CX Dork

CycloCross isn't far off

2011-07-02T07:08:00.000-07:00

Be Sure to put this race on your calendar

2011-05-02T07:41:00.001-07:00

Ride along in an F1 car filmed by @bsenna on his cell phone! Lots of donuts!! http://goo.gl/3AO68

#project 18 Update

2010-09-09T16:46:00.000-07:00

Link to where its at

I need to get away from this two blog format. I guess I need to figure out blogger's Page feature to consolidate them. Maybe on my next four days off

2010-09-02T06:43:00.001-07:00

The occasional blog update is updated http://bit.ly/bPGNO8

MORE Pre EBAY

2010-08-21T07:06:00.000-07:00

Dura Ace Braze on Front Dérailleur $15
Shimano 600 Cranks 175 square taper w/ BB no chain rings $15
Ritchey Pro Clincher Rim semi aero $10
Mavic MA2 SBP clincher rim $5
2 Specialized PRO Adrenaline 26x2.0 tires $40
SRAM 9spd 12-26 PG-950 cassette $15
SRAM 9spd 11-26 PG-950 cassette $15
SRAM 9spd 11-21 PG-970 cassette $15

Pre EBAY Sale

2010-08-18T06:00:00.001-07:00

This is what I've dug out so far. Get it before I stick it on the EBAY:

American Classic seatpost (300mm) 26.6 $10

Winwood Carbon fork w/ Aluminum crown CX Fork threadless 1" (star nut installed) with 1" threadless stems in 120mm & 130mm & Cable Hanger $65

Chris King 1" ahead set silver $50

Surley 1" steel CX Fork (star nut installed) with 1" threadless stems in 120mm & 130mm & Cable Hanger $30

Rock Shock Judy 11/8" Star nut installed $50

RST Mozo Pro 11/8" (3" travel; elastomer) Star nut installed $20

XT Cantilever brakes Front & Rear set with pads $15

SRAM 9.0 V-brakes Front & Rear with pads & all hardware including noodles $20

SRAM 7.0 Brake levers $10

Bontrager Crowbar Riser Bar & Bontrager 11/8"stem 120mm $10

EC90 Carbon MTB Bar $30

EC70 130mm stem 11/8" $15

Dura Ace 175m Octolink Crank with Octolink BB (no chainrings) $60

Tiagra 9spd STI Shifters $60 sold

Ultegra 9spd rear deraileur $10 sold

Shimano 600 Road brakes with pads $10

Shimano 105 front deraileur 31.8 clamp $10

Kooka Crank w/ square taper BB & crank bolts 175mm mtb no chainrings $10

Shimano PD-M737 clipless mtb pedals(old style but work with new cleats) $10

Truvativ 175 Single Speed Crank no chainring $15

Sun Ringle RPM Lite W/ Ringle Skewers & Kenda Short Tracker tires installed $75

It's HOT

2010-07-18T18:43:00.001-07:00

Do I need to say anymore?
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Tuesday Night TT

2010-07-14T08:18:00.000-07:00

Link to the Results to date & for July 13

Smaller turn out again this week. Times were slower as well as everyone had to fight heat & a pretty good cross to headwind. Stacy Bertsch did set a new women's course record without using a TT bike: 26:23. She would have placed 5th in the Aero division last night!

Remember next week everyone races for FREE & their will be payouts! FREE MONEY! Plus if anyone breaks the course records there is bonus money.

Course Records:
Men Scott Sifferman 22:04
Women Stacy Bertsch 26:23

TT Series News

2010-07-13T04:27:00.000-07:00

FREE MONEY!

Thanks to an anonymous donor:

The last TT(7/20/10) is free to all & there will be payouts as well. Right now the top 3 in all divisions will get cash. If another anonymous donor contributes I'll pay deeper than 3.

FREE MONEY!

TT Series

2010-07-07T15:58:00.000-07:00

Week 2 TT Results

2010-07-06T19:35:00.001-07:00

Week 2 TT Results http://bit.ly/aZLmes

Small turn out this week only 12 racers down from last weeks 19 & no women this week. I guess paying people to race isn't enough to entice them out. People complain all the time about the lack of racing in Springfield. Give them a race & they still won't race. Baffles me. Oh well the people coming out are having some good training & making some cash in the process.

Time Trial Series

2010-06-30T09:29:00.000-07:00

Link to the results for the First Training TT 6/29/10

Course records are now set:
Men's Curt Evenson 23:14.0
Women's Kris Locke 33:48.0

Hope to see everyone next Tuesday!

Let the bike commuting begin

2010-03-09T22:18:00.001-08:00

The weather is good enough. Just light enough still before 7pm for me to ride in without my lights. Plus this wknd daylight saving time starts so it will be light enough in the am ride home to go without lights. With the new job its only 14 miles round trip. Unlike the 52 round trip I was riding to work 2 years ago. Last year I slacked & didn't commute once. This year hopefully I can ride in on my 4 days on till oct. That should save me some gas money. Especially since I read in the paper today gas is supposed to go over $3/gal again.

Ended up blowing off training today. Got a massage & just didn't feel like fighting the wind. Plus I got called into work so had to fit in a nap with getting a bike ready to commute on & dog proofing the fence to keep the neighbors dogs out of my yard. I cheated on the bike & threw a set of road tires on my cx bike till I can build up a full fledged commuter out of my sscx bike.

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Who says Monday's suck?

2010-03-08T08:13:00.001-08:00

Slept in. Drank some coffee. Watched Paris-Nice on the Web. Ate a couple of cinnamon rolls. Drank more coffee. Caught up on Facebook, Twitter, & Google Reader. Now listening to Blip.FM drinking more coffee & blogging. Then off to Lowe's & an afternoon recovery ride.

Good weekend of riding. Sucks its my last weekend off for a month now that the spring races have started. Guess that means more training time.

