Nats

Cross Nationals was an awesome experience. I raced the Women's Cat. B and the 35-39 races. My Cat. B race sucked but was a great learning experience. There were more than 30 girls lined up with a road leadout. I was way too tentative and let too many girls get in front of me. I started passing them in the dirt but then slid out and had my chain fall off. I get the chain back on, catch up and pass some more girls but was then redlining. I see Tom & Christopher and wonder why they aren't cheering and clip a white pole and can't get my pedal off of it. Ick. So, I ended up 21 out of 29 finishers and 2 DNF's. I didn't get lapped which was good but I felt I should have done so much better so I was pretty bummed.

On Friday was the Women's 35-39 race. I raced much better. I stayed upright. Redlined a little and let a couple girls past me but then got back ahead of all but maybe one, I think. I ended up 15 out of 19 finishers and one lap down. However, 10 of those girls were elites. There were a total of six of us that did both the Cat. B and 35-39. I only beat one of them in the Cat. B race but beat 3 in the 35-39 race including the girls who were 12th and 16th in the B race. So, I thought it was a good end to the season.

I think I'm going to focus on cross for next year. I'll do the few local mountainbike races there are, hoping we can have a relative watch Christopher. But, it is just too aggravating to try to both watch Christopher and warm-up at the same time. I then don't race well and am way too cranky. Tom isn't nearly as addicted to racing anyway and, of course, would rather not have to deal with me being a grouch. I'm going to try to do some road races. I figure it will help me get faster and will help me with cross.

I'm also going to get a SRAM Rival 165 crank and swap my cross gears to it. But, of course, I now have like nine months 'til the next cross race. How completely depressing.

As an early Christmas present though, Christopher has now started going to pre-school three days a week as opposed to one. I can get some work done and he was starting to get way too bored being with Mommy all the time and has been destroying the house.

Woo hoo!

(Photo courtesy of Amy)

I thought this course was so much better than last year's race. I called Tom after preriding (to ask him to bring with him some spare socks for me), and told him how great I thought the course was. I lined up with a larger group of girls than normal. I traded spots throughout the race with Beth from xXx. I definitely race better when I'm going back and forth with someone. We both had a few minor spills during the race which facilitated with the going back and forth. I thought she had me and then as I came through with two to go I saw her getting up after slipping going around the tree. I kicked it in high gear, got past her and had my fastest lap of the race. I then saw I still had one to go and thought crap. But, I managed to hold her off. Yea! We had traded spots in the beginning of the season but I hadn't beaten her since Carpentersville so it was cool. I ended up 11th out of 14. I was a little disappointed but there were a lot more Cat. 1 and 2 riders than usual. The officials said 17 girls registered but a couple actually didn't start and one didn't finish.

As I was walking back to the car after getting my Schwinn out of the pit, I saw a small Redline Conquest. It ended up being Sarah Huang's. I was able to ride it around and talk to her father. I definitely had less toe overlap but, when we held the frames up to each other, the geometry was pretty much identical. He said he has 165 cranks on her bike. I'm now trying to find a 165 cross crank. QBP doesn't have any. I found a FSA Gossamer 34/48 online. According to FSA's website, they have a 36/48 in a 165 crank length so I've emailed them to try to find out where the heck I can get it from. I'm also going to try to track down Sarah's dad at Nationals to find out what cranks are on there.

I'm taking a break from packing as I type this. We're leaving for Kansas City tonight. We'll do some of the driving tonight while Christopher is sleeping and do the rest tomorrow. I'm pretty excited to be going. I'm doing the Cat. B and the Women's 35-39. Some of the elites are signed up in the 35-39 so I'm prepared to get my butt handed to me in that race. Tom will be doing the Cat. B 30-39. We'll then start heading home on Friday afternoon/evening with the hope of actually making a family party on Saturday evening. I love cross.

Yeah, it's been awhile...

Woodstock

(Photos courtesy of Amy)

Woodstock was fun. It would have been a great course for me if it was more condensed. At 2 miles, it still had lots of flat power sections. Unfortunately, power is what I'm lacking. Still, I was pretty happy with my race. I stood on all the climbs and kept it in my big ring.

Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving, I rode with Leah in the morning at Palos. My Gary Fisher is getting repainted to make it pretty again so I had to go with my old Santa Cruz hardtail. A lot of logs are gone on Out & Back and Turf 1. It was fun but depressing that all the logs keep disappearing.

