I'm a few days late on this one, but I just thought I should mention that Johnny Damon is scum. To see a player switch sides in a rivalry like that is just ridiculous. Do the players not care at all about things like that? I guess not. The extra $12 million did the trick. So much for the brawl at Fenway actually meaning something.

I hope you stink up the Yankees centerfield. I hope you can't crack the Mendoza Line. And instead of booing the hell out of you when you return to the Fens, I hope The Nation just turns their back and says nothing. That way your sorry, POS attention grabbing, girly throwing self will get no attention whatsoever. Judas, here's to your first beaning when you step into the plate in Boston. If only I could be there to witness it myself.

On another note, would somebody up in Boston please go get Theo back. With Theo at the helm, I don't think I'd care too much about this. They should have plenty of money to let Theo run the ship now that they don't have that bearded prick. GO SOX!

I rolled out of bed this morning pretty quick and screwed in my water bottle cage and pump mount. I put on the full pile of clothes I had laying on the floor beside my bike and headed out the door. I got to the Java Shack right on time and was wishing I'd also put on my light as dark as it was.

Dana Matassa was keeping warm waiting in his car, but got got out and applied a bit of lube to his chain when I pulled up. I had some lube in my jersey pocket and applied it to my newly cleaned chain. Not long after, Bill rolled up on his 'cross bike. Surprisingly the weight of his bike and the Sirrus were not that far off. About ten minutes past the appointed time of 6:30a, we rolled out onto Lee Highway and then shortly on to the Custis Trail.

We rode the Custis along the same route I've been running recently, then picked up the W&OD and rode it towards its start. That's the first time I've rode in that far in that direction. It's a nice ride along the creek, but cold at this time of the morning. As we hit the W&OD, we picked up two more Coppi riders: Joe Metro and Rich Fristik. Rich was riding his MTB, and Joe was on the team bike, Javelin Brunello.

We rode a ways until we ended up at the foot of the Walter Reed Blvd. hill. I asked the guys pretty quick which way we were turning. I actually rode that hill not long after I got to Arlington and it is a doozy. Long and pretty steep. It whipped me pretty good. We turned the opposite way and evenutally wound our way around to the Mount Vernon Trail.

Coming past the airport with the sun rising was neat. You can see most of the city laid out before you and it's beautiful. We rode through Gravelly Point just as a plane was landing and boy was it spectacular! I thought the plane was going to hit us it came in so close. Really amazing. We'll have to get out there soon and watch JP land one. It was easy going along the Potomac the rest of the way until we ended up back in Rosslyn where we took Lee Highway back to the Java Shack. I actually turned off just before the shack and headed home off of Veitch St. I reluctantly went to work after a terrific hot shower and some breakfast.

This ride, known as the "Muffin Ride," was exactly as billed: a nice easy spin. It's a great way to start of the morning, making a tour of Arlington. The ride is totally social and nothing like the second half of the Sunday ride. It sucks I had to go to work and couldn't stick around for the muffin portion of the ride. The Java Shack's hot chocolate is quality. Nice and sweet.

Despite my full assembly of the bike last night, the Sirrus performed adequately. I'm not too bad a mechanic after all. I'll have to fix the derailleur hanger tonight though. I was missing shifts in the lower gears because of it.

I'm still sick. Tonight I spiked a small fever and just felt really crappy. I cancelled my violin lesson and chilled out around the house. I did manage to get everything but the brakes back on my Sirrus, so I'm hoping tomorrow night I'll get it finished up. If I can just get over this stupid illness, maybe I'll ride in on Friday? I'm really anxious to be back on the bike. If not, I need to get a run in.

I decided to get in a run during lunch instead of making excuses about the night and cold when I get home. I ran a quick six down the W&OD towards Leesburg, just a simple three out and three back. I never really got comfortable on this one. I felt sluggish and tired. At least this one was mostly on the side of the trail on soft stuff.

As the day progressed, I felt worse and worse. I thought that maybe I'd just run dehydrated and my body didn't like it. But once I left work, I was pretty certain I was sick. I spent the rest of the night moving around pretty slowly and I went to bed early. My joints were all aching and my head was pounding, so sleep was the best idea.

On a positive note, my Nashbar order of a bottom bracket and brake pads finally showed up. I only managed to clean the brake levers and take out the old bottom bracket before calling it a night. Hopefully the Sirrus will be up and running again shortly. I'm really excited to be back on the bike more so than I am about running. Only a few more weeks till Alumni.

Nationals pictures were posted a few days ago. I haven't had time to edit the audio. Maybe I'll just post it and forget about it. But enjoy the photos. My skills were put to the test with the low lighting during the elite races and the white snowy background fooling my light sensor. It was pretty exciting to be shooting a National Championship though.

I woke up and turned off my alarm, only to wake up again at 8:05 and realize I was late for the group ride. Luckily, it meets at the Java Shack, just a few blocks from the apartment, so I was able to throw my stuff in a bag and run over. I was supposed to meet Bill Cusmano at 8a, with the ride leaving around 8:30. I made it in plenty of time and we got the bike setup.

The bike was a 52cm Douglas of Scandium Aluminum. We raised the seatpost and put on my pedals. I rode down the road a bit to make sure all was well. The bike was outfitted with Campy Record and the whole thing was light as a feather. Definitely the fastest machine I've rode since the Waterford TT bike. Needless to say, this one fit a lot better.

We headed out down Wilson and across Key Bridge. The plan was for me to tail off the ride early and return in time for Church. Joe Metro was supposed to lead me home. But after probably ten miles or so, Bill saw me and asked why I was still with the group. Joe had already made the turn for home and since I was riding up front, he'd left me behind. I phoned Jess and told her I'd have to keep riding since I didn't know my way home.

After a while in Rock Creek Park on Beach Drive, we started climbing some small hills and the pace started to pick up a bit. I didn't feel like my legs were that strong today early on. I was sluggish going up the hills and having trouble with the idexing of the rear derailleur didn't help. But I got my legs under me after a few of the ups and downs.

We made the descent into Great Falls and then climbed back out and that was a good test of how I could climb on the bike. I still didn't feel all that comfortable, but I did ok. We rode a nice paceline the rest of the way, returning to DC on MacArthur Boulevard. It's a shame I didn't have a cyclocomputer, I would have liked to know the stats.

Bill loned me some Accelerade since in my rush to get to the ride, I'd left behind all of my water. I guzzled some of that pretty fast. Riding up the hill back to Courthouse wasn't as bad as I've always imagined it would be. I guess that's the benefit of a nice bike.

It was just past noon when we finished and we sat around chatting at the Java Shack. I had some hot chocolate and was happy to be resting my legs some. I jogged home and cooked some pasta to refuel.

Today was a great learning experience. I got the feel of what it's like to ride in the drops, in a paceline, and what this road thing is like. It was a blast. I suck at cornering and I've got a long way to go before I'm comfortable in the drops, but I'm well on my way. It's nice to have the focus more on fitness, but boy is this going to hurt when things get really cranked up. All told, the ride was supposed to be about 50 miles. That doubles my ride to work and nearly doubles my longest ride. Pretty cool. Let the miles roll.

Everytime I try something new, my thoughts about what bike I need change. I'm starting entertain the idea of a pure road bike. The Javelin frames look sweet. Components will be expensive.

I'm hoping to get pictures and audio from Nationals up tonight. It's been a long time coming.

I drove Jess to her piano lesson again, so I parked at the library and ran the same loop that I kicked off the track season with last Tuesday. It's amazing how much less timid I was about what I could handle. I pushed all the hills on the trails and ran up Wilson Blvd. rather than continuing further on the W&OD. That shortened the run about a mile, so I only got five, but it was a quick five. My legs feel terrific. I ran a good set of strides on the baseball fields next to the parking lot. I've got a long way to go on speed, but it felt good to get the legs rolling like that. I'm not really looking forward to trying a workout, but at some point I'll have to throw something in the mix.

On another note, I'm really looking forward to getting back on the bike. The shipping of my bottom bracket and brake pads is taking forever, so my bike is still disassembled in the repair stand. I'm hoping to jump in a Sunday ride with Coppi on a prospective new bike, but we'll see.

I made it out to the Squadra Coppi meeting/supper tonight at Listrani's. They seemed to have a good turnout and I met a lot of the guys. I'm looking forward to donning the powder blue kit. Not sure how long it'll be before I race in it. I've got to get my bike situation sorted out and I seem to have a few leads from guys on the team. I think I may go for a road bike and worry about a 'cross bike when the time comes next season. I had planned on running late tonight but I'm exhausted and elected to work on getting my photos from Nationals in order. I can afford a day off as I was on pace for a fifty mile rolling week. Fifty miles isn't much for a base period, but it's a lot more than I expected to hit in this short four week season aimed at one race.

My flight was out of Providence, which meant I didn't have access to a car today, so I opted to enjoy my time rather than try to get out to the racecourse with my luggage and then to the airport. Instead, I hung around Boston until noon and went for a run with Schmeck.

It still feels great to be running again. I wanted to head West some, since I hadn't yet crossed Mass. Ave., so we decided to run over Summit Ave. and return. That made the usual Reservoir loop short enough to fit my regimen.

I could feel a bit more aches and pains than I have in the last few days. Nothing really critical, just mainly some spots around my kneecaps from all the pounding running brings. I think my shoulders are gradually getting used to doing work again after not moving during all the riding I've done.

