Thursday, May 20, 2010

2010 Champ Pain 40k Flicker Photos


If you competed in the Cham Pain 40K over the weekend, check out your photo!  Four hundred and fifty three (453) photos were taken in all. Click on  the link below to see your pictures.  Photo left: Peter Allen, XXx Athletico competing in men's 30+

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ragfield/4612809818/in/set-72157624072940738/

Monday, May 17, 2010

2010 Cham Pain 40K Recap

Welcome to Tolono, Illinois, a slice of life in the middle of nowhere with one gas station, a cafĂ©, flat, nicely paved roads, and non-existent traffic. One would think this would be an ideal place to hold the first 40k time trial of the season. “Hold up on that carwash gentleman!,” Jackie Gleason a.k.a. Sherriff Buford T. Justice exclaimed to the young hoodlums stripping his son Junior’s car on the side of the road in the 1977 epic Smokey and the Bandit. In other words, everything was perfect except for the weather. There were a handful of riders who rode excellent times, but I suspect that these times would have been much faster had the spring weather cooperated just a tenny bit more.

The weather at the start of the race was in the low 60’s with winds out of the West. During the race, the winds picked up, riders experienced a steady, soaking rain, and the temperatures dropped into the low 50's.  Are we cookie cutting, or are we time trialing, I heard one say?  For the third week in a row, racers faced inclimate weather with a strong tailwind going out to the turnaround followed by a coarse headwind to the finishline.

Also, for the second time in just a few short weeks, Charles “Gerlacher” Gerlach, racing for upstart Lamb Little Racing, posted the fastest time of the day ripping the Tolono pavement in a whopping 54:09. PACT-Dish Network racers took the second and third spots respectively. Mike Jones smoked the course in 54:44 followed by Bob Burke (showing more than a few, young whipper snappers how its done) rolling a 55:59. Brian Harris (Scarletfire / Verizon Racing), slowly showing his form of a year ago, posted the fourth fastest time of the day riding a 56:25. Peter Allen (XXx Athletico), showcasing a new aero rig this season, made it a race finishing fifth and in the money riding a 57:25.

On the ladies side, Debbie Dust (PACT-Dish Network) was easy money as she yet again posted the fastest women’s time of the day with a 1:01:11. Tara Flaig (Unattached) rode a stellar 1:12:05 for second place honors. MATTS tour regular, the ageless Marilyn Powell (ABD) rounded out the women’s overall podium hammering the course in a 1:18:01 for third place honors.

Other riders who produced fast times on this day were former U.S. Cyclocross Champion, Tyger Johnson,  (Cars R Us) 56:24*; Michael Redlich (ABD) 34:43**, Graham Clark (ABD) 39:13**, David Orion (Endure-IT) 57:35, Mark “the Polish Jet” Serafin (PACT-Dish Network)59:24, Richard Adamczyk (Midwest Masters) 59:34, Scott Dahman (Wild Card Racing) 101:04, David Goetzinger (Rock River Oil) 1:01:55, Richard Vichotka (Midwest Masters) 1:14:05,  Edward Wang (Unattached) 1:12:09, and Patricia Beam (ABD)1:25:54.

Next Sunday takes us to Barstow, Illinois for the fastest and flattest 20k TT in the Midwest put on by DICE /QCBC. This is a ROTY point’s race. MATTS points will not be awarded for this race. On-line registration is available. Check the ABR website for race results for the current race. Links to the ABR website as well as the flyer for the Barstow 20k, and online registration are listed below.

http://ambikerace.com/
http://www.ambikerace.com/2010/flyers/2010_Barstow_TT_Flyer_-_Rev_2%5B1%5D.pdf
https://secure.getmeregistered.com/get_information.php?event_id=3298

Picture is of Charles Gerlach (Lamb Little Racing) overall winner of the Cham Pain 40k.  Other pictures show the Wild Card Racing logo and the crazy weather Tolono experienced on 5/16.  Look at the flag for reference.
*   Fairing Vehicle
** Junior 20K

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

2010 Scarlet Fire Verizon 2-Person Recap

I did a little checking on the internet today to find out just exactly what the term "Scarletfire" means. There were phrases like “bright colored flame” and “rich iridescent tones.” I like the last one: “Stir it up.” Stir it up was exactly what the weather did at the inaugural Scarletfire / Verizon Racing 2-person time trial in Garden Prairie, Illinois this past Saturday. The conditions at the Bong 20k time trial two weeks prior were baby food alongside of what GP had in store for the MATTS faithful on this day. The weather was in the crisp, low 50’s with patchy rain, cloudy skies, and did I mention wind? There was plenty of it!

