Week Wrap-Up (4/12/11-4/18/11)

Criterium in Leland Kermesse! From John Castro: Overall, Leland was a blast. Pretty brutal and punishing, but worth it. Luckily us 5's only did 2 laps for a total of 50k. 4's did 4 laps .. I was shot after 2. We started at 9:05 a little after the 4’s field. Neutral roll out to the first turn into a super nasty headwind from the west. Pace picked up as we turned north and then the field blew up just after we hit the first gravel section. With the rain and wind the gravel sections felt like quicksand .. not conducive to pushing a big gear, so I dropped into the small ring and spun and slipped and slid around trying to find a more solid line (not very successful). Pretty quickly into the gravel section one guy took off and stayed away with 1-2 more chasing. Going into the 2nd lap a couple of us worked together in a tight rotating paceline and I tried my hardest not to blow my load on my turns pulling. We eventually caught 1-2 more of the chasing group and I knew if I could stay with this group I’d be top ten at least. Well, the legs and lower back weren’t super cooperative that day and I lost contact with the lead group of 5-6 riders (with 1 guy still away) about 6 miles to the finish and pretty much tried to keep my speed up so no one could catch me. The lead group was always within sight, I was just dangling a ways off so that was incentive to keep working .. it was windy, slightly rainy, sloppy and miserable, but great at the same time. I ended up getting 6th (2 guys ended up taking a wrong turn at the end, oops) and Mike Capello from RVB got 3rd.

Check out John in action!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/neverdrownout/5632971509/in/photostream

While some of us were racing, others were training in Galena! Thanks Brandon and Justeen for setting this up!

11 Spidermonkeys made the trip to Galena. Trent, Monica and Chad woke up early on Friday to meet me and Justeen in Dubuque for a ride along the Mighty Mississippi in the wind and cold. After lunch we headed away from the river and into the cornfields where the wind was much worse. 40 mph winds reaked havoc on our ride and once the rain came, maybe it was hail, our day was over. Saturday we woke up to snow, yes snow, and postponed the ride until the afternoon (we're blaming the snow, but it was the hangovers). 48 miles and 3,600 ft of climbing left us with tired legs and empty stomachs. Our stomachs were filled at the brewery downtown. Everyone woke up Sunday with sore and tired legs, but that wouldn't stop us from riding. The up and downs around Galena have left us worn down, but looking forward to the next trip back. 140 miles and 10,000 feet of climbing in three days; what more could you ask for.... maybe better weather. Stay tuned for a full wrap-up of training in Galena!