Everyone, post them here. Whether you race in the big Grand Prix events or in grassroots local events ... whether you a great writer or not so great writer ... whether it's a paragraph or a novella. Everyone loves to read them so lets go!

Everyone, post them here. Whether you race in the big Grand Prix events or in grassroots local events ... whether you a great writer or not so great writer ... whether it's a paragraph or a novella. Everyone loves to read them so lets go!

10-8-05
Alpenrose
2:00
Race report: Got it handed to me

10-9-05
Ft.Steilacoom
12:15
Race Report: Handed to me uhgain!

Ok, not to sound negative (just realistic) but i've been scoping out the confirmed starters list & there is some serious horsepower lining up this weekend. If i live through the Knapp Time run-up the 7 or so times on Sunday, maybe I'll write a real report. :)

spike up!
DP

Okay so ill get the party started. Raced Mens C at ione this morning. during my practice laps my rear Tufo flatted, so i went back to the car and put on the wheel from my spare bike. Then i did a little prayer that i wouldnt get another flat on the rear wheel or have any issues mid race, because i lacked another wheel or a spare bike as well, luckily i didnt.

There were 13 Mens C on the line. The race consisted of one creek that was snaked over 3 times in one short section. A lot of guys were riding it, but i was unable in practice and i knew that as the race progressed i wouldnt get any stronger or better so i ran the entire section. It ended up that guys who were riding it werent making any time on me during that section so that was good, and i really wasnt getting that tired (guess that marathon i ran back in june helped some). My girlfriend said that the guys next to her were saying that running it would be a lot slower than riding, then i came by and they said "unless you run like that guy, he runs like a runner." so thats was cool.

As far as obstacles, there was one dry creek bed that was a little rough, one set of two logs thrown down on the road, the creek (which had 3 creek crossings) and a double barrier on a hill (those are tough). Plus some slight elevation changes but not too much.

I was in about 5th off of the start a little lower place than i wanted to take it out at. Then one guy flatted in front of me, then a guys rear wheel slipped out from underneath him on a leafy turn, then another guy flatted. I ended up in 3rd place out of 11, my best finish to date. Im racing tomorrow too, gotta take a nap then seal up that Tufo. later

jeremy

Hey Man. Nice job! I was the guy who slipped on the leafy turn, thanks for not running me over, as I was still on the ground when you passed! Freakin handlebars twisted down in the stem, had to pick myself up, dig out a tool I had in my jersey, and realign and tighten the coverplate. (For those of you newbies to cx with two-bolt stems, consider swapping them for a four-bolt, as my limited experience shows that they don't hold (literally and figuratively) up to the rigors of cx, at least at my 190 lbs).

This was my first cx race, just got the bike this week, had a blast. Blew through that first creek bed after the start in second, and held on in third until that fiasco on that corner. Finished in 5th.

Caio.

Everyone, post them here. Whether you race in the big Grand Prix events or in grassroots local events ... whether you a great writer or not so great writer ... whether it's a paragraph or a novella. Everyone loves to read them so lets go!

Women's A/35+, 11:15am, 45-minute mud bath

It was really, really muddy. No, like really. It's been raining since what, Thursday? So yeah, lots of mud.

Course consisted of a flat pavement start into a 180 weaving around to the off-road portion. Lots of mud and grass. Lots of tight, muddy turns. Lots of puddles... muddy ones. 180 to double barriers to off-camber mud pit to a straight slight uphill grassy stretch, 'round a tree, over a sidewalk, into a muddy uphill, followed by off-camber mud, muddy downhill, 180 into muddy uphill to muddy off-camber (are you getting the picture?).. mud, gravel, mud, muddy uphill, grassy back stretch with a splash through a scary-looking (but thoroughly rideable) paved canal, back onto grass, sharp left into some mud, followed by some off-camber mud, right turn onto gravel then back onto the finishing pavement stretch.

Whew! I got tired just writing all that. Now imagine racing it, five times.

As for the race, Melanie Swartz and Betsy Schauer took off at the start. I hopped on Betsy's wheel, but took some really bad lines (including riding through some puddled potholes) early on and the two gapped me. Melanie took a bike exchange on the first lap (apparently favoring clinchers -- me, I had no choice, they're all I got), so I caught her, but Betsy just sort of rode away. She can really kick it in the mud! Melanie and I duked it out for second place for the next three laps. I'd try to gap her on the flat, fast pavement section, but she'd catch up on the muddy run-ups (and run-downs). Then I was back to trying to shake her again. That girl can ride!!! Sheesh. I kept taking outside lines around as much of the mud as I could. Sometimes it was good, sometimes not so much. My coach yelled at me to ride through the mud puddles (I was avoiding them), telling me it was the best line. Well, whaddya know? It was the best line. Very messy, but yes, a good line. On one lap, I tried to ride the outside line on a grass/mud section near a metal chainlink fence while trying to shake Melanie, but my bike had another idea and took me into the fence. I smacked at the fence with my right arm to regain my balance and stop from going down and rode off. (Painful bruises starting to form, elbow is beginning to swell...) Melanie was hot on my wheel (and unfortunately was at the mercy of whatever line my rig chose to take through the mud), until I finally shook her going into the final lap. I busted tail on the pavement and through the grassy section into the mud to get a gap and it finally stuck. Phew! I lapped two women on my final lap (some really tough B women that were crazy enough to race A's, since there was no B women's field today), and sprinted for the finish (even though my coach yelled at me that I didn't have to sprint) to take 2nd. Woo hoo!

My overall strategy was to stay upright. Work it as fast/hard as I could where I could, but otherwise ride smart and learn how to ride the technical stuff without crashing. It seemed to work well for me! Not a SINGLE crash this race. :)

A lot of other people in the Mid-Atlantic rocked it at this race, including more than a few RBR's... but I'll let them tell their own story.

If I can wake up early enough, I'll see you tomorrow morning at Granite Beach.

cool man, good job on the placing. yeah ive had my stem loosen up on me, ended up having to swap out the stem. the loose one was a 4 bolt and i went to a 2 bolt and it had no probs. i think it was just the stem and bar werent quite compatible. if youre going to race tomorrow, make sure you tighten that thing down and then put a lot of your weight on that thing tonite or tomorrow morning to make sure its secure.

my gf happened to nab a few shots of you, the first one youre just about to go down and you can see the dust being kicked up a little, the pics had to be shrunk to fit on the server, hopefully youre viewable in the background....

jeremy

Everyone, post them here. Whether you race in the big Grand Prix events or in grassroots local events ... whether you a great writer or not so great writer ... whether it's a paragraph or a novella. Everyone loves to read them so lets go!


alright...

10-8-05

BC Cross Cup #4

I did this race instead of USGP #1 because this race was less than 1 hour from my house (portland is 5 hours to the south) and I thought it would be a great warm up race for tomorrow's USGP #2 in Tacoma.

The course was in Delta Watershed Park, British Columbia, Canada. A place I've never been to before. The course consisted of smooth dog walking paths and several gnarly single track sections. Two log barrier sections, and a gravel road climb shook things up a bit. There were 24 racers in Mens B. At the start I took the hole shot and led the pack into the singletrack. Good thing because shortly after the start things narrowed down quite a bit. After a bit a couple guys caught and passed me and I settled into 3rd. On the technical singletrack these guys would drop me, but on the gravel road uphill and long flat section I would gain back a lot of time. I finished the race in 3rd. Due to all the technical singletrack I felt like I didn't ride very hard. It was so technical I just couldn't get anywhere near my race pace. I was not tired at all after the race and I feel as though this was a perfect warmup race and I'm anxious for USGP #2 tomorrow. I had a lot of fun at BC Cross Cup #4 and I plan on doing the next 2 or 3 races in the BC Cross Cup series. Oh yeah, and at the awards I got kissed on the cheek by a hot Canadian woman :)

I have to tell you I did not know what to expect for my First CX race. I have just completed my first season of mountain bike racing where I went from beginner to Sport. Well the day started off with Monsoon type weather and the reports showed no signs of fading. I figured this will be a great race for me to start off with since It will be nice and sloppy and I love dirt. My problem was that I just bought my CX bike off of ebay and recieved on Wednesday and let me tell you its a sweet Salsa Las Cruces. Now its the day of the race and I am trying to dial in my bike for my specifications in the pouring rain. I met a nice guy name Steve who gave me a quick overview of what to expect and then it was off to registration. Well, I did not want to sandbag, but I thought I should enter the C race since it was truly my first time. It did not happen that way since I was forced by others to enter B. I think it was my shaven legs that gave it away. Well at the start I decided to sprint for the single track since this is what I do for Mountain Bike racing, but I could not do better than 6 position. When we hit the single track I could see that some of the people did not belong in the front especially on the rough stuff so I picked off each rider one by one and gapped the field. There were two other riders from the same team riding my wheel. I slowed up and rode the wheel of one of the riders and caught my breath a little bit and then began to hammer. We got down to myself and the other rider for the lead pack for the rest of the way. The rider behind me was smart and took my wheel till the end where he hammered the last climb to the finish and I finished second. Overall I had a great time and I think I am hooked on Cyclocross forever.


