OK!
So after some debating, I decided to race Monsters of the Midway- a bike race that takes place at the U of C campus. I got there just in time to watch the first lap of Cat 3 race. My girlfriend's work colleague knows a guy on Get a Grip who was racing in the Cat 3s. Also I wanted to see as much racing as possible on a nice day like it was Saturday. Apparently, this guy was waiting for her to come and he brought some cowbells. This guy was so good that he shouted the location and appearance of the bag all while winning a prime on one of the early laps. Impressive. A few minutes later the girls had the cowbells in their hands and were cowbelling the remainder of the race. Not only did they cowbell, they also ran across the park each lap to cheer the racers on twice per lap. Impressive.
Anyway, at 4:00 pm it was time for me to warm up. And so I did. Practice lap and then lining up. I had trouble clipping in but that wasn' the problem as was some sketchy cornering being done by true citizens in this race. No problem, everyone learns with time so I tried to make up ground by sprinting on the straight parts of the course. On the third lap, I had to slow down really bad in order to get through the turns and avoid a few wheels going into the headwind (top part of the course), and by the time I got out of the turns, the front pack created a gap. They were already flying down, as I was getting through the turns. I started hammering and noticed that I had 3 more guys on my tail. Good, maybe 4 can make up the small gap that formed and I dont have to blow up myself chasing the pack. I still dont have enough racing experience to know how much I can push myself to bridge up and not blow up. So I backed off and started working with these guys. 3-4 laps later I realized that the pace of this chase was not fast enough to even avoid getting lapped so I went on my own. I was joined by one of the guys (Flatlandia I think) and we basically traded pulls until the end of the race.
So after some debating, I decided to race Monsters of the Midway- a bike race that takes place at the U of C campus. I got there just in time to watch the first lap of Cat 3 race. My girlfriend's work colleague knows a guy on Get a Grip who was racing in the Cat 3s. Also I wanted to see as much racing as possible on a nice day like it was Saturday. Apparently, this guy was waiting for her to come and he brought some cowbells. This guy was so good that he shouted the location and appearance of the bag all while winning a prime on one of the early laps. Impressive. A few minutes later the girls had the cowbells in their hands and were cowbelling the remainder of the race. Not only did they cowbell, they also ran across the park each lap to cheer the racers on twice per lap. Impressive.
Anyway, at 4:00 pm it was time for me to warm up. And so I did. Practice lap and then lining up. I had trouble clipping in but that wasn' the problem as was some sketchy cornering being done by true citizens in this race. No problem, everyone learns with time so I tried to make up ground by sprinting on the straight parts of the course. On the third lap, I had to slow down really bad in order to get through the turns and avoid a few wheels going into the headwind (top part of the course), and by the time I got out of the turns, the front pack created a gap. They were already flying down, as I was getting through the turns. I started hammering and noticed that I had 3 more guys on my tail. Good, maybe 4 can make up the small gap that formed and I dont have to blow up myself chasing the pack. I still dont have enough racing experience to know how much I can push myself to bridge up and not blow up. So I backed off and started working with these guys. 3-4 laps later I realized that the pace of this chase was not fast enough to even avoid getting lapped so I went on my own. I was joined by one of the guys (Flatlandia I think) and we basically traded pulls until the end of the race.
So another familiar turn of events, but the more you race the better you get, or so I am told. Need to train more and eat a little bit less burritos at Garcia's.
It was a great day to race and a great course, hope to do it next year as well.
Woke up the next morning bright and early to watch the last round of Serie A, hoping to see my AS Roma lift the Scudetto for the fourth time. This promised to be a great 90 minutes of football, with Inter and Roma both playing the teams playing to stay in the top division. Inter played Parma and Roma played the other Sicilian team-Catania. In the 10th minute, Roma scored via Vucinic to become a virtual champion at the time. It stayed like that until the second half when Inter introduced Ibrahimovic, who ended up scoring two goals to seal the championship for Inter. Now I know Ibra is my countryman but there is no love between the two of us. He is one heck of a player and a punk, he just plays for the wrong team.
It was a great day to race and a great course, hope to do it next year as well.
Woke up the next morning bright and early to watch the last round of Serie A, hoping to see my AS Roma lift the Scudetto for the fourth time. This promised to be a great 90 minutes of football, with Inter and Roma both playing the teams playing to stay in the top division. Inter played Parma and Roma played the other Sicilian team-Catania. In the 10th minute, Roma scored via Vucinic to become a virtual champion at the time. It stayed like that until the second half when Inter introduced Ibrahimovic, who ended up scoring two goals to seal the championship for Inter. Now I know Ibra is my countryman but there is no love between the two of us. He is one heck of a player and a punk, he just plays for the wrong team.
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