Jefferson Cup, Lincoln Park Criterium, and John Fraser Time Trial

So I've done a couple races and haven't blogged about them!  Here they are:

Jefferson Cup

I went out to PA and Washington, DC for my kids spring break.  The kids had an insanely long break and Jason was able to work a bit from the road so he didn't have to take the entire time off, and we had a great time.  I always get some great riding in when we head out that way, and just for kicks I decided to see if there were any races near DC, since we'd be there on the weekend.  Sure enough, in Charlottesville, VA there was a road race.  I'd heard that it was mountainous there so I wasn't sure what business I had as a crit rider from Chicago entering the race but I decided to give it a go.  We were supposed to do 5 laps of a 10 mile circuit.  I rode well and hung in just fine on the hills.  I covered any attacks and even threw down a few of my own.  They ended up shortening our race, which was a bummer.  I was pleased to finish with the front group, but really messed up the sprint.  So I chalked the day up to a nice training ride.  I missed sight seeing at Mt.Vernon, and I was pondering my choice as I sat in horrible traffic for 3.5 hours on the way home.

Lincoln Park Crit

I was excited to race a crit, as Sarah and I are heading to Speedweek and I haven't done any fast races yet! I love races that I can ride to!  Hometown races are the best, though I always feel pressure when people are there watching, and the entire Spidermonkey team was there to cheer us on.  I jumped in the men's 1/2 race, because the pace of that race would more simulate the pace of the races at Speedweek.  This course has hairpin turn in it and it's right on the lakefront, so it's always windy.  This year the wind was coming out of the west so you came out of the hairpin directly into the headwind.  I think of myself as a pretty good cornerer but I got dropped on the hairpin every time!  I rode with a chase group for a while, but still the hairpin would get me!  After about 45 minutes I just decided I'd had enough and dropped out.  Sarah had also raced a men's race earlier in the day met me to watch our Spidermonkey cat 4 teammates race.  We had 9!! It was awesome and they did great.  PWP's Lauren Wissmen and Kelly Clarke among them.  It was a very animated cat 4 race and looked super tough-really impressive.  Then it was time for us to race.  Sarah and I were psyched to be racing together!  We took turns attacking but nothing got away.  It was frustrating but in retrospect I should have just tried harder (isn't that always the case?).  In the end I really screwed up the finish (this is starting to be a pattern this year--did I forget how to race over the winter?) and waited too long to start my lead out.  Skylar Schneider took me by surprise by jumping early and  I wasn't able to get on her wheel.  The finish line got there before I could catch her.  Sarah and I finished 2/3. 

JFTT

The next day I met my tandem partner Kim in Maple Park, IL for the John Fraser TT.  It was very nasty weather, very windy and 40 degrees with intermittent rain. Good times!  Kim and I have ridden together on the track, but never on the road.  When Kim originally asked me if I would like to do some road stuff with her, I was thinking that our first event would be in July so we'd have plenty of time to practice.  However, next weekend we are going to SC for a UCI paralympic race, and we had not ridden together once!  We are super excited, but I was nervous since we would be doing a TT and a Road Race, and I don't know how a tandem would handle.  Everyone I spoke with said it would be fine, that the track tandem is harder and if we could do that and if I knew how to race a regular road bike we'd have no problem.  Still the JFTT was going to be our only chance to practice.  It was quite a relief to get on the bike and find that we were pretty comfortable!  The only thing we encountered was on the turn arounds (there were two) we had to come to a complete stop, unclip, turn the bike and then get up to speed again.  Next weekend, the turn arounds will be wider and we should be able to take them with out stopping.  On the whole I felt great on the bike and much more comfortable going into next weekend.

Hillsboro Roubaix

My new ride:  a Titanium Litespeed T5 from GetaGripCycles

I love the Hillsboro-Roubaix Road Race.  It's our first early season road race here in the midwest.  I was sad that they moved the race to March this year (due to conflicts with Easter) and I was going to have to skip it because it fell on the last day of Chicago's PWP. My teammate Sarah wouldn't be there, she was planning on being at the Spidermonkey training camp.  I also didn't have a bike to ride, but   Get-A-Grip Cycles was planning on having my new bike ready to go the following week.

