RDR3.0

This past Sunday, I finally got to participate in the cyclocross adventure that is the Ronde de Rosey. I missed the last edition, because it fell on the weekend before I was to be married. Having seen how often I crash, my wife was smart enough to forbid it. The course layout included 70 miles of riding, with 70% of it off road, in areas I had never ridden before. Having heard tales of suffering on past editions, I was feeling a little concerned about how well I would hold up over the course of the day. I was also worried about my bike situation. Since I was hit by a car in January, my only functioning cx bike was a single speed. Thankfully Chip helped me out, by setting me up with his Hup Edition Honey. I rode it for the first time on the way to the Washington Square Tavern, our host for the race. It happened to be just the right size for me, handled better than I could have hoped, and worked out beautifully with the 1x10 setup.

Borrowed from Chip, the Honey was the right tool for the job.

I also had the benefit on being drafted onto a team that I worked well with. My fellow Hupsters Mike, Mark, and Jay, helped to settle my nerves in the week leading up to the ride. While it was technically a "race", albeit a bandit one, we approached it in a more casual manner. We were there to help support Bikes not Bombs, and ride until our legs fell off. We all agreed to ride together, rest and eat as needed, and not blow ourselves up in the first half of the ride. This game plan was the right one for us, because the temperatures on Sunday were in the low 80's. We were wiped out at the finish, but we saw other teams that looked completely fried by the end.

Team Bryter Layter, ready to roll. L to R; Mike, Me, Jay, Mark

The scene at the Washington Square Tavern was a sight to behold. By my best estimate, there was $250,000 worth of bikes piled halfway down the block. It looked like a cx'ey version of critical mass, with around 135 riders chomping at the bit to start. There was a staggered start, with groups of anywhere from 4 to 6 teams, taking off at 5 min intervals. We had a mid pack starting time, taking off with one of the larger groups.

Mike had loaded the route onto his GPS, so he led us out. I didn't realize how big the group was until I looked back, and saw how many guys were following us down Beacon. Eventually, folks got a little impatient, and started blasting by us. We saw the lead group go flying off course almost immediately, heading the wrong way. We corrected our course, and were soon at Skyline Park. The first turn onto the grass hill looked like a scene from WW1, with 30 guys charging out of the trenches. Thankfully there were minimal casualties. In fact everyone was very courteous to each other, the only yelling I heard, could best be described as whoops of joy.

Once we were out of the woods, we drilled it towards Cutler. We took a little swing into a parking lot just before the park, following the styling ladies of the Hup/Pink Style. As it turned out, they just had a flat, but seemed to have it on lock down, so we continued on our way. Cutler was a blast, with bridges, fast single track, and even a few jumps at the pump track.  All of it was awesome until we hit the roots, and loose railroad ties, and then I remembered I wasn't on a mountain bike. Thankfully we made it out without any flats, and took a brief snack stop, before we hit the road to Needham Town Forest. It was there that I had the only flat of the whole day for our team. While I was changing my tube, multiple teams came barreling by us. I'd like to think that we did a nice job of heckling/cheering, but some of those guys were moving so fast, I don't even know if they even heard us.

2 hours in, we rode through Wellesley Square, and pulled over with several other teams to grab more water at the CVS. After that it was up the Cliff Road climb, where the teams we were riding with started to crack, and get strung out. Our team regrouped at the top, and then dropped down into the woods. We had a big forced run up near the Weston Reservoir. There were some jokes about it being a death march, but I was actually excited to have a reason to shoulder a bike for the first time in months.

Mike, still styling after the big climb.

Jay on the big run up.

The next notable section was the railroad bed. We got there at the same time as several other teams, so I kind of wrote off making an attempt at the Strava KOM in traffic. Even so, it was still a hot, dirty, dusty, painful little section. It hurt enough to make us pull over in the shade to take in some fluids, and food. I shoved a whole baked potato, and some Hammer gel in my face. I think I may have been the only person on the Ronde to gain weight through the course of the day. Mike, also smartly introduced the "Less" call out at this point. If the pace was feeling like too much, all a team member had to do, was say, "less" and we would adjust. No explanations needed. I think this saved us all from entering a dark, unhappy place. Just one more example of why I loved my team.

Hi, I just ate a potato.

Feeling strong, I decided to try for the Lincoln Rd. KOM right as we hit the start marker, and sprinted off down the gravel road. I had to outrigger a little through the first curve, and was moving at about 30mph, when I came to a split in the road. Of course I had no idea what direction I was supposed to go, so I just pulled up and waited. So much for the KOM. Looking back up the road, I saw the Mad Alchemy pain train coming up the road, and hopped on. I admired Pete's new Stoemper, and then pulled over and waited for the rest of the team. I apologized for my crazy attack, and off we went to Walden Pond. There was some route confusion, and we missed part of the trail, finding ourselves on Rt.2, riding up the sidewalk. Soon we were in more familiar territory for me, and rolled into Concord Center. 

