welcome back to myself. The last two weeks have been pretty crazy as I had to move to binghamton NY for my summer law school intern job. Don't ask me how or why, just accept it. I'll be back in NYCROSS country August 1, and luckily, there's a bike racing scene here too, so I should be able to report on racing in the southern tier on a regular basis.
Interesting things from my life in the last two weeks:
started working at a law firm in Binghamton. realized I want to be a public defender.
Did the Syracuse stage race. Finsihed 12 on gc in the 3/4. I am the man.
Did some totally wild training rides in norther PA and southern NY, getting mad lost to the point where I called James and had him google map me a route home. it was getting dark and I was on dirt roads.
Showed up at my first TVC time trial, told the president of Tioga Velo that I wasn't very fast, then beat him. is that a fau paux?
went back to albany last weekend, and stayed out with pete until 3am every night. ended up in the fuzebox dancing with this chick and drinking redbull and vodka's like I was on Team Highroad and about to win a giro stage. (ask jimbo to explain this one).
Saw Matt Goedeke get his Cat 1 partying upgrade, on a Sunday.
Okay, this post is not going anywhere so I'm gonna stop.
Bike racing vs another thing will return later this week. There's a lot of awesome things to compare bike racing too in the southern tier.
rock and roll.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
UCI Legal?
http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/05/jet-powered-bic.html
I think it would look sexier on a P3, personally.
Monday, May 19, 2008
there's really no good pics cause the batteries died but...
Matt sitting in the field during his crit.
Gene stole some one's rollers.
Matt sprinting for a prime I think.
Buffalo and I waiting for the start of the 3/4.These are some of the most pathetic race pictures ever. I suck at using a camera.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
quick syracuse recap
Here's the recap, el pronto version. After three stages of guts out racing I don't have a lot of energy to try to be witty so I'll stick with the cold hard facts for the most part.
Buffalo, Gene and I raced the 3/4 field.
Matt raced the Cat 5 field for his tenth and eleventh mass starts of the year. Welcome to the cat four ranks Matt. Hopefully you'll be as successful here as you where with the kiddies, and we'll see you in the cat 3 field soon.
Stage One was the Song Mountain RR- 2 laps on the 30 mile loop. Two big climbs up Oak Hill Road and then the finishing climb on Song Mountain Road where no joke. Eight to ten minutes of hard climbing each time where more than I could handle and I got popped off the back 9/10 of the way up the climb on the first lap. Gene stuck the climb and ended up in the largest group on the road chasing the leaders. Buffalo flatted at mile 8 and didn't get a quick wheel change so he ended up mailing in the road race. I road out the race in the "autobus" with other big sprinter typed dudes talking about how we couldn't wait for the flat TT and crit that were coming up.
Stage Two was the Crooked Lake TT. A fast mostly flat 3 mile tt with a winding technical finish. Fast times where under seven minutes for our field. I caught my rabbit and posted a time of 6:42, good for 7th on the day and give me 12 gc points and bump me into 17th on GC. Not bad considering I got crushed in the road race.
Stage Three was the crit. The course was a new course this year - a four corner affair on a 1.1 mile loop. There where two pretty big crashes despite smoothly paved very wide roads. I don't get people's problem but I guess that's how it works in crits with cat 4s. I decided early on that my legs felt okay, but as this was a mixed 3/4 field I found myself not rocking in the primes. I decided after putting in a pretty fruitless but enormous effort on the second prime that I would just chill and wait for the finish. With 5 to go I was moving up and got set up with Gene. The plan was for him to bring me up and then me launch it. Coming into the last corner Gene made a balls out move and dive bombed the corner tight when the fast line was moving up the outside. This allowed us to get open road in front of us and Gene towed me right up the front. He pulled off as we entered the last corner and I rolled around the corner right in the front group.