Christopher got to play with a little three-year-old named Abby at my cousin's. It was really cute. I've decided he has a thing for girls named Abby since he also has a crush on the Sesame Street character Abby Cadabby.

Jingle Cross Day 1

First -- Tom is famous. He is on the beginning of this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUwYOvPayzM

It also gives a feel for the course. Tom did the Cat. 4 race. I did the Women's 2/3 and the Women's 35+. I got about a 20 min. warm-up (Tom's race was immediately before mine). There were only 10 of us. I was 9th for a good part of the race and got passed by Heather Curnitt at the end of the last lap. I thought we had another lap to go and should have sprinted once I got ahead of her after the logs -- I rode them, she dismounted and ran them. But, Heather is faster than me and it is quite unlikely I would have held her off.

I was 8th out of 10 in the Women's 35+. I slid out on a section in the first lap. I had been riding it fine in the first race but the 35+ men apparently tore it up more their first time through. My chain fell off and by the time I got back on the bike I was dead last. So, I was happy I passed a few girls, wished I would have been able to pass a few more.

Day 2

Our generator died at about 4:30 in the morning after running out of LP gas. Tom was then up and moving around the RV -- keeping me up as well. I was pretty tired and Christopher let me get a four-minute warm-up. I was so not looking forward to the 2/3 race. I had prerode the course the night before and it had some climbs that were going to be painful by the end of the second race. I had a great start for the first race but just did not have any power. I had put toe spikes in my winter shoes hoping it would help me climb. Instead, I just couldn't clip back in. There was this nasty downhill that I knew I could ride but I kept spending so much time to clip in, I wasn't paying enough attention and would immediately slide out.

For the Women's 35+, I switched shoes -- in addition to bikes, tights and gloves. I'm sure the disc brakes helped, but the switching of shoes was definitely a wise move as I could clip in much easier. I rode down the hill both laps getting huge cheers both times. I gave a little whoop of my own each time after I knew I wasn't going to careen into the building at the bottom of it.

I felt much better this race. I was 7th out of 9 and was right behind sixth place -- literally, right behind her. If there was another lap, I know I would've beaten her as she was really bad on the technical stuff. I would've did better if I was better at hiking up muddy steep inclines. I had a great start but was at dead last trying to get up that stinkin' thing. Still, I was happy with my race. It was amazing the huge difference in my attitude during the two races. I couldn't wait for the first to be over and was wishing to do another lap for the second.

Bikes

The one thing I noticed from the two races on Sunday is the pros/cons of my two bikes. Riding the Schwinn, I just kept thinking how freaking heavy it was as I was lifting it over the barriers. But, I had no toe-overlap. As the season has progressed, I've had more and more problems with toe-overlap with my Trek. I didn't realize how much it was affecting my riding until Sunday -- which totally sucks. I'm probably going to buy a different frame and switch everything over. A girl who did the Wisconsin series and is about my size has a Redline Conquest. I think her name is Meghan Korol. I need to track her down to see if she'll let me ride her bike before I order a frame. I also am not sure if I want to go with disc brakes or not. After I switched the brakes, I haven't had a problem really with the brakes and it would limit my options if disc brakes is a requirement. But, I do like disc brakes. Opinions are definitely welcomed on this topic as well as help in contacting Meghan.

Upcoming Races = )

This weekend is, of course, the state championships. I'm hoping to do better than last year. It was my first Illinois race as a 3 and it went so incredibly bad.

Tom is taking off work next week so we can go to Nationals. I am so, so excited! I'm going to race the Cat. B and the Women's 35-39. Tom is going to do the Men's B 30-39. I can't wait! = )

Whitewater/Lansing

Photo courtesy of Amy

On Saturday, I went up to Whitewater for the cross race. It was a fun course but short and had a brutal climb that I did 8 times. I was 7th out of 8 but was pretty happy with my race. I was riding well. I was taking turns good -- and even got some compliments a couple of laps on this slick downhill to a 180 turn and then up again. I rode the sandpit good. And, I made riding up the hill all 8 times.

Sunday was Lansing. It is the closest cross race to my house with a less than half-hour drive. However, I had one of my worst races here last year. It is very flat and was not really technical last year. This year, I think it was even less technical. They took out a section that you had to go around some trees. You barely had to brake for any of the turns and the only technical part being the sandpit. Last year, it was the first race my teammate beat me at and I thought that might well be the case this year.

