Well, I made it to the end of the season.  I really had not been training due to the illnesses that I had during the season, but I had to go up to Knoxville for the final race of the series and the season.  We had some dry days finally and I was hoping for some dry course conditions.  BUT we had snow again in Georgia and in Tennesse.  Plus, the temps had dropped again and the ground was frozen.  

I got up at 5:00 am on Saturday to head up I-75.  Actually made it in good time and felt pretty good when I got there.  So, I got ready, registered and hit the course to pre-ride.  The ground was starting to thaw and I figured it would get slippery.  The course was pretty cool with a death spiral in a “bowl” on one end of the course.  But there was also a long (small) uphill climb that was just tough enough to benefit the roadies and put me in pain.  But I still had hopes for a strong finish.  The start went down about 100 yards across a flat field and then had 180 degree turn.   I got a great start and was in third.   The first turn wasn’t too bad during warm ups, but by the time we got started the outer edges were slick as snot.  I was fighting to stay in the top 3 and came in a little hot.  I went a little wide and the slick mud took over and down I went.  So, most of the field passed me.   I fought my way back and actually felt pretty good.  But there was no way to pass all of them back.  I probably passed about 10-12 guys during the rest of the race and finally ended up in 14th.  Then I did the Masters race.  The day brought a first for me.  I rolled a tubie…. I had borrowed an old set of tubulars from my LBS to give them a try.  They are a little heavy, but at least it gave me chance to see what they felt like.  However, since they were old and seldom used, it appears that the glue had dried out.  On the top end of the course there was a long off camber section with a downhill 180 degree turn and then back across the off camber section on the lower half of the hill.  I was almost through the 180 when I rolled it and went flying down the hill.  I ended up calling it quits for the day.  I hung out for awhile to watch the races, then hit a local bike shop and then checked into my hotel to get some rest.

Got up Sunday morning and I was sore.  My legs were sore from a lack of training and my back and neck were sore from the rolled tubie.  I got to the park and tried to get warmed up and get loose.  The course went the opposite direction from Saturday and that made it tougher.  On Saturday the climb was on pavement and then back down through the death spiral.  Sunday, the climb was up the soft ground through the the sprial and then back down the pavement.  It made the spiral slower and tougher and made the pavement section very sketchy.  Quite a few crashes at the bottom of the pavement section.  They had a prime for the first full lap so I went out hot.  I actually had a decent start.  I was about 3rd out of the first 5 guys.  I stayed with them for the first half lap and back into the spiral the second time heading for the first full lap.  But 2 of the guys pulled away.  So, I was stuck in a group of about 5 with the two leaders up in front.  I thought I could still pull a decent finish, but a little over halfway I had not moved up and I was starting to feel the pain from Saturday.  So, I had to just hang on as long as I could, but I started dropping back.  I ended up a couple of spots better than Saturday.  I didn’t do a second race since the legs were already toast.  But it was still a fun weekend. 

I enjoy doing the cx races in Knoxville.  I have to give a shout out to the TVB/Tomato Head team.  They were rocking all weekend:  guy in our race thought it was the bikini class (and both the top and bottom were at least 1 size too small); they were doing chicken wing and beer handups in the death spiral.  They were also cooking eggs and just generally having a good time.  I also appreciate the fact that I had some guys cheering me on.  They recognized the Crossniacs Kit and remembered me from some of the other races so they cheered me on.  All in all the season was disappointing but still fun.  I also feel like my skills showed some improvement this year.  I know I started the season about 30 pounds over weight and out of shape, and I stayed that way.  But I still had some good races and some good parts to some races.  There were several races this year where I stayed with the leaders for a good portion of the race before my lack of fitness showed up.  So, I think it bodes well for my improvement.  Now, I just need to make sure that I get some decent fitness during the summer and then up the intensity to match with the start of THE REAL SEASON.  I’m already looking forward to next season.  I’m also stoked to be a part of the Crossniacs for the full season starting in the fal of 2010.  I’m hoping I can finally lose this weight and start the season strong.  Long live CX!

Talk to ya’ll later.

DS

The Oregon posse Crosniacs, aka the PacNW Allstarz have been looking in to getting a tent for the upcoming cross season. I have been working with a few different vendors and this is what we have come up with so far. Let me know what you guys think. Also, if any of you fellow Crossniacs know anyone on the inside that could possibly get us a price break let me know.

HTFU,

Frosty

PacNW AllStarz

As we move into the 2010 season, here is the CO Posse:

 

 

Michael Beck

 

Name & Nickname:  Michael Beck

Category:  Cat 3 CX but race 45 Open, Cat 4 Road but race 35/4 or 45/4, and Cat 1 Mtn but race single and rigid.

