Racin' time. Southern Cross 2012 is a mere two weeks away. This will be my first race of the season and man has it come up quick.
I avoided the possibility of mental, physical, or emotional burnout by restricting my cyclocross season to only a couple races. Not that I had any sort of goal in mind when I kept missing races but it all makes sense now. Conservation of force was the name of the game.
Southern Cross seems to be getting a good bit of press this year:
*Namrita givin' pre ride reports.
*Bikerumor will be there.
*Colt from Cyclingdirt will be there to catch everyone at their fumbling worst pre and post race.
*Thom Parsons laid down some good prerace words.
Why the big deal? It is a badass race with strong competition and it seems to be the queen stage of the American Ultracross Series.
There are lots of questions to figure out before this race, such as:
Mountain bike or cross bike?
What tires to use?
How many extra tubes/gels/Road IDs/exhaust hangers should I bring?
Which scent of embrocation will best compliment the searing sensation in my quads?
How to pace- risk blowing up on the first climb or leave some in the tank?
What do I do if I cramp?
What beer to drink post race?
All valid questions and the wonderful thing is there is no one right answer. Part of the beauty of bike racing is the uncertainty, the sense of adventure... It is never as simple as watts/kilogram times psi divided by Endurolytes to the power of custard filled donuts. Thank God for that.
I briefly checked out the confirmed riders list on bikereg. Lots of people from Birmingham will be in attendance, a few of which I think will have a good chance at some podium spots. Hope everyone else is getting their ducks in a row. See ya in a couple weeks.
Side Note: Some of my coworkers are doing the Mercedes half marathon Sunday. Good luck to all of them, I'd be scared of getting trampled by the masses out there!
Friday, February 10, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross build - Part 2
EDIT: I am clearing some stuff our around the house and this frame, fork, and crank are for sale! Message me if interested: jkarrasch at hotmail dot com
It has been a few weeks since I put up the initial build post for the Black Mountain but I didn't want to put up the second part of it until I was happy with the bike.
The issue was the bars. The damn drop bars.
I just can't ride them. I used to but then my riding switched to more commuting, more night riding, and less group rides. I have lots of rides on shit pavement in the dark with a backpack on and the drops just felt weird a good bit of the time.
First I tried the Salsa Woodchippers. They were good in the drop section but all the other sections were bad and they made the barend shifters stick out and hit things.
Next came the much loved by Rivendell Nitto Noodle. Meh. If anyone wants the Woodchipper or the Noodle cheap lemmee know.
It was time to put the mountain bike bars and I gladly did so after one ride. I used a long, flat stem and a Niner alloy flat bar with some big, honkin' bar ends. I really like the bike now and everything just works. Nothing is fancy except the wheels and it is versatile for whatever I want to do with it. Like...ride it, lean it on things, take pictures of it. All that in a day. Versatile. Yeah, its a hybrid now. Hybrids are awesome. Possibly the least pretentious of all commuter bike variants.
Build list (updated):
Black Mountain Cycles frame with disc mounts
Waltworks custom fork
Cane Creek headset
Industry Nine hubs to Stans Arch rims with Wheelsmith spokes
Crappy hybrid tires
Shimano Dura Ace 9 speed drivetrain
Shimano Sora crank
Shimano XTR pedals
Avid BB7 disc brakes with FR5 levers
Thomson post and WTB saddle
Bontrager stem, Niner Flat Top bar, and ESI grips
Ritchey bar ends
Jandd frame bag
The only thing I want to do is find some 35 or 40C tires to set up tubeless on the Stans rims for the ultimate in rough road...bearability. I couldn't say pleasure there, that would have been stupid. Schwalbes would fit the bill here.
It has been a few weeks since I put up the initial build post for the Black Mountain but I didn't want to put up the second part of it until I was happy with the bike.
The issue was the bars. The damn drop bars.