For the last 3 weeks prior to the race, I was in what you could call a funk, and found it extremely difficult to get through my rides.  I felt sick like I was fighting a cold,  felt like I pulled a hamstring, and had a very severe case of being SICK OF THE TRAINER!  

When my teammate Sarah emailed earlier in the week to say she had changed her plans and would like to go to Hillsboro, that was all I needed to hear.  I felt terrible about missing the last day of the Chicago PWP, but we had already celebrated with our brunch the week before--and lots of the participants were skipping to head to the races.  My husband offered to cover for me, my friend Cathy Frampton offered a ride, and all I needed was a bike......  Get a Grip came through and built my bike just in time to hitch a ride with Cathy down to Hillsboro on Friday.  After moving mountains and calling in so many favors, when Sarah had something come up and said she wouldn't be able to make it after all--I already had a freight train of momentum going--so somehow I found myself in Hillsboro, IL on Friday night.  

The first midwest race of the year is really just a test of what you did over the winter.  It's fun to see all the familiar faces, and catch up with everyone.  We had about 30 women in our field, including Bri Clark, Sidney Brown, and Michelle Jensen. The Wisconsin IS Corp team fielded a nice sized team, as well as the Chicago teams of Cuttin Crew and Les Petite Victoires .  We were to do two laps of a 29 mile loop.  There were some fun turns, some rollers, a little gravel and a decent little climb at the end of the lap that lead into a fun descent onto cobblestones, and then turned onto the final straightaway.  Being 4  hours south of Chicago, the weather can either be quite a bit nicer, or it can be just as crappy as it is here.  This year, we lucked out and got a sunny and 50 degree day!  I was so happy to be out on the open roads.  But it made coming home to snow so much crazier. 

My goal for the race was just to see where my fitness was,  and of course, make the break.  I was so excited to ride my new titanium Litespeed T5, with Sram Red.  I have never ridden titanium and I had to admit I was curious how it would handle.  

There was lots of jitteriness in the field which seemed to last the whole race.  It was fairly obvious this was the first ride off the trainer for a lot of us.  I was excited to find that I had no trouble maintaining great position.  I was able to respond when there were attacks, bridge up when something looked promising, and the few times there were splits in the field I was on the right end of them.  When we hit the hill at the end of the first lap I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was right there at the top and felt just fine.  The fast descent was fun, and the cobble stones were scary but manageable--I knew that on the next (and final) lap it was going to be a lot faster, and I felt ready!  We got neutralized for a bit at the start of the second lap and when we restarted a woman directly in front of me completely crashed out.  I skidded and got around her unscathed.  This year would be the first (that I've ridden this race)where no break got away.  The field settled in crawling toward the finish.  As we approached the hill on our final lap, I started to entertain hopes of a good placing.  I hit the top with the leaders and then began the crazy mad descent into the cobblestones.  On the cobblestone stretch, Hayley from IS Corp and Bri were in front with me, Cady from LPV and another rider fighting for position.  I don't know what happened but the other woman completely flew up into the air and I swear I saw her carbon front wheel completely sideways.  All I know is that I got around her and never looked back.  It was my second narrow escape of the day.  Next thing I remember is that Bri and Hayley were up the road and I came around Cady for third.  Cady told me afterward that the woman had crashed on her, and Cady managed to shove her back upright, and nobody went down.  I was thrilled with a third place podium finish, and even more that I felt very comfortable on my bike and it handled well and got me out of some tight situations.  

1st Hayley Giddens, 2nd Bri Clark, 3rd Kristen Meshberg, 4th Cady Chintis, 5th Jen Campbell

Half Acre Beginner Women's Road Racing Clinic

Last weekend my Spidermonkey teammate Sarah Rice and I lead a Beginner Women's Road Racing clinic sponsored by the Half Acre Cycling Team.  We spent the first part inside talking about my favorite topic: bike racing!!  Hopefully people got some questions answered, and have a better idea of what to expect in their first racing experience.  The second part of the clinic was spent practicing some skills outside.  It was tons of fun, and I was really impressed with the amount of enthusiasm we have from the women here in Chicago.   Good luck everyone--see you at the races!

