Mud, Blood and Belgian Beer

To Train in Spain

2012-01-22T09:07:00.000-05:00

As I peruse the cycling websites on a nearly daily basis (just like you do...admit it), I get a little jog down memory lane when I see the articles and pics of pro teams training in Spain. I never paid much attention to these articles/pics until I ended up in the Costa Blanca region of Spain a few years back. This year has been a lot of memory lane trips as the camps for the pro have recently included numerous Costa Blanca locations:

RadioShack-Nissan in Calpe
Vacansoleil in Benidorm
Astana in Calpe
BMC in Denia
Garmin-Barracuda in Calpe

I ended up in Albir (located between Benidorm and Altea ) at a low key resort just a short walk off the ocean. The area was advertised as a cyclists training mecca...warm weather, great roads and varied terrain. I rode everyday for 2 weeks straight .. sometimes with a group of others (mostly from the U.K.) or sometimes just solo. The riding was quite amazing as you'd imagine with varied cyclist all over the place. The acceptance of cyclists on the road surprised me as a paceline of 12 riders could occupy a lane of a major street city street (similar to an Erie Blvd) without being run off the road or cursed out. A bonus while I was there was a second tier pro race started in Benidorm where we got to see a handful of top pros including Oscar Friere, some Postal/Discovery guys.

So now seeing pics of the pros in Calpe, Benidorm, Denia, etc. makes me long to get back there and ride. Almost every ride I/we did while I was there went through Calpe or Benidorm or Denia as they were only a few miles in either direction and were the main routes to get up into the mountains.

I know this winter has been rather nice to us thus far but short sleeves and shorts are sure beginning to sound nice about now. Spain anyone?

There's snow way you wanna miss this . . .

2012-01-20T07:37:00.005-05:00

Sorry about the snow way thing. Probably lame but my middle name isn't "Danger." It might be "Lame."

Anyway, as many of you know I spend every weekend riding outside regardless of the conditions. I'm not going to spend 3 or 4 hours on the trainer . . . ever. I tend to ride my CX bike in the winter, but there are some drawbacks. Cars, sketchy roads, wind chill from riding faster, did I mention the cars? Oh yeah, snow plows too. The three people that read my posts are well aware that being swept up in a snow plow is the most likely way that Mrs. Skinny will become independently wealthy. Maybe danger is my middle name, but I digress. I may be stupid, but at least I am well insured.

Last Sunday I left the house at 6:15am and it was -7 in Manlius. When Tim O. was in Caz is was -12. I'm no stranger to sub zero weather, but last Sunday the roads were clear so the bikes were moving fast. -7 with a riding induced windchill becomes much colder. I'm no weather man, but it must have translated to somewhere in the neighborhood of -82 . . . give or take 60 degrees. Fast forward to Monday morning when I'm shaving for work, I have a little frost bite, and boom I shave off most of a frost bitten mole. Apparently I'm a bleeder . . .

So you must be asking yourself, where is story going, and why would you ever share something so gross with the general public. Actually the mole thing is nothing, the weekend before I was cold and needed to . . . um relive myself during a ride and peed all over my mittens in a bulky clothing induced accident, but that's another story for another time . . . or not.

Right right, I had a point and the point is this, I'm an idiot. Don't be me. If you want to ride outside safely and at a speed that won't cause you to ultimately freeze your face and lose a "character defining mole," BUY A SNOW BIKE. How would one go about purchasing such a thing? What's it like to ride one? What size would I need? All great questions, I'm really glad you asked. You would go the Syracuse Bicycles Snow Bike Demo of course. Hope to see you there and here's a link to all of the pertinent information:

http://syracusebicycle.com/2011/10/the-surly-pugsley-your-versatile-adventure-bike/?utm_source=Newsletter+17+January+2012&utm_campaign=18+Jan+Newsletter&utm_medium=email

The Rise and Fall - aka Groundhog Year

2012-01-10T18:00:00.005-05:00

For me, it's always about 'cross. Road season is simply a way to kill time and maintain fitness en route to 'cross season. Every year as 'cross season comes and goes the range of emotions and behaviors are similar. With few exceptions, I finish the season strong and on something of a high. Fitness is high, motivation is high and generally speaking there's a high from hanging out with like minded friends every weekend. Work travel is scheduled around racing and training whenever possible, food choices are generally healthy, and despite the fact that no one pays us to race, we generally lead a better lifestyle because we race.

The end of the season always brings a range of emotions. I remember being a kid at summer camp, and on the last day you were sad to see your friends go, but you were also excited to go home. Pick-up might be from 10am-2pm and as it got closer to 2 and more and more kids were gone, it was sort of a bummer. For me, the 'cross race on the Friday after Thanksgiving was like being picked up at 1:30. Some people's seasons had ended a week or two ago, and although some people were headed to New England or Nationals, for all intents and purposes it was time to go home. I was bummed, but on the other hand, I welcomed a break in structure.

Structure has always played a pivotal role in my life . . . as Mrs. Skinny will tell you. To some extent, I've come to realize that the lows encountered at the end of the season are simply part of the process and as a byproduct, part of the structure. I can try to fight it, I can try to train through it, but ultimately what goes up, must come down and that's part of my baggage in life. In my case, lack of structure tends to ultimately end in a bad food/booze induced bender followed by the realization that I need to promptly get past "that" kind of devolved structure and back to the more conventional structure. Frankly I'm not sure that sentence even makes any sense, but hopefully the two or three people reading this get my point.

At a recent "social mixer" I was talking to a local triathlete that was essentially describing a similar range of emotions and experience after completing a 70.3. You train with your friends, you're hyper-focused and boom it's over. Sure there will be next year, but "summer camp" is over this year. During our discussion it pretty much occurred to me that although the post season low I experience after 'cross season is a downer to say the least, it's simply a means to an end and with winter comes long training rides in the dark and snow with Tim O., and before I know it we will be driving to Albany for the early spring races. Next stop Black Fly on the CX bike, MTBing, TNTS races, rinse, repeat, and back to 'cross season. Did I mention I like structure? I'll keep experimenting with ways to diffuse the post season low, but knowing that the post season high is inevitably going to lead to a post season low is half the battle. It's a merry-go-round that's worth riding.

Now if we could just get some snow on the roads so that the pure roadies will be stuck skiing or on the trainer for fitness, then I'll be truly happy.

Prettig Kerstfeest

2011-12-26T17:32:00.000-05:00

Anyone Ever Heard of This Durrin Guy?

2011-12-16T18:02:00.000-05:00

If you get the whole mud/blood/belgian beer thing, then you have probably heard of Jeremy Durrin -- there's even a fair chance that he's kick your ass if you've done a few races in New England and/or the NYCross.com series over the past couple of years (i.e., previous podium finisher at CX @ Brewery Ommegang).

In the event you've totally shut down your season from a physical and psychlo-crossical perspective, you might not know Jeremy has been in Europe racing with some of the big dogs. If you're jonesin' for a CX fix, check out his FB page or his website ... if you need a teaser, check out this latest entry on his website....
http://jeremydurrin.com/2011/12/15/europe-so-far-in-pictures/

Product(s) Review: A New Appreciation

2011-12-07T22:11:00.000-05:00

Earlier this year, I received an email from the Musselman Triathlon folks announcing WoolSports as the title sponsor.

The Woolsports Mussleman Triathlon is held in Geneva, NY each summer and has grown into one of the largest and most popular tri events in the this corner of the country.

Out of curiosity, I looked up WoolSports on the net and was intrigued by their offerings as a relative newcomer to the wool scene. Intrigued enough in fact to contact them and offer an invite to display their offerings under the jumbo party tent at Team Ommegang-Syracuse Bicycle's CX @ Brewery Ommegang event this past October.

Since the 'cross race at Ommegang, I have worn the various socks and long sleeve "T" almost weekly. The long "Superfleece" socks were toasty and comfy while out hunting as well as the few colder days at work, The "Multisport Ped" sock and "Active Outdoor" sock both not only look really stylish but they are comfy & supportive while still being totally functional as cycling, running or whatever type activity sock. Perhaps you noted myself or a few others sporting the mid-length "Active Outdoor" sock at a few of the local cross races in October and November. Basically all these socks ROCK with my fav probably being the "Active Outdoor".

While putting on the socks were straightforward, wearing the long sleeve "T" came with a bit of scepticism with regard to comfort as I tend to have pretty wimpy skin (yes, sensitive on the inside and out! ... stop laughing). After numerous "wears" as a baselayer, worn alone, or over other items, it has not caused any irritation and never retained any of the STANK familiar to synthetics. In fact, the "T" has worked its way into my regular rotation of work wear now that the temps are getting cooler.

While you have probably heard of some of the benefits of wool (i.e., environmentally friendly, doesn't stank, continues to insulate when wet, etc.), you might be surprised at how many advantages wool can provide as a true performance fabric (see the WoolSports link & browse the site, there is a ton of cool info ... http://www.woolsports.com/wool-info/benefits-of-wool/ ). While wool items will probably not replace all your cycling and fitness/performance apparel needs, it can be a neat and truly functional addition and enhancement to the performance wardrobe.

You should check out WoolSports and give the products a try -- they are some of Humperdog's favourites and you too can gain a new appreciation for performance wool products.

Diary Continued

2011-12-05T17:38:00.003-05:00

Day 6: The walls are closing in. I've ripped out the garden, done laundry, washed dishes . . . it's morning and I should be on my bike. The making of Animal House is on. During the documentary, if you could call it that, A&E continues to run commercials for a new show called "Lady Hoggers." I suspect that the end of the world is at hand. A show following female hog hunters? Scratch that. That statement was sexist. A SHOW FOLLOWING HOG HUNTERS???? I'm slipping into madness and the rest of the world appears to have a head start. The question that taunts me is this . . . Is the world literally about to end, or is it already over and I just noticed because I stopped peddling my bike? Highland Forrest with the Brown Dog is the only logical solution. Running is 'cross training right? It's ok if a heroin addict does cocaine while trying to kick the habit right? Say yes. Say yes.

Day 7: Wait, I lost a day somewhere. I think it's day 8. It's dark too early and light too late, which doesn't even make sense. There are only 7 scratches on the cave wall. Regardless it's Monday. Monday's are always a recovery day so today feels normal. Made even more normal by the fact that I'm looking at the walls of a Hampton Inn room with the warm glow of an Applebee's painting the very same walls in multicolor lights. Mmmm Home Sweet Home. Applebees . . . no Crapplebees . . . let's just call it Pooplebees. This is all a great way to get excited about riding the trainer all winter. I'm literally excited to ride the trainer. Mission accomplished.

Diary of a Madman

2011-12-03T08:44:00.003-05:00

Two weeks off the bike:
Day 1: Exhausted. I keep telling Mrs. Skinny how tired I am. She insists that I come up with a new catch phrase. It's been a long season.
Day 2: The new puppy wakes up at 4:30am like clockwork. Sleep is a distant memory. Still using my catch phrase and no interest in pedaling anything.
Day 3: No interest in pedaling anything, but scouring the internet looking at new bikes. New road frame or snow bike? Interest is low, but I will pedal again. Firefly Bicycles is making beautiful bikes.
Day 4: My liver is hoping that I'll pedal a bike. The $232.22 in wine that I buy tonight makes this questionable.
Day 5: My energy levels are rising. At 9:15am I have a great idea at work and almost call it a day. I'm shot out of a cannon. The 4:30am wake up calls are a blip on the radar screen. Pinarello Paris frame or Surly Pugsley? That is the question!!!!! I demand answers but the man in the mirror just stares back blankly. When did my eyes start to look like a catchers mitt? Must still need rest.
Day 6: It's 8:45 am. There are no openers to be done. No race to prep for. I find myself watching Beverly Hills Cop. If I don't find a positive outlet for my energy I suspect all will be lost. Madness is setting in. For the first time in weeks I muster the energy to update the blog. Can I make it two weeks without falling off the wagon and riding? I need a self help group . . . or a local chapter of Fight Club. Mrs. Skinny demands to know why my energies aren't channeled into something positive . . . like cleaning. The puppy and I have a lot in common.

Food/Beverage Rut?

2011-10-26T19:43:00.000-04:00

If you are one of the 2-3 regular readers that has periodically checked in for a while now, you may recall a few "discoveries" we've mentioned within the realm of food & beverage (at least discoveries for us simple 'cross lovin types of questionable intelligence). Perhaps the two biggest discoveries noted in this here blog (IMO) include the Bialetti and Nutella.

Since it has been a while since any food or beverage discoveries have been recently covered, it seems timely to make out a list of 5 things a 'cross racer (or heckler) should check out if you have not already.

(1) The first is almond butter -- if you are a fan of peanut butter and almonds, this should be a no-brainer. A personal favourite PBJ alternative is some almond butter with honey on good whole grain bread.

(2) While sticking with honey (or should we say sticky-ing), how about a nice cup of green tea with a dab of honey and lemon after a cold/damp weather ride. Not exactly a big time discovery (folks have been doing this for a long time), but something kinda new on this end.   If you are unimpressed, add a shot of whiskey. The added whiskey might not make for a great post ride choice but it sure takes the chill off on other occasions.

(3) So you are probably surprised it took us all the way to #3 before we talked booze (or does #2 count) but did you get a chance to try any of the Critz Farms hard cider?   They had around 5 or 6 varieties to try so one would likely hit a note with you. Some sweet, some dry, and some flavoured yet nothing really like the non-alcoholic cider drink you may be familiar with. This stuff was really interesting if you enjoy a decent alternative to a brew or vino.