Saturday after a nap got out for an impromptu FTP test in shorts & a short sleeve jersey! F Yeah! Surprised myself with a 15 watt increase. Guess all the training & weight loss is working.

Sunday met THE Espenkotter on the Highroad for some TT training. 45 miles of hills & TT bike time & my legs were SHOT! I pulled the plug on the planned 4th lap. It would have gotten ugly in a hurry. Still a great day of training.

If anyone is planning on doing the OCC Highroad TT I recommend using a TT bike with Deep dish wheels & a min of 11-25 cassette. I think the winning time will be low 38. I work the night before so its pretty doubtful I'll go. Though it is close & a good course for me.....hmmm

The sum of all the small things

2010-03-05T22:40:00.000-08:00

This past winter listening to several podcasts, live chats, & reading some PRO interviews a common theme emerged. They all talked about racing on the road is hard because all the small things aren't there to make things smooth. Got me to thinking & doing some more reading & asking some dumb questions & some not so dumb questions about the small things.

If you think about it a lot of small things become a big thing. For me I have the big picture stuff but like last season my consistency went to hell. I made myself a basic outline of what I consider the small things. Using this outline i've been making changes to my daily routine and race day prep. I'm sure most of it is nonsense but psychologically it can't hurt.

Here's my outline. I'll expand on some later as I work out more of the trial & error. This is a work in progress for sure & I'll add to or remove from as I go. Some of this I had to implement because of my new work schedule(4on/4off) some because it just makes sense; others because I have a feeling its going to work.

THE SMALL STUFF OUTLINE:

RECOVERY: in the past I considered this to be a day off or several days off. Its bigger than that and like an onion has many layers. This is a huge one & I'll touch on it more in the future. For now besides the days off & "recovery rides".
Compression tights & or socks. I was
a late adopter of this but it seems
to be working.
Ice baths after really hard workouts.
The research is out there.
Massage. This is a no brainer since
my wife is a massage therapist.
Recovery drinks mixes & good old
chocolate milk

DIET: plain & simple my diet in the past has sucked. I've cut out meat & started to really pay attention to what I eat. Its paying off since I feel good & my race weight is getting lower.

SLEEP: this is a biggie for me. Being a nightshift worker sleep is a precious commodity on the 4 days I work. That said some simple routine changes have gained me on average 2hrs a day extra sleep. I know this because I've started tracking my sleep. Small things.

TRAINING METHODOLOGY: this one is hard to explain without getting into a long winded debate with myself. Basically I have become more consistent. I've obviously changed other stuff mostly how I approach a 4 day week. Which for me actually works out well since I can break it down into blocks. Also a new one is train more & race less. This one is forced on me since I only have wknds off every other month.

RACE DAY PREP: this is one I've been playing with for years & probably for years to come. First things that come to mind.
Warm up on the trainer.
Better more consistent warm up.
A place to race prep. I'm getting my
own pop up tent.
Race day hydration. This really
should be its own heading since I
need to work on it on a daily basis.

NOTE TAKING: I've started making more detailed notes in my training log so I can track what is working & what isn't.

I know there is more but I'm starting small to make the sum larger. Already 3 months into the year & I'm noticing changes for the better.

Things I need to address are: core strength & flexibility.
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Update

2010-03-04T19:52:00.001-08:00

I've said it before & ill say it again; since I've got on Twitter don't really have much use for the my old blogs outside of race updates. With no racing for me right now(or boating either) don't see much need to update. Though sometimes I have more going on than 140 characters can communicate.

First poor kid has pneumonia. She's hacking away like mad. What's bad is I'm on shift so Amber is doing the brunt(read all) the nursing/mommying. I have to give it to her she is weathering the storm well. I helped out by picking up coloring books & a dry erase board that has outlines of the alphabet & numbers so she can work on her writing skills. She cam count pretty well & say her alphabet & is wanting to start writing. Anyway she liked it a lot. So hopefully it took her mind off being sick for awhile.

I just hope for Ambers sake she doesn't get sick. I got up & around tonight so Amber could go for a run. Her asthma can't handle cold weather so this is her first run in a few weeks. She took dog #1 with her, which was good for him. Not so good for dog#2, who has codependancy issues & freaked out the whole time he was gone.

Took today off since I slept like crap due to barking dogs & just being overly tired. That ended a pretty good 10 days of training. With descent temps in the forecast I should be able to get some good training in. Especially with a TT day scheduled for Sunday. More training with the Espenkotter & his damn P4 on the Highroad. Going to do some comparisons of road bike to TT bike on the course. Plus fool my legs into some hard efforts. There is even been dome text messaging about a 100% effort to see how bad I can break his legs. Though not sure I have a 100% effort in my legs just yet. Probably should try since I might not race before Hermann.

During the last 10 day block I put up she really good 5min #'s in an 8x5min interval session outside. Seems weird doing intervals outside now that I have become used to doing them on the trainer. But as everyone says you can put bigger #'s up outside.

Let's see what else? Amber & I talked about an East coast VERGE trip in Nov. Looking at two wknds/4 master's races. Spending the week between with some tourist type stuff. She's onboard so need to figure out the dates. I'll get my ass handed to me since I'm sure ill have to back row start but it will be fun to actually race those I follow on TWITTER.

If I had my crap together I could have rode my commuter to work tonight & tomorrow night but alas I don't. Going to have to get it ready since it looks like Spring is almost here. Work is a whopping 7miles from the house so I have no excuse not to ride to work now its warming up. I'm just not hard core enough to do it all winter. Been there done that, it sucks, don't want to do it anymore.

Finally set up Google reader on my Blackberry. All it took was me switching from the native BB browser to Opera Mini 5 beta 2. Let me tell you if your not using Opera your an idiot. It freaking rocks. Now I have more frequent access to Reader I can actually keep up with blogs now. Especially since some of you refuse to use TWITTER & Facebook just pisses me off most of the time.

