Ain't Cycling Gran?

Excuse the poor English in the title, but I couldn't help it. It only seemed too fitting for an event that's about to get underway this weekend--and one that I already wrote about once for this month's Chicago Athlete magazine. So when it came time to share the event's details for interested parties outside Chicago Athlete's distribution area but within a day's drive of the event's HQ, I had to reinvent the wheel. Or try.

Cycling. Gran Fondo. Wisconsin. Robbie Ventura. Vision Quest Coaching. Whether you have yet to get quality riding on your calendar for this summer--and you're watching it quickly slip away--or you've been putting pedal to the medal since the ground thawed, you'll want to consider putting these five keyword phrases together on July 31. Cycling can't get more grand than at Robbie Ventura's Gran Fondo, a race, rec ride, spin, loop--whatever you want to call it depending on how fast and how hard you want to ride it--through Wisconsin's challenging terrain. Why do you want to do this race? Check out these reasons:

• You're training for Ironman Wisconsin. You'll get a sampling of its course and terrain by riding the 22.9-mile loop of the Gran Fondo. And if you go for speed you'll get to practice cornering, passing, ascending and descending--all skills you'll need race day.
• The Gran Fondo can be as long, or as short, as you want it to be. You can ride the course's loop up to five times, and the more you ride it, plus your time, will be factored into winning prizes.
• This Vision Quest event has Robbie Ventura's name written all over it. Ventura helped design the bike course that would have been part of the 2016 Olympics had the selection committee chosen Chicago, and the Gran Fondo occurs on part of that terrain. Ventura will be back from commentating at the Tour de France so you can hear his Tour stories and ride with him. Fun!
• Where in Chicago can you ride like this? Nowhere, unless they shut down half of Lake Shore Drive for the Chicago Triathlon and even then you'll have your passing cut out for you.
• Post-ride party. A day in Wisconsin wouldn't be complete without some brats and beer, likely finds after your legs have turned to Jell-O on the ride.
• You won't have to stay overnight if you don't want to, at least if you're coming from Chicago. The ride starts at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 31, 30 minutes later than the other VQ rides held on Ironman Wisconsin course. Blue Mounds State Park, the start zone, isn't much past Verona so it's totally doable to rise early to make the drive up.
• Your registration fee ($125) helps fund Parkinson's research. Not to go all personal on you, but my grandpa had Parkinson's so my eyes light up when events benefit an organization like the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

Want to learn more about this Gran Fondo, one of the few taking place in the Midwest? You can find all the details and more--like its Italian origins--at chicagoevents.com. With the Steelhead 70.3 and Chicago's Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon pushed back 2 weeks, you'll want to be riding on Sunday. Who wants to join me? That is, if I can kick my legs in gear to tackle those rollers after not riding for two weeks.

Totally Toured Out

If you feel like July flew by thanks to nice weather, tons of events, and maybe a vacation or getaway mixed in, then maybe you're like me and realizing that you didn't pay as much attention to this year's Tour de France and the much-hyped Lance Armstrong return as you should have or wanted to. That's definitely my excuse for the month--wanting to blog about it or follow more blogs about it than I actually did (Robbie Ventura's tales from the tour was about the only site my eyes saw) and eventually deciding it was useless to try to catch up because it was nearly over.

But enough about me and my excuses for watching America's Next Top Model reruns or Michael Jackson's funeral or Pieces of the Beijing Games on Universal Sports before tuning into the cycling, which frankly I'd have to watch on my computer anyway because my cable company opted not to carry Versus which works every month of the year but July. If you want a run-down of the 21 stages, hear about all the action tonight at an event that captures all the action from the Tour from two famous faces that lived through all 23 days. Robbie Ventura, a former professional cyclist who most famously rode on the U.S. Postal Service at the same time as Lance, and Bob Roll, another professional cyclist whose claim-to-fame came while cycling with 7-Eleven and Greg LeMond's Z team and later trained with Lance as he recovered from cancer, are speaking from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Trek store of Highland Park, recounting this year's Tour de France. Both former cyclists commentated live from the Tour with Versus and witnessed their fair share of spills, chills and excitement. The presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session and promises to be entertaining for all those with even an inkling of interest in the Tour. Besides who doesn't want to hear how Alberto Contador was able to win again, how Lance could finish in the top three but lose his second-place standing that he held through a few stages, and Levi Leipheimer went from fourth to pulling out thanks to a broken wrist (boo).

