Grote Prijs

Racing CX at night is about as much fun as you can have with your lycra on! I really have not found the time to get up to some of the regional races, so this was a first for me and it was a blast.. Had the temperature been colder I might be singing a different tune, but it was perfect.

The course was pretty much the same as last year; Fast!! As mentioned in previous posts I do prefer a bit more climbing in CX courses, but this was fun none-the-less..

Lined up with the 3/4's thinking it was going to be a small field after looking at the Boxing Day X results, but this was not the case. 26 people lined up which surprised me a little bit.

The combination of being a shorter 30min race, relatively flat with quite a bit of pavement and gravel I knew it was going to be hard to keep up with the roadies on this one. The start was on the pavement and I hit the grass about mid pack where the lead group took off with about 6 or 8 in the group. I told SC before the race I was just going to hold his wheel and have him pull me the whole race, but that did not work out for me. Too bad too, he won the race.. Good job dude, you better be careful or were going to see your mug all over bagger....

Anyway, I was not feeling too bad considering I have not raced in about a month, I started picking off folks who had fallen off the lead group. Most of the race I ended up like most of my mountain bike races, too slow to be in the lead group, but fast enough to be ahead of the slower traffic. So I find myself in no-mans land riding by myself.

After a couple of laps I did get some company, Roger and Mark came by battling for 1st and 2nd in the Singlespeed race. Considering they started after us the thought of them catching me and leaving me behind did not settle well with me so I made sure I hung out with them for the rest of the race. The three of us did about 3 or 4 laps together when Mark finally faded a bit. I am sure having his front end slide out every lap did not help his cause very much.

Last lap Roger took off, I had a 3/4 guy just a little too close for comfort so I headed off to catch him. Got on his wheel and cruised in to finish 8 out of 26. RESULTS HERE

I did notice that a couple of laps into it KBrocket was not that far behind.. I am not kidding you fellas, if your not careful she will be beating you soon, she is getting better every month... She already beat half of you last night!!

After the race I stuck around for a little and watched the Open dudes... You know, most of the time when you watch people race that are faster than you. You can't really tell just by watching from sidelines. Dude, no joke Tilford was flying out there, it was quite a display..

I did get a (rather poor quality) video of Tilford and another guy going over the barriers which was impressive. The guy that came in 2nd, he was flying over those things...

Making it look easy... And fast...

Tilford

Looks like Ethos had another great showing with TDonn and JPB. Good job fellas!

If you want pics, go to Mark Breeding's FB

Merry Christmas!

I hope Santa brought you all the bikes/parts/tools/sealant/lube/jackets/booties/gloves/helmets you desperately need!! And in Carbon Fiber!!! Your going to be so much faster next year now that your bike weighs 600 grams less... I Know!!

And I hope your doing a better job of resisting the sugar cookies than I am.... Weight has skyrocketed!!!

Bike Forum Post, huh...

Saw this little gem over on Zeke's site, who got it from Surley... I don't and have never worked in a shop, but been around enough to find it funny.

Some answers to just about any bike forum post I’ve ever read

Thursday, June 16, 2011

posted by Skip Bernet

If you think your bike looks good, it does.

If you like the way your bike rides, it’s an awesome bike.

You don’t need to spend a million dollars to have a great bike, but if you do spend a million dollars and know what you want you’ll probably also have a great bike.

Yes, you can tour on your bike – whatever it is.

Yes, you can race on your bike – whatever it is.

Yes, you can commute on your bike – whatever it is.

26” wheels or 29” or 650b or 700c or 24” or 20” or whatever – yes, that wheel size is rad and you’ll probably get where you’re going.

Disc brakes, cantis, v-brakes, and road calipers all do a great job of stopping a bike when they’re working and adjusted.

No paint job makes everyone happy.

Yes, you can put a rack on that. Get some p-clamps if there are no mounts.

Steel is a great material for making bike frames - so is aluminum, carbon fiber, and titanium.

You can have your saddle at whatever angle makes you happy.

Your handlebars can be lower than your saddle, even with your saddle, or higher than your saddle. Whichever way you like it is right.

