Gopher Wheelmen Cycling Club

From: Lee Penn
Date: Nov 12, 2007 5:01 PM

Good afternoon rodents!

Rum River – what a race. I think this was my hardest race of the
season, to be honest. I had been traveling earlier in the week, and I
had some asthma. I felt pretty good and pretty strong but not really
100%.

Going into the very last race of the CRY competition, I was in third
position with 111 points after six races. The two women in front of
me were June and Kris, both with 121 points totalled from their seven
best races. So, I knew I needed to do well in this race in order to
win CRY for the C2s….If one or both of them had beaten me, I needed
at least a third place finish in order to win CRY.

Ok – so, now I’m a little nervous. I’ve had the best luck – no
mechanicals – only minor crashes – no problems to speak of in my six c
races (although it really is strange how I seem to gain new bruises
after every race no matter whether I crash or not). So, I’m kind of
nervous that I’m going to have some kind of a problem that will mean I
will DNF or DFL or something like that.

I rode with Sara to Milaca (thanks for the ride Sara!), and then she
and I pre-rode the course together. It was a long and fast course
with a funky bridge with widely spaced boards, a section of very soft
sandy gravel, quite a bit of single track, some grassy sections, and
two run-ups.

I ended up riding the course four times (seems to be my magic number)
before lining up for the c-race. For the first time, the officials
decided to start the women separately. Most of the C2s wanted the
separate start… Some of the C2s did not (I was in this category).
I’m not sure what motivated that decision…. As a result, the faster
of the women had to contend with passing the slower of the men and
juniors.

So, the men and juniors go off before us. We waited about 45 seconds
before our start. As usual, I had a terrible start, compounded by a
dropped chain upon my approach to the first barrier (has never
happened to me). I ran up the run-up and then fixed my chain before
hopping onto my bike and ending up in something like 8th position,
maybe worse. Crud! This is NOT good. After the bridge, there is a
small descent into the soft, sandy, gravelly section, in which I was
almost taken out by another rider – she had some priceless verbage to
go with her wild swerving trajectory…. After she regained control
of her bike and I knew I could pass her without crashing, I laid it
out and pushed my pace hard. I quickly overtook two or three women.

At this point, leading into the first bit of single track, I think I
was in fourth position. Actually, that might have been after the full
first lap. Right, the laps of red just sort of melt together, making
it difficult to exactly remember what happened during each lap.

Anyway, June, Kris, and grey t-shirt were ahead of me leading into the
single track. I just held my position as I don’t have loads of
experience in this section while both Kris and June have single track
experience. On the grassy section, I pushed the pace hard, gaining on
them at the barrier and the barrier/run-up. June, Kris, and GreyT
were riding very strongly, and I was wheezing. Crud!

End of what I think was the third lap – the laps really do kind of run
together when you’re red-lining and wheezing – I passed June on the
barrier/run-up leading to the bridge section – I seem to like
attacking on run-ups, to be honest.

Then, the descent – I could see Kris in orange and GreyT ahead.

Fourth (or fifth?) lap – I passed GreyT after the bridge… I pass
Kris on the sandy gravelly road. She passed me on the double strip of
gravelly road. I decided to stay right with her on the single track
(she’s better than me on the single track) – carefully following her
every line and matching her pace (I think that was a really smart move
on my part!). Then, on the grass, right at the first barrier, I
passed her for good. Last lap, I kept my pace high and attempted to
pretend that I was not asthmatic (it was nothing like Red Barn,
actually). I focused on making NO errors. Finish had me outsprinting
Bruce, which was satisfying….

This race FELT harder than the other six races I had finished. It was
so rewarding to suffer so but end with success! I was tired at the
end, but lined up for the b-race anyway. Heck, I had paid my five
bux! Although I did go get some food, I didn’t do what I had planned
- spinning about until the start. Instead, I got kind of cold and so
on while chatting with people and just being generally pleased with
the world that I had really raced hard to an excellent result! And, I
knew I had won CRY/C2 – what a trip!

