2010 Hillsboro review

First off, Ben Fietz is the man. Coming along for the ride to tune up everyone's bikes, work the feed zone and get the grill going should earn him title of señor of the year. Avi forecasted the trip best. I freakin' love my team - (the edit provides the updated version of this year's trip)

Well, if last year was the precedent, we head out after work on Friday, get pulled over for no good reason in Hillsboro, the budget-conscious stay in a pine-panelled motel for $13 each, the budget-lacking stay on the bus with el capo. Wake up, get stared at by half the townspeople during breakfast (which cost like $2), stop up the restaurant toilet, make fun of each other, race, and drink Stag beer for the rest of the day.

Beyond that we have some results of note. Christina notched the top finishing result with a 4th place in a 50 participant Cat 4 field. Jamie got knocked off the pace by the treacherous crosswinds but still reeled in a 25th place finish. Jannette nabbed 28th in a stacked 1,2,3 field.

As for the wager. Well. Let's just say I lost one of the greatest bets I've ever made. OK. Probably top 5? Whatever. It was an instant classic.

The opening lap was a comfortable pace and I just couldn't shut my mouth over what a nice day it was to be out for a ride. I also think I was the first Cat 4 racer to shamelessly wear their State Champion jersey in probably at least 7 years. It was a nice start to what later became a shredded field and a total cop-out fin-ish for me.

The backstretch strung us out to single file pace of about 48-58 kph and then we hit the hill before the cobbles and everything went to hell. I naturally faded whilst a very large lead group developed and got out over the bricks. Separation was made big time and a considerably smaller chase group eventually assembled in which I took attendance. Our protagonist, Mike, made the massive lead group. Yeoman was with us struggling stragglers but still held pace.

I was, well, less than together. It was nice to be blamed for blocking even though our chase group was clearly outnumbered by, like, 20. The truth is I didn't have any contribution to make when it came my turn to pull. All 200 lbs. of me were hanging from the edge of a skyscraper by a rubber band and I was developing a sunburn over my pain face wrinkles. Bad day to wear the jersey...

I clinged with all I had with the new goal of not dropping out (unless of course someone else in our group did). Well into lap 2 we took the umpteenth corner to turn a blustery crosswind into a headwind and I glanced up the road to see one man facing all oncomers with a rear wheel in his hand....it was the good Dr. Morell.

My mind was flying -Rear flat! -Yeoman's hurting! -Mike's got Campy! -Ten speed! -I'm fucked! -Stop! -Off with mine! -Switch! -Go Mike!

We swapped rear wheels. It was a panic exchange that took a little under a minute but I got him up on my wheel. I then gave him a shove and hoped for the best.

And Mike Morell gave 'er.

Alas, it just wasn't enough. He caught Yeoman's group towards the base of the final climb Yeoman 10 miles later, which would have put him on a 20 10 mile solo campaign in those winds. Apparently all other riders with them fell off their pace and it was just these two for the majority of the last 10 miles. They dueled up to the last stretch before the final climb when a bigger group passed and they got to sit in. Yeoman got his breath in the break shined up the climb. Mike was running ragged  and couldn't recover through the descent and the bricks. Dr. Morell didn't have it for the closing distance.

(edit: for a first person account with more accuracy check out Yeoman's report)

As for me, I wandered around in road shoes 6 miles west of town, almost stepped on two snakes and shot the breeze with some corner marshals before I finally got scooped up by the organizer after the race was declared done. I rode with dude and helped him with announcements and picking up signs. I also pushed a stuck car out of the mud, hopped a 'faster' truck ride back into town and arrived 2 hours later to get the news. It ended as a hot contest in which Mike lost by a reported "coupla hundred yards".

It's all beautiful if you think about it - Mike had a strong race performance going and the wager relatively in the bag. Andrew Y. kept pushing with all his might and, because he stuck with it, his opportunity arose.

With his plans of a top ten gone, Mike dug deep to make it a contest for the sake of the wager and vindicate my decision to abandon (haha! sucker!) I love picturing both guys dragging themselves through hell to maintain the contest. Yeoman ended my glorious vision to take what has to be the most interesting 42nd place finish in Illinois cycling history.

THAT right there is some real good ol' bike racing.

I'm proud of both you guys. Thanks for putting on a show and providing this asshole with the best seat in the house.

Cale, no worries, you got some two day old gummy bears and some bike socks with gumby or something coming your way...