(4) Since we are all getting older and we all could use more fiber, be healthier etc, etc. .... have you tried steel cut oats (aka Irish oats)? This ain't your mama's instant oatmeal here. Read up on it and you'll see. Besides, why just get on a carbon CX bike with fancy tubulars to be PRO when you could have had steel cut oats for breakfast ... now that is PRO.

(5) OK, this blog has beer in the title so here ya go ... if you love your Belgian style brews, and if you can get your hands on any (this stuff is real hard to find - may not be distributed in NY), you truly should try to get a hold of some Allagash Curieux. It is a Belgian-style tripel aged in used bourbon barrels (Jim Beam I believe). Very hi-test but an amazing brew from Allagash Brewing Co. up in Portland, ME.   The bourbon sits quietly in the background but adds such an awesome subtle element to the overall taste. I would use intrigue and awe as descriptors of the Curieux tasting experience.

There ya have it ... the top 5 recent food & beverage highlights for the first half of the 2011 'cross season.   Enjoy!

Eff Me .. Priceless

2011-10-11T20:12:00.000-04:00

Eff Me Once: warming up/riding EZ at Long Branch before the gang got there with almost brand new Grifo tubulars (one practice & one race old) -- flat.

Eff Me Twice: jump into a hot lap with the gang on the brand new, never ridden tubulars glued up last night -- stick with eyes jumps into rear derailleur & rips it off

Eff Me 3x: while the derailleur is ripping off, the new chain I put on last week (w/only 1 race on it) decides to imitate a pretzel.

Bonus Eff Me: On 690 cruising home in a combo bummed/pissed mood (with a messed up bike on the roof rack) and a freaking re-tread pops out from around a car as I'm changing lanes and slams the underside of the car.

Having realized that it don't mean shit because I am still pretty lucky when I consider the big picture ... Priceless (and a vodka martini or two never hurts either)

Get With the Program - 3 Steps

2011-08-27T08:44:00.001-04:00

So ya think you wanna give cyclocross a try, or maybe pick up a few tips/techniques to get better ... here's a basic 3 step program

(1) Attend this: Free CX clinic 8/28 at Longbranch Park in Liverpool, NY hosted by Syracuse Bicycle and Team Ommegang - Syracuse Bicycle

http://syracusecycling.com/2011/08/free-cyclocross-clinic/

(2) Read this: The unofficial CX racers bible/manual/reference by Simon Burney.

(3) Watch this: The gold standard of CX instruction & techniques from Cycle-Smart.

(4) Bonus Steps: websites to know: Cycle-Smart.com, Cyclocrossworld.com, CXmagazine.com and associated links thereof; search YouTube for CX; get a cowbell; read the blogs of J-Pow, Jonathan Page, Adam Myerson and any other CXers, practice/practice/practice; know basic first aid for bloody/muddy shins; and most importantly .... keep the embrocation off your boy or girl parts.

It's Cross Season Baby - Free Clinic

2011-08-19T09:36:00.000-04:00

Sure there are a few road races left, but for CX racers, the real season and training that go with it have already begun. Check out our free clinic . . . there won't be methadone, but there will be Nutella.

http://syracusecycling.com/2011/08/free-cyclocross-clinic/

Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes

2011-08-13T09:22:00.000-04:00

Changes ....It's happening; just as it always will, always has, always does. It is different for all of us and even if cyclical, it may come about or be perceived just a bit different than the time before or the time before that (etc., etc.). Maybe it's like the instinctual cycles of our animal friends that sense temperature changes and hours of daylight that start the hormones a flowing. Or maybe it's more like walking around the parking lot at an outdoor concert. You don't see it but your nose picks up just the faintest hint and you start asking yourself, "is someone burning a lil' herb?". And when you think you were mistaken, it hits you stronger and hell ya, you see the ritualistic circle of friends sharing the "moment".

This is somewhat how I see the road season "change" to CX season for different folks and the general local bike racing scene. It's interesting to see when it hits you and your riding buds as mid-September approaches and then see if it was like that last year. Some folks seem to have a wholesale hormonal switch that clicks on (not that I'm naming names Mr. Skinny). Maybe it's the getting dark at around 8:00 pm or the sticky sweet smell of the tall corn -- or even the first email ad from Cyclocrossworld.com that throws the switch. Or maybe it's as simple as your neighbours and co-workers inundating you with their excess zucchini and tomatoes.

I guess for myself currently, I think, but not entirely certain, that I'm catching just the slightest whiff of that unmistakable and almost inevitable change in the air. Check with me in a couple weeks and we'll see where I'm at.

Either way, you know there is no turning back or denying the obvious once you realize you have semi-erotic responses to the word Dugast, the smell of tubular glue, the words of Adam Myerson or perhaps the most tell-tale sign, you have opened a jar of embro just to deeply inhale the glorious mixture and moment of mud, blood, and Belgian beer.

(And if you watched the vid, damn wasn't he umm, shall we say a bit "unique" early on in his career?)

'Cross Season is Upon Us

2011-08-03T13:09:00.004-04:00

2 New Bottom Brackets - Check
2 New Cassette's - Check
2 New Chains - Check
2 New Set of Candy 3 Pedals - Check
2 Sets of Clean White Bar Tape - Check
2 Sets of Cables and Housings - Check
4 Challenge Grifo Tubulars - Check
A Boatload of Glue - Check
1 Replacement Seat (White) - Check
1 Highly Motivated Cyclocross Racer - Check

Enjoy your last road and MTB races boys and girls. I'll be 'cross training . . .

PS - Clearly Drummroll is ready for CX . . . I think he has some pent up issues to work out (See below). You might want to give him some extra room on the first lap or two when we get back to racing.

We're Doomed (aka over due for a rant)

2011-07-28T20:43:00.000-04:00

I suppose I have reached that point in my life where I think we as a society or the human race in general is/are doomed. I'm sure my parents have felt this way as did their parents before them (and so on and so on). But why are "WE" doomed you ask whereas we survived in the past? Well it's pretty damned apparent from where I'm sitting. First I have growing concerns about the younger generation coming along -- the ones walking down the street, head down focused on a freaking smart phone, the ones who can provide intricate detail of the pros and cons of a X-Box 360 vs. q Wii yet doesn't know who the difference between Dr. MLK Jr. and Dr. Seuss -- the ones with 300+ friends on FB yet have the "social" skills of a cold french fry (at least until they make an app for that) -- you know what I'm saying.

The final straw pushing me over the edge causing this here rant is actually two fold. First, I recently heard about this "planking" craze. Seriously? ... a craze where you essentially lay on your face? At least the Macarana (as much as I despised it) involved moving. I'm sure they'll invent a planking video game or app soon so you can do it virtually from the couch. And the second part, I was passing thru the living room last night and was stopped in my tracks by something I saw on TV -- it was a talking freak show that I was informed was called Lady Gaga. Pardon me but wouldn't "Lady WTF is wrong with me or please look at me" make a little more sense?

I secretly almost found myself yearning for some Pee Wee Herman re-runs and a news story about a streaker after these modern day "enlightenments". Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go find me a steel ride with down tube shifters to try to bring some sanity back in the world. And if you got any of those ultra cool Greg LeMond ski gogglesque Oakleys, I'm willing to pay top dollar.

Burn Your Bridges

2011-07-15T17:34:00.003-04:00

I realize that most of us are more familiar with the phrase "Don't burn your bridges." In some cases that's sound advice. If you quit your job, you might want to avoid acts such as: leaving a photo copy of your back-side in everyone's office mailbox, or replacing all of your bosses family pictures with new and improved pictures of yourself photo-shopped into them, or top shelving the toilet in the ladies room. With that said, there are occasions where one should in fact burn their bridges.

I read a book for business many years ago that was titled Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. It was something of a business/self-help book published in 1937. In it Hill wrote briefly of ancient Greek warriors:

“A long while ago, a great warrior faced a situation which made it necessary for him to make a decision which insured his success on the battlefield. He was about to send his armies against a powerful foe, whose men outnumbered his own. He loaded his soldiers into boats, sailed to the enemy’s country, unloaded soldiers and equipment, then gave the order to burn the ships that had carried them. Addressing his men before the first battle, he said, “You see the boats going up in smoke. That means we cannot leave these shores alive unless we win! We now have no choice – we win – or we perish!”

Now I'm not suggesting that you set your bike on fire, but I am suggesting that you approach every race with this mentality. I'm no stranger to being dropped in races. I'm no stranger to asking myself mid-race "why the hell do I do this?" In a race with laps or circuits, I'm no stranger to looking longingly at the start/finish and thinking of an early exit. I can't tell you how many times I've been in the middle of a race, or the first two laps of a 'cross race and just wanted to pull off of the course, but I don't. It makes me crazy to see people that were in the middle of my race, all of a sudden resting on their top tube. It sometimes makes me crazy because I'm a little jealous, but usually I just can't understand why you would drive to a race, pay an entry fee, gas money, put your life on hold for the better part of a day and then just quit. Sometimes there are legitimate mechanicals that will force you from a race, but watching my teammate run over the finish line at this years Black Fly carrying his bike with a tube around his neck was impressive. Watching another teammate run 3/4 of a lap at the Ommegang CX race after rolling a tubie was impressive, and both were crowd favorites to say the least. It would have been very easy for either of them to throw their bike on the ground and walk away in disgust, worried about a poor placing on the results sheet next to their name. "Forget it, I'll take a DNF, that'll look better . . . "

I came extraordinarily close to dropping out of last years Cobb's Hill 'cross race. I didn't want to be there, my season wasn't going well as a Cat 2, and after a crash on the first lap, I was in second to last place. If there hadn't been a few of my friends there cheering me on (heckling), I would have quit for sure. As the race went on I started getting into a groove and passing some locals. At the end of the day it wasn't a great race, but I was glad that I'd stuck it out. Now 9 months later I can't even put my head in that negative space and I'm REALLY glad I stuck it out.

My point, if I have one is this: Approach every race as if it's a point to point race. No matter where you are in the race, no matter how many laps it is, or how bad you are feeling, finish the race. Approach the race like your boats have been burned. Finish or perish. This may sound a little trite or mellow-dramatic, but if you hike to the top of Everest, you can't stop there. You need to get back off that mountain because you're only half way there. Sometimes we need to do some mental gymnastics to get through a race, so approach the race as if you can't quit and I'll bet that more often than not you'll finish.

I'm probably preaching to the choir here though because I know that most of my friends and fellow racers reading this are the same people carrying their bikes over the finish line with tubes around their necks.

'Cross is just around the corner . . .

At this a long time . . .

2011-06-30T19:22:00.004-04:00

Bikes have been a large part of my life since I was 5. That was the year that the training wheels came off and I taught myself to ride in my front yard. By 6 or 7 I was riding a "Huffy Knock Off" and I was so small that I needed a cinder block to get on it and start pedaling. I actually had one cinder block at my house and another one down the street.

I grew up on a dead end street. Literally not figuratively. We rode bikes all day every day. We raced up and down the street and built jumps, daring each other to see who would hit them first. When we weren't riding we were sitting around in the grass dreaming aloud "What if a Diamondback Turbo just fell out of the sky for each of us."

As the years have gone on, bikes have continued to play a large role in my life. Recently Tim O. and I were reminiscing about the time we were taking a photography class in high school and we decided to do a photo shoot including: 1 Jump, 1 Diamondback Silver Streak, 1 Pond, and my Pentax K1000.

This picture is the result of that "photo shoot." Last weekend I went to my parents house and with the help of my mother, I was able to get my hands on this picture. I'm afraid the negative is long gone, but I was able to get a pretty good image of the picture with my iPhone.

If I had to guess, we were probably 17 at the time. We went to a local pond, built a sketchy jump at the end of the dock, and took a few quick pics. After I was pretty sure I had a decent picture, I decided to give it a go. As a 17 year old "roadie" I hadn't hit a jump in more than a few years and as soon as I hit the jump, my front wheel dove forward into the water and I landed in a lame headfirst splash. At that same time, the property owner rounded the corner on a tractor and saw it all unfolding. He was yelling, I was trying to drag the bike out of the pond, and Tim and I grabbed our stuff and sprinted out of there. I was in the dark room as soon as humanly possible and this was the best shot on the roll.

I'm not entirely sure what the point of this post is, but suffice it to say bikes have been and continue to be a big part of my life. I'm fairly certain that if a Diamondback Turbo was to finally fall out of the sky and land in my front yard, Tim or Drummroll and I would have a jump built with minutes of the landing. We'd dare each other to hit it first, and after Tim and Drumm hit it, I'd finally be shamed into giving it a go. I'm also fairly certain that I'd endo the jump again.

Love to ride your bike!

Butt head

2011-06-23T20:12:00.004-04:00

For those looking for a Wilmington/Whiteface post, here is one that I wrote for a sponsor and our "official" team blog:
http://ommegang-syracusebicycle.blogspot.com/2011/06/wilmingtonwhiteface-100k-leadville.html

It was a great race. Not the most technical, but definitely hard for a guy that is used to racing an hour at a time. The ride/hike a bike up Whiteface was cool as well. I know that there was a little grumbling, but it was a Leadville qualifier for crying out loud.

This post has been rattling around my brain for a few days. I tend to write positive posts for the most part. Sometimes sarcastic, sometimes with dark undertones, but positive or humorous none the less. This post will be less positive.

The fact of the matter is that sometimes there are butt head's in races. That's not really the term I'd use on the streets, but . . . butt head will have to do in this case.

