Big Creek Road Race

I ended up participating in the Big Creek Road Race Saturday. I have mixed reviews of the race, and I believe it has a lot to do with the fact that this wasn't actually a USAC event. There weren't any officials present so the race just had a different feel.

Great field of over 20 Cat 1/2/3's racing for 7 spots. We were supposed to be doing 57.5 miles. Unfortunately, there were some math issues so we only ended up doing about 52 miles. This was sort of discouraging, because it wasn't clear to me how many laps were left. Also confusing was the fact that after about 2 laps of our 8 (or maybe it was 9) lap circuit the other races were mixed in with ours. This kind of made it hard to keep track of breaks, though was strategic to some of the moves as they could 'hide' in front of the other races.

At some point, a break of about 7 eventually got all together. Some of the riders were Lou Wagamon, Sean Walker, Bryan Moritz, Ryan French and Clark Priebe. That left quite a few riders in the peloton with no reason to chase as they were protecting their teammates.

Dewey Dickey, Paul Deninger and myself took charge of bringing back the break (Rich Wince eventually helped out as well), though we seemed sort of hesitant. I wasn't convinced that those sitting in weren't going to lauch off the front, taking advantage of their fresher legs. And, of course, if I had truly given a maximum exertion to insure things got back to together, I would have been toast for the inevitable counter attacks.

We were really just screwed. The phrase I overheard 'well this will be a good leg opener for tomorrow' became the theme of the peleton as this reality sunk in.

I saw the lap card read 2 laps, as we swung around. Unfortunately I was delusional. As we neared what I thought was the start of the bell lap, Will Greenwood, Andrew Fagersten and Rich Wince went down, Dave Lippold of All Nine Yards started driving the pace (in retrospect this was a lead out) and some guy in orange started attacking (again, this turned out to be a 'sprint'). As we crossed the line, I prepared to go right to start the last lap. Nope, that was our sprint, I guess.

Sort of a bummer. I verifed that my spedometer read only 52 miles, so we were indeed cut off by one lap. NOTE: the other riders weren't as confused about this, so no big deal. Since each race was doing a different number of laps, it turned out that we were supposed to be keeping track of our own laps. This is understandable, as I can see how the lap 'ref' wouldn't really be able to keep track of which race was which as we pased him.

This is a laid back race, and caters specifically to beginners and women. It is put on by the female all-nine-yards team and set up so you don't need a license to 'give it a try'. They did a fine job, as is evident by the large turnout for the other races and all the smiling faces and post-race bantering. The Cat 1,2,3 field was competitive so the race was ultimately a worthwhile event. A simple fix would be to run it as a USAC event. The organization would be better and appease my sense of logic and order.

I have nothing but praise for Sunday's East Village Criterium as it was truly the 'main event' of the weekend. I will post on my races after I get the results and some pictures. Congratulations, however to the Iowa City Cycling Club for their success at the Cat 1/2 event. Adam Price (pictured above on the right at the 2008 Jingle Cross Rock), having ridden off the course into a ditch at Saturday's race, won this event, having been in a two man break with Clark Priebe for most of the race. I decided his misfortune Saturday might have saved his legs for Sunday, and actually been a blessing in disguise. His team mates Dewey Dickey and Jeff Barnes also made the top five.

Des Moines Racing

Ok, might as well go tear it up in Des Moines this weekend. I do question, however, my form, as I had a terrible ride Tuesday. My legs ached and felt heavy. I believe it just my body adjusting to the run and mountain bike workouts I did over the weekend. I imagine there are a lot of roadies whose form is tapering down. Most likely, the guys who really get into cyclocross are building up to a fitness peak around this time. Should be interesting.

Saturday is a 58 mile Pro, 1,2,3 race near Big Creek in Polk City. Then Sunday I will enter two events during the East Village Crit. I believe there is some sort of hill that might change the dynamic as opposed to flat course, but still six corners of crit-style racing. I think I will enjoy hanging out in the heart of our state's capitol.

Not sure what to expect, but I will report back on the experience once I return. At the very least I am going to get some good training and enhanced fitness, but there isn't any reason why I can't bring back some noteworthy results as well. I will have fun trying either way.

Dirt Training

The skies have cleared and I can see the light... and that light has told me to embrace the dirt beneath my feet by riding my mountain bike over it.

I have ran out of excuses not to try a mountain bike race, so have put the Sugar Bottom Scramble (Oct. 4th) on my calendar. Maybe I won't end up being able to compete, but I am going to train for it none the lesss, as I feel it is a refreshing change of pace and strategic to cyclocross preparations.