There were a large number of riders at the water fountain in the town square. We caught up with some of our friends on how their rides were going. It sounded like there were almost as many routes taken up to this point, as there were teams. Once our bottles were topped off, we started jamming up the Concord-Bedford Rail bed. We took turns pulling along, and caught up to 2 other teams, before we made our way to the Col de Lex. Mike and I pushed each other on the climb, with him reaching the top first. After the down hill we ripped through some more trails near Lexington, that I didn't even realize were there. Then it was a lot of pace lining back to Boston. We got a little confused in Watertown, and the Burrito Men flew by us, with their Wattage Mule, Ryan Kelly. We tried to give chase, but gave up that notion pretty quickly when they started dropping watts like they were hot.  

Once we were back into Boston, we were all ready for the ride to be over, and drink some cold beer. Sadly we seemed to be caught behind every light, back to the tavern. When we finally arrived at the Washington Square Tavern, the scene looked even more chaotic than it had when we left almost 6 hours earlier. Thank goodness that the owner Gerry, was good enough to host our sweaty, spandex covered butts. The final tale of the tape had Team Bryter Layter; racking up 65 miles, with a moving time of 5hrs and 1 minute, one flat, dust aplenty, and loads of radness.

Our Belgian tan lines look good!

I would like to thank Rosey, Chip, and Matt A.; for putting together such a great course, rounding up sponsors, raising money for a good cause, and helping me to have one my best days ever on a bike. Special thanks to Gerry of Washington Square Tavern for hosting the madness. As for my team, I want to thank Mike for taking super long stints on the front, and his riding wisdom. Mark for his endless enthusiasm, and great attitude. Jay for his ready laugh, and calming presence. 

Rosey surveys what he has wrought upon Washington Square.

Post Race Observations:
The Good
-My fantastic teammates.
-Riding with all of my biking friends, and making new ones.
-Discovering all new places to ride.
-Hurting so good.

The Bad
-The only thing I can think of, is that these events don't happen often enough.

Fells Face Plant

With snow in the forecast for Friday night, I asked the Internets if anyone was up for an early morning ride. Mike said that he was up for an early morning meet up in Harvard Square, and a ride at the Fells. Saturday morning dawned with a disappointing lack of the white stuff, and some rain, but by 7:00 am the rain was turning to a light snow. We rode over to the Fells, and were happy to see that the snow was just starting to accumulate.

The conditions were pretty slick, so we were both taking it fairly easy. Mike more so because he was figuring out his new bike, and me because I am prone to crashing. Sure enough, as I followed Mike down a rocky descent at high speed, full of false confidence in my abilities, I crashed hard. I started to lose it on my front wheel, and my instincts from riding the old '95 rigid with cantilever brakes kicked in, causing me to grab the brakes. These were the wrong instincts when transferred to the new bike with hydraulic discs, and I went over the bars. Some people say that when you have a bad accident it happens in slow motion, to this I say FALSE! Every major crash I've had, happens so quick I barely have to time to even think, "Oh crap!", before impact. I stopped my forward momentum, by landing jaw and shoulder first on a rock. I had managed to turn my head just in time to avoid injuring the mustache. I lay dazed on the ground, clutching my face, which was bleeding. Mike heard the crash, and doubled back to check on me. I had to lay on the ground for a few minutes, while I took stock of whether anything felt broken. After deciding that I wasn't going to die, I got up, and Mike suggested that I take a chunk of ice from the pond, and apply it to my jaw. Which I did, numbing it up, and then we were off again.

After a little while I noticed that I was riding like a drunk, and after informing Mike, we moved to the easier trails as we worked our way out of the Fells. Even injured, the ride was still fun. The trails were pretty empty, with just a few trail runners out. With the light coating of snow, Mike commented that it looked like Narnia. We even found what could have been the home of Mr. Tumnus near the top of Bear Hill. We stopped there to eat something, and I when I tried to take a bite of my Pro Bar, my jaw felt like it was being stabbed with an ice pick. Between the jaw, and the chance of a mild concussion, we decided that getting my ass back home would be a good choice at this juncture. We had some fun conversations about martial arts, injuries, and such on the ride back. Upon arriving home, Sarah asked how the ride went, and I told her that I think I should go to the hospital. I was primarily concerned that I might have fractured something in my jaw. I stripped down, and discovered that my shoulder was looking a bit rough as well. I washed as much debris as I could out of the gashes in my jaw; I saw a nice array of dirt, pine needles, wood, and blood in the sink.

Dangit, I got blood on my new Lazer helmet straps.

Sometimes, the gnar shreds you.