PWP's Kelly Clarke's 2012 Gravel Metric race report

The Gravel Metric  is a gravel race in Dekalb, IL in May.   To get us started thinking about race season, (Barry-Roubaix, another gravel race in Michigan is just around the corner on March 23) here is Chicago PWP's (and my Spidermonkey Teammate) Kelly Clarke's race report from last year's Gravel Metric race:

In the midst of indoor training season and ice cold commutes, I am caught thinking back to warmer times. Much warmer times. The Gravel Metric was one of the hottest days this past summer. The Fahrenheit’s tapped out at about 105, but Garmins gave readings of up to 112 when the sun was beating off the pavement sections. The Gravel Metric is a 62 mile race put on by Axeltree in Dekalb, IL, out of the North Central Cyclery shop. There are three checkpoints, with water and support. The race starts and ends at the shop. Then there's a fun after party at Fatty's, a local bar with raffles and prizes.

2012 was my first go at this storied race. I remember wanting to do it in 2011, but I was busy with a friend's wedding activities and watched the horrific storm roll in from a hotel in St. Charles. While I knew another torrential downpour was unlikely, I hoped for a similar epicness. It was given in the record heat.

 Photo by Chad Gregory

Going into this race, I did not have a competitive mindset. I wanted to finish. I wanted to stay hydrated and not bonk in the heat. Seriously, group rides were a success if I drank from my water bottle twice. I hadn't gotten used to such maneuvers when riding so close to others. I tried to drink a lot of water on the way to the race, and decided 2 water bottles and one bottle of Gatorade in my jersey pocket could suffice, along with some shot blocks. The Gatorade bottle could be discarded at one of the three check points/rest stops. With the heat, I wanted to be hydrated, but I also didn't want anything extra to make the ride more difficult.

There was a mass start with a neutral roll out. I rolled out with Annette Stahlin, Jen Groen and Mike Abene. We tried to start at a decent spot without going all out to get there. I didn't feel good at the start. I was nervous. Cat 4 Women don't often get the opportunity to participate in a 62 mile race, let alone with gravel and questionable terrain. Our races are generally half that distance, if that. And there were heat advisories to boot!

I don't really remember what happened between then and the first checkpoint, but I arrived by myself. The wind and the gravel had broken our group apart. Just before the checkpoint, I had eaten some shot blocks. When I arrived, Erica Jeanne nicely told me I had some still left in my teeth. I wasn't not used to keeping up on nutrition during rides. But I promptly drank a bunch of water and made sure my teeth were not gross. She also told me I was in third place for the women at this point. I did not believe her at all. I saw five ladies pass me who I did not pass back, so this could not be true. I guess some might have been on tandems? Well, after a season of lusting after 20th place, I decided I should try to hold this fictitious third place. Maybe I could have my best finish ever in this race? Funny how a goal so close to reality could be so motivating. I could see Annette not far behind, but instead of waiting I picked up my cadence and tried to catch the women ahead of me. One I caught not one mile after. She was on the side of the road talking with a group of guys, resting.

I found myself riding near a pair of Pegasus guys and a Half Acre guy on some rolling hills. One said, 'Come with us.' I got on their wheels, tried to take my share of pulls. This was amazing. I had never working with a group of people in a race before, and here I was working with a group of guys. I told the Half Acre guy, " I owe you a beer after this," and I was serious. John Casey, I still owe you a beer. Then a loose gravel section came up. We were riding on the edge of the road, because the middle seemed to uncertain, and just beyond was tall grass and plants. I felt like I was riding at my max. It was scary. I wasn't used to riding this fast on gravel. I wasn't really used to riding on gravel at all. Maybe my fear was a self-fulfilling prophecy, but I crashed. My group of guys kept going. The guys hesitated, I yelled at them to keep going.

A long gravel road. Photo by John Castro

I really wasn't hurt. I regrouped and kept going, albeit much slower, and now alone. When I got out of the gravel I stopped to assess. My saddle was turned almost 90 degrees. My shifter was also knocked out of balance. As I stood there defeated and fighting with my bike, PJ and Dave Loring came out of nowhere. They helped me get my shit back together and we were off again. More crazy terrain was in store for us. Once muddy roads were cooked with deep, hard tire tracks. There was no way to tell which line was best. High or low? Middle or edge? Pick and pray. PJ took some nasty falls. We all did.