But be sure to RSVP to contact@mytrekstore.com before heading up because you could find yourself stuck outside on the pavement while Ventura and Roll entertain the limited attendance field. Photo of Christian VandeVelde grabbed from Robbie Ventura's twitpics. Posted by Kate

Salsa Dancing for a Cause

He came, he salsa'd, he wowed the crowd. And out of all the competitors, he raised the most money for the cause, Susan G. Komen For the Cure's Chicago affiliate. Robbie Ventura easily came out a winner at last Friday's Dancing with Chicago Celebrities.

He's used to winning cycling races and leading the pack on two wheels, but going into the dance arena to compete in the Fourth Annual Dancing with Chicago Celebrities brought an entirely different course of action. Ventura practiced numerous times with his partner Annette Goldman and even with a week-long cycling camp sandwiched in between lessons he came to the competition ready to compete. Onlookers say that Ventura looked sharp on the dance floor and brought the same determination from his cycling days to his dance steps. He looked so good--and coordinated--the crowd cheering for him swore that he won the event. There must have been some glitch in the judging because Ventura states he didn't win the dancing part, but did receive the title of MVP for raising the most money for the cause.

Jury's still out on who did win the race, but when I find out I'll let you know. Media coverage after the fact seems to be a little sparce--I found a video of Evelyn Holmes from ABC dancing and heard Daryl Hawks recount his experience briefly on the Sunday night news. But in the meantime congrats to Ventura for bringing finesse to the dance floor. Could this mean a stint at Nacional 27's salsa nights? Posted by Kate

Dance for Lance

Dancing with the Stars has me in a dancing mood. I don't even watch the show with any regularity--and yes I missed the premiere earlier in the week--but I love catching up with the news after the fact. When I'm not working out or thinking sports, my guilty pleasure hands down is reading People, the magazine and the website. Sure, keeping up with the addition of Holly from The Girls Next Door and Melissa from The Bachelor has been fun, but I'm really digging the content for the local event, Dancing with Chicago Celebrities I wrote about earlier in the week.

The big news with Dancing with Chicago Celebrities is not only that it's on Friday night, but that a member from the city's cycling and triathlon community is involved. Robbie Ventura first made a name for himself as a member of the U.S. Postal Service cycling team--and at the same time as Lance Armstrong--and now he has become the name and face behind Vision Quest Coaching, a company he founded that now has locations in Chicago, Highland Park, and Naperville in Illinois and Altamonte Springs in Florida. In between, you may have seen his byline in the pages of Windy City Sports in Chicago or as commentator for the Tour de France.

Talk about moving out of your comfort zone...Ventura has all of these cycling accomplishments and accolades, plus a finish at the 2008 Ironman Canada, but now he's tackling the dance floor? Hey, that's what Dancing with the Stars is all about, so it must hold true for the Chicago competition, too. And just in the practice rounds Ventura was making progress on the dance floor. His partner, Annette Goldman, says she studied up on cycling before meeting Ventura so that she could apply his sport to moves on the dance floor. Goldman has gotten Ventura to move and step to the salsa beats that once seemed so foreign, and she had him worrying about practicing while in California at the VQ training camp in Solvang. Ventura joked he might pull some campers aside to practice outside the studio.

