Capital Stage Race 2012: Stage 3 Recap

My favorite part about stage racing is the Time Trial - Crit combo that is usually guaranteed to start or follow the start of these weekend events. Perhaps some people hate that crap: TT your heart out for 3-15mi wait around town for 5+ hours, then try to hang on in the suffer-fest that is crit racing. Personally, my body tends to recover rather quickly from these sorts of efforts, I could do the crit an hour after the TT and still feel fresh. Aside from physiological aspects of back to back stages, what I truly appreciate is that 5+ hours of down time to just relax in a city that I hardly ever (if at all) visit. Find the coffee spot and make sure to hit it up atleast an hour before the crit, or, find it before the TT and double up. Coffee is our friend. So are burritos. This combination can often be found in most metropolitan areas.

After the time trial, Jess and I took a nap in Heritage Park along Dechutes. Since a park bench is only so comfortable, it wasn't long (maybe and hour) before we decided it was Burrito o'clock. I remember a pleasant experience from last year at a joint called, Quality Burrito. Basically any burrito spot that can execute a decent vegan meal wrapped in a tortilla is "pleasant" worthy to me. As expected, it was a 4-star experience. I doubt any place, other than my own kitchen, will ever reach 5-star service, so we'll leave it at that. With hours to kill, we walked off our full bellies around the crit course to view the other races. This was helpful because it's basically considered "course-reconnaissance" where I can see what troubles in the road my lie ahead for us. There wasn't much, well... EXCEPT THERE WEREN'T ANY HAY-BALES TO BE FOUND ANYWHERE ON THE COURSE - AGAIN. I already had a problem with this race last year not having any safty measures to prevent catastrophic injury, since this is a 7 corner sloped circuit. Caution tape never saved anyone from a collision.

As the Pro/1/2 race began, Jess and I set up a spot near the start/finish line for her to spectate and for me to warm up on the trainer. So I warmed up for 60 minutes. I still can't decide if that was a good or bad move. Either way, by the time the Cat 3 Men were called up to the line, I was sweaty and ready to race my bike. Gun off and so were we. The thing about crits is that the pace is hot (really fast) for atleast 10-15 minutes before the strong guys get tired. This is when I usually wait to launch my series of attacks to string the field out and instigate a breakaway. This is important to me for 2 reasons.
1) The sprinters get tired so I have better odds against them in the end
or
2) A breakaway sticks and I'm racing against 5 (or so) guys instead of 50+
Both of these options are safer in the long run since less people are showing up to the finish line all at once. My style.

The only thing wrong with this fantasy crit scenario I've laid out for you is that it doesn't always follow the rules. In Stage 3, for example, the pace was about 25mph from start to finish. It never slowed. There was no breakaway. When I attacked, I was immediately chased. A couple teams, mostly Apex Racing, had it on their agenda to make sure their man, Todd Baumeister, crossed the line first. This means shutting down all moves by others while making the average speed fast enough to fatigue even the largest of legs. Fortunately, our Junior, Thorsten Askervold (11th GC) and yours truly (10th GC) are smart crit racers so we knew where to be when the final laps approached. It's not secret, if you want to do well in a crit, you must be in the top 5 wheels in the last 2 laps of the race. If the pace is insane, you better be there in the last 5 laps or so.
We were.

[Pink Jersey - Race Leader, Todd Baumeister of Apex Racing)

Going into the last lap, Thorsten was 2nd wheel and I was 5th, with the leaders of the race right behind me. As predicted, coming out of the last corner, there was a gnarly crash because some people got a little too antsy a little too late in the race. Thorsten ended up out-sprinting the guy in front of him for a couple bike-lengths of a victory and I managed to pass 1 guy for a 4th place. I was maybe a tyre length away from 3rd. That doesn't really matter, he beat me regardless. But wouldn't you know, Big Todd was the poor soul to go flying out of the last corner into a bus-stop bench (where someone went crashing into the year before, and still no hay-bale) where he suffered lacerations to his legs and arms and a cracked helmet (as i recall?). Todd is huge, like 225lb huge (correct me Apex Racing if I'm wrong) so the bench suffered more than he did. But this blog is about me and my team, so I'm going to end this wrap up with a "Fuck Yeah Thorsten! Way to show these punks what PNW Crit Racing is all about! And woohoo to me, I got 4th in my second Cat3 crit."

