Gear Masher

Groundhog CX

2011-02-25T11:20:00.001-06:00

Gene (40+), Luke(30+), and i (50+)did the masters race. 1 of us in each category. 15 total in the race 5 in each cat. we did ok, i dont know how Luke and Gene did in their cat and over all. I hung in ok, wasnt last, but on the last lap about 100 yds from the end, the rear wheel picked up a branch and it snapped the rear derailleur off, i started running-walking, but the guy (only 1, damn) behind me passed me. i got to the road that is the last part of the lap, got on the bike and Jon gave me a push, then i propelled myself by pushing on the road with my right leg like i was on a scooter. anyway i finished DFL, but i finished. now i have to get a rear derailleur and hanger. First race and i broke.

Jason, Aaron, Gene and Jon raced the Senior open, didnt take long for Jason to lap most of the field and some of them twice. He picked up first place by a big margin.

the following race was the classic-open, cross bikes only, Jason signed up and took this race with almost as big a gap as the prior race.

2 First's for Jason, Great job man.

Too fat again.

2011-01-25T11:56:00.004-06:00

It's been so long since I've posted and I'm heavy again. I've got to lay off the beer in the off season. Like that will happen anytime soon, maybe for a little while anyway.

Picked up a cyclocross bike in Dec. I went to a few races in the fall to watch and it looked like great fun. Racers are very laid back, having a good time. Oh, and they do beer hand-ups, I'll fit right in. Been riding local hiking trails and gravel-snowy roads for training. my first cx race is Feb 20th. Tour de Groundhog near Springfield Il.
So I've 4 weeks to shed a few more pounds, i also need to get out and practice running barriers, that should help get some weight off.
Also, I'll try to keep this blog a little more current.
later
Karl

2009-12-22T14:19:00.000-06:00

Winter Doldrums, feeling tired, lazy and fat. Hurry up Spring..

Roto Q Rings

2009-10-23T13:22:00.001-05:00

I bought a set of time trial rings awhile back, (May) on the advice of a friend. I also did some research and found some good write ups on various cycling sites.
I also came across a place that had the rings on sale so i decided to get a set for my road bike. The TT rings are 54-42 and the road bike is compact so I ordered 52-36 for it. The installation was easy, they provide good instructions. They also recommend riding 300 miles or so in position 3 to get used to them, then move them to a position that works for your riding style. I skipped that and went to the masher (less cadence) position (4) from the start.

I've used them all season and i do feel they have helped me get a little more power to the road and i haven't felt any unusual knee or leg pain. Haven't used them on any long steep climbs yet, we'll see how they do next spring at the SI training camp.

2009-10-08T14:28:00.001-05:00

Working on setting up moble blogging

40k Time Trial

2009-06-28T17:06:00.002-05:00

Did my first 40k time trial yesterday, it was near the town of Paw Paw. Luke, John Betenia and I left Rantoul at 5:30 for the drive up. We made it with plenty of time to reg and get in some warmup time. The weather was good and wind was fair. We took off from the start 1 min behind each other. I was feeling good and was hoping to have a good result. Never having done 40k, i didnt know how hard i could go and still have enough to finish. i finished in 1hr 5 min. and had energy left, i could have rode harder. oh well, now i know and will work harder on the next one.
Ave mph was 23. I'm going to work to break an hour by Drubers race in Aug.

Put on my Q rings on both bikes today, hope i can get some speed from them.

Cracked

2009-06-25T10:04:00.002-05:00

Man, did I crack last evening during our ride. Did ok till the rise going into Monticello then it seemed like nothing was there, no power, no anything. All I can think of is that the heat (90* plus) did me in. I've never been able to take it well for long. I'm racing this Sat and the temps are supposed to still be up there, hopefully I'll get to go early before it gets too hot.

TT, PB

2009-06-17T08:58:00.002-05:00

Did our teams second TT last evening. I did the 10.85 distance in 27:10 (23.96 ave), 9 seconds shy of my personal best last year. I hope to take a full minute off that by mid-season, getting a 25mph ave. would be great.
Druber showed up, busting the course in 23:19 a 27.9 mph ave. he's a TT monster.

