Great Lakes - Superweek 2008

Linked on ChicagoBikeRacing.Com : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfs55TB9srg

(Recursive: you might not want to watch this one)

Oh my . . . :eek:

Just a few, then I've gotta shut down. Holy Hill in the morning you know.

In general, the racing seemed very aggressive. I saw plenty of shoulder bumping and heard more than one rider hit the boards. (check out the curb on this first one) I've even got a picture of one Pro riding on those barrier 'legs'. :eek:

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/cycling/July%2020%20Evanston/IMG_2266.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/cycling/July%2020%20Evanston/IMG_2172.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/cycling/July%2020%20Evanston/IMG_2180.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/cycling/July%2020%20Evanston/IMG_2245.jpg

Gotta run for now.

Linked on ChicagoBikeRacing.Com : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfs55TB9srg

(Recursive: you might not want to watch this one)

On the contrary. That's one of the awesomer things I've seen. Given that I crashed that is. I can't sleep. Which I guess is good because it means I don't have a serious head injury, but it's bad because my back will not leave me alone.

I'm going to watch that video some more now.

:eek:

Awesome. I love how after you hit the guy the guy near the camera says "big crash".

Heal up.

Damn. :(

oh snap!!!

feel better.

later.

This is from the SECOND time the Pro 1/2 race was stopped (6 laps to go). Here Rasaan Bahati is saying: "That's it! The race is over!". The race continued though, more laps were added and it was well worth it.

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/cycling/July%2020%20Evanston/PM2914small.jpg

Holy Hill bound ....

Hi,

Are the starting time slots for the various cats posted anywhere? In the past the web site, internationalcycling, had preliminary planned start times posted or links to .pdf files.

I missed going to watch the Shorewood race, spectating instead of racing. Plan to go watch some of the WI races if I can find out when the planned start times are.

Had one Cat1/Pro guy come into the shop on Sunday. He's originally from Wisconsin here but is currently in Colorado. He said this will probably be his last year for the racing, and he said that this year it seems that the racers are at a whole new level or something - really intense and fast.

Any hints on where to find the Cedarburg, Downer, and Whitefish Bay start times would be appreicated.

Okay, back to reading up on this thread, nice pics and reports. Thanks. Makes me almost want to race, almost, been there, tried that, got blown out the back so fast by the third lap that the people watching from their front yard thought I was going backwards. :rolleyes: But it was fun while it lasted, and within 15 minutes or so my heart finally found it's way out of my ears and back to where it belonged.

Have a good race today for those of you racing.

Start here:

http://www.internationalcycling.com/riderinfo.shtml

Then:

Race Information

Download Official Race Announcement & Event Schedule: Pro/1/2 Men and All other categories

I'm outta here!

We roll around as a group of 9 or so for a lap or two and then Mark Horstmeyer decides that he wants to break away. Nobody could bring him back, or nobody tried. I tried, but I couldn't do it all. Mark stays away for 1st. Another guy from flatlandia breaks away too, and I'm at the back of our pack when that happens, and I can't do much. He gets 2nd. On the last lap the sprint starts early. I'm in 3rd wheel. One guy passes me, and I pass one guy for 5th. It was a good sprint for me, and I just barely got the guy on the line. I even did a 1/2 bike throw thing. $45 back into the race fund brings me to about even after 2 races.
Nice work!

I lined up in the back, and the little group I was in was off the back probably in the second lap. If that. And after about four or five laps we got pulled. My bike handling skills suck and there was nowhere I could come around anyone, not with the course as slick as it was. Not the most fun I've ever had on a bike.

Start here:....

Thank you.

Another update from me:

That whole race was sketchy.

But the truth is, I did have at least a fraction of a second to slow down, but I thought I saw a way through, and at that moment my only goal was getting to the line. It all happened very fast. I learned a valuable lesson though. Safety is always the priority. I'm not sure if I could have avoided the collision, but I could have at least slowed slightly to mitigate the crash.

Luckily, I'll live to be a better racer because of it. Hopefully before Downer. Oh, and gotta get my bike fixed by then too.

the flickr stuff of the crash is cool. do the slideshow. it gives a nice view of the front of the field.

Flickr Slideshow (http://flickr.com/photos/margaretandjeff/sets/72157606284078252/show/)

later.

Just my opinions but ...

Wow Recursive ... I think you made a really bad decision ... albeit in a split second.

1. You're not a professional who's livelihood depends upon the results from this race.

2. With #1 in mind, your own personal health/safety should be a much more important factor than taking significant risks in the race.

3. You are riding with other people and if you take unwarranted risks, you are putting their health/safety at risk. This is reckless. You could have killed the guy you hit. How would you feel then?

You should have dramatically slowed down and should not have hit the guy standing up. If I was him, I would be way pissed.

