Veldrijden is Here!!

Not that it has ever left the forefront of my thoughts, but the race season is right around the corner now. Sure other parts of the country have already held a race or two, but the first one in our neck of the woods is a night race in wine country this Saturday.

Its been awhile since I've posted and there are a million things to talk about cross-wise. I'll have to organize the mess upstairs before I start babbling randomly. MTB Done, Road Done, Cross (sly smile) Just getting Started. Preparations have been underway for months, but its Go-Time this Saturday. Still got a few items to check off the list, but generally ready. The Hermann Invitational Night race should be a blast, except for the 60+ stair climb every lap. That's gonna kick me right in the jimmy, especially with the cast of characters on the start list. No call up for me, I should have thrown in my 2006 Missouri State CX Champ credentials and I'd have gotten up to the 2nd row. Oh well Huppity Hup!

Wereld Kampioenschap and Belgium

It's so hard to believe that last week I was in Belgium racing my bike in the Masters World Championships of Cyclocross. What an experience!! I met so many cool people along the way and learned a lot too. The race itself was only an hour out of the whole trip, but will leave a lasting impression in my mind forever. The two days leading up race I was able to ride the course quite a bit as it was right out the back door of our cabins. It was very technical with tight twisty singletrack, roots, drops, bermed corners, and of course SAND, SAND, and more SAND.

Race day started with an early jump down to the registration place to get signed up. The place was bustling with bikes all over outside and inside was packed with cyclists. The officials said my age-group was missing the shoulder numbers so to come back in 30 minutes. I hung around and waited for a minute and happened to be first in line... receiving none other than #1. How cool! I went back and ate breakfast, had some espresso and prepped for the day. I was able to watch some of the other people in our group race in the morning and the lines had significantly changed from the day before. Some sections were now rideable where they weren't on Friday. The weather was super windy, light rain, and around 40 degrees. I did my warmup on the roads around the park for a solid 30-40 minutes and seemed to be as ready as I was going to get. Typically I don't have jitters before a race, but I did that day. I had to keep telling myself to focus, calm down, and that its just another race... do what you do and race your race.

The whistle blows for people to come to the bullpen for callups. They start calling random numbers to the front row. Mud&Cowbells Greg gets a front roll callup as does his buddy Kurt. Many more names and numbers called, then finally... #1 Kyle Bush United States in a heavy Belgian accent. I was back in the 4th row and was just hoping to make up some ground. I chatted with a nice guy next to me for a minute as the rest were getting called... David Lenoir who was wearing a French national skinsuit. One minute. Its on now. TWEET! We roar down the wet pavement for a solid 400-500 meters into the hard 90 degree left. I'm still in good position and make the turn, no crashes yet. Into the sand, made it about 15 feet before I was forced to dismount and run. I felt like I passed 50 people running, but surely didn't. Got around the corner and back on the bike, ride the beach section and then blast thru the deep sand up onto the single track (people were going down everywhere). Over the first root drop, twist turn, more sand, another root drop, more sand. Still holding solid but the guys in front of me are bobbling a little so I give some room. Get passed by a couple guys near the pits. Up the first runup and remount on the top "hump"... get all jiggy down the backside in the sandy soil. Down the dropoff into the sandtrap and ride it! Up the next runup, more sand then more twisty single track back to the pavement. I jam it on the pavement and pass a couple guys and really hauling. Lap 1 down... only 40 minutes to go. I really help my position until the last lap when my lower back was hurting pretty bad and I got sloppy. I was riding the sand almost all the way to the beach, which is a feat in and of itself, which probably contributed to my lower back pain. I had been taking a left line thru this one deep sand section and this time I got pulled far left and was going off-course right at one of the big wooden posts. I almost had to leap off the bike to avoid it by somehow missed it and went thru the tape. Back on course and two guys had passed. Made it around to the pavement and the leader laps me at the start/finish. 37th place out of 53 starters. Can't say it was my best performance, but I did beat some of the Euros. Not last, but did get lapped which I was really trying to avoid. I was there amongst Belgian champions and former world champs so considering, I'll take it.

