John Brewer's Training Log

Back in the Commute Again

2008-03-26T19:57:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, I rode for about ten minutes around my neighborhood just to get a feel for how the knee was progressing after two days off from commuting. It felt reasonably well, so this morning I was able to commute on the trail again. For the first ten minutes, I was more worried than I'd been on the previous ride. The knee was stiff and it was cold out, so I actually thought about turning around. But I kept on at a slow pace and eventually it loosened up and began to feel much better. The remainder of the AM ride was nice and smooth with no sign of pain.

I popped another pill at lunch when my knee was tightening up from sitting at my desk. That seemed to help and by the time I was riding home early for church it felt great again. When I ran into Bill Gros in the middle of intervals, I was able to draft off of him for a short time and test the knee under some pressure. It was fine and several times on the way home I upped the pace some to further test it. Hammering the hill over 66 was easy enough and the legs definitely felt fresh.

Now the task shifts to maintaining this feeling and focusing on the Saturday/Sunday race set. Kirkwood is my chance for points and if I'm healthy after that, Jeff Cup will be more about showing the Haymarket colors and being a part of the scene in a stacked 1/2/3 field. I'm looking forward to it and getting stronger every day.

Purcellville and Pain

2008-03-23T07:14:00.002-05:00

After church and a nice Easter meal of pasta, I hit the trail for some lengthy mileage. I opted for the trail mostly so I could avoid serious hills, listen to the iPod, and feel comfortable no matter the length. Even though I ride this trail every day, it's still enjoyable to ride without a backpack full of food and clothes. The only downside to all of this was missing nearly every NCAA game today.

My legs were surprisingly nimble after yesterday's hammer-fest at Cold Toes, but I kept it nice and steady. There was a decent headwind on the way out, but it didn't bother me as much as it might if I were commuting. The pace continued to feel solid. I thought briefly about catching White's Ferry and coming back on the MD side, but once I got to Leesburg, I just decided to keep on rolling. Soon enough I was crossing Highway 15 and realized I only needed ten more miles to reach the end of the trail--and to get eighty miles for the day. I was originally aiming for four and a half hours of base time, so everything seemed to be set up well. I had just enough time to make it out and back before dark and the total time would be near five hours. I figured the tailwind would give me hand.

Well, I made it out to the trail's end in Purcellville, VA for only the second time. The last time I did this, I rode every inch of the trail from start to finish and back again. Today would be a bit shorter, but since I live near mile four of the trail, not much shorter. Maybe a little before, but certainly not long after I made the turn, I started to feel a pain in my right knee. It didn't take me more than a minute to realize what the problem was. My IT Band! For those that know me from running, this time it was a different knee (my right), but it was the same pain that cost me my entire freshman year at MIT. It's off to the outside of the knee and it causes the entire area to feel stiff as a board.

I decided to stop and stretch some to see if I could mitigate some of of the discomfort. It wasn't hurting me too much, but I was pretty worried about how I'd handle the next forty miles to get home. Fortunately I wasn't running, because I know there's no way I could have tolerated any more once this pain started. But even when I was at the height of my injury in college, I could always seem to get along better on a bike. So I pedaled on. It felt weird in intervals. Basically any time that I would stand up on the bike, it would start throbbing again. But if I stayed seated, which is what I was trying to do anyways, it didn't feel so bad.

I kept my head down, stayed aero and pushed towards home, picking up the pace a little bit to beat the darkness. My iPod finally cut off in Vienna since I hadn't started with a full charge, so I rode the last thirty minutes in silence. When I commute, even without the iPod, the ride is hardly silent, but it's nice to ride across the same roads on the weekend, when there's hardly anyone out. I climbed the hill over 66 and then finished off the ride without too much problem with the knee.

As soon as I stepped off the bike and put it in the shed, the knee became incredibly stiff. If I'dve had any doubts about what was causing it, they would have been cleared up real quick. There is no question; I'm once again dealing with an IT Band problem. I stretched for a while when I got inside, and since I haven't been doing that much, it's probably no surprise that I'm seeing a recurrence of issues. I also downed some more pasta and went back on Vitamin I for the first time since college. Ugh. I'll probably end my twenty day commute streak tomorrow and drive in to take a day off the knee. Other than that, it'll be wait and see before I get ready to race twice next weekend. Please don't let this get any worse!

Cold Toes

2008-03-22T16:53:00.003-05:00

Since last weekend didn't quite do it, today I finally got some racing miles in the legs. I drove out to the Cold Toes training race just south of the Dulles Airport. I warmed up with Bryan, Darren, and Pedro before getting on the line for the 3/4 "B" race. The pace was nice and quick from the gun, so I never really had to worry about making pace. Darren went off the front early on, so I tried to relax in the field and see how things developed. It took me a while to get comfortable in the peloton again, but it came back soon enough.

Darren was definitely on form and he stayed out there a long while. He was eventually brought back and I gave it a go for a counter-attack, but uh, I didn't get much gap on the field. I was put right back in to my place as pack filler. No real big breaks happened again until, whadya know, it was Darren again. He stayed out there again for quite a while--to the point I thought he might finish it off. But alas he was pulled back and an LSV rider slipped away.

I thought we might organize and pull him back, but for whatever reason, we never could and I found myself making dumb moves. Eventually Darren wanted some tempo in the final laps and so I tried to help him out. My legs were really hurting and it was all I could do to try and pull him to the final corner. I didn't quite make it and everyone went around me for the final sprint. I think Darren ended up fifth or so.

After switching my number in the car, I lined up again for the "A" race. There were plenty of old faces in the mix for this one. I really had doubts about how much I had in me and when we finally saw lap cards I was taken aback at seeing something in the neighborhood of 26. Oh well, this was a training race after all. I dug in and tried to find my groove. In summary, there were lots of laps, they hurt a lot, and a breakaway lapped the field. It felt great to ride so fast and I surprised myself with how much I had left in the tank. I failed at bridging, but otherwise I held my own in the peloton. A good day of training. Next weekend, it's for real.

Tempo Tempo

2008-03-17T09:07:00.001-05:00

Today was the first hint of intensity so far this season--other than the brief spots on Saturday. It was simple tempo ride home from work. Basically all I have to do to get a good tempo ride is do what my instincts want to do: ride fast. I tried to focus on being either in the drops or aero on the hoods. I flew by a lot of people and the stoplights were good rest for me. I guess that makes me the 'bike trail guy' for today, but I must say that it was fun to ride fast again. My legs felt surprisingly strong and since the wind was calm, that translated into some respectable speeds. This being my first workout of the year, I think I probably went a bit too fast and spent more time above threshold than I really should have. But hey, live a little, eh?

Remax Town and Country Road Race

2008-03-15T14:43:00.001-05:00

Well, the 2008 season sort of got started Saturday. I was in my hometown of Albemarle, NC for the Remax Town and Country Road Race. When I arrived at the race site, I quickly learned that all races had been delayed by two hours because of heavy fog early in the morning. So instead of warming up I sat around with Jess and my parents just waiting to hear something.

Eventually, I decided to go ride the course once and get the lay of the land. It was a 6.6 mi course with two decent hills to make things difficult. The wind was pretty steady so it took me a while to ride the loop solo. When I got back, they still weren't ready to start the race, so I spent most of the time chatting with my soon-to-be teammate Gonzalo Escobar. He's riding for Lees-McRae until he graduates this spring.

As we were waiting for the race to begin, it became clear that by delaying the race, weather was going to become a big factor. There were some nasty clouds moving in and once they finally had us lined up to hear instructions, there was thunder and a sprinkling of rain. Almost as soon as we rolled out of the Kendall Valley parking lot, the skies opened up and we were getting soaked. All I could think about was how this was real Belgian classics weather. Rain, rural roads, hills, it's all good.

But the rain kept getting harder until it became hard for me to see. Riding in the peloton, my eyes were getting splashed with spray from the wheel of the guy in front of me and I was having to squint to make out anything. Braking was an adventure and I was concerned about running in to people in front of me. Despite all that, the first lap was uneventful in terms of grouping. A couple folks tried some dumb solo moves, but they were brought back in short order.

About midway through the second lap, the rain became painful. It was hitting me real hard in the face and all of a sudden I noticed that it wasn't rain anymore. We were getting hailed on! Epic, but silly too. This extreme weather started to split the group and I had to jump past folks and hammer to catch back on after some gaps opened. It was hard to tell where the front of the race was, but after a while I was confident that I was still in the lead group.

When we hit the second climb, I found myself pedaling off the front with another rider. We weren't attacking really, just upping the pace on the hill, but before long we had a gap and had been joined by 2-3 others--the rain makes my memory as hazy as it was. With about two miles to go before the next lap, our group was reeled in by what seemed like a third of the original starters. I started to reintegrate into the new pack when the moto-official pulled up beside us and told us to, "Go straight to the finish." The course was a lollipop style, so we all took this to mean that this was the final lap. Haha! 2 of 8 was to be the final lap. Not quite a 50 mile road race eh?

Well, once the official told us the news I went straight to work positioning myself for the sprint and we were moving fast enough that things were almost single file. The wind was killer and the rain was relentless. I was in the top five when the finish came into sight and fortunately for me, there was a short but steep rise before plateauing for 100 yards before the finish. A Franklin Street cycles rider really led out the sprint bigtime. He was way early and so we were all trying to use him as a draft. Eventually I made the decision to go for it and found myself leading with maybe 50 yards to go. I held that lead nearly all the way, but was passed just before the line by a Blue rider. I held off third place by a bike throw.

I was thrilled to be second, but since the race wasn't even long enough to qualify as a crit and it wasn't clear if there was even a camera at the finish due to the weather, I wasn't as excited as I might have been. There was rumor of a tornado elsewhere in the county to further put a damper on things. I stood around for a while trying to find out if they were going to payout the $70 for second place and if there would be any results posted, but things were hectic and I gave up after about thirty minutes of shivering in my wet clothes underneath an overhang. We loaded up the car and went to Log Cabin for some warm and dry chopped pork sandwiches. Good stuff as always.

I made sure to email the promoter all the info I had about the finish--my place and those of the others around me. But Monday morning, we got the following email:

Attention Pro's and cat 3's that started the Remax Town & Country RR on March 15th

The severe weather that moved in during your race forced the officials to remove the camera equipment from the finish line before the leaders came in. Both races were also shortened due to the severe weather which created some confusion among the racers. After speaking with the Drew McCarthy, the chief referee, and receiving some e-mails from him it appears the finish cannot be accurately recorded. Having now gathered all the available information I have decided that each racer in the Pro and cat 3 race will receive a refund or credit with RMS. I am in the process of deciding which way is going to be best for all involved but I wanted to let you know that you will be receiving some sort of refund. We (Uwharrie Wheelmen Cycling Club) appreciate the fabulous turnout, we had 400 racers, and apologize for the inconvenience caused by the weather. Our goal is to get people in Stanly county interested in cycling and I think having 400 cyclist racing in our backyard is a great way to do it. Once I determine the way you will be refunded I will post it.

Thanks,
Chris Chapman
President Uwharrie Wheelmen/Race Promoter

Oh well, I got a taste of racing at least. My legs were certainly not in prime shape but I had a passable sprint. Had the race gone 50 miles worth of attacking, I would have been hurting. The changes of pace throughout the race all hurt a lot and my legs feel like they have a long way to go if I'm going to score points anywhere near MABRA.

The 2008 Season Begins . . .

2008-03-14T09:55:00.002-05:00

On the eve of my first race of the 2008 campaign, I figured it was about time to get something up on the web. There have been a few changes since I last wrote and raced. Most notably, I transferred to the Haymarket Bicycles Racing Team presented by Function Drinks. I made the change not long after the 'cross season ended as I was beginning to plan for this season on the road. I made the change primarily so that I would push myself to make Category 2 and, by eventually doing that, stay focused during the road season in order to be better prepared for cyclocross.

Last year at this time, there was a lot going on. Jess had just come back from Pittsburgh and I had been riding nearly every day in the frigid weather. I was in pretty great shape, but also beginning to feel the effects of burn out. By the time we took a vacation in Luray and spent some time hiking in Shenandoah, I was completely disinterested in riding my bike. I got sick in the days before Jeff. Cup and that was about all she wrote for my season. I raced Walkersville and finished with the 1/2/3 pack, then raced Poolesville to defend my title and finished in the pack of the 3 race. I shut it down after that and did other things before jumping in a few late season crits and getting absolutely embarrassed by all the guys chasing BAR points late in the year. I took that embarrassment very personal and set myself up on a plan to make certain that I had a good season in my true love: 'cross. I followed the plan almost religiously and the results of that plan are in my last post.

So this year, I am more determined to have a good road season than I've been since I started cycling. I've laid out a plan similar to that for cyclocross and my hope is that even though the season is longer, I can follow that equally as well and hopefully get some results. Moving over to Haymarket makes my quest for Category 2 status worthwhile. They are a small, but solid group of serious racing cyclists and I have no doubt that I will enjoy the road season much better if I'm focused on racing.

That brings me to now, the eve of racing. I've now done five weeks of base after taking nearly ten weeks off of the bike (two in Italy). There's a long way to go before I feel in great shape, but I'm happy with the direction I'm headed and my motivation is already far higher than it was at any point before Charm City last year. The race tomorrow is nicely juxtaposed with a family event the next day, so I'll have a chance to see what my legs can do outside of the MABRA scene. And not only that, it's my first chance ever to do a race (running or cycling) in my hometown.

Let the chase for points begin and may I enjoy every moment of it!

2007-12-03T13:21:00.000-05:00

My goals for the 2007 CX Season were as follows:

Win a MAC B Race

Win the MAC B Series (Revised to Top 5 after Granogue)

Place Top 10 in a MABRA A Race

I'm thrilled with how the season went. I was lucky enough to win twice, once up in Long Island and then this past Saturday on the MAC circuit in Calisle, PA.

I didn't manage to dethrone Eric Linder and win the MAC B overall. But I rode well enough that I was the only rider lining up in Reston with a mathematical chance of taking the overall. I'm pleased with second place. Though, I must say that two years in a row, finishing second in a series overall to an HVB rider is tough. Last year it was Todd Hesel beating me out of the MABRA B overall.

My experiences in MABRA A races were generally of the "learning experience" variety. I usually ran out of gas racing for an hour+ and never could work my way up through the crowd all that well. The lone exception was my team's promoted race, the Tacchino, where the fast course and an amazing start set me up to threaten for a pseudo-podium (T5). I finished just off of it in 6th, more than enough to satisfy my third goal of the season.

My fourth goal probably should have been to keep this blog updated. And if it had been, I would have failed miserably.

Final MAC Standings

2007-12-03T13:09:00.000-05:00

2007 MAC Men's B Standings

Where is the line drawn for those who will be called sandbaggers next season? I'll be racing A's, who else?

2007-11-12T08:54:00.000-05:00

I'm in desperate need of an update, but this will have to do for now. After a great weekend of racing here are the updated MAC 2/3/4 Standings.

Tacchino Ciclicross

2007-10-26T07:40:00.000-05:00

Don't miss stop #5 of the BikeReg.com MABRA Cross Series. It's Sunday, November 4th at Ida Lee Park in Leesburg.

2007-10-24T13:55:00.000-05:00

24 years old today. So sad. I'm getting old. I better race faster before I lose what potential I've got left. Already, kids 10 years younger are kicking my butt!

All I want for my birthday is a victory for the Sox in Game 1. Beckett, how 'bout it? Jacoby?

MAC Standings after Week 1

2007-10-23T22:11:00.000-05:00



Place	First	Last	Granogue	Wissahickon	Total
1	Eric	Linder	35	35	70
2	Ethan	Townsend	30	17	47
3	Jeff	Bahnson	22	24	46
4	Jeremy	Dunn	18	27	45
5	Matt	Budd	19	19	38
T6	Patrick	Bradley	27	5	32
T6	Daniel	Brill	10	22	32
8	John	Brewer	13	18	31
T9	Kevin	Kralik	--	30	30
T9	Michael	Mihalik	16	14	30
T11	Jim	Mudd	12	15	27
T11	Pete	Smith	24	3	27
T11	Marc	Vettori	11	16	27
14	Nick	Fischer	15	7	22
15	Frank	Zgoda	9	12	21
T16	Evan	Ellicott	20	--	20
T16	Turner	Johnson	--	20	20
18	Mike	Stubna	17	--	17


T19	Marc	Bavineau	14	--	14
T19	Joel	Moats	5	9	14
21	Don	Kessel	--	13	13
22	Mike	Laub	--	11	11
23	Wade	Hess	--	10	10
T24	John	Brown	--	8	8
T24	Charles	Florek	8	--	8
26	Craig	LeBair	7	--	7
T27	Steve	Fife	6	--	6
T27	Tom	Mains	--	6	6
T29	Matt	Harris	--	4	4
T29	Conrad	Tufte	4	--	4
31	Andrew	Crooks	3	--	3
T32	Joseph	Hu	--	2	2
T32	Dave	Mccutcheon	2	--	2
T34	Zack	Blaser	--	1	1
T34	Joshua	Delmanzo	1	--	1

2007-10-23T21:27:00.001-05:00

If there's one thing that's clear after the first weekend of racing, it's that Eric Linder is, so far, our Nys. He was dominant on both courses and showed us he's the man to beat in 2007. E-Town gave him his best shot at Granogue and a whole group of riders did it at Wissahickon, but both times, Linder delivered with more than enough power to leave time for a couple victory salutes.

E-Town had a great day on Saturday, but for whatever reason couldn't follow that up on Sunday. In both cases, he took the holeshot as expected and put a hurtin' on the field. Whether or not he can sustain that for back-to-back days is something we'll be following in the final two MAC weekends. If he plans to stay on Linder's tail, he can't fade. I think we're seeing a renewed E-town, one with more focus and desire than ever before, but a letdown after the spectacle of Granogue probably caught up to him. If anyone is capable of beating Linder, Townsend made it clear that he's the closest.

My pick to win, Ellicott, didn't have his best day and the rust showed. Poor tire selection, bad legs, and discomfort with a front row start all factored in. Research will likely keep Ellicott from being a factor in the overall series, but even in limited appearances, he always has a shot to steal a victory.

By far the biggest surprise of the weekend was the incredible riding by the youngest in the field, Jeff Bahnson. He was the darling of the crowds and the annoucer both days. On Saturday, he made the most of his third row start and worked his way up through the field to take fifth. His handling skills are obviously quite advanced, but his engine also seems to be more than enough to ride in the Killer B's. What a season this young'un may have, it's entirely possible he could be the youngest winner of MAC B race in recent memory. The DCCoD has its rider for the near and distant future. Count me and the whole field as very much impressed.

Just behind Bahnson in terms of consistency over both days were South Boston's Jeremy Dunn and NYC's Matt Budd. Dunn showed the form that made him this year's top returner in terms of points scored over a full season. Consistency did it for him last year and it appears we'll be seeing much of the same if he continues to travel South. Budd, who was mistakenly overlooked in the Granogue preview, rode to a seventh place finish on both days, the only NY rider to make the top ten.

Jeremy Dunn's teammate, Pete Smith had a fantastic ride at Granogue, where he finished fourth. In not contesting the next day's race, he fell in the standings of course, but he made it known that when he comes into the MAC he's one to watch. Another rider only contesting the first day was Mike Stubna of GPOA. He finished a solid ninth place in his first 'cross race in two years. He too would have factored in on a Wissahickon course that was less technical and more suited to his roadie skills.

Team Beacon ran into a string of bad luck this weekend. Front row starter Daniel Brill missed his call-up and was relegated to the back of the field on Saturday--a catastrophic start to the MAC campaign. Still, he managed to take 16th and limit the damage. On Sunday, it was 17-year-old Patrick Bradley's turn to experience bad luck. After an official took issue with his riding on the course during an earlier race, he was relegated back a few rows from his top starting spot. In the melee of the start at Wissahickon, he got caught up in a crash and destroyed his front wheel, breaking several spokes and forcing him to run to the pit. A quick change still put him far back and 21st was the best he could manage. That's a tough pill to swallow a day after finishing on the podium at Granogue.

Speaking of disasters, it wasn't only Team Beacon who had their share. At Granogue, both Kevin Kralik and newcomer Turner Johnson fell victim to mechanical issues. Kralik went down with an issue before the first lap was even complete. It appears he spent a while trying to fix the problem, but wasn't able to get things working. Johnson had chain issues of his own after having a great start and looking to be in position for a strong top ten. Stepping under the tape and calling it a day may have given both of them an edge the next day, where they finished 2nd and 6th respectively. Redemption came quickly for both, but the loss of points has them much farther down the standings than they should be. Turner made it known that he's out to win races, not just fight for table scraps. At Wissahickon, he was active the entire race and quite aggressive with his lines. Good quality racing.

Rounding out the bottom of the top ten, either in points or in the day's racing were Mike Mihalik, Fatmarc, and HVB's Jim Mudd.

2007 Granogue Cyclocross Preview

2007-10-18T15:05:00.000-05:00

I did a preview last year for Charm City, so it's been a while. Here's my take on the top contenders going into this weekend's B Race at Granogue. Please don't take this too seriously. It's only for fun.

1. Evan Ellicott 33 Tacoma Park, MD
Ellicott is an incredibly strong rider and the top returner from last year's B race at Granogue. Though he only raced three times in the MAC last season, Granogue was actually his worst performance (4th). He was runner-up at Lower Allen as well as the season ending Capital Cross Classic. A horrific crash at the Tour de Toona this year sidlined him until last weekend when he finished 5th in A race at Iron Cross Lite. He made a transfer this year to team n-tieractive / Bike Doctor-Waldorf.

2. Daniel Brill 35 South River, NJ
Riding for Team Beacon again this season, Brill will be trying to improve ever so slightly and pick up that elusive win. Last season he finished no worse than 13th and as high as 5th at Granogue. He's a true Stalwart of the MAC and a force to be reckoned with. Not only that, but this year he's old enough to race Masters--at least after he gets to his unfinished business in the B Race.

3. Ethan Townsend 24 Wilmington, DE
There are few on the East coast who can match the starts of this local rider. As a member of the DCCofD as well as the powerful C3-Sollay.com team, he's out to prove this year that he can do more than take home the first lap preme. He finished 9th last season at Granogue, but this season he's already won twice on the MABRA circuit, taking the top step of the podium at Charm City as well as Hagerstown. With the inside scoop on the course, there's little doubt that E-Town will be in the lead group when the going gets tough.

4. Jeremy Dunn 27 South Boston, MA
Any rider making the trek down from Southie each weekend of the MAC should be feared and Dunn is no exception. Last season he got better and better each week, eventually racing in to top form and stealing two wins from the Mid Atlantic on a muddy New Jersey weekend. With Granogue expected to be dry and as fast as ever, that doesn't favor him, but with results like his and did I mention he's from South Boston? Watch out. He's also battle-tested having finished just behind Lyne Bessette up at New England Worlds. He races for Cambridge Bicycle / Igleheart Frames, the bike shop nearest to my alma mater, MIT.

5. Eric Linder 28 Baltimore, MD
The only man to interrupt Townsend's streak of MABRA victories was this man. Riding in green and black for the always strong HVB team, Eric Linder is their man for the B Series this year. He's got big shoes to fill, taking over for last year's MAC Series winner Greg Lindstrom and MABRA series winner Todd Hesel. With his performances so far, he's proven he's up to the challenge, but we'll have to wait and see what he can do on the MAC stage.

6. Marc Vettori 36 Elkton, MD
Easily the biggest celebrity rolling up to the start line at Granogue this year is Fatmarc Vettori. He too has moved over to the C3-Sollay.com squad this season and has made quite the impact in the MABRA Masters B category. Each week he finished on a different step of the podium, starting with a win at Charm City, and each week the press kept giving this man the win. He's so popular he wins without even being the first across the line. Is it the moviestar good looks, the lack of a pink helmet, or the coach? Everyone wants to know. Maybe we'll find out here on his home course. Last year he was 8th.

7. Erik Leaver 36 Silver Spring, MD
Fresh off his MABRA B series victory two years ago, last year didn't see much of Leaver on the MAC circuit. When it did, he did well, finishing third at the epic Highland Park race and 8th in the Beacon sand. It's hard to tell what form he has so far this season, but Leaver is a crafty veteran with plenty of skill for this race. Not having raced Granogue before may leave him at a disadvantage early on, but once he figures out the track, we might see the NCVC red and white at the front of the main field.

