Tuesday, December 18, 2007

CX Nats 07...Kansas City




I was not really looking forward to writing this post after a somewhat miserable weekend in Kansas City for cross nationals. After the previous week's good performances and improving fitness I allowed myself a little confidence going into the final big show of the season......unfortunately Mother Nature had plans to put me in my place.
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We left Wednesday on the long drive West and stopped in St Louis to visit Cara's family which included a trip to the hospital to see her sister and 2 day old niece. Thursday we completed the drive over to KC. When we arrived at the venue we got to pre-ride the course in beautiful mud. It was great and I had a blast riding 4 or 5 laps in slow, energy sucking mud. I loved it. No joke. In fact I honestly thought that if we had those conditions for my age group race I would have had no trouble at all getting on the podium...unfortunately the weather report called for frigid temperatures and a snow storm Friday night and Saturday. For Cara's race on Friday the course was still awesome....a bit more frozen and slippery than Thursday, but still good. She rode well to 11th in her master's event......that night came even lower temperatures and snow.
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For my race Saturday the temp was about 21 degrees and the course was covered in rock hard slippery, icy ruts....on top of that was about 2 inches of snow....and it was still coming down. I didn't know exactly how the course would "feel", so I just warmed up and hoped for the best. I had a front row call up and managed a really good start (for me) and was able to stay ahead of a huge pile up in the first turn. I was 6th or 7th heading out onto the course.....then we hit the ice. I was riding, but 2/3 of my energy went into keeping the bike upright as opposed to going forward....riders were passing me and I was terrified. Give me mud, even snow, but ice and I have had a very unhappy relationship for years....going all the way back to 2004 when I broke my leg quite badly falling on black ice while working as a messenger in Philly (that is a whole other story).....since then I can't seem to get the nerve to ride fast on ice.....I just ride scared... which is what I did Saturday. I watched riders pass me, then crash, get up and pass me again. I actually managed not to crash until about half way in ..then I had two or three falls that were pretty hard. After a rider right in front of me slid face first into a metal pole...and I was already out of the top 20.....I turned off the gas and just rode in survival mode to finish. I was disappointed to say the least...and was not even physically tired. Kudos to the guys at the front ...they had the fitness AND the skill needed on this course.
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Sunday was the elite race, and while it was still cold (below 30), the sun was out. I decided that today I was going to have fun....no pressure for results, just ride in the mud (it was still very icy, but much more rideable and faster than Saturday)....until someone tells me to stop. I was #41 on the starting grid out of about 160 registered...and I managed a great start again. I was maybe 25th going onto the course. The last few years I have second guessed my participation in the elite race at nats. I am usually somewhere between 30th and 50th...a bit better than the middle, but not much. I have made it to the end on a bunch of occasions and have been pulled just as many times....but regardless of results, being part of the big show at nationals is just too much fun to pass up. It is unlike any other cycling event I know of....so many fans screaming at you....either heckling or encouraging....and as opposed to a road race, you are actually going slow enough to hear everything they say....and it is a blast. This race was no different, and the crazy icy, muddy difficulty of the course made all that much more insane. I had a grin on my face from the starting gun to the moment they pulled my sorry butt off the course when the leaders got close to lapping me half way in. On the second lap I had a spectacular crash when my muddy glove slipped of the bars as I was coming out of a nasty gully....Sure it hurt and it took me a while to get untangled from my bike and going again amid the cheers of many witnesses....but I am pretty sure I was laughing out loud the entire time.
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So after some disappointing results, but, none the less, a fun experience, I am already looking forward to next cross season!
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Thanks again to my cross team sponsors! ... and especially Mark Hekman for putting it together....
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a2

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

MSG & NC Cross Series Finals





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The Series finales of both the MSG and NC Cross series were last weekend. Saturday was the last MSG race up in Tennessee. The weather was bleak: cold and light rain: cross weather. After a weekend off from racing last week, I was not sure how I would feel ....but things went well and I managed 2nd behind Dan Timmerman. It was a fun race and 3 of us rode together behind Dan until the last run-up @ 100 meters to go...the only reason I managed 2nd was because Will Black was on his single speed! This gave me plenty of points to take the overall series win.
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So after that race I ran back to the car and had just enough time to switch skin suits and get to the start of the real single speed race. So for this final race, Dwayne, the series promoter has this idea to have a "Little Debbie short cut". For anyone who doesn't know, Little Debbie snacks are the ultimate in inexpensive sugary, fatty junk food. The rule was: after the barriers you could pull over, stuff a little Debbie snack cake in your mouth (various varieties available) then take a short cut on the course that would save about 10 seconds. I do believe that when I heard this my smile could have powered a Russian nuclear attack submarine. No doubt about it...this race was MINE. At the first snack stop I grabbed an oatmeal cream pie. Getting the whole thing in my mouth while trying to breathe after several minutes of all out cross racing was a challenge....and I think a large portion of it got sucked into my lung, but I made it and had a nice gap on the field after the short cut. Next lap was a swiss cake roll....much easier to get in the mouth..and I was getting the hang of the process: stuff cake in mouth, breathe through nose and swallow as the lap progresses....hopefully well before the next stop. 3rd lap was a zebra cake ...and on the 4th lap I got cocky and had a swiss cake roll AND an oatmeal creme pie....and cruised to the finish unopposed. I suspect if there was a "Little Debbie short cut " at nationals you would see me on the podium for sure :)
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After the series awards I hopped in the car with Josh Whitmore and took the long drive across state to Raleigh....the NC cross series final was to be in nearby Cary where the temps were in the mid 70s! The Cary course was quite technical and bone dry with lots of loose corners, a run up and a really steep ride-up. At first I thought I would not do well...but it ended up being a great day. After a mediocre start (as usual) I worked my way up to chasing for 4th with Charlie Storm. Charlie was just ahead of me in series points and we both knew that there was some cash at stake so we rode our butts off....it was great. We passed Charlie Pendry who was having some mechanical and crashing issues, then were closing on Travis Livermon who was riding in 2nd. Charlie was killing it, but I suspected I could outlast him. I did, and caught Travis by myself with 2 laps to go. I attacked when I felt t was a good spot for me and stayed away in 2nd to the end. Jon Hamblin rode away with the win. So 2nd in the final race and I managed to pull out 2nd overall for the series....a great way to lead into nationals next week.
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Tomorrow we get in the car and head to nats in Kansas City. We will drive to St. Louis and stay with Cara's parents tomorrow night , then cruise over to KC on thursday. The temperature has been over 70 degrees here the last few days...but will be in the 20s and 30s over there! Not sure I am ready for that...
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A couple other weekend notes:
Hekman is back racing! and we have the pictrures to prove it....
We got the new HED Stinger Wheels ...awesome...just in time for Nats
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a2

Friday, December 07, 2007

New Logo !



Here is the new company logo.... a cool new website is on the way as well...stay tuned ....

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a2

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

258


258 ....yes that is my current uci world cyclocross ranking with 4 points. Actually I am tied for 250th with like 20 other guys. I find this kind of funny actually. These days uci points are like gold on the US cross circuit....or it seems that way at any rate with riders traveling thousands of miles vying for just a couple precious points to get them one row closer to the front of the starting grid at elite nationals. I plan to have fun racing with the elites at nats, but honestly a few points and a couple rows closer to the front won't make much difference to what will be a slightly better than mid-pack finish for me. Don't get me wrong...I will race...and race hard pushing my limit for the best result possible, but I have no illusions.....the master's race is a different matter, but even there my goal is a little more modest than in past years due to the reality of talented competition. Now if only I could auction those points to the highest bidder.....or maybe even just give them to someone who could put them to better use :)