All in all my most amazing cycling adventure/experience ever and can't wait to do it again next year. What I will do different is to go earlier and race more over there. The courses are different, way more technical, and the pace is uber fast. Starting to plan next year NOW! After the race I caught up with Monsoir Lenoir and exchanged emails, saw Greg and crew and got the debrief. Just a well run event with actual certificates of participation for all the racers. All I can say is get over there and do it. Already have people onboard for next year.

Almost There!!! Belgium within reach

Its almost 1am right now and I just got done with all my packing and prep. This included clearing the camera and video camera memories, etc and needless to say getting all the bike shit together and boxed up. We leave tomorrow morning for the journey of a lifetime. It's going to be sick!! Alison, my wife, had all her stuff ready by mid-day, but of course I had to get a 2 hour ride in this afternoon and then tear down the bike, get it packed. I was busting balls on G Keller last week about all the stuff he took, only to find out all my stuff wouldn't fit (I only took half what he did). I'm like a little kid on the Christmas eve right now and can't even think about sleeping. The alarm is going off at 6am, so its time to hit the sack, at least lay down and rest. I want to be able to sleep on the plane tomorrow evening so this might not be so bad.

Peace out my Americano brothers, its off to the Motherland of Cyclocross. KC to DC to Brussels to Mol... Destination Zilvermeer. Break off some Belgie legs, I hope. My new favorite quote was found the other day on this guy's blog when I was randomly searching around.... "Eff 'em I say. I'll crush their souls and ride away on a bike made of their bones." This was written in the context of going to Worlds, so it is so fitting.. I love it.

T-Minus 5 days and Counting- Breathe

Holy Sheetz! The days are whizzing by like telephone poles on a roadtrip. I have 5 billion things to do before lift-off and not getting crap done. Right now work is sweating me bigtime, it feels like a wrestling match where you're being pinned and they guy is squeezing the breath out of you and you're just waiting for the slap on the mat. Or maybe better when a wave is holding you down,washing machine style, you can see the light of the surface but you can't yet take a breath. Just too much to do before I even think about packing, working day and night, but the end is near. My bike is still a wreck from last weekend, gave it a quick bath, but it's lookin' ugly and muddy. Need to clean it up pristene, pickup a new chain, ....blah blah blah the list goes on.

My UCI license finally arrived and the foreign permission letters, so now just have to get a photo affixed and laminate. Another menial task to take up some of my scarce minutes. The grandma is coming to stay and watch the kiddos while were gone, so that is making the whole trip possible. Just have to get through another 2 days of work, and take a huge breath before the next wave pushes me under, packing. I can see the light.

Vindication by Domination - Grote Prijs

After taking my lumps at Nationals I had to get back on the horse and keep Belgium in my sights. Watching what I ate (not so much) and training during those cold snowy days of Christmas has paid dividends. Last week I raced with the Elites (1/2/3) at the Epic Holiday cross race and the conditions were pretty harsh. It was cold and icy snow on the ground mixed with sandy mud. I put in a good showing and hung in for a 4th place finish.

This week however was the final race in the De Stad Cyclocross Van Kansas race series, and I was leading the points race. As much as I wanted to do 2 races, my race was the last of the day and didn't want to risk my chance at winning the series. Our Localcycling.com team puts on this race, so we were out the day before doing course setup and it was going to be a muddy muddy race. Especially being the last race of the day, that course was going to be chewed up by the time I hit it. The start was fairly fast up 500m of pavement and I took 2nd wheel into the first turn. I followed the leader through the first few sections, then made my move and turned it on. After that I pulled away from the field and had 15 seconds by the end of the first lap. A key point on the first lap was riding a large dirt mount that most would run (Thanks David for the heads up). See example of Studnicki doing it in this clip on his blog.

http://markstudnicki.blogspot.com/2008/01/grote-prijs-shawnee-mission-video-clip.html

There were some deep mud sections that I did run when my momentum slowed but other than that it was pedal to the metal the entire time and by the end I had at least 1:30 on 2nd place. That was the final race tune-up for Mol, so feel great and ended up winning the series as well. My legs were so sore on Monday, moreso than any other time this year. That's a good thing from my perspective knowing I went really hard and the thick mud will be good practice for the sand in Mol. The crowd was great and cheering me on so much I just kept pushing. Boulevard beer provided some nice libations for the crowd, 6th Glass Quadruple Ale, so they were in good spirits by the last race of the day.

