Crosstube

Check out www.CrossTube.net on this rainy Saturday. Hopefully Highland Park is getting drenched!

T-minus one week

Mike and I rode out at Ithaca today.  Too bad there was a polka fest going on in the south pavilion...in a short amount of time the amphitheater of pain will be filled with the sounds of metal!

A week from today I'll be lining up with the boys from G.R. and probably a few stragglers from the east side at the Highland Park Kiss Cross race.  I'm excited to finally see how training has gone but that can have both good and bad results.  Let's hope they're good...

jb

Seven Sweetness at Star Crossed

Seattle’s Cascade Bicycle Studio has teamed up with Seven Cycles to offer both steel and titanium ‘cross frames with a limited edition, glow-in-the-dark paint scheme to celebrate the Seattle’s pioneering night race and ‘cross party, Star Crossed. The frames are being offered with an impressive 2-week delivery time, which means if you act quickly, you could even be riding your new glowing steed at this year’s Star Crossed.

Zac Daab, owner of Cascade Bicycle Studio and founder of the Hup United club (featured in Issue 2), came up with the idea of creating a ‘cross bike specific to his market and region. Daab thought the Star Crossed event, being the “queen” ‘cross event of Seattle, was the ideal race to inspire these specially-painted frames.

Glow in the dark paint? Will it last? Daab says the special paint, if cared for appropriately, can keep its glowing properties for several years. But the paint and reduced prices may not be the biggest selling points; it’s the 2-week delivery time that may be the biggest draw, according to Daab. “Typically, if you order a custom ‘cross frame during the season, it’s likely you won’t see it until the following year,” he explains. “With this Limited Edition project, the customer can expect to receive their Limited Edition frame in 2 weeks.”

SOLD!!!

1 Yakima AnkleBiter Deuce top mount bike rack (msrp $100)...and 1 Yakima Lockjaw top mount bike rack(msrp $85).  Condition of both are used and probably 7/10 to 8/10.  No locks but the plugs are still in place.  Fits ROUND yakima bars.  $50 for the AnkleBiter and $40 for the Lockjaw OBO.

Cyclocross season is fast approaching it is time to get everything finally dialed in.  Chains, shifters, everything that wears on a bike wears 10x faster on a 'cx bike.  My absolute favorite is grip tape, which I seem to absolutely destroy.  

This year I'll have the luxury of a spare bike.  This is not only great for racing (mechanicals won't quite be such a downer if you have a spare bike) but also for training, by spreading the miles and wear onto two drivetrains instead of one.  In addition, I'm in the process of making the switch back to a set of tubular wheels for 'cross.  Back as a junior I had that great luxury, and I'm looking forward to them again.  This year I'll be running Challenge tires for the first time (back in the day all the only game in town was Tufo's...unless you went to Europe to pick up a pair of Dugasts).

So for these last few weeks before the season really starts it is important to keep all of your equipment maintained and dialed in, because before you know it we'll be lining up at the first KK race of the season in Grand Rapids.  Once it starts, it is a mad dash to December, with most of the weekends between now and then packed with at least one race.  Time and daylight for training will start to diminish, leaving time for bike maintenance at an all-time low.

Training for bike racing is always a bit funny to me because sometimes you don't know what you should have done until a few months after the fact.  You can always look back and think to yourself about what you would have changed during a certain training phase.  This year I'm in a whole new ball game with 60 min elite races.  My workouts have been going well but you never really know until you line up on any given weekend and slug it out for an hour.  These coming weeks before the first race therefore are left a bit up in the air as to what specifically to work on; you can only base your knowledge off of what limited you last year.  

Speaking of starting the season, the Ithaca GP is coming along nicely now.  I'm surprised that pre-registrations aren't over 20 yet (with the Enervit bonus), but it is still just under a month away.  Time for me to start finalizing staffing details for the day so I can watch the event go off (and maybe even race...).

School will be starting for kids on Tuesday.  This year Kristie has an air conditioned room!!!!  I'm very much mentally ready to get back into the swing of a regular schedule and teaching.

Can't wait to line up in a few weeks...'cross season is officially on us soon!

Nys takes 9th

Top 10 in his olympic debut, the results on Cycling News.  Top American was Adam Craig, one lap down.

From cxmagazine.com:

Sven N: ...Normally the season starts Erpe-Mere 14 sept, but I will start one week later in Neerpelt. But over the whole season I try to race I think 10 races less than last year because I see that the young riders are doing fewer races than me and I must try to be good at the end of the season also. So 30-35 races is enough for me in the winter now. For the last years we raced about 45 races in a season. That is a little bit too much. There’s no time for training anymore so you see that the condition is going a little bit down. It’s better to train a little bit and have some more rest so you can be good at the end of the season.

