the battle of schenectady

I'm scared. Really scared. This season I've stepped up my game by actually training, and have been getting a lot of good indications from the power tap.

Five minute power? Way up.

Two minute power? Way up.

Results? Not up.

This means the amout of pain and suffering I'm going to have to endure to actually do better in races is going to be a lot. Yikes.

I was hoping, that given my new found training time, and actual indications that I'm a lot stronger than this time last year, I would maybe place higher in races. Strangely, it seems that everyone else is just faster too.

I've been doing intense calculations the last couple days, looking at results from the first few races this year and then races the last couple years. This is what I discovered: I'm finishing a lot closer to the winner then in the last couple years. It used to be that I would be 3-5 minutes behind the winner and place somewhere between 10th and 20th place.

This season, I'm 1-2 minutes behind the winner, still slotting in 10th-20th place. Which is awesome, because I'm apparently a lot closer to the fastest racers in my category, but not awesome, because apparently a bunch of other people stepped up the game as well.

Now I'm going to have to rethink the strategy in hopes that I can get some other edge that will boost me up another 5 or 6 spots. In no particular order here are the potential ways I can get even faster this week:

1. doping, obviously. Now, I don't know where to get dope. And I don't have any money to buy fancy things like EPO or my own pre-stored blood, but I do have a blender and many many bananas at my house. What I'm thinking is that I can blend up a lot of bananas and some protien mix and maybe add a lot of red bull and then some multi-vitamins then store it in a camelback bladder in my basement for a few days, then drink like a gallon if it right before the race. I'm pretty sure this would make me substantially more successful.

2. same as number 1, but instead of me drinking it, I get the 10 racers in the field who keep beating me to drink a bunch right before the race. I bet this helps me place higer for sure.

3. Stop racing completely. Yeah, it may seem like stopping racing is the opposite of getting better results, but that's a short sighted way to look at things. Basically, by stopping now, I would win the race to start another obscure expensive and ridiculious sport. I'm thinking I could be top ten in a goat race next week if I switch right now.

4. goat race? really?

In conclusion: here's a couple pictures from the hard fought Cat Four and Juniors Race this weekend:

Kirkland CX.

The first race in the NYCROSS.com series took place Sunday in Clinton, NY out by Utica. Put on by the Mohawk Valley Bike Club, it was a great course, with a challenging run up, great windy nature trails, a sand pit, traditional double barriers, and some sweet highspeed sweeping turns on slick grass. Overall, it was a blast.

Jimbo on the runup.

I was really, really motivated, for some reason, and went out like a madman on the first lap, winning the hole shot and being the first rider over the barriers about 1/3 of the way into the lap. Then, as expected by just about everyone other than me I blew up completely.

There was a great sandpit, as Danny Goodwin demonstrates here:

After the race Gary Toth came up to me and said "Great job on the first lap, because after that you really looked like crap." It was true. Laps 2 -6 were much more trying than the first one, and included such interesting events as me yard saleing the bike and myself in the middle of the trail on a highspeed 180 sandy downhill turn; getting run into by, and then knocking over Tim Jansen from RPI Cycling in the sand pit, and generally going slower and slower each lap.

Lesson from nycross number 1, don't kill the first lap so much!

Don't miss NYCROSS #2 this weekend in Schenectady - Dave Beals's course is a NY classic!

NYCROSS.com in the Times Union

Great article covering CX in the TU this morning:

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=721597&category=SPORTS

Two articles covering cross and the nycross.com series in two days! Apparently we're not all that fringe anymore. The print version of the TU article is on the front page of today's sports page. How awesome is that?

Andrew Bernstein's Saratogian Article on Cross

awesome:

http://www.saratogian.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20124761&BRD=1169&PAG=461&dept_id=597311&rfi=6

get out and ride!

Breaking News: CBRC not going bankrupt!

The market is crashing. As I write this every bank in the country is being bought by every other bank in the country. Its just a matter of time before CBRC buys Bank of America, and is then bought by Bank of America as well. In preperation for this event, I'd like to announce that I've been furiously working to buy many banks and investment houses for the club, to prevent us from being bought by any investment houses or banks, while also shamelessly shopping the club around to the highest bidder. Right now, as the Dow is closed for the day I can give you an update on the offers received by and extended by CBRC.

Danny Goodwin has offered to buy CBRC for $12. In return I offered Danny three spare tubes for bankruptcy protection. This offer is pending.

