Service Above Self

Thanks to a generous grant from the West Bend Noon Rotary Club, the Eisenbahn State Trail now has two permanent bike repair stands. Both were installed this afternoon. One is on the south side of the historic train depot in downtown West Bend …

The other is installed where the Eisenbahn meets the Moraine Park Technical College connector trail …

That's Jeff Puetz of Bike Friendly West Bend in the background, assisting the Washington County Planning & Parks Department with the installation.

Each stand includes a tire pump and a set of tools secured to the stand by retractable braided steel cables. What great amenities for trail users!

Bookends

This week started well: a 50-mile ride on the Eisenbahn State Trail on what likely will prove to be the last 80° day of 2019.

This week ended well: a 31-mile road ride at a good pace, despite high winds.

It was the rest of the week that sucked: a dramatic temperature drop, days of unbroken dark clouds, and heavy rains that have left the Riverfront Parkway impassable in Quaas Creek Park and Riverside Park. A big chunk of West Bend is flooded, and I feel like my cycling season is drowning in sympathy. The great enthusiasm I had coming out of last weekend’s cyclocross race at Humboldt Park in Milwaukee turned into complete apathy yesterday when I decided not to line up for PumpkinCross in Grafton.

OK, so I was coming off an overnight shift and I had a bit of soreness in my lower back, but those aren’t the reasons I didn’t race on Saturday. I simply didn’t want to. I was convinced the rain was coming and selfishly I hoped that it would come quickly and severely enough to absolve me of any responsibility to decide whether I would compete. As Saturday morning turned into Saturday afternoon, it was clear that the rain wouldn’t stop the race. By that time, though, I was so far away from where I needed to be mentally that there was no question about competing. I was switched off.

I spent an hour on the turbo trainer in the home gym on Saturday. I was there on Thursday too, trying to make something out of a week so abbreviated by bad weather. But those sessions were poor substitutes for riding outside, and my 6:45 in the saddle this week is my shortest effort since the last week of May. That’s 6:45 total, indoor and outdoor. Pretty lame.

I’m trying to be optimistic about the week ahead. We should be in the mid-60s and dry Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, then still reasonably warm but maybe a little wet on Thursday and Friday. I’m not worried about finding time to ride outside in the week to come. I am worried about missing another race: Saturday’s forecast for Badger Prairie Cross includes temperatures in the low 40s and high winds. We could be looking at sub-freezing wind chill, and I’m just not willing to endure it.

If only there were someplace else that had cyclocross races … someplace reliably warmer, yet still close enough to reach in a reasonable amount of time by car, and preferably with a Sunday schedule so that I can get some F-ing sleep. If you’re thinking Illinois, then you’re not alone. I ordered my I-PASS yesterday. How’s that for optimism, that chance I will do enough races south of the state line to make an Illinois Tollway auto-pay device seem like a good acquisition? I did a gravel road race in Illinois earlier this year, and I did two cyclocross races down there in 2017, so don’t say it won’t happen. I’m not ready to write off the 2019 season.

A New Approach To An Old Problem

Since December 2012, I have been using a foam roller to work out occasional kinks and to prevent soreness. It has been a great tool for big muscles like quads and glutes, but less effective for areas like the neck and shoulders, where lots of muscles come together in a complex web. With my history of shoulder injuries I frequently experience stiffness in the trapezius, levator scapulae, and other muscles. My stretching routine simply isn’t targeting them effectively, so it’s time to try something else.

I’m convinced there’s merit in myofascial release—i.e., the breaking up of adhesions in the connective tissue that surrounds our muscles. You may have heard it called “trigger point” therapy, but essentially it’s massage. And it turns out that in a world full of expensive and elaborate massage options, the humble lacrosse ball is just the right size and density to work deep into the neck and shoulders. For only $6, last week I bought a pack of three balls. Like the model in the picture above, I place a ball between my back and the wall, then lean into it to apply pressure to the trigger points. A trigger point might be almost anywhere, so there’s a little wiggling around to find one. You will, though, know when you find them: they hurt! And this is one of those rare occasions when you should ignore your body and push through the pain. Holding pressure on the trigger point eventually results in “release” and the pain subsides. Done consistently, myofascial release should leave you with less stiffness and greater range of motion.

This technique seems to be working for me. I’ll keep one ball in the home gym, where I do most of my strength training. I’ll keep one in the bedroom, where a little stretching helps me to relax before I go to sleep. And I’ll keep one at the office, where sitting for 40 hours a week is surely contributing to the persistent stiffness. If I can remember to step away from the desk a few times during my shift, then I can quickly and easily reverse some of the damage.

I think the foam roller has been good for me as a cyclist; using lacrosse balls to loosen up the neck and shoulders probably won’t translate into better on-bike performance. But I’m not always on the bike! Addressing this problem will at least do no harm to my cycling ambitions.

