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Minnesota Race (A Bryan Moritz Report) (Kim can't find many pics from this one)
well, 5 of us went out to nebraska friday night for a weekend of collegiate
racing...Me, Frank Freeman, Joe Owens, Greg Roland, and Becca Finley
Saturday was the road race...i had a 60 mile race, and the other four all had
50 mile races. the weather was crazy...constant 25-35mph winds out of the
south and i heard people talk about gusts up to 50 which i wouldn't doubt.
the course was a 12 mile loop around a HUGE lake, so when you would be on the
north end of the lake, the wind would be horrible because it would pick up
speed along the open lake...and there were most definitley whitecaps on the
lake while we were racing (we should have gone surfing instead of racing :) )
Not only the wind, but there was also some heat and that caused joe to cramp
up really bad and wasn't able to finish...also greg gave the race a go despite
doctors telling him not to race, but his ankle problem from last week flared
up again and also was sadly unable to finish.
In the women's race, becca did ISU proud by taking 4th overall. Frank
finished the B race but the conditions made him a walking zombie for the
remainder of the night :) In my race, I finished 6th overall...a break with a
lap to go of 3 guys got away and i was left in the chase group that had no
chances of catching the leaders.
Oh, and on our first lap, i was scared for my life...there was most definitly
a rifle range RIGHT NEXT TO the course we were racing on...so yea, that made
us feel VERY comfortable :)
After the race, we went back to clean up in our hotel and went to CiCi's pizza
for a $5 ALL YOU CAN EAT PIZZA AND PASTA BUFFET...it was delicious...sadly i
wasn't able to eat my goal of 4 plates and frank and Greg had to show me up by
stuffing their faces with all the pizza on the buffet...starving kids in
ethiopia and those two were eating like that tsk tsk tsk
After that, we went back to our hotel to bum around, telling laxative stories,
watching newsline reports on "Bro Rape". After that, we just chilled...i
wanted to play some gamecube, but greg kept saying he would only play gamecube
if he could take his pants off, so we said no to that one
the next morning we had to wake up EARLY (5:45) to eat at 6:00 and leave by
6:30 because the races started at 8:00am. loading up we saw big storms
starting to roll in
once we hit the race course, the heavens let open and it was on
the course was really cool...a 2 mile crit with a nice 300 meter or so haul
uphill to the finish line
I did the men's A race at 8:00am which was only 30 minutes but it was
POURING. i couldn't see for half my race. on the first lap going up the hill
KU put in an attack and i was able to make it into the break of 9 guys and we
stayed away for the rest of the race. I put in one attack but no one joined
me so it was a doomed break and i sat up and waited for the group...oh well.
on the final lap coming up the finish hill, i was sitting near the back (dumb
place to be) and the top 4 guys attacked and got a gap and i was left to chase
and take 5th overall...oh well...it was fun
becca had an AWESOME race at 10:30am and lucked out by having NO RAIN!!!! her
race was also 30 minutes and with about 2 or so laps to go, they called a
prime lap for a $100 set of brand new tires...coming up the hill i saw becca
leading the group and she was able to take the prime by over a bike
length!!!!! She tried to build on her gap but sadly her chain popped off and
she had to get OFF the bike to put it back on and spent the next half lap
chasing back on. After all that hard work, on the final lap up the hill she
was YET AGAIN leading the charge up the hill for the finish but at the line
she went to throw her bike but forgot to keep pedaling (DOH) and sadly she was
beaten by only a couple inches by a minnesota girl (reminds me of a situation
with schnee down in KU a few weeks ago haha).
after our races, we would go riding around the area to get some extra miles
in. across the street from the park that we were racing in was...the nebraska
state prison! so yea, saturday we raced with guns blazing around us and then
sunday we were across the street from nebraska's fine line of
thugs...GREAT!!!!!!
after the races, we drove around basically the entire city of lincoln in
search of a parking spot so that we could eat at chipotle FOR FREE...that's
right, be jealous, we got free buritos because we're just that cool!
