Downer’s Grove Criterium
August 19, 2006 – Downer’s Grove, IL
Cat 5 – DNF

OK, that title line is about as low as you can get, but I was pretty upset after getting pulled from the Cat 5 race after only 10 minutes, especially when we weren’t that far behind the lead pack. Talk about a total bummer on your birthday.

I was pretty jacked to get into town around noon. Registration went smooth and I decided not to race the Masters 30+ (my legs were still gone after my Nike memories on Thursday night). Warming up on the surrounding roads was easy, plenty of bathrooms, XXXers in the house in full force. Things should have been a blast.

I wasn’t surprised they split the Cat 5 field. Actually, it was probably a good idea. Started out fast, but it took at least 1 lap to get the feel for the course. I began moving my way up as the legs warmed up. On about the 4th lap the officials started pulling us over. My first thought was their was a major accident ahead of us, but then it hit me that we were going to get lapped. Uh, not quite…

I’ll save my frustrations for paying $33 for a 10 minute race in a polite, but poignant letter to the event organizers and USCF. Comparatively, my race on Thurs. was $30 for 30 minutes, in which I got a nice moisture wicking shirt, 3 former 90s rap chart toppers along the course, and lots of Goose Island beer at the finish. Kudos to Nike; thwwwwttttt to the DG race organizers. Thankfully, I’ve had wonderful experiences in other bike races (there are some awesome organizers out there), otherwise I sure would be disappointed as a newbie in the DG race.

Gee, 10 minutes. I wish the express checkout lane at Jewel went that quick…