(Thorsten Askervold - 16yrs old, Herriott Sports Performance)

It was motivating to see my Darling by the finish line every lap since she doesn't get to see what this racing thing is all about very often, so I was obligated to crush it in front of her. Also, I wanted to prove to the team that I can deliver. I can be aggressive and still place well, I can be aggressive and still keep our man protected.

In all crashes that go down during the last lap of a crit, there can be a lot of finger pointing but it all comes down to you in the end. YOU had the whole duration to get into position or make that risky winning move, if you went down because you procrastinated, it's your own damn fault. If you were the shit-head that caused the crash, you know who you are and have to live with that. Both suck, so race smart and know your abilities before 10 to go.

Ballard Twilight Criterium: Recap

June 2nd, 2012 - 6:30pm
Cat 3 Men - 50 minutes - 1k 4-corner mixed brick and asphalt course on a light uphill in the heart of historic Ballard.
Avg Speed - 24.7mph
Max Speed - 32.5mph
19th of 43 starters

With the weather being fussy days prior to Seattle's biggest bike race, The Ballard Twilight Crit, I knew the field would be at an astonishing low. To be frank, most people wouldn't want to race a 4-corner crit on gnarly brick roads in the rain - or damp ground for that matter. In all honesty, I consulted teammates who are former PRO's about racing if rain showed.

"Race. Do everything you can to be prepare for the rain...tyre pressure/selection/etc. Race at the front from the gun. Don't try risky shit. Race smart. Kill it." - David "Rocket" Richter

I pre-registered for the crit and wanted to race it regardless of rain, snow and/or apocalypse, but many experienced folk told me wet brick is a great way to ruin your season. Screw that. Besides, I made a Facebook event so all my friends could see what my obsession with this crazy bicycle racing thing is all about. Seems difficult to look tough not racing when the rain shows up, IN SEATTLE.

The Morning of
Ugh, 8am? I can still taste all that wine. Gross. Back to bed.

The Afternoon of
12:30, close enough. I kit up, throw a 25c Continental tyre on my rear wheel for a little drag racing status and begin my spin around the city for a proper warm-up. In my personal experience, it's important to ride a few hours before a crit so the body is 100% ready for battle. Anyone who loves or hates to race crits can attest that, yes, crit racing is battle. It's fast as fuck from start to finish, and you've got a few centimeters for personal space for an hour. Need I remind you, the more popular the race, the bigger the prize purse. This purse is usually dispersed throughout the race in random laps called primes ("preemes"), where the first person to cross the finish line on the designated lap gets paid X-amount of $$. In the big leagues, we all know the biggest payout (outside of winning) is always with a lap or 2 to go. What a great way to fuck up everyones plans of crossing the line first. I love it.

The Race
I met up with good friend, Nate Pitts (Gregg's Cycles - Trek,) for the tail-end of my warm up as we chatted about our plans for our 50 minutes of pain. Did I mention that this was going to be my first CAT 3 race? He kept me sane with constant reminders that these guys are just CAT 4's that won a few races, no big deal. I knew I was going to do my thing and be on the attack as often as possible. I mean, I couldn't let down my old competitors that I've raced with before they upgraded.

MISSION: Attack, attack, attack. Keep pace hot at all costs. Stay in the front. Win.



Ambitious, I know. But lets just say that not 2 laps after that gun went off. I was on a MISSION. I'm confident in saying that this was my best performance of any crit I've ever done (minus Tacoma 2011). I dont think I dipped further than 7 wheels back until 4 to go. Ouch. I know Nate is a strong rider (CAT 2 - Track) so I tried my best to work with him on this popular occasion. When he took flyers, I didn't chase. When he was reeled in, I jumped. If I saw him pulling on the front for a bit, I'd come join to share the work load. The idea being, we're all friends until 1 to go so lets tire everyone out until then. One's odds increase as opponents lose hope.

More often than not, I found myself off or on the front most of the race. Sometimes I felt dumb for doing so much work, but mostly, I just felt like I was instigating a potentially winning move. If I was a threat to everyone for all the prime$ , they'd have to chase. If they didn't, then I could solo victory. Eventually I look forward to my teammates replicating Ted Schwartz and I's old "shake and bake" maneuver in these crit situations:

He sits in while I'm on the attack, and once I'm reeled in, he attacks. While he's off the front, I sit in and wait to attack when they reel him in. This shit works like clockwork. And I miss it.