My wife drove me over to Mt. Auburn hospital. I didn't feel like I was in dire straits, so we went to the walk in clinic registration area. They asked me what I was there for, and when I told them what happened, they looked at me like I was insane, and told me to go to the ER. The ER put me in a room pretty quickly, but things slowed down considerably, due to what I assume was the shift change. I had a cat scan of my head, to see if any of my facial bones or jaw was broken, and an x-ray of my shoulder, both of which came back clear. They gave me some percocet, and as I waited for the results to come back, Sarah asked if my jaw would need stitches. The physician's asst. said maybe 1 or 2 at the most. After cleaning out the wounds better, "maybe" had turned into 9 stitches. I guess it was good that she asked. After 5 hours at the hospital, we headed home, and I took a 3 hour nap. I woke up feeling like crap, but we went to Allston, to wish Mr. Whitney a happy b-day. I turned to a self medicating liquid diet of beer, which led to some ill-advised pull up action. Seeing so many of the NECX crew seemed to be the best medicine though, and I left feeling much better.

Mount Washington Winter Climb

With cyclocross season over, I've been looking for other ways to keep myself fit. So I signed up for a winter Mt. Washington trip with a group of my co-workers. I've done quite a bit of hiking, snowshoeing, and climbing while living in Washington, but I hadn't had an opportunity to climb, "The Home of the World's Worst Weather." since moving to New England. At 6,288 feet, it doesn't sound that strenuous to someone who is used to the Cascades, but as I've experienced on other hikes in the White Mountains, the trails are quite tough since they literally shoot straight up the side of the mountains. Couple that with some pretty gnarly weather, and you have a pretty good workout.

On Friday 1/20, all 8 of us crammed into a Chris's minivan topped with 2 cargo boxes, and made our way up to Pinkham Notch. We made a quick stop at Subway for dinner, our group wiping the place out of meatballs, before pulling off at a parking area to set up camp for the night. I was immediately struck by the cold, with the temperature hovering around -5 F my nostril hairs froze. I was struck even more by being able to actually see the stars. Living in the city, with all the background light, can really make you forget how amazing the night sky can look.

We stomped down the snow, and quickly got the tents set up, and crawled into our sleeping bags. I shared my tent with Dr. Dan, Margaret, and Susan. We joked a bit about the cold, and what people were or were not wearing in their sleeping bags, before people started to fall asleep. I think Susan was the hands down winner at falling asleep the fastest, or is just narcoleptic. She was out 10 seconds after she finished a sentence. I on the other hand was having a hard time falling asleep, not really because of the cold, but more in anticipation of the climb in the morning. Eating the Subway 6 inch BLT right before bed probably didn't help, but I can never fault bacon for anything.

It's getting cold in here, time to put on all our clothes.L to R: Dr. Dan, Susan, Margaret, Me. Photo: Micah Chu

When we woke up a little after 5am on Saturday, the exterior of my sleeping bag was covered in a rime frost around the hood. I had slept pretty fitfully through the night, but the cold air woke me up pretty quickly. We  shook the frost out of the tents, quickly packed up, and drove to the Pinkham Notch visitor center. They have a great gear room under the lodge for people to suit up in out of the weather. Chris and I set up our stoves outside in the predawn cold, to heat up some water for whoever needed it. Everyone fueled up with something to eat. I opted for some of the amazing scones that Margaret had baked. It took about an hour before everyone was ready to go, and then we started up the Tuckerman Ravine trail. The first mile and a half  was a steady climb up packed cat track. This validated our decision the day before to leave our snowshoes. We saw a number of people skinning up to ski the ravines, including a pair of ladies with skirts over their ski pants. It didn't take too long before I started to form some icestachicles.

Icestache

At the base of the Lion's head trail, we all put on our crampons, pulled out the ice axes, and had a quick snack. The trail was very steep going until we reached treeline, with at least on near vertical section. There weren't many other climbers on the trail, but even so things soon got backed up through the vertical section. I was happy that the weather in the trees was exceptionally mild, with the temps at around 10 degrees, with almost no wind, and just a light snow. When we finally broke treeline, we took another quick break out of the wind before starting the ascent. Chris shared his winter climbing energy snack of choice with us, which turned out to be Sour Patch Kids. Once everyone had a chance to get hydrated, we started up into the windblown section above treeline. The trail was much icier, making the crampons and ice axes a must. Just a week and a half before our trip, an inexperienced climber died, when he slipped and fell 800 feet down into the ravine.

Our group heading up the Lion's Head Trail.  Photo: Micah Chu

By this point we were moving pretty slow trying to keep our group of varying skill and fitness levels together.     We had all agreed that we would either reach the summit as a group, or go back down together if someone couldn't make it. This did make it challenging to maintain a good body temperature as the speediest of our group had to spend a lot of time just standing around as we waited. Overall though, folks were very encouraging of the other members. Chris was really key to keeping everyone motivated, and moving. While we were waiting at one point, Bill took a fun little video. I'm sure that "the Abel" will be the next dance craze to sweep the nation.

As we continued up the trail, the temperature was steadily dropping, and the winds were really starting to pick up. With the threat of frostbite looming, we stopped in the shelter of a large rock outcropping and broke out the goggles and balaclavas. I looked a little like a Darth Vader/Ninja/Cyborg in my full get up. 