Carl

I have to tell you I did not know what to expect for my First CX race. I have just completed my first season of mountain bike racing where I went from beginner to Sport. Well the day started off with Monsoon type weather and the reports showed no signs of fading. I figured this will be a great race for me to start off with since It will be nice and sloppy and I love dirt. My problem was that I just bought my CX bike off of ebay and recieved on Wednesday and let me tell you its a sweet Salsa Las Cruces. Now its the day of the race and I am trying to dial in my bike for my specifications in the pouring rain. I met a nice guy name Steve who gave me a quick overview of what to expect and then it was off to registration. Well, I did not want to sandbag, but I thought I should enter the C race since it was truly my first time. It did not happen that way since I was forced by others to enter B. I think it was my shaven legs that gave it away. Well at the start I decided to sprint for the single track since this is what I do for Mountain Bike racing, but I could not do better than 6 position. When we hit the single track I could see that some of the people did not belong in the front especially on the rough stuff so I picked off each rider one by one and gapped the field. There were two other riders from the same team riding my wheel. I slowed up and rode the wheel of one of the riders and caught my breath a little bit and then began to hammer. We got down to myself and the other rider for the lead pack for the rest of the way. The rider behind me was smart and took my wheel till the end where he hammered the last climb to the finish and I finished second. Overall I had a great time and I think I am hooked on Cyclocross forever.


Carl
Awesome job today Carl. You really hammered. As Carl said the day was really wet, and parts of the course were just incredibly thick deep mud, you know, just perfect conditions. Anyway, this race series is only about 15 minutes from my house so I was really looking forward to the start of the NJ series without having a long drive to the race.

Carl and I lined up next to each other, and I got a slightly better start, hitting the single track in 3rd place I think, as we reached the single track Carl and two other rider went past me. I then stayed in sixth place for a lap or two, eventually being passed by two riders from the same team. Throughout the rest of the race I would close in on them in some section, only to lose ground in other sections. Eventually, I think one of them had a mechanical, as I saw him running to the pit area, however I was passed by one other rider on the last lap. I thought I could get him on the final climb to the finish, but he had gained too much on me by then. I think I ended up 8th. Decent result, I think I could have ridden a bit better, I've got to up the intensity in my training. Nothing like a race to show you where your fitness really is.

A good start to the season, fun race, great job by the promoters to stage a race in really difficult conditions.

Carl, lets hook up for a ride sometime.

Steve

Gotta love it. See you in Granite Bay in the am.

Scott

Guys Bicycles Cross Race in Horsham, PA

Holy cow... the weather was gnarly. So much water and mud. The course was great. Real long with a lot of real fun terrain, turns, and fast sections. Well, they would have been fast if it there wasn't 8 inches of mud. I did the B race which had about 20 entries. This was my second race of the year and it was fun! My girlfriend almost entered the womens B race but chickened out last minute. Don't blame her because the course was really hard to ride. I raced well and wound up winning by a big margin. First cyclocross win. That was cool, I also won a a pair of Pauls Neo Retro canti's, front and back. I just set them up! Test ride has proven that my old crusty XT canti's stop better BUT they were nice and dialed in. Need to fool around with the Pauls a bit more. This is where things get interesting. On the way home I had to make a stop in downtown Philly to pick up a wheel that was supposed to be rebuilt by my old teams shop. They dropped the ball and did not build it bu that is a whole different story... So we went downtown, parked, went in for like 20 minutes and came out... My Volvo was broken into and my digital camera ( $1000+), my northface backpack with a whole mess of my new team kits in it taken and a few other things... BAD end to a cool and fun day. I have lived in Philly for over 10 years and this was the first time I was taken like that... Oh well, bound to happen. I will never drive downtown again with a car full of shiat. Oh well... karma will get that crack head the next time he frys his mind with the $25.00 he got for my shizit. If you see a crackhead wearing a blue and white spandex cycling kit knock him out. :)

Guys Bicycles Cross Race in Horsham, PA

Holy cow... the weather was gnarly. So much water and mud. The course was great. Real long with a lot of real fun terrain, turns, and fast sections. Well, they would have been fast if it there wasn't 8 inches of mud. I did the B race which had about 20 entries. This was my second race of the year and it was fun! My girlfriend almost entered the womens B race but chickened out last minute. Don't blame her because the course was really hard to ride. I raced well and wound up winning by a big margin. First cyclocross win. That was cool, I also won a a pair of Pauls Neo Retro canti's, front and back. I just set them up! Test ride has proven that my old crusty XT canti's stop better BUT they were nice and dialed in. Need to fool around with the Pauls a bit more. This is where things get interesting. On the way home I had to make a stop in downtown Philly to pick up a wheel that was supposed to be rebuilt by my old teams shop. They dropped the ball and did not build it bu that is a whole different story... So we went downtown, parked, went in for like 20 minutes and came out... My Volvo was broken into and my digital camera ( $1000+), my northface backpack with a whole mess of my new team kits in it taken and a few other things... BAD end to a cool and fun day. I have lived in Philly for over 10 years and this was the first time I was taken like that... Oh well, bound to happen. I will never drive downtown again with a car full of shiat. Oh well... karma will get that crack head the next time he frys his mind with the $25.00 he got for my shizit. If you see a crackhead wearing a blue and white spandex cycling kit knock him out. :)

where were you? that's crazy that someone broke in right in downtown. were you parked in an obscure spot? i lived in philly for a while and never had any problems, but i was totally anal about NEVER leaving ANYTHING in my car. i feel your pain though, i've been broken into and had lots of stuff stolen. as you say...karma will even the score someday. great job on the win.

great job!
that's a fantastic result against tough competition.
sounds like an epic battle.
you're making huge improvements already and you still have a long way to go to reach your potential.

i'm sorry i couldn't make the race...i love epic conditions. i'm really looking forward to the big MAC races in the next couple of months. next up for me is Granogue and that evil run-up.

The course has already been described in earlier posts. It was a complete SLOP FEST and I will be surprised if we are able to race on this course in the future.

I raced this event last year and it left two things burned in my mind 1) My back was in serious pain by the midway point which resulted in 2) being lapped by the frontrunners of the race. The back pain was the result of not riding my fixed gear over the winter and by not doing any back/ab workouts. Everytime I wanted to blow off the back/ab workout I thought about the pain of Hagerstown and I suddenly found the motivation to do these workouts.


Okay.. Back to '05. Matsters 35/45/55 I arrived with plenty of time to walk the course, pick up my number and do a pre-ride. On the way back to my car I ran into Mike B, who offered me a spot under his canopy. I gladly accepted and set-up camp with The All American guys. I was able to do a good warm up on the trainer, while in the back of my mind I was worried about another weekend of rolled Tufos. JohnJr and John3 stopped by for a pre race chat which helped to keep the bad thoughts at bay. I rolled to the start plenty warm and placed my spare wheels in the pit. I was not called up but managed to start in the second line. The start wasn't very quick due to the rain. After the 180 on the parking lot I slammed into a pothole covered in water. My front tire started to lose air immediately, so I rode as fast as possible without allowing the front tire to roll. By the time I reached the pit my front tire was completely flat. Sean P. was in the pit and helped with the wheel change (Thanks Sean!!) . I charged off and shortly realized that my rear tire was slowly losing air!! I hit the pit again and was the last placed rider on the course. I slowly picked off a riders as the race progressed, but in the end I was lapped by 2 racers. At least 1) I was able to finish 2) my back didn't bother me the entire race 3) eventhough I rode almost a whole lap on flat Tufos, they did NOT roll off. I hope that I scored a point or two for the MABRA Series. My goal of placing in the top 10 is slowly fading away.

Post race clean-up was miserable. When I arrived home I pulled out the pressure washer and cleaned the bike, spare wheels, shoes and race clothing.

Next stop... Iron Cross Lite. I hope to have my tubulars finished within the next week or so.

Buddy B

October 09, 2005
Category C 40 minutes
Field: 19 finished
Conditions: chilly then perfect
Place: 3rd (won a bronze medal)

I was the 1st person to arrive at the East Garrison gate of Fort Ord so I parked and drank my Starbucks and ate my Power Bar and waited for the registration table to open. I heard the registration guy talking about how the course was a road course with alot of paved roads and hard pack single track so I was excited with that news. Did 3 warm up laps and scoped out the sand and barriers.