Yup. I was ahead of Sue for the first part of the race and then it seemed like she came speeding past me. I tried to draft but fell off. Looking at my lap times, she didn't come speeding past me but my speed was just dropping. My first lap was about 6:13 and my second to last lap was 7:40, I think, which I dropped to 7:05 for the last lap. A girl from SRAM beat me as well who I've beat the other couple of races she did. I was initially disappointed and annoyed -- particularly, that I was riding the sandpit so poorly (as in not riding it very far at all). But, I think I was so redlined I just couldn't accelerate enough before the sand. On a good note, my first lap was so much quicker because I was actually hanging with the group for longer than usual.

I'm really bummed that there are only one race this weekend for both Wisconsin and the Chicago series and, yet, they are both on Sunday. I really liked the Hales Corners course last year and am sick of riding around on just grass. I'm sure Jingle Cross will be fun but do not know how I will survive doing four races in two days (Women's 2/3 and Women's 35+).

In case, anyone hadn't heard -- Chicagoland Bicycle Federation has changed its name to the Active Transportation Alliance. Personally, I like the old logo better but I'm sure that's why they had consultants help with the change and not me.

Also, a big THANKS! to everyone who took time to fill out a survey for me at the Lansing race. = )

Icky

(Photo courtesy of Amy)

I am surprised by how many people told me that I should have loved the Northbrook course. The downhill turns I should have rocked. Instead, I rode it cleanly the first lap and went down the first turn the next three. I think I took it too fast but I'm still not sure. Each time, I would think "Yes, I cleaned it;" and, then, I would slide out. I was able to pop right back up so I actually don't think it lost me much time but it was still so infuriating to not clean a section you know you should be.

I did realize we need to change our tire setup though. After pre-riding, I was thinking my WTB cross wolves would be the better tires but they were on my Schwinn which I can't shoulder. We're going to put the WTB's on my bike and I'll bring Tom's wheels up with me which will give us both more options for racing. I'm learning. = )

But, back to why I didn't love this course -- No barriers! Also, those stairs blew. I thought I couldn't get a rhythm because of my short legs but I heard others say the same. And, even though there were fun off camber sections, there were also plenty of flat non-technical sections for speedy people.

It was my worst placing with an 11th. I wasn't dead last but only one off. Besides screwing up the one turn nearly every lap, I was also really cranky because I witnessed a girl lifting up the tape and riding under it as opposed to riding around a stopped rider. Going under the tape allowed her to not have to complete the last tight turn and to bypass completely the last left turn off the ski hill. She wasn't out of control when she went off course. She stopped, lifted up the tape and rode under it. I figured the officials would ask her about it, remind her not to cut the course and that would be it. They posted results, I went and asked the officials if they spoke to her and was told they hadn't seen the incident (which I totally understand) and that, basically, she was low in the placings so it didn't matter if she cut the course. WTF? And, they said that she wasn't still around. Yeah, but she was when I first brought it up. Grrr. It's not like I think it will change the series standings or anything but I still think they could have at least talked to her about it.

On a more upbeat note, I'll be near registration at Lansing (after my race) for the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation trying to get people to fill out surveys for our program to get people to use cars less and do more walking, commuting by bike and using mass transit. We take info. on a recent car trip you took and try to plan a route using bike, bus, train, etc. So, please stop by, fill out a survey and say hi to Christopher. = )

Halloween & CX

Christopher had an adorable Elmo Halloween costume. He would not wear it. So, he was a bike rider for Halloween instead. I did get Tom to wear the Elmo costume on his head for awhile but, alas, I do not have any photos of it. Christopher liked being able to ride up to people's doors and have people give him candy for it.

I went up to the Polska cross race on Saturday. It was an awesome course except for the hill run-up which spiked my heart rate and slowed me down to a snail's pace. Getting over the barrier on the hill climb was horrible and I felt like I needed a ladder to get my short legs over it.

I had the same feeling on Sunday. Two of the barriers were on the tops of little inclines. My getting over the barriers was sloppy and I kept banging my shins while pre-riding the course. The course was, like all the Chicago races, almost entirely grass and asphalt. However, there were a lot of turns to make it interesting. I was right behind Beth, with xXx, when I took the turn leading into the gravel mushy road too quick and at a bad angle and washed out. Then, I was in too big of a gear and couldn't get going for about two minutes. I have an extremely bad tendency to get focused on trying to pass someone and forget completely about riding the course cleanly. I totally lost any chance of catching Beth and then had to put it in high gear to keep a girl from SRAM from catching me who I had previously had a pretty decent lead on.