Mitch Before a Flat took him out

Nationals Update - Late & Lame

Well it has nearly been a month since my last post and much has transpired. I got my ass kicked on the Nationals Ice Course. Since then things have looked up and training has been going well in prep for Belgium. I raced the B's at Nationals and had I known Saturday was going to be such a treacherous ordeal, I'd of went harder and been one of the top finishers. Ended up 15th in the B's. trying to save myself for Saturday. Had I only known...

The Saturday Master's 35-39 race was in epic conditions that included deep frozen ruts, blinding snow, and frigid temps. Although I'd been saying I wanted conditions like that, I could have done without the frozen ruts. I started at the very back and made up a lot of places on the start, but after a few near crashes and bobbles, the confidence went out the window and I fell back. I never got lapped but still got pulled and ended up in 60th or something ridiculous. Both days I got pipped at the line by the same ProPeloton rider, don't remember his name, just another Boulder guy. Enough about that, got bigger fish to fry. The first of which was changing my damn seatpost so I wasn't in a TT position. Geez that nearly killed me out there in the ice, felt I had not control. When I put a seatpost with setback on it is a world of difference, even with the added weigt. I went from a Thomson Masterpiece (chopped) to a stock Ritchey, but now I wouldn't trade it.

See the pics of the mayhem.

Looks fun, huh?

kB from the Pits

The Starting Ditch

Ice Boulders abound

Frozen Tundra polished off nice on Top

The Ditch of Death

Tight Off-camber

The Day After...

KS State Championships = Snow Cross

The snow wasn't too deep, but it was frozen and crunchy out in the prison town of Leavenworth, KS. Temps were around 20 with windchills in the single digits. Luckily or unluckily the cat3 race was the last one of the day, starting at 2:15. At least this gave me time to spend with the fam in the morning and not run off at first light. The forecast had predicted freezing rain, but that held off until today, only some light snow and cold weather. The weather did scare off a few, but the usuals were all there and ready to rock it in the snow. This is actually one of the first wintery weather races we've had this season. I am the defending Missouri State Champ from last year, but the race was being held in St Louis, so had to skip it due to the weather and driving time.

Line up, get the whistle from behind and it's Go Time! Nail it and get the holeshot. Lead the first lap, taking some of the sections cautiously as I didn't pre-ride the whole course. About 3/4 of the way through the first lap a guy passes, but immediately goes down cuz he took the corner too fast. He's back up and I just grab on and don't let him get too far ahead. Another guy goes by me at the start/finish area and now I'm sitting in 3rd. Not feeling too bad, but not feeling that strong either. Not sure when the next two went by but think it was about midway through the 2nd lap. Just keep going strong and now to try to reel these guys back in as I'm now in 5th.

The Start

kB got the holeshot


End of the 1st lap
Bridge up, Rest, Attack, and Repeat. Three times and now back in 2nd, but Pink Pippy Longstockings is on my tail and I can't seem to shake him. Bell lap and I'm pinning it out of every corner trying to get a comfortable gap, but he's still there. Finally nearing the finish and my fave spot on the course, a long straight away the turns left into a downhill with another immediate left, so essentially a 180 with a downhill on the turn. Each time I'd use those moto-x skills...put the leg out and let the ass end slide around and get right back on the gas. This time didn't let it swing out too wide and really stood on it and got a gap and sprinted to the finish line. I really had to work for that 2nd place. Now on to Nationals, just a few days away and nasty weather hitting hard in KC.