This is where I learned a lesson though. I can sprint okay. As far as what I do on a bike its probably my best asset. But, in the 3/4 mixed field my acceleration didn't really let me fly by lots of people like I usually can in Cat 4 crits. No one passed me, but I didn't pass anyone either. I maxed out at 39mph in the sprint which is insane as I didn't pass anyone.
Overall it was awesome. I finished 10th (highest place ever in a 3/4 field) and got enough points to move up to 12th on GC. When they post the results I should be able to tell where I placed among cat fours, and may be able to rock some more upgrade points from the crit. That rules.
That's the stage race story. I've got a few pictures to throw up but my camera's in the car so I'll do that tomorrow.
Buffalo, Gene and I raced the 3/4 field.
Matt raced the Cat 5 field for his tenth and eleventh mass starts of the year. Welcome to the cat four ranks Matt. Hopefully you'll be as successful here as you where with the kiddies, and we'll see you in the cat 3 field soon.
Stage One was the Song Mountain RR- 2 laps on the 30 mile loop. Two big climbs up Oak Hill Road and then the finishing climb on Song Mountain Road where no joke. Eight to ten minutes of hard climbing each time where more than I could handle and I got popped off the back 9/10 of the way up the climb on the first lap. Gene stuck the climb and ended up in the largest group on the road chasing the leaders. Buffalo flatted at mile 8 and didn't get a quick wheel change so he ended up mailing in the road race. I road out the race in the "autobus" with other big sprinter typed dudes talking about how we couldn't wait for the flat TT and crit that were coming up.
Stage Two was the Crooked Lake TT. A fast mostly flat 3 mile tt with a winding technical finish. Fast times where under seven minutes for our field. I caught my rabbit and posted a time of 6:42, good for 7th on the day and give me 12 gc points and bump me into 17th on GC. Not bad considering I got crushed in the road race.
Stage Three was the crit. The course was a new course this year - a four corner affair on a 1.1 mile loop. There where two pretty big crashes despite smoothly paved very wide roads. I don't get people's problem but I guess that's how it works in crits with cat 4s. I decided early on that my legs felt okay, but as this was a mixed 3/4 field I found myself not rocking in the primes. I decided after putting in a pretty fruitless but enormous effort on the second prime that I would just chill and wait for the finish. With 5 to go I was moving up and got set up with Gene. The plan was for him to bring me up and then me launch it. Coming into the last corner Gene made a balls out move and dive bombed the corner tight when the fast line was moving up the outside. This allowed us to get open road in front of us and Gene towed me right up the front. He pulled off as we entered the last corner and I rolled around the corner right in the front group.
This is where I learned a lesson though. I can sprint okay. As far as what I do on a bike its probably my best asset. But, in the 3/4 mixed field my acceleration didn't really let me fly by lots of people like I usually can in Cat 4 crits. No one passed me, but I didn't pass anyone either. I maxed out at 39mph in the sprint which is insane as I didn't pass anyone.
Overall it was awesome. I finished 10th (highest place ever in a 3/4 field) and got enough points to move up to 12th on GC. When they post the results I should be able to tell where I placed among cat fours, and may be able to rock some more upgrade points from the crit. That rules.
That's the stage race story. I've got a few pictures to throw up but my camera's in the car so I'll do that tomorrow.
To eat or not to eat...
I know eric usually recaps our events so ill make this short and sweet. I raced the 'cuse stage race this weekend and finished 7th in the CAT 5 road race. I feel my result could have been better for i made a crucial mistake id like to recap for the team...
As most of you know there is one long climb in this race. some road called old sweet road or something like that. Our race split up on this climb (as most do) and i found myself in the lead group of ten at the top of the climb. it was at this point i saw markings on the road that said, "FEED ZONE" so i figured now would be a good time to eat. i sat up, fiddled around to grab my gel, drank some water and relaxed alittle. when i began to pay attention i had realized that a gap was opening on me. i didnt really thikn much of this considering the fact we were going downhill. "so what" i thought. "we're going downhill. ill catch them." well, that thought ended with me killing myself in no mans land for the next couple of miles fighting up and down every roller until the realization had hit me that i was NOT going to catch them. (this was made even more evident by the fact that two dudes came up behind me and said, "dude...youre never gonna catch them on your own."