PJ and Dave had passed me by the time I reached the second check point. I saw them there, and Jen Groen. Instead of taking my time to get water, I got my stamp and kept going. I didn't really think I needed rest, and I wanted to get as far ahead as possible. I figured I could make up some time not stopping and PJ and Dave would certainly catch up to me. I was able to pass another woman in the single track section. And PJ and Dave caught back up, so we started to ride together again. There was a water section that wasn't too deep but who really knew? I was really cautious upon approaching, but the three of us made it through. (We weren't all so lucky)

 Robert Higgins taking a spill. (Photo credit Chad Gregory)

I was keeping up with my water and nutrition. My knee ached slightly from the fall earlier, but it wasn't bad. I thought it was probably going to be sore the next day, and I should remember to stretch after this race. Some people were having definite issues with the heat and needing to stop. I kept thinking about Icarus. I wanted to do as well as I could, but not push myself to the brink like some people were. It's hard to gauge your body's limitations in excessive weather conditions. Shortly before the worst/best part of the race, I lost the dynamic duo again. So I faced the pin needle by myself.

I will call the worst/best part of the race the pin needle. The course turned right and headed for a couple miles on a steady incline. The checkpoint was at the top of this incline, then you headed right back down the same road. So as you're dying, trying to make it to the last checkpoint, all these people are flying down the hill in the other direction, having stopped and rested, on their way to the finish. It was so taunting! I dug in, caught up with a large group and hung on. I saw the first place lady headed downhill. At the check point, I saw PJ, Dave, and the second place girl. I got my stamp and kept on.

On the awesome downhill I caught up to an Iron Cycles guy, and we started exchanging pulls. It was difficult and fun trying to keep at his pace. We chatted a little about cyclocross, but not a lot, as the gravel roads warrented a lot of concentration. We passed the first place girl pretty quickly and were keeping a good pace. I was still trying to drink a lot of water. About 8 miles from the finish, one mile from the end of the gravel, I got a flat.

My new Iron Cycles friend, Dominick Casey, stopped with me. I was impatient, exhausted and slightly delirious. I thought maybe I could use a CO2 cartridge to see if it was just a pinch flat and the tube might hold air. The tire went flat right away. We grabbed our stuff and moved 100 feet down the road where Chris Jensen and some other people were hanging out in the shade. I slowly started to change my tire. It was one thing to keep a competitive mindset while pace lining, but a whole different story with the defeat of a flat. A woman rode by and Chris Jensen said, "There goes your first place finish." I agreed. Dominick was surprised. He had no idea. He said if he know he would have made me change my tire faster or do something more to help. I was so tired; I really just wanted to finish at this point. PJ and Dave stopped when they saw me, and the second place girl passed shortly after. We regrouped and headed towards the finish.

The last seven miles were terrible. It was on pavement, so it was easier to pedal (even though I am pretty everyone's legs felt like they were about to fall off at that point). But riding on the black asphalt was about 10-15 degrees warmer than riding on the white gravel. I finished the race with PJ, Dave, and Dominick. Third place - which didn't really matter in this race, but it meant a lot to me, because it was technically the best finish I had ever had. It helped me gain confidence for the rest of the season. And the race itself taught me a lot about keeping a positive mindset, staying hydrated and working with people. While the race was grueling, it was crazy amounts of fun, and will definitely be on the top of my To Do list.

PJ and I going through the water. Photo by Chad Gregory

Pedaling With a Purpose 2012-2013 Info

PWP is a winter training program designed to help all levels of cyclists get through the Chicago Winter.

It's hard to believe Pedaling With a Purpose has been helping people achieve their goals for 9 years now!

This year PWP is in 3 locations.  In addition to the city and suburban Hinsdale locations, we now have an Oak Park location.  We'll meet in Oak Park on Tuesday mornings from 9:30-10:30am.  Pick the location and times that work best for you.  New for this year:  any PWP punchcard holder can attend any of the locations.

