Chicago Crit. No excuses.

Come out and watch the most spectacular bike race in Chicago this season: the Chicago Criterium. Click on the link to see the schedule of races. This is the first time the city puts on this particular race, and who knows if they'll ever do it again.

When: This Sunday
Where: Grant Park (the finish line is on Columbus, right by Buckingham Fountain)
Who: The very best from the Chicago cycling scene and beyond. (Including Team Tati. Advice: Watch the clockwork orange at their best in the men's 4 race. I believe Liz will be racing in the women's 4 too.)

And if this doesn't convince you, this will: Jumbotron. That's right. The city is installing a giant screen for your viewing pleasure. Watch the riders sprint, bridge, corner and suffer to the max, in the maximum possible size.

Aside from the finish line area, I would recommend turns 2 (Michigan Av with Jackson) and 4 (Columbus with Balbo) for spectators. Watch cyclists take those downhill turns screaming fast, and probably some live crash porn. The hard kind. (Hopefully none of us Tatitos/UCVCers will star in that movie.)

This Sunday in Chicagoland

Enjoy a beautiful day of bicycle racing this Sunday (July 20). Evanston is putting on its annual Northwestern Healthcare Grand Prix, part of the prestigious International Cycling Classic/Superweek series.

The organizers have put together an excellent website, including a guide on how to watch a criterium race. The course is smack in the middle of town, so you'll have plenty of coffee shops and outdoor seating to enjoy the festivities in comfort. (Leave the sweating and puffing to the racers...)

I would say that this is one of the two big events within rideable distance of Hyde Park this summer, so don't miss it! (The other one is the Chicago Criterium, on July 27.)

The morning and early afternoon will see the lower category races. Tati will be present at the Men's Cat 4/5 race at 9:00am, with its trio of creamsicles Liam, Dan and Bernard, provided that the former two recover from their recent injuries (I am not ok yet). (Warning: the race might be delayed a few minutes.) Then the duo of tangerines Carly and Liz will make their appearance at 1:00pm in the women's 3/4 race. I presume that our stars Devon and Aspen will be there too, albeit in Get a Grip colors. And we might even have one or two guys racing for UCVC. Cheer for them all.

There will be some sort of concert/dancing with live music at 3.00pm, kids races also at 3.00pm, and the pro races after 4.00pm.

Misc

As its title suggests, "Training and Racing with a Power Meter" is a training guide for wattheads. People familiar with the book tell me, however, that it's a good read for the workouts, even if you don't have a power meter. Only $14 on Amazon.

Hat tip to Tim H., who swears by Fausto Coppi that this book is better than the Training Bible.

* * *

After riding the Panaracer Ribmos for a while (ok, only two days), I confirmed my suspicions: these are not tires for racing bikes. It's not just the weight, it's that they feel very different from regular road tires. I knew they would offer very high rolling resistance and poor acceleration--that's to be expected. What makes them unacceptable for me is the uncomfortable sensation they provide when leaning into a turn: the transition from the center to the side of the tire is sharp and unexpected. This is perhaps due to a big change in the thickness of the tire or in the composition of the rubber, or perhaps to the "pointy" shape of the cross-section, I'm not sure.

There's no point in training on a tire that doesn't corner at all like racing tires do. They might perform better with slightly wider rims, but I'm not sure. If you get lots of flats or absolutely hate ever having a flat, stick with Schwalbe Stelvio Plus. They offer superb protection without sacrificing as much in terms of performance as the Panaracers do. Reserve the Ribmo's for your commuter bike.

Regarding racing tires, Dan may have found the optimal combination of speed, grip, and puncture protection. He set up his bike with a Schwalbe Ultremo in the front, for speed and unparalleled grip among clinchers, and a Panaracer Extreme Duro in the back, for better puncture protection while keeping weight and grip within acceptable limits. Maybe he can share his impressions (or maybe I will, since I've copied his setup).

	Weight (g)	Price
Panaracer Ribmo	360	~$30
Schwalbe Stelvio Plus	310	~$42
Schwalbe Ultremo	190	~$45
Panaracer Extreme Duro	240	~$26

Le Tour live and free (in English)

http://www.justin.tv/giac2007

UPDATE (7/22/2007): the link no longer works, at least today. I read on steephill.tv that ASO, the Tour organizers, forced steephill to remove their link to justin.tv, because it's unofficial streaming of the Eurosport broadcast.

Oh well... You can still see live video from Eurosport. Go here, scroll down to "Le Direct: Live Video" and click on the Eurosport video link.

Fun rides

Recreational riders, here are two websites with calendars of rides (some centuries, but also some longer and shorter ones):
-Mike's Illinois Bicycle Rides (rides in IL)
-Midwest Bike Rides (rides in IL, IN, WI, MN, IA, MO, OH and MI)