So long story short i found myself in a chase group of 4 that never caught the leaders and ended up 7th. Once again my mental mistakes cost me. One must even wonder why the hell i was eating anything at all considering my race was only 33 miles!?!?!? oh well...this was my 10th and last race at the CAT 5 level and now i look forward to upcoming weeks/months racing along side my fellow CAT 4 teammates. but i think my days of CAT 5 racing have shown us all that if any of us are ever in any type of break together its probably best to be doing the exact opposite of what i am. or at least pedal over and smack some sense into me. great racing to all!!!!!
As most of you know there is one long climb in this race. some road called old sweet road or something like that. Our race split up on this climb (as most do) and i found myself in the lead group of ten at the top of the climb. it was at this point i saw markings on the road that said, "FEED ZONE" so i figured now would be a good time to eat. i sat up, fiddled around to grab my gel, drank some water and relaxed alittle. when i began to pay attention i had realized that a gap was opening on me. i didnt really thikn much of this considering the fact we were going downhill. "so what" i thought. "we're going downhill. ill catch them." well, that thought ended with me killing myself in no mans land for the next couple of miles fighting up and down every roller until the realization had hit me that i was NOT going to catch them. (this was made even more evident by the fact that two dudes came up behind me and said, "dude...youre never gonna catch them on your own."
So long story short i found myself in a chase group of 4 that never caught the leaders and ended up 7th. Once again my mental mistakes cost me. One must even wonder why the hell i was eating anything at all considering my race was only 33 miles!?!?!? oh well...this was my 10th and last race at the CAT 5 level and now i look forward to upcoming weeks/months racing along side my fellow CAT 4 teammates. but i think my days of CAT 5 racing have shown us all that if any of us are ever in any type of break together its probably best to be doing the exact opposite of what i am. or at least pedal over and smack some sense into me. great racing to all!!!!!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Giro de Syracuse NY
Its that time of year again folks - as the pro peloton rolls through the beautiful Italian countryside, chasing glory, espresso, and Italian models, the cat four ranks in Upstate New York ready themselves for battle at the equally prestigious Syracuse Race Weekend (UCI 0.2) There are a lot of similarities between the two events, such as they are both more than one day long.
The giro's array of stages includes time trials, flat stages and the epic snow covered summit finishes. The Syracuse RR starts and ends at a ski area, but somehow they forgot that there's supposed to be snow and mountains where you go skiing (see post 85) . I guess that's why they've taken to hosting bike races instead.
The CBRC bomb squad will be in attendance in full force, ie: I won't be the only one there. Be prepared for bike riding, bbq eating, and potential fruitless attacks in the crit, followed by me attempting to prove I can in fact sprint my way out of a paper bag. Should be fun.
The giro's array of stages includes time trials, flat stages and the epic snow covered summit finishes. The Syracuse RR starts and ends at a ski area, but somehow they forgot that there's supposed to be snow and mountains where you go skiing (see post 85) . I guess that's why they've taken to hosting bike races instead.
The CBRC bomb squad will be in attendance in full force, ie: I won't be the only one there. Be prepared for bike riding, bbq eating, and potential fruitless attacks in the crit, followed by me attempting to prove I can in fact sprint my way out of a paper bag. Should be fun.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Bike Racing v. Triathlon
Welcome to the weekly CBRC blogosphere version of Iron Chef. Today our favorite thing, bike racing, goes head to head with to our favorite thing sandwiched between almost drowning and running. That's right folks, its time for a triathlon hoagie.
you're not done yet:
where'd his shirt go?
v.
then:
then:
you're not done yet:
where'd his shirt go?Imagine, you're on your way to a bike race in a boat. All of a sudden you learn that the boat is sinking and you aren't going to make it to your race on time. Of course, the solution is to swim to the bike race. So you jump in, and swim somewhere between 325 yards and like 9 miles, fending off sharks, octopus and overly friendly dolphins.
