Cobb Park Crit

Race fans, I participated in a bike race last weekend, my first since cross racing in fall of '07. You may recall my disastrous last road race at TP to TA. The Cobb Park Criterium (ride a short loop for a set amount of time) took place in Kankakee along the Kankakee River, about 1 1/2 hours north of here, and I'm glad to report that I enjoyed it very much.

If this post is too long for you, feel free to skip the text and watch Rob's fantastic video.

I showed up during one of the master's races that included teammates Greg and Karl, cheered them on, and hung out with my fellow 5 Wild Card cat 4 buddies. We warmed up together, and eventually lined up at the start where we were warned to watch our language in front of the neighborhood children.

This was my first crit, so I was mostly trying to (1) not crash and (2) learn how to race crits. Gladly, both goals were met, though (2) needs more work. Moreover, I actually won something, a two pack of Powerade! Periodically through the race, premes are announced, meaning that the first guy to cross the finish line that lap gets the prize, and once it was me.

I was feeling pretty good towards the end of the race, so I attempted to stay near the front of our pack. Well, there I was on the last lap (maybe 6th, according to the film?) as we approached the 2nd to last corner. Alas, there I wasn't when someone swerved towards me and I slowed to avoid him and the curb. Probably that was for the best, as I was way late to notice that the sprint started without me (that's where 2nd goal is still a work in progress). About 2 or 3 seconds late, I wound up the legs and wound up in 8th place, out of 38.

I think that our team took 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, and 13. Pretty good, I say, but we're hoping for a little better on Sunday in Peoria.

This photo was taken from Rob's set. Nice job, Rob!

Post-lude: Why were no teammates were mentioned in my report? Again, first crit, so focusing on goal (1) was a challenge. Unless they were 1 or 2 riders in front of me, I had no idea where they were. Next race, I plan to make myself useful.