paris-Roubaix. I’m sure women racers have just as much, if not more, enthusiasm about racing those cobbles as the men. I know I was envious. I just hope that one day maybe I’ll get the chance to race on one of those cobble stretches with an impossibly long and unpronounceable name, strewn with crazy spectators that make obstacles of themselves. For now, though, I’ll just have to settle for the bastard son of the Queen of the Classics; Hillsboro-Roubaix.
With this having been my fourth year of racing the grueling Hillsboro road race, I was surprised at how familiar I was with it. I could even point out the exact spot along the side of the road that, four years prior, I literally stopped mid-race and lay in a ditch. Better yet, my mom (who was also racing that day) eventually found me sprawled along the road and even stopped to give me a massage. Believe it or not, I actually got 13th place that year in the cat 4s.
But looking back on that pitiful day, I realize that I have come a long way, and I finally see how ridiculous I must have looked laying by the side of the road. I hope that most people have erased that from their minds by now. I can’t have Webcor or Colavita knowing about this. Quick roadside breaks are not exactly smiled upon in Paris-Roubaix, and worse yet, there’s a slight chance my mom might not be there to give me a massage.
Anyway, I felt confident as I lined up for the Roubaix once again. The course consisted of two 22-mile laps with a tough course mixed with nasty little bumps (as Sarah Tillotson once called them) and long, blustery stretches of road with no shelter from the wind. The final mile to the finish is a loop around the downtown area that takes you up a long, killer hill that leads into town (actually I think the only reason it seems so bad is because it’s at the very end) followed by a sharp turn and a fast descent onto…drum roll…THE COBBLES. I wish I could say Hillsboro contained 37 miles of cobbles like Paris-Roubaix, but I think it’s more like 0.37 miles. It’s just enough to make you realize that cobbles really aren’t that much fun. Just a tip: they look a LOT smoother than they really are.
Well, the race began and I made sure to situate myself in a decent position in the top fourth of the field. I figured I would have some time to get settled in before any major attacks came, but apparently the field thought otherwise. Rebecca Much (a Webcor Pro) sat in second position from the gun, using her unique ability to smell attacks and knowing that the winning move was just around the corner. We were not more than three miles into the race when the attack came on only the second hill of the day, and the field shattered instantly. A break of three ladies formed (including Rebecca, Catherine Walberg, and Sydney Brown), setting a record from the year before of the earliest successful break I have ever seen. Three other ladies and I formed the chase group. Indeed, this year the field was far more intense than the year before. Not only was it bigger, but the teams more vast and some of the big guns had come out to claim the prize of a stipend for free racing and lodging for Nature-Valley. There weren’t just cat 1’s in the field this year; there were Pros.
Since the break was not so far up the road (just a few hundred yards), I assumed we would reel them in in no time. 15 miles later, the three ladies were still just a tantalizing distance away. There is a possibility they could have been playing with us as a cruel joke. And just when I was starting to convince myself they were just a hallucination, the gap closed and we finally joined the front riders.
With my sharply honed senses, I could tell some of the ladies were getting tired. My first clue was after turning a corner when one lady hit the apex and made a straight, unwavering bee-line into the ditch. I battled internally on whether or not this was intentional. I, too, might have done the same thing four years ago. It was to no one’s surprise that she got dropped at the beginning of the second lap; I didn’t even see her go, she was just there one instant and gone the next. Perhaps a spectator can recount seeing a cat 1,2,3 lady laying by the side of the road, and maybe even stopped to give her a massage.
Once again we set off into the backroads rotating in our neat little paceline for one last 22 mile loop. We made good time at a pace of a little over 21 mph, especially considering the killer winds, which in some places seemed to be coming at us in all directions except from behind. The field was nowhere in sight, and a lady wearing all pink got a flat tire.
So coming into the final downtown mile there were only five little Indians left; the survivors on a long and treacherous journey over the Roubaix. The decisive attack came on the final long uphill when Rebecca Much exploded past the pace car (which got caught behind some other finishing riders) and gapped us as if we were standing still. My legs were shot from the many hard miles of racing, and I was instantly separated from the other ladies, and forced to finish in a grueling solo to fifth place. I was still pleased as punch that I managed to not only hang with, but work alongside the top riders in the region, not to mention racing and actually competing against a seasoned pro racer like Rebecca Much.
