The Great German Downer Fest Avenue Criterium

This year, two of Milwaukee's awesomest events coincided - the Great Downer Avenue Criterium and Germanfest. As a cyclist of German descent, naturally I did both. On the same day.

First came Germanfest. My parents drove down from Fond du Lac and met Kelley, Stefano (our newly-arrived Italian exchange student), and me at the fest grounds. I intended not to have any beer, so as not to ruin myself for the race, but my willpower only lasted through the first polka song. I managed to limit myself to one and a half beers, one brat, some schnitzel, and an almond horn. Not bad. The five of us had a great time, and we were on our ways home by four o'clock.

After walking and feeding the dogs, I headed back downtown for the race while Kelley took a nap and Stefano emailed his family. They met me at the race about an hour later, which was fine, because the Category 3 race got stopped about three times for crashes. As a result, the Pro/1/2 race started an hour late and was shortened from 80 laps to 60.

We finally got going at around 7pm. I felt like crap for the first 30 laps. Physically, I felt about as good as can be expected after my uberlunch, but my head just wasn't in it. I'd only done one other crit this year (last weekend in Evanston), and Downer is not for the timid. Playing it safe through the corners put me at the back of the field pretty quickly. I stayed there until guys started popping off the back, requiring me to accelerate around them. About mid-way through the race, I heard someone yell, "hang in there, Denny!" which made me think, "dang, I must look as crappy as I feel," so I decided to move up a bit.

None of the many attacks managed to escape the field, so the pace remained high the entire race. My teammates Steve and Mark hung in there quite a while, but finally decided they'd had enough. Before dropping out, Mark succeeded in getting me back for a practical joke I recently played on him. Except his joke was completely unintended and unfunny. As I was riding behind and slightly to his right, he suddenly lost his grip on the handlebars and nearly went down. Had he done so, he probably would have ended up underneath a pile of about 20 bleeding cyclists and broken bikes, myself among them. Fortunately, and not for anything close to the first time, he managed to save it.

That's about it. I finished the race, to my relief and satisfaction, and scored two beers on the cooldown lap. Stefano was duly impressed, and Steve, Mark, and I were all happy to put one of the harder Downer Ave races in recent years behind us.

In conclusion, here's a picture of a guy who looks like me but isn't (my teammate, TJ) impressively avoiding a crash while maintaining his grip on a water bottle.

Superweek: Richton Park

The Course: Basically a 4 corner 1 K subdivision crit.

I was not going to get suckered into trying to get in a break away today, so I sat at the back for the first part of the race. There were lots of attacks, but nothing looked like it was going to stick since many guys were interested in chasing. Tige and Mark seemed like they were on top of everything. Of course a break of six did end up getting away, and before they got too big of a gap, there were a few other guys looking to get across. Chris Black was at the back and started to wind it up, I thought I might go with him, but I just didn’t want to work that hard, so I was happy to see Tige get on his wheel as he went by, but Tige also decided against staying with him. We made bad decisions. Chris eventually made it up to the break. So we started chasing, but there were 3 California Pools guys blocking for their 1 teammate of the 10 in the break. I don’t understand that, they had better numbers when the field was together, why would they block for one teammate in a break of 10 when they had nearly 20 percent of the remaining field?

We got pretty close, tantalizingly close, close enough where you would try and jump across if you were fresh and hadn’t been working to bring them back. I might even have tried despite having been chasing, but I got optimistic it would soon come back to us because the break looked to be sitting up. Just then I saw 2 guys in the break attack hard, the rest of the break chased. We never saw them again. How frustrating, and how short the window of opportunity.

Eventually we would be lapped by 2 people from the break, but the rest of the break would not make it to us. So with a little over a lap to go Tige and Mark wacked it good, stretching it out, then some of the California Pools Guys took over keeping the pace high for their guy.

Coming into the final corner I had already started my sprint and was moving up, with Mark just in front of me going a touch slower I yelled, “Inside”, and fortunately he didn’t chop me and nicely gave me the line. I sprinted and took 5th in the sprint, but 2 guys were a lap up, so I ended up 13thoverall, and Mark ended up 14th, with Tige kissing his sister in the first non money spot 19th. A good race, but a little frustrating. Maybe next time.