8. Kevin Kralik 23 Philadelphia, PA
Here's another top racer who benefited from that muddy New Jersey weekend last year, finishing 2nd and 3rd and Guy's and Evo. But he's not just a mud rider, he's already won once this season at Whirlybird and last season he won at Nittany Lion Cross. Other than those races, he's mostly an unknown rider, having no recorded experience on or off road outside of cyclocross season. There's no telling what to expect from this rider, but it would be a mistake to count him out when he's done so well on so little racing.

9. Patrick Bradley 17 Richwood, NJ
This is another Team Beacon rider with a lot to prove. Last season he won the C race and had a solid first season amongst the Killer B's. Now that he's added the muscle that comes with age, he's shown already this year that he's made the leap to be one of the top juniors (see also Gerlak and Bahnson) in this field. Can he win? Well, he's certainly lacking experience and the results, so we'll have to see. But there's no doubt that Bradley will be in the mix all season long.

10. Mike Stubna 31 Philadelphia, PA
It's a little odd to see such a strong road rider in the B field, but that's where we find Mike Stubna. He's well-known for his exploits on the powerful Meredith Group-GPOA road squad and now it looks as though he's out to prove himself in the MAC. Two years ago, he was experimenting in the elite field, but since he's been out of the cyclocross for a year, fighting amongst the other sandbaggers may be just what he needs to get his groove back. When he does, you'd better be ready.

11. Marc Bavineau 31 Beverly, MA
Bavineau proved he is amongst the best when he finished 15th at Nationals (B) last year. The only man in this field to beat him there was Ellicott. But there's no telling what we'll get from this New England rider. He narrowly missed out on a top ten at Gloucester last weekend, so we'll assume that he's battle hardened and not quite yet on top form. Will his introduction to the MAC go well? Plenty of Mid Atlantic racers are hoping to send him up the Jersey Turnpike empty handed. He races for Essex County Velo.

12. Morgan Gerlak 15 Baltimore, MD
Even at 15, Gerlak has acheived more notable results than most riders ever will, but there's still one result that he'd like to have and that's a B series win. He's been close now for a while, finishing second last week at Iron Cross Lite, and at last year's Evo MAC race. Is this the year that Morgan seals the deal on a win? It's hard to say with such top flight talent on his own team (C3). But he's got some of the best handling skills around and more experience on these MAC courses than just about anyone. With the engine getting better and better each year, I think we all know better than to count him out because of his age. Last year, he was 19th at Granogue.

13. Jeff Bahnson 14 Newark, DE
Trying to make a name for himself the way Morgan Gerlak has done, Bahnson showed he's capable at Charm City this year. At 14, the youngest rider in the race, he finished on the wide side of the podium and took home some schwag. He's young and inexperienced, so Granogue probably won't get his first B win this year, but it can't be too long before he's pushing the pace at the front of the field. He rides for C2S/Henry's Bikes. It's hard to believe this was him two year's ago.

2007-10-15T22:10:00.000-05:00

So this weekend I made the trip to Florida for my grandmother and grandfather-in-law's 80th and 90th birthdays respectively. Of course this meant no biking and I brought along my running shoes to get some work in. But we all know how these things go and without having a bike I wasn't highly motivated. Instead of doing a race simulation type workout that I would have done back home in Arlington, I got nothing done and ate like a hog. So instead of ending my third build week with a killer workout, I took two days off cold turkey. Bummer.

I'm at least well rested, but I think now I'm going to throw in some anaerobic work tomorrow afternoon and then commence the rest week of spinning and skills work that I originally had planned. It'll probably be 3 sets of 4x90s all out. I figure if I do this, I'll stop panicking about my fitness going into this weekend, the first of the MAC series. I need to be on my game for that since I won't be getting a call-up and the comp will be fierce.

2007-10-11T10:12:00.000-05:00

Henry Jurenka just posted a video of part of the first lap of the race I won last Saturday. You can see me leading through the first turn and up the short and steep run-up before coming through the gate before the "mountain." Pretty cool. Check out the other videos of the weekend he has up so far.

2007-10-09T22:07:00.000-05:00

Johnson Attacking by
David McLean Photography

According to an article I remember reading in VeloNews, and available for free over at JBV Coaching, this workout is from Tim Johnson. I figure, if he likes it, then it's good enough for me. It goes: 3 sets of 8x45s hard, with 1 min rest between intervals, and 5 min rest between sets. These efforts are above LT and are intended to work my anaerobic capacity. It's the first workout of its kind I've done this season.

Well, I can say that I definitely recommend this one. It made me hurt as much as I've ever hurt in a non-racing, non-climbing situation. I can also see why having a Powermeter makes doing workouts like these so much more precise. Being a track runner, I always had distance and time to gauge effort from one interval to the next and from one workout to the next. But doing these efforts for time on unequal elevation profiles, the only real gauge I have is my "feel" for how hard I'm working. That makes it difficult to really hone in on how hard I should be going in the first set such that my final set is still quality. Today, I felt like the final four of my third set were a bit lacking and that's probably due to my inexperience with anaerobic workouts on the bike.

Right now, I just want to feel the hurt as much as possible. My embarrassing road "season" has left me feeling pretty inadequate as far as fitness is concerned. So until I'm racing consistently this season, I'll probably remain paranoid about getting dropped due to being out of shape. This being the third "Build" week in my season schedule, now is the time to suffer and suffer I will. Bring it on.

2007-10-07T15:50:00.000-05:00

There are no pictures from any of the Sunday races because of a camera failure that will require shipment back to Canon. Very bummed.

I had another good warmup on the roads today. My mind wasn't in the best of places for this one though. Winning yesterday gave me a positive boost, but it made me put a lot of pressure on myself that I hadn't really expected to have until the MAC starts up. My legs were understandably tired from the previous day's effort, but I felt good enough to be aiming for another win. I got on the front row again for this one, but the result was quite different. I had at least as good a start as yesterday, but this time I was third or fourth wheel rather than taking the holeshot. Since this course was much more technical than yesterday's, that was cause for immediate concern. I knew there was no way I could be a follower and place as high as I wanted.

One sandy section in the woods after the big hill was torn up from all the racing yesterday and so I elected to run that every time after the first lap. I stupidly tried to ride it even though I'd failed in warmups and I got gapped just a bit. I made up most of that gap back on the flat sections, but they were incredibly bumpy sections of grass that made it difficult to easily gain ground. Going into the other woods section, I took a horrible line, got passed by a few folks and found myself way overgeared. I fixed the problem relatively fast, but by that point, the front group had put significant time into me. I thought I might get it back when we hit the road, but the gap was too large, Lindstrom, Bradshaw, and another rider were up ahead.

Today's course, along with being much more technical, eliminated a huge power section and instead switched back and forth on itself to the point where I was forgetting which part of the course came next. I was riding myself into a daze and struggling to hold position. I believe that initially I was in no-mans land between the lead three and the rest of the field. I was working hard in attempting to crawl forwards in position, but I started to realize I was losing the battle when I became part of a group from behind me.

This group consisted of myself and three other riders and it was quickly understood, once we passed a guy falling off the lead pace, that we would be racing for third place. Four guys duking it out for a spot on the podium is a brutal affair. It's even more brutal when you feel as though you must lead every technical section to allow your lack of skills to slow the group. So for several laps, that's exactly what I did. I would go just fast enough that everytime we got to the horrible offcamber and 'S'-turn, I was in the lead. And everytime we had to make our way around a very tricky sandy turn, I was in the lead. And everytime we went into the final woods section, I forced myself to the front.

Well, that worked for a while. But at somewhere around two laps to go, my group mates got wiser. I think the realized my weakness and started fighting for position going into the technical sections. At least twice I was passed, as we hit the sand going into the final woods. It was so frustrating because I kept trying to find a line that would allow me to keep speed going and I couldn't. I was lucky enough that I had enough gas to get back with whoever had passed me then each time back on the road, but I knew in the back of my mind that eventually that wouldn't be the case. It also wasn't allowing me to put any time into them on power sections. Oh, how I was wishing we still had the lap around the field today!

With one lap to go, I was still in my place at the front of our pack, but I was hurting bad. I got no real gap up the mountain and I lost one spot before the off camber and 'S'-turn, but I held on and kept digging. I forced my way to the front one last time and led up the log run-up. But that's when two of the riders started to get very aggressive and in the sandy turn that had been giving me fits all day, they both went for the kill and passed me. I had no choice but to watch a little gap form and then attack like mad to pass them before we went into the woods the last time. Well, I attacked and passed them, but I must have let up a bit too soon, or they were expecting my frantic pace because they attacked back and all three riders passed me again! I was suddenly at the back of the four person pack I'd led for what had felt like an eternity. I knew that if I let any gap form I'd have to bury myself to get it back on the asphalt drag to the finish.

I watched in "horror" as Snoop, rode away from the other two in front of me and it was clear that the battle for third was over. It was going to be a three-way sprint for fourth. I lost time in the woods, but as soon as we hit pavement, I made up that ground and sat in the slipstream of the other two. I thought I had enough gas to win this sprint and I was very confident. I sat as patiently as I could and whe we saw the line, the race was on. The rider on second wheel (Cavanaugh) made his move and I made mine, but I had more ground to cover, and he had a surprisingly good finishing kick. We both stormed past the lead rider (Wolff) and towards the line with him winning by just a touch. I finished fifth.

Looking back over the course of the race, I have to say that I should have been at least third if I'd played my cards right. I worked too hard for too long and in the end I had burnt nearly all my matches. The competition was some of the best I've had in bike racing and I took up residence in the pain cave for most of the race. The technical sections of the course were my undoing and the mistake in the woods in the early going eliminated any hope of a repeat win. It's frustrating to "lose" a winnable race that early on, but sometimes that's how it goes. I didn't have the power I needed to make my strong sections hurt others and instead I had to use those sections to hang on for dear life. This was easily the most technical dry course I've ever raced and I did ok. Had I won that sprint into the woods the last time, I'm confident I could have improved at least one place. All in all, a great race for the early season--perfect to force me to work on my weaknesses.

2007-10-06T20:40:00.000-05:00

We drove around the bend from the North Fork to the South Fork and into Southampton for the first day of the Whitmore's Landscaping Super Cross Cup. Of course we made this trip Northward to watch rather than to race and it was immediately obvious that we'd made a good decision. George spotted former German cyclocross champion Malte Urban riding around in warm-ups. It wasn't long before we'd made friends with a group of three Belgians who'd come to the US for the first time. They were members of the Erwin Vervecken Fan Club and had flown across the pond just to watch him race--they were headed back to work on Monday morning. George, being more bold than I actually asked one of the guys for his hat. He happily obliged and after conferring with the other two in Flemish, Jess and I got their hats too! What a gift! Real Euro schwag.

After previewing the course, Jess lined up for her first cyclocross race ever. I've been pushing her to give it a try for a long while and I was pretty excited to see her finally give in and toe the line. This course was anything but easy for Jess. There was one very steep but short sandy hill that was unrideable and barely walkable for us mortals. And there was also a 20% grade hill that was large and quite daunting. Most of the women in this race ended up walking rather than running up the hill by the end.

Even though this course wasn't ideal for her, Jess put forth a great effort and placed fourth out of eight riders, 2:50 back from the winner. With one more lap, I'm confident she would have been on the podium. I'm equally as confident that if she were to keep racing, she would have some decent success. She's strong and more competitive that she gives herself credit for. She's also fairly skilled for her level on technical sections.

But I think this was probably Jess' first and last 'cross race. She truly seems to prefer watching me and being a part of the scene rather than actually racing. She said she's glad she did it since it gives her even more appreciation of what racing is like and what we all put ourselves through. But in the end, she didn't feel like she had the desire to race that have. It's also a good monetary decision considering how much I spend on entry fees. Doubling that would be an enormous cost.

2007-10-06T15:56:00.000-05:00

My race was after the Master's and I got in a solid warmup riding on the roads outside the park grounds. I did fifteen minutes of aerobic riding followed by some stretching and then some LT efforts and a final lap of the course. I was ready to go and I was even able to scrum for a front row start, shoving my way between the few call-ups.

From the gun, this race was a total and complete surprise to me. I clipped in immediately and started the way I'd done on Friday doing openers with George. I hammered to the front and was a bit taken aback with how easily I took the holeshot. It was so easy that I had to look back and wonder if perhaps I was going a bit too hard. Before we hit the first turn at the end of the building, I decided that I'd better keep the lead and see what I could do with it. I figured if I led up the small hillock and up the mountain, I'd probably be all set to lead the entire first lap. I did just that, electing to run the mountain and riding the off-camber coming out of the hilltop fairly well. I had a crew of riders right behind me and I was defintitely feeling the effects of setting the early pace. Last year at IC Lite, I'd taken a similar start of setting the early tempo, but the difference here was that I don't yet have confidence in my fitness. I'm only a few weeks removed from being pulled from crits.

But there I was, leading the race. As soon as we hit the asphalt coming out of the woods by the start line and returning towards the finish, I elected to let one of the followers lead us into the wind. I wasn't brazen enough to push the pace for too long. I followed close behind the new leader and I realized that I was terrified of getting gapped. I didn't have the confidence to follow the lead and feel comfortable, so I went back to the front and led most of the lap again. I repeated the switch off on the asphalt with a different leader, but this time I dove into the corner coming off the asphalt and went back to the lead as soon as we hit the grass. From there, the race was truly on.

I ran the mountain the first two times, but on the third I decided to start riding it. I was followed in hot pursuit by Andrew Grabarek of Keltic Construction. He followed my every move and somehow we managed to commandeer the lead and create a large gap between ourselves and the rest of the riders. I remember hearing the announcer comment on us switching off the lead one time through the asphalt and also hearing Mel yell to me that, "You've got a gap, keep it going."

With just over two laps to go, disaster struck for Grabarek. Coming into the barriers, I led and as soon as I crossed them, I heard him go down. I glanced back only to see him lying on the ground with his bike. I wasted no time in attacking all out to put time into him. As I was heading into the singletrack woods section before the start line, I noticed that he wasn't getting up and that the race was mine to lose. When I came through the start line I had two laps to go and I had to focus on keeping the lead as best I could. I had Jess giving me the gap back to the next group of riders and it was 30 seconds. It dipped down to 25 at some point during the penultimate lap, but I wasn't worried. I kept riding my race and focusing on keeping a solid pace in the flats and staying alert through the technical terrain.

Jess said later that she didn't know when I was on my last lap and that she started to get worried when the gap began to drop some. But I had things under control by then and I was merely trying to avoid pinch flatting on some on the rocky gully and a few of the exposed roots and cut trees. I kept the pace under control and as soon as I hit the asphalt the final time, I gave it full gas to ensure the victory. The second place rider ended up thirteen seconds back according to the results. That was a bit closer than I'd intended to let him get, but comfortable enough.

It's odd to get a win like this so early into a season in which I entered with no real fitness to speak of. Winning at Charm City last season was a big surprise, but I knew I was on top form coming in to that. It's an even bigger surprise to take the win by such an easy margin. I've never won a 'cross race before the final sprint. I was definitely aided by the crash behind me and the field wasn't the best I'll see. But a win is a win and I beat some good riders. With myself considering this course to be fairly technical, I'm extremely pleased to come out on top. It's a nice gift to keep the motivation high as I enter a weekend off from racing before the MAC season begins.

2007-10-06T14:58:00.000-05:00

It was great to have showers on site and I took full advantage. My legs were filthy and I was exhausted from the effort. I cleaned up, donned my new Vervecken hat and headed back to the car. On the way out, I saw Mr. Rainbow Stripes for the first time. He was hanging with his supporters and his mechanic/Dad. I didn't want to bother him since it seemed like he was getting plenty of attention and was about to start warming up on the course. But he noticed me hat and called out, "Where'd you get the cap?" I pointed to his boys and he chuckled at that. I seized the opportunity to get a shot with the giant and he was more than happy to oblige. I'm glad Jess was hanging close with the camera and I couldn't be more happy with how it turned out. I'm now firmly in the Vervecken camp. The dude was shockingly approachable and good spirited.

And if that wasn't enough, we'd parked next to Ryan Trebon, the US National Champion and his parter in crime, Barry Wicks. They were unloading their rental minivan and pulling out more carbon than a DC Velo Sunday ride. Dugasts, FSA Carbon wheels, sweet Kore brakes and the biggest freakin' orange frames around. George, conversationalist extraordinaire, struck up a conversation with them and we chatted for a bit. Very cool. Trebon showed me the new clearance for the chainrings on the 2008 Konas and remarked that he missed his Spooky brakes, but that the Kore ones were working great. He mentioned that he is leaving for Belgium on Monday and coming back for Natz, the USGP in Louisville and Portland. Wicks will be stepping it up to take that series in his absence.

The Elite Women's race was rather boring. We got to see Katie Compton absolutely destroy the field and any hope of real competition up front was dashed when Lyne Bessette had a chain failure.

The Elite Men's race, however, did NOT disappoint. The start was incredible. They were a true thundering herd coming towards us all and as soon as they touched grass, the dust was flying everywhere. Trebon had the holeshot and was closely followed by Erwin . . .

To be continued when I have some more free time. Plenty more pictures and race summaries to come.

Bikes:

2007-10-05T20:32:00.000-05:00

There's nothing like being on the road the day before a weekend race. It's pure heaven. There's so much hope for the racing ahead and joy that the work/school week is finally over. Being on the road with your team, talking shop, and going through the "meet"/race warmup on Friday is inspiring. I think the reason I enjoy it so much is that for a few days, you feel like someone who's life is dedicated to the sport. You're away from home with your focus as well as everyone else's on racing. It's been a while since I had this chance, but today, Jess, George, and I left town, heading North to Long Island.

The drive was surprisingly easy and we were there in around six hours. After unloading the car, George and I changed into our kits and hit the road on our 'cross bikes. We rode along Soundview Ave. and out to the Horton Point Lighthouse. We had to take a moment and enjoy the sun beginning to set below the clouds over Long Island Sound. Once we did, we turned for home and started doing starts to open up the legs for tomorrow. We alternated being the starter and experimented with different gears. This was my first time practicing starts this year, and I was encouraged at my ability to get off the line. George and I both came away feeling great about our legs and psyched to be racing on the same track as the World Champion.

Jess and I whipped up a simple pasta dish and we all chowed down. After that George set up some DVD's of the cyclocross world championships while I worked on getting Jess' bike race-ready. All that took was removing the rack and putting on my Grifo clincher tires. The weekend is already shaping up to be a cyclocross camp for the three of us.

2007-10-01T14:27:00.000-05:00

This week's mechanical segment has more to do with success than failure. I finished the race with absolutely no mechanical failures. The only thing I even had room to complain about was when I was riding up the hill where Joe Jefferson was announcing. A few times, when in the lowest gear (largest cog) I had the chain slip down one notch. At least that what I think happened. I haven't fully tested this out, but my guess is that the amount of crossover in the chainline is what's causing that. My hope is that it was more that I'd shifted under pressure and the slipping was the gear finally catching. In either case, it didn't affect my race--but it's something I should look into more.

On Wednesday night I went over to Pat's house and changed out the bearings in my Cane Creek S2 headset to see if that might aid in alleviating some brake chatter. It did get rid of an elusive rattle that I'd been hearing when dropping the front end (yes, the headset was checked for play). But I didn't really notice any change in chatter. The front end felt more solid and I had more confidence in it, but not the huge difference I was looking for.

On Friday night I played around with raising the yolk on my brakes. I found that raising the yolk did more to stop some of the brake chatter I've had than any other adjustment that I've made. Really. There's still a tiny bit at low speeds and I haven't spent a lot of time with the pads and rims wet, but I'm encouraged so far.

I also found out that regular brake cable (road nor MTB) will not work as a straddle cable for Empella Frogleg brakes. The ball end is too large for the opening. Regular cables work fine on Paul's, however. My question is whether there is any difference between what cyclocrossworld.com calls 'Empella/Spooky Straddle Cables' and dubs, "Hard to find," and just plain ol' derailleur cable? I can find no difference between the original straddle cables I got with the set and the derailleur cable that I replaced it with--other than the length. But I did talk to a mechanic finally and he said that the difference is in the thickness and derailleur cable is a bit too thin in some instances to bear the load of braking. So I picked up some of the fancy brake cable and now I'm all set.

The most interesting mechanical development this week was the arrival of the Spot Brand guards on Friday. Initially I swapped out both Carbon guards for the two new Spot guards and the setup was pretty sweet. Unfortunately it did add 4 oz, but it was quite robust. But one other difference between the Spot and the Carbon is the thickness. The Spot Brand is roughly twice the thickness and so the clearance between the inner guard and the frame was almost (but not quite) nil. Doing starts on Saturday I could hear it rub the frame when I stomped on the left side. With my frame being thin-walled Scandium Aluminum, I wasn't to keen on possibly scoring the metal.

Solution? I left the Spot on the outside and put a Carbon guard on the inside, using two 0.6 mm thick washers on each of the five chainring bolts. I think that will be my long term solution. If I have any trouble with the Carbon guard, I'll have to take the Spot Brand guard over to a belt sander and add a chamfer. It won't take much to get the necessary clearance. Looking at Peter Nicoll's bike on Saturday, I noticed that the Wetzikon guard has such a chamfer. The appeared to be made out of the same material, and with the Wetzikon having the holes drilled for weight I'd give it the edge (ha ha). In defense, my Spot guard was about $10 cheaper.

2007-09-30T20:46:00.000-05:00

Week two of the season was a good one. I was able to get in a workout and also solidify a training plan for the rest of the season. My schedule is set and I'm excited to put in the work. Even with just one week of full training, I could feel it pay real dividends.

After a nice tribute and moment of silence for Ed Sander, we started the race. I was lined up probably three quarters of the way back in the scrum for starting spots. That meant not so much of a sprint off the line but rather a follow the leader approach which continued through the first set of barriers and on the maze side of the lilypons. As soon as we hit the gravel power section the race was on and I started to get as aggressive as I could muster at that point.

I tried to slot in behind Chad Totaro and follow him through that section, but somehow I got he and his teammate confused. So when a gap opened up in front of him, I was surprised I had to go around only to realize that Totaro was up the road. I started looking for other riders in my "realm" and I tried to pass as many as I could before the U-turn hill and the mountain bike like section.

Last year, this course was quite muddy and so these sections absolutely killed me. They were so technical and I lost ground each time through. This year, after practicing some in the warm-up, I wasn't nearly as worried. The ground was dry as a bone and I made a good remount at the top of the hill. I wasn't gaining ground, but I don't think I was losing any either.

The biggest difference this week was that I felt like I had lots more power and I could actually race rather than just look to survive and finish. The corners weren't as slippery in this one either so my cornering improved dramatically. Basically I did just about everything better this time. My mounts and dismounts were more polished and I had a lot more fun out there.

One thing that I notice is the difference in what I remember when I'm in a B race near the front versus an A race towards the back. Blogging a race report last year, I felt like I remembered every pass and misstep since it literally meant the difference between winning and finishing somewhere in the top 5 or so. But now that I'm nowhere near the front, all I remember is slugging it out for an hour with a few competitors that I end up trading places with.

This week it was Brian Fouche for a bit, then Adam Fung for less than a lap, then I spent the remainder of the race attempting to catch Greg Lindstrom. Fung passed me somewhere around the mid point of the race after I'd led him through the lilypons maze and I tried to stick on him through the gravel, but failed miserably. If I'd stayed on him, I could have made up several places and I would have caught Lindstrom who I was very close to catching going into the U-turn hill on the final lap. He distanced me somewhere before we started heading downhill towards the store and I never had a real chance to beat him.

I have no idea how many laps we did, or when exactly I started each of these battles during the race. But I remember those riders and struggling like heck to beat them. Never before can I remember suffering so much for so little reward in the results. Finishing 24th sounds terrible for a 'cross race, but I keep looking above my name at who I have to start beating and at least the top end is pretty much untouchable. I've got to focus my efforts on the guys just ahead of me and see if I can't start making some progress. Already this week it was nice to make up some ground. Unfortunately, I won't be racing MABRA for a while and when I do return, the fields are likely to be smaller and less top heavy. So my real focus will be on those who decide to race the MAC B's. I have no idea who those will be and some will come from the MABRA B ranks too. So until Granogue, I won't know who my real competition is this year. I guess I'll just have to put in the miles and the time at LT and race my race so to speak.