Snow Angel

Boss Cross #2 - From the Banks of the Mighty Mo

The finale of the Boss Cross series took place on a true 'Crossy' day in the city of Parkville. For the past two days we've had rain, freezing rain, and temps in the 30's so it was bound to be muddy. The course was right on the banks of the mighty Missouri river in a little park. There was lots of sand fo' sho' and a couple wet muddy sections. The places that were not truly muddy, were soft enough to suck the energy and juice for everybody's legs. The winds were howling with gusts in the 30's which had to bring the wind chill down into the teens.

I got my pit bike built up this week so was ready to finally have them both at a race. Even better I had my boy Bob there to work the pits for me. True Pro stylie, pit man Bob in the coveralls ready to handle whatever the race might throw at us. The start was pretty typical with most of the usuals lined up and ready to roll. Ready Go! and we're off. I take 2nd into the holeshot and sit on the leaders wheel for the better part of the first lap. I pull away and have a pretty good lead for the next couple laps, then come the "Kid" and he goes by but I'm attached to his wheel like a tick! We have a good gap on the rest of the field and next thing you know Chris misses a corner and I take the lead again and pull away. Another lap and I'm going over the bridge which then drops off about a foot into a downhill section... big wind and I land a little sideways on the front wheel and roll it. I stopped quickly and find the tubular rolled in a small section. I push it back on and have to make my way 3/4 of lap back around to the pit thru big mud puddles, muddy ruts, and sand sections. The kiddo gets a big gap on me and I roll into the pits and do it true "Pro" stylie with Bob holding the fresh bike and taking the old without missing a step or letting the chase get a second on me. Unbelievable!! First pit bike change and it came off perfect. Bob's my pit-man for sure at Nationals, great practice run.

The rest of the race went like this. Songer is on my wheel for at least two laps and I know he's resting up back there ready to pounce. He makes his move and I try to stay on. It doesn't happen and his gap gets to at least 100 meters. Chris aka the "Kid" flats and we go past him while he's running to the pits (a long way). Try as I might, I just can't bridge up to Songer. Damn, the "W" has contined to elude me all season and I ended up 2nd place. Things could be worse, much worse and each race I feel a little stronger and always seem to have some unexpected challenge to deal with. A tire, a crash, detour, you call it.... experience is the best teacher.

Belgium Bound

It's official, we are heading to Mol, Belgium for the Masters World Championships in Jan08!! Oh my this is exciting. It's been on my mind all year, but just hadn't pulled the trigger. When a few locals were going and had everything lined up for accomodations, it made it that much easier. Mark from localcycling.com has been over for the last 3 or 4 years and has it down pat. He has friends on the ground and knows how to navigate the country on a budget. We'll be staying at Zilvermeer, right on the race course, in some cool little A-frame cabins. Since my better half is coming too, we've planned it so I race about the 3rd day there, then vacation/party the rest of the time. We'll for sure hit Hoogerheide for the World cup race on Jan20, then off to Brugge, Antwerp, maybe a couple days in Amsterdam, and if everything works out right cap it off in Paris.

So right now its just get through the massive workload, keep training for Nationals, take a week break, Christmas, then ramp it back up for the final stretch into Worlds. It weird to even say that, but its ON! I'm going to Belgium!!

Jingle Crossings & Ferris Wheel Lines

Well two days of racing a difficult course at the Jingle Cross races in Iowa City, IA left the legs feeling a little weary. It was mad fun though!! Huge fields, new bike, cold weather, what else could you want? The staging was done by registration and bib# so I was in the back. #74 of 90 something starters on Day 1, which was the last couple of rows. I couldn't see or hear the ref and next thing you know people are going and I still have my jacket on. Throw the jacket and let 'er rip and tear through the field, taking no prisoners. The first runup was mayhem... everybody was falling and couldn't get any traction up the muddy slope. By the 2nd lap I'm sitting in 4th!!! Few more laps go by and one of the KC locals swings by me and I grab his wheel. He bobbled in the sand section and I went down behind him... he got a gap on me and I could never bring it back. My shifter would not shift after getting gummed up with sand so I was constantly struggling with that the rest of the race. Finished in 6th, felt pretty good. The X-Fire performed great and felt so light on the runups and barriers. I'm really going to like this bike.