That definitely gives me incentive to train hard and race even harder to reach my goals this year. That includes making the junior national team and qualifying for Junior Worlds that will be held in Moscow, Russia in August. My first test in going to be in late May at the Junior World Trials in Nashville, Tennessee (Jenny Busch, I know you will be happy about this). If I manage to qualify, I’ll see if I can get away with wearing my ABD booties with my Team USA kit at Worlds.
Until my next adventure,
-Jessi
4/10/2009
Prinner Report: Kenosha & Beloit
Hey Team,
It’s definitely about time I started with the rider reports again since I’ve finally got something to talk about (let’s face it, nobody really wants to hear a report on the indoor TTs. This is about the time of year that we all just prefer to forget about them).
My first race of the year brought me out to Kenosha to race on one of the widest, flattest courses I’ve ever seen in my life. Not to mention one of the windiest. And it didn’t help much that there was an airport next door, and a little ways from that a giant, smoke-belching factory of some sort. I was a bit tentative at first seeing this; not sure whether I would come home with some sort of a mutation. An extra leg wouldn’t hurt, really. Anyway, I didn’t come to Kenosha to race with the women, as most would have assumed, but instead my first race of the season was with the cat. 1,2 men. I thought it would be a good omen. Actually it was more just for training purposes, because you can’t really go any higher than the men’s 1,2 field. Well, I was definitely excited and ready to go out and kick some butt after a long, dull winter in the trainer (my rollers were out of commission for a while. I trained so hard that I snapped them right in half. If you ask Farrell he’ll say the molding was defective, but I like to think otherwise). Plus, I just received my brand new ABR license, even though I was a little bummed it didn’t rank me as Super Galactic Professional like I had asked. Oh well, maybe next year.
So the men’s 1,2 race began with a meager field of about 25 guys on the line (I was really hoping for a Superweek turnout of at least 120), but I still got my workout by sitting in and practiced basic pack-racing skills like moving up, holding my line through turns, fending off riders to keep my position and blowing snot on the rider behind me. Since a decent sized breakaway had gotten away early on in the race, I figured going for the win was futile, and besides that the wind was really a monster and nobody’s bridging attempts were making it very far. Rob Jungals attacked and stayed away to the finish on the last lap, while I attempted to secure a good position for the field sprint. I somehow went from third rider with half a lap to being boxed in at the back by the last straightaway, so I counted it as a pack finish. I was pretty pleased, though, with my first performance of the year, and I didn’t go home with an extra arm sticking out of my head from that scary factory.
The next weekend I showed up at Beloit with only one desire in my mind as I stepped out of the car—to go home. For some reason I had it in my mind the day before that it was going to be sunny and beautiful up at the crit/speedway, even though people were telling me left and right that it was going to miserable and possibly even snow. So when I arrived at the race the following weekend, I was actually surprised to find that it was really, really cold. And windy. And believe it or not, the course was even wider and flatter than Kenosha, seeing as though it was actually a racecar course.
I was even more surprised to find that about 12 women had actually decided to show up. Did they, too, share the same mental delusion as me? My own teammate, Sue, should have known better than this. She pretty much all but writes a research paper on every race she does. In fact, I wouldn’t doubt the odds of her knowing the ground temperature as well as the atmospheric pressure that day. The day before she had been wisely hesitant about going, but I coaxed her with super slick words and convinced her to suffer with me anyway.