Which reminds me went to the Dr. The other day. Turns out low tolerance for crap isn't a medical condition. I do think the Dr. was willing to write me a note saying I should work days...that is if I was willing to work days. He also said I shouldn't switch my sleep schedule on my 4 days off. Told him that wasn't going to work for me.

So for now I have made some changes to my routine & have gotten my on shift sleep during the day up to 7hrs from the 5 I was getting. Already made a big difference. I think the extra sleep & my continued focus on my diet will pay off in spades come cx season. 4 days off at a time doesn't hurt either.

Ok I've binged & purged time to let this update go. This update done from my phone so typos & spelling where thrown out the window.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

The Cobbled Classics Begin

2010-03-01T07:28:00.001-08:00

A great review of the beginning of the Cobbled Classics:

How The Race Was Won - Het Nieuwsblad 2010 from Cosmo Catalano on Vimeo.

Summer TT Series

2010-02-17T07:13:00.001-08:00

Think I have found dates & a course(6 mile loop) for Training TT for month before State TT. Now have to see interest & how much effort it will take me. Plus securing venue parking for start/finish.

Video of the Diablo

2010-02-05T08:07:00.001-08:00

thanks Gewilli

Article about the Diavolo aka Diablo

2KX FTP #1

2010-01-30T06:18:00.001-08:00

Switched my FTP testing method for 2KX. I'm using the method described in the Time Crunched Cyclist By Chris Carmichael. Its a 2x8 min method. Last year I used the Joel Friel Confirmation method. http://bit.ly/b6bIDh.

First go around I wasn't impressed with the 2x8. I thought the recovery period between the two 8 min efforts was too long. I did the Friel method a bunch last year & really liked it. Mostly because I could train hard the next day. I'll see how tonight goes(especially after 24hrs w/out sleep & a night @ work).

As for the test numbers were up slightly. Which I guess is a good thing. Not as high as I would have hoped. But I did take 3 whole weeks off due to sickness in December. We'll see if I can keep moving up. I want to gain another 20 watts before my first "A" race in April. Big goal I know but what are goals for?

A Taste of Mol Masters World Championships

2010-01-28T06:21:00.001-08:00

Master's World's 1961-1965

This Years Results

Universal Sports covering Cyclocross Worlds!!

2010-01-26T09:05:00.001-08:00

From Mud & Cowbells

26, 2010

Universal Sports cov ering Cyclocross Worlds!!

This just in to my inbox from my friends at Universal Sports!

Hi Greg!

I wanted to let you know we will be broadcasting the Cyclo-Cross World Championships from Tabor, Czech Republic on-line January 31. The broadcast will be showing the elite men’s and women’s races at 12 noon (ET), while the rest of the races will be offered on demand. We are excited to offer the broadcast for this event again and hopefully highlight more Cyclo-Cross through the World Cup season. Please help in any way you can to spread the word about the broadcast.

The link to the event is this one:

http://www.universalsports.com/news/article/newsid=398217.html

This is one of My Life List Rivers

2010-01-21T08:22:00.001-08:00

The Zambezi

Zambezi - Gopro HD Hero from Peter Csonka on Vimeo.

Random Update

2010-01-18T08:43:00.000-08:00

I've been blogging less & less due to lack of interest & time. Thinking of switching to Tumbler or Posterous. They are more Twitter like & fit my randomness better than actually sitting down & blogging. Anyway I was sitting here catching up on 2 weeks of blogs & felt like I was neglecting mine.

Not much to say really. Lots of indoor riding. Lots of work. A few random health issues.

Ive been able to switch up my sleep from nights to days pretty good & have actually been getting in some good sleep in 2010. Yesterday was a screw up on my part. Slept too much after my final night then couldn't get to sleep last night. Slept in today till 10 so hopefully I can get to bed at a descent hour tonight.

I've been conducting a little experiment during my 4 on work days. One day I'll sleep in my compression tights, the next in my compression socks. Initial data (wattage #'s) is there might be something too this compression thing.

Last Thursday I woke up with a killer toothache. Earliest I could get to the dentist is Tuesday. That makes 6 days of orajel & pain killers. Not much sleep( two days with sporadic totals of 3 hrs) & a lot of grumpiness. I'm ready to have all my teeth yanked out at this point! not really but tooth pain has to rank up there as some of the worse.

I've also developed a random cough. Nothing bad but annoying. I've been reading some studies about health issues night shift workers have. I'm lucky I'm as healthy as I am. Night shift jacks you up physically.

I've been trying to take better care of myself by eating better as well. Amber floated the idea of going vegetarian in 10. I jumped on board to support her(she has had one miss step with a chicken breast). Its no big deal for me since I was a vegetarian for almost 3 years in college. That is till the running miles broke me down. We'll see how long this little experiment lasts. My diet was shit so it can only help with putting another brick in the wall that is all the little things.

10 into 10

2010-01-11T08:44:00.000-08:00

Not a whole lot going on in 10 so far.

I have managed to ride more consecutive days than all of last year. 10 straight vs 9 for '09.

Those 10 rides break down as 8 trainer rides, 1 on the road, & 1 on the mtb. Not much variety there.

I'm just in prep mode mode right now so no real specific workouts yet just getting some ride time. week end:
1/03 4:07:08 (3 days) TSS 199 KJ 2774
1/10 7:02:16 TSS 376 KJ 5115

So far I've spent 3:20:08 @ 220-240 for 29.8% of my training time. That's The Tempo zone for me. Total Tempo is 39.1%. Total Endurance Zone 39.4%. Base, Base, Base.

Real workouts start in another week or so in by build for #Bandcamp10. 3 Days of Big saddle time.