9am race starts this time the C group started 3rd which was nice. Last week all 3 races started at the same time pretty much. The start was a fast paved road to the 1st set of barriers so I went hard off the line and was towards the front after the barriers and then kept up the speed to pass alot of other peeps. I fell behind a group of 3 riders after the 1st lap and then 2 of them fell back so it was me following a Pen Velo guy for the rest of the race. I would pass him on the roads but then I would get squirly in the soft stuff so not wanting to get in his way I just followed his line. On the last lap with about a 1/4 mile to go he sprinted down the hill and had a perfect line where I didn't do so well and he pulled away. I wasn't to bummed I was thinking we were mid group. I stuck around for the results and sure enough I grabbed a 3rd place. 3rd place was a engraved bronze medal so I was pleased with my results being my 2nd CX race.

Next CX race: Velo Bella Surf City Race #1 10/16/2005

Eco in falmouth sucked. more like a mountain bike course. coming off a rest week & just felt stale. ugh. dnf.

today - canton. still not feeling great. 21/59. B's. acceptable. crashed on the last lap, and lost my top20. oh well. very muddy. but very fun :)

great reports guys. seems like everyone here is doing pretty well in their seasons.

keep 'em coming.

Today was my third cyclocross race, not counting the secret squirrel practice races in SF earlier in September. This is my first cx season. I'm a 37-year-old cat 4, just back on the bike and racing again after a lot of years away, raced road this year and my friends suggested I race Bs this fall. I've been having so much fun racing cx!

The race was CCCX #2 (http://www.cccx.org/2005/race2/index2.shtml) in Fort Ord, Marina, CA, near Monterey. This race series is so fun and the promoter Keith Defiebre and his staff are just the best. The guy cheers on every rider as they go by, while calling their race numbers to the people keeping track of who's where. The events have a great vibe. It's good local racing.

My friends Isaiah, Ryan and I drove down from Oakland to Marina this morning, got to the start a little after 9AM, our Men's B race was at 10AM. We rode around the course while the Master B and junior race was finishing. It was foggy and cool, but quickly burnt off. The course was a mixture of rough asphalt, sandy singletrack with some deep soft sand washes, some iceplant, good barriers, short steep climbs and lots of fun. It was a fast course, I was in the big ring for chunks of it. The deep sand was the toughest stuff, and there was one low-hanging tree limb barrier right after a deep sand 180 that was the toughest obstacle. There was no excellent line to get you through it.

I am still kinda psyched out about cross, because I am new. I started mid-pack and didn't challenge at the start, finding myself in the back 1/4 of the field. It was uphill asphalt to a quick off-road pair of barriers back onto asphalt to a steep hilltop then a hard right onto a rutted sandy singletrack descent. We were all together, no one down, onto the singletrack. I had already lost sight of my two (more experienced) teammates. Something my teammate Ryan had said was in my head "You don't really race other people so much as you race the course." I focused on giving the course my all and not thinking much about the people around me. I also resolved to go ape, go as hard as I could go. In previous cx races the combo of being a little psyched out and feeling held back by my technical skills meant I never felt like I was going as hard as I could. I've been practicing mounts, dismounts, run-ups and today I felt like I could go hard, so I did. I moved through the field and by lap two had caught up to my two teammates. I did manage to pull a guy (Mike) from the Missing Link team up to my leading teammate, who he then passed, but my teammate got past him again at the finish. I felt good, went hard, gave it everything I had. We pretty much held our positions from about lap 2.5 to the end. (lap 5) I now realize how important the start is, and how important position is. I was within sight of my teammate Ryan for the entire second half of the race, but couldn't quite get to him. Ryan sprinted for 11th and won from Mike the Missing Link guy, and I sprinted with my teammate Isaiah for 13th and he got 14th. There were 25 in our field. That result works for me! Every race I'm getting better and more confident. Ryan was 8th at the first cccx, so I think he feels he could have done better. I just hope to again stay with him when he does better next time. :)

I know the guy who won, Brian, rides for Sycip. He said that he had good position and just stayed close throughout the race, riding 4th or 5th. As the race wore down (45 mins) he said people were slowing and making mistakes and he was able to pass people. The final came down to a three-man sprint and he won it. Pretty cool.

Next week I will switch from some heavy clincher wheels and tires to some tubulars, probably Campy hubs, Reflex rims and Tufo 700x34 tires. I am 6'2", 202lbs and I am running about 55psi in my 700x35 clinchers. I would like to try 45psi and sew-ups. If you race Surf City next Sunday and you see a guy in the green-and-white SF Sport & Spine kit, please say hi. It's probably me or Ryan or Isaiah.

Morgan

Got the kids up and dressed and fed and drove 3 hours to Syracuse. Nice day for cross racing, light rain and about 45 degrees, warm enough for shorts and arm warmers. Money 3 deep, really wanted to at least make back some gas money. Fast start, lead group is three guys, me and Dan Timmerman, a mountain biker and Peter Ozolins from Ithaca. Timmerman counters and gets a gap, which he extended a bit and manages to hold to the line. Now it is Peter and I racing for second. He is bunny hopping the barrier at the base of the toboggon hill, while I run. He gets a gap first time, I think it will be a long day, but as the race wears on I am able to get up faster on foot and get a 10 second gap that I hold for two laps then get pegged back. Then I flatted my new tubular on a rock. Rode 3/4 lap on the rim and swap wheels, get passed by third place, catch him and blow the sprint by one freaking inch. Cool down and drive home disgusted. Monday is shopping for tires day.

alright...

10-8-05

BC Cross Cup #4

I did this race instead of USGP #1 because this race was less than 1 hour from my house (portland is 5 hours to the south) and I thought it would be a great warm up race for tomorrow's USGP #2 in Tacoma.

The course was in Delta Watershed Park, British Columbia, Canada. A place I've never been to before. The course consisted of smooth dog walking paths and several gnarly single track sections. Two log barrier sections, and a gravel road climb shook things up a bit. There were 24 racers in Mens B. At the start I took the hole shot and led the pack into the singletrack. Good thing because shortly after the start things narrowed down quite a bit. After a bit a couple guys caught and passed me and I settled into 3rd. On the technical singletrack these guys would drop me, but on the gravel road uphill and long flat section I would gain back a lot of time. I finished the race in 3rd. Due to all the technical singletrack I felt like I didn't ride very hard. It was so technical I just couldn't get anywhere near my race pace. I was not tired at all after the race and I feel as though this was a perfect warmup race and I'm anxious for USGP #2 tomorrow. I had a lot of fun at BC Cross Cup #4 and I plan on doing the next 2 or 3 races in the BC Cross Cup series. Oh yeah, and at the awards I got kissed on the cheek by a hot Canadian woman :)
I was also leaning towards a trip north to race next week, I just started a thread asking about registration licenses etc. I also just E-mailed the bc cross people but havn't gotten a reply yet, I'm looking forward to having some fun though, either on the geared or the SS cross bike.

where were you? that's crazy that someone broke in right in downtown. were you parked in an obscure spot? i lived in philly for a while and never had any problems, but i was totally anal about NEVER leaving ANYTHING in my car. i feel your pain though, i've been broken into and had lots of stuff stolen. as you say...karma will even the score someday. great job on the win.

20th and chestnut... I have lived in center city or fairmount for 10 years... It was nasty and raining yesterday.... I am pissed... but whatever. Raced EVO cross in Buckingham PA... Muddy!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is all I can say. :)

Everyone, post them here. Whether you race in the big Grand Prix events or in grassroots local events ... whether you a great writer or not so great writer ... whether it's a paragraph or a novella. Everyone loves to read them so lets go!

If I thought yesterday's race was muddy, well shoot, this course was literally a pool of mud by the time the Women's A race went off at 1:30. I feel for the Men's A field who had to race after us.

11 women lined up at the start -- no call ups for me since I didn't race A in the MAC series last year. I got a good position at the start anyway, since we had such a small field. I got into my pedals right off at the start, but a rider to my left swung into my line and I fell back (instead of, you know, falling), so I ended up at the back of the field. I passed a few women right after the start, but struggled to make up places. I think I only passed one as the race progressed.

Mud, mud, everywhere. Pools of it. Big long swaths of soupy, diarrhea mud. "I had bad sushi last night" mud. It was everywhere. It took so much effort to ride it (and just as much effort to run it) that I was exhausted after two laps. Fortunately our race was only four laps. I needed a pit bike after 2 laps, but unfortunately I'm still waiting on my new bikes for this season. :mad: Mud and grass clogged up everything. I could hear it rubbing against my rims, only making it more difficult to pedal. Great..! To make a long story short... I slogged it out as best I could, but couldn't quite catch the 4th place woman before crossing the line in 5th.

