cross update...

Sorry this has taken so long. maybe the fact of three weeks of cross racing in a row. maybe the fact that I've been overwhelmed with this racing. or just tired.

But in any case, this will be a short wrap up of what's been happening...

Since Blue Sky or Not, we had NEOCycle; which was a cross race on the beach. Amanda raced the Single Speed class, and Genaro & I raced the Fat bike class. I wasn't sure how hard to go, since I had another race to follow.  I went hard for the first few laps, but then took it easy in the end to save myself for my second race. So many hand-ups were had. 

The good news is that Amanda got a podium spot on her race!

As my second race came up, I decided to stick to the fat bike; because of the sand and the fact that I knew I could race the whole thing without getting off the bike. I did not want to run in the sand. This may have been a good idea or not, but I had fun and more hand-ups. It's hard when one guy giving you hand ups is giving you a full beer, and it's nice beer. Just a shot is all it takes. If I could have gotten :30 sec time bonus' for my hand-ups, I would have won.

I am currently perplexed by the cat. that I am racing, but that's another story for another time.

The week following was the race in Brooklyn. I felt good. The weather finally felt like cross weather. I stood on the starting line looking at the guys next to me, and I was the only cat 4 in my race. Everyone else was cat 3/2/1. This Masters 35+ class is kicking my ass. I will finish this season off in this class, but I'll think about what I'm going to do next season.

During the week leading up to the race, our community lost one of our own due to a still perplexing accident. A fellow cyclist passed away due to a drivers negligence (since then we lost another from the same accident). Thanks to Marshall, we had a moment of silence before our race to remember those we lost. Thanks again to Marshall for that.

The race started and I had a really good start. I was sitting third with the fast guys, and feeling good. We weaved in and out of the trees at the start of the lap, and a slight down hill and a 90 degree left turn...was my down fall. I hit the corner too hot, and ran into the course tape. It got wrapped up in my bars, and by the time I got out, the field had passed me. That turned into a slight up hill; which I was not in the proper gear. So from then on out...I ran my own race. I climbed everything, didn't dab my foot once. Since last year of racing single speed, I am getting used to shifting during race scenarios. So that's a plus. 

But I had a good race. I felt good. Just one slip up and that's cross. Not sure how many more races there are (at least three), and I'll be there. If you've never been to a cross race...you should come out. Cheer us on. Hand us a beer. Or just hang out. If you're interested in racing, we are always welcome to talk. Or if you're looking for a team, hit us up as well. As you can tell from this post...we're not too serious, except about having a good time out on the course.

Hope to see you at the next race [at the Velodrome Oct. 11th (it's a good weekend for me)]...

Blue sky or HOT AS HELL?

Sunday the 6th marked the first of the cross racing this year for NEOCX. and HOT AS HELL was the theme for the day. Team support was also the theme, but I'll get to that...

Amanda raced the woman's field in the cat 3/4s at around 10am, and it wasn't pretty. I saw the look on her face, the heat got to her. Stopping for a beer hand up is never good. never...but she carried on and finished the race. Not sure where she ended. None of us bothered to looked at the results.

Next up was Chris and I in the Masters 35+ cat. You know...the cat that pays for the fast guys. I might as well just handed those guys my money and went to drink a beer. I was in the back from the start (short story...I stopped racing the single speed cat this year), but I often am, and make up ground as I go. Well...that didn't happen too much. Either I didn't drink right before the race (I was on my normal fuel, and maybe it was too much, for by the second lap it was sitting in my gut), or the heat got to me quick. Seriously...by the second lap my gut was not feeling well.

This was the first time I rode with my Garmin, and my hear rate was up where it should be, but my legs were not. So I knew there was nothing I could do, except just ride; and I did. The good thing...I didn't stumble, I didn't fall, I did the barriers without fail. In fact that was the best part of my race.

Although...coming out of the baseball field, I was able to plow through and kick ass, but once the course twisted and turned, I was fighting to keep speed. Also, I never walked/ran the hill, so that's a plus as well. Although I did employ the zig/zag on it.

I did have two beer handups, one donut handup, and a water hand up; which was the best. I could have done without my bottle which had some stuff in it.

But cross is all about fun...right?

On the plus side of things...we had our youngest member of our team race her first race; my daughter Lydia did her first race this year. In pure dad fashion, I forgot her helmet (but remembered the cooler of beer), and she had to wear mine. It was a pretty close fit, and I knew that they wouldn't have a problem with it. A short little course for the Little Belgians, out about 20 yards to a cone and back. After the dip in the course, she took a fall, looked around and got back on, and took 3rd out of 5. So the team did walk away with a podium. Never mind that the two that beat her were older, and on actual cross bikes. Dad is proud for her gusto.

