ABD Sunrise Park

Trent Williams and Katie Tomarelli cheering!
Photo by Kyle Kershasky

by Kelly Clarke
This past winter, in Kristen Meshberg's Pedaling With A Purpose class, we went around the class and said our goals for this season aloud. After all, if you're committing to these trainer classes twice a week through the frigid months, what is your purpose in doing so? My goals were:
- Do a track race
- Do a mountain bike race
- Get a top ten in a W4 CCC race

I didn't want to sound greedy, but I was honestly hoping for more than one top ten finish in the CCC series. But who knew if that would even be feasible. Last season I was trying to get top 50% of the field, and it never happened.  But this year I was taking training more seriously, meaning I was thinking about it at all. And I was also focusing less on ‘skills’ and more on just having good fitness to maintain speed and focus in races.

Mountain biking at Kettle with Anna Loosli

Well, with the track and mountain bike season over, I can say I failed at both those goals. (But I’ll do them next year!) The consolations being that I did do a Monday night track clinic to get my feet wet at the Northbrook Velodrome (it was a GREAT experience), and I did conquer the three ravines at Palos on one of the Women's Dirt Days, and I took my first trip to Kettle Moraine. The goal to get top ten in a CCC race came easy. In the first cup race, Jackson Park, I got 6th place! I decided to make it a goal to get a top ten in every CCC race this season.  This plan backfired at Dan Ryan, but no bother – top ten for each race was still a good focus to have.

Some time at the beginning of the season, Sarah Rice had said, “Why would you ever enter a race if you weren’t going to try and win it?” And this idea has been simmering with me since. I never enter a race expecting to win. I have my carrots that I want to beat and that’s been good enough to me, but how could I ever expect to win? These other women are just faster, better, more experienced…

Slowly I have been trying to change my thinking, and looking to my fellow female racers to watch the fire they have when racing which allows them to be successful. Kristen and Sarah have it down pat, but then even Stephanie, Kristi and Michelle in crits and road races, and my nemesis, Annette Stahelin, in cross. They have this drive that I sometimes lack to give extra effort at points in a race where everyone is hurting regardless, and they pick up extra spots or get positive results doing so. There’s a point in a race where I almost subconsciously decide to sit back and put forth that exact amount of effort, no more, because I want to finish the race or maybe I think that really is all I have to give. I’ve been trying to push those boundaries.

And it’s 100% mental.

So, back to my nemesis, Annette. She races for Half Acre, but more importantly, we were best friends growing up. We got into cross at the same time, and I don’t like it when she beats me in races. But she trained like hell this year and she has been consistently beating me. At Carpentersville, she was just a little bit ahead of me in the final lap. I decided to dig in and give everything I had to catch her. So what if I get gassed before the finish line and don’t succeed? I just needed to go harder than I thought I could and hang on for as long as I could, and see where I ended up. It worked. I was able to pass her and get that one last spot at the end of the race. I was elated. Not even so much that I beat my friend (whom I love dearly), but I definitely gave more than I thought I had to give at the end of this race, and succeeded. Now that I saw what that felt like, I made it my goal that in the next race, I would need to make these pushes earlier and more often. Stand up and sprint when you think you’re too tired. See a carrot? Don’t wait to recover before catching them, just go. It’s only a thirty minute race; there is no time to recover.

Photo by Aaron Byrnes

I took that with me into the race at Sunrise Park. Push harder than you think you can, early and often. Around the first corner of the race I was in seventh place. I started picking people off until it was Ashley Korol and Tricia Renée Fleischer off the front (way off the front) then a train of me, Jen Groen, Nicole Falk, Annette and a few other girls. Three quarters through the first lap, Jen fell and dropped her chain, making it hard for the girls behind me to stick with me. I tried to get as much space in front of them as I could. I know from being on the other side of things, the larger the gap, the more daunting it is to bridge. And as we’ve established, this game is all mental. I could see Ashley and Tricia in front of me. Deep down, I didn’t think I had a chance in hell to catch them, but I told myself to focus on catching them, not on anything behind me. The race spread out and it was Ashley and Tricia, a gap, me, a gap, and then a group of women for most of the race. Towards the end, I could see Nicole Falk bridging the gap behind me. And the rest were not far behind. I knew they were better at the off-camber corners, but I could gain distance back in the strait-aways. I focused really hard on staying upright. When you’re going as hard as you can, it becomes easy to fall and make mistakes. I was able to hold on to third place through the end of the last lap. It was awesome. I was just telling Kristi before the race how all I wanted was a top 5. I had a few sixth place finishes, but couldn’t break into the top five. And now, I earned a spot on the podium. First time ever.