By and large I find racers to be decent enough people. There are the stories of doping in the pro's and even in the amateur ranks on occasion. It's a fact of life that people cheat. Just watch the news. It isn't a cycling specific phenomenon. Frankly I don't give it much thought. I'm racing my own race and for the most part, I trust that the guys I'm racing against (or at least the guys I'm concerned with competing with) are racing clean. I know a lot of these guys. We've ridden many miles together and done a lot of racing together. I particularly trust the CX and MTB guys. The pure roadies always weird me out a little, but I'm sure they find my lackadaisical attitude toward road racing equally vexing.

. . . crap, I'm too nice. I can't write the rest of this post. Suffice it to say, sometimes people don't need to dope to cheat. I wasn't planning to name names or anything, but it's too specific of a story to not end up creating a problem. The internet is a big place, but we're in a microcosm of the internet here. Someone almost cheated. They tried to down play it. Thankfully someone else talked them into letting the promoter know and their results were removed, but it took a lot of talking to get them to see the light. Cheating on purpose or cheating by accident is still cheating once you know you did it.

Concessions to "sportsmanship" like that go a long way to explaining how people justify cheating in other ways. As a guy who finished in a lowly 86th place, I'm glad I didn't finish in 87th. 99 people were going to be awarded belt buckles as awards. It would have been a bummer if the guy who came in 99th didn't get one because someone wasn't man enough to do the right thing, or to be more specific, someone wasn't man enough to tell that person they were a butt head if they didn't do the right thing.

Wait, what? There's two of us???

2011-06-17T16:53:00.002-04:00

It's funny, a couple of times recently someone has told me that they liked my post (which wasn't mine), or as was the case on Tuesday, asked me how my nipples were. Thankfully I knew what they were talking about . . .

In any event, there are two of us contributing to this blog. Myself and my teammate Drummroll. We both have a similar self-effacing sense of humor, occasionally have decent results, but more often strive for mediocrity. It would be easy to understand why folks might think we are one person doing the writing.

So, I'm Skinny Phil. He is Drummroll. Collectively we are the GREATEST ROCK N ROLL BAND ON EARTH . . . er uh . . . two so so writers trying to race bikes and occasionally write something interesting.

Five of us are headed to the Wilmington/Whiteface 100 this weekend. Hopefully we'll have results or stories that are fit to print . . . and hopefully Drummroll doesn't have any further chafing issues!

Black Fly Challenge

2011-06-13T19:39:00.009-04:00

I wish I had a better picture to go with this post. After looking at a number of on-line pictures, I just couldn't find one that captured the essence of the race, so I went with a boring one and I'll do my best to describe the race.

For those unfamiliar with the Black Fly Challenge, it is a point to point race that on alternating years begins and or finishes in Inlet and Indian Lake. To quote the race promoter "Over half the 40 mile course traverses the rugged Moose River Recreation Area on mountain roads composed of dirt, gravel, sand and exposed boulders with several steep elevation changes." Originally conceived as a mountain bike race, most of the faster racers use cyclocross bikes. Since Team Ommegang-Syracuse Bicycle is largely made up of mud, blood and belgian beer loving cyclocrossers, we attend this race in great numbers and talk about it throughout the year. This year we had ten Ommegangsters make the pilgrimage to "BF."

Going into the race, we all knew this year was going to be different than previous years. The Moose River roads, if you can call them that, had been decimated by a rough winter followed by spring floods. To say that sections of the road had been washed away would be something of an understatement. Pictures posted by the promoters illustrated the point. An already difficult race on a 'cross bike was going to be made more difficult as the importance of correct tire pressure and bike handling skills were going to be magnified. The race day weather further "enhanced" the experience with pouring rain that turned the course into a power sapping wet sand fest.

390 people signed up for the race. Unlike most road races, there is no on-line registration, and you need to mail in your race application or sign up the day of the race. This means that you don't really know who's racing, which I kind of like. Rumor had it that some local favorites were headed to the race, but when we got to the start line, most of them were missing. Scared by the weather, afraid to get sand in their . . . uh . . . drive chains? At the start line, I told my teammate Ray to keep racing no matter what happened. In a race like the Black Fly there are plenty of flats and crashes and there's always a chance of grabbing a few more places. You never know who's going to flat or if the past predicted the future, overcook a turn and fly off into the woods.

The race started in Indian Lake this year, which meant the first eight miles would be on the road. In previous years the race started slowly which meant everyone was bunched up and there was a lot of bumping and yelling. This year in a hard rain everyone went hard from the gun which immediately stretched out the field. By the time we hit the dirt it was every man for himself. The mud and sand were brutal and climbing hills required extra power, and descending them required pedaling as opposed to the typical coasting and braking. Racers weaved around looking for firm ground, but it seemed that whichever line you chose, it was simply soft. The whole race played out in a very painful super slow-mo. In reality the super slow-mo was probably for the best because many of the washouts required picking the right line in single file. Even in slow-mo it was fast enough that picking the wrong line could have dire consequences, particularly on a 'cross bike. Eight miles of the course were actually unreachable by car, so the DEC had a couple of 4 wheelers to keep an eye on everyone in case there was a bad crash or mechanical.

I won't bore you with the blow by blow events of the race. Actually, I spent a lot of it by myself toiling in the sand. I did spend some quality time riding with and then chasing my teammate Ray W. It was funny as we were climbing a hill I said "I see footprints, we're going to catch somebody!" On the next hill Ray saw more footprints and like a couple of starving hyena's chasing a wounded gazelle, we chased with new found enthusiasm. Unfortunately the footprints weren't from a wounded gazelle, it turned out to be our teammate Fred who was a Division 1 Cross Country runner. Ray and I were left hungry as Fred probably ran the hills as quickly, or slowly, as we were riding them. Sadly, Ray had an untimely flat. As I went by I yelled "take your time" or something like that. It occurred to me that Ray might take that as sarcasm, but luckily he took it in the spirit in which it was intended and slowed down for an efficient tire change. Ray got a second flat right before the finish and actually ran his bike over the finish line to much applause and cheering with a tube hanging around his neck.

As I reached the road coming into Inlet, I caught teammate Greg D. as he was putting his wheel back on after a flat. Greg quickly caught up and I rolled into the finish behind him. At the end of the day, all ten Ommegangsters finished with four guys in the top 10 and five in the top 15. Three of those guys had flats during the race, so results are all the more impressive. Tim O. came in second after getting a flat about half way through the race. He couldn't get his front brake closed and raced the rest of the race with only a rear brake. The Black Fly will certainly get you out of your comfort zone.

On a bad note, Tim's brother-in-law and team friend Steve had a very bad crash. Crash Report:

1 broken collar bone

3 broken ribs (one in a few places)

1 punctured lung

1 overnight in the Hospital

The Black Fly is an amazing race, and more than other races brings a new experience each year. Sadly racing is sometimes dangerous, but for most of us the rewards far outweigh the risks. Ride safe and enjoy the ride. Even, or especially, if its a sufferfest like The Black Fly Challenge!

Results:
http://blackflychallenge.wordpress.com/race-results/

Black Fly 2011: Aches & Ageing

2011-06-12T16:37:00.001-04:00

Yea, yea, none of us are getting any younger ... not exactly a newsflash. As a triathlete sort back in the day (my late 20's/early 30's), I was always mildly mindful of the ageing process as the "older" guys seemed to have more than their fair share of various aches and issues (i.e., back, knees, feet, etc.). Of course they always reminded me of my mortality by noting, "wait 'til you get to be my age" or "wait 'til you hit 40" or other similar prediction of what was to come. And if you didn't hear it from your older peers, you probably heard it from your parents and/or grandparents (even if they were not doing an Ironman).

Now here I am in my mid 40's and yup, major back issue last year. Over the past few years I have definitely noticed that while I generally haven't slowed down much (at least it doesn't seem like it), I cannot thrash myself all week and expect to be in any kind of condition to race on the weekend.

So I completed the Black Fly this past weekend and unsurprisingly, was fairly beat up afterwards. This year seemed extra hard with the course conditions as they were. A review of the finishing times over the past few years showed a considerably slower race this year which was definitely attributable to the "tougher" conditions.

Now the being a bit beat up post race was expected -- you probably know the drill .. heavy legs, maybe a little soreness in the quads or calves, or maybe a tight back and probably sore hands (especially if you were on a CX bike). These post race aches and soreness, while perhaps a little more pronounced to an "older dude", are quite manageable and in some ways, are almost a badge of honour in knowing you rode your a$$ off. This all comes with the territory -- 40+ miles of a beating on a CX bike for over 2 hours at 40+ yrs of age = sore.

But the soreness & aches story doesn't stop there, the ageing thing has revealed another post race situation that until now, had never been encountered ... and dare I say it did not reveal itself until I got home and hopped in the shower. I had just rinsed the pound of sand out of my hair and then stood up and turned to face the shower and realized my little man nips were on fire. Being a bit concerned and confused, I examined a bit closer and hmmm, looks like a frictional issue. Now I had worn the same baselayer as I had countless times previously with no issues (CX, MTB, etc.) but apparently there was more, umm movement (i.e., bouncing) here than in the past. So I am a bit demoralized to have discovered, thanks to ageing, my boobs have grown and/or gone mushy and must now be bouncing when I ride over rough terrain. It is bad enough seeing your middle section get mushier as you age but c'mon, I got freaking little scabs on my nippies that hurt again today when I showered. How the he!! did that happen? When did it happen? A quick internet search and I am faced with "he-teets", "man-mammaries", ads for reduction surgery, and this .... www.marvelousmanboobs.com/ ...... AUGHHHHHHHHH

All I know is that if you call me "A-cup" at the next race, I will kick you in the nuts -- and when you get to be my age, that still hurts too.

Walking into the Light

2011-06-02T19:32:00.006-04:00

This post sort of came to me Tuesday night as I was trying to bridge a large gap during one of our TNTS races. The concept is a little morbid, but dark thoughts can creep into your head when the gap becomes insurmountable.

I think that athletes at all levels routinely dig deeper than the general population. Most people have no idea what it's like to get their pulse up to 190 beats per minute. They don't understand what it's like to have their muscles fill with lactic acid and to experience searing lung pain as they gasp for air.

Even in the world of sports, I don't think there are many sports that are as hard on the collective mind and body as bike racing. Mixed Martial Arts is a notable exception since getting dropped on a bike doesn't include getting repeatedly punched in the face, but bike racing is hard. Our sport and its inherent suffering are often described in terms that attempt to describe the pain, but also put a romantic spin on it. Phil Liggett usually puts it best: "The elastic has snapped." "He's wearing a mask of pain." "He's really having to dig deeply into the suitcase of courage."

Sometimes we dig into the suitcase of courage and we come through the other side and contest the sprint. Other times we dig deep but the mind and body simply can't make it happen. When this happens, I would imagine that it feels a lot like "walking into the light." I don't want to trivialize the concept of death, but unlike most athletes, we often lose in slow motion and have time to think about it. We then have time to ponder our fate while riding off the back of the break or pack. We've all been there. A gap opens or a break happens. Initially there's a shot of adrenaline and the mind and body respond. The gap starts to close quickly. The only problem is that the racers that created the gap had the same shot of adrenaline. They also had a head start and you've lost the draft. The legs start to hurt, your pulse spikes, your lungs gasp for air. The distance between you and your goal yo-yo's. You might take a second or third or fourth dig. You might yell to those around you to pull, but sometimes it just isn't going to happen. Your legs and mind finally give out in a whimper and you'll "walk into the light." Ten yards looks and feels like one-hundred. You'll quietly scream to yourself "HOW CAN I NOT CLOSE THIS GAP." Everyone in front of you rides away. Some of them are glad, and some of them may pity you, but you're a dead man either way so it doesn't really matter.

The general population simply isn't going to experience what it's like to face the grim reaper and lose. At least until late in life ideally. I don't know that this experience makes us better people. It only makes us different in ways beyond the more obvious shaved legs and bad tans lines. Extreme athletes may stare death in the face, but unless something goes wrong, they don't get to experience it, they just get an adrenaline rush.

Love to ride your ride your bike and love the ride in this life or the next.
Skinny Phil

The Nemesis

2011-05-31T13:51:00.002-04:00

With full acknowledgement to Merriam-Webster:

Definition of NEMESIS (nem·e·sis)

(1) the Greek goddess of retributive justice;
(2) one that inflicts retribution or vengeance or a formidable and usually victorious rival or opponent.

We all have at least one, or more likely, several in all of the varying facets of our being. Perhaps it's more than just a single person in a standard setting. Maybe a group of people, maybe a situation, maybe a company or authority figure. A nemesis can take many forms and shapes if we step back and contemplate.

Now that I've tried to establish this post as an insightful and philosophical piece of electronic literature, if you are truly a cycling dork, you probably have a few you can rattle off based on your last ride or race. Think Jan Ullrich and his TdF nemesis if you want to take it to a cycling macro-scale.

I myself have my share of cycling related nemeses (that's the plural of nemesis for you folks up there in the Oswego County area). Some are quite easy to identify.... you look at the last 5 races you have done and there is that same freakin guy beating you over and over. Or better yet, crossresults.com or similar even "calculates" it for you in case you can't tell. These are your apparent nemeses. Although you receive a regular ass-kickin, you know what to expect most of the time and can handle it for the most part. The truly dangerous nemeses are the "subtle" ones. These are like the passive-aggressive types of the nemesis world. They lie in waiting looking all cool and calm and then try to put a smack down on you with an aggressive attack.