So, I’m lined up for the b-race, and I have a terrible start…. Sound
familiar? I have GOT to learn this start thing. Sara tells me that
you just have to hurt hurt hurt… Ok. Note to self – ignore the
fact that your bod apparently prefers to have a little bit of a warmup
prior to total all out redlining…. Right – back to the race. My
goal for this race was simple – finish. Everytime I remounted, I got
a hard knot in my left calf – people talk about cramps, but I never
had experienced the pain described. Yeah, now I get that. Note to
self – spinning between races is super important! As I was riding, I
saw that I was actually catching up to a couple of people in front of
me – my MO, I guess (crappy start followed by increased pace and
improved race position). But… that was just until the last three
laps. I did decide to pull out of the path of the lead group… and I
was FREAKIN’ TIRED!!!! I saw Charlie walking with his bike – I
offered him my bike (hoping he would say – SURE!!! Thanks!!! Nope -
he didn’t. Dangit, I really did have to finish that race). With two
laps to go, I just had nothing left. So, I just went for the finish.
On my last go up the second run-up, I ran half and then just walked
the second half. I didn’t even pedal on the road after the descent.
And, I signed “D” “F” “L” upon finishing. Indeed, I was 54th out of
54 finishers (or so the official told me). And, Michael – THANK YOU
for the handups during the B-race!!!!! You did a great job.

All in all, an immensely satisfying pair of races followed by a pair
of Summits that really just put the icing on my very very
sweeeeeeeeeeeeet CRY cake!

All rodents racing seemed to have strong races.

Yeah – I’m totally addicted to CX! More please!

Lee

Click below to get the full results for the 2007 Red Barn CX Classic

Read the rest of this entry »

From: Lee Penn
Date: Nov 5, 2007 12:54 PM

Well, what a fantabulous weekend for me!
I got to race both – yes BOTH weekend races!

Ham Lake – second
Lined up with a very good start position and the desire for an
excellent start – was hit from the right by June, who was hit on her
right by a junior – ended up losing loads of time there are the start.
Had some work to do in order to regain a strong position. I thought
this was a great course, and I learned a lot navigating the soft sandy
sections and the mud pit. I don’t know if I could have beaten Emily
(c-rider 2006) if I had had a stronger start…. but I couldn’t catch
her by the end of the race. I need more single track experience so
that I can reduce lost time on hard turns on challenging terrain….
I was soooo happy to see other rodents racing well in this race (and
the next race too!).

Drome race – FIRST!

Driving up to Blaine, my friend Carl (I rode up with him) says to me,
looks like we’ll be racing about two feet above the water table…. I
pre-rode this course four times – once with my friend Carl, who’s a
pretty strong B-racer. As we were going aroudn the course – he
corrected himself, noting that we were going to be racing BELOW the
water table at times… (aka – trench of death). I got some good
advice from Sara regarding lines to take etc… There was the one
left turn//up on the switchback section that took me three tries (two
crashes) to figure out how to ride.

Lined up with a very good start position, but somehow I didn’t have
that whateveritisthatidon’thave holeshot push whatever… First lap -
I was in fifth position. Right, my work was cut out for me. I felt
strong, and by the end of lap three (I think), I was in first
position. At this point, my focus was to keep my speed up but not
make any mistakes… Ditch of death was in reasonable shape during
most of the c race – I rode it with no problems. On my second to last
lap, the guy right in front of me endo-ed, so I jumped off and ran it
in order to avoid his bike and legs…. Then, when returning along
the trench of death, I went down in a big smooshy mud puddle… Yeah
baby. At this point, I was in first position, so I jumped up quickly
and ran the bike to a reasonably solid spot before remounting – good
remount – only a small amount of time lost. Last ditch of death – I
ran it… Last trench of death – I went down again…. Finished first
for the c2s! I was soooo happy! This course was absurd! Just absurd,
which is exactly what made it so fun!

Prize highlight is my carbon fiber pen and a t-shirt that fits my
son…. He was very pleased with that t-shirt prize! It was fun to
see other rodents racing well in this race! Especially the Gaines
brothers!