At Ballard, I only had Dan Doran (whom I'd never met or raced with) and Thorsten Askervold (CAT 2 - Track, 16, raced 4 or 5 times with). Fortunately, my boys also stayed up front for all 50 minutes. Unfortunately, I felt like I was the only one animating the race. After just losing each prime that came up, I decided to sit in with 5 to go. The only problem with this technique is that I wasn't a threat to anyone and they could all rest for the sprint. That's the last thing I wanted. I sat on Pitts' wheel with 2 to go thinking he would know how to maneuver through this mess so I could strike with 1 to go. Ooops, too late, someone jumped as I was 15 wheels back or so, the pace roared to catch him. And wouldn't you know - some CAT 2 track kid counter-attacked and nobody could close the gap before his crossed the line first. Too bad it wasn't Thor, since an HSP victory would have been appropriate for such prime positioning.

I will say, that I definitely needed the recovery towards the end, but foolishly allowed myself to be overwhelmed with the exponentially growing number of spectators. My friends seemed to be at every corner, it's Jessica's (my fiance) 29th birthday AND she's at the start/finish with all of her friends. So much pressure, and yet I can't even use that as an excuse because none of this prioritized in front of "MOVE UP". I simply assumed everyone was so weak, that I'd be able to get into sprint position. Nope. They wanted it just as badly as I. Surprise, surprise.

My good friends at GO MEANS GO did a sweet little write up on their spectating experience with photos included!

Professional photography:
-Dennis Crane
-Amara Edwards

I WON the Tacoma Twilight Criterium: Race Report

So here's my race report from yesterdays crit with a few pictures I snagged from Wheelsinfocus.com. Since I only have 1 upgrade point from my 10th place in the Queen Stage of the Capital Stage Race a few months back, it's been a priority to sneak in some more points so I don't have to race with all the clowns in the Category 4's and move up into the CAT 3 field. [For those unfamiliar with categories in bicycle racing, check out the USAC webpage here.] The "plan" for the Tacoma Crit was for me to win. I talked it over with the boys so we were all on the same page. There are only a couple ways you can win a bike race: you're a beast and you ride away from everyone or you get some help from a teammate(s) where they bust their ass to keep the pace high and you nice and fresh for the finish. I had been practicing some leadout sprints with Ted earlier in the week so that we'd have everything all dialed in.

-Day of Race
The day before race day, friday, Ted and I spun around Lake Washington for a few hours. Long rides the day before a race are not usually recommended because you want to keep your legs as fresh as possible, but it was nice out. Oh well. When I woke up and had my morning oats and coffee, Ted showed up at my door to see if i wanted to roll around for a bit to wake the legs up. I agreed, and I'm glad I did otherwise I'm not sure I would have felt as awesome as I did once that whistle blew. A proper warm up you might say. Today was also especially rad because it was the first time in months that all four of us Team Becher+ Radsport dudes got to race together. Marcus is a couple races short of upgrading from CAT5 to 4 (most races 5's and 4's are split, but sometimes they combine the two), and Jake has a conflicting schedule that keeps him from coming out more often. We all piled in Jake's new Trooper, got all jacked up on Clif Bars and Gatorade while listening to the Fugees on our way to the race. The jitters where still present but after talking team tactics I started to calm down a bit. It's especially nerve-racking to ask your mates to suffer for an entire race to help you win, because you NEED to deliver a win in return. I have never won a bike race. I have top 10'd quite often, and attack enough to make most of the pack hate me... but no wins.

-The Race
Lined up, whistle blows... and I do the classic maneuver where you forget how to clip into your pedals. Actually, there were like 8 of us just rolling down the course for the first 15 or so feet with one foot in struggling to get going. Rookies. It happens to the best of us, I think. As per usual, the pace is hot for the first few minutes but its important that I inform you about the back stretch of the course: it's slightly uphill (downhill finish). This works for Ted and I quite well because we are better at going up hill than most of the fatties we race with. Anyways, the pace stayed around 25mph for the first few laps then everyone gets tired and it slows. Normally this is where I attack and make everyone go fast again when they don't want to... today was different, I needed to conserve all my energy for the finish (smart guy here). So I just alternated between a few stronger dude's wheels when the surging would happen and successfully stayed top 10 the entire 30 minutes (top 10 is safest because there are less people in front of you when a crash happens).

