Tuesday, December 20, 2011

The Final Finale

The season for me came down to this....BASP #4 at Coyote Point.  No Natz or Worlds for me this year.  Has anyone heard that we are in a depression?  Have you seen how much Worlds is?  You have to get a UCI license ($100), fly to Kentucky, hotel, monster car to fit the bikes, tons of food...and you might not even get to race the "real" race.  If your group is too big you have to go in heats and qualify. I'm passing this year.  I am going to have to save all my pennies and skim off my daughter's college fund to get there next year.  Just kidding I am not going to save pennies.

So this was it.  A favorite course for me.  Lots of power stuff on this course - hill, sand and now this year a gravel pit.  Good for me.  After riding the last lap at Sacramento the week before with two shredded side walls I was out of tires.  Well, actually I did have two new Dugast tires hanging in the garage, but I wasn't about to slap them on for one race.  I did manage to convince the local bike shop to let me "demo" a couple pairs of the new Specialized tubulars. In this case "demo" wasn't supposed to me demolition.

Not sure the names of the tires, but one was for mud and other was for California.  For some reason I chose mud for the BASP finale.  There was no mud. Go figure.  I got a 2nd row call up.  My strategy was to go as hard as I can, blow up and try to survive to the finish without getting passed by too many people.  It started out promising.  I charged up the hill locking into 5 place.  But then Don Myrah proceeded to unclip causing me to crash into his calf.  I practically stopped and then had to get rolling.  Back into the pack.  Time to start scrapping.   Unfortunately I fell into place behind roadie-turned-part time crosser, Jesse Moore.  I really respect Jesse for his road skills, but he is not good on the dirt especially on the downhill.  If I had ever ridden with Jesse before I would have made the reckless pass like Don Myrah did.  I didn't and suffered for it.
Chasing on.....

By the end of the first lap I had totally burned all my matches, but had made it onto the first chase group. Then, misfortune struck me for the first time of the year.  I flatted that "demo" tire on the uphill, halfway to the pits.  I rode that thing, slipping and sliding all over the place, for half a lap.  After getting my pit bike I put myself in the "red" over and over again, but just couldn't catch the lead group.  I did manage to chop a Clif Bar rider in the sand.  He was in front and I was behind him.  He took the wide line around a corner in the sand because he was riding it.  I took the inside line and swung my bike near him.  That messed up his rhythm and he fell off.  Sorry Clif guy.  I am usually not that type of rider, but this day was not getting better.  BTW...I chose not to ride the sand trap, but run it...like this.
The beach...with angry Clif guy behind me

And the remount....

I did ride myself back into a respectable 9th place and an end to a successful season.  Next year upgrade to Cat 1, Natz, Worlds and basically do it all.  See you then!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Popping the cork

I have been really enjoying visiting some new venues in Northern California cyclocross this year.  The Sacramento series has usually been my destination.  I headed up to Lodi this past weekend for a race at a winery. What ?  A winery you say?  This can't get any better, can it?  Oh yes it can.....

The wind was howling as I drove up and it was even worse out on course.  I had heard that this course has been used for 3 years and every year it rained inches of the wet stuff.  I could even see the hardened tracks from last years race.  Made for some interesting riding.  My hand was still bothering me and on these bumpy courses it hurts even worse; at least until the adrenaline beats the pain down.

My plan was to draft as much as possible, ala road racing, and then see what happens.  There was quite a large group at the start and I couldn't resist.  I went right to the front to try and get a separation on the first couple laps. I went as hard as I could for two laps, then looked around and there were 4 of us left.  I pulled back to take a breather and by the 3rd lap we were lapping some of the A's.  We were flying.  But then the problems started happening for me.  A lapped rider almost took two of us down and there was the separation for the front two, who just happened to be the two series leaders. Ugh....

I forced my fellow chasers to the front as much as possible until he cramped on the barriers.  That's when I took off in pursuit.  Suddenly I saw one of the leaders off the back, Jude.  He was slowing down and didn't look in good shape.  I told him to slow up and we could catch Jeff Mitchell who was the leader.  Jude thankfully obliged because I was getting tired of chasing him.  Once I went to the front though he fell off the back.  Turns out he crashed and his brake was rubbing.  Then, I noticed Jeff was slowing down too.
The top of the ramp where the trucks dump their grapes

With 3 to go I caught him and like the others, forced him to the front on the headwind sections.  The last section was a paved straightaway onto a steep ramp where the wine trucks dump their grapes.  Pretty cool finish.  I punched it, almost swung too wide, almost hit a pedal, almost hit a pylon, almost, almost, almost...but not quite.  Hit the finish line and saluted the sky.  Beat Jeff in a sprint again.  Almost never happens in cyclocross but has now happened two races in a row.  Great racing with him.  They gave us 3 bottles of wine for winning.  That's how you justify this type of racing to wifey, especially if she loves wine!

The podium at Lange Twins Winery - wine for the winners!