Pictures by Dennis Smith and Michael Kirk:
Early in the race, riding next to Totaro.
The first time through the lilypons.
A bit later, still finding my groove.
Strung out on the gravel road.
First time through the unrideable gravel pit.
My favorite shot, not sure who's in my draft.
Here's Fung dropping me, and Fouche still hanging tough behind.

2007-09-23T15:55:00.000-05:00

Since it's almost time for race #2 of the cyclocross season, I figured I'd better at least take a stab at a race report for #1. It was last Sunday at Druid Hill Park in Baltimore and it was the third annual and third time I've raced at Charm City Cross. As always, the event was one of the finest around and the course is usually one that suits me well--fast and dry. I knew that this time would be a lot different than the previous two, however.

The first time I raced at Charm City, it was my first time ever racing a bike. That's right, I lined up on my Specialized Sirrus with knobby tires and clipless pedals literally purchased a day before and gave it my all. It was a rude awakening. Last season, my second go at the race, was equally exciting and I was lucky enough to come away with the Men's B victory--easily the highlight of my brief cyclocross career. I followed that up with a solid season and a second place in the B series, which brings me to this year . . .

Somehow, early registration I guess, I ended up with #7 in the race, which put me on the front row--of the A race. Insane. I lined up on the far left, next to Andrew Wulfkuhle of C3. But more scary was that a few riders over from him were Davide Frattini and Luca Damiani. They're both Italian pros. Needless to say I was a bit intimidated, especially since I knew I was out of shape and hadn't been expecting to do much other than get my feet wet with 'cross again.

Anyhow, the officials gave us the whistle and we were off. I clipped in quickly and smoothly and started sprinting for the first turn. I didn't sprint all out because I was worried about taking the first turn at full speed, but I made it there soon enough and the race was on. Dust was flying everywhere and it was the epic chaos that cyclocross brings.

I don't remember much about the first lap other than I was getting passed a lot. Considering my fitness level, I knew this was going to be a theme of the day, but even so, it's depressing to feel like you're going backwards so early in the race. Halfway through that lap, when we hit the barriers out in the field, I found myself somewhere in the mid-twenties. The bleeding continued through the remainder of the lap, but after that I tried to settle in to my pace and race against the guys around me.

The rest of the race was a blur. I did battle with Erik Leaver, Chad Totaro, and Adam Szczepanski, which put me in fine company, but certainly I don't think any of them were in top form. I thought I'd finished ahead of all three, but the results are a bit funky and so is my memory, so who knows? What I do remember was the incredible encouragement I got from the Coppis on the course and how that sustained me each lap as I started to wonder how in the world I was going to finish. I was reminded that racing an hour is a lot longer than racing 45 minutes. It hurts so much in that final quarter of racing and my pace was pretty slow. My dismounts and remounts were surprisingly good for having done more during this race than I did total in preparation. Mainly it felt good to suffer again and to be a part of another 'cross season. My passions were renewed.

Things to note from the results? Wes Schempf is going to be awesome this year it appears. Props go to Todd Hesel (last year's B champ, hence the sweet skinsuit) and Jared Nieters (another B) for finishing a lot higher than I did.

The more interesting thing (at least for mechanic wannabes) were the problems I had pre-race. It had to do with my single ring setup and I have no idea as to the real cause of the problem. Last season, I raced on the Javelin Primitivo and this year I switched to the Kona Major Major. On both rigs I was running a single ring setup which consists of a 42t chain ring surrounded by double guards and chained to a 12-27 cassette in the rear.

All of last season, there was rattling from the chain guards. They were slightly too thin and so when I tightened down the long chainring bolts, they bottomed out rather on themselves rather than flush against the guards. Well, this season, I bought some small washers to add that missing thickness. Putting them on was a challenge because of all the Loctite I'd used to keep the bolts tight. But eventually, with Jess' help, I got the bolts off. I soaked them overnight in Acetone and then installed the washers on the crank along with the chainring, guards, and bolts. By all accounts, it was an immediate success. The rattling was gone and it looked quite sturdy.

That was until last Wednesday morning when I met the guys at Bluemont for morning 'cross practice. As I was descending a hill and applying full gas (42x12) to my horror the chain became lodged on the outside of the chainring to the inside of the guard. Basically the chain wedged itself and bent the Carbon guards enough to get in there. It was a catastrophic problem that I was very worried about.

Luckily, when I took time to check it out once I got home, I found that the chainring bolts had all loosened up a lot. I figured that I hadn't used enough Loctite this time or that I hadn't let it dry and so because the bolts loosened up that's why the chain had lodged in the now-bigger gap. I tightened the bolts back down and liberally applied Loctite.

That theory lasted until I was warming up in Baltimore and it happened again. At this point, I trying to get some time on on the actual course and I started freaking out. How could this happen? I'd have to forgo the race if I couldn't find a solution. So I coasted back to the car and started talking it over as calmly as I could with Jess. Neither one of us could figure out why it was happening since none of the bolts seemed all that loose. Worse yet, Jess noticed that the Carbon guards had hairline fractures now from being bent.

My only solution was to make my 10 speed 12-27 into a 9 speed 13-27 and hope that the chain wouldn't find its way off the chainring. So I tightened down the H limit screw and said a quick prayer. I rode it around once and it seemed like it might work, so I hopped on the trainer and spent the rest of the time warming up.

So, solution? Well, I don't know yet, but I've placed an order for the Spot Brand 42t guards in the hopes that a metal guard won't flex and allow the chain in. I'm not 100% sure that will save the day, but at this point it's my only hope. We'll see, the order should be in from Bikeman on Friday--just in time to hopefully get things right for Sunday's race. If all goes well, I'll need to do another 'My Ride' post to document all the changes to this years race rig.

2007-09-21T13:33:00.001-05:00

Well, I once again haven't posted in a while. And with it being only 2 days until cyclocross gets started, you might wonder why? Well, after racing in the MIT Alumni Meet (that's running) and riding in the Wilmington Grand Prix (another DNF), a funny thing happened. I'm not sure when or exactly why, but I developed a nasty case of rash/saddle sore. I've been battling that for a little more than two weeks now and I finally had to give up and stay off the bike cold turkey this week. You can imagine what that does to my preparation for Sunday.

I had planned to spend this week getting fully reacquainted with my 'cross bike, but the only time I got was maybe thirty minutes of riding with the boys Wednesday morning at Bluemont. I had trouble with the bike, and remounting on my sore crotch did not make me feel good about riding. I gave up on that and headed for the house.

Writing this post also has me feeling closer than ever to the Bush administration. I feel like I've got to dampen expectations for the start of the season and really move all the benchmarks I'd hope to meet--if not change them entirely. In short, Sunday may be quite embarrassing (not Gonzo-like, I hope). Looking at the start list I can't help but feel out of my element. A few guys from the B's have moved up--so if I was in shape I could take solace in that. But otherwise the start list reads like a Who's Who of elite 'cross racing in our area. It's motivating to be sure, but I can't work miracles. To further complicate matters, I'll be spending Friday evening and Saturday helping with the youth on a church retreat. No biking there either.

So what's the plan? I need to practice dismounts and remounts a lot on raceday and also make sure I get ample rounds on the course. Not only that but I've got to pray that nothing goes wrong with the bike. I've done all the maintenance I know to do, so now we'll have to wait for things to settle out. The bike does look sweet though. I'm also extremely happy with the change in geometry. This bike fits me perfectly.

2007-08-25T12:29:00.000-05:00

Whadya know? I can finish a race on the road. I was down in NC visiting family this weekend and stopped over in Salisbury, NC to race the High Rock Lake Road Race. This time out I managed to do a lot better.

The course was a 13 mile nearly-pancake flat loop on immaculate tarmac. Apparently it had just been paved and boy could you tell. It was silky smooth and clean. Chances of getting a flat today were way down. The field in my Cat. 3 only race was rather small with no team really having more than about five guys. Franklin Street Cycles, Salisbury's team, and Pfeiffer University were the main groups. The rest of us were on our own.

We did five laps plus a finishing section of about a mile--the total listed was 68 miles. I can say that I raced this one tactically very smart but just got a bit unlucky in my final decisions. I spent the entire race sitting in the back and avoiding taking a pull at all costs. It was really amazing to me how many times people tried breakaways when it was obvious they weren't going to work without happening very close to the finish line. So there I sat. Many times I would look back and find myself completely in the rear. That doesn't work so well in a crit, but in a RR like this one, it's not such an issue.

It was without question the most boring race I've ever done. Each time we came through the feed zone I could casually chat with Jess while exchanging a bottle and wave at my parents. The pace wasn't all that slow, but when you never find yourself on the front, it isn't that hard. My biggest concern most of the time was that I really needed to pee. Not being confident enough to do that on the bike, I had to try and focus on other things.

Heading into the final lap, I was poised to see what I could do. My bet was that it was all going to end in a bunch sprint so I continued to ignore the breakaways. But somewhere in the last four miles or so a group of 7 or 8 made it off the front and there wasn't the usual push to bring them back. Either everyone was thinking like me and not wanting to waste energy or they were tired already. I'm not totally sure. I tried to surf between a few of the guys that were trying to bridge across and they didn't like that at all! Shocking ;-) I was still thinking that the break would come back so I didn't want to work at all--just cover my bases if it didn't.

Well, we never bridged up far enough and that group never came back, so I retreated to the peloton just before the entered the finishing mile and tried to get ready for the sprint. I was able to bully my way into a line of riders once the finish line came into sight and once the sprint started I gave it all I had. I finished 3rd in the field sprint and somewhere around 10th or 11th on the race I think. Not bad for 'cross training. Good base miles. Considering that I got 3rd in the sprint, I think the field may have been more tired than I anticipated. Had I tried to take off and bridge on my own, it may have worked. Who knows? That's road racing I guess.

2007-08-22T19:20:00.000-05:00

I finally got some pain in my legs today. It came via basically derny pacing on the trail home from work. Pat rode his electric hub motor powered bike in front of me and gave it full gas. I sat in his slipstream and held on for dear life. The stops to cross roads and slow down to pass folks on the trail served to make this a blend of tempo and intervals. In short, I think it was a perfect workout for a crit or for 'cross. I'm thinking if Pat's willing that I'll make it a fixture of my workout routine.

The legs felt good, but I'm glad I'm finding the holes in my fitness real quick. I don't have much of a sustained top end power push. The few accelerations I did were solid and overall I'm in good shape--meaning I'm not dying right now writing this. So more work this weekend in the High Rock Lake Road Race at home in NC and then we'll see what I've got after another week of training.

2007 Cyclocross Schedule

2007-08-21T16:55:00.001-05:00

Looking back at last season, I raced only eight times. I raced every MABRA race (Charm City, Ed Sander, AVC, IC Lite, Coppi, Race Pace, and the Championships). I only raced once in the MAC, my home turf of Lake Fairfax Park for the Captial Cross Classic. Most of that season schedule was determined by splitting time between Arlington and Jefferson Hills, PA where Jess was living.

This year, there shouldn't be any restrictions on travel, so I'm set to race a full slate. The plan now is to race sixteen times. I'll race all but two of the MABRA (AVC and the Championships), all but one of the MAC (Highland Park), as well as Whitmore's early in the season, the new DC race, the NJ stops of the USGP, and the late season Rockburn 'Cross. IC Lite was dropped from MABRA and is now part of the PA series.

It's possible, depending on how I fare during the early MAC races that I could end up going to Highland Park. But the drive is awfully daunting when there's a race so close in Sykesville, MD. It's also possible that I could end up racing the MABRA Championships if we don't travel for Thanksgiving. With a schedule so full (10 out of 12 weeks racing) I think I'll be challenged to keep races rather than to add more.

Highlights of the season:

1. Charm City. This is one of the most enjoyable racing experiences around. It's the first week of the season here in the Mid Atlantic and everyone is jazzed up for 'cross. The course is well designed and fast. Not to mention that I pulled off a B-series win last year.

2. Whitmore's. I've heard great things about the course design here and with family on Long Island this trip should be fun. I figure a weekend experiencing the big time racing scene will get me better prepared for . . .

3. Granogue. The MAC opener. I've raced it only once, back in 2005 and I loved it. Hopefully it hasn't changed much because the course was epic and seeing the Kona boys roll was the highlight of my first year in 'cross. Reviews from last year were more than enough to make me feel bad about missing this one. I won't make the same mistake again this year.

4. DCCX. To have a real cyclocross race inside the district will be a unique experience. In its first year, there's very little info out there about this one, so it's anyone's guess at to the venue and course layout. But knowing a few of the CityBikes crew, they'll pull off a great race.

5. Tacchino. This is Squadra Coppi's race and the one course that I get to play a hand in setup. Last year the course was a good blend of technique and power. The hill in the middle helped me shed some of the competition and I do more than hope that this year's course will again play to my strengths.

6. Beacon. I've never been to this one, but every picture I see of the sand and the stairs reminds me of the action across the pond. I'm very much looking forward to a race that requires a good bit of running. Hopefully by this point in the season I'll be battle hardened.

7. USGP. I don't always hear good things about the USGP series, but there's no denying that it always draws out the big boys. It's too bad we lose 2 races out of the MAC series because of it. I can't wait to see the action after I'm done racing. It'll be my first time in attendance at a USGP race. I'm not sure what to expect from the racing at my level at an even like this. My guess is MAC+, so a very high level.

8. Cap Cross. I can't say that I truly enjoy this course because every time I've raced here I've performed below my expectations. But this year, if I can stay focused on racing for the entire season, this race will be a grand way to finish things off. It's my home course, so I think it's about time that I did something here that I was proud of.

One topic that's been very interesting to me this year has been budgeting. Jess and I are detailed about our budget and so I figured I'd come up with an estimate of exactly what it will cost to race this season of 'cross. I figure the cost of just racing comes in three ways: fuel, hotels, and entry fees. With the cost of the races being $25 plus a $2.80 BikeReg.com service charge, the grand total for waging war on two wheels comes in at $27.80 per race. My estimate of fuel is based on the roundtrip mileage in the car listed above. Conservatively (at least right now) I'm estimating gas to be $3.00/gallon and the Honda CR-V to get 26 mpg. That works out to $0.12/mile. Planning ahead, it looks like I'll only need 3 night in hotels. Staying in a HoJo and a Days Inn keeps the costs low there. Grand total: $976.45 for a season of 'cross.

Of course, this calculation doesn't include things like some of the inevitable eating out on the road rather than cooking at home. Nor does it include equipment costs in the case that something breaks. But I think $1K for the season isn't a bad estimate of what this hobby truly costs.

2007-08-19T20:45:00.000-05:00

Raceday! Wake Up Call! I traveled up North to Williamsport, MD for the River City Classic. It was again this year, the Age Graded Criterium Championships, but they also held a 3/4 race. Last year I led this race solo for quite a while before being reeled in to setup for the sprint. This year, well, things didn't exactly go the same way.

I've made it no secret that I haven't raced much this road season and that any racing I do at this point is with the intention of getting ready for cyclocross. It's a good thing that I did get out to race today, because I got the wake up call and additional motivation to train that I have needed for months. This was quite a quality field on a moderately technical course and I was no match.

I lined up near the back, intent on being passive the entire race. Once the gun went off I found a spot 3/4ths back from the front in the peloton and settled in. The first several rounds, the turns were pretty slow as folks figured things out, but after that we got crankin'. I never really found my way up towards the front as I should have, and instead I started losing ground.

The final turn before the finish was just slightly more than a 90 degree turn, and I really never figured out how to make this one at any speed. It's been my MO in crits that I can't corner well enough to be a factor, but I've never had it cost me the way it did today. Each time we came to that critical juncture on course, I lost maybe five yards. And every time I did that, I had to get out of the saddle and sprint up the slight incline to catch back on. It was a classic case of the criterium accordion--except that I didn't do the contracting part for too long. I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but at some point, a group of three of us lost contact with the peloton and that was all she wrote.

We were toast. But silly me, never having been dropped before, I got more and more frustrated at myself for sucking in the turn and not having enough power to catch back on. I didn't start working with the other two until after a few laps and by that point it was painfully obvious we weren't going to finish the race. The peloton eventually was out of sight on the straightaways, then out of sight through the alleys and then, with ten laps to go, the official blew the whistle. I sat up, unzipped my skinsuit and coasted uphill to the car.

Probably the most embarrassing thing was that I had enough time to change into my street clothes and jog back to the finish in time to see the winners sprint to victory. Ouch.

So why did I suck so much today? Well, I've got three reasons er excuses. The first is that I think the quality of the Category 3 group this year is a lot better than it was last year in my first season on the road. Back then, I was continually frustrated with the lack of aggressive pace and that's why I was out solo. This year, there were some major players in the race and they made this one the hammerfest that I've always been looking for. Congrats to all the racers who finished in the main field. You guys raced hard and should be proud. Especially the three juniors who were in there battling right up to the finish.

The second is one that's already been discussed: I can't corner worth a crap. I did improve some as the race wore on, but I never mastered that final turn. I think I could have masked the third reason a lot more if I had been good at riding the corners fast.

The final reason is of course the reason that I'm glad I showed up today: I'm out of shape--or I'm at least I'm out of top end speed and raw power. I have a decent amount of fitness. My legs are used to lots of aerobic mileage, so I've got some base to work with. They have not, however turned a stroke in oxygen debt in quite a while and today showed that. The speed of the race was a shock to the system and my legs were screaming.

Between now and September 23, when cyclocross kicks into gear, I've got to get some speed back. It's going to take some tempo workouts and some racing. I need to spend some time in agony, some time remembering what it's like to pedal in anger, and some time riding with the motivation of not embarrassing myself. In short, I've got a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it in. But I've got motivation now, and this year, that's been half the battle.

2007-08-15T11:41:00.000-05:00

It's time for me to start blogging again. Charm City is only 39 days away and 'cross season will soon be upon us. Let's see if I can make some regular posts as a sign of the cyclocross season.

I've dropped off the racing map since the Poolesville Road Race back in May. My motivation for racing on the road completely deserted me and so I deserted the racing scene. Since then I've only raced once--a lap at the Pleasant Valley Road Race--and I flatted. But there's something about 'cross season that I knew would stoke my competitive fires again.

I'm now riding every weekday and trying to regain my form. I think I'm nearly back to having a reasonable base and since 'cross isn't as reliant on lots of mileage, I'm hopeful that this season can be a full success. I'll start throwing in some tempo eventually and next week I should have my 'cross bike setup to start skills work. "Racing" at MIT's alumni meet should be a shock to the running system. Maybe by then I can get enough miles on my new shoes to make the purchase worthwhile.

If nothing else, I'm motivated by the fact that I'll be a step above the MABRA B's this year. Since I finished second in the MABRA B series last year to Todd Hesel and won two races (bookends), I think several of us are due to take a step up. I'm planning on racing the MAC B's and MABRA A's. MAC B's are a lot more competitive than the MABRA B races, so that will be halfway between where I came from and fully making an A leap.

I raced last year's MABRA Championship with the A's and that's what I've remembered all off-season. It was Thanksgiving weekend, I wasn't training well, the course was awesome--though muddy, and I sucked bigtime. I remember that racing for an hour was a long time and I remember the lonely feeling of knowing only one man was behind me in the race. I had no speed and no control and I felt like I had no business being in the race. So this year, I'm hoping to erase some of those memories and find some success at a level above MABRA B's.

Since my first exposure to the MAC scene at Granogue two years ago, I've been hooked on 'cross. I can't wait to finally get in a full season of MAC racing--though I'm not especially looking forward to all the cash I'll have to spend on gas and hotels. It will be intense and a little less laid back than the MABRA races, but I think it will be a lot of fun and I can't help but get better.

2007-01-05T19:00:00.000-05:00

One of the toughest parts about getting up at 6a to ride in to work is dealing with my stomach. A lot of times I wake up with an upset stomach and I have to spend time just hanging around until it calms down. It's usually worse when I haven't slept all that well, but the good news is that if I have a little bit to eat and maybe a trip to the toilet, things settle down.

The other tough thing is when it's either bitterly cold or rainy. Lately, it hasn't been much of either, but today it was rainy. I left the house in my Coppi windbreaker (ie not waterproof) and just after crossing 7, the rain got worse. So I pulled over and put on my raincoat and booties--along with my new neoprene gloves. From there on, I was feeling pretty good. Since it was so warm out, I didn't put on my rain pants. My legs didn't mind the dampness one bit. Coming over the rise just after the stretch in Vienna, I was all alone and hearing The Bruch in my ears what just what I needed. It doesn't get much more beautiful than that.

Today was only a half day since I use Fridays to catch up on work hours. Jess drops by and picks me up on her way home from Pittsburgh, so it's nice to have at least half a day off once in a while. Overall, my legs feel terrific. If I could just sleep a little better, I'd be perfect.

2007-01-04T21:41:00.000-05:00

Well, it's that time of year again . . . the time after all the seasons are over and I'm building up a base that I become completely enamored with the sport all over again. I'm happy to report that my enthusiasm for the bike is at it's annual winter peak. Seeing as I'm now at week 18 of living without a car during the week, that's good timing. Right now I'm spending my time building up a base as big as I can handle. I'm back home after spending the holidays with Jess in Pittsburgh, so I'm seeing 2.5 hours of riding each weekday, split up of course into 1.25 hour segments in the AM and PM. That's the 40 mile roundtrip to work everyday. I'm hoping to make it out the DC Velo 7am ride or a Coppi jaunt this weekend, which should add at least 50 miles and 3-4 hours to the total--not to mention some climbing, a bump up of the pace, and some friendly competition. My goal, I think, is to settle at 300 mi/week, which should be about 18 hours in the saddle. Because the volume is so high for me, I'm not really hammering much these days. Waking up at 6a every morning is tough, but I'm getting in the miles and so far I'm not sick or really feeling all that tired. Of course, I haven't done much on the weekends up to this point, so it's possible that once I start doing rides on Saturday and Sunday, I could feel it a bit.

2006-11-26T14:08:00.000-05:00

With all of my hunger and desire to be racing a week ago, the Thanksgiving holiday kind of took some of that away--as did finishing off the MABRA series with a win. So it was no surprise that I wasn't as up as I should have been for my first go at an 'A' race. That's really a shame, because the course for this one was probably the best I've seen all year. It was set up in Taneytown, MD by Tracy Lea. This course really had everything: mud, run ups, off cambers, gravel, pavement, and lots of turns. It didn't really suit my style, but I had to admire how well laid out it was. It reminded me a lot of courses I've seen on cycling.tv.

So, since I wasn't planning for this one as well as I should have been, Jess and I went to church at our normal hour and didn't make it to the racecourse until thirty minutes before the gun. I did almost no warmup--consisting only of a few minutes on the trainer and then riding around nervously near the start line. When it was time to go, I found myself on the line with oldies but goodies, Gunnar Shogren and Kris Auer as well as junior phenom Nick Bax and Evan Ellicott, also making the upgrade from the B's. Since there were only about 10-12 racers, we all had a front row position. I got a good start and found myself in third place behind Shogren and Auer at the first turn. But that's where the positives would end for the day.

Having not preridden the course, I immediately found myself in trouble. I had absolutely no clue what was coming and I messed up nearly every feature on the first lap. I took turns too fast, too slow, and even had to dab my foot a few times where I shouldn't have. By the end of the first lap, I'd dropped every single spot except for a couple. I was really frustrated, but not so much as I might have been had I known what was on the course.

Judd, another Coppi in the race, eventually came up to me and passed. I tried to go with him, but my horrendous technical skills gave him a gap and I never could make it up. I tried really hard for a few laps, but his lead got bigger and bigger. I soon realized that I was only one spot out of dead last. I started looking for the guy behind me as well as trying to make sure I wouldn't get lapped. When I realized that neither was likely to happen, I got my head back to riding the course and started trying to learn from what I was doing.

To be sure, I was exhausted. Racing for an hour was difficult, especially when I had no one to race with and nothing to strive for in the last few laps. Most of all, I realized that pre-riding isn't just a good idea, it's a necessity. I had not forseen how impossible it was to ride a muddied and technical course like this without knowing what was coming. I found myself taking the wrong lines with all the wrong gearing and it cost me bigtime.