Like clockwork

2009-12-20T18:20:00.001-08:00

Where have I been lately? Let's see. I had a great block of training going. Lots if zone 3 work. Several 3+ hour rides including two 3+ hour mtb rides. Things were starting to click in prep for Band Camp 10.
Then like clockwork my annual bout of plague hit me. Without fail sometime after the 2nd week of December I get suck every year. I guess its my body sending me a great big F you for all the intervals & hard workouts during cx season. Unfortunately this predictability doesn't bode well for me when natz moves to January. Going to have to figure out how to stay healthy another month I guess. That or seal my kid in a bubble so she can't infect me.

I'm on day 7 & seriously considering antibiotics. That's a big deal for me since I'm allergic to the penicillin family. I try & not take them if I absolutely don't have to. Don't want to make what few I can take not work if I have catch some super virus.

7 days down with a lick of riding is wearing on me since I had to pass up a few really nice weather days. Oh well i`ll probably end up scrubbing racing the Jan cx races now & focus on Band Camp & my summer build up to cx.

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2008 Nationals review

2009-12-15T07:43:00.000-08:00

Here is some fun for you. Pre Puke fest flu a roma. Natz last year About the only person I beat was Mud & Cowbell's Greg Keller

Band Camp I mean Training camp 2010

2009-12-15T07:27:00.001-08:00

I've been hinting on Twitter on a possible "training camp" in the early part of 2010 with the primary focus being MTB. Well I've already change the month from January to February. Here are the TENTATIVE Dates 2/19-21 or 2/26-2-28. This depends on me getting a pass from my wife, my work schedule, my motivation, my mtb actually being in a working form, Crusty &/or weather. The basics are riding as much as possible on the Syllamo trails as possible in 3 days. Perhaps some afternoon road rides thrown in for UBER mileage. There will be bike geekdom, FIRE!, snuggling(what happens @ band camp stays @ band camp), trash talking, BEER, more trash talking, BEER, & more FIRE! Here's what get's you an invite. Follow me on Twitter(so you get the details as they unfold). Be willing to put up with my mouth & crusty's mouth( I know this is A LOT!) Show up willing to destroy your legs, your back, & your liver(TRIJONES you get a pass on this). Really that's about it. If you pout up with my 100 tweets a day you more than willing to attempt to ride with me. So stay tuned & get some new mtb tires because we all know how much I love MTB tires.

CX DVD's to make you better

2009-12-15T07:10:00.001-08:00

CHRIS HORNER'S CYCLOCROSS ESSENTIALS from Cosmo Catalano on Vimeo.

More on the Specialzed prototype Tubies

2009-12-10T10:56:00.000-08:00

2009-12-10T09:00:00.001-08:00

Live CX Natz Coverage plus Prizes. http://bit.ly/5mai2g

Live Streaming Video From CX Natz

2009-12-09T11:30:00.000-08:00

Go Here for live streaming video Saturday & Sunday from CX Nationals. Thank You very much Cyclingdirt.org!!!! Remember times are PST.

Well's Specialized "prototype" Tubies

2009-12-09T11:17:00.000-08:00

While Reading a review of Well's Specialized CX rig there was mention of a "prototype" cross tubie.

Specialized tread on an FMB casing. Hmmm He raced these on Sunday to 2nd place in Portland. CX Mag says: "The front tire was a FMB-constructed tubular with Specialized tread that looked like a clipped or well-worn version of the new Captain clincher from Specialized."

Specialized Tech Testing

2009-12-09T10:28:00.000-08:00

Some cool Engineering to test mountain bike suspension.

J-Pows CDale CX Rig

2009-12-09T10:24:00.002-08:00

Link To the Road Bike Action Magazine Article

Road Bike Action Magazine: Cycling News, Product Reviews, Road Bike Test & Features, Race News and Much More!

2009-12-09T10:24:00.000-08:00

Road Bike Action Magazine: Cycling News, Product Reviews, Road Bike Test & Features, Race News and Much More!

2009-12-09T10:23:00.001-08:00

Road Bike Action Magazine: Cycling News, Product Reviews, Road Bike Test & Features, Race News and Much More!

2009-12-09T10:23:00.000-08:00

Road Bike Action Magazine: Cycling News, Product Reviews, Road Bike Test & Features, Race News and Much More!

Andrew Coe Ladies & Gentleman

2009-12-05T14:44:00.000-08:00

When Andrew learns to drive the bike a little better I see UCI points in his future. Still two wins & a 2nd. Pretty damn good.

A Great Great Interview

2009-12-04T07:41:00.000-08:00

If you read one interview this year make it this one from Podium Insight! I've followed Adam Myerson for a long time. But recently I have become a big fan of his. Read more about him here. He is one of the reasons cross is huge in the US.

Part 1

Part 2

The transition phase begins

2009-12-03T18:00:00.001-08:00

Its started earlier this year than I wanted, but I've got to put beans on the table. Unfortunately its my month for weekends. Oh well ill miss state & I wasn't going to natz anyway.

With a high temp of 34 I figured it was time to dust of the mtb for some transition miles. After 1.5 delay for neglecting my mtb I hit the road @ noon. Yes road. Nutt Sac is an easy 40min ride. That's an extra 1:20 spent not driving to destination biking. Plus if I get bored of loops @ Nutt Sac I'm guaranteed 2+hrs. No brainer.

I ended up with 1:40ish of trail time for a total of 3hrs. Toes stayed warm. Legs felt good. Handling much improved from cx racing. Pandora was anti Beatles(a rant for another time). All I ended up with was a bad case of windburn. Plus I came home to a sweet pair of 2XU compression tights(part of the small things make the difference plan).
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The most disturbing CX video of all time!

2009-12-03T13:40:00.000-08:00

Don't Say I didn't Warn You

Friday Jingle Cross Vidyah

2009-11-30T19:04:00.000-08:00

Hopefully next season I don't have to work during Jingle Cross. This year would have been good for me withthe running & mud. My Team Mate Andrew Coe won the 2/3. Wish I would have been there.