So my original race strategy had been to wait until about halfway through the race to attack since it was 55 minutes long, and I figured that way I would conserve my own energy as well as whittle down the field’s. Well, it sure sounded like a good plan, but in reality I attacked on the first lap, sending my race strategy right out the window. Immediately a group of about five ladies formed and we worked together trading off pulls, steadily increasing our gap from the field. That’s pretty much all we did for 55 minutes. I decided not to attack since one of the riders was Kristen Wentworth, a super strong lady on Kenda Tire who is known for being a powerhouse. To attack her would be like me trying to wrestle a grizzly bear. Absolutely pointless. So I put my money on the final sprint, hoping she wasn’t amazing at that, too. The final lap arrived and Wentworth tried a beast of an attack, but I managed to catch her before any large distance was put between us. For the remainder of the lap I sat on her wheel and then began my sprint way too early and suffered all the way to the finish line. But I still won. And I got two waterbottles and a baselayer long-sleeve out of it. Hallelujah.
‘Till next time,
-Jessi
It’s definitely about time I started with the rider reports again since I’ve finally got something to talk about (let’s face it, nobody really wants to hear a report on the indoor TTs. This is about the time of year that we all just prefer to forget about them).
My first race of the year brought me out to Kenosha to race on one of the widest, flattest courses I’ve ever seen in my life. Not to mention one of the windiest. And it didn’t help much that there was an airport next door, and a little ways from that a giant, smoke-belching factory of some sort. I was a bit tentative at first seeing this; not sure whether I would come home with some sort of a mutation. An extra leg wouldn’t hurt, really. Anyway, I didn’t come to Kenosha to race with the women, as most would have assumed, but instead my first race of the season was with the cat. 1,2 men. I thought it would be a good omen. Actually it was more just for training purposes, because you can’t really go any higher than the men’s 1,2 field. Well, I was definitely excited and ready to go out and kick some butt after a long, dull winter in the trainer (my rollers were out of commission for a while. I trained so hard that I snapped them right in half. If you ask Farrell he’ll say the molding was defective, but I like to think otherwise). Plus, I just received my brand new ABR license, even though I was a little bummed it didn’t rank me as Super Galactic Professional like I had asked. Oh well, maybe next year.
So the men’s 1,2 race began with a meager field of about 25 guys on the line (I was really hoping for a Superweek turnout of at least 120), but I still got my workout by sitting in and practiced basic pack-racing skills like moving up, holding my line through turns, fending off riders to keep my position and blowing snot on the rider behind me. Since a decent sized breakaway had gotten away early on in the race, I figured going for the win was futile, and besides that the wind was really a monster and nobody’s bridging attempts were making it very far. Rob Jungals attacked and stayed away to the finish on the last lap, while I attempted to secure a good position for the field sprint. I somehow went from third rider with half a lap to being boxed in at the back by the last straightaway, so I counted it as a pack finish. I was pretty pleased, though, with my first performance of the year, and I didn’t go home with an extra arm sticking out of my head from that scary factory.
The next weekend I showed up at Beloit with only one desire in my mind as I stepped out of the car—to go home. For some reason I had it in my mind the day before that it was going to be sunny and beautiful up at the crit/speedway, even though people were telling me left and right that it was going to miserable and possibly even snow. So when I arrived at the race the following weekend, I was actually surprised to find that it was really, really cold. And windy. And believe it or not, the course was even wider and flatter than Kenosha, seeing as though it was actually a racecar course.
I was even more surprised to find that about 12 women had actually decided to show up. Did they, too, share the same mental delusion as me? My own teammate, Sue, should have known better than this. She pretty much all but writes a research paper on every race she does. In fact, I wouldn’t doubt the odds of her knowing the ground temperature as well as the atmospheric pressure that day. The day before she had been wisely hesitant about going, but I coaxed her with super slick words and convinced her to suffer with me anyway.
So my original race strategy had been to wait until about halfway through the race to attack since it was 55 minutes long, and I figured that way I would conserve my own energy as well as whittle down the field’s. Well, it sure sounded like a good plan, but in reality I attacked on the first lap, sending my race strategy right out the window. Immediately a group of about five ladies formed and we worked together trading off pulls, steadily increasing our gap from the field. That’s pretty much all we did for 55 minutes. I decided not to attack since one of the riders was Kristen Wentworth, a super strong lady on Kenda Tire who is known for being a powerhouse. To attack her would be like me trying to wrestle a grizzly bear. Absolutely pointless. So I put my money on the final sprint, hoping she wasn’t amazing at that, too. The final lap arrived and Wentworth tried a beast of an attack, but I managed to catch her before any large distance was put between us. For the remainder of the lap I sat on her wheel and then began my sprint way too early and suffered all the way to the finish line. But I still won. And I got two waterbottles and a baselayer long-sleeve out of it. Hallelujah.