Friday, December 2, 2011

GGP - Shaken, not stirred

If you don't know what GGP is you must not be from NorCal.  That's Golden Gate Park man.  Last weekend I was down for the debauchery of the Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships.  I am not a single speeder, but that whole thing was beyond crazy. I didn't race because my Speedo was at the cleaners, but this week the "normal" people showed up at GGP to battle it out in the Bay Area Superprestige.

I got called up second row this week. They changed the course a little this year.  The rain made it tacky and this course us usually up and down, and up and down.  Hard one.  The start has been an uphill one in the past but this year we started at the top of the hill, which is where I made my first mistake.  I was in the wrong gear, so when the gun went off I spun too fast and missed clipped.  Then, I panicked because I had to try and catch the lead group.  I burned a ton of matches, but finally caught them on the steep hill before the start/finish.  Unfortunately one guy in the lead group botched the climb and there was separation.  That's all it takes.  Four of us were suddenly "the chase group".
The agony of the hill

The four of us rode hard for several laps.  There was a downhill barrier that some were hopping over and I had to run.  My hopping skills aren't the best and it is my priority to work on it for next year. I am not sure 40 year olds should be jumping barriers.  We'll see how that progresses.  I was losing time every time we went through the downhill barrier.  I hung tight until we hit a stretch of pavement and I went down.  I was more shocked than anything. It seemed like I slid forever.  More guys passed me and now my day went from bad to worse. I managed to pull my carcass off the ground.  Nothing was hurt too bad, just some road rash.  I thought roadies got road rash?  Lame....  I managed to drag myself to the finish line for 13th.  My worst finish of the season.  But now I am fired up for the last race of the BASP. My favorite course with just one steep kicker of a hill which I can just power over.  Can't wait....
This hill isn't getting any easier...

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Welcome to Bumpville

New course and no expectations brought me to Ione for Round 6 of the Sacramento race series.  Ione is actually nowhere near Sacramento.  It's a small town in the Sierra foothills that just happens to be near where my parents live.  What a great opportunity to have a visit with the elders and get some VO2 max suffering in.  My wrist and thumb are still hurting from my crash two weeks previous, but I have been pushing through it.  I am not sure it will even be healed in 6 months, so why rest it now.  The only thing that would prevent me from riding would be a cast...or would it?

The first thing I heard when I got to the venue was, "Man, this course is bumpy."  Not good when you can barely grip the handlebars.  But I had devised a plan.  Riding in the drops felt better than on the hoods so I was going to ride it like a crit.  Low turnout for the 35+ A's.  Only 3 guys in the field!  Possibly the lowest I have ever raced.  But Jeff Mitchell, the series leader, was there and we have had some battles in the past.  I couldn't wait to get it on.

Off we went and after a half of a lap Jeff and I were on our own.  The course was like being in a pinball machine.  We were getting kicked and punched all around this course.  There were some flat, fast sections and some technical turns through trees and such.  Overall a fun one.  The one thing that I was not really happy about was the "downhill dismount over a log".  Race promoters, please don't include downhill dismounts in your courses.  They are unsafe and there is a reason that the UCI forbids them.  Ok, off the soapbox.

Jeff and I just traded off leading laps.  I was trying to figure out where I could take it to him.  Seemed like he was better in the turns and I was faster in the straights.  So we had some cat and mouse attacks to see if we could crack one another.  We couldn't.  Jeff had a dig on the last lap, but I easily got on his wheel and tried to catch a draft.  It was all going to come down to the bitter end.  There was a long dirt straightaway before the finish.  I caught a little draft coming into it and then came around Jeff at the last second and won with a bike throw.  It was like a crit.  A great hour of racing and like I always say, "Just because there were low numbers at a race doesn't mean you don't deserve the win.  You beat all the people that didn't even show up."

Monday, November 14, 2011

Saturday Night Lights

Yeah, I know it is supposed to be "Friday Night Lights", but this was on Saturday night.  The promoters have moved the times around a bit in the last few years.  This year the Master's A's started at 7pm and it was dark.  Not very dark, but it was hard to see the best lines in some of the turns.  That made it challenging. Got a call up from the last race.  6th places on the front row...and I was #6.
All smiles before the suffering.

Being on the front really helps in these races.  Chaos usually ensues very closely around the first turns.  This race was not an exception to that rule.  A long paved stretch lead to a curb that had sandbags for a ramp.  The pavement is long enough so you can get enough speed to really hurt yourself on the curb jump.  Amazingly no one went down on the first turn...but the second turn caused some grief.  Some guy came flying recklessly around a bunch of us.  I was sitting about 5th or 6th.  On the second turn there has always been a metal plate.  It was there again and this guy slipped on the black ice.  He didn't take anyone out, except himself, but that was all Coates and Swanson needed to get away.  The chase was on.