Jingle Cross 2009: Friday Night Cross from Gizmo Pictures on Vimeo.

Night ride?

2009-11-30T18:19:00.001-08:00

Its that time. Time to pull out the ssmtb to get those winter rides in. I like to do my winter rides in the dark. Added finger & toes damage. That said I use my light these days a few months @ a time. Stick it back in the box & forget it till it gets cold again. Well that strategy bit me in the ass. My battery doesn't want to take a charge. I have other lights but really like my handlebar mounted Jet light to to illuminate the trail. Then I use a led headlamp for focused light where my head points. I'm hoping a slow trickle charge for 12 + hrs will give it enough juice to get me another season.
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Forrest Gump I'm not

2009-11-29T14:58:00.001-08:00

Every Thanksgiving Day for the last 8 years I've had a little tradition, run the Turkey Trot 5k. Over time Amber joined me. Then my mom, dad, sister & her family have joined us. The last couple of years Ambers sister has joined us for a little stroll. I started out the tradition running for time. The year Amber was prego I walked with her. Because of cx the last few years I've been running with Amber.

This year my cx season wrapped up early so I figured I'd run for time again. Only 1 little problem with that plan. I've ran maybe twice in the last 9 months. Oh well I've always said I can break 20 min at will in a 5k. Time to walk the talk.

Turkey Trot am I laced up my racing flats(I was serious about going fast) loaded up the family and we were off to the races. I got my warm up in by running to the start about a half mile. This was a mistake. It made me peak to soon & cost me at least 15 seconds.

Any way long story short. Guns goes off. I take off settle in with some high schoolers wearing state cx tshirts. I figure if they made it to state they can break 20. First mile goes by in 5:56. Heart rate is up but not maxed. Second mile goes by in 6:22(still below the 6:25 I need to average to go under 20). Heart rate is creeping up to threshold. The third mile is slightly uphill into the wind. Being a cagey old bastard I tucked in to get a little draft saving just enough foe the finish. Mile 3 in 6:22. Sweet. Legs still have a little & the finish is downhill. I cross the line in 19:13. Damn warm up cost me a sub 19.

There you have it sub 20 at will. Though it cost me. I've hobbled around for the last 3 days with legs that feel like I got worked over by a mob hit man with a baseball bat. That which doesn't kill you I guess. Now I have a new mark to shoot for.
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This is what I'm talking about

2009-11-28T14:32:00.000-08:00

Be Nice to us at the back. We give you our lunch money

Time Lapse?

2009-11-22T13:14:00.001-08:00

The CDALE Mafia. This pic looks like a time lapse photo to me. Pretty cool

3am musings

2009-11-22T01:31:00.001-08:00

Its my Friday & I'm seating at lunch wondering about my 4 off(sun-wed this time). What to do? What to do? I'm sure Amber will have a few honey do's. I think I'm going to do some much needed bike maintenance. Perhaps get all my steads rideable. Not happened in a long time. I need to hurry up because its almost ss time. That time of the year when I break out my ss bikes & spin around at low speeds. Last years ss excursions numbered 1. Chain kept coming off. I got pissed & went back to gears. This year I'm hoping to put more effort into it. Not enough effort to want to race ss. That experiment was a failure for sure. Though several years ago I came close to winning a cat 3 race on my sscx. Probably would have got the W if I could have kept my chain on. That leads me into one of my winter projects. To convert my sscx into belt drive. Not any buy it off the shelf belt drive either. One that I fab up. I haven't worked out all the machining details yet but plans are being formed. Ill post my results once done. Well that's enough rambling. I've literally just blackberried this post in.
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Kayak Video Request

2009-11-17T15:02:00.001-08:00

I had a request for Kayaking video from TK. Not the greatest quality but it'll do till I get more footage uploaded. Oh yeah yes this is me in the vid

DeStad Series Final Vidyah

2009-11-17T14:01:00.000-08:00

Taken From JJ's Blog who took it from Bad Goat. I talked JJ through an embed so I figure I can post it too. This is the Sandbagger's race right after the men's Open.

KS State CX, DeStad series finals

2009-11-15T19:44:00.001-08:00

This is just a quick brain dump before passing out. I'll steal some pics & edit it later when I steal me some intraweb.

As most of my 6 readers know I've been stuck in a rut this cx season constanly(or the glass half full version consistently) in 12th place. It was starting to be a broken record. Frankly it was troubling me & was worrying I might be the first racer ever to get fired from a club team. Luckily JB is patient with his riders.

Anyway the weather was cold & crappy with more crappiness falling from the sky. That usually means mud. I don't claim to be a mudder by any stretch of the imagination. I do have some pretty good results in the mud though.

Good start. Jammed up by a wreck. Chased. Duked it out with a few single speeders. Got in a rythem riding safely. Worked my way into 3rd for several laps. Got caught by former road pro. I crashed taking former pro with me. Exchange words with former road pro. He gaps me after seeing the wisdom of my words. I chase him. Catch him. He gaps me. I chase fruitlessly. Hit the bell lap. SKC teammate is closing hard. Ride smart last lap. Punch it to the finish. 4th place. The curse is broke. Start shivering uncontrollably. Get warm. Ran about 23-25 psi in the Challenge Grifo 32's.

Now I need sleep. More later.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Wet CX Sunday??

2009-11-13T20:59:00.001-08:00

Looks like it could be a wet rainy one this Sunday for the finals of the DeStad series. Though it seems the St.Mary's grass drains well so likely just greasy.

I don't even think I'm going to panic & bring my sscx as a pit bike like I have in the past when it looks wet. I know this strategy is going to catch up too me sooner or later.

I decided last year it just wasn't worth it to run two dissimilar bikes in cx. until I can lay may hands on a used Ridley that I can set up as a clone of my race bike I'll be gambling with my pit strategy.

