Please sign the petition to open Giant City and Trail of Tears State Parks’ trails to Cycling!

So Ill locals have long known that the best trails down here are off limits to cyclists. Part of the reason is the political domination of horseback riders, but that’s not really all there is to it. Horses are not allowed from October 31 to May 1, which is the prime period when people would want to ride mountain bikes down here in So. Ill. The real reason  is that the IDNR officials don’t want to generate tourism and park use, because it would mean maybe just a bit more work for them. Of course, that’s largely bogus since mountain bikes don’t hurt the trails (horses do….), and mountain bikers are famous for HELPING the trails.

I got busted enflagrante by the IDNR supervisor at Giant City last week. He told me that we can’t ride, and that he’s opposed to changing the policy. And, since some governor who is now in prison appointed him, I guess he can do that—even though he also could change that policy and help to stimulate tourism to our economically devastated region. But the IDNR good old boys are only interested in tourism related to hunting and fishing. They plant fields, build trails, and turn on the lights for the few weekends a year that a dwindling handful of heavy guys drink beer in the woods and shoot at each other. Then, they close the park. That’s a dying strategy. My analyses of General social Survey data show that the proportion of American households with a hunter in them has declined from 30% in 1977 to 17% in 2010….Hunting is a losing game. Our principle tourist draw down here is the Wine Trail, and Southern Illinois Vinters are getting more numerous, better at production, and more successful. When I mentioned this to IDNR-boy, he said “I don’t care what a bunch of business people want.” Across the border in Missouri it’s easy to see the symbiosis of wine and bikes, and I know several of the owners of So Ill wineries quite well, and they’ve even allowed us to have cross races on their property. They get it. The good old boys don’t give a fuck.

Sign the petition!

1999 Pegoretti Duende, Best Purchase Ever

It is finally time. After 13 years of abuse, the old Pegoretti Duende is making noises which can only be explained with reference to potentially catestrophic issues. It’s all my fault. Rather than baby the Peg, I’ve ridden it into the ground. From 1999-2003 it was my only bike, and after that it remained my first choice for training on the hard roads of So. Ill. It took a rock through the seat-stays which dented both sides in 2002, and I’ve neglected basic frame care. I raced it to a top 10 in the duathlon National Championships, and to a top 5 in Hillsboro Roubaix. The Peg was definitely an all-rounder. I once baffled the group ride when Lance sniffers were crowing about their Trek 5200s and we put them up on the scales…and the Deda Steel  Peg was lighter even with training wheels.

I’ve always marveled at how lucky I was to get this bike in the first place. I was a runner and ultimate frisbee guy when my knees went and my surgeon told me to buy a bike. I got a nice Bianchi Veloce (9-speed) but wanted something a bit more racy after a year. I went to Lynn Greer, who was then at Bike Pedlar (he now owns the venerable Gran Fondo in Nashville, one of the best bike stores in the US), and I told him I wanted a Colnago. I liked the paint jobs. Lynn kind of knew me because his brother was one of my age group rivals in running, and he really did me right. “No, you don’t want that bike. You want this one.” And he pointed up to the Pegoretti handing on the wall. It was lighter than the Colnago, and made from better tubing, TIG welded by a fucking metal god, and that this was a real race bike, not a show dog for rich guys. Lynn set me up with the Pegoretti with a Chorus/Record mix, open pro wheels, and a set of Rolf Vector Pros for racing. It was the best purchase I’ve ever made.

After over 70,000 miles and not nearly enough delicate attention, it’s time to retire the Pegoretti. Thankfully, my old buddy Jeff Williams, Punk Rock Superstar, Artist Extraordinaire, is going to help memorialize the Pegoretti on canvas. Jeff is an incredible artist, and his bike paintings are literally things that I dream ab0ut (he dreams about giant floating chocolate icebergs….go figure). I’ll keep it set up for a while and maybe use it on the trainer, but eventually I’ll mount the Peg on the wall next to Jeff’s painting….

They don't look like instruments of torture....

But they are….I had almost resigned myself to not writing a worst purchase this year, because I had put these out of my mind….I did better than some. I “only” paid around $200 for my pair. I have worn Shimano MTB shoes since I bought my first MTB in 2000, the first generation was an awesome shoe (remember the neon Blue?) and the second generation shoes were simply the best things ever made, at least for me. But, after several years on two pair I needed new ones. I ordered these….It took about 30 minutes to figure out that these were the worst fucking shoes ever made. I can’t do 2 hours without having numb feet. I’m still riding them! Anytime I have a suck ass ride to do, I use these. I have to get something out of them, since I wasted $200 and a Time cleat. But, don’t be fooled. Obviously, everyone has figured this out and they are banging these out for 75% off all around the globe. It doesn’t matter that you can get a $400 pair of shoes for $82.50, don’t buy them.