Try To Remember …

… the last time September 30 looked like this! We hit 83° in West Bend, just 3° short of the all-time high temperature for this date. An average September 30 is only 65°, so we gave that a good beating! I hit the road for the ride depicted above, 50+ miles done counter-clockwise. Yes, it was windy—that’s why we were so warm—but you can’t pass up a day like this … especially when you look at the forecast. We might get 2 inches of rain tomorrow as a cold front comes through. This may have been our last 80° day of the year. Tomorrow might be our last 70° day. Things unraveled quickly last fall and it looks like they might do it again this year, but at least for today I was happy.

2019 Humboldt Park CX

My preparation for today’s cyclocross race consisted of a 12-hour overnight shift at work in Brookfield, then a mad dash back to West Bend, then a hasty breakfast, then a somewhat-less-than-restorative 2 hours of sleep, then a trip down to Humboldt Park in the Bay View neighborhood of Milwaukee that was delayed by road construction, then registration, then a scant 20-minute warmup that included just 1 preview lap of the course. That’s not ideal, but what followed was one of the best times I have ever had in a cyclocross race.

Yesterday’s forecast promised an inch of rain, and there was some reluctance by Milwaukee County Parks to allow the race to run. Velocause Centraal Cycling, the host club, assured the parks department that it would remediate any damage to the grounds. I went to work last night knowing that the race would be held but not knowing whether it would be a mudder. Fortunately the rainfall total turned out to be much lower than anticipated. In fact, course conditions were pretty close to perfect and the Velocause folks adjusted the posts & tape throughout the day to ensure that the riders wouldn’t wear out any one line.

In the past I described the Humboldt Park race as something of a track meet. It was again today: this fifth edition of the race was the least technical, and the tacky surface made for quick acceleration, sure braking, and confident cornering. I made the most of a third row start by placing myself right behind John Lichtenberg (Diablo Cycling), with whom I’m pretty closely matched despite lopsided results in his favor: I had beaten John only once in 13 previous career matchups, but he had finished immediately ahead of me on 5 of those occasions. If I could follow him off the starting grid and at least hold his wheel through Lap 1, then I would have a chance at beating him and maybe grabbing a spot in the Top 10.

The start was chaotic and I soon found myself in front of John. I didn’t expect that to stick, but I took it as a good sign and went to work on a couple of guys who got out off the grid quicker but didn’t really belong in front of me. Lap 1 went by in a blur and I was pretty pleased with myself until Dave Eckel (MOSH / Team Wisconsin) roared past me on the final straightaway. I couldn’t let that stand, as I had beaten Dave at Manitowoc in our only other meeting this season. I quickly came back to his wheel and we spent the next few laps working almost as teammates. We chased down Sean Shields (Hampshire Cycle Club), then suddenly both Dave and Sean were comfortably behind me and I was going to be one-on-one with—drum roll, please—John Lichtenberg for the final lap.

I was up for it. I knew singlespeed superhero Carlos Casali (Franco Factory Racing p/b Brightleaf Homes) was about to overtake us, so I passed Lichtenberg on a little climb and hoped Casali would prove disruptive. On such a wide-open course, however, Casali’s arrival did nothing to impede Lichtenberg. John and I then spent the first half of the final lap locked together, vainly trying to hang on to Carlos. Lichtenberg was quick over the triple barrier and got a little gap on me, but he really pulled away as we played along the hill near the end of the lap. I just couldn’t match him there, and the finishing straight was too short for me to pull him back. Another consecutive finish! This time it was Lichtenberg in 15th and Yours Truly in 16th out of 25 in the Cat 1/2/3 Masters 50+ race. Arlen Spicer (BELGIANWERKX) was today’s winner, followed by Tim Hacker (unattached) and Christopher Berge (unattached). The 25-man field was the largest in Cat 1/2/3 Masters 50+ so far this year, and I really enjoyed having company for the entire race.

Up next is PumpkinCross in Grafton on Saturday, October 5 … I hope. The preliminary weather forecast is really unfavorable. I was good today on a hammer-down power course. In the mud I wouldn't expect to do well.

Like Two Separate Rides

At the halfway point ...

Today’s ride from my home near the southern terminus of the Eisenbahn State Trail up to the northern terminus at Eden was like two separate rides. The “out” leg was a slow slog into a nasty headwind; the “back” leg was easy-as-you-please with a great push from the wind that for the first 90 minutes had been a bitter enemy. I mean …

The stats tell the story today.

Consolation Prizes On World Cup Weekend

This was the biggest weekend of the year for cyclocross in Wisconsin. Today’s elite men’s and women’s races in the Telenet UCI Cyclocross World Cup were the centerpieces of three days of competition that included dozens of races for amateurs and professionals. Many of my friends and rivals competed, but I stayed home. Because I work overnight on Fridays, the Friday and Saturday races would not have fit easily into my schedule. And today’s World Cup races—I’ve had fun watching them before as a fan—were held in the rain on a muddy course. I understand why some people like slopfests, but they just aren’t for me. I stayed home, stayed dry, and watched the spectacle on TV.

If I do the entire Wisconsin Cycling Association cyclocross series, then I will get my fill of Waterloo anyway. The series goes to Trek headquarters on October 19 for the GP Jo Vanderaffe and on November 23 for the state championships. Throw in the Battle of Waterloo at Firemen’s Park on November 3 and maybe I should just have my mail forwarded there.