I ran the hill well enough and with Schmeck's encouragement kept it going till the top. I jogged in place a bit to catch my breath and then we made our way slowly down the long side. I really want to bring my bike out here and try that hill.

I picked it up for a little less than a quarter mile as we finished along Mass Ave. It was really the first time I've pushed the pace any since I started back running. It didn't feel too rough. I was smooth enough and my legs are still feeling strong. Let the miles roll.

I arrived at Back Bay Station in Boston around 8a this morning and walked over to the Copley T-stop to ride one stop to Hynes where I walked to Schmeck's place right next to the Christian Science Church. After I got my bearings, we hit the streets amidst a steady snowfall. And because it was snowing, there was only one place to go! Bunker Hill. We ran a mix of the usual Bunker Hill loops and the Orange Line run.

It worked out to be eight miles and I felt awesome the whole way. Mainly we just chatted it up and the miles rolled on by. It's great to be back running in Boston. I miss it so much.

After a quick shower and shave, I headed South to Providence to catch the collegiate Men's races and whatever races that were going on when I got there. Unfortunately, the conditions continued to worsen the further South I went on I-95 and by the time I made it to Providence, it was a full on blizzard. Cars were backed up all over Providence and I couldn't go anywhere. I never made it to the racecourse. Instead, I called my Dad on the cell and had him Google Map me to Downtown and the Providence Place mall where I sought shelter in the parking deck. I had some lunch before making my way over to the Biltmore Hotel to see if I could get some information about what was going on.

I picked up my credentials and then walked around P-town a bit until the media event started at 7:30p. It's was a pretty cool event upstairs at 3 Steeple Street, a restaurant and bar not too far from Kennedy Plaza. It was co-sponsored by Harpoon, so there was free beer to go with the eats. It was great to see that most all of the top contenders had turned out on both the women's and men's sides. In attendance were: Ann Knapp, Barbara Howe, Georgia Gould, Tim Johnson, Barry Wicks, Ryan Trebon, Todd Wells, and Chris Horner.

I was able to catch most all of the interviews with my iPod. Should make for some interesting listening as they all try to handicap the coming days races. After the event was finished, I had the great pleasure of driving back to Boston and shoveling out a space to park before finally hitting the sack around 1a. Not too bad for a long day. Tomorrow should be exciting. Seeing all the "stars" out brought back some of the enthusiasm that the snow had muffled.

Man I'm beat. There's lots to report though, I'm just too tired to do it right now. Tomorrow is the big day. Hopefully we won't see any more snow on the ground.

I couldn't let it go two days without some mileage or else my start wouldn't really have been all that serious. After work, Jess rode alongside me as we braved the cold to get in a nice seven miles. We ran across Memorial Bridge and down the North side of the Mall to the White House Ellipse. There we checked out the display of trees decorated from all of the fifty states and other territories. I got the staple comment, "He's crazier'n hell." From some guy staring at me running by. Really people, the winters down here are a joke as far as training is concerned. They could plow and salt a bit better, but the cold's really not an issue this early in the game. I felt fairly strong. I'm not having any cardio troubles on these runs, which has been a plesant surprise. My quads remain sore from starting back. Now it's off to Union Station and the ride North.

Well the toying with the idea became a reality . . . I'm headed to the Liberty Mutual U.S. National Cyclo-cross Championships at Roger Williams Park in Providence, RI.

I'll be leaving tomorrow at 10p out of Washington's Union Station. The train will go through Providence, but I'll stay on until we reach Boston's South Station so that I can borrow a car from a friend and have a place to stay. I expect to arrive at 7:50a, bright and early.

USAir didn't have any spots for me to use my voucher, and the train is the easiest way to get there. I'll be flying back Sunday on Southwest out of Providence. I'd fly in with Southwest, but I'd arrive too late to catch a bus to Beantown. All in all, it should be a good trip. I've never taken Amtrak other than from Boston to Providence a few years back, so I'm excited to be riding the rails. I decided it was too risky to try the Chinatown-to-Chinatown-to-Chinatown bus route from DC to NY to Boston. That's by far the most cost effective solution, but also the most sketchy and least predictable.

I was able to get the lens from Penn Camera for tomorrow through the weekend, so I'm all set there. Pat's letting me borrow a laptop so I'll have somewhere to dump the pictures. I've got 3GB worth of flash and a card reader so that I don't kill my camera battery. I also picked up and voice recorder for the iPod so that I can possibly get some interviews or sounds of the racing and record anything good I come across.

It's going to be great to be back in Boston, but the weather looks rough. They're calling for snow up and down the East coast and I think Providence may get hit pretty hard. Fortunately, they know what they're doing up North, so hopefully everything will run smoothly. Right now the plan is to be there for all of the races except maybe the AM races on Friday. I'll probably use that time to get a run in and get my bearings set before driving down to P-town.

With all the planning and packing and violin lessons tonight, I wasn't able to get a run in. So my streak lasts only a day. I'm going to have to be very hard core to get runs in everyday on this trip, but I think I can manage. I should have Schmeck to get me crackin' and for some good motivation. Boston, here I come.

Jess had a piano lesson, so I dropped her off there and parked the car behind the library. I ran to the Custis trail and took it all the way to the intersection with the W&OD where I took my old route home to where it intersects with Wilson. From there I ran back to the library for a total of five solid miles.

I had originally planned to only run three, but I felt so good doing it, I figured I'd just fill all the time until Jess' lesson was over. My legs were sharp and I had plenty of pop in my stride. Man did it feel good to be "Back Out of the Saddle Again." I'm sure I'll have some soreness tomorrow from using muscles that have been taking a break for a while, but it felt like I picked up right where I left off.

I'm starting to believe that running good mileage everyday and dropping in a few workouts, I can actually make some noise in four weeks when I head back to MIT for the Alumni Meet. I'm not sure what I can do, but it will be fun finding out.

On another note, I'm toying with the idea of going to Cyclocross Nationals to take pictures and report on what I see.

I had planned on starting up the running today, but my right knee is really killing me. It's still swollen and any pounding on the ground really throbs. I'm fairly certain that it's just a bad bruise, so I think a few more days will get things straightened out. Four weeks will go quick, so I'd better get started and see what I've got. It was nice to be back in church today after what seems like a long time. Too many Sunday races and trips out of town!

Raceday! Today was the final race in the MABRA series and I was hoping to finish off my rookie campaign with a solid performance. Jess and one of my fraternity brothers, David Hilde, made the ride up to Fair Hill to cheer me on. As soon as we got out of the car, it was clear this one was going to be frigid. The temps were in the thirties for the first time all season and the wind was howling. I was thanking myself for having the urge to buy a base layer last night to race in.

I rode around the course a few times and was a bit disappointed. The course really wasn't all that interesting. It was all grass/gravel/ashpalt and with the exception of one nasty up and down dip was just switchback after switchback. This wasn't a course suited to my skill set. The ground was dry during my recon rides, so I figured the course would be super fast. I decided to pump up my tires a bit--this turned out to be the biggest mistake of my season.

I was thrilled to roll my front tire up to the actual start line for the first time ever! Due to my 7th place in the series, I finally got a call up and started next to Lobito and Hostetter III for the start. Unfortunately, that would be the last positive occurrence for the duration of the race. For once I had nothing to blame but myself for my lousy start, and lousy it was.

I got off the line slow and didn't get fully clipped in until after several turns of the crank. My lack of focus on the race at hand and my nervousness with the pedals put me out of the top ten before the first turn. Chris Mayhew, who had started on the second row sprinted around us all to get the holeshot. I was pissed and embarassed that I'd given away my only shot at a good start. To start on the first row and finish out of the top ten when I claim that my fitness is my strength is flat out horrible.

I rode that first lap mad as hell and that allowed me to keep in touch with the front of the race. All the switchbacks kept everything nice and compact. I ended up riding right behind Georgia Gould, who was again racing a Men's B race for training. I figured she'd be heading to the front soon enough and that if I tagged along, I'd get there too. Well, I think Georgia was chilling out in this race and after about half of the first lap I went ahead and passed her and several others, working my way up to as high as 9th.

But the second lap wasn't as kind, and my race started to unravel almost before it'd began. I started to struggle more and more with the switchbacks. But the real problem came with the quick dip section behind the barns. I slipped going up that and fell down, crashing Hostetter along with me. We were both back up quickly and on our way, but my confidence in my handling must have fallen out in the crash. It seemed like every turn for the rest of the course was on ice. The turns had become much more muddy than I'd seen before the race and my hard tires were absolutely killing me.

In one of the gravel turns--admittedly one of the easiest on the whole course, I was braking because I was so timid and one spectator pointed out that I didn't need to brake. I told him passing by that my tires had too much air. I was so frustrated at that point and I'd started to lose a lot of places. The crash had put me out of where I wanted to be and the frustration just continued to mount. I let it get the best of me. Jess and David were cheering me on, but I was mad and continued to ride horribly.

A few laps from the finish, I found myself chasing Steve Fife and Georgia Gould. It was amazing to me that as poor as I'd been riding, they were still within reach. I busted my butt racing up the asphalt hill through the start/finish are to try and catch their wheels. I got close enough that I could hear Steve encouraging me to get up with them, but that was all I could manage. Going through the first set of switchbacks behind the bleachers, I shouted at myself for struggling so much with such an easy passage. All my frustration was mounting and I had nowhere on the course to let it out with my legs. I was stuck.

