Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Breathing Underwater in Steamboat

Greetings from Steamboat Springs. A large and expensive ski town lying at nearly 7000 ft in NW Colorado.

Steamboat Springs Stage Race (www.bikesteamboat.com)

Drinking gallons of water and peeing like a racehorse every hour on the hour to avoid the threat of dehydration.

Day 1: Cycling through Glue

Friday was a 3 hour drive to Steamboat, then a rush to register and get bike together for the prologue TT. No TT rig but I managed to bring along an aero helmet and skinsuit, mounted clipons to the bars and dropped the stem as low as it would go.

Seems like a waste to have people take a day off for a 13-15 minute race, plus forcing people to bring along two bikes - discouraging carpooling. Might be better to run another competition as well, e.g. Street Sprints for time bonuses, and to do the TT Eddy Merckx style.

10k course. 8k Undulating out and back followed by a 2k 5% uphill.

Just couldn't get warmed up. I'm already breathing underwater after about 100 yards. Feels like I'm cycling through glue, have to drop down two gears below where I need to be.

Hit the turnaround at halfway and have made up no time on my 30 second man. Manage to recover slightly with a slight tailwind and get into something resembling a groove (although still in a stage of controlled hypoxia). Make up maybe 5 seconds as we hit the base of the climb. Keep shifting gears trying to find my happy place and alternating between bars, hooks and drops, I start to make up some time. 500 meters to go and I dump the chain down 3 gears, get in the aerobars and hammer as hard as I can. The finish catches me by surprise but I catch and pass my rabbit with a couple of yards to spare.

Not very happy with this effort - I know I can do a lot better. Well down on GC.

Hacked up half a lung afterwards.

Brett and Greg are going to laugh - I flatted a latex tube just after crossing the finish line

Day 2: Whooping cough at 7000 ft

Brett and Greg are going to laugh again. Bust the last of my latex tubes pumping it up before the start. Got there in good time so no problem changing it out.

Saturday was a 29 mile circuit race on an unbuilt housing development. Nice closed course, nothing there but several miles of immaculate private road. One steep climb, one mile long followed by a helter skelter careening descent, a little bit of flat, a few more hills, another fast winding descent, followed by a long false flat in a cross wind to the base of the hill. 6.5 laps of a a 4.5 mile course, 500 ft of climbing per lap. Yes, that's 500 ft per lap.

Each lap I'm surprised that they don't call EMT everytime I crest the hill. I sound like a whooping cough victim. Might be contagious.

First time down the descent and I get gapped badly and have to pin it just to catch. Not fun. Manage to figure it out for the next laps. Drop it into the 53*11 and pedal hard whenever you get the chance, close any gaps immediately. My new Giant frame railed the downhills at close to 50 mph and 45 degree angles on the turns. What a rush.

First 3 times up the hill and I'm suffering. Barely hanging on - using the descent for recovery. Then the legs start to open up and I feel progressively better. Front group is opening a gap on the field each time. 4 laps to go I crest 12th, then 8th, then 6th. Bell lap - I'm in 4th and 6 of us have a gap of several seconds over what remains of the decimated field. Two fast descenders catch us on the downhill and we hit the flat as a group of 8 on each of the last two laps - including 3 riders from the local team. All that has to happen is that we drill it for 2 minutes and the GC for the race is decided. Instead the 3 local riders go to the front and set an easy tempo - 10 riders catch on before we hit the hill again.

This was a big mistake and it cost that team. They were obsessed with racing for places - it's a stage race, places don't matter, time does.

Last lap and we scream down the descent. One guy gets gapped off the front and goes for it, nobody chases. I take one strong pull but nobody comes around. Not up to a flatlander to do all the work. We give the win to the OTF guy - fair play to him for giving it a go - wouldn't happen in Illinois.

Ten more guys catch on before the final hill. Yes, they will be dropped, but will only lose 20-30 seconds instead of the several minutes they would have if we had tried to drill it earlier.