I managed to get up to them after bursting both my lungs. But I couldn't hold on.  I popped and got into a chase group with 5 others.  One being national champ Don Myrah.  We traded pulls for a few laps and tried in vain to bring anyone back.  Don wasn't riding as smoothly as he has in the past.  He was all over the place.  Not really sure what was going on him.  The other 3 sat in for a while.  Then, this guy named Reno Jude took off and had a dig.  My jaw dropped as he dropped us all.  I couldn't believe.  I have raced with him in Sac and he has a huge engine.  Not in the greatest shape, but is the Energizer bunny.

Eventually I got dropped by Don and a Pen Velo fella.  I was with Eric Bustos from Giant berries.  On the last lap Don and Velo actually got tangled up in one another and crashed hard.  We came in pretty hot and I was kicking myself because I wasn't aggressive enough.  But they were having a yard sale all over the course.  I couldn't get around them.  So then we were all together for a "bunch" sprint for the finish.  I ended up 3rd in the sprint and should have been 8th, but I guess they got me in 9th.  Lesson: always check the results.  Not like it matters, except for placement in the next race.

For a bumpy course with lots of turns I had a pretty good go at it.  Only getting stronger as the year continues.  Problem is the season will be over right when I hit my stride.  Still some fun races to though.

One of the best parts of the night was seeing one of my coaching clients score a 5th place in the B's race, which had 92 people in it.  My other client finished his first race of the season a couple weeks ago in last.  This last one he got 50th out of 75 people.  Improvement....that's awesome.

Below are a couple "artsy" photos of me.  One taken a couple weeks ago by Brent the Elder at Candlestick Park.  The other was a mistake when I was putting the iPhone back into my pocket.  Artistic, I know.  Lots of talent here.


Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Hardest Ever???

I made the pilgrimage down to the land of the Banana Slugs and my old alma mater, UC of the Santa Cruz this weekend.  Ten years in one town is quite a long time and I thoroughly enjoyed my time in da Cruz.  This is truly the land of cyclocross.  The surrounding hills and bluffs contain soft sandy soil that is perfect for your cross bike.  Yeah, mountain bikes work there, but the cross bike is so versatile.  Besides the Godfather of cross bikes sculpts his masterpieces there - Paul Sadoff of Rock Lobster.

I had always wanted a Rock Lobster bike.  I remember catching a glimpse of one in the late 80's.  Custom bike? What is that?  And green too?  Way cool.  So last year I approached Paul about joining one of the most prolific cross teams in the nation.  Paul's sole focus is on cross and he produces.  So yeah, I was going to Santa Cruz last weekend to race and re-live old memories of college (well not all of those memories), but the real reason was to pay my homage to the Godfather.

I raced an occasional Surf City race before, but never at Aptos High School.  After taking a warm-up lap I determined that this course was the hardest I had ever been on.  Now I haven't been doing this for 20 years, but I have ridden my fair share of race courses around the country.  I heard someone say there was 200 feet of climbing on each lap.  Not a ton for a roadie, but it is quite a bit for this linebacker.

I started in the back, then made my way further back on the first climb.  There were some great winding turns on the way down the mountain, a few crashes, lots of sand (which I love) and then turn around and go back uphill.  Boooo.  On the way down and up, there was a telephone pole across the road.  My mountain bike skills are Beanie Wells, not Todd Wells.  I couldn't jump on the way down and when I tried to jump it on the way up....over the handlebars.  What!  I jumped it in warm-ups.  More uphill and I was just cruising to survive.  Then, some more uphill.  Okay I've had enough.  Tried to ride this stair section and crashed.  Then, for some strange reason or twist, there was more uphill.  Are you seeing a theme here?  And then it ended, thankfully.  Oh the agony!

Hey, look at me.  I'm actually going downhill.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Back to the Stick

For those that don't know...I'm talking about Candlestick Park.  Well, I guess officially it would be Candlestick Point.  After a couple year hiatus the BASP was allowed back to the park.  

CX Nation at the Stick
It was good to see that BASP didn't pack it in after last year.  Now they are back for 4 races with the first one last Sunday at the Stick.  They course was a similar layout to years ago with a little twist - The Go Pro Flyover.  After a couple years of trying the fellas at BASP rolled out the flyover - run up the stairs on one side and ride down the other.  Then, you get to ride underneath it.  Euro class....

Good warm-up, watched one of my athletes race and then lined up on the front row of the Master's A's race.  This year I have had some early success, but the BASP is really where all the great riders in the Bay Area come out to play.  3 National champs in the front row and 3 "not" National Champs. I was one of the "nots".  Doesn't matter though.  I was going out hard.

Brock Dickie got a great jump, along with Coats; but I was right on their wheel.  On the second turn Coats went in hot and crashed into a pole.  Amazingly we avoided him and then he got ride back up and was right there with us.  I heard there was a crash behind us and after the first lap the three of us had a huge lead.  Coats went to the front and started drilling it.  I tried my best to just hang on, but by the end of the second lap I was off the back.  Myrah passed me going Mach 10 at the end of the second lap.  Then, came Hoefner.  Each time I tried to latch on, but got popped off each time.  