-Jeff

P.S. Shout out to Andrew Nordyke for finishing right up there in the clinging on to finish dfl in the lead group!

Hillsboro-Roubaix showdown! April 10, 2010!

   vs.   

As current president of the Chicago Cuttin' Crew, I, Jeff Perkins have raised a wager with the president of Team Pegasus, Mr. Cale Wenthur concerning a long time heated rivalry between two blood thirsty titans, Mike Morell and Andrew Yeoman.

If Mr. Yeoman places better than Dr. Morell at this weekend's Hillsboro-Roubaix race than we shall be indebted one gift basket from Chicago to those who hail from the fine city of Milwaukee. If Dr. Morell reigns supreme, however, the role will be reversed and I will gladly be partaking in whatever disturbing pleasantries MKE has to offer that will fit into a gift basket whilst I bask in Andrew's internet shame.

Stakes is high! Who's your pick? The climber with the attitude for altitude or the sprinter with the heavy pedal stroke?

Gaper's and Supercrit review

Thanks to John Wilke over at peloton-pix.com we have a nice example of how a leadout can go wrong.

 ...looks like someone made a shift for Jeff's wheel when he passed but didn't realize Roadhouse was riding tight behind.

 ...I'm seeing a weak spot in the rear wheel there.

...he couldn't finish the race but Al certainly saved it. That's probably why they pay him the big bucks over at S1.

In much more enlightening news, Christina ended another well attended segment of the Gaper's Block Crits with a 3rd place finish, 2nd in her category. Supercrit started off with Ella, Avi's daughter DOMINATING the 10-14 year old women's category to start the day. Then Jannette toed the line to take 4th in a rather decently attended women's open.

Aside from the evidence on how the men's 4's race finished, all 3 primes were taken by Avi, Al, and Jeff. Then there was also the men's 4/5. With the help of Adam Herndon and the great crowd at the race we instigated a crowd prime for $42.99 for the 4/5's race. Unfortunately Avi poured all his gas on winning that prime (on the announcement lap, not the actual prime bell lap) aaand then the bell was rung right after Al went for a solo flier. *GULP* ...go team... (!)

The guys fared meh but we've all got quite a buzz after such a great opening week for the ladies.

Back to back!

Half Acre drew over 20 women participants for their 3rd night in a row. Jannette won yet again! Teeners got the top spot in her category and Jamie rounded out the nights performance with a top ten finish, 8th in the 4's! There's plenty to be proud of coming from the women's squad and keep up the great work!

Results are up for viewing here.

Jannette Rho with the win!

(insert photo here)

Tuesday night's race in the Gapers Block Crit Series was the opening night for a few more of us this season. Jannette Rho started off her season in the retro CCC jersey and did it up right. She nabbed 1st place in the Gaper's Block crit with a MONSTER sprint out of the last corner. For those of you that thought she was just a diesel engine good for the heroic breakaway, she made it known she can throw down in the final 200. I don't know what it is but every time she wears a Cuttin' Crew jersey she wins. effin beeyootiful.

The guys fared well with Max, Jeff, Avi and Mike going down to lovely Calumet Park. Dr. Morell brought home the top finishing spot in a bunch sprint. He garnered the 7th spot across the line tying Brean for best male performance of the year.

Racing has totally started. Gotta love it.

race report...

<-- Photo courtesy of Luke Seemann, chicagobikeracing.com

-by jeff-

I feel vain starting it like this but it was a good week for me. 3 wins for 3 races at the ending night of racing at Northbrook Velodrome. Getting a leadout from Al for the second win was one of the highlights of a well made season. It's a reminder how the enjoyment of having won pales in comparison to the moment when everything comes together amidst a race courtesy of great friends and teammates.

I was convinced it would be a good idea to bail on work Saturday to go do the Illinois State Road Race Championship. I literally got the road racer out of it's dusty hiding place, filled up the tires and put it together that morning to hop on it for the first time since June to join the majority of our cat 4 crew in one last hoorah for 2009 road racing.

Warming up we threw together a big plan for the race. Avi "The Ironman" Neurohr already did the morning masters with Mike "250+ miles last week" Morell so they had a good breakdown of the action.  They were doubling up, Andrew was fresh and scraped up, Max was feeling good and our new boy Al Pearson was just upgraded and ready to roll. Then, the icing came on the cake when Mr. Daryl "I have a new kid" Van Essen surprised us all and rolled up to the bus in his kit and all ready to race! This was gonna be amazing.

