Sale...

Iceman fiasco...

So last night was fun...  Just imagine 3000 bikers all sitting at their computers trying to register for the 2009 Iceman, which is still 9 months away.  I can only imagine the fury of e-mails S. Brown must have received, as well as SBO around 7:00.  Hmm...any chance the Ithaca GP will receive such a pre-registration reaction?

Interesting news from Cyclocross Magazine dot com

LARS BOOM TO SKIP 2010 WORLDS

February 23rd, 2009 Filed Under cyclocross news, euro-file, racing

Lars Boom has already decided to skip the 2010 World Championships in Tabor, Czech Republic, according to a BN DeStem report. After failing at his stated goal to win the world title this year in Hoogerheide, the Dutch rider is moving on and said after racing in Heerlen a week ago that he’s embarking on a new chapter of his career and will focus on the spring classics in 2010.

Boom alluded to this change in our exclusive interview in Issue 5 of Cyclocross Magazine, however it did not sound like his withdrawl from the sport would be quite so drastic. Next season, Boom will only compete in five ‘cross events, and said he’ll do them for fun.

With Groenendaal retired and Boom distracted by the off-season discipline also known as “road,” Dutch hopes may fall on Thijs Al to fight the Belgian dominance.

New for 2009...Specialized Allez Expert frame with carbon stays and the thickest downtube I've ever seen on a bike, including my Principia.

Full 2009 Rival with small improvements over the original version.

With white hoods just because I can.

Can't wait to get it out on the roads.  Of course the day I build it up is the day we get 2" of snow after a week of warm temperatures.  Oh well, there is plenty of riding in the summer.

Stay tuned for pics of the NEW Specialized Stumpjumper Comp 29'er...

Ok not exactly cycling...

Kristie decided to undertake yet another great feat!  She signed up this week to run in the Chicago Marathon on October 11!

Moncel and Lovejoy make it big time...

From cxmagazine.com:

"The big winner on the week was Echelon (Jay Moncel, USA) with an enormous 552 points total, easly eclipsing the most points ever scored in a week. Despite that monstrous total, the top score was outpaced by the all-star score by almost 100 points! Echelon picked 8 out of the top 11 scorers on the weekend. The all-star team is as follows, with Echelon’s picks highlighted in bold: Sven Nys (66), Zdenek Stybar (75), Klaas Vantornout (10), Neils Albert (90), Philipp Walsleben (60), Francis Mourey (48), Hanka Kupfernagel (75), Christel Ferrier-Bruneau (12), Katie Compton (66), Marianne Vos (90) and Sanne Van Paassen (57). The all-star final score was 649 points. Second place on the weekend went to Team Diablos (Bryan Garfoot, USA), with 549 points, with the bronze medal going to Froglegs (Mark Lovejoy, USA)"

GP Video

Fizik

So this happened to TWO Fizik Airone saddles last fall...apparently one of the many reasons I was at the back all year was because I needed to hit the slim fast...TWICE.

And sure enough, about two weeks after contacting their warranty department this winter, TWO new saddles just came from Italy!  There is something to be said about customer service and what that's worth.

This should look good on my new Allez...

From cyclingnews.com

Cyclo-cross as Olympic sport?

Could cyclo-cross become an Olympic sport? The Dutch newspaper Telegraaf reported Thursday that a group of supporters of the idea have been busy working to make it happen. Members of the Italian cycling are reportedly working together with the International Olympic Committee and the UCI to make it happen.

Diego Vollaro of the Italian federation told the paper that cyclo-cross could start as a demonstration sport as early as the Vancouver Winter Olympics in February of next year. The sport had previously lost out on becoming part of the Games because the athletes involved were mainly from Europe and the Games, and the event requires more international participation. But that has changed in recent years with Canada, the USA, Japan and even Zimbabwe fielding riders in elite competitions.

Another rule could prove more of a stumbling block. The winter Games require a sport take place on ice or snow, but according to the report, that rule is under consideration.

"Next week the board and I will discuss it," said UCI executive board member Joop Atsma. "If there is only a small chance of success, it would be wonderful."