Now in your defense, you had to make a split second call. I might have made the same mistake but now that I've learned from your error, hopefully I won't repeat it. A little trophy or a few bucks aren't worth it.

Again, just my opinion.

Glad to see your earlier post that already kind of get to the point I am making. Was typing when you replied.

What's the best way to handle hitting the deck in a big pack? Should you stay in a fetal position? Stay prone, face down in your arms?

Just my opinions but ...

Wow Recursive ... I think you made a really bad decision ... albeit in a split second.

1. You're not a professional who's livelihood depends upon the results from this race.

2. With #1 in mind, your own personal health/safety should be a much more important factor than taking significant risks in the race.

3. You are riding with other people and if you take unwarranted risks, you are putting their health/safety at risk. This is reckless. You could have killed the guy you hit. How would you feel then?

You should have dramatically slowed down and should not have hit the guy standing up. If I was him, I would be way pissed.

Now in your defense, you had to make a split second call. I might have made the same mistake but now that I've learned from your error, hopefully I won't repeat it. A little trophy or a few bucks aren't worth it.

Again, just my opinion.

Glad to see your earlier post that already kind of get to the point I am making. Was typing when you replied.

With 20 hours of hindsight, it's clear to me that I didn't handle the end of that race as well as I could. Before I saw what was going on, I was totally focused on the sprint and getting to the line ASAP. By the time I saw what was going on, I had a fraction of a second to respond. I failed to make the correct decision. I recognize that now. Fortunately, it appears that everyone involved will be ok.

And you're right about the stakes. Everyone in the cat3 race is just a part-time racer just going out for fun. They have a day job. Many with family and kids. It's not worth it.

The key is finding the balance of being aggressive and being safe. Safety should of course always be the top priority. When riders are going down, the competition is out the window. Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking clearly enough to realize that during the split second I had.

I don't know who I collided with. If you're out there reading this:
I really do not know if I could have avoided collision entirely, but I apologize for not slowing down to the extent that I could. But I am glad to see that you appear not to have serious injury from the video. I learned a valuable lesson.

Very cool Recursive. :thumb:

I'm such a competitive bast*rd I very well probably would have done the same thing. Hopefully I'll learn from your experience if my time comes and in a split second, I'll make the better decision.

i cant stop watching that video. recursive, how fast do you think you were going at impact? later.

I've gotta check in on this whole issue here before I go on the air...because I've been thinking about this today a lot for some reason...

"In Defense of recursive"

First of all, "Sir Awesomeness" doesn't need me to defend him. However, I'd like to share a few thoughts on his crash incident, much-discussed here today.

I have to go back to the old saying, "There but for the grace of God go I."
In my case, I'd be lucky to ever be in a position like that to be competitive in a bike race to begin with. But if by some miracle I ever was, who is to say I wouldn't have done the exact same thing.

Why?

Because it is that very same competitive itch that makes the best racers in a way. They are somewhat fearless and have a 'go for it at all costs' attitude which, combined with some God-given talent and a lot of hard training pays off with success on the road.

That's why I think his brain reacted the way it did.

What REALLY impressed me though is that after he thought it all through, he backed up the truck and made a public apology. A lot of testosterone-fed young racer dudes would have barked back with smart-assed remarks and not budged an inch.

You'll notice recursive never did that.

Instead, he reversed course from his earlier emotion and tried to make it all a learning experience.

Nice move ma man! And all the more reason why you are and shall always be "Sir Awesomeness" and always welcome at Chateau Hip for refueling....or at least when I invite you. :)

Now put this out of your head...get that heap of patched-up carbon you call a racing bike put back together and have at it!!

i cant stop watching that video. recursive, how fast do you think you were going at impact? later.

One cool thing about the course is that there was a permanent radar speed sign right after the start finish that everyone could see. I don't race with a computer, so it allowed me to see the speed of the pack as we came through on those laps I happened to catch it. The first lap it said 34. After that it usually said 30 or 31. The lowest I saw was 27 after some sketchy business on turn 5 and everyone was probably feeling skittish.

I didn't pedal all the way into the collision, :o but I was still probably going faster than I was at any other point during the race. So I'd guess 35 or so.

i cant stop watching that video.
I can't bring myself to even click on the link after seeing John's pictures of it.

Hip, I couldn't agree more, and that's why I still like Sir Awesomeness. Airs his laundry and apologizing on-line is just plain high character, high class. Big :thumb:

I can't bring myself to even click on the link after seeing John's pictures of it.

dude, you gots to see the video. do it now. later.

I can't bring myself to even click on the link after seeing John's pictures of it.

Big mistake.....the video is awesome.

My guess was at least the high 20's like 27-28. Over 30 wouldn't suprise me.