So I was sitting fourth and eating tons of dirt.  The course was very bumpy and I lowered the pressure in my tires down after a pre-ride.  Because of this I really had to pay attention in the turns.  Getting squirrly, look out.  Hoefner broke his seat, so now I was sitting 4th in the race.  Murray Swanson of Pen Velo got past me and I was starting to get pissed.  When will people stop passing me? Come on, stop it!

At this point I was looking behind me.  Always a bad thing to do.  I saw Hoefner and his teammate Jon Mundelius charging hard.  They were actually drafting each other and pulling me back.  Ugh..I thought this was cross and not road racing.  How could they?  Eventually Jon caught me and we battled for a couple laps.

He ended up dropping me on the last lap and I finished gasping for air in the 6th place.  You would have thought that the air would be moist when riding next to the SF Bay.  Not the case....  So all and all a pretty good race for me.  I finished a little higher than last year and I will only get stronger as the season progresses. Hopefully the rest of these guys get weaker.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Cross Crit Racing

Round 2 of the Sacramento series was the exact opposite of Round 1.  While #1 was a bumpy, rough cow pasture, Round #2 was a smooth, soft stick of butter.  It took place in Henry Renfree park.  The course consisted of Bermuda grass that was without ruts or bumps and hard, fast, flat  single track.  A power course - right up my alley.  We started out with close to 20 of us.  It was fast and furious from the gun.  I have had good starts lately and this was no exception.  I settled in to 2nd wheel and just followed wheels till there was just 4 of us.  Our lead kept growing as the laps went by.  I saw that one of the four was a little weak - sitting at the back, not taking pulls.  Smart guy I guess, but I can't stand that. So I attacked every other lap.  But I couldn't get rid of him, mostly because the others wouldn't keep the pace up.

So we went round and round - lap after lap.  60 minutes of drafting, 60 minutes of crit riding and this was going to come down to the last lap.  As soon as we came to the start/finish for the last lap, the guy who was "punching his ticket on the train" made his move.  I immediately got on his wheel and then I heard music to my ears - a crash behind me.  I guess one of the other 4 had pinched John M, Cal Giant rider, into the barriers and they both went down. I told the guy in front to punch, then my plan started to take form.  I would wait until he had taken us into the final stretch and then I would attack.

I waited and waited, and then I went.  I didn't look back but I knew I had him.  I started to catch the Pro 1,2 group and I was still going fast - way too fast.  Mostly due to adrenaline.  I hadn't won a cross race all last year - not even close.  And now I was going to take two in a row.  But it was not to be.  On literally the 2nd to last turn a lapped rider pulled up next to me and was going to "race" me to the end.  I told him I was the leader and he started to back off, but it was too late.  He had distracted me and I lost the good line into the turn.  I went down in a heap, rolled my tire and lost my chain.  I actually got up and didn't even know what was wrong until some guy yelled that my front tire was coming off.  I didn't have time to get it back on, so I just ran.

You don't have to be a genius to figure out that a person on a bike is faster than a person running with a bike.  In those last 100 meters I went from the penthouse to the outhouse - although I did manage to run to 3rd place.  Ah...those are the breaks.  I have to remember to bring my camera next time too.  Not many photogs are giving up their pictures for free anymore.  I don't blame them.  They need to make money too.  So I have no pictures this time around.  BASP round 1 next weekend.  I should really find out in this race where my fitness is because all the big dawgs will be there.  See you then.....

 

Monday, October 10, 2011

Lion of Fairfax

Great course, great people and a great cause. All the proceeds are donated to the school.  I presented this concept to a few school in my area and they all turned me down.  I don't understand it.  Don't schools have a lack of funding, yet they don't want money.  I don't get it.  But White Hill School in Fairfax gets it.  Fast, hard course with a good run up, followed by a quick fast downhill, lots of technical cornering and riding through the halls of the school = lots of places to crash and get seriously hurt.

I wasn't sure how the legs were going to react.  I felt a little slow during warm ups.  I just needed to be in the top 5 at the first corner because it really narrows after that.  Fast start in the Master's 35+ A's race.  I got the hole shot and then slipped back to 2nd by the second turn.  Perfect.  Buy Cell.com Aaron Welcher  took the lead and really started to pour it on.  I dug deep and caught him at the single track.  Not a lot of places to pass in this course, so I had to stay close to him.  I noticed that he was slowing down in the single track sections.  Not sure why, but I kept note of it.  I also noticed that he shouldered his bike up the hill.  I am not a fan of shouldering the bike if you can get away with pushing the bike.  One extra step that you can get ride of.  I was able to seek by him a couple times by pushing my bike up the hill.  Hmmmm....might have to use that later in the race.

We slugged it out the entire race.  On the final lap I passed him on the uphill and never looked back.  I poured it on in the uphill riding section along the street and rolled into the finish line in first place.  At first the officials said I had one more lap, so I started to go again and then they said stop.  Missed my celebration.  It was nice to get my first win in a couple years.  In fact, first win in the Master's A's.  I hope to keep this good form going for the rest of the season.