The plan was a big leadout. The order was Avi, Mike and Max up front and Daryl covering Andrew covering me covering Al. This was gonna be Al Pearson's coming out party. The man's got thighs as big as tree trunks and a killer spin. He hasn't been in any practiced leadouts but we just gave him the task of stay on my wheel and blow by when I pop.

The race was a 40 miler assembled by Tower Racing and it was a nice course with some limited room for movement. It could have been 20 or 70 miles and the majority of the racers wouldn't have noticed with it being so tight between the lines. I'm DEFINITELY not complaining. Up front alot of guys kept the pace honest and I was chilling in the middle with everyone else at the easiest 25-28 mph I think I've ever felt. The pack broke all the wind and it made it a game of jostling for positioning over anything. Upper hand dealt to the track kid.

The finish was strange. It was a winding, climbing series of turns followed by a false flat and a short descent before a bummer 300+ meter hill and the finish line was right beyond the peak of the hill. The move was to take advantage of the widening right before the turn into the first climb. Come the last lap we were all making moves to get things down right.

"And there you see team Cuttin' Crew moving up" was in my head as I imagined an overhead shot of the race and Phil Liggett calling it (come on, we all 'play pro' when we do this, besides wouldn't be the first time Phil did the shout out). Without knowing the action behind him, Max took the initiative to move up from 20-something to top 8 or so spots. Behind him was Mike, then Daryl, then Andrew then me, then Al Pearson. Another rush the joy that comes from perfect execution.

Around the corner, Max gunned it and Mike went left of him. Then Daryl made the move around Mike and it was Daryl, Andrew, me and Al with the road to the finish widening. Daryl springed forward and moved out around, the final bullet through the first hill and Andrew jumped. I jumped right on Andrew's wheel and felt a good wheel rub and a fall behind me. I turned back quick to look and saw someone rolling through the peloton and turned back to see Andrew with a rocket up his ass. I went right back up to his wheel and he floored it. We were the only two out front and there was no one in the peripheral.

Photo courtesy of Gavin

We pedaled hard through the descent and Andrew started to fade, I gave him a shout and he put everything he had into those legs right when we reach the bottom of the  final hill. Fuck. Time to commit. I pull to pass and just pedal my way hard into a jump. A fresh burst up and the matches start burning fast. I must be moving good cause there's nobody in sight by the time I reach about 10 meters from the peak. At that same moment, the flames grab a hold of everything and I'm hardly turning over the cranks. That yellow center line starts moving more side to side then it does forward. My good sense says shift but my body just wants to get it over with. And it finally does. First wheel across the line. I spied someone coming hard from under my right arm towards the end but thankfully he ran outta real estate. Dammit, Andrew. That boy had done it again.

Photo courtesy of DeeDee

The crash was Al Pearson. I'm gonna take this chance to introduce you to Al Pearson. He was pretty bummed to say the least and I can feel for him. The consolation is there is absolutely no doubt you're going to be seeing plenty of great results coming from Al Pearson in the future. I'm looking very forward to that.

The day closed in the best of ways. We waved farewell to 2009 with news of Christina getting 2nd in the 4's! Al Urbanski got a top 20 in a crazy 3's field. The Meshbergs had the foresight to bring beers, champagne and marinated chicken while we had the grill going at the bus well past sunset. Maybe Road Racing isn't so bad after all...

Some recent highlights

Between this past week and now it's been rather busy for the trackies with various highlights and photos (thanks Gavin) to share: August 10: Jeff got 4th in the State Kilo Championship at ERV. woo-hoo.

August 12: Molly garnered her 2nd post-up of the year by winning the Soldier Field Criterium. Ironically, both post-ups were done in last year's jersey. Hmmm...

August 13: Al got 2nd in the state points race championship at ERV, thus qualifying for nationals!

August 13: Christina got 3rd in the state points race championship at ERV, also making herself eligible for nationals!

August 18: Al won the 1/2's Miss & Out in Kenosha. He and Jeff followed it up with a 4th place in the most stacked Madison field to date.

August 20: Christina and Molly made a whole lotta preemie money thanks to a very generous sponsor and audience at the Elaine Nekritz national qualifier scratch race. Christina finished 4th and Molly took the 5th best spot.

