Sorry for the delay in this posting.  First our computer crashed.  Then for some reason I can’t get the camera to upload some really cool photos.  And my wife had family in for the holidays so we have been slammed.  It is hard to do this write up without the photos, but I will go ahead and hopefully come back with photos of Henderson NC and this race.

This race took place in Cullman, AL. a couple of weeks ago.  It was the final race of the Alabama series.  It takes place at a little park with a small lake in the middle.  The course winds its way around the lake.  As I have mentioned before, we have had a lot of rain this season.  Two days before Cullman was no different.  A day before Cullman was no different.  It finally started slacking off on Saturday afternoon, but everything was already soaked by that point.  BUT the big news was that the lake had overflowed into several small “fingers” (ditches really) around the lake.  The course crossed about 5 of them.  One of them was pretty major and the water was between 12 and 18 inches deep.  There was also a low-laying area between two of the fingers that was about 4 inches deep in water and who knows how deep in mud.

It was cold, but I got there in time to pre-ride the course.  Most of it was rideable at that point.  Even the deep ditch was rideable by a few riders.  So, I felt pretty good about it.  I was concerned about the deep water crossing though.  I decided that the risk in riding through something that deep, when you can’t even see what you are riding on was too great.  But that meant that I would have to take several steps each lap in the COLD water up to my shins/calves.  Still not sure how you stay warm when the tempature is just above freezing and you get that submerged in the water.  ANY SUGGESTIONS?

I got a pretty good warm up and felt pretty good.  Went to the Start line with the smallest field of the year.  It was only about 30+.  One thing I like about this race is that they have the drumline from the local high school come out.  Yeah, that’s right, we can compete with the Pacific Northwest.  It was cool though that they were pounding out the beat to get us going.  I didn’t get a great start, but it was a decent stretch of pavement before we turned to hit the first water crossing.  So, I manged to pass about 5 riders and hit the first ditch in 2nd place.  Hit is the key word here.  The mud had been churned up by the earlier race and the other pre-rides.  I made the first half fine, but as I hit the second dip, my front tire locked up in the mud and I ended up at a 90 degree angle.  Thus I was HIT by the next 2 riders behind me.  I finally got myself out of the mud, but at least 15-20 guys had passed me by then and the three leaders already had a gap. 

So, I was fighting at that point.  I got on the gas as best as I could.  With the exception of the water crossings, this course still favored me even with the mud.  So, I was working hard to pass some guys as I went along.  The deep water crossing was not really fun…I could do without that.  But the rest was cool and I was able to pass a few guys and I ended up in 7th place.  Not too bad considering my mad skillz in the mud…or lack thereof.

I then went to the car to try to get warm and changed my socks and shoes to get ready for the “B” race.  I got back to line…after everyone else had started.  But I was still feeling pretty good.  Caught and passed a few people and felt like I was actually riding better.  The back side of the course was down in some woods below the dam.  It had a lot of roots, etc.  About the 3rd lap of my second race a guy in front of me went down hard.  I’m not even sure what he hit.  He just ended up flying through the air and landing on his head and shoulder.  He didn’t look too good, so I stopped to check on him.  He said he was alright, but he wasn’t moving.  Another guy stopped, so I left to get help.  Cut the course to find the promoter, so I had to pull the plug on that race. Not sure how the guy ended up. Hope he was ok.  But it still was a few extra hot laps for me.  

All in all not a bad day.  My daughter went with me and took some cool photos.  I will try to get them up once we get the camera to upload correctly.  She braved the cold and it was fun to have her along.  Seems like I have had some good starts with no real results to show for it.  I’ve got to figure out something to fix it.  Bryan gave me some ideas for the next few weeks.  We have races in Tenn and NC and a local guy is doing a winter “race” series.  His will probably be more of a training series, but a guy from Hup United has managed to get some prizes together.  I will probably do some of the Tenn races and then maybe some of the local races in Georgia since they are much closer to me.   It looks like I will get in at least 3 of the next 5 weekends.  So, I will have 4-8 more races in this season.  Just depends on which races I can do and if I can do both days of the Tenn races.  So, maybe I can finally get a decent result this season.   Looks like I am going to Nashville this weekend for the Columbia Winter Cup #1 and #2.  I will let everyone knows how it goes.  I did Bryan’s first Interval training on Saturday.  So, hopefully that will help.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

Talk to ya’ll later.

DS

The buzz is still in the air about Nationals in Bend, OR.  With that in mind this weekend’s race, the Psycho Cross Pseries held its final race the 19th.  Very small fields and i raced in my Clydes cat with the other Masters Category B 35+ Men/Masters 50+ (45min).  There was a steady rain all week, and warmer weather prevailed compared to Jared’s experience so far with Oregon.  Race conditions were sunny and 62 degrees, that is (62) and not (6) degrees.  It was fun, i had a whoppin field of 3 clydes, and the race was over by the second lap.  Course was a mix of river rock, sand, mud, alot of single track, water hazzards and 7 dismount areas.  When i started my third lap i asked the Official ‘where are the other clydes?’ they said a lap down.  So i pretty muched dropped a gear and just enjoyed a trail ride for the rest of the day.  I think ill get some free swag in the mail so that is cool.  Overall a fun race and a great way to end the year.

looking for a house sitter mid-jan. Anyone interested? Dont care if youre not from around here.. fly up and take care of my dog and house while I soak up the sun…..

