Burning Quads

     The good thing that came out of wrecking my bike was that I realized Shannon's bike is worn out. She has been riding junk. She just didn't know how bad it was. It's the only road bike she has ever ridden. I felt obligated to upgrade her to Shimano 10-speed. I got her a mix of Ultegra and 105 parts. She can now use my wheels and has crisp shifting. I also bought her a new set of Easton EA 90 SL wheels which will be great for her. They are fairly light wheels that are also smooth, durable and affordable.

     I am happy to report that we are eating quite a few things from the garden now. It just keeps getting bigger and producing more. Here's a picture of a bowl of things we picked one night a few weeks ago.

One day's pickings from our garden

     I have also had to fight against the bugs more this year. I don't like using pesticides. I don't really want to eat anything that will kill a bug. Instead, we opt for more natural alternatives, such as a mixture of hot sauce, soap and water. It doesn't kill the bugs (or us), but rather the smell/taste makes the plants unappealing so they just leave. The downfall is that it only lasts until they are rained on or watered. Then you have to reapply. It's keeping most of the bugs away though, including tomato worms like this big one we found the other day.

    The next race on the schedule for me was The Burning Quad Criterium in Evansville, IN. This was the first time ever running a criterium in downtown Evansville. I was still without a bike, so I made sure to get Shannon's bike built up the day before the race. She got to ride the bike that afternoon and of course it rained on us, so after a morning full of bike building I had to then clean the bike up again in the evening. I went out for an easy spin Sunday morning and got wet again. Ahhh! Why does it always rain when you ride anything new?!

     I had to leave church early to head up to Evansville. Dina tagged along with me since she was off work and had nothing to do. It rained most of the drive north, but then the clouds parted just before we hit the Indiana state line. The promoters did a good job with the course, incorporating the nice boat ramp and amphitheater area that sits out front of Evansville along the big Ohio River. The flyer said we would be going through a parking garage, but it turned out to be just the parking lot right next to the parking garage. I was hoping for some excitement!

     The course was a tough 1.2-mile loop. It began with a flat stretch to a sweeping, nearly 180-degree turn 1. The course then descended down to the boat ramp along the edge of the river. As always with bike racing, what goes down must come up. There was a steep climb out from the boat ramp. It wasn't long, but it hurt. The legs would be screaming here for sure, hence the name of the race, Burning Quad. The hill was quickly followed by a sharp 180-degree turn, then a long power stretch. There was a slight uphill around the parking garage before taking some bricks down to the finish straight.

     I had a good warm-up on the trainer. I was disappointed to see only 19 riders on the start line. There was good payout here. I really expected 50+ to show up for this race with that much money up for grabs. The start of our 60-minute race was very fast. There were gaps forming already after the first time up the hill. I was much, much more patient today than I was at the Parkview race in Ft. Wayne. The patience did not pay off today though, as starting lap 2 we were already busted into four groups. I found myself at the back of the third group. I knew I would blow up if I jumped across the gap, so I stayed put and hoped that things would come back together. Well, it didn't come back together. Four laps into the race I was in solo chase mode. That's what happens when you have a Pro/1/2/3 event featuring some really fast Pros and some Cat. 3s. The range is just too big and gaps happen in a hurry.

Masters heading down to the boat ramp along the Ohio River

 Nobody was walking their bikes today

Cat. 3s on the bricks

     Riding by myself was not exactly fun. There was a big headwind down by the boat ramp. I was fast up the hill though and eventually caught two riders ahead of me. After a few laps, I dropped them and was again by myself. Then the lead group lapped me, dragging two riders across to me. All three of us were dropped after a lap or two and began our own chase group. The hill was killing most of the guys, especially once we passed the 30-minute mark. Again, I dropped my two companions and was left alone. I had great legs and was able to hold a very high heart rate even out by myself.

Pro/1/2/3 start line

Front group forming in the early laps

Me hooked onto the back of a Team Whayne rider

     I ended up getting lapped three times by the leaders. I hooked onto the main group for the last 10 minutes. The break out front had lapped the main group once and had lapped most of riders multiple times. It really was a split-up race. I was pumped to have been able to maintain a good pace for the full race and average 22.5 mph for 65 minutes. It was a tough day on a challenging course. I hit that climb hard every lap. The quads were definitely burning!

     There are two videos posted below. The first is general clips, the second is highlights of my race from the Handlebar Cam.

The Burning Quad Criterium video

Bar Cam Highlights from the Pro/1/2/3 race

    Overall, I think it was a great race and I would love to come back. I hope they will modify the course a bit and consider racing it on Saturday night. The Evansville downtown is a great place for an evening crit. The city really came out to support the race, so I would love to see a night race with a big crowd. Maybe next year?...

    Now resting begins before the final target race of the year, the Gateway Cup in St. Louis. Until then, ride hard and make the quads burn!