On the final lap, I glanced back to see where I stood after realizing I wasn't going to catch Steve. I think I was in about 14th place at that point. I saw behind me that two guys were chasing, but that even as slowly as I was riding that I could probably fend them off if I stayed up. Well, I was right, but mainly about the staying up part. I made it through the dip section just fine, but somewhere in the ruts that followed I hit something wrong. I'm not sure why or how, but my face hit the ground hard and my right knee slammed into the bike frame. It hurt like hell and for the second week in a row, I had to think about abandoning the race.

I got up slowly and was able to get back on. My left side was caked in dirt from my toes to my face. My knee hurt everytime I turned the crank and especially if I tried to ride out of the saddle. One of the two guys passed by me easily as I was continuing on slowly. The other was coming up on me and I had to ride without any more crashes to hold him off. Coming into the barriers, I nearly crashed because my left foot wouldn't unclip from the pedals. I stumbled to a stop and regained my balance before slowly crossing the barriers and remounting. By that time the second guy was right behind me. I easily held him off because the switchbacks made passing impossible. I finished a pitiful and very disappointing 16th??

Today I rode like the rookie I am. I let the course manhandle me like I haven't done since Lilypons and Charm City. I rode timid and without skill and didn't have my equipment properly set up. I let crashes ruin my race and failed to ride with determination. Frustration ruled the day rather than my fight to race hard and win places. Today I sucked. This was without a doubt my worst race and made last week feel like a success.

I really appreciate all the time and effort put in by the race organizers. They ran a great event. But I hate that course. It lacked any imagination and required only one dismount for the standard barriers. There was nothing memorable about the layout except for the fact that we were racing around a horse track/stables area. I guess the placing of the barriers just before the finish line is unique, but not very. The course took away any advantage I might otherwise have and instead favored mountain bikes as was seen in the second place finisher's choice steed. Fair Hill is my least favorite venue, but it will be my future test of how much my handling improves. If I can race well there next year, I'll know I've learned something.

I made the connection today between pain and over inflated tires. I'm sore and beat up in a way that rivals only my first 'cross experience at Charm City. The hard tires lead to a jarring and uncontrollable ride. My shoulders, my back, and my knees are hurting. My knee has swollen up quite a bit from smacking the frame in the crash. I am amazed at how much pain I'm in from that quick little spill.

In reading a few of the other bloggers posts, at least I can find some solace in that I was far from the only person to experience a crash on the course. And not the only one who had trouble with all the switchbacks.

Cross courses need run-ups!

I rolled out of bed real slowly this morning, but did manage to make it down to Bluemont Park for 'cross practice. Brad and Ryan showed up and we rode a few laps together. Mainly I tried to get rid of the stutter step that has been plaguing my getting back on the bike. Well, after about five minutes of work, it was gone! I can't say that I've mastered all the skills in the DVD, but I've improved quite a bit on the remount. The simple idea of trying to get back to pedaling ASAP and to bring your leg through with the intention of hitting the pedals got the point across to me. I did the drill AHM describes in the DVD and it did wonders.

Last night I hit the jackpot on the bikes section of Craig's List! I was able to get a workshop quality repair stand and truing stand along with an array of cone wrenches, spoke keys, and a set of cable cutters. Normally I'd never be able to or even try to buy such nice equipment, but I picked them up from a guy in Glen Echo Park for a great price. He was an older dude with a lot of experience building wheels and maintaining bikes. I found him just as he was cleaning out his workshop. Really, just a terrific deal. I got lucky on this one.


The Park Tool PRS-6. It's a discontinued version and the only real stike against this one is the shortness of the stand. This is easily rememdied once I get a garage to work in.




The Park Tool TS-2. It's a professional quality truing stand second only to the TS-3. It will get the job done for years to come. Hopefully I can learn to build wheels.

It was raining today so I'm glad I opted not to ride in to work. I also wanted to give my calf a little more time to rest. Instead, I spent an hour on the trainer tonight after work. I set it up right in front of the TV and watched an episode of Law and Order and part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. I don't have anything set up to know speed or cadence, so I mainly just kept my legs moving fast and steady. I had the flywheel humming and worked up a good sweat.


Just in time for the end of the season, I took advantage of Performance's sale and my Team points and ordered my new pedals! I opted for the Time ATAC XS on advice from several people. In the end, the large area to hit when clipping in won me over from the Candy's. In any case, they should clear mud far better than my current pedals.

The calf feels a lot better and I think I'll be fine to race Sunday. Just not sure yet whether it'll be 100%.

I should have spent some easy time on the trainer tonight, but I'm lazy and worked on the audio post instead. I also watched the CycleSmart Cyclocross DVD, which was really great. I have many new ideas for how to improve my work on the barriers now. I think I'll get some work Wednesday morning at Bluemont. Goodbye stutter step!

Here's my second attempt at an audio race summary. At least I got a summary in this time. It's been a while! And just for clarification, it's the "dam" section. Enjoy.

Here's the only shot that there is of me in the race. At that point, I'm still trying to hang on to George. That's exactly the spot where I cramped up, but I don't think that's happening here--although I have no idea why my hand is on the seat of the bike. Here's a picture of the A racers on the fun downhill section of the course.

This was my first really awful race. It doesn't help when your body lets you down.

After not touching my bike all week, I finally spent some time on my Dad's old Nishiki ten-speed. I had to pump up the tires and fix the rear derailleur before it was rideable, but once I did it wasn't so bad. I must say that riding up hills without clips of any kind is more difficult than I remember. It's back to Arlington tonight.

I got up early this Sunday so I could ride in to support the Earth update. After Friday's feezing ride, I was cautious and wore my ski gloves along with a long sleeve shirt, earband, and booties with thick socks. No deer and plenty of sunlight make for a much more enjoyable ride. My hands were warm and toasty throughout.

After work, I realized exactly what the noise from my rear wheel was. I had a spoke with hardly any tension. It was rattling around. I took the wheel over to my office and put it in the truing stand and tightened it up. Before I tightened it, it was registering a zero on the tension meter.

After Jess picked me up, I went to Performance in search of winter clothing. I picked up a Louis Garneau windbreaker along with a cheap pair of winter gloves. Only time will tell how well they block the wind.

No true riding today. I spent about twenty minutes on the trainer watching football scores on ESPN before bed. Tomorrow I'm planning on braving the weather and hopefully getting some nice mileage before supporting another Earth update.

Tonight I blurred the line between hardcore and stupidity more than ever before. I had to go in to work to support an Earth update maneuver and I didn't leave till 10:18p. By that time the temperature had dropped dramatically. I was as well prepared as I could be with what I have, but I quickly found out that wasn't enough.

I have my road tires back on the Sirrus for the first time since taking up cyclocross and it was amazing to remember the acceleration they bring. I was motoring along at a great clip with the iPod blaring. At first, only my knees were cold. I didn't have anything covering them and the constant wind was pretty chilly. But really, knees weren't that big a concern.

The problems started about eight miles in when the tips of my fingers started to feel the wind through the gloves. My yellow gardening gloves are thicker than most, but I realized soon enough that they weren't cutting it. They've performed adequately in the mornings to work, but this was a different level of cold.

As I was coming down the short hill just before the Powerhouse section, I had to stop quickly to avoid two deer standing on the trail. I had to yell at them to get them to run away and after that I decided to keep the iPod off so I could hear any other deer that might get in my way.

My hands got colder and colder and I had stop three times to ball my fists up under my armpits to get them warm. That would work for a few miles each time, but after those stops I really couldn't keep very warm. My knees were still very cold and surprisingly my feet were starting to get cold despite my wearing the neoprene booties for the first time.

I stopped just before Falls Church and gave Jess a call to meet me at Bluemont Park. That's only ten minutes more to the house, but as cold as I was, I needed the ride to get shorter. I was able to make it there and she picked me up to drive me home. I turned on the heat for the first time and got warm as quick as I could.

Things I learned from tonight: It's freakin' cold without the sun! I need to cover my knees and arms with some kind of warmer. And I also need gloves that are wind proof. I think the booties work wonderfully and with thicker socks I won't have any problem there. It's a shame tonight was so bad because I actaully felt great otherwise and I was flying on the road tires.

I was able to make it to the park this morning for some 'cross practice. This was a pretty easy going ride. We only rode three or four loops and we didn't have barriers. I'll have to bring out mine next week. It was the usual crew of Peter, Ryan, and Scott, with Brad pulling up late just before I had to leave.

I feel pretty strong right now. I'm recovered nicely from the weekend and I'm chomping at the bit to race again. Unfortunately, I've got to wait two weeks. I'll be putting the road tires back on for a bit just to keep things nice and easy until then. Maybe I'll go for a run just to shake things up some.

I've got a few easy technical things I'll need to iron out over the next few weeks. My new shoes are awesome for just about everything except getting clipped in fast. Their hard plastic bottoms make it easy to slip off my pedals. The protrusions for clearing mud also make it harder to find the cleat. I think practicing starts will help iron that out. I can't allow another poor start to set a limit on my final place. Another thing I need to do is eliminate the stutter step from my remount--it kills momentum.

Riding in this morning was pretty typical. I left on time at 6:30a and rode a nice and steady pace all the way out to Dulles. The only thing of note was passing a deer which didn't want to move. It just stood there right on the side of the road and didn't care how close I got. It was really odd. Having something like that happen at night would be much more worrisome.