Being shuttled up a downhill run does not make you a weak person, nor does choosing not to fly off of a 10 foot drop.

Bike frames made overseas can be super cool. Bike frames made in the USA can be super cool.

Hey, tattooed and pierced long shorts wearin flat brim hat red bull drinkin white Oakley sportin rad person on your full suspension big hit bike – nice work out there.

Hey, little round glasses pocket protector collared shirt skid lid rear view mirror sandal wearing schwalbe marathon running pletscher two-leg kickstand tourist – good job.

Hey, shaved leg skinny as hell super duper tan line hear rate monitor checking power tap train in the basement all winter super loud lycra kit million dollar wheels racer – keep it up.

The more you ride your bike, the less your ass will hurt.

The following short answers are good answers, but not the only ones for the question asked – 29”, Brooks, lugged, disc brake, steel, Campagnolo, helmet, custom, Rohloff, NJS, carbon, 31.8, clipless, porteur.

No bike does everything perfectly. In fact, no bike does anything until someone gets on it to ride.

Sometimes, recumbent bikes are ok.

Your bikeshop is not trying to screw you. They’re trying to stay open.

Buying things off of the internet is great, except when it sucks.

Some people know more about bikes than you do. Other people know less.

Maybe the person you waved at while you were out riding didn’t see you wave at them.

It sucks to be harassed by assholes in cars while you’re on a bike. It also sucks to drive behind assholes on bikes.

Did you build that yourself? Awesome. Did you buy that? Cool.

Wheelies are the best trick ever invented. That’s just a fact.

Which is better, riding long miles, or hanging out under a bridge doing tricks? Yes.

Yes, you can break your collar bone riding a bike like that.

Stopping at stop signs is probably a good idea.

Driving with your bikes on top of your car to get to a dirt trail isn’t ideal, but for most people it’s necessary.

If your bike has couplers, or if you have a spendy bike case, or if you pay a shop to pack your bike, or if you have a folding bike, shipping a bike is still a pain in the ass for everyone involved.

That dent in your frame is probably ok, but maybe it’s not. You should get it looked at.

Touch up paint always looks like shit. Often it looks worse than the scratch.

A pristine bike free of dirt, scratches, and wear marks makes me sort of sad.

A bike that’s been chained to the same tree for three years caked with rust and missing parts makes me sad too.

Bikes purchased at Wal-mart, Target, Costco, or K-mart are generally not the best bang for your buck.

Toe overlap is not the end of the world, unless you crash and die – then it is.

Sometimes parts break. Sometimes you crash. Sometimes it’s your fault.

Yes, you can buy a bike without riding it first. It would be nice to ride it first, but it’s not a deal breaker not to.

Ownership of a truing stand does not a wheel builder make.

32 spokes, 48 spokes, 24 spokes, three spokes? Sure.

Single speed bikes are rad. Bikes with derailleurs and cassettes are sexy. Belt drive internal gear bikes work great too.

Columbus, TruTemper, Reynolds, Ishiwata, or no brand? I’d ride it.

Tubeless tires are pretty cool. So are tubes.

The moral of RAGBRAI is that families and drunken boobs can have fun on the same route, just maybe at different times of day.

Riding by yourself kicks ass. You might also try riding with a group.

Really fast people are frustrating, but they make you faster. When you get faster, you might frustrate someone else.

Stopping can be as much fun as riding.

Lots of people worked their asses off to build whatever you’re riding on. You should thank them.

Ice and Bikes Don't Mix

Very well anyway...

Went out on my usual early morning ride and it was a little slippery out there.... Hit the deck twice before I decided to head home before I slip and slide into oncoming traffic..

I was not able to get my scheduled hard ride in because of it... I guess there are uses for trainers after all... I just can't bring myself to do it man.. I loath those things! Just sitting spinning in the basement, I get bored at the site of it...

Cold I can handle, Ice, not so much... Bummed about my last two rides now.. At least the scenery was beautiful.. The pictures do not do it justice...

 Only three Cross races left (I think) of the season. I am going to try and hit up two of them.

 Boxing day Cross is out for me... December 26th

Grote Prijs - December 28th

Cross off The Old Year - December 31st

Then, that's it for racing til spring.. Unless I can get away to the Pirate's little CXC Party! We shall see......

