Much Better, Much Fun

Tonights race was in Salisbury, NC. Another nice little hamlet of the south, which allowed a bunch of cyclist to close off its downtown streets to race around at crazy fast speeds. The locals seemed to enjoy it. I think.

Anyway, raced a figure 8 course. Can I say how much fun these races are again. Well, they are. Fast from the start. Gaps opening up with every corner. All of this racing is allowing me to close gaps with ease. The starting group of 60 some odd was down to 20 in no time at all. With a bunch of smaller groups trailing. Ted and Steve were the group just off of the main group. I sat on the front group the rest of the race. After last night, I decided to not mix it up for the sprint. I came in 16th.

Crash Boom Bang Twice!!

That was a first. I crashed twice in one race. Wow.

It was the easiest 4 corner course I've riden all year. Really no need to brake or shift at all. With that said, on lap 3 a guy went wide going around a corner and nailed a lamp pole with 2 hay bales on it. His bike bounched back and I ran it over and went down. No damage. Easy fall.

I took my free lap and got right back into the pack. Again Ted got stuck behind the crash and was chasing. His group got pulled a few laps later.

I just sat in the group waiting for the final sprint. I could move up at will, so I waited til 2 laps to go. I came around the 4th corner in top 15. At the line the front guys got together and crashed. I thought I was going to make it around them when a bike slid in front of me taking out my front wheel. Down I go, sliding on my ass. Yea gotta love it. Just a little skin, no big deal.

I got 13th.

Mocksville Criterium

This is the start of our 6 days of racing in Crossroads Cycling Classic.

4 corners and very fast. There was a blind pothole on the back straight. Of course I hit it almost every lap. But early in the race someone hit it and got squirly and crashed with about 5 guys. This split the field, as the front never slowed down. I was safely in the front and Ted got stuck behind the crash in the chase group. We never saw the chasers again.

It stayed fast with a group of about 40 guys. Every couple laps or so we would lose more guys to crashes and atresion. It's funny how guys crash in the same place lap after lap. You would think they would learn not to go too far outside there.

We finished as a group of 26 riders. I didn't sprint in got 26th. Ted's group got pulled with 15 laps to go.

Off to North Carolina for some more racing!

Ted and I decided to spend a week racing the Crossroads Cycling Classic in North Carolina. 6 races in 6 days AGAIN. I love my life.

Irving Park Criterium

Spencer, Ed and I raced in Allentown. Spencer in his second cat 5 race. Ed and I in our millionth cat 4 race. No need to upgrade, we are just having fun.


Spencer again raced great even on a course with a small hill. Stay on was the first order of business. He quickly found out that the hill was much easier then it looked. You could just carry your speed right up it. At the end Spencer give it alittle bit of a sprint. He finished 15th. Great job. This is only the beinning.


The cat 4 races was delayed by a quick moving thunderstorm. So we started on wet roads. About 5 laps into the race, I picked up a piece of glass and got a front flat. Thank goodness Ed put wheels in the pit. I got my free lap on Ed's front wheel. Getting back in was a challenge for me, being that it was up hill and the pack was going fast. I got in alright. But shortly after Ed decided to test the wet road surface. He slid out going around turn 2. As he was getting his free lap, I went to the front to keep the pace steady. Ed and I now were hanging out in the back of the pack deciding what we wanted to do next. We decided that I would take Ed to the front with a lap to go and lead him out for the finish. I got him up there, but then I was done. Ed made some great moves thru the group to get himself 6th place. I got 16th. Not bad, a flat, a crash and 6th and 16th places. Another fun race.

Hunny Bop not Bunny Hop

Still going! I did my 7th race in 9 days. boy am I tired. But still riding fast. It was a very hot day, about 95 degrees in the shade. I couldn't get the heat out of my mouth at all. Every time I sprayed water in my face I thought it was hot dish water. Not refreshing at all. But I was sitting comfortable toward the back. As the race went on I didn't see anything to gain from frying myself in the heat with no cool water so I pulled out with about 15 laps to go. At was a very good week. It is not about the finish , it's about the FUN. I had fun.



At was a long day watching races. Spencer did his first criterium in the morning. He raced a great race. He kept his nose out of trouble and listened to when to move up. He finished in 23rd place without even turning a pedal around the last turn. A very good move since he is going to race cars in the morning.



Matt the super stud did two races back to back in that heat. Cat 3/4 with me and Masters 30/40. Very very fast. He was amazing. Between races all he could do was refill his bottles and get to the line. As always he does his loin share of the work when he races. Talk about being wrecked at the end of the day. Matt was very close to heat stroke. He had to cool down fast. Great day Matt!!

Super Week Wow What a Fun Vacation

First time in my life I raced 6 races in 6 days. I didn't do to bad if I say so myself. I placed in the money in 5 races in a row and just outside of the money on the only race with a hill. That figures.

Of course all of my races were cat4/5 30+, which is my favorite catagory because they are all old slow guys who have to go to work in the morning. Nobody taking crazy chances.