The Solution to Campy Brake Pads....

Wow, what a season finale. I did Jefferson Barracks for only my second Bubba of the year. Normally, that’s a great course for me, and it should have been. I did a practice lap with Mike Weiss and we were marveling at how well the course had handled the rain. But, when I got going the Fango’s were clogged and I was WAY overdressed. I probably had about 8psi too much in the tires, as well. Another finish in the bottom third….

But, the next week was my mom’s 81st birthday and there was a cross race in Tulsa. Unfortunately, I wound up meeting up with some old friends and partying until the wee hours of the morning. After 3 hours of sleep, I was seriously considering blowing off the race. But, I warmed up, cramped, stretched, and toed the line thinking I’d be lapped and left for dead, or would cramp out in 10 minutes. Instead, I was in the top ten with 2 laps down and decided to make sure I stayed that way. After a slugfest with a junior kid (which I won), I ended it 8th in the 3-4 race. Probably my best cross result in f0ur years. I’m still not doing nationals or worlds, unless it’s really warm and sunny that week….

As promised, my best purchase of 2011—Kool Stop Brake Blocks.

I’m a Campy guy, so notice which ones are posted. They’re the Shimano style blocks, and they work. You may have to shim them out with a washer from your campy brakes, but you’ll never have to change out the Campy Brake pads (an absolute nightmare, as any Campy person can attest). With these, you can also slide in and out carbon specific pads (I bought two sets this year, and one is on  my R-33 stainless race bike), and change out pads just like Shimano people do….Best yet, the entire brake block set comes with two sets of pads, and costs the same as a set of Campy pads…..

Next up….Worst purchase of 2011…..

View from the Women's Room, apparently.....

I’m not exactly lighting it up, but I did at least manage to pin on a number a few times in the last month. First, I was up in Wisconsin for the Halloween race, while skipping out on a conference which was much more boring. I was bummed that I didn’t get a chance to do a costume….Mark McGeen was the Specialized Angel, and he looked hot! Tim LeRoy was there as well, posing as Jeff Williams, or maybe it was Bob Marley. Mike Magnuson went as Mike Magnuson, and boy was it a good time! I totally sucked, but it was fun.

Next on the plate for me was Louisville, and I was relegated to a one day event. Chief and Dave were in the house, and we managed to hook up with Reeschard for a while and then had dinner at Proof with DJ and Co. We got in some laps on Friday before dinner, and I was pretty stoked about the course, which had lots of power grass and sand. I’m good on sand, unless I’m not.  Proof didn’t disappoint, and I had a wonderful duck breast for the entree following a beet salad and octopus app. Chief had Pork, and it was the other white meat, which they like at Proof. DJ had his hands all over these women’s penguin before we dragged him out. Race day was a hoot, with Heckawee navigation causing Chief some distress. But, I was warmed up and ready to go, despite starting on the back row. But, I managed to push up pretty quickly and was about mid pack when I felt my wheel bottom, then it went again and didn’t come up. I was a good third of a lap from the pit. I managed to ride it in, but I was dead last by the time I got out of the pits. I worked up a few slots, but that was a killer. Lots of glue this week.

Next up: Purchase of the Year….good and bad.

Eville Mike captures the pain....

The Bubba series started with a blast! I’m gonna be scarce this year, but I really want to hit a few of these. I couldn’t make the night race, but Bubba 2 was quite an event. Chief fired up the Mystery Machine for me and Molteni, and we had a blast in the B’s. I’m just not racing seriously enough to even bother with the A’s or fight my way up to the start of the B’s, even. So, it was a fairly casual affair, but good to see Justin and Andy Lister sucking it up in the slouchers race! Berto and Kelly were rocking, and I was barely managing to hold off Berto in the B’s. Brummer was sandbagging the C’s, but that man is a machine!!! Chief and Molteni were having lots of fun as well. Good to see Anthony Dust up in the mix in the A’s, he’s been racing at the front in the single speed races, and he can race cross. Unlike me. I’m off this weekend with soccer and stuff, but next weekend I’ll be doing halloween cross in Milwaukee with Mag….

Evil Mike Pic, except for DK photoshopped in, he was at work.