Photo by Colleen Clarke

So my strategy was successful, but I still have a lot to learn. I was lucky to not fall in this race, but you fall a lot in cross, and I think that makes it really difficult to come back and keep going really hard. I saw Grace fall at WCA’s Grafton race last year and come back to get fourth. It takes a lot of fight when you lose all those spots to get them back. Also, I didn’t have to pass anyone once I got really tired, and I think that takes a lot of mental strength. It’s really easy to follow someone’s wheel when you’re really tired in a race, but you should be trying to pass them. Make them work to pass you.

I tried to make that 30 minute race completely serious and focused, but the rest of the day – cheering on my teammates and racing in the ridiculous 4B race was a blast. I love having Stewart race with me in the 4s, and seeing Kim and Kristi in the 1/2/3 race. Hayes was there all day and brought beer and the tent. PJ is always super competitive and supportive. Aaron always races his heart out. Lucas Seibel killed it in the Single Speed and the 4s. Kyle raced twice and had a hand-up incident for which he is awesome. Trent did great in the 3s race. Monko was probably hungover, but you’d never know it with his doubling up in the 3s and 1/2/3s. We have a really awesome cross contingent this year, and the ABD Sunrise Park race was no exception!

Grace Races Cross In North Carolina

Go, Grace!

by Grace Chappell
Hey Monkeys!!  Ok, I know this isn’t a CCC report, but I wanted to share a little bit about the racing I’ve had the chance to enjoy out here in North Carolina...

Mountain backdrop

Last weekend I made the trip to Boone, in Western NC (yes it is named for Daniel Boone) with my new UNC teammates to make my collegiate cycling debut!  The season starts a little later here so I am only a few weeks into the cyclocross season, still reminding my legs what the heck to do out there.   The collegiate dynamic was different than what I am accustomed to; very small, laid back, and everyone there is on one of 5 or 6 teams.  The course was out in the middle of nowhere, located at the Boone fairgrounds with a mountain backdrop.  The course was pretty straightforward; lots of grassy 180s, some tough off-camber, a very steep grass run up, and for some reason we rode up and through a little stage.  I lined up with only four other Women As, mixed in with about 30 Men B.  45 minutes.  Clean start, and we were off!  I found myself positioned close behind the first 2 girls after one lap, but unfortunately for me, at this early point in the race I felt like my legs might explode (something to do with that awful run-up?).  I knew I had a long time to go, and tried not to let too much space get between my wheel and theirs’.  That goal came to a crashing halt when I rode straight through some course tape and had to circle back around to get back on course.  Lesson: good to focus on hammering, not good to focus so much you don’t pay attention to where you are going.  The rest of the race was pretty much by myself, and I finished in third.  No payouts in collegiate racing, but I got points for UNC.  Also: no beer.

Rainbow Brite

Day 2 was race #3 of the NCCX series, at the same location.  I was excited to get a second go at the course and see some folks I knew would coming in for the race.  There were all the makings of a good cross race: a big crowd, costumes both on and off the course, very chilly (appropriate for ‘cross season!) temperatures, beer, free food, dogs, kids, hipsters, and cowbells.  22 women in the 1/2/3 race, and the way it is set up here we go after the 45+ and before the 55+ men.  In my experience thus far, this means I race for about 50 minutes or more if they let the 45+ men finish a full 45 minutes.  So. Painful.  I felt much better for the first couple laps of this race than I had the day before, no leg muscle explosions, and I was in front of one of the girls who had beat me the day before.  Awesome!  Keep this up!  I could hear a UNC teammate yelling for me to “move up! move up!” and so I put my mind to try to do just that and managed to blow past a few women during laps 2 and 3 on the straight sections.  The run up was beginning to crush my spirit by the 3rd time up it, but fortunately there were lots of people yelling and heckling all along the hill which always brings a smile to my face.  They were telling me to run faster but all I wanted to do was lie down and take a nap.  I brought back my Rainbow Brite get-up, so that allowed for some personalized cheering (all the more reason to race in costume, people!).  Ok, 2 laps to go on the counter, but the women I had passed were beginning to catch back up.  Why aren’t they as tired as I am??  As I came through for the bell lap I got passed by two of them and it was all I could do at that point to keep them in sight for the final lap.  Through the stage, so many 180s, stupid run-up, and done.  I was tired!  Free tamales afterward and a nice mountain-y cooldown ride.