Christopher has been a total demon lately. His new thing is to bring a chair to the fridge and then use the water dispenser to fill a cup and, then, overflow the cup causing water to go everywhere. After both Monday and yesterday, I would say "wow, this has been a long week." Thus, the late post. Tonight, I have a meeting for the local paper which will be a brief break and tomorrow afternoon my mother is watching him. I'll be jumping for joy when my mother's car pulls out of the driveway.

Race registration

The Bartlett CX course was put on by ABD. Unfortunately, I didn't have a say in course layout. It was slightly more technical, I think, than last year but still mainly wide open. It did seem like we had more of an incline this year. I was 7th out of 8, which would have been 8th out of 9 but Holly had a major mechanical that took her out of the race early on. I had a crappy start and couldn't get my right foot clipped in or get it to even stay on the pedal. I then got ahead Imelda and a xXx girl. I was ahead of both for awhile and then the xXx girl came flying past me and I couldn't keep up.

I did get to race on the SRAM Rival's. I didn't have a problem shifting the wrong way but we do still have to do a little tweaking as I was having a really hard time getting in my big ring during the race.

My best performance of the day was registration. I volunteered as soon as I got changed after my race. During Tom's race the wind really picked up and would have knocked the registration tent over except for Kevin Klug and various others who helped hold it up until it could be taken down. Christopher handled it fairly well and Holly, thankfully, took him until Tom's race ended. People still kept coming in to register and one guy actually tried to shove his registration forms in my hand while I was taking someone elses. There had to have been 10 people holding up the tent at this point, I was on the other side of the table as a pole had came loose knocking over the stuff that had been behind me and my chair and stuff was still flying all over the place.

I also have to thank Debbie for buying Christopher a truck. It makes cool noises and has levers and kept him entertained during most of the time I was volunteering. Christopher has been quite the demon at times lately but I lucked out on Sunday, thanks in part to his cool new toy. Thanks.

Conversion is almost complete

Tom is down in the basement as I type finishing putting all the SRAM stuff on my cross bike. I'm so excited! What is not exciting is the stupid rain. I couldn't ride to take Christopher to story time tonight, it's supposed to rain tomorrow and Saturday morning. Icky.

I was reading my report on Carpentersville and realized how short it was. Things have been way too hectic around here. I wanted to add that I was really excited about the race. I just barely held off getting lapped by Rebecca Much (which could have very well been her being nice). I beat both xXx girls that I've been going back and forth with -- which is especially cool considering that I had raced the day before and I'm pretty sure they had not. And, I had won the water bottle and socks -- which is the first time I have ever won anything as a Cat. 3. = )

Racing, cops & braking

Not only did I get pulled over today by the police, but the guy actually called for back up. Why? The light illuminating my rear license plate was out. I was at a village board meeting for the local paper and, as I'm driving out of town, I see lights behind me. He takes my license and I sit. After awhile I look up and see two sets of lights and the two of them chatting. Finally, both officers come up to the car -- one on each side with the guy on my passenger side having his hands ready like he's going to shoot me or something if I make a wrong move. The other one gives me a written warning ticket. It'd be amusing as hell if I wasn't so annoyed.

Racing was bad and good. My race in WI on Saturday sucked. The legs felt like crap, my mounts sucked, my dismounts sucked. I prerode and figured I should ride my Schwinn with the disc brakes and second guessed myself only to then keep going off course.

Sunday was great. Great course. I finished 8th out of 13 which included two Cat. 1 girls and two Cat. 2 girls. And, I won socks and a water bottle. = )

I was finally able to order my SRAM Rival stuff today for the Trek XO after almost a month. Then, Calamity! Tragedy! Horrors! I got an email that they don't have rear derailleurs. So, now, I have to try track one down so I can finally race this weekend my new cross bike with brakes that I can actually brake with.

DFL

When I upgraded to a Cat. 3 at the end of last season, I did two races and finished last in both. This season, I had done 5 races up until today. I had finished in the back of the group but had beat a couple of girls in most races and wasn't last in any of them. Up until today. 9th out of 9 in the Women 1/2/3's.

The Hawthorne Woods course was nearly half pavement and nearly half wide-open grass. (I was told later in the day that with it being the first year for the venue they wanted to use as much pavement as possible to prevent damage.) There was also a toboggan sled hill that we rode up, rode down, went back up with a barrier at the bottom and then rode down once more. I pre-rode the course and thought immediately it was suited more to roadies and hit pretty much all of my weaknesses. I also thought immediately Damn, I might be dead last. The hill is actually what did me in. I now know what I need to work on. I rode it after the barrier three times and ran twice. I ended up with an avg. HR of 190 and a max of 199 but my lap times took a nose dive during the course of the five laps. Icky.