Tonight was just a frustrating ride. I left work late, which didn't put me in a great mood to begin with. Then I started noticing a small noise that sounded like something just barely tapping one of my spokes. I stopped probably four times, including once under the lighted bridge in Reston, trying to figure out what the problem was. I can't reproduce the noise unless I'm seated on the bike riding, which is odd. My cassette already has an annoying tick to it and I'm not sure if this is connected with that. But I couldn't for the life of me figure out what was going on. Mostly it was frustrating and it doesn't affect the ride.

But I was also starving after five miles or so. That made me get sick of being out on the trail real quick. My lunch hadn't been very big and was famished. This made me keep the pace fairly slow. I need time to recover, so it's a good thing I wasn't hammering, but at the same time, I wanted to be home and off the bike, so it was frustrating. No one was riding in my direction today.

The good news is that the weather has been great. I was able to ride in short sleeves both to and from work today without even a chill. My Sidi's continue to please as well. They're so much stiffer and my feet feel far better connected with the pedals.

I finally got my USA Cycling license in the mail. That means no more carrying around the stupid yellow receipt to races. It was beginning to fall apart, so this came just in time.

No riding today. Instead I was able to pick up a few random components from an Evolution rider who was selling stuff on Craig's List. I picked up a couple 8 speed cassettes that I can use on a spare wheelset for the Sirrus along with a 105 front and rear derailleur. All the components were used but are in great condition. I'm not sure if I really have a use for the derailleurs right now, but I know I will find a use in the near future and the price was right. I also picked up a new Selle Italia Gel saddle and put it on Jess' bike. I'm not sure it'll work much better for her, but it can't be worse than the old thing she's been riding on.

Eventually I'll have time to get some race summaries written. But until then enjoy the fruits of my photographic work. I'm getting a lot better using the camera and as a result I have more quality photos from this race than from any other so far. Enjoy!

I finally had the kind of breakout day I was hoping to have last weekend in NC. I raced well on a hilly but dry course suited to my strengths and placed a surprising 5th.

I was finally able to get some good sleep last night and I felt much better when I got up. I drove down to Bluemont Park to meet the boys of Squadra Coppi for cyclocross practice. I was the first one there and I rode around a bit on my own before Peter Nicoll showed up. I had just about finished riding a warm-up lap with him when I realized after a quick downhill that the key I was storing inside my glove was no longer there! Craaaap. I had put the car key only in my glove and left the rest of the keys in the car. I had no cell phone and no way to get back into my apartment to get another car key. So I started retracing the loop hoping I'd find the key.

It was a bit ridiculous to look for the key because the loop we ride is large and varied enough that it was like finding a needle in a haystack. Ryan Newill and Brad Evans showed up by that time and I kept looking while they started riding laps. I borrowed Ryan's phone and left a message on Jess' voicemail. Then I went back to looking for just a little while longer before I'd have to ride home and spend the rest of the morning sorting everything out.

But no! I found the key! I was extremely lucky that it'd fallen out in the grass and there it was. Whew. Disaster avoided. I left the key in a backpack and got back to doing what it was I'd come for: riding. Basically we just rode loops together. I knew the course a lot better than I have the other two times I've ridden it, so it was more natural. I felt pretty good.

After decent number of laps, we decided to work on starts a bit. We lined up along one of the lines for the soccer fields and raced out to a baseball field, around the backstop and back in. I was able to "win" two of them and was right on the leader's heels on the third. I did have the inside track, but I think my starts are good enough. For me it's the rest of the first lap and the next few where I think I have the most trouble. I have a tendancy to want to settle in too quickly. To be good at cross I don't think I can really do much settling ever.

I'm planning on taking the rest of the week of from any lengthy or fast paced riding. I ate well (pasta) both last night and tonight and I'm determined to keep getting good sleep. Hopefully that'll help me start feeling better and I'll race better than I did last Sunday. I already felt a lot better today but my legs are still feeling a bit tired. I'm racing Saturday and Sunday for the first time and I want to do well in both. Top tens will be my goal.

I woke up dead tired and feeling like dirt. But I was able to get out of the house not longer after six and head over to Key Elementary School to vote. It was a lot of fun to cast a real ballot (as opposed to the absentee kind) for the first time. You feel more like you're doing something worthwhile. It was especially nice to ride to vote and a lady outside was nice enough to watch my bike while I voted. There was no line at all at 6:15 and I was out of there in less than five minutes.

It hit the road towards work and immediately I knew my legs weren't thrilled with the prospect of twenty four miles on the trail. I stayed away from pushing it in an attempt to recover. When I left the house, I hadn't expected it to be very cold, so I was riding with my Mechanix gloves and without my newly purchased booties. But unfortunately, the miles took a toll on my hands and feet and by the time I was in Vienna, I was cold. It wasn't much fun the rest of the way until I was able to hop in the shower before starting work.

Instead of dreading the ride home on my tired legs, I was excited to be riding in the dark with my new light. And riding in the dark I was since I left around 6p. I fired up the bulb and headed out. I rode a few of the offroad sections in the first five miles on the trail just to see how well the light really worked. The light allows me to see at least ten feet in front of me, which is plenty for riding on the trail and on the smooth off road sections beside the trail. But I can definitely understand now why it's necessary to have also a helmet mounted light for night mountain biking. It's hard to see where you're going when you have to turn.

As I always seem to, I was feeling strong in the dark and the crank was turning over much easier than it had in the AM. I didn't pick up any riders headed my way until just before the hill at Highway 66. He was on a road bike and scooted through the light ahead of me. I was happy to have a little bait, and going up the hill at 66, I blew past. It was fun throwing in surges as he chased after me. Everytime he got close, his light would blend into mine, so I new when he was near. I'm not sure when he turned off, but it got me moving all the way to Wilson where I hammered up the hill.

I think it'd probabaly be wise if I started switching to my road tires for riding to work. It'd save time riding and probably keep my legs fresher. I can handle most of the off road stuff easily now, so I should spend more time at the park to practice cross.

I finished an average and slightly disappointing 12th place in the Men's B race. It was the third race of the NC Cyclocross Series, held in Burlington, NC. More to come on this one . . .

Pictures from the Men's A Race are now online.

After chilling out most of the day today, we drove over to Lake Crabtree Park. I got out my mountain bike and was really excited to try out some new trails when I realized I'd left my helmet back at the house! So disappointing. I was going to be stupid and ride some of the trail without a helmet but I decided not to disobey the posted signs. Instead I rode around a bit in the field trying to pop wheelies. I also tried riding through some of the beach voleyball courts and practiced turns. At least I spent some time on the bike. Raceday tomorrow.

It appears that the cop was wrong.  I sent this email to the Arlington Police Department:

Two nights ago I was stopped going into my apartment at 1410 N. Scott St. by an officer who said that I had violated the law on my bike.  He claimed that by my passing his car on the right, I had committed an infraction worthy of a ticket.  I told him I didn't believe that was true, but he said we could settle it in front of a judge.  Obviously I did not want that.  However, after checking the Virginia DOT website, it appears your officer was mistaken about the law.  The Virginia DOT page says,

Bicyclists may overtake and pass another vehicle only when safe to do so. Bicyclists may pass another vehicle on the right or left, and they may stay in the same lane, change lanes, or ride off the road if necessary for safe passing. Please note that passing motor vehicles on the right side may be extremely dangerous if the motorist does not see the bicyclist and attempts a right turn.

  Seeing as we were both moving forward on a straight section on 15th St. just before Jerry's Subs and Pizza, there was no danger and I had plenty of room to pass on the right.  I don't appreciate being harassed by an officer who doesn't know the law.  The law to reference is Code of Virginia 46.2-907.

It's possible I'm misreading something, but it looks like I did nothing wrong.  Either way, I think the cop should have more important things to do than harass cyclists that aren't running lights or cutting people off.  I only started reading the actual law because of a discussion going around on the D20 list about a guy who was ticketed after crossing through a red light when no traffic was present.  His case is a bit more complicated.

I didn't feel like putting 50 miles on my legs today, but I needed to spend some time on the bike after taking yesterday off.  I can always use work on my technical skills.  I drove down to Bluemont Park where I was hoping to meet up for cyclocross practice yesterday (I enjoyed my extra hour of sleep instead).  I rode around the makeshift course a bit and practiced turns.  I rode figure eights around two trashcans about 50 meters apart and practiced the run up and remount a bit.  I should have brought out my barriers and given them a try.

Riding a bit on the baseball field was a mistake.  It added sand to the already nasty mix of wet grass in my drivetrain.  I'll have to clean everything up tonight  for the race this weekend.  I'm racing in Burlington, NC in the third race of the North Carolina Cyclocross Series, and I'm interested to see what another series is like.  Racing MABRA and MAC series races gives me high expectations.  It should be nice racing in front of family.

I've been trying to learn to pop a wheelie a bit lately and I did a fine job this morning.  I'm getting more and more comfortable on the bike in general.  The key to wheelies is obvious I guess.  You have to keep your weight as far back as possible.  I was determined to keep trying wheelies until I found my limit and this morning on the wet grass, I found it.  My back tire slipped and I flipped the bike backwards landing hard on my butt.  I was lucky no one saw it, but it should leave a nice bruise.  Once I get wheelies under control, I guess the next logical step is hopping things like . . . cyclocross planks?  I think it's safe to say, however, that I'm a long way from pulling off that feat.

The ride in this morning was long and cold. I had to make it in time for the launch rehersal for Telkom-2, so I left the house at 5:50a. Even with the time change, it was dark at that hour and I was barely awake.

