July | 2016 | Steve Tilford

Tomorrow is going to be a tough day at the Tour de France. Right now, in Eastern Kansas, the Tour of Lawrence is this weekend. It is a 3 day event, with the street sprints happening last night, then two criteriums over the weekend.

Sunday the race is in downtown Lawrence, on Mass. Street, which is a great place to race bikes. It is also the State Criterium Championships.

I’m not going to race today. At least, as of now, I’m not going to. I have been sickly since Nationals, two weeks ago, in Louisville. A lot of guys got the same thing and I can’t see to shake it. These guys say it is a virus, a couple got their throats swabbed for strep, but whatever, it is a weird illness.

I feel okay during the day. Just okay. I have a slight headache all the time, plus my throat is semi-sore and stuff is dripping down my throat. It seems to have set in.

I rode over to Lawrence yesterday to watch the street sprints. It is only 30 miles and I rode easy, hoping it would help me feel better. I have 120 miles for the week, which is the shortest week I’m done this year. All slow.

I changed the front brakes and did an oil change on the diesel van yesterday too. The brake rotors on that thing are huge, and heavy. I guess it is a 1 ton van, so they have to be beefy. I am changing the oil every 10,000 miles now. I kept checking it since the last change and it stayed super clear for the first 7-8K miles. That is so weird for a diesel vehicle. I can’t explain it. Even after 10K, the oil didn’t come out that dark. I would have guessed it would have been pretty done. Guess it really likes Mobil 1 synthetic oil.

A couple friends are riding gravel over from Lawrence now. As soon as the Tour is over, I’m going to get dressed and go meet them and ride them back some. Maybe I’ll feel better, but from walking around this morning, it doesn’t seem likely.

I really feel satisfied after changing brakes. It is rewarding getting rid of those old rusty, pitted rotors and having new ones.

The van takes 15 quarts of oil. Man.

Benn Stover won the Pro 1/2 street sprints last night. He is really quick.

I went to the Mexicana Festival in Topeka a couple nights ago. It is fun.

The local area houses are all decorated for it.

Yesterday I went over to the Tour of Lawrence, but didn’t race, I just watched. I had ridden earlier, 40 miles on gravel and completely fell apart coming home. I’m not feeling that well and figure I have one day in me, if that.

Anyway, it is important to watch races every once in awhile to understand what is going on from the outside, looking in. It is a completely different experience, an important one.

Yesterday, the race was carnage. It was super hot and the course was tricky, with lots of corners and places the field got super stretched out. The slinky-effect was happening constantly, thus a lot of guys were on their limits.

Guys were getting popped out the back from the gun. The front of the race almost looked easier than the middle of the pack, it was really interesting.

The race was only 75 minutes, but the last 15 minutes, about 1/2 the field disappeared. It finally got down to a group of maybe 12 guys, where everyone could corner without braking, etc. From watching, it showed me that even really good riders suffer immensely when racing, especially in the heat.

Joseph Schmalz, Elevate, rode away with 5 to go, with Garrick Valverde. Joseph’s team mate, Nick Torraca was there for a little while, but after taking a huge pull, he got dropped by Joseph. It looked a little weird, but in reality, when Nick went back to the field, they pretty much gave up, which allowed Joseph and Garrick to disappear. Nick ended up riding away again with a lap to go and finished 3rd, which was a big effort. Here is a link to the Lawrence paper’s article.

Today it is supposed to be much hotter. I just heard on NPR that the heat index is supposed to be close to 110. That is ugly. I’m hoping to finish, but am not holding my breathe on that.

I know it seems a little strange racing when I have such low expectations and don’t feel well, but being from Kansas, it is important racing in downtown Lawrence. It is a very historic downtown, dating back to the civil war when raiders come over from Missouri, a slave state, and burnt the city of Lawrence.

When the Collegiate Nationals were held in Lawrence, there was a USAC Pro 1/2 criterium. I skipped Joe Martin Stage Race to just race one criterium. I won the race that year. That isn’t going to happen today.

Today is the Kansas State Criterium Championships too. It’s always nice to be racing for a title.

So, it is going to be a hard day today. If anything, I hope to learn something for not watching from the outside. The course is easier than yesterday, so I have that going for me.