-Down to Lap Cards
In a crit, if you're caught off the back of the pack and are likely to get lapped by the leaders the official will pull you from the race. This alone may explain why these are some of the fastest races in the world. Who wants to get pulled from a race for being too slow infront of a huge crowd of people? At 10 minutes to go, the clock is killed and the official switches the race to a countdown of lap cards, usually starting at 10 to go. At this point in the race, I was pretty confident not only because I felt super fresh and had done hardly any work (for once) but also because I could hear everyone breathing super hard around me, the incline was obviously taking its toll. At 5 laps to go, a criterium race usually starts to get pretty sketchy, in all categories, because this when all the teams want begin lining up to get their "leadout train" rolling for their main man. 75 people trying to organize and group up at 25mph? Yeah, it's dangerous. At 4 to go, I began to worry because I hadn't seen Jake or Ted and the pace was getting hotter and the gaps were closing. Just before I said fuck it and took off, Ted rolls up into the spot infront of me. I hold his wheel as close as possible for the next two laps to conserve my energy and make sure nobody else steals it from me.

-2 Laps to Go
We survived this far, now its time to "lay the hammer down". I've got Teds wheel in a vice grip as we cross the line for 2 to go. The pace is roaring fast going into corner 1, and we're sitting top 10 (perfect), we carry through corner 2 and begins the uphill. Ted looks over his shoulder to make sure I'm there, I nod and BOOOM! This motherfucker LIGHTS IT UP! We come around the left side of everyone and I can see some worried faces but mostly doubtful faces. To perfectly execute a leadout with only 2 guys, you must be EXPLOSIVE with your acceleration. That we were. After rounding corner 3 and 4, I began to worry because Ted pulled almost a bike length on me. He was doing his part of going full gas, but I needed to get in closer. I shift up and get out of the saddle to close the gap as we cross the line for final lap, now I'm sitting pretty and really fucking fast. I'm confident at this point that we've put quite the gap on the field but I know the sprinters are working hard to catch us. We round corner 1 and 2 and half way up the back stretch Ted pulls off to the left "GO BABY GO!" I dump a few more gears (I don't have much, I ride a 9spd, haha) and get on my horse, sprint to the top of the hill round corners 3, 4 and full gas it to the finish without looking back. Nobody comes around me, I win.

I have this phobia of looking back on an attack because it seems like bad luck. I mean, look at Fabian at the Roubiax 2 years ago(marker 6:30)... Beast Mode. Although, had I looked back, I would have seen my leadout, Ted, finishing 2nd! And 3rd place just rounding corner 4. Probably coulda slow rolled it, zipped my jersey up, and pointed to the sky like a PRO. Now I get to give my boys back that same effort I asked of them, and I can't wait. :)

EDIT: 8/9/11
A few more photos floating around from Dennis Crane Photography

Capital Stage Race: Report

**EDIT 3/26/2012**

*I just finished racing the Independence Valley Road Race and while at the start line, Erik O Anderson himself (race organizer for South Sound Velo, ie Capital SR, IVRR, Boston Harbor, etc) had the balls to call me out for my ignorant bitching (see below) about CapSR, which he discovered because the internet is an amazing public library of information. I say "balls," because most people would angrily sit back and bitch in private about said offender. Chapeau sir! He pointed out that a lot of the crap listed below was covered in the Tech Guide which I obviously didn't read. I would like to offer a sincere apology for suggesting that I know or am capable of more than a race organizer. I'm thankful these people take the time out of their lives and make sacrifices to CAT4 assholes like myself have some place to race, hopefully allowing us to eventually join the people who matter in the Pro/1/2 fields. Capital Stage Race is new and is only going to get better. REGISTER NOW, I will be on payday. Awesome courses, prizes and publicity for cycling. Do it. -Eric Cockrell*

So there are a few things to get out of the way before I dive into the good stuff:
-This stage race was unprofessional and poorly organized.
-Not a single category met its field limit, thus yielding numerous combined fields.
-Prize money/merchandise distribution wasn't a priority, leaving racers to their own devices to collect winnings.
-Not one hay bale insight on the 7-corner criterium course. One racer crashed into a tree. Could have been prevented.
-No professional photography on 3 of the 4 stages.
-Our lead car got lost on the Queen stage.



The good stuff.

My good friend/ ex-teammate, Ben Barry (Humboldt State Cycling) was in town to race the Cat3's. Needless to say, his experience and good company were appreciated this weekend. For the Capital SR I only had one other B+Radsport teammate, Ted Schwartz. He kindly drove us down to Olympia for each stage from Seattle, which ended up saving us a lot of money and being convenient in other ways as well. I was content only having Ted to work with since we often train together and have around the same fitness/experience, so team work flowed very naturally.