Though in the Midwest we truly don't have a lot of mudfests...thank god. It just adds to the expense of a race. Mud specific tires, new cables, new chains & brake pads add up in a hurry.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Proof is in the ranking

2009-11-12T20:01:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Jeff Winkler I have proof that I'm the worst open cx racer in the KC area. The worst that races consistently anyway. I think I'm going to use my ranking to petition for a downgrade. Its either that or shame enough people into upgrading so that I can get out of the cellar. I knew I should have stayed a sandbagging geaser beater.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Coolest CX pic

2009-11-12T07:18:00.001-08:00

Stolen from Cyclingnews but worth it. This pic rocks!

The seasons over before it really gets going

2009-11-12T06:23:00.000-08:00

This CX season has been one of transition/turmoil for me for sure. Thanks to my job status; first worries about not having one & money that goes with a job. To now working a weird 4on 4off night shift, CX has been pretty much on the back burner. Thanks to winning the DeStad Series last year I got to at least race the DeStad series for free this season. Add in the generosity of my main nemesis Jeff Yielding I got to let Butthead spank me again @ Hermann Cross.

Needless to say this season has had its ups & downs. With my bonehead decision to quit beating up on the geriatric crowd & race Open I've been taking my lumps. My main goal of the year had been to reclaim my Masters jersey from Jeff. Well I emailed Jeff last night to let him know it was his for the taking again since I can't get out of work. More incentive for me to race my ass off Sunday & bring the heat to Jeff's return to Kansas. That now leads me to my more immediate goal of finishing in the top 10 in a race this season. Especially since this is looking like it could be my last race of the season, since I have to work weekends from here on out thanks to how I cycle out on 4&4.

I say oh well. This season has made the fire burn for next season. I've always said a good CX course for me is one that exposes my weaknesses. Last year it was making the hour. I worked hard on that & I'm now on the lead lap. This year its the lack of top end speed. That's one of the MANY things I'm going to work on for next year. Expect a blog update on my goal setting for next season.

2009-11-11T19:47:00.001-08:00

I hate to admit it but i just set a PR for the year by riding 9 straight days. That said its easy to see why i've been so sporadic this year. Need more riding

2009-11-11T19:44:00.001-08:00

Going to try several methods of mobile blogging. Tonights test will be via SMS.

Veterans Cross race report

2009-11-10T19:56:00.000-08:00

Sunday the legs were tired. This being the first double race weekend for me. I had limited expectations. I got to the venue @ St. Mary's early enough to catch a few pre-ride laps. I managed to go through 3 sets of wheel/tubie combos before settling on the Grifo's @ 23 psi(god I love low psi).

Since this is a Destad race I got my #2 call up for winning the Master's series last year. I figured I'd put this too use with the start being uphill on the cobbles. A good start I got. Actually brake checked to not hit the grass in first. No need for the hole shot for me. I guess there was a crash or mishap & it showed since Shadd kept the tempo in check & kept looking back. I couldn't care since I knew I was going to drift backwards.Proof I was sitting in 2nd. FYI I have a taste for the front again & I'm thinking it would be nice to spend more than two laps up there...just sayin. Probably not going to happen in this season of transition.

Anyway I faded. Did a gut check & went into tt mode. Got caught by Cameron riding a fixie mtb. That hurt the old pride a little, but hes a former MTB national champ so not too bad. Stayed on lead lap to get another freaking 12th. That's about all I have to say about that.

Grand Prix HPT

2009-11-10T07:46:00.000-08:00

Pics will have to come later. Turns out the neighbors my be on to me & the intraweb is spotty to non existent...kinda like my CX season(like that transition?).

Saturday I loaded up the family & headed to Topeka, KS. I loved the Grand Prix HPT last year so I really wanted to make the trip again this year. There is something about CX on a car dirt track at night that is appealing to me . Its appealing but not my kinda of racing. I just don't have that kind of top end speed in my legs these days. Not enough crit racing. Guess I'll have to bite the bullet & upgrade to 2's on the road as well so I can get my ass handed to me in crits as well as CX. All in the name of speed I guess.

The course was a little different this year with the addition of some extra grass off track. Good call since it made the lap a little longer, which made my chances of staying on the lead lap better. The start went up a little grass hill with a tight S turn thrown in to snub speed before going around a washed out gravel like ice turn before hitting the track. Then a balls out spin out your biggest gear down wind run on the track. Dive into another loose turn. Go into the wind on the track. Shoot into the bumpy infield. Then a series of turns that actually put you back on your self. This was my favorite part of the course. Then off for a into the wind turn tail wind run down the back side of the track. Then a sketchy turn(Everyone was actually running this) up a set of stairs to get out of the track onto the grass. Next up was a leg sucking slog throw grass. Then up a steep little bitch of a hill back around some chicanes to another stair run to the finish.

Not really much to report on my race. I ran the Grifo XS for the first time this season. I went with 40 PSI(I went for speed over comfort). Made the grass bumpy but manageable & was nice on the track. In the S turn after the start I hit traffic HARD. I smashed into someones wheel & had the favor returned to me from behind. Didn't unclip but all momentum was gone going onto the track. Then I pretty much came unglued & went backwards. After a few laps following faster wheels than mine hooked up with a Colvitia guy. Dropped him then when on a TT to stay on the lead lap. No small feat with a former road PRO & #3 U23 of the USGP up front. I put my head down & stayed on the lead lap. Crossed in 12th my usual place. If there is a 100 people or 12 it seems I'm 12th.