I was using my old Mechanix gloves for the first time, and they didn't work out so well. The cold cut right through them, which I guess is no surprise since they're made to breathe. My legs felt ok early, but I spent the energy quick and the ride started to get longer than I wanted it to be. By the time I got to work, I was cold and tired and happy to be done.

The rehersal ran all day and into the night. It was 8:30p by the time I was ready to head home. Instead of interrupting Gilmore Girls, I opted to ride in the dark. My only real concern with riding in the dark are the deer on the trail. Since I see some every morning (a buck this morning) getting hit would not be cool. But I set my iPod playing and whistled most of the way home. I used my light intermittedly since it's nearly out of batteries and doesn't help much anyways. I was surprised to pass five cyclists and a few walkers. All in all, it's not too dangerous.

The strange thing was that, to my knowledge, it's against the law to be on the W&OD after dark. But just past Vienna, I passed a cop car ON the trail! He didn't say anything and we both just kept on our ways.

But I'm now officially an outlaw in another way. As I was coming down Wilson and nearly home, I was absolutely hauling. I was giving everything I had for a finishing sprint and I flew past a cop car. Haha. Well, as I was going into the front of the apartment, the cop yelled to me:

"Hey, don't you know you have to follow the same rules as cars?"
I said, "I didn't break any laws."
"Yes you did. Passing on the right? Ever hear of that?"
"You were going slower, I'm on a bike."
"I can give you a ticket and we'll settle this in front of a judge."
"No, thanks for letting me know."

His threatening a ticket took the sass out of me, but I almost wish I'd gotten the ticket. That would have been a badge of pride--something to frame on my wall. I say if I can pass your sorry butt in a car, that's allowed. And any righteous punks out there waiting to add to the cops reprimand, just shut up. That was a rush and I made it home safe and sound.

Now for a chicken pot pie and some sleep! Maybe cyclocross practice in the morning??

I got out the door right on time this morning, the first day of commuting since the time change. My pack was loaded down again to restock my clothing supply at work. My legs were feeling normal and the ride was easy. I still say that 1.5 hours alone on a bike does strange things to the brain. I did manage not to bonk though.

I tried something new for the ride home. I headed out along the W&OD in the opposite direction as I normally do. I rode towards Leesburg and saw ten miles of the trail I hadn't seen before. It's a great section of trail. It's mostly rural areas with very few road crossings--perfect for holding tempo. It was very dark not long after I left work and my crappy light doesn't help. I had to slow the pace a bit to be safe. Jess picked me up in Leesburg and we checked out Mars with her 'scope.

No real training today. Jess and I rode around downtown DC for a while though, so I spent some time on the bike. We rode out to Hains Point and I messed around on the grass trying to pop wheelies. Hains Point seems like a great spot for training rides and it was no surprise that we saw a lot of bikers coming by.


In the spirit of Halloween, I carved a pumpkin tonight. My choice of subject should be no surprise. 

The ride in this morning was fairly uneventful. The weather wasn't quite as bad as yesterday and I used some thicker hiking socks to keep my feet warm. They did an adequate job just leaving the very tips of my toes a bit cold. The ride home was far more noteworthy.

For the first time since I started riding my bike to work, I bonked. I figured it'd happen during the summer months when the heat and humidity were brutal, but instead, it happened as the fall weather is slowly creeping in. I left work not feeling too bad, but I knew my legs were a bit tired. I was happy to know I wasn't racing this weekend and that I could push through the tired legs and have a good ride.

As I was coming through the Powerhouse section to Vienna, I was rolling along at a slow pace and whistling. Then two guys went by me on road bikes and the chase was on. The frontrunner noticed me on his wheel and we started to go pretty fast. Since I was carrying a full load of clothes plus shoes and a towel, my pack was as heavy as it ever gets. But I was determined to hang. We actually traded off the lead a couple times and he got out of the saddle to pull away just as we were coming in to Vienna. I rolled up next to him as we stopped at a crossing and not surprisingly he was done. I told him thanks for the fun.

It's always nice to pick up a rider anywhere on the trail that will challenge me. I think most guys aren't out there looking to race, but when someone can push the pace, it makes it a whole lot more fun. Being out on the trail for an hour and a half can be monotonous when you do it several days in a row.

After I was alone again, the sun started to go down and with it went my energy. I threw in a few off-road sections to liven things up a bit, but I couldn't help but feel as though my legs were being drained of strength. I also noticed I was getting really hungry. And of course, I started thinking about the McDonald's just off the trail in Arlington. By the time I made it there, I was absolutely dead and more than happy to get out of the saddle and walk. I had a quarter pounder with cheese, six pack of nuggets, fries and a drink eaten in record time. Jess met me for supper and by the time she arrived I was ready for more food. Of course I was also freezing from the cold weather and the sweat that was sitting on my back.

I fell asleep after my alarm went off and it took me a while to gather my things. I had to carry a full set of clothes, towel, and shoes along with my usual stuff. That's what happens when I don't ride to work for a while. I was finally rolling at 7a--about thirty minutes later than I should have been.

I had thrown in an old pair of yellow gardening gloves in case my hands got cold and that turned out to be a good call. I put those on before I left Arlington. It was downright cold this morning. I saw only a handful of riders out this morning and even fewer were headed in my direction. It seems the weather is slowly but surely thinning everyone out.

At about the halfway mark, I was pretty uncomfortable. My cotton long sleeve shirt wasn't doing an adequate job of keeping me warm and neither were my shoes. My toes were freezing and I lost feeling in them after a few more miles. The last two miles weren't all that fun and when I did get to work, it was really odd to walk without being able to move my toes. But boy did the shower feel good. I stayed in there a bit too long enjoying the hot water on my frozen toes.

The solution, according to Pat, is to get some booties. I had thought those were for time trialers obsessed with aero, but upon further review it seems they have a higher function: warmth! I can add a pair of those to my list of needed equipment.

The ride home wasn't too bad. I was able to leave early enough that I wasn't in total darkness until I was near Arlington and even then the street lights helped out a lot. My light really doesn't do much. It's old and even with new batteries it doesn't shine enough except to alert people that you're coming. I think a new and more powerful light is another addition to my shopping list.

I rode most all of the off road gravel sections and felt pretty solid. My chain needs some lube so it was annoying listening to the derailleur squeak all the way home. I was meeting up for Bible Study, so I rode the Custis Trail to Military Rd. and tackled a massive hill. It's good to be back on the bike.

No riding today. I spent the last few hours before bed watching the wrong colored Sox win the World Series and getting my bike back in tip-top shape. I was able to fix the problem with my front hub just by loosening the cones a bit. I'm still not sure how they got so tight, but at least the grinding is no more. I finished removing the rust from the cassette and chain and used WD-40 to wash out any excess moisture. They look good as new again.

I had to get my old bike light out of the bin and put new batteries in it. I'll likely be coming home in the dark after my class tomorrow and after the time falls back, I'll definitely be needing a light.

Today, I am 22 years of age. The "double-deuce" as I like to call it. A lot has changed since my last birthday: a new city, a new sport, no school, and a new job. Life is coming fast. The cake was delicious.


The weather from all the hurricanes continues to make things miserable. It rained most of today, so I stayed inside to enjoy my birthday. I started cleaning up my bike which is quite the mess after Granogue. I shouldn't have let the chain sit after coming home because a lot of rust developed and I'm having a tough time getting it all off. I'm letting the chain soak in Simple Green tonight and hopefully tomorrow I can scrub the last remanants off the chain and cassette.

On a more troubling note, my front hub may be lost. I was cleaning up the wheels when I felt the bearings in the hubs grinding. I don't have cone wrenches of the correct size to check it out just yet, but it doesn't sound good at all. I'm not sure if it's becuase of all the rain and mud or if the beating of cross courses has done it. But in any case I need to get things fixed as soon as possible. The wheelset was brand new a the start of the season. Fortunately, the rear wheel seems fine.

The MABRA standings were finally updated and my Iron Cross Lite points put me 18th with 14 points.

Raceday! All I can say is wow. That's how a cyclocross racing should be. With all the professionals and elite racers at Granogue, I was really impressed with what this sport can be at a high level. There is really a lot of excitement with announcers and terrific organization.

The course was definitely my favorite so far. It's located on the Granogue Estate of the Dupont family, and is located near Wilmington, DE. The land is spectacularly beautiful and even the rain and overcast skies couldn't hide that fact. The race starts on a 300m section of road before getting into the meat of the course. There's a quick descent to the lowest part of the course after running over some nasty roots. At low point there was plenty of mud just before a large run-up. It then winds around a bit before making its way to the highest point on the course where it circles around a water tower. From there, it descends with a huge off-camber hill with the standard planks waiting at the bottom. After a few more muddy turns, it's back to the road and the finish line.

I decided that today I would do my best to get in a real warm-up. The best thing I can think to do is to mimic my running warmup in terms of length and intensity. So I set up the trainer next to the car and started spinning. I'd originally planned on riding for 21 minutes to get the equivalent of a three mile run, but a call of nature cut that to 11. Luckily, I was able to make up for that by running to the bathroom. It felt great to run! I felt so natural and effortless and my legs felt terrific. I got back on the trainer after returning from the bathroom and did several "strides" by spinning as fast as I could. I should do more of those I think as the rush in my quads at the start of these races always seems to scare me away from fighting through the crowds.

