As many people have read we have quite the email chain rolling about what music you listen to while riding. So i thought i would provide place to discuss. Please post comments about what you listen to while riding…….
Thanks,
Andrew
Tag: making statements (Page 2 of 2)
Yesterday we had our third Tuesday night ride, myself, Bryan Witry, Dan , Jake and Drew all had a great time on the ride and went to our favorite liquor store to drink some high life’s (they are so delicious) and eat some jalapeno chips. It was all shaping up to be just another great night at peppers. Drew even commented “I drink at peppers more than any bar” and we all agreed that just might be the case! 
Then the night took an ugly turn, the cops showed up. This has happened before without incident…..
The cops didn’t do anything on their way in to JJ Peppers to pick up some donuts, but on the way out one of the cops (he looked like the Seth Rogan Cop from Superbad) strolled over to us and said “are you guys drinking out here?” I thought to myself that’s a pretty stupid question i have a high life in my hand, but i resisted verbalizing this thought. The other cop came over to back up his pudgy buddy. They then asked us “You guys know you cant drink outside? Right?” This was a hard question to answer, of course we know we cant do this, we are blatantly breaking the law, but you cant tell a cop that. Drew stepped up and starting apologizing. The next question from the cop really floored us, the cop asked “are you guys from out of state?” It was hard to not break out laughing. Did he think we rode in from wisconsin? indiana? i mean really what a dumb question. I again resisted my urge to say something stupid and let Jake, Dan and Drew apologize for us.
The Cop then asked us “do you think the owner wants you sitting outside his place of business drinking in the parking lot?” the answer was yes he does, they give us a 10% discount. but again we couldnt say anything. so we got on our bikes, the cop then decided to inform us “you know you can get a DUI on a bike!” This guys must have thought we were complete morons!
The moral of the story is that we got kicked out of the JJ Peppers Parking lot.
Lets hope we can drink High Life and eat chips in peace tonight!!!
Which one do you like the best?
After a great season as a Cat 5 racing i have finally upgraded to a Cat 4. For those who are unfamiliar with the upgrade process the only requirement to upgrade from a Cat 5 to a Cat 4 is 10 race starts (USA Cycling events). Now to the point of this post, after a racing the Cat 5 level since March (remember when we all raced at the Burnham race, and we froze are you know whats off), i feel that i have learned a couple things that may help new racers. So here is my top ten pieces of advice for new Cat 5 Racers:
10) Expect to suck, this sport is hard and very few people dominate their first race (ie Todd’s performance in his first race at Sunday’s Chicago Crit is not normal). After a tough race its always good to take a look at the following link it puts things in perspective. http://www.chicagobikeracing.com/index.php/site/post/tip_18_expect_to_suck/
9) Take the time to read Chicagobikeracing.com, it has a ton of useful information. I highly recommend reading all of the 33 tips posted on the site:
8) Plan a racing weekend trip, great way to bond with your teammates, i have done two of these trips and they were incredible experience. (even though i had to share a king bed with dan both time, fyi dan steals all the covers)
7) Hang out after the race, this gives you a chance to meet the people you race against and get to know the people in the chicago bike racing community. If you want to meet someone Dean probably knows them!
6) Ask Questions, the spidermonkey racing team is pretty good at helping each other out. Nate and Bryan Merrill are always full of good racing advice. If there is something you want to know about racing dont hesitate to ask.
5) Take a weekend off once a month. This is my best piece of advice, the season is long and you could race every weekend from may thourgh september. I think it is important to remember that bike racing isnt my job, i already have one of those. So once a month I take a weekend and I dont race. This allows me to attend team rides and live the “party life style” at least one weekend a month. (you know its my weekend off when i show up to the team ride with a bag of cookies and a can of coke)
4) Come on the Wednesday ride, there are a lot of guys who race that come on Wednesday, its a great way to test yourself and learn paceline techniques. Not to mention the JJ Peppers stop allows time to meet other racers in the area, including Chicago Crit legend Andy Daley.
3) Support your teammates! This is soooo important, if you support them, they will support you. Cheer them on at races, attend team social events and hang out when you can. The team is what makes racing fun!
2) Start early in the season. As the season progresses guys get into better shape and the racing gets harder.
1) Have fun! This is a hobby, and the most important part is having fun. This doesnt mean i dont compete as hard as i can, but i remind myself its fun. Do crazy events (ie: street sprints, the lelend road race, snake alley) try different events, try everything, you wont be sorry!
I hope this helps and provides a little bit of good advice, if anyone has any questions about racing please dont hesitate to ask me.