*bryan, are you selling yourself for food, again?*
well, i can't think of much else that happened this weekend. it was just a
fun time chillin' with the bros listening to jack johnson...oh yea, we also
rolled to "This is why i'm hot" because let's face it, we're the hottest
college bike racing team around!
Minnesota Race (A Bryan Moritz Report)
well, 5 of us made it back ALMOST totally safe (greg had a crash due to
another rider in front of him going down, and he messed up his ankle) and we
had REALLY good results!!!!!
friday night we drove up and stayed at my friend Jake Boyce's house at St.
Olaf College in North Field where we played some german game called Werewolf
(it's just like mafia) and ate cookies that were DEEEEEEEEEEEElicious
Saturday was a road race in Northfield Minnesota (just south of minneapolis by
20 or so miles) and it was an 8.75 mile course with LOTS of hills...one
particular hill that was about a 2 minute climb so we definitely struggled on
that because of flat ol' iowa :), a 2 mile section of gravel so that was
definitely a learning experience, and then a steep uphill (about 300 meters
long) to the finish.
I did the men's A race for 52 or so miles (6 laps) and was able to stick with
the lead pack the whole race, which finished with around 15 guys. I didn't do
any work all day except chase one attack so i was fairly fresh for the sprint
finish and sprinted for 5th overall...was following some wheels that i thought
were the "good guys" but they literally faded half way up the hill and i was
boxed in, but still felt really good with the result
Justin, Greg, and Frank did the men's B race which was 35 miles (4 laps).
Like i said earlier, Greg crashed early on because of a guy knocking a water
bottle out and causing a crash that he was caught behind and twisted his
ankle :( Justin stuck with the lead group and sprint for an impressive 2nd
place!!!! He was beat by the same St Cloud guy that was down at the KU race a
couple weekends ago. Frank finished with his chase group and (i didn't see
the final results) but he beat some of the guys in his group so that was
really good!
And then becca raced in the women's race which was also 35 miles (4 laps).
She was the lone Iowa State girl in the race which had 3 minnesota girls that
took off during the first lap and worked together as a team and won it. Becca
was in the chase group with 2 KU girls. She told me after the race how they
wouldn't do much work and that had her worried. But she really pulled out an
impressive result by outdouping them at the finish and took 4th
overall...seriously, for those of you that don't race, when you're the lone
person on your team in a 3 person group with the other 2 being the same team,
TACTICS say that the 2 person team should win, but BECCA says that she should
win and that she did :)
 
then we (me, schnee, greg, and becca) did the 10 mile team time trial...we
were all REALLY tired from our previous races that had JUST finished, but we
still went out there and finished in 28 minutes so that was really good to get
some team points
then we went and ate dinner at St. Olaf with some of the guys from that school
which was really fun talking with them. drove to frank's hotel room, showered
up, and then over to Kari's house (a girl from University of Minnesota)...well
not really HER house, she's house-sitting this SUPER nice house for a year,
and we stayed there for the night
this morning we woke up early (6:30), ate breakfast, and drove over to the
race course (but not before getting lost...come one, what kind of an ISU
cycling club trip isn't official without some EXPLORING!?!?!?!?)
the crit course was really fun...it was at an industrial park that had some
nice hills in it...the finish was up a pretty decent hill too.
schnee and frank did the men's B crit at 8:30 for 30 minutes (greg's ankle was
getting bigger so he couldn't race). Schnee attacked right after the first
prime and got a gap with a St. Cloud guy but that guy wasn't working too well,
and they got sucked back up. But with 6 or so laps to go, Schnee attacked out
of the group to bridge up to a solo guy a little ways up, but he kept the
speed going and flew by him and solo'd it for the remainder of the race to
pull out THE FIRST IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY WIN OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
but i must note, the officials didn't think he won it, so as he crossed the
line for this REAL win, they told him to keep riding cuz they thought he was a
lapped rider, and i laughed as the chasing pack sprinted and thought they had
the win, but no no no, they did not...SCHNEE did :)
Then becca raced in the women's crit...sadly i didn't get to see the race
because i was warming up so i can not tell you all that happened, but from the
snippets that i did see, becca was in on a couple of the prime sprints and she
stuck with the lead group till the finish and took 6th overall!!!!!!!
