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="id191.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="id179.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 #4</B></div> <div> <B>...David James</B></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Friends,</div> <bR> <div> Today was probably one of the coolest road race circuit coarses you'll find.</div> <div> A 4.5 mi circuit with some steep ups and downs, winding along Veterans Park</div> <div> by Lake Michigan in Milwaukee. It seems my luck has turned the corner. I</div> <div> finished with the pack today, upright and without any major incidents.</div> <bR> <div> I would have done better, of course, if I would have realized at the finish</div> <div> line that we were doing our LAST lap. I thought we still had another to go.</div> <div> Stupid me, right? Actually, I wasn't the only one. I was marking #180, a</div> <div> guy from San Francisco that has won many races up here. We were both at the</div> <div> back of the field heading into a fast downhill stretch -- we didn't want to</div> <div> get tangled up in anything. There would be plenty of opportunity to move up</div> <div> later (we thought). There were some squirrely riders today, that's for</div> <div> sure.</div> <bR> <div> Then the pace kicked up a bit and I thought to myself "good, maybe we'll</div> <div> lose some people on the final lap". I rolled through the finish line and</div> <div> asked various people -- "we have one lap to go, right?" Wrong. The race</div> <div> was over. #180 and I were both kicking ourselves afterwards.</div> <bR> <div> On the good side of things: I cornered well and didn't clip any pedals ;) I</div> <div> also successfully maneuvered around a crash in a S curve downhill. I braked</div> <div> steadily and my rear tire started to slide out, but I kept it under control.</div> <div> That was sketchy. Aaron Busche (my host family's older son) had to bunny</div> <div> hop over a curb to avoid the crash, which gave him a pinch flat. Now he</div> <div> owes his younger brother, Matt, a round of golf.</div> <bR> <div> Tomorrow's a rest day. Afterwards, I'll be racing from Thursday through</div> <div> Saturday.</div> <bR> <div> David</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Race Summary:</div> <div> -------------</div> <div> Race: Oneida Bingo Casino Lake Front Road Race Long Course</div> <div> Location: Milwaukee, WI</div> <div> Date: 7/23/2002</div> <div> Distance: 8 laps (approx 36 mi)</div> <div> Course: About 4.5 mi per lap. Two good climbs and two good descents.</div> <div> Weather: around 75 F and windy</div> <div> Duration: approx. 100 minutes</div> <div> Riders starting: 70+</div> <div> Riders finishing: approx. 50?</div> <div> My placing: pack</div> <div> Notes: Dodged a crash in the S-curve descent. Lost track of the lap count.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> -------------------</div> <div> David C. James</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>