Aug 17, 2003
Downers Grove, IL
Hot Hot Hot!

Photos!

I must say that after last weekend's crash-fest in Winfield that I was going in to yesterday's Downers Grove criterium with no small amount of nerves. It was refreshing not to be concerned with my usual fears of fitness and
finishing, but rather just merely staying upright in what is always an insanely fast and frightening 20 minutes of adrenaline.

Rich, Liz & the kids arrived around 11 and Rich and I headed off to register. It was hot - our casual walk to the train station left me soaked with sweat and I could only wonder how the body's cooling system would react to actual effort. Gulping more Cytomax I hoped for the best.

We departed to warm up shortly after 11:30 and were able to get a few laps on the course. It was no easier than in past years - the hill hadn't gotten any flatter. After about 8 miles or so I felt ok. Not spectacular, but often when I feel flat in the warmup I come around in the race. So, I knew enough not to be overly concerned. I stopped by Founder's Hill to meet up with my fan club and dump my extra bottle with Kim. On Chris' recommendation I decided to only carry half a bottle of cyto in the race. I knew from experience that I'd be lucky to get a drink. Then they gave us a chance for a lap before the race began and we all declined. I slotted in the 2nd row with Rich, Chris, Marc, and Tony all around. I have to say that it was pretty cool to see so many guys out.

After instructions from Carl, 61 of us set off to do battle. It started as always - fast and furious. We made our way up in the field and then fought to just hold position. Rich was up front and I knew the rest of the gang was close at hand. It was as squirrely as ever as guys had difficulty hold their lines in the fast corners. One guy kept moving around with no thought at all as to who might be around his wheel. I heard several crashes behind and hoped that our guys made it through unscathed. Marc moved up for one of the primes and gave it a strong go, but didn't quite get it. Chris moved up for a bit to Rich. Time was flying by. Nobody could tell what was going on with the timer/lap-counter. Suddenly we got 3 to go. Huh? I know this is a short race, but this is ridiculous! The race has hardly paused in its intensity. We're doing 35 on the descents and still hammering the rest at around 25. It is hard enough to maintain position, but moving up is so hard. But, I know I have to. I move up and Marc comes along. Rich has drifted back a touch, and it looks like the Wheel Fast guys are together. What a sight!

Every time through Turn 8 I hear my fans and it is cool. I have to say that hearing that every lap was pretty encouraging. So, Tim, Kim, Jim, Mom & Dad - Thanks!!! We round Turn 2, a guy just goes into the hay bale. There is a momentary pause and then he goes down in a heap. Then, we're flyin' again. We get the bell and we go blazing through the turns for the final time. Somewhere on the hill 9 guys get a gap. I'm sitting near the front with the rest of the guys and I have no idea how it happened. Suddenly I rounded the left hander onto the big descent and there's 20 yards or better to the 9. Ugh. So, I give it a huge effort, but just simply can't get back to the last wheel. I'm taking Marc and Lance along, but don't realize it. Rich back with the rest of the group backs off to give us some breathing room. I am going as hard as I can and Marc comes round to give me a word of encouragement. I was starting to fade and that was all I needed to stay on the gas. I -could- go 300M - I knew I could. As we flew down Curtiss with one turn remaining Lance from Hinckley came around. When I saw it was friend instead of foe I found enough to say "Go Lance! GO GO GO!" and he stepped it up. I came around the final turn to hear the yells from my fan club and I keep on the gas. Just 150M left. I can't even look back - I don't want to know what the gap to the rest of the field is. I just keep going and roll across the line. Exhausted, but elated. I knew I was in the Top 15 or so. Best finish ever in this race - now the wait to know how good I did.

Our average speed was about 26 mph for a whopping 8 miles and I know that a quick glance at my HR monitor showed a big ol' 190 beats/minute at one point!

We take our cool down lap. I drop by my fans to say Thanks! and then we take off to cool down a bit more. Chris finds us a liquor store and brings us a 2 Liter of Fruit Punch which we drain in moments. After flushing all the lactic acid out of our legs, we head back to see results and give the DG Reporter a quick interview. It was a good day for our team -> Marc 11th, Kevin 12th, Richard 23rd, and Tony 26th. I have to say that this race will go down as pretty special based on these results. In a difficult race, we did great! Nearly 24 hours later, it is finally sinking in that we did awesome yesterday.

After the race, we watched Scott have a good ride in the Citizen's 30+ event. Then we headed back to my house for some beers courtesy of Two Brother's Brewing. Thanks to everyone who came and thanks for bringing such great food! We really appreciated it!

It has been quite a week - I had my first win at the Matteson training crit after some excellent teamwork from Chris and then we managed to put in yesterday's outstanding team performance. Maybe next year we can get that elusive Top 5, but I think we can be extremely proud of what we did yesterday.

While I may have another race or two as the road season ends, this might just be it. So, I want to end with some thanks. First, to Kim for putting up with this nuttiness week-in week-out - Football season is finally here!! Big props to Chris for beers after the training crits! Tony for getting faster and faster every single ride. Marc for keepin' the wheels down in the races ;-). All the Wheel Fast guys for fun on Thursdays! Connie for lodging, and Richard & family for their hospitality
at Superweek. Trish for your encouragement. More props to our great sponsors Bicycles Etc and Two Brothers Brewing. Beer and Bikes! I know I probably owe other Thank You's, so Thank You to anybody I missed unintentionally. And finally, to Stephen and Bryn. Wish you guys were here! It was somethin'.

Read about myadventures at Super Week - The International Cycling Classic.

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