You suck at swimming since you're like 7% body fat and don't float. You almost drown at least twice. Somehow, you still get to your destination and discover that the bike race is actually a time trial, but everyone is starting as soon as they get out of the water (oh, everyone else competing in the bike race was on the boat with you when it started to sink).
So now a bunch of soggy people riding time trial bikes are ahead of you. Actually, everyone is ahead of you, you're that bad at swimming. There is a nice lady who took swim class at the Y not to far ahead, and since she's on a hybrid and you're riding your P3 you figure you might catch her. You do have a disc after all.
You do in fact pass the hybrid lady, and some other people. Man you are killing it actually. Everyone looks like they're conserving energy for something else, but you're just drilling it like your Cancellara at worlds. You've passed everyone but those two dudes with the ironman tattoos.
Then that's when it happens. Just when you start to get in a groove and really get moving, you find out that you're bike is totally broken. Yup. You can't ride it any more, even though there's a bunch of race left. Now you have to run to the finish. Don't worry though, everyone else also broke their bike, even the lady on the hybrid, so now its a foot race. Man, you wish you hadn't been killing it so much before your bike broke, because now you're running and its not so much fun. People are passing you. Some guys who look like runners, some fast looking women, and then some kids, and then that lady who was on the hybrid. Man, running takes a long time. Why couldn't you just get a bike change?
Eventually you run for awhile and get to the finish line. You've actually won. No, that's not true at all. You actually lost to everyone except the two guys who didn't fend off that dolphin back there during the swim. Ouch. Maybe you should take some swim lessons.
So now that you've swam, biked, and ran, lets see if it was more fun then just biking then calling it a day:
Go for a swim: Tri
Go for a ride: Tie
Go for a run: seriously?
Wet suit: Tri
Skin suit: Bike Racing
No sand in your shoes: Bike Racing
No chamois in your shorts: Tri
Ride in a straight line in a pack: Bike Racing
Never ride with anyone near you, that's the rule!: Tri
Show up with a sport comfort bike and its okay: Tri
Show up on a steel bike and get laughed at: Bike Racing
Meet marine mammals: Tri
Shave your whole body: Tri
Be mediocre at three sports: Tri.
Be mediocre at one sport: Bike Racing
Final Score
Tri: 8.
Bike Racing: 5.
Dolphin: 2.
Tri defeats bike racing. How could it not? Clearly doing three sports at once beats doing one sport at once. Just like being in a one man band is always better then being in a normal, um, 4 man band.
You suck at swimming since you're like 7% body fat and don't float. You almost drown at least twice. Somehow, you still get to your destination and discover that the bike race is actually a time trial, but everyone is starting as soon as they get out of the water (oh, everyone else competing in the bike race was on the boat with you when it started to sink).
So now a bunch of soggy people riding time trial bikes are ahead of you. Actually, everyone is ahead of you, you're that bad at swimming. There is a nice lady who took swim class at the Y not to far ahead, and since she's on a hybrid and you're riding your P3 you figure you might catch her. You do have a disc after all.
You do in fact pass the hybrid lady, and some other people. Man you are killing it actually. Everyone looks like they're conserving energy for something else, but you're just drilling it like your Cancellara at worlds. You've passed everyone but those two dudes with the ironman tattoos.
Then that's when it happens. Just when you start to get in a groove and really get moving, you find out that you're bike is totally broken. Yup. You can't ride it any more, even though there's a bunch of race left. Now you have to run to the finish. Don't worry though, everyone else also broke their bike, even the lady on the hybrid, so now its a foot race. Man, you wish you hadn't been killing it so much before your bike broke, because now you're running and its not so much fun. People are passing you. Some guys who look like runners, some fast looking women, and then some kids, and then that lady who was on the hybrid. Man, running takes a long time. Why couldn't you just get a bike change?