Photo by J A Murdock

It’s not the same without the Spidermonkey cheering crew or a 312 after my race, of course, but I’m making the most of it :)  Can’t wait to race in Woodstock with some of you this Sunday!!

Here is a highlights video from cyclingdirt if you just happen to like watching cyclocross videos:  I’m in there for a split second...
http://www.cyclingdirt.org/video/660318-2012-NCCX-3-Boone-Highlights-Part-2

Carpentersville

by Kyle Kershasky

This last weekend was an epic cyclocross montage. There were races on Saturday, Sunday AND my wife was out of town. Thus my house was covered in mess and mud the entire weekend.

Saturday’s Psycho Cross was my first cross race ever with mud and slop. I played it cautious which equals slow and my handling skills were very rookie. I signed up for the 4A on both days and I opted to never do 4B because I had this impression of chaos and everyone is just pissin’ drunk while they’re racing. Not completely true, but a previous 4B hot dog handup wipeout experience didn’t exactly dismiss the idea either. After my lackluster finish on Saturday and seeing PJ and Lucas crush it and podium in the 4B, I warmed up to the idea. Besides, if you squint hard enough, you don’t even notice the 4B racers that are riding with slicks or running shoes.

When I arrived in Carpentersville, I threw my money at the registration girl like a blue chip on the craps table. In my best Vegas Spidermonkey spring training voice, I told her I got some hot dice and to sign me up for the 4B race before I crap out. It’s on.

My plan was to walk around with my SLR camera and get some good photos of Peter, Mark and Ken in the Cat 3 race. I was especially excited to shoot at the cornfield they had last year. Apparently racers went through a corn maze and came chuckin’ out the other side like a scene from Children of the Corn -- only on bikes and scary in a sick kind of way. To my dismay, the cornfield was CHOPPED DOWN! Instead there was what I can only describe as a long stretch of black sloppy manure dirt mounds. Seriously?!?! I was sure there was no way my bike would function after trudging through. How would I make it out of there once much less on races back to back? I saw Ken and then other 1/2/3 racers get through it, so confidence was building.

Ken getting through the mud hills

I should regress to earlier in the morning, 20 minutes before I headed out the door I brushed up on my mud handling skills. I haven’t made it to many cross practices, so my skill level comes from my dreams and on what hand ups NOT to take. I did a quick google search on “how to cyclocross in mud.” I was hoping for an awesome J POW video, but all I got was some schmuck biking in the woods. Yes, the woods. Great, I’m screwed. I headed out the door.  About the only thing I had going was my three-day beard, my black skull and cross bones socks underneath my orange/black skull and cross bones socks. Yeah, today was destined to be a badass kind of day. 

So once I saw the 1/2/3 racers manage the mud slide, I walked over to the monkey tent with the usual crew, Hayes, Geoff, PJ, Lucas, Peter, Mark, PJ, Ken, Stewart and Kelly were either there or riding around nearby. It was an odd weather kind of day. Kind of like this girl I once dated… bright and sunny one minute and a gall darn frickin’ tornado the next. Seriously, there was a TORNADO WARNING and they stopped the 1/2/3 race in mid stride. And seriously there was a severe storm named after her. Anyway, there was a panic when they shut down the race and even told everyone to clear the park.  The fear instilled was like the IKEA commercial “Start the car, START THE CAR!!!!”  Three things went through my head. 

1. I could get home early and watch the Packer game. 

2. I could stick around to see if the storm passes and have a pretty good time in a small field.

3. That ditch has a little tunnel in it and I could hide out there when the tornado comes through. 

I opted for #2.  As did 152 other racers. 

