The Last

Well, that's it the last class of the term. After spending a the majority of this week finishing up classwork and attending the last sessions of class I'm ready to head into a weekend of bike riding and sitting back.

Since my last ride was a brief spin on the trainer Monday night, Saturday's cross race in Easthampton, MA may be spent in a domestique role, if you can do that in cross.

Friday, is the last Friday of the month, and that means critical mass in New Haven, if you're in the area meet at the flagpole on the green at 5:30pm for a real easy, social ride.

A few pictures from past Critical Mass rides in the slide show.

Ride it!

Slide Show

The greatest new addition to the blog is the slide show. If I can divert your attention to the right sidebar area, you'll notice some photos circulating. The photos come from one of my picasa albums and should continually change on their own. Clicking on the slide show will actually take you to that photo album on picasa where you can see the pictures in a much bigger format.

I will try to keep the slide show related to one of the more recent posts so as you're looking over the page you can get a sneak preview, or a reminder of what has recently happened. They say, a picture is worth a thousand words. This might help bring my story telling to life just a little bit more.

Currently it is showing pictures from the season opening cross race at Gloucester since it's really the only cross race where I got a substantial set of pictures.

Turkeys on Vacation

Thanksgiving, a time for turkey, stuffing, potatoes, family, friends, and of course travel. Thanksgiving took me back to the home town for a week. It had been a year since I'd taken Route 17/I-86 back and there were a couple new things on the way. For one, upon passing through Elmira, traffic no longer stops at traffic lights, a welcome change. Also on the other side of Elmira, at the airport, the building that I suspected to be Sikorsky's new facility, was in fact, that. The building was finished, with a big 'Winged S' on the side.

Traveling slightly North and towards the great lakes also meant something else that I had yet to see this season, snow. There wasn't a significant amount falling, though heavy enough to make you feel as if you were staring at that flying through the stars screen saver while driving. I woke Sunday morning to find everything covered in a light layer of snow. By the end of the day though, everything had melted, and by Wednesday it was 60°. But it was down to 30° by Thanksgiving night. The cold temperatures made for a heck of a ride on Friday.

Monday and Tuesday found me at PAHS observing classes to fulfill requirements for my degree. Thursday was Thanksgiving, so my time was filled up rather easily for the week, throw on top of that some visiting with family and friends and some bike rides and I'm booked. One thing is for sure, I certainly appreciate the slower nature of the town a lot more now, and the extreme ease with which I moved around town via bicycle. No need for a car, in fact, a majority of my trips involved no other cars on the road, just me and the bike. Some think I'm nuts though.

3000

"So never mind the darkness
We still can find a way
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
Even cold November rain."
- Guns 'N' Roses

I set out about 7:30 pm for a ride, deciding to head towards Lillibridge with the cross bike, unsure whether I'd go for the top or not. About halfway up the paved road it started to rain, it was settled I was going to the top of the hill now. The rain only secured my dedication. It was nearly 60° out and I was certainly a little overdressed, so I got rid of the gloves and glasses and unzipped my top layers as I hit the dirt road. On the way back down my head light went into flash mode and took me by surprise for a second, then I realized it was warning me the battery was about to die, which it did shortly there after. It's mighty dark in the woods, but my eyes adjusted and I was able to make out the dirt road as I crept down the hill. As I approached town I encountered more lights and it became easier to see.

I also surpassed 3000 miles of riding for the year. At least as far as the mileage I've marked into my bikelog diary. Many warm-up rides before races and other miscellaneous mileage doesn't get recorded.

At the top of Lillibridge - it's dark in the woods.

Cheshire results update #2

I had emailed Taylor about this and he replied, there were definitely 30+ people there for our race, for whatever reason they only entered the top 20. Despite the non-desire to have a low finish and have the world see, it still is a disservice to those that paid their money and raced not to post their respective result. How much extra effort does it take to type a few more names? Gloucester had nearly 100 people in multiple races throughout the day, for 2 days, yet they listed everyone when posting their results.