As competition day looms, Ventura's back to practicing his moves with Goldman as often as he can. Even between his first class and his fourth, he's improved and fancying his footwork, so imagine how fluid he'll be by the end. Need more proof that Ventura can bring it on the dance floor come Friday? Lance Armstrong can tell ya. Posted by Kate

Putting on His Dancing Shoes

While Dancing with the Stars premieres on ABC tonight, Chicagoans can get the real deal on Friday, March 13. OK, so it doesn't include the same celebrities, but you'll catch some familiar faces around Chicago competing. A Dancing with the Stars type competition comes to the Hyatt Regency in the form of Dancing with Chicago Celebrities. And the reason this all fits in with endurance sports is that a local face among the active community is competing. Robbie Ventura, founder of Vision Quest Coaching and a former U.S. Postal Team cyclist, ties on his dancing shoes for the competition.

Ventura is currently preparing to dance the night away at the Fourth Annual Dancing with Chicago Celebrities to benefit the Susan G. Komen For the Cure Chicagoland affiliate. He joins other famous Chicago faces like Miss Illinois Kate Lorenz, CBS 2's Dana Kozlov, NBC 5's Daryl Hawks, ABC 7's Evelyn Holmes, WGN’s Lourdes Duarte and WLS Radio’s Pat Cassidy in friendly competition. Mike Adamle will be emceeing the event and 2008 winner, WGN's Dina Bair, will be a judge and performing a dance as well.

2009 marks Ventura’s first year dancing in the event and also the first year that a member of the active lifestyle community is participating. Ventura is extremely proud of the invitation to compete and honored to be raising money for breast cancer. His mother is a breast cancer survivor.

“I’m happy for the cycling and triathlon community to be recognized,” Ventura says. “I’m totally honored to be a part of this event.” Ventura also has a personal goal of raising at least $10,000 for the event. You can support Ventura by visiting his fundraising page.

Ventura can tell you just about anything you want to know about a bike, cycling and racing on two wheels. As founder of Vision Quest Coaching, many endurance athletes in Chicago and the suburbs utilize his services to up their skill sets for cycling races and triathlons. Now Ventura is heading into a new realm, learning salsa moves with his partner, Arthur Murray Dance Studio instructor Annette Goldman, to compete in the event. And he’s taking the focus, drive and other cycling skills he’s acquired over the years to the dance floor while learning these new moves.

“I’m out of my comfort zone in the dance studio and dancing is a whole different ballgame from cycling,” Ventura says. “Annette is a great instructor and applies my sport to dancing.”

For more information about the event, to purchase tickets or to donate to a competitor, visit dancingwithchicagocelebrities.kintera.org. Posted by Kate

Monday night rides

Photo grabbed from davidsworld.com

Well, I did it. I bit the bullet, plunked down my credit card and signed up for what I hope will improve my cycling when I take it to the road once the ground thaws. You might recall from my New Year's Resolutions that I wanted to get better on the bike--more confidence and speed would help too--for the 2009 triathlon season. So I registered for the eight-week program, A Taste of VQ, held at Vision Quest Chicago.

VQ was started by Robbie Ventura who raced with Lance Armstrong and raced on the U.S. Postal Service cycling team. Now that's he no longer on the racing circuit, Ventura heads up Vision Quest and has dipped his foot into triathlons--he completed Ironman Canada last August and had a blistering time on the bike pushing that tough course (just take a look at the elevation map and you'll see what I mean).

As for Taste of VQ, I guess you could say it's a chance to ride with the big wigs? That and an improvement on my cycling--the class description boasts that participants improve more than 12.8 percent on average. Just what I wanted for the new year.

Yet why do I have butterflies in my stomach? Why am I second-guessing myself? Why am I wondering what I got myself into as I re-read the class description to make sure I bring everything I need for night one?

I think the baseline test has something to do with it. That and riding for an hour and a half (I'm assuming) every Monday on a trainer when I can't even last 15 minutes in my living room without taking a break. Informative, quantifiable, productive training session. I have to stare down those words, knowing that's the goal, that's exactly what I want and why I signed up in the first place.

VQ, have at me. Just keep me in one piece so I can tell my story along the way. Stay tuned... Posted by Kate