Day 2 - It was rumored the top 10 from day 1 would get call-ups to the front, so I was ready for the chance to make the podium. Well it didn't happen and again last 2 or 3 rows in a 110 person field. The course was reversed today with a long steep runup. Tried to get through the field today but everytime I'd make a move, somebody was flailing in front of me. Two big crashes in the first lap made things intersting, luckily I steered clear. Keep slogging through them and near the end of the first lap, I'm passing on an inside corner of a tight muddy section and I literally get pushed into a bush. There I am hanging off the ground, sticks poking my back, feet still in the pedals when I hear and I quote "That's what you get mother fucker!" I don't even know what to say.... pull myself out of the sticks, get going, and catch right back up to the guy and was like what was that... he says "wait your turn". My response "This is a race you punk, not a line for the ferris wheel!", accellerate and dust him. Make my way to 11th and that's all I had. The huge runup killed me. I still couldn't believe the attitude from this guy, sure I made a hard inside turn which probably cut him off a little, but they were going slow and I had already made up 60-70 places, come one. If you aren't aggressive you can sit at the back and that's where you should be.... or in line for the ferris wheel.

Here's some video from my teammate Mr. Dunsmuir of the Elites on the first runup.

Check out the pics.

Wells taking snapshots .. of me

Elite Lineup - Horner Tilly Wells

Muddy Runup

SupaFast Downhill - Bjorn

Markos Bob Brown

Thanksgiving Day Double

The weather has finally turned to winter. Snow and temps in the 20’s, yowzers. Out here in rural northern Missouri, the roads aren’t that safe, so I rode around until I found the ultimate training spot, the country club golf course!! Hopped the gate and got to it. What a great place to ride! In the interest of not getting into too much trouble if I got caught, I stayed close to the cart path on the grass or gravel trail. Rode for about an hour in the spitting snow then headed back to the house, by the time I got home my feet and ears were frozen. It took hours for the toes to come around even after a hot shower. Ate like a champ and of course the Thanksgiving post-meal coma set in hard. Took a 2.5 hour nap, holy crap… that never happens. Woke up about 4:30 and thought, “hmmm, maybe I should go for another ride?”. Geared up and headed in a different direction this time. It was starting to get dark so I steered to one of the nearby dirt roads that led to a conservation area. It was actually a nice ride with lots of up and down. I went by this big group of cows and then they started pacing me down the fence for a long way. The whole bunch of 30 of them, running next to me on the road was kinda funny. I had to stop and take a pic… eyes in the dark. Got chased by one dog , it was hard to tell how close it got, but I just stayed on the gas and he never got my leg so guess not too close.

The Fields Have Eyes

A Day in the Life...

Thinking back to a previous post about the Juggling act we non-pro racers go through, I was inspired to delve into a little more. As I began the last 4 week phase of training before Nationals, work has also started its year-end run for the finish line. The workload at this time of the year is at it’s max, two seriously high profile projects are in the works as well as prepping for Cross Nationals. Below is a recap of last week's Monday leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday.

The rest week ended Sunday with a 2.5 hour easy road ride. Then trying to get ahead on the week, I worked from about 6pm to 1am Sunday night. Monday started early and ended late. The day went in this order….work, training, dinner & family time, re-glue tubie, and build the X-Fire.

7am Start work put in 10 hours on revenue targets

5pm Time to ride 1.5 hours EZ spin with the LTrain out on the road 75 degrees!

6:30 Family Time --Help with Dinner, time with the kiddos, then bedtime
9pm Start the re-glue process – another layer on the rim and base tape. Sunday night I was looking at the Dugast and pulled it back a little and the tire totally came off in a section. Ripped the whole thing off and time to re-glue - ugggg

10pm Get some libations going, crank up the tunes and build up the Ridley

11pm Another bourbon rocks

1am Finally getting everything done and adjusted – fatigue is setting in.
1:30am Head to bed and get some rest before 7am hill repeats and the test flight on the X-Fire.

