Sector 1 or How to conserve.
What follows is a race report broken up by sectors, and as time allows. I was joined by fellow Iron folks Chuck Q, Tim H (on single speed by choice or fate) Chris D & Chris M (fresh from a trip to the UK) and Ian Briggs, our stalwart UK member. Jenny Ives rounded out the team. Justin L was to be with us, but had some "UCI points" thingy going on. Whatever. (nothing but love man).
Also special mention to Bina Briggs for capturing our pain in digital medium, and the lovely couple of Coach Jim and Patsy Hartnett who tended to the prima dona needs of 4 old guys (sorry Chris D) who still enjoy potty humor.
We staged on an honor system of what time we expected to finish in. Chris Delisie, Chris McBurnie and I being the wimps on geared bikes went down to the staging area in the under 5 hour group. Once there the crowd generally milled about until one cyclist at the front yelled ready, then go. At first I though it was someone having us on, but we all left en mass and thundered up the gravel path.
Onto the first run up the Chris's and I were together. Naturally I dropped a chain so in a crowd I kept running and managed to get it back on. Then into the spiral of death. No tight little twist, but a giant, field enveloping, never ending, "I'm about to puke" spiral of death. Chris D and I are on the way out when a rider slides out in front of us. In my one cat like reflex move of the day, I swerve right while Chris dodges left. We grin like idiots at each other for having cleared and fellow riders begin complementing Chris.
From there it's onto some sketchy gravel (that would later claim some Jenny Ives blood) and onto a recreation path. There the pace lines form up and folks tend to calm down some. Many folks were happy to drive the train so being nice I let them drive. Through the sand pit and on to the first hill, paved and not too steep but long. Gaps started forming but I let them open since we would hit dirt soon and I don't want to be redlining it there. Once we navigate the through the fence we hit fire road.
Up, up, up. As expected folks start to fade and I just work at keeping a good tempo over the rough stuff. A few time folks will come up and I tag along nicely taking what rest I can. Many folks have already flatted so there will be some long days. Over the top onto a long level gravel road along the ridge line. Another pace line forms up with Chris D and I sitting pretty. One hurried gentleman comes screaming down as the road tilts down and we jump on. We approach pavement again and need to go left. Like lemmings I watch several folks follow this guy right despite signs and yelling riders to go left. Down the twisty descent I lead, and encounter another rider who is left/right challenged at the turn on the bottom.
These are the rolling paved roads before the KOM climb, and we all are getting along more or less. I'm amazed at the couple of single speed guys, knowing Chuck and Tim are doing the same.
As we approach the KOM climb I again focus on keep a steady cadence and not maxxing out. 3/4 from the top folks are starting to loose it so I lift the speed to get out of harms way then start to crank it over the top and onto more fire road climb. Here I manage at one point to open a gap, knowing I'll want to have room once we hit the single track climb, Lippencote Trail. As the road levels out and tilts down a group with Chris D catches up to me. Here I'll work to stay on the front until I hit an unforeseen rock that almost throws me over the handle bars. Then the shorts snag trying to slide back and my weight is stuck over the handles bars. Some how I regain my composure and position on the bike. I approach the first check point and set up to make the turn onto Lippencote and sector 2 with only one wheel in front of me...
...to be continued.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Gloucester.
If you race a bike, if you ever raced a bike, if you ever might want to race a bike, you need to go to Gloucester. The Edringer Grand Prix of Gloucester is one of the largest cx races in the country, and without verifying the claim, I'm pretty sure its the biggest CX race on the east coast for sure.
Here's the thing, size doesn't matter - this is the best race of the year, not because 1300 racers show up to throw down, but the fact that this many racers travel to the eastern end of Massachussts each year indicates how much fun the event really is.
First lets look at the race itself. The venue is Stage Fort Park, an beautiful venue right on the Atlantic Ocean. More than one section of the course places goes within such a close proximity to the water that an error in steering could produce a soggy rider. The course is classic cx, twisting and turning back on itself, making 90% of the race visible from a few vantage points. There' s a snaking up hill barrier section and a wild sand pit that borders on rideable, but is just hard enoungh that only a perfect ride through will be successful- the safe bet is to run, but riding it in front of the crowd is always tempting.
This year a great contintgent of riders from the NYCROSS.com world made the 3 hour car ride East for the big show. Here is a further illustration of how rad this race is - almost all of us had some sort of catatrosphy during our races, yet no one was discouraged and we'll all certinaly return in 2009.
Cheif among the disasters was Dave Beals's first lap crash in the masters 55+ race. Dave went down hard when another rider got tangled up with him as they approaced the barrier section. Unfortunatly Dave broke his collar bone. Medical attention appeared rapidly and Dave was taken to the hospital. Not to be detered, after being released from the hospital he returned to the park, with his arm in a sling, and spent the rest of the weekend cheering and heckling riders from all over the country. Dave - best wishes in your recovey, we'll all miss you at the training rides and races for the next couple months.
Other, far less pertinent disasters included flat tires, snapped derailleur cables, sketchy crashes, scary starts, and Ryan Treborn beating Tim Johnson twice in two days. Now, given the fact that really, nothing went the way of the nycross army this week, and I'm still stocked as hell on the race, you should all recognize how sick Gloucester is.
They'll be some more gloucster themed posting this week, but for now I'll say, mark your calender for 09, you have to be there.
Here's the thing, size doesn't matter - this is the best race of the year, not because 1300 racers show up to throw down, but the fact that this many racers travel to the eastern end of Massachussts each year indicates how much fun the event really is.
First lets look at the race itself. The venue is Stage Fort Park, an beautiful venue right on the Atlantic Ocean. More than one section of the course places goes within such a close proximity to the water that an error in steering could produce a soggy rider. The course is classic cx, twisting and turning back on itself, making 90% of the race visible from a few vantage points. There' s a snaking up hill barrier section and a wild sand pit that borders on rideable, but is just hard enoungh that only a perfect ride through will be successful- the safe bet is to run, but riding it in front of the crowd is always tempting.
This year a great contintgent of riders from the NYCROSS.com world made the 3 hour car ride East for the big show. Here is a further illustration of how rad this race is - almost all of us had some sort of catatrosphy during our races, yet no one was discouraged and we'll all certinaly return in 2009.
Cheif among the disasters was Dave Beals's first lap crash in the masters 55+ race. Dave went down hard when another rider got tangled up with him as they approaced the barrier section. Unfortunatly Dave broke his collar bone. Medical attention appeared rapidly and Dave was taken to the hospital. Not to be detered, after being released from the hospital he returned to the park, with his arm in a sling, and spent the rest of the weekend cheering and heckling riders from all over the country. Dave - best wishes in your recovey, we'll all miss you at the training rides and races for the next couple months.
Other, far less pertinent disasters included flat tires, snapped derailleur cables, sketchy crashes, scary starts, and Ryan Treborn beating Tim Johnson twice in two days. Now, given the fact that really, nothing went the way of the nycross army this week, and I'm still stocked as hell on the race, you should all recognize how sick Gloucester is.
They'll be some more gloucster themed posting this week, but for now I'll say, mark your calender for 09, you have to be there.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
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:
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:
Monday, September 22, 2008
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:
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!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
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?
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?
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
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.
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.
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