Gateway Cross Cup was my season opener this year. Boy, do I need some work….Still, it was fun to get out and see what I need to work on, which is pretty much everything. Although, I have to say my dismounts and barriers were ok, though my remounts suck and I can’t ride a bike. Frank Brummer was flying for this early season effort, and many of the usual suspects were rolling really well in the Masters race. I won’t mention any names since several cancelled important meetings to race in the afternoon mid-week….Molteni was racing hard in the 4′s and it was good to see him sprinting it out with some young punk kid…..except that they still had another lap. Damn those kids.

Not sure when I’ll get to race again. Soccer has me out for the PIC series, which bums me out. I like those guys and they do great races. I may have to drive somewhere. I’d hate to not race until Bubba 2, which I think I can do….

Heckawee went up north to Planet Bike. I had to do a fundraiser down here, so I couldn’t go. I’m sure Chief is rockin’ and Molteni and Dave and Mag were all in the mix!

And he was completely naked when he took this picture.....

Gee, Road Season ended with a Bang at Gateway Cup. I went up solo planning on staying with my friends Alfred and Sunita and then racing Saturday and calling it a road season. Tileman Gary Meredith was really jonesing to do the Monday race, and his plan was to out and back Lafayette Square, then do the same on Monday. Big Tom and Molteni weren’t into the 100+ degree forecast for the 4-5 race and pulled out, so Gary and I were both alone in separate vehicles, but I saw him as he was warming up, and he knew that I was set up in my usual turn 2 position to warm up on the trainer. Gary was really rocking in the race! He tends to do better in races like Lafayette, but this year he was hanging midpack no problem. No yo-yo and no getting dropped. He was in the pack lapping people. I was yelling at him and riding the trainer and talking with Walker, the course marshal,on turn 2 (which wound up being a really good thing). It was probably only 5 to go or so when Darrell Bratton came by and said Uncle Gary had black armbands for us in memory of Randy Gillespie, so we headed to the other side of the course, but it didn’t take long to grab the bands and get back to do the final warm up (the Women’s 3-4 was in between Tileman’s race and the old guy race). By the time I got back to my trainer on turn 2, Gary’s bike was sitting next to it, then Walker ran up and said “is that your buddy Gary? His hip isn’t good.” I looked up and there was Gary on a plank on a Gator with a couple of STLFD people driving him up over the curb (that probably hurt….). By the time I found Medical (turn 4, not turn 1) Gary was hauled off in an ambulance. Frankly, I thought I’d pick him up later and take him back to his truck….

The race was very good in the Masters. Lots of really fast guys, and Gateway is regaining its prominence for Masters. Glad to see a full slate of races, because I’m sure those fast guys from Colorado and Oregon and Utah and such would be unlikely to come to STL to do one or two races. Team Mack had a good crew on the line, with Uncle Gary, Robert Kron, Sam, Mike Oz, and Darrell on the line. Great to see the usual suspects from STL, and pretty much everyone was there. On the line Dodd Slawson  played weather supermodel to announce that it was 101.9 on the start line (his Garmin registered over 107 the next day, as I hazily recall). I can’t much remember what happended, but Robert did ok in that one, and Gary and Darrell were quite active. I saw a picture of me pulling off the front, so I guess I was there.

Afterwards I loaded up, flagged the STLFD guys and asked for directions to SLU (straight down Park, about 2 miles….) and headed over to see Gary. He was in good spirits, but a lot of pain, and still in the ER (though they had already done x-rays). At least he managed to remember his number so they called Sarah, and I got her number and his car key number in case I could help get his truck back. I was still a bit hopeful that maybe they’d do a more advanced scan and he’d be released…but the head person in the ER said “no way” as they took him off for catscans. So, with Sara on the way, I headed to Alfred and Sunita’s for a wonderful dinner and great times. I still thought I’d be taking Gary to his truck after the race on Saturday. But, Saturday morning I had a note from Chief Reimbold saying that Gary’s catscan didn’t turn out so well–something about metal rods and biting on towels, and maybe surgery next Thursday? So, I skipped out early on Saturday and schmoozed in before visiting hours at the Trauma ICU, where Gary had a rod through his femur with some chains pulling it away from his hip socket. Traction. The main surgeon for this, literally the MAN for hips, was out of town, so it wasn’t clear when they’d be able to operate. But, Gary was in good spirits, as always. I told him about Steve Driscoll and Uncle Gary’s hip surgeries, and I think it helped a bit to know that people do come back. They got the surgery done on Tuesday after his crash, and he made it home pretty quickly on Friday. But, he’s got a long haul ahead. Drop him a line when you can! He’ll be back, this is just the end of the Road Season….

