Superweek Fine

Hung out to dry

This is where Steve, our host works. The butcher shop is very old and similar to what it looked like when it open almost a century ago.

This is Steve. He has been a great host. The last three nights when we come home, after racing, he has made dinner which has included grilled tuna, tenderloin, sausage, braut, pork chops, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes......Im forgetting something.

This is where Steve smokes out

Steve wanted me to see what would happen to Carlos if he didn't make the podium

Friday night was the Chase Food Folks and Spokes in Kenosha, WI. This was to be the first of the last three races for the series and things were getting pretty tight in the hunt for the overall. There were also some challenges still being made for the sprint jersey. Riders like Jonathan Page and Ryan Roth had made their debut in the final week of the series and really made the racing a little bit faster if not harder. I needed to help Carlos make sure that riders trying to close the gap in the sprint competition were not able to. The field was stacked and I started near the back. About thirty of 100 laps I was just at the back end of the front group when my front wheel slipped while turning on the white crosswalk paint. I thought I flatted and sat up. I soon realized that I was not flat and would not get a free lap. I managed to grab on to the back of the 150+ field and nearly got dropped. The rest of the race was a slow progression of trying to get back up to the front. At 8 to go I made it to the front and was in the first ten riders. The pressure went up and I kept giving up my wheel and two laps later was about 25 from the front. With 3 to go a crash caused a split and I was right behind it. I chased but the field was motoring towards the finish and so I crossed the line half a lap down.

The Great Downer Avenue Bike Race in Milwaukee was described to me as the most exciting race of the series. The fans, the money and the field were all supposed to be top notch. It lived up to the hype. A $7000 prime lap with 12 laps to go kept the pace high until it was handed out. The fans lined every available space on the course and the field was close to 200 riders. All I can say about this night is that I survived. I finally made it on the results sheet at 50th place (woohoo!) and had a feeling at the end of the night like I had been free falling the whole evening.
Carlos finally moved up to 3rd overall and 1st best amateur when Adrian Gerrits of Khala LaGrange, the rider in front of him, touched wheels in the final lead out and went down. This was not the ideal way for Carlos to move up, but thats racing.
The Whitefish Bay Classic in Whitefish Bay, WI would be the final showdown. The field size had been reduced to about 75 because of the Chicago Crit which offered a better payout and shorter race. Tyler had decided to take a ride back to Texas after Downer Ave so we were now four strong. With only a few points above 4th overall, we were completely focused on keeping Carlos out of trouble and on the podium at the end of the night. A break of seven riders got away but things were going pretty well. Of the entire series, I felt like I had the best legs on this night. About 35 laps in I stood up to accelerate through a turn. My right had slipped on my hood as I lunged all my weight forward and I went right over my bars. I had no time to react but its weird to know as I was crashing that I was going to crash and that I was in the middle of a bike race. About six guys went down with me but I think I was the worst hit. I was so pissed. I couldn't believe that I had been responsible for such a stupid crash, especially since I had been feeling so good. My bike looked terrible. Bent derraileur, torn cable and housing, bent shifters, wheels rubbing, etc. I thought this would be it for me, there was no way I could ride this bike. But I wasn't going to go out like that. If it had not been the last night, I probably would have taken my bloodied body and broken bike to the nearest pub and had been a numb drunk before the finish. I had made friends with the SRAM mechanic and wanted to see if I could pull it off one more time. I went to the pit and told him that I could not ride my bike after crashing. He sighed, set up a neutral bike and three laps after crashing, I was back in the race on a sweet ass Orca with Zipp 404s. I started near the front and attacked up to a break. We were caught and then I went for a prime. It was not to be but about five laps later I was set up (i thought) perfectly for another prime. I got nipped at the line. The race blew up after this into three, maybe four groups. I was gassed and thought that would be it for me, but I had all the overall contenders in my group, so after three laps of chasing we got reattached. With six to go, Adrian (lost 3rd overall to Carlos the night before) attacked and got clear with a few others. Carlos and Barry started to bridge up and I got to the front to police. There was a lull in the field which helped Carlos' effort and then Bahati decided to chase it down. I sat on his wheel for about three laps as he strung out the field in pursuit. It was like motopacing. He finally sat up with three to go. Carlos made it up to the break and outsprinted Adrian to secure his 3rd overall and 1st amateur. I finished 40th (movin up!!)

My bike is not dead. The SRAM mechanic fixed it while I bled all over the course. I missed the awards ceremony cause it hurt to undress. Me and a bottle of Jameson made out last night. It kept me pain free until about six this morning. I cannot really say for sure what I am going to take away from this experience. I will not try now, except maybe to say that I will sacrifice whatever I can and dig deeper into myself until there is no more me.