Tom's race went slightly better as he was 29th out of 49 but he was pretty disappointed as well. As a bonus, my car tire blew as I started driving there this morning. I had already been running late. Luckily, I was still close to home and a good samaritan came to my aid so I just had to give Tom the tire by the time he showed up. New tire: $60.

I'm thinking of racing in Verona on Saturday and the Carpentersville race with the Chicago series on Sunday but am not totally sure. I like the Wisconsin courses so much better than the Chicago ones but also need to try to beat two xXx girls for series points.

7th

(photo courtesy of Sheri)

I opted for a full weekend of racing and went up to CamRock on Saturday and then did the ChiCrossCup DeKalb race on Sunday. I rode well on Saturday and was 6th out of 8th until about 1.5 laps to go where I got passed on a flat section and couldn't keep up.

I was a little concerned about Sunday that my legs would be toast and that I still have a lingering cold. The legs actually did pretty well but I kept screwing up the same friggin' turn -- wiping out once good enough to turn my brake/shifters and another time good enough to screw up my rear derailleur. I was 6th out of 9 for a good chunk of the race and went back and forth with a girl but I screwed up the turn yet again and then couldn't catch back up with her on the pavement sections. Still, I was mostly pleased. It was a fast course and I wasn't sure how I'd do after racing the day before. My starts totally blow though. I think I'm being too tentative and am going to try to be more aggressive to get closer to the front for the next race. Of course, being faster would help too.

Well, I can get an awesome deal on the SRAM Rival's but will have to wait probably a month to get them or I can get some used short-reach Shimano's at a good price a hell of a lot sooner. I know the SRAM's would work for me. I'm not sure about the Shimano's. Decisions, decisions.

No word yet on Christopher's blood test results. So, hopefully, that's a good sign.

Spleens, cross and brakes

(photo stolen from Russell)


I had Christopher's appointment today with the oncologist. It was scary walking into the waiting room and seeing the sick kids and all the info. on cancer support services. Luckily, we probably do not need any of it. After our appointment, he had blood drawn and I have another appointment for him in four weeks.

Tom & I went up to the cross race near Madison. Unfortunately, I came down with a bad cold on Thursday that hit me full force on Friday. I took allergy and cold meds before the races on both Sat. & Sun. and it seemed to work okay but I'm still kind of sick today (thus, the late posting). The courses were great--my brakes were not. I can't get my tiny hands around the Shimanos. I went through the tape on the turns on Sat. and then went through the same section again later in the race. On Sunday I used my old cross bike which is heavier but I can brake! Yea! My legs were definitely not feeling as good on Saturday but I still did pretty good. 9th out of 13 on Sat. 10th out of 12 on Sun. I won money on both days which pretty much paid for my entry fees so that was really cool.

I checked out lots of people's brakes AND found out I can order from QBP with my part-time gig with the bike fed. so I'm going to buy the SRAM Rivals along with a new front and rear derailleurs. The thing that sucks is that CBF only does orders once a month and I haven't heard back from the guy of when they do it.

I want to do the Wisconsin cross race on Sat. and the DeKalb race on Sunday so hopefully I get better soon.

9th*

First cross race of the season.
Third race as a cat 3 -- Neither of the previous two went well
I had a terrible start -- I need to pay attention so I'm not chatting when the guy says go. But, I made it around three girls. Went back and forth with one. Knew she was going to try to sprint past me at the end. Held her off--barely. Looked down at my HR monitor right after I finished: 201.
I also beat a girl who I came behind every single race last year so that was pretty cool as well.
I ended up 9th out of 11. One of the girls stopped with only a few laps to go. I never understood why someone would suffer through most of a race and then just quit. But, of course, she could've quite likely had a mechanical.
And, of course, I was 9th out of all the cat. 1, cat. 2 and cat. 3 girls. About five of the girls were cat. 2's or higher so I'm pretty happy right now. Tom's going to look at my brakes and I need to work on my turns.

Tom did awesome. They split up the Cat. 4's into an A group and a B group. He raced B's last year and did the A's this time. He was 13 out of 53. Pretty awesome.

*Edit: The Chicago Cross Cup website now has me listed as 8th. One of the girls who had finished before me is now just not listed at all. I'm not sure why.