Adding cyclo-cross to the Games would help fuel the Olympic dreams of riders who make the sport their primary goal of the year. Riders like Sven Nys, who devoted extra time to mountain biking in order to be eligible to compete in the Games, or American Katie Compton, who does not pursue track, road or mountain bike racing at the Olympic level.

"I think that would be great," Compton told Cyclingnews. "They have BMX in there now so why not 'cross too?"

FOR SALE

Brand new (warranty...) 2008 frame and Easton EC90x fork (~300 miles).  Frame was just replaced, but the fork was new in August, so it saw very, very limited use.  

And the halloween frameset...purchased in mid-October and raced through December.  One nick underneath the meeting between the right seat stay and the seat tube (happened in NJ).  

Currently on e-bay, but e-mail if you're interested.  Both are size XL!

E-Bay and a contest

E-bay time...check out my items HERE.  If you're interested in something get a hold of me!

I'm thinking about holding a contest to see who can most accurately predict the top 5 positions at the World Cyclocross Championships...however based on my last "contest" there was NO participation and am hesitant to offer any sweet items up for a prize.  Any possible takers?

Ithaca GP

Working on a bit of next year's GP...check out the polls and sponsor announcements!  

Congrats to the WIZ, PONY, SWARTZ, ACE, J.BROWN, FOSHAG, and all of the MI crew out at nationals!  Sorry if I missed anybody but I only know of a few results right now...

jb

Kona says ride green

Predictions?

Less than a week away and we're down to the 'cx state championships.  What are your predictions for next Sunday in Waterford?  

Elite Men

With the Wiz trying to regain the USGP jersey in Portland, the field will come down to the usual suspects minus the fastest guy in MI.  Will Card show up with his Ohio form?  Weinert is on his way back but Sari has shown he's the one to beat lately.  Foshag can't be counted out and neither can Vince.  Will DC and Ashley round out the top 5 this year?  Can't count out Mark P who gets my vote for most improved on the season.  Cory Stange and Jason Lummis will be in the thick of the pack.  Hopefully Todd Frerichs and I will remain on the lead lap...

Elite Women

Is there any question?  May the Schwartz be with you...

Master Men

In the 35's T-bone Ritter will hope to dig out another win, but he'll have to fight hard against Simon says and Kevin McGrew.  My math may be off but it looks like DC took the points series there already.  Selle and Baroli will fight for third, but don't count out Rich Stark if he races in the 35's.

In the 45's it should be Baroli fighting Mark W, but who knows what everyone will race.  The Princess Mike Seaman will be digging for a solid 45 minutes and can ride in the crap weather.  Don't count him out.  Joe Brown will hang on and once again finish in the top 5.

B-Men

Any question here?  Trying for a perfect season, is Matt Willing to dig deep one more time?  Pete T and Patrick Russell will round out the top 3.

Single Speed

WAYNE (censored) COOK!  Osgood will fight for 2nd but who knows who else will come out and play with one gear.  If the weather is crap, Waterford could be the course of the year for a single speed.

C-Men

John Osgood and Jason M will battle it out in the snow.  John's form is tip top but the two battled through the mtb season and will have to pull out all of the stops in the short race to come out on top.  In the 40+ category my vote goes to the Surly Marc Dettman.  Hands down winner there.

Post your top 5 for the Elite Men and whoever is closest will win a pair of Toe Warmers and a few Hammer Gels (apple cinnamon flavored).

A few from today

A win for Mike

Osgood showed some sprint form to take his 2nd W in as many weeks...

Baroli dug deep and rode hard to finish 4th in the 35's

Selle chased HARD but couldn't close the gap...

T. Ritter showed everyone what's up with a W today

Mark Dettman came over again from G.R.

WEINERT rocked 4th today, looking stronger than a few weeks ago.