I've also had to show my USA cycling license at each race, and have yet to see any results posted to USA cycling. Not that I have any upgrade points, but what if I did? USA Cycling has no official record of this to reference if I were to apply for the upgrade. So I become curious as to why I would need a license for these races. I have the license anyway from Cross Country racing, but I still wonder...

Cheshire results update

Well the organizers sent out an email that the results are posted. Also included in the message are links to photos and a link to a youtube playlist of videos of the hill people. Guess what? They're the videos I took and posted! My career in film has begun!
Back to the results though. I'm listed as 11th of 20. I figured was around 10th or 11th, but I'm pretty sure there were more than 20 guys in our field though, there were 29 preregistered, and Taylor doesn't show up in the results. So I finished in about the same position as in Dayville, but I think the field was bigger at Cheshire, so percentage-wise I did better. Anyways, a pretty good result.

Cheshire Cross 2007

It had been a few weeks since the last race and I was quite ready to get back on a cross course. Cheshire was about as home field as it's been this season. Bonus #2, our race was at noon instead of 9am. I met Taylor there and we got a course pre-ride in followed by warm up while the women's field was racing, Taylor rolling circles in the grass, I on the trainer.

At start time I rolled up to find that plenty of guys had already gathered, but somehow I managed to get myself a front row starting position. I've learned that a front row start is critical, because getting caught in traffic costs critical time. At the whistle I jumped into a sprint, then we hit a complete u-turn, it was a little dicey, but I jumped into another sprint coming out of it. So far so good, I had good position. A short bit later we hit a short right into another left u-turn. I got one guy on the inside and accelerated hard out of the turn. Now the course opened up slightly and we started to drop into line, cutting through a small ravine. Then I heard some cheers from atop the bank on my left. Lee, Rob, and Omar had come to cheer Taylor and I on. At the end of the ravine was yet another u-turn and we cut back through. More cheers!

Into the first run up. I was definitely faster than a few guys running up the hill but everyone was still close enough together I couldn't get around all the swinging bikes. Unfortunate, because I was also held up a little by these guys on the following single track, but as soon as the course opened for a bit I jumped to pass. Finally, room to move a little, and we were diving back into another little bit of single track which I could take at pace I liked.

Pain! The worst run up I've been on all year, run up #2 of this course. The organizers had strewn a log across the bottom of this hill, to which only a few guys were able to get over while still on their bikes. The rest of us dismounted, and ran up this torturous hill. (There was actually a prize for anyone that could ride the hill at least twice.) Then I heard more cheers, Jason and Lauren were there too. Oh joy, they get to watch me run up the hill in pain. Actually it was more like a slow shuffle, not a run.

So now that I was fully beyond the red zone it was off to the more open sections of the lap. Of course we hurdled a set of barriers and rode through some sand, then hit some pretty sketchy off camber corners. The last couple hundred yards were flat through a field Allowing for some steady pedaling and recovery. At the end of the first lap, I counted myself to be in about 6th position. I was pretty ecstatic about this, it was my best position all year!

Over the next few laps I passed a few guys and a few guys passed me, sometimes trading positions depending upon what section of course we were on. One thing was consistent, the pain of run up #2. Every lap I was pushed farther into the red zone, and recovered less. At one point I think I had drool hanging from my mouth because I was trying so hard to suck in what ever oxygen I could that closing my mouth or swallowing was not on my list of functional abilities. Basically, I think I found a new section of my lungs that had never been used before.

Going into the 4th and final lap, I noticed that there was a large gap behind me until the next group of guys. Now I really shouldn't have looked back, because as I was told once, the race is in front of me. So knowing I had a little space, I eased off just a little because I knew I had space. Bad idea, with about a third of a lap to go I realized they'd made up some ground on me. Now I struggled to get whatever I could out of my legs so that the pursuing guys couldn't make up anymore ground. Coming into the final straight I knew I had them, but I stood up and sprinted just to put the nail in it.