Going Local

First local race of the season happened for me in Sacramento.   I have done a few of the Sac races in the past, but not a ton.  Since I haven't done many races this year in any discipline I have decided to do more of the Sac races.  This one I probably should have skipped.  It took place at a farm that is owned by a local bike shop.  There is a really cool pump track and various jumps for the kids. They put the pump track into the cross race.  This was fun, but I don't really consider pump tracks legitimate course material for cyclocross courses.  Yes, there are some courses in Europe that have rollers, but not a whole track.  Believe me though, the pump track was the best part of the course.

The rest of the course consisted of a bombed out tractor path filled with goat heads.  I was more worried about a flat than competing in the race.  Throw a 20 mph headwind on the way out and that is misery.  That did mean it was a tailwind on the way back though.  I guess there is always a silver lining.

We were off at the gun and I actually got the hole shot.  I poured it on for a quarter of a lap into a headwind, then I zigged when I should have zagged and I was off course.  Four guys passed me and  had trouble getting going again.  I pretty much was all alone the rest of the race.  A 59 minute time trail. Great for training - little else.  No flats though....until  I was walking both my bikes back from the pits.  I got two rear wheel flats, one clincher and one tubular, on the way back to the car!  This race just got expensive.
BMX racing - without the bike

Bump, bump, bump, bump - you get the point

Sunday, October 9, 2011

How about some racing?

I love sharing my passion for cyclocross through clinics, but it was time to actually put some of these skills to use and do some racing.  So I headed up to Seattle for some early season racing and hopefully some rain and mud.  This year I decided to drive up.  I am not sure that was a smart decision.  It's a long way from Santa Rosa to Seattle - 800 miles one way.  Luckily I had my trusted traveling companion Zoey along for the ride.
Zoey likes to sleep a lot

I was headed up to Seattle to race the Starcrossed race, which is part of the "Cross After Dark Series".  This race was on Saturday.  Strangest part about it was I don't think anyone actually raced at night.  It was still light when the last group set out.  I got a pretty bad call up and was starting 5 rows back.  The course is a good one on the shores of Lake Sammamish in Issaquah.  Don't ask me how to pronounce either of those names.  Being on a lake there is quite a bit of sand.   In fact two beach sections were all present and accounted for.  The first one was rideable, the second was totally unrideable.  I battled throughout the day with Slate Olson, head of Rapha North America.  How ironic...no contact with Rapha and then I do a clinic for them and meet the president in a span of 2 weeks.  Quite the competitor.  He got me by 2 places on Saturday.

On Sunday was the Rapha Gran Prix at the same location.  It was weird they didn't change the course up at all.  Same thing as the day before, except a little rain softened up the course.  Belgium nationals Bart Wellens and Rob Peeters used these two races to get some UCI points for Europe.  It was pretty cool that these guys are starting to come over and race in America.  They now know what it is like for the Americans to come over to Europe and try to race.  It isn't easy.

I rode near the Belgium camp to pick up my water bottle at the start line, said hello to one of the mechanics and he said, "I am from Belgium."  Reminded me of Austin Powers.  "Isn't that weird?"  I think that was all he knew of the English language.  It made me laugh. The second day was much like the first.  Started in the back row this time and again battled with Slate.  He got me again so now we have a rematch set for USGP in Bend...if he shows.  He might be a little scared now.   
 The Flyover at Lake Sammamish

CX Nation Clinics - Part 2

And while the first clinic brought medium response, the second clinic at GGP brought a full house.  The hardest thing about having a business has to be turning people away. But that is exactly what I had to do because I want people to get some sort of personal experience.  If there is only one of me and 20 students, well then that is not fair to them.  So I try and limit the number of students in any clinic to 12.  I managed to break that rule right away with this clinic and took on 14.

It was a great group.  We had a range of skill levels and ages.  Old and young, master's and juniors.  It was great to see.  No Outer Lands this time too.  I set up the EZ-UP where I wanted to this time.  Coffee again was provided by Taylor Maid Farms and croissants by La Boulange of Mill Valley.  It is the best way to start any clinic or class.  I know if I have food and drink in my stomach I can sit through any boring class, which this was not.

This day was going to be exciting though.  No sleeping here.  Everybody made it through the class with minimum damage.  It is amazing how we cyclists crash on our bikes.  We get all twisted and rolled into a ball - chainring marks on our shoulders, fingers into the wheels etc...  Lucky for us we were on grass.  Hurts a lot less.
A cross skill all should have - picking up money from a PBR can.

After 3 hours of bedlam I bide the attendees "Adieu" and we all headed our separate ways...or so I thought.  I received an email on Monday from Dante, an student in the class and manager of the Rapha store in San Francisco.  Rapha is an English company (from England, duh) who specializes in all things cool for cycling.  Their clothing is very clean and sexy, plus they sponsor a cyclocross team in the States.  How awesome is that.  Well, he wanted to do a clinic out of the shop and pay me to teach it.  Ummmm, let me think about it - yeah!  I had wanted to check out the shop in the City, but I thought I missed the boat because it was originally set up as a temporary concept store during the TdF.  The "temporary" turned to "permanent" when the store did so well.