I guess one positive is that Ellicott did pretty darn well and I've beaten him and Bax in the past. Though I know they are superiot to me in technical skills and endurance respectively, I can reasonably expect that with more focus, desire, and a preride, I would have done much better. Next time, I'll have a chance to test that theory. I'll race once more, this time the final MAC race of the season this Sunday in Reston, VA. Hopefully I can go out on a little bit of a high note.

2006-10-31T08:32:00.000-05:00

I finally decided to do something other than just put the miles in. I warmed up for a couple miles, then hit it hard, doing six minute intervals with three minutes rest. I did five sets and managed to avoid any long stops at intersections. My legs felt pretty strong and I was able to use one rider as bait. We'll see how I respond in the next few days. I hope I'm strong enough now to keep the mileage up and add just a tad bit of quality.

2006-10-30T10:16:00.000-05:00

I haven't updated in two weeks and I never finished a race summary for IC Lite, but rest assured that I haven't been nearly as lazy with riding. Today marks my sixth consecutive day of total bike commuting (i.e. 40 miles/day no car). I even used my new rain gear to navigate through the storm this past Friday. I took the weekend off and this morning, my legs felt amazing. I'm building a massive base and in doing so I'm as hungry as ever to get out and race this weekend when the MABRA series resumes.

Hunger really doesn't do my feelings justice. I'm flat out anxious to get back on the 'cross bike and race. It's unbearable to read and look and photos of the MAC series and the World Cup races over in Europe. This is going to be a long week, I'm sure of that. I'm planning on at least riding some barriers soon and probably throwing in a tempo ride before this weekend of racing on Saturday and Sunday. Logging upwards of thirteen hours on the bike a week is starting to feel more natural. We'll see how I do as the weather gets colder, but so far, I'm holding up.

As for my training as a whole, since I don't have a car (nine weeks now) I haven't been able to really do much planning of workouts. In the past few weeks, I've been tired from commuting everyday and didn't feel like I could handle any extra load. The only real hard efforts I've done have been the random times I've felt up to catching folks on the trail. But I'm hoping that I'm now handling things better and can add some quality to the quantity in time to get some benefit this 'cross season.

I'm thinking right now that I'd like to keep riding this much through the winter. That means, I doubt I'll be taking the break I took last season to train for the Alumni track meet. Should make for an interesting mile time come January, but hopefully it'll pay dividends when road season starts up.

2006-10-19T14:44:00.000-05:00

Here's an interesting tidbit from Pez' interview with Greg Lemond. It's very encouraging to hear such an established road racer recommend cyclocross racing in the winter.

Pez: Cyclo-cross has always been popular in Europe and is now booming in the United States with the Crank Brothers U.S. Grand Prix of Cyclo-Cross, Verge events, and others. What was your experience with cross as a competitor and did this influence the design of the highly popular LeMond Poprad cyclo-cross bike?

GL: If you go back to when I first started cycling, cyclo-cross was a mainstay of my winter training. Cyrille Guimard was the coach and each year I was on Renault that team won the French National Cyclo-Cross Championships. Each week from October until January riders would race a minimum of once a week and train 12-14 hours per week with two of those days doing cyclo-cross, very intense, kind of like a time trial. If you think about the physiology of it you maintained a high level of fitness, what you gained all summer. Guimard was really forward in his training regimens by saying you don’t gain all this fitness only to take three months off in the winter and have to start from scratch. That’s what was happening. Back in the 1970’s that’s what riders did, except Merckx. Merckx was racing year round and it showed in his performance in the early season.

It's also noteworthy that he says they were training only 12-14 hours a week. That's about what I'm doing now. Hearing that Saul Raisin was riding 28 hours in a week while he starts his comeback from a brain injury is stunning. That's nearly twice what Lemond was doing.

Another interesting note was what he had to say about young racers starting out. I'm not as young as he's speaking about, but I think it applies to anyone starting out in the sport, regardless of age:

Pez: What advice do you have for juniors and young racers starting out?’

GL: First, get a good coach and especially get connected with a local club or team that has some ex, older, good racers who they can learn from. Bike racing has, in the last 10 to 15 years, become so much about physiology, training, how you do intervals, but bicycle racing isn’t just a physical sport, it’s a tactical sport. You have to learn tactics from other racers and also from racing. As a young racer the more you can race the better. All types of racing, road, track, and criteriums. If you want to be a winner you have to do it all. Even mountain bike races should be included in a young person’s repertoire. Riders should not focus on the quantity of riding but on the quality of their rides, they should learn how to sprint properly and how to do an echelon. I am shocked sometimes when I ride with experienced racers who do not know instinctively to switch an echelon when the wind changes. They should also develop a very good pedal stroke and an ability to rapidly change cadence from low RPMs to high RPMs, where you’re able to use the high pedal speed to accelerate.

Cool to hear such good advice from the first professional cyclist I ever heard of growing up.

2006-10-14T21:11:00.000-05:00

I was back up front, where I want to be . . . finishing 2nd at IC Lite. Race Summary to come.

Photo by James R. Wilson

2006-10-13T13:03:00.000-05:00

Wow, the cold weather came in a hurry. Just last night I was riding home in a jersey and shorts. I woke up this morning to temperatures in the high thirties and low forties. I didn't think it'd be as cold as it was outside and I left the house in my thermal jacket, leg warmers, and gloves. I originally thought the jacket would be too much, but after about five minutes, I was wishing I had my hat, booties, and bigger gloves. It was darn cold. Needless to say, traffic along the trail was down significantly. The same troopers I saw throughout the winter last year were out there, but there's never anyone headed in my direction once the weather gets chilly.

2006-10-12T13:06:00.000-05:00

The skies looked like they might get anrgy, so I was more than happy to hitch a ride behind Pat's electric bike to get home. Riding behind him is just like motor pacing and it's a lot of fun to fly by folks on the trail. We can ride at 26-27 mph consistently and it can be hard work when we hit a long but slight uphill.

Once we hit the gravel on the way to Vienna, I attacked Pat just to see what his bike could do. I got a gap and then settled in to work and try and maintain it. I was tucked and cranking a huge gear TT style and I just held him off to the depot. What a blast! I got back behind him and chilled out the rest of the way home--with the exception of the obligatory KOM point before Hwy. 66.

2006-10-10T21:39:00.000-05:00

I had to do a few things around the apartment before I left for work this morning, so the commute started a bit late. But I finally got on the bike and started pedaling. My legs felt like garbage, which is a little bit surprising since I've only ridden three of the last four days. Maybe they're just complaining about the lack of work. Well, I put 'em back to work but really didn't enjoy a single bit of this trip. I was glad when I finally got to my destination and I took a long shower.

Coming home was a lot more interesting because I had the new light to play with. I even stayed a little bit late at work so I'd get a chance to use the light in the conditions I'll face once the time changes. I have to say that the light performed wonderfully. It's incredibly bright. I was blocking it with my hand to keep from blinding people. It was shining on street signs at least 200 yards away. It is without question brighter than my 10W halogen. I'd like to see how it compares to the Cateye Triple Shot Pro or the Niterider MiNewt. If anyone's got one, I'd like to give them a try. Pat certainly got this one built for a lot less than they're asking for those lights.

2006-10-09T15:46:00.000-05:00

To round out my day off, I finally made it down the road to check out Pat's new light. It's been a small project of ours to get a bright, yet cheap LED light for commuting once the time changes in a couple of weeks. This is the first go round and it looks pretty good. I didn't get a chance to see it shine after the sun went down, but I think it may work out. It definitely seemed as bright as my 10W Halogen.

The light is about as simple as it gets. It's four Luxeon K2 LED's mounted with lenses to a piece of Aluminum. They're wired in series and connected to 12 AA NiMH batteries that are housed in the water bottle. Running them in series is about as simple as it gets and for now, that's the goal.

The backside looks a bit more complex that it actually is. Being the aerospace engineer that he is, he's doubled the connections coming into the lights. The connections are made with PC jumpers and pins.

And just to speak on the first picture. Pat's big into electric bikes and the wheel covers on the front are hiding a hub motor. So, please, if you see a middle aged dude who's probably not as fit as you and he's taking you to the shed on the trail, think! It's hilarious how many folks have been riding with Pat on the way to work that think he's a freak of nature with incredible acceleration and stamina. He's no freak, just a crafty veteran.

2006-10-09T14:38:00.000-05:00

One of the most interesting things about this cyclocross season has been being both racer and mechanic. I've done every single bit of mechanic work on my rig this season, and with that has also come some mistakes. Fortunately, none of those mistakes have cost me in a race--or at least not noticeably.

The first mistake, I made two days before Charm City and I'm hoping it'll be the most expensive one I make this season. The left rear brake boss on my Javelin isn't aligned properly. That's a manufacturing error/QC issue, but the result is that my rear brake pads weren't contacting the rim at the right angle. In trying to bend the brakes to overcome this error, I bent the bolt that holds the smooth shaft brake pad. In doing that, I damaged the threads to lock it in place and when I tried to screw it shut, I sheared the bolt! This bolt is unique to Empella brakes and since Cyclocrossworld.com is the only company selling them in the US, I had to shell out for next day air and a replacement sent of bolts. I have since learned how to properly bend the brakes and now they're at the right angle.
Cost: $40.49

The second mistake I made was beyond a rookie mistake. It was purely a stupid one and so far it was the most dangerous to my race hopes. I lost a bolt out of my seatpost during Charm City and upon examination, it was because I had the top part of the clamp oriented backwards. Basically, I didn't read the piece to see the 'FRONT' stamped on well, the front and I had it in there backwards. That meant it was tough to get the angle I wanted and so I had the back bolt just barely screwed in. One race on the dirt, and it worked its way loose.
Cost: $4.95

The third mistake, I didn't notice until late last week. I lost the crank arm cap/washer on my Dura Ace FC-7700 drive side crank. I didn't think it was much more than a cosmetic error until I noticed the crank bolt was loose moments before the start of my race on Saturday. A new one should keep that bolt tight.
Cost: $8.95

Unfortunately it wasn't the cause of the most perplexing of all problems . . . Moments before the start of my race on Saturday, I started hearing an awful cracking/creaking noise coming either from my bottom bracket or somewhere in the hub/rear derailleur area. I wasn't sure which and I had no idea how to fix the problem, so I had to race with the noise. I did get a little bit better during the race, but never the way it should sound.

So today, I set off on a quest to determine what in the world this noise was. It never happened on the stand. So shifting up and down without any real pressure on the crank sounded just fine and the shifting was normal. So I took it outside and confirmed that the only way to make the noise was to put a lot of resistance against the crank. That meant the noise was heard when starting from a dead stop in just about any gear, but worse when starting in the 42x12.

I first wanted to rule out the hub. That would be the worst case since the Mavic Cosmos I've been riding on have seen very little 'cross action so far. I switched the rear wheel with my road bike's rear wheel. I took it outside again and was actually thrilled to hear that the problem persisted. That ruled out the hub! Or did it? My rear hub on the road bike actually seemed to have some play in it. I tightened it up to take out the play and fortunately, the sound continued. I checked the tightness of the hub on my cross wheel and it was fine.

The remaining possibilites were the BB and either the rear derailleur or chain. It was hard for me to determine where the noise was coming from since I had to ride the bike to hear it. But on Saturday Jess seemed convinced it wasn't the BB. So I went with her recommendation and turned my attention to the rear derailluer and chain.

The more I looked at the problem, the more I became convinced that the chain was somehow slipping to make the noise. And that was consistent with my thought that the chain was one link too long. In my quest to improve the shifting last week, I hadsd finally concluded that the chain was just barely too long. But when I went to shorten it, I realized that the one reason I loved SRAM chains was not a feature in their 10 speed chains!

The link that I thought was a PowerLink is actually called a PowerLOCK on the new chains. That means that you can install the chain without a chain tool, but to remove the chain, it's back to the same old of using a tool. And once you remove the PowerLock, you have to get a new one to reconnect the chain! Ugh. I'm no longer excited about SRAM 10 speed chains. But that's the reason that I decided to leave the chain at its current length. And that one extra link, it turns out, was the cause of this horrible noise.

I had to ride over to Big Wheel Bikes, the closest LBS and snag a Shimano CN-5600 (105 Chain). I checked the length with the SRAM chain I removed, then installed it and voila! The problem was gone. So until I get another PowerLock, I've got a useless SRAM 10 Speed chain laying around.
Cost $27.95

I should comment also that so far the shifting does seem to be better with a Shimano chain the Shimano drivetrain. Go figure! Shifting it more precise also without so much slack in the chain. In the 27 cog, the cage is at about 45 degrees with the horizontal, which in my opinion is about as far as you should go. In the 12 cog, things look exactly as they should, with the two pulleys nearly inline vertically.

2006-10-07T21:00:00.000-05:00

Before I go into all the reasons *excuses* that I sucked this weekend, I should say that we've got quite the community racing 'cross. I don't want to dump on the road racing scene, but it's just not the same. I don't know if it's all the MTB'ers racing or if it's just that we've got smaller crowds, but in any case, the guys that race each week are fun to be around. They're good people. It was nice to get some positive words from folks after the race who were probably as upset about their races as I was. They kill me in the sportsmanship department.

This was a strange race for many reasons and the first thing to note was the weather. It rained hard all day Friday and into Saturday morning here in the DC/NOVA area. As a result, the ground was completely saturated and any race here would have been a mudbath. So it was expected that driving north on I-270 in a torrential downpour Saturday morning that we were in for a mudbath similar to that of last year's Hagerstown race. But the surprise came when we hit I-70 and realized that the ground in Hagersown was dry as a bone. I'm not sure if it had rained at all! I also figured that the prospect of rain would have kept folks at home, but there was a full crew in the parking lot when we pulled up.

Since I arrived a bit late due to traffic on 270, the Master's were racing when I got suited up and ready to ride. So instead of getting in my usual pre-ride, I had to just hit the trainer and take in the advice of my teammates who'd already raced. I gleaned two bits of knowledge from them about the course: (1) it was short and (2) it was bumpy. I hit the trainer and had myself a great warmup. My legs were fairly sharp, even with all the miles from the week in them, and I was ready for action. Unfortunately, that's where the positives ended for the day.

As soon as the Master's race ended, I got on the course to pre-ride for a bit before the start. And when I did, I noticed an awful grinding noise that happened each time I applied a lot of pressure to the pedals. The sound was absent if I turned the crank when off the bike, so that explains why I didn't pick up on it on the stand at home. In any case, I couldn't for the life of me figure out what was causing the trouble. I couldn't tell whether it was coming from the BB or the rear derailleur area and so it was pretty hard to fix. I was hoping it was something as simple as the jockey pulleys rubbing the cassette and praying it wasn't as expensive as a ruined hub.

I had Matt Donahue try to tell what the problem was while I rode slowly beside him. He noticed the drive side crank, where I was missing a washer and amazingly the crank bolt was loose! I hurried over to his car to tighten it down, but after I did, the sound still remained. There was no time to work on it anymore, so I headed over to the start, still very worried about the noise.

I guess in worrying about the noise, I forgot to test out something that might have actually helped quite a bit during the race. I'd checked the tire pressure briefly before going on my pre-ride and they seemed ok, but I guess I was in too big a rush and didn't check them well enough. The result is that I raced tires that were probably in the 60 psi range and I got knocked around because of it. I thought of this midway through the race when my hands were cramping from applying a deathgrip to the handlebars. I thought, "Wow, my hands haven't hurt like this since Charm City last year--my first 'cross race. Let's see, why'd they hurt there again? Ah, right I was new and thought I should pump up my tires to the max to go fast. Oh crap. My tires are pumped up to commute on, no wonder this hurts."

The course was vastly different than last year due to moving from the high school venue to the Fairgrounds. When I heard Fairgrounds, I had a hunch this course wouldn't suit me, since the last time I raced at a fairgrounds type area was at the MABRA Championships at Fair Hill. Courses made in large open areas tend to have lots of manmade switchbacks in their attempt to be interesting. These switchbacks typically wreak havoc on my day and last season, I crashed three times and really hurt my right knee. I was hoping for a different outcome this time.

As I suspected, this course relied heavily on switchbacks, but it actually had plenty of interesting features. There were two sets of barriers, a sandpit, and a steep hill that was just barely rideable. There was also a very tricky off-camber section. One thing this course was lacking was any assemblance of a power section. Neither the fields of Charm City nor the gravel of Ed Sander were here. I was going to have to grind this one out somehow without the opportunity to make up for my lack of skills.

The only real complaint I had with this course (other than being designed to diminsh all my strengths) was the start. We were lined up literally about 30m from a 180 switchback, going from asphalt to grass. So once the whistle blew, we "sprinted" those 30m only to sit there and wait for the bottleneck to subside and let us continue. Since I was on the front row, I should have no complaints as I was still in the top ten despite not knowing what to do in a start like that. So I had the opportunity, but I failed to capitalize.

My plan coming in to the race had been to put the hurt on early. I wanted to get to the front at all costs and see where that led me. But I had all kinds of trouble navigating the off-camber in a crowd and the bumpy terrain was battering me all over the course. I felt incredibly slow and my place in the race confirmed that. I was also dismounting very poorly and my remounting was even worse. The bumpy terrain after the second set of barriers gave me fits. I couldn't get any rhythm at all and I eventually found myself in a no-mans land. The competition of the race was being decided while I floundered away and that was Todd Hesel soloing to leave everyone (and I mean everyone) in his dust. He was in a league of his own today and made us all look pretty foolish.

I spent probably six laps sucking badly, lamenting my place in the race and trying to figure out what my problem was. I was pissed at myself for being so mentally out of the race and yet I felt helpless to improve my position. Finally, in the last five laps or so, I started to get out of no-mans land. I was hammering the only section resembling a power section on the course. It came right after the sandpit and ran until just before the steep hill. After eyeing a few folks in front, I was able to catch up to Steve Fife on that section and I was thrilled to finally have someone to race rather than floating out in the open just doing rounds of the course.

I figured since I wasn't doing much right, that I'd follow Steve for a bit and see if he was riding any better lines. Unfortunately, he wasn't. He was mainly just going over the barriers better and riding the sand and run-up better. But I was able to hold on to him for a lap or so before finally atttacking him after the sandpit and looking for more riders to catch. I started racing as much as I could and I stayed as focused as I could manage on this course, all the way until the end. Hostetter and O'Hara were on my tail for a while, as was ETown and I'm proud to say that only ETown managed to pass me.

I was desperately trying to make it up to Marc Vettori and Jared Nieters who were riding together just a bit ahead. But I didn't matter how close they seemed, I never made up any ground on those two. Over the last two laps, I did manage to catch Evan Fader, who'd taken a hard spill a few laps prior. Knowing how strong he is on the road, I wasn't sure how to attack, but I danced with what brung me and took him out on the final power section. I stormed up the hill and finished as best I could, taking tenth place, my worst finish this season and a quarter of the points total I took at Charm City.

Looking at the results from this one, it was pretty strange what I saw. The winner was no surprise and second place, Evan Ellicott has raced A's before. But in third and fifth were Brian Fouche and Nieters, both of whom are known for road racing and haven't done all that well in 'cross. With a course as seemingly technical as this, I'm a bit surprised that those two, as well as Evan Fader (pre-crash) faired as well as they did. Taking fourth, sixth, and seventh, were Campbell, Nystrom, and Vettori, stalwarts of the MABRA B's so far this season. Campbell solidified his place and is making that 30th place at Charm City look odd. In many respects, I got lucky on this race. Having a bad day and finishing tenth I was lucky to have so many top spots taken by guys with very few series points coming in. By winning, Todd all but sealed up the series. But Vettori had a bad day as well and I'm still in second place overall despite only garnering six points.

Looking ahead to next week, I've got to compete the entire race. I can't afford to get so shell shocked and end up doing a time trial. I have to get near the front somehow some way. Last year, I had really my first good result here and finished eighth. I'll need to do better than that this time around to hold on to my spot in the standings. Thankfully, if the course is unchanged, there is one huge power section that I consistently made up time on last year. Here's to hoping they haven't changed that!

2006-10-02T10:44:00.000-05:00

It was rather chilly this morning, as it has been for the past week, so it didn't matter too much that the only reasonably smelling jersey I had was long sleeve. I suited up and was on the trail at a reasonable hour. I took it fairly easy until latching on to a Master's rider after Gallows Rd. I took the lead once we hit the long stretch after Vienna and I punched it hard. My pack was pretty heavy since I was carrying in shoes and a book, but still, I was moving. Well, he hung tight and was still with me just a little ways behind when we came to the next crossing. I, embarassingly, dropped my chain. By the time I got it fixed, I had to catch up to him and just after I did, he turned off. Anyways, that was fun and it was good to get the legs crankin' since I felt like I didn't get enough work yesterday.

I got to ride home in some great weather and I had to ride all the way with my jersey totally unzipped. The temps were in the upper 70's and it was gorgeous. I was pretty tired and hungry when I rolled into my place and I downed just about any food I could find before heading out for French class downtown. I'm eating so much right now that I feel a bit like a pig. I thought early this weekend I was just eating because I was bored, but then I realized if I stopped eating, my stomach was hurting. So I just kept feeding my face.

2006-10-01T15:12:00.000-05:00

Coming into this race, I wasn't quite as focused as I would have liked to have been. My Dad and I drove back from my cousin's wedding the night before. We left Albemarle at 8p and drove till we hit North Richmond at just after midnight. We stopped and slept (or he did, I couldn't because of the snoring) at a Super 8, then got up at 6a and drove home. I threw my bikes in the back of the truck and loaded up the rest and we drove North even further to Lilypons Water Gardens.

We were perfectly on time, so I was able to show Dad the pits and register before riding the course a couple times. I chatted with Morgan Gerlak for most of the first go round, and I was pretty sure this course wasn't going to favor me the way a dry and fast course like Charm City did. It had rained the night before just enough to make things fairly muddy. It wasn't mud like last year's Hagerstown where it was hard just to walk in it, but it was bad enough, that I needed skills.

I warmed up on the road since Jess has my trainer up in Pittsburgh. Jordan, Ryan, and I rod out and back along Lilypons Rd. and I must say that you'll be hard pressed to find a better place to ride. The surfaces are silky smooth and there's a huge shoulder that's almost a designated bike lane. I did a few hard efforts and one start before heading back down and dropping off some stuff with my Dad. I made the last minute decision to keep the glasses on and that was a good call, because otherwise I would have had mud in my eyes.

(Pictures Courtesy of Michael Kirk)

The start was pretty neat because I had the honor of first callup due to my win last week. Todd followed, then Marc, Morgan, and the rest of the contenders. Very cool. The then proceeded to hold us for five minutes for no real good reason. I swear, if they ever did that in a running race and actually expected you to stand still, we'd revolt. But in cycling, they do it all the time. When the whistle blew, I missed my pedal at first, but got it on the second go round and had to wait in line to make the first turn. My start was plenty adequate though and I was in the top ten after the first set of barriers.

The course was exactly the same as last year, with basically four "sections" in my mind. The first is out around the ponds, with the barriers being at the beginning. It's fast, but has quite a bit of switchbacks that slow you down. The second is the long gravel road, which this year was blazing fast. The third is the notorious (for me) run up and steep downhill followed by a steep uphill, a gnarly downhill and then a series of punchy hills. The final section is the downhill back to the start along with a small gravel pit and then the finishing straight past the store. I knew I'd have to own the gravel section and try not to give back too much on the third section.

Coming into the gravel the first time, I was probably in eigth or so and I wanted to move up. So I punched it pretty hard and passed everyone. They were all in single file on the right side, so I just took the left lane and just like that I was in first. It felt great. I wasn't overextending myself and I had gained eight places in a matter of seconds. But when we got to the short run up, I bungled it all away. I chickened out, or stumbled or something and didn't get down the hill fast enough. When we finally finished that third sector, I was right back behind all those guys it seemed. And unfortunately, that would be a microcosm of the day.

Somewhere in the next couple laps, Morgan and Todd built up a lead and I had to concede that I wasn't going to win today. I was getting frustrated that I remained in around the fifth spot and had plenty of folks on my rear trying to pass me. Each time around, I tried to get some rhythm around the ponds, but I felt so slow there. The ground was a bit tacky on the tires and my legs didn't put out the power I needed to be smooth there. The switchbacks killed my momentum because of the narrow passages and I don't feel like I rode that sector well in all of the five times we did it.

