Just thought I would pass this along...
I just want everyone to know that we had another incident in Ft. Calhoun with Don Bilderback (the crazy man who hates bikers) with one of our club members whom was almost run off the road.
I talked to the county attorney and found out last fall charges were brought against him and he did have to pay a fine for wreckless driving (after the incident with Bob and I on the Omaha Trace Rd).
It is important for you to call the sheriff and file a complaint if you have an incident with this man. He is very dangerous and will kill someone someday if he continues with this madness. If you carry a cellphone when you ride be sure to snap a photo of his plate #. This is excellent evidence- take photo's of his face -if the opportunity arises!
I told the county attorney that his license needs to be revoked and he said that would eventually happen if we keep recieving complaints against him. So you can see it is very important to "act" when he harasses you.
One more thing! We are requesting that if you have had an incident with Don Bilderback that you would please write to the editor of the Blair Paper at this address: news@enterprisepub.com with "letter to the editor" in the subject line. I have spoken with Melissa from the paper and she said they will print all our letters the same day and that should have a big impact on the public. Refrain from using his name and refer to him as "a particular individual in Ft. Calhoun" We only want letters that involve Bilderback --not general harassment from the public letters. THANKS TO ALL We have the right to ride safely on the road and not be harassed!!!
PLEASE PASS ON TO ANY CYCLISTS YOU KNOW WHO RIDES THE AREA NOT IN THE CLUB
~Trudy
Blair Bike Club
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Elkhorn Classic - Baker City, OR
Wow! what a great venue for a race. Baker City, OR is in eastern Oregon, up in a plateau between two mountain ranges. There are plenty of hotels, coffee shops, and gift shops. It is in the "high desert" so there is not much rain and you could see the Elkhorn mountain range all around the small town. Stages 1 & 4 went straight into the heart of the mountains.
The roads were awesome!! Most of the time they felt like fresh asphalt. No expansion cracks or potholes. Just very smooth and fast. There was very little traffic on these roads too.
The weather was the big question mark. In the ten years of the race they have everything from snow to 100 degree temperatures. For Stage 1 we enjoyed a perfect day. The sun warmed the area to 75 degrees and there was a slight breeze. What humidity? Stage 2 started early Saturday morning with temps in the upper 50s and a chance of light rain. I started the TT dry but was a little wet at at then finish line. Stage 3 started later on Saturday. The stage started dry for the Cat 4/5s but just after the start it began to rain. The race was called due to a crash in the Cat 4/5 race on the second lap. My race was also canceled. More on that later. Stage 4 was a bit chilly with temps in the lower 50s and a stronger breeze. It was very hard to decide what to wear. The chill gave way to bright sunny skies and temps back into the 70s.
The riders were mostly from the area... Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and California. I raced the Masters 1/2/3 40+. There were 4 major teams represented with about 4 - 5 riders in each team. We had a total of 42 riders. The other races Pro 1/2, Cat 3, Cat 4/5, Masters Cat 4/5 had about the same or more number of riders. The woman a few less.
I thought there race was very well run and organized. The wheel lottery was interesting. If you name was highlighted on the sign up sheet for the stage, you had to put wheels in the wheel truck to be used if needed by any rider. I can see a few advantages in doing a lottery. For the organizers, there are less wheels to carry so you don't need a big truck for each race. For the riders, there is no searching for your wheel set. You just get the next wheels set. No searching for your own. In my experience even if you find the wheels quickly you have to untangle your set from the bunch of others crammed in the truck. Wasting precious seconds. I was selected for Stage 4 and my wheels went into a Honda Element with about 10 other sets.
That is all I have for now... I will detail each stage over the coming day(before I forget).
The roads were awesome!! Most of the time they felt like fresh asphalt. No expansion cracks or potholes. Just very smooth and fast. There was very little traffic on these roads too.
The weather was the big question mark. In the ten years of the race they have everything from snow to 100 degree temperatures. For Stage 1 we enjoyed a perfect day. The sun warmed the area to 75 degrees and there was a slight breeze. What humidity? Stage 2 started early Saturday morning with temps in the upper 50s and a chance of light rain. I started the TT dry but was a little wet at at then finish line. Stage 3 started later on Saturday. The stage started dry for the Cat 4/5s but just after the start it began to rain. The race was called due to a crash in the Cat 4/5 race on the second lap. My race was also canceled. More on that later. Stage 4 was a bit chilly with temps in the lower 50s and a stronger breeze. It was very hard to decide what to wear. The chill gave way to bright sunny skies and temps back into the 70s.
