Finally posting a race report…and a political confession…and calling people out for the IL State RR.

O'Fallon Cup Crit

This spring has moved quickly.  As opposed to this time last year when I was fighting to find form while traveling 50% for work, this year I’ve been fighting to find time to ride and race.  A promotion at work (yay more responsibility!) and more fun stuff with my kids (as they get older and can do more) means bike time gets squeezed.  C’est la vie.

Regardless, I have been able to race a pretty great schedule: Forest Park Crit, Hillsboro RR, VelotekGP Stage Race, Tour de CU, and 2/3 of MOPRO.  It’s been kind of a bummer year so far as I haven’t been a factor in any races.  I got to be part of a leadout train at the Velotek SR crit, but other than that, I’ve just been pack fill - at best.  It’s kind of a drag.

This past weekend was different.  At CU I held on for dear life, and at MOPRO (100+ fields) my legs started to come around (two top 20’s ain’t bad, but they ain’t good, either), so at the O’Fallon Cup Crit I got to race my bike.  Teammate BJ was very active early, attacking the field and going with moves.  Cat 3 supa-star Nick was covering JMac (Korte) on early moves, and I was following stuff towards the front since I got there late and didn’t get a good warm-up.  Plus, it was hot, and Frenchy’s body doesn’t like the hot.  I countered one of BJ’s moves and it formed that lap into the break of the day.  It also just so happened to be a Chipotle 10 burrito prime lap, so when the break was doing the “no you pull” thing, I jumped and scored $80 of burrito-ey goodness.  Considering the total purse for the 1/2/3s was $250, I say it wasn’t that bad of a choice.  

Well, that break cohesiveness (or lack thereof) continued.  I needed some rest but the attacks, counters, and gap closing (I was only really involved in the gap closing) tuckered me out pretty good.  Eventually the elastic snapped and the strongest guys rolled on.  Zack (Qdoba), Ben (Momentum), and I were left to ourselves.  Mike Bruzina (Gateway CC) was ahead of us chasing solo for the last 8 laps (+/-), while Justin (Korte), Edward + Josh (Gateway Harley-Davidson), and Jim (Dogfish) stayed away and hugged it out, I’m sure.  Zach pulled the plug and I dropped Ben, so I did 5 laps solo on the course before getting caught at the bell by JBock (Qdoba) towing BJ + Murphy (Quantum Mesa), Griffin (GHD), and ole Ben (Momentum) who had latched on.  They dropped me as they attacked into the final lap, racing for 6^th place.  Sadly, Andy Lister (Wheelfast) also got some punches in by catching me in the last turn and I was powerless to answer.  At that point I was regretting jumping to get the burrito prime.  Actually I was regretting lots of things.

12^th place.  I had to go about it in the hardest possible way.  Seriously.  I have the TT of a cat 5; solo for 5 laps was an eternity.  I’m really surprised the field didn’t catch me.  The upshot was two-fold: the burrito prime fed the team, and I was a factor in a race again.  Granted, it was a small local race, and I got dropped from the break like a stone, but it was racing nonetheless!!  The team worked well together, we just should have had a second man in the break, or maybe one who could pedal his bike a bit faster.  Hopefully this means my legs are coming around a little more and I’ll be able to see the pointy end of races again before I shut it down for the new baby.  That’s right, not too long and I’m calling it a season, but I get a new baby boy.  I’ll take that trade!

Next up: Rolla Crit 06/01, then a business trip, then the River City Bicycle Classic in Evansville, IN 06/08.

Politics:

Surprising myself, I’m moving right in the political spectrum.  This is not so much due to any great productivity by the right side of the American political establishment – in fact, they seem to play the part of witless obstructionists with aplomb.  Neither is this a shift in response to mis-steps by the left (though they are legion).  But I find myself struggling with what some commentators have called a “Christian Secularism.”  You may be shaking your head at the moment, that sounds like identifying an “un-thing.”  Indeed, it is an un-thing that doesn’t really exist.  Notice this hot coldness, or this dark light spot?  It’s a binary state friends: girl or boy, 1 or 0, Christian or Secularist.  They be mutually exclusive yo.

This change comes about as I’ve continually found the Christian gospel to be real and the secularist gospel to be fake, and borrowing continually from Christian charity in order to sustain itself.  Its epistemology has long since failed (wasup postmodernism?!), and its social good shown to be a power play.  “Live and let live” is a farce and a lie.  I’ll soon be getting my court summons for saying boys and girls are not the same in the preceding paragraph.  Pretty sure that’s hate speech now-a-days!

IL State RR Predictions:

So we’re a month out from the other O’Fallon race, the O’Fallon Grand Prix.  It has the new designation of being an omnium!  I will of course skip the TT.  But enough about me, let’s talk about me.  Er, I mean, all the guys that are going to beat me in the O’Fallon RR, which is the IL State Championship contest.

Last year, to my utter shock, only one registered Illinoisan beat me at this race, and so my 8^th place was good for a silver medal!  No doubt many have taken note of this aberration and will therefore target this race for state championship glory.  Now the list of riders stronger than I would be too long to post here, but these are the strong and crafty ones that represent my predictions for IL state RR champ:

1. Jeff Schroetlin (Qdoba p/b Bushwhacker) – few are craftier than old Jeff, and the dude can roll.  He drove the break both days at Tour de CU while TXRH + Bissell-ABG-Giant basically had an attack contest which left us lowly 2’s gasping for air and dodging bullets for 70min/day.  If Jeff’s team shows up in force (and it has a lot of force if they all show up!) to support him, Jeff will be state champ. 
2.  Axel Voitik (Sammy’s Elite Cycling Team) – Axel has come in from the wilderness of injury over the last few seasons to some seriously good form.  He also has a team that can play multiple cards in a break or sprint and works uncommonly well together.  If it comes to a sprint or a break Hogan, Dustin, Erik, Kyle, could help. 
3.  Andrew Bates (Scarlet Fire) – SF’s lead man in the 1/2 fields this year has been racing aggressively at and off the front.  Packs a sprint too… 
4.  Anthony Dust (Dogfish) –The current state RR champ.  Dust is a very strong sprinter, but lacks the cat 1 armada of a team he enjoyed last season.  If it comes down to a bunch sprint, he’s the best on this list though.

Dark Horses

1.  Andy and Trevor Lister (Wheelfast) – They are both riding strong, and often forgotten.  I could see one sneaking away after a selection, or relay attacking some unfortunate who is with them.  
2. Chris Curran (Bloomington) – He’s lurking.  You don’t know he’s there until it’s too late.
3. The Old Guard (assorted) – will Enzo (Enzo’s) or Druber (ScarletFire) or Randy (xXx) teach the 20 and 30 somethings a lesson?  Let’s hope not.  We’d never hear the end of it.
4. The Young Guns (assorted) – will Jake (xXx) get a signature win? Will the next big thing out of ISCorp stick a move?  Brian Ellison (Mitsubishi/Laser)?  Perhaps the future is now.

Excluded: Nick Ramirez (Texas Road House Cycling), David Reyes (Stan’s NoTubes), Brandon Feehery (Astellas Oncology), and Josh Carter (Predator Cycling) since I assume they’ll all be off at Nature Valley Grand Prix or some such.  Perhaps I’m wrong.  In which case – them too.