Eventually you run for awhile and get to the finish line. You've actually won. No, that's not true at all. You actually lost to everyone except the two guys who didn't fend off that dolphin back there during the swim. Ouch. Maybe you should take some swim lessons.
So now that you've swam, biked, and ran, lets see if it was more fun then just biking then calling it a day:
Go for a swim: Tri
Go for a ride: Tie
Go for a run: seriously?
Wet suit: Tri
Skin suit: Bike Racing
No sand in your shoes: Bike Racing
No chamois in your shorts: Tri
Ride in a straight line in a pack: Bike Racing
Never ride with anyone near you, that's the rule!: Tri
Show up with a sport comfort bike and its okay: Tri
Show up on a steel bike and get laughed at: Bike Racing
Meet marine mammals: Tri
Shave your whole body: Tri
Be mediocre at three sports: Tri.
Be mediocre at one sport: Bike Racing
Final Score
Tri: 8.
Bike Racing: 5.
Dolphin: 2.
Tri defeats bike racing. How could it not? Clearly doing three sports at once beats doing one sport at once. Just like being in a one man band is always better then being in a normal, um, 4 man band.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Alley Cat + Tulip Fest
There's an alley cat this saturday during tulip fest. If you're not going to bear mountain and think you can navigate around albany faster than the next guy give it a shot.
http://www.bikealbany.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/stdflyer1.jpg
disclaimer: this isn't anything anyone with any concern for their own safety would or should do. Its not put on by me, anyone I know, or anyone I would like to know. If you do it its totally at your own risk and you completely and utterly assume all risks associated with riding your bicycle while participating in, and while not participating in, this grand event. I personally and actually suggest you not do it, since you're probably going to crash and then try and sue my pants since you can't handle riding a bike around town. If you do do it, its not my problem, nor is it anyone else's problem.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Bike Racing v. Motocross
Welcome to round two of the important and influential series "bicycle racing v. another thing." This week I'll compare bike racing with a sport that likely came from the same evolutionary monkey - motocross! In fact, the greatest MX racer of all time Roger DeCoaster just happens to be from Belgium. Coincidence? I think not.
v.
Okay, first off lets get a couple things clear, Motocross and Bicycle Racing are basically exactly the same thing.
Think about it - two wheels, funny head gear, drugs make you go fast, you're wearing tight pants. Which one am I talking about here? I don't even know.
For any of you who aren't familiar with motocross racing, let me explain it. Imagine having a bicycle race, but instead of pedaling, you have a bike that's powered by a lawnmower engine. Since you don't have to pedal, endurance is less important than your ability to do superman seat grabs. The course is all muddy, and there are big jumps in the way. Launching off of these jumps is encouraged.
This is where doping comes in. Not blood doping silly, but actual dope, like, the stuff you smoke. Apparently, being high as hell is the main way to go fast on a dirt bike, since fearing death is the number one limiting factor in a motorcrosser's speed. If you don't know where you are, or who you are for that matter, you're more likely to win. To bad you won't be able to tell the promoter who to make that giant novelty check out to after you crush your less stoned competition.
Assuming you've got a lot of weed and some gas oil mix, you'll also need a motocross bike before you go to the race. I know what you're thinking - "jeez, if my Felt F1 carbon wunderbike cost 5gs, so these bikes with motors must be like $200,000." that's where you're wrong in fact, the F1, and the motocross race bike cost about the same.
Now, what do you get with the Felt - 14. 5 pounds of carbon and glue combined and 20 gears. The motocross bike on the other hand only has four gears. To make up for that clear deficiency the mx bike has like 30 horsepower. Imagine hooking 30 horses up to the front of your road bike and yelling "ya!" I bet you'd be the new protour leader before you could say "whoa big fella."
So, throw on some body armor, (or make some out of duct tape), get some rolling papers (or make some out of duct tape) and head to the track.