The riders were mostly from the area... Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and California. I raced the Masters 1/2/3 40+. There were 4 major teams represented with about 4 - 5 riders in each team. We had a total of 42 riders. The other races Pro 1/2, Cat 3, Cat 4/5, Masters Cat 4/5 had about the same or more number of riders. The woman a few less.
I thought there race was very well run and organized. The wheel lottery was interesting. If you name was highlighted on the sign up sheet for the stage, you had to put wheels in the wheel truck to be used if needed by any rider. I can see a few advantages in doing a lottery. For the organizers, there are less wheels to carry so you don't need a big truck for each race. For the riders, there is no searching for your wheel set. You just get the next wheels set. No searching for your own. In my experience even if you find the wheels quickly you have to untangle your set from the bunch of others crammed in the truck. Wasting precious seconds. I was selected for Stage 4 and my wheels went into a Honda Element with about 10 other sets.
That is all I have for now... I will detail each stage over the coming day(before I forget).
Monday, June 13, 2011
The "A" race
Tonight I will be packing for my trip to Baker City, OR for the Elkhorn Classic Bike race. A three day stage race.
Why did I pick this race? Mostly because it sounded "cool" but I haven't seen my aunt that lives there in a long time.
Am I ready for this race? Umm no, not really.. I don't stand a chance against the other racers in the mountains. Not a positive attitude but it is a reality. I am ready for challenging myself over the four stages of the race.
Anybody else going with you? No, other racers. My lovely wife Christine is coming along.
What is the race? Here is the link Elkhorn Classice Bike Race. I should be able to hang with the group for at least 20miles in the first Mountain stage. I suspect that the action won't heat up until the first set of rollers or the first climb.
The TT should be interesting. Devin offered to let me use his TT bike but I wanted to ride with Christine so we are bringing her bike. I will ride my road bike(no Eddy Merckx competetion)
My best performance will be on the criterium. It is wide open "L" shape course, with 6 turns and pan flat. Sounds like fun to me!
The last stage has four good sized climbs. I just hope it is sunny and warm so I can enjoy the scenery.
That's it. We leave in the wee hours of the morning. I will wave to all my Norfolk friends as I roll through town early Tuesday morning. I will keep ya posted... cya!!
Why did I pick this race? Mostly because it sounded "cool" but I haven't seen my aunt that lives there in a long time.
Am I ready for this race? Umm no, not really.. I don't stand a chance against the other racers in the mountains. Not a positive attitude but it is a reality. I am ready for challenging myself over the four stages of the race.
Anybody else going with you? No, other racers. My lovely wife Christine is coming along.
What is the race? Here is the link Elkhorn Classice Bike Race. I should be able to hang with the group for at least 20miles in the first Mountain stage. I suspect that the action won't heat up until the first set of rollers or the first climb.
The TT should be interesting. Devin offered to let me use his TT bike but I wanted to ride with Christine so we are bringing her bike. I will ride my road bike(no Eddy Merckx competetion)
My best performance will be on the criterium. It is wide open "L" shape course, with 6 turns and pan flat. Sounds like fun to me!
The last stage has four good sized climbs. I just hope it is sunny and warm so I can enjoy the scenery.
That's it. We leave in the wee hours of the morning. I will wave to all my Norfolk friends as I roll through town early Tuesday morning. I will keep ya posted... cya!!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Racing so far... continued
Cat 3 racing Downtown Norfolk, NE -
I lined up with about 26 other riders including some Cat 1/2s. The team to watch was the Trek Team.
The Kaos team had a good presence but didn't seem to have the team cohesion as years before.
At the whistle the race started. I still have problems quickly clipping into my pedals. I need to figure this out... it puts me in chase mode right away. Not a big deal on this day though.
After a few fast starting laps, Lucas and Paul on the Trek team got off the front. The annoucer started giving us split times. 15 sec, then 25... Then another Trek guy try to bridge but was ordered back to the pack. Team Kaos put in a few efforts to chase. The gap stayed at about 30sec.