More to come as the track season winds down (for us mortals, anyway). The biggest positive of that news is that cyclocross is getting scary close...

the livin's easy

Summer's officially here, and it's about time that weather started to cooperate. The rain relented, the heat swept in, and with it came a big weekend of racing. The Allvoi Cup, Saturday 20 June, Northbrook Velodrome

Special thanks to Marcus Moore of Yojimbo's Garage. With his support and loaning out plenty of valuable equipment, that man truly exemplifies a willingness to connect people to their passions. As always, thanks for the gear mang. With the Tour of America's Dairyland to the north, and Cobb Park not too far away, turnout was light, but the vibe was right for the inaugural event in this three part series.

This first trip was attended by Molly, Al and Jeff. Al set the pace for a hectic morning by breaking his chain on one of the two collective warm up laps. (Mike Ferron came through big by running to nearby Garner to get him a new one). Then he lost his compression cap of his headset, had to resort to a Schwinn loaner bike, found some problems with his aero bars, and couldn't get the one pump we brought to work. It can be quite stressful running around frantically trying to locate a 13mm wrench to replace some foreign bike's front wheel. The man stayed undeterred and was sure as hell gonna race that day. And race he did. He claimed 5th in the 3K pursuit (3:51.78), 7th in the Kilo (1:18.16), and 8th in the Scratch. He also got 1st on the day for "my bike has a legitimate use for duct tape on it" category. Be looking out for him to pop back fast and furious.

Jeff fared a bit better by placing 2nd in the 3K pursuit (3:49.19) and winning the Kilo (1:12.15). The omnium was in the air after the Kilo. A bit of the "If it bleeds, we can kill it" mentality was going around with Jeff sharing the top spot with bike racing phenom, David Moyer. Alas, it was not to be as the scratch race unfolded a 4th place for Mr. Perkins and a familiar 1st place finish for Dave. Jeff still landed 2nd in the omnium and has a pretty nice vantage point for the rest of the series.

Molly shook off the pre-race shudders to overcome her dragon, the 2 kilometer pursuit. The lone lady with drop bars matched up against nationally renowned racer, Miss Debbie Dust, and came in 2nd with a respectable time of 3:05.04. The time gap was cut down considerably in the 500 m. Molly brought out her ri-donk-ulous long sprint to notch a 42.97 second place time. Second place in the scratch race against Debbie and above team Alberto's notched a fine last day to be 23. Molly got the 2nd spot on the podium and also has a very good starting position on the series.

Fox River Grove Cycling Challenge, Sunday 21 June

First to tackle the alpine ski-hill of the western 'burbs were the ladies of the crew: Christina, Jamie, and Molly toed the line for the women's 4s race. Christina made the cut to stay in the break, and while the final lap brought all kinds of ferocious attacks, she held on for 5th. She's clearly bringing those Thursday night track skills up into the hills. Jamie stayed solid, bringing home a hard-won finish on a tough course.

Avi had his entourage in tow for Father's Day, and while the sign couldn't be beat (Go Dad Neurohr!) he almost missed the start trying to get everyone on site. It's a good thing this wasn't a 9 am race.

He and Mike were slated to go back-to-back, first up in Masters' 4/5. The race was quick, and so was the carnage. Mike stayed with the lead group throughout, and though the testa della corsa escaped late, he stayed strong to finish 7th. A couple of hillside attacks got Avi a bunch of spots late in the race, and he came in just off Mike's wheel for 8th.

No rest for the weary though, as they were back at it minutes later in the 4/5s, this time joined by the mountain man, Adam. Avi had burned all his matches on the previous race and focused on making the cut, while Iron Mike miraculously rode off with the lead group yet again! Amazingly he hung on for another top ten finish, Adam a few spots back, and Avi, well, finished.

There was nothing left to do but ring the hell out the giant cowbell for the Zombie himself in cat 3. A couple riders slipped off and a couple more chased, and Al couldn't be held back: he was in the break. As he put it so well in the podium interview, "they were attacking like a pack of gators" but he stayed up there for fourth.

It's summer 2009, Chicago, crank up the racing and rip off the knob.

Top Ten Reasons Adam Clark is the Man

10. When waking up at 4 am to get to a race, it always helps to have entertainment. In this case, Adam, in his full track kit, in a gas station deep in hunting country, doesn't disappoint. I'm pretty sure I overheard "Git R Done" somewhere.

9. His words of messengerly advice: "Don't zone out on the hot chicks when you're filing at state court...just focus on the Snickers bar and get in the right line."