Don't fail me again, Admiral. Photo: Dan Rozelle.

Even as well covered up as I appear. I still managed to end up with a small patch on my cheek exposed, and suffered some "mild" frostbite. This is definitely not an environment that you want to have to relieve yourself in.

The trail was being covered quickly in snow drifts. Without the cairns and occasional route flags, it would have been difficult to navigate at all. I was really taken with the unusual ice formations on the rocks, caused by the extreme weather. I'd never seen anything like them before. They were like small breaking waves, frozen mid crash.

Windblown ice sculptures. Photo: Dr. Dan Rozelle

Time was not on our side as we neared the summit. The cutoff/turnaround time we had decided upon was quickly approaching due to our slow pace. With a final push, and some extra encouragement, we were able to finally get everyone up to the summit. We reached the observatory right as the worst weather of the day was blowing through. The winds were steady at 40 MPH, gusting to 50 MPH, with a temperature of -5 F. This gave us a windchill of roughly -36F. Needless to say, we did not want to stick around very long. We got our group photo, and Chris got to fly his kite at the summit, which was a pretty cool sight to behold.

Chris doing some extreme kite flying.

Left to Right: Back Row; Chris, Bill , Margaret, Micah. Middle Row; Me, Dr. Dan, Jimmy.  Laying Down, Being Sassy; Susan

On the descent, about 300 yards below the summit, I slipped and fell when my crampon broke. I was in total disbelief that they had failed, since they were practically new. All manner of curses directed at the manufacturer were flying through my head, as I tried to repair them. Chris saw that I had stopped, and rushed over to help me. While the others continued down, he quickly worked out a way to secure them to my boot, using some spare straps, and we were on our way again. We quickly caught the others, but Jimmy was having some bad cramping issues. Chris, Micah, Margaret, and I stayed with him, and sent the others onward to get out of the weather since Susan was in danger of getting frostbitten feet. With the daylight fading quickly, I was getting concerned that we wouldn't get him down through the more technical sections on the route before dark. I gave him some Cytomax, to try and get some electrolytes into him, which seemed to help. It was still excruciatingly slow as we made our way down. My cx instincts were making me want to push the pace, but we had to get Jimmy down the hill safely. The near vertical section was pretty scary in the gloom of dusk. I was especially proud of Margaret, who conquered her fears and made it down without any help, aside from some coaching. This was after we had to wait to descend, because a woman in another group couldn't handle it, and had to be lowered down by rope.

Once we reached the bottom we had to pull out the headlamps, to make it back to the Tuckerman Ravine trail. Once we reached the cat track, I ran ahead to let the others know that we were okay, since we were probably a full hour behind at this point. Sure enough, once I reached the lodge, Susan, Dan, and Bill had been waiting around for us for about an hour. The others came in about 15 minutes behind me. At this point everyone was exhausted after spending almost 11 hours on the mountain. I'd really like to do this trip again soon with a smaller group, and see if we could do it in a more reasonable 4.5 hours. We quickly packed the van, and hit the road. We stopped at several places to try and eat, but every one had a long wait. So we settled for Burger King, where I was met by the most epic soda fountain ever. It had over a hundred differ flavor combinations, which to my sleep deprived, frostbitten brain, was a little overwhelming. So much so, that I ended up drinking a quart of cherry Mello Yello.

Post Climb Observations:
The Good:
-Chris. He drove, encouraged us all, kept the group's spirits up, helped fix my crampon, flew a kite on the summit, and got everyone safely down the mountain.
-My friends Susan, Margaret, Micah, Bill, and Dan for making what many would have considered a disastrous trip a good experience.
-Cherry Mello Yello

The Bad:
-Frostbite on the cheek. (Not that bad, almost healed already)
-Broken crampon. Camp USA, you will be hearing from me soon.
-Too much Cherry Mello Yello

The Bitter Cold Showdown

This was such a fun race, and a great way for people to try out cyclocross in a low pressure enviroment.  Andy and Ernest did a great job organizing this "bandit" race, although I've never heard of a bandit race course looking this good. I showed up early on Sunday, to help with the setup, not really knowing what to expect. Andy was already there putting in stakes, and gave Ernest and I the basic rundown of the course. Andy entrusted me with his course map, and we went to work. Having helped to set up several courses, I was surprised at how fast we were able to make it come together. By the end, we had a pretty technical little course, with some off cambers, a set of stairs, two ride ups, barriers, and another forced dismount. So much fun crammed into a small course! There was also the unique feature of two "shortcuts", which would allow people to skip one of the ride ups/run ups by eating a stale munchkin, or doing a random physical task. This added another fun element to the course, and made it friendlier for first time racers.