30-35 races??  WOW.

Fort Custer MTB TT

Yesterday I drove down to Lansing and picked up Chris Gehrs, Kristie's cousin, for his first mtb race.  On the way down I saw an antiques store burning...

When we got to the race it was already getting warm and the air was dry.  Fort Custer was pretty sandy, which made it almost as slippery as last year's mud fest.  I ended up 2nd in the Expert 19-29 but with a time of 1:05 and change there is room for improvement.  Good to know what to focus on for the next few weeks until 'cross hits.  This TT is a great feeler for 'cross racing because of the mix of slow, technical areas with pitchy climbs followed by fast, flat sections.  Seems to mimic 'cross as best as possible except for the whole getting off your bike aspect.  

The highlight of my day, getting to lead the kids race around the woods for a mile:

Next race will be Kiss Cross's highland park in September!  Before you know it we'll be in the middle of November wondering where the time went.  Until then, time to get back on the bike.

jb

Kristie's Trek XO2 is on E-bay HERE.

Tomorrow is the Fort Custer MTB TT. Looking forward to heading down with Kristie's cousin, Chris Gehrs, for his first mtb race! I'll make a post tomorrow after the race.

jb

Well my first and last crit of the year is officially over without incident.  BTR this year was run in the opposite direction as last year.  Fortunately we raced early in the morning so this year was about 20 degrees cooler than last year's event.  

The race started off as any normal cat 4 race would go.  Not too much excitement except for the relatively wild sprint for the water bottles prime.  The $50 cash prime next went a bit more smoothly though.  About 30 minutes into the 40 + 2 lap event saw one of the WMCR riders get off of the front.  I decided to bridge the gap into the wind on the back of the course.

After the bridge we worked together for about a lap and a half before we were joined by another rider.  At that point the group decided it wasn't going to be our day and they picked up the pace.  Back into the middle of the pack I went to recover for the sprint.  The last lap went as well as can be expected.  I ended up 13th after having to brake in the last turn.  It was the typical sprint, slightly sketchy but at least nobody crashed.

Today the weather was nice and cool, which only gets me more excited for 'cx!

2 official registrants for the Ithaca GP...only 18 more spots to go until the Enervit bonus expires!

jb

So today is August 6 and I have been in 'cross mode since the middle of July. I guess that isn't 100% correct because I'm in 'cx mode about 2 weeks after the season is over in December. It doesn't take me long to start thinking of the pain and suffering that will be in the coming months.

This year will be quite different as I'll be moving back up to the A's where I left off as a junior. Granted a lot has changed since then. Back when I used to race there was no separate "masters" category, rather you raced in the A's 35+ or under 35. That made for some nice sized fields and as usual it wasn't the under 35's putting the majority of the hurt on everyone.

This year the Ithaca GP is taking a similar approach on getting the "elite" field back up to where it should be, numbers wise. Also, the fastest 35+'ers can probably hang in the top 10 of the Elite race anyway, if they can stretch their effort to a full 60 minutes. It'll be interesting to see what happens! Speaking of the race, this year's event is coming off pretty well now. Sponsorship items have been showing up at my doorstep and online registration will be opened up in the next two days. John Osgood put together a shirt for us, which will only be sold as pre-orders available through the race reg website. Check the Ithaca site for pics, as they'll be posted asap.

Last night I went for a ride with the Alma Tuesday group, which was nice for no other reason than I got to ride with a group. Mike Seaman, Napper, Randy, Sally, Jeremy, and I headed out but after about half way, Mike and I were the only ones left. Considering the fact that we had both done good interval rides earlier in the day, our hammer fest wasn't at 100% but it hurt nonetheless. It felt good putting it down in a two man TT for about 25 minutes. Mike is definitely pretty fast right now. Hopefully my speed and endurance will come into form like it did last year.

I don't think I've ever been as excited for a 'cross season as this one. Despite knowing that I'm jumping into a category in which my expectations aren't to win, I'm looking forward to being back up with the fast guys of MI. I figure I have a lot of experience that most people moving up don't exactly have, so maybe that'll put me 5 minutes ahead of the learning curve for anyone else moving up. Speaking of that, it'll be interesting to see how much things have changed this season with a few 'crossers leaving and a few coming up. I understand that Joel Budacki along with Jay Moncel are gone, but who is going to make the leap up to the A's? Jer Walker is back in town and won't take long to jump back to his former form. Will Cory Stang or Patrick Russell move up? Roger Bowser has shown some form on the road earlier this year. Will Tony the Giant Killer make a move? If Justin Todd wasn't taking 3rd place he was nipping at the top 5 all year. David Morrissey showed some late season form as well as Jim Hilditch.