After waiting about an hour, the tornado never happened and the 4A race was on. PJ and Lucas stuck around, and even Aaron made it to the race. The race was a lot of fun. The mud pit didn’t wrestle me to the ground as I imagined.  Although that Magnificent Mud Mile did suck up a lot of my time running/walking through it.  The cricks didn’t fill up with water like they did for the earlier races. I only wiped out once for the day vs. twice pre-schmuck “racing in mud” video. There were some nice straightaways and I was able to pass a few people. One spectator yelled out to his friend to “tri-pod” the corners to stay upright. I don’t know how pro that is, but the schmuck said the same thing for sand and it seemed to work. Three laps later, the race was over. I wasn’t completely caked in mud (yet) and we were ready to start the 4B.  

The 4B race was a trip. I started in the verrrrry last row and enjoyed flying past and weaving in and out of the commuters on the first lap. Lucas, who had a pretty good lead, finished second.  PJ was still around cheering us on, which was nice because even the hecklers were a bit weathered. For some reason I took a beer handup along the muddy banks of that mess. I don’t even like small sips of water much less a sip of beer at redline. Somehow Fred took six beer handups the day before. He’s so pro. By the end of the race, though, it was cold, raining and just butt white miserable. I did not bring a towel along, so my car became a mud fest. At least we didn’t get tossed by a tornado and I got to practice in the mud. Win, win.

You can't tell but I'm cold, wet & ready to get the heck out of Dodge

On the way home my brain was programmed to plot which lane to pick and when to pass cruising down I-90. There is something about cross racing that makes me feel like a kid riding around in the park. Back then the only thing I cared about was if I could get a curfew extension to stay out past the street lights turning on. And now I just say. “F*  the street lights.” I’ve got my skull and cross bones, blinkies and my wife had hot tea and ice cream waiting for me at home. If that doesn’t spell badass, then I leave you with this video from Jeremy Powers. http://youtu.be/UQ4Rw7YoWgI

Dan Ryan Woods

Trent running up a hill after a barrier.
Photo by the talented Bill Draper.

by Trent Williams
Last Sunday, Kristi Hanson, Kelly Clarke, Hayes Sanborn, Aaron Byrnes, Peter Monko , PJ Cavoto, Kyle Kershasky, Mark Zalewski, myself went down to the South Side at Dan Ryan Woods to see how they do CX there. We were all there to race, but Katie Isermann was packing heat with Twizzlers and Swedish fish.

I showed up around 8:30 to see Hayes with the tent already set up and pre-riding the course.  I put my gear down and pre-rode the course in jeans.    And as similar to last year, this year course did not disappoint.  There was a challenging climbs, including a single track section with tree roots, fast descents, power,  run-up to an off-camber mount, fast power sections, a bunny hop section (think stacked 2 x 4's), another couple power sections, and a recovery, turn-y section.  The first race for the Spidermonkey's was the Master's 30+.  PJ, Hayes, and myself line up - well at least PJ and Hayes lined up while I was fixing a pre-race flat and was able to line up in the last row just seconds before the whistle.   PJ and Hayes were able to finished in the top 30.  Great Job guys!  I had to pull out of the race due to (yet) another flat. 

Men's Cat 3

Since PJ wasn't in that race, he let me use his front wheel.  Along with Hayes, Mark, and Peter.  The whistle blew and we were off.  There was a nice crash 30 feet after the start line which slowed down all but the people in the front.  The first couple laps is always the hardest, especially with the single track climb.  By the second lap I was able to get into a rhythm.  Much better than the 30+ race, where I flatted, I was able to settle into a hard pace.  I never count laps because my brain can't do math while gasping for oxygen, but I think we did 6 laps.  Every one seemed to get harder than the next and especially on the climbs my legs reminded me.  Peter had a great first finish as his first cat 3's race.  Mark had a strong finish and Hayes fought though for a while but the pain from his bruised ribs was too much so didn't think it was too smart to continue.  It' always knowing racing with your friends and knowing they are suffering just as much as you.

Pete Monko in his first Cat 3 race.
Photo by Bill Draper.