Such is my nemesis .. the Branta Canadensis with it's subtle and serene yet surprising aggressiveness. These bastards can be spotted in all sorts of locations (but mainly near water). They are especially plenttiful along the Old Erie Canal towpath where I like to ride frequently. These damn animals, all decked out in their sleek yet mysterious black and white, put me on edge in that they put out little "land mines" that I have to either dodge or pay the consequences. (Look me in the eye and tell me honestly ... do you know what it is like hoping above all hopes that that was mud that just flipped up off your tire into your mouth?) Then, should I happen upon a family, the get all hissy and puffy and have even tried to jump me as I ride by. I have been tempted to break their scrawny little necks when the come at me but I have shown restraint in starting a physical altercation. I will admit to cursing a few out on occasion imploring them to waddle their cocky azzes out of the way so I can get by. So now that I think about it, they are Canadian and all the Canadians (or Canadiens) I have ever met are pretty cool folk so I'm not sure what the story is or why they always act so pissy.

So go forward with an eye on your nemesis, keep your mouth closed, and practice your handling skills cause I am sure my nemesis is more than willing to be your nemesis.

Longest 'cross race . . . ever (or The Highland Hex)

2011-05-25T17:32:00.003-04:00

Full Disclosure: What you are about to read is being written by a non-mountain biker. I race CX, road, and on occasion ride MTB's badly.

As some of you know, I'm taking what would typically be my road season and switching it up with some new challenges. I started road racing purely as a means to be a better CX racer. In an effort to keep the motivation high and play around with the lead up to CX, I've stumbled into a healthy mix of road racing through spring and MTBing mixed in with the Tuesday Night Training Series through summer.

A few weeks ago I was on a training ride preparing for the Wilmington/Whiteface 100. I innocently said "I'm not sure if I'm going to do the Syracuse race or the Highland Hex." After two minutes of discussion it was decided that the Hex would be a great overload workout four weeks out from Wilmington. Done deal. Checked with Haight (Bob) and Drumroll, and they were in as well. In the words of Cosmo Kramer . . . "Giddy up."

After peppering Bob with no less than 3 questions a day in the week leading up to the race, I was pretty sure I was ready to go. If anything, I was overly confident. Not about racing fast, but I definitely blocked out any thoughts of the suffering that might occur.

With four of us going from the team, I snagged a big tent from Syracuse Bicycle, brought the tools and a stand, and of course some post race Ommegang. I had a cooler full of bottles, gel packs, Cliff Bars, Endurolytes and a sandwich in case the wheels really fell off.

I'll try to keep this brief, but I could write a novel like "The Rider" after this race:
Lap one - ride easy and try not to get in anyone's way. In my last MTB race a few years ago, my motor kept me up front early, but once it got technical I was more in the way than a drunken monkey on a unicycle in the Tour de France. Regardless of taking it easy, I ended up running through a mud section, running through a spider web of roots section and then crashing in a flowy single track section. When I crashed I jammed my right index finger on a log. It hurt pretty bad, and I refused to look at it for about 200 meters for fear that it would be pointing in the wrong direction. Thankfully it wasn't, although it never ceased to remind me that I'd jammed it earlier.

Lap two - Bob and I are trading positions constantly. In the technical sections he gaps me by 100 meters. On the non technical sections I catch him and press on, telling him I'll see him in the technical stuff. Right around the same place I jammed my finger, I'm back off the bike. On my CX style remount, the bike moves on the trail and I completely rack my left . . . uh, what's the word I'm looking for. Oh yeah, testicle. That never would have happened to Lance Armstrong, but I digress. After another 200 meters, I decide it's still intact and resolve myself to relaxing. If I don't find some Zen, I could lose an eye, break a finger, lose my other . . . never mind.

Lap three - I get my Zen on. Firing on all cylinders, flowing as well as a drunken monkey on a unicycle can flow and generally feeling good about things. I also verbalize one of the dumbest thoughts I've ever had. I say to Bob "Most of these guys can ride mountain bikes, but they're going to get tired, so hopefully it will level the playing field and all of our handling skills will be similar." Man was that stupid. In my defense I was probably well on my way to an oxygen debt fueled trip to Stupidville.

Lap four - I get lapped by Tim O and Bob passes me for the last time in a technical section. Thoughts of catching him again on a non-technical section leave my head. If he doesn't stop to grill a cheeseburger from scratch I won't see him again.

Lap five - this is where things get fuzzy. This is where I start wondering how slow I can possibly ride so that I can minimize the damage but still finish. Also, in an interesting twist I start to think that most of the sticks and roots that I see in the trail are snakes. I really hate snakes. It bears repeating, I really hate snakes. It's primal.

Lap six - I decide that if I play my cards right, I can milk the next two laps and finish in just over six hours. For those unfamiliar with six hour races, 5:59 is a DQ, you need to race one more lap. At this point I'm popping Endurolytes every lap, and running over a bunch of obstacles because I've lost what little trail mojo I ever had. Also, Tim O laps me a second time. He's literally flying, fresh as a daisy and no one else is in sight. If he wasn't a good friend I'd punch him in the nuts for feeling so good while I'm seeing snakes.

Lap seven - I'm ahead of schedule and I don't think I can possibly ride slow enough to make my lap last past the six hour mark. I also don't see how I can possibly ride an eighth lap. On the plus side, I stop seeing snakes. That's as close to an endorsement as I can give for the Endurolytes. "Endurolytes . . . if you completely lose your $&!# in an endurance race, they'll make the snakes go away." If the Hammer Nutrition folks are reading, I'd be happy to work something out in trade.

At the end of lap seven, it's clear that I'm going to roll in just under six hours. A few people are hiding out in the woods to avoid another lap, so they can roll in at 6:01. I see Big John O coming down the trail and he's in my race. I was a little on the fence, but now I decide to grab another fresh bottle, two more Endurolytes to keep the snakes at bay, and head back out. John says he's done. I shake his hand and tell him I'm going back out. As I'm riding away, he says he's all conflicted cause if he goes back out he can probably beat me. He's probably right. He has five minutes to decide.

Lap eight - Oddly enough I hit my stride. I'm still cramping, but I'm getting some flow back and nailing most of the obstacles. When I say nailing most of the obstacles, I mean riding over logs that a seven year old with an MTB could easily clear after a weeks worth of riding. I find some form of inner peace and roll on. I wouldn't want to do a 12 hour race right then, but I can see how it could be done. I'm still slightly concerned that the five minutes of debate got the best of John and that he might be chasing me. I run best scared.

I roll in at 6:49:50. Give or take a second. I ask Jason if this course was normal and he says it was really hard. That's what I was hoping to hear. It was tough, but I'm glad my first one was tough. That should make future races easier mentally if not physically.

Again, I don't have a lot of perspective when it comes to MTB races, but CNY DIRT put on a great low key race. Everyone was SUPER supportive. Much more like CX than road racing. That could be a post in and of itself.

Tim O won, and Drumroll and Bob podiumed in their age groups. I lived and hopefully learned some MTB skills for next time.

Love to ride your bike, whichever bike it may be.

Pointway Performance

2011-05-16T18:53:00.004-04:00

I try not to pimp any products or services on this site unless I truly believe in them. This is a perfect example of a service I believe in. Tim O'Shea has recently started his own coaching business.

Many people have put up a shingle, taken a test and declared themselves a coach. It doesn't take much quite frankly. With that said, Tim is the real deal.

I've written about the benefits of being coached on a few occasions. In short, a structured training program provides FAR more value than new wheels, a carbon frame, or the latest gizmo. Getting dropped while rolling on new Zipp's is not cool. Trust me, I know. In a perfect world, get the wheels and hire a coach. In an imperfect world, hire the coach first and get the wheels/frame/gizmo's later.

Many may already be aware of Tim's racing credentials. Cat 1 Road racer, kicked Lance Armstrong's ass by over a minute in the NYC Marathon by running a 2:45:20, sub 10 hour Ironman at Lake Placid, 6th place in the Vermont 100 running race AFTER making a wrong turn. He races, road, MTB, CX, runs and swims. I've known Tim since 5th or 6th grade, and despite being one of the smaller kids, he routinely held his own arm wrestling the biggest kid in our class. As an aside, I was the second smallest kid in our entire school. Thankfully there was at least a Filipino girl that was smaller than me, although I'm pretty sure she could have kicked my ass. In sixth grade, Tim would run to and from school carrying his books under his arm. It was probably 6-8 miles round trip. I digress though, because I'm not selling Paul Bunyan. Tim also knows what it's like to suffer and get dropped. You don't become a success without knowing what it's like to fail.

Racing credentials and experience are nice, but that's only half of the package. Being fast doesn't qualify one to be a coach, and being a good coach doesn't mean that you need to be fast. In Tim's case he is well positioned to address every side of the equation.

I've spent countless hours training with, car pooling with, eating with and sharing hotel rooms with Tim. If you spend enough time with someone, you really start to get a sense of what makes them tick and their core values. Tim is built for coaching. He's fascinated by the data, the process, the diet and most importantly the psychology of a racer.

Without harping on the technical side of coaching, which Tim clearly understands, I'd like to address the psychological aspects of training. I think this aspect of coaching is largely ignored, and I think this is what really sets Tim apart from the average coach. Watts, max heart rate, resting heart rate, blah, blah, blah. It all means nothing if you're head isn't on straight. When things are going well, we train. Sometimes over train. When a race goes bad, it's easy to get in a funk and lose a few days of training or lose interest in bikes and racing all together. I've experienced all of this first hand. Tim has a knack for helping to keep everything in perspective. Additionally, he does a great job of explaining things in real world terms using spot on analogies that anyone can relate to.

The bottom line is that Tim spends at least as much time thinking as he does training. I've purposely taken some time off from fully structured training, but I've been reaping the benefits of Tim's dietary knowledge and "attitude" support. If you've ever thought of working with a coach, or if you've worked with a coach that only provides data for work outs, but little else, get a hold of Tim.

You can call him at 315-655-4620 or e-mail him at cxnationals5 (at) gmail.com

As I said last time . . . Love to Ride Your Bike.
Skinny Phil

Mint Condition

2011-05-02T18:26:00.004-04:00

There is a phrase you'll never read when I'm selling a bike. "Pictured is my Mint Condition Trek Superfly." Last Thursday it was in mint condition, but now it's used, just like a bike should be. One weekend, and 6 and half hours of riding later and there are already some scuffs, and the finish is already worn down to silver on the drive-side crank arm.

Here's the back story . . . Tim O. starts talking about the Wilmington/Whiteface 100K and I say there's no way I'm interested. After MUCH thought, many e-mails, and hearing that Drumm, Haight (aka Bob) and local CX'er Ormsby are already signed up, I pull the trigger on a new bike. In the process of debating, both Tim and I looked at every conceivable MTB option on the planet. Resurrect an old 26'er, convert the current single speed 29'er, new geared 29'er, eBay, craigslist, turn to a life or crime, shake my money maker for dollar bills, you name it.

At the end of the day, I went with a new Superfly from Syracuse Bicycle. Those guys are awesome and between Paul K. and some, actually a lot of guidance from Brian K. it was a no-brainer. What really struck me though was the number of "mint condition" bikes that were for sale used. "I bought this bike with intentions to ride it, but never did." "I never rode this MTB off road or in the rain." "I built up this bike and only rode it once while wrapped in pillows and wearing oven mitts."

I seldom sell bikes because I usually like to keep them around, but when I do sell them they have been used for 1,000's of miles in their intended purpose. If I were to try and sell my bikes, it might sound like this:

Steven's #1: Head tube scratched from shouldering the bike up numerous run-ups. Paint on fork scratched, couldn't tell you why. Crank scuffed with extreme prejudice. Crashed in CX races more than once.

Steven's #2: See above and add that the protective sticker to prevent chain suck damage was removed during actual chain suck.

Cervelo S1: Frame only. Small paint chips everywhere from racing, training in all manner of weather and some cable slap.

Cervelo SLC-SL: Frame looks awesome. There is some scuffing from cable rub. Oh yeah, I put a hole in the frame last year at Hollenbeck and had it repaired by Calfee. Looks good, rides as good as ever, but selling a frame that had a hole in it is a little tough.

Trek X01: This bike has been raced for CX, MTB'd at Highland, loaned out to countless friends to test the CX waters, raced in Black Fly a couple of times, ridden through two winters, blah blah blah.

I could go on, but I'm starting to feel like a jerk for owning this many bikes. The bottom line is this: my bikes are clean, very well maintained and all of them see A LOT of action. Like I said last time, Love to Ride Your Bike . . . and then actually ride them. I suspect that most people reading this already are.

Love to ride your bike . . .

2011-04-18T18:34:00.004-04:00

It figures that after very few posts, Drummroll and I were both inspired to write posts on the same day. It must be that time of year again. I'm four races into my season. All in all it's been a mediocre start to the season at best. I'm fairly certain that unless I get bitten by some sort of radioactive spider and gain some superpowers, I'm destined to remain a Cat 4 on the road. Frankly at this point, I'm fine with that. I have average genetics, a full time job, a wife that I enjoy hanging out with and two labs that require lots of hiking.

This time of year is always interesting. Most racers have a new lease on life. Their cycling life anyway. Everyone hopes that "this was the winter." This year I'm going to be the hammer instead of the nail! It's easy during the winter months to forget how much racing hurts. After my first race 4 weeks ago, I very seriously contemplated buying a new pair of running shoes. I rode all winter for THIS? To get dropped in the first 11 miles???

After a few days of reflection, I realized that I didn't ride all winter to be faster in spring. I rode all winter because I love riding my bike. If I really wanted to be faster, I would have ridden the trainer more and outside less. I'm not entirely sure that this post will make complete sense, but it's a blog, not a publication, so bear with me.