Lined up for the B3 race. I was excited, but there was a lot of
standing around – my first B-race! I started getting cold, and my
muscles starting saying things like – epo epo epo (extra pale ale) -
there is epo back by carl’s (my friend with whom i came) van – epo
epo… yeah yeah – quiet down there! The men head off. I’m still
cold. The women head off – it’s like pedaling with tree trunks
instead of actual legs! Ok – note to self – spin a little after first
race prior to second race – don’t let yourself get cold. Alright -
I’ll do this lap – surely I’ll warm up and loosen up after a lap. As
I was approaching the first barrier, I heard Barb H. scream that it
was about time to me… No man – I’m still a beginner! Ran the ditch
of death… Had no problems in the trench of death aside from not
going as fast as I would have liked… totally in dfl position and
totally fine with that! Second lap – ran the ditch of death – almost
crashed in the trench of death, but prevented the crash by unclipping
and putting my foot down into the giant puddle of death – foot
immediately said – wouldn’t you rather have a beer right now? brain
said – yeah – heart said yeah – I DNF-ed after two laps. Totally
worth five bux! Went to Carl’s van, retrieved a bottle, and went to
watch people at the ditch/trench of death. I was soooooo relieved to
see other riders having trouble in those sections! I later watched
some of the A-race, and I saw similar stuff…. Like Sara, I found
this comforting.

What a grand weekend.
Currently, June is in first position for C-CRY with seven races…. I
have a shot at this if I have a good race this weekend – so… Milaca
- here I come – and YES – I will be racing the C-race (maybe the B,
too).

Thanks for reading,

Lee

From: Sara Brokaw
Date: Nov 5, 2007 10:58 AM

Opted for the double after not racing last weekend. Separate womens
starts both days…interesting to see where I am compared to the
others without having the big start.
Ham Lake

5/7 starters
After watching rodents rip it up in the C race (Derek’s return), I
lined up with a field of the usual suspects (Lindas, H-wood, B-wood,
Bella) and local road racing superstar. Went into the woods with the
group when the mudhole took out half of the field & I was suddenly in
third place! Wow! Attempted of course to capitalize on this but my
tech skilz are not quite up to par with those in this field and others
eventually passed me. Fun while it lasted! Soon I rode by local road
racing superstar (who actually was out of breath) and attempted
encouragement at chasing b-wood who was now up the road. However she
was done. LindaC was a casuality of a stick in the derailleur and so
was also behind me now. Focused on B-wood ahead who I kept in sight
for roughly half of the race, something which is a dramatic
improvement over my forays into the B races last year (where I would
see folks for a 1/2 a lap and that was it).&nb! sp; Superfun twisty
sandy course. Towards the end Rich & then Jeff I came roaring by
having good races. Moment of absentmindedness on the last lap at the
barrier on the top of the hill….almost forgot to get off the bike.
The Crit-worthy ksyriums and michelin Jets worked really well.

VeloCx

6/7 starters

Usual suspects + IScorp & Lee (for awhile). After fun in the woods
Saturday, I wasn’t really looking forward to all the grassiness
expected on the ‘drome course, but Grumpy’s did an outstanding job of
making what turned out to be the most epic/technically challenging
course yet! Kept fellow womens racers in contact and was passing guys
until midway through the race I lost it in the mud on the off-camber
section of the ditch of death. I think 5 or so guys went by me (bella
moved out of reach) & my rhythm was a bit destroyed. Part of the
problem was my tire choice of the day..muchelin Jets…since I’d
expected a dry hardpacked grassy course, not a muddy one! Other note
of interest is that I ended up running the “endo corner” on the “ditch
of death” after the second lap of the race. Not alot left by the end
of the last lap, but still a super fun experience!

Stuck the bike in the car & spectated the A race at the ditch of
death. It was reassuring to note that they had trouble with it too.

Upon getting into the car post race I was overwhelmed by the
swampiness of the bike/clothes…. For the third or fourth time this
year I had to use a hose to clean off the bike when I got home! I
think we’re having a real cx season, though I hope our courses are not
causalities of this oddly rainy year.

Thanks for reading..next up Milaca!