But fortunately, I could rest my laurels on the second sector of the gravel. Every single time I hit that, I would stand and hammer as best I could. Only once did I not go full bore--and that was when I was trying to draft off of Steve Fife. I eventually had to go around him and battle the wind.

That third sector gave me fits and really dictated my race no matter what I tried. After doing so poorly on the first go round, I tried to speed up the quick remount and descend, but I never felt comfortable. The hills after that would have been perfect for me had they been dry, but I couldn't ever figure out the best way to ride them. If I stood at the wrong spot, my back tire slipped and I couldn't keep my speed very high. If I sat, I wasn't able to make it to the top. Mike O'Hara actually ran one of the hills and I contemplated following suit, but I felt like it would cost too much time, so I kept riding.

With around two laps to go, I could hear the announcer saying that Morgan had fallen off and was coming apart. That meant Todd had the race sealed up. In front of me then were Marc, Morgan, and an NCVC rider (Rob Campbell). Nipping at my heels were Nystrom and O'Hara. I was desperate to move up and I told myself I had to absolutely bury everything in the gravel. I just couldn't do it enough, or Nystrom and O'Hara could hang, but after another horrid outing in sector three, they actually passed me on the final uphill before sector four, the long downhill back to the store. I was pretty frustrated at that point that I was moving backwards despite my best efforts and I made sure I got those two places right back on the downhill. I passed Nystrom early and then got by O'Hara at pretty high speed.

The last lap was me trying even more desperately to catch Morgan and Campbell. I could finally see them up ahead and when we hit the gravel, I was digging so very deep to make up the ground. I just couldn't quite do it there, but I told myself if I could only ride sector three well, just once, I'd have a shot. Well, I felt as though I rode it the best I had all day, but when I emerged and hit the downhill back to the start, I should have known it was over. I didn't though, and hammered as hard as I could through the mud in the hopes that I could get close enough before the final sprint. I have a lot of confidence in my finishing sprint in 'cross. It's about as close to the kick in the mile as I've found in cycling and I love it. But when I came around the building and saw the finish, Rob was already having his way with the kid. I looked back to make sure O'Hara wasn't close and then sat up. I finished in fifth. Top seven were: Hesel, Vettori, Campbell, Gerlak, Me, O'Hara, Nystrom.

I was disappointed with how the race went. While I knew the conditions would play a role, I hadn't expected to lose so much time. I got in a hole early and never had the skills to get out of it. I was constantly being aggressive and racing, but I didn't have much to show for it except for holding my spot. I think the guys up front have a bit more MTB experience and today it helped a lot. I could have easily wound up seventh or eighth, so I'm at least pleased that my off race wasn't a catastrophe. But with the bar now set so high from my first win, I'm not going to be pleased with fifth. I felt as though with one more lap I would have been third. I did make up ground on the Campbell-Gerlak pair in the final lap, but I had too much to get back. I was frustrated also because I never reached the cracking point the way we did at Charm City. My fitness wasn't the limiting factor in the end, but rather my position and my handling.

I dropped out of the series lead since Todd won. I'm eight points out of first and seven points up from third (Vettori). I'm going to have to get back on the higher steps of the podium to make that back and have Hesel have a day like I had. The series is one quarter over, so there's time. More interestingly is that Nick Bax, who was supposed to be in our race (and whom I picked to win) opted for the A race. And uh, he was fourth! So I guess, he's done with us. We didn't really get much of a crack at him, but he outclassed us with a great race nonetheless.

2006-09-29T10:34:00.000-05:00

I commuted in and out early today so that I could catch a train South for my cousin's wedding tomorrow. I took The Crescent Line which continues all the way to New Orleans. Riding the train is generally nice, but I didn't enjoy this ride all that much. The train was packed, with nearly every seat taken and the folks weren't all that nice. There was a lot of really inconsiderate people making quite a bit of noise at inopportune times. But I was in Greensboro by midnight after leaving at 6:30p from Union Station. Funny how the ride home in the car is more tolerable after a plane flight! I know if Jess were along for the trip, this one would have been far more enjoyable.

2006-09-28T10:50:00.000-05:00

I'm back commuting on the road bike for the rest of the week, so that's good. I kept it nice an controlled this morning. After Vienna, I tagged along behind a guy in Disco kit and he gave me a nice pull. Eventually he slowed up and I moved on. Other than that, there was absolutely nothing eventful about this ride. I made it to work.

About the time I was due to ride home, the skies opened up in a big thunderstorm. It ended up lasting most of the night, so it was a good thing Pat drove in today. I hitched a ride with him and got home dry and toasty. My legs were happy about that as well. The odd thing is that I've got soreness the way I used to get when I'd miss several days of running. I call it 'guilty soreness'. I'm thinking maybe that started up because of the little bits of running we did for 'cross practice. Perhaps they got to thinking it was cross-country season all over again.

2006-09-27T05:32:00.001-05:00

I endured another long commute on the 'cross bike and in the morning I felt like I was near bonking. I need a rest most likely and some food. But I made it in ok--albeit late and then after work I rode over to Lake Fairfax again for 'cross practice.

I worked more on the step through and I'm definitely getting more comfortable. I may even use it in the race on Sunday. Unclipping the left foot will be the last piece and I'm not sure when I'll add that. Right now, it's just too much to think about.

Practice today wasn't quite as productive as yesterday. After doing barriers, we rode laps on a short and long course that Judd had set up. I rode it decently and enjoyed the long run up he put in, but I certainly wasn't riding away from anyone. I'm not sure how it is I won a race with some of the guys there sucking my wheel. If they ride like they did today, but in the race on Sunday, perhaps we'll have a little bit better result from our crew. My technical skills still need tons of work. But I have improved.

George hooked me up with a ride home again. Thank God, because my legs needed a break. I'll be taking it super easy tomorrow and Friday, then Saturday will be off since I'll be in NC for my cousin's wedding.

Shockingly, my win on Sunday impressed folks enough that they gave me my cyclocross upgrade to Cat. 3. I'm now Cat. 3 on the road and the dirt. Now to make those both 2's . . . may be a bit tougher.

2006-09-26T22:03:00.000-05:00

I really hate commuting on my 'cross bike. It just makes things frustrating because I can't stop and play in the dirt and it's real slow riding it on the pavement. But I do it anyway so that I can meet up at Lake Fairfax every now and then with Judd, Mel, et. al. to work on my skillz.

Today's workout was exactly the kind of workout I need. I made me feel totally inadequate as far as my cross skills go. I started working on my dismounts. I definitely want to be stepping through with my right leg rather than just dropping it behind my body. And I also want to unclip the left foot before reaching the barriers. That's tricky, but done correctly, it's faster and safer. Judd and Mel both have the dismount/remount down cold. It makes me look like the newbie that I am.

We also worked on some longer run-ups. I did quite well at those given my running background. But I wish I'd actually see one of those in a race. Around here, no one seems to like running. After that we did some climbing of steep hills, trying to simulate hills that are just barely rideable--getting used to going from a quick spin to a grind. Then we went up to the cricket field and rode a bit of leg tensioning/tempo around in the grass.

George was able to give me a ride home again, so I was able to stay for the duration and not have to worry about lights. Tomorrow, I'll be back out at the park for some more 'cross action. I just wish I wasn't commuting on the bike. Maybe I'll get a car soon?

Today, DennisBike, a.k.a. Dennis Smith, posted his shots of the B race on Sunday. As usual his work is stellar and we're lucky to have him working our races. So far he's the only one I've found with shots of the finish. They are quality:

2006-09-25T21:34:00.000-05:00

What a great ending to the day. I came home from class tonight and found that my road upgrade finally went through. I'm officially a Cat. 3 now. Bring on the big boys. With a few more good placings, I should be able to match that upgrade in 'cross as well. Also, thanks to Morgan and Georgia making our race notable, we got some mild pub on the BikeReg summary of the race. Pretty cool.

2006-09-25T12:35:00.000-05:00

I got back on the bike the morning bright and early for the commute. My right knee is still a bit sore as are my back and my right calf. The weather was downright chilly and I wore my windbreaker for the duration of the ride. I might have even used gloves if I'd had them handy.

I kept the pace to exactly what it should be a day after such a hard effort. My HR rarely ever peeked over 150 and I kept it below even base training pace for most of the time. It's nice to see that the trail is getting less crowded as the weather gets colder. 'Cross season is fully upon us.

It's been hard not thinking about yesterday's win, but once I got the race summary written up, I started to turn my mind towards next week's race at Lilypons. I think it will only get tougher from here. Todd should be ready for more battle and MikeO will surely be looking for redemption.

The ride home from work was great. I had a tailwind the whole way. The temperature was perfect and the sun was out. Since I left at 3p to get home early, the trail was pretty empty as well. I hit tempo for only about five minutes and the rest of the time was easy. A good recovery day.

Charm City Cross

2006-09-24T11:20:00.000-05:00

To say I was excited for this race would have been a gross understatement. I made my bike racing debut here last year only two days after discovering clipless pedals. I rode on a hybrid and I had mechanical problems. But I had a blast and that was the start to my love of cyclocross. So I was really looking forward to coming back here with loads of experience from last season as well as a full year training on the bike and away from running. I actually have a bike suited for racing, I'm on a bike team, and I had extremely high hopes for what I could do here.

If you like picture books better, check out the pics Jess took. I've posted them with captions. I thought about firing her for missing the finish, but my agent informed me that I'm contractually obligated to continue the relationship. Seriously though, she took some good ones and it was great know I had her in the pits if I needed her.

My warmups for road races have been pretty lame, but I knew with the way 'cross races start, I couldn't afford not to get the legs snapping. I did some spinning on the trainer and then did starts to get ready on the roads around Druid Hill Park. I then rode one final lap on the course before making my way to the start line just minutes before the whistle. I was fortunate enough to have a starting box on the front row due to my tenth place in the MABRA series last year. On the front row with me were the usual suspects. My favorite for the race, Mike O'Hara of LSV along with C3 riders John Hostetter III and Chris Nystrom. Geogia Gould, the 2006 women's MTB National Champ joined us as well.

Last season my starts were horrendous and I bungled away the only callup I got at Fair Hill. I've been working on starts in practice and most every day because of that weakness and today it paid off. I hit the pedal on the first shot at it and was surprised how quickly I was clipped in. I nailed it, but unfortunately the riders on my left and right converged towards the corner and cut me off a little bit. I had to slow up some, but still made it to the first turn in aroudn 5th place.

O'Hara hit the dirt at top speed with his customary jump into the air. He seemed as excited about the return to 'cross as I did. But unfortunately, his excitement quickly went awry as he took the off carmber left hander at too high a speed and slid off into the course tape. I ended up having to stop when I hit his handlebars, but I was lucky enough to get around him and avoid the carnage behind me. That said, there was a decent gap that had formed up ahead. I started working to close it.

I believe we did eight laps total and the first three were brutal. I was thinking all kinds of negative thoughts and I was hurting. I started thinking that I wasn't fit enough, that I wasn't going to be able to hang in the lead group and that my handling skills weren't any better than last season. But I tried to keep those thoughts out and focus on the task at hand. I had the start I wanted and I was in a great position to do well if I could hang with the pace.

After those first laps, the pace did subside some and I was able to settle in a little more comfortably. I had some trouble in the sand pit when I forgot to dismount and I ended up getting a fist full of sand before recovering quickly. I handled all the other dismounts adequately and my remounts were going very well. I ran most of the hill out in the fields rather than remount immediately after the barriers as some riders were doing.

I was finally able to work my way past Steve Fife on the fields and eventually it was myself and Morgan Gerlak chasing Geogia and Todd Hesel of HVB. I was very impressed by Morgan. He's a 14 year old and last year he wasn't having much success in the B races. I mean, how well can a 13 year old do against men? Well, today he damn well proved he belongs with us and he was keeping me focused when I hurt the most. Needless to say, he had plenty of fans cheering for him on this, his home course.

At one point, I noticed that the gap was growing between Morgan and I and Georgia and Todd. So I said to Morgan, "We've got to close that gap!" He responded with an agreement to work together to work up to them. That's exactly what I wanted to hear, so I did the first of the work. I'm not entirely sure how to work together in a 'cross race. There's not really an advantage gained from drafting, so the effects seem to be more like running in a group. Folks serve to keep you focused, but I'm not sure how much you can actually rest when you're not leading.

In any case, I was able to close down the gap and I'm not sure if that's where Morgan was finally lost or not. But from then on, it was Todd, Georgia, and myself in the lead group. Coming up the asphalt through the start/finish, I was actually in the lead for the first time ever and I was feeling the effort it had taken to get me up to that point. So I sat up in the same way I've seen Vervecken and Nys do in races and I took a gander back at what what behind us. We had a solid gap and I was pretty sure that it would hold to the finish. But Georgia, wasn't as content and she said, "We've got to go, or Morgan's going to catch us." I think she just may have not wanted me to rest, but I went ahead and punched it pretty hard. The announcer loved it and I got to hear, "And the Coppi rider is attacking Georgia Gould." It was cool.

In the closing laps, I was absolutely flying through the off-camber and that time was no exception. I looked back and I had a gap on Todd and Georgia. But after several turns, they were shutting me down and coming into the sand pits, my lead wasn't much any longer. I led at least one lap and nearly two and Georgia was back into the lead at points as well. Todd stuck his head up there now and then, but we were all working hard and the race was on.

Coming back across the road on the penultimate lap, I felt and heard a bolt and washer come off my bike! Inside, I was freaking out, but kept pedaling. I was sure it was a brake bolt, since I'd done so much tweaking in the past week, but a quick check showed me it wasn't--they were working fine. My next guess was the chain ring bolts, but as far as I could tell, they were fine too. I yelled to Jess to get my bike ready as I passed the pits. I didn't know what was wrong, but I assumed I'd find out sooner or later. My mechanicing didn't cost me the race as I didn't find out that it was one of my two seatpost bolts that had fallen out until after the race. There was no problem--thank God!

On the bell lap, Georgia attacked and the announcer noted how early it was for her to be attacking. I'm not sure if that was a mistake or not. Maybe she knew that her handling was her best chance since I think Todd and I were stronger. But in any case, she gapped me and Todd was able to latch on. I was falling back! I didn't panic yet. I just wanted to get through the technical sections without making a big mistake and then get out into the fields where I could make up big ground as I'd done before. I did just that and coming to the barriers at the base of the hill, I passed Georgia and Todd by running up the hill before remounting. They were all on my tail and I tried so hard not to touch my brakes as we flew back across the road.

I nailed it up the hill to the set of natural barriers and from then on, my focus was to protect the lead. I knew that if I could lead after the final set of barriers, that I would most likely win. I could ride the final twists and turn at my own pace because there was no room to pass (remind folks of last year?). As soon as we hit the asphalt and made the turn for home, I knew I had it won. I only halfway sprinted to start with to see if Todd would try to come around or suck my wheel, but I instantly had a gap. From there, I downshifted just as fast as I could and I sprinted all out to the line. I let out a yell, gave the salute and fully enjoyed my first podium and first win in cyclocross.

To win today at Charm City was awesome. It's my favorite course with the exception of Granogue and the competition here is always strong because the MAC season hasn't yet started. I came in with the goal of beating Georgia and putting my nose up front for a spell. I had aspirations of winning but didn't know yet if they were pipe dreams or not. I was hungry but nervous about my chances and to win was more than I could have hoped for. Hat's off to Nystrom, Bernie, Vonteity, Auer, Hostetter, etc. for another great race.

Charm City Preview

2006-09-23T12:13:00.000-05:00

I didn't have the time to post this before the race, but here were my predictions for Sunday's race based on the folks who'd pre-registered. I was pretty much right about the heavy hitters. MikeO had a bad day and I think Mayhew is getting into form since he raced the B's and A's on Sunday. Gerlak definitely showed he belongs. Nick Bax didn't pre-reg or I'dve had him in the top 3 for sure.

1. Mike O'Hara 28 Baltimore, MD An avid urban photographer and blogger, Mike surely plans to make this second season of 'cross one worth capturing on film. His rookie campaign was a memorable one with multiple MAC series top ten finishes. He finished 2nd here a year ago--albeit in the C race. He became one of the most consistent Killer B's around last season and he enters this one with a definite bullseye on his back.

2. Georgia Gould 26 Ketchum, ID This course will be all-to-familiar to Gould. Baltimore is where she was first introduced to the sport and ever since then she's been a rider to watch. A relative newbie to the 'cross scene, she nonetheless proved she belonged on the national stage last year. She even dropped by to open up a can on the Killer B's at a couple of MABRA races. But this year on the MTB, she left everyone in her dust and took home the Stars-n-stripes jersey at Pro Nationals. We can barely wait to see what this Idahoan has in store for this year in the mud.

3. Chris Mayhew 30 Pittsburgh, PA Far more well-known for his announcing skills on the MAC circuit, Mayhew put together quite a consistent season a year ago. He's one of the top returners to the B circuit and that experience should get him off to a strong start this season. Certainly, he's capable of winning this one if he's on good form.

4. Steve Fife 32 Reston, VA It's impossible to miss the Rockville Harley colors on this rider. He's always near the front and looking to attack. Last season he showed he can handle a bike off-road and this summer he's shown he's got the engine to do it on the road as well. Narrowly missing the overall at this year's Cat. 4 Tour de Toona, Steve must have plans to give the MABRA 'Cross Crown a shot.

5. Ray Ignosh 32 Breinigsville, PA A relative unkown to the MABRA racers, this rider has proven himself to be very consistent on the competitive MAC circuit. He's a seasoned vet and performs well on the track, the road, and the trails. Surely he will leave his mark on B'more. It's all a question of where his form lies this early in the season. If it's right, he could be a sleeper pick for the win.

6. Marc Vettori 35 Elkton, MD Another popular blogger, with the most off-beat humor in the area. This year he's joined up with the ever powerful Fort crew. Last year he raced mostly Masters races and accorded himself quite well. It's somewhat of a mystery how well he'll perform in B's this season--or even whether he plans to stick around in the category, but to be sure, there will be plenty to write about this one after he's toed the line at Charm City.

7. John Hostetter III 32 Perryville, MD This rider has been a consistent B racer for the past couple years. Last season he showed some great form to reach the podium in a MABRA race, but this season he's no doubt looking for more than that. It remains to be seen whether this is a course that suits him or not. Last season he finished 20th here. We expect a better result the second time around.

8. Chris Nystrom 35 Ellicott City, MD Another one of the B Bloggers, Nystrom is one of the promoters of this fine race. No doubt he will have all the inside information about the course here, but whether all the stress and time spent setting the thing up will take its toll is a question that must be answered. He finished 13th here last year and went on to be very consistent throughout the season when not maligned by mechs and sickness. Big things are expected by folks riding Dugast and Nystrom hopes to do those supple casings proud.

9. Bernard McDonald 39 Baltimore, MD Another one of the tireless promoters, we'll see if he's ready for the season on race day. Trying to gain some for for the season, he's raced sporadically on the roads with relative success. He too fell victim to promoter fatigue last year and finished 22nd. He recovered nicely to finish 7th in a very strong field the following week. But the rest of the season was up and down. He finished it on a high note however, with the birth of a child.

10. Jared Nieters 29 Washington, VA An impressive Cat. 3 racer on the road, it's pretty hard to believe that he won't improve from his 51st place finish here a year ago. There's no doubt that had a little something to do with mechanical trouble. Nieters was conistently just outside the top ten in the MABRA series last year, finishing a season best 7th in the mudfest that was Hagerstown. We think there'll be quite an improvement this season as a season of experience will allow him to use his powerful engine to make a statement on the 'cross scene.

11. Zach Adams 16 Carlisle, PA Last year he proved to be the best junior in the region not named Bax and he did it consistently throughout. He ended his season with a 15th place at Nationals and this season he's joined up with the Fort crew--bringing a strong junior to their fold. Methinks he wants to prove that he's more than just a "junior" and hopes to mix it up quite a bit with the big boys. It's going to require some strength and maturity, but if Adams puts it all together, some of the older folks could be left watching youth pass them by.

12. Todd Hesel 28 Parkville, MD Riding for the black and green of 'cross power HVB, Hesel will look to make up for the loss of Sean Mealey to the A ranks. Hesel raced only sporadically last season, with mixed results, but he proved this summer that he has an engine to be reckoned with. He finished third on the Queen stage of the Tour de Toona and did it emphatically--finishing on that same step of the podium for the KOM competition. Will he be able to put it all together offroad this season? We'll see, but it's hard not to expect success from this rider any time he strikes a pedal in anger.

13. James Ambagis 36 Newark, DE FortJames spent most of last season as a stellar pit-man for the Fort crew. But he also spent most of last season in search of that elusive C race win. He came awfully close two cold days in a row at Fair Hill. There's no telling how he and his fellow C racers will make the leap to the B's, but good things seem to happen to those with hairy legs. We might see a Sampson situation here if he gives in, however. Here's to hoping FortJames can hold off Delilah and put Fort in the thick of things in the only series they didn't dominate last year.

14. The Field: Pomajevich, Milinkovic, Sauder, Berson, Bowman, Gerlak, Harshman, Kirk, and Lea, and Fader. These are guys we either know nothing about or just didn't crack the top 13. Any of these riders could easily ride themselves into the top 10 or perhaps pull off the win. And that's saying nothing about those who scorned pre-reg. One thing's for sure: we're in for a terrific season of cyclocross this year. Let the racing begin!

2006-09-10T22:42:00.000-05:00

Today's race was in Wilmington, DE. When we arrived, it was supposed to be exactly one hour to the start of my race, so I suited up and went to register, but I found out then that they were running an hour behind schedule because the cops didn't show up on time to close off the downtown crit course. Once they did, we had a great course to race on. This was easily one of my favorite courses.

The course was of the 'figure eight' variety, with eight corners, rather than the usual four of a rectangle. And this made for a fun course. Just after and just before the start/finish, there were two decent hills, and in the middle, there was a steep downhill. It was in the very urban downtown setting of Wilmington, DE. It was a great venue.

From the gun, three riders including Clifton Chamberlin of Harley built a small gap. I was in front of the peloton and I, nor any of the others, really felt like closing the gap. It was early, there were 18-19 laps still to come and what was the point? The gap got a little bigger in the next few laps, but still nothing huge. Eventually, Clifton dropped back to the peloton. I'm guessing he did this because he assumed the break would be caught and he didn't want to work as hard. Jess seemed to think he couldn't hang in the break, so I'm not sure what he was up to.

Well, after Clifton returned to the peloton, the break got further and further up the road. The gap was large enough that they would disappear around corners. I started asking Jess for time checks with ~15 laps to go and when I heard 19 seconds, I was scratching my head a bit. There was no reason those two guys should be adding time.

I started trying to get the pace up and I went to the front a few times and pulled. Each time I did, no one would aid in the pacemaking, with the exception of my teammate, Mark Skubis and a few other random guys--no of whom really pulled all that hard. This being the Delaware State Crit Championship, I assumed that FSVS would do some work, considering they had a lot of riders in the field. I told them as much in the race, but they never did anything. I told Skubis that I thought we'd start catching the break, but if we didn't, at 6 to go, we should bridge the gap as a duo.

Well, somewhere in the neighborhood of 11-12 laps to go, I wanted to bump up the pace, so I went to the front and hit it hard. I looked back and had a gap. Oh well, I thought, I guess I'm going for the solo bridge . . . It was decently windy--the way it can get in downtowns with large buildings. So I was a bit worried about whether I could actually bridge on my own. But I settled in and put my head down.

I had Jess giving me time checks and I started gaining on the leading two riders. I closed to within eight seconds, and had them in my sights, but I couldn't quite close the deal. They dangled out there in front of me and I kept losing time in some of the more technical turns. Eventually I started hearing time checks that were about like twelve seconds to the leaders and twelve seconds back to the peloton. I was well in control of no-mans-land. With less than five laps remaining, I started to think the peloton was gaining. They'd widdled my lead down to twelve seconds from about eighteen seconds, so I realized I'd better worry more about preserving my spot than on chasing down the front two.