I'd be looping it all day if I could stream at work. At home I had found the sweet spot and just kept looping the impact.


.....awesome....


As for "whatever" about any of this...it's racing. We've all seen a lot of wrecks and yet we still go out there. Retrospect is great, but the fact is that it is racing and you are attempting to make your brain function at extremely high speed under lack of oxygen conditions. Crap happens.

Big mistake.....the video is awesome.

My guess was at least the high 20's like 27-28. Over 30 wouldn't suprise me.

I'd be looping it all day if I could stream at work. At home I had found the sweet spot and just kept looping the impact.


It was definitely in the 30s. At the start finish line, most laps, we were usually at least 30mph. It's a long straight. And this was the finish. I'd be very surprised if I wasn't going at least 33mph.

Big mistake.....the video is horrifying.

Fixed that for you.

Yeah, crap happens, but that was nowhere near awesome.

Well I like it.

Seriously, every time I've ever been in a crash, race or not, I've always wished I'd had a video of it. Now I do! Hooray!

Well I like it.

Seriously, every time I've ever been in a crash, race or not, I've always wished I'd had a video of it. Now I do! Hooray!

Yeah, maybe with time I'll become numb to it, a la that ski jumper in "the agony of defeat" part of the Wide World of Sports intro.

Glad you got your video evidence! You socked that guy but good, didn't you? Ouch.

Holy cow... intense crash! Glad you made it without much damage to your body.

I'm with CyLowe on this one...
The sound is almost worse than the sight. I've always hated that sound...makes me sick to my stomach.

I've always hated that sound..

+1 It's not one you easily forget.

Don't beat yourself up recursive, we all sign the waiver, we all know the risks involved.

Next race you may want to think about body armor :roflmao2:

+1 It's not one you easily forget.

Don't beat yourself up recursive, we all sign the waiver, we all know the risks involved.

Next race you may want to think about body armor :roflmao2:

I'm already looking forward to the next race. Which may be as soon as... tomorrow?!? Depends how I feel in the morning. I'm still waiting for the armor to come up on chainlove.

It's easy to be the Monday morning quarter back ... "Oh, why didn't you just slow down???"

Like recursive said, he was focused on getting to the line and that's understandable.

We ain't talking the weekly criterium in the business park with 25 of your regular guys. This race was the REAL DEAL. The Big series of the year that you've been training for. You're in the BIG City, BIG buildings, BIG crowd, BIG speakers with the announcer yelling at you every lap telling the crowd to BANG THE BOARDS LOUDER!!

When the Pro 1/2 in Evanston was stopped, they happened to stop right in front of me ... and these guys were *AMPED* http://www.freedomcrowsnest.org/forum/images/smiles/excited.gif It was all WATER WATER!! FOOD FOOD!! HURRY HURRY!! That unplanned pit stop was just nuts. You've got ROCK RACING bumping into you passing water to the riders. The Columbian Olympic team is dripping sweat on you as you help pass bottles back and forth During the race there's a guy waving an Australian flag, there's a police radar trailer showing your speed every lap, and there are COPS keeping spectators at bay at the crossings, and they seem to turn up the speakers every lap until it's 200 decibels ... I mean LOUD!

Crazy, just crazy.

Anyway, if you go down in a crash, don't just hop up and wander around. Cover up and take a look before you even move. You might get killed if you don't! That guy is lucky Recursive didn't hit him square in the back.

Onward ... It's Superweek Baby! It's a new race everyday!!

Holy Hill preview pics coming up shortly.

Holy crap! I'm away from the computer one day and this thread blows up! Adding nearly two full pages of posts!

Some thoughts to catch up:

1. Recursive, you are one heck of a class act. As others have said, to publicly second guess yourself and offer a mea culpa is just flat out classy. :thumb: Plus I LOVE that you're excited to have a video of your crash!

2. That said, don't beat yourself up over it (not that it sounds like you are). As JDub says, Superweek is the real deal. Heck, sounds like the pro race yesterday AVERAGED 30-32 mph! :eek: You were sprinting for the finish, thought you had the room, and had an unfortunate accident.

3. JDub has it right. If you go down you're better off staying down until you can make sure you (and those around you) are safe.

4. Let's get those Whitnall Park plans aired . . . I'm having too much fun this year to not take advantage of the fact that I'm now working only 4 miles away. Who's in? When? Watching, where? I'm thinking I'll swing by over the lunch hour to catch the ladies, and I know I can't make the pro race (kid's tee-ball). Otherwise . . . we'll see what's in store.

Whitnall? That's TWO days from now! :p

I'm in.

Cranking out preview pix for Humboldt Park and Holy Hill ... ain't quitting 'till it's done.