So I cruised down to the store on 9/11 and was even more excited to see that they had a coffee bar in the store and two flat screen tv's showing the Vuelta. Does this store get any cooler?  I met the group and we rode out through the Presidio and over the GGP.  Another great clinic occurred and the best part is I met 12 more people who are psyched to race their cross bikes.  I hope to see these people out on the courses during the season.

The Rapha Store in San Francisco

What's for dinner? ....Uh...cycling.

Barrier training with Cross Propz
www.crosspropz.com

Sunday, August 7, 2011

CX Nation Summer Clinic #1

As is the theme with some things in life, you have to be flexible.  Not Plasticman flexible, but enough so you can change your plans at a moments notice.  Yesterday was the first CX Nation cyclocross clinic of the year.  We are gearing up for cyclocross season after all.  I have been doing clinics in Santa Rosa during the week for the past couple years.  My main goals for having these clinics are to get people excited about the upcoming season, work on skills and most of all, try and spread the cyclocross "word".  As in, this sport is a blast.

So after months of careful planning we decided to have a couple clinics in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.  I was very familiar with the area around the Polo Grounds and thought this piece of hallowed turf would be perfect for a clinic.  I got an early start because I wanted nothing to go wrong.  It was smooth sailing across the Golden Gate and the weather gods even served up some nice cross weather for the day - cold and windy.

I had checked the events calendar for GGP months ago and found only one potential conflict - Outer Lands.  The mega huge rock concert that takes place at the Polo Grounds every summer.  Alas, it was scheduled for the weekend between the two clinics that I was planning on giving.  But wait...as I approached the parking lot off Metson Ave. there were trucks everywhere, people milling about and a security guard that literally jumped in front of my Prius to stop me from going further.  This guy looked straight out of the Stones concert at Altamont.  I am not sure the Prius would have crushed him.  I was only going 5 mph.  But I was in "stealth" mode, so you never know.  Ever had a Prius sneak up on you?

He informed me that the Polo Grounds were closed for concert set-up.  A week in advance??  Yep.  I was crushed.  Now what?  I parked and after recovering from my shock, I started to improvise.  I found a patch of grass on the corner of Metson and MLK Blvd. and just threw up the EZ-UP.
I didn't think the park service would mind.  I was only going to be an hour and I even had coffee to bribe them with.  Everything went up in a matter of minutes.  Out came the camp stove and the coffee press.  Yes, I was going Food Network on these clinic goers.  I pulled out the bag of Taylor Maid Farms Coffee and started brewing.   Rob from Taylor Maid hooked me up with my favorite blend - the Goat Rock.  I had croissants from La Boulange in Mill Valley and best bananas around from Safeway.  It was on!
The clients slowly trickled in and we had a great group of 7 people, both men and woman.  After a cup of coffee, we were off on our bikes.  But wait...first lesson of cross - be prepared and check your gear before riding or racing.  I guess that is two lessons.  I started out the day with a flat.  Back to car - pump it up and we were off - again.

The hardest part about teaching a clinic is trying to teach to all skill levels.  We had a wide range in this group and I hope everybody came away with some tips that will be helpful in the future.  We even had person who hadn't been on a bike since she was 12.  She had seen the BASP race at GGP last year and thought that it looked fun, so she was giving it a shot.  Score one for cyclcross!

One of hardest things to master in a cross race seems to be the barriers.  There is a reason all the photographers hang out near them.  Lots of carnage.  I took a video of the participants moving through the 3 barriers that I had set up.  The barriers are from Cross Propz and can be purchased at www.crosspropz.com.  They are very nicely designed.






Way to go crew!  Watch those feet.   Nice long strides into the barriers.  Minimize the stutter stepping.  3 hours later the first CX Nation clinic at Golden Gate Park was complete.  Thanks for all who came out and thanks to all for reading.  The next clinic is August 20th in the same place.  Register on the website. See you at the races this fall!  Hup! Hup!


Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Grasshopper Adventure Series #6: Ridiculous

Have you ever heard that expression "Sometimes you are the hammer and sometimes you are the nail"? It's pretty much cycling in a nutshell.  One day you are in the penthouse and the next you are in the outhouse.  For example, look at Jens Voigt in the 2005 Tour de France. Stage 9 = yellow jersey. Stage 10 =out of yellow. Stage 11 = didn't make the time cut and out of the tour.  It happens to the best of them and it happens to me...all the time.  GAS #6 was no exception.  I was not only a "nail", but a "bag of nails".  The kind of nails that keep hitting knots in the wood and bend, then break off completely.  Those nails....

It started off the same as always.  Meet up with about 80 other cyclists who are your buddies in the parking lot, but wouldn't hesitate to drop you, the minute you show any signs of weakness, when you are out on course.  You know who I am talking about - your cycling friends.  We started once again from the picturesque town of Monte Rio, on the banks of the Russian River.  The pace was very mellow from the start.  A couple of Conti Pros showed up, Tim and Taylor, from Pistachios; but no Pro Tour riders hammering us local weekenders into the ground.  You know who I'm talking about.