‘Till next time,
-Jessi
3/24/2009
Freund San Dimas Race Report
Hey everyone,
So here is how the San Dimas Stage Race which included an uphill 3.8
mile TT on Friday, a road race Saturday and a Crit on sunday went from
my prospective.
Well the TT wasn't great. I had a good warm up, I felt pretty good,
and unlike Carter I don't mind TT's usually. However, I've never done
an uphill TT and to make things worse I went out a little too hard.
This is my biggest problem for TTs. I mean I tell myself to relax
don't go out too hard and I don't think that I went too hard from the
gun but it was after maybe 1/2 a K, when I got my 30 sec man in my
sites. Then I started to go too hard I caught and passed him probably
in the first K. I relized however I was going too hard too soon but I
could already see my 1 minute man and I kept the hammer down. I caught
and passed him probably around the 3K mark. So I still felt decent
for about another 20 seconds then I suffered the most just after half
way and before the last quarter of the race and it wasn't a good
suffer. It was the you have too much lactic in your legs and you will
slow down. This is not good because it is the section I should have
been going my hardest. So all in all I ended up with 15:26 in ninth
place. My first thought was "wow not good I hope Ebert doesn't kick
me off the team". Well maybe it wasn't that extreme but I was not
happy. Well it was on to the road race.
In the RR there were time bonuses available on lap 3,5,7 and also on
the finish. The race was very non-aggresive, barely any attacks and
the few that there were, were half hearted solo efforts which would
get chased down almost with easy. This is very different from the few
colligiate races that I've had this year which usually have relentless
attacks fro the gun. Everyone went hard on the climb but crawled over
the top taking time to recover. The pace was constantly up and down
but never that hard. So on the 3rd lap I attacked over the top of the
second climb about 3k's from the finish. I had a decent gap, however
I was caught on the long straight to the finish with about 150 meters
to go. So on lap 5 I took 3rd in the field sprint and then got myself
into the only break of the day that seemed like it might have a
chance. There was four of us and one of the guys was in the top ten
with me. I think we may have had 30 seconds or more at one point and
even put the two's field inbetween us and the main pack. We were
about to catch another large group of riders from another field but my
breakmates lost there legs. One dropped off the back while I tried to
power us over one of the climbs and the other 2 didn't want to pull
anymore. I tried to push the pace taking the lead for the entire
first climb but I could tell they were done. We ended up getting
caught just before the end of lap 7th however I took 4th in the field
sprint just out points/time bonus placing. So I sat in for the final
lap waiting for the field sprint. I ended up in eighth. Not very
good. However I learned some things from these field sprints which
prior to this I haven't had too much exspierence..
1. Enroll in Josh Carter Sprinting classes. 2. I was in too big of
gear for this sprint. 3. I was positioned too far up in the field
with a straight away that is 1k long. Lastly at the end of the sprint
I need to start looking for holes and the line rather than wheels. 4.
Enroll in advanced sprinting tactics with professor Carter.
Sunday the Crit. Well you could say I'm consistant because I took 4th
again in the time bonus sprint and eigth for the stage in another
field sprint. This race was another race which doesn't exactly suit
my tactics. It was decently fast with no real attacks and everything
getting chased down. It seemed as if everyone was content with a
sprint finish. I wanted to sit in and launch an attack with 2 laps to
go however someone stole my thunder and attacked with 3.5 laps to go
and I would have joined him but I was not in position. There was a
large team of Bishop guys there who had a couple guys in the top 5 and
they chased hard and kept the pace high. We caught the rider with
about 500 meters to go. I was a little spent for the sprint finish
because I kept following wheels that where going the wrong direction
so I had to keep excellerating to get myself in position (not making
any friends having to force my way back into line). Needless to say
the sprint was subpar. So a 8th place finish for the stage and 8th on
the GC.