I'm going to reference some names, but keep in mind that I'm assuming they are thinking like this, and haven't spoken to any of them about it . . .

I'm sure there's some local Cat 5 or OCC member that would love to be as fast as I am, which is to say they'd be thrilled if they could simply hang in a Cat 4 race and not get dropped for a few laps. I on the other hand would love to be as fast as Tim O. or Wayne B. I'd assume that Tim and Wayne would love to be as fast as New England strongmen such as Justin Lindine or Roger Alpholm. Justin and Roger would probably love to be as fast as Jeremy Powers. Jeremy Powers would probably love to be as fast as Dave Zabriskie, and Dave Z would probably like to be as fast as Fabian Cancellara.

At the end of the day, the key is to love what you do and to work with the potential that you have. I'm not saying that we shouldn't strive to train better, eat better or collect more sweet cycling gear. I'm simply saying that very few of us has the potential to collect a decent paycheck based on our bike racing potential, so do it because you love the sport, love the lifestyle, love the people and love the bike.

You see a handful of racers move from a Cat 5 to Cat 3 overnight and then all of a sudden winning becomes a lot tougher. In a year or two, some of those guys get burned out and quit the sport. What came so easily early on became much tougher as they moved up and the playing field was leveled some. Maybe they loved the bike, and maybe they didn't, but ultimately misplaced expectations or ego drove them from the sport.

At the risk of sounding like I'm on my soap box, all I know is this . . . guys like Drummroll, Jason H. (aka Bob), Dave F. and I will be at this a long time and doing so for the love of the game. Hopefully everyone else will too. Cheers, and here's to everyone having the opportunity to be the hammer instead of the nail this season.

Sucktion

2011-04-18T18:29:00.000-04:00

Definition of Sucktion:

suck.tion (noun), suk-shun

(1) The act or art of sucking during a cycling endeavour or competition.
(2) A technique or means to be unprepared (mentally or physically) for a challenging circumstance.

Ex: Drummroll demonstrated a mastery of sucktion at the Check Your Legs Road Race this past Sunday.

I Think it's Spring

2011-04-14T12:06:00.000-04:00

Is It Spring Yet -- Part 2

2011-03-28T18:10:00.000-04:00

Eight days, 80+ deg F, gobs of SPF 100, and bright sunshine every freakin day while on the Gulf Coast just west of Sarasota, FL. That was my week -- it was pretty damn nice and selfishly deserved on some levels after a not so great year on the non-cycling front .... and it makes up for all the rain and cold we had in AZ last winter/spring. But getting off the plane in SYR was a rude reminder of my reality and once again begged the question .. is it spring yet?

So the riding consisted of some group rides, some solo rides , and some combos of both but always flat as can be flat. The big climbs consisted of getting over the draw bridges. Hooked up with the Sarasota Manatee Bicycle Club for some great group rides and routes. They were good folks who more than welcomed an out of towner into their ranks. The bike lane network was really good in many areas but you were almost always around some traffic. On the other hand, there were usually lots of people out riding nearly all the time so drivers could not but help to remain somewhat diligent of the cyclists. And there were all sorts out cycling too which was refreshing ... young, old and everything in between on about every type of bike imaginable.

All in all, I can't call Sarasota (and the nearby "keys") a big time cycling training destination like Tucson, Asheville, or San Diego but hey, it worked considering I had a non-cycling sig-other to consider as well. We had the beach, good eats, decent shopping and I was able to solidify the base miles and work in some initial intensity in short sleeves and shorts every day.

Yehuda Moon

2011-03-05T09:05:00.000-05:00

http://www.yehudamoon.com

My curiosity got me .. what the he!! is Yehuda Moon? ... a new psychedelic drug from the root of some rare Amazonian plant?, a whiskey?, a coffee?, a cheese?, a celestial event celebrated in India that I never heard of?

After purchasing a Walz Cap recently (a grey wool 3-panel w/black stripe - awesome btw), I was back on their site looking at their other offerings. I noticed a special "Yehuda Moon" edition cap link. So in true internet lemming fashion, I clicked on the link to satisfy my web-induced Yehuda Moon curiosity. I think I found a keeper -- I will add this to my daily cyclo-based browsing routine.

If ya got a few, check out Yehuda .... it will go good with your morning coffee ... chances are it will grow on you as you relate (with a knowing grin) certain aspects of Yehuda Moon to yourself, other cycling geeks, and this mini-bizarro world thing we call cycling culture. Now go get yourself some Yehuda ....

Is it spring yet?

2011-02-20T15:45:00.003-05:00

First and foremost, this picture has nothing to do with this post. It was simply my post ride breakfast, and it was awesome. Eggs, left over roasted red potatoes, and salmon. Sort of a high end frittata. Mrs. Skinny went to the farmers market yesterday, so left overs turned into a breakfast that pot heads dream about. After four hours in the saddle, it was particularly tasty and I was experiencing pothead-esque cravings.

Tim O. and I haven't missed a single Saturday or Sunday out on the roads this winter. Short of a little break after CX season, the base has been in full effect all winter. I'd say that we're both in agreement that the enthusiasm to ride is still very much present, but the enthusiasm for riding in the cold and snow is waning. Thursday and Friday finally melted the snowbanks which was a plus. I got home a little early Friday, but decided to hike with the dogs and then hit the trainer. I know it sounds crazy to ride the trainer when it's 50+ degrees out, but I didn't have time to figure out what to wear and still beat the dark. Much like prisoners become institutionalized, I've gotten used to mittens, winter boots, bad shifting, and worse brakes.

On the positive side, every weekend that it is cold and snowy is a weekend that most people are on their trainers, or worse yet drunk on the couch. That's one more weekend to get something of an edge, and given my overwhelmingly average genetics, I need it.

Yesterdays 40 mph winds and drifting snow made riding borderline crazy. By and large it was a lot of fun, but there were a couple of times where visibility was about 25 yards and you could barely keep the bike upright. Turning around to look for cars was nearly impossible. Hearing cars or plows was entirely impossible. It crossed my mind that all of my jokes about being found in a snowbank in spring had the potential to be fulfilled. Turns out that travel in Madison County was "emergency only." Apparently, half of the county, including Tim and I didn't get the memo.

March and the Johnny Cake races in Albany are almost here, then Battenkill, the local spring Classics and summer. After that, back to CX and the cycle starts all over . . . Now that I think about it, I'm already excited to ride in fresh snow next year. I am however still sick of this snow. Surf's up.

New PRO - NOT PRO Diet

2011-01-29T09:29:00.000-05:00

Tired of the temperatures getting lower & the scales numbers getting higher?
Are you a real hardcore cyclist or at least wanna be this year? If you are (or want to be), this new diet may be for you. First you have to decide if you are truly a hardcore cyclist. Here's a little quiz to test ya ....Do you know who this is in the pic below?

If I say "Giro", "precipitation", and "Andy", what comes to mind? And what is a "Festina" and what does it have to do with cycling?

If you know these right off the top of your head, this diet is for you. It's based on a rather simple concept ... no points, no crazy calculations, no label reading, no mailman delivering meals -- basically no nonsense. Here's how it works ... every time when you open your yap to put something in it, you have to decide if it is PRO or NOT PRO. At the end of each day, you must reflect on how many times you answered PRO or NOT PRO. If you consistently noting PRO much more predominantly than NON PRO (and being brutally honest with yourself), chances you are on the right path. So here's some guidance:

PRO: modest serving of oatmeal or raisin bran or two egg whites plus 1 whole egg scrambled-- NOT PRO: 4 egg, ham & cheese omelette with a side of corn beef hash
PRO: turkey on wheat w/veggies, no mayo, side salad w/sprinkle of olive oil -- NOT PRO: Philly cheesesteak with fries
PRO: grilled Ahi, sweet potato & green veggies -- NOT PRO: The 16 oz "king cut" filet with mashed potatoes & gravy
PRO: a glass of wine w/dinner -- NOT PRO: a bottle of wine w/dinner

There you have it. Simple, straightforward and just like your training log -- if you're not honest, you're only cheating yourself

Sneeuwschoenen

2011-01-26T20:49:00.000-05:00

Have ya been doin' the Sneeuwschoenen thing? Ya gotta face a few basic facts of life here in CNY & upstate NY ... one of those undeniable facts is that it IS gonna get cold and snowy for a relatively sizable chunk of the calendar. Sorry kids, just no way around it if you truly "live" here and call this place home. This pretty much leaves you with two choices come snowflake season .. you can hibernate or you can celebrate.

So sneeuwschoenen ? ... we're talking celebrate. The sneeuwschoenen (or snowshoes) scene seems to have inched just a bit closer to becoming a mainstream winter fitness activity here in da 'Cuse. A quick peek at the local "events" calendars for Jan & Feb show three snowshoe races (Highland Forest, which was last weekend and upcoming events at Sunnycrest & Beaver Lake parks). There's also a NYS series, a state champs, a New England series, Empire State Winter Games, and stuff all over place if you look for it.

You lackin' da sneeuwschoenen? Rent'em. Various options all around town. This way you get to test drive 'em without the commitment. Get out to Highland or Green Lakes or wherever. Check out the scene on-line and then get out there.

Surf's Up . . .

2011-01-15T11:11:00.005-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. The holidays tend to sap anything resembling inspiration from me. The good news is that the holidays are behind us and I've been logging plenty of outdoor base miles. It seems like more and more people are coming around to the idea of riding outside through the winter. That said, there are still plenty of people that think sliding around dodging snowplows is crazy. I wrote a post on surviving the challenges of winter riding last year, so I won't go that route again, but I will say this: These are some of the best rides of the year. Each season brings with it variations in training and mindset. Spring for me is for the local classic road races. Summer is for Tuesday Night races and Fall is for CX. Winter is for long rides on sketchy roads on a slow heavy bike with nothing to worry about but base miles. Wind it up to Z2/3, and let the conversation flow. Hill repeats have their time and place and I look forward to those workouts, but nothing clears the head or raises the spirits like 3-4 hours of riding in the cold and snow.

I must admit that there are moments, on unavoidable roads with icy shoulders and cars that are annoyed you're out there, it can get a little dicey. The prospect of getting mowed down in the summer by some idiot trying to text their wife that they're picking up KFC for dinner certainly crosses your mind, but it does seem that the frequency of driver stupidity increases in the winter months. I'm assuming that some of them are pissed that we're tying up their roads in the winter now too! Some of them are probably a little agitated already because it's 14 degrees out and their car is freezing since the window is open so they can smoke. On the other hand, there are just as many people that are impressed and happily wave.

One thing is for sure, the risks are higher, but the gratification is higher. I used to listen to some surfer dude or skydiver on TV say something like "hey bro, if this is how I die, I died doing what I love." Or, "If I get eaten by a shark, that's cool man, circle of life bro." In turn I'd think "what an a-hole." I think the last few seasons of riding in the winter have given me a similar outlook. The simple act of riding outside in the elements have become some of my favorite rides. I find myself at the end of long rides rolling down hill no handed just taking it all in. Racing and fast group rides bring on a tremendous high, but it's a sugar high. A sugar high has it's place, but during the winter months, I'm enjoying the long slow burn.

So, if I get hit by a snowplow tomorrow morning, know this . . . I'm well insured so Mrs. Skinny will be fine and up until the last second when the shark ate me, I was in love with my life.

Some random surfer quotes:
"I took off on a wave, went down the side, popped out the other end, and went, shit, I'm still alive!" - Greg Noll

"For those searching for something more than just the norm. We lay it all down, including what others call sanity, for just a few moments on waves larger than life. We do this because we know there is still something greater than all of us. Something that inspires us spiritually. We start going down hill, when we stop taking risks." - Laird Hamilton

"You either surf or you fight"
"If I say its safe to surf this beach Captain, then its safe to surf this beach. I mean I'm not afraid to surf this place, I'll surf this whole fucking place!"
"Charlie don't surf!" - Kilgore (Apocalypse Now)

And I can't resist a lame quote from Point Break:
If you want the ultimate, you've got to be willing to pay the ultimate price. It's not tragic to die doing what you love. - Bodhi

So Let Me Explain

2010-12-30T20:40:00.000-05:00

Ya it's been a while ...So bite me (ha, dog humour). So not one of my best pics but I can't be on my A-game all the time. I had a long CX season being the unofficial Team Ommegang-Syr Bike mascot, I been pissin in snow up to my chest for weeks already and then the holiday stresses finally got to me. I had to blow off some steam ya know, let my hair down a little and next thing ya know things got a little wild watching the Pinstripe Bowl. I hope Drummroll don't notice I broke into his secret stash of Omme... dumbass thinks he's all clever keeping it in the downstairs closet out of sight. He's too busy stuffing his face and whining about the BIG numbers on the bathroom scales lately to notice anyway. I shouldn't bust on him too much, he's had a few bumps in the road this year and he still takes time to give me my favourite belly rub.

All in all it wasn't that bad of a year for me (aside from a couple minor incidents ... like those 2 skunk run-ins -- freakin little cocky, smelly bastards anyway -- and the new barf stain on the downstairs rug). I got to run around in the woods alot, spent a few nights in a nice hotel, went on a wine tour, and kayaked alot this summer. The bonus was that I got to the beach this summer and play in the surf a bit and even camped out in a tent. You haven't lived until you rolled in and gnawed on a rotting salty crab.

Anyway, wanna wish y'all a Happy Humper Dog Holiday Season and tell ya to make sure to live it up in style! ... Doggy Style !!