Hopefully next weekend will be a little better for results. I'll be hoping the ground firms up a little... I'm about done with MUD for the next few weeks! And having a pit bike will make things easier... they were due in Friday, but hopefully they'll arrive Monday. :rolleyes:

Well, since none of the other 750 riders has written a report on the Portland race, I guess I'll start it off. I think everyone knew going in the the course was going to be sticky and it didn't let anyone down. The conditions were ideal for cross, temps in the 50s, kinda damp, but not raining.

The course has one steep runup, one set of double barries on the in-field of the velodrome, another longer runup after leaving the velodrome that could be ridden, but was probably energy better spend running. There were a couple of good pavement sections with fast tight turns, with the remainder of the course being muddy grass/field with several really good off-camber sections. Nothing really narrow, and nothing really technical.

I raced the Mens B race at 12:15 and from what I can tell it looked like he mud was getting thicker as the day wore on. I don't know if thicker mud was better or worse, but the riders in the later races at least looked a little cleaner, though the deep peanut butter mud was definitely very slow and tough going in places.

The B field was run concurrently with the singlespeed class. At the start, the called up 5 B riders and 5 single speeders to do a tug-of-war to decide which field got a 1 minute head start. Needless to say the 5 scrawny B-guys that went up were no match for the singlespeeders, who were pulling downhill by the way.

As usual, I wasn't aggressive enough on the start and got caught up in some serious traffic. The front guys were gone, and the rest were fighting for scraps. As it turned out, it didn't matter all that much since once I got out there, something was very unsettled in my stomach and it was cramping up. I wasn't enjoying the first lap's pace.

I guess that is usual for me since, I always hang back on the first lap or two, then just steadily try and work my way forward before a big push on the bell lap. As the pack thinned out (as much as possible when there are 140 guys on the course), I settled in and started moving up. I was definitely regretting the fact that I didn't have a good set of mud tires. My tires were so packed full of mud and heavy that when I'd get on the pavement sections clods of mud were flying everywhere. I looked like I was doing a tractor pull. Needless to say nobody was trying to draft me!

The one thing I was really happy about was the fact that I rode a really clean race, from a technical standpoint. My dismounts and remounts were solid, and I was passing guys on them where I have lost spots in the past. I railed the off-camber stuff, and was able to pick up lots of time there as well. Normally I have a few mishaps during the race that cost me time and positions. Yesterday, I had none, except for the guy that yard-saled it in front of me with his body sparwled out across the left side of the course, and then he kicked his bike away and it blocked the entire right side of the course. His bike landed right in my front wheel, and momentum dictated that I wasn't stopping, so I just started cranking trying to run it over. Sorry dude, but try to crash in one spot!!! I had to dismount but it was at the base of the runup so it didn't cost me any time. I was really excited about that even if things weren't going my way otherwise.

Overall, I finished in the high 30s out of 86 riders, which is OK, but not what I was hoping for. My only gripe about the race was that they pulled the entire mens B field a lap early except for the top 3 guys. I wasn't too happy about that since I usually dig really deep on the last lap and pick off the guys that are fading. We weren't even told we were finishing early, so I finished with a lot left in the tank, but such is life.

I stuck around to watch the Men's Elite race, and let me tell you Trebon and Wicks put on a show. They were riding in formation til about 3 laps to go when Wicks bobbled and lost the wheel. Trebon kept on motoring, and coming through the velodrome, he was riding noticably faster than everyone else. On the bell lap, the skies opened up, and lots of guys went down on the finishing turns of the velodrome trying to sprint for the finish. Tim Johnson was one of the victims, as he went down in front of Mark McCormack after they'd been trading punches the whole race.

All in all a great day.

-TWD

Eco in falmouth sucked. more like a mountain bike course. coming off a rest week & just felt stale. ugh. dnf.

today - canton. still not feeling great. 21/59. B's. acceptable. crashed on the last lap, and lost my top20. oh well. very muddy. but very fun :)

Nice!

Canton went, er, well for me. Time for this lil' guy to cat up.

"Guys Bicycles Cross Race in Horsham, PA

Holy cow... the weather was gnarly. So much water and mud. The course was great. Real long with a lot of real fun terrain, turns, and fast sections. Well, they would have been fast if it there wasn't 8 inches of mud. I did the B race which had about 20 entries. This was my second race of the year and it was fun! "

Did that race as well. I think I got within 20 feet of your wheel on the first lap (after the split rail fence hippity hop) and then you slowly and surely disappeared into the mist. Nice ride. Here's my report I sent to my team mates:

It was a medicore course made great by 4"+ of rain. Lots of tight turns, some mt
bikey rooty rock sections w/ ruts and whatnot. Most of it would have been pretty
fast (lots of grass and relatively flat) but the rain made the dirt roads rutted
rivers and the grass a tire sucking bog. Continued to rain the whole race. Pure
mudfest.

I ran <35 psi in both tires, lowest ever. Definitely felt some roots bang
through to my rim, but my traction was great.

Really small field, so I lined up second row. Get the gun and I'm trailing 8
riders or so across a field. Serious rooster tail action. In the next 3 turns
I'm in 3rd, making moto noises as I jam past people in the tricky slip-slidey
corners. Serious hours in the mt bike saddle really paying off.

Then I moved to 2nd and a half a lap later in back to 3rd. I dangled behind in
third as Dan slowly but surely reeled me in. He passes me and makes quick work
of the guy I was chasing, putting Dan in 2nd and me in 4th.

Dan must have crushed his spirit as I could overtake him the next 1/4 lap. He
stayed 100-200 yards behind me the rest of the race. He was a big brute of a
crit sprinter looking guy, so I kept expecting late surge. I took some risks to
stay ahead and really pushed on the few straights.

Felt like I rode well (technically). Stayed off the brakes, embraced the 2 wheel
slide and just jammed through all the goo. Even hung a foot in some tricky
turns. Sweet.

Came in 3rd.

It was a small field but it felt great to place. I hope it rains or snows for
every race.

This is a copy from my blog at drlski.blogspot.com for the Canton Cup on Sunday:

Raced the Canton Cup cross race today, was about 50F when I started warming up and was drizzling. This was an extremely fun race course, starts on the pavement and up a hill as you turn into the woods, very fast double track heading into a field with the one set of barriers (what's with that anyways, is the UCI on drugs?). After the barriers it was corner after corner, all very slippery and mudded up good. The gravel section, I thought was the most difficult, was very slow and dragged on, this went on through some mud and water and went fast into the woods and then shot out onto a paved path, very quick and I think I made up a ton of time on this section, too many people were taking it slow on the wet pavement. Off of the pavement you end up a nice little hill and then it got to the fun part of the course, off camera hills and lots of mud, very fun. After all this it's back into the fields until we got to the big spectator display. I nice little downhill that dipped into some mud, around a 180 degree corner, and up a hill that was 100% mud and had to be walked up. Almost right after this there was a nice little 360 at the end of a downhill which I think half the field almost wiped out on. After that it's just a sprint through a field to the finish. I road the Men C, went off at 9:00AM. Ended up placing 25/50! Not too bad, I think I'll take it! I stayed for all races, the elite women and elite men were REALLY fast! Don't know how those guys do it.

I set off for the MAC series opener in Buckinham, PA.
I preroad a few sections of the course - the course was so sloppy with "suck your energy" mud that I decided not to ride the whole course.

My start started as usual. Waiting in line at the port-a-potty when a friend says "aren't you lining up?" DAMN! Shoot down to the start to fill in my spot at the back of the group. Had to be 60+ racers. I need to get better organized at the start.
Anyway, I start in the back, but at the go I find some decent holes and work my way up to the front 1/4 of the group. This was my 1st mud race and it was extremely draining as well as terrible on my back (I've been fighting back pain and had some injections earlier this year).

My "goal" for this race was to stop being Mr. Nice Guy during a race and letting people pass me only to run me off in the corners (has been happening too often for my liking). I held off all charges into the corners and was able to hold my ground 100% of the time into and out of the corners. Slowly I'm learning more about racing cross.

At the start, it was called that we would be doing 6 laps.

Laps 1 & 2 I was feeling ok (not sure anyone could say they feel Good?) and was picking up some spots especially on the muddy double hill section (run up,180 degree turn and ride down around a 90 degree turn and another run-up).

Laps 3-5 my back was really starting to hurt and found it easier to run a really muddy flat field section (about 100 yards) that was ridable (barely) but took a lot of power. I was switching back and forth with a group of about 5 riders....pulling away, getting caught, dropping, catching up, ect.

Start of lap 4 I was feeling the pain with the idea that I had 3 more laps to go when it was called that we had 2 laps to go. ????? I thought I was so delerious that 1 road a lap and didn't even know it! The course was getting so $hitty and slow that they cut a lap out.

