Whether the weather

Is good

and we're rolling around in the grass


Or wetting a line and getting into an all time day of fly fishing (and subsequently dropping an iPhone in the river).




Or heading to the neighborhood pond for a dusk bluegill & largemouth session. Or whether the weather is turning chillier and we're roasting marshmellows.







And soaking in a bubblebath



And prepping the winter riding boots




Or whether the weather is not we'll weather the weather whatever the weather whether we like it or not.

Like humping it up a BITCH of a run-up in cold, rainy, MUDDY conditions at an EPIC (yes, epic without a bit of hyperbole) Granogue.


For the record I accomplished one of my season goals (top 10 in a MAC race) with a 10th place. Mud & cold are my friends. I also had a blast working the pit and hanging out with the amazing 'cross community. Huge props to the DCCofD for putting on a fantastic event under very difficult conditions!

-- Post From My submerged but still working iPhone

Ed Sander Cross Elite Masters Video

video from the Ed Sander Memorial 'Cross - Elite Masters Race



hard hard race
heavy heavy course
going all out just to keep moving forward

mud!
peanut butter mud
ankle deep in spots
i'm a mudder but conditions like that still scare me

solid start turned to suffering and survival
timely bike change (thank you teammates in the pit!)
led to a second wind and a hard charge the last two laps
to move up from 8th to 5th

4th was right there
but on the start line I had told Randy there'd be no sprinting today
and I'm a man of my word
plus, I was deep deep deep in the cave at that point ;-)

5th place, last spot on the podium
so that makes 3 podiums the last three years at Ed Sander Cross
and I haven't been around to stand on any of them
but it's all good

balance means getting home to hang with the family
and having balance is good
real good

heart warming

'Cross is getting big (Charm City Cross > 600 racers) but the 'cross vibe is still alive!

I <3 the 'cross community. Go Avy!

Photo courtesy of the talented Kevin Dillard.

Charm City > Vegas double

* This year Charm City Cross (9/20/09) will be a UCI C2 event.. Spread the word to your Elite buddies. Southwest flies non-stop between BWI and Las Vegas so you can race Charm City and then catch a 7:00pm flight to land in Vegas at 9:00pm. That gives you a couple of days to do the Interbike thing and get ready for Cross Vegas on 9/23. We might even be able to run a shuttle from our race to the airport.

-- Post From My iPhone

FMB/Fango

Some cool news from Francois at FMB...

INFORMATION

Nouveaux ;

Les boyaux cyclo-cross FMB sont désormais disponsibles avec la nouvelle chape Fango.  Les succés remportés par ce nouveau produit conçu pout exceller dans les conditions boueuses offre une résistance au roulement faible.

New ; The FMB cyclo-cross tubulars are now available with the new tread FANGO.  The success of this new product designed to excel in muddy conditions provides a low rolling resistance.

MABRA Cross Championships

MABRAcross Championships (and State Championships)

Taneytown, MD

Cold, Wet, Muddy day

HEAVY, slippery track

The story of the day was teamwork.  Everyone pulled through and threw down for their teammates.  It feels really good to be part of such a special and supportive group.

Our main goal for the day was to move Auer into the 35+ Series lead.  Marc Gwadz held a 6 point lead going into the race.  Therefore, we needed Auer to finish at least a few spots ahead of Gwadz.  We felt confident that Auer would have a good race, but we also needed to place some guys ahead of Gwadz...no easy task.

As for the race...

Fatmarc made a strong opening statement by coming from back in the grid to grab the hole shot.  I slipped through a couple of tight spots in the opening series of slippery up and down turns to move up to third wheel, right behind Gunnar.  Marc continued to rip it up front riding the mud with just the right mixture of power and finesse.

Halfway through the first lap Auer made his way to the front and then off the front with Gunnar.  Marc had done such a good job of driving the pace from the start that there was now a slight gap behind us.  He and I rode together for a while with Gwadz just a few seconds back. We pushed it hard knowing that we needed to maintain our positions to give Kris a chance at the series title.

Eventually the effort started to take its toll on me and I made some mistakes (mental: unclipping my low-side foot on a slippery off-camber and physical:  eating shit trying to square off a turn too soon on another slippery off-camber).  As I watched fatMarc continue to ride strongly in front of me I saw that the chasers (Fuentes and Root, with Gwadz just a few seconds behind them) begin to close the gap.

I had been hoping to get enough of a gap that I could cruise it in at a solid, but not puke-enducing pace.  It was now clear that I would have to resort to puke-enducing.  I'll just say that I put everything that I had into the last lap and a half.  I was fading and I looked and felt like shit, but I wasn't going to give up.