And I think I took 10th today, but we'll see when results get posted.  For the first time this SEASON I felt like I actually had power.  It was probably just my body thanking Robert for a course that I could actually RIDE instead of another weekend of running.  I was ready to hang up the bike had today gone badly.  It is mentally a terrific task to hang onto the back of the field all season with guys like Wiz, Sari, Foshag, and the Pony chasing me down from the front.  Glad things came around (a bit) today!  Thanks Curt for the pics.

USGP New Jersey - Mercer Cup 10k

Mike and I headed out to NJ on Thursday night to race in the USGP's at Mercer County Park.  On Friday night before the number presentation, we stopped at Nino's to grab some food.  We had pre-ridden a bit of the course after arriving in NJ around 2 in the afternoon.

These pics won't come close to doing this past weekend's conditions justice...we ran about 800 meters per lap, with lap times in the 15-minute range on Saturday.  Fortunately they dropped a section of complete running for Sunday's race, making lap times in the 12:30 range.

This sand was one of the only ridable sections of the course, and was mildly fast to race through.  Unfortunately, at the end of the pit by about 75 m you turned right into a section that was faster to run than ride.  Tack on another 150 - 200 m of running there...

Believe me, I was happy to be done on Saturday.  I ended up 23rd out of 89 pre-registered racers.  4 laps in about an hour?  Yeah, that was the slowest 'cx race I've done in my life.  Temps weren't too cold, just muddy as heck.  Unfortunately I found my backup 'cx bike was broken on Wednesday, so I didn't have a change for Saturday's race.  My bike felt about 15 lbs heavier by the end of the slug fest, and a change or two would have been appreciated.

Mike had some business to take care of with trying to defend the USGP Leader's jersey.  Despite a phenomenal effort, Mike wouldn't win the Mercer Cup 10k run.  I worked the pits for him and he took a bike every half of a lap.  It was one of those few days in 'cx racing where if you didn't have a spare bike you didn't have a chance whatsoever.  It was hectic in the pits with the top 10-15 guys having pit crews working to keep riders on clean, properly shifting bikes.  Mike managed to hang on for 4th place and retained his WHITE (perfect for the mud...) USGP's leader's jersey for another day.

The PRO men's race was absolutely crazy, with Tim Johnson showing off his mud skills by absolutely crushing Wells and Trebon.  Johnson was by far the fastest racer that day, with everyone else suffering in his wake.  It was amazing to see those guys tear up the course that I had suffered on a few hours before.  There were a few places where I HAD to run that the pros did either, based on their preferences.  The biggest difference, by far, was the speed at which they ran those sections.  They ran 5 laps on the course, and after about half of a lap there was no doubt who was going to take it home.

Saturday night we found a laundry mat where only three of us spoke English.  After cleaning our clothes we packed it in and headed to the hotel.  Sunday morning was rough; my legs hurt like they have never hurt after a race in my life.  My stomach and almost every muscle in my upper body was sore from running and trying to keep my bike upright in the mud, so I wasn't exactly in the mood to race.  On top of that, the weather took a turn and continued the rain but dropped in temperature to the low 50's.  Wind was gusting to 30 mph, and of course the park is located on a large lake...

Mike found a Specialized bike over at the tent that I would use as my pit bike, which was invaluable to me.  Not only was it nice not having to lift and run with a bike caked in mud, but the path through the pits was faster than the regular course, so it was an easy place to make up ground.  I ended up 25th, which wasn't in my goal of the top 20, but considering my inability to run quickly, I was pretty happy with my weekend's results.

Mike's race was another run-fest.  It had started to dry out just enough to make it next to impossible to keep momentum, even on the downhills.  Mike repeatedly ran down the hill leading to the "uphill" run into the pits because it was faster than riding.  Again, bike changes every half of a lap, with the Wiz taking 6th.  Unfortunately that wasn't enough to hold onto his white leader's jersey, but he'll be headed out to Portland, Oregon to finish things off in a classic 'cx setting.

That was a pretty fun weekend, and most importantly I learned a LOT.  I was happy to be out there but it is always great to come home to Kristie and Kona!

Holy registered racers.  Bigger than my 1999 'cx national field, that is for sure!