The "life saver" for the day was the ice cream truck. A well deserved snow cone and bomb pop was in order.

The big part of the day was the team comradery. Eric, Genaro, Damian, and Chris' wife (and the kids) were out to cheer us on even though they weren't racing. Now that's what I'm talking about. I want to send out a big thanks to them for braving the heat (drinking my beer, love you guys) and supporting what their teammates are doing. That's what we're about as well. Not only racing, but supporting our fellow teammates out there as well.  Thanks guys...

Next week is NEOCycle...we'll be doing a bunch of events, so come talk to us.

Gravel Worlds:

We had two guys make it to Lincoln NE for Gravel Worlds. Here is the wrap up:

http://mrbigring.blogspot.com/2015/09/2015-gravel-worlds.html

Thanks guys for getting out there and having fun.

getting those podiums...

Chris & Joe going after those podiums at Dillion State Park over the weekend. Great work guys!

Well that was interesting….

Is really all I can say about the Funk Bottoms race last Saturday. I’m not sure how to elaborate on it.

It started off in the rain. And not just a drizzle. A rain storm. It rained all night, so I really worried that some roads would be out, and we would have to stop and turn around. But all went off without a hitch.

 

Let’s get this straight right away…I’m not a climber. I can climb, but not fast or quick. So stepping up to a race that has 7500 feet of climbing within 63 miles is a daunting task. So quickly do the math…yes, that is over 1000 feet per 10 miles. Just for a point of reference, Cleveland Cobbles has a little over 100 feet of climbing in 40 miles.

There was a two-mile neutral start. After that, it was everyone for themselves. For the first 12 miles I did good keeping a group of guys in my sights. After that, I was by myself checking my map, and thanks to the efforts that Chris and Marcus did the night before, all went well. Until I hit Killbuck. I missed a turn and did an extra climb. After my mistake there was a climb out of Killbuck that I thought would never stop and the cow could sense my pain. At least that what I want to believe.

Around mile 30 I met up with JG. And we rode together till the end. There came a time when we just didn’t care, and walked up most of the hills after that. I will say this…if the Funk was an gravel enduro…I’d win. On all the downhills, I just let it fly. The only time I touched the brakes was to make sure no one was coming around a corner.

With the mud, gravel and sand it was such a fun ride. The weather kept changing. It would rain down on us (by the way…I love my rain shell) for miles, and you’d forget about it, then the sun would come out and I didn’t realize it until miles later. Then I would get used to the sun and dry air, and then it would turn to a rain storm again. I loved it!

I guess the good news is that I didn’t come in last, and the Nooma (and beer) at the end was soooooooo goooooooood.

A special thanks goes out to Chris for putting it on and taking all the time to get it set up.

And just for more fun reading...here is the man himself and what he had to say about the race:

http://mrbigring.blogspot.com/2015/07/2015-funk-bottoms-gravel.html

Until next year…

Mohican 100....

One of our teammates, Mr. Big Ring, braved the Mohican 100 this year, and here is his report:
http://mrbigring.blogspot.com/2015/06/2015-mohican-100.html

and yes...he's a monster.

Thanks Chris, and keep up the great work!

Cleveland Cobbles Wrap Up...

Looking back on things and conversation; I guess this was the 5 yr of Cleveland Cobbles. Maybe I don’t count the first year, and make a big to-do about next year…any case; the day was a beautiful sunny Sunday in the late 40’s to low 50’s and we made a record right out of the gate we had a flat. So after that got fixed, we were on our way. Our normal start; up old Denison, down, & up Valley and onto the cobbles. We took a detour down some gravel and up to Harmondy park where we had a nice 20 minute wait. A few flats, and a broken chain later; we were on our way again and into Old Brooklyn.

Near the zoo we hit a nice little mud section, and some more mud at Brookside Reservation. Getting into Tremont was pretty uneventful. Getting out, was not. We drop quite a few riders getting to W. 41^st. We rode into Ohio City, and the cobbles were feeling good. Some really good roads over there. Zig-zagged around Ohio City and took a new route into the Flats passing the old Bounce. Getting to the hill in the Flats on Main, I noticed my right shifter getting loose, so standing up and thrashing the bike up the hill, might not be a good idea. Then I noticed if the lever was pushed down then it would tighten up the brake…not my first rodeo, so I made due for the time.

Out of the Flats and back into Tremont, I found myself in the back of the pack as I was getting my food on.  Through Tremont and past a couch after a pedestrian bridge, up and around W. 12st…and it was a vote for the Rowley Inn. Some went in for some…ummm…carbs. Then down the hill and more mud, and a few laps around the track. Then it was time for the last official hill, Holmden Ave. & my legs felt it on this one.