I just can't ride them. I used to but then my riding switched to more commuting, more night riding, and less group rides. I have lots of rides on shit pavement in the dark with a backpack on and the drops just felt weird a good bit of the time.
First I tried the Salsa Woodchippers. They were good in the drop section but all the other sections were bad and they made the barend shifters stick out and hit things.
Next came the much loved by Rivendell Nitto Noodle. Meh. If anyone wants the Woodchipper or the Noodle cheap lemmee know.
It was time to put the mountain bike bars and I gladly did so after one ride. I used a long, flat stem and a Niner alloy flat bar with some big, honkin' bar ends. I really like the bike now and everything just works. Nothing is fancy except the wheels and it is versatile for whatever I want to do with it. Like...ride it, lean it on things, take pictures of it. All that in a day. Versatile. Yeah, its a hybrid now. Hybrids are awesome. Possibly the least pretentious of all commuter bike variants.
Build list (updated):
Black Mountain Cycles frame with disc mounts
Waltworks custom fork
Cane Creek headset
Industry Nine hubs to Stans Arch rims with Wheelsmith spokes
Crappy hybrid tires
Shimano Dura Ace 9 speed drivetrain
Shimano Sora crank
Shimano XTR pedals
Avid BB7 disc brakes with FR5 levers
Thomson post and WTB saddle
Bontrager stem, Niner Flat Top bar, and ESI grips
Ritchey bar ends
Jandd frame bag
The only thing I want to do is find some 35 or 40C tires to set up tubeless on the Stans rims for the ultimate in rough road...bearability. I couldn't say pleasure there, that would have been stupid. Schwalbes would fit the bill here.
 |
| 160mm BB7s |
 |
| Dura Ace triple derailleur |
 |
| Huge clearance, clarence. That is a 35C. |
 |
| Bolt on fender. Cow poop and mud on the frame bag. |
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Skyway Epic Preride
For those of you not in the know, the Skyway Epic is a section of trail/ forest road in the Talladega National Forest that goes from Sylacauga to Adam's Gap near Mount Cheaha in Anniston. This will be featured in the Skyway Epic race on May 20. Brent is still figuring out logistics but one can assume if it comes from Brent's mind it will be wonderful, hard, and feel like getting kicked in the gut a thousand times.
I will not be able to attend the race since me and Melissa will be at the Hangout Music Festival but uh, I still wanted to preride it. Thanks to the facebook Skyway Epic group it was pretty easy to coordinate a ride and amazingly enough everyone showed up plus a few bonus folks.
I should mention it has rained a Costco sized shitload here in Alabama the past few days. Yes, we got wet. Yes, the trail is rideable in the wet and handles water well. More on that in a minute.
We had an awesome group this morning. Boris and I rode out to meet Lee, George, Stewart, Matt, John Newsom, Mike the Cramper, Gavin, Tony Esposito, and JD. Big group of good riders. Big groups are great but with an increase in group size it is common to see an exponential rise in mechanicals and waiting around. We had lots of waiting but only one mechanical.
The rain held off but a thick blanket of fog covered the National Forest. I didn't take many pictures because we could really only see about 50 feet at any given time. The trail looked great considering all the rain. There were huge puddles and some slick spots on climbs but overall not bad. ZERO peanut butter mud. Awesome.
Coming from the Sylacauga end the trail starts with maybe a 3 mile climb which isn't bad. I was a bit sad there was so much fog, I'm sure the views are awesome out there. The area has a feel like that of the North Georgia mountains. About 8 miles in, Mike the Cramper rode up and announced his freehub had failed. After closer inspection a gnarled up chain was found and fixed and we were all done with mechanicals for the day!
Around 16 miles in there is a ripping fast downhill that comes out on the road for about 2 miles then climbs again. Mike was now having some cramping issues and went ahead and turned around. Ouch, hope he made it out ok. Not a good area to be in if you feel bad. The downhills are not your typical gravel fare with nasty turns waiting to wash out tires and rub your elbows raw. They require caution of a different sort. Folks with good line picking skills will be rewarded. Those that aren't paying attention end up in some nasty ruts. Be careful. They are fun in an "Oh shit I'm going to die, but not really" way. The climbs were saturated with water and really took a lot of energy to get up today. This course is ALL climbing. It is hard and deserving of its name.