BikeBlogs.com Blog of the Day

2009-11-09T16:21:00.000-08:00

Where was I & how'd I miss this? I was BikeBlog.com Blog of the day October 23

Cross Is Cross in any language

2009-11-06T12:58:00.000-08:00

Gloucester '09 Christian Science Monitor

2009-11-06T12:34:00.000-08:00

Christian Science Monitor does cross

What a train wreck

2009-11-03T16:03:00.000-08:00

As they say on the Twitter: " Internet is HARD." If you run a CX team you should NOT air your laundry on the web. You should Definitely NOT post email threads! I'm shocked is all I can say. I'm not a PRO but I know unPRO moves when I see one. Hopefully this doesn't hurt his Team & his precious sponsor. Some serious BAD press.

Edit: Links are fixed for those who emailed me asking me what the hell I'm talking about. Also let me clarify that I'm not saying who's right or wrong. I think there was wrong done by both parties. I'm saying something like this shouldn't be made public the way it was made public.

Hand Ups in CX?

2009-11-01T10:33:00.000-08:00

Why not should be the question. We can swap bikes almost at will. Why not be able to take a bottle in a designated feed zone? Its one of those UCI rules that make no sense at all. With CX season starting earlier and earlier every year it only makes sense to have hand ups. With the announcement of Sven Nys to the UCI Cross Commission maybe this will change.

"I hope to make a contribution," Nys said. "Do I have issues I wish to raise? Sure. For example, I would like to know what the issue is with getting hand-ups in cyclo-cross. The rules need to make sense ..."

It truly doesn't make any sense. CX is a growing sport & the UCI needs to grow with it. Hopefully they won't throw wrenches at it like they have in the other disciplines.

Vet Cross has moved locations

2009-10-31T08:31:00.001-07:00

FYI Vet Cross is @ Saint Mary's due to flooding.

New Flyer

Windtrainer inspiration

2009-10-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

Getting on the windtrainer while watching Arkayakansas for some afternoon boating inspiration

Midwest sandbaggers

2009-10-28T06:27:00.000-07:00

Are you a Midwest sandbagger? Find out & upgrade.

Crusty Get is

2009-10-25T07:03:00.000-07:00

When Crusty gets his big boy points I bet he upgrades as soon as he crosses the line of his last cat 3 race.

Crusty gets it!

GVATrofee Koppenberg

2009-10-25T06:52:00.000-07:00

Live Coverage on Now!

Cyclingfans Site for more live links

Results Boy talks Upgrading

2009-10-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

ResultsBoy talks Upgrading:

Read the link. Very appropriate for whats happening in the Midwest right now. There at least 5 guys in Cat 3's right now in the Destad series that should cat up & race with the rest of us pack fodder in the open race. It just makes for better racing. Who cares if you cat up & are struggling for a top 20. The more people in the race the faster you get & the better the racing action is. No Open race time trial death march waiting to get lapped. Full blown racing for 20th.

Granted you get a pretty big prize for winning the overall in Cat 3's(free entry into all the races the following season) but take my example & move up. I was probably one race away from clinching the overall cat 3 series win two years ago. Guess what I did? I didn't poach me another cat 3 win. I moved up & started taking my lumps. Trust me I've taken a lot of them. I'm happy now to stay on the lead lap. Now I'm working on getting me a top 10(baby steps). I know the likes of Shad, Winkler, Tilford, & even Butthead are going to throttle me but I still toe the line because I love racing CX. I really love going fast in a CX race. Even though I'm mid pack we're still going pretty damn fast. And when you get down to brass tacks that's what its all about having fun. Because CX freaking rocks!

Does everyone in Oregon race CX?

2009-10-22T22:47:00.000-07:00

Watch some of the videos in this link. These are A races in the Cross Crusade series. Entire entry for all classes 1300+!! Crits in Missouri don't have that many entries.

DeStad Series Points

2009-10-22T12:22:00.000-07:00

Through the first two rounds

I Might be able to pick up some big points this weekend.

John Jones is on it

2009-10-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

He sent me this video. Both are from Chris Cross

Holy Crap

2009-10-22T09:25:00.001-07:00

Got this link from Twitter. This dude has skills!

Moto Pacing

2009-10-22T09:09:00.000-07:00

That's me sneaking in behind Marco Pinotti & George Hincapie @ the 2008 ToM TT. Little warm up session. Pic From CutGrass Farms. Instead of Kayak lessons I think Hogan needs a CX Bike. Get on one & I might be talked into saving you from drowning on the river.

Why don't I have these socks?

2009-10-21T15:44:00.001-07:00

What can I say I like Adam Myerson

2009-10-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

Cycling Videos on CyclingDirt

Check out the kick ass hat. Listen closely becomes there is some really good training advice hidden in this interview. Follow Adam on Twitter as well.

As to not hijack Winklers Blog

2009-10-18T06:08:00.000-07:00

His comments are here:

Below is my reply.

Do you know how Points are effected by doubling up? Or even if a Masters races only Masters then jumps in an open race @ the end of the year? I was thinking about htis last night.

The simplest method seems to be like VERGE points(Though I really like Crossresults.com). The first race is by registration or last years overall. 2nd race on by points total. Give everyone who finishes in the top 20 points. That's your call up. To me the simpler it is the more likely the promoter is going to do it.

The caveat to this would be the multiple series' in KC. Thus back to cross results.com. Then mid season upgrades as well. This seems like a topic for post race beers. TO be hashed out in a round table/cage match free for all. But I'm glad someone is addressing the issuing since as the fields grow some means of orderly call ups will have to be implemented.

Call Up Procedure Proposal

2009-10-17T11:38:00.000-07:00

Click on the link to comment. From Jeff Winklers Blog.

I think this is a great idea. That said most people will probably disagree just since I support it. But still its a great idea.

Call Up Procedure Proposal

Friday, October 16, 2009

I have a proposal for how we do Call Ups for all local races. Comments are welcome.

Here it is:

Step 1: Maintain a list of all racers who have ridden in local races during the current season. This would need to be done for every category that has more than 8 riders on a regular basis. This is simple enough, just maintain a spreadsheet for each category and make sure it is updated weekly.