Le Metier

2010-12-20T21:17:00.000-05:00

While Drummroll cannot take credit for uncovering this (that goes to BIG Dave), you might wanna check out the latest post to Michael Barry's blog (see link below).

If you're asking who Michael is, well too bad for you (and you are not permitted to read further .. go do your homework). First, he is one of the pure North American "good guys" in the pro peloton. Secondly, the dude is a damn good writer. Maybe you've caught his stuff in Velonews or have you ever heard of his book called Inside the Postal Bus? This is the book that lets you take a peak of the craziness surrounding Lancemania a few year back in the US Postal days.

So Drummroll clicked on the link that took him to Michael's website (called Le Metier -- Google-translate it, you'll get it) and read "The Cross" blog post ... and then read a whole bunch more. His writings on "cyclo-stuff" is like off-season cyclo-crack when it's single digits outside and dark at 4:00 pm ... you just can't get enough.

Coincidentally, he also has a 2nd edition of a book also called Le Metier out. It might be a little late to get it on your Holiday wish list but hey, you can try .. and if that don't work, maybe you'll get a gift card that you can use to get it yourself.

http://michaelbarry.ca/2010/12/the-cross/

Commander-in-Chief 'Cross?

2010-11-30T08:42:00.000-05:00

So there was some recent Ommegangster banter about President Obama getting a few stitches in his yapper as well as a suggestion that maybe he should consider something "safer" like CX. After discussing the merits of a "Commander-in Chief" CX event, we decided we might have better luck trying to convince GW Bush to hold a CX event rather than Pres. Obama...... afterall, 'W' did ride MTB on occasion. We also figured 'W' would like the PR with his new book as well as trying to raise funds and awareness for his memorial library. This event would be like no other with a list of well known guest appearances by some well known politicos.-- just don't expect Laura to let W have a post race Omme.
Here's the first draft for planning:
-- USA Cycling license or NRA membership card required to race
-- Justice Roberts as the Head Referee/Official
-- A true "open" category following "don't ask/don't tell" criteria
-- Wealthy campaign donors get special access to the course
-- Red course tape would be on your right; blue course tape on your left

-- Dick Cheney would do the start gun
-- Howard Dean as the man in the donkey suit heckling people (yelling "woooyahhh" in a high pitch)
-- John Kerry & Al Gore as the barriers (Gore obviously the much stiffer/wooden-like barrier)
-- Course layout includes a run-up feature where you choose to go right or left -- right carries their own bike, left has another cyclist carry it for you
-- Mission Accomplished banner at the finish

------------------------------------------------

And a little end-of-season limerick from our friend AJ M's wife ....

All you Sunday 'cross widows give a cheer.

The end of cyclocross season is here.
There are no more races.
So husbands trade places,
And toast your race wench with a beer!

Do some laundry, cook a meal, clean the house.
Remember you do have a spouse
Who supports your endeavors
And gets to ride, never
But complains no louder than a mouse.

Racin down Charlotte way

2010-11-27T19:57:00.001-05:00

So Drummroll headed down south to combine a little work with some family holiday action but unfortunately missed Powercross in the process. After a stop in Johnson City, TN for a little work, he arrived at his brothers Mon eve just outside Charlotte. To make up for missing Powercross, he found a cx training series race held under the lights at a town park on Tues eve. As he got dressed he realized that the mtb (cx) shoes were still in the garage back home. In a true show of southern hospitality, the race organizer loaned his shoes & SPD pedals to Drummroll. Drummroll found the pedals a little tough to clip into and struggled on a wicked off camber that popped up right after some barriers -- it was a repeated struggle to get clipped in while riding the offcamber. Anyway, the southern boys can hammer too as Drummroll was a bit humbled despite the shoe situation (4th of 5 in his group).

But that wasn't the end of the racing action; the next venue on Friday was the Charlotte (Lowes) Motor Speedway (CMS). The waiver was signed and the shoe situation was not an issue as this only required a street car (read rental car in this case). Drummroll's brother hooked him up with a free pass for three laps at the track. Apparently this is a quasi-Black Friday tradition down Charlotte way. In groups of about 10 street cars (including Mr. and Ms. Drummroll in a rental, his brother and family in their brand new Tahoe, and parents in ma's Buick) were allowed to circle the track at a pretty good clip (as far as street cars go). We were able to briefly hit the 85-90 mph range a couple times... and you could even pass (and get passed) if you were being "careful" about it. The banking was pretty wild to wind through and it was really fun. Ms. Drummroll even said she wished she could drive which was a surprise cause racing/NASCAR is not her thing by any means. Hope everyone had a great T-giving. A little pic of the weekend action below:

Power Cross

2010-11-22T18:17:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was the inaugural edition of MaxPower's Power Cross. All in all they put on a great race with a tough course, good atmosphere, quick results, etc. As a late season race it essentially extended the CNY CX season by an extra week which was pretty sweet.

Rolling into the venue, it didn't take long to realize that the big hill was going to be a big deal. I got to the race well before the Masters race, so I could check out the course well in advance of my Open race. Tim O. and I hopped on the course and hit the hill section first. We slowly walked up the hill deciding that there was no benefit to running it an hour and a half before our race. After two recon laps we decided that there wasn't much left to see. There weren't any major technical sections and it was essentially going to be a big hill run up married to a tractor pull on the lower section. Actually, I was pretty pumped. When I have decent form, that kind of slog suits me. Mmmm tractor pull.

We watched the Masters race and it was amazing how slowly some people were going up the hill. Actually it was amazing how slowly everyone was going up the hill. Faso was moving pretty good but the hill was named after him for a reason.

The Open race started off fast on pavement and then we hit the mud. It was rough going. The mud was drive drain eating muck. Mud tires weren't much help since the mud was thick and caked right into them. Then we hit the hill. Now I knew why everyone was going so slowly in the Masters race. I'm a recovering runner, so I actually loved the hill and used it to do a lot of passing. That said, it was insane and a couple of times I found myself light headed and weaving off course. On the 5th or 6th lap up the hill I collected what little spit I could pull together and let it fly at the Faso Hill sign. I shot high by about 3 inches, but the crowd on the hill went nuts and it was probably my fastest run up.

I've been waiting for a REALLY muddy race all season. I sold my motorcycle for two identical bikes and I hadn't gotten to use both of them in one race yet. Well I got my monies worth yesterday. At the end of my first lap, Jeremy Clay from Bike Loft East asked if I wanted a bike change. I was too late that lap, but told him I'd catch him on the next lap. Changing bikes was life altering and my bike felt 5 pounds lighter which was a huge physical and mental boost. Two laps later another change, two laps later another change, two laps later another change. Jeremy and local good guy Fizz were awesome. They didn't have a hose, so Fizz was dipping bikes in a pond, Jeremy was cleaning the tires off with a Dura-Ace BB tool and I have no idea how they kept up with it all. They were moving fast and were coordinating the bike changes flawlessly. Fizz would grab the incoming bike and Jeremy had the clean bike ready to grab at full gas. It was a tremendous advantage over those that didn't have spare bikes and I almost felt like I was cheating. The good news for me was that I wasn't cheating and I don't feel that bad! 5th place in the open in a strong field.

I beat some solid guys and they clearly had a tough time with their bikes in the mud, but that's 'cross. Like I said last week, the course is neutral. The Power Cross course brought some challenges, and it was great to see some people rise to the occasion and have their best performances of the season. Jason D, Neil H and my teammate Adam all put the power to the mud and killed it. Course variety is good and hopefully the MaxPower team will make the race part of the annual schedule. The King has spirals in Greene, Kirkland had the sand pit, and Max Power has their signature hill. Oh yeah, Ommegang has beer. If the course was dry, Max Power might need to tighten up some of the turns, but in late November we're almost guaranteed the mud. I'm already looking forward to next year.

Awwh, sorry baby, it's me not you . . .

2010-11-16T19:38:00.005-05:00

Well, if I said that in college, it was probably a load of crap and I was just trying to ditch a needy goth chick and trying to avoid being killed in my sleep. More recently it's been in reference to CX courses.

Twice this year I've gotten to courses, done my warm up laps and started the race thinking that the course was too hilly, too technical, too blah blah blah. After the first couple of laps though, I realized that it was me, not the course. The Dave Panella Memorial in Greene was a perfect example of it being me. I got to the race, rode the course, listened to a few people gripe about all of the turns and spirals and started to go to a dark place. I'd also been sick all week, so I was probably already half way to dark.

Anyway, the race starts, I slot in conservatively because I can't breath through my left nostril and I have no idea how my lungs are going to respond to the effort. The first couple of laps I'm a hot mess, I'm blowing lines and I almost crash. Then all of a sudden, the course gets tacky, I can breath and the lines start to come together. I also get extremely pissed that I'm riding like a 3 year old girl who's been mainlining pixie sticks all day (read spaz). I turn around to Bryan Blake and shout "Let's catch the final gentleman in front of us who on occasion make sweet love to their mothers." Or something to that effect. From that point on, the course is fine, I'm fine, and I more or less ride my ride.

My point to all of this rambling is to say this: The courses are neutral. Variety is good and if every course was like my home course, I'd be bored. I tell this story sometimes, so maybe some of you have already heard it, but here goes: The Jungle is Neutral. There's a book by that title. The bottom line is that the jungle isn't out to get you and neither is the 'Cross course. The jungle is what you make of it. Granted there are bad things around you, but snakes can bite you or snakes can be dinner. Rain can get you wet, but you have something to drink. That's the short version, but the bottom line is that if you ride the course thinking that it's out to get you, it probably will. If you ride the course knowing that it's neutral, you can turn the snakes into dinner. It took me a few laps to realize it, but the course was great. It was me.

Last but certainly not least, here's one last piece of advice to keep the course neutral. If the course builder uses flags instead of tape, you can follow Adam Myerson's rule on flags: "Flags are only a guideline." If they wanted you to color inside the lines, they'd have made the lines out of course tape. I'm assuming I wasn't alone in that sentiment given the number of flags that were run over. King Karl built us quite a castle out of flags this weekend. I did my best to stay within the lines. Seriously.

2 F-Us

2010-11-11T22:33:00.000-05:00

Being in the somewhat enviable/awkward position of either donating vacation time to the man or bugging out early from work at noon on a pretty dang nice mid-November day ... I chose the latter.

Found myself rolling up Rte 13 past the falls on up to Caz -- west on 20, up the biggggg hill and drop back down towards Manlius. Figured I'd take Salt Springs Rd on into Chittenango and was simply cruising away and got to the last sharp descent before Rte 5. As I get half way down, I note a car blowing out a driveway on my right not too far ahead and low and behold, they're not just pulling out in front of me, they're turning left up the hill. I'm doing well over 30 mph, probably near 40 and the car (which had a Critter Sitters logo on it) is getting real close. I shift my weight way back on the seat and grab a handful of brakes trying not to lock up the wheels in a skid while still getting maximum stopping power as I evaluated escape routes/options vs. t-boning the car.. I was so hard trying to get slowed down I could not even take a hand off the bars to indicate to the butthole in the Critter Sitters-mobile that they were #1 in my books. The driver may have noted I was rather displeased with a few mouthed f-bombs directed their way. So there we have it -- FU-1.

Oddly enough, FU-2 occured just minutes after FU-1. After turning onto Rte 5 and cruising past the school into Chittenago, I take a left and head down the main drag. Gee look, a green pick, and yes, he is actually gonna pull out from the left right in front of me -- I should note that at this point I'm moving quite briskly from the down hill into town coupled with a bit of left over adrenalin from FU-1. Gee look, if I don't accelerate and thread the needle between green truck's front fender and the parked cars, I'll get smushed. I did resist pounding on his hood at about 28 mph as I was too focused on just getting out of his way. I'm not sure if green truck d-bag could read lips either but by the look on his face, I think got a basic understanding of what I was trying to express. So that was FU-2.

Call me crazy but did motorists forget that people ride bikes ... on the road .. even in November? Be careful out there kids.

New Belgium

2010-11-09T18:49:00.004-05:00

Tim O and I headed out to New Belgium this weekend for the Cycle-Smart International races in Northampton. Aside from an early season race a few years ago at Blunt Park, this was my first foray into the depth of racing that is the New England scene. Last year, Drumroll, Eric G. and Bryan B. took a trip and all returned with tales of fast deep fields.

After a season spent chasing upgrade points in the NYCROSS series last year, I've taken this year to travel around some and finally had the opportunity to hit up a Verge race. The obvious first: These races are huge, mature, highly organized and well attended. Everything about the Cycle-Smart International was top notch, but the purpose of this post isn't to write about what a great venue Noho was or what a great job they did with the race. I'm sure you can read about that elsewhere or simply take my word for it and check it out yourself next year.

The purpose of this post is to talk about the depth of talent in New England. Apparently I've led a very sheltered life here in CNY. I've always said that the further east you go, the deeper the talent pool goes and this weekend further illustrated the point. We certainly have some very strong racers, but they simply have more of them. Many more.

I didn't feel right about jumping in with the Elite's. I figure a bunch of those guys are racing professionally and I simply didn't want to get in the way. At best I would have been pack fill in that race and at worst I would have been in a pro's way, so Tim and I both opted for the Masters 35+ races. I knew the competition would be strong, but I really had no idea. Ignorance is bliss as they say. 46th on day 1 and 52nd on day 2. On day 1 I crashed pretty hard. On day 2 I rode well and felt much stronger. If someone had told me that I was in 52nd place I would have laughed in their face. I was riding hard, chasing people down and handled my bike much better than I did on day 1. Apparently everyone did.