Singlespeed Course Notes: I used a 32/17 on a 29er out there today and really like it. It felt good everywhere but there are some grunt climbs going Cheaha to Sylacauga. I didn't walk but really wanted to a few times. If I did the race, I would probably do a 32/16 on a 29er and hope for fast, dry conditions.
Bike Notes: Don't use a cross bike, terrible idea. I think a 29er with a rigid fork, maybe a front squish would be good. Bring some durable, fast rolling tires and you will be happy.
We reached the turnaround point and I noticed the ride time was 2:12 on Gavin's GPS. Pretty good I think. Elapsed time was ridiculous due to all the stops but I didn't mind the breaks. Going back was much tougher. It began misting and I was now soaking wet. Our group for most of the ride ended up being Tony, Gavin, Boris and me with some switching around depending on who was hurting the most.
I was shocked at the amount of climbing in the final ten miles. It was nuts. They were steep and rutted out. Many looked the same and began to play tricks on my mind. I wanted to be back at the car but I was still digging the ride. Soon enough, the Element was in sight! Six hours later, we were back where we started. Soaking wet, exhausted, and smiles all around. Notice all the fog still around.
I was a bit surprised by the good legs I had today, being January and all...good omen for Southern Cross I hope. Killer ride today, if you haven't been out there GO. I'll be back soon.
LINK to Boris' Strava data on today's ride.
I will not be able to attend the race since me and Melissa will be at the Hangout Music Festival but uh, I still wanted to preride it. Thanks to the facebook Skyway Epic group it was pretty easy to coordinate a ride and amazingly enough everyone showed up plus a few bonus folks.
I should mention it has rained a Costco sized shitload here in Alabama the past few days. Yes, we got wet. Yes, the trail is rideable in the wet and handles water well. More on that in a minute.
We had an awesome group this morning. Boris and I rode out to meet Lee, George, Stewart, Matt, John Newsom, Mike the Cramper, Gavin, Tony Esposito, and JD. Big group of good riders. Big groups are great but with an increase in group size it is common to see an exponential rise in mechanicals and waiting around. We had lots of waiting but only one mechanical.
The rain held off but a thick blanket of fog covered the National Forest. I didn't take many pictures because we could really only see about 50 feet at any given time. The trail looked great considering all the rain. There were huge puddles and some slick spots on climbs but overall not bad. ZERO peanut butter mud. Awesome.
Coming from the Sylacauga end the trail starts with maybe a 3 mile climb which isn't bad. I was a bit sad there was so much fog, I'm sure the views are awesome out there. The area has a feel like that of the North Georgia mountains. About 8 miles in, Mike the Cramper rode up and announced his freehub had failed. After closer inspection a gnarled up chain was found and fixed and we were all done with mechanicals for the day!
Around 16 miles in there is a ripping fast downhill that comes out on the road for about 2 miles then climbs again. Mike was now having some cramping issues and went ahead and turned around. Ouch, hope he made it out ok. Not a good area to be in if you feel bad. The downhills are not your typical gravel fare with nasty turns waiting to wash out tires and rub your elbows raw. They require caution of a different sort. Folks with good line picking skills will be rewarded. Those that aren't paying attention end up in some nasty ruts. Be careful. They are fun in an "Oh shit I'm going to die, but not really" way. The climbs were saturated with water and really took a lot of energy to get up today. This course is ALL climbing. It is hard and deserving of its name.
Singlespeed Course Notes: I used a 32/17 on a 29er out there today and really like it. It felt good everywhere but there are some grunt climbs going Cheaha to Sylacauga. I didn't walk but really wanted to a few times. If I did the race, I would probably do a 32/16 on a 29er and hope for fast, dry conditions.
