Time on My Side?

I have been a tad depressed lately. After the crash at the Vernon Hills Grand Prix, I have been mentally "spooked" at racing.

Memorial day weekend, I did the Friday night road race, Wapello, IA to Burlington, IA. I was fast, aggressive, chased down breaks, got in three separate breaks (that went no where) etc. But I was there, and making moves. My teammates, Robo & the man "Who's On The Job", M.Shea rode great as well. They are both older than I, a lot faster, and a LOT tougher.

I got stuck in the field, about 2 rows back with 6 miles to go, so I took a "small" chance. I skipped over the center line, advanced to the front, and immediately got DQ'd from Bart, the referee on the motorbike. Dang! Oh well, you play, you pay. There was a sprint, some guy won, and we averaged 26.7 mph. That's racing.

Two days later, I did the Muscatine Criterium, which I won in 2004, before being creamed by a Buick. Screaming downhill, hit a speed bump, go air-borne, then up hill for 3 blocks. Do this 18 times. Pretty simple, right. Well, I hit the downhill in 5th place, and RODE the brakes the whole way down, freaked out! Now, 70th place, and chasing back on. You know the story, after 6 laps of doing this, I was off the back, sucking wind, and finally pulled by the referee.

The next day, Rock Island Criterium, which I won in 2004 also, before getting creamed by the same Buick noted above. It started raining about 15 minutes before the race. Pavement wet, 70 guys on the line, 8 turns per lap. Riding cautiously, I hit a man hole cover on the first lap, turn 5, and the front end loses it a little. Race over. Brain checked out. Done. Rode 8 laps solo, then pulled. Man, that was a waste of a good warm up. Head is not in the game. Just kept thinking of crashing, crashing and crashing. Tons of head trash up there.

I consulted with the president of my fan club, and alter ego, Edgar. He said to get back on that horse, and keep going! Thanks Edgar, you're the best.

Taking Edgar's advice, and against advice from all who know me, I decided to do a road race yesterday, the O'Fallon Grand Prix, O'Fallon, IL.

The race was a 70 miler, which is a little long for me, plus I am not a good road racer, but Edgar told me I had to do it, or else! (Or else what? You're a turtle. What'cha gonna do, spit lettuce on me?) So I did. There was about 40 guys in the field, there were short "power hills" and one long little ring hill about 1800 meters before the finish. The two real descents were 40 mph of a little scary for me, but I did them. I rode defensibly, ie: near the back, and just wanted to race, stay up right, and finish in a respectable manner.

First lap was smoking fast, second lap was OK, third lap, nine guys were off the front in three separate breaks, including my teammate Justin-Time. He went solo, with 8 miles to go, on a whim. Knowing there was 8 guys up there, what the hey? I finished with the field for a respectable 14th place. Justin-Time rode through the two breaks in front of him, caught the lead group of 6 off the front, and went through them for a sprint 3rd place finish. Awesome! That's why his name must be Justin-Time, I guess. He threw caution to the wind, and the hammer down on the race, and it paid off. I am getting back, head wise I believe.

Edgar said it's going to take time, and if that's what it takes, so be it.

Monsters of The What? Ride of Silence

I am back, for now. Between the rain and all, have been doing some racing, and some training. Probably no where what I should be doing, but I've been busy. Coach Stan-O gave me "the lecture" a couple of weeks ago. Something to the effect of: " Steve-O, if you are not going to follow your training plan, don't blame me come the end of the season." You know what, he's right, and I told him that, so I am going to do it, little to no excuse.

Two Saturday's ago, raced the O'Fallon Gold Cup in Missouri. A FAST circuit/criterium, with three "power-hills" in it, which of course I hate, because I am 5'5" and weigh 162 lbs. Do the math, and it does NOT translate into going up hills fast, let alone 76 times in an hour and 5 minutes. I raced, raced well, there was a break, I finished with the field, and all was good. G & I headed to Quincy, IL. that afternoon to see my Mother-in-Law for Mother's Day, and see my Father-in-Law, Big D.