FPA

I see a lot of opinions and advice for tires to use for varying course conditions, in particular muddy and slow or hardpacked, dry and fast.  However, I never see anything about grass, which comprises the bulk for ‘cross courses in Minnesota.  Anyone have advice or can point me to advice about tires for grassy courses?

-Steven

Yep, this past weekend was the last race of CX season for me. It was perfect ‘cross race–frigid, snowy, slippery, and fun.

Before I get into the details, here are some pertinent numbers regarding the race:

• 6: the time, AM, I was up to get ready to leave.
• 9: the “real feel” temp, in Fahrenheit, according to Weather.com.
• 2: the number of bikes I brought with me.
• 2: the number of bikes I needed in the race.
• 4: the number of pedals I left home with.
• 3: the total number of pedals I came home with.
• 12: the “real feel” temp, in Fahrenheit, of the plastic toilet seat in the port-0-let, according to my butt cheeks.
• 95: the number of confirmed riders registered for my race category.
• 55: my starting position.
• 1: the number of laps I had done before I realized that I hadn’t hit the start button on my HRM (I HATE losing that VERY important data!).
• 178: my average heart rate.
• 186: my maximum heart rate.

Now, some details of my race day…

It was an uneventful drive to Wrentham… Somewhere along the way, I hooked in to a paceline of other racers from my neck of the woods (Chris, Dan, Stu, et al). Yeah, I know, I should have car-pooled, but I had a tight timeline and essentially boogied right after the race. Anyway, we hit the iced over parking lot, walked over to the freezing shed to pick up race numbers, and all went back to our respective cars to be warm for just a little bit longer.

After figuring out what would be an appropriate amount of layers, it was time for a pre-ride. The course was twisty and turny with either snow–just deep enough to put you off track, ice, or rough frozen ground. Yeah!

I put my Motobecane in the pit and made my way around to the start.

The start was interesting, and by “interesting,” I mean “narrow,” allowing only about 5 riders per row, and we were staged by starting number. I was in something like the 10th row back. Far enough back so that when the starting whistle was whistled, I was standing still for about 10 seconds. D’oh!

Anyway, we took off at a gentlemanly pace, rounding turns with breath held in anticipation of washing out with both wheels. Fortunately, that didn’t happen to me, but I saw MANY riders hit the deck.

The first lap was spent trying to pick my way further towards the front, and also trying to figure out what that terrible creaking sound was coming from my cranks or pedals. Anytime I put in a hard effort, it sounded like my bike was going to break.

Eventually, it did break, or at least the pedal did. And while that, in and of itself doesn’t sound fortunate, the timing was. When my wouldn’t foot connect, I looked down and saw nothing but pedal spindle. Then, I looked up and saw the entrance to the pit area. Sweet! I swept in, spent a few seconds trying to check the bottom of my shoe to see if the pedal body was stuck to the cleat (it wasn’t), and hopped on my pit bike. I was back in the race!

After that, it was just a matter of trying to pass riders when I could, trying to stay upright, and looking for ice weasels.

Before I knew it, the bell lap was at hand, and it was time for one last push to the finish. All in all, it was a good time. I wish I could have stuck around to check out the other races, but I had time to grab a few quick pics and then I was on my way back home.

According to the friendly folks at Crossresults.com, my effort earned me a 36th or so out of 87…

And so ends the 2009 cyclocross season, but NOT the biking season.

I’m already looking forward to 2010, and I can’t wait to see the Crossniac’s kit.

If you’re interested in video, click on over to my blog (but don’t read anything ‘cuz you just read it all):

http://beardedbiker.blogspot.com/2009/12/ice-weasels-video-is-up.html

http://beardedbiker.blogspot.com/2009/12/more-ice-weasel-video.html

At least I put on the HTFU and rode it

Find more videos like this on Cyclocross Magazine

I had an amazing trip and I recommend to all of you who keep saying “next year” I’ll do it. I drove out to Portland for the USGP and was fortunate to stay in host housing for the race weekend. I got to stay with a nice young couple. It makes a huge difference staying at a house then a hotel. I had some decent races in Portland and was able to see some of the OR mud that we all hear about. USGP races are really cool and very put on very well. What was cool about going to Portland was seeing some or the Oregon Crossniacs that I have never met. They helped me with the host housing and also worked the pits for me. It is amazing the brethren you have in cross.