This was also very unique in that it was a relay style race, complete with batons. The "rules" stated that you couldn't place them in jersey pockets, which led to some interesting ways to carry the batons. Also, if you dropped one during transitions, you had to wait 5 seconds before continuing. There were 8 teams of 4 or 5 people, which was a pretty big turnout. The 3 teams who rode the most laps would move on to the finals. I rode with the Hup team of Chip, Parke, Ernest, and Cosmo. This was my first race as a Hupster, so Chip let me borrow his vest. 

Andy Huff gotz batonz.  Photo: Roger Cadman

I was happy that Ernest was finally going to get a chance to do a race. It was also really cool that Cosmo made it all the way up from CT to ride with Ernest, and coach him on the course. 

We did a Le Mans start for the race, to add to the general level of shenanigans. Chip took a nice little video of it. Everyone was cheering, or heckling in a friendly manner for the entire race. Several times during the race, the police rolled by slowly watching us, but never bothered us. I had to cut out before the finals, because of work, but I heard that they were just as fun. I'm really looking forward to another version of this in August!

Check it out! Tiffany Remy took some great shots of the race, which can be found here. Nick also made a really slick movie using some his Go-Pro footage, spliced with Tiffany's photos.

NE Regional Championships

Last year I attended both days of the inaugural NE Regional Championships. I had a good time, despite the field sizes being low, and the temperatures being even lower. I was happy to see that more people were pre-registered for this year's edition of the races, even if it meant that I wouldn't get an "attrition" podium in the SS race. I didn't really have very high hopes for the Cat.3 race. While only 70 guys were signed up, at least 45 of them were listed as faster than me according to crossresults.com points.

The course was pretty much the same as last year. It was pretty flat, but far from boring. I was happy to see the "spiral" feature was back, along with the much used flyover from the MRC and Weasel races. The sandpit was loose and much more of a challenge this year, especially during Saturday's races before a line was packed out. There were two sets of barriers, one low for hopping, and one taller than normal set. The ride up back in the wooded section felt a lot less sketchy than last year, since the pavement at the top wasn't covered in ice. Overall the course was very fast, but there were plenty of turns, and little technical off camber sections throughout the course, to keep you on your toes.

DAY 1
Saturday I was signed up for the Men's SS open. Knowing that the course was pretty flat, I debated putting on a smaller cog. In the end laziness won out, and I stuck with a 36 x 16 gearing. There were only 18 of us signed up, but we were also racing with the 15-18 junior boys on their geared bikes. The juniors were given a 2 minute head start on us, which left me wondering how many laps it would be before one them lapped me. The call ups for my field were by the Zanconato SS series points first, which put me in my only front row start of the season. Todd and I were joking that neither of us felt like we belonged in the front. I figured that it would take about half a lap before I squandered my starting position, and let one of the faster guys behind me get by.

Front row of the Men's SS Open.    Photo: Mike McCabe

The juniors went off, and the 2 minutes before we got our starting whistle seemed like an eternity when I thought of how far ahead of us the juniors were getting. It was a clean start, and knowing that I wouldn't be able to hang with the lead group for long, I settled into a comfortable pace for me. This had me in about 6th positoin. The lead group jumped off the front immediately after the spiral section, but got slowed down by a crash at the sandpit. They were still in view as we hit the tall barriers, but steadily pulled away through the rest of the first lap. I lost a few places sliding back into 11th as a few guys got by me: This included the hairier of the Durrin's, Tim, Jerry Chabot from the Cyclocrossracing.com team, and the same Team Psycho rider who lapped me on a Surly Pugsly at my first Ice Weasels. I did my best to latch onto Jerry as he came around me, shamelessly sucking his wheel through the finish straight.

Spiral of Doom!     Photo: Mike McCabe

Jerry kept trying to shed me at every opportunity, but I was able to close down any gaps. In the mean time, Brad from Geekhouse, Brian from SLIJK, and my cross clash nemesis Mark Bernard from HUP were closing with us. Jerry and I both drilled it through the paved section, and opened up the gap through the turns on the baseball field. This also got us back up the the Team Psycho rider, who Jerry got by before the flyover, but I was stuck behind. I made my move at the short barriers, passing on the run, and getting a small gap by the time we exited the spiral. By this time, Jerry had gotten about a 10 second gap on me. I was never able to bring him back, through the last lap, and came through the finish solo in 9th. The juniors had been flying, but I never got lapped, in fact I actually caught 6 of them through the race.  It was a great finish to my single speed campaign, and gives me hope for doing even better next season. In fact, it would be great to try racing SS at nationals for 2013.

DAY 2


I picked up my friend Susan early in the morning, and we made our way out to the venue. It was to be her second race ever, and her first on her new cyclocross bike. She was excited to race, and I was just as excited for her. We watched some of the men's Cat. 4 race, before we headed over to registration to grab our numbers, and get out of the cold for a bit. We ran into Cait, who was having a skinsuit zipper malfunction, which she solved with a multitude of safety pins. After a quick course inspection with Susan, it was time for her to line up. I planned on cruising around the perimeter of the course to cheer on the Susan and the rest of the women's 3/4 field, instead of actually warming up.