It’s disappointing that today’s weather was so rotten, but I’m more concerned about my training than I am about a missed opportunity to be a spectator. I didn’t ride outside yesterday or today, making this my first 0-for-2 weekend since June 15-16. It was still a 9.5-hour week, but I was hoping for 12 or more.

On the upside, I got a lot of other stuff done. I bought groceries, new shirts to wear at the office, and a couple of things for the house. I cut my hair, shaved off my whiskers, washed dishes, did laundry, binge-watched a show on Netflix that I didn’t particularly like but felt obliged to see through to the end, and was generally virtuous and productive.

I have cleared away every obstacle that might have prevented me from having a great time on the bike in the week to come … except the rain. There’s a lot more of it in the forecast. Monday and Tuesday look good, but it’s Saturday that really needs to be nice. I’m anxious to return to racing and the course at Humboldt Park in Milwaukee is a good one for me. I need dry conditions though, so my participation may be an 11th-hour decision.

Volumize

My 2019 cyclocross season has been busy: 3 WCA races, 6 practice races at Royal Oaks, 1 skills practice at Ridge Run … all since August 13. That’s something cyclocross-y every 3 days or so, on average.

But now there’s a little break. This year’s Royal Oaks practice series reached its conclusion yesterday, and my next WCA race is 10 days away. It’s time to ramp up the training volume, big-time. Experience has taught me that as the cyclocross season progresses my performance drops because my overall training volume drops. Cooler temperatures and fewer hours of daylight lead to less saddle time. And historically I’ve done a poor job of complementing outdoor rides with turbo trainer rides, which I know would do me a world of good if I took them seriously.

The weather still looks OK though, so I’m planning several long training rides. Today the big, beefy Gatorskins went back on the cyclocross bike—I’ll save the race tires for competition—and I covered 32 miles on the Eisenbahn State Trail. Sometime during this period I also would like to hit the Wild Goose State Trail and perhaps others, but nothing is more convenient than the Eisenbahn. It’s not hard to imagine that the trail I can see from my living room is the one I will use most often.

I’m now only 166 miles away from my 11th straight 4,000-mile season, and I mean to surpass that goal next week. This will be a Top 10 year for mileage if I surpass 4,410, but it won’t be a 5,000-mile year. And the all-time record of 6,236 miles, set in 2015, is safe until at least 2020.

2019 Lion Cross

Making its second appearance on the WCA cyclocross calendar following a successful launch last season, today’s Lion Cross at Waterford Town Park in western Racine County was an exercise in humidity and, for me, humility.

Recent heavy rains left much of the park under water and forced the organizers to take the sand volleyball court out of the course. I didn’t mind its exclusion; on the final lap last year that feature cost me a position I had been fighting hard to win. We didn’t have rain during the race but it might have been welcome. With temperatures in the 70s and humidity in excess of 80 percent, the air was thick. On a course with no running, I didn’t hesitate to take a water bottle on my downtube. I had time for only a couple of sips, but they were comforting.

During the race I felt bad about my performance. I had a rough start, and when I lost the wheel of John Lichtenberg (Diablo Cycling) halfway through Lap 1 some of the fight went out of me. I needed a couple of laps to find it again. It helped that I was picking off singlespeed riders who had started a minute before my wave, but the biggest resurgence in my momentum came when I spotted age group foe Richard Prodans (unattached) just ahead. Prodans benefited from a better start than mine, but by Lap 4 he seemed to be out of gas. Pursuing and then dropping him gave me a small victory in the dying moments of an otherwise below average race.

I finished 13th out of 17 in the Cat 1/2/3 Masters 50+ race. John Lirette (Ben’s / Milwaukee Bicycle Co.) took the win, followed by Jarrod Kerkhoff (MSN Pro Coaching) and Lance Johnson (Velocause Centraal Cycling). Six of the 17 racers were from Illinois, but this was still the smallest field of the season. Some of the usual suspects were in Iowa this weekend for Jingle Cross. Incidentally, that's a pair of Cat 2s at the head of affairs. I was 10th out of the 14 Cat 3s.

Up next is the Trek Cup and the UCI Cyclocross World Cup races in Waterloo. I will be there on Sunday to watch the pros, then it’s back to racing for me on Saturday, Sep. 28, at Humboldt Park in Milwaukee.

Cyclocross Comes To Ridge Run … Finally!

Seven years ago I had a little fantasy about bringing cyclocross to Ridge Run Park. It didn’t seem possible though, because Ridge Run at that time was a “no bikes allowed” Washington County park and not a City of West Bend park. Then the city acquired the park from the county and today my idea became a reality.

Four other racers joined me for a skills session that included starts, barriers, and a sand pit. We didn’t do a practice race like those we run on Tuesdays at Royal Oaks; today was all about technique. I think we’ll do something like this to kick off the 2020 practice season … probably on the first Tuesday next August when the temperature is likely to be higher than what most people find comfortable for a 30-minute race. Thanks to everyone who came out today! I hope you found the session to be valuable.