Shake and bake’
Andrew
Other good tips:
Grow a Mustache, it adds speed (ask Dan)
Remeber your shoes on race day (ask shea or witry)
Buy two pair of Bibs! (ask any racer on the team)
Be humble (we all know what i am talking about)
Thank your team when they support you (there is no I in team)
Dont become a race snob (just becuase you race doesnt mean you are any better than those who dont race, no one likes race snobs!)
Train together (i just like riding with people)
Toward the end of your cat 5 career try some 4/5 races (it helps see what the next level is like, i did 4 of these in the last couple months)
Other racers: Please publish any addition tips in the comment section or make your own list of tips.
Sunday morning started early, an 810 am race start meant a 530 am wake up, not to much fun. The tough morning was the only down part of the day, the Chicago Crit was an excellent event. The Cat 5 Race Heat 2 was full of Spidermonkeys, a total of 6, and we were going to make our presence known. We were the first guys on the start line which made getting to the front on the start pretty easy. To start the race off I clipped in effectively, something that doesn’t always happen. From the start Todd went to the front, Bryan Witry, John Castro and I joined up towards the front, the 4 of us stayed in the top 10 for the first 5 laps, there was a guy from Pegasus who helped set the tempo as well. I was on the front for about half a lap, and the field was under control, with the wicked tempo being laid out by Todd there were not a lot of attacks, and the few that did happen were pulled back quick.
The team did a great job of staying together, and since we all decided to try to help Bryan, my job was to stay around Bryan and keep him near the front. Occasionally I would go to the front and set some tempo with Todd. It was a fun job and I was happy to be able to stay at the front of a race group, I usually dangle at the start of each race, that was the case in the Chicago Crit. By staying up front the team saved a ton of energy, up in the front we didn’t have to chase out of the corners. Not to mention I heard the announcer say “spidermonkeys” a lot, usually a sign that the team is having a good race, and dean even went on stage to predict the winners.
On the third to last lap I almost got slammed into the cage on the inside of turn 3, I think I tried to take a little too tight, I avoided the wheel in front of me and made it through keeping the rubber side down, it was pretty close.
The next two laps passed quick and I regained my position in the pack, coming into the last lap the team went to the front, we came up on the right and started to assemble our lead train, just the way we planned. Castro took us down the front stretch and through the first turn, it was a blistering pace, I had to work pretty hard just to hang on, Todd came over Castro at the first short up hill, I sat second wheel and Bryan sat third wheel, the lead out train was in tact going into the back stretch. Half way down the back stretch I came over Todd to try to up the tempo once again. I was suppose to wait to attack until the hill, but I felt I needed to start it earlier to string out the large pack behind me. I pulled as hard as I could through the third turn on to the back hill. As I watched the pack go up the hill I got out of my saddle and gave it everything I had to try to hold onto the group, I was successful enough to grab mid pack position. Todd gave Bryan a lead out as I watched from mid pack, I passed two guys out of turn four and one or two more on the way to the finish line to grab 20th. Not terrible, but when you sit at the front for the whole race it kind of sucks to finish mid pack. But we got a top five and we represented spidermonkeys well. I was really proud of our team effort! I really enjoyed racing with the Cat 5 team on Sunday, thanks guys. Now its time to upgrade and start the whole process over again, Elk Grove starts my 4’s career next weekend.
Great day in general for the spidermonkeys!
The team did a great job of staying together, and since we all decided to try to help Bryan, my job was to stay around Bryan and keep him near the front. Occasionally I would go to the front and set some tempo with Todd. It was a fun job and I was happy to be able to stay at the front of a race group, I usually dangle at the start of each race, that was the case in the Chicago Crit. By staying up front the team saved a ton of energy, up in the front we didn’t have to chase out of the corners. Not to mention I heard the announcer say “spidermonkeys” a lot, usually a sign that the team is having a good race, and dean even went on stage to predict the winners.
On the third to last lap I almost got slammed into the cage on the inside of turn 3, I think I tried to take a little too tight, I avoided the wheel in front of me and made it through keeping the rubber side down, it was pretty close.