Bike Notes: Don't use a cross bike, terrible idea. I think a 29er with a rigid fork, maybe a front squish would be good. Bring some durable, fast rolling tires and you will be happy.
We reached the turnaround point and I noticed the ride time was 2:12 on Gavin's GPS. Pretty good I think. Elapsed time was ridiculous due to all the stops but I didn't mind the breaks. Going back was much tougher. It began misting and I was now soaking wet. Our group for most of the ride ended up being Tony, Gavin, Boris and me with some switching around depending on who was hurting the most.
I was shocked at the amount of climbing in the final ten miles. It was nuts. They were steep and rutted out. Many looked the same and began to play tricks on my mind. I wanted to be back at the car but I was still digging the ride. Soon enough, the Element was in sight! Six hours later, we were back where we started. Soaking wet, exhausted, and smiles all around. Notice all the fog still around.
 |
| Done. So Done. |
LINK to Boris' Strava data on today's ride.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Some changes for 2012
As I mentioned in a previous post there is some sponsor switching around happening this year. I wish I had a dramatic story about being fired or heavily recruited but it really isn't like that!
The Good People sidebar over there to your right (stage left) has dropped and added some names.
Maxxis is a bit of a gray zone. I still have them on the list because I test tires for them but let my sponsorship go for this year. I had the chance to renew and let it go in a fit of guilt since my favorite tires happen to NOT be Maxxis currently. The Panaracer Rampage has been a great front tire and my go to rear is currently an oddball 1.9 Bontrager 29-3. Weird combo but it works and is durable. Who knows, maybe I will someday settle on 2 tires from the same maker I like.
Nuun is gone. I will still use the stuff sometimes but....eh, plenty of other stuff on the market I like well also. Thanks for the help when it was there!
Twin Six is now down at the bottom. Pretty excited about this one, I have some of their stuff already and have applied for sponsorship the past two years. Second time's the charm ya know? Oh, the third...oops. Some T6 darkness is on its way. I have no idea when it will be here. The deal here on kits will likely be T6 stuff for non local races and Bici Coop for the local stuff and CX season. I think that is a good compromise. If not, I'm sure our dark overlord/team manager Alan Babar will let his unhappiness be known.
Bici Coop will still be the main deal for this year. It is a good place and a good group of guys (and gals) to ride with. I have a feeling many of my teammates will be focused on road racing now that cross season is almost over. That's fine, it will be good to have the team at a variety of races and there will be a few of us covering the dirt scene around the Southeast and also a couple WELL outside of the Southeast.
The rest is the same as it ever was but I have to give a special thanks to Richard Clark from Backcountry Research. He always comes through and has been kind enough to get Lee Neal, Thad, and myself into the Dirty Kanza 200 since he is also a title sponsor of the event. THANK YOU. Again.
We have a good group headed out to ride Bamacross Brent's Skyway Epic course tomorrow in the boonies. Stay tuned for a report.
The Good People sidebar over there to your right (stage left) has dropped and added some names.
Maxxis is a bit of a gray zone. I still have them on the list because I test tires for them but let my sponsorship go for this year. I had the chance to renew and let it go in a fit of guilt since my favorite tires happen to NOT be Maxxis currently. The Panaracer Rampage has been a great front tire and my go to rear is currently an oddball 1.9 Bontrager 29-3. Weird combo but it works and is durable. Who knows, maybe I will someday settle on 2 tires from the same maker I like.
Nuun is gone. I will still use the stuff sometimes but....eh, plenty of other stuff on the market I like well also. Thanks for the help when it was there!
Twin Six is now down at the bottom. Pretty excited about this one, I have some of their stuff already and have applied for sponsorship the past two years. Second time's the charm ya know? Oh, the third...oops. Some T6 darkness is on its way. I have no idea when it will be here. The deal here on kits will likely be T6 stuff for non local races and Bici Coop for the local stuff and CX season. I think that is a good compromise. If not, I'm sure our dark overlord/team manager Alan Babar will let his unhappiness be known.