Hats off to the top finishers and A women and men. I have no idea how these people can race these courses that fast. In the B's and 35+ Masters it must have everything to do with the start and 1st lap??....getting a gap on the rest of the field!?.
I noticed during my race that even though I was back in the group after the 1st lap the front people (not top 5) were really not gaining any time on me. Where the course would meet up in different directions I was seeing the same riders at the same time for the remaining laps.

Not sure where I finished up but had fun. Got everything cleaned up, not sure how my bikes bearings held out but will find out next week at Beacon NJ

KMan

I guess I'll represent the middle part of the country - Minnesota CX series #3 at Lake Rebecca (Rockford, MN)...

Sunny, dry, and about 55F made for a pretty fast course. The course started on a narrow dirt road with a zig-zag about 300 yards in, creating a hole-shot. Two barriers, each placed right at the beginning of a hill. One hill was fairly steep, and rideable if there wasn't too much traffic on the hill. Otherwise, some rolling singletrackish stuff (which made for tough passing) and some flat dirt road.

I did the B race, which was big again at 65 riders. The start was crowded, and I almost got pushed off the road. The lead goup of 6 or so got away early. My start kind of sucked, where there was too much traffic by the time the run-up of the big hill came.

Mentally, I just wasn't into it and I was being too complacent sitting on some wheels. I couldn't get away from the traffic on the barriers, run-ups and singletrack. Mid-race I dropped a chain and had some trouble getting it back on while I was passed by about 10 riders. I passed back most of them within the next lap, but I got behind this one dude who wasn't so good on the technical stuff and blocked me a few times going through the barriers. Had another dropped chain, but got back into it pretty quick. The last few laps I finally got some clear air and was able to finally drop some people. In the end a pretty lackluster 25th.

The B race was won by Dag Selander (father of standout junior Bjorn Selander, who was racing in Oregon). The A race was missing top-gun Doug Swanson, who was racing the last WORS cup mountain bike race (I think he got second to Tristan Schouten). I think it was taken by Aric Hareland. A few people crashed out taking bad lines on the singletrack. One guy in the A race ended up with a broken collarbone.

Report from the Ohio UCI race . . .

I headed down to Cinicinnati on Saturday with my teammate Matt Kelly to do the UCI race as there is nothing quite as fun as a 9 hour drive on Saturday, followed by a race and a 9 hour drive home on Sunday. However, it was the last UCI race in middle America for awhile and that seemed like a good enough reason for the drive. Anyway, it was a good day for cross with temps around 50 degrees and a slight breeze up at the top of the park. It started to mist during the Elite Women's race and continued with a light mist during the Elite Men's race which was just enough to make all the corners slick and so there were lots of slow speed spills.

The course started out down a grass straight away and then immediately into a almost 180 degree turn that was a little off camber and dived down towards the edge of the park shelter and around a corner and then just slightly uphill into the two barriers. Then a long grass straight away and a tight corner and then an abrupt uphill and a series of corners and across a short sand volleyball pit. Then some corners into a very abrupt and short up hill, around a tree and down and around to a longer sand volleyball pit. Out of the sand pit into the grass and then onto a slightly uphill road which was followed by a grassy climb. Then some more grassy long stretches followed by slightly off camber turns. Then we dove into the woods and went downhill onto a fast dirt track which then had another abrupt uphill followed by more fast dirt track. Then back onto the grass with more corners and then a slight up hill through the start/finish area.

The Women's race was won by Mandy Lozano (CCA/Kona) and she was out ahead by herself with well over a minute on 2nd place Cara McCauley (CCA/Kona) and then 3rd place Kim Sawyer (TravelGirl). I was in 9th place (also known as DFL) and just really had no gas. However, I really liked the course as I love courses with lots of corners and there were lots and lots of grassy corners.

So instead of giving a full report on my race I'm instead going to report on the Men's race which was very exciting. The start was crazy as it went into the 180 turn almost immediately and it had been misting for awhile so the corners were slippery. There were about 30 fast guys on the line gunning into that corner. Matt Kelly was 3rd into the corner but slid out. That put him back mid-pack on the first couple of laps but he worked his way back up to the lead group and then a lead group of five guys (Matt, Nathan Chown, Phil Noble, Jeff Weinert and Mike House) settled in and were together for much of the race. Just after the start 2 laps to go Matt dropped his chain going into the barriers and Jeff Weinert jumped to get a gap on him and the others. Once Matt got his chain back on he chased back up to Jeff. He caught back up to him right at the climb that goes from asphalt to grass so Matt just kept going hard. He got a little gap and it seemed that the group was undecided on who should chase. That was all Matt needed and he just kept punching it through the last lap and he ended up with maybe a 15-20 second gap over second.

So for the Men it was:
1. Matt Kelly (Alan Factory Team)
2. Nathan Chown (St Catherine's CC)
3. Jeff Weinert (Cane Creek)
4. Mike House (Texas Roadhouse)
5. Phil Noble (Biowheels) who suffered a bad crash with just over a lap to go but hung on for 5th but looked like he had a really banged up ankle

It was a good day of racing in Ohio! The full results are online at http://www.biowheels.com/Home/Article.asp?PostID=1019 I was taking photos for the race promoter and should have them to him for posting later tonight.

Renee

10-8-05
Alpenrose
2:00
Race report: Got it handed to me

10-9-05
Ft.Steilacoom
12:15
Race Report: Handed to me uhgain!

Ok, not to sound negative (just realistic) but i've been scoping out the confirmed starters list & there is some serious horsepower lining up this weekend. If i live through the Knapp Time run-up the 7 or so times on Sunday, maybe I'll write a real report. :)

spike up!
DP

Ok, so the weekend turned out much better than I had anticipated. Knowing ahead of time that I would be lining up against past & present national & world champions as well as a few top Elite racers from only a couple years ago wasn’t doing my confidence any good. On the plus side, the course/conditions at Alpenrose suited my style (I’m better at technical muddy courses versus big powerful road type courses, 14 years of Mtb racing).

I got a good warm up on the course by doing a couple laps then jumped on the trainer for 20 minutes to work up a good sweat. My trainer was set up about a bike length in front of my good friend (& now fellow elite master) Dale Knapp & I joked about already being ahead of him. I knew this wouldn’t be for long, LOL. When we were called to staging I lined up toward the back……way back & didn’t realize at the time I was at the VERY back (ie, last row of 80 with only a few stragglers behind me). No problem, once it strings out I’ll do my best to pick off the roadies (sorry roadies, you guys will KILL me tomorrow at Steilacoom but this is my kind of course today) in all the tech sections.

Boom! The gun goes off & we are racing. Super slick narrow pavement & 80 racers make it a sketchy start. Going about 20mph on a slight downhill section coming into a 90 deg off camber corner, some idiot chops us hard by cutting across three rows of traffic & almost takes out about 10 guys. That brave move put him up in the top 70, good move jack a**. I saw him about two minutes later having trouble on a slippery corner, about five of us passed him back never to see him again. From then on I realized my strengths on the course & capitalized on them every lap. I loved the run up & was able to pass someone almost every lap (even punked someone on the last lap to gain one more place, same guy, I think, got me on Sunday with two to go). Also, the climb after you leave the velodrome was a great place to pass. Most of the people I saw were running it but I took a line to the left along the wall & was able to ride it pretty fast. I also had friends right there cheering me on so I dug a little deeper.

So, I didn’t really have a set goal for the day other than trying to ride strong from start to finish & just have fun. Knowing who would be pushing the pace at the front of the field, I honestly didn’t even consider the thought of having the goal to “not get lapped”. I race against DK every Wednesday throughout the summer & know what he is capable of on a short course. Much to my surprise, I made it to the bell lap with plenty of time & finished strong on the lead lap. That was a HUGE moral victory & reassured me that I can race at this level, maybe not at the front but definitely not at the back. In the end, the results were all messed up due to the use of the new timing chip/ankle strap deals so I have no idea where I ended up. They have me down as 23rd but I think (from word I got from team mates) I was more like mid 40s to low 50s out of 80. I’ll take it. It is frustrating though since I know where I started & that I was constantly bridging gaps & passing people all day long. Oh well, the whole finishing on the lead lap is a bigger victory in my head than knowing an exact place.

Day Two, USGP

Sunday at Steilacoom was a completely different type of course. I rode out there earlier in the week with one of the NW’s top elite masters & was already dreading this course, especially on day two of a double weekend. With the lap times he was doing in training as well as a shortened course from years past, I knew we would be running the “hill” a few times more than usual. We did. This report will be short & sweet.