Oh man, this is hard work. What would it be like to have a mechanic? Or a Nanny? Or Just get paid to Ride? I’m sure it wouldn’t be any easier, just different. On with it…

X-Fire takes Flight

The X-Fire is freshly built with one test flight under her now. Getting ready to load it up on the car and head out. I'll put it through the paces this weekend with back to back race days in Iowa at the Jingle Cross. The massive hill will test its climbing ability and descending prowress. This baby weighs in at less than 18 pounds!! Lugging it up those hills might be a bit easier than before.

Euro on Euro

Snow is starting to fall today, then the weather is supposed to clear up for the weekend. The temps are expected to be around 40 degrees for the high in Iowa, so this is going to be perfect cross weather... FINALLY!!

Jingle Cross - - Heartland Tour

There's going to be some miles put on the ride this weekend as we make our way to the Jingle Cross races (approx 800 with all the detours). Leave Kansas City today heading to Milan, MO for Thanksgiving with some of the in-laws. Leave the kids there with Grandma for a couple days of R&R (Rest & Racing). The tour leaves Milan and heads north to Des Moines, IA for a visit with some great friends (old Denver friends), then to Iowa City on Saturday morning for races on both Saturday and Sunday. When we are totally exhausted on Sunday afternoon, we'll bounce back down to Milan, spend the night, and finally head back to KC on Monday.


View Larger Map

Milan is conveniently situated in the northern part of Missouri near Iowa, with no access to interstates or major highways, just twisty curvy back country roads littered with farm trucks, tractors, and deer. This makes for an extraordinarily long trip to and fro.

Rest Week and Nats Course Ride

Luckily this was a scheduled rest week as work is smoothering me, its really starting to stress me out. This juggling act of Family, Work, Training, and Racing can be likened to that guy juggling the 4 flaming objects as another gets thrown in, what will happen? Will he keep them all spinning in a harmonious cycle or will they all come crashing down in a flaming fury? A couple runs and some easy road rides was really it this week with the exception of yesterday. On Saturday an "unannounced" show and go on the Nationals course was rumored to be happening so of course I went out there to see who was going to show and throw down. By the time we got rolling, there were 25-30 peeps to ride in the course and test the newly built stairs. The Start/Finish long paved hill is hard! Each time thru, it gets steeper and longer. The stairs are also going to be a big factor in the race as they are right before that finish section. There are probably 12-15 steps on each of the TWO back to back Stair sections. The steps aren't that tall, but the spacing is just enough to make it awkward. Not close enough to take 2 steps and far enough to make it a real long one step/leap. Trebon and Wicks won't have any trouble, but for the rest of us not endowed with 40 inch inseams, it will be challenging. At the top of the 2nd set, there is another 50m of slight uphill.... to run or remount, it could be the deciding factor. I didn't get a pic yesterday, but I'll try to post one soon.

The Powers Stack

Steve-Z Photography caught this sweet sequence at the recent Redline Cup at the Boulder Res. Jeremy Powers is the Sinsei of bunny hopping barriers but it is nice to see he is human. As many times as he flawlessly bounds over the barriers, we all know he must have stacked it hard trying to perfect his technique. Double click to enlarge the sequence to get a close-up view of this, you might not see it again.




In the first photo he has the look of 'Oh Shit here we go'. In the 2nd photo, he's setting up the landing with the flying squirrel. And finally the roll, right up to the barrier. A little further and he'd been right on top of the 2nd barrier, yikes. JPows is still super-human in my book.

The Eagle has Landed... Repeat the Eagle has Landed

I should really say the Phoenix has landed cuz this beeeatch is on Fire. The X-Fire arrived on the doorstep the other day and finally got some pics of it to post up before I gets her built up. Missing parts you say? Oh Yes, Missing parts that are integral to getting it built up. Headset is missing one cup, bearings, top cap, and the seatpost wasn't in the box. Sinclair is hooking it up though with an overnight delivery... new headset and a Ritchey post as the Thomson is on backorder. So they should be here on Friday and I'll be riding the Nationals course on Saturday for another "practice" race to ride the course in.