All in all, definitely my best cross race thus far. The biggest difference from the other races, a great start and not contending with traffic. I'm not sure how Taylor and I finished as of yet, I didn't check any results at the race. I'll post an update when I find them online. For now, the pictures Lee took while I was racing and a few I took of the race following us can be found here.

You can find some videos at the following Youtube links and check out the heckling from Santa Cross below.
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
Video 4
Video 5
Video 6

Don't forget your speakers

Mount Your Horses, Draw Your Swords!!

Taylor sent out an invite via email a few days ago to encourage some friends to come out to our next cross race (tomorrow). I thought it rather funny and worth sharing.

Attention people of New Haven!
On Saturday, November 17th at 12:10 p.m., the Royal Dirtnuts Cycling Federation will travel to the far off land of Cheshire, Connecticut to fight for peace, justice, those tasty little chocolate mini-donuts, and the American way in a desperate contest of cyclocross!! For nearly 40 minutes, your heroes will battle such formidable foes as Epic Velo, Hup United, Bethel Cycles, Chatty Jeff, and those guys who look like Rabbobank if you squint and close one eye. You are hereby invited to join us in our epic struggle as a fellow combatant, or enthusiastic supporter. Should you choose to take up such a worthy and noble cause, please follow this link to register and/or for directions. http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=5202

I shall see you on the fields of glory!!

With the greatest sincerity,
Archduke T. Lewis Valentine

Okay, that was rather silly and uncalled for. Anyhow, Scott and I (maybe Tressa too?) will be competing in a cyclocross race in some random little park in Cheshire. Considering our season opener was 3 hours away, this is the equivalent of home field for us and it actually is fairly close to New Haven... just a straight shot down Rt. 10. So for all those who have been asking, "where the heck are you on Saturdays?", "How come you eat so much?", "What's this cycle cross stuff?", you can see for yourself what it's all about. And it's cyclOcross with an "O". As far as bike racing goes, 'cross is rather spectator friendly. The larger events generally draw a pretty big crowd with a vibe that's somewhere between college football and NASCAR; a little loud, a little crude, a little obnoxious, and sometimes a little drunk (I think that last part is more common in Europe where they serve beer at the races). So come on out if you're looking for something to do on Saturday afternoon. Bring some food and drink (brown paper cloaking device required, as it is a public park) and make an outing of it. Cowbells, whistles, horns, and all other loud instruments of rowdiness are encouraged. Scotty and I will be suckin' wind in the slow folks class around noon and the pro race goes off a little after 2. Good wholesome dirty fun!

Karma

I'm a person that believes in the idea that Karma works it's way around, and it certainly worked it's way back to me last night.

I have this tendency to laugh when my friends do things that may in fact injure them. It really shouldn't be a laughing matter, but I really can't hold it back. Now if I see that they really are hurt, the laughter stops and I get serious, but still I know I shouldn't laugh to begin with. Taylor and I were out riding some time ago on the cross bikes and we came up to this little pile of dirt. Now Taylor had rolled over it before, but not at the speed we were approaching it at. This mound of dirt didn't have a ramp to it per say, it was just kind of there. Well, he decided jump it. It didn't happen. His front wheel kind of dug in and sent him into a dive. His arms tucked under his body as he skidded across the ground. I was just behind him and saw the whole thing, and of course rolled up to him giggling like an idiot. "Are you okay?" I asked. He was fine, just a bruised ego. So then I just let loose, I couldn't contain the laughter anymore, and since he was uninjured I couldn't help myself. I continued to have little episodes for the rest of the ride.

I was out practicing dismounts on the cross bike last night. In fact I was dismounting at fairly high speeds (15+mph). I was swinging my right leg over and then between my left leg and frame putting myself into running position. Keep in mind, my left foot is clipped into the pedal until the very last instant that I jump from the bike. The dismounts were going well, I was getting off at higher and higher speeds. Then it happened, Karma came around. I had fully committed into a dismount, but I knew instantaneously I was going to hit the ground, my left foot didn't unclip. I hit the pavement skidding on my left side. As I hit, the pedal disengaged and the bike took a few hard bounces. I little road rash, a bruised ego, and a lesson about laughing when friends crash.

Karma, you'll get yours.

Shenanigan Photos!

So, if you read the article that I linked to in my Shenanigans post, I'm sure you were wishing for some photos. Well, Velonews printed the same report, but with photos! Click here to have a look.
Cycling News did the same, with a few more photos! Their photos are here.

Shenanigans

So you think cycling is a boring sport? Your attention span isn't up for following a race that takes 4 plus hours a day for 3 weeks, you think the riders all dope, and you don't care to watch grown men in Lycra shorts? Well I can't do much for you about the Lycra, but I will tell you to check out the mountain bike scene and the cyclocross scene. The attitudes are much more laid back and everyone's there to have fun (i.e. who cares about doping?). Cyclocross is especially spectator friendly, and often, the rowdier the better. Just read about what Adam Craig, our cross country mountain bike national champion, did at the Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships in Portland, Oregon.

So take your favorite beverage in a brown bag disguise out to the local cross race and cheer as loud as you can and ring that cow bell.

And for your visual entertainment, a video from CrossVegas.
Notice any shenanigans?

Strange Sightings

Once in a while we head over towards the Farmington canal trail and nearby Brooksvale park on our cyclocross training rides. En route, we often cut through the campus of a local university to ride through some of the fields and take advantage of any random obstacles that might require dismounting the cross bike for a few brief steps. The campus has to be one of the most entertaining parts of the ride. This was especially so Monday night when Lee, Taylor and I were out riding. I would guess a majority of students were surprised, half frightened, or flabbergasted by the sight of us. Isn't three guys on bikes, in the dark with lights on, and temperatures in the mid 40's normal?

Today's video is brought to you by the Foundation for the Advancement of Cyclocross Events.


Don't forget to turn on your speakers!!

A tasty pastry with pedal report filling

Races are becoming farther and fewer between, at least races that I consider within a reasonable driving distance. Thus, I was afforded a weekend to ride for pleasure and training. This was good considering I hadn't ridden during the previous weekend while at PSU. Friday night six of us rode from the Devil's Gear Bike shop in New Haven to some of the trails in East Rock Park and then through some man-made obstacles in the city. It was quite a sight to be with five others rolling around with our lights on. At one point, I was in the back of the group as we were riding around a fairly open, swooping right turn and it was practically like riding the trail in the daylight from my vantage point with the spacing between everyone and their lights.

Saturday morning was another mountain bike adventure. The trails are completely covered with leaves now, so finding them can be a slight challenge at times if they aren't well used or in our case, littered with rock gardens. We played some musical bikes as well since Taylor is now in the hunt for a new bike. So I ended up riding Lee's bike for a little while. This was great because I finally had the chance to try out some Crank Brothers pedals.

My review of them (keeping in mind I only spent about 20 minutes with them):
I had a little trouble finding the spot on the shoe to clip in, I feel this had more to do with cleat placement on the shoe than the pedal-cleat interface. The clipping in action had a certain, shall we say, fragile, feel to it. The actual engagement is defined, it just doesn't feel sturdy. So I was left wondering if it would hold me to the pedal very well. The pedal did perform well and kept me engaged without any premature unclipping. There is a significant amount of float, more than I was used to with the SPD style I was used to running. The disengagement was as defined as the engagement, however the large angle of float left me uneasy during some unclipping. All in all they seem like good pedals, but I prefer the more solid feel that I get from SPDs and now, the TIME pedals. I've got about 2 weeks worth of rides on the TIME ATAC Aliums and so far I'm quite impressed. I'll review them a little later, after a few bouts of cross racing to see how they handle the mud.