Women's Cat 4

Kelly and Kristi lined up for the women's 4.  Even though it was 3 quick laps, those ladies made sure they got their cyclocross fun for the day...

Kristi had another awesome race and racked up another 10 ten finish (6th place actually) - and her last Cat 4 race before her fresh upgrade. 

Kelly - right at the end Kelly was able to to fight and fight hard for one last spot to finish.  So impressive to see her eek one more spot right at the end. 

And throughout the day, we had Katie Isermann handing up her Twizzlers and Swedish Fish in all but easiest places.  

Men's Cat 4

PJ, Aaron, Kyle lined up for the the men's 4A race.  3 laps of fun. Kyle decided to focus on racing rather than eating hotdogs.  Luckily for him, it paid off, no broken rim this time.  And PJ and Aaron fought hard for their 7 and 14th place finish respectively.  All of them managed to clear the bunny hop section unscathed.  Through out the day it was the place to spectate, but 4's race, this was especially the case.

Nice job everyone.  Thanks to everyone who raced and cheered.

Katie handing up candy to Hayes
Photo by Bill Draper

Hopkins Park

PJ on the flyover

Photo by Eric Goodwin

by PJ Cavoto
The Spidermonkey CX invasion continues at Hopkins Park painted in the beautiful Fall colors.  Similar course to previous years included a flyover and a single track section.  Little bumping with over used tree berms and exposed roots took a toll on our bikes, and the dry, dusty conditions made for a fast course.  Terrific efforts from all the team with some great finishes.  The one/two punch continues to come from Kristi and Kelly in Cat 4 women's race.  Masters went well for many, and a there was a good showing in the Cat 3 and Cat 4 men's races.  It is awesome that SM's are in 3rd place as team....it will take strong efforts from all to keep us up there! 

I went out with two goals, to continue pointing in Masters 30+, and to secure a top five finish in Cat 4A's, staying near the top in overall points. 

Mission accomplished! 

Took 21st in Masters, working with Mr. CX-Hayes who finished 20th.

PJ and Aaron approaching the barriers

Photo by Kristi Hanson

The Cat 4A race was exciting from the get go...I got off the line fast and was able to place myself in 3rd by the first turn.  Aaron and Pete had to avoid some early pile-ups and were on my wheel in no time.   We held top 5 spots for the next several laps, working together and switching it up as each of us got tired trying to hammer away from the competition.  A few guys worked there way in there and as usual, nothing goes exactly the way you want it in cross.  Aaron got tangled with a racer and cost him some spots.  Pete had a mechanical on the last lap coming over the flyover and forfeited a few places that included me.  And I just dug in as hard as I could to hang on for 5th place finish, moving me up to 4th overall for the season.

Fast in fall colors
Photo by Chad Gregory

Special effort award goes out to Kyle (4B) who took a hot dog hand up and paid for it with a hard crash.  Kudos to him for getting back on his damaged bike and finishing the race!

Great job Monkey's!! 

Official Spidermonkey Participant List:

Aaron Byrnes

Kelly Clarke

David Cushman

Kristi Hansen

Kyle Kershasky

Ken Mitchell

Pete Monko

Hayes Sanborn

Geoff Scott

Trent Williams
Mark Zalewski

Here's a full shot of the flyover, for those less CX inclined
Photo by Chad Gregory

Jackson Park

 by Peter Monko
After 9 long months of riding trainers and road bikes, the opening day of the Chicago Cross Cup (CCC) was finally here.  On a beautiful warm sunny Saturday in September 12 Spidermonkeys lined up ready to kick butt and take handups.  It was a full day of non-stop action starting with Geoff Scott racing in the 40+ at 8:45am to Kelly, and Mike Meyers muscling their way through the 4B race late in the afternoon.  All the other usual suspects were to race; Kim Brokohf, Kristi Hanson, Ken Mitchell, Stewart Chapman, Mark Z, Hayes, PJ, Aaron Brynes, Trent, Kyle and Katie Kolon.  Tons of other Spidermonkeys made the trip down to the southside throughout the day to take photos, heckle, give out s’mores handups and drink beer of course.