The calm before the storm: The Start of GAS #6

We rolled up into Cazadero and beyond - to King's Ridge.  Made recently famous due to Levi's Gran Fondo.  This is where the pain began and out came the aforementioned nails.  I yo-yoed off the front group, then the 2nd group and settled into what I guess you could call a group or five, maybe more or less.  It is basically everybody for themselves.  After 2 hours all of us spotted the "team car" staffed by the legendary Jim Keene of Norcal Bike Sport.  Jim has been doing the water bottle feeds for all the races this year and has probably saved numerous lives.  I gladly took all 3 bottles that I had given him.  I figured a bottle an hour and I would be good.  So that was 5 bottles for 5 hours. Too bad it took me almost 6 hours to finish.

Our group of 5 rolled through Tin Barn Road - more climbing and more descending.  We reached Skaggs Springs Rd.  and instead of taking the "easy" way and turning left, we went right.  Oh the brutality.  Although I was hoping that turning right might work out better for me.  Last year we went left on Skaggs and I proceeded to take a turn to fast that had a mid-turn cattle guard on it.  I got a little squirrely, ended up on the other side of a very narrow road and side-swiped a motorcycle.  Melted the back-side of my gloves as I grazed his mirror.  I happened so fast I didn't even know how to react.  This year...turning right would be better.  Well, not really.

We reached Annapolis Road for an extra 20 miles and couple thousand feet of climbing and I opened the bag of nails again.  My group dropped me on the first rise and I was on my own for a long time....and I mean a long time.  All the way to the coast, I saw not a soul.   Once I hit Highway 1 my luck changed.  The wind was blowing from the northwest (from north to south).  Guess which way the route went?  North to south. Yes!  I hooked up with another rider who was sponsored by a hair salon.  That was interesting. Never seen that before.
Kruse Ranch Rd. gravel + rocks + climb = not good

He had to stop for water so I just kept on going.  Next on tap..more climbing.  Kruse Ranch Road is a short, relatively mellow climb from the Highway 1 to Seaview, which is on Levi's Gran Fondo route.  Up and down, up and down, I rolled by myself.  Lots of thinking about nothing, except for maybe wondering when it was going to be over.  I was out of food and almost out of water.  The only thing I had was Gorilla Gum.  I had never used this before and why I was going to stick a piece into my mouth now was probably pretty dumb.  But it was all I had and 100 mg of caffeine can't hurt, right? I was worried my heart would go into some sort of tachycardia and start quivering out of control.  It didn't work.

By that time a group of 4 caught me and we rolled together all the way to the bombed out road they call Willow Creek.  It was every man for themselves.  Someone flatted, my bike pump rattled off and almost fell into my front wheel.  It was a "Breaking Away" moment.  So I had to stop and reattach it.  From bombed out road to all dirt road.  As usual this sufferfest finished up Willow Creek Road, a fire trail that does not really feel good on a road bike.  5 hours 45 minutes on a bike with 6,000 or so feet of climbing = fun.  Hmmmm....

So I am putting my bag of nails away till next year when I am sure El Patron, Miguel, will come up with some more brutal routes for us to ride.  I will store up more nails for next year because I am sure I will be using them again.  The "fastest dentist in the world", Roger Bartels, appears to have captured the overall title.  Congratulations to Roger.  See you all next year!

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Grasshopper Adventure Series #5: Full-On Belgium

 Grasshopper Adventure Series 2011 #5: Sweetwater Springs

            Grasshopper #5 brought us Sweetwater Springs for a little dirt, a little road and lots of suffering.  The day started off bright and sunny with a new start town of Monte Rio.  I decided to park at the old start just up the road in Occidental.  It was the smartest thing I did all day.  Riding to Monte Rio gave me a little bit of a warm-up.  What to ride and what to bring is always a tough decision on these races.  Last year I rode a mountain bike with slick tires on it.  Pretty dumb.  This year I went the exact opposite – road bike, but I kept the slick tires in the mix.  Didn’t want to change things too much.

            The start is generally a small “meet and greet” among local riders.  Old friends catch up and new ones get introduced.  It’s your high school reunion all over again, minus the booze.  Once again Jim Keene of Norcal Bike Sport manned the team car and provided water bottle “hand-ups” somewhere on the route.  I am not sure what I would do if we didn’t have these.  Carry four bottles – no way!  After a brief introduction to the route by the patron of the Grasshoppers, Big Mig, the white flag was dropped and we were off.

            I call these races “Joe’s vs. Pro’s”.  We usually have a smattering of pro riders or even whole teams come out and ride these local events.  Last month it was Ted King from Liquigas/Cannondale.  This month local hard man Levi Leipheimer showed up to give us mortals a clinic.  He is a regular at these events and there is always a sigh of despair when you see him because you know it going to be hard.