All in all it was a great week in Cali. Great training and good
racing. Also good company, thanks again to Ebert and Rosa for putting
up with me for a week.
Ryan
2/24/2009
Carter Report: Pace bend RR and Walburg RR
Hi ABD'ers
Thought I would drop a short recap of the races down here. I will start with Valley of the Sun in Phoenix, AZ. It was a 3 day stage race with a TT, RR, and Crit based on time. Now, it is no seceret that I hate TT's, but I actually was ready to really try and do well at this one, full on areo set up. 5k into the 22k TT I managed to find the biggest nail on the rode that went clean through my wheel. Two thoughts went through my head: 1st- I am so glad that I have a great excuse as to why I did not do well. 2nd- Oh crap I have to ride the next 17k on a flat wheel so I can start the next day, I hope somebody will be there to score me in a hour or so. Lucky for me they had a sweeper to pick people up in my situation and they gave me 5 minutes slower than the slowest time of the day, so I could start the next day. RR went well, the results show me as getting 2nd (and I still would have done well) but with 1k to go they neutralized our finish because of a crash at the finish line in the 3s race. So it did not really count. The Crit went well also, long story shot, a Rock Racing guy and Waste Management guy got off the front with 1 lap to go and I got 2nd in the field sprint for 4th.
This last weekend I went the suburbs of Austin, TX to the Walburg and Pace Bend RRs (two big TX races that everyone has been talking about). Saturday was Walburg- it was a long hard day in the saddle. We had cold, clouds, rain, sun, warm, and wind (a lot of wind). It was so windy that for about 5 miles in the cross wind I was trying to control my deep carbon Bontrager wheels at an angle as if I where going through a corner (only I was going straight). I could feel my bike sliding sideways on the wet road. I missed the 3 man break. In the last 10 miles a 4th guy got away and I won the sprint for 5th. Sunday was Pace Bend, it was a very cool race. A 6.2 mile fully enclosed wide road loop with rolling climbs and a lot of dudes (130+ starters) I quickly figured out that this race was going to come to a field sprint, it was too easy to sit in and to many guys with fresh legs. Now with that being said it made it very hard to position for the finish. There was a corner 400 meters to the finish and it was all up hill (not exactly my cup of tea) but I was ready for the fight. I got boxed in coming out of the corner and had to soft pedal to get an open lane with 200 meters to go. I got boxed in again and soft pedaled to get the line. By the time I hit the finish I had caught all but 1 guy, all I needed was 10 more meters, but that is bike racing. I will take 2nd place anytime. That is all the races I have to report for now! I will be at it again this weekend at Lago Vista. Wish me luck!
~Josh
1/13/2009
The Nowak Ski Trail Report
Hey all ABD'ers, there are some AWESOME x-country skiing conditions in the area. Here is my first hand update on the local and some not so local trails.
The DuPage Forest preserves are in pretty good shape. I classic skied Herrick Lake on Monday and the tracks were very good (other than one area where an old lady was walking in them). The skate area had a lot of walking traffic, but looked to be decent. Also checked out Arrowhead Golf Course and there was a nice wide skate lane. The tracks there were not as good as Herrick Lake.
Also checked out Blackwell FP and the conditions were similar to Herrick Lake.
My personal favorite, Deer Grove FP in Palatine has EXCELLENT conditions right now. This is all self groomed by the skiers there (i.e. me and a few other guys). There is an unused road that travels from the west-most parking lot off of Dundee Rd. east for about 5K that is in very good condition right now. It is very firm and getting fast. There are also a large network of skied-in tracks that are getting worn, but overall they are pretty good.
Also, Rockford has a nice system at Rock Cut St. Park. Check out the link below for Northern IL Nordic.
For those of you looking for a bit more adventure and challenge, I highly recommend the South Kettle area by Eagle, WI. The Nordic trail system is in excellent condition right now and the DNR of WI does an great job of grooming. If you are looking for a more challenging and anaerobic workout the trails at McMiller are also excellent. This is also a shooting range and during the weekends it can be a bit concerning hearing gun shots. However, this is a World Cup level trail and will leave you gasping.