I went to the start line early as I've come to expect in 'cross races, but I was thrown off by the lack of folks milling around preparing to scrum. I learned that we'd be lining up by our pre-reg numbers, which looking around, seemed like a great idea to me. I had a decent spot and after they lined us up, I was in the top third of the eighty or so riders. From the whistle, I did my best to be competitive and not to get intimidated by all the close riding. After knocking a guy down at Hagerstown and then the garbage over the internet after Charm City, I'm probably a bit too nice and tend to be timid in the early going. What usually happens is that guys force their way through the pack and I yield to them out of fear/stupidity/niceness (take your pick). Regardless of how competitive I was early on, the first lap had a lot of stopping and starting as well as a lot of riding with one foot unclipped.

After the first lap or so, things thinned out just enough to where I was more comfortable about racing. I still had to be agressive and forceful anytime I wanted to pass because of how small the lanes are. But I remember getting passed by a Wissahickon cyclist and I decided I'd suck his wheel and let him pull me through. That helped quite a bit as he seemed to create holes for us to ride through. With all the maneuvering that takes place on the off-road sections, it's no wonder that I took a liking to the 300m of asphalt. That tends to be my speciality at whatever course I'm at. I can usually fly on those sections and make up for my lack of technique everywhere else.

Speaking of technical sections . . . the off-camber hill that Granogue is apparently known for was really something. In all the races I've been in so far, I haven't had to ride with a foot unclipped. But this hill, as steep and as muddy as it was, made this the only option for me and, it seemed, for everyone else. My back tire was really sliding all over the place coming down that hill and I thought a few times that I would ride right off the course. I didn't, and I managed to ride the hill better each time we came around.

I'm not sure at what point I spotted Bernie McDonald, but when I did I felt like I had been drifting around aimlessly. Picking him up got me focused again and I set my sights on staying at least at his place. At some point, I realized that fellow-blogger Chris Nystrom had joined in the fun. The three of us were battling it out for what seemed like most of the race. Several times, I thought I had enough to break away from Bernie and I would really pour it on coming off the asphalt section. But everytime I tried, I would make a mistake in the first turn or on the roots or in the really muddy section before the run-up. And everytime I did, I rode there watching either Bernie or Chris or both take an amazingly sweet line right past me. It really sucked, but I couldn't do much about it and mostly tried to keep them close enough to where I could make up the lost ground on the road. That tactic became the theme for the duration of the race.

The most shocking moment of the race happened at what I think was near the midway point. I was taking my usually crappy line over the roots when Adrian Lobito went by. Seeing as he's leading the MABRA series and either wins or places second at every race, I was a bit suprised to see him passing me this far into the race. Most likely he had a lot of trouble getting through traffic at the start as I couldn't sniff his wheel the rest of the way.

As Chris Nystrom was making clear to me several times during the race, "No Brakes!" is the way to go. I'm definitely not the trusting kind just yet, but I can see how I will go a lot faster when I start taking more risks. I have a tendancy to grab a handful when the going gets rough or slick and it can get me into a lot of trouble. I almost crashed last weekend because of that and in this race it slowed me down a lot. Seeing the pros race really clued me in to how much you have to let go. Those guys would absolutely fly down muddy off-camber sections and you could see how difficult it was for them to keep the bike upright. But they let it roll and they didn't crash.

Bernie, Chris, and I mostly traded spots until the last lap when both of them were in front of me. I was able to keep them fairly close, but in the end I was only able to pass Chris on the road while the gap to Bernie was too much to overcome. It was nerve racking riding the final sections before we hit the road. I felt like a caged animal trying to get out. When my front wheel finally hit the asphalt, I stomped as hard as I could and got as low as I could all the way to the finish. I was trying so hard in that last lap to beat both of them but in the end my technical skills and maybe a bit of conditioning weren't enough.

For the race as a whole, all the laps blur together, I have no clue how many we raced or for how long we raced. That's one puzzling thing about cyclocross--I feel as if I could ride one less or one more lap and it wouldn't change my output. I just keep riding until they tell me to stop. I guess the exception to that is when I hear the bell. In that case I try to get more intense and deliberate about what I'm doing. I think with time I will grow more focused.

The section around the tower was very annoying. It was barely rideable before the race and after it became muddy it was neither rideable nor runable. I think those are sections where the course fails a little bit. If you're slipping too much to run then I don't feel like it's about speed--it becomes a battle of equipment or who can manage to muck through. I can't wait till I have enough cash to buy some new shoes with toe spikes! They should be mandatory on days like this one. I think they're good enough for a place or two for sure.

For the first time racing bikes, I had a brief cramp in my right calf. It was brief and not at all painful, but it scared me. I've never had problems with cramps, so hopefully I won't start.

After the race, I made my way over to get in line for the bike wash. It took a while, but once I got to the head of the line, I was able to give my bike and my legs a thorough washing. With the weather being so chilly lately, I was freezing after spraying all that water and so I went for a run around the estate to clean up. It was just a brief two miler--hardly worthy of a cool-down, but it did the trick and it felt good. Running it wet cycling shoes isn't the best of conditions, but it was good enough for today. I continue to be plesantly surprised by my running fitness.

All told, I finished 28th of 75 finishers--not too shabby for my first MAC appearance. I must say that even though the atmosphere is more exciting in the MAC, I prefer MABRA for racing. The smaller fields generally make for more fair competition. There's not the waiting for things to clear out the way there is in MAC. But it should also be said that I need to become more forceful about racing hard in the first few laps and finding a solid group to stick with the way I did today. Obviously to be good at this sport, my technical skills must improve dramatically. I think I've had success in the last couple races due to the long sections of pavement. Eventually I need to make even the muddiest of sections my playground.

 

Jess had the day off today, so I rode in to work so she could use her car. I did my best to ride 24 miles without straining myself, but that's neither easy said nor done. I felt mostly strong early on and I'm glad I took yesterday off. The cold weather and lack of light makes for lonely riding in the mornings. But today that was a blessing as I wasn't tempted to hammer anything.

With about six miles remaining to reach work, the skies opened up. I had to stop and put the iPod away and before long I was totally soaked. It was like many of the workouts we did on the track at MIT. All that was missing was Coach Taylor sitting on the side of the road in his Gore-Tex rain gear. Wet cleats made for an intersting scene walking across the marble floors in the lobby, but I was really happy to finally get to a hot shower.

All my clothes were still soaked through at 5p, so I opted to get a ride home from Eric. This was a wise decision not only because riding home in wet clothes would be awful but also because I can rest my legs that much more.

I don't have to make many adjustments to my bike tonight since I've rode to work three times this week. It's been shifting well and the rain today gave it a nice wash. I'll just pull the light off the back of the seatpost, lube the chain, and it'll be ready to ride.

I was thinking about buying some new pedals before tomorrow because I think I'm going to have lots of trouble with mud clogging my Nashbar ATB pedals the way they did in Hagerstown. I decided to save the cash and I'll probably wait till next season, but I'm also trying to decide between the Time ATAC's and Crank Brothers Egg Beaters or Candy. I'm told both of those styles will shed mud extremely well. If anyone knows better between the two, let me know.

Tomorrow is a huge race. It's the second race in the more prestigious MAC series. There are 61 pre-registered for my race and 42 for the elite race. The elite race has several professional riders and even a dude from Belgium. It should be amazing to watch. More importantly, it will be a severe test of my skill. The talent level at this race far exceeds any that I have rode in so far and I'm not sure what kind of goals to set. For a non measureable goal, I'll be happy if I feel as though I've competed. I don't want to come away feeling the way I did after Lilypons where I felt the course man-handled me. Rather I'd like to come away feeling the way I did last week where I didn't lose any spots after the first lap. My place could be horrendous, but I will know whether or not I've competed.

With it getting later and later in the year, it's very dark when I leave for work at 6:30. I rode down to Bluemont Park to see if the Italians would show for practice, but it was still dark when I got there and waiting around until after seven for it to get light would have made me later for work than I wanted to be.

The weather in the morning is pretty chilly and I was glad to have some gloves on--even though my fingers got very cold. I figure eventually I'm going to have to switch to full gloves and put on my sweatpants to ride in. I'm already riding in my longsleeve shirt for the duration of the ride. The temperature was probably around 45 or so.

I'm noticing more and more folks from the races out on the trails in the morning and afternoon. Yesterday I spotted the Women's MABRA leader as I was coming home and today I rode behind a guy on the Rockville Harley Davidson team as I was leaving Arlington.

I tried to find another cross practice in Lake Fairfax Park after work, but the sun was setting and I didn't find te park immediately off the trail. Maybe I'll make it some other time. I probably added five miles of riding down various roads to find an entrance.

The rest of my ride was fairly typical, with the exception of sucking off of a guy riding a Seven road bike. He past me as I was getting back on the trail and I had to drop the hammer to stay with him. He was riding 23's and because I'm lazy, I'm still riding my cyclocross tires. But I did manage to stay either on his wheel or directly beside him all the way to the Vienna Depot. It was a good interval to do on a Wednesday. I think he was chilling a little bit since he rode the stretch with his arms draped over his handlebars.

After he turned off, I settled back in to an easy pace and felt terrific. I was turning the gears soo smoothly. In comparison to running, at least for me, the smoothness with which I ride is comparable to the "pop" that I talk about running. It's the sweet spot of cycling. Everything just feels right. I rode up the Wilson Blvd. hill spinning my gears at a stupid fast cadence and I climbed it better than I can remember.