CBRC has offered to buy Rock and Republic, but unfortunately Michael Ball wouldn't accept the offer of a 15% discount on his next cbrc skinsuit purchase in exchange for his entire clothing line.

To stave off bankruptcy, CBRC held a meeting of its executives, and concluded that while we're not in danger of going bankrupt, we should see if the New York State will give us three hundred and fifty dollars. I will then use that money to buy a pair of rock and republic jeans, which I will wear to school and other places.

I invested heavily in miller lite this past weekend. It was a personal investment that had little to do with CBRC. The dividends were great though.

Curently I suggest getting into the cyclocross tubulars futures market, and dumping any downhill mountain bike stock you may have faster than Steve Pete on a Santa Cruz V-10.

Lastly, since the market is crashing, keep an extra eye out for cyclists crashing too. Its a bear market. I expect that its only a matter of time before a bear and a rider meet, causing a big crash.

Yet another "athlete" returning to the saddle

News Flash:

Mark Sumner announced today he was coming out of retirement. After close to 7 days off the bike he broke the news to Plump Magazine, leader in non-bike related things no-human-should-ever-see news.

When asked as to why return to the thankless sport after an extended absence, he said he was inspired by all the retired athletes making another go of it. That and having extinguished his supply of potato chips and South Park reruns.

More news later

Season 1 in the books

Ok, so I have just wrapped up my first ever season of bike racing (with a weak DNF result at the Catskills Stage Race) and would like to first off thank everyone who helped me in my rookie year. Now, with that out of the way I must say I learned a lot over the past 6 or so months. While I realize now I have much more to learn I'd like to quickly recap the 10 most important things I learned this year. So here goes this corny list....
10-it's way more then just genetics. (sorry dad)
9-when andy ruiz calls you and says dont worry its an easy endurance paced 3-4 hr ride you best be worrying
8-Jimmy Leone will drive to any bike race providing you pay for gas
7-matt purdy likes to ask you questions...when you're going uphill and your heart rate is 200
6-wind DOES matter
5-smartest usually wins. not the strongest
4-if you are going to raise your hands in victory at the biggest amature bike race in the country you best be damn sure nobody is in front of you.
3-eric shcillinger truly believes he can out sprint anyone. even if his front wheel is cracked in half
2-july means rest
1-i should have stuck to running

so i guess ill give cross a go. good luck to everyone and ill see you guys in the cold winds of jan. cant wait!

Stuff of which Dreams are Made

I don't usually remember my dreams. A Freudian would say that's because I'm not ready to deal with them--that they're too disturbing. It may also be that I don't sleep long enough to have any. Here's the thing: last night I had my first 'cross dream and feel compelled to share.

Schillinger somehow convinced me to enter the P/1/2/3 race in Schenectady and I'm there on the line ('cuz I'm well-brainwashed to do whatever Eric says). Nathaniel gives me a "what--you're actually back for more?" look and the whistle goes. Sprint to the first corner and I'm dead last. Fast forward many laps and I finish just ahead of Willem (without crashing and tearing my rotator cuff a-la Troy 2007).

Gary walks up to me and congratulates me because every rider ahead of me pinned their numbers on upside down which, in the universe of this particular dream, is grounds for instant DQ. So I'm on the podium in 1st place, Willem is 2nd, Buffalo is 3rd. Alec Donhue, Justin Lindine, and Nathaniel Ward are seething and waiting for me in the parking lot, so I don't raise my arms in victory salute, I just shrug.

I told my daughter about it at dinner and she thought it was an incredibly unrealistic fantasy. I would never finish ahead of Willem.

Let's hear some other sick 'cross dreams, eh?

-deegee

shave those legs.

I would like to officially welcome James back to the north east peloton this week. Mr. Dutko spent the summer off the bike while he was becoming Dr. Dutko, and has only recently emerged from the lab. Lingering early season injuries, combined with that whole, getting his Ph.D. thing, caused James to get some serious hair on his legs over the last 5 months.

So James, congratulatoins, and now that you're back on the road, shave your legs for god sakes, you're a bike racer.

Ok,
First, I was not, nor would I ever be in contention in this race. I was however riding reasonably well in the pack, and looking forward to my share in the misery. One to many parallel holes (at mile 25ish) in the road proved to much for the Conti sprinter tubular up front.

Personally, sending the wheel van up the road for a 2 minute, 4 man break, 10 miles into a 70+ mile race is F****D. I'll not give the App Gap folks my money again.

Just a tad of bitterness.