Bici Coop will still be the main deal for this year. It is a good place and a good group of guys (and gals) to ride with. I have a feeling many of my teammates will be focused on road racing now that cross season is almost over. That's fine, it will be good to have the team at a variety of races and there will be a few of us covering the dirt scene around the Southeast and also a couple WELL outside of the Southeast.
The rest is the same as it ever was but I have to give a special thanks to Richard Clark from Backcountry Research. He always comes through and has been kind enough to get Lee Neal, Thad, and myself into the Dirty Kanza 200 since he is also a title sponsor of the event. THANK YOU. Again.
We have a good group headed out to ride Bamacross Brent's Skyway Epic course tomorrow in the boonies. Stay tuned for a report.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross build - Part 1
New bike time. Uh, again.
I had decided a Salsa Vaya would be awesome and really the only thing I was interested in. With all my eggs in the Vaya basket I found out Salsa was sold out of the frameset in my size for an unknown amount of time.
Time to find a new basket. Bike. Whatever.
My buddy Nick stepped up with an offer on his Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross frameset modified by
Waltworks.
Here is Nick's verison of the bike.
http://flic.kr/p/9DNTHw
Off road fixie...what a weirdo.
Weirdness aside, after one ride around his neighborhood I was sold. The brakes stop, it turns nicely, feels stiff enough. Best of all, it matches my two other green bikes. Solidarity and all.
I will update this as I get more parts but here are some pics of it's current state, which could be described as incomplete and unrideable. Thanks to the guys at Industry Nine for the hubs. I need to do a write up on the straight pull spoke MTB wheels I have had for six months soon now that I think about it. Amazing wheels. So much so that I have nothing bad to say, which is rare for me.
Yeah, bike progress:
I had decided a Salsa Vaya would be awesome and really the only thing I was interested in. With all my eggs in the Vaya basket I found out Salsa was sold out of the frameset in my size for an unknown amount of time.
Time to find a new basket. Bike. Whatever.
My buddy Nick stepped up with an offer on his Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross frameset modified by
Waltworks.
Here is Nick's verison of the bike.
http://flic.kr/p/9DNTHw
Off road fixie...what a weirdo.
Weirdness aside, after one ride around his neighborhood I was sold. The brakes stop, it turns nicely, feels stiff enough. Best of all, it matches my two other green bikes. Solidarity and all.
I will update this as I get more parts but here are some pics of it's current state, which could be described as incomplete and unrideable. Thanks to the guys at Industry Nine for the hubs. I need to do a write up on the straight pull spoke MTB wheels I have had for six months soon now that I think about it. Amazing wheels. So much so that I have nothing bad to say, which is rare for me.
Yeah, bike progress:
 |
| I9 Classic front |
 |
| Homemade tools |
 |
| 3x with DB14s to ZTR Arches |
 |
| Disc fork by Waltworks |
 |
| SS or gears |
 |
| Salsa Woodchipper |
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Another one gone.
2011 has come and gone with the quickness.
I meant to write a brief recap post last week but my free time was spent racking up miles for the Rapha Festive 500. The Festive 500 was a promotion by fancy garb dealer Rapha to encourage people to balance out their excess holiday food consumption with an equal helping of miles, er, kilometers. 500 of 'em. The challenge was to finish 500 kilometers between December 23 and December 31.
The prize?
A badge or possibly some clothes.
My plan was to use my smartphone's smart Strava app to track all the miles but I gave up after the first day. I don't know why I didn't want to press that start button the next day but I just couldn't do it. I had some days off work and wanted to ride 500 kilometers for the hell of it, not to win a badge so off I went. I tracked hours in my notebook, same as always.
Yesterday I rolled 70 miles in four and a half hours to make 25 hours for the Festive period. Unless I am just riding slow as dirt this has gotta make 500. Not that it matters, it was fun and all but I'm not submitting anything to the contest.