Initial impressions:
1. The all carbon is HOT!
2. The seat stays and chain stays look like ripped calves with those sculpted lines
3. Paint job is sick - nuff said
4. It weighs next to nothing and wondering what it will end up at on the scale fully built

Check it out...

Sweet Simplicity


Now those are some legs


A headshot for the books


TailFeathers/flattened brake bridge...ooooooo

The final build will look something like this:
SRAM Rival Shifters
Salsa Bell Lap bars
Thomson Stem
Cane Creek Aros 58 carbons
Dugast Rhino tubulars
TRP CR950 Carbon Canti Brakes
Thomson post
Selle Italia Flite Classic Ti saddle

Time to get it on! Just need that headset before I rip apart the newly renovated Slingshot and end up bikeless for the weekend.

Sunflower CX

Another balmy, un-cyclocross weather day with temps in the mid-70's for gods-sake!! Enough of that already. Where are the slippery, wet, wintery conditions that exemplify the spirit of 'cross? Apparently not here in the midwest. Sunday's race was out in Lawrence, KS at the nearby Clinton Lake. Saturday I spent much of the morning rebuilding the Slingshot with my SRAM Rival drivetrain that I'd been holding onto to mount up on the never-arriving Ridley. I said F it and built it up cuz as soon as I do that, the Ridley will arrive. Got a quick ride on it Saturday afternoon and was just hoping the cable didn't stretch too much during the race. It was a fun day as the family was coming with and we were picking up the bro-in-law from school at KU.

Get out the race, register, and go for a quick warm-up ride. Line up in the front row again (been lucky with that all year). Ready GO! I can't get my left foot in the pedal but keep hammering it down the pavement to the over 90 degree left hand turn. Finally I get clipped in and make the turn in about 12-15th spot. The leader goes down hard right at the barriers and the field splits around him like a traffic circle. Over the triple barriers and around the long sweeping corner. We get to a straight away that is a mix of gravel and dirt and its pedal to the metal! I move up to 2nd place and sit on the leaders wheel. That was way too easy, I just went by everybody and settled in nice and easy. I continue to sit on this wheel for the entire first lap where I should have attacked as I was feeling it and everybody else seemed to be holding back. Back to the start/finish at the end of the first lap and I do attack and leave the field by at least 150m, through the barriers and on with it, solo. I'm riding both of the sand pits with not much issue and generally feeling great. Then the "Kid" catches up with me and we ride the next lap together until I make my first mistake. Double barrier section through it and back on, Nope. The bike was bouncing in a rough patch as tried the remount and got the back of the seat right in the sack. OH! Try again, success, but no chain. I can't push the chain back on with the lever, so have to get off the bike and put it on by hand. Now the kid is up on my by 30 seconds. Off to the races and start to reel him in by about 5 seconds per lap but just can't pull him back. Then Problem #2, chain drops to small ring and I can't push it back up to the big ring. Cables have stretched or loosened enough that there's not enough tension to push the chain over the big ring. OK, so running in the high end of the small ring and still going fast enough. The separation between me and the chase is enough I don't have push it too much but I want to catch this kid. Last 2 laps and I'm flying through all the sections, whoops a little bobble in loose corner, and it was then I decided 2nd place was good enough. The weekend before I pushed too much and made bad mistakes and crashed which cost several places. So I conceded the win and was happy with 2nd. Still could of, would of, should of, but it is what it is. If it weren't for mechanicals and mistakes everybody would win every weekend.

Riverside Racing

This weekend the Riverside Cyclocross festival featured races on both days with a reversal of the course on day 2. The venue is very close to home and sat right on the Missouri river next to one of the riverboat casinos in a sweet little park. The course would test the handling skills of the best riders. Beautiful sunny weather around 60 degrees both days, can't beat it.