Stage 1 - Road Race:
Friday 6/10/2011
Cloudy, 49*F, 11:00am
41mi, Cat 4/5, 34th place of 42 starters (1:43.29 - 23sec back)
Avg Speed- 24.4mph, Max Speed- 35.2mph

We showed up at 10:45, rushed to get our packets and pin our numbers. No time for anything. Ben quick-tuned by derailleurs since I forgot to, pumped my tires up, and brought my sunglasses to me at the start line when he noticed I left them on the car. Oh, and I had a full bladder. Bad start. 2k neutral roll-out, nothing happens for 3 laps unless you count the 5 pointless crashes. I get bored and break on the backstretch, but nobody joins me. I'm reeled in a few miles later. It becomes obvious that stage 1 will end in a field sprint. Great, most of our field is full of sprinters. 1k to go, things heat up and everyone manages to get more sketchy than they were the entire race. Sitting mid-pack Ted and I cool it, but as we approach 200m everyone books it, and a Univ. WA racer in front of me finds an opening to sprint. Naturally I jump on his wheel and we start to move up FAST, just before the excitement of a decent finish sets in-HE EATS MAJOR SHIT! By the grace of the Cycling Gods I lock up both wheels and skid-stop-speedwabble my way around him and into the grassy ditch. Ben was sitting in a lawn chair reading by the finish line when this went down. He shoots up, runs over, throws me back on my bike and push starts me, all the while reminding me that I'm being timed. Wow. I would have been screwed without him.

Stage 2 - Time Trial:
Saturday 6/11/2011
Partly Sunny, 52*F, 8:21am
3.6mi Out & Back, Cat 4, 13th place of 39 starters (8:12.8 - 32sec back)
Avg Speed- 26.3mph, Max Speed- 28.8mph

The only "aero gear" I had was an LG TT helmet I got from Kirk and some booties. I didn't warm up and rolled into the gate at my start time with one foot un-clipped. That one foot didn't even touch the ground before they grabbed my saddle and started the count down. Not PRO. 3-2-1- elbows on the bars and I hammered my brains out to the cone, took the turnaround tight and continued punishing myself to the sprint at 200m. I should have warmed up, and should have finished college and got a real job so I could afford the space bikes and suits everyone else had. Oh well. We got burritos downtown, hung out at the car and stayed lazy until the crit 6.5hrs later.

Stage 3 - Olympia Capital Criterium:
Saturday 6/11/2011
Partly Cloudy, 62*F, 2:55pm
30min, 1k, Cat 4/5, 7-corner course with uphill start/finish, 12th place of 38 starters (27.55, 0sec back)
Avg Speed- 24.1, Max Speed- 32.2

Surprise, we showed up at the very last second. The race official chuckled at the startline as we scrambled to sign in. "I got, heheh, I got it. It's fine," he says. then we find a spot in the back of the line. It's silly, but we were posted up in a perfect parking spot maybe 6 blocks away. I don't know what our problem was, we just suck. The gun is off and so are we. The "ideal" plan was to drive the pace and take turns attacking, just like any other "ideal" race would go for anyone else. A rider from Recycled Cycles leads the first few laps, and wouldn't you know, everyone starts getting tired and slowing. That uphill on the main stretch has done it's part, so now it's b+radsport's turn to do theirs. I wait until everyone reaches for their water after corner 1 then take off. I string it out real nice like for a couple laps, and on the same spot - BOOM! Ted takes off, forcing everyone into single file with a bike length in between each wheel. He tugs some motivation out of them for a few laps, then in our magic spot on corner 1, I attack again. Ted and I take turns dropping everyone out of the race for a little while longer. While he is out front for a few laps I do my best to shut down all counter attacks, fairly successfully. He takes a couple primes, then I relieve him with another attack using almost everything I've got. To my suprise nobody chases me. So off the front I go. After a few laps by myself I hear the announcer say something about how "These boys from LA aren't making it easy for anyone today" and that I've pulled an 8 sec gap on everyone as he rings the bell for the final prime lap. CASH MONEY! It will be mine. I've never won anything in a bike race. I wanted it bad. I hold everyone off for the remainder of the lap and ITS MINE! Then at corner 2, Ted comes through again! Who do we think we are?! I recover behind the GC guys as they try and hang on. We cross the line, and suddenly it's 1 TO GO! Ted stays on the front keeping the pace painful and I move up behind the sprinters that are pining for him. They drop me just before corner 7 but I dig it out for a 12th place finish. No time lost if you don't count the time bonuses. The usual suspect come around Ted at the last second, leaving him with 3rd place.