With four remaining, I was hammering a straight section before the finish when I heard a rider on my wheel. I was stunned, I looked back and saw Clifton and assumed that the peloton was with him. Thank God they weren't! I told him to pull, but he wanted to rest some and I was ok with that if he'd help us close the gap once he did. I pulled through the finish and then motioned for him to take over.

Well, he did a bit too good of a job. Since I'd been out there for about 10 miles without any cover from the wind, I was pretty gassed. When we went to pull, he instantly had a tiny gap and I should have closed it immediately. But comiing into a technical turn, I lost a bit more gap to him and it only got bigger. My legs were starting to really hurt.

Clifton eventually made it up to the two leaders and I was happy to keep my fourth place. The two leaders duked it out for the win, with Clifton a bit too tired to fight, rolling in behind them. I came a short time later, followed by my teammate Skubis winning the field sprint for fifth.

Looking back on this one, it's somewhat a bittersweet result. I got fourth place and sealed up my upgrade to Cat. 3, but I came into this race reenergized to race well and knowing I could win. Had I gone with the two leaders early in the race, I think I would have won or at worst been second. But with all the knowledge of a year of racing, I still would never go with a break that early. Without the peloton being so unmotivated and poorly organized, that break would have easily been brought back. But that's racin'. They got lucky today and pulled off the win.

2006-09-07T14:11:00.000-05:00

Today my legs were crappy--what else is new? I'm pretty sore on my right side from the crash, but it's not that big a deal. I rode fine. I'm back on the road bike for a bit. This is mainly to add speed to my commute, but I'm also planning to race twice more on the road before calling it a season. This weekend, I'll be in Wilmington, DE and the following weekend will be the district RR championships out in Poolesville, MD. Too bad there won't be any dirt involved this time.

Coming home, I was bored and wasn't all that thrilled about twenty more miles on crappy legs. So I decided to follow the advice of this article, and see if I could maintain a cadence of 105 rpm. That's a very fast spin considering I'm usually in the low to mid 80's. But I spun things up and shifted to keep the spin going accordingly. That usually meant lots of upshifting. A funny thing happened: I had fun! It was something different mostly, but I had something to pass the time with and it kept me from getting frustrated with my legs.

With the wedding, moving, and all of that this summer, I basically gave up on any assemblance of a training plan, and since starting back, I've mostly just hammered my way back to fitness. That's only partially worked and it's left me with consistently tired legs. Being sick didn't help matters and the crash yesterday was just piling on. But I'm much more optimistic about 'cross season. I plan to rest more. There, I said it: Rest.

2006-09-06T14:13:00.000-05:00

For the second Wednesday in a row, I met up with the crew for cyclocross practice. We had a bigger group this week with Eric Marshall, Peter Nicoll, and two other non-Coppis joining up with myself, Judd, and Mel. With all the rains of the past week, we decided to avoid Lake Fairfax and Difficult Run and to instead hit the gravel heading West.

We started tearing up the trail. I was feeling strong and having a blast until the tril decided to tear me up. Riding behind Eric, I entered a section not far from Orbital that I've ridden many times heading East. It's easir that way as you see the ruts in the ground a little more easily. Since I was riding behind Eric, I couldn't see very far ahead and I didn't pick up the rut very fast. When I did, I was able to get up on the ridge going around it--or so I thought. Apparently I got the front wheel up there, but the back wheel decided to stay put and I went down hard.

We were probably riding in the 18-20 mph range and I hit the ground on my right side and slid for a ways. The gravel I was in was about like what you'd put in your driveway. It hurt. I layed there for a short bit composing myself and letting the sting of fresh flesh sink in. I was bleeding on my right forearm and right hip. There was quite a bit of dirt in my arm. My shorts were only slightly ripped. My right shifter was pushed way out of alignment and had some dirt inside it. My bartape had a huge gash in it.

I picked myself up and reseated the chain, which despite my 2 guards, came off after the crash. We continued on West until the crossing with 28 and then turned around to head East. On the way back, we played a game where the guy in front would yell, "Run," and then we'd all dismount, carry the bike over some imaginary barriers, shoulder it and then run for a bit, all before remounting the bike and continuing on our way. We did that a few times before making it back to Michael Faraday Ct.

Once we got back, it was time for Peter and I to start heading home to Arlington. I was feeling pretty whipped at that point, but we kept the pace very respectable. I even raced him up the hill at 66 and got a little mroe than I bargained for. I was wearing the dots, however, so I had to gut that out and nip him at the top. From there we mostly chilled out and I turned off at the Custis Trail.

When I got home, David gave me a hand cooking while I scrubbed my wounds in the shower. After we had the meal ready, I was feeling weak, the way I did a couple weeks ago when I was sick. I forced down the food though since I hadn't really eaten much since lunch. Then I called it a night and tried to figure out how I could sleep without bleeding all over my sheets. Ugh. I'd post pictures of the carnage, but Jess has my camera up in PA.

2006-09-05T14:24:00.000-05:00

It was lucky that I decided to hang on to the rental car until this afternoon as it was pouring when I woke up this morning. I left the 'cross bike in the back of the car from the trip back home last night, so I was all set to head to work. Since I'd told Pat I might need a ride in case of bad weather, he was pretty stunned to see my bike in the office. No, I'm not quite that hardcore.

It cleared up nicely by quittin' time and I hit a few trails on the way home. Since I'd accidentally left my trail pump in Pittsburgh, I was a little worried about flatting and I considered stopping in Reston to get another pump. But ignored that though and kept on riding. I was riding the trails and just before Hunter Mill, I started feeling a little more bottoming out on my rear wheel than I'm used to. When I stopped to check the tire, it was really low. I was stunned I was able to ride on it, but I continued on. Well, not long after that, I was riding on the rim--I had a flat.

I walked up the hill and then stopped at the bench in front of Hunter Mill Rd. Since it was so wet out, there weren't nearly as many folks out and I started to get worried that I wouldn't see anyone with a pump come by. But after a few minutes, I yelled out to a guy riding a nice Bianchi fixed gear. He didn't have a pump, but he had some CO2 cartridges and was more than happy to donate one to my cause. I only had a tube for my road bike, but I stuck it in there and pumped it up and continued on to Reston. He was an Army infantry officer stationed at Bolling AFB. Nice guy.

When I got to Reston, I stopped in at Spokes and picked up 2 tubes and a pump. Jess needs one too, so buying another pump was probably long overdue. I kept my wheels as is and rolled home without incident. When I got home, I took out my PVC barriers for the first time and went down the street to set them up in the park. I rode around in the mud and got good and nasty. I did quite a few barrier drills.

My biggest problem with barriers right now is doing them under control. A few times I came in with a bit too much speed and would have crashed into the first one. I also tend to get to much momentum for the remount and I nearly missed the saddle in the wrong spot a couple of times. My weaknesses were exacerabated by the wet conditions, but I got in some good work nonetheless. It was true 'cross weather today to be sure.

2006-09-03T11:44:00.000-05:00

The rains of Ernesto finally subsided and today has been pretty nice. I'm up in Jefferson Hills, PA helping Jess get all settled in to her new place. After church this morning, the plan was to go mountain/cross biking some in Pittsburgh. Well, after a long nap, we finally got our act together and loaded up the car.

After a decently long drive into the city on the Blue Belt, we made our way to Frick Park. I found the playground off of Beechwood Ave., that I read about, but there wasn't any good parking other than the street, so we kept driving until we found a small parking area at the base of a huge hill. It was at the enterance to the "Fire Trail" so we upacked the bikes and started cranking.

The trails of Frick Park are a lot of fun. We didn't do really any of the singletrack that I'd read about, but instead explored the park on the double wide gravel paths. We rode up to Cowboy Hill and the Bowling Green, the Northernmost sections of the park. We explored a bit more around there before checking out a map and realizing we needed to head West to get to the bulk of the park. We rode along Beechwood to the playground and the across the wide open fields.

It was just getting dark as we were discovering more interesting trails, so we had to hightail it back to the car. Neither Jess nor I had previously gone as fast offroad as we did descending back the car. The 'cross bike was absolutely perfect for these trails and I'm looking forward to exploring some of the singletrack next time we come back. It's a shame that the six months Jess will sepnd here that most of it will probably see this park covered in snow. I worked on a few starts and remounts before calling it a day.

So far, I have to say that as a city, I really like Pittsburgh. The downtown is pretty cool with all the rivers and bridges and it seems like its got some intersting things to do. We drove through Squirrel Hill I believe it was as well as a few other neighborhoods and I had to pick my jaw off the floor after seeing a few of the mansions along the way. It's easy to see that there was once quite a bit of money around these parts. There must be some here still.

2006-08-31T09:19:00.000-05:00

I didn't think losing my cellphone was that big of deal, but after looking at the cost of a new replacement (CraigList and eBay are a helluva lot better) and also realizing how many numbers I'd lost, I got a little more motivated to try my hand at finding the thing somewhere in Lake Fairfax Park. Finding the phone was also a great motivation to get out for a second day on the 'cross bike riding some trails and I conned Jess in to coming along for the ride.

We rode the Difficult Run section several times looking for the phone and made many loops of the fields, but we came up empty handed again. I spent the rest of the time exploring the park with Jess and finished things up with a few mounts and remounts.

Ernesto decided to hold off on the big rain for a day. Tomorrow we should see plenty, but today was just a Boston-like kind of day. It feels like Fall and the overcast skies and getting me ever more prepared for a cyclocross race.

2006-08-30T11:17:00.000-05:00

Today was the first of what will be weekly cyclocross practices with the team. It was the day that Ernesto started to rear its ugly head, so Judd and Melanie were the only ones to come out in the misty rain. We started from Michael Faraday Ct. and rode on Difficult Run to Lake Faifax Park. From there we rode loops around the fields there to warm-up some.

All was well until Melanie noticed a tool fall out of my seatbag. As soon as she mentioned it, my heart sank because I knew my cellphone, drivers license, and credit cards had probably already fallen out. I was right and so we started retracing our steps around the fields. Melanie found my license and credit cards, but after several loops we were unable to spot the cellphone. We gave up and then rode back along Difficult Run to the W&OD and headed East.

We rode the gravel trails alongside the paved trail that I commute on and I was decently pleased with my bike-handling. Occaisonally, we'd dismount and run with the bikes for a bit, then remount and continue on. We finally made it to Vienna, and for lack of a better place, we found a spot in the park there to do some barrier drills. Judd set up a board against a lightpost and we were set. I did more mounts and remounts over that barrier than I probably did all of last season. And for that, I know I'm already better. It's going to be a great season.

I had to leave Vienna with enough time to make it home before it was terribly dark. I had to ride the last few miles with the guide of the trail lights, but I finally made it home around 8p. My bike definitely looks like a cyclocross bike now--there's plenty of dirt and mud to go around.

2006-08-29T21:56:00.000-05:00

I had to take a day off from work to go with Jess up to Pittsburgh to meet the movers bringing her stuff to the Steel City. More precisely, it's the West Mifflin area, but in any case, I sure wish we could have the place she'll have there for what that rent will be. The drive's about 3.5-4 hours. I'm sure I'll have those roads memorized soon enough.

When we got back this evening, we grabbed the bikes and went out on the trail for a bit. I took the 'cross bike to slow me down a bit. We rode mostly on the W&OD with a few explorations on the Four Mile Run Trail. When we finished up, I spent a few minutes outside behind the apt. working on my dismounts and remounts. I'm already lightyears better than I was at any point last year.

Negatives? Well, I'm not liking it when I hit the tire on my foot in a sharp turn. I moved the cleats forward a bit to match the position of my road shoes, but there's still too much overlap. I'm hoping I get used to it because I almost crashed messing around on a hill tonight because of it.

Probably the bigger concern is the front brake chatter. It's ridiculous. I'm not sure what I can really do about it. If I'm braking going downhill, it's almost not worth using the front brake at all. You can actually see the fork deforming when it chatters. I guess I can setup the front brakes not to have so much mechanical advantage, but then what's the point? I won't have much stopping power. Ideas??

My Ride

2006-08-28T18:07:00.000-05:00

My cyclocross bike is a 54cm Javelin Primitivo. The top tube is effectively 53cm--giving me a shorter reach than my road bike by 2cm. With the slightly raised bottom bracket (1.5cm higher than the Amarone) it's just the right standover height. The frame is made from 7005 butted Aluminum tubing. It has S-bend seatstays and chainstays. All the cables are routed along the oval-shaped top tube.

I have a Zero 1-1/8" Cyclocross All Carbon Fork, which so far likes to chatter quite a bit. The Alpha Q CX is a bit out of my price range at the moment. Perhaps that will be a future upgrade? Changing very little from last year, I think I'll remain with the Mavic CXP-22 Rims laced to Shimano 105 Hubs. The came with the bike off eBay, so I'll use my Mavic Cosmos' as a spare set. They're up for a beating.

I plan to ride clinchers for a while unless I happen upon a pot of gold. I'll be using the Michelin Mud 2 (700x30c) when the rain starts and until then, I'll probably run the Ritchey Alpha Bite Trail Mix (700x35c). Whatever tubes I happen to have on hand will work just fine.

I picked up an old Shimano Dura Ace FC-7700 172.5mm crankset off eBay. I added a Shimano Ultegra FC-6500 42t, 'A type' chainring along with a pair of Rapuano Carbon Guards. Since I didn't shift once last year, I think the single ring setup will do just fine. It's simple, clean, and lightweight. It should eliminate the problem of dropping the chain.

The bottom bracket is a Shimano Ultegra BB6500, 68x109.5mm, English Spline V1 BB. If you're wondering about the single ring setup, I used a Sugino triple bolt set of 15mm backing nuts and bolts along with 3.5 mm spacers. Only a single carbon guard is put inside the spider. All else is put outside. Chain line looks to be fine this way.

I actually added the Time ATAC XS to my bike last season but only had the opportunity to try them out once. I didn't have them properly setup and I went on to my worst race of the season. This time, they're ready to rock and should do a great job of clearing mud.

Finishing off the drivetrain is an Shimano Ultegra RD-6600 SS rear derailleur along with an Shimano Ultegra CS-6600 12-27. The chain is my favorite: a SRAM PC-1090. Finally there's an alternative to Shimano's 10 speed chain and this one has a PowerLock--making it that much easier to clean up after a day in the mud.

The cockpit in all it's glory: A 44cm FSA Energy T handlebar (31.8mm) with classic bend. On the right I have a Shimano Dura Ace 7801 10sp STI Lever and on the left simply a Shimano R600 left brake lever. I made the mistake of getting used to the precision of Dura Ace shifters, so there's no going back now.

The cockpit is covered up nicely by a matching color of F'iz:k's silver Microtex tape. It's been great on my road bike so we'll have to see how it hold up to a season of 'cross. I picked up an extra roll to maybe give the bike some clean threads before Natz.

I have the same on my road bike and after hearing horrors of broken seatposts, I'll accept nothing less than a Thomson. This one is an Elite 27.2mm x 330mm. At the end is a F'iz:k Pave saddle with Cro-Mo rails.

Also the same as my road bike, I've got an FSA OS-115 120mm stem. The brake hanger is the ubiquitous Problem Solvers. The Cane Creek S2 headset is of the traditional variety, one of the reasons I like the Javelin. Jess is a big fan of the skink on the Cane Creek label.

I've yet to race on a wide profile cantilever, so this will be an experiment. But these Empella Frogglegs definitely give more clearance than an Avid brake lever. So far they definitely have less stopping power, but I'm still working on the adjustment. The brake pads are standard issue with Frogglegs and both the shift and brake cables are Jagwire Ripcord.

2006-08-27T19:38:00.000-05:00

Day two of my sickness wasn't quite as bad as the first. I think skipping the planned race this morning had a lot to do with that one. Tylenol Cold and Sinus is doing wonders along with the fluids that Jess keeps on me to drink. It was great to be in church for a second week in a row.

After church, Jess and I were treated to a tour of the West Wing of the White House. Thanks so much to our guide--one of the guys I ride bikes with. He was a great host and it was a thrill to see so much history before us. The Oval Office is pretty special.

We were also able to catch a glimpse of the President as he exited Marine One on the South Lawn. We had to peer through a doorway to see it from a distance, but it was still neat to see any President in living color. We even exchanged a few words with Josh Bolten, the new Chief of Staff as he was walking along the colonade.

After the tour was over, we met one of the President's personal photographers as well as seeing the President and First Lady's personal aides. Coming in the gate as we were exiting was none other than Karl Rove. I stared at him for a while to make sure I had it right and he gave us a wave. I wonder who else was in the black SUV? His face was so distinctive it was easy to make out.

2006-08-26T06:36:00.000-05:00

It's nice to race so close to home and today the race was just in Chantilly. Jess and I made the drive out there real quick. I met up with John Larson and we rode warmup laps on the course. The course was basically a backwards and longer Quicksilver, with smaller rolling hills. For those not familiar with Quicksilver, this course is 'D' shape, with the start/finish on the straight section and the race running down on that section. The start/finish was at the end of a long very subtle rise--enough to make your legs burn, but certainly nothing worthy of being dubbed a "hill." After many laps and a few hard efforts, I was ready to roll and I started from the front row.

On this course, I knew starting at the front wasn't terribly critical and I'd already committed myself to not being aggressive until the final couple laps. I knew this pace would be blistering because of the rolling nature and the immaculate pavement. I was certain that this would be about riding around in circles for a while and then sprinting for the line. Obviously, this is not my kind of race but hey, I still need those points.

The plan was supposed to be most of the Coppis (and there were a few in this race) working for Skubis. He said he had good legs and after Quicksilver, he was the only guy who'd shown any assemblance of a sprint. I'd be on my own, just trying to sneak in for fifth. Well, I'll spare the details of all fifteen laps, but bascially it went like this: I actually made good on my committment not to take a pull and sat mostly in the middle to front of the group. I tried to find the right position for coming out of the final turn, but never really settled on something I liked. A few Coppi's and random other riders took a few pointless flyers off the front and they were all reeled in with ease.

With two laps to go, I started contemplating when to get aggressive, but I was not at all feeling strong. So I spent those final two laps trying to rest until the last possible moment. I was able to get into a good position near the end when Coppi teammate, Eric, took a flier that people actually got a bit worried about. There was no need since we were pretty far from the finish, but the pace picked up anyways. Well, Eric did an incredibly stupid and dangerous thing and sat up right in the middle of the road. That meant the pack was closing on him probably ten mph faster and he was in the way. I'm amazed no one crashed. But I made it around his outside and into good position in the final turn.

I came out of that turn with a chance to make good on my goal and I gave it absolutely everything I could muster. At some point Jose and another rider sprinted away, then another two did the same. That left what was left of the field vying for that fifth spot I so coveted. I wasn't in a great position, but I hammered to see what I could get and started having some hope when I passed several riders. But with probably twenty meters to the line, I had to sit down and pedal. I got passed by three guys, ending up in eighth.

Immediately after I crossed the line, I felt horrible. I'd woke up this morning feeling a bit strange, but nothing too bad. But after I crossed the line, it was pretty obvious--I was sick. After waiting around forever for results, I finally left before they were official and headed home to bed. I slept for four hours and pounded the liquids. Then I woke up and watched the night race at Bristol. I was running a fever and possibly the worst headache I've ever had. But I think this'll blow over in a day or two--it usually does.

Finishing eighth is frustrating since it seems like it's been an eternity since I finished in the points. But really to finish eighth on a course so poorly suited to my strengths isn't all that bad. Perhaps if I hadn't been so under the weather I might've had what it took to sneak in there for fifth or even take a flyer to win. Since Pfeiffer Hill, I've raced five criteriums, two road races, and a time trial. I've finished 7th, 8th, and 11th (twice) but otherwise haven't been a factor. I think my time off is the excuse for Toona, the competition the excuse for Christiana, and the rest are just crits that I haven't quite mastered yet. But I'm still close and staying positive.

Unfortunately, since I'm sick, I won't get to try my hand at ending the wait at the Back-to-School criterium up in Charm City. So I guess I've got only a few more chances this season: Wilmington Crit., two weeks from Sunday, followed by the MABRA RR Championships and Turkey Day Race the following week. Ugh! I'm ready to focus on 'cross.

See all of Jess' pictures here.

2006-08-25T07:29:00.000-05:00

I rode in to work today on the 'cross bike mainly to show off my handiwork to Thor and Larry. But I hit a few dirt trails on the way and had a good time. I even ended up cranking the Powerhouse section with another commuter. He turned off in Reston.

When I got to work, I was just about to head for the showers when I realized that I hadn't brought any pants to work! That's the first time I've made that mistake and thankfully Jess had the day off. She drove out with a pair of pants and I was showered and ready to go just in time for my 10a meeting.

Jess joined me for lunch at Olive Garden then ran a few errands before I left work early to meet up with David, Onu, and Onu's friend from Cambridge, Keith. We were taking Keith to see the Orioles game and introduce him to the wonderful sport of baseball. Well, at least that was the plan. The traffic on the beltway had other ideas and we were stuck behind a big wreck. It took us two hours to get to the ballpark and we ended up missing the first inning, but after that it was enjoyable.

I sat next to Keith and told him everything I could think of to explain the game. He seemed to have a good time and actually comprehend all that I was spewing out. It wasn't a terribly exciting game, but at least the home team won, pitching very well to shutout the D-Rays 4-0.

2006-08-23T10:25:00.000-05:00

In honor of my one year anniversary here at blogger.com, I decided to get my butt in gear and post a flurry of updates. There's about a month of time missing . . . but just be sure to catch some of the highlights.

Wedding and Honeymoon
Tour de Toona
Tour de Christiana
Building of the 'Cross Bike
Williamsport Crit.

As for today . . .
Riding to work today, I came across a downed cyclist at mile 22 of the W&OD. The cyclist, while riding together with his wife, crashed when the bolt which holds his saddle to the seatpost broke. Apparently he'd been descending one of the small hills when it happened and he looked to be in a lot of pain. He was wearing a helmet. He was complaining of back pain and we tried to get him to relax some. 911 was called and they arrived in fairly short order. I met up with Keith Blinn, another Orbital engineer, and we left the scene just before the EMS team made their way down the trail.

It's stuff like this that always makes you think long and hard about the quest for lighter and faster equipment. This guy was riding Spinergy carbon wheels and a nice Cannondale with older Dura Ace componentry. Shouldn't all this cost ensure a little more safety? Well, it at least makes me glad that I'm riding a Thomson seatpost with two bolts rather than the one this guy's post had. The bolts on my post are high strength steel alloy, plated to prevent rust and corrosion. Hopefully that's enough.

I spent a good portion of this ride riding with a guy on a Specialized Tarmac. It kept the pace nice and strong and he turned off just after Reston.

There was no ride home for me today since Jess met me and we went out to dinner and a movie.

2006-08-22T13:09:00.000-05:00

I took today off from the bike and met Jess at the Fort Myer bowling alley for a going away party of sorts her section was having for her and her colleagues leaving next week for training at Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory. They'll be gone for ~6 months and the movers come tomorrow to sort Jess' stuff from mine. Ahhh, to be single again. ;-) There should be plenty of room for my new bike now.

2006-08-21T09:44:00.000-05:00

Today was just a typical commute. My legs felt surprisingly good after yesterday's long solo attempt. More than likely the soreness is just delayed, but I took the opportunity to get in some tempo yet again. I wanted to ride the 'cross bike, but I've got a few more things to tidy up before it's ready.

I thought more today about the problems I was having installing the crank. When installing the crank with the carbon guards and single ring, it had no clearance with the chainstays and was rubbing on the frame. Well, chatting with Peter over email today made me realize that I probably had the guards and ring on the crank arm incorrectly. Sure enough, I had installed the ring, spacers and inner guard inside of the spider. I corrected that to put only a guard inside the spider, with the ring, spacers and outer guard on the outside. I tried it as soon as I got home and it worked just fine. I was worried that I would need to get a new bottom bracket to increase the spindle length from 109.5mm to 118.5mm. Fortunately, I ordered the right one and I'm ready to roll once I tape the handlebars.

2006-08-20T13:29:00.000-05:00

My excitement for the road season has been on the wane since Toona. I'm still searching for those two points I need to upgrade, but the fire to race for them isn't there much anymore. So much the same way I was wishing I was home last week in Christiana, I wasn't thrilled even to drive up to Williamsport, MD, just outside of Hagerstown. At least I was finally able to get back to church this week and the race wasn't until 3:15.

