Monday, September 27, 2010

Welcome to the back of the pack . . .


"Worst Race Ever"
- Comic Book Guy

After some success last year and a Cat 2 Upgrade, I decided it was time to get into the proverbial deep end of the swimming pool for 2010. So far it's been a rough start. I'm not dead yet, but the speed at which Justin Lindine lapped me yesterday in my first UCI race was a good indication of how much faster I need to get. I'm comfortable with the fact that winning is out of the question, but my goal of staying on the lead lap was quickly dashed. All in all, the Ellison course wasn't exactly the ideal place for my foray into the deep end. The course was custom built to showcase my weaknesses. I'm not exactly superstitious, but I wasn't at all surprised when they handed me my numbers. Lucky 13.

I must have looked pretty defeated after the race because nega-coach actually sent me an e-mail giving me positive feedback and encouraging me to stick with the UCI races. Hopefully soon I won't look so defeated and he'll be back to yelling at me to suck less.

I'm very much looking forward to heading out to New England a little later in the season to redeem myself on some of the more classic CX courses.

On a more positive note, the new Stevens bikes are awesome. Better fit, better geometry with a lower BB, and the carbon is super smooth. I still need to get a few more races on them, but my initial reaction is very positive. I'm railing turns where the old Ridley's felt like big tall unicycles.

This weekend is Ommegang. Hope to see everyone there!

Friday, September 10, 2010

Stevens Carbon Team

One of these:


Equals two of these:

I figure I rode 30 miles on my motorcycle this season. It's a fair trade.

PS - the Stevens are sweet. More to come on that later.