Velogremlin at the barriers! 

Susan did really well, and met her goal of not being DFL, but got lapped right at the end by one of the super speedy juniors. Cait pulled off the victory in the 3/4! Not only is Cait fast, she is also much tougher than I am. She did the race in 20 degree weather with no gloves. 

My race was up next, so I quickly gave Susan the car keys, and her jacket so she could go warm up. I then headed over to line up, in what was the biggest field of the day at 60 riders. Crossresults had me staged in 41st. My goal was to try and make it into the top 30. I had a decent start, and was about 30th overall, as we headed into the sand pit for the first time. There was a crash just ahead of me, that I was able to run around, and picking up several spots as more people got caught in it. I was running about 25th as I came to through the smaller set of barriers, but ended up crashing with  CJ. I didn't realize that he was bunny hopping them right behind me, and I must have drifted in front of him as I was remounting. Neither of us were seriously hurt, but I found out after the race that CJ busted his rear shifter, which I felt terrible about. Thom Parsons took a nice video of the race, and the crash(at 1:07) which can be found here, on Cyclingdirt.org. 

The crash allowed several people to get by, including my friends Jon Barry, and Mark Bernard, which I then spent most of the race trying to chase down. I had a pretty good handle on the course by this point, and knew which lines to take, which helped me bring back a number of riders. Unfortunately for me, both Jon and Mark were flying, and I was never able to catch them. In the last lap, I caught one of the MIT riders right before the last little 180 that led onto the off camber section, before the finish straight. I played it well, big ringing the offcamber, and sticking his wheel, before making a good jump with 30 yards to go. I really like sprint finishes, even if mine are not for a podium spot. I met my goal for the race, and finished in the top 30, 28th overall. 

Post Race Observations:
The Good
-Raced hard both days, and minus the crash with CJ, kept it upright.
-Met my race goals.
-Had a lot of fun.
-Saw my friend Susan have a lot of fun, in her second race ever.
-Cait won a Christmas tree jersey.

The Bad
-The combination of the sun, cold, dry air, and dust screwed up my eyeballs for days. They felt like they had been sandblasted.
-Being so tired on day 2, I didn't even have enough energy to drink a beer.

The Ice Weasels Cometh

Dah Weasel has been good to me, over the past couple of seasons. While the vicious little rodent has eaten it's fair share of derailleurs, it has spurred me on to race my face off. Colin's Weasel franchised races, have led to some of my best results of the year. More importantly, they have led to the most fun I have had on, or off of a bike. The fun factor is one of those intangibles, that is really hard to plan for, but can make for a cult like following when executed well. In addition to his wonderful algorithm, he seems to have discovered the formula for a good CX race. Now if we can just convince him to promote a MTB race in the summer,("Dirt Weasels" anyone?) I can get my Weasel on year round.

My first Ice Weasels in 2009, actually involved ice. I had just purchased a cyclocross bike, and it was my 4th race ever. I got lapped by a tri-athelete on a Surly Pugsly, but it was my best finish of that year. I also gave out donut handups for the first time.  In 2010, I doubled up, racing the Cat.4, and single-speed. I finished in the top 10 for the Cat. 4, and got myself hooked on single-speed. I also managed to give out more donut hand ups, as well as take more than a few myself. For 2011, I debated doing 3 races, but decided that two was enough.  So I registered early for the Men's 3/4, and Zanconato SS series finals.

Rocking out, at Dah Ice Weasels Cometh.

My wife and I got up early, made some bourbon infused syrup for waffles, and picked up 50 munchkins for hand up use. We hit the road at 8 to avoid parking issues, and to watch the morning races. The HUP crew was great, and let my Sarah and I hang out at their compound, while we watched waited for the first race to start. The Cat.4 race, saw Andy Huff take the very first hand up of the day, a chocolate munchkin from me! He also took an iPhone hand up(at 25:25) from the Schon, much to my amusement.

Coming through the barriers, with all my nemeses in hot pursuit.

Soon it was time for my first race, the Men's 3/4, which also featured the very fast Crystal Anthony vs. her brother Josh. At the line, the "fun police" let us know that they would be DQ'ing people for taking hand ups, to the astonished gasps of the field. I started in the 4th row, and had a good start, moving around the outside in the first turn, and picking up a number of spots. In the first lap, I found myself chasing people I didn't have a real chance of staying with, all the while being chased by some very familiar faces.  Jon Barry, Robert Hale, Ryan White, and Conor, were all right behind me. I tried to stay smooth through the corners, of which there were many, and pushed hard out of each one in hopes of keeping my nemeses at bay. I picked some slightly different lines from the majority of people, which I think made all the difference in the end. I had a lot of fun coming through the high speed barriers, where I didn't brake at all on the approach each lap. I was able to create small gaps there every time.

