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Those keeping faithful watch in The (FEED) zone are aware that 2006 has been the season of my discontent. I spent the best part of the season - from June until the end of August - languishing for the most part somewhere near the back third of the pack looking for wheels to hide behind. I was horrible. It didn't matter if it was a master's or Pro 1,2 race, the only time I ever saw the front was when the rest of the racers slowed to a crawl or took a nature break. After the Downers Grove event, which I wrote up, I toed the line the following week in Winfield, IL for the American Bicycle Racing National Criterium Championships - such as they are. ABR is largely a Midwestern sanctioning body, but the same good racers in the area show up if there is money offered, and in this case there was. I did the Category 1,2 men's race. 40 laps of a 1 mile rectangle with a nice two-tier hill at the end of the back stretch. This race was like every other race this season in the Midwest. The ABD team toyed around with the field much like a cat plays with a mouse before it kills and eats its prey. With 17 laps to race, Bryce Meade made a solo attack and stayed 10-20 seconds ahead of the field as the other teams failed to organize a cohesive chase. ABD then sent another 2 riders - USCF Elite Silver road medalist Reid Mumford and Frank Dierking up the road with 3 to go. I took a last lap flyer, mostly because the two riders in front of me when the bell rang for last lap peeled off quickly and my choices were to either attack or be the primary lead out for the ABD train that was lined up for John Puffer right behind me. I got swallowed up by Mike Ebert et al in turn 3 at the top of the hill and finished in eleventieth place. Puffer of course won the field sprint and ABD took the top 4 spots. In the master's race immediately following, sMACKClark Priebe kept attacking until he won the race. My team mate Dave Stone was in the break and ended up 4th. I was so far back with two laps to go that I got caught behind a crash and was out of contention at the finish. Once again, I finished in the eleventieth position just behind a 55 year old who took up bike riding in April under doctor's advice post bypass surgery. The only thing of note in this race is that the sMACKs all raced honorably and graciously. It was refreshing, but it made me suspicious. WAKE ME UPWHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS I've never waited for the month of September with such anticipation in my life. Bike racing season for me - was OVER, FINALLY! The Rhino got married on the 9th, I was an usher. The Lovely Kathy and I enjoyed a quick trip to San Diego for the wedding. I did not ride my bike for a while. I played golf with my 22 year old son 3 times. I shot a 78 on a course I've never played. I had fun. I did not train. I took a couple of spin classes and found out that my club has a hot new instructor. She's not in Kathy's league but she'll at least provide incentive to take some more classes over the winter. I rode my bike for as long or short and as easy or hard as I wanted, and I began to get the sensation that I was maybe, just maybe getting over my Memorial Day meltdown. At least I was making my bike go fast for more than 10 seconds at a time. I got a new time trial frame and did my 10 mile out and back course in less than 21 minutes on standard wheels. At the end of September, The Lovely Kathy and I took an anniversary weekend trip to Lakeside, Michigan and ate well and drank wine. I did not take my bike. September was a beautiful month and I racked up a whopping total of 600 miles. Or, what real bike racers do in a good week. FALL FLING Mike Ebert and the ABD club have organized a late season 4 stage race called the Fall Fling, which is now in its 4th year. I elected to race the last 2 stages because I was actually looking forward to racing for a change. On Saturday the 7th I did the road race stage on a moderately hilly course, strewn with false flats. Despite the small hills, the major obstacle on the course was the 15-20 mph cross wind buffeting the two longer stretches of the 8 mile course. Within a mile I knew I was at least on a good day. I had that special sensation of pushing the pedals down without much effort and going past a group or riders that had just re grouped after the day's initial attack like they were standing still. A seven rider break formed behind me and we quickly separated from the group of 40 or so behind us. Before the end of lap one, the break had shelled its first two casualties and we were left with five...Martin Adamczyck (Lot Polish Airlines) - 28th in Elite Road Race, Ken