Not to mention the busting categories of the C class should fill a nice Killer B field this year. It is exciting to see 'cx get bigger.

This weekend I'll be hacking it out at the BTR and then over to Fort Custer on the 17th to race in my all-time favorite MTB TT. Kiss Cross came out with their schedule so it looks like my first 'cx race will be on the 14th at Highland Park in G.R.

Back on the bike...

jb

Europe Finally!

Ok so I guess it's time to update this about our trip to Europe.  I'll give you a brief picture show with the main areas we went to, as 15 days abroad takes a while to do completely!  

We started off in Rome for a night.  Here we are at the Trevi fountain, which was much larger than I ever thought.  Watch your wallets here...

Rome was all cobbled

Our ship, the Carnival Freedom, had an outdoor movie theater.  Nightly selections were tailored to the places we'd been or were going to (Gladiator, Elizabeth, etc.)

Naples was our first stop.  We went to Pompeii, which was really cool.  I remember learning about that in school and it was one of those things that I always thought would be neat to see.  If you get the chance, it is worth it!

Our next stop was to Dubrovnik, Croatia.  Originally this wasn't on my top sweet places to go, but it was on the cruise itinerary so I didn't really have a choice...man was I surprised.  This was probably one of the most amazing places I have ever been to.  There is a walled city that was absolutely blown to pieces during their civil war, which wasn't too long ago.  When they rebuilt the city required everyone to use bright orange roofing tiles, to remember the city's history.  I'd go back in a heartbeat.

After Croatia we spent two days in Venice!  Here is Kristie sitting by the Grand Canal.

Rialto Bridge...

Of course we took a ride in a gondola.  It was a great way to spend our 3rd anniversary!

After a day at sea we stopped on the island of Sicily.  We took a trip to Taromina, which is a very small town just past the place where they filmed the Godfather scenes in Italy.  It was HOT that day.

On our way over to Barcelona we sailed by the volcanic island of Stromboli (yes, I got hungry just thinking about the name).  Apparently they didn't learn much from Pompeii (see above pictures) because there is a very small town located just at the base of the ACTIVE volcano.  Hmm...

In Barcelona we walked all over the town, mainly to see this chapel by Gaudi.  Yes, apparently the term "gaudi" actually came from the guy that designed this chapel and other structures around Barcelona and Spain.  It looked like a sand castle that was dripping with water...

Apparently we don't have the pictures uploaded from Cannes or Florence, but they were both pretty cool places.  I can see why people like that whole area of Europe because it is pretty amazing.  

It was a great, long trip, but it is always nice to come home.  Kona played the entire time with Champ, one of her best friends.  When we got home she slept for 13 straight hours and definitely was exhausted beyond anything I had seen before.

I couldn't think of a better way to spend our 3rd anniversary!

Old Picture time...

Ok old picture time here folks! Here are a few from my former days...the first four pictures are all from the SAME location...WHERE and WHEN were these taken?

Your's truly running through the MULCH (hint hint) pit...carrying my IF Planet Cross! I took 6th that day behind Mr. Brent Bookwalter.

After the race I was an absolute popsicle. Who's over my left shoulder holding my pit bike? Who's over my right shoulder? For the record, my pitbike at that point was a Trek 930 26" mtb converted with stainless steel adaptors (hand made...) to run 700c wheels. I am OFFICIALLY the first ever 'cross racer on a 29er.

Who did I spot in I.F. colors?

Who was all smiles at the start?

Now for some serious old school...where and who are we? (I'll give you a hint...that's Robert in the maroon...)

Hope you enjoyed today's edition of old school cycling photos. Want more? I have a bunch.

E-bay

Check out my e-bay listings, but specifically check out this iPod touch!


Buy my stuff (please)!

jb

DVD & 'cross

When you get a chance check out www.cyclocrossvideos.com and their weekly contest to win a free dvd! I won last week's contest so check them out...

Training is back on track with one minor set back...my TCR broke so all of my hours are on my 'cx bike. Not bad to make sure I remember how that bike rides but I like my TCR. We'll see what happens but for now that means no road racing.