Years Racing:  17 years seriously, my first race was in 1992 at the Cold Springs Road Race in Texas but I considered myself a racer after competing in the 1993 Cactus Cup in Arizona.

Hometown:  Carol Stream, IL (Live in the Suburban Hell of Denver)

Occupation: Slacker, Stay at Home Dad

Favorite Local Race: A tie between Buena Vista and Frisco.  My all time favorite race is the Chihuahaun Desert Challenge, an old Mountain Bike Stage Race in Lajitas, Texas.

Post Race Beverage:  Anything malty and cold.

Tubular or Clincher:  Tubular, rode my first pair in 1989 then strayed away for a few years.

Bicycle of Choice: Dean for Cross, Waltworks for Mtn, De Rosa for Road

Can or Bottle: Can for my beer, bottle for my wine

2010 Goals: Finish Dirty Kanza, ride time trials with my kids, a weekend of self-supported touring with the family, ride lots of CO gravel, and a solid Cyclocross season.

 

 

Gerry Reynolds

 

Name & Nickname: Gerry Reynolds aka The Destroyer or G

Category: CX 35+4/Mountain Cat 3

Years Racing: 5

Hometown: Centennial,CO aka The Burbs

Occupation: Distribution Center Manager

Favorite Local Race: Battle The Bear, Cult Cross and any cross race at BCLP

Post Race Beverage: PBR

Tubular or Clincher: Clincher

Bicycle of Choice: S-Works Tricross and the Ferrous Twins (yes, I have two of them now)

Can or Bottle: Can

2010 Goals: Get healthy, Do Laramie again,have fun, and keep my ass of the ground!

 

Chad Meinert

Chad Meinert 

Name & Nickname: Meiney

Category: DFL

Years Racing: 10

Hometown: Currently reside in Lakewood, CO

Occupation: Recreation Manager                                            

Favorite Local Race: Frisco Cross’ Weekend!

Post Race Beverage: I do not discriminate.

Tubular or Clincher: I do not discriminate.

Bicycle of Choice: My old school Sacha White, Spot SS, Surly Pacer,

Can or Bottle: I do not discriminate.

2010 Goals: DK & Cross’ will get my focus, the beautiful roads and trails of Colorado will get my fancy.

 

 Scott Bristol

 

Name & Nickname:  Scott Bristol, aka “Woody.”  Nickname from college that all my old buds still call me.  Should have kept it had I known I would be an insurance agent.

Category:  35+ Cat 4 or 45+ open if I ever get back in shape.

Years Racing:  25 (first race was the Santa Fe Hill Climb which pretty much set the tone for my entire racing career.  OTB and suffering right from the gun.

Hometown:  Golden, CO (I grew up in El Paso, TX)

Occupation:  www.scottbristol.com  State Farm Agent

Favorite Local Race:  Tough call, but hard to beat Xilinx.  Our own race in Golden is a close 2^nd, especially after Chad went so deep in the hurt locker he almost knocked the back out of it.

Post Race Beverage:  PBR cans or Coors Light cans

Tubular or Clincher: Tubular.  Period.

Bicycle of Choice:  Redline Conquest Pro for CX, Spot Brand Rigid SS for MTB, DeRosa for road

Can or Bottle:  Cans after (and during) races, bottles all other times, preferably Coors Light in large quantities.  This may be cause of answer #2 above and #11 below.

2010 Goals:  Represent at Dirty Kanza, Big Buckle at Leadville if I get in, and actually be a factor in a 45+ cross race this year.

 

 

Travis Stone

Name & Nickname: Travis Stone, just Trav

Category:35+4 CX & Road, Cat 2 Mtn

Years Racing: 3

Hometown:Princeton NJ

Occupation: Real Estate Asset Manager

Favorite Race: Mt. Washington Hill Climb

Post Race Beverage: 2004 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, or most any quality Napa Cab. Yeah, I know I’m a pussy.  

Tubular or Clincher: Clincher Tubeless

Bicycle of Choice: Santa Cruz Stigmata CX, Look 585 Road, Yeti 575 Mtn (fun), Niner EMD Mtn (race)

Can or Bottle: Bottle

2010 Goals: Top tens, maybe a couple of top 5’s in cross, win Bayou Salado!

 

Welcome the newest members

 

Bil Pfaffendorf

 

Name & Nickname: Bil Pfaffendorf

Nick names Notorious or Notorious B.I.L. 

Category: Single speed! Is there any other? I guess I’m a cat 3 Cyclocrosser and a Cat 1 MTBer (by Colorado definition).