The next two laps passed quick and I regained my position in the pack, coming into the last lap the team went to the front, we came up on the right and started to assemble our lead train, just the way we planned. Castro took us down the front stretch and through the first turn, it was a blistering pace, I had to work pretty hard just to hang on, Todd came over Castro at the first short up hill, I sat second wheel and Bryan sat third wheel, the lead out train was in tact going into the back stretch. Half way down the back stretch I came over Todd to try to up the tempo once again. I was suppose to wait to attack until the hill, but I felt I needed to start it earlier to string out the large pack behind me. I pulled as hard as I could through the third turn on to the back hill. As I watched the pack go up the hill I got out of my saddle and gave it everything I had to try to hold onto the group, I was successful enough to grab mid pack position. Todd gave Bryan a lead out as I watched from mid pack, I passed two guys out of turn four and one or two more on the way to the finish line to grab 20th. Not terrible, but when you sit at the front for the whole race it kind of sucks to finish mid pack. But we got a top five and we represented spidermonkeys well. I was really proud of our team effort! I really enjoyed racing with the Cat 5 team on Sunday, thanks guys. Now its time to upgrade and start the whole process over again, Elk Grove starts my 4’s career next weekend.
Great day in general for the spidermonkeys!
Things I Did Well:
1) Raced at the front of the pack
2) Made a move to try to spring bryan for the sprint
Things I need to work on:
1) Sprinting
2) Timing my move better
Shake and Bake –
Andrew
Todd Kaiser, Andrew Zens, JPCastro, Tristan Whitehead, Samuel Winn, Josh and I (Bryan Witry) clipped in at 8:10 for the Cat 5 race and weren’t heading out for a Sunday stroll on a beautiful Chicago morning. The team looked remarkably focused as we sat in the sweet new 312 tent and pinned our numbers on our jerseys. The plan was to control the race and set up a train for the final sprint, I was the Monkey to reap the benefits of an all out Shake and Bake.
Todd set the tone at the top with monstrous pulls and traded duties with a few riders; he would remain near the front the entire race. I was shepherded around the top 8 of the pack the entire race by Andy. Truly selfless performances by the both. The race was crash free, everybody loves a safe race. But everybody also loves the entire team in the front of the race! I saw every Monkey in the front 10 in the first few laps. Actions like those really set the tone of the group. Sam, Castro, Tristan, and Josh all had smiles on their faces when they were zipping around Michigan Ave listening to the back-side announcer constantly mention Spidermonkeys (I couldn’t see Andy and Todd because they were in front of me the whole race, probably smiling though).
No primes…. total crap…. at least throw us a friggin’ water bottle, right?!
As we slammed down the front stretch with one lap to go, everything seemed to fall into place. Castro came scorching by and everybody followed suit. It was as if Merril was starting the fast section of the Wednesday night ride and everybody fell into a perfect line. JPC pulled hard and immediately 5 Monkeys were in the top of a strung out field. He peeled off and said something like (I’m spent/tired/dying?) and I laughed to myself because I couldn’t get over how awesome it was that someone had just sacrificed himself for the team. Todd slammed the corner and Andy took over around the chicane leading Todd and myself with 2 corners to go. A few guys jumped hard around the second to last corner and I jumped their wheel up the last lil kicker. The mini-group hit the downhill hard and we all maintained position the last 200 meters finishing all within connecting bike lengths. I finished fifth, without my team I would have finished last. The Spidermonkeys displayed some serious tactics, a testimony to the hard work thats been put in on the route to HP.
Anybody who doesn’t enjoy a good cheering section can kiss my ass; Spidermonkeys have the best cheering section ever! We all heard cheers every lap, and saw so many people after the race. Everybody who came this weekend, THANK YOU! I was unable to hear Dean on stage during the race, but I imagine he made the sponsors proud. I was proud to be a Spidermonkey today. Not just because the entire field united themselves and sacrificed themselves for one teammate, but because everybody carried themselves with class. On that note, everybody who raced is entitled to a few classy highlifes this Wed night ride from Bryan!!!
Shake and Bake
Bryan Witry
-teamwork kicks ass
Posted by Andrew Zens for Bryan Witry
10) Driving across state lines with Ken requires the ability to open four car windows quickly! It became the rating system, Ken only produces four window farts!!!!!!
9) Wheatfield’s breakfast is the breakfast of champions (http://www.wheatfieldsbakery.com/)
8) Dan Pollard can eat and he loves a good turkey leg
7) Kansas is not flat
6) Dehydration after a race allows for limited rest stops on the 9hr drive home (ride there 4 stops; ride home 2 stops)
5) People in Kansas are very nice; they will just start a conversation with you, its a bit weird but kind of cool too.
4) If you drive roughly 1200 miles you better pick up some podiums!
3) When you can not find 312… Free State Beer is a great substitute. (http://freestatebrewing.com/) We loved all the Free States Beers.
2) If you win a race it entitles you to the first ‘smile’ from Mystique… more to come at jj peppers…
1) The last man back to the hotel room wins the next day (night 1 zens stumbles in at 2:15, night 2 jake arrives around 3:15, both claim victory the following day)