Halfway up the hill and the pace reaches frantic level. Ten of us left. 3 guys jump away, I try to follow them but simply can't take in enough oxygen and my legs seize up. Nothing I can do. I still have a lock on 5th place though. 400 m to go and my gears start spontaneously shifting. I upshift, downshift - nothing works. Have to drop it into the 39*15 before the chains stays steady. Lose about 15 seconds and 3 places. Jump into top 10 on GC.


Final climb - desperately trying to find a stable gear and losing places

pic by fitzgerald photography


Day 3: Going hypoxic in 45 mph crosswinds

50 mile road race, Horseshoe shaped course. 27 miles out, 22 miles back. A mere 3500 ft of climbing.



Afternoon winds got up to over 30 mph with gusts over 45 mph. Developed death wobbles several times in crosswinds on hairy descents. Had to hang at back for safety's sake. Outward leg was mostly head and crosswind, pack kept together. Lots of competition for a good draft. One crash when competition for the white line got a bit too competitive.

About 3 miles into race I jump off the front to test the legs. Get a gap but start to hyperventilate. 1 other guy (Casper Wheelmen) jumps onto my wheel. Conversation as follows:

Me - "Pull through! (gasp)"
Casper guy - "I can't"
Me "Why not? (gasp)"
Casper: "You're Carlos, right? I'm working for my teammate, Can't risk you getting away. I'm just going to sit on your wheel."
Me: "That's the end of (gasp) that then" ...And I sit up.

Apart from the time Dan Hill nicknamed me "Ekimov", this is the highest cycling compliment anyone has ever paid me. It's official - I am now a GC threat!

Took me 30 minutes to recover from that effort.

About 5 miles before the turnaround the field gets gapped on a vicious crosswind descent. Only myself and another guy catch on. The field is now down to 25 riders. One huge TT guy goes OTF and and out of sight. We know he's extremely powerful but not a good climber. He stays out there for nearly 20 miles.

Hit the turnaround and feed zone and it's more uphill than downhill on the home stretch - but still all crosswind. I take care to find a good draft and stay in the first echelon.

3 miles out, 20 to go, I find myself gapped off the front. I punch it a bit to see what would happen. This initiates 20 miles of eyeballs out, punch and counter-punch, no-respite aggressive racing. Fun times.

My attack gets dragged back quickly, another guy counters, noone responds and he takes off to bridge to the solo guy. In a magnificent effort he catches him, they work together for 10 miles, he drops him and soloes home the final few miles for an amazing win, securing the GC overall in the process.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we're attacking each other like crazy, really booking it at speeds of up to 50 mph in tailwind and 5 mph downhill in a headwind. Gaps are forming and being closed down. I look behind and the group is down to 14. A few more miles and we're down to 10.

The GC leader attacks to save his lead, we reel him in after a couple of miles. Hitting the first of a series of hills we catch the first OTF guy and feel it's only a matter of time before we reel in the other guy. He's got a lead of about a minute. Hit another hill and the group detonates. Down to 8. Get gapped in a crosswind, fight back on, hit another hill, and the man with the hypoxic hammer strikes. The legs lock up. I'm only two seconds behind a group of 4 but it might as well be two hours. No way can I close it and they ride away from me.

The last hill I expected to be a couple of miles long. The other riders are only about 30 seconds ahead. I settle in, find my happy place and wait for the guys in front to blow up. Round the first corner there's a line of cars, someone shouts 200 meters, the line is right there. Race over. No signage, no nothing. All a bit sudden.

Field totally detonated. They straggle in over the next 30 minutes. I vault over 3 guys but 3 others vault over me. Retain same place in GC.

Only hack up a 1/4 lung this time.

Yet another mechanical - loose front hub causing death wobble.

Day 4: Breaking wind is hard to do.

Downtown crit. 40 minutes. Classic rectangular Midwest-style crit. Easy to pedal corners. Kicker hill plus false flat into strong headwind to finish line.