New to PWP?  Too much information? Email me with questions:  kmeshberg@comcast.net

Chicago:
2003 W. Fulton, First Floor
Wednesdays 7-8:30pm
Saturdays 9-11:30pm































Hinsdale:
Hartley's Cycle Shop
24 W Hinsdale, Ave
Thursdays 7:30-9pm
Sundays 8-10:30am
Click here for Brochure

Oak Park
Greenline Wheels
105 S. Marion St.
Tuesdays 9:30-10:30 am
Click here for Brochure

Elite Track Nationals, Carson, CA

I have wanted to go to track nationals ever since 2006 but to me the track represents fear and intimidation.  Being an adrenaline junkie it also represents a pretty big rush, and the idea of overcoming the fear and accomplishing something so hard is a huge draw for me. Other drawbacks are that it's quite a lot of money to spend to go compete at something where I don't know what I'm doing, and falling at the end of September I'm usually tired from the year of racing on the road and the idea of staying sharp and fit until then is overwhelming.  

This year some things changed.  One is that I got a spot on the Garner Cyclery Track team, and was able to ride with and get invaluable advice from some very experienced track racers.  I sought out and received excellent advice on everything from training, equipment,  how to warm up, and all of the logistics involved. And one of the positives about crashing in the middle of the season and taking 4 weeks off, is that now I was feeling pretty fresh and good.  I'd had a really positive experience at Omnium nationals back in August, and felt like this was the year to head to Los Angeles!

I had attended nationals last year as a pilot on a tandem with my visually impaired partner, Kim Borowicz.  The original plan was to go and ride with Kim again this year, and also compete in the individual endurance events.  However, Kim got sick and was unable to train, and did not get better in time to make the trip.  It was such a bummer, and I debated whether or not to go. At the final hour, I just decided to go anyway.  Lucky for me my Garner teammates Jeff and Jason G let me tag along with them.  

Garner Cyclery teammates Jason Garner and Jeff Whiteman

I was going to compete in the Individual Pursuit, the Scratch race, and the Points race.  My events were going to be on Thursday morning, Thursday night, and Saturday night.  I was hoping to find a team pursuit team to jump in with on Friday, and I could have been convinced to jump in the Madison race on Sunday, had I been able to find a partner, but everyone there was pretty much set with teams.  While watching the team pursuit I was overcome with the very strong feeling that WE NEED MORE WOMEN FROM CHICAGO GOING TO THIS!!!!  Goal for next year: we need to field a women's team pursuit team and at least one or two madison teams!!  There is no reason we can't make this happen and be competitive!  

Because the training is so specific, most track racers specialize in either the sprint or the endurance events.  I am an endurance rider and Jeff and Jason G are sprinters, but Jeff also jumped in the scratch race, which is an endurance event.  

My first event was the pursuit.  The pursuit is a time trial event where you and one other rider are on the track at the same time.  You start on opposite sides of the track and "pursue" each other.  The start is a standing start, and then you go as hard as you can for 3 kilometers.  Everyone goes at least once, and then the top 4 riders go on to a final round, to determine first through fourth places.  If you get passed by your opponent in the qualifying round, you keep going so you can get a time.  If you get passed in the final round, they shoot the gun, the race stops, and you have a winner and a loser.    Most people have predetermined splits and they have a coach on the track with a stopwatch yelling out their times.  Since I have only done the pursuit one other time, we decided that I would just wing it and based on my time I would figure out splits for next time.   

Bike check

Before each event, you must get your bike checked to make sure that your position is legal.  If you've seen the movie The Flying Scotsman,  you know what I'm talking about.  Prior to coming to LA, I had actually sawed off the front of my saddle, because I was unable to get it into a legal position otherwise. 

Sidney helping Peter make my saddle UCI legal

Since I hadn't competed on my bike in it's current position, the first thing I did when we arrived Friday morning was have my bike checked to  make sure it was legal.  The officials will do this as a courtesy, but you still need to get it "officially" checked immediately before your event.  I was told I was good to go.  When it was time to go, Jason G took my bike over to the bike check and I went and sat in the waiting area.  I could see there was trouble, and I saw Jason G and Jeff getting tools and adjusting my seat.  I was so grateful for their help and I did not get nervous.  Had I been involved I would have been completely frazzled.  Apparently my seat was not horizontal, and the officials had changed their mind on whether or not I needed to have it fixed to compete.  