I had some friends and teammates cheering around the course and by the tone of their voices and their choice of words on that last lap I could tell that it (I) wasn't looking too good.  Dave Fuentes finally caught up to me just past the pit with maybe a minute left to go.  Luckily it was tight from there to the run-up and through to the ensuing slippery downhill.

I figured that I could keep him behind me until we got to the road, giving me time to recover enough to have a shot in the sprint.  Happily it didn't come down to that.  Just after the run-up I heard a noise just behind me.  It sounded like someone stacking it.  I took a quick peak behind me and sure enough Dave had clipped the telephone pole on the edge of the course.

I put my head down and negotiated the next tricky off-camber cleanly to get onto the road with enough of a gap to make a sprint unnecessary.  After crossing the line the cold and the effort hit me.  I felt like shit and was shivering.

After a celebratory muddy hug with Auer and Vettori I stumbled off to find a way to get dry and warm.  Luckily one of my teammates told me to go see Tom McDaniel.  Tom had his usual pimp compound set up with hot shower and warm changing area.  Tom saved the day!  Huge thank you to Tom McDaniel for the post-race support to combat hypothermia!

So I got cleaned up and changed with Kris, Gunnar, and Jan.  I was even forced to see Gunnar's naked ass, though I understand that many before have had that honor.

In the end we did it.   Auer 1st, Gunnar 2nd, Vettori 3rd, Me 4th.  Jan is more of a fan of a fast, dry track but he still gutted it out for 11th and I think a Delaware Gold Medal.   Kris locked up the 35+ Series.  Kris, Marc, and I swept the 35-39 Gold, Silver, and Bronze for MABRA and Maryland States.  It was a good day for the Elite Masters team and a great day for the team all around.   We won more than a few races and medals.  Good stuff.

Postscript:  I had been fighting a cold since Tacchino and a day slopping around in the cold rain and mud at Taneytown put me over the edge.  Instead of a cold it's a chest infection...outta work Monday & Tuesday, cold sweat at night, hacking up brown sludge from my chest.  Nice.  I'm starting to feel a little better today, but training may be out for the week.  I'll have to rally for the last race of the season Sunday in Reston and squeeze something out of the fitness I've built up thus far.

KBS Rockburn Cross in the Baltimore Sun

Janene Holzberg from The Baltimore Sun wrote a nice story about the Rockburn 'Cross race. It's in the Howard County section of today's (11/6/08) paper. Nice photos too, including the one of Thor and I posted above. You can check out the story & photos here. The word is getting out. Cyclocross is taking off.

Rockburn CX - tally

2008 Rockburn Cx 925
Originally uploaded by jandmscott100

So, in the end Gunnar took it wire-to-wire. Aside from that we had a really nice race taking 2nd, 3rd, 8th, and 9th. That was fun. Big thank you to Marc for letting me finish ahead of him for the extra MABRA Series point. ;-)

I wonder if we can wear the Karate Kid skinsuits at Beacon?

Rockburn - Jan!

2008 Rockburn Cx 900
Originally uploaded by jandmscott100

Jan also rode a super race, nursing ribs hurt in a pre-ride crash. He and Marc were all over the chase group and then Jan launched a furious last lap attack up the climb and held it to finish 3rd.

Rockburn - Sandy turn

2008 Rockburn Cx 842
Originally uploaded by jandmscott100

We rode this sandy turn a lot during our Wednesday CX practices learning how to rail it. We also worked on the next fast downhill left-sweeper. That practice really helped me during the race, especially on the last lap when I used that course knowledge to get a gap on Sean and Roger.

It was really cool to race at the park where we do our weekly practices. Nothing like a little home-field advantage.

Rockburn - cruise director

2008 Rockburn Cx 767
Originally uploaded by jandmscott100

Marc marked and controlled the group while Kris went after Gunnar. Tactics in cross are subtle, but can have a big impact on the outcome. Marc rode a very smart race and did a lot of little things that helped our team. That was really cool to be a part of.

Rockburn - Shake and bake

2008 Rockburn Cx 765
Originally uploaded by jandmscott100

Auer and Birner get free of the group and attempt to bridge. Nice ride by both guys! Way to throw down.

Rockburn - hot pursuit

2008 Rockburn Cx 699
Originally uploaded by jandmscott100

Gunnar is just off the front and the chase group is still big at this point. The sand got the tiller treatment this year.

Rockburn hole shot

2008 Rockburn Cx 650
Originally uploaded by jandmscott100

Got the hole shot with the teammates Auer, Jan, and fatmarc (just out of the frame) in good position.

I think Gunnar is licking his chops about the leadout I am providing. ;-)

Rockburn CX Lil Belgians

2008 Rockburn 2 042
Originally uploaded by jandmscott100

Doing a lap with Thor. Too much fun.