Iceman Cometh, Jake and John Rock-eth, Iceman Mis-eth

Iceman Cometh

I had a pretty good start, taking the "right" line at the first sand pit.  Within about 100m there were two crashes around me; one guy behind me buzzed my rear tire and bit the dust, and almost immediately after the guy in front of me tanked it.  Between those two crashes and the sand pit, that broke up the race nicely.  The rest of the race had me sucking wind fighting off a rare asthma burst.  Haven't had one of those for a while.  Needless to say it was a bit difficult to race throughout that.  Towards the last three miles I started to feel the ever-so-present Iceman Cramp-eth legs that show up for me routinely.  In the last quarter of a mile I had an EMU guy bump me hard while passing...nothing like fighting for 13th spot.  In the end 1:52.25 was 2.25 short of my "goal," which apparently wouldn't have even come close to the winning time of 1:40 in my class.  Hmm...

Jake and John Rock-eth

John Osgood's goal for Saturday was to break the two-hour mark, which he crushed by over four minutes!  He and the TSB guys had a tent close to the finish.  The race highight was when "Diesel" (don't know his real name...) rolled by the tent, picked up an open Guinness, and downed it by the line!  Those guys know how to have FUN at bike races.

Jake Rytlewski rocked the pro class to an 11th place finish!  Keep posted for an EPIC pic of

 Jake from 2000, rocking a DETROIT Lions kit.  A picture is worth a thousand words.  Stay tuned.

Iceman Mis-eth

Sunday morning we woke up to a light snow and much colder temperatures.  Too bad the most extreme weather on Saturday was a brief 15-minute session of light sleet for the pro race.  Maybe one of these days I'll be able to experience a "real" Iceman.  

Last year's state 'cx race substituted for one, and it looks like Munson will be cold this week.  Too bad I'll be in NJ for the USGP's!

GO VOTE TOMORROW.

It is your responsibility, so do it.

Vet's 1 and 2

Briefly, Saturday was a great day to race; I ended up 13th with a few DNF's.  Finally I felt like I had power on the bike though, as I was able to hang with a group consisting of Mark P, Peter Ehmann, Tony, and Ron Stack.  After Peter caught Cory Stange, I was hoping the pace would drop just a bit.  It didnt, and the group was almost instantaneously smashed.  Mark and I ended on the back of that group, and with two to go I was slowly being popped off.  On the last lap (crossing the line at about 59 minutes!) I couldn't take Mark's pace and ended up 13th, in what was the longest 'cx race ever (1:07 and change).

Sunday didn't quite fare as well.  I didn't feel very solid in the warm-up (the course seemed to be entirely uphill, which even a physics teacher can conclude would be impossible...) and pretty bumpy still.  Right before my race it started to drizzle a bit, which would prove to be an issue for me.  My start was ok in the small field (absent today was Card, Weinert, Tony, and Don C) but I couldn't make the jump into the group ahead.  I had the technical aspects of the course pretty well dialed in, with the exception of the last 180 degree turn onto the finishing straight.  

I was riding with Todd Frerichs and we were pretty much trying not to get lapped.  At one point just before the uphill by Zingermans, Todd looked over and said something to the effect of "This is all I got, so if you have more than go!"  Needless to say I stayed glued to his wheel, as his pace was about all I could take.  I led into the barriers by the S/F line.  I wasn't really trying to punch it, more like just keeping momentum to the upcoming drag.  I came into the 180 degree turn at what I would consider to be an average pace, when WAM, my front wheel slid out and I was on the ground.  I don't even remember braking in the turn, and I'm usually pretty good at not crashing during a race.  It happened faster than I could even really react, and unfortunately my left knee took a blast of my handlebar.  I knew within about 2 seconds that I wouldn't be getting back into the race, so Jim took my transponder and Jon had my jacket.  Robert was all over the ice and I retreated to my car in officially my first 'cx race DNF.  Not a good feeling, but at least nothing is broken and the season plans are still in order.  At least the power on Saturday was going in the right direction.