I was in the men's A crit that was the final of the day. We were to do 45
mintues (turned out to be 55 but whatev). I was feeling pretty good, and saw
the first break go with Jake (the guy we stayed with on friday night) and
decided to try to get into it and work with them. we worked well together
except 2 guys didn't really work much so we were swallowed up quickly. I did
the same thing with the next 2 or 3 breaks to go...but we always got caught by
the chase group. then with a little less than 10 mintues to go, jake takes
off and no one chases for a while. finally two guys take off but i reacted
too late and couldn't quite catch on so i went back into the pack. and as my
luck would have it, the ONE break that i did NOT get into was the break that
WON it...so yea, i sprinted for 6th in the chase pack which was 9th
overall...kinda upset about that, but oh well
 
so yea, we had a really fun trip and GREAT weather...no rain, nice temps, very
little wind...awesome racing!
KU Race! (A Bryan Moritz Report)
Part 1: Stay in shady hotel. ...Bryan, Frank, and Justin shared a room, and the first one they got had pizza boxes and all the nasty. John Meyer and Kim Topp shared a room and the inside of the shower curtin had what appeared to be dried blood on it.Also, someone ripped off John's showering materials...they apparently were unaware that we weren't checking out quite yet.
Part 2: Road Race. Justin, John and Frank were in the Men's B race that did 30 miles on a 10 mile
loop that had a lot of rollers...and TONS of wind!!!! Justin pulled out and impressive 7th place I do believe and John didn't do too shabby with a 17th place finish. They learned the importance of team tactics in that race because 2 guys from the same school (St. Cloud) managed a break towards the end and were able to hold off for 1st and 2nd
Kim was in the Women's race (well that's a duh-statement) and she had a couple
mechanical difficulties but still held on for 6th ...she told me later
on that had it not been for the mechanicals, she was feeling excellent and
would have stayed with the lead group and had a better finish!!!
I raced 50 miles with the men's As. Realized my lack of interval training
would hurt me greatly and was shelled off after the consistent attacks at the
top of EVERY roller on the first lap. I hooked up with 5 other guys and was
able to out race them all and finished 10th overall in the As
We then drove back to town, cleaned up and then ate TONS of food at CiCi's for
less than 5 bucks each...it was amazing. Then Frank's wife treated us to some
frozed custard where John and Kim whimped out and couldn't finish their
monster concoctions.
We woke up (slighlty late thanks to Kim's sleeping where she likes to turn off
alarm clocks) but still made it to the criteriums on time for John, Justin and
Frank to start a 30 minute crit at 8 am on the KU Campus.
John and Justin worked EXTREMELY well together as teammates. Towards the
beginning John got on the front and laid it out "Tri-Guy" style as I stood on
the sidelines watching guys get shot out the back like a fat guy with diarrhea
(mmm...lovely image isn't it)!!!!! With the bell rining for the last lap,
John and Justin were looking in REALLY good shape. Coming into the final 200
meters, Justin started his sprint and was holding strong but out of nowhere a
St Cloud guy shot out of the side of the peleton and got Justin by only an
INCH at the finish!!!! Now Justin just needs to learn out to throw a bike in
a sprint and he'll be unstoppable!!! John was also up there and finished 9th
overall!!!!
 
Next was Kim's race in the Women's where she held her own being the solo ISU
girl in the race! She earned points on 4 of the prime laps (there were random
sprint laps where the top 4 would earn points to qualify for nationals) and
finshed a strong 6th overall!!!!
Finally I was up for a 45 minute crit against none other than the reigning
National Collegiate Criterium Champion from Kansas State, Mark Smelser.