Pimp

Pimp
Originally uploaded by cbnystrom

Karate Kid inspired Halloween costumes for Fair Hill 'Cross. From the
sick mind of our fearless leader Kris Auer.

Cyclo-cross Cyclocross C3-Sollay.com

Last wednesday CX practice

Last wednesday CX practice
Originally uploaded by cbnystrom

And a nice present from the crew. Thank you! It's been a blast this season.

DCCX

P1010570
Originally uploaded by homey at the velodromey

flubbed the start
but got back up front quickly
oh boy, i'm on Gunnar's wheel...good place to be
oh crap, i think i just broke my saddle
it's probing my colon
pitting twice during lap one is never good
from way back in the field i worked my way forward
Judd and I worked together well to reel back a few guys on the last lap
and I jumped at the right time to win that group for 17th
not what i was hoping for
but I'm actually very happy with how I raced after the first lap
I learned a lot about moving forward, passing guys, and moving from group to group....it was like bike racing school
I love cross

Monk mode

Monk mode
Originally uploaded by cbnystrom

The Map Room - Chicago

Striving for monk mode while in Chicago for work. It ain't easy. ;-)

Ran over by the Lake yesterday afternoon. The Marathon is tomorrow so I had a lot of people ask me if I was running on Sunday. Ummm, no.

St. Bernardus Abt 12 in the proper glassware at The Map Room last night. That qualifies for monk mode, right? Great bar. Many Belgians and other quality brews on tap. Good music and scene. Seeing a lot of bikes parked out front was a good sign. Thanks for the beta, YDT!

Ran again this morning and I'm getting a massage this afternoon.

Trying to get the work done for the upcoming races. It's a short season.

Missing the family and bummed to miss the backyard beer cross at Ben-fest tonight!

Well, I better start paying attention to this presentation. ;-)

Hagerstown Cross

Breast Cancer Awareness Cross in Hagerstown

I like this race.  Yeah, it's bumpy, but the venue is cool and the event has a good vibe and a great cause.

My hands and back are still sore.  I ran the widest tires I own at a low pressure (not quite bottoming out on the harshest bumps).  I guess I should have run them at bottoming out pressure.

My teammates Bad Andy and Norm saved the day for me by getting my bike shifting again before my race.  I am a novice mechanic, proficient enough to do a lot of things right, but also proficient enough to really mess some shit up too.

Working the pit for the 10am B-Masters race is fun.  A lot of my buddies are in that one so I get to heckle and help out as needed.  Not surprisingly there were a lot of flats by people running clinchers and one guy who had Stan's up some clinchers.

Despite an against training program trip to NYC with requisite drinks and no race prep ride on Friday I had a decent race.  The start was pretty easy and I was 2nd wheel to Bernie Shiao heading into the first turn.  Auer came by soon after and put in the accelerations to form the lead group.  Gunnar Shogren also bridged up there before long.  It was very cool to race with Gunnar, even if it was only for a few laps.  He's super strong, super smooth, and a nice guy taboot.

I dug in and hung on the back of the lead group for a few laps.  Well, it was more like I would dangle off the back and fight back on.  A couple of times Kris slowed at the front to assess the situation which allowed me to get back in.  If my legs were really good I would have gone to the front then and there, but they were just ok so I sat on the back and tried to delay the inevitable.

Of course, sitting on the back just means you'll just be the first one spit out the back and that's what happened.  On the bright side, I had held on long enough that we had created some space back to the chasers.  So, I rode around for some laps, content with my spot in the top ten.  

Eventually, I caught up to Mike Birner who was going backwards after riding really strongly up front for most of the race.  I got by him and moved up pretty close to Marc Gwadz.  I had been content with my spot so it was hard to get the fire back and close the gap.  Mentally I just didn't have it.   So, I dangled behind Anthony Van Lierop, happy to stay a few seconds back.  In hindsight, I'm kicking myself for 'settling' and not 'racing' all the way to the finish.

However, I did have to start riding hard the last two laps as Karl Connolly and Barry Holman were dueling it out behind me and starting to close the gap.  The fear of getting caught got me going again.  They were moving.  Good racing.

Considering how I felt Thursday and Friday I'm damn happy with 7th place.  The guys that beat me are super strong and a lot of the guys that I beat are as well.  Gunnar took the win.  Auer was 2nd after mechanical issues sent him to the pit multiple times.  It was great to see him out there riding strongly after last weekend's scary car accident.  He's the guy that makes it happen for our team!  

Moving up to the Elite Masters has been fun and quite a challenge.  Racing against these guys is making me a stronger and smarter bike racer.  I've still got a lot of work to do.  I'm just happy that I've got such a great group of guys to race against and learn from.

No racing for me the next two weekends due to travel so I need to put in some hard training this week and pack the running shoes for the weekend.