Oh yeah...2011. Here are the quick highlights, some bikeish and some not so much.
*Surprise 2nd place at Southern Cross. Met the infamous Rich Dillen who turned out to be as tenacious a racer as he is a blogger.
*Escaped corporate hell to go work in a private practice clinic for people who are now like family to me.
*First time at PMBAR. So hard. So fun. Best race of the year. Fear and grilled cheese make for good times.
*My first DNF. 150 miles into Dirty Kanza and faced with impassable roads Lee and I had to ride 30 miles back to town on a dark, 60 MPH two lane. Felt like I could have ridden it all again when I got done.
*Developed a mysterious leg injury of still unknown origin. It is about 90% better currently.
*Built a "real" cross bike, an All City Nature Boy, that is currently serving as my fixie brah ride. I'm still a mediocre cross racer unfortunately.
*Another great year with Melissa, my beautiful and oh so tolerant girlfriend.
I had some great sponsors this year, thanks to all you guys who put up with my stupid questions and pestering.
Aaaaaand for 2012?
Two big gravel death marches will happen. One in Iowa. One in Kansas. Anything else is going to depend on Melissa's school schedule so that will be a wait and see deal. I want/need a road bike to replace the Trek. A Salsa Vaya would be superb. I will continue to ride with the Bici Coop team but there will be some changing of other sponsors.
Happy New Year all, go for a ride or something.
I meant to write a brief recap post last week but my free time was spent racking up miles for the Rapha Festive 500. The Festive 500 was a promotion by fancy garb dealer Rapha to encourage people to balance out their excess holiday food consumption with an equal helping of miles, er, kilometers. 500 of 'em. The challenge was to finish 500 kilometers between December 23 and December 31.
The prize?
A badge or possibly some clothes.
My plan was to use my smartphone's smart Strava app to track all the miles but I gave up after the first day. I don't know why I didn't want to press that start button the next day but I just couldn't do it. I had some days off work and wanted to ride 500 kilometers for the hell of it, not to win a badge so off I went. I tracked hours in my notebook, same as always.
 |
| Year/month/week |
Oh yeah...2011. Here are the quick highlights, some bikeish and some not so much.
*Surprise 2nd place at Southern Cross. Met the infamous Rich Dillen who turned out to be as tenacious a racer as he is a blogger.
*Escaped corporate hell to go work in a private practice clinic for people who are now like family to me.
*First time at PMBAR. So hard. So fun. Best race of the year. Fear and grilled cheese make for good times.
*My first DNF. 150 miles into Dirty Kanza and faced with impassable roads Lee and I had to ride 30 miles back to town on a dark, 60 MPH two lane. Felt like I could have ridden it all again when I got done.
*Developed a mysterious leg injury of still unknown origin. It is about 90% better currently.
*Built a "real" cross bike, an All City Nature Boy, that is currently serving as my fixie brah ride. I'm still a mediocre cross racer unfortunately.
*Another great year with Melissa, my beautiful and oh so tolerant girlfriend.
I had some great sponsors this year, thanks to all you guys who put up with my stupid questions and pestering.
Aaaaaand for 2012?
Two big gravel death marches will happen. One in Iowa. One in Kansas. Anything else is going to depend on Melissa's school schedule so that will be a wait and see deal. I want/need a road bike to replace the Trek. A Salsa Vaya would be superb. I will continue to ride with the Bici Coop team but there will be some changing of other sponsors.
Happy New Year all, go for a ride or something.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Bamacross #6: Sloss Cross 2011
It seems I have missed out on all sorts of happenings in the last four Bamacross races I have been unable to attend.
Yes. I have missed four out of six. I was busy. And lazy. And hungry. Mostly busy.
Boris put it on enough of the Cat 3 racers to earn himself a cat up to the big boys, Travis decided to er...crash the Cat 3 party instead of the 4's, and Will Fyfe sold his cross bike and took up knitting. Two of these three things actually happened.
