Dear Friends,

Wow, the town of Kenosha (1 hour south of Milwaukee) really knows how to

host a bike race. In the middle of the crit course was a huge festival,

including 10+ types of food tents, plus games for the family. It drew a

very large crowd (hundreds of people)-- what an event for the community! It

would be great if Texas could put together a race with that kind of

community support, but it takes many years of organizing the event to get a

turnout that large!

Surprisingly, my legs felt good today. The field was large as usual, and

not too squirrely. Except for a few hairy corners, the peloton behaved

itself pretty well. It was a shorter race compared to most up here: 21.4

miles. But we averaged 26.2 mph in the 49 minute race.

I had great positioning at the beginning of the race, but in my trademark

style I managed to concede my good positioning for the last 10 laps. I knew

I had to move up and with 3 laps to go I focused on that. It was too late,

however, riders were really holding their positions and leaving very little

room to pass in the corners. Coming out of the last corner, I was too far

back -- probably 35 riders back. I managed to pass close to 10 people, but

couldn't get myself into the top 25.

I'm racing tommorrow and possibly Sunday if I feel up to it!

Thanks for reading!

David

Race Summary:

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Race: Kenosha Criterium

Location: Kenosha, WI

Date: 7/26/2002

Distance: 40? laps (approx 25 mi)

Course: About 0.6 mi per lap. Four 90 degree corners. Flat

Weather: about 85 - 90 F.

Duration: 49 minutes

Riders starting: 70+

Riders finishing: approx. 50?

My placing: pack (between 25th and 30th)

Notes: Rode hard. Tried to move up in the last 3 laps, but couldn't get

into a good position for the finish.