Seventy eight of us lined up on Sunday & I was able to at least get in the second to last row today. The start was VERY fast but much safer than Alpenrose. From the gun you are flying along in the big ring for a couple minutes until you hit the infamous “Kona Knapp Time” run up. Two lines here, you can either run the trench which is softer sand or you can run up on the sides, firmer ground but it feels steeper. I usually run the sides but it looked to be a traffic jam so I opted for the trench. I probably picked off 10 guys by doing that. The worst part about this run up in my opinion isn’t the run up itself. It’s the first 3-4 pedal strokes after you re-mount at the top. If you can survive that, then you are rewarded with 2-3 rollers, then it flattens out. After that you get a bombing descent all the way back to the bottom of the course. Then, if you have the legs, hammer the big ring on the flats all the way back to the run up……again! Not my kind of course.

My day ended Ok though by finishing on the lead lap of the current National champ on a course that didn’t suit me at all. So, all in all it was another ok day on the bike. I ended up 53 out of 78 with all my roadie friends way in front of me. Unlike yesterday where I was able to pass people until the end, Sunday I got picked off by at least 5 on the last lap. As much as I tried I had no answer to their accelerations though. The legs were left in PDX the day before. Good times though. 
DP

Stumptown Classic – Crank Bros. Grand Prix #1, Portland, OR

I had a great race. I stayed up and didn’t make any big mistakes but I definitely know some areas where I can make improvements. Most importantly, I had a lot of fun. The weather was kind this week. It rained Thursday night and then held off until Saturday during the final lap of the men’s Elite race. Still, the ground was saturated so parts of the course turned into peanut butter bogs while other parts were merely slick.

Family life kept me from getting to the Alpenrose Dairy early enough to preride the course. The full schedule of races dictated by over 750 racers and UCI rules meant that the promoters scheduled the races tightly with no open course time between the early races. A teammate (Dave Gast) and I scouted out the course. While the routing was mixed up from pervious incarnations, there were really no surprises and it looked to be a great and challenging course. While Dave and I were checking out the course, we ran into Terry K (kajukembo) who was warming up.

After scouting the course I went out and rode some of the local streets for a warm-up. I wanted to stage well this week so I kept an eye on the starting area from time to time. At about the time I decided it would be prudent to stage, I saw that no one had lined up yet and took the opportunity to cruise back to my car to get a drink. By the time I got back to the line, there were 40 people staged. D’oh.

I lined up and waved to two of my teammates (Dave and Bill) who were sitting pretty in the first row. I also saw that Terry had snagged a front row spot as well. Tim Chen, another of teammates slid in next to me and we stood around waiting for the gun. The start was up a slight incline for perhaps 50 yards to a 90 degree right turn, another 50-60 yards slightly downhill to 90 degree right turn, and then another 30 yards to a 90 degree left turn onto the first dirt. After a brief level section, there was another 90 degree right turn down a long hill which lead to a right hand sweeper up a hill. This portion was one of my hot spots since I was able to carry speed into the uphill and found a pretty good line up the hill. I used this section to pass stubborn riders on several laps.

The course meandered through some pasture and went in and out of the trees to the first of the mud. Soon, the easy mud turned into the difficult mud. Out on the backside there was a nasty off-camber downhill through sticky mud. While it was no faster to ride than run, I tried to ride as far as possible since it was slightly less taxing than running. At some point, however, a dismount was mandatory – on a downhill! The remount lead into my second hot spot. After the mud, there was a flat hardpack to a 180. After the turn, the course went up a gentle rise over grass/mud/. I had that section dialed. I had the fastest line and the perfect gear and always overtook riders on that section. At the top of the rise, the course was flat over hardpack gravel and pavement before dumping back down into the pasture for the off-camber grassy descent to the base of the run up. As usual, the run up was steep and ended at the top of turns 1 and 2 of the velodrome. After gaining all that height, we dropped back down to enter the velodrome on the straight between turns 2 and 3. This included a short but nasty off-camber drop and following rise that I found just as fast (and more secure) to run.

Inside the velodrome, the course snaked around the infield and then followed the apron around to the finish. After the finish, we crossed the infield and exited the velodrome and climbed to the top of the rise behind turns 3 and 4. If the course had been dry, that hill would have been rideable but with the mud, it was more prudent to run. After a tricky dipsy-doo and a few tight turns, we dumped back out onto pavement which quickly lead back to the start line. The course definitely rewarded riders who could stay up and who could choose the best lines.

The starter finally blew the whistle and 87 Masters B racers took off. Not 20 feet into the race, a guy right in front of me broke his chain. I’m sure he was disappointed that he was out of the race almost before it had started. I succeeded in avoiding him and stayed upright through the early turns. The first lap was a blur and early on I had the impression that I was getting passed quite a bit. I got caught behind some backups but when things started stringing out I started passing riders. By the second lap, I was definitely advancing my way through the field and as I was approaching the finish line to start the third lap, I saw Terry take a spill in front of me. I slipped around him and he pulled in behind me. We raced together the rest of the way. After the race, Terry mentioned that he had had a terrible time staying up during the first two laps.

On the third lap, Terry and I pulled in more riders, including my teammate Dave. Terry and I traded places at least once a lap and for a while a couple of other guys hung with us. Terry was definitely faster on his feet while I managed to put it to him on the pavement. I found a couple good lines while following him and he credited me with showing him quite a few good lines too. On the fifth lap, Terry and I shook the two riders who had been hanging with us (Mike Colesar from Disco Velo and a guy on a red bike with a grey jersey with red lettering) and reeled in my Teammate Bill. Through the fifth lap, I followed Bill and Terry followed me. On the sixth lap, as we came down the long downhill section, I was right behind Bill. He looked to take the inside line on the sweeping uphill so I went around him on the outside. Before I could get around him, he drifted (swerved?) outside and pinched me into the tape and I lost all my momentum. Terry came around me and the two of them gapped me.

I still thought I had a chance to get them on my second hot spot but coming down peanut butter hill, I wobbled and caught my handlebar on one of the tape poles. I dismounted and looked behind me and saw Mike Colesar gaining. From that moment until I entered the velodrome, I raced to keep my position. At the top of the run-up, I managed to lap a junior before the drop leading to the velodrome entrance. I figured that Mr. Colesar would have trouble getting by that rider and I could preserve my place. I ended up about seven seconds behind Terry and Bill.

I had a great time on Saturday. I really enjoyed racing with Terry. I think we both pushed each other to go a little bit faster. While I know that Bill would have liked to have preserved his great start, it felt gratifying to be able to chase him down and race with him for a lap or two. I felt good that I managed to stay upright and only had a couple foibles. Ah, I can hardly wait until next week.

Photo of Bill an I lapping a non-UCI junior. Bill is in front. This was after exiting the velodrome to start the final lap.
http://www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?userid=oregonvelo&gallery_id=269829&image_id=33

This one is a gret picture of Bill motoring through the peanut butter mud.
http://www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?userid=oregonvelo&gallery_id=269829&image_id=14

This one shows Dave about to be overtaken by Terry Keele. Mike Colesar is right behind Terry and I'm behind him (not pictured). BTW, Terry's on his Sachs.
http://www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?userid=oregonvelo&gallery_id=269829&image_id=10

My "goal" for this race was to stop being Mr. Nice Guy during a race and letting people pass me only to run me off in the corners (has been happening too often for my liking). I held off all charges into the corners and was able to hold my ground 100% of the time into and out of the corners. Slowly I'm learning more about racing cross.


KMan

i hear ya. my problem as well. Im just such a nice guy. :) its amazing how better i do when "stop being nice, and start being real" (isnt that the slogan from "the real world"??)

I too went to the MAC opener. I preroad the course but that was before the C's had even started to tear it up. Everything was rideable - then. I started with a wheelset I just finished building and glueing the week before. Plus, I had scored one of those Dugalin Hybrid tubeless tires and had just glued that on too.

Masters 35/45/55+ race lined up 68 riders. After the callups, I ended up about halfway back. (no callup for me!). When we came to the first runup it was greasy enough that no-one was riding. I ended up running by some folks there and then I did something smart. ( I've never been able to say that about tactics in a race before) I grabbed Kurt M's wheel up the road section before the turn back onto the grass. We went flying by riders. It was worth the effort. Finishing the first lap I could still see riders I never have been able to stay close to.

I ended up riding all of the mud and enjoying it. Each lap required adjustments as some sections became more energy sapping than others. I found the section through the pits to be the worst, The bike got heavier and heavier ( No bike changes for us....well no second bike) over the barriers. The last lap I suffered some really bad chain problems. I wobbled all over the mud bog before the barriers and slowed to a crawl. Finally I shifted and things sorted out but not before I was passed one more time.

I finished 22nd overall, good for 6th in the 45+. Really was one of my best rides considering how fast some of these guys are.