I went to SugarBottom on Sunday and tried to rehearse the route that the race uses. The race organizer (Thomas Sulentic) gave me the general idea,mentioning to go east from the shelter and then just basically follow the main trail including the secondary loop. I am a bit confused because that would mean we start with the 201 trails, but then not sure if we swing back and do the 101 trails. The loop I created took about 70 minutes. Based on the 2008 results, however, it seems that the faster competitors are doing the laps in around 50 to 60 minutes, so hopefully I did some extra sections.

I could never get up 'cyclocross hill' and completely understand why 'hell's trail' is named as such.

Mountain biking is intense. I am amused that my arms are sore today,not my legs, as much energy is used trying to keep the bike upright. I enjoyed this new challenge and felt like I have some measure of skill (we shall see).

I actually entered a 5k running race on Saturday. I figured pegging my heart rate for just under 20 minutes and reviving some of my dormant running-specific muscles would have a good training effect for the off-the bike portions of cyclocross races.

I am still thinking about going to Des Moines this weekend for the Big Creek Road Race and East Village Criteriums. I can admit that I have lost a bit of my road-racing focus, but that might actually become an advantage, as I will be relaxed and interested in merely enjoying the events. It is great to still have some road events to look forward to, as there is plenty of summer weather still left to enjoy.

I asked for it, I got it...not quite

In an earlier post, I claimed to be hoping to contract 'Male Pattern Vaginitis(MPV)'...Well, as fate would have it, I did indeed contract a disease-type ailment, and it even is specific to my genital area...

Not to go into great detail, but let's just say that the first question the doctor asked when I told him about my condition and why I was there to see him was "Were you peeing in the woods?". My answer was 'yes'....You guessed it, poison Ivy.

Trying to find a silver lining to this predicament, I remembered a conversation I had with some fellow riders at the Dirty Road Races earlier in the spring. They were mentioning how doctors prescribed steroids for severe poison ivy, and the potential performance enhancing effects.

So I headed to the clinic to get juiced up. I was a little taken back when the doctor asked if I wanted him to look at it. I imagined us high-fiving with the somewhat shocking sight... 'man, that looks really funky!, Awesome!', then a high five as he injected steroids into my veins. Well, not quite. The pharmacist did mention as she handed me the prescription, "this will make you ride like the energizer bunny".

I don't have any racing this week, so I won't get to take advantage of my temporary hormone induced strength advantage. I do, however, have plans to roll around in a poison ivy patch right before the 2010 Memorial day weekend races. (In case anyone else wants to try this out, below are some of the plants you should try to find).

Hmm, I guess I can now relate to what female vaginits actually feels like. Remind me never to tempt fate like this again, the irony is just too itchy.

2009 State Time Trial Recap

I just got back from competing in the State TT Champs in Nichols, IA. The turnout was pretty good, considering that their was a 100% chance of precipitation forecasted during our race. Sure enough it started raining right about 8am and continued throughout the race. Thankfully, it never broke into a full on downpour. I imagine my water logged skinsuit and shoes might have weighed me down a bit, otherwise the rain really wasn't much of a factor, maybe even cooled things down a bit.

I really didn't know what to expect for my results, as my times have been all over the place. I was determined, however, to at least have a focused ride that represented a solid effort. As the cycling update website descibes us... there were plenty of the usual 'magnificant time trialing bastards' warming up. This is good, in that there is more glory to be gained if I faired well comparatively, but, of course makes getting a high overall placing just that much more difficult.

Results - Top 10 Overall
1 0:52:33.99 Paul Denninger (cat 1/2 – Gold)
2 0:52:38.33 Jeff Barnes
3 0:53:35.37 Chad Bishop (cat 3 – Gold)
4 0:55:21.82 Greg Duethman (masters – Gold)
5 0:55:32.62 Dan Shaffer
6 0:56:05.85 Joe Hetrick
7 0:56:23.95 Mark Sorenson
8 0:57:07.13 Dan Reasoner
9 0:57:37.92 Sean Walker
10 0:57:55.50 Adam Price

The race played out a lot like last year's, except Paul was here, so that ended up bumping me to third overall. There weren't any other Cat 3's, so I did get the Gold medal.

I am thankful to have pulled off third overall, as I really didn't train on my TT bike this year until after the reality check at the DICE 40k in Mid July where my fitness proved to be much lower than the month before. I made a lot of adjustments in my training which helped me get back into solid form. I think if I would have started LT training just a couple of weeks earlier, I might have been able to break my self-imposed 53 minute barrier. Then all I would need is to have Paul and Jeff not show up, and bingo, state tt champ. I wouldn't mind putting that feather in my cap one of these years, we'll see if I can keep my head in the game long enough to realize that ambition.