Down behind Steelyard, as I chatted with Michelle Mead. Our route was impeded by a train. Our choice was to go up Old Denison or hop over the train; over the train it was. First time for everything.

Back to the truck for some much deserved Nooma and other carbs.

Here's a Strava link to the map this year...

https://www.strava.com/activities/293284406

Great ride this year, thanks to all that came out….

what went wrong? or 765 has nowhere to go but up...

Let’s take a look at the week and day leading up to the Amish Roubaix before the actual race.

Eric had the flu and down for at least 2 days.  Chris was ok for most of the week, until the end…flu as well & on the day of. I didn’t do anything on the bike for a week, plus the day before I didn’t really eat much, and had a lot of beer. Almost threw up the morning of, but not because of the beer. My stomach just wasn’t doing well. I’m sure the beer and lack of food didn’t help.

Chris slept most of the drive down to Millersburg. Once we get down there, the smart thing to do at sign in would have been to switch to the 50k and get the hell out of the 100k…well, we weren’t smart.  We line up with the other 100k guys, and from the looks and talk of others, people were taking this damn thing seriously. So now I as a guy who just wants to go out and have fun, have to worry about someone that thinks that they are going to win this. Great…

Right off the start…we’re all in the back and we’re struggling to just hold on. So that didn’t last for long, as it seemed that everyone was taking this way too seriously. Headed up the first climb, and we were by ourselves.

 

As for myself, as I got over the first major hill at mile 5 I knew something was off. The downhill on the other side was fun, but I should not have ridden my cross bike because it seemed a little too twitchy on the downhills. Then as I hit the second big climb around mile 8 I knew what was wrong…my back started to seize up. It got real tight, and became difficult to move on the bike. While I was on the flats and downhills, I was fine. But to point the bike upward with climbs were there was no choice but to stay in the saddle, because if you stood up you’d wash out…so sit and spin on a tight back it was. So not a good climbing day at all.

I started to pass others that were having mechanical and what seemed to be other problems around mile 12. Around mile 15 the 50k guys started to pass rather quickly like it was a race or something. The last climb around mile 23 was brutal. Straight up. I caught up to Chis there, and started to serpentine the hill. My single speed experience comes into play. Cut the angle of the hill. I rode it much faster than going straight up. Once at the top, I took off. Seriously…I went like mad. I started catching people, and blowing right by them. Where was this power at the start?

As I neared the end of the first loop, I knew I couldn’t do another. It just wasn’t happening, so it was time to head straight for the bar…

Had a few porters at Millersburg brewery, and headed home. Great course, and a great time. I do think some people out there were taking it much too serious. And that mentality leads to danger if you are not experienced in that kind of terrain.

and for Chris' account of the ride:
http://mrbigring.blogspot.com/2015/04/2015-amish-country-roubiax-100k-dnf.html

Looking forward to doing it again next year…

Road Apple Roubaix:

It was a cold and snowy Saturday on February 21^st. We headed out to Middlefield to ride in the Road Apply Roubaix. All of us planned on doing the 40 miler, but as the old saying goes…Man plans and God laughs. The roads were sketchy to say the least. Chris was on his sscx, and Randy on his gravel bike; while I was on my sscx with studded tires. I tired to get video to capture the intensity of the ride, but the video did not come out the way I had hoped.

With limited traction, even with studded tires, the day did not go as planned. It was a fight to get up some of the smaller hills. Stand and pedal, loose traction. So sit and spin was the technique for the day…in more ways than one. Just to muscle through is what we did. 

Chris left Randy and I early. He knew that if he wanted to finish the 40 he’d have to take off and go. So he did. For me the worst time was out on Route 87 and the down hill. With the road conditions, and drivers; it made for a very sketchy time. My choices were to either brake the whole way with hopes of not hitting something stupid or braking too hard and falling into a ditch or worst…traffic; or just let it ride. So…I feathered the rear brake and just let it go. I can honestly say I have never been so freaked out on a bike.  I made it on a wing and a prayer. Randy and I assessed our situation and agreed to at least get off of 87 and go from there.

Once we got on more of the back roads, we were doing ok; but we weren’t getting any kind of speed. It would have taken us all day to do 40 miles, and it just wasn’t worth it. So we peeled off at the 12 mile mark and opted for hot coco, beer and pizza as the better option.

A few hours later Chris came rolling in. He was one of only five that completed the whole 40 miler…on a SINGLESPEED!!! He said it was one of the most brutal rides that he has ever done.

All things considering…it was a great ride, and we’re going to be back in the spring to ride the course without all the snow. ;) Thanks to everyone that made it happen. Next year…I’ll bring my fat bike…