Gotta say, I had a blast as well and it might not have been that way if I wouldn’t have picked up Brooke’s wheel. Here’s my recollection of events, but I must admit, I raced Sunday as well and it’s all starting the run together.

Brooke did a great job of describing the course so nuff said. I decided not to pre ride the course because from where I was warming up, I saw a couple of derailleur hangers snapped and I thought it better to enter the course with a clean bike. I did watch the 50+ race and there’s always a couple of skilled guys in that field and I took note of the lines they were using on the trickier parts of the course.

I guess I jinxed my self my talking smack last week about how I usually start well. I was in the front row and when the whistle blew, I clicked in and then immediately popped out with my free leg. That forced me out of my other pedal as well and there I was standing flat footed as the field went by. I’m surprised it didn’t cause a wreck. I quickly re engaged and found an outside line and went from the middle to about 11th place out of the 80 or so riders as we entered the dirt. We bombed down the hill single file and as we hit the uphill right-hander, a guy slid out and took out the guy next to him right in front of me. With no where to go, I plowed into him (my tire went right into his shoulder blade, ouch). However, I didn’t go down, but quickly dismounted and had to run a ride able hill. A good 10-15 guys went by me. I quickly remounted, got about 5 pedal strokes in and another guy went down trapping me between him and the tape. I had to dismount, take two steps backwards and run and remount. So another 10 or so guys go by me. We made it to the first mud section and I ran it OK and navigated the course decently to the entrance to the Velodrome. When I got to the off camber chute, just before the entrance, there were two riders down in front of me so I had to run it. I went to remount, just inside the drome and as soon as I put weight on the bike, it went out from underneath me on the wet painted surface. I remounted, made it through the barriers and onto the apron. There was a piece of carpet over some power cords leaving the apron onto the warm-up track inside the drome. I hit the carpet, it slipped and I went down again. Anyone ever have a race like this?

After I exited the drome I told myself that I just got to get it together, get focused and start racing the course. About that time, Brooke came by and gave some words of encouragement. I told my self just to follow Brooke’s wheel because I know he’s a better bike driver than I am. The rest of the race went as he described in his report. It was easy to tell when he was behind me because where ever we went, someone was cheering him on. After I got the first lap behind me I (we) started working really well together and made good decisions, especially where to run. We passed a lot of people especially on the ride able bog that was so much faster to run. On the last lap, Brooke opened a sizeable gap on the pavement, but as soon as we hit the dirt I closed hard. That’s when his teammate Bill blocked him and I shot up the hill on the inside. I was actually laughing a bit as I went buy because the sight of him being pushed into the tape by his teammate was a bit comical. He said something to me as I went by. Bill had a good line and passed me by the top of the hill but I got him on the steep run up. He then re passed me by running the off camber chute that entered the drome while I pedaled the section. Once in the drome, due to my 1st lap foibles, I shut it down and didn’t sprint. A friend of mine thought we finished somewhere around 17th or so.

One thing I did notice is that the guys who were using the Tufos were just rocking it on the pavement. I was using the Mud 2s. The peanut butter mud packed into those tires and wouldn’t shed. It took quite a while with a high pressure hose to the get the mud out. I just felt like a pig on the pavement today, but I’ve never run as well.

Anyway, it was the first time I’ve raced Alpenrose without trashing some equipment. I’m calling it a major victory.

Nice job. It was really a race for third on Sunday in your group. I was on the run-up for your race and the leader didn't even look like he was trying that hard. That is one fit dude with one freakin nice bike. Dale gave it everything he had and matched him on speed up the run-up so I was wondering where the leader was putting time in Dale. I really enjoyed the course yesterday.

I know what you mean about a blur ... I guess I did catch you on the beginning of the second lap. For some reason, I thought it took me longer.

How did Steilacomb go? What class did you ride?

Thanksgiving weekend in Canada, so people were either recovering from turkey-related gluttony, or making room for more. It had been great weather earlier in the week (28C/84F), but a couple of days of light rain had made the course slick and dropped the temp. considerably (8C/46F). One soft/wet section. Downhills were mostly slick and off-camber, except for one which was singletrack with a few roots to roll over. 2 run-ups, both steep, one was composed of large boulders/stairs.

The race fields north of the border are pretty small (<100 total), which makes it possible to do some fun things with the races. This weekend there was a 1-lap ITT, with riders at 15s intervals, before the main race. Great fun and an awesome warm-up. The all-categories mass start was about 10 min after the last ITT finisher got in.

The course was a blast, it was fun to learn with each lap how far you could push the limits of traction on the off-camber downhills. Pretty sure I snagged top-20, but didn't stick around for the official results--a warm shower, beer, and more turkey were calling.

Good to hear everyone else is enjoying the start of 'cross season.

Andrew
London/Kingston, ON

CX Race Report Central Coast Race Series Fort Ord
October 09, 2005
Category C 40 minutes
Place: 6th

Great grass roots racing with a really mellow vibe and although I wasn;t really feeling up to racing at the start line (I hate early mornings) that soon changed. This is my first "real" season racing cross after trying out a few last season. Although the course was a bit easy with a lot of room for recovery (which I always seem to be in need of) what was really cool was the hidden lines that allowed for a bit of creativity. I checked at the registration tent and sure enough if it wasn;t taped it was fair game.
So off the start I picked up quite a holeshot (which was a huge suprise for me) down the first straight-a-way and into the first transition. Did ok with that and then fell into rythm down through some turns and backout onto some rough asphalt straight-a-way. That's where I got passed by what turned out to be much of the lead group and I should have jumped onto a wheel right there. Middle thrid of the race I cruised at pace and used some of the more creative lines to make some passes until I moved into 6th. For the last third of the race I battled for the 5th place spot with an equally "creative" rider. Coming into the last lap I had taken 5th and he passed me back over the first transition. Shortly after we bunched up behind some of the lapped juniors and I went down trying to grab the inside of a turn. But I managed to retain 6th place for the finish and my first time cracking the top 10.
Good times none the less. Next weekend Surf City!

pm sent


I know what you mean about a blur ... I guess I did catch you on the beginning of the second lap. For some reason, I thought it took me longer.

How did Steilacomb go? What class did you ride?

Nice job. It was really a race for third on Sunday in your group. I was on the run-up for your race and the leader didn't even look like he was trying that hard. That is one fit dude with one freakin nice bike. Dale gave it everything he had and matched him on speed up the run-up so I was wondering where the leader was putting time in Dale. I really enjoyed the course yesterday.

Yeah, that sort of flat road style power course isnt quite Dales forte. Feldman is the defending Nat champ & I beleive he won Masters worlds last year in the TT as well. Very strong on the road. I usually do pretty well on the run up at Steilacoom but not this early in the season, it hurt yesterday. Thanks for cheers though, the spectators & cowbells took a little edge off the pain on the hill.
DP

Thanks for cheers though, the spectators & cowbells took a little edge off the pain on the hill.
DP

Cheers on that run-up definately helped. I had several people cheering my name and my team name and I couldn't let them down by not giving it my all! That run up ruled. I can't wait for the next race there. I hope ECC uses the same course.

Cheers on that run-up definately helped. I had several people cheering my name and my team name and I couldn't let them down by not giving it my all! That run up ruled. I can't wait for the next race there. I hope ECC uses the same course.

The worst thing about the runup were the two rollers right after it. I wouldn't be surprised if ECC used the same course as Steilacoom has put a lot of restrictions on where the course is allowed to be,

The worst thing about the runup were the two rollers right after it. I wouldn't be surprised if ECC used the same course as Steilacoom has put a lot of restrictions on where the course is allowed to be,

I heard we wont be using the same run up for the ECC race but there are several others right there that are pretty nasty as well. Its a shame we cant use those big fields anymore (dog park?). I love dogs but even though they have all that other land in the park reserved for them, we still had to slow down 2-3 times in our training laps (last Wednesday) because of stupid "owners" letting them off their leash on the upper part of the course. Check out Nortons comments on the Seattlecyclocross website forum in regards to these situations, its getting bad.

jeremy
Wow, you guys are fast in the *C*'s. I was way off the back, five minutes back of the winner. Next time!

The worst thing about the runup were the two rollers right after it. I wouldn't be surprised if ECC used the same course as Steilacoom has put a lot of restrictions on where the course is allowed to be,


I was passing people on the run up and those rollers. I guess that's why I like the course. However, I totally sucked on the downhill. Most of the people I would pass on the run up and rollers would catch me on the downhill. Everything on that course suited me very well except the downhill. I can't corner worth a sh!t.