How can bike racing even stack up to having a motor stuck between your legs going 70 mph, 70 feet in the air, with your hair on fire? Well, I'm not sure it can. Lets see:
Has a motor: MX
Your the motor: Bike Racing
Mix gas with oil, pour in tank: MX
Mix Accellerade and Vitamin Water, pour in you: Gross
Big knobby tires: MX
Nerdy skinny tires: Bike Racing
Ride your bike to work: Bike racing
Ride your bike to work with the front wheel in the air - MX
Get arrested for riding to work with the front wheel in the air: MX
Eddy Mercx: Roger DeCoster
doping is really complicated, takes a lot of science and might cause you to park your Porsche in a bike rack: Jan Ulrich
Smoke some weed, smoke some rubber: MX
MX: 9
Bike racing: 4
Jan: 1
Its a rout folks - looks like its time to fire up the 2 stroke, head down to the dirt jumps and work on the triple front flip. 3o horses can't be wrong!
v.
Okay, first off lets get a couple things clear, Motocross and Bicycle Racing are basically exactly the same thing.
Think about it - two wheels, funny head gear, drugs make you go fast, you're wearing tight pants. Which one am I talking about here? I don't even know.
For any of you who aren't familiar with motocross racing, let me explain it. Imagine having a bicycle race, but instead of pedaling, you have a bike that's powered by a lawnmower engine. Since you don't have to pedal, endurance is less important than your ability to do superman seat grabs. The course is all muddy, and there are big jumps in the way. Launching off of these jumps is encouraged.
This is where doping comes in. Not blood doping silly, but actual dope, like, the stuff you smoke. Apparently, being high as hell is the main way to go fast on a dirt bike, since fearing death is the number one limiting factor in a motorcrosser's speed. If you don't know where you are, or who you are for that matter, you're more likely to win. To bad you won't be able to tell the promoter who to make that giant novelty check out to after you crush your less stoned competition.
Assuming you've got a lot of weed and some gas oil mix, you'll also need a motocross bike before you go to the race. I know what you're thinking - "jeez, if my Felt F1 carbon wunderbike cost 5gs, so these bikes with motors must be like $200,000." that's where you're wrong in fact, the F1, and the motocross race bike cost about the same.
Now, what do you get with the Felt - 14. 5 pounds of carbon and glue combined and 20 gears. The motocross bike on the other hand only has four gears. To make up for that clear deficiency the mx bike has like 30 horsepower. Imagine hooking 30 horses up to the front of your road bike and yelling "ya!" I bet you'd be the new protour leader before you could say "whoa big fella."
So, throw on some body armor, (or make some out of duct tape), get some rolling papers (or make some out of duct tape) and head to the track.
How can bike racing even stack up to having a motor stuck between your legs going 70 mph, 70 feet in the air, with your hair on fire? Well, I'm not sure it can. Lets see:
Has a motor: MX
Your the motor: Bike Racing
Mix gas with oil, pour in tank: MX
Mix Accellerade and Vitamin Water, pour in you: Gross
Big knobby tires: MX
Nerdy skinny tires: Bike Racing
Ride your bike to work: Bike racing
Ride your bike to work with the front wheel in the air - MX
Get arrested for riding to work with the front wheel in the air: MX
Eddy Mercx: Roger DeCoster
doping is really complicated, takes a lot of science and might cause you to park your Porsche in a bike rack: Jan Ulrich
Smoke some weed, smoke some rubber: MX
Course is all muddy, and there's obstacles in the way to make it tough: tie (thank you cross.)
Big burly shocks - MX
Your bike looks like a downhill bike with a motor: MX
Ends with X: MX
Is extreme: Bike Racing. Haven't you seen that IMAX movie?
Final score:Big burly shocks - MX
Your bike looks like a downhill bike with a motor: MX
Ends with X: MX
Is extreme: Bike Racing. Haven't you seen that IMAX movie?
MX: 9
Bike racing: 4
Jan: 1
Its a rout folks - looks like its time to fire up the 2 stroke, head down to the dirt jumps and work on the triple front flip. 3o horses can't be wrong!
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