17 May 2009

I would like to start by saying…what an incredible day we had weather wise! The morning started cool, the low was 37 degrees, and at the race start, it was around 50 degrees with very low winds around 4mph, then the high got up to around 65 degrees for the day. I would also like to thank my faithful crew of volunteers, which without them, well, you know… Lisa Wessling and Jennifer Ainsworth mastered the registration duties, Terry Burke helped with course marking, Dave Van Hook helped me with set-up/tear down and was the turn around corner marshal, the best start timer around Mike Desch, Frank Martin was the wrangler, and William Huntsberger was our holder, and a big thanks to Bob Lundberg, our official. Thanks again everyone! In addition, I cannot go on without thanking the racers who drove a fair distance to race our course. Without you and your continued support, it makes it tough to put on events like this. So thank you for always showing up at this race! Last, but not least, I would like to thank the Barstow Fire Department, for the venue and the great food you grilled for us, the Quad Cities Bicycle Club, the DICE Cycling Team, the Rock Island County Sheriffs Department, and a few kind individuals for your generous donations to ensure a profitable event along with your continued support for grassroots bicycle racing here in the Midwest. A huge THANK YOU to ALL of YOU!!

The conditions were perfect Sunday for a potential course record. And we got one!! With a time of 29:21.84 and a speed of 25.39 mph, Debbie Dust, of the PACT/Dish Network team, from Chicago, blistered Diane Roanhaus’, of Rock Valley Oil, from Franklin, WI, previous best time from 2007 by 1 minute and 8.06 seconds. Very nice ride Debbie! The men’s winner for the ’09 edition of the 20K, a new force in time trials from Muscatine, IA and the Harper’s/Melon City team was Chad Bishop with our second time under 26 minutes. His time of 25:55.53 and a speed of 28.76 mph is second over all to Bryce Mead, of Jelly Belly, and Sterling, IL, in 2008 to a time of 25:18.42 and a speed of 29.47 mph. Our women’s QCBC winner was Laurel Darren, Moline, IL for her first ever bicycle time trial with a winning time of 36:59.08 and a speed of 20.16 mph. Awesome job from one of the QC area’s premier female marathon and ultra distance runners, who by the way is training for her first ever-full Ironman later this summer, Good Luck Laurel! The men’s winner, the current Quad Cities Bicycle Club President, John Harrington won with a winning time of 30:32.19 and a speed of 24.14 mph, who rode a great ride, and then decided to take advantage of the great weather and some company from the DICE Team, and rode home to Bettendorf, IA from the Barstow course. With the results below, we try to do the best we can but sometimes there are mistakes, and if there are any, I apologize. If one was made with your results, please e-mail me offline and let me know what needs to be changed and I will make the changes. Also, if you should have received a medal, or received the wrong one, please let me know and I will get you a new plate if you have a medal or a new medal and plate if you didn’t receive one. If you have trouble viewing this e-mail, the results will be posted on the web sites soon.

Coming up for me next is this weekend’s Quad Cities Bicycle Club’s Great Big Bike rodeo on Sunday May 24, an all ages bicycle rodeo to practice safe cycling skills and maneuvers. The rodeo will be in operation from 10am to 2pm. Please bring a bicycle in good working order and everyone who participates MUST have a helmet. There are volunteer opportunities available, please contact Dean Mayne at e.mayne@mchsi.com . On Monday Memorial Day, we will have the 43^rd Annual Modern Woodmen Bank Quad Cities Criterium with the first race going off at 8:25am and the men and women’s feature races starting 2:30pm for the women and 4pm for the men all competing for $11,500 in prize money. For all info about the QC Crit, please visit www.QuadCitiesCriterium.com . Volunteer opportunities for the race are available; please contact Vivian Norton at vjoan@worldnet.att.net if you are interested. We hope to see you there!

After the Memorial Weekend series of races, up next in July I will be putting on the Illinois State Road Race Championships during the Mississippi Bluffs Road Race in Rapids City, IL on July 18 2009. Race flyers and registration can be found at www.DiceTraining.com , www.DICEcycling.com and www.GetMeRegistered.com . On Sunday 19 July, we will be having the 8^th Annual Dr Craig C Schultz Memorial 40K Time Trial (formerly know as the QCBC/DICE 40K Time Trial Championships) in Cordova, IL. Dr Schultz was training on the Cordova course when he was brutally driven over, and left to die on the side of the road, as he was training for the 2008 Iowa State Time Trial Championships, on a clear and calm Thursday morning last year. The flyer and registration info can be found at the web sites above. Records for the Cordova 40K are; ’06 Paul Deninger, Iowa City, IA rode a 54:20.00 at 27.40 mph and ’07 Tara Sheetz from Roscoe, IL rode a 1:00:04.46 at 24.83 mph. Can anyone break one hour for the women?

I hope everyone has a safe, happy, and fun filled Memorial Day Weekend Holiday! Now go race your bike!

Best rides,

Donnie Miller

Quad Cities Bicycle Club (QCBC) - Board Member, Safety and Education Director, Race Director of the Quad Cities Criterium

League of Illinois Bicyclists (LIB) - Bicycle Safety Consultant

League of American Bicyclists (LAB) - LCI #1833

PO Box 902

Moline, IL 61266-0902

309-737-8270 Cell

563-324-3815 Fax

www.qcbc.org

www.QuadCitiesCriterium.com

www.bikelib.org

bcycleracr@mchsi.com