This was the highlight of my weekend. Everyone congratulated us after the race, they made us feel like celebrities. "If there were Most-Aggressive jerseys, they'd belong to you guys" some said. Lots of respect was earned this day. Beautiful display of team work. :)

Stage 4 - Independence Valley Road Race
Sunday 6/12/2011
Partly Cloudy, 59*F, 11:00am
50.4mi, Cat 4/5, 10th place of 35 starters (1:58.23 - 0sec back)
Avg Speed- 23.2mph, Max Speed- 48.4mph

This stage was dedicated to putting Ted on the GC podium. We figured with 2 large climbs, the sprinters wouldn't be able to contest and we'd probably get a solid break going. Nope. We did all the work the entire race. I even slowed it down to 16mph and asked if anyone wanted to take a pull. They mostly just shrugged their shoulders and let us lead the way. Byrne/Invent had 2 guys in GC and a guy from CycleUniv. was the GC leader. Needless to say, both teams were stacked in the front...behind us. First climb. Ted pulls away, I follow and its strung out behind us. We book it, but everyone is right behind us within a couple miles. Climb 2 Ted pulls away big time and I sit and wait if anyone else will join. Nobody. Instead he drops the field and continues solo. Still everyone lets him dangle after the descent. I bridge and figure its best for us to wait again to see if anyone will break for round 2.
Here's where my biggest regret of the stage comes in. We force a couple surges, then everyone slows down as the big climb comes into view. I attack, everyone gets pissed. Ted comes around me in mid climb, 2 others come around me. Theres a small gap but nothing promising. I wait and nobody really hangs on so I sit in. Ted off the front again. I could have SHOULD HAVE bridged to Ted and the two of us ride of into the sunrise together. Instead I kept waiting for someone else to come with and when no one did, I lost faith in our chances.
Final climb. Everyones got Ted in their sights, but he doesn't jump. So it turns into an all out race up the hill, where we finally get a group of 12 or so that make it over together. I'm sure everyone was surprised he didn't try and drop everyone again. Well, I know they were cause they all said something after the race. Anyways, we descend at 48mph, reach the 5k sign at the bottom and keep the pace high until the... 1k....sign? Yes, there was a 5k marker. What the hell for? Get us all antsy. It turned out to be way longer than 5k anyways. 1k, and I look over my shoulder and Travis, the GC leader is right behind me and Ted behind him. He says something nice and I jokingly asked if he wanted to lead me out. He said "sure! Grab my wheel and I'll peel off to the right for you at 100m! SWEET! I figured this would be an opportunity to put Ted up a little further than 6th GC. The lead out begins, early sprints fail, I hold on and the sucker pops early so I do the best I can to elbow myself some room and lead out our boy. The sprint got super dangerous so I let off early. Didn't see Ted pass me, so I knew it was even sketchier in the back.

We were thanked for making the race fun and exciting by the other riders. The GC winner wouldn't shut up about us. So we smiled shook hands all around and tried to make the best of our rather annoying situation. This was Teds race and nobody could touch him. Even I felt like insufficient help. Too bad they couldn't have hooked him up with a KOM jersey at the very least. Sorry buddy.

I had a great time regardless. It was a pleasure racing with you.

CAT4 GC FINAL
Ted Schwartz - 6th place
Eric Cockrell- 12th place

More (unbiased) info and photos here:
Velocity: The Seattle Area Cycling Blog

Spectating, Made Fun

The Ballard Twilight Crit is upon us and you know what that means? People on bikes racing through Old Ballard at 25+MPH while enthused locals cheer them on from one of many awesome bars along the course. Some of which actually stream the race live on their TVs. If booze isn't your thing, you can always get super jacked on caffeine at some the local cafes.

Either way, this event holds a special place in my heart because of the post-race comradery that develops between me and my opponents. Nothing like hauling ass for 40 minutes through a historic part of town on shitty brick against 75 other dudes who all want it was badly as you, then kicking back some cold ones and nerding out together. It's magical, and if youre reading this I highly recommend that you join me in the race and/or post-race. I mean, it's a Saturday afternoon, lets have a good time!