I made my usual commute to work for the first time since my disaster last Wednesday. Nothing really to report except that it felt great to be back on the W&OD doing mileage. My legs feel strong and I've recovered nicely from Saturday's race.

I haven't had time to get a race summary written, but I had a great race at Iron Cross Lite. I finished 8th in the B race, which is my best finish yet. I actually had some fight in me for this one and had a solid race. The results, which for the first time have splits and finish times, have been posted--as have the pictures of the race. The series standings haven't been updated, but I should have picked up 8 points, giving me 14 total for the season.

As has become customary on Thursdays, I got no work in. But today was also disappointing in another area. I had a lead on two great bikes off CraigsList, only to have both of them fall through at the last minute. I was really excited about both of the bikes, but I guess it's better to keep that money in my pocket anyways. I don't really have the cash to spend. The Sirrus lives on as my lone road/cross bike.

I did, however, stop by Lowes on the way home today and buy some PVC to make cyclocross barriers. I followed the plans at BikeMan.com and they were a cinch to construct. They look great and should work wonders. I can carry them in my backpack down to Bluemont Park and use them for practice. Total cost was just under $17.

I forgot to mention earlier in the week that my tenth place finish (poor competition though there was) earned me six MABRA series points. That puts me 25th in the current Men's B standings.

This morning was a bit of a disaster, but I did get a good workout in. I forgot to set my alarm earlier so I could get to Bluemont Park for some cross practice. Instead, I woke up at 6:40a and had to rush out the door to make it on time. I wasn't all that late and when I got to the park, I started to wonder if the Italians had stood me up.

I was just about to leave when Scott rolled up. He showed me a nice little loop that they run and it has most everything you could want to practice: off camber turns, gravel, asphalt, grass, a run up, and even PVC barriers. I think I'll probably construct a few PVC barriers of my own. We rode that loop a few times and I was sucking mightily. My bike handling just wasn't very good this morning and it showed. My gears also need an adjustment after all the mud that my bike went through last weekend. A simple tune up should take care of it.

The real disaster came after I left the park. I rode all the way to the Vienna depot before I started thinking about the clothes I packed. I couldn't remember what shirt I'd packed and when I stopped to check, I realized there wasn't one! After contemplating whether Eric or Pat might have a shirt I could wear, I decided I'd better go home and get one. So I rode 22 miles this morning and ended up driving in to work. It goes without saying that I was way late. But at least I rode today.

Showing up for practice this morning gave me a good idea of how I can get better. A simple, but well thought out loop in the park can give me something to master. And once I've mastered that I'll have a skill set that will help me in races. Thanks to Scott of Squadra Coppi for the introduction.

I'm going to try something a bit different for a race summary this week. I've posted an .mp3 file. This is my first attempt at something resembling a podcast. It should be pretty funny. I was able to get ten minutes of content edited in Audacity which is quite surprising. Hopefully I don't sound like a total idiot. I think I covered all the major points that I would have covered by writing a race summary. Let me know what you think . . . but be kind, I'm no broadcaster.

Pictures from the race can be found here. Results are here.

Enjoying the mud. 


Photo Finish. 

It rained all day today and I didn't get a chance to do anything outside. Instead I put in just twenty minutes of riding on the bike trainer. I was able to work up a good sweat while watching the Sox bow out of the playoffs. Somehow it doesn't hurt nearly as much now that they've won one.

I'm all set to race tomorrow. I didn't spend the time I usually do cleaning my bike because I know how disgusting and filthy it will be tomorrow. Cleaning it now would just be stupid. I'm really looking forward to some wet conditions.

It's great to see folks are taking a look at the pictures. I didn't realize quite so many of them would also read my blog. I guess some comments I made about racing at Charm City got one guy upset. You can read all the comments at the end of the log entry on 9/25. That said, I cracked 110 hits today from people looking for photos. One of them was posted on FatMarc's page. Pretty cool.

My training, which is what this log is really about, today fell through. What a shock. Thursday's are the hardest to find time. With rain in the forecast tomorrow, I may spend some time on the trainer or just brave the elements for a run. Who knows? In the meantime, I really need to give a race summary for last weekend before I race again on Saturday.

I've posted some pictures of Sunday's Ed Sander Cross Race at Lilypons Water Gardens in Buckeystown, MD. The pictures are of the Men's C/Women's B/Juniors race as well as the Men's B race. However, most of the pictures of the Men's B race are of me. This was my first time shooting with a really nice lens (rented), so I'm by no means an expert photographer. Feel free to use any of these pictures--though it'd be cool to see my name in the credit for whatever you choose to do with them. Enjoy.

I rode in to work again today and felt great doing it. I kept a nice pace going all the way out to Sterling and never really had anyone approaching my wheel. I went offroad on a few sections to try things out and did a few tricky climbs in loose gravel. Hopefully I can get better at that as my trials on the gravel road last Sunday really hurt me.

Coming home, I didn't feel quite as good early on. My legs were sore and I couldn't get moving for a while. To shake things up I went offroad at nearly every opportunity and suddenly I was feeling stronger and ready to roll. Luckily I started riding past folks and evern found one guy on a Lemond who was moving pretty well. By the end of the ride my legs felt amazing and I was spinning really well. I'm really enjoying riding the nobbie tires on and off the trail--it's letting me find new sections and making the same monotonous trail not so.

I think two days of riding to work is enough mileage for this week with the race in Hagerstown on Saturday. I'll probably ride in on Friday and let Jess pick me up on her day off. Tomorrow perhaps I'll try to get some cross practicing in (dismounts, carrying the bike, feeble attempts at bunny hopping, etc.). Time is definitely limited on Thursdays though.

This Saturday, I'll have a new lens to play with. I wasn't able to get the 70-200mm f2.8 lens this weekend, but I did get a 100-400mm f4/5.6 lens from Penn Camera and that should be plenty fast enough aperture if the sun is out the way it was last weekend.

38km X 2

I'm too lazy to transform my bike back into a road machine, but I'm not too lazy to finally start riding back to work. I hit the roads (and trails) today at O dark thirty (6:30a). With the summer coming to a close, it's still dark at that hour and the temperature is just right. I thought it was going to be chilly at first, so I wore a long sleeve shirt. But before I had gona a mile, I took it off.

Riding with cyclocross tires and without aero bars makes things slower, but not all that much less enjoyable. Clipless pedals are great. There are a surprising number of sections alongside the W&OD where you can ride off the path. It's really quite fun. I can ride my normal 38K route to work and get cyclocross practice whenever I choose. I think it'd be great training to do fartleks on the off road portions. I have no idea how fast I'm riding now because I took off my bike computer and don't have any extra zip ties yet to reattach it. But it's probably best that I don't know for now.

Coming home was more of the same and the weather was wonderful. Fall is definitely on it's way. Pat was leaving at the same time I was, but he said he needed to take it easy and let me go on my way. I kept a strong pace the whole time, but never had anyone to deal with. I caught Jess riding to her piano lesson in the opposite direction just as I was coming through Arlington. We don't need no stinkin' gas. What we do need is pitching!

I need to update a lot, and I've got lots of pictures . . . For now I'm trying not to get any further behind.

38km X 2

The laziness continues unabated. I'm a slacker right now. I haven't been riding to work lately and it's hard to find any other time to workout. I'd start back tomorrow, but I have to make it back to Arlington early to help out. So I'm stuck getting fat I guess. I'm planning on racing this weekend in MABRA race #2. Hopefully I can have a good race.

I took in my frame today and had Pat check out the bottom bracket. He and I both agree that at least it's bone dry of lubricant. It binds more than it should and since it's a cartridge, I ordered a replacement from Nashbar as well as a tool to remove the current cartridge. A new repair to learn! Haha. Sad how much I enjoy this. I did put my bike back together this evening though. I gave the rear derailleur a detailed cleaning and pulled out quite a bit of grass from the cassette. Cross is really hard on my bike compared to all the time I spend on the road. I'll probably be riding in on Friday so I put the road tires back on. The aero bars will return at some point.

You can see that I finally updated the blog. That took a lot of writing, but I think I covered most all of what's happened in a very eventful last week of training. In short, I discovered the sport of cyclocross and have taken to it with reckless abandon.

No sooner had I checked Craig's List this morning did I see a trainer on sale for $65. An email later, I had the trainer bought for $50 and picked it up after work. Although the seller was in Ashburn, not far from work, traffic today was disastrous and it took me forever to get to his place. The trainer is in excellent condition and should do everything I need it to do. I can train on it during the winter or when I can't find the time to go for a ride and more importantly, I can take it with me to warm up before duathlons. Since my bike is still apart, I tried out the trainer on Jess' bike and it seemed to work quite well.

The rain outside tonight made me want to go for a run. The darkness and damp weather really would have made me feel like I was home in Boston running mileage in the city. But time was a factor tonight as it always is and I took yet another day off.

Raceday! Boy was I tired when I got up this morning. As tired as I was though, the excitement of racing got me right off the mat. I ate three bagels and packed some cereal and granola bars before suiting up and loading my stuff in the car. Amazingly, I was able to navigate myself using handwritten directions from Google Maps without making a single mistake. Leaving the house at 6:30, I made it to Druid Hill Park by 7:30.