I was riding right behind Kurt M (teammate) for laps 1-4. About 20 yards back. I could not close the gap though. I agree aboout the road section as well. I tried to find a draft for the 1st half and then took off on the 2nd half. As well I thought the section by the pits was the worst....comming off the road fast and hitting this section...comming to a slow crawl. Back killed me on the last lap and I faded back fast from Kurt. Ended up 20th in the 35+ and 31st overall....worst result this year.....but I guess that is a MAC race!
I should go back to the B's for better results :)

KMan

Even more impressive is that Knapp worked both nights before the races. I don't think the man sleeps. He shows up and gets the Rad Racing kids pointed in the right direction, does his race, helps Anne get ready for her race, and then heads off to work. Don't know how he does it.

Even more impressive is that Knapp worked both nights before the races. I don't think the man sleeps. He shows up and gets the Rad Racing kids pointed in the right direction, does his race, helps Anne get ready for her race, and then heads off to work. Don't know how he does it.

Yep, the absolute epitome of unselfish.

Reader's digest version - 6th out of 15 in a muddy
Men's C field.

Full length:
After a good day, at Liliponds I was excited about
this race. However, Friday's rain brought flash backs to the
Schwenksville AMBC mountain bike race that began my
season and I spent that night trying to mud-proof my
ride as much as possible and packed clothes for
anything from freezing rain to sun. What I should
have paid more attention to was my friend and teammate Joe's email earlier in
the day. We agreed to carpool up earlier in the week
and the decision was made to leave at 5:00 AM, meaning
I had to get up at 4:30. Way to early.

So after getting up at an ungodly hour, I some how
manage to make it downstairs a couple of minutes
before Joe arrives. As it would turn out, we were too
cautious and arrived just as the organizer started to
set up the course. Peering out the window and
venturing out to the port-o-john made the ground look
relatively dry for 24 hours of rain, but a quick
preride would dissuade me of that illusion. The
course was mostly on wet grass that sucked your energy
straight out. The ground under the grass was also
ready to give anywhere you had to edge your tires. By
race time, it would also force just about everyone to
run 2 hills that should have been easy. However, the
highlight for me was a drainage ditch that on the
first lap many were too timid to ride.

After the officials finally decided where the start
would be and whether we would be forced to bunny-hop a
curb at speed early on (they decided no) it was time
to race. I felt good at the line, but was a bit
concerned about the energy sapping grass. I went out
hard, taking the lead off the gun. My goal was to
finish in the top 3 in the smaller 15 man field and I
had hoped positioning myself well early would allow me
to avoid any early pitfalls and psyche me up enough to
stay within striking distance.

However, within the first 1/4 -1/3 of a lap the
eventual leaders would over take me. The rest of the race is a bit of a blur
(at the end I couldn't remember how many laps we had
put in), but I never quite found a groove. I slowly
fell from 3rd, to 4th, then 5th, 6th, and ultimate 7th
where I would cruise for most of the last 2 laps. Oh,
did I mention it was muddy?

When I crossed the line for the second to last time
and heard one lap to go (in my daze, I thought I had
at least 3) I got a bit of a second wind and knew I
had to pick up the pace if I wanted to pull anybody
in. 1-4 where beyond striking distance, but 5 and 6
were within range if I put in a strong effort. Behind
me there seemed to be a pretty good gap so if I blew
up I might even be able to hold on to 7th.

After a slower than desired pace through the soccer
and baseball field that made up the first 1/2 half of
the race and a horrible performance in the barriers
(still need to true my wheel from that one) I had my
doubts, but recognizing that what, to me, was the
worst part of the course was over helped. With some
extra effort and a more well planned run up the second
hill I was able to pull in #6 with a 1/4 lap or so to
go. I set my sights on #5 but he would allude me.

Bottom line, not quite as strong a finish as
I hoped, but I was able to leave pretty
happy about catching 6th.

Mike

I had a great time in the pacific northwest this last weekend. I flew up from sf EARLY friday morning- Barb and I heard the alarm go off at 4am and headed to the airport without any traffic hassles... Early. We had a flawless rental car pickup with Barbs teammate Mel "the butcher" Metzger in tow. We got to the host house in the early afternoon to meet up with my teammates Brent Chapman and Simon Vickers. We all took naps and got some food in us. We got to look at the course in the dumping rain and train a little before we headed home for final bike prep, dinner, etc. We got to bed on time, it was a smooth day.

Saturday was hectic, I didn't get to warm up on the course much. I got to see bits of different races including Barbs- she was awesome and came third, she was thrilled since she was hoping at least for top 10! It's always tough to know your form at the first big race, but I knew it would be no problem for her. She's totally ripping right now.

I got an insufficient- seeming warmup and was called to the line in the 3rd row. This was key in this huge (93 starters!) field. I was pretty nervous and unsure of the course and where the lines would be on many sections. I had my eyes gued to the UCI guys starters pistol and tryed to anticipate the pop- I was in my pedals first step and punched it (starting gear was 46-21). I had good luck over the pavement and into the first few muddy sections, I got to the footprint-mud section by the parking lot and took a chance riding along the far left side down to the turn- around. This was the sweet line, I just powered by a bunch of guys. After the turnaround and heading back up I'm looking around and realizing "Dang, I'm here. This is the front group!" Ryan and Barry were up the road and I was right on Geoff Kabush in the top 5. There were a few other guys around but it was a blur so I just did what I had to to stay with Geoff, and not feck up. It was awesome, he had some super quick lines through some of the tricky spots that I totally used for the rest of the race. Tim Johnson passed us on the 2nd lap I think. After 4 laps or so Geoffs clincher tubeless tire blew off the rim at the bottom of the runup and I was left to battle with Andy J-M, who also flatted. I was then in a group that had riders coming up and also going backwards so it seemed different every lap. At about the halfway point, I saw people railing around the banking on the velodrome so I cranked it up and gave it a shot! I've never ridden the track at all but I just figured if I went fast it should work. The Dugasts stuck (cotton 30s @ 34 psi front and 33 psi rear) and I realized what a commitment it was so I just pedaled like hell and came out the other side flying! That was really a crazy feeling, that banking seems really steep and it was super fast compared to the flat! It was also fun going up the runup and having all the spectators just freaking out and being super loud. On the last lap I attacked the Symmetrics guy I was with and got across to Erik Tonkin on the runup. Erik fouled his chain on the off camber before the velodrome entrance so I came around him. A spectator was warning everone that the track was slippery so I played it cool and got safely to the line. I was pretty happy, I figured I was top 15 and in the end I got the check for the 12th place finish! This is my best USGP finish and my first time riding near the front in a big race. I benefited a lot from others bad luck, but that's cross so I kept cool the whole race and made the most of those moments! It was great to take my good fitness and show what I have at a big race. I'll maybe post a report from Tacoma tomorrow if I can, it was pretty sweet too! This was the better day for me though, and it was a race I won't forget. My Rock Lobster teammates Simon Vickers and Aaron O'dell were also in the top 20 saturday so it was a pretty good showing for us. I can hardly wait for Gloucester!

I had a great time in the pacific northwest this last weekend.


great report. your enthusiasm comes through loud and clear. fun course wasn't it?

great report. your enthusiasm comes through loud and clear. fun course wasn't it?

I had a blast on that course! It was really nice to have a chance to race it when it wasn't totally sodden like last year.

I had a blast on that course! It was really nice to have a chance to race it when it wasn't totally sodden like last year.

sadly, we may never see cx at Alpenrose again. the family that owns the dairy is down right po'd about all the beer being tipped on their no drinking premises. of course that's bound to happen when the race is sponsored by a brewery and beer is handed out to every 10th competitor.

hopefully, someone can step in and save the relationship

sadly, we may never see cx at Alpenrose again. the family that owns the dairy is down right po'd about all the beer being tipped on their no drinking premises. of course that's bound to happen when the race is sponsored by a brewery and beer is handed out to every 10th competitor.

hopefully, someone can step in and save the relationship

Weird. Cross without beer. That is a strange situation. I sure hope they noticed the fact that the race was totally epic and well attended and not get too fixated on the beer drinking. No beer allowed at a cross race. Only in America.

and beer is handed out to every 10th competitor.

Speaking of which, you had better claim your beer before they revise the standings.

On a more serious note, I think they ought to suspend handing out beer for the Alpenrose race. Sure, you can win it -- just wait to hand it out until the next race.

Weird. Cross without beer. That is a strange situation. I sure hope they noticed the fact that the race was totally epic and well attended and not get too fixated on the beer drinking. No beer allowed at a cross race. Only in America.

I was under the impression it was illegal to have a cross race in Portland without beer. Hmm, strange indeed. :)

Nice rides Josh. I heard your name anounced on Sunday during the race & then saw a dude on a Rock Lobster cruise by. I put two & two together & made the connection. I was going to stop by & say hi after the race but it was kind of hectic. I'll catch you in Cali.
DP