Glencoe Grand Prix

This weekend started with a drive to Glencoe to our Host family to drop our gear and then for Jeannie and I to make a school visit to South School, Glencoe to have a talk with the kids at 12.25 then again at 2pm.

After we went for a ride to Lake Michigan for my first view of the Great Lake since arriving here a month ago.  Also house spotting some Frank Lloyd Wight homes, very nice to see.

So good to get the kids involved, so many of them planned on doing the kids race the following day. Record number of 228 kids lined up on Saturday noon to race the same circuit we raced.  
Having a chilled out day was really good and not having to drive to far as it was only an hours drive from Crystal Lake to Glencoe made it good. Having the Kelbers as a host family was awesome and being 1.5km from town and the race circuit made it so easy to chill out. Having the basement area to use when it was 22 degrees at night allowed us to stay cool, the difference from downstairs to     the ground floor the next day was staggering, hit 33 degrees in the afternoon.   Our Host family have this amazing dog called Simba, a Bernese  mountain dog that was 2 years old.

  So onto the Glencoe Grand Prix. I was entered in two racers and Jeannie in one. First race was at 9.35am being Masters 45+, made my day very hard by eating breakfast way to late, 8.30 was to close, to chilled, oh well, school boy mistake. It did do what I was meant to be able to do and that was to use this race as a warm up for the Masters 35+ Held later in the day.
I like to race and when I tried I felt sick. Legs good but felt sleepy, body trying to figure out what's more important, digesting food or supplying energy. In the end I got beaten into 5th place by not getting far enough forward when it mattered and also not fully committing myself in the sprint. So I was a bit peeved at first but turned that round making sure I would race hard in the 2nd race of the day. Mornings course was a short course with no real challenges while the afternoons course added on another circuit which had some dynamic corners and a hill to contend with.                                                                                                                                                          
The race started fast and I had to move up which took a few laps, I could see it was going to be hard as there was lots of attacking. I rode myself into the race and tried a few moves but everything was chased down. Towards the end with 5 laps to go 3 of us got away for a lap but reeled in then I went again using the downhill and corners taking Tim with me, by the time we got round and up the hill we had 10 seconds so we gave it full gas hoping to break the bunch which we did but man did I suffer, with two to go I had adjusted to the effort but could feel my legs where a little tired from racing in the morning, just pushed on. Tim was riding very strong and in the end he just had a more powerful sprint than me at the end. Still was happy with the result. Masters racing is hotly contested here in the States, well organised and supported by the riders, family's and the towns we race in, making it a family fun day out. Having a rest from racing for a week, get some steady riding in before racing 11 days in a row at The Tour of America Dairyland (T.O.A.D) phew!!

  

 

Racing the Snake

The snake I refer to is in Burlington, Iowa. Snake Alley criterium is famous as it involves a fearsome climb up Snake Alley each lap with switchbacks up the hill on cobbles no less, at a max gradient of 12.5%.
This is both daunting and exciting at the same time as I know I can climb, but am also afraid of the course as this is my first time here at this iconic event and being unsure of my competition as I line up looking at some pretty fit master riders.
Our race was 12 laps long which appears to be quite short but this is how the Snake bites as I was to find out. I had a great start sitting 2nd wheel on the approach to the climb but was swamped by the bunch sprinting to get a good position so this put me back in the field watching the rider in front and once the climb was over finding that 3 riders had a gap, this kept happening to me but less aggressively until the 5th lap when I made sure I hit the bottom first and using some power that I had saved by not sprinting each lap I managed to exit solo at the top and work on building a lead which I did, so for a couple of laps I was thinking I had this race in the bag and had the measure of the snake but how wrong was I, as on the 7 th lap I was caught by Daniel Casper, took me a moment to realise he had caught me as I had been lapping riders already, this is when I payed for my early effort and started to struggle up the climb.
As we counted down the laps I was trying to figure out my best plan of attack to get rid of Daniel as he looked like he could sprint but the course decided for me, I was really grovelling on his wheel up the climb with 3 to go and was having searious doubts about even challenging when with 2 to go he wanted me to lead up the climb, which I took straight away as I knew I could set a pace and block so I had something for an all out attack on the last lap, and that is what I did but to no avail as he gave it everything to stay glued to my wheel, I could tell by the way the crowd was cheering it was for him to stay opposed to me getting away.
So we both had finished the snake totally maxed out, looked at each other and rolled down the hill back towards the downtown part of the course, had 6 corners to sort a plan, and my plan was to recover as much as possible by not even pedeling until we had to, I was relying on him thinking he was going to beat me in the sprint so I made sure he was on my right shoulder and I up against the curb, let it slow right down till the last left turn when I moved to look like I was starting my sprint but all I wanted was for Daniel to start coming round on my right which he did then I took a tighter line and opened up my sprint to the line on the smooth section of road in front, up shifting once and willing myself to the line to win by half a bike.
I was pretty much tired up in knots after as I had maxed myself but was more than happy about that as I had the result I was after, so glad to have had the chance to do this race, nothing like I have ever done before.
My prize amounted to a real brick with a plaque on it, a toy snake and some cash.

