Title 167

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="02c285a1erlcgo.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>REI Austin Cycling Team</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="REI Austin Cycling Team"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> back to  <A HREF="id164.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Race and Ride Reports"><U><B>Race and Ride Reports</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="02ad2c00dkelyh.gif"> <div> <A HREF="id164.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Race and Ride Reports"><U><IMG SRC="03b0e0e0.gif" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A>   <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="14">     <A HREF="id179.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Title 167"><U><IMG SRC="02f0e0e0.gif" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="previous" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A>  <A HREF="id177.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Title 167"><U><IMG SRC="0300e0e0.gif" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="next" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div> <B>Superweek #2</B></div> <div> <B>...David James</B></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Superweek Update #2</div> <div> 7/20/2002</div> <div> Milwaukee, WI</div> <bR> <div> Hello everyone! This my second update from the cycling races here in</div> <div> Wisconsin! I've added a few new people to my mailing list, so if you missed</div> <div> the first update, I've attached it with this email.</div> <bR> <div> The Full Story:</div> <div> ---------------</div> <div> Well, I'm glad to say that my ankle has been recovering nicely (though still</div> <div> with some swelling, tenderness, and inflexibility) so I raced on it today.</div> <div> Superweek only happens once a year, you know!</div> <bR> <div> Craig Busche (my host "dad") and I headed over to Waukesha (pronounced</div> <div> Wah-keh-sha) for the CAT 4/5 race. Since registration was slow in getting</div> <div> setup, we started 30 minutes late at 9:30 am. We were to do 25 laps (each</div> <div> about 0.8 mi) around a downtown six-corner criterium course that looks like</div> <div> this: (the X marks the start/finish and the numbers mark the corners)</div> <bR> <div> 4-->---------->5</div> <div> 3<-----2 |</div> <div> 1<-X-<--6</div> <bR> <div> Things got going really fast in the first several laps (probably 24 mph).</div> <div> My position was not very good, though I felt strong. I missed out on an</div> <div> early break of about 3 people, which ended up staying away because a strong,</div> <div> small group of riders can negotiate the course faster than the pack.</div> <bR> <div> I forgot my heart rate monitor, which was actually nice for a change.</div> <div> However, I did have a Motorola radio with an earpiece that was pretty sweet.</div> <div> On the sidelines, Eric (a friend from Austin) was giving me radio updates,</div> <div> telling me about gaps in the field. His most frequent advice was "Move Up,</div> <div> Move Up!" In a criterium such as today, there are no "easy" places to move</div> <div> up. You have to make up space in the corners one at a time. Moving up in</div> <div> the straight-away takes a lot of energy since there was a significant</div> <div> headwind. The pack was strung out single-file and little gaps were opening</div> <div> up. One guy had a minor crash in the 1st corner, a nasty manhole-covered 90</div> <div> degree turn.</div> <bR> <div> Indeed, I was slowly moving up. After 5 laps, however, there was a medical</div> <div> emergency (a spectator had a seizure I believe) so we had to neutralize the</div> <div> race. The organizers of the race wanted to make sure that we had EMS on</div> <div> hand for the racers before we continued. After a 10-15 minute delay, we</div> <div> were underway again. The break should have been given a 7 second lead, but</div> <div> ended up getting more like 10 seconds.</div> <bR> <div> From here out, I kept better position and advanced about 2-3 places per lap.</div> <div> With about 5 laps to go I was in the front three. From there on out, I</div> <div> maintained position in about the top 15 places. With two laps to go, I was</div> <div> feeling strong and ready to punch it. After the 4th corner we hit the long</div> <div> straightaway and I was riding on the left hand side, about 4 rows back in</div> <div> about 10th or 15th position. Then a guy in front on the left crashed, and</div> <div> riders started going down. I braked but wasn't going to be able to avoid</div> <div> it... so I did a fast running dismount to the sidewalk on the left. I kept</div> <div> both feet on the ground, unlike the group around me. 10+ riders had gone</div> <div> down, and I might have been the only one of the group to get up and continue</div> <div> the race. Most were just scraped up I believe, though one may have hurt his</div> <div> elbow or shoulder.</div> <bR> <div> I jumped on my bike and continued, though I was out of contention at this</div> <div> point. I talked another rider into contesting me for the final sprint</div> <div> (since I always like ending races with a good sprint). I led the sprint out</div> <div> from corner #6, about 200 m from the finish line. He couldn't come around,</div> <div> so I rolled in for 30th. Not a great result, but I was relieved to have</div> <div> finished the race without any major mishaps!</div> <bR> <div> I'm racing tomorrow as well, and I'm ready to have a race without 1) ankle</div> <div> sprains or 2) crashes! I feel strong, so I'm confident that I'll have some</div> <div> good results if I can stay out of trouble!</div> <bR> <div> Thanks for reading!!!</div> <div> -David</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> The Brief Version:</div> <div> ------------------</div> <div> Race: Carl Zach Classic Criterium</div> <div> Location: Wakesha, WI</div> <div> Date: 7/20/2002</div> <div> Distance: 25 laps (approx 20 mi)</div> <div> Temperature: 85-90 F (unusually hot for Wisconsin)</div> <div> Duration: approx. 50 minutes</div> <div> Riders starting: 65+</div> <div> Riders finishing: approx. 32</div> <div> My placing: 30th</div> <div> Notes: Numerous crashes, including right one in front of me!</div> <bR> <div> P.S. I've attached the first update I sent out on yesterday, in case you</div> <div> missed it...</div> <bR> <div> -------------------</div> <div> David C. James</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>