First 10 minutes were among my hardest 10 minutes on a bike. Going hypoxic each time up the kicker. Hanging on for dear life at the back. Finish with the pack and I keep my GC place - get gapped and I'm out of the money.

After ten minutes things slow down. GC is already decided. Everyone knackered. Gentleman's agreement not to attack except to sprint for primes. That's ok by me.

I recover. 3.5 laps to go and I sneak off the front. Noone reacts. I punch it into the headwind and 500 m finishing straight. Get a big gap ~ 15 seconds. Noone chases. Now's my chance for everlasting glory - just keep this gap for 3 quick laps and the win is mine. I punch it up the hill ... and start to black out. It was the definition of the CBDHS (Crash & Burn Dan Hill-style). Can't finish when you're lying in the ditch. I sit up, let them catch me and finish the race mid-pack.

If I was living at 6000 ft instead of 600 the story might be different.

Final result: Top 5 in GC. Ok for a flatlander. I'll take it.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Ronald Reagan Crit - Dixon, IL



Nearly killed me, but finally won my first prime.

Chris, Rich and Matt were all prominent, taking multiple Primes. Brett and new rider, Todd, worked hard at the front in their races, but got blown away by the one-lap-to-go Cat 4/5 heroes. Rich won Assos Chamois Ceam, which he gave to the Vaseline man. In return, Sprock offered to blow up Rich's tires with his new mini pump. He has now promised to forgo the Vaseline, but until they start giving out Womens accessories as prizes, Lord Sprockula will still be enjoying the Pantyhose and Hairspray shopping experience.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

2010 Mast 30+ Illinois State Crit Champions

The Peoria Cycling Classic hosted the 2010 Illinois State Criterium Championships. Above are the winners of the Mast 30+ category. (Yes, the guys in 1st and 2nd place are in their 40's...)

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Tues Night Ride - Peoria Cycling Classic

As tradition holds it, every year before the Peoria Cycling Classic we call out to all club members to join in on the Tuesday Night Washington ride. We had 24 riders attend this year. Notice the new team bikes and the new jersey design. Looking good!

Peoria Cycling Classic - June 27th, downtown Peoria!

Monday, May 24, 2010

Le Tour de Sainte Genevieve - Missour State Road Race

Yesterday brought both a tough course and ridiculous heat for the state road race down in Missouri. Maybe not the best choice for my first race of 2010, and maybe my 5th time on the road bike this year =) Dan and Greg conveniently left out any discussion of "hills" in their hyped up discussions aimed at getting me to come race. Water was the biggest issue for me, and Sprock will agree to that. I forced myself to conserve on the first lap, then was too thirsty too late, and went through the pure water fast, and had no desire to drink my Heed mixture. I was able to convince a spectator to give me a Gatorade on the last climb!

I'll leave the other guys to share their results, but the 3's race started off slow but ramped up fast at the first slant in the road. Each hill brought out attacks and suffering! Sprock took the first pass at the KOM hill in an impressive out of the saddle climb. I sat in for most of the first lap (37mile laps) then went to the front before the feed zone since I had no hand up support and I didn't want to get caught up in the madness. I stayed at or near the front from there on out, and just tried to ride more tempo instead of the surge and brake riding that was happening all day as people failed to pull through. We chased down a couple riders that had a 3 minute gap soon after the feed zone, and the pace stayed pretty high until the hill section started back up. Gaps started forming and eventually a group of 16 was separated, which lost contact with for a few miles before regaining it at the base of the KOM hill. But it was not in the cards for me to hang on... I stopped near the top and got a Gatorade from a friendly spectator, then finished alone, catching a couple P12 juniors who couldn't finish on the way in. 17th was the official result, I'm guessing 35-40 lined up to race.

Garmin Data shows the suffering below... 165 Heart Rate for over 3 hours, almost 4,000 feet of climbing.





Saturday, April 24, 2010

Tour of St. Louis Update

Five Proctor racers did this morning's crit at Carondelet Park. Vanessa McKenzie started things off in the Women's Open. Vanessa reeled in a couple of breakaway attempts to finish her race in a pack sprint. A couple of women jumped early and were able to take the win. Not sure where she finished but had to have been top seven.