Step 2: Run the category lists through the Seed Racers function at crossresults.com

Step 3: Post the "Call Up List" for each category. Riders and officials use this list to call up the first one or two rows.

There is no reason why this couldn't be done and could probably be largely automated. I volunteer to help get this done if the promoters & officials sign on.

The obvious issue is that not all riders on the list will show up to a particular race. However, this can either be ignored---names are called until the first two rows are full, or the officials can cross names off the Call Up List during registration/roll call. This might add a few minutes to the start procedure, but it doesn't seem like it would be too much.

I also propose that we do some test runs on a limited basis.

Here's the "Call Up List" for the Open (P/1/2/3/4) field as of October 11:

1 Steve Tilford
2 Brian Jensen
3 Nathan Rice
4 Joseph Schmalz
5 Jonathan Schottler
6 Shadd Smith
7 William Stolte
8 Jeff Winkler
9 Cameron Chambers
10 Joshua Johnson
11 Chris Wallace
12 Shad Schreiner
13 Troy Krause
14 Nate Woodman
15 Andrew Coe
16 Thomas Price
17 Adam Mills
18 Jay Strothman
19 Mark Studnicki
20 Mark Nagy
21 Scott Dunsmuir
22 William Gault
23 Tim Kakouris
24 Tige Lamb
25 Devin Clark
26 Kevin Wilkins
27 Nicholas Coil
28 Bill Marshall
29 Aaron Elwell
30 Scott Ogilvie
31 Douglas Plumer
32 Alex Grman
33 Ethan Froese
34 Alex Edwards
35 Joseph Fox
36 Jeff Yielding
37 Casey Saunders
38 Michael Gaherty
39 Shea Bergman
40 John Giles
41 Britton Kusiak
42 Randall Crist
43 Benn Stover
44 Mark Smelser
45 Matt Gilhousen
46 Austin Elser
47 Luke Lininger
48 Mark Cole
49 Eric Struckhoff
50 Robert Cummings
51 Elliot Usher
52 Kenneth Harkin
53 Jason Ozenburger
54 Matt Bougher
55 Theodore Fleming

Thoughts?

2009-10-17T11:28:00.001-07:00

Live UCI @ coverage of Granouge on NOW
http://bit.ly/6y0YB

Finally I have me some victims!

2009-10-17T08:33:00.001-07:00

I still Suck though.

Pop over to Mr. Winkler, Esquire to post your thoughts on using Crossresults.com for ca

ll ups @ local midwestern cx races.

CX Warm up Muzac?

2009-10-17T08:12:00.001-07:00

Day 2 of UCI3

2009-10-16T12:10:00.000-07:00

Podium Insight Vids are good!

How to work the Pit in CX

2009-10-16T08:07:00.000-07:00

I hate that this vidyah is about Feldman but a really good how to for your pit crew:

CX Power Rankings

2009-10-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

Power Rankings

Damn You Bill Marshall!

2009-10-13T08:10:00.000-07:00

You are now my nemeses. WTH? I have no victims? I suck hard. I have a new goal, beat Marshall & get me a victim. Any takers on being my victim? Yielding?

Gluing Tubular Tires

2009-10-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

The best How To Article I have seen on the art/science of gluing tubulars. Read closely there will be a quiz.

The actual Chris Cross Report

2009-10-12T09:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the power of the intraweb(maybe) I got a front roll call up (sometimes you should be careful what you wish for I guess)which helped with my one & only race goal; Get a good start. Well I take that back I had two goals; the other take a beer hand up from Crusty He informed me via Twitter this was in play.
Mark Studnicki has a good vid of the start. I managed to slot in about 6 or so which in the "elites" seems to be a better than average start. Got to work on my warm up routine more I guess. The first two laps were pretty much a suck fest till I managed to settle in. I worked into a group with Marshall, Alex Edwards(KCCX), & T-Nuts. Somewhere along the line Adam Mills worked in with us. Marshall was killing it on the bricks pulling for his boys. I just sat in & caught the free ride.

After some crashtasticness the group was whittled down to Bill -where are my KCCX socks?-Marshall, & T-Nuts. I figured I was pretty much screwed. T-Nuts has about 10 million miles in his legs this year & Marshall was slowing up waiting for the crash brothers. I told Bill do what you have to since I didn't have the means to bridge up to Tom Price. I just start riding tempo & biding my time for the inevitable.

The crash brothers caught back on & waited about a half lap before the volleys started. Mills punched, I bridged up, he punched it, I bridged up, he punched, I was done! Edwards rode across to him. Then Marshall bridged up leaving me to pass the time with Troy. I guess Marshall felt guilty or spent & came back to us. Bill is a class act racer so I knew I'd get no help from him chasing his teammates. I put my head down & pulled for a couple of laps till the finish.

I'll tell on myself here but hopefully I won't get relegated like my teammate did in the 3's race for a beer hand up. I took one with two to go. A FULL PBR. Next time dump some out Crusty. I was going at least 15(UHHHMM kph) up that hill. Perfect handup though. Beer flying everywhere. I took a big swig & hucked it since there was still racing to be had. Turns out KfC took a beer hand up in Cinci after giving a CX clinic in the UCI3. All the cool kids are doing it. Anyway turns out I gave Bill a pretty good shower which explains his comment about the hand up being AWESOME.

We hit the last section before the cobbles & Mills started yelling something. Turns out he was tell Bill he was going to wait for him. Those guys SUCK!(sarcasm before anyone gets panties in a twist) I had nothing left anyway & was lucky to hold off Troy. I'll take 12th since 10th was insight. I'll get my top 10 in "elites" before long.

Jeff Yielding made the trip over. After the race we were chatting & he mentioned how much faster KC CX racing was than the Lou. I've been saying this for awhile now. If you want to go fast come to KC. Right now there are some fast dudes riding the piss out of CX bikes. "elites" this year is a whole new ball game.