Solo

2009-06-15T11:24:00.002-05:00

I had to work last Saturday, but i get off at 12:00. After i had lunch with my wife i got ready for a ride to Bloomington. My sister-in-law was having a Graduation - Birthday party for her daughter and husband, i wanted to get some miles in so i decided to ride over. i had plenty of time since the party was at 5:00. I left town at 2:10, i seemed to be sluggish had a hard time keeping a pace, ( i was hoping for 19mph) but the wind even though slight was against me. After about 30 miles my legs started feeling better and i was able to speed up. 56 miles later i arived at the party feeling pretty good and i wound up with a 17.5 ave. this has been my longest solo ride so far, may try for a solo century sometime.

Sunday, Luke and I got out the TT bikes for some training, Art came along also. We rode around 32 miles working hard for most of it. I hope to see some results on Tuesday.
I need to get those rings on..

Today

2009-06-13T09:20:00.004-05:00

Only a few WildCards racing today, will report results. Good luck all.
Next week though, most of the team is headed to Kankakee for the Cobb park crit. I feel we'll get some podiums.

Broken

2009-06-12T07:03:00.000-05:00

Thats me.

Rings

2009-06-10T10:06:00.003-05:00

Bought some new chain rings for my TT and road bike. Q-rings, supposed to help eliminate the dead spot and provide a better power stroke. Photo is of the rings for the TT. I hope to have them on for the next Tues. nite Time Trail and see if they help.
I need as much help as I can get.

Weight

2009-06-09T15:32:00.003-05:00

Having a hard time this year dropping pounds, I just can't seem to say no to certain foods. The will power has weakened. Maybe I'll have a beer and think about what to do.

Off

2009-06-07T16:50:00.002-05:00

took today off, off the bike that is.
i rode 60 miles yesterday with a good size group. we went to Tuscola, then west a ways then back to Urbana. i had a 20.5 ave, Luke and a few others amped it up about 1/2 way back, i hung for awhile then fell off the back. something i'm used to, but i am hanging on longer each ride.
so today i felt like taking a break from the bike, been doing a lot of work in my back yard and on our house and i think i'm getting a little tired. i'd like to sell the house and get a condo maybe, anything to have less maintenance and yard work. more ridn and racn time that way. Anyone looking for a 3bd rm house? motivated seller..

Wed's Ride 6-3

2009-06-04T15:15:00.003-05:00

Last night's ride was a lively one. 18 riders showed up and we headed out into the wind headed to Flatville. The pace was fast even though we had a 15 mph cross wind, my ave. was over 20 going out. After the turn around the pace picked up even more and the group started to fall apart after a few miles. I was able to hang on longer than usual, but hooked up with Paul and we worked together picking up John S. then the 3 of us stuck together all the way back.
When we got to the park I checked my ave for the 47 mile ride, 21.5 mph, not bad. I feel that maybe my form is finally starting to come around and as always the beer tasted great.

TT Bike

2009-06-04T14:07:00.005-05:00

Built up a Time Trial bike over the winter, did some local TT races last fall and I did fairly well, so I wanted to start doing the Chicago TT Race series. Well, this year it doesn't look like there's going to be any Chicago races. So I'm looking all over for TT races, I've found some, but have to travel quite further than I wanted to get to them. Long drives for races that usually last less than 1/2 hr! So it looks like I'll be mainly doing the local race. Luke and I and maybe John B. are planning to go to one near Paw Paw Il. in a few weeks, its a 40k race and the local race is approx 18k, so I need to start training for distance.
May start riding the TT on our Wed. nite rides to get longer distances on it.

Web Page

2008-12-18T09:57:00.003-06:00

Teams new web page.

www.wildcardcycling.org

Blue Island

2008-07-15T12:48:00.002-05:00

Five members went up to Chicago burbs for some racing last Sat.
Thomas broke out front with another racer and stayed out for some time, due to the help of the Luke, Rob, Mark, and Dan. On the last lap Thomas was pulled in but was still able to stay up front and finish 2nd with Mark stretching for 3rd.