Thanks to Shannon and Chris for coming out and cheering on Saturday.  Kristie was in Pigeon for her sister's wedding shower, so Kona was with me on Sat.  Kona was pretty exhausted from the day outside and slept for the entire car ride home and most of Sunday.  Next weekend is the Iceman followed by the USGP's in New Jersey!  I'll be bringing out a stack of 1x9design stickers...

Hope everyone has checked out ISSUE 4!

Bad news for US 'cross???

From: 

"According to Adam Meyerson, UCI Cyclo-Cross commision member, inscription forms and information on being a UCI event for next season are now available, and the deadline for registering events is just six weeks away, on December 15th.

Of note is the expiration at the end of this season of the UCI's exception given to North American promoters on minimum payouts.  Currently UCI promoters in North America have been allowed to put up half the value of the UCI mandated payouts.  These minimums are enforced at European races, but lowered to help further introduce UCI races in America.  It seems to have worked, with the record number of UCI races in the States today.  But if the higher payouts are enforced next year, we might see either fewer UCI races, higher entry fees, or expanded sponsorship needs to maintain the current number of UCI races.  With the economic crisis on hand, hopefully a quick recovery can help make sure the latter option is a viable one."

I have to agree, it seems like we have a ton of UCI races around the states this year compared with years past.  I have a feeling that increasing the payout in these events would effectively kill all but the largest ones...

Feels like...

So this morning Kristie and I headed down to Jeff's house pretty early.  She had a shower to head to on the north side, Jeff and I were headed to the race at Lower Huron.  Thanks to Jeff, Kristie and I didn't have to drive two cars down, as it would have been next to impossible for us to coordinate the drop off/pick up with a race and shower in the middle.

Jeff and I made it down to catch the end of the C-race, did a few laps, saw the B-race, did a few laps, warmed up during the masters race, and then prepared for 60 min of suffering.

Last year I didn't head down to this race simply because it was a bit too much to do after the Cinci UCI's and the mad rush of the early 'cx season.  This year, without a good excuse to miss it, I decided to head down to the race for the first time since I was a junior.  Interesting note about that one...back then Robert started the race over across the river and the bridge included two-way traffic to the crazy run-up, which was different than the one this year but similar in angle and magnitude.  I was in the B's for that race (this must have been in 1998...) and in this particular day I was leading the race with about two laps to go.  I remember coming around one of the corners by a tree near the finish line and coming upon a crazy guy on a road bike standing in the middle of the course.  I nearly missed drilling "that guy" and yelled something so he would move from the course.  I don't remember exactly how I finished the race, but what I do remember very clearly is "that guy" was in fact Frankie Andreau, who stopped by while on a ride.  Whoops!

Well today didn't go much better, but at least I didn't try and run over anyone.  I feel like I have a four cylinder and everyone else is running on 8 or 12.  I didn't get last, but that was really only because Mark P blew a major gasket towards the end and not because of any super-human effort by me.  I think I remember my lap times being relatively consistent, which is nice, but it would be nicer to take 10-20 seconds off each lap.  I guess I have a long time to get better, but it would be nice to have a bit of that right now...

Next weekend is OFF and I plan on resting up for the Vet's Park / Iceman / USGP???

jb

My Biggest Fans

This post is dedicated to my two biggest fans.  They are the BEST!

Chicago Cyclocross - Hawthorn Woods

So this past weekend I drove down with Kristie and Shannon to Chicago.  Friday night we got a late start and didn't make it to Chicago until 11-ish.  The next day we were busy with the Northwestern vs. MSU football game and the 60th anniversary of the 1949 Rose Bowl team.  My grandpa, a trainer on the team, is one of only a few still around from that team, and since Rose Bowls don't exactly come around every other year for NU, they make a pretty big deal about the two teams that have ever visited Pasadena in January.

Saturday after the football game we had a nice dinner with all of the former players but it was a long day and I was pretty exhausted.  Sunday morning I managed to get a spin around the hotel parking lot before breakfast, which was the first time I made it on my bike in over 48 hours.  My legs were accordingly stiff and non-responsive, so I was hoping for the best with my "late" race time of 1:00 Chicago time.