Owe Crap, its Cookie Season!

Its that time of year!!! Muuussst resist da cooookies!!!!!

Man! This bad boy assortment is just sitting at home, good thing I am at work all day today.. Cross has got me rather lean right now, so you KNOW I am OCD'ing these... Once I get started I will eat these things till I get sick...

On another note, man this season is bout done... Got two more cross races on the radar and that's it for the year... Time to refocus on my true love; That dirty, dirty, singletrack...

Which brings us to the offseason... Jan, Feb, Mach... Obviously, some of the intensity in the training will be reduced and longer rides will be incorporated...The only decision that really needs to be made is whether to take any time off or not, and if I do, how much?

Any suggestions? What works for you?
****Disclaimer; if your not a stupid fast dude, I will take all advice with some skepticism...

MO State CX Mudfest!

Was so excited to race on Sunday! This being my second year of racing cross, I have never raced in "cross" conditions before... Last year Vet Cross was getting nasty but I raced too early for it to get slippery...
And fun it was!! Well, until last night taking two bikes apart to get all the grass out of my hubs/derailleur/crank, etc... The power-washer could only clean so much...

I arrived in time to get a proper warm up for the 3/4 race, but since I am susceptible to peer pressure, Roger convinced me to double up the SS and then turn around and the 3/4s right after... So got my numbers and had just enough time to pin them on before the race started... I arrived last, about a min before we took off... Owe well, not the first time nor the last probably....

We are off and I see Roger take off like a rocket ship... Yah, I will see you later dude... For some reason, I did not quite have the fuel to the fire that day... Basically both races I rode well within myself, did not really dig to deep on either one for some reason...

Anyway, conditions were crazy muddy... I held on within range for about a couple of laps before fading, then it started to get kind of ridiculous. After two laps the mud (sticky as peanut butter) started building up so much you were basically riding with the breaks on. You know, it wasn't riding your bike that was the hard part, its picking up a 50 pound bike over the barriers and the log that was a bitch. From there I just put it back in cruise control for the rest of the race with the 3/4's up in 15min after the race... My homies Roger and Jesse killed it this race with a 1st and 3rd! Roger is flippen killing it at cross, pretty impressive and Jesse is always strong, killing it without even training... Jerks for sure!!!!
Owe ya, I ended up a mediocre 7th... My first SS race in a while and you know what? My 1X9 has turned me into a spinning little beeoch, I can't hammer the 36/16 like before and I am getting schooled.... Owe well... This is all to keep me in shape for MTB anyway...

3/4's up next, switched bikes, got on the Crux with my disk breaks...Was dying to see how this rig was going to work in the mud...

Started in the back, again... Took off and immediately noticed a difference between my two bikes... The Crux was awesome...
The tire clearance you get (disk breaks) without the canti breaks is unparalleled. The mud buildup was simply not there.. I also felt more comfortable spinning (I know! pathetic)..

My results did really not reflect the better ride with another mediocre finnish in 10th.. I could basically ride about all the course on this bike. Well the deep mud behind the bmx track was a little more difficult and I only made it like 3 times... But made it however...

I did see a bunch of DNF's with derailleur problems.. One dude told me he DNF'd by choice because he did not want anything to happen to is derailleur? Uh, dumbfounded look on my face I am sure...Anyway, perhaps next race I will dig deep for a decent position, but you know, I had fun and I forget about that sometimes...

I left early to get my little man, but saw TDonn pulled out 2nd in the open... Nice dude!!!

Also, I do have to note that the infamous Burnsey (Pirate) made a cameo appearance!!!! Great to see you out there!! Dude, I don't know what happened to all the beer hand-ups? This whole season they have been missing... We need Team Seagal over here more I guess.....

Pretty sure Ethos Racing got some State Championship Jerseys in there! I lost track of everyone out there.... Damn I want one of those so bad...... One of these days....

RESULTS

PIC's  -   More PIC's   &   More PIC's

Till next time.... On another note, MTB race schedules are starting to be put together! Exciting!!

Mudfest

Report from Sunday coming soon...

Before

After