This was.... Awesome. VC is basically a vulgar, crude, lude, and absolutely hilarious show! I don't think I've laughed that hard, or been that buzzed in a while, all in the name of comedy. Well, since the show a year ago. You should head to Lawrence and see the show, provided that you don't take it too seriously. If you're that type, sorry.. and go away.
Keepin' It Rollin in the Team Car!
The best part about going out on Friday night and seeing a show is the waking up on Saturday morning and putting your life back together. How did I get here? What time is it? When do I race? Is my bike clean? Do I have enough clean clothes?
Got everything?! Okay, here we go! We did have a "Team Car" in effect for the weekend. Yup, that's right; the Shadd-uar is team ready! On another note, Chris Hall has a VW bus that he can convert to a "team bus." The pics have been reduced in quality to make the bus appear to be in much better condition than it really is. If we use the VW as a team bus, do we still have to equip it with hippie music, bongs, and expensive beer?
The plan was to meet at Shadd's house around 1pm. That way, we would have enough time to get to the hotel, check in, ride/ warm-up, get to the race with plenty of time. Little did I know what would transpire.......Yup, we were still on the New Plan so our 1:45 (old plan) trip turned out to take f o r e v e r! You know, the problem with Iowa is that it's just there. Think of the ease with which you could get someplace cool like Chicago if Iowa just wasn't there... So the story goes, with 7 hours available to travel, check in, pre-ride, get to race, sign in, warm up....
We did exactly nothing except check in to the hotel, and go to the race. What's more, is that as of 20 minutes until race time, none of us had even gotten our bikes off the car. Yup we were running a bit late. Actually, I'm certain we had too much time. If that's possible.
Papillion Twilight Criterium.
0.7 mile course, 2 hills, narrow roads, 8 turns. Tight and crazy hard, at least for me. Sports Base Online was there and John Lefler did a stellar job announcing (as he always does). After going to a few "big time" races it's easy to assume announcers are good, but it's a tough job and John does it superbly.
HRRC/ Trek Stores had everyone and the kitchen sink in the race. The entire roster plus Jay Thomas and Kent McNeil were both in attendance minus the Minnesota contingent of Derek. Actually the only sponsor/ director not in the race was Josh Crow. If anyone sees or talks to Josh, give him some grief. Ha!
I'm still suffering from my virus I had/ have on my return trip from Austin, TX. I would say that beginning in the "Day After" criterium until now, I have probably suffered more than I ever thought possible. Never have I ever had to rely on my bike driving ability simply to stay in the race. I never was a threat to do anything besides get dropped today. It felt like I was dragging an anchor/ plow/ wagon etc. behind me. Actually, the only thing I was good at was turning a corner. This is not very enjoyable for me right now.
Alex Boyd got away with Steve, Shadd, Bill, and Chris. In the end, Alex was the winner. Yes, 4 on 1 and Alex got it. This kid is the real deal and definitely deserved the win, in his hometown.
Steve did his Priceline thing again and scored us Courtyard Marriott (between the Quest Center and Old Market) for $56 each, with taxes. Normal rate $199/ night. Uh Huh. The only problem is the parking. Get a spot early and don't move your car. Even the "overflow" lots get overflowed.
Back to that, "pack a nice set of clothes" for Wedding Crashing......
Dave Babcock Memorial Criterium.
0.7 mile triangle course, with a hairpin corner. Hot, dry. Once again, my lack of form or abundance of "out of form" depending on how you look at it, showed itself once again. No power, but I could turn a corner. Unenjoyable. Steve, Bill, and Matt (Nebraska Medical Center/Team KAos) lapped the field. I was powerless, but I sure could watch and go for primes. Some tires, a gift certificate, and a kick ass Chrome Messenger bag, camo style.
In the end, Steve won but the tough man rides of the day go to Alex and Matt. Alex was probably the best single rider all weekend. But in the end, you're not going to beat a full squad of HRRC guys two days in a row. Matt rode hard enough chasing Steve to "stun" the field into no longer attacking, until the end when Bill escaped on the last lap for second.
I have no idea why this race is attended by so few people. It's two days, good prize money and tough courses. Perhaps it conflicts with other races in the area. This seems to be a recurring theme of 2008 and I can only hope, in the future, the promoters take a gander at the regional calendars before dating the races.
DQ
I don't know what it is, but whenever Shadd is on a road trip, there are no damn Dairy Queens anywhere! Seriously, Shadd...
We drove all the way from Omaha to St. Joe without a DQ to be found until......
It's like seeing the gates of heaven until....
The doors are LOCKED!?! Awww, Horse SHIT! But wait, the drive through is open but there's 25 cars in line. Okay, let's do it!
30 mintues later, I had my Blizzard, and we got to watch 8 cars full of people refuse to wait in line.
Now what? Heading North soon. I'll keep you posted.
