I Love Rain

September 30, 2011

Sun Prairie was just as advertised on weather.com.  It was cold AND hot on Saturday and Sunday was a mudfest due to 80% chance of rain...more like 100%.

Because of the possibility of what was to come, I did something that is not in my nature.  I went to Quest and spent some REAL money on proper rain gear for all 4 of us.  We have been racing road for nearly 20 years and have been rolling in the mud in CX for 5 and not a single one of us had a decent rain jacket, rain boots that didn't leak or heaven forbid, a pair of waterproof pants.  I admit it was painful, but imagine the joy of admin knowing that your racers are well-taken care of.

It was well worth it.  I did a rain dance Friday morning to make sure my splurge was justified and I was not disappointed.

The weekend started well.  We had the whole family there, including the dogs.  Because Ian has upgraded to a Cat 3, we didn't have to be at the course at butt-crack o'clock - thankfully, because we were still running a bit behind.  This was to be Ian's first race with the 2s and only his third in the Cat 3s.  Admin secured him a front row start amid the men.  He started well, sat top 10 for the first couple laps and then slipped back to top 20 for the second 2.  He got tired in the last 2 and ended up back in 44th.  Out of 105 starters, not too bad at all.

Mike was nervous, feeling like there was a lot of pressure on him.  People were stopping by the car checking out the Stevens bike.  And Mike didn't disappoint anyone.  He'll talk "bike geek" anytime.  He started warming up 30 minutes before the race and then I got nervous.  Mike has had a lot of stuff going on with work and you never know how the stress will manifest itself.  It's got to affect you somehow.  I was hoping it wasn't going to be on the bike.

Lining up for the start was like "old home" week.  It was great to see all the usual suspects including Tim Butler, Tom Price, Troy Krause and of course everybody's hero, Bill Marshall.  The race started fast and Keith Lucas shot to the front like he was shot out of a cannon.  He led the whole lap until the runup where he bobbled and Tim, who has been incorporating running since last December, took the lead.  He built up a handful of seconds until Mike started to make the bridge across.  It took all of a lap for Mike to make contact and when he did, the two of them started trading pulls around the course.  Mike concedes that Tim was EXTREMELY strong in the flat, fast sections and left Mike in the dust on the runup.  They were equally matched as an average on the course and then the top junior reached them.

Sam O'Keefe had ridden through the rest of the Masters field and reached Mike and Tim with a lap to go.  Tim jumped on Sam's wheel for bit, but started to gap, so Mike jumped around and got on the junior's wheel.  Mike was able to get a gap on Tim and then Sam pulled off and Mike took over.  He knew he needed a gap going into the runup and did.  Mike came across the line with Tim right behind.

Imagine the great photos I got of Mike crossing the line with his hands in the air.  Well, I got none because he didn't do it.  In fact when I asked him about it later he said "Oh, I didn't even think of that."  Duh!  Those of us who take photos for posting to the sponsors do...

Sunday we awoke to cold rain and lots of it.  Thank God, I had spent all that money on rain gear!!  Ian was racing the 15-16 race the second day so Mike's race was first.  Procrastination is the name of the game.  I finally had to walk away.  They both made it to the start line, which was amazing.

The rain let up right before the Masters 45+ race started.  There were some fresh legs on the front line as Wayne Simon joined for Day 2.  Added to that is that it was Tom Price's 52nd birthday.  Well, he must have decided the night before what he wanted for his birthday because he started the race in the front and ended the race in the front.  Mike and Tim had a little more trouble getting around a few riders in the first lap and by the time they did, Tom had a 10 second gap that turned into 20 seconds quickly.  Mike was alone in 2nd chasing most of the race and Tim was alone in 3rd chasing until 1 lap to go when Tim caught Mike.  The course was sloppy, muddy and wet and Mike handled the mud just a little better, a handful fewer dabs and crashes was all it took to give Mike the second step on the podium and the jersey for the second day and into Ft. Collins.

I was not able to be at the podium the second day as Ian's race started at the conclusion of Mike's race.  Ian won the holeshot in the 15-16 race and despite being his first mud race of the year, sat comfortably in 3rd the entire race.  Ian was very glad to have made it back to the podium.

All in all it was an extremely successful weekend.  The race was very well run, as usual, and the Wisconsin volunteers were awesome.  The Bob's Red Mill team of racers is exceptional and so very helpful.  Special thanks to Dave for pitting for Mike on day 2.  That was key.  Can't go any further without thanking the Clarksville Schwinn crew and the On Your Left crew for getting us taken care of.  From me to you guys - YOU ARE THE BEST!!  Last but not least, my hero, Bill Marshall and Challenge tires- mucho gracias!!