Day 1 - Good start, sitting in 3rd, but just can't bridge up to my teammate in 1st. Head through Harter's Horseshoe, a downhill rutty section toward the river where it turns to sandy dirt in a horseshoe shape and back up. The Up part was dug out to make back 2 back ditches that were "rideable" but sketchy. #2 goes over his bars in front of me and I run it, sittin pretty. Next big feature is real off-road, a log across the trail that is easily one foot tall, maybe 14 inches with a steep hill right behind it. Bunny hop the log and ride the hill. 20 feet further, another smaller log with a downhill on the other side, bunny hop and into the rolling downhill double track, its wicked FAST. Out to the twisty grass and turn it up. Onto the sandpit/volleyball course and I decide to ride... the deep carbons cut through it like butter and actually gain speed coming out... Kick Ass, I knew those things were worth it! Barrier section guy comes flying by me bunnyhopping the boards!! Not the bump and jump type, full-on BMX both wheels off clearing 'em by several inches and Supafast! I catch him on the straight sections and get by him. He does it again on the next lap, AHHHH! Next thing he blows a corner and goes through the tape, ah I got him now. Well he continues down the side of the course and cuts the tape back in. Now I'm gonna protest if he beats me. Well it didn't come to that as on the next to final lap, in the wooded section I get up and over the big log and hill then got bucked on the 2nd log and endo with front wheel turned into the brush. Pick myself up and ready to go but the tubular is partially off the rim, FUCK!! I scramble to get it put back on the rim, finally get it pushed on and ride it gingerly half a lap back to the pits. Change out the front and of course now several riders have passed me. I try to ride the sand on the bell lap, but the Ksyrium on the front just didn't cut it, bogged down at the end, guy passes me runniing. Relegated to 9th, aint that a bitch. No protest but I tell the guy to go back in where he went out next time. The barriers were low and I'd like to see if he could actually do that on regulation barriers. Photo is Jim going over the bars, but is probably what I looked like too, except I was flying on a downhill slope.


Day 2 - Pissed off ready for vengance. Big field today with 40 starters (Lucas and Songer included due to the payouts). Good start and rolling with the front group of 5 or 6, hear a crash after the first tight corner, at least its behind me.... that's why the start is so important. The tight technical turns aren't feeling that smoothe today. One downhill tight left is getting me everytime where I actually lock it up to make the turn. The uphill swoopy double track section is fast and now there is a step up jump over the log, hit it perfect every time. The front group has formed into 4 guys and I'm leading the chase but they are on my ass, especially in the corners. Lucas pops of the front and Brendan passes me, so still in 4th. Josh passes me and Mike goes on the pave' section... I jam it to not let him pass, looking down as I floor it, I miss the cones and blow through the corner. So frustrated, turning around to get back on course only to see a couple riders get spots on me. Bury it to get back on, Mike crashed and I pass him. Hammer it to the finish and still end up out of the money. 7th place.

So mad about a weekend full of mistakes. Both days mistakes cost me several places and some cash. I had 3rd locked up on Sat and probably 4th on Sunday. What did I learn?? Well.. 1)Pay attention in those technical sections with jumps, be smart and dont try to go too fast 2)Don't land on your front wheel with it turned, Doh 3)Its ok to let somebody pass as long as you stay on their wheel and pass them later 4)Keep your head UP you dumbass! That's why you missed the corner. The bunny hopper is actually a supafast mountain biker who regularly wins Expert and Open categories so that makes me feel a little better. Think I'm gonna start practicing those jumps.

O' Ridley Where Art Thou?

Oh my F'in God!!! It has been over 6 weeks now and still no X-Fire. I knew there would be a wait, but this GD ridiculous. The bike was supposed to ship from Reno on Monday via UPS and it is Friday today, so it better get here. There's probably not much of a chance that I'll be able to race it this weekend. Even if is shows up today, I spend several hours building it up, I won't feel comfortable racing it. I guess Sunday could be a possibility, but that is predicated on the thing arriving today. Each day the UPS may just rolls by without stopping, Oh the disappointment. ARRRRRGGG!!!