Once I got there, I was focused on doing my best. I warmed up with Jordan Cross around the streets of the town before doing a few hard efforts and then making my way to the start line. I didn't want to spend the first laps getting to the front the way I had at Christiana, so I got there early. I was able to clip in fairly quickly and it didn't take much effort to make it to the front.

The course was a very short loop of just over a kilo in length. It finished on a slight uphill and was basically a four corner course. The second corner led into a fast downhill section and the final corner was a bit acute--that's where 3 crashes happened in the race.

From the gun, it was pretty clear that Harley would be controlling this one. They did a great job of sending rider after rider just up the road. The attacks were a bit half-hearted and were each brought back easily but slowly. At any one point there would be 2-3 Harley riders leading the field. It's pretty obvious what you can do when you have guys like Fife, Escobar, Samuuel, and Chamberlain in the same race. They're all very capable and strong crit riders and when working as a team they're tough to beat alone.

For my part, I had Steve and Jordan in the race, but together we couldn't really do much. After a few laps of seeing Harley dictate the pace, some attacks from other folks started to drop in. Ken Young attacked once and I latched on along with three other riders. It was pretty early seeing as we had 20+ laps to go, but I figured seeing the way the Masters race before us had gone, this was a course where a group working together could get away. I think I was right, but we'll never know because my shouts of, "Let's work together," and "Pull through" went unheeded. We were brought back in short order.

A few laps later, I got bored and decided after a half-hearted attack that hey, the gap behind me is kinda big. So I put my head down and started time trialing. I was hammering with all I had and I was gonna find out one way or another if I have any fitness after my lack of training. Well, I kept hammering and the gap kept getting bigger. I had Jess as well as a Jordan (lapped) and Walter giving me time gaps.

My lead ballooned to it's highest point at 22 seconds up on the field. That was pretty big and I started to ponder whether I actually had a chance doing what I was doing. I still didn't think so with all the heavy hitters that were chasing me, but ya never know. My lead started to drop some and my legs were crying Uncle with about 12-13 laps to go. To make matters worse, I had a stitch in my side and my Gatorade was horrible since it was so hot out.

My lead went to 15s, then 12s, and then they were on me. When Jose came around me I told him, "It's about damn time." After that, I sat up behind him and tried to open up to get the cramp out. I worked only marginally and I was hurting so bad cardio and leg-wise that it was the least of my worries. I tried to settle in to the pack, but given there were only 6-8 laps remaining, there wasn't much settling going on back there.

I think it was with about four laps to go that I started to fade and a group of eleven riders went up the road. By the time I started to make up any ground on them, I heard the bell and it was too late. I held my position alone with an LSV/Kelly rider on my heels. Coming out the last corner, I noticed Ken Young had gone down leaving 10 riders finished. I thought I had the LSV/Kelly guy beat but I looked behind the wrong way and he came around on my right. I gave it my best effort to sprint, but he got me and I finished a not terrible, but not helpful, 12th.

Was I stupid to try a solo break 20K+ from the finish? Of course ;-) But that's what I do every now and then and this was the course to try it on. As they say the pros do, at least I got our name out there. The announcer was at least saying Coppi for a while.

As soon as I finished, I was immediately aware of how hot it'd become and it was all I could do to get over to the concessions area, find some shade and get a nice COLD Gatorade to drink. I just sat on the floor and held my bike up with one hand. My head was pounding and I was exhausted. As far as crits go, I enjoyed the course. It was generally pretty safe--with that last turn excepted. And I'm too much of a fraidy cat to take that turn to hard anyways. It's also nice to go such a short distance (1:30) from home--at least until I-70 backs up!

2006-08-19T13:25:00.000-05:00

Since we got married, Jess and I haven't had any time home on the weekends. We've been on the road constantly either racing bikes or visiting friends and today was a day we'd both been looking forward to for a while: a Saturday with absolutely no plans on tap.

How'd we spend it?

We went kayaking on the Potomac with Chris, Lindsey, Will, and Liz. It was great fun and quite the workout for my biceps and shoulders. We paddled out from Thompson Boathouse to Memorial Bridge, around TR Island, West on the Potomac along the Cap Crescent Trail and finally back to the boathouse. We ate lunch in Georgetown and then bid farewell to each other. C&L are headed back to Beantown (lucky dogs), Will is headed back to Brooklyn, and Liz is off to England. Have I mentioned Jess leaves for Pittsburgh pretty soon? Everyone's leaving!

After all that paddling, Jess took to taking a lengthy nap, while I stripped the 'cross bike of it's parts and started building it up with my own. I was able to get the brakes mostly sorted out, but had some problems with installing the crank. I generally had fun and it would have been a great way to spend free time had it not been for the third Boston massacre occuring on TV at Fenway Park.

2006-08-18T13:16:00.000-05:00

After picking up the new 'cross bike last night, I was too excited not to ride it in to work today. Even though it's slower, I left on the knobby tires so that I could give some of the dirt a try next to the W&OD.

I had to leave on time this morning in order to meet Will on the trail. I still left a tiny bit late though, and so I didn't end up meeting him till the Vienna Depot. He joked that the only other time he'd come to meet me in the morning was the day I got hit by the car. Since he hadn't run in to me yet, he was starting to worry if I'd suffered the same fate. I hadn't.

We rode alongside each other chatting and I had a hard time holding the pace he was setting with road wheels. But at the same time I was surprised how fast the bike really could go even with knobby tires on it. We started gaining on this one road rider and we couldn't help but try to dust him. I think on a road bike it would have been a piece of cake, but today it hurt. My stomach wasn't feeling so hot and I started having shifting issues with the 'cross bike. It kept skipping out of gear under pressure--almost like an automatic transmission might work. Evenutally though, we were clear of him and I could breathe normally again--all while Will was laughing about how this was his one chance to put the hurt in me. I showed him the beautiful new underpass at Church Rd. and then he made the turn for his home and I continued on to Orbital.

On the way home, I left a bit early from work and went in search of any and all off-road sections of the W&OD. I hammered with all I had up and down some hills I never thought I could ride on a 'cross bike. My nerves were a little be up but I handled things a lot better on the slippery gravel than I ever did last year at Lilypons. I'm really amazed at how much better the Javelin handles things than the Sirrus did. I guess I shouldn't be, but part of me was wondering whether or not a real 'cross bike really would make much of a difference. Well, then jury's back and it does. A carbon fork makes things swell too.

2006-08-17T12:59:00.000-05:00

I didn't ride in to work today so that I could drop by Leesburg and pick up the bike. Turns out I'm buying it from Jesse Saldana, a former Evo rider. He and his Dad won it down at one of the VACX races last season. His Dad rode it a few times and now just wants to sell it.

I was able to get all the cash I needed from 2 ATM's and cash back at the grocery store. It's funny how hard it can be to get that much cash without going to a teller. I would have used a check, but we haven't gotten any checks yet with our new account.

The transaction went off well. I rode it around a bit in the driveway/street, then forked over the money and was on my way. I'm very pleased with the fit. Even though there's a 90 mm stem on there now, I can tell that with my 120 mm stem, it'll be just fine. The standover is perfect and the frame is pristine. I think the only thing I have against the Javelin so far is that I'm feeling a bit awkward with such a high bottom bracket. That's a remanant of when toe clips were used I'm told.

I rode it around in Bluemont Park in some sand and dirt and plenty of grass. I can already tell that I'm going to handle the bike much better than I did the Sirrus last year. And I'm happy that I've adjusted to drop handlebars well enough that I feel totally comfortable.

2006-08-16T10:29:00.000-05:00

I've been slowly but surely building up a killer cyclocross bike during road season. I've done this by scouring eBay for the parts I want, watching several of them sell, then swooping in to get a good price. I've picked up carbon chain guards, a saddle, crankset, a stem, and various other parts over time. If I couldn't beat the discounted Bikeman.com prices that I get from being on the team, then I added that to the final order and picked up the remaining components from them.

Well, I now have everything I need except for a frame. And for the last couple weeks, I've been getting closer and closer to getting that frame ordered directly from Javelin. Mainly the delay has been with talking to the guy on my team in charge of being liason to Javelin. But it's also becasue Javelin is acting very strange at the moment. Their website hasn't been updated in quite a long time (kinda like this one) and there's not number posted on their website that will get you to talk to anyone that knows any more.

But finally, today I got a call from Rob Henley at Javelin. He informed me that the price I thought I was going to get for frame, fork, and headset was for frame only. Well, that made the "deal" not such a good deal anymore and I wasn't terribly happy. They had a great price on Alpa Q CX forks, but it was still more than I'd been planning on spending. So I started looking for other options.

But when I started looking around, I realized I'd become a bit attached to the Javelin frame. I liked the top tube cable routing and the conventional headtube. Kona routes on the downtube like a road bike and Ridley and a bunch of others use integrated headsets. I also liked the silver color and I've been happy with my Javelin Amarone--quirks with the company nonwithstanding. So I wanted a Javelin.

And I found one: a 54 cm Primitivo on eBay. And whatdya know but the thing is already built up, at a great price, and resides in Leesburg (15 mins from work)! It was a pretty impulsive thing to do, but just before I went to bed tonight, I bought the whole thing. I plan to strip it of its parts and sell 'em to recoup some of the cost. And whatever I don't feel like selling, I'll probably save to build up a SS/Fixie for after 'cross season.

My only real worry about the bike is that the 54 cm may be too small for me. But after trying Peter's 57 cm, I think the standover is a little bit too high on that one--and this is one size below. The top tube is awfully short at 53 cm. Hopefully a 120 mm stem will be just right and the headtube isn't too low.

2006-08-15T10:26:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty sure I commuted today. It's hard to remember, but I seem to recall riding to work with my legs just feeling like dirt. They didn't recover well, even after yesterday's slow spin, but I got back on the bike anyway.

2006-08-14T10:21:00.000-05:00

I understandably took today off from bike commuting to let my traumatized legs recover from the weekend's effort. I can't ever recall operating at the red-line for so long as I did on Sunday. The TT and the crit absolutely killed me. I had nothing left and I experienced exactly what it feels like to struggle and hold on to the back of the peloton.

Instead of doing the forty miles of commuting, I rode about twenty miles of small ring slow rolling and I did the Muffin Ride on my own. My legs handled it ok and it was actually enjoyable to ride at a relaxed pace. I tacked on a few more miles at the end just for good measure.

2006-08-13T09:17:00.000-05:00

Hindsight being 20/20, I should have mailed it in during the TT this morning. But instead, I wanted to see what I could do in my first ever race against the clock. I love riding with TT bars and despite my already aching legs I couldn't resist the urge to hammer. Well . . . I hammered. But I didn't fare nearly well enough to get anything out of the effort. I finished 31st, doing the 10.3 mile course in 24:23.

Much to my chagrin, I had no :30 man to chase. He was a no-show and left me all alone. I got off to a decent start--probably a bit too fast, but ok. I settled in and tried to maintain 25 mph and otherwise keep a big gear rolling. I was in a bit of a daze and wondering for a minute if I'd made a wrong turn, when the guy :30 behind me came by with a "On your left" warning. That woke me up and I tried to hold his pace without drafting and I kept focusing on keeping him at a respectable distance. I rode a lot smarter the rest of the way even though my legs were crying uncle. I really wish I would have had a :30 man to chase. I think I would have done much better. Even so, I'm not terribly upset about finishing 31st to lots of guys with TT gear. My time would have put me 11th in the Cat. 4 and likely would have assured me the overall GC place I needed for an upgrade. Instead, I was an also-ran with legs that would be able to do very little in the afternoon criterium.

Jess and I went to Friendly's and pigged out, then headed over to the crit course to watch my teammate, John Larson, in the Cat. 4 race. I had several hours to kill before my race (thankfully) and I spent the time chilling in the shade and polishing up the Javelin. I took it for a bit of a warmup spin and I knew I wouldn't be able to do much in the race. I hate to think like that before a competition, but I don't think I've ever gone into a race feeling so out of gas. My legs burned with each pedal stroke no matter what the gear I was turning.

The course was 1.25 miles with a kicker of a hill at the finish. The start was about 200m from that hill and just after a slightly acute turn. I got to the start line a bit late and found myself about three rows back. My typical horrendous start to clipping in left me near dead last going up the hill on the homestretch. The race was only 9 laps (praise God) and I knew it would be a struggle to hold onto the peloton. Guys were getting shelled early, but I managed to hammer the hill each lap and actually was able to get on the front of the peloton with four laps to go. I led for about a lap there before getting swarmed in a turn that I took too slowly and was never really in contention again. I was happy just to have made it to the front.

I had to laugh at the way I finished up the race. I fell off the back of the peloton by about 100m with a lap to go and I was suffering. But rested enough on the downhill backstretch that I knew I could sprint a bit at the end. So I focused my efforts on picking off one guy who was dangling off the back of the peloton and coming down the homestretch, I left it all out on the course. I blew by him right before the line to finish . . . yep, 34th! Haha. We both laughed when I passed him. All I could say was, "Sorry, man. I had to have something to do back here." It was a fitting end to a weekend of butt-whipping. I certainly know where I stand in the field of strong Cat. 3's: I've got a lot of work to do.

This weekend was more disappointing because I should have been in the Cat. 4 race and finishing off the points I need to become a 3. But it was also disappointing because of how out-gunned I was. I think I was amongst my peers in the RR on Saturday and since that's my thing, I'm happy about that. But in TT's and Crits, I have no skillz. As I said earlier, I'll have time to hone my crit skills in the next two weeks as I plan to race 3 criteriums in my desperate bid for a 5th place finish. Arghh. I need to do well again!! Then I can shut it down, build up my 'cross bike and start having fun again. Perhaps next season, I'll actually come up with a good training plan and not let silly weddings get in the way. ;-)

2006-08-12T10:30:00.000-05:00

I knew before the start of this one that my legs didn't have a solo breakaway or even a two up breakaway in them--esp. in light of the competition. But I figured they were good enough to do some damage anyways.

This was a course fairly well suited to my strengths. The start/finish line was on top of a hill and at the beginning/end of a quarter mile offshoot of the main course loop. The hill was pretty long and steep. The main loop was eight miles long and wound along a scenic creekbed till about four miles when the big mile long staircase climb started. At the top of that big climb there was about a mile of smaller ups and downs before the road plummeted straight down and the rest of the main lap was flat to slightly downhill. We were slated to do six laps.

I was a bit nervous about riding in the big peloton winding along the creek. The road was somewhat narrow and I found myself riding awfully close to the creek side shoulder. At one point I hit a patch of sand in the shoulder and it took a moment of heart pumping handling to keep my rubber side down. Felt like 'cross by surprise. I gradually worked my way near to the front and on the climb, I reached the front rather easily. I did this mostly because I didn't want to descend at 60 mph with folks all around me.

And that was how things went for the first four laps or so. I would conservatively pass a lot of guys going up the big climb, descend in the front, then drift to the back on the flat sections. That's generally backwards from what most people try to do in a race, but it just naturally happens for me.

On the fifth lap, things got a bit more interesting. After we crested the climb, there was a small gap of about five riders. It wasn't really a breakaway yet, but after the descent, we formed up and briefly tried our hand at it. The organization was pretty poor--as it always seems to be and we were swallowed up after a short time in the open. Curtis of Snow Valley gave it a few more tries but he mostly served to bump up the pace for the final lap.

By the final lap, that staircase climb was hurting pretty good. And unfortunately for me, I wasn't near enough to the front to climb past. Instead, I had too many people crowding the road and I had to almost do a trackstand on the hill as the pace dropped. Eventually I was able to get around some and wasn't too far from the front. I was positioned well enough with about two miles to go.

Just before the climb back to the finish, Pete Whitlock of Siegler Imports attacked and I went after him. I know he's a strong rider and I was hoping to catch his draft up the hill. Unfortunately, I did a fine job of pulling the field with me since I attacked from around second wheel and when the climb started, riders where everywhere.

Boy did that climb kill. It was brutal on my tired legs and even though I was climbing pretty well, I was getting passed by ten or fifteen guys. My impression going down that hill at the start had been that the start/finish line was not far after the crest of the hill. But apparently my recollection was bad because after we crested the hill, the line was nowhere in sight. Not only that, but the guys who passed me had a gap that I wasn't going to be able to close. I outsprinted the few remainders that were around me at the finish, but by the time we got to the line none of us were sprinting all that fast.

I finished in 19th place, earing two points towards the GC. That would be my best finish of the weekend. I'm not sure with the legs I had whether I could have done anything differently. I guess I would have like to try a major attack on the final climb, but I'm not sure I could have made it stick with such a quality field in tow.

2006-08-11T07:31:00.000-05:00

To keep myself from doing further damage to my legs before Saturday's race, I took off the TT bars for my commute. My legs are feeling rough, so it was a good thing that for the first time I can remember, I ran into Pat riding in to work. He's busted a few spokes in his electrified Gary Fisher, so he's taken up riding the manual Panasonic again. I decided to save the legs and chat with him for the rest of the commute. It was nice to chill out some and the weather was absolutely terrific. Temperatures were in the 70's and the sun was perfect.

The ride home was more of the same--at least until some dude pulled up behind me and acted like he wanted a piece. So I hammered about a mile just before the Vienna stretch and dropped him. Then I was regretting that since my legs are crap and soft-pedaled the rest of the way home. Tomorrow should be very intersting. At least I don't race till 11a, so I'll be sleeping in my own bed tonight.

2006-08-10T07:06:00.000-05:00

The sky did look awfully gray when I rolled out of the house this morning with Jess. She made it in to work just fine, but at about mile seven of my ride, the skies opened up and I got wet. I was too far in to the ride to turn around for home, so I just settled in and actually enjoyed the water a bit. It wasn't the punishing downpours that I've been caught in before, but rather a light but steady rain that did get me pretty wet by the end.

More interesting about this ride was the addition of TT bars to my bike again for the first time ever on the Javelin and the first time really since I was racing duathlons last summer. It felt really good to have them on the bike. It makes for a more comfortable ride--and a faster ride as well. The only problem with this is that I have a very hard time not doing my best Sergui Gonchar impression and pushing the biggest gear I can find for as long as I can stand. In short, I hammer whenever I have TT bars on my bike.

Why the TT bars? Well, I found out there's a 3/4 race at the Tour de Chrstiana, so there's room for me to race. It's likely to be a very very strong field and unlikely I'll get any upgrade points there, but I have to give it a shot.

Coming home, it was sunny skies all around, but more of the same from my legs. I finally made the ride in under and hour door-to-door, averaging 21.1 mph for the journey--a respectable speed considering all the times I have to come to a stop along the way. My legs are now toast. I'm not at all prepped well for this weekend's races.

2006-08-09T11:41:00.000-05:00

I barely managed to get out of bed this morning, but Jess and I both left the house about 6:25 and I rode with her along the Custis Trail. I got off the trail at the downhill spiral near Big Wheel Bikes and left her to continue her ride to work. I timed it perfectly and met the group as they turned onto Spout Run. The crew was small and absent any heavy hitters. All the same, this workout still hurt a lot. Joining me in the pain fest that is the HON ride were Peter, Jordan, Ryan, Chris Marrow, Ken Woodrow, and 2 new non-Coppi guys. I could tell instantly that my legs weren't sharp.

The first interval was my usual--I rode hard and gapped the field early. I didn't have the usual speed up the winding road and by the end I was soft-pedaling. I might have had more than I showed, but I wasn't pushed and didn't feel like pushing. The second interval is where I'm usually challenged the longest, but I shook off Peter when the climb started and rode hard from further out than I can remember. The final rise that's usually a sprint against Butts or Tomas was brutal and I tried to put in a good finish.

I'm starting not to fear this third interval as much. It helps when neither James nor Butts is present. But I have beaten each of them in the last few weeks, so I think I can finally do this one well. Today, though, I knew the Muur would kill. I dropped my chain going up the first steep hill but luckily managed to flick it back on with the front derailleur without losing a spot. After that, I was on my own and begging for mercy from the final hill. I put in a nice effort and I was huffing and puffing so hard that I did James proud.

The fourth was more of the first--with an early attack and no answers. That first hill really hurt a lot and I rode the rest of the way seated and in a pretty small gear. The pack was closing as I finished, but I was just trying to get to the top without killing myself.

Not having the spark that I usually have on Wednesday's was disappointing. I think I'm catching up on sleep, but my legs are real tired and I'm feeling a little burned out. I've got to reenergize somehow and get those measley 2 points before I can shut it down for the season. To that end, I registered for 3 crits in the upcoming weekends (Williamsport, Chantilly, and Back-to-School). I got shut out of the Tour de Christiana, so I'll have to learn how to race crits real fast. On an exciting note, the registration for the first Cyclocross race is up on the web. I'm planning to start my campaign with Charm City 'Cross on the 24th of September. Should be a fun day.

2006-08-08T11:42:00.000-05:00

The weather has cooled off dramatically and has become the beautiful days of summer that I long for all winter. I was out in it early, and left the house this morning with Jess to make it to work before 8a. It was an easy spin with a bit of a hard effort in the Powerhouse of Vienna. I had some gearing issues after that, but I think it was just in need of some adjusting and I had it straightened out before long.

The ride home was more of the same beautiful weather and I had to laugh when I passed a deer in Vienna just eating away a foot off the trail. It wasn't bothered at all by the horde of cyclists and joggers passing by. I slowed down a bit for fear it'd get spooked and run in to me, but I passed easily.

I continued on the Custis Trail when I got home so I could add a few miles and meet Jess. She wasn't too far away and I turned to ride back with her. She's been putting in quite the workout lately. Last week she rode 100 miles in commuting. That has to be more than some of the Cat 4's and 5's. It's even more than I put in when I'm lazy some weeks. My wife has discipline and it's cool to see. Never mind that it's fueled by hatred for riding the Metro. She loads up her trusty Surly Cross-Check and heads on her way.

Tour de Toona Stage 3

2006-07-30T21:31:00.000-05:00

Check out all of Jess' pictures from Stage 3 here.

Tour de Toona Stage 2

2006-07-29T21:30:00.000-05:00

Today was pretty incredible. I was chomping at the bit to get my first real taste of a race with a mountain climb. I was disappointed we wouldn't be riding the Cat. 3 route of 70+ miles and with the climb to the top of Blue Knob Ski Resort, but we would have our climb nonetheless.

The race started off pretty much like any race and the pace was pretty slow. I think folks were very apprehensive of the climbing ahead and no one wanted to waste an ounce of energy--well no one except me. I made my way to the front at the base of the climb and was never worse than fourth all the way to the top.

I played some with the pace but never really attacked. Mostly I just upped the pace to get everyone moving and let others take over from my setup. About half way up, I started to feel the burn pretty bad in my legs. This wasn't a steep climb, but really a long and gradual one that had me spinning in the 21 cog and eventually in the 23 cog. That's all I had and Tomas said if I needed any bigger than 23, I wouldn't be on the front. He was right, but I there were a few brief sections of tired legs where I might have used a 25. That said, I'm glad I didn't have it!

With probably a half mile to go to the KOM, a pretty big sprinter looking guy put in an attack. I didn't know what to make of it and as close as we were I don't think anyone thought he should be given much reign. We jumped on him quick and that's where the fireworks started. When we got to within 200m, a guy from the Altoona club went for it really hard. I was dying at that point and figured he had the KOM sealed up, but something made me think again.

For whatever reason, I started sprinting even though he was at least four bike lengths ahead. I went into Wednesday Hill Ride mode and attacked him like he was Tomas or Butts. I ate him up faster than I thought possible and I soon found myself in the lead with lots of spectators going mad. I wanted to die, but I kept charging and looking for the KOM line. The sign was covered up by fans, so I didn't see the thin red line until the last second as I was about to cross it. I crossed it and thought to myself, "Oh thank God."

Well, that attack burnt about every one of my matches. I was pedaling so slow just trying to keep moving. The next two guys over the KOM were the Toona guy and Hessel of HVB. The Toona rider and myself were hurting and Hessel eventually past us. Several more passed and one was George. I pleaded with him to wait on me so that I might sit in and recover, but he said later, "I didn't hear you."