Training this week has been tough for Mike - so very tired, and he is traveling for work next week.  So conditioning leading into Ft. Collins is iffy.  But Joe Collins, Mike's coach has a plan a-working to make sure he is ready to defend the jersey.  Admin has spent the week making sure all registrations are complete and travel arrangements are taken care of before Mike leaves town.  It will be another family trip, so there are many details outside of racing that have to take place.

Regardless of what happens, we are excited to get to Colorado to spend some quality time.  We are taking two extra days after racing to enjoy Denver.  In the meantime, John Bryan this weekend after some cross country racing for Ian on Saturday.  It will be good to get back to the OVCX before we leave again.

Till next time - Cheers!

The First Stop

September 22, 2011

I’ve worn many hats through the years as far as racing is concerned; racer, teammate, team leader, wife of racer, mother of racer.  But I think the hardest job of all is ADMIN of racer.  And with the announcement of Masters Cyclocross World Championships being held in Louisville, KY in January of 2012, this is my newest role.

Who cares about Admin?  I don’t know, but as I live each day and my memory fades over time, what better way for me to actually remember what actually is going on during this time so that at the end I can answer the question, “How in the hell did we do all of that?”

This is the story of the McShanes only.  Nothing is the right way, just our way.  Most of you who know us, know you wouldn’t want to do it our way, because it is usually chaos-filled.

As I write this we are headed to the first stop of the United States Gran Prix of Cyclocross in Sun Prairie, WI – just outside Madison.  Mike races for the Bob’s Red Mill Cyclocross Team and has won the 45+ USGP overall for the last two years and is trying to pull off the hat trick.  It is the only national-wide series of it’s kind in the country for the “old guys”. 

The USGP races are in Wisconsin, Colorado and Kentucky before wrapping up in Oregon in December.  Points are accumulated at each 2-day weekend of racing and the person with the most wins.  Last year it came down to the last race of the series in Portland and Mike was able to hold off Tom Price of KCCX for the series win.

Usually the cyclocross season ends with the US National Championships in mid-December, but EVERYTHING has changed this year.  “Natz” have been moved to the first full week in January and then the piece de resistance is that MASTERS CYCLOCROSS WORLD Championships have been awarded to Louisville, KY for 2012 AND 2013.  These will be held in the week following Natz, right down the street from our abode.

You just don’t get these opportunities every day.  Worlds – Masters Worlds in our backyard.  Well, hell yeah Mike is going for it.  What’s stopping him?

Well, life.  Life is a bitch sometimes.  Mike has been very competitive in every aged-based masters race he has done.  A podium appearance at Cyclocross Nationals has eluded him, but other than that, he is a serious contender to “do well” in every race he is in.  But let’s be honest, a lot of the big, competitive masters riders do just that.  They ride.  That’s it.  Hard to compete with that when you are working full time +, have two kids that are serious into their own sports and a junior cycling team that you help run.  I won’t even get into the fact that we are living 4 people and 2 dogs in a 1000 square foot apartment right now.  That’s another story altogether.  But I digress…

This is where Admin comes in.  Even serious amateur cyclocross racing can be a job.  Besides being on top of the equipment, which the racer does him or herself, there is some serious research:  into races, into start lists, into dates, hotels and the closest Starbucks coffee.  Admin registers their racer on opening day to get a good start position, makes airline reservations, books the hotels and gets the oil changed for long car trips.  This person makes sure all the uniforms are washed, the bags are packed, that the dogs are taken care of and that we have all the supplies we need.  On race day Admin pins numbers, works the pit, takes photos, keeps time splits and screams their head off.

Oh heavens, let’s face it.  Mike couldn’t even begin to train or hope to compete in Masters Cyclocross Worlds without me taking care of all of these elements.  At least that’s what I keep telling myself.  So, this is the story of our journey to the 2012 Championships, come hell or high water.

USGP Madison is the first stop.  Its finishes will be a big determining factor of how the year is going to go.  We are already booked to be in Colorado in 2 weeks, so we’re hoping for major points in this weekend’s races.  Mike is putting in the work with a coach for the first time and we are leaning on other things like massage, also for the first time.  Getting old sucks and every race ends for Mike with another body part hurting.

Is it worth it??  Absolutely!  Every complaint is a moment of putting someone else into the hurt locker.  And we are ruthless that way.  

Got to run.  5 hours into a 7.5- hour drive and my racer is asking for Advil already.  It’s going to be a long weekend.

UPDATE:

Mike won the first race at Sun Prairie and took the overall leaders jersey.  He finished a strong 2^nd on Sunday to retain his lead going into the second event at Fort Collins, CO October 8-9.  I’ll update on the weekend in my next entry.