 Bermingham added a new twist to the course, and the loose runup was actually much nicer than the old one from the last couple of years. Coming through a 180, Robert made a move on me, and we had a little friendly shoulder rubbing, as we fought for the line. At least I hope he saw it as friendly since I was laughing the whole time. I chased Rob for a full lap, before I was able to get around him again. Ryan eventually came around both of us, and I fought hard to catch him, trying to even up our "Hobbit Cup" standings. I eventually caught him on the flyover, and got a little space on him through the next couple of turns.

Neck and neck with Ryan. Rob and Dave in pursuit, and someone confused  by the flyover.

Throughout the race, I was getting cheers, and encouragement all over the course. Enough people seemed to recognize my mustache, that Ryan claimed I was the most popular guy in our race. I also kept hearing what was going on with the leaders, and wasn't surprised to hear that Crystal had made her way to the front of the pack. I was also happy to hear another of my favorite racers Ian, had made his way into the lead group. Meanwhile, I found myself in a heated battle with HUP's Rob Hale, Jordan from CB/Iglehart, and Dave from BRC. I eventually got on the front of the group, after making an attack through the finish sprint. I was leading through the bell lap, continuing to push hard, but took a bad line as I tried to get by a lapped rider. This allowed the 3 behind me, to cut under in the corner, and I didn't have enough real estate left to get by them before the finish. On one hand, this knocked me out of the top 10, with me finishing 13/71, but on the other hand it was also my best result of the season! Knowing that hand ups were once again verboten, I decided to take in a few beers and donuts before my next race.

I missed part of the women's race, as I got cleaned up and warm, but I did get to cheer them on and got a few pictures. Including this gem of Megan, taking the fight to her anti-power animal, Giardia.

Take that, Giardia!

The single speed race, was the last of the day. The temperatures had dipped quite a bit, and my legs were toast from my first race, but I was VERY excited to get out on the course again. Not only was this the finals of the very cool Zanconato Single Speed Trophy Series, put on by Mike and Chip, but it was also the largest field of the year! Mike and Chip did a great job putting the series together, and promoting it. It brought a lot of added fun to my season, and let me race against a completely different set of people. I see the SS category as a great melting pot of like minded riders, and am happy to have been able to take part in it.

The staging was by series points, which meant I got my first call up! I started second row, seeded 13th, which is much better than my normal pack fodder starting position. I knew that there were quite a few very fast guys staged behind me, who would likely pass me at some point, since I was predicted to finish 28th. However, I was determined to finish in the top 20, despite my leaden legs. I got another clean start, and was in 10th position at the first set of barriers. I held onto this for a bit, but soon saw some of those fast guys, like  Scott Rosenthal, and Andrew Kruelwitz in his daisy dukes make their way past me. My SS friend Ben also shot by me on one of the straightaways, as I told him he would with his higher gearing.

This late in the day, the kegs were running low, and the spectators spirits were flying high at the high speed barriers. The cheers for all the racers were non-stop, and could be heard from the other side of the course. I didn't take any hand ups, since I was moving through the barriers too fast, but I did get a high-five from Patrick and almost crashed into the tree. Andy Huff also gave me a small change hand up, but I couldn't hold onto it with my frozen fingers. Out at Bermingham, I got compliments on my handlebar mustache, from two of the juniors camped out there. I tried to gasp out a thank you each time, but I'm sure it sounded more akin to a death rattle by that point. My favorite part of the race, was probably when 40 toting announcer Ryan Kelly, went off on my mustache for some time. Apparently, my 'stache is very hug worthy. Late in the race, I had finally caught, and re-passed Ben, but found myself stuck between an ECV rider just out of reach, and unable to shake Ian from CB/Iglehart. Our "group" never came together, with each of us trying to lose/catch someone, all the way through the finish. I beat Ryan, taking the prestigious "Hobbit Cup". I made my goal of top 20 though, finishing out at 17/61. This also had me finish up in the Zanc Series, 13th overall. Not too shabby for my second race of the day!

Post race, we had the amazing raffle for people who had participated in the SS series. Chip did an amazing job getting sponsors on board for this. While I didn't get the top prize of a beautiful, custom made Zanconato frame, I did come away with a very cool prize. I am now the proud owner of a gorgeous Lazer Helium, warrior series, in the Belgian color scheme! The fit is great, and with the dropping temperatures, I've already fallen in love with the rain shell that was included. Now I know why everyone is so keen on these helmets.

Left: My new Helmet!

Post Race Observations:
The Good:
-Rode well in both races.
-No crashes.
-Fun times at Bermingham.
-Won a new helmet.
-Hobbit cup win!
-Rob Hale's super tasty chili, and Hupcakes a plenty at the HUP tent.
-Lauren Kling's pastry stand!


The Bad:
-Hand up crackdown.
-Couldn't make my lazy butt race 3 times.
-I didn't buy all of Lauren Kling's mini-pies.
-Can't really think of anything else that I didn't like.