We started off and I had no real ambitions for the race because I was pretty
tired from the day before (although John didn't think I should be because I
fell asleep last night around 8 or so). After a few laps I was sucking
HARDCORE at the back of the pack of 25 guys. The officialls rang the bell for
a prime lap and I tried to hold on. Coming around the corner I decided to try
to make a go at the prime...I ended up moving up through the entire pack and
got 2nd place points on the prime!!! (Frank later told me how at the bell he
was thinking I was going to be shelled but then coming around the corner all
of a sudden he sees none other than ME!!!) So i sat back up and got into the
group to just draft for a while. After the next prime (which i was no where
close on) a small group consistin of a KU and Minnesota guy (the two
strongest/largest teams in the A race) my category 2 friend Sean Noonan and
his cat 2 buddy from St Olaf. I noticed this and decided this would be a good
group to try to get a break with. So i attacked out of the pack and quickly
hooked up with those 4 and we made that break stick!!!!! Somehow the
Minnesota guy got away and ended up winning it (I have a feeling he is a cat 1
or 2 racer). Halfway through a Kansas State guy and another Minnesota guy
bridged up to our group but no other guys would catch us for the rest of the
race.
I ended up "sprinting" for 6th place overall for the day (my sprinting was
pretty much non-existant) but still felt good with my results seeing as though
I worked with a break of cat 1/2/3s and I am only a cat 4 and we managed a
24mph average for the 20 miles that we raced.
Overall for the weekend I think that everyone from ISU did an AWESOME
job!!!!!
If you see either John, Justin, Frank or Kim around campus be sure
to congradulate them all on a spectacular show of racing! And if any others
out there want to try their hand at some collegiate racing, let me know and
we'll get you out there!!!
Side Note from Kim:
Point Totals/Places after the weekend
Mens A: Bryan -10th
Mens B: Justin - 3rd
John - 15th
Frank - 1 of 16 B men with no points
Womens: Kim - 6th
TEAM: 4th (we'll get us a TTT together and hang in there!)
The BRR ride!
Registration is now open. This is the place to be on Saturday Feb 3rd 2007. BRR 30 Years strong - Keep on Rolling!
Join the 30th Annual BRR Ride! on Saturday Feb 3rd, 2007 for a 23 mile ride from Perry to Rippey and back to Perry. It's the 'Original Winter Ride"!
Remember: A portion of the registration proceeds will support the development of the Hiawatha Trail (Herndon-Jamaica-Dawson-Perry-Bouton-Woodward)
Pre-registered riders are eligible for many drawings, food, discounts and prizes! WIN-WIN-WIN! Register Here
Cranksgiving 2006
Mario and Bryan cruised along, dodging in and out of traffic and at the end Mario was a
flippin lunatic and dodged in front of some oncoming speeding cars to beat Bryan
(cuz he didn't want to die and waited like a panzy for the cars to pass) to the
finish...that was a sweet move Mario! In the end, their efforts contributed to the Food Bank - good times were had by all!
Later, Mario participated in a little track stand competition and
beat the legendary desmoinian that goes by the name SQUIRREL...this guy has got
quite the reputation so mad props on that one mario!
Collegiate Cross!!!
That's right folks, our conference decided to put on one cyclocross race on November 5th up in Minnesota at St. Olaf College. Bryan Moritz placed 3rd in the Mens A, and Kim Topp placed 2nd in Womens A. Overall, ISU placed SECOND in overall Division I points.
First image = start of the Collegiate race, Next = Thors Revenge, a hill of...sadness and steepness. Last = after the race was over and the course taken down, this is the grass where you can tell where the bikes rode in a spiral, and then back out again! Neat!
  
Merch and Goodies!
WHAT WHAT!
We're looking into getting ourselves some SOCKS, WATERBOTTLES, HATS, AND T-SHIRTS!!! There is even some investigation into getting some new jerseys/shorts!!! sweeeeet! *check the facebook discussion board for more!*
Ride.Together
For those interested in Road Racing, talk to Bryan Moritz.
For those interested in just riding around...well, talk to anyone, because we all LOVE to ride our bicycles!!!!!!!
 
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