Here are my results:

9th place at St Francis Hospital Blue Island ($25)

12th place at Olympia Club Criterium ($20)

8th place at Richton Park Criterium ($30)

10th place at Ray Basso Bensenville Criterium Day 1 ($25)

4th place at Ray Basso Bensenville Criterium Day 2 ($50)

15th place at Hulboldt Park Criterium (out of the money)

I paid $203 in entry fees for the week of racing and won $150 for the week. I can't say how happy I am about placing so consistantly.

I will most definitely be going back to Superweek next year. Maybe for the full 17 days. Want to join me?

2 for 2 in the Money

I could get use to this. With races placing down to 12th place, I could really have fun.

Today I rode to the race in Olympia Club. I'm not one to get in a good warm up, but with 7 races in a row, I figured it wouldn't hurt. 10 miles each way. The race course was in a brand new, not even near finished ,development. Instead of being 6 corners and 1k. It was 4 corners and less then half a mile. The road surface was at least one layer of asfault short. The edge of the road had an inch lip, 6 inches before you got to the curb. As the front of the field set up for the third corner, they moved to the outside, skeezing until someone hit the lip and cartwheeled into the construction debries. OUCH! He did get up, then threated to kill the rider who moved over. Very nice. Not. Again field sprint. 12th in the money, but my sprint sucks.

Blue Island Criterium

It is official, I have now raced in SuperWeek! The race was just 2 blocks from where I'm staying in Blue Island. Charlotte, of my host family, was working as a race marshall on the first corner all day long.

We had about 40 riders in the Masters 4/5 race. It was a nice long 4 corner crit, no surprizes, just a little bumpy. A few breaks would get about 10-15 seconds then come back. I stayed up toward the front for most of the race and even put in a couple efforts myself to bring breaks back. It came down to a field sprint on the longest striaght away about 400 meters. Of course the sprint started from the corner. Half way down the road I started to sprint, I passed some riders who were running out of gas. I got 9th place. In the money!

Beverly Hills Cycling Classic

I arrived in Blue Island just after 3pm. Another hot day on the motorcycle. Last night I stopped in Strongsville, OH and stayed in our crew hotel. What a great job I have, not only can I get plenty of days off to go race for a week but also getting a great discount on hotels at the last minute.

After meeting my host family and setting up my new room, I went for a little bike ride to see the Pros race in Beverly Hills. It was very much like the West Chester race. Big crowds and lots of fan fair. A real party in the streets. All of the locals came out with full meals on the front lawn, as well as more wine and beer to keep the party going for the whole 100k race. The riders didn't disapoint either. Attack after attack. The primes were flowing as much as the beers. Over $4200 in primes for the night. Wow!

Leaving for SuperWeek

When I called my company Have Bike Lets Travel I meant it.

This is my packed rig ready to go out to Chicago for Super Week. I'll be staying with a host family in Blue Island Illinois.

Signed up for SuperWeek

I was so inspired by the race last night that I signed up for SuperWeek. I've wanted to race this series since I've been 18 years old. So I signed up to race 7 races in 7 days! I think I may be crazy.

West Chester Twilight Crit

What a great event! I just wish I had a better start and a little bit more power to hang on longer. I raced the cat 3/4 race in downtown West Chester before a very excited crowd. There were about 100 riders to start but it thinned out pretty quickly. Very fast off of the line. Since I started in the third row I had to fight alittle to more up. I just didn't fight hard enough before the third corner. It was the tightest corner on the course, it could be ridden at full speed but in the back of the field they seem to hit there brakes a little to much. So going up the homestraight each lap I was just trying to hold by position up the small rise. Every lap I was losing about 20 positions and then gaining back 10 on the backstraight down hill. That didn't last long. I was hanging off the back of the field riding my own speed thru the corners doing about the same pace is the field. I was praying for the them to sit up some or a small mishap in the field. The field was still in site when I got pulled. They pull riders way to early in races like this. Great course all the same. I spent the rest of the night watching bike races and watching people. Much fun!

West Chester Twilight

What a great event! Last night I raced at the West Chester Twilight Criterium. Although I didn't last long in the race, I was inspired. The crowds were large and loud, even for the cat 3/4 race. It started very fast off the line of course. And I made the mistake of starting to close toward the back of the field. With a little bit of a rise entering the home straight, it didn't take long before I at the back getting gapped on every corner by riders braking hard for the corners. Once I was off the back, I was able to take the corners at full speed and gain some ground toward the field. I was sitting in a group of 4 or 5 riders when the offical stepped out in front of us to end our day. It is always bitter sweet to get pulled from a race. One the field was still in sight. Two it ends the suffering.

All the same it inspired me sign up for SuperWeek. It is a last minute decision but I've decided to go to Chicago to race 7 races in 7 days. I've wanted to go to Super Week since I've been a junior. Always something would come up to stop the trip. Mostly lack of fitness and lack of funds. When I was a junior I never had the means to get there in the first place. But it was always a dream to race multiple days in a row.

I put out a quick email to Matt and Ted to see if they wanted to go with me on such short notice. Matt is working and Ted's vacation doesn't start til later in the month.

I've been in need of an adventune. I'm going. And just for the fun of it, I'm going on my motorcycle.

first Blog

Wow, I am now a Blogger!! It may take me a little time to figure this thing out, but it could be fun.