Years Racing: 13 years, mostly MTB

Hometown: LinHOOD Minnesota (aka Linwood)

Occupation: Instructional coach (a.k.a teacher of teachers)

Favorite Local Race: Anything with only one gear and a lot of suffering

Post Race Beverage: P.B.R., Coors, Go FAST, Espresso, and water (in any order)

Tubular or Clincher: Clincher tubeless

Bicycle of Choice: Gary Fisher steel ridged 29er SS, or my Kona SS Cyclocross scandium beauty. Sometimes a geared Primus Mootry road bike when I have to.

Can or Bottle: Jack Daniels and Routine Leg Works only come in a bottle.

2010 Goals: Ride more than last year, have fun, enjoy life, and win a race

or two.

 

 Jamie Elsasser

             

Name & Nickname: Jamie Elsasser (aka Furious George)

Category: Masters35+/Cat 4 CX/Road, Cat 2 Mtn, Single Speed

Years Racing: 9 yrs (across a few decades)

Hometown: Denver, CO (from Philly Yo)

Occupation: Data Center Operations Manager

Favorite Local Race: Carbon Cross, Boulder Roubaix, Winter Park Mtn bike races, Tony Grampas CX Course

Post Race Beverage: Indian Pale Ale and coffee (but not at the same time)

Tubular or Clincher: Clincher

Bicycle of Choice: Custom Blacksheep Ti 29er, Surly SS 29er, Redline Team Conquest CX . Lapierre Road

Can or Bottle: Iron Cross CX Pint Glass (podium gift), keep filling her up…

2010 Goals: Get top ten in some CX races, Mt. Evans, Ride a Gravel Grinder, Multi-Day Mountain Bike tour/overnighter, Pull my 18 month boy Max on a metric century, not get injured this year, no broken frames.

 

Friday morning found Frosty & myself sitting outside of Starbucks at 8am waiting to meet up with the local NuVinci rep, Dave Rosen; technically he works for Fallbrook Technologies. Of course the day I take off to go ride turns out to be a bust as it’s literally in the 40’s out and just raining. We cancel our ride plans & instead, focus on experiencing the NuVinci hub.

If you haven’t read anything about the hub, it works on something a lot like planets traveling along their orbits. Adjusting the orbits is the key to the inner-workings of Nu-Vinci.

Because it doesn’t rely on gears with specific teeth counts and chains having to be coaxed up & down the cassette, you essentially get infinite adjustment. In fact, you can shift while standing still. A clever visual indicator using what’s so lovingly called the inchworm gives you a graphic representation of how you’re currently utilizing the system’s capabilities.

The lowest gear is really low…like mtn bike granny gear. The highest gear could probably be higher but not crit/track/circuit racing higher…that would be ridiculous.

All you need to set one up is preferably a single-speed frame with a 2:1 gear ratio.

Strengths:

• completely sealed from the elements
• infinite gear choices
• ridiculously quiet
• little to no chain/chainring wear
• “clean” look
• shift while stopped (you can dump massive gears!)
• no cable stretch
• 1/2 the price of a Rohloff

Weaknesses:

• you’ll need to route 2 cables to the hub
• the tested hub was heavy…like 7-8lbs
• must rotate the shifter 1.5 rotations to go from small to big, vice versa
• shifter grip was slippery
• shifting is slightly harder under load
• hard to get at rear wheel, flywheel mechanism sits outside of drops

Final thoughts:

If I had this hub right now on a dedicated commuter, I could ride anywhere. It was the most fascinating thing I’d ever experienced. It wasn’t simply learning about a new way to shift but more like riding a bike with endless possibilities. Dave Rosen told us they’re product testing the new hub on mtn bikes which is exciting news since Frosty & I (as well as the rest of the Oregon Crossniacs) are avid off-road riders!

Frosty really wants to see it get smaller as he’s definitely more competition-focused than your average 20 yr-old. Rightly so as a bike with no derailleur to get damaged, no noise to give away your sprinting intentions & just one shifter will revolutionize biking.

The current incarnation of the NuVinci is definitely at home on commuters, hybrinds, tandems & maybe even recumbents. But the new hub (and future hubs) could be the next big thing in All-Mountain, Down Hill, and dare I say Cyclocross? Move over Hammerschmidt, here comes the All Mtn NuVinci! Or say goodbye to the Shadow series of Shimano derailleurs! The possibilities are endless.

Wanna learn more?