Delo (Bike Shop), Ryan White (PCW Cycling), Frank Dierking (ABD) and me. We worked together well and ended up with a 5 minute advantage at the end of the race. Delo and White stopped taking pulls on the last lap, I attacked twice but couldn't shake them as Frank pulled me back twice, Martin attacked once, I pulled him back and then I attacked again with 1k to go. I had a decent gap but died with 200 to go. Delo won, White was second, and Frank - who pulled me back - ran out of steam and was passed by Martin at the line for third. That night, I stayed at Tom Doughty's place. Tom had his ass handed to him in the 50+ race by guys that he normally beats. He then got in the 1,2 race and abandoned with 2 to go. He'd had enough. He was discouraged. He forgot about the discouragement over dinner that night after I directed him to a very nice bottle of 2003 Valpolicella Superiore. There is nothing like a great bottle of wine to make you forget that there are bigger things in life than bike races. The next morning, Tom, his beautiful wife June and I shoved off for Lombard, IL and the final race of the 2006 season - a crit in an office park. It's not as bad as it sounds. Tom used the power of the previous evening's dinner - wild mushroom linguine with white truffle oil - to solo away from the 50+ race and exercise the demons of his previous day's flailing. Tom and I did the 40+ race together next. It was a smallish field but there were some good racers. KronsMACK, Dan Verner, Fabio Orlandi, Ben Widoff and some guy from West Virginia. When the whistle blew I again found myself with good legs and I rode the front for 6 laps. I was laughing the whole time. I was giddy in fact. Inexplicably, I had my legs back. The legs that disappeared and I feared were lost forever down in Tennessee, leaving me with useless appendages that carried me to humiliating ass whooping after humiliating ass whooping at the hand of guys who were taking great pleasure in making me suffer all summer long. Well, boyz I said, I'm back and the suffering is over; at least for me. My god I had fun. Eventually after Fabio and I took off sprinting for a box of Power Bars and got away from the group, we decided to make a break. Doughty got away for a bit behind us and Verner, KronsMACK, Wayne Simon, Widoff and the WVa guy all showed up as well. We worked together for a couple of laps until another prime was announced. I went after it with Verner, who proved better than me in the sprint. The group followed and Doughty attacked. He rode up the road a bit and looked back, expecting at least a tag along. Everyone must have been too busy waiting for me to pull Tom back because they didn't notice me yell "Go Tom!" up the road. Finally after Tom got a 10 sec gap, Simon tried to bridge up to him but never got there. I pulled Simon back and Tom ended up riding solo for his second win of the day as I sat on the wheel of anyone who tried to bridge over, except for Fabio. Hell, Fabio taught me how to time trial and Tom had put me up for the night, had a smoothie waiting for me when I came down for breakfast and his wife June made me pecan pancakes and eggs. I wasn't about to chase either of those two guys down. No sir, I have loyalties…especially when it has to do with pancakes and eggs. For their respective parts, the remaining guys in the break raced hard and fairly and never complained about me sitting on their wheels. In the 1, 2 race immediately following I got into a chase group with Rob White (Ryan's twin brother) that was catching the earlier established 7 rider break 30 seconds up the road. We were joined by Bryce Meade from ABD and Ryan White. With Bryce and the White bros taking monster pulls, we caught the break and lapped the field with 20 minutes of the 1 hour race left. Sean Metz from Turin won the sprint and the race at the end. For the second consecutive day, I finished a 1,2 race higher than eleventieth. The season came to a good ending. The weather this weekend was beautiful, clear and warm. Monday was even better. The sky was crystal clear azure, the air temp was 80 degrees and the winds were calm. I went out for a 3 hour pleasure ride for no reason other than the joy of riding my bike. No intervals. No sprints. I felt strong. This is what I'd been waiting for all season. I'm already looking forward to the 2007 season. For those of you, who got used to easily pummeling the Hack Druber that came back from Tennessee, I hope you enjoyed yourselves this year. Use the winter wisely. The real Druber is back and will be riding a new bike in 2007. Next Time - The 1st Annual Druber Awards will be handed out. Stay Tuned. Druber
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