"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.