"Borrowed" from ChicagoBikeRacing.com

The guy you love, or don't I believe. Mark Swartzendruber, or Druber for short. He was a teammate of mine, although many, many categories, skill sets & physical attributes above me, and left to become someone else's teammate. This was before I had an encounter with a Buick, 5 surgeries and 3.5 years of recovery.
I was reading an interview with him on CBR, and got to the final thought, or passage, on why Chicagoans should drive 3 hours, to the race he's promoting this weekend, and thought it was hilarious, and right on the money. I raced the Champaign crits going back to 1988 through 1992 I believe, back in the Chris Petty days, so this is a HUGE undertaking, much more than a industrial park criterium.

"You’re going up against some big events in Chicago that weekend. Tell me why we should drive three hours for an untested race. The races will start on time. The races won’t be shortened, and our prize money checks won’t bounce. "-Chicago Bike racing

Good for you Druber! Not that I ever got a check from Superweek, but after getting up at 3am, driving 3 hours to a superweek event, ie: Evanston 2008, being delayed 2+ hours, registering, finally 5 minutes before the race, shortened race at that, it just left a bad taste in my mouth.

I'll see you all in Champaign, where I will be a highly contested pack fodder, having fun, racing my bike, enjoying the atmosphere, hanging out, listening to music, spending time in Champaign w/ my buddies, then racing again on Sunday. I hope it all goes well, for this race & future events.

No Soup For You!

Big weekend last weekend. The annual Proctor Criterium. We had the Kron's & the Kiddies, as well as BikerDanny down for the festivities. I did the Masters 30+ cat 1,2,3 as well as the Cat 3 race. Both fast & furious, as usual, although really windy.

The Masters races brought home two state championship jerseys with Dr. Mike getting the 60+ for the third or fourth year in a row and Uncle Gary taking the 50+ jersey. Ms. Gina took home the women's cat 4 jersey, while her "man on the scene" Justin-Time got 5th in the cat 3 race.

My buddy Robert got 2nd place in the Masters 40+, as he lost to the "Big Man" himself, MikeZ. This was a feat in itself, as Robert doesn't train, he just races. That's it. So to be off the front in a two man break with a guy who logs tens of thousands of miles per year (little exaggeration in there) and to get beat at the line? I am proud of him.

I on the other hand, did some work for Robert in the 30/40+, and am still trying to get the cobwebs out of my head when it comes to racing. I am working on it, just taking longer than I want, I guess. I would up in 8th place for the Masters 30+ (4 better than last year) and 34th place in the cat 3 race (same as last year) Oh well, I am trying, believe me!


Uncle Gary winning the 50+ criterium



















Lining up for the 30+ & 40+ Crit

Robert off the front with the "Big Man"

The turtle, looking faster than he really is











Team Mack Team Photo