Yesterday I had a great ride with Matt Jankowiak in Saginaw when we were in town for my sister's birthday. It was good to see 4/5 of the family and get to ride with Matt too. We had a great time talking about old 'cross races in Michigan and how things were back when there were only A's and B's in the Tailwind series.

The 'cx bike is in great working order and I'm excited to race 'cross, but I have a long way to go before that first start. This year will be very interesting lining up with the best in Michigan for the first time since I was a junior. I'm looking forward to it but at the same time the goals for this year are very different than last year. Hopefully my fitness will come around and things will fall into place. If not, I'm only 25 and have lots more years to figure things out.

jb

Kristie's 2007 Trek XO2 is for sale. It has a 51.5 effective tt and a 50 cm seat tube (center to top). This pic has it shown with ultegra components, but her's is full SRAM Rival.

Frame - Alpha SL Aluminum

Fork - Bontrager Satellite Plus (carbon with aluminum steerer tube)

Shifters - Sram Rival (10 speed)

Derailleurs - Sram Rival

Cassette - Sram Rival 12-25

Brakes - Avid Shorty 4 Crankset - Bontrager Race Lite GXP 170, 46-38 chainrings

Wheelset - Reynolds AAlta Race Comp

Tires - Bontrager Jones CXR 700-34

Headset - American Classic

Seatpost - Bonrager Race X Lite Carbon

Seat - Bontrager Race

Handlebars - Bontrager Race Lite VR 42 ctc

Stem - Bontrager Race Lite (carbon face plate) 90 mm +7 degrees?

Pedals - not included

$1800...e-mail me!

(I'll post about Europe shortly...)

jb

Back

We're back from Europe, pics coming soon.

Easton Rocks

So my fork broke...not a big break but it was broken. Apparently it was slightly broken from about October of last year until December (state championships). I went on a dirt road ride a few weeks ago and the steerer tube started creaking more than usual, so I took it apart (for the third time) and finally noticed a hairline crack under where the headset/stem clamps on. I called Easton, and after I sent the fork in for inspection, a brand new EC90x showed up at my door! Now that is customer service...

Up to...

Wow talk about a hectic end of school year...biking went to poop after Hanson Hills, which wasn't exactly stellar in itself.

Mike Seaman and I made the trek to the hills and it was a difficult day, at best. It was good to catch up with a few mtb/crossers (those that you rarely see road racing) there. 11th in the Expert 19-29 was all I could manage but that result was higher than I felt like I would get once we started. It was funny because there were four members of team 'fast' that took it out like a bullet. Two of them finished behind me after completely blowing up once the first lap was complete. I'd be telling a lie if I said I didn't want to do better, but my goals are realistic and focus on the months of September - December.

The race has been moving right along lately. We recently picked up more sponsorship from Gin Optics as well as got Cyclocross Magazine on board. I'm patiently waiting to hear back from a few others, but one HUGE help was landing Enervit...stay tuned for what their sponsorship is!!

Bike racing is funny to me...I go in shifts to liking road racing or mountain bike racing better (currently road racing is losing big time) but cyclocross has been on top by far since I went to my first race with Dennis (1998 State Championships at Pontiac Lake). I raced on my Trek 930 with a water bottle cage. I distinctly remember that hill right after the start...Some things just never leave your head.

My Easton EC90x fork is currently back at Easton to inspect a crack, so despite the fact that my 'cx bike is not running well I'm in 100% 'cross mode. Part of me wishes I could get this ramped up for early season road races, but part of me doesn't. I don't think I have enough mental energy to stay sane.

Good talk, see ya out there.

jb

Expensive 'CX News

If you didn't have any better way to spend $149...here's a new one:

Shimano Dura Ace 46T Chainrings

June 2, 2008

"You’ve seen them on the bikes of Sven Nys, Erwin Vervecken and Bart Wellens to name a few and you’ve asked “where can I get my hands on those babies”. Wait no longer. Now available, exclusively at Cyclocrossworld.com, are the Shimano Dura Ace FC-7800 46T 130 BCD Chainrings. These factory chainrings were produced in extremely low quantities for the top Shimano sponsored cross riders. The chainrings are super rare and are in very limited supply. This is one of the best shifting and stiffest cross rings on the market and a perfect compliment to your Dura Ace, Ultegra or 105 10-speed crankset. They will also work on many other brands of cranks for that matter, but they look really sweet on the matching Dura Ace stuff. Why settle for anything less?"

Hmm...any bikes in MI going to have these? (Not mine!)