I have one more peice of aero gear that I may purchase next year that will improve both my body position and bike aerodynamics. Combining that with a slightly adjusted summer training regimine should make me a TT contender again in 2010.

The season shifts...Well, I believe I am going to Des Moines to race around the Capitol at the end of August, as a wrap up to the 2009 road/crit season. However, I am still planning on shfiting my training focus starting this week. I will be riding some on gravel roads and mountain bike trails. This will get me ready for the cyclocross season, but mostly just provide a new training routine. I also need to run a bit, as I have one more event that I get to use my TT bike for, but it is a duathlon, so I will have to get some sort of running base over the next month.

Congrats to all of the medal winners at this years State TT Champs.

Almost time for Cross (training) & MPV Update

I am excited to announce that after this weeks State TT, I will be adding running to my training regimine. Why? You may ask... well I have a top secret race that I am training for that involves running and cycling. More on that later, but I can say I have a good chance of winning that event overall, in the individual categoy, if I can get my 5k run time down to a respectable level. I have over a month to get ready. This is also a great build up to any cyclocross racing I may do. (Below... 2008 Spooky Cross)
I should be ready for this Sunday's State Time Trial Championships. Not the most glamorous of events in that there aren't any spectators, cash payouts, trophies, daring tactics, team glory, dramatic finishes etc. In fact, they hand out the medals next to a big pile of salt as we all stand around, avoiding mud puddles.

But the glory of setting and realizing goals, not to mention having an accomplishment to hang your hat on the rest of the year, makes it all worth it.

I like racing Time Trials, because of the amount of control I have over the results. It's all about training, VO2 Max, sustained power, nutrition, aero gear, mental toughness and genetic capabilties. And, of course, having a powerful TT engine does come in handy from time to time in criterium and road races (not often, but sometimes).

I sort of focused on crit racing this year, which didn't completly workout according to plan, however I believe I have set the stage for a great 2010 season, as I have now become a very well rounded cyclist.
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Well, I field tested my MPV aspirations (Male Pattern Vaginitis) and was sort of getting some odd reactions from the females I explained this to. I realized talking about Vaginitis to a female is sort of like talking about getting kicked in the nuts to a male. Both are topics, respectively that each gender sort of cringes upon.

Hoping to Contract the Disease... MPV

MALE PATTERN VAGINITIS (MPV).... Yes, if you are a male competitive cyclists you have probably heard of this ailment and most likely have contracted it to some degree. This is a condition that infects male riders preventing them from racing and/or training as often as they would like. Essentially, a female disease carrier attaches to the male host, and then proceeds to replace this cyclist's passion for racing with an unwitting aspiration to spend quality time listening, understanding, communicating and cuddling.

Being free of this disease, (as I am) however, isn't as great as one might imagine. Without MPV to distract me from my racing/training, I find that I really don't have much of a life outside of these ambitions. That isn't such a bad thing, until you begin to race obsessive/compulsively, seeking to fill the void left from being disease free. I believe that was the case over the weekend, as I elected to race both a 40k time trial and a Cat 1/2 crit on the same day.

IOWA CITY TT #4-
Hoping to see how my fitness was lining up for the Iowa State Time Trial Championships August 16th, I entered this 40k event in Nichols, Ia. that actually occurs on the same course. Warming up, I noted that this would be the most dramatic wind shift I had encountered in a TT race. Going out, their was a head wind of about 14mph. I soft pedalled at around 19mph. Then I turned around and was exerting the same effort but going well over 25 mph due to the tailwind.

So, 20k into the wind then 20k with a tailwind. I did some math to calculate what I would need to do to set a PR (always worth taking a shot at beating the clock), and was still optimistic as I approached the turnaround. My time was way off, but I figured I could average about 6mph faster going back.

As I turned around, I was elated to find that I was able to hold a speed well over what I needed to set a Personal course record. Then I started to slow down. I couldn't figure out what was going on, but reluctantly admitted to myself that I must have went out too hard, and simply didn't have the power to build on last year's successful Time Trialing debut.

I still kept battling, but was losing ground mile after mile. With about 3 miles left, I looked up to see a flag that indicated I was indeed battling a headwind. This was a great realization, because it meant my slow pace wasn't compelely due to my fitness. Battling a head wind over 35 kilometers is exhausting, so having a slower time would be understandable.