Urbana Grand Prix back to back racing

PSIMET riders Jeannie Kuhajek and Warrick Spence headed south over the weekend to race the Urbana Grand Prix, organized by Scarlet Fire Racing. Urbana GP features a 1.6 mile windy, rolly course around picturesque Crystal Lake Park in Urbana IL with a punchy power climb heading into the start/finish. Jeannie and Warrick arrived in Chicago from New Zealand less than two weeks ago. Fresh to the US crit scene, Warrick had his first go at a multiple race day. Warrick’s Race Report Urbana Grand Prix was my first chance to try out my new PSIMET wheels, as well as have a go at racing multiple races in one day. My plan was take it easy in the Masters 123 race, and then go hard in Pro123. Well, that plan went out the window on lap two of the Masters race. I followed an attack, thinking it best to be near the front of the race. We quickly established a sizable gap to the field in a two rider break. Soon I found I was spending a long time on the front, with maybe a 20 meter pull from my breakaway companion each lap. I put some effort into encouraging him to do a turn, which he did, but he then promptly sat up, leaving me with more than half the race distance to cover on my own. I considered sitting up but then decided to just keep riding one lap at a time. I was very glad to get time checks from Team Mack rider Gary Doering. With two laps remaining I upped my pace coming in for my first win in America. Yay! After a quick podium celebration, I did my best to recover and prep myself for the Pro123 an hour later. I made sure I drank plenty of electrolytes and ate what turned out to be way too much food. Three cookies and a couple of bars left me feeling a wee bit in the middle of the next race. The Pro123 was a much larger field with lots of young, strong looking riders and multiple teams. The race started fast (30 mph) but felt easier than the Masters123, with the large field for draft and the high speed providing momentum up the hill. Ignoring protests from my sore legs, I positioned towards the front. About 10 minutes into the 70 minute race, attacks started. The field strung out and a group of three riders separated from the field. The field splintered as chase groups formed. Putting in a huge effort (and nearly repeating all the food I had just eaten), I managed to bridge to the front chase group. I sat on for a while to recover from the effort then started rotating with the other four riders in pursuit of the three up the road. With about 15 minutes left in the race, two strong Bissel riders joined us, interfering with our rotations to protect their two teammates up the road. The last nine laps I was really starting to fade. With two laps to go everyone started looking at each other. I just wanted to get the race over so I attacked. Another rider countered and I was completely maxed out. In the final sprint up the hill, my legs were empty, about to cramp, and me dry and out of drink. I hung on for 10th place. Phew! I got in some great training, learnt a bit about food intake between races, and figured out that I am better off saving my legs for the bigger race as I am a racer and will race hard in any race I am put into. Thanks to Scarlet Fire for putting on a great event, Gary Doering for organising a place to stay on a Friday night with Mike and Lori Ozment, Mike and Lori for excellent accommodation, Jeannie for all the driving and support, and PSIMET for the wheels and team kit. Looking forward to Fox River Omnium.