From: Jeff Ingham
Date: Nov 5, 2007 10:21 AM

Ham Lake….as cyclocross courses go this one is fun to ride but not
much of a “Cross” course. One long paved section then off into the
woods for the majority of the race, two single barriers. Got a crappy
start and there an immediate gap between the leading 4 to 6 riders and
me in the next group of 4. The 4 of us are trying to chase back on
pretty hard, on lap 3, I’m last in line in our group and I bite it on
one of the sandy turns. It takes me almost a whole lap to chase back
on. On the next lap I’m second in line behind a Bike Club rider and
he bites it on a turn. With nowhere to go I slam right into him.
Rich comes to a stop but manages to miss the pile on. It takes
another lap for me to regroup with Rich and Adam Birr and a Silver
Cycling Rider. We ride around like this for awhile. We are into the
lapped riders and I got caught behind Linda Copper at the mud pit.
She’s going really SLOW and a big gap forms between Rich and me and
Adam. Last lap I pull like mad on the paved section then take mucho
risks to try and catch Rich. We never make it, one more lap and we
would have caught back on. Adam out sprints me at the line. 13th
overall 10th in B1

I don’t think I had one lap that I nailed perfectly, the corners were
super sandy and loose. I’m sure there were plenty of crashes other
than my two. Seems like I’m cursed this year this was my third week
in a row when I thought I was good enough for a top 5 finish and I’ve
managed to screw it up by crashing. I did manage to add another nasty
bruise on my upper thigh, this ones about the size of a purple
baseball.

That’s the end of my cross season, I’ve got to be a hockey dad and
then I’m out of town for State’s.

Good Luck to everyone for the next month.

From: Jeff Ingham
Date: Oct 29, 2007 12:08 PM

Finally I got a good spot in the front row and got a great start
(maybe I can put a whole race together today), but missed the hole
shot, slotting in at 5th behind Paul, Guy, some other rider, and Bill.
I overshot the turn coming off the gravel road and had to really
suffer to catch back up but we’ve already got a nice gap. Thru the
switchbacks Guy and Paul are already opening a gap on the rest of us.
The gaps open a little more its 1,2 gap 3,4,5 but I just can’t hold
that #4 wheel. I’ve told myself that I can let up when blood comes
out my ears, but until then keep going. Man these top 4 guys are
screaming fast. I’m giving 100% but can’t hold that wheel.

Now I’m kind of in no mans land all by myself and in the middle of the
course the wind is a factor. I ride a couple laps all by myself and
after a lap or so have a nice rhythm going thru the turns and over the
barriers. The setup is super fun. If you take the right line you can
stay in the drops and off the brakes for all but the downhill.

I think I do about 3 laps all by myself finally with 4 to go Todd N
and some other guy bridge up to me. I’m kind of happy to follow a
wheel for awhile. Into the feed zone 3rd in line, but suddenly the
unknown guy decides he wants a drink swerves to the right, I yell, I
try to shove him, but he really must be thirsty and he takes me out,
but he gets that all important drink. I get up and get going again as
fast as I can but I’ve lost a good 150 yards to these two. At some
point Rich catches me and encourages me, we can work together. We
start moving pretty good but going around the pile of dead trees Rich
tries to follow my line and washes out right into the dead trees ouch!
I keep going now by myself again.

Get to the run-up and when I go to shoulder my bike my right knee
either hits the frame or the handlebars and there’s and exploding pain
right on my knee-cap. I somehow manage to drag my butt up the hill on
one leg but really can’t think of anything but the exploding pain in
my knee. I seriously think I’ve shattered my knee-cap at this point,
it hurts that bad. I roll around on the ground for a good minute but
the pain gets better, with the race official yelling stay down! stay
down! I get back up and jump on the bike and get going again. I pass
a couple guys, Dan Meyer, someone else don’t know who.

Finish 17th overall maybe 15th in B1

Thought for sure I’d have a top 10 or better Saturday, but all I got
was a giant lump on my knee and a bunch of new bruises!

Still had ton-O-fun

Jeff

From: Lee Penn
Date: Oct 29, 2007 10:24 AM

good morning gophers!

i was sooooo impressed by the course and the volunteers and the
costumes and the racing! what a blast! this was my first time to red
barn (like bill), and i had a great time.

for whatever reason, asthma was a huge factor for me on saturday – i
had a tough time breathing! seems as though a few others had similar
struggles.

right – i rode the course a few times prior to the C-start.
immediately, i liked the course, although there was this one little
tree that kept getting in my way on the right-turn 180…

get to the start. have a great position right near a guy i know is
great on the start – hoping to use him as my rabbit. then, cody
(junior kid – teenager with bad attitude) puts himself directly in
front of me and will not move…. he even moves his bike around and
hits my front wheel a few times. this kid has been around long enough
and raced enough that he should know better than to show up at the
last minute and push his way to the front of the line.