Then the pack came and probably twenty guys were with us. Tomas was there as were the Harley guys. We tried to move up to George but the gap wouldn't come down. I started to feel pretty good and going into the descent, I thought I was ok. Unfortunately, I was at the very back of that pack and a gap opened up. I wasn't braking and I was actually pedaling pretty hard, but that gap got bigger and bigger until I was dropped.

I picked up with several others and we worked together till the finish, but it was not to be. I finished in 25th and any hopes of doing something on GC went up in smoke. But George had other ideas about GC and amazingly he took the stage win!! That meant that he was in a three way tie for first with Steve Fife and the previous Stage winner. Since he won the RR stage that gave him the yellow!

It was awesome. Toona really is just like a fantasy camp. We got jerseys, had a podium presentation, and were cheered like heroes. Truly something special to have such a great team. We were feeling pretty good about ourselves and hearing Coppi over and over from the announcer was very cool.

Check out all of Jess' photos from Stage 2 here.

Tour de Toona Stage 1

2006-07-28T20:40:00.000-05:00

2006-07-27T12:02:00.000-05:00

Since I'm closing in on a month since my last post, I figured it's about time to get back on track (again). A lot has happened in these missed weeks and not all of it cycling-related. So in that sense, I haven't missed much news relating to this blog. But even so, I think it's time to start writing again and maybe I can also get my training back in line at the same time.

Way back on July 16, I got married. I have to admit, the whole ordeal leading up to it was pretty stressful and this blog is testament to the amount of time spent riding my bike over that period. But when the day finally came, it was awesome. It was far and away better than I ever imagined it would be. It truly was a lot of fun. We had so many of our close friends in town and they made that day unforgettable.

After the ceremony, Jess and I escaped South to Manteo, NC on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Being a Tar Heel myself (native, most assuredly not the baby blue kind), it was surprising that this was my first time East of ECTC. We checked out the Wright Brothers stuff in Kill Devil Hills, saw the Lost Colony, and took daytrips to Hatteras, Bodie, and Currituck Lighthouses. But mostly, we relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. Though we both brought along our bikes, we only rode once for about 13 miles together. My conclusion, which has since been supported by plenty of other area riders is that the OBX is not for training.

Perhaps I peaked in fitness sometime just before the wedding, but by the time we got back to Arlington on the 22nd, I think I was just flat out of shape. With the Tour de Toona looming on the horizon at the end of the week, I had to find some modicum of strength for riding. I started things off right was the Coppi Sunday ride, but then only had time to commute once and went into the race having taken several more days off. At least I was fresh!

2006-07-12T10:09:00.000-05:00

There was no riding this weekend, but I commuted to work the last two days and felt good when I was on the bike. I decided to use these few days to work really hard and push my legs, so I spent most of the time turning big gears and seeing what that feels like. I think I was a little bit inspired by Sergui Gonchar in last Saturday's TT. The trouble is really the rest of the day where I'm exhausted and tired. Sleep has been on the decline again, but I'm battling through it and I'll have all next week to get recharged. I'm really looking forward to skipping town.

This morning, though, I knew would be a big shock to the system and a chance to see what I'd lost. I was glad that Butts, Tomas, and Brad showed up. They made the group as strong as it ever is. So I knew I as in for some hard riding. Strangely enough, I had my best ride ever. I beat Brian on all four of the intervals and each time with a vicious kick at the end. I'm starting to question whether his wrist is entirely healed, but he says nothing's wrong. After the first two, I was hurting and the humidity was brutal. My stomach was turning over a bit and I had to think back to the last time I rode this workout and had to stop. Today though, it was all good and I powered past Brian on the Muur to take 3 of 3. The fourth wasn't my typical long escape but rather a stiff pace change on the last hill. I was very happy to be done at that point.

Coming down Military on the cool down, I got a front flat right at the bottom of the hill. That really surprised me and I noticed immediately how little control of the bike I had while riding on the rim. Thankfully, I was able to safely come to a stop out of the way and change the flat. Most of the guys had time to wait on me and I was thankful in case the cause of the flat reared its head later in the ride. It didn't and we made it back to the Java Shack safe and sound. I enjoyed watching about an hour of coverage of the first mountain stage of the tour.

2006-07-07T12:45:00.000-05:00

I decided to man up and commute in today to assess the damage my time away from the bike has done. The initial prognosis is pretty crappy, I felt slow and far from smooth riding in this morning. The weather was about perfect in 70's and I was able to roll right out of my new apartment and onto the trail. That's where the positives ended. I was pretty frustrated about how slow I was feeling and the constant headwind wasn't doing me any favors.

One odd thing I noticed was that there were spots on my hand where I could feel callouses starting to disappear. I hadn't realized, but I guess riding without gloves the last few months has gotten my hands tougher. And with all other things, taking time off started to undo the progress I'd made.

2006-07-06T08:53:00.000-05:00

Well, I haven't posted in a long long time. And I missed quite a bit. I raced twice in an attempt to get eight points in a single weekend. I finished 2nd up in PA on the Saturday with help from an amazing lead out train of Steve Robinson and Tomas. But I didn't fare quite as well on Sunday in Richmond--finishing 11th in a crit. So I'm still needing a 4th place finish to upgrade and it looks like I won't have time to race before Toona. I had a week after that of the highest mileage I've ever rode--commuting nearly every day and doing 90 miles on Thursday, having to ride the last hour in near darkness. But unfortunately that Thursday was the last day I rode--with the exception of one Wednesday hill ride. Jess came home on that Friday and torrential rains kept me from riding outdoors and then I had to move. Moving sucks, let me tell you. I had to take Friday off from work to get everything out of the old apartment. But my new place is right off the bike trail and saves 15 mins of commute time. It should be great--if I ever get to ride my bike! I've been driving of late because I can't spare the time in the day right now with unpacking and the lead up to the event in exactly ten days. Jess and I are ready for these stressful two weeks to be up and to be relaxing on a beach in NC. Until then, it's work work work and try to catch the Tour when possible. I wish I had more to write about. I was getting in a groove of regular writing and then events conspired to ruin all that. I'll try and write if and when I get back on a bike in the next two weeks. But after that it's at least another week of no posts because I'm leaving the laptop at home.

2006-06-13T22:03:00.000-05:00

There was no rain in the forecast today, so I got back to commuting. I slept rather oddly, waking up at 5a ready to go only to go back to sleep and wake up late at 6:40 feeling really tired. But whatever, I did my best to get good sleep. The Hurricanes kept me up a bit late, but not too bad. The NHL desperately needs to get back on ESPN. Although last night's game was on NBC the rest of the playoffs have been on OLN and ratings confirm that almost no one is watching.

But I digress. The commute was lovely. The weather was perfect, with just the usual morning cool but not enough to make it uncomfortable. I was spinning along nicely a little faster than standard recovery pace when I passed the Vienna Depot. Just as I passed that, an Evo rider blew by me. I don't usually let that kind of thing happen, so I did what any self-respecting racer/commuter would do and flipped it over to the big ring and chased. I rode right in his draft through the entire Powerhouse stretch. We were turning 30 mph for the duration. After we crossed the road there, I took the lead up the false flat over the hump and on the remaining false flat. After that, it was his turn off, so he left me on my own. "Nice job," he said. "Thanks for the pull," said I. Good times. It's been a while since I picked up a guy rocking through there in the morning. The rest of the ride was pretty standard.

Will joined me on the way home. We rode our usual struggling to talk kind of pace riding side-by-side. It felt good and we chatted mostly about racing strategy and what kinds of racers we both are. I think Will would be more in the mold of a Boonen--a punishing rider who can climb the hills he needs to. I'm not sure what that makes me. So I'll take suggestions. Right now I just want results. After Will turned around in Vienna, my legs started to feel the pace a bit and I think I needed some food and drink. But I managed to get home ok and in time to clean up a bit for the Bible Study crew.

A dissappointment of the night was having my upgrade to Cat. 3 denied. I have 12 points plus 9 more from when I was a Cat. 5 racer. I was worried they wouldn't count those and I was right. I think it's stupid, but it's understandable. But less understandable since I was a 5 and only racing those races for experience. I'm pissed, but I guess I'll have to get out there and race hard in time for Toona. And I should say that I only care about the upgrade this fast because I want to race the 75 mile RR at Toona and not the 20 mile RR that the Cat. 4's are relegated to do. Otherwise, I'll keeping racing 3/4 fields, so I don't care.

As for Saturday, things are looking really great. Originally, John Larson, myself, and Steve Robinson were signed up for Pieffer Hill, but after an emeil to the listserve, a bunch more signed up. Brad Evans, Owen Hassig, and Tomas Quijano all signed on and as usual George Milinkovic is a VERY tentative. But that's a solid solid crew--the best I've raced with since Poolesville. I'm hungry for results, so hopefully we can work together and get a little something for everyone. This may be do or die this weekend with regards to Toona. I'll make the decision whether or not to try my hand at a crit in Richmond depending on the result Saturday.

Hills in the morning. And boy is this Sox game good . . . Santana vs. Schilling, then Nathan vs. Papelbon then . . . T12 now, I'm not sure I'll be up till the end. Crap. Grand Slam off of Tavarez. It was a great duel anyways.

2006-06-13T22:02:00.000-05:00

I've posted some shots summarizing last Saturday's Quicksilver Criterium.

The Start. 100 riders in all. I'm a couple rows back on the right of the picture, but not visible.

Rockville Harley and NCVC Take 1. Not a bad gap, but it was gone in a hurry. I was chilling in the back at this point.

One of my horrible inside lines. I lost so much speed doing this and kept having to work to get back the spots I'd lose each time.

My ill-fated attack. I only lasted a lap solo. Absolutely horrible.

RHD and NCVC Take 2, with exactly the same result, despite switching out the NCVC rider.

The winning NCVC train . . . taking Mr. Allison to victory. They did a better job than I'd initially thought and the proof is in the results. Definitely the best organization I've seen in a Cat. 4 race. I was well placed, but couldn't deliver.

As I said . . . results:

2006-06-12T22:12:00.000-05:00

I woke up this morning determined to commute, but it was pouring outside so I had to opt for the car. I was able to get right on the bike when I got home, however, and I made up for the loss of ride time. I rode down to Hains Point and practiced throwing in attacks every now and then. Basically I spun a solid but easy pace until I felt like moving and then I did. I rode mostly alone with a few folks riding occaisonally giving me a draft.

After riding for about 1:10 at Hains, I left and decided to explore DC just a bit. I rode up to Capitol Hill and made my rounds at the Supreme Court and Library of Congress before riding down Constitution and then around a few streets before making my way to M street and finishing up through Georgetown and as usual across Key Bridge to home. The ride ended up being 35 miles. A great non-commute effort. It's nice to get that long of a ride in during the week.

2006-06-11T10:40:00.000-05:00

After yesterday's poor result in Sterling, I was in need of a soul-searcher. So after dropping Jess of at the airport, I hit the roads of Montgomery County mostly looking for the hills to inflict their pain on me. I rode the Saturday Ride route--which is very similar to the back half of the Coppi Sunday ride done backwards. I went out along MacArthur all the way to Old Anglers where I tackled the hill there leading up to Great Falls. I rode down into the park and back out to really get the heart pumping. From there I continued the usual route onto Falls Road and S. Glen Road. But then I took Glenn Mill all the way to its end at Darnestown Road. I turned around there and followed my way back, with another trip down into the park and out. I tried to focus on topping the hills well--something I always thought about running, but has just now occurred to me on the bike.

I was somewhat frustrated with my fitness early in the ride, but I rode very well after the second trip into the park and put in a good sprint exiting the park each time. At least I know that hill better if I ever show up for a Sunday ride with the team again. Most of my frustration had to do with my feel on the bike. I had quite a bit of lower back pain yesterday--the worst since I lowered my handlebars. I'm not sure if stretching can alleviate that problem, or if I'll have to raise them slightly. But yesterday and also the last race in PA, I had problems. My left cleat also worked itself loose again yesterday and it drove me crazy hearing them slip in the pedal while climbing hills. My rear wheel was also rubbing the brake when I pedaled with force probably because the spokes are too loose. I'll have to check that out.

I finished up the ride by having a little fun. I hung a left off of MacArthur onto Chain Bridge Road NW. This was a massive and surprisingly long hill. I couldn't believe its size as I felt like the climb would never end. It gave me the feel of climbing real mountains. From there I hit Nebraska to Mass. Ave. and rode past the embassies and finally on to M Street to take me through Georgetown and over the Key Bridge to home. The final mileage was somewhere around 55 miles. I'd wanted to go for more like 75, but my frustration with my feel on the bike kept me from heading down to Hains for a few more add on miles. All in all, a good day though. I got in a long ride with good hills and the pace was respectable for a solo effort. I'm looking forward to commuting more this week and also the workout on Wednesday. I'll be back to racing in PA next Saturday at the Pieffer Hill Road Race.

2006-06-10T07:58:00.000-05:00

Raceday! This was the Quicksilver Crit out in Sterling, VA. It's close to work and it's the same course I raced back during the training series in the winter. Frankly speaking, this is probably the most boring course I've ever raced. The loop is a 'D' shape, so there's two turns with only a very slight decline and incline on the curved section of the 'D'. It is not in any way selective. I knew that going in, but with the field being strictly a Cat. 4 field, my hopes were high for doing well. I should have known better.

The drive to the race is nearly identical to my drive to work--just one exit more on the Toll Road. For all the training races, I rode out to the racecourse and rode home, but today I figured I could drive and save some strength. I warmed up on the course with Will and a few Coppis before getting to the start line just a bit late and being in the third row. We crammed George in on my right side and there were many rows behind us. The field was listed at one hundred riders. Pretty amazing.

That's where I had a fun experience. As we were standing there waiting, an Evo guy and a Harley guy were chatting and one of them asked, where's John Brewer. Ken Woodrow and myself were standing just behind them, so I had to chuckle. Before I could say anything the other one said, "He's over there," gesturing towards another group of Coppis where Tomas and Brad were starting. I played with them a bit, asking "Who wants to know," before finally letting them in on the truth. We all had a good laugh after that. It's nice to know people are watching out for me in the races. I've really only had one good result in the D20, but nevertheless, I've got a target on my back. I love that respect. I'll have to earn that the hard way in the Cat. 3 fields.

From my experience relentlessly attacking at Carl Dolan, my plan today was to be as passive as possible as long as possible. We had sixteen laps to ride for a total of only twenty miles, so I settled in somewhere in the back of the pack once the race got started. At no point was the pace taxing. We had a few Coppis take turns on the front trying to get keep the pace strong, but even so, it wasn't hard to ride 26 mph on that course with one hundred riders all around to shield you from the wind. I was a bit nervous riding in the midst of so many guys--especially since we're all Cat. 4's. But things went fairly well and there were no crashes--only a few close calls.

I took note of several things during the time I spent passively riding around in the pack watching the laps tick down. Number one is that my pack skills are pretty bad in a race like this. I think they've improved in the road races I've been doing, but riding around with this many guys makes me nervous. A flat tire from a guy in front of me and Peter Nicoll getting several spokes of his Carbon Zipps sheared off don't help soothe those feelings. I did ride in the gutter a bit to move up so I was comfortable there, but it was tough to move from inside to outside. And being on the outside is point number two. I was picking a horrible line by riding on the inside through the turns. At one point, I noticed that I passed Will and a couple of riders on my left only to have them twenty feet in front of me after the turn. I was having to slow too much by going inside and it was definitely not the best course of action. I tried to work the outside some more, but all too often I was on the inside and riding ineffectively.

I certainly cannot blame my futility in this race on lack of aid. Ken Woodrow took me to the front early in the race and put me right where I wanted to be. Poor pack skills had me slink back behind him in a few laps, however. I kept hoping someone would make a break go and at least stick for a few laps, but it never quite materialized. Steve Fife tried his hand with an NCVC rider not once, but twice--only to be brought back with ease by the peloton. The stiff headwind after turn one had a lot to do with that.

At one point Steve and RHD rider Jose Escobar had a small gap and I was in a position to join it. It was right before the "climb" and I jumped perfectly onto their back. Unfortunately for some reason they weren't going nearly hard enough for a break and the pack was just about to catch us before we'd even got started. So I attacked hard again and had a small gap going up the hill to the start/finish line. Unfortunately for me, no one went with me and I was riding solo. Having soloed to a win in a Cat. 5 training race here, this wasn't unfamiliar ground, but I knew it would be much harder. I put in a good effort on the straightaway and then tried to hold a decent pace into the wind. But as soon as I got out of the wind, the pack was right on top of me. By the time we climbed up the hill, an Artemis rider took his turn doing what I'd just done. I thought about going with him, but it didn't seem like he would fare any better than I--so I sat tight and rested. My legs were on fire, but we had 7 laps to go and I wasn't too worried about it. The only thing I was upset about then was the lack of any counterattack from any of my teammates. They should have been in perfect position to go with the Artemis rider and if nothing else, keep the pace nice and high.

After my ill fated go at the front, I focused my efforts on resting up for the inevitable bunch sprint. Nothing of note happened in those remaining laps until the final two, when Will rode up beside me and said he do lead-out for me. He took me right up to near the front and with one lap to go I was in perfect position. Three NCVC riders were leading the pack and doing a fine job at it. They were perfectly set up. An Evo rider and myself jumped on to the back of their train and I couldn't have been better placed at that point. When we hit the headwind, the NCVC riders slowed considerably and the small gap they'd formed was gone. That was bad for me. But I moved around them slightly and put in a hard pull going up the hill because Tomas was right behind me and yelling for me to Go! I wasn't sure if he was wanting me to lead out or just cheering me on, but I assumed by ramping the pace there it would help him too. But at the top of the hill, 200 meters before the finish, I again took the terrible line on the inside and got swarmed in typical Cat. 4 fashion. At 100 meters, I was probably in 15th place at least, so I sat up and watched lots of folks sprint.

This race was very frustrating--much the same way that Carl Dolan was. But the course here is just like that except that the hill is puny to say the least. I am not a sprinter and never will be, but I was positioned perfectly for this one and couldn't deliver even at top ten finish. Very disappointing. The bottom line is that I couldn't deliver and my poor pack skills and choice of lines cost me. My excuse is mainly that this crit--with only two turns is far too short at 20 miles to really tire anyone out. Without getting folks tired, I feel as though I have absolutely no chance in a bunch sprint. Whether that's true or not, I'm not sure, but today I crapped out. Skubis finished somewhere in the back of the Top 10 for the only significant Coppi placing in this race. We did good work on the front making pace throughout the race but had absolutely no firepower to do anything with that pace. We don't have a Cat. 4 sprinter and so my initial idea of skipping this race was probably a good one. But I guess it was a good workout and I was home by noon, so I can't argue with that. That gave me plenty of time to take a four hour nap this afternoon and catch up on my sleep.

2006-06-09T10:31:00.000-05:00

My legs were feeling a little bit sore from my return to riding with yesterday's up tempo effort. So what did I do about that? Go to the front and keep the pace of the Muffin ride up from it's usual relaxed pace. I rode on the front chatting with Chris Larsen (former Cat 1 of Snow Valley) so we weren't really going all that hard. Near the end of the ride, Chris suggested I put in a 3-4 minute hard effort to open up the legs for tomorrow. I was all for going fast, so I gave it a try once we were in the clear along the river. From there I waited at the Key Bridge and then we went hard up the incline back to the Java Shack. Bernard was tailing me as I spun a steady 20 mph. I bolted as soon as the ride was done and I continue to be in need of sleep. I've slept very well the past two nights, so I think I'm making progress. But I think I'll need to catchup somwhere this weekend with an afternoon nap. Sunday's always a winner.

2006-06-08T10:55:00.000-05:00

After missing the past two days, I was determined to get some decent mileage in today. So I came home a bit early from work and got suited up and on the road as quickly as I could. I rode over to what will be my new place to drop off the security deposit and pick up a copy of the lease. From there, I rode what will be my roomate's commute up to Bethesda. It's a very nice ride, taking about 45 minutes to go on the Custis Trail and to the end of the paved section of the Capital Crescent Trail.

The ride out on the CC trail is false-flat to slight incline the whole way so you can really work up a sweat trying to hold the pace you might ride with ease on flat ground. I kept things steady but not really a hard effort. I was blowing by commuters though. Not having a backpack sure makes for more enjoyable riding. Once I reached the spot where I believe David will be commuting to, I kept going on the trail and hit the unpaved section hard. I had a blast, but only rode on it for about a mile. Good memories of Poolesville, but this section is much smoother than that course.

On the unpaved section I passed a RHD rider and an NCVC rider. So I turned around and followed them back towards DC. I got the pace cranking with the NCVC rider and once we were out of the heavily trafficed areas of the trail, we were flying. The RHD rider chose not to participate, so we were on our own for the rest of the ride back to Georgetown. Eventually, the NCVC rider dropped off or turned and so I chilled out a little bit to save my legs some. I had plans of going down to Hains after that, but it was 6:30, so I opted to go home for supper. I did ride along the Potomac for a bit on the Mt. Vernon trail before heading home on the usual trail outside Arlington Cemetery. For kicks, I rode a lap around the block of my apartment, taking one of the solid hills at full speed. Then, I called it a day. I got around 30 miles in, so that's not a bad day at all.

2006-06-07T12:08:00.000-05:00

The Father of Providence Day School Cross-Country died Monday. He was 64. He was the first contact I had with the program and he stoked the fire that was my interest in running. Nothing I can say about him here will do justice. So read the blog set up in his memory.

2006-06-06T10:19:00.000-05:00

I woke up today with plans of commuting in to work. I haven't commuted back-to-back days in quite a while and my badge of commuting honor will soon be taken away if I don't start riding more. But the reason I've been lax about riding in is that I am too often waking up feeling like mud. I'm not sleeping more than 7 hours usually. That's probably enough for most adults, but I don't think it is for me. I wake up feeling exhausted and worn-out. I don't think my last few hours of sleep are ever very good. Instead, I'm tossing and turning about wondering when it's time to get up. Without sleeping in on the weekends becuase of racing and riding, I rarely ever seem to catch up. So, inevitably, today, I tried to lay around a bit before finally giving up and driving in. I should say that my legs feel fine. They're a bit tired from the weekend, but they don't feel all that bad. I wish I would have commuted today--or at least brought my bike and rode with the guys at lunch. But I didn't.

Jim: Having Driven John Away...

2006-06-05T20:07:00.000-05:00

Having driven John away from his own blog... my work is done here.

When my posts started exceeding race reports, and overwhelming John's posts, I decided it was time to get my own humble blog abode. It's over here.

John, I love you man, it was great being here, sorry about what happened to your cat. It was a total tragedy, and I apologize, but the thing never should have been on my comfy chair. Nine lives, my butt.

But seriously, thanks for letting me blog here temporarily until I got my own rudimentary space set up. I'll fix up a permalink to your joint here as soon as I figure out what HTML stands for. I hope I haven't worn out my welcome, and when I develop a readership rivaling yours, you will be welcome to blog over at my humble abode and bring some seriousness to my mostly irrelevant, semi-libelous drivel.

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

2006-06-05T10:20:00.000-05:00

I finally was up to commuting on a Monday. I can't remember the last time I did that. Of course, commuting on a Monday means that I have to carry the kitchen sink on my back. I got all my clothes and my lunch and my shoes and headed out the door not too long after 6:30. After yesterday's hammer-fest and Saturday's race, I was determined to actually take a rest day. I flicked the front derailleur to the left and left the chain sitting in the small ring. My pace never exceeded 20 mph and rarely exceeded 18 mph. I was chillin' and the lack of the usual headwind made this quite enjoyable. I took my time and relaxed. I hopped onto the back of another commuter at one point and rode for a few miles at a good clip, but drafting, my HR was still in the 130's.

Coming home, I didn't ride quite as slow, but I certainly didn't ride my usual pace. There were almost no serious riders headed in my direction, so I wasn't tempted to change from my plan. I did have a few stragglers pass me at lights, but it was fun to use them as bait--especially going up the hill at 66. That's the only significant effort that I put in today. From there it was back to easy riding. I took the short piece of the Custis Trail to connect up with Fairfax and then Wilson. I'm liking that commute path since it avoids some nasty parts of Wilson. But I can't wait till I move in to my new place on July 1st. I'll save fifteen minutes and avoid traffic entirely. Should be great.