Shannon, Kristie, and I arrived at Hawthorn Woods city park around 11:30 or so and we were greeted with WARM temperatures and a packed parking lot.  The Chicago Cyclocross Cup series is a well-oiled machine considering that all of their races are put on by different promoters across the Chicago area.  Fortunately for me this race was only 16 miles away from the hotel!  After registering in the 1/2's for "only" $25, I took a pre-ride lap of the course between the 11:00 and 12:00 races.  I managed one lap, and was quickly amazed at the sheer size of the sledding hill within 200 m of the start.  

Our start found the first 10 called up from the Chicago series, so I was in the second row with a total of 23 starters.  At the gun it was a bit sketchy, as the start straight was narrow (maybe 3 m maximum) and there was an off-camber turn within about 100 m of the line.  We headed off to the right and quickly swept around for our first jaunt up the far right side of the sled hill.  At the absolute top we did a 180 degree left hand turn and bombed down the hill, only to be greeted by another 180 degree right turn into a single barrier (at the bottom of the hill).  I remounted and rode to the top again (all but one lap was ridden) where we turned left one last time and bombed down the hill again.

The course then twisted around the back side of a baseball field and onto some very curvy pavement.  The wind cut across from the right as we did a "munson-esque" out and back (all on pavement).  We hit one fast barrier which required a swift remount before being back on cobbled pavers within 10 m of the barrier.  There was one small section of mud when we rode through a ditch and then rode around the perimeter of a large grass field.  A few more turns by the pits brought us back through the Sram start loop, only to be greeted once again by the beastly sled hill.

Considering my lack of riding and overall lack of energy and power lately, I felt pretty good.  I rode with the group of 10th through 16th place for most of the race, but couldn't respond to the attacks in front.  10th and 11th were separated by about 10 seconds, with 12th and 13th taking it to a sprint.  I finished about 15 seconds back from them and was pretty happy with 14th on the day.  Most fun of all was the sweet cheering section I brought with me...Kristie, Shannon, my mom, dad, uncle, and two cousins all came out to support me.  It is always nice to get some encouragement while you're suffering like a dog around a HOT course.

One thing I took away from this weekend was that we have a pretty sweet set up for 'cross racing in Michigan here.  Except for Robert's rope, which is difficult to see in sections that wrap on itself, we have two great series available for 'cross (plus the Ithaca GP and the pumpkin series...).  Sometimes it is pretty easy to criticize but until you put something on yourself it is also important to remember how much work it takes to put on a quality event.  The Chicago races were well-run and aside from a few narrow sections here and there, it was a fun course.  I'm glad I was able to get out and see a different race from a different series, but was a bit sad to miss the UCI's in Cinci.

Oh yeah Cyclocross Magazine's issue 4 should be out any day...check out the Ithaca article when you get a chance!  Thanks Kristie for some sweet pics from Sunday!

Update

Ok briefly, because I'm absolutely exhausted:

1) The Ithaca GP went well, only 60 riders, but it was a great day to race!  Hopefully more people will show up next year, but 60 was a nice increase from 43 last year.

2) Today's Stoney Creek 'cx was my first official jump back into the A's.  Let's just say I didn't get lapped...no snap = dropped from the last group on the course = riding 4 laps by myself, trying to hold off the train of Jeff and Mike.  At least I held off those two and finished on the lead lap.  I guess there's only one way to go when you're on the bottom!

I will do my best to update the blog more often.  This week was homecoming at AHS, meaning I was just a tad busy.  That on top of the Ithaca GP didn't do well for my sleep or just plain time at home.  Now most all of the extracurriculars are done, so I can focus on improving from today's finish.

jb

Busy

Sorry for no post...not much to say really other than my races didn't go as well as I would have liked them to go.  7th on Saturday and 6th on Sunday.  

The Ithaca GP is coming along very well though!  Hopefully turnout will be where I want it.  That will have a huge effect on the future of the race.  

Hope to see you Sunday; I'll probably be too busy between now and then to make another post, but watch the Ithaca website for some updates.

jb