Climbtrees » Race Report

Wisconsin Bicycling Weekend – Door County Century

Dan Corbett — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 22:30:10 +0000

Door County Century Rest Stop

Last Friday Katie and I packed the dogs up to the kennel, boarded a flight to Milwaukee, and finally drove up to Fish Creek, WI for our first century ride. Unfortunately we arrived quite late as our Frontier flight was delayed (again, not having much luck with departures on them and this time I got to sit next to a Frontier employee who must have smoke 2 packs before getting on the plane) and a missed turn in Milwaukee (thanks for closing all the on ramps by the airport) and missed the dinner festivities with our parents (both sides made the drive). The next morning we ate a quick breakfast and then drove to packet pickup in Sturgeon Bay for the Door County Century. During the morning, and all day for the matter, my father was still adamant that he was only going to do the 70 mile route. Right. We let him believe that as we took our rentals, a Trek Madone 5.2 and a 5.2 WSD, out for a quick ride to make friends with the bikes.

We made friends. The Madone’s rode great – the Ultegra drivetrain was a pretty fantastic upgrade then my Lemond’s old 105 and Katie’s old Tiagra. And the frames were fast!

Bar Tape Fail!

Unlike when I stand up and hammer on my Buenos Aires, the Madone’s frame put the power directly into the wheels – and the read wheel could never pull out (damn horizontal drops). That said, when going over rough road and gravel you could really tell how plush my existing steel frame is as you felt everything on the Madone. The one thing I would have liked to have tried was climbing as I think the total elevation gain in the ride was about 400 feet, rather small compared to Colorado. My only real complaint was that the bar tape was poorly applied. The ~2 inch difference was a bit troubling to align my hands on, though it would be an easy fix.

Of course the next morning, as we were again driving to Sturgeon Bay for the start, my father started saying that at the turnoff for the 70 mile route he would decide about doing the 100. Not that Katie or I ever doubted he would do the 100. When we hit the turnoff, he kept along with us. We started out with temperatures in the mid 60′s and a well shaded course. And, what many of the rides said was an evil hill. Thankfully a less than 100′ climb was not an issue after riding in Colorado. The first 35 miles flew past without much of a thought. We kept going smoothing until about halfway through the course, when my father began to feel the distance in his legs (with IT band tightness). The pace slowed drastically but we continued on. And on. With lots of dairy cow themed cycling kits on all sides. eally, who knew you could have more than a dozen jerseys all related to Wisconsin Holsteins? The course was very flat and almost windless, with only a long stretch of gravel road to even wake you up. Additionally the roads, at least the non-highways, were almost completely empty and those drivers who did pass were extremely courteous - score.

In due time we finished. Not fast but we finished. And my father did it at age 62.

Dana, Katie, and Dan on the shores of Lake Michigan during the Door County Century

Pit Stains and Competitiveness

Dan Corbett — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:33:22 +0000

If you know me, you probably understand that I am an extremely competitive person. To the point where I can be overly competitive. Perhaps today was such a day…

Evil RTD Bus

There are some days that I really just do not want to ride my bike home from work. Today was such a day. I rode my Jamis Supernova into work (and experienced a slew of smells including a dead skunk, burning rubber, cinnamon rolls, a slaughter house, and sweat) and ran a few miles at lunch. The afternoon consisted largely of a coworker trying to dump his grunt work on me. When the day finally concluded, I really did not want to ride home so I road my bike over to the RTD bus stop. And then it happened – I saw that the bus had already passed and was a few minutes down the road. Now I wanted to blame myself, but both my watch and cell phone confirmed that the bus was two minutes early. That was all I needed; I said I was going to beat the bus home on my bike while still wearing my dress clothes (though I did have on bike shoes). I put the hammer down and at the first light I had almost caught the bus – the light was really long and the bus had to make a few stops. Unfortunately the bus made the light and I did not. Waiting at the light, the desire to win just grew; there was no way I was going to let that bus defeat me. I took off the second the light changed and never looked back. When I turned on to my street, I looked at the coming bus and threw out some obscenities regarding meeting a schedule and how pathetic it was getting beat by my cyclocross bike. Score another win for Dan. Now I just need to deal with the pit stains on my undershirt…

Pit Stains After Bike Commute Home

First Bike Race Ever Report: Green Mountain Sports Cross

Dan Corbett — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 03:03:36 +0000

Start of Green Mountain Sports Cross Cat 4 Race

This morning I woke up wondering why I did it. My body is experiencing a level of soreness not remembered since college hockey games. My back, shoulders, and legs are all blissfully sore and I have discovered an unsurprisingly large bruise on the inside of my right thigh. How did this all come about? Yesterday I competed in my first cycling race ever. I have been riding my road bike for near a decade and my mountain bike for almost as long; obviously taking my Jamis Supernova that I have owned for all of a week to a cyclocross race sounded like a good idea.