More importantly, Bamacross has seen the advent of the Beer Fairy. This wonderful woman has taken it upon herself to supply the racers with all the beer and yelling they could ever want... or dread, depending on their level of participation. The series is finally legit.
My cyclocross prep since the first Brookside race had not been the best. By this, I mean I have not ridden the Nature Boy since that race in early October. Oops.
I drove the entire 2 miles to Sloss Furnace this morning to see Kate riding into the parking lot as I was driving in. Meh. We can't all be green. The Singlespeed race started a tad late so I had plenty of time to preride the course. Nothing new, I still can't take a cross bike around a turn for shit. At least I am consistently awkward. The course had a sweet concrete step up I was able to ride instead of run, lots of tight turns on the backside, and some long straight sections that somehow all had a headwind. Man, so pumped we got some long straights with headwinds. I hate it when they forget to put those in.
I was in a daze before the start and let myself end up in the back row. I was at first upset by letting myself fall to the back before we even started but this was short lived. I noticed my watch picking up someone elses heart rate strap which was clocking in at 132 BPM. At the start line. Yikes. I was still pondering who the nervous nellie was when we were released. My back row position provided the perfect set up for a sneak attack hole shot. Not the best tactic to win, but it was time to have some fun. Taking cross racing too seriously misses the whole point.
George, Jimmy, Zach, and Other John quickly made their way around me on the first lap and made me hurt more than I wanted to this early, or at all for that matter. The course was killer and hurting me oh so beautifully. I grabbed my first beer from the Fairy by the Bici tent and made my first goal of the race - take as much beer as I could during the race. My secondary goal should have been to not puke. As we came around the first lap I took my chance to quickly attach myself to George's rear wheel like the wind avoiding leach I am. Karma quickly flew into my face in the form of a big ass lugee George sprayed over his shoulder. I had to pass him...I had to. If someone spits in your face and you don't pass them you might as well pull over and throw your bike in the woods. Seriously.
I settled into a good pace and began to try at catch Jimmy. I timed him at every chance I had and it seemed to be around ten or twenty seconds the rest of the race. He wanted to stay away as bad as I wanted to catch him. At three laps in they called three laps to go. Hell yeah, three more laps. No problem. More beer up. More yelling. More awesome everywhere. What a great crowd.
I wasn't catching anyone but George definitely wasn't catching me with two laps to go. Fair enough. I hopped back on my bike after another run up the stairs and noticed how smooth the float felt on my left pedal. Too smooth. I checked the cleats before the race and thought they were tight enough but alas they were not. Cleat wobbling to and fro, I set out on my fifth lap and tried to up the pace some. My only reward for this was puking on the back stretch of the course. I was spared some humiliation by the fact it happened on an isolated part of the course. I figured this meant I was going fast enough so kept the same pace for the last lap.
I really don't remember anything from the last lap, I just wanted to be done. Soon thereafter, I was done. In so many ways, I was done. Yet again Third place Singlespeeder. I'm okay with that. Sloss was brutal on everyone's bikes today and mine performed great. I have had my concerns about tubeless cross but it sure worked out swimmingly today. Michelin Muds on Stan's rims at low pressure ruled the roost. I bottomed them out numerous times, hit big rocks in turns, basically everything you aren't supposed to do to a cross tire if you want it to live another day. Score.
The spectating/heckling was as much fun as the racing. What an awesome scene this has turned into. Brent had the best podium ceremony I have been apart of and I scored another sweet size Large t shirt I can start wearing when I am fat and forty five. Good job to everyone that was a part of this today and thanks again Beer Fairy. You rock.
Stay tuned to the Bici blog, should be a team rundown in the next day or two.
Yes. I have missed four out of six. I was busy. And lazy. And hungry. Mostly busy.