I started laughing when I saw that my time was going to be over 58minutes (much slower than I do when I train on this course). I let up a bit thinking about my race later that day in Grinnell, and realizing that my time was doomed because of this freakish wind shift. The wind shifted at around 9:30am, so the earlier you started the less of a disadvantage this gave you. I was one of the later starters, unfortunately.

Based on the results, however, Paul Deninger is in great form to potentially win this year's TT championships. He won the event with a time just over 56 minutes (still much slower than his usual pace). Greg Duethman and a guy named Elmer (from Dubuque Free Flight), also had great rides that were much faster than mine. Jeff Barnes, who won last year, is also a favorite to repeat for Cat 1/2 gold. I am still hoping, however to have a great ride this Sunday, maybe setting a PR, but at least finishing high overall, and in the Gold of the Cat 3 category.

GRINNELL TWILIGHT CRIT
I went home from the TT and tried to rest and recover for a Cat 1/2 crit that Bikes2You/World of Bikes team was hosting. It was technically a Cat 1/2/3 race, but no one was including the Cat 3 part within their dialogue, so I am going to suggest that Cat 3's are really just included to create a larger field for the main event. I would rather race a cat 1/2/3 event then a cat 3/4, so I am not complaining.

The course was right through the downtown area and around a park. Six flat and mostly smooth/wide corners. The Bikes2You team had about 8 guys, All Nine Yards had 3 or 4, and the rest of us were racing solo (about 19 total). With 8 guys in the field, Bikes2You had a lot of cards to play.

The race started out neutral for about 50 feet, and then Sean Walker turned up the tempo. I was having trouble holding his wheel, though I was opting to stay near the front of the race until I got a feel for the corners.

People were going around me, so I was always struggling to fill in holes that were created because I didn't have the snap in my legs to hold the wheels. About 2 or three laps in I thought my race was done. Thankfully, the pace let up just enough to allow for me to continue competing.

After the next gap formed up ahead, I realized I wasn't able to respond, and succumbed to just trying to hang with the pack. This wasn't happening either. Eventually, I was in a chase group with Will Greenwood, Sean Walker, Tim Campbell (all of the hosting team), and then Jeff Bradly, Chris Eastburn and some other guy in red. Well the guy in red wasn't intrested in chasing, and the Bikes2You guys weren't going to chase down their own teamates, so Jeff, Chris and I took up the chase, sort of, by taking turns at the front.

Jeff pulled off, perhaps realizing the effort was futile. Well, that was a serious blow to my morale. Tim must have smelled blood, and attacked the remaining solo riders, sensing that we were weak. Will bridged up, leaving Sean back in the chase group. Now basically in the third chase group, I found that I still couldn't hold the wheels.

I edged off and reluctantly abandodned. Amazingly, it was only about 20 minutes into a 65 minute race... sort of embarrasing, but mostly just frustrating, because this would have been a great race to be competitive in. Good course, well organized, great field, good primes, descent payout etc. As I was loading up my bike, I noticed that Sean had rejoined Will and Tim, however the other two solo riders were gapped off as well.

I skipped town, hoping to maybe get back in Muscatine with enough time to head downtown to try and contract Male Vaginitis. You see, I had an opportunity to go to a reception Friday night but decided I should rest for the full day of racing Saturday. I also had an invite to go to a birthday party at a bar Saturday night, but rather elected to race around Grinnell.

With this approach I will reluctantly be free of Male Pattern Vaginitis for the rest of my life. This isn't actually good for my race results, as there is such thing as overdoing it. I really did throw myself under the bus by competing against such a strong field at the Twilight Crit in addition to that morning TT. Logic would follow that I would have done one or the other, and perhaps had some sort of alternative activity for the remainder of the day.

(Note: Upon researching Vaginitis, I have been informed that it actually is a disease that females with bacteria issues can contract. Hmm, it seemed like a made up word when I was introduced to it a couple of weeks ago as it was used to explain why a certain member of a team opted not to show up for the state RR. I might suggest that we come up with a different term to use to describe male rider's who are suffering from interpersonal, opposite gender-related racing conflicts).

For now, I will keep training. Even though my results are less than desirable, bike racing is keeping me relatively sane and happy.

2009 Iowa State Road Race Recap

Another great State Road Race champs is in the books (Results). I didn't quite have the strength at a key point in the race to make it into the top five, but I can also credit some highly trained fellow cat 3's for making this an extremely difficult endeavor.