Then the blocking started. I shouldn't say blocking because we didn't have to follow. Mark S. got on the front for the Trek team and set a good pace and everyone was on his wheel. Instead of taking the corners wide, he would come in tight and accelerate out of them. This tactic seem to slow the chase down and wear me out. Putting that one in my bag of tricks.
At one point in the race Dan S. got in front of me and asked me if I wanted to go with him. I said "No". I was just surviving. Well maybe just more than surviving. I did some hard pulls up front and chased some people down. It was not much though.
I was still with the pack crossing over the line the counter said 2 laps to go. I was just wanting to finish this race. Mark S caught the pack by surprise launching an attack off the front. This was a smart move since Lucas and Paul had, in effect, lapped the pack, we were on the last lap. Mark held on for 3rd. I finish just behind a big group of riders. Like the masters race... very very fun!!
Now, I am getting ready for the Elkhorn classic in Baker City, OR. Here is the riders list so far - http://elkhornclassic.com/Libraries/Data/June_7_2011_Registrations.htm. I am looking forward to the crit on Saturday. Here are the stages http://elkhornclassic.com/Stages/Stage_1.html
More to come on
I lined up with about 26 other riders including some Cat 1/2s. The team to watch was the Trek Team.
The Kaos team had a good presence but didn't seem to have the team cohesion as years before.
At the whistle the race started. I still have problems quickly clipping into my pedals. I need to figure this out... it puts me in chase mode right away. Not a big deal on this day though.
After a few fast starting laps, Lucas and Paul on the Trek team got off the front. The annoucer started giving us split times. 15 sec, then 25... Then another Trek guy try to bridge but was ordered back to the pack. Team Kaos put in a few efforts to chase. The gap stayed at about 30sec.
Then the blocking started. I shouldn't say blocking because we didn't have to follow. Mark S. got on the front for the Trek team and set a good pace and everyone was on his wheel. Instead of taking the corners wide, he would come in tight and accelerate out of them. This tactic seem to slow the chase down and wear me out. Putting that one in my bag of tricks.
At one point in the race Dan S. got in front of me and asked me if I wanted to go with him. I said "No". I was just surviving. Well maybe just more than surviving. I did some hard pulls up front and chased some people down. It was not much though.
I was still with the pack crossing over the line the counter said 2 laps to go. I was just wanting to finish this race. Mark S caught the pack by surprise launching an attack off the front. This was a smart move since Lucas and Paul had, in effect, lapped the pack, we were on the last lap. Mark held on for 3rd. I finish just behind a big group of riders. Like the masters race... very very fun!!
Now, I am getting ready for the Elkhorn classic in Baker City, OR. Here is the riders list so far - http://elkhornclassic.com/Libraries/Data/June_7_2011_Registrations.htm. I am looking forward to the crit on Saturday. Here are the stages http://elkhornclassic.com/Stages/Stage_1.html
More to come on
Monday, June 6, 2011
Racing So far...
has been less than stellar. With two more races on my schedule I want to go back to the drawing board. I still have some hope I can up my game by mid - July for the Omaha weekend but I think I may target something for late August or September. Something like the Gateway cup in St. Louis.
This weekend I raced a lot better than ever. Saturday, the weather was near perfect. 80s for temps, and no gale force winds. I think that is about close to perfect in Nebraska. The course was very nice too. Smooth asphalt with very few road hazards which were marked.
This race was short for me. I hung with the group on the 8% rollers of the first leg. A couple times I would get tailed off the back but quickly recovered. The second leg I found myself in a break. Two Kaos guys were let off the front. They may have had 30secs. Then Brady M. of the Trek team bridged with me on his wheel. We had a good gap and started rotating. Not sure why they did it but the Trek team shut this break down.
The 3rd leg of the race introduced the cross wind and some more hills. With the cross wind the race went into the gutter. I survived a few rollers but eventully I fell off at the crest of a hill. Just 5 feet out of the slip stream. I didn't blow up... I pushed hard to get myself back on. So close, I could heard the group. They inched away. The officials car slowly passed. They could hear me fight and sometime yell things. That was it. I was off the back.