Teams took advantage of the tailwinds on the way out to the turnaround. However, the trek back to the finish was a whole other story. I heard so many stories of good riders saying they could not wait to get to the finish line with three miles to go. The winds were so strong on the finishing stretch that teams where riding sideways to keep their aero rigs upright. Many riders compared this race to Leland-Kermesse minus the gravel.

Dave Polin and Jeff Otto (WDT/ Allvoi) rode the fastest time of the day annihilating the course and the competition in a stellar 52:07, followed by Jason Smith and Kurt Spoerle (Zipp Factory Team) 54:11. Kyle Mindick and Nick Lauterbach (XXx Athletico) rode a 55:00 even for third place honors. On the ladies side, Kristin Wrede and Christine Anderson (Unattached) lit up the course riding a 105:00,  narrowly nipping Francine Haas and Wendy Gaddey (Alberto's) who rode a stellar 105:08 for second place honors. Third place belonged to Pascale Petro and Ginger Sides who rode a 1:10:03 respectively.

Other Teams having good rides on this day were Gary Painter and Frances Manfred (Fort Wayne Outfitters), Brian Harris and Chris Mosora (Scarletfire / Verizon Racing), Heidi Sarna and Eileen Neville (XXx Athletico), Wayne Simon and Bob Karlow (Verdigris), Michael Jones and James Host (PACT Dish Network), Richard Kreutzfelt and Dan Madsen (PACT/ABD), Clara Smart and Ann Luckow (Northwestern University Cycling Team), Robert Burke and Ziggy Demel (PACT Dish Network), Curtis Bice and James Snedden (ABD), Angela Rochester and Nancy Heyman (Alberto's), Reed Oliff and Charles Gerlach (Lamb Little Racing), Gerald Beam and Ray Putman (Turin), Marilyn Powell and Mimi Fagen (ABD), Sal Troia and Dave Thomson (Mad City Velo), Al Stern and Vitor Alcazar (Velo Club Roubaix / Colavita Chicagoland), Pat Beam and Nancy Iglinski (ABD), Brian Karlow and Vince Boyer (Redline Racing), and Robert Herbert and Edward Wang (Midwest Masters).

The race was not without it’s interesting moments. An irate driver upset with racers riding on both sides of the road decided to take it upon himself to run over the turnaround cone, drag it under his car onto U.S. Route 20, and shred it into a thousand tiny pieces. This indiscretion made it hard for both the turnaround marshal and on the riders who saw no bright orange cone at the turnaround portion of the course. On another occasion, a lady driving a blue Chevy Cavalier told the finishing officials that she had a CDL license and she could not legally by law pass other vehicles in no passing zones and neither should riders (I guess she did not know this race was permitted, and I never knew that one needed a CDL license to drive a compact Chevy). Finally, it appears that some farm equipment or a scofflaw took or took out some of the turning arrows in the middle of the course. These are things that no promoter could foresee, and as a new promoter to the series  Scarletfire Racing gets a "10" for doing an excellent job putting on a great event in inclimate weather. Thanks to Mark Swartzendruber, Mike Zellmann, Brian Harris, Chris Mosora, and the rest of the Verizon Team for putting on this great event!

Next week takes us to Champaign country for the Cham Pain 40k in Tolono, Illinois put on by Wild Card Racing.  The results for the 2-person time trial are posted on the ABR website located in the "News" section.  A copy of the link to the Cham Pain 40k along with a link to the ABR website are listed below.  On-line registration for Cham Pain ends 5/14.