46 Cat 1/2/3's (25 Cat 1/2's, 21 Cat 3's)lined up in West Branch to start the 108 mile race. I had learned a lot from last year's race, and had put in a few longer training rides in hopes of avoiding the late race cramping that seems inevitable within a 4.5 hour race. I also had a very over thought out approach to the feedzones.

The first of 4, 27 mile laps was somewhat neutralized with an average of around 24 mph. I don't think anybody was interested in working in a break for 4 hours, so nothing major transpired.

Later in the race, a break that seemed to have all of the key teams did form, and stayed away for quite some time. I didn't think there were any Cat 3's in it, however, so I didn't concern myself much, rather tried to conserve energy that I knew would be needed later.

Heading into the third lap, the break started to dissolve. As Bikes To You/Bike World Rider, Bryan Moritz came back to the group, I heard someone say, 'that's a good sign', implying that the break would ultimately get pulled back.

This third lap was a bit faster, I believe, as there were still riders up ahead. Bikes2You, for example could be seen at the front off and on working hard, as they were no longer represented up the road. Unfortunately, towards the end of this lap was also when the remaining riders were starting to get a bit sketchy, having road over 75 miles. An acceleration caused a delayed reaction in the pack, and I could see Garrett McAllister, Wheaton Franciscan, and Brent Mitchell, Rasmussen's, go down... hard. I had to veer off to the right and ride over the curb. I witnessed Brent screaming in agony... it wasn't a pleasant sight.

By the time I got re-positioned on the road the pack was way up ahead. I got a bit angry about that, fearing that my race was about to be over. I unloaded a full on chase, and thankfully caught back on as they sat up about a mile down the road.

I went to the front to get to the feed zone first allowing me ample time to slow down and take two hand-ups. I felt really good about my chances in the race at this point. Unlike last year, the riders seemed to let up a bit to allow everyone a chance to get a hand-up and regroup. Much improved situation, my compliments to the field.

I guess I was a little too confident, because as we turned right, heading out of West Branch to start the last lap, a huge attack transpired. This was the crosswind section, so perfect timing to make a 'selection'. Riders that were toward the front were in perfect position to hang on, however anyone mid-pack or further was going to have to earn their position in this break.

The field cut in half with me ending up in the middle. Some guys had the strength to power around me to catch the split, and others fell back into the chase group. Ultimately, I kept pedalling hard and formed a group between the lead group and the chase group that included Geoff Perril, Tracy Thompson, Will Greenwood, Daniel Galles and Clark Priebe (who had fallen back after being in that first break).

We were hoping to fend off the surviving riders behind us, and possibly catch back up to the front group that now contained about 15 riders. 5 of those riders ended up being Cat 3's, so Geoff, Dan and myself were currently only racing for 6th place, just out of the money.

The fourth lap of this race is always challenging. The cramping starts to set in a bit, and rider's overall fitness and/or efforts made earlier in the race start to become a factor. At one point Tracy let out an unexpected shout... cramps. He dropped back a bit, leaving Dan, Geoff, Clark and me still rotating through (Will had to drop back a bit earlier).

Clark dropped back about 10 miles later leaving Dan, Geoff and me (all cat 3's). I had begun to have some cramps a few miles earlier, so was hoping that the others were in pain as well. Unfortunately, near the end of the race, on one of the steepest climbs, Geoff's pace pushed my legs over the limt, causing a cramp that forced me to slow a bit. After I got over the hill, I was fine the rest of the race, and kept Dan and Geoff in my sights, but could never make up any ground as they worked together to insure I wouldn't complicate their finish. We didn't know for sure how many Cat 3's were ahead of us, so I understand why they didn't let me catch back on.

The last stretch was a headwind. As I saw my odometer read 106 miles, I was eagerly awaiting this ride to be over. There wasn't anyone within sight behind me, as I rolled across the line. I was 8th out of 10 cat 3 finishers (21 started) and 18th out of the 28 finishers within our Cat 1,2,3 field (46 Started).

Great race, everything basically went according to plan, I just wasn't quite strong enough to hang onto that 4th lap split. Congratulations to those who did (not to mention those who finished, and even those who had the courage to start a 108 mile road race). I am already thinking about how I might be able to squeeze out just a bit better result next year.

The three medal winners for the cat 3 race have been riding strong all year (Jerome Rewerts, David Paquette and Carson Christen) so it was very fitting that they earned top finishes. Also, Jeff Bradley, Trek, Davenport, IA (former Tour De France particpant) winning the race overall seemed appropriate and added to the honor of being a part of this great race of strong Iowa competitors.

Thanks to my Mom and Joe Mann for feed zone support.