I must admit that initially I was really bummed about my results. For good or bad I had 4 hours to think and talk about it with Tim O. on the way home. Below are my conclusions (not to be confused with excuses):

In CNY there are some very strong masters racers, but not a lot of them. The masters races locally tend to be raced by racers that are 35+ but with a wide variety of skill sets and talent. In New England the Masters races appear to be a completely different animal. There are 60+ guys, all of whom are strong. Most of them are Cat 1 or Cat 2's and they are only racing Masters because they are just one step off of the Elite pace. Both of my races included two current national champions. Most of them have been racing a long time, have great handling skills and can fly. If you're 35+ and new to the sport you can still race with the Cat 3's or 4's, so the people that choose to race 35+ are strong. Bottom line is these dudes are fast and I highly recommend making a trip to check out their scene if you haven't already.

It bears repeating that these are my conclusions, I could be wrong. Maybe someone that lives in New Belgium would have a different perspective. Maybe I just suck, but I'd like to think that it's the overwhelming depth of talent the area has. It's evident that I still have a lot of room for improvement in the bike handling department, and I still need to get used to starting a race with 60 fast strangers. I know this, I'm not done with New England . . .

Mental Gymnastics

2010-11-04T12:19:00.002-04:00

This is a post that has been rattling around my brain for a few weeks now. Between racing, training, working on bikes, working, and trying to keep things borderline acceptable on the home front, time has conspired against me. A lunchtime post will have to do. My posts tend to be cynical or humorous at times, so I’ll forewarn you that this one is meant to be more serious. Motivational even.

I was introduced to the concept I’m about to explain at work this year. For those that don’t know, I sell crack to kids, and we’re always looking for ways to improve sales by improving ourselves first.

In any event, the concept is this: There are three kinds of people in life, in this case three kinds of racers.

There are Winners. Winners may or may not be genetically gifted, but they have the psychology of a winner and they tend to perform well week in and week out. They know how to win, they win regularly and they expect to win. Regardless of who is on the start line, they know and BELIEVE they have a shot at winning.

There are Non-Winners. These are people that are there every week, but are always saying things like “it’ll be fun until I get dropped.” They have no expectations whatsoever. For the most part they don’t care who beats them. Don’t get me wrong, maybe they are there for exercise or camaraderie, but they will never win. They probably won’t even try to out sprint a buddy. They don’t believe they should do well, and they won’t.

Then there are the At leasters. Most of us fall into this category and we have the most to gain from changing our mindset. We’re decent racers, genetically middle of the road, but we tend to let our minds limit our performance. We may win or place in an occasional race, or we may get blown out in a race, but we tend to finish mid pack. When we win a race we’re super pumped and start to dream big. The problem is that after another race or two our mind gets the best of us and we slip back into our old mindset of mediocrity. We start to think “I’m good, but not that good.” The opposite occurs when we get blown out. “I not great, but I shouldn’t get beaten by Insert Name.” Your mind saves you from complete loserdom, but just enough to get your mind and body back to your comfort zone.

I find it interesting that when I race with people I know, there are certain people that I accept losing to and people that I refuse to lose to. Winners never accept a loss. Non-Winners accept nothing else. Those of us in the middle ground are the ones that need to talk ourselves up. Channel your inner Stuart Smalley if you have to. Treat everyone in front of you like they are someone you should never lose to. If a dude you don’t know passes you, he is the enemy. He’s a Non Winner and doesn’t deserve to be in front of you. There is no room for complacency in ‘Cross and the CX gods know that I have had moments of complacency. Bad days are bad days and there will be some, but accepting mediocrity will get you exactly that. Mediocrity. The mind of a racer can be a fragile thing, but at the end of the day if you win or lose a CX race, no one at work or the grocery store will be asking for your autograph. Our drive to race is motivated by something entirely different, so unless you’re already a winner, change your mindset and go for the win. Sometimes it will take mental gymnastics to trick yourself into believing that you deserve it, but whatever it takes.

Race fast . . . take chances.

WTF? Tour de Faso

2010-10-21T19:15:00.002-04:00

The dude kicks my butt on nearly a weekly basis and now he gets his own race?

Preparations for the big show: Tour du Faso

Shoulda Seen This A Comin From a Mile Away

2010-10-18T16:53:00.001-04:00

Azithromycin

A mile away your ask? More like from miles away. Actually Drummroll predicted this one rather well about 6 weeks ago when his work schedule started to fill up rather quickly. He explained at the time that he'd suck it up and do his job but that travelling like this tends to end up with him getting sick. So let's recap shall we? Since the last week of Sept, he's been seeing alot of steering wheel and airport time: Kokomo, IN, an unplanned stayover in Charlotte, Chicago, Bethlehem, PA and Uncasville, CT. And still got to a CX event every weekend as well as help put on the CX @ Brewery Ommegang event. The wheels started to come off somewhere near Bethlehem, PA last week when his throat caught on fire and that all to familiar feeling of general "ick". By the time he got to CT, he was shivering under the covers at 7:30 at night knowing all too well that racing Syracuse was probably not in the cards. He got home Thurs eve and was at the doc Fri am and got a Rx for Azithromycin. As of today, he's hoping he's turning the corner but still has a nasty cough. The boy's also getting a bit stir crazy and probably about one more f-bomb or other off-color inuendo away from Ms. Drumroll putting a pillow over his face when he next falls asleep. And what adds insult to the matter is that his recover beverage consumption has only been in the form of shots ... of NyQuil. No Ommegang in almost 2 weeks! Not the mid-CX season break he wanted but look out, he might actually come into his best form of the year for all the local December CX races.

How's the upgrade treating you?

2010-10-14T19:48:00.002-04:00

I've been asked that a lot lately. I thought I'd put up a quick post to answer the question. If you judge based on results, the upgrade has been an unmitigated failure. If you compare my results and times against the people I was racing with last year, things are far less bleak.

In short, the 1/2/3 races are fast. Holding my own in a 3/4 race wasn't always easy, but sometimes it was. Holding my own in a 1/2/3 race is never easy. Not getting lapped by Justin Lindine is never easy. In fact I don't think I've even achieved that to date. Guys like Lindine, Cory Burns, Al Donahue, Wayne Bray and Dan Staffo are simply riding at another level. It's doubtful that I'll ever get to mix it up with them, but I do intend on holding my own or at least not embarrassing myself. To bend my mind around the fact that some of them might get lapped by pro's is mind boggling.

I was admittedly discouraged after my first few races. At this point I've come to grips with the fact that I was pack fill a few years ago and I still loved CX. I'm pack fill again and I still love CX. Sunday was a particularly dark day for me. I didn't want to race and nearly made a U-turn on the Thruway. I started the race very passively and got caught behind a crash. I quickly found myself in last place, and if it wasn't for a few friends cheering for me, I might have rolled into the pits, grabbed my wheels and headed for the car. I've never quit a CX race, but I was close. After a few laps though I started realizing that the Full Moon Vista folks had turned the Cobb's Hill course into a legitimate and sweet CX course. I didn't get to race there last year, but this year's course was a huge improvement over what I had seen two years ago. It took us a few years to dial in the Ommegang course, so I get that it can take some time to dial in a new course. It also helped that the race announcer kept calling out my name and Ommegang/Syracuse Bicycle every lap. He was also calling out a few of the local riders that I was starting to pick off. At that point I had no choice but to enjoy the suffering.

After the race, Wayne B. told me I was a head case. I had to agree. Getting to a Cat 2 was a lot of work and holding my own will be a lot of work. I'll no longer start my races like a wuss, and since my form is coming around, hopefully I'll see more of the middle of the pack and less of the back. Either way, it's CX season and there will be beer so it's all good.

Get Your Ath to the Canal Path

2010-10-08T23:13:00.000-04:00

Just a simple suggestion ... get to the Erie Canal towpath and ride the canal. Maybe I'm biased or jaded (well yes, probably both amongst numerous other character flaws) but riding the canal as the leaves are turning is the best. I love the crunch of the leaves and the scenery. You absolutely cannot go wrong with putting in an easy hour or two just cruising the flats on your EZ day. And even if you need to spice things up, you can pop up into Green Lakes or even Poolsbrook for some harder efforts or bike handling challenges. CX bikes are probably the best alternative for the experienced cycling dork but a MTB is not a bad alternative either. You might swing the road rig but you're taking a risk and you'll wanna make sure you have some wider tires and be diligent to miss the little things that can cause a flat.

In the end, just get there on your EZ ride night. The towpath is a little gem for the cyclo-dork so make sure you're getting in on it.

Welcome to the back of the pack . . .

2010-09-27T21:01:00.004-04:00

"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!

Stevens Carbon Team

2010-09-10T17:14:00.007-04:00

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.

Dinosaur BBQ Supports CX ... I Think

2010-08-31T22:27:00.000-04:00

Saw this in one of the shall we say "stand-up fixtures" in the guys room at Dinosaur BBQ (sorry if you're not from the 'Cuse) .... and yes, I thought twice about pulling out a camera phone in the men's room at a quasi-biker bar but this needed to be documented.

Cycle Smart CX Camp Recap 2010

2010-08-26T19:22:00.003-04:00

I'm back from my third year at Adam Myerson's cyclocross camp. It seems like every year I learn more. There was never really a question about whether or not I was going this year, but I did wonder if I'd get as much out of it this year as I did last year. In short, yes I did. Possibly more. Early on the first day I decided I would count the number of times I learned something new or picked back up on something I'd forgotten or been doing wrong. Less than an hour into day one I was up to three game changing items and I decided that it would be pointless to keep counting.

Before I get into the camp itself, it's worth restating, as I've done on more than a few occasions in this blog, that people should be going to this camp. It blows my mind that people would spend money on expensive new bikes, tubular wheels, sealed cable systems, etc. without taking the time or money to go to Adam's camp first. Perhaps I should have posted this entry before Adam's camp, but I promise you that his camp will make you faster than any piece of equipment you could buy. The seconds per lap you will pick up with better technique and strategy will far outweigh any equipment benefits you could gain.

As an example, Bryan Blake and I both attended last years camp. I had my best season ever, won a race and got my Cat 2 upgrade. Bryan also had his best season ever, and lots of people noticed. In fact at one point I was talking to a mutual friend and he said "what the heck happened to Bryan Blake, I used to drop that guy all the time, now every time I turn around he's right behind me." It's worth mentioning that Bryan not only went to the camp, he also became a Cycle Smart client. Before anyone accuses me of being a paid spokesperson, I not only paid for the camp, but I also bought Ommegang as a gift for Adam. The least I could do is buy the guy a beer!

Back to the camp. Adam moved back to a two day format this year which was great. Two days really gives everyone time to dial everything in and then practice it again the next day. In fact Adam even managed to have the weather be sunny and dry on Saturday and wet and muddy on Sunday. The man has skills. The weather changes were dumb luck, but being able to practice the techniques in both conditions was invaluable.

As a bonus this year, Jeremy Powers was there for half of the day on Saturday and all day Sunday. Jeremy offered great advice, was pretty damn funny, and watching him bunny hop the barriers in person was really cool. He also brought some give aways from his sponsors. I missed out on the free Zipp 303's, but you'll need to see my sweet new Cannondale. I'm pretty sure he said I could keep it . . .

The camp started Friday night with a low key gathering at a local shop. There was a lot of informal discussion about bike fit among other things. It's always interesting to hear a pro's perspective, and Adam in particular has spent A LOT of time thinking about the subject and experimenting with his own bike fit.

Saturday the training really started and Adam, Jeremy and Al Donahue worked with us in groups. All three of them provide their own unique perspective which was really interesting. In addition to mounts, dismounts, barriers, carrying, etc. we also got to work on some bumping drills. If you and I are on the last lap, coming into the final turns side by side, trust me, you'll wish you had gone to camp! Saturday night we went back to the shop, ate some good food and drank some of Belgium's finest while Adam gave a presentation on training for 'cross.

Sunday brought rain, more practice, and lots of sliding in the mud. We worked on starts, held a little race and then regrouped for some Q&A. Unfortunately I needed to head to Long Island for an early meeting Monday, but at least Jeremy Powers gave me some Sport Beans before I left.

I could go into a lot more detail on the camp, but those are Adam's trade secrets and you should just go. One of the things that really sets Adam apart from some of the other pro's is his ability continuously refine his techniques and strategy. Adam has admitted that he doesn't necessarily have the power numbers as some of the other pro's, but he's found ways to hang in there by using his brain as much or more than his body. That doesn't mean that he isn't on his bike 20-30 hours a week, but I suspect that his ability to use his mind is what has kept him in the game.

Some of the best athletes in the world have no idea how they do what they do. Great race car drivers or ball players typically make lousy instructors or coaches because they have no clue how they win. A guy like Adam does, and that has made him a great teacher. Hopefully next season I'll remember to re-post this before Adam's camp, but I guess it's fine with me if you don't go. That definitely increases the likelihood of my kicking your A$$ on the 'cross course.

See you at the races . . .

Today is Aug 12 .. What Are You Doing a Month From Now?

2010-08-12T19:33:00.000-04:00

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Part of the 2010 NYCROSS.com Cyclocross Series.
For series info see www.nycross.com

Wanted ... Two Cents

2010-08-08T08:32:00.000-04:00

So here we go boyz & girlz ... some real, honest to goodness CX related content.

If you you're reading this (yes, all 3 or 4 of you -- not sure if Humperdog counts as a reader), you are likely starting to have more CX related items creeping into your stream of conciousness as we are within reach of the first few CX events of the season. So my CX pre-occupation seems to be tires at this moment.