Peggy flew in on Tuesday night and we made the trip to Bend for Nationals. The weather was cold and the course was full-on icy and technical. This does not suit my riding style at all. I don’t mind the technical stuff, but icy is nerve-racking and dangerous…but I need some power section to put my fitness to the test. There were no power sections so you basically held on for dear life on the icy sections and could never really go all that hard. It was a little disappointing. I had high hopes on doing well in the B race on Thursday because I assumed they were going to do call-ups based on registration. I stayed up all night the night that reg opened and was one of the 1st 10 to register. But, when I showed up for the race they decided to pull #’s randomly 15 mins before the start and I ended up around 150th in the starting grid out of 160+ guys. This pretty much ensures you are doomed from the start. The gun went off and you are helpless as you wait for the line to move. Then you get on the course and have to pass a ton of people as they are all going down in the icy conditions. I felt really strong, but just couldn’t move up. I did pass 120+ guys and ended 24th. I must have fallen 5-6 times on the ice and with 1 lap to go I went down really hard on the pavement and banged up my hip, neck and hand. I saw stars and thought for sure something was broken, but I got up and rode away.

After the last fall I got a little gun-shy from the ice and that really affected the rest of my weekend racing.

Friday I lined up for the single speed race and got the lucky call-up for 2nd row. Sweet…I didn’t fall during the race, so I wasn’t taking the chances that it took to do well. The hip was aching and I couldn’t imagine going down on it…being cautious ended me up in 41t place.

Saturday came for the 40-44 National Championship race. I lined up 91st so was a little doomed from the start but gave it all I could the first few laps and was able to move up…but went down a couple times and landed on the hip twice, which was insanely painful…other then that it was uneventful and I ended up 61st.

Right after the race Peggy and I jumped into the car and drove straight-through back to MN. We were excited to get back to Skylar and our dogs. The drive back was pretty brutal and we went through snowstorm after snowstorm…but arrived back in MN safe and sound at 6:00 and we got to have dinner with Skylar and my mom, who has been taking care of Sky while we were gone. Skylar was super stoked to see us.

Peggy and I really liked Bend, OR. It’s a mix of a ski town and an outdoor town and the housing was really affordable. I have always loved CO, but OR has changed my mind a little and I could really see us living in OR.

The trip was totally worth it and I’m super stoked that I went and it was great to have Peggy on the latter end of the trip.

Having lived in MN, CO, and NC I’ve got cyclocross friends all over. So going to Nationals allows me to see all of them in one place. Your get to hear people cheering you on all over the course and Dave Towle was the announcer for Nationals so I got some good call-outs lap after lap.

Wah

Well, I’m really late with my homework, but I wanted to clear the queue before I got back to racing this weekend after a LONG layoff. First up was the Fort Worth weekend.

Broken Films Cross

We tried to drive in the night before but ended up calling it a night at midnight about an hour South of our destination and headed in first thing Saturday morning. I had figured that would happen so I “catted-up” to a tougher, but later race.  The majority of the course was mainly dry grass and hardpack trails with roots (grass crit). The exciting part was the mud gully with a banked turn.

My race pretty much sucked from start to finish. It just wasn’t there. Maybe I was too tired from the travel? I got a bad start and hung on to the tail of the whip for a while before cracking. Finished up to keep the no DNF streak alive.  Another Austin guy won the race, so that was cool. Some nice pics and video here.

ThinkCash Cowtown Cross

Total 180 from the day before. This race had most everything you’d want, except mud: fast grass, loose stuff, off camber, sand, and a run-up.

A quick pavement start funneled down to a sidewalk climb over a levee, then a 180 at the top, back down the other side then back up again through an off camber section. Made for an interesting start.  Someone half wiped-out halfway up the hill but I managed to make it through unscathed. From then I found 4 guys to race with and had a great time. Lost pavement sprint for winner of the group, somewhere well off the front.  Great time on an awesome course. Event photos here.

Honestly, the best part of the weekend was introducing my in-laws to cyclocross. They had a great time and really brought the cowbell…a medieval-looking model from their time in Turkey. Check out the pic!

Cyclocross Scuffle

Racing back in Austin. Very nice. Decent start but still got caught up at the first technical spot, an off-camber sharp turn. One guy decided to not wait in line and started running with his bike, nailing people with it the whole way. Not my favorite racer. Made it out of the group I was with for the first few laps then got stuck in no man’s land between groups. ITT’ed the last lap and called it a day. Felt great and was by far my best race of the year. One unusual feature was that they put two full size barriers on the run up. Nice shot of my “enjoying” that. Taken from here.

Starting to get some real cross weather down here. Looking forward to a few more races then the State Championship in mid-January. Adios.

ChrisM

Tex-Mex Syndicate

Wah.

An Elite won the race. WTF is an elite racing the B race for?

So I stayed up all night in order to get a good call-up for the B race and single speed race here in Bend, OR. But they decided to pull #’s randomly for start order instead of go by time of registration. What the hell? There were 165 racers. My # was one of the last, so I started around 150. My race was over before it even started. The gun went off and I sat helplessly as I had to wait for everyone else to get going. The leaders were gone before I even went across the start finish line. I probably passed 100+ guys, but there was no way I was going to reach the front.

The conditions were brutal. The snow turned to ice and people were going down everywhere. I think I crashed 5 times, one time I thought for sure my bike and body was busted. My hip is bruised and scraped and my neck feels like I got body slammed.

Oh well… tomorrow is another day.

Wah