Boris put it on enough of the Cat 3 racers to earn himself a cat up to the big boys, Travis decided to er...crash the Cat 3 party instead of the 4's, and Will Fyfe sold his cross bike and took up knitting. Two of these three things actually happened.
More importantly, Bamacross has seen the advent of the Beer Fairy. This wonderful woman has taken it upon herself to supply the racers with all the beer and yelling they could ever want... or dread, depending on their level of participation. The series is finally legit.
My cyclocross prep since the first Brookside race had not been the best. By this, I mean I have not ridden the Nature Boy since that race in early October. Oops.
I drove the entire 2 miles to Sloss Furnace this morning to see Kate riding into the parking lot as I was driving in. Meh. We can't all be green. The Singlespeed race started a tad late so I had plenty of time to preride the course. Nothing new, I still can't take a cross bike around a turn for shit. At least I am consistently awkward. The course had a sweet concrete step up I was able to ride instead of run, lots of tight turns on the backside, and some long straight sections that somehow all had a headwind. Man, so pumped we got some long straights with headwinds. I hate it when they forget to put those in.
I was in a daze before the start and let myself end up in the back row. I was at first upset by letting myself fall to the back before we even started but this was short lived. I noticed my watch picking up someone elses heart rate strap which was clocking in at 132 BPM. At the start line. Yikes. I was still pondering who the nervous nellie was when we were released. My back row position provided the perfect set up for a sneak attack hole shot. Not the best tactic to win, but it was time to have some fun. Taking cross racing too seriously misses the whole point.
George, Jimmy, Zach, and Other John quickly made their way around me on the first lap and made me hurt more than I wanted to this early, or at all for that matter. The course was killer and hurting me oh so beautifully. I grabbed my first beer from the Fairy by the Bici tent and made my first goal of the race - take as much beer as I could during the race. My secondary goal should have been to not puke. As we came around the first lap I took my chance to quickly attach myself to George's rear wheel like the wind avoiding leach I am. Karma quickly flew into my face in the form of a big ass lugee George sprayed over his shoulder. I had to pass him...I had to. If someone spits in your face and you don't pass them you might as well pull over and throw your bike in the woods. Seriously.
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| crushing gravel |
Images by Carol Roark York
I settled into a good pace and began to try at catch Jimmy. I timed him at every chance I had and it seemed to be around ten or twenty seconds the rest of the race. He wanted to stay away as bad as I wanted to catch him. At three laps in they called three laps to go. Hell yeah, three more laps. No problem. More beer up. More yelling. More awesome everywhere. What a great crowd.
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| hope in a dixie cup |
I wasn't catching anyone but George definitely wasn't catching me with two laps to go. Fair enough. I hopped back on my bike after another run up the stairs and noticed how smooth the float felt on my left pedal. Too smooth. I checked the cleats before the race and thought they were tight enough but alas they were not. Cleat wobbling to and fro, I set out on my fifth lap and tried to up the pace some. My only reward for this was puking on the back stretch of the course. I was spared some humiliation by the fact it happened on an isolated part of the course. I figured this meant I was going fast enough so kept the same pace for the last lap.
I really don't remember anything from the last lap, I just wanted to be done. Soon thereafter, I was done. In so many ways, I was done. Yet again Third place Singlespeeder. I'm okay with that. Sloss was brutal on everyone's bikes today and mine performed great. I have had my concerns about tubeless cross but it sure worked out swimmingly today. Michelin Muds on Stan's rims at low pressure ruled the roost. I bottomed them out numerous times, hit big rocks in turns, basically everything you aren't supposed to do to a cross tire if you want it to live another day. Score.
The spectating/heckling was as much fun as the racing. What an awesome scene this has turned into. Brent had the best podium ceremony I have been apart of and I scored another sweet size Large t shirt I can start wearing when I am fat and forty five. Good job to everyone that was a part of this today and thanks again Beer Fairy. You rock.
Stay tuned to the Bici blog, should be a team rundown in the next day or two.
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