I was probably the first non volunteer at the race and they weren't ready for me to check in just yet. I took out my bike and lubed the chain well, then laced up my cycling shoes and went for a ride. They were slowly getting the course set up, so I rode around on the sections they had established to get a feel for what this cyclocross thing was going to be like. I could barely contain my excitement. All the reading on the internet I'd done on the sport was all coming together now seeing the course. What a great idea to put a racecouse for bikes in the middle of a park. I couldn't wait to get racing. I knew this would be fun.

The course had it all as far as I was concerned. And from what everyone else was saying it really was a great course. The start was at the bottom of an asphalt hill. After ascending that short climb, the race went down a fast straightaway off the asphalt and onto the grass, where there was a severe left "off-camber" turn. After a couple switchbacks, the course went over and back across two beach volleyball courts. The sand was being tilled to mike it hard to ride as I was surveying the course. After several more switchbacks on grass and a difficult off-camber to the right, the course crossed a road and went down a slate path. That path wound around a tree and then back the main area of the course. From there, a short climb and descent led across another road and out into a large field. After one switchback, the course went behind a softball field backstop reminiscent of Franklin Park. The route continued in the field around a large tree before meeting two man-made yellow barriers at the base of a large hill. After the hill peak, there were numerous switchbacks that led back to the main area of the course across the road. A small climb later and there were some barriers built for the park. They were high and solid and the course required you to cross one, wrap around a tree, and then cross back over another. After several more switchbacks, the course was back at the foot of the asphalt hill by the start line. This time though, the course led to a staircase which would have to be climbed, then back to the bottom of the asphalt hill where you would ascend once again and cross the finish line to end the lap. The entire loop was approximately two miles.

It was immediately clear to me that this would be unlike any type of racing I had competed in to date. I could just hear Maltas quoting Walter . . . "Forget it, Donny, you're out of your element!" The course required so much more than pure physical fitness. I feel like I have the cardio to match up with most folks at the race, but nowhere near the bike handling skills. This course and I assume cyclocross in general will expose this weakness and force me to improve. But whatever trepidation I had about racing was drowned out in my head by my desire to compete.

I eventually made my way to the starting line where I found a spot on the second row. I was a bit thrown off by the looks of my competitors. I had registered for the 'C' race expecting to be one of the most equipped to race. But looking around, I felt as out of place as I did at duathlons, surrounded by carbon fiber, discs, and aero shoes. Everyone had a jersey, many had skinsuits, and no one it seemed had a bike that wasn't equipped to race cyclocross well. I asked aloud of the group whether they were racing the C race because of its shorter distance or because they had never raced 'cross before. Only one guy chose to answer. He said not to let the skinsuit fool me, he was racing for the first time. His Lemond Poprad didn't help matters either though. Before long, we had received our instructions and we were off!

It's hard for me to give point by point action of the race, but I'll try to summarize the important things that I remember. Racing in such a large pack was exciting and somewhat embarassing. I felt like all my handling mistakes were annoying others--and some probably were. But hey, it was a beginner race and I did the best I could. The off camber turns gave me a lot of trouble and I found myself either proceeding really slow or getting caught with my feet on the ground straddling the bike. Before too long, the packs spread out a bit and it wasn't nearly as crowded. I made it trough most of the dismounts without too much trouble and surprised myself by getting back on the bike better than I had in my brief practice. There were a few times where I almost fell getting my left foot out of the pedal but nothing too bad.

The trouble came just after the staircase on the very first lap. Somewhere in climbing the stairs and remounting the bike, my chain fell off to the inside and got trapped between the bottom bracket and the chain ring. Since I had removed the small ring, I had a nightmare on my hands. I didn't realize this at first and I tried to get the chain back on the ring. But it was jammed between the mounting points for the small chain ring. I couldn't get it out! I was in such a hurry that I grabbed the chain with my hands and pulled as hard as I could. It wouldn't budge! Argh! I was going crazy. People were passing my in droves. I gave up on it for the moment and picked the bike up to run--thinking that maybe I'd have to go all the way to the pits for help. I ran up the asphalt hill with the bike on my shoulder and then stopped and flipped the bike upside down. At this point, I had been passed by enough people that my competive drive to hurry was waning. I calmly and carefully began untangling the chain and finally I had it loose. Of course I didn't get it out before hearing Thor tell me, "John, shouldn't you be racing and not working on your bike." I laughed and got back racing as fast as I could. At that point, I'd never met him face to face and it gave me a bit of a boost to know someone on the sidelines was watching.

I spent the final two laps of the three lap race trying to pick off as many guys as I could. Mostly though I was alone and clear from all riders. That was probably a benefit to my learning cyclocross. I was able to focus on the technics of the race and not worry about getting in people's way. Near the end I had some competition and I did my best to race hard. I was exhausted. I know nothing about being exhausted on a bike without being in an aero position turning a constant cadence. This was new territory. I held off a few guys and sprinted in to the finish as best I could. God was I tired! I finished 20th out of 36 starters. I think I could have finished top ten without mechanical issues.

After walking over to the car and putting my bike away, I walked back over to where everyone was milling around. I brought out my camera too to take pictures off all the things I'd missed without having Jess to shoot. I chatted with they guy just behind me in the results, Nick. He was getting back in to racing after being away from it for a few years and he too was a tri-guy. I watched the women's B race and then was absolutely astounded by the talent in the men's 35+/45+/55+ race. Those guys were flying. It was so exciting to see them attack the course the way they did. It reminded me of watching Foot Locker Regionals and seeing Alan Webb and the elites just rip the course apart. And this was the masters race! What a shame I had to go home before the A race!

While chatting with Thor, he mentioned that some guys race twice. This surprised me considering how tired I was, but immediately the cogs in my head started to turn. It seemed a little crazy to race twice, but I was so excited about racing at all that it wasn't long before I had pulled my bike out of the car and laced up my shoes. I had to make some crude adjustments to my front derailleur. It was horribly out of adjustment from my pulling on the chain during the previous race. I loosened th bolt and slid it just to a spot where it wouldn't rub the chain while on the middle chain ring. I knew I wouldn't shift off of that one, so it was easy to adjust. I made my way to the starting line and stayed near the back knowing I didn't have the legs to race up with the big boys. Behind me were the juniors, who would start a minute behind the rest of the field.

I mostly let the field get sorted out in front of me at the start. But I started racing once things cleared up a bit. It was great to be back amongst other riders as opposed to playing catch up as I had in the earlier race. I couldn't help but notice how much different my legs felt though. When we came around for the first lap, I also couldn't help but notice that the lap counter was at four. This meant the race would be five laps long--two longer than the C race. In general, I think the longer races will favor me because my conditioning should generally outweigh my lack of technique as other racers get tired. Today though, I was focused on trying to finish the race. The long two mile laps seemed quite daunting. What made things worse was when I realized I'd forgotten to put on my gloves. It wasn't too long before my hands started to ache from all the banging of the course.

It wasn't long into my third lap I believe that I could hear juniors coming up behind me. Not that I really needed any more humbling today, but that sure did it. What I didn't realize at the time though was that the first junior has been competitve at the national level. But I took exception when it started to feel like they were all going by. I held my ground and focused on holding pace. Eventually, I was able to build back up a gap on the second and third place juniors again. I gained good ground running up the hill after the yellow barriers rather than trying to ride it as most did.

Going into the final lap, I was thrilled to hear the bell ringing in my ears. So close, yet so far away from being at the finish. I nearly screamed though when, after I remounted the bike following an off camber turn I chose to run, I saw my chain had fallen off to the inside! This time I was more skilled and quickly flipped the bike upside down and pulled the chain carefully out from between the crank arm bolts. I did this fairly quickly, but by the time I was back riding down the slate path, I was desperately trying to make up ground on the two juniors and a couple other B racers. The gap I had held was reversed. I yelled out and stomped on the pedals and flew by a couple guys. I made back all the places I lost but made myself very tired in doing so. Running up that hill hurt bad. Back on the main section of the racecourse, I was nearing the finish when going into a turn, myself and the third junior were awfully close. We rubbed shoulders a bit but nothing too hard. He wasn't too happy that I wouldn't let him by easily. I told him I didn't care what division he was in, I was trying to beat him--and I was. He was my motivation most of the back half of the race. As tired as I was he was the only thing keeping me focused on the task at hand. I held him off without too much trouble once we got on the asphalt hill.

You won't see my name in the results of the B race because I didn't register for it. In all honesty, I thought I would be scored in the race because the officials recorded your race number everytime you crossed the line. I didn't realized that I needed to register individually for each race. Judging from what I can remember, and from the limited number of pictures on the web, I think I was somewhere around 25th place. That's a guess based mostly on one picture.

I didn't have time to stick around and see the A race as I had to pick up Jess from the airport. I had a blast (sarcasm here) navigating back home through downtown Baltimore. Needless to say, I didn't fare as well as I had coming up to the race. I did make it to Jess not long after she landed though.

There's so much to say about cyclocross, but I'll mostly let my race summary speak for itself. This is the most fun I've had on two wheels without a doubt. It's also the most tired I've been since running in college. It's far more intense to me than duathlon and it brings out my competitive nature even more. But the best part about cyclocross is it's obvious comparison for me to cross country. The time of year is right, the terrain is right, and the competitive atmosphere is most definitely right. But it also has the lap racing and multiple heats that I love so much about track. It's nice to not only race twice, but to watch other races as well. For me it seems cyclocross combines so much that I love about racing even if my strong suit of running is greatly reduced. I'm glad I found this sport and I look forward to racing next week.