NBX Day 2

This was my first trip down to Warwick. Everyone told me it was not to be missed, and that I had to go. I talked to Ben the night before the race, and we decided to carpool since he lives close by. We picked up Susan, and stuffed her in the car as well, amid all of my ever growing pile of race supplies. It was really nice to drive down with a full car, and have folks to talk with.

The venue was impressive, with the course taking good advantage of it all. There were two long beach sections, lots of tight turns in the trees, some loose corners, a berm, an uphill barrier, and a paved downhill finish. The course was generally dry, and very fast. There were lots of great areas to spectate, and the course crossings were all well manned, keeping everyone safe.

Ben, Susan, and I wandered around the course, watching the 3/4 Women, and 10-14 Juniors. I took some photos, and then it was time for Ben and I to get ready for the Cat.3 race. Ben had taken a chance, and registered day of. This placed him at the back of the pack at staging, with me about  4 rows ahead of him. We joked that he would probably beat me anyway on his single speed. Guess what, he did.

My race went really well for the first 3 minutes, before things started going sideways. I had a great start, being lined up on the right side, right next to the fencing. I used the "pro" hold the fencing, with both feet clipped in technique, and picked up 30 spots before the first turn. The traditional Cat.3 scrum for position was at an all time high as we bounced over the roots, and through the loose turns leading to the first beach section. I held my own through the first beach section, and was feeling pretty good. As we approached one of the loose 180's, an overzealous junior decided to dive bomb me. Rather than being aggressive, and running him into the tree at the apex of the turn, I instead got shoved to the outside into the loose stuff. I then proceeded to go down hard on my right knee. So hard that I had trouble forcing my body to cooperate, and get back onto the bike. With the field not really strung out, 20 guys must have gone by me in just a few seconds. This included my buddy/cross-clash opponent Matt, who yelled at me to get moving. I certainly tried to, but with less than satisfactory results.

What a beach.

Back on the bike, I tried to hold onto my position, but it took a little while to get my knee to agree to stop screaming at me to pullover, and remove the handful of sand out of it. I was starting to feel better in the second lap, and had stopped bleeding spots, when things went sideways again. This time I managed to clip the inside of my left ankle on my pedal, when I slipped coming into the barriers. There was a quick jolt of pain, and then my entire foot was completely numb. I found myself stumbling through the barriers, and then trying to get back into my pedals with the block of wood I called my foot. All the while Susan was yelling at me to suck less.

I continued to "race" for the next half a lap, as I started to regain feeling in my foot. Unfortunately the feeling I regained was agonizing pain. Still, now that I was able to tell what my foot was doing, I was starting to get back up to race pace. Just as I got back up to speed, HUP's Robert Hale came up behind me. I was hoping to  battle it out like we did at the end of Baystate, but Robert decided to not to, and dropped me like a bad habit. Next Uri, and an ECV rider caught and passed me before the first beach. I chased them, but then they both went down in the sand. I ran around then, and got a small gap on them. I then proceeded to ride off course after a tight turn, where the course tape was down. Goodby Uri! At this point I was fairly certain that I had angered the cyclocross pantheon of Gods. Mud, Blood, and Beers had forsaken me. I told myself with what little bit of race I had left, I would try to regain their favor.

First order of business, focus, and actually start racing again. Second order of business, not let myself be passed by anymore of the juniors. I was riding with one of the Killington kids, and another junior from Union Velo. They were both good riders, but I was able to use some of my old man watts to drop them on the downhill paved section. I soon found myself riding with my fellow MRC member David. He passed me when I took a bad line, and I chased him for a full lap and a half. I was having a great time, before getting a little space on him at the run up on the second beach. I made it cleanly through the barriers at a full run, and was able to attack again on the punchy little climb back to the top of the course. I held him off through the last half of the lap, but it was a great battle.

Chasing David.  Photo by: Thierry Blanchet

After starting in 66 position, and moving up into the 30's, I finished 72/97. Certainly not what I had hoped for. Even more frustrating, is knowing that I am capable of doing so much better on a course like that. Oh well, it just means next year, I will be coming back to Warwick hungry. Hats off to Ben, and Matt though, who both had very good races.

An even bigger congratulations goes out to my friend, and cross hero, Andrea. She won both days at NBX, and after seeing her really drive the pace on Sunday, I hope to see her do big things at the USGP in Bend.

Andrea with the win!

Post Race Observations:
The Good:
-I didn't break anything.
-The course was great fun to ride when I wasn't crashing.
-Even hurt, I was able to make some good attacks on the pavement.
-Given a beer post race by the Cape Cod racing crew, to chase my super tasty recovery burrito with.
-Susan yelling, "Go Team Buttwatts!" when I ran through the barriers.

The Bad:
-I bruised everything.
-I let a 100 lb. junior dive bomb me.
-Movember 'stache watts do not carry over into December.
-Staying on course was hard.
-Still trying to get the sand out of my shoes.