race starts. cody can’t clip in and is swerving all around – i have a
TERRIBLE start!!!! ugh. i think i was 8th or 9th for the women at
this point.

first lap was relatively asthma free, and i managed to stay out of the
crash right after turn one…. and avoid john redmond, who was busy
puking…. at the end of the first lap, i think i was in third or
fourth… worked my way forward – after passing june in the grass
skirt, i thought i was in the lead. then, next lap, i hear- ten
seconds lee – don’t let her get away. what???? there’s another woman
in front of me? oh crap. so, i had about two laps left – i pushed my
pace – the asthma pushed back…. i hear someone yell that i
shouldn’t worry – there is plenty of air – ha ha – very funny -
clearly there is NOT enough air – what was that guy thinking?

in the end, i finished about six seconds behind grumpy’s amy, an
ex-bike messenger who is super sweet, strong, and hilarious. if i had
a better start? if i hadn’t had asthma???? yeah – that’s bike racing!
and that’s a good question – hopefully to be determined the next time
i race with amy!

my legs felt fine after the c-race, and i almost lined up for the
b-race…. but, i was still hacking the asthma hack 5 minutes after
the finish… even after using my inhaler…. so i put on my warmer
clothes and chilled with some great chilli (thank you sara!), candy,
and jelly bellys in gw colors (thank you graines family).

very happy with my second place red barn medal – it’s the coolest of
all my medals! thank you to all the gophers who busted butt at this
race. all i did was race and pick up bits of trash as i wandered the
course…. oh yeah, and had a fabulous time!

looks like blaine is the next race for me….

thanks for reading,

lee

12th C1, 68 finishers in the C field

I was fighting off my first fall head cold all this past week, but by
Saturday, i thought i was feeling pretty good. There’s nothing quite
like a cyclocross race to test whether you’re truly over a cold, and
in my case, i wasn’t.

This was my first time at the tree farm, and i like the course a lot.
I understand that the switchback was a new feature, and i liked that
too, a lot more than the excessive IUD-like twists at Boom Island.
Overall, a good mix that demanded a good range of skills. I even like
the run-up, but that’s probably because the quasi-stair steps in the
dirt matched well with my long legs.

I got a decent start, no great holeshot or anything, but worked into
the top 15 or so by the end of the first lap. I managed to pass
another couple of riders on the second lap, but by the third it was
all i could do to hang on (in fact i lost a place in there somewhere).
The legs were fine, but the lungs were in worse shape than i knew, and
by the finish line they were hurting a lot. I’ve had a couple of races
this year when i would have been happy to tack on a couple more laps,
but this was not one of them. Given the people around me in the pack,
i’m pretty sure i would have finished 4-5 spots higher without the
lung crud.

I felt fine after a few minutes’ recovery and stayed to watch the rest
of the races, get a hot dog from Teddy Roosevelt, and help a bit with
the results. It gave me a good appreciation for the work that goes in
to cleaning up and posting CX results, it’s confusing stuff!

It was another beautiful day for ‘cross, hopefully i’m fully recovered
for the next adventure in Blaine.

Bill Connell
St. Paul, MN

From: Jeff Ingham
Date: Oct 23, 2007 10:02 AM

Here’s my take on the B race. The start was a little unorganized. As
soon as the C race ended I went for a warm-up reconissance lap and at
the top of the run-up everyone is already lineing up for the start. I
force my way somewhere into the middle, definitely not where I want to
be, now we stand around for 10 minutes waiting, its cold. Gun goes
off and I’ve got a really crappy start.

I spend lap one moving up thru the field. For some reason its easy
for me to remember passing the women Sara, Margot, Linda S, Linda C,
Kyia. Halfway thru lap 2 I bridge up to a group of about 5 with Rich
at the front and some LSC guys at the back. Just after the BMX
section I move into position right behind Rich and I’m thinking Rich
and I can lose this group and work together and do some dammage, my
legs feel super strong today.