 

I raced the Masters 30+ in the AM with Hayes and PJ lined up nearby in about 4th or 5^th row back.  The race was fast and lasted about 7 laps.  I dropped my chain twice and had a couple of minor mishaps and ended up in 25^th.   I came into the race with minimal expectations and was very happy to score some points and get a better starting position the next time I race.  Now I had 4 hours until my target race, the Cat 4A race.

 

The time flew by talking to friends, watching racers crash, and of course heckling.  When it came to line up for the 4As race, I had a pretty good spot on the left hand side in the second row.  This placed me out of the way of the huge divots, potholes and manhole that cause mass chaos in the earlier races.  I got a pretty good start and ended up taking the first turn in about 5^th or 6^th wheel.  Right off the bat, Brian Witry from Rhythm Racing took off holding a 5 second gap on the rest of us chasers.  During the technical twisty section I would pass one or two riders and soon there were just 3 of us at the front. Having raced in the morning and taken a few practice laps since then I knew what lines to take and where I could rest and save some energy.    Witry was slowly getting away, but I just hung on to the wheel in front of me until I could pass him near the barrier section.  Finally it was just Witry and I with about a lap and a half to go.  The back half of the course was Spidermonkey Alley chock full of screaming teammates that got me pumped up every time I went through.  I finally passed Witry just before the uphill barrier and now just had to hang on without puking for less than a lap.  I rode hard, but tried to keep it in control in order to avoid a crash or dropped chain.  With the finish line ahead, I finally could breath a sigh of relief and celebrate my first bike race win ever! 

Pete handing up pickles and High Life during the 4B race in his leaders jersey!

Thanks to all the Spidermonkeys who showed up and cheered for all of us to go faster, it made a huge difference.

Spidermonkey of the Week - Anna Loosli

Wow, after reading the amazing posts by Kelly and Paul, I feel like I’ve got a lot to live up to! Many of you may not know me – I haven’t been on a lot of team rides this year and only got to know the Spidermonkeys at the end of last season – and between grad school and internships and work, I felt like I hardly had time to ride this year! I’m going to make up for it next year, though, so look out for me then! In the mean time, here’s a history of my relationship with two-wheeled transport.

First Bike. At the age of about 4 or 5 years, my older sister got a red and black BMX bike for her birthday; it was so bright and shiny I immediately determined I would get a bike of my own, even though I did not know how to ride. I got her hand-me-down, with training wheels, which I didn’t mind because they meant I could go wherever I wanted without fear of falling or knee scrapes! My sister was of a different mindset – and after having to ride around the park with me a few times she couldn’t handle the noise, and refused to ride anywhere with me again unless I took them off. My next bike memory is being pushed down a grassy hill – toward the street – by my sister.

            Hitting the Slopes. Luckily the story must have ended well, because the training wheels were never put back on, I didn’t wind up in the hospital, and my next major bike memory is getting a mountain bike in junior high. Red and black, like my sister’s old BMX, I think it was a Trek and it made one major, but memorable, excursion to the early June mud of Teton National Park before it got stolen. My best friend and I had decided we would simply strap our snowboards to our backpacks and ride our bikes up to the snowpack, hike, and ride down. We sadly overestimated our biking skills and never made it to the snowpack, let alone rode down it on snowboards!

            Many years later, working in Portland, OR, I decided it would be brilliant to get a new mountain bike so I could explore the major metropolitan forest preserve, and hopefully parts of Mt. Hood. I got to know Forest Park fairly well, but soon moved to the East Coast where the bike fell into disuse (pavement makes nubby tires sad), and I took the subway more often than wheels. New York was too much city for me, and being underground was claustrophobic, so I got myself a cheap steel frame off E-bay and began adventuring the main roads of Manhattan to get my adrenaline fix. Riding the streets of New York was amazing, so when I relocated to Chicago for grad school in 2009 the first major purchase I made was a little mixte commuter from Working Bikes. Once spring rolled around I got myself a road bike.

Road Bike. Mmmmmmm…  I knew absolutely nothing about bicycles when I bought that bike. I just knew I wanted it, and there were no mountains around so I had to find something to do with myself outdoors. Over my first summer in Chicago, we made friends. I rode my bike a LOT, and decided I would do the North Shore Century on it, just because. My bike was awesome. It needed to do something important!