There were a few other notable events in the race. Some guy in the middle of the field sits up and gets dropped. He comes completely off the back and I think “there goes someone else I don’t have to beat in a sprint”, I’m moving closer to finishing in the money. About a lap later he tacks back on to the field, granted we had slowed a bit, it was still surprising to see someone recover like that, it almost never happens. Then suddenly he strolled through to the front and attacked. Although it was the slowest attack ever he could keep it rolling and he didn’t mind the work. Turns out it is Dave Hasse, the recent third place finisher in the solo division of RAAM. I am not racing with slouches.


The other highlight was seeing Mike Buechel rig up a leash for his dog, by opening the hood of his car and tying the dog to the engine block. Nothing says bike bum like the setup. That dude cracks me up.

Results

Horner

Wow.  What else can you say about this?

Superweek: Olympia Fields

The Course: It was a new subdivision, with curbs in but only the initial layer of asphalt. So there is a one to two inch lip between the edge of the asphalt and the cement gutter. The course (once the asphalt is finished) would make a great Wednesday night crit for a group of 10 guys. It was a bit small for 40, and I imagine would have been ridiculous for the 90 or so in the P/1/2s. Sounds like many of the P/1/2 riders took a pass, and the 3s had thier share of crashes as well (another here).


Apparently they had to cut an additional little part of the course (Eros drive) because a manhole cover right in the apex of the turn was sticking up 2 inches. That left us with a loop, less than a half mile. There was no doubt with the wind and the small field, this would be a hard race. The 3rd corner was a slightly downhill, sharp downwind corner into a long sweeper. When coming out of the turn you were hit by a brutal wind off the rider’s right, leaving the draft in the gutter, next to the curb cut.As you can imagine, it was inevitable that someone would hit the edge and go down. Only one guy did, but it was pretty spectacular, though not nearly as bad as the crashes in the 3s and the P/1/2.

The race started fairly hard and only got worse. Kent Savitt wacked it good and got a half lap on us quickly.Impressive, as he stayed out there for a bit, but suddenly as fast as he left us he came back, apparently he realized the wind was brutal. I on the other hand just did not feel well.It’s hard to describe the private hell I was in between the third corner and the first corner, but let me try. The sweeping right hand turn left you fighting for a wheel in the outside gutter, while carefully avoiding the lip of the curb, all while continuing a gentle but irregular right hand turn. To make it more difficult the wind would swirl around the houses, knocking the riders a few feet left or right.As you can imagine a couple inch move to the left by the guys in front turned into a 3 foot left turn by the time it hit me in the back of the field.It made for a lot of stress. About half way in I had enough, I was tired, not feeling well, barely hanging on and becoming more dangerous to myself. So I regretfully pulled out.I watched the rest of the race from the danger corner and cheered for Mark and Tige as the battled on. It was quite impressive, as the race looked to be getting even harder. Now, by my count they only need to out sprint a few guys and they were in the money. Groups split and reformed continually, while I tried count the riders in front to let them know where they stood relative to the money spots.With 2 to go it was clear that only 2 guys of the 8 in their group would get money so Tige pulled a Cancellara and attacked his group. He would eventually have one companion, but he would hang on to the last money spot as Mark’s group charged up to him in the brutal finishing head wind.Savitt was in Tige’s group so it was a smart move by Tige, grabbing him 20 more bucks.


I must admit to being pretty disappointed. I hate getting dropped, but looking at my heart rate data I never should have been hurting so bad. Then later that evening I carpet bombed a toilet for about 20 minutes. Maybe I was sick from the 2,500 ant egg omelet that morning? Well, maybe I wasn’t but that’s what I’m telling myself. My fortune from P.F. Chang’s would also serve as motivation to get in the money tomorrow.