Jason G finished the adjustments and had my bike ready within minutes of my start time!  In the starting gate I thought of everyone that helped me get there, and all the effort it took.  I was ready!  But when the gun went off even though I'd practiced a ton of standing starts, I still messed it up.  Bleh.  I ended up getting passed about 2K in and when she went around me I was able to kick it up a notch and match the pace she was keeping....obviously I was not going hard enough in the beginning.  I think she was also using me as a carrot and probably slowed a bit after she passed me.  But I was in a tough spot, as it's illegal to draft or repass someone after they pass you.  When my competitor's race ended on the opposite side of the track, I still had half a lap to go.  Instead of pulling up track and out of the way, she sat up and slowed down, blocking my path.  I was yelling at her to get out of the way (if I really was doing a pursuit effort where did I get the breath to yell???) and finally at a quarter lap she pulled up.  I was mad, but mainly I was mad that I'd gotten passed.  I should have been going harder from the beginning.  Even with those mishaps I still posted a 4:10 which was good enough for 11th place, and it was 8 seconds faster than my last pursuit.  

about to get passed in the pursuit
photo courtesy of Erika Fulk

Next up was my scratch race, the race that I felt most confident in.  I've raced a ton of scratch races in my life and it's also the race most like a criterium, which is what I consider my specialty.  However, it's also a mass start race which means there's tons of riders on the track, and the possibility for crashing.  Crashes happen all the time in bike racing, and I feel way more confident about how to avoid them on the road.  I'm getting better on the track, but I still have some very real fear.  I was feeling good until 20 minutes before the race, and then the panic set in.  Somehow I got to the line, and when the race started I was able to settle in and be ok.  The race was fast and I rode hard.  I did have some some good efforts where I tried to bridge up to two riders who were off the front, but I was unable to close the gap, and spent the second half of the race unable to move up and finished at the back of the pack.  I was disappointed since I had had high hopes for this race. 

Scratch Race: If only that was the finish line :)
photo courtesy of Erika Fulk

My final event of the week was the points race.  Jason G had gone over a plan for the race with me and I felt really good about it. Going into the race the fear was there and I couldn't shake it.  I followed the plan as best as my legs would allow, but my legs felt terrible.  About 30 laps into the 100 lap race, I felt the fight go out of me.  About a lap after that there was a crash and 3 or 4 riders went down.  In a mass start race, they allow 5 laps for crashed riders to jump back in, and after I rolled around a couple times watching them on the sidelines, not getting up right away, I just decided to quit.  They all ended up being fine and jumping back in the race, but I pulled myself from the race and ended my nationals experience disappointed but safe.

Jeff and Jason G rode well in all their events, but most exciting was their medal in the Team Sprint!  

Jason G and Jeff and their Oregon guest rider Dan Birman winning Bronze in the Team Sprint

Liam Donoghue, John Tomlinson, Tom Briney, and Dave Moyer from XXX did Chicago proud in the team pursuit, and Liam had fantastic rides in the Individual Pursuit and Points race, earning a silver and bronze respectively.  Chicago rider Danny Robertson from WDT won bronze in the Keirin, and silver in the team sprint. Great job Chicago!  Only thing missing was more Chicago women!

Hanging out with Jennie Reed

Another highlight of the weekend was getting to meet Jennie Reed, who most recently won a silver medal in the Team Pursuit in London this summer, and was a super good sport about getting her picture taken with me :) 

And I got to see my old friend Laurel who is from California and one of the people who got me into this whole bike racing thing in the first place.  She was there competing in the team pursuit. 

In the end I was pleased with my effort but disappointed with my scratch race results, surprisingly happy with my pursuit, and just plain bummed by my points race.  I learned a lot and gained a TON of confidence.  I am hooked, and I definitely want to train harder and come back next year! 

When I think about it how many people helped me get out there,  I get a little choked up.  Just know that I thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

And finally, if you have 3 hours, here's a Video of Saturday night's session