I trained and rode alone most of the summer because I didn’t know anyone else I felt comfortable riding with. By the end of July, though, I was getting worried about the ride – I’d never done a century before. Were there rules to riding in a group? How would I know how to do it? How would I be able to keep going after mile 75? What if I crashed??

            After asking around with a couple of friends who raced, I found out about the Spidermonkeys, contacted Vanessa, and decided I would at least “try” to keep up during their last Saturday morning training ride before the century. I was slow. And I got dropped. But it’s a no-drop ride, so John was nice enough to hang back and try to coach me through the last mile or so to Highland Park, using terms I’d only heard on television and concepts I’d never applied to riding a bike before.  It was very kind, but it didn’t really help me get there any faster. I pretty much decided that even though I loved my new bike, maybe I needed more practice; maybe I wasn’t ready, or maybe I should just give up and do the century next year…

            But by the following Sunday, I had changed my mind back and figured I didn’t have anything to lose. I could always turn around at the metric century point, and I was determined to at least make an effort since it had been a goal all summer. I had no idea what to expect and didn’t even know anyone’s name, I just looked for the Spidermonkey jerseys in the parking lot and got up the courage to walk over and introduce myself. I asked if I could tag along, and never expected to keep up past the first rest point, let alone the entire ride. THANK YOU! To everyone who was so supportive! Vanessa, Dean, John, Kristi, Grace, Geoff (particularly when we got lost before the last checkpoint), and everyone else who rode with the group last year – I managed not only to keep up with the group that day, but LOVED it! It was way more fun than I ever expected and, even though I got dropped (before the last checkpoint) I managed to finish with some Spidermonkeys towing me along. In sneakers. And mountain bike shorts. (I do NOT recommend the latter, lesson learned!)

North Shore Century in Sneakers!

            Soon after the NSC, I signed up for VQ and got to train with everyone for several grueling weeks. I had no idea how hard it was going to be! Sadly, the VQ sessions ended midwinter, school took over my life, and the rest is history. Not quite… I did get inspired by Grace and Kristi on one of the girls’ rides to sign up for the Chicago Triathlon. Trent and Geoff held a (private) tri clinic with me that was a major help in setting up my transition space. Even though I trained with Team WILD (women inspiring life with diabetes), I tried to go on a few early morning rides to keep up appearances, which is how I wound up discussing cyclocross…

Chicago Triathlon!

            I didn’t even know what cyclocross was at the beginning of last year. Now, after two seasons riding a road bike I can’t believe I didn’t know about it before! I participated in the Half Acre clinic in September, on my old mountain bike from Portland, and decided it would maybe be fun. I wasn’t convinced. All that jumping on and off your bike, and carrying it? Mmmaybe not… But thanks to Kelly’s invites to practice, as well as the rest of the Spidermonkeys’ enthusiasm I decided to take my bike out to Sunrise Park – because it had rained and I had to ride a mountain bike. I was hoping it would be a benefit in the mud.

CX = Awesome!

It was. A little bit. More important, I realized I’d had a blast once I recovered from the gasping and burning sensations in my chest. I vowed to race again.

            A few weeks later, I hadn’t been back on my bike but I read about the Indian Lakes course and had been updated on all the Spidermonkey success and went ahead and registered. Note to self: do not race bikes (especially heavy mountain bikes – thanks for the reminders, Dean!) if you haven’t been practicing. Because I ended up deciding mid-race that I was NOT having fun. Once again, however, I felt great a little while later and was really sad I hadn’t tried harder. That may be my motto next year – rider harder, go faster! And maybe I’ll try the heavy bike out in Palos instead…

Indian Lakes CX

            This ended up being a lot longer than I originally thought it would be! To end it, I’ve had an awesome, inspiring and fun time both riding with the Spidermonkeys and participating in some of the other events they’re involved in. Their competitive nature keeps me on my toes, but for someone who loves going fast (just about any way you can – surfing, snowboarding, biking, lead foot…), I am not competitive and have gotten turned off by the need to WIN in the past. I love riding with the Spidermonkeys because most of the time it’s okay to ride just because you love it. Because it’s fun and it makes you feel good. If you can win while doing it, that’s just an added bonus.

Spidermonkey Ladies