            Levi showed his awesomeness and went to the front immediately from the start and set the pace up Bohemian Highway.  Shane B. was behind him and then somehow me.  What was I doing here?  Trying to hold on for dear life.  Oxygen debt in-sued.  The top guys had a plan for Levi to pull till Occidental and then Glenn Fant convinced me to attack once we got there.  I foolishly agreed, although I never made it that far.  You see, when Levi is pedaling easy, I was at full speed ahead.  I just kept wondering when he was going to soft pedal, especially when Shane pulled out and I was sitting 2nd wheel. 

            Just before reaching Occidental I started to see stars and wondered what it would be like if my heart exploded.  That’s when I looked back and our group of 75 was down to about 15.  The group splintered even more and I found myself in a the 2nd group on the road with about 6 other guys, including Big Mig, Yuri and Brian Attell.  Time to recover.  I dumped my arm warmers at the side of the road.  I was hot enough.  This was another big mistake.

            Our group settled in as a few others managed to bridge up.  We were about 15 strong now.  We got to Graton Rd. and 116 where everybody in the group decided to roll the red light and proceed.  I was not paying attention and when I looked up they were on the other side.  Becoming a hood ornament on a new Mercedes didn’t sound fun so I waited for the light.  That’s when I went into oxygen debt once again – trying to catch those guys.  Anger and fear of riding alone for hours on end can really make your legs move faster.  I caught them at Guerneville Road and we rolled together till we reached Sweetwater Springs. 

            For those that haven’t been on Sweetwater Springs Road, it is quite an adventure.  It can seem quite remote.  Deliverance comes to mind.  The road has potholes that can swallow cars.  Some of it is gravel.  Most of it is uphill.  For a 170-pound cross rider this doesn’t bode well.  But this was when a little change in weather helped this cyclocrosser.  For some unknown reason it started to rain.  Rain in California, in late May?  It was truly unbelievable.  It had gone from sunny California to what I like to call, “Belgium”, in a matter of minutes.  For those of you that have been to Belgium know what I mean.  For those that haven’t, just think, rain, cold and wind from all directions at any time of day or night.

            I was excited because this is the type of weather that I like and where others wilt.  Well, it didn’t quite work out that way.  I got dropped on the climb and settled in with Terry “the Capo rep”.  This was about halfway in the race and I literally just saw Terry and one other guy the rest of the race.  It was carnage out there.  We rode up Old Caz Road.  Terry flatted going uphill on a smoothly paved surface, which boggled my mind.  I hooked up for a couple sticky bottles from Jim a little further up and powered on. 

            The next part of the course was where I had some angst with the road bike.  Old Caz Road turns to dirt and steeply drops down into Austin Creek.  I enjoyed having the grippy brakes on the decent, but 110 psi on a dirt decent with skinny tires made for slow going.  Flats and twigs-into-moving parts where my main concern.  I wasn’t going fast enough to worry about a crash.
Crossing Austin Creek.  The mad genius behind it all, Miguel.


            At the bottom of the decent my arms were cramping due to all the braking, but they were soon shocked back to life by the creek crossing.  Yes, I said creek crossing.  Austin Creek wasn’t too high, maybe mid-calf, but it sends a shock throughout your body because it is ice cold.  Road shoes don’t work too well on rock and creek crossings – in case you were wondering.  Deliverance Part 2.

            I rolled up the dirt climb on the other side and was lucky enough to make it through the gate at the top, just as some local was closing it.  One less time to get off my bike and have my legs seize up.  Down to the town of Cazadero, I was praying for a tailwind because I was still alone.  I kept looking back, but no one was coming.  Where was everybody?

I motored along 116 heading out to the coast and I actually saw a guy in the distance going very slow.  It was DFL Brad and he was crushed.  It was pouring rain at this time and he was mumbling incoherently about something.  I ignored him because it took too much for me to think.  I looked back once more and saw somebody coming.  It was Terry the Capo rep.  He had a leak in his tubeless and it sealed on its own. Go tubeless!  Terry gave Brad some food.  Was that what he was asking for?  We chatted and decided to leave Brad behind.

Terry and I rolled all the way to the Willow Creek climb.  Oh Willow Creek, how I despise you.  A large majority of these Grasshoppers end up on this dirt climb and it is never easy.  I dropped off of Terry’s pace and just hoped that I wasn’t going to cramp.  Slow and go, slow and go.  Made it to the finish in 23rd with Shane, Levi and Glenn taking top honors and the "fastest dentist", Roger Bartels, kept the top spot in the overall.

But that wasn’t the end of the epic.  I still had to ride to the car.  Ah ha and I left my car 10 miles closer than the rest of the riders.  Now I feel like a genius.  Too bad it was pouring rain all the way to car.  Minus a mild case of hypothermia it was a great race!  Congratulations to everyone who finished this insanity.  See you at the next one...100 miles over Kings Ridge...anyone, anyone???

Typical conditions on Grasshopper Adventure rides.