Whitnall? That's TWO days from now! :p

I know . . . that dang work thing is getting in the way again! :(

I'm probably not going to make it to Whitnall. :(

There's still a chance, but not looking good.

A quick post with some preview of the Holy Hill pix.

For those of you who say "I can't climb", I say "LEARN!" :D

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/cycling/July%2021%20Holy%20Hill/HH3139.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/cycling/July%2021%20Holy%20Hill/HH3375.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/cycling/July%2021%20Holy%20Hill/HH3327.jpg

A former team mate of mine:

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/cycling/July%2021%20Holy%20Hill/EmailHH2.jpg

Pro 1/2 on their last lap:

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/cycling/July%2021%20Holy%20Hill/EmailHH1.jpg

Cedarburg Pro 1/2.

Four riders gain half a lap and hold it. Columbia wins the sprint.

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/cycling/July%2022%20Cedarburg/CED8476.jpg

Rasaan Bahati having fun with Eddie VanGuyse

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/cycling/July%2022%20Cedarburg/CED8512.jpg

Girl from Indiana having fun being the Columbian translator:

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/cycling/July%2022%20Cedarburg/CED8503.jpg

Pro 1/2 podium from tonight. 2nd - Canada (left), 1st - Columbia (center), 3rd - Australia (right)

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc54/biffbradford/cycling/July%2022%20Cedarburg/CED8531.jpg

Your picture is much better than mine:
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h292/treebound/bicycling/7-22-08-cburg/DSC00222.jpg

The left hand corner on the back side was interesting, I saw three different people walking their bikes on the blind side of the corner in the street as the pace car was coming around the previous corner. One guy came within about 2 seconds from getting slammed by the racers in the chase group, I don't have that pic uploaded to where I can get to it from here. The course people really could have used someone on the inside of that corner.
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h292/treebound/bicycling/7-22-08-cburg/DSC00203.jpg

I rode down there on the Fillmore, probably walked right by you after the race.

Those final sprint shots in the dark are hard. The camera wants to take a long exposure when you need it short and sweet. Any movement blurs the shot. Look at those *******s with clearance to stand on the course ... they've got it easy ... I'm in the mosh pit with all the board bangers!! :rolleyes:

As soon as this memory card is done unloading, I'm peeling outta here. Fortunately I only live 5 miles from Whitnall. Keep the rubber side down boys.

See you punks today. I'm back in the saddle.

This morning I felt like I got hit by only three baseball bats. It's racing time!

Ahh, to be young, fearless, and with the magical ability to heal quickly.

Go get 'em recursive! And keep your head up, yeah? ;)

Atta boy. Just toe the line and see how it goes.

I wonder how the guy in yellow is? I mean, he crashed, then just when he thought it was over ... got clobbered again!

If you ask me, I wouldn't want to be hit in the back by a 175 lb rider going 25 mph. :o

More like 176 pounds!

And more like 35mph!

But neither would I. According to chicagobikeracing.com, he was racing the next day.

Ahh, to be young, fearless, and with the magical ability to heal quickly.

Go get 'em recursive! And keep your head up, yeah? ;)

And of course, OF COURSE!

Another crash for me. I should take up a hobby that only involves soft things. Slowly. Like sponge twirling.

And of course, OF COURSE!

Another crash for me. I should take up a hobby that only involves soft things. Slowly. Like sponge twirling.

What happened?

Hang on ... hang on ... don't go to bed yet ...

:innocent:

recursive...


:wtf:

Meh, it's a boring story, but here you go:

I basically started the race just looking for an excuse to abandon. I hung out in the back. Hard efforts were hurting my back, but the pace was feeling surprisingly relaxed. I wasn't trying to move up, but hanging on to the back of the pack felt suspiciously easy for a superweek race.

But it was not to last.

Lap 8 or 10 or something (out of 65) some dude goes down in turn 1. I think he caught a seam in the pavement. He's flying to the outside. Cool. Everyone re-adjusts to the inside. I see this. I follow suit.

Then I notice one of the avoiders has come to a complete stop. I braked hard because I was at the back. I think my rear wheel was off the ground coming out of the corner. That helped. I braked this time! So, once again, I hit a stationary guy and went over the bars. My head cushioned most of the damage.

It's ok. I still have the sheet they gave my 5 days ago about head injury symptoms. But it seems to be written in strange hieroglyphics. Also, all the exit signs on the highway were written backwards on the way home. It must be dyslexia awareness day. (kidding, I can still read, this joke would work better via some medium other than written text)

So one more helmet, and one more set of bar tape. I'm taking another day off. Then the final weekend of superweek. Maybe I'll finish a race. I've really had a terrible superweek.

Edit: I have reason to believe that once again, there are pics and videos forthcoming. Also I hung out with a BF dude after the race. Shazam was it? Damn head injuries...