David Rosen,

NuVinci Evangelist

drosen@fallbrooktech.com

-will aka buddhabelly

Today was the big NW Trails Alliance swap meet in Portland. It’s the biggest and best one Portland puts on. The space was donated by Sandbox Studio which made it possible for over 70 vendors to sell their wares/product in the converted warehouse space.

Jordan Frasier, Brian Johnson, Guy Smith & new recruit Jason Moon came out to man the booth. Jordan was there 2 hrs prior to opening & manned the table 100% of time for 5 hours! Guy’s daughter had a fantastic sign made for us and we proudly displayed it.

Everyone had the option of selling stuff for their own profit but the bulk of the selling was fund-raising for the Oregon Syndicate. Frosty’s accounting classes are paying off as he kept an accurate count of what was sold & for how much. Altogether, the Pac NW AllStarz made $415. The money will be used towards Oregon team dues, a tent, t-shirts, etc. It’s a great accomplishment seeing as how we didn’t sell a full bike & nothing for over $50.

If you’re wondering what I was doing, I ended up managing the event so I was busy running around making vendors happy, taking out the trash, unplugging toilets, delegating tasks, etc.

Upcoming Events:

• Oregon Syndicate team meeting on Saturday, 3/20 or Sunday, 3/21

-will aka buddhabelly

As we all know, rollers can be a great way to warm up for a race or get a workout when you can’t actually ride outside. But, I bet all of you have been riding fancy on Kreitlers, which are for wusses. These are some REAL rollers!

Pugsley on the Logs

HTFU,

Jordan

PacNW AllStarz

Oregon Syndicate decided to take advantage of the unseasonably dry weather (thank you Al Gore) to head up to the hills for some mtn bike action. It was also a time to “interview” our newest recruit to the Pac NW family, John ‘FroHo’ Frohning.

John recently moved here from CA (originally from AK) and is an avid rider but even more serious freestyle skier. We met through a mutual friend several years ago at University of Portland. FroHo brings his love of road racing & his endurance for mtb events thanks to his 2nd generation Surly 1×1 with it’s monstrous wheels (he rocked 2.5s today & not his 3.0s).

i_r_beej didn’t get the memo as he brought his too-high gear for a very hilly ride. But this also meant he was right behind you on the flats & downhills…Mary-bar + squeaky shark + Crossniacs kit = coolest cat on the mtn.

This is an accurate image of how Frosty rode all day…fast & in front of us. He’s obviously gonna kill in any singlespeed race. Poor bastards.

I was behind the camera most of the time with the exception of when I dropped my camera in the creek…it’s drying as we speak (fingers crossed).

-will aka buddhabelly

Crossniacs will be holding an open house at our esteemed sponsor Hollywood Cycles Wednesday February 24 from 6:00pm-8:00pm

Come and see what we are all about, and sign up for the team. We will have team only deals and talk cyclocross. CJ, Guy, and I will share our experiences of racing in Belgium at Masters Worlds.

Because it is never too early to start thinking cyclocross.

The Clement brand, that disappeared from cycling roughly five years ago, is back. Its first tyre to production will be a clincher cyclo-cross tyre for soft soil and muddy conditions called the Crusade PDX.

The new Taiwanese made 32mm tyre has an open tread pattern molded from 60a durometer rubber, a 128 tpi casing, Kevlar bead and protective belt. It will sell for an estimated $US40-50.

“We’re testing the tyre to refine the mould,” said Donn Kellogg, general manager of Donnelly Sports, the new licensee of the Clément name. “If all goes well, production will begin in April and we’ll have tyres for sale by June.”

This tire is totally gonna sell out in Oregon. I mean, a tire inspired by the Cross Crusade…money in the bank.

-buddhabelly

Holstein, Frasier & I HTFU’d on Sunday to join 3,497 other riders to take a 45+ mile tour of the metro area on the statistically worst day of the year with respect to rain & temperature. It was advertised as being a 40-miler so…

Frasier found out we did almost 3500ft of climbing on what was supposed to be just a “challenging” course but totally kicked our butts…especially on the singlespeed rigs. Holstein flatted & had a pit bike handy…no joke as the course came within a block of his house. Jim was also able to set up 3 signs advertising cyclocross season along with our www.Crossniacs.com website. Nice job Holstein!

Pretty girls abound. I wish I could rock a GoPro cam to make the pic-taking go that much easier. I’ll have to settle for taking inconspicuous pics like this one to catch the pretty gals go by. Are there even any in the picture??

Turns out we didn’t need the fenders really since it rained for all of about 15% of the ride.

Jordan really needs a kit so if any of you guys have a spare you’re willing to sell before the order date later in the year, it’d be helpful (he wears a medium bib & jersey).

-will aka buddhabelly