Here are a few links for more info if you are interested.
Ski Reports:
http://www.skinnyski.com/
http://www.laphampeakfriends.org/ViewSkireportsExpanded.php
http://ninordic.org
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us
Hope to see you out there. Feel free to send any ski related questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them.
Jim
The DuPage Forest preserves are in pretty good shape. I classic skied Herrick Lake on Monday and the tracks were very good (other than one area where an old lady was walking in them). The skate area had a lot of walking traffic, but looked to be decent. Also checked out Arrowhead Golf Course and there was a nice wide skate lane. The tracks there were not as good as Herrick Lake.
Also checked out Blackwell FP and the conditions were similar to Herrick Lake.
My personal favorite, Deer Grove FP in Palatine has EXCELLENT conditions right now. This is all self groomed by the skiers there (i.e. me and a few other guys). There is an unused road that travels from the west-most parking lot off of Dundee Rd. east for about 5K that is in very good condition right now. It is very firm and getting fast. There are also a large network of skied-in tracks that are getting worn, but overall they are pretty good.
Also, Rockford has a nice system at Rock Cut St. Park. Check out the link below for Northern IL Nordic.
For those of you looking for a bit more adventure and challenge, I highly recommend the South Kettle area by Eagle, WI. The Nordic trail system is in excellent condition right now and the DNR of WI does an great job of grooming. If you are looking for a more challenging and anaerobic workout the trails at McMiller are also excellent. This is also a shooting range and during the weekends it can be a bit concerning hearing gun shots. However, this is a World Cup level trail and will leave you gasping.
Here are a few links for more info if you are interested.
Ski Reports:
http://www.skinnyski.com/
http://www.laphampeakfriends.org/ViewSkireportsExpanded.php
http://ninordic.org
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us
Hope to see you out there. Feel free to send any ski related questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them.
Jim
9/17/2008
Paul Z's Prairie Path Update- 9/16/08
Thanks to all who replied about conditions on the paths and roads. I
went out this evening from Mile Marker Zero in Wheaton to Powis and Army
Trail. Despite Saturday's deluge and the remnants of Hurricane Ike, the
path is in pretty decent shape. However, there are a few sections that
were under water and will put you on your butt if you aren't careful.
The washouts left washboard sections that are guaranteed end-O's if you
hit them at speed on a skinny tire bike. The worst parts are near Prince
Crossing Road -- about one-quarter mile to the east and the other is
immediately after the IPP splits from the Great Western. Besides the
ruts and bumps, there's a dangerous mix of sand and loose gravel. Take
it slow and you'll be OK. Or set your front shock for full travel and
don't let go of the bars!
went out this evening from Mile Marker Zero in Wheaton to Powis and Army
Trail. Despite Saturday's deluge and the remnants of Hurricane Ike, the
path is in pretty decent shape. However, there are a few sections that
were under water and will put you on your butt if you aren't careful.
The washouts left washboard sections that are guaranteed end-O's if you
hit them at speed on a skinny tire bike. The worst parts are near Prince
Crossing Road -- about one-quarter mile to the east and the other is
immediately after the IPP splits from the Great Western. Besides the
ruts and bumps, there's a dangerous mix of sand and loose gravel. Take
it slow and you'll be OK. Or set your front shock for full travel and
don't let go of the bars!
On the pavement, Powis will probably be open tomorrow. I rode north from
Army Trail to Stearns (in spite of the barricades and ROAD CLOSED sign),
and there's one small section with standing water near the recreation
area, just south of the railroad tracks. The water was no more than 2
inches deep on the crown of the road.
Munger is another story. While the water has receded quite a bit since
the weekend, it's hub-deep at the low spot, and about 70 meters are
submerged just north of the railroad tracks. There are a couple of wet
sections between Forest Preserve Drive on the north and Army Trail on
the south where you'll have to slow down.
Well, I have to go change the newspaper in my soggy cycling shoes...
Later,
.pcz
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