Sherbert, the UrbanBulldog

I rushed out the door with Katie, late from a mountain bike ride in Nederland, and Sherbert. Somehow we even remembered to bring Sherbert’s wagon. The bulldog in a wagon is always a hit wherever she goes; the Green Mountain Sports Cross race was no exception. Katie and Sherbert cheered me on to the finish.

The people were very friendly as I chatted before the start with a few racers in my group (Cat 4) and two cat three guys who wanted to take a lap to see the course. Everyone was very encouraging, though one guy seemed to question why I would want to suffer for 45 minutes. Reasonable question I suppose. A few also said this was rather a difficult course to do my first race at – of course I have nothing to compare it to so I cannot say yet. Shortly before the start, an official pointed out that I was an idiot and put my number on the wrong side of my jersey; thankfully one of the cat 3 guys made the quick starting line adjustment. This was a bit easier as I was in the back of the group. Not near the back. Quite literally I was the last person over the starting line. I was told I probably would not finish last as this would give me ample opportunity to catch and pass people. While a good suggestion I never really found a pack to cruise with – I just jumped from person to person without any sort of technique. The gaps just got larger as the race went on. Next weekend at the Boulder CX Series #1 I am definitely going have a better start.

Cross Barriers

The course was interesting, particularly as there was none of the mud I have expected via pictures of cross races on the internet and the 9 Ball Diaries. In fact it was so dry that there was a dusty section that limited visibility to about almost nothing on the first two laps. Continuing the dry theme, some of the corners were quite loose which turned into fun for me when hitting them at speed. I only had to dab once and then I remembered how much less traction the Jamis bike offered compared to my Trek Fuel EX 8. Somehow I managed to not crash the entire race but I certainly saw a number of falls in the corners. There was also one short, loose, and steep decent over uneven terrain that forced me to catch my balance a few time. Somewhere after was a steep up and down that I hit with too much speed on the second lap and caught a second of frighteningly unintentional air.

There were a number of straight-aways and run-ups; in the back of the pack these were great for helping me catch people. Running over the barriers was a new experience and it is easy to see how one could misjudge the height and take a huge header. I am certain that my form was questionable, though I did not seem to hit any. The barriers also made me very happy that my Supernova only weighs about 18.5lbs with pedals – carrying your bike are a new concept to me. Speaking of pedals, I was impressed at the ease of a speedy entry into my Time Atac Atium pedals; it is something you really don’t notice when mountain biking. Unfortunately for me, after the barriers you had to remount your bike on the fly. On my first attempt I landed too far back on the saddle and then had to suffer for the rest of the race with my saddle pointed up. Of course that was not the worst of my mounts, I just prefer not to speak, or even remember, the others.

Don't Get Hauled into Juvey

Seeing as I started dead last I spent the first three (it might have been four, I was not really counting) laps jumping past small groups and individuals as gaps got larger. Eventually I passed three guys in rapid succession and found myself with a gap so large I could not see anyone to catch. I pushed hard for half a lap and then started to tank after doing a number of poor mounts. The three guys I had passed apparently all had just stayed on my wheel and took the opportunity to pass and open up on me. Going into the final lap I was by myself, no one within 150 meters of me in either direction. I always was on the edge of delirium and really felt no motivation to push as it would be unlikely to catch or be caught. Of course then with about half a mile to go I saw the third guy from the group in front of me come off the back and suddenly I had something to chase. I was on his wheel going into the last 20 meters but just ran out of room. He gave me a dirty look after we finished. Alas. There were 59 starters and I finished 42^nd overall; while a few people dropped out I am still assuming I beat them. I need all the help I can get…

Dan in No Mans Land

After the finish I took my bike to the pit, promptly dropped it, and managed to meander over to the beverage tent – there were a bunch of beer from Oscar Blues but I could not even fathom the thought. Instead I had (read slammed) some weird FRS energy drink and was jittery the entire care ride home. At the end of the day my bike was filthy, I was filthy, and I could barely stand – it was glorious.

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Additional posts about Green Mountain Sports Cross

303Cycling

Six Degrees to Slush Photos

H-O-W-D-Y

CLIF BAR Development Cyclo-Cross Team

Official American Cycling Association Results