After Vanessa was the Cat 4 race were Andrew Lindner rode an aggresive race only to flat on the last lap.

Next race was the Mas 40+/50+. There were about 50 racers eager to start before the rain set in. I got into a 7 man break 10 min into the race. We stayed away (and stayed dry) for the entire race. I finished 5th.

Then there was the Cat 3 race with Matt Bohm, Chris Sprock and Dan Damotte. Matt and Dan tried some early breakaways but half way through the race Chris was successful with one other racer. Then the rain poured! They worked together until Chris attacked with one to go. He rode away but was caught by the pack with 20 ft to go. Incredible race, but unfortunate. He did manage to finish top 10. A couple of bad crashes due to the rain but all the Proctor guys were unaffected.

Finally, to the time trial. I rolled out first into 20-25 mph winds. On the return trip I had one gear left before I was spun out. As I finished, I began to hear the tornado alarms. As the sky turned ugly, we new we were in trouble. Matt was out on the course, so Chris drove out onto the course to retrieve him for safety reasons while Dan and I went for cover. Then the hail began to fall. In the end, Chris found Matt and everyone was safe. Once the storm cleared, Dan and Chris went back to the time trial. I haven't heard the results yet.

Tomorrow is the final race (crit).

Monday, April 19, 2010

Tour of Hermann - April 17-18

Overall Omnium podium finishers for the Tour of Hermann were Dan Damotte, Winner of Cat 3 category and Greg Springborn, 3rd Place in Masters 40+ .

Additional Proctor race team members who raced at the Tour of Hermann included Sarah Gray, Colm Flannery, JD Comfort, Rich Crandell and Brett Bohanan who encountered a nasty crash in the Crit race but is recovery well.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Dan Dominant

Count the bikelengths



pic by luke

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Hillsboro Roubaix - Winners in Cat 3 and Cat 5 Races!




Congradulations to Dan Damotte (Cat 3) and Brett Bohanan (Cat 5) for winning their races today at the 9th Annual Hillsboro Raubaix race.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Race Update?

Any word on the race up in Chicago... Damotte do any damage to the field???

Zink's Last Ride

It was a somber ride, well off the back it was anyway.

Atleast we had beer!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Proctor Clothing Order

We are ready to take orders for the 2010 clothing design with delivery to members tentatively scheduled for the week of June 19th. Orders must be placed online and will be accepted until 6:00PM, Thursday, April 1st.

For more information, please refer to the 3/23/2010 YahooGroups email communicaiton from Steve Daggs, or visit the club's website.

Here is the link to the clothing order information and order form: http://www.peoriabicycleclub.com/ClothingInfo.htm

Monday, March 1, 2010

Tuesday Night Washington Sq Rides

Tuesday Night Washington Sq rides will begin March 16th!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Pre-Groundhog cross clinic

Cyclocross Clinic for Tour de Groundhog!

What better way to get in the mood for Valentine's day than to attend a romantical cyclocross clinic this Saturday, with a view towards learning the tricks for the Tour de Groundhog on Sunday 21st?

We'll see how the weather bears up. Here's the spiel!

CYCLOCROSS CLINIC!

* What? Pre-Tour de Groundhog Cyclocross clinic
* How? Learn basic cross skills of dismounting, remounting and porting, plus tricks of the race
* When? Saturday Feb 13th, Noon
* Where? Farmdale Reservoir, Washington, IL
* Why? Cyclocross is the most fun you can have on two wheels
* Who? Open to everyone
* Which? Bring MTB, Cross bike or Unicycle
* How long? Approx 1 hour
* How much? Free, gratis and for nothing.

* Weather Permitting!

2010 Belgian Waffle Century

Mark your calendars! The 2010 Belgian Waffle Century is
scheduled for March 6th. Go to PBC's Yahoo Groups for more details.