I picked up someGrifo Fangos late last year but never really did get to race on them (not counting Black Fly in June). This was my leap into the land of CX tubularity and I am struggling with what I want to put on my other tubular wheelset. In clincher land, I liked the Michelin Muds (IMO, perhaps the best all around CX clincher) for most races and the Michelin Jets when things were dry and firm (i.e., not often). I should also note I am a fan of the Maxxix Mimos (clincher) as well but have not run them in a while.

So I'm looking for some edumacational advice or suggestions for the "other" tires. (And no, I'm not quite ready to go Dugast at this point -- It's bad enough my CX bike is probably worth more than my car as is.)

So speak up faithful reader(s) .... advice, opinions, call-outs, pre-season heckles and off-color comments encouraged.

Plea for Help

2010-08-01T22:32:00.000-04:00

Yo,   Drumroll's liver here. Hey, yeah you, shhh, keep it down (plz), I don't want him to get worked up -- he's sensitive about these things .. well that and that umm, well other thing. Seriously though, I need some serious help. I don't know what the heck happened this past weekend but he's workin' me way too hard. I cannot keep this pace up. Even the kidney & bladder are getting pissed.

It started Friday with some kind of freakin desert wine .. nothing crazy for a Friday eve but this is where it started.

Saturday all hell broke loose. He's what I dealt with ... Ommegang BPA, Ommegang Zuur, Ommegang Tripel, 2004 Ommegang 3 Phils, 3007 Ommegang 3 Phils, Ommegang Cup 'o Kyndness, Maredsous Blonde, Maredsous Tripel, Allagash Larry, Liefman's Cuvee Brut, and something from Brouwerji Palm I can't even try to spell, pronounce ... or remember....and keep in mind, we're not talking Coors Light here kids -- this is good ol fashion high test Belgian elixir.

And then the jackarse gets up and decides to do a freakin mountain bike race the next morning... and he ends up doing quite well ... until his chain broke. I prepared for the worst (he was kinda bummed) but he just went home completely skipping the free beers. Well he must have stewed for a while cause next thing I know he's double fisting a Middle Ages Wit and Wailing Wench at their anniversary party in the 'Cuse.   After helping his mate finish her Wailing Wench (ironic), he's handed a Druid Fluid. Thinking thank goodness he's done, he heads home, orders up a pizza and guess what he washes it down with .. a Sam Adams from the fridge.   Aughhh.

I know the Tour de France is over and those guys are probably knocking back a few on the beach but what's the deal here? It's not like he even watched any of the tour. While I am not a big fan of all the extra labor involved, I do have to hand it to the lad for his choices ... he at least is finding the good stuff. So tomorrow is a rest day and I dearly hope he considers his beat up liver in this great rest formula as well.

Ummm, Maybe You Should Write a Caption or Title ....

2010-07-30T10:16:00.000-04:00

Krabbe

2010-07-19T21:38:00.001-04:00

So perhaps you're in a mid-summer racing or training slump? Maybe need something to take to the beach on vaca? Or just have a compulsion to read anything & everything about cycling? Pick yourself up a copy. It's a short read and perhaps just a tad more cerebral than your typical cycling lit but if you're into bike racing, it's a pretty cool story.

In Myerson we trust

2010-07-01T20:49:00.003-04:00

I've been waiting for Adam to tell me what I think about the new UCI rules. Thankfully now I know. Actually, there's already been some chatter on the team listserv and to a large extent I think we're all on the same page. I think the most important part of all this is that CX is close enough to talk about . . .

Adam's perspective: http://www.cxmagazine.com/myerson-uci-rule-changes-2010#more-12629

DNF Post Mortem -- Attack / Counterattack

2010-06-30T11:08:00.000-04:00

Disclaimer... the term "racing career" is used loosely and intended for illustrative purposes in the discussion below. References to Drummroll's "attack" are also to be used loosely and intended for illustrative purposes.

So Drummroll notches up, if his memory serves him correctly, the 2nd DNF of his "racing career" that was purely due to -- shall we say -- his inability to hang in there physically and mentally (not the result of a crash or mechanical).    Now mind you that this alleged "racing career" spans a fair cross-section (CX pun intended) of all sorts of cycling, a batch of running events and triathlons in all shapes and sizes.

Coming from a triathlon sort of background, there simply was no giving up, you just needed to keep putting one foot in front of the other -- even if it meant walking at times. A flashback to IM Florida sees Drummroll with a pretty darn respectable swim (1:06 for 2.4 miles), a decent bike where he even held back (112 mi in 5:18) and then the run ... can you say vomitarrhea -- a 5:31 marathon.   Drummroll was so messed up he was delerious and staggering part way through the run and was scared he'd get pulled. After sitting at an aid station for 20-30 minutes painfully watching others run and shufle by, he decided he was really hungry and grabbed a small vanilla Oreo type cookie from the aid station and washed it down with a coke. Mmmmm, he ate a couple more, another coke and wow, ....."I'm alive". It was weird -- in a manner of ten minutes or less, he got a running and put in his fastest 10K split of the day for the last 1/4 or so of the marathon.

So enough about the good 'ol days (sorry, IM is a long event, hence a long story) .... so Drummroll hits the Corning Cat 4 race at Watkins Glen this past weekend and on lap 2 puts in a modest attack on a small rise and drew out a few guys and the pack closed in and it all settled in. A few corners later on the same lap, Drummroll put in a hard attack on a sweeping downhill followed by another rise.   The pack chased hard and caught him part way up the rise except they didn't settle in this time -- they kept on going ... hard.   Drumroll, now in sag climb mode, suddenly realizes he's sagged right off the back of the pack. A full lap of chasing hard only saw the disappear further up the road. Drummroll cashed it in to return to the car to bask in the stench of a DNF.

So the lesson learned, after some discussion with NegaCoach Wayne and others was that yes, the first attack was a proper move. A counter attack was also a proper move .. except Drummroll should not counter attack his own original attack.

So there you have it cycling fans, dorksters, hipsters, wannabe's, afficianados and all around know it alls, it all boils down to this .. Drummrolls racing guidance 101:

(1) Counter attacking an attack = good move
(2) Counter attacking your own attack = bad move

Disc Brakes for CX?

2010-06-22T07:19:00.000-04:00

From Cyclingnews.com:

UCI allows disc brakes for cyclo-cross
The International Cycling Union (UCI) has approved disc brakes for competition in the 2010-’11 cyclo-cross race season. The ban was lifted via a newly issued document entitled, ‘Rule Amendments for Title 1,’ which was posted to USA Cycling’s website late Friday morning.

Full article here:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/uci-allows-disc-brakes-for-cyclo-cross

100 Minutes on The Hour

2010-06-20T22:40:00.000-04:00

So Drummroll decides its time to mix it up the week after the Black Fly.   Off on Monday, the TNTS on Tuesday w/the boys, a hard strength & core training session on Wednesday, an up tempo hilly ride on Thursday and then 100 minutes on The Hour on Friday.    The Windsor Hour that is ...... a SS fixie Drummroll picked up over a year ago.   A basic, no frills steel fixie with a flip flop hub that you can pick up for like $300 shipped.

It had been a while since The Hour got out of the garage and the nuances of the SS quickly reminded Drummroll of his Weds strenghth training workout (can you say sore hammies?). The cool thing about the fixie is that on a 100 minute ride, you pedal for 100 minutes. There is no coasting. Any attempt to stop pedalling almost rips your legs off (the same way the spin bike might if you've been there, done that). In some ways, it's like riding for 100 minutes and maybe getting in the equivalent of a 120 minute ride on a "regular" road rig.

It is a track bike by nature so you don't wanna be attempting the Rte 20 hills or Gulf Rd but it is a great workout on the rollers along and near Rte 5 on the east end of The 'Cuse.

If you get an opportunity to try a fixie, you should give it a go. Some pros train on them periodically to smooth out their pedal stroke and to provide a "riding/functional strength" type workout. If you get your hands on one, give Drummroll a shout,   Afterall, it's fun, it might make you a better cyclist and imagine, you might even enjoy yourself in something that is familiar yet new at the same time.

Black Fly Challenge Race Recap

2010-06-14T14:21:00.007-04:00

Team Ommegang - Syracuse Bicycle was out in full force again for The Black Fly Challenge. This years addition brought wet roads and sand.

I think we had about 8 gangsters there to represent. Drummroll, AJ and I went up to Indian Lake Friday night to avoid an early morning commute. If you've never been to Indian Lake, its best suited for relaxing, so that's what we did. We drank a couple of Ommegang's finest, watched a little TV, jumped on an unsecured WiFi network for a little iPod e-mail, and got some rest. A few loud kids kept AJ up, and Drummroll spent some time trying to keep a mosquito out of his ear, but otherwise we got some decent sleep.

In the morning, Drummroll and I hit up the local diner for some eggs and carbs, and AJ stayed behind to drink a couple of bottles of Starbuck's finest and eat some Cliff Bars or something. Drummroll and I even signed a petition to help the fine folks of Indian Lake secure a new grocery store since apparently the local store had recently gone belly up.

Having worked out some automobile logistics in advance, we headed down to Inlet for packet pick up. As luck would have it, it was raining pretty hard. Close to pouring. When we got to Inlet it was looking pretty bleak. I'm always up for a challenge, but now I had to start thinking hard about what clothing I had packed, what to wear, how many layers, etc. Then, about 20 minutes before the race started, the rain stopped. Perfect . . . I think.

Quick warm up, second guess tire pressure a few times, and then line up. For what it's worth, I ran about 53lbs. I know some dudes went for closer to 70, but I thought I'd shoot for closer to CX, but with enough air to smack a rock at 35mph without too much fear of pinch flatting. Looking around at the crowd as we lined up, it was clear that this was a deeper field than last year. I was still optimistic, but thoughts of another 2nd place were tempered by more realistic aspirations of a top 10. Apparently Dan Staffo from Handlebars decided to check out what the Black Fly had to offer, and I made the mistake of talking team friend Tim O into going. That pretty much meant that barring a mechanical, first and second were pretty much wrapped up.

Right from the gun, Dan started driving the pace. It was clear that he wasn't going to wait around for the race to unfold. By the top of the first hill, there were only 4 of us. Thankfully things eased up a little and some guys got back on in time for the second hill. At that point, Dan got away and eight of us were left behind working pretty well as a group. So far the rain and wet weren't much of a factor. As we pressed on, keeping Dan in sight, it was clear that some guys in our group were strong, and others, myself included were drooling on ourselves. As we started to roll through the flat sections with wet sand, I started to worry that my brakes were rubbing. Sadly they weren't, it was just incredibly tough going. Riding in the wet sand was WAY harder than the previous years in the dry loose stuff. I'd also decided to roll with the Michelin Mud's instead of the Jets, and although I may never know, I think they created more traction than I really wanted.

At a certain point, our group started to splinter and Tim O, Eric Grimm, and Randy Hadzor built up a small lead on the rest of us. Next thing I knew, the rest of my group had built up a small lead on me. At this point, I knew I was in 9th and I had no choice but to ride within myself or risk blowing up, so I watched my teammates AJ and Fred roll up the road. Now I'm asking myself, can I hang on for 9th? A few minutes later, I see Eric Grimm changing a flat. Now I'm in 8th.

As I rolled along, I saw a couple of guys coming up on me, so I eased up, popped a gel pack and waited for them to catch me. Thankfully, it was Drumroll and a beast of a man named Paul from Battenkill-United on an MTB. As Drumroll passes me, he says "This dude is really strong." That was all I needed to hear. I recovered pretty quickly, and got to work with both of them. Drummroll made some rolling introductions, and I let Paul know that he was in first place in the MTB division. None of us had a reason for any team BS, etc. so we just kept on working. I felt pretty good about my top 10.

Once we hit the pavement, I turned around and saw Eric Grimm literally flying down the road. He quickly caught us and we jumped his wheel. At this point, I knew that AJ and Fred were in the next group up the road, so we just hung onto Eric's wheel for dear life. He dragged us right up to AJ, Fred, and another dude, and then right up to Randy Hadzor. Now we had a group of eight with three guys off the front. Getting dropped or blowing the sprint would mean 11th place. The group kept the pace high, and with a little less than a mile to go, Fred hit the gas and opened up a small gap. He was quickly brought back though, so I took a go at it thinking 4th would be pretty sweet. Sadly Drummroll and Eric quickly caught me, but luckily Drummroll held off Eric for fourth and I was pretty happy to hang onto sixth. AJ took 7th, and Fred took 11th after cramping. Four guys in the top 11 ain't bad. Fred deserves a special mention since he was on my old Trek XO1. It's a great winter bike, but I wouldn't want to drag it over all of those hills.

All in all, the team had a great showing. Team friend Tim O took second, and I think everyone was fairly pleased with their performance. There's no question that we all raced hard and left it all on the road (or wet sand as it were).

The race organizers did another awesome job with the course, packet pickup, chip timing, etc. Those guys really get it, and I'm sure that our team will continue to flock to their race.

After the finish, Mrs. Skinny hustled me off to Lake Placid where she was running the half marathon with some friends of ours the next day. Despite an injury, she did well and I consumed my weight in beer. Great weekend.

PS - somehow I ended up being listed as the first place "beginner" in the results. I know I was in the CX category when I picked up my packet so I'm not sure what happened there. I don't want anyone thinking I'm a sand bagger. I did clean enough sand out of my drive train, hair, ears and eyes to fill a bag though . . .

Black Fly

2010-06-11T15:01:00.003-04:00

Bike, spotless. Legs, opened. Weