USGP Louisville Recap

Finally finding the time to recap the weekends events. Where to start.........well let's start with Friday, actually I'll start with Thursday. Typical fall day at the shop, finish a set of tubies for the weekend, and then off to get some wood to build a headboard for Pinky's bed. Everything was going according to plan until the call came changing our Friday departure time to two hours earlier. Now it's pretty late, the headboards done, but I still need to pack and throw it all in the van before I go to bed. Right about now is where a race wheel and a trainer wheel were put aside and left behind, doh!
Friday came and I picked up Bill and headed for the airport to pick up Brad. Pick-up went well and we were on our way to Louisville when I realized I was missing wheels, bummer. While we were driving we got reports that the course was very muddy. Visions of a very busy weekend quickly filled my head.
Saturday morning arrived and everybody got out for a few laps between races to check out the course. There were a number of sloppy mud holes and peanut butter straightaways but the true killers were the 3 long grassy straightaways that were super soft. So soft that your wheels sunk a few inches the whole way. Alex raced first in the 2/3's and had a stellar ride, starting in the back he rode all the way to the front to finish 8th. Chris and I went next in the Jr's/Master's 45+ race, Chris battled the whole race to finish 3rd while I started in the back and worked up to 12th. In the Elite/U23 race we had Bill, Logan, Brad , and Joe. Joe again had a great ride working his way up from a bad start to 20th overall and 3rd U23. Brad finished 43rd, Logan 46th, and Bill 52nd.
Sunday course conditions had improved quite a bit, there were still some mud holes but course changes had shortened some of the power sapping straightaways. Yea.......all the little guys were feeling a little better about their chances. Alex again started in the back and I watched as his race entered the first mud bog after the start. After the first few guys got through they started crashing and Alex and I could of held a conversation while he stood there a waited for the course to clear. It was the ride of the day to work his way up to 9th by the end of the race. Chris had the same battle as yesterday and again ended up 3rd. I wish I could of watched his race but I could hear it as I was racing. I got a better start in my race and after a lap I was in a group of 6 or 7 figuring there was a group ahead of us. Then I heard the announcer say that were the lead group and not long after that we were down to 5 guys. Strange race though, I fell 6 times. None of them fast, twice the guy in front of me crashed and took me down, the rest were just slide outs in the turns. Sure would of been nice to have the Challenge tires instead of the Tufo's, maybe next time I'll bring them. The crash on the last lap was the killer as the race was on and I couldn't get back to the group for the sprint. 5th isn't so bad considering I wanted to quit bike racing the day before! In the Elite all of the KCCX/VERGE riders got a good start and were somewhere on the 30's on the first lap. Joe was on a good ride and got up into the top 20 before he began to struggle. Tough day on bike for him but he hung on for 25th overall and 5th U23. Brad and Bill had better races and finished 34th, and 38th. Logan had a good start and was looking good before a pulled hamstring ended his race.
Overall it was a good weekend, the team rode well and I felt like I got a little more in tune with how the team works. Being a mechanic for the team changes the dynamic of how I race but now that I've got one race weekend under my belt I think it's going to work out just fine. That's a good thing as my results Saturday definitely reflect the stress I was feeling going into the weekend.
Long post so I'll leave you with some pic's from the weekend. I'll have to tell you about Trebon's crash and then about how Power's hit the deck and nearly landed on my feet with one lap to go.















The "GREEN MONSTER", it's true, those steps are really steep. Sydor leading the Womens Elite Race.
















Bike wash time!
















My bike after Saturday's race.

















Da boss and Alex. Alex told me he thought his ride Saturday might be the best ride he'll ever have. I told him if he keeps it up his results will continue to get better. I was right, his ride Sunday was even more impressive.














Still like this picture, the Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld guys are flying. They have it down with the teamwork, fitness, you name it. Helps that Johnson is on the gas right now.








Then there's was this to deal with. Washed quite a few bikes this weekend but it could of been way worse





















Yep, those stairs are steep. Bounce your wheel off the stairs and you'll take one in the chops!










Joe got on the podium Saturday, 5th on Sunday, not sure where that leaves him in points.

So that's it from Louisville, Next up for the kids is the Boulder Cup weekend in Colorado. Big race for points to get to Euro cross camp. Wish I could go but family obligations are going to keep me home. For me in Pinky's last soccer game, Halloween, and Boss Cross this weekend.

waiting for call up

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Waiting for the Elite race.

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The green monster

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USGP Louisville, Day 1

We arrived in Louisville Friday night after driving through rain most of the day. Reports from guys all ready at the course reported muddy conditions. Since we arrived too late to see the course I was a bit nervous about what we would see Saturday morning. Overall the course wasn't as bad as it could of been. There were a number of mud bogs but most were short. The problem would be that the rest of the course was super soft and would just suck the power out of your legs. The day started out for us with Alex in the 2/3 race. Starting near the back he would fight his way to a 8th place finish, easily the ride of the day. Chris and I were next in the Juniors/Masters race. Chris had a battle on his hands the whole race and finished 3rd. I started in the last row and managed to work up to 12th. The Elite/U23 race was next, all of our guys rode hard with Joe finishing 3rd in the U23 race and 20th overall. Brad was 43rd, Logan, 46th, and Bill was 52nd. The sun was out by the end of the day and with a little bit of wind the course was drying quickly. With a little luck the course may dry up in time for today's race.

Hope to have more updates during the day today. Should be a little bit more relaxed with less mud.

Joe 3rd U23, top 25 overall. Logan @1 lap, Bill Brad DNF, Busy day in the pit. Off to do laundry and dinner. Details later.

USGP alex 8th, Chris 3rd, Tom12th. Elite/u23 next. It's muddy but drying fast.

On the road to Louisville

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Blvd Cup

Race Across The Sky, The Movie

Coming this Thursday........"Race Across The Sky", a movie about the 2009 Leadville 100. Watch this trailer to see what it's all about. Pretty cool footage of the Colorado mountains and there's even some cameo appearances from Kent, one of the Trek Stores owners who finished in the top 20.

It's showing a few places around town but it looks like it's a one shot deal, Thursday night only. The crew from the shop is going to the Merriam Cinemark 20, but I'm dragging the kids along to the Town Center 20 in OP. Hope to see you out there.

Cross Cup Weekend

Not too sure how I would rate this weekend. On one hand the KCCX/VERGE Team rode great and gathered up wins and podium spots. The Lincoln Crew came down for the races and a good time was had by all while they hung out at their KC home.On the other hand my riding was below par again and I'm about as frustrated as I can get.
But I'm not going to let it get me down, there are too many factors that are out of my control. I'll just keep plugging away, fight my urge to pile on more mileage, and stick to Coach Adams plan. No matter what happens I'm really looking forward the the USGP next weekend in Louisville,KY.

On to this weekends races:

Wow, I got nothing, The team rode well on Saturday, Jeff 1st, Chris 2nd, Adam 5th, me 8th. Sunday Joe 1st, Chris 4th, Jeff 5th, Adam 6th, Me 8th, Alex 9th. The whole crew was in the top 10 today!

Overall the weekend went well, the courses were good, rider turnout continues on the upswing, and today, the Boulevard Beer was flowing!
















This weekend proved to be a tough weekend to double up. Saturdays course had zoysia grass that sucked the power from your legs. Bravo to the guys who could stand on the podium 2 days in a row.





















Troy and I both were feeling Saturdays race before the start. It proved to be tough to get going.

















OK guys.......What's the plan? #1, back away from the furst turn when they start the 55 cat 4's.






















Shadd and Andrew, both are going fast.























Nate and I had a great battle near the end of the race. It got a little tactical when we started catching Teammate Adam, I couldn't drop Nate so I had to slow him down. Worked except I managed to bobble on the stairs on the last lap so Nate got a gap over me that he could hold the finish. Oh well, our little battle was the most fun I had all weekend.

All done......for now

Yeaaaaaaaa, all done with the tubies that I have right now. Can't wait to try the Challenge Grifo tire after using Tufo tires for the last 2 years. Now if I can just keep from catching the flu from the family. I think the kids got it from that giant petri dish called elementary school. Or maybe I have had a mild case earlier in the week with the headache and vertigo. We shall see......

New Toys for the boys

As most people who read this blog have noticed that I'm part of the KCCX / VERGE Elite Cyclocross Team this season. I've got kind of a dual role with the team, rider/mechanic. A perfect fit for a guy like me, I get to race at some of the bigger races around the country, and work on the bikes for the team. OK, the mechanic side is a bit more involved. I'll be working the pit for the rest of the team and wrenching on bikes between races. It gets even more involved when it's muddy and it's a 2 race weekend. 12 riders, 2 bikes each, you do the math, that's a bunch of cleaning, ect...... To tell you the truth I'm really excited to see our U23 and Junior riders race as they are some the fastest guys in the country. Our goal is to help the young guys get on the worlds team and my job is to make sure the bikes don't hold them back.

So let's look at some of our new toys........

















A new batch of Challenge Tubies arrived so it was time to sniff some glue. After a couple of hours of huffing it's no wonder my afternoon workout went so bad!

Got to have some wheels for all those tubies. Easton EA 70 wheels are the standard wheel of choice. There's some carbon wheels floating around here somewhere........... ohhhhh it's that darn glue again.

Got to have clinchers in the tire quiver and here we have an answer to muds, the Maxxis Mud Wrestler. Can't wait to get a set and try them out.

So that's about it for now. More huffing tomorrow and then it's time to get ready for a double up weekend of racing.

And so it begins.........

Cross season finally began for me a few weekends ago with Boss Cross #1. Really nice day and a fun course by Jeremy, Joe and their crew. I was a bit nervous going into the race as the knee has healed on the inside but it was still a little torn up on the outside. Other than playing around at cross practice with Jonas the cross bike has been on the hook since last year. To make a long story short, I had a poor start and got caught behind the first turn crash. By the middle of the race I had worked myself up to mid pack where I stalled out. With unknown fitness I decided to back down the pace to make sure I finished. In the end I finished 10th and felt pretty good. Hindsight says that I should of gone full gas the whole distance as I was way too fresh after the race.

Missed Boss Cross #2 for some family business in Lincoln but did get out with Pinky for a spin through Wilderness Park on the cross bikes. Mathgeek and Curly got in a hike before we loaded it all back in the van for the trip home. Kind of weird going to Lincoln and not having a place to shower up before the trip home. Gramps house was sold last week so our 2nd home is gone...........bummer that Gramps, the house, everything, is gone. Gonna miss that guy.

On to this weekend! Started off with being a solo parent while Mathgeek went on a Weblos/Boy Scout camp out. Yes, I said camp out. They left at 7:30am Saturday morning,would camp out overnight, and be back in time for me to leave for the race. Uh huh, the best laid plans.............
So Curly and I had a great time playing and watching movies while Mathgeek and Pinky camped in 28 degree weather(they were fine by the way). So after chowing down my pre-race meal of Hot Dogs and Ravioli I went about packing up all of my stuff to go race. Sunday morning came and Curly and I had Pancakes with sprinkles to top off my all ready churning stomach. I had hoped to leave for the race by 10am and had a drop dead time of 11am. Around 10am I get a call from Mathgeek that she's 30min out. I guess I'll get to go after all.

Fast forward to the race. IT'S COLD, I usually struggle with the cold, and yet I still didn't get a good warm up in. Some of it was the time crunch but really, I know better. I wanted to focus on getting a better start this week, and I did. Unfortunately a poor warm up and a good start means loaded legs for a few laps. While I struggled the top 5 in the race rode away from me and I was stuck in no mans land. Eventually I recovered and started to catch Shadd who was having problems of his own. We rode together and started pulling in Shadd2 in the closing laps. It was not to be and I ended up 8th behind the 2 Shadd's. Overall not too bad of a race, I'm improving so hopefully I'll come around by the USGP in Louisville.

Nabbed a few photo's from Lyle Reynolds.























You don't see this very often, me in front of Shadd! Yes, I was hurtin'






















These guys were chasing and I was running.























I can't use the age excuse with teammate Wink pulling off a 3rd. Something was said about the combined age of the 1st and 2nd place riders being less than his age. Hmmmmmm























Another win for Joe, can't wait for the next USGP in Louisville to see him in action with the big guns. Too bad I won't be able to watch the race out on the course. I'll be working the pit for the team but hey, that's my job. More on that in the next post.

Ok, here's a different solution to a common problem. Making a singlespeed out of a derailleur frame.
















I know, it looks crazy but it actually works. I should of taken a video so you could see it spin, the crazy thing never moves from it's spot and just sits there. That's a new one on me.

Coaching

Interesting article on coaching. I can definitely relate to what it talks about. After a month off the program I finally got started this week. The knee is healed(mostly)and I'm bandage free(except for races). Hopefully I havn't lost too much fitness but I have to keep my eye on the prize that comes at the end of the season. Check out the article here:
http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=7573

Cross Tomorrow?

So what if it's 10:00pm, I've got plenty of time. Road wheels on one bike, no shifter or der on the other. Fun times......... Tomorrow is going to be an interesting day.