Racing

Yesterday I commented on a picture that Jason Donald posted from France. It’s a nice picture of one of his teammates standing next to a stream. The caption says “A quiet place to reflect”. I suggested that they stopped to pee, as a joke ( but not really). He posted one back saying that’s what reflecting means. Have I been living in the shadows or was he just kidding? Either way, I like it and think I’ll use it from now on.

The start of a cyclocross race is, in my opinion, the most intense of all cycling disciplines. Your positioning in a cross race can be largely determined within the first 1/2 of a lap. If you start too far back it’s almost impossible to move up because the leaders go full throttle until gaps start to form. This is why you see riders camping out at the start line 30 minutes prior to a race. This is also why riders travel the country to earn UCI points so they can get a call-up and not have to fight for position before the race even starts.

After almost not starting today due to being a bit sick lately I was happy I did. It was another 100K Kirmas course with 6K laps 120 riders and some more wind and rain. We started out dry but on the second lap it started to spit a little. There were 6 guys barely off the front. When it starts to rain a break usually goes so I attacked to get up to the group. When I got up to them they were disorganized and seemed to be waiting for the peleton. I attacked again and one rider came with. I figured we’d go for a bit and then get caught by a small group or the peleton.

Before the start of today’s race I was finding it hard to get motivated. I think it had to do with racing last Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and then riding 120 miles on Tuesday. So my legs are finding it hard to get motivated to race on this windy, cloudy, drizzling Wednesday.

Whenever you're finishing well racing is fun. Last night we road from our house to a race in Belgium. The ride only took us 30 minutes and it was a beautiful evening. The race started at 6:00 in a small town with lots of character and lots of people who love cycling.

Like many of these Belgium races you have to walk through a smokey bar with lots of old guys drinking and carying on. It's a great way to start a race. Many of the old Belgium men you could pick out of a crowd of old men from all over the world. Their faces are like stone but real worn looking.

Well I’ve completed my first UCI 1.1 race in Europe. The Sparkasse Giro in Bochum, Germany consisted of 12 laps that equaled 175K total with lots of big teams and riders there. To name a few Voigt, Zabel, McEwne, and Patacci. Most of the big team were there which also draws the big crowds. Around the 15K loop there was always someone and around the start finish line they were standing 8 deep. It’s amazing the fan support they get here. On parts of the loop there were some good BBQ’s going on and if I were to pull out I know where it would have been. It should be on TV at some point.

The last three days the team has been in Germany amongst some of the stars of the tour de france racing some crits infront of huge crowds. The first one had a pretty hard uphill section with small cobbles on them. After coming around on the first lap you could hardly think straight it was so loud with people lining the sides 5 or more deep screaming and cheering us on. We really don't do much as it's more for the pros to show off for the crowds. I got to the front once and helped chace a break with Jens Voigt on my wheel.

The weather here in Wisconsin has been just about perfect. We have been spending most of our time on the lake fishing and swimming with the kids. After a few hundred and a nasty sun burn, I managed to get on my bike. I started out riding up Irma Hill and then over to the Wisconsin River then followed that back to Merrill. The roads are great with very little traffic. On the way back I took a stroll down memory lane and rode past the place where I grew up. It was really weird to see other people living there.

I’ve now had the opportunity to race in Holland, Belgium, and Germany. I must say Germany has been my favorite. The riders there are a little more chill and don’t feel it necessary to run you off the road. We did a UCI 1.2 race in Belgium with a few pro teams and it was nuts. For 180K it was flat out and with lots of narrow roads and few sections of cobbles. I think of the 200 riders only 60 finished. I’m not sure where I ended up but was happy with how I felt considering I had landed in Europe less then 24 hours before.

Throughout the progression of one's cycling career you go through many phases. It probably starts out as something you just do for fun and then you get addicted to it and want to get faster. This is usually when things start to get serious and a rider becomes aware of weight loss, training, lighter parts, etc. This is also the phase were a rider will see the most progress and gain a ton of fitness. Not a bad place to stay as long as you don’t get anal about it and let it control your life.