8. His anecdotal history of Madison, in this case involving a 30 pack and a friend from Chicago who got lucky in Adam's bathtub. Unfortunately the squeek-squoork sound effects don't translate well to the written word, but use your imagination.

7. Another Madison incident that he insists was not a hallucination: it involved him ollie-ing a live squirrel that tried to cross the sidewalk in front of him, and ended with his board getting flattened by a car. He escaped unscathed, as did the squirrel.

6.  His new state motto: "I'll let you see my Johnson in Wisconsin." Best when sung.

5. He was "That Guy Racing With A Beard."

4. His pre-race game plan was "to act like I'm drunk. What's up duuude?"

3. He didn't train much this spring. He hasn't raced this season.

2. Instead he rode 1,007 miles around Lake Michigan in 13 days. Then he took a single rest day, and...

1. Grabbed 7th place in the Race of the Future! With 4,400 feet of climbing, half the field abandoned in both the 3s and 4/5s, and most Chicagoland riders staring in awe at that stuff called elevation, Adam just Got R Done.

In other news, Al "I'm not much of a climber" got 6th in the 3s, then came home and rode to Northbrook, but we all know he's made some sort of zombie deal with the devil. Elsewhere in the 4/5s, Avi slogged to 15th place, while Mike mashed for 19th, despite being stuck with a 23 in back. At least when you bring Adam along, you're guaranteed to have a great time.

Snakes, Melons, and Quads. Hell Yeah.

by Mike The Snake Alley criterium kicked off a race packed weekend for the crew. We parked the Cruiser above the brick switchbacks of the "snake" and snagged a spot mid-hill for one of our couches -- a prime cheering/heckling position.

Molly was the first to race and showed some true grit and resilience by finishing despite having to pull over after cramping up.

Later Max, Avi and myself lined up in the 65 man 4's field. As expected, the start was fast and chaotic as everyone scrambled for position heading into the narrow climb. I found myself behind Max near the back of the field for the first lap. It can be difficult to pass riders on the snake and for the first two or three laps I had trouble navigating around slower riders. Finally, around lap five, I came around Max and started to bridge between the isolated groups of riders up the road. Sometime around lap eight I made contact with the lead group and was able to sit in on the flat sections for a couple of laps. With two to go I took the lead heading into the switchbacks.

As I rounded the bend I could hear the roar of my teammates as they realized I'd made my way to the front of the race. I've read that riding HED wheels can motivate a rider to climb harder, but they've got nothing on the energy some screaming teammates with a cowbell can generate. Cresting the hill I'd managed to open a small gap on the rest of the field, but by the time we crossed the start/finish for the bell lap the group was back in my draft. I managed to find myself fifth wheel heading into the final straight, but my legs weren't up for the sprint. I crossed the line eighth. Max had cramped toward the end of the race and had to pull out, while Avi narrowly missed a payout finishing 17th.

But Avi wasn't done. He immediately lined up with the 30+ open field for another 12 laps. Sure, he may have been off the back after the first circuit, but a few laps later the chants of "A-vi, A-vi, A-vi" began to gain steam. By lap ten the chant could be heard all the way at the start/finish area as the spectators along the snake saluted his efforts. Avi climbed the snake 22 times in his back to back races.

Up next Al Urbanski worked his way from the back to the front of the 3s for 16 fast paced laps. Al managed to move from 35th to 20th in the first half of the race before gaining eight more places on the final descent and sprint to finish 12th.

Sunday we raced the Melon City Crit.

At Monday's Quad Cities Criterium Molly helped create an early break. Two riders managed to attack off the front of the group, but Molly and two others gave chase through the eight cornered course. The riders stayed away, but Molly unleashed one of her trademark sprints to finish fourth. Another great finish for Godlufski and the crew's best result of the weekend.

In the Master's 4/5 race I managed to stay upright and corner my way to eighth place. Later, in the 4's race Jeff handled the quick, technical course brilliantly staying in great position through-out and finishing tenth in the field followed closely by Max who picked up 16th place.

In the 3s the efforts of Stan and Al were thwarted by a wet course and several crashes.

All in all, a wonderful weekend of bike racing. Special thanks to Molly's family (Kathy, Ray, and Bruno) for opening up their beautiful home to our team and being such amazing hosts. And to Bradley and Rachel for their physical, emotional and spiritual support.

(Photo credits: Bradley, Michael Kelly, South Chicago Wheelmen and Brian Morrissey, xXx Racing)