So, here we go again. The infamous Monsters of the Midway Criterium in Chicago. I went up to see my Dad the night before, with Uncle Gary, so we got to spend a little time together. Pretty amazing how cool your P's get, the older you get? I entered the Masters 30+ (also known as the Pro, I, II and a couple of Cat III's) There was a huge delay because some poor girl in the women's race crashed, and had to be carted off to the hospital in an ambulance. I said a prayer for her & her family. My teammate & buddy for years, J-LO and I hanging at the line for the cat III race.

The race was FAST, there was a break of all the usual suspects, some guy won, who deserved it. There were stupid crashes, which spooked me after the Vernon Hills crash two weeks ago, and I finished with the field. The wind was 30+ mph down the front stretch, and 30+ headwind on the back stretch. We still managed a 26.2 mph avg, at 262 watts!

The Cat 3 race later in the afternoon was delayed, again, due to a major crash on the back stretch of the Cat 4 race. Ambulances were summoned, people left on stretchers, and people were obviously hurt, bad. I hope everyone is doing OK, and I shall say a prayer for them as well. The race was fast as well, there were crashes, including the final lap, first turn of the final lap when some guy's seatpost broke off, OUCH! Bad race karma so far. I finished with the field, did not crash, and all is well so far.


Jonathon "Chip" Gray took these photos, right after he did really well in the 30+ race. He's been really busy with school, so his racing has not been as often as he'd like. Chip, good job! On the education part, as well as the photo's.

Remember: Tomorrow, Wednesday May 20th is the Worldwide Ride of Silence, 7 PM. Please show your support for our fellow cyclists who have been killed, injured & maimed while on their bikes. I of course have personal & extensive knowledge of this fight, and we need to show our support. got to www.rideofsilence.org for a location near you.

Hitting the "Deck"

Yes, I am "back". Was out of town & distracted for about five weeks. I missed a bunch of training due to business travel, too much food and drink, not enough sleep, some personal stuff going on etc. OUCH!

Got back on the bike, and did the Tuesday Night World Championship Ride. WOW! That was painful. Decided I would race my way back into shape, clear the mind & body at the same time.

Vernon Hills Grand Prix. Registered for the Masters 30+ Cat 1,2,3 & the Cat 3 race. Of course, fast & furious. The field of 60 something was stacked with former pros, National Champions, State Champions, and my buddy Robert, who is practically all of the above.

It was fast, there was a break, we caught them, it was fast, again. Bell lap came, right before the start/finish line, and POW! Some guy got excited in front of me, and at 32+ mph, came straight into my front wheel. I hit the deck, taking the guy behind me with. I hit head first, cracking my helmet in half, busted up my shoulder, jersey, hip, both knees & elbows etc. Bummer I guess. The guy who went with me had a pretty bad concussion, and went to the hospital. He hit head first as well. Nine lives issued, 4 left for me at this point.


Did the Cat 3 race about 25 minutes later, just wanted to ride the ride at this point. Five laps to go, and BAM! Another 14 person pile up on the back stretch. Dang! I cant get a break today I guess. No more skin lost, but smoked the rear tire, and some collateral damage to the bike. BikerDanny launches for the final sprint, with his HUGE motor from about 3 million meters out, and barely gets nipped at the line (see note at bottom for explanation) and takes a very respectable second place. I finished with the field.

Still licking my woulds. Thank you to the inventors of Tegaderm, I have finally succumbed.

Robert by the way, placed a field finish in the Masters race, then hops in the car, drives to Kenosha, WI for the Masters race up there that afternoon. Takes a HUGE victory, off the front, and keeps bringing home the bacon.

Someone has already taken me to task on the word "nipped" used above, probably the winner of the race, who I congratulate for the victory, as it was well earned, and I mean no disrespect. I was somewhere in the field, so I could not actually see the finish, so I just threw out the word "nipped", as a general term for being beaten to the line, that's all.

I'm Back!

OK, I am back now. Been gone. Here's the new Stainless Steel Waterford, 45 cm C-T-C, one of two in the world! Richard Schwinn has the other one. Should be built up next week.