We approach the runup and we attack it without dismounting on the
right. About half-way up Rich slows and I move to the left to pass he
suddenly looses his balance and falls into my back wheel and we both
go down. We get up and run but clearly I have a problem, my rear
wheel wont turn. At the top of the hill I start screwing with my
brake which is rubbing on my tire. I can’t fix it. It feels like I
mess with it for 10 minutes when someone from the crowed says ‘Give it
to me!’ he screws with the brake, no dice, finally he opens the quick
release, the wheels had moved in the drop-out, and I’m off again.

Judging by the results I’m now somewhere around 60th or 70th position,
my right brake hood is bent in at a crazy angle and my left brake hood
is still attached but loose so I can’t put any pressure on it, the
brake still seems to work though. With nothing to loose now I just go
full throtle as hard as I can. I start focusing on each person in
front of me. Bridge up….pass….stand and sprint….repeat….a
lot, stay in the drops. I don’t remember much but I remember passing
the women. Sara, Margot, Linda S, Linda C, Kyia (man this woman is
fast!) I remember passing Adam Birr. For about 4 laps I felt great.
I overcooked a few corners, was in the wrong gear once at the small
staircase and I’ll go on record as hating the artificial mud pit and
BMX section. The rest of the course is fantastic.

With about half a lap left I’ve made it all the way back to Rich.
Somewhere on the back before the BMX section I pass him, but now I’m
pretty much cooked. Before the run up he passes me and on the home
stretch someone else passes me.

Results 32nd overall, 21st in B1

Super fun race, but my body took a beating, both shins scraped, left
knee, right thigh, right elbow, right shoulder all battered and
bruised. Thats cross.

Bring on Red Barn!

Jeff

From: Bill Connell
Date: Oct 22, 2007 10:46 PM

14th place, 110 starters (from what i heard)

For the second week in a row, the threat of rain held off and it was
near-perfect ‘cross weather. I rode to the race, which made for a nice
warm-up and a good chance to fine-tune clothing layers for the race. I
got to the park early and from the north, so i got a nice preview of
some of the new course, including the oddball MORC-style bridges
section over some construction dirt piles. The course was a lot
different than last year, and a little disorienting at first because
parts of the course were run backwards from last year, and some turns
were hard to figure out on the first lap. Pre-riding was totally
unnecessary for the gratuitous mud section, of course, as it was
obvious that there was little strategy there other than trying to not
fall over.

Speaking of pre-riding, a registration holdup delayed the start of the
Cs by about 10 minutes, and the officials sent everyone off for a
practice lap. I, for one, was glad for the delay when i realized that
my seat post clamp had somehow popped loose. With the delayed start, i
was able to tighten it down and get back to the line in time. I hate
to think how the race would have gone otherwise.

I got a good start, again in the mid-20s or so. The pack seemed to
string out pretty quickly after the trip around the baseball diamond
and the short stair runup. The little 2×4 bunny hops were annoying; on
lap 2, a board jumped up and knocked my foot off the pedal. I liked
the run around the construction area and plywood bridges, but i like
any course that rewards my mountain bike skills.

In retrospect, i should have done some more testing to see if i could
ride the long staircase runup. In practice, it looked like everyone
was supposed to go on the left because of the way the tape ran at the
top. Later i saw people riding up the smoother right side, so i might
have been able to do that too, because i usually tend to ride those. I
did pass one guy on the runup, but only because i rode up about 15
feet up before dismounting and managed to stay ahead the rest of the
run/walk up.

By lap 4 everyone around me was so far apart that i couldn’t get
closer than 50 feet to the guy ahead of me, so no sprint finish for
me. I was happy with my finish and my effort. Unlike last weekend at
Boom Island, i don’t think i had another 2 laps in me. I should have
eaten before the race, and my right thigh started cramping up through
the last 1/2 lap. I didn’t bonk, but didn’t leave much in reserve,
which was good.

The main thing i realized in this race were the little things i’ve
learned to do to conserve momentum and energy, increase efficiency,
etc. I have reasonably good endurance, but little things like holding
a good line and staying out of the rough makes a big difference in how
much energy you can focus on going faster or holding someone off after
a pass. In short, experience is good!

Thanks to my fellow rodents and to Ron and Marty from the shop for the
cheering, and whoever it was (Ron?) who called out my position after
lap 2, very helpful!