I still had some hope to get back on, so I kept a solid tempo. I waited for Dan and we worked together to finish. He was going to roll off after the first lap but stayed on for another. I was glad.
Sunday's Masters Crit race was fun. Another nice day in Norfolk. Ten of us rolled off the start line. I wanted to win this race. There was about 5 off us with similar abilities. Eric OB was riding well this year and I knew he had a good sprint. Rich P. is strong he has great steady state speed. Jeff on the CPC team was fast and a seasoned rider. Then there was Craig H. who could ride smart and pull out a great sprint. Craig was on the team so I wasn't really worried about him.
There were several attempts to get off the front. I tried one of them but I was quickly pulled back by mid race we knew that it was going to be a bunch sprint. My main competition in the 40+ group was Eric OB. So I asked Rich if he wanted to get away. We never got anything going. On the prime lap, I was boxed out on the right side. I rolled across with some good speed and kept on going. I had my gap for 3/4 of a lap but let up.
With 5 laps to go it was very slow at time then fast. 2 to go, a Trek team rider got on the front. I was 3rd wheel. That is where I wanted to be. Then it was a game of chicken. Who would jump first. I am a little foggy on what happened next but I was still sitting 3rd wheel waiting for someone to come around. The lead guy had good speed so I was happy to stay there a bit longer. Then Eric OB accelerated around me and was far left on the road. I stood to go with him. It was a drag race and he got the jump on me. I heard he was having chain problems but he was still going good. Then he dropped his chain and fell out of site. I kept hammering. I crossed over to win with Rich P on my wheel. Very, very fun!
One more race to write about the Cat 3 Crit
This weekend I raced a lot better than ever. Saturday, the weather was near perfect. 80s for temps, and no gale force winds. I think that is about close to perfect in Nebraska. The course was very nice too. Smooth asphalt with very few road hazards which were marked.
This race was short for me. I hung with the group on the 8% rollers of the first leg. A couple times I would get tailed off the back but quickly recovered. The second leg I found myself in a break. Two Kaos guys were let off the front. They may have had 30secs. Then Brady M. of the Trek team bridged with me on his wheel. We had a good gap and started rotating. Not sure why they did it but the Trek team shut this break down.
The 3rd leg of the race introduced the cross wind and some more hills. With the cross wind the race went into the gutter. I survived a few rollers but eventully I fell off at the crest of a hill. Just 5 feet out of the slip stream. I didn't blow up... I pushed hard to get myself back on. So close, I could heard the group. They inched away. The officials car slowly passed. They could hear me fight and sometime yell things. That was it. I was off the back.
I still had some hope to get back on, so I kept a solid tempo. I waited for Dan and we worked together to finish. He was going to roll off after the first lap but stayed on for another. I was glad.
Sunday's Masters Crit race was fun. Another nice day in Norfolk. Ten of us rolled off the start line. I wanted to win this race. There was about 5 off us with similar abilities. Eric OB was riding well this year and I knew he had a good sprint. Rich P. is strong he has great steady state speed. Jeff on the CPC team was fast and a seasoned rider. Then there was Craig H. who could ride smart and pull out a great sprint. Craig was on the team so I wasn't really worried about him.
There were several attempts to get off the front. I tried one of them but I was quickly pulled back by mid race we knew that it was going to be a bunch sprint. My main competition in the 40+ group was Eric OB. So I asked Rich if he wanted to get away. We never got anything going. On the prime lap, I was boxed out on the right side. I rolled across with some good speed and kept on going. I had my gap for 3/4 of a lap but let up.
With 5 laps to go it was very slow at time then fast. 2 to go, a Trek team rider got on the front. I was 3rd wheel. That is where I wanted to be. Then it was a game of chicken. Who would jump first. I am a little foggy on what happened next but I was still sitting 3rd wheel waiting for someone to come around. The lead guy had good speed so I was happy to stay there a bit longer. Then Eric OB accelerated around me and was far left on the road. I stood to go with him. It was a drag race and he got the jump on me. I heard he was having chain problems but he was still going good. Then he dropped his chain and fell out of site. I kept hammering. I crossed over to win with Rich P on my wheel. Very, very fun!
One more race to write about the Cat 3 Crit
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