Sunday, was an entertaining training ride on the cross bike. Taylor and I met up at the Lulu's ride (a full on roadie ride) with intentions of splitting off from the group after the short climb out of town. It's funny, some of the roadies were puzzled by my knobby tires, A) knobby tires on a 'road' bike? B)they didn't know I wasn't really riding their ride. Just to cause distress I took off at a pretty high pace up the hill leading out of town, but eased off considerably after splitting from the group. Taylor and I ended up with almost 2 and half hours of ride time, catching steep banks, stair cases and other random obstacles as much as we could. It was a grand time.

Injustice to Cyclists

Cycling, as I've experienced is often a very happy hobby. It has taken me many places, exposed me to great new things, and allowed me to make friends with very friendly people from all over. I can't imagine my life without a bicycle. However, sometimes there is tragedy involved with cycling. Cyclists are often involved in alterations with the law, motorists and others. It seems that there is generally a bias against cyclists.
Velonews has a recurring column by Bob Mionske entitled Legally Speaking - with Bob Mionske, in which readers submit their questions about the rules of the road pertaining to bicycles. In his latest article A Fatal Bias?, Bob touches upon some extremely distressing examples of injustice and bias against cyclists. Unfortunately many of the examples refer to a cyclist that was killed by a motorist.
Despite its depressing nature, I think it is a worthwhile read. Remember, even if you don't ride a bike, a friend likely does, or a friend of a friend. The next time time you encounter a cyclist while driving, be careful, it might just be that friend. With the growing popularity of this sport, reports such as those in A Fatal Bias? are becoming all too common.

Share the Road

Track Cycling Inquiries

I've always wondered about track cycling, what each event really was, why the events were named as such, and what exactly is a six day race? Well I came across an article on CyclingNews.com (see Pages I Often Visit) that explains the six day races in track cycling at a level at which someone like myself can understand. Within that article you can find a link that will take you to another article that explains a little more about each of the various events in track cycling.

Temp Step

There was no middle ground, it just went from mid 70's to mid 40's or colder. That makes things feel just that much more harsh when trying to ride now, a slight adjustment period would have been nice. Of course I was happy with the 70° temps.
After switching the clocks back it also gets very dark, very early. All weeknight rides will be in the dark with some sort of light burning. Taylor and I went out on this dark and mighty chilly night. It was an hour well spent, a good way to fight off any impending cases of SAD (seasonal affective disorder, aka seasonal depression) With lights there is no reason to stop riding.

WE ARE...

...PENN STATE!! Lee, Walter and I left work early on Friday and headed for Penn State, picking up Mike on the way. We arrived in Happy Valley, and made a pit stop at the Rathskeller to begin our weekend with a celebratory round of drinks. We soon met up with many of the fellow alumni with whom we'd be sharing the weekend. The rest of Friday night was spent at another watering hole.
Saturday morning began bright, and early. With a 12:00 o'clock game the tailgating needed to start even earlier. The fog was still hanging around Mt. Nittany when we arrived in the parking fields. Lee and I headed into the game and got to our seats just as the team was entering the field. After a disturbing touchdown by Purdue on the opening kick off the game slowly got better. We had great seats, but I think it would have been a little more fun from the student section. As it was I got a few good shots of the student section and the 'S' from where we were. Penn State finally put a check in the W column with a final score of 26-19. We spent a few more hours enjoying the beautiful sunny day at the tailgate scene. then headed back to get ready for another night on the town. We caught the bands Sunset West and Mr. Hand at the Rathskeller, both with a great show. Sunday morning we caught a great breakfast, including a fresh bagel for the trip home. Just before leaving town, we made a much needed stop at the creamery for some of the best ice cream I've ever had.
Just wish I'd taken a bike with me, it was a weekend full of walking. I've got a few pictures here.

Fight on State!

Breakfast Bagels

In an attempt to centrally locate many of the stories, thoughts, and info I share with a growing list of people I thought a blog would serve a useful purpose. So far everything is set in what I'll consider a preliminary stage, though knowing myself, this preliminary stage could last for months or more. I hope you enjoy your experience here.