Results

Superweek: Blue Island

The course: 1 mile, 4 corner rectangle with very long front and back straights

The race started very casually, which was really nice. On the second lap, I noticed Michael Buechel and Vance James (two former Pros) sliding over to the side like they were about to attack, and they did, though as attacks go it was pretty slow and casual. I decided to jump on, but as I go by Mark and Tige I flash them a big grin, thinking this won’t last long the race just started and everyone is still fresh. However, Ralph keeps bugging me to try it so what the heck, we’ll be reeled in within a lap I think to myself. We start rolling it over fairly easy, but I still found it wasn’t far from putting me near my limit. Apparently Tige and Mark were blocking well, because we got a good gap quick. After a few miles I realized I would not be able to do this for 35 more miles, so I asked to just sit, saying I wouldn’t contest the sprint. Sadly they weren’t going to let me slide. Every time I’d leave a gap for one of them to slide into after their pull they would refuse to fill it, and nicely encourage me to just pull through easy. Looking at my GPS file we hit 34, 32 and 30 on those first few laps and we were averaging about 27-28, and the course was flat. I guess I don’t think there is any easy pulling at that speed. I really just wanted to recreate the last Tuesday night ride where I sat on Casey and Ben, sucking for air in my own private hell, knowing all I had to do was not get dropped. I was clearly out of my league with these guys, but they weren’t as understanding as Ben and Casey.

I found hope in the rear view mirror. I looked back and saw a lone rider bridging the gap and I was secretly hoping he would get to us quickly because I thought I could say…”now you guys have someone to give you a break, you don’t need me, I’ll just be sitting back here trying to hang on.” I did point out one probable reason for the large gap we had was because of the stellar job my teammates were doing back in the field, but again, they didn’t seemed persuaded. Fortunately they didn’t get as vocal as some guys can get, they were polite, but fairly insistent. And the addition of another rider to the break didn’t make them any less persistent. I made it about 10 laps/miles in the break, but after being forced to close yet another gap which I had politely created for the descending rider I just had to quit the break. I pulled over like the disappointed fat kid who didn’t get picked for the kick ball team, I said my good byes and waited for the field. I felt horrible, mostly because I knew all the work Mark and Tige had likely done to give us such a sizeable gap. I hoped they wouldn’t be too disappointed when they saw me coming back and I apologized profusely for basically screwing the pooch for us.

The bigger problem was as I came back to the field, there were several guys wacking it trying to get away. Tige and Mark were a little cooked from all the blocking, and I barely latched on to the field, as a group of 6 or so riders went away. They got a solid gap that would stick, and eventually join the other break away members. Now we were all racing for 11th. Dang. We pedaled around with little ambition, the occasional lone rider attacking only to be brought back. Tige and another guy got away, so I went to the front to try to return the favor. I hoped they could stick it, as I felt it would clear my debt, or at least assuage my guilty feeling. They maintained a good gap and Mark and I alternated jumping on everyone trying to get across. It was a lot of fun. It made me feel like I was part of the race even if it was annoying the hell out of a few guys. The problem was the constant jumps were taking there toll, and it would soon become evident I had nothing left for the sprint.

We only had about 10 laps to go at this point, when the break rolled up on our back side. Turns out our slower speed meant the break had put a mile on us and they were lapping us. As is always the case when this happens, the stronger guys in the break, try to jump away again in an attempt to lose their break away companions in the field. Well the relatively well rested field was not going to let the break go again, and the pace increased dramatically, dooming Tige and his break away companion. We caught them shortly after and basically sat in for the sprint. With 3 to go Dewey Dicky working for Jeff Barnes and Billy Jones working for Buechel dialed it up. The sprint was very long, but I was done and sat up coming out of the last corner. Tige hung in there and ended up in the money at 14th and Mark kissed his sister in 19th

Results

Post Script: The next day I was riding around and Vance came up to me and asked me why I had such an off day? Was I sick? Was I unable to train over the winter? I thought to myself “that was a career day what are you talking about”? Then I realized, I’m the “turn and look away” Denny Yunk. Many people mistake me for my infinitely faster teammate and recent bronze medalist at Masters Nationals TT. No wonder they wouldn’t let me skip a pull. From now on when I get in a break I’m going to be sure to tell everyone I’m no Denny Yunk, I’m much cuter.

Superweek 2007: The Video

A look at the boys tearing up Downer, with a little Van Halen.