Saturday I felt better in the race, in spite of the heat. I managed to get off the front for the better part of a lap, and I felt ok. But, I just don’t have enough racing for finishing off a pack sprint. Uncle Gary did make a counter move off of my dig (which was spurred by Uncle Gary shouting “go, go, go…”), but he didn’t have the right people on his wheel, and that fizzled him out for the finish. Robert was up there somewhere, and both Robert and Uncle Gary finished in the top 10 on Monday. Given the competition, it was good to see guys like Chris Harre and David Cummings finishing well–it wasn’t a local yokel affair. And, it was good to finally see a few guys from the Chicago area-though if you takeaway Kron, I think Coloradans still outnumbered Chicagoans….

My week was buoyed by the arrival of my new acquisition, a Gary Fisher Ferrous 29r. I did a Cedar Lake loop yesterday, and it’s mostly dialed in. The tires suck for around here, so I have some new ones coming. Cedar’s fire trails (the doubletracky ones) are completely overgrown, which cuts off the “Molteni Variation”. But, it was good to do more single track, anyway. By the end, I was finally clearing stuff that I knew I hadn’t cleared, even though it was raining a bit and starting to get sticky.

Next up, Gateway Cross Cup!!!

Randy Gillespie

Most of you who read this probably know already that Team Mack’s Randy Gillespie took a very bad crash in the cat-5 race at the finish of the Webster Groves crit. His injuries were very severe, and he was removed from life support and died on August 11. I didn’t know Randy, but he was an up and coming Team Mack phenom, who already had wins under his belt in the Cat-5 class and was itching to race. His crash was inexplicable, from all reports. He did nothing wrong, nor did anyone cause the crash. I’ve done that. Usually, the real cause is something silly like a pedal or cleat failure which causes you to plant your foot on the ground.  Twenty people have probably crashed out in that same corner at Webster, but Randy caught a bad break. Our hearts go out to his family, and we’ve been racing in his memory.

The Morton Cycling Classic went off in style this weekend. Fields were modest but very strong. The Masters race was a real slugfest, and I pretty much went out after leading Kron to the prime about midway. Bob Santorelli wound up winning on a very strong break. Mack tried to bridge, but not chase big Bob. But, with Dave Stone and other very strong riders, Kron and Uncle Gary couldn’t make it up without bringing the pack (which also had some dangerous sprinters sitting in….). I lead out the sprint for 2nd, but I was too slow and had to peel off without giving Darrell enough room to really deliver. I kept cramping in my calf…I think it was from sitting in the friggin’ office all day and then driving 4 hours to the race….Team Picture should be worth the trip. Mack on Monkeybars…..

Great job by Shelby Kron!!! Holy crap! I think the last time I remember her I had to watch her at Peoria while her parents attended to something. She was climbing on some of the art and was fighting with her friend who was with her. She didn’t listen to anything I said, and I was terrified that she or her friend were going to bust their heads open on the sculptures. She’s not nearly the brat she used to be! In fact, she was quite a poised young woman, and raced three crits!!!! Mr. and Mrs Kron were quite obviously and deservedly proud of both of their girls!

And Marilyn! Marilyn Powell taking primes and winning races!!! Wow!

I’m almost ready for cross season. I have spooged my cross tires, and both sets seem in order. I need to reconvert my training bike to a double. I need two raceable bikes, and a triple just can’t hack it. It’s fun for messing around, but even serious dirt isn’t that great with all the chain slap and poor transitions on the triple. Campy just doesn’t support the setup. It’s like a mix between friction and index, with the worst of both ruling out. I’m not sure where I’m starting cross season, but I’m definitely signed up for the Weds race in STL!

And, I’ll be at Gateway to try to redeem something of the season–but I guess I was peaking for Froze Toes…. I’m only doing Friday and Saturday.

Team Mack Superweek 2011, with Fleck and Uncle Gary in Yellow!

It’s been a down and up Summer for me and Team Mack. The big tragedy was Randy Gillespie’s crash at Webster Groves, and he’s still in a coma now a full month later. I know Gary and Sharmin are going down this weekend, and many of us have donated money to help Randy’s family. Give if you can. As Gary reports: “Randy remains in a coma and is in stable condition after another operation yesterday. Randy’s nurse continues his physical therapy sessions exercising his arms and legs..Please go to the following site for daily updates from Lisa, Randy’s wife..  http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/randygillespie1 .

My Summer has been a wreck for racing. Between conferences and my daughter’s wedding and weeks without child care I’ve only done three events since May. But, Team Mack has been Rocking!

John Fleckenstein takes the overall 35+ at Superweek and Uncle Gary takes the 50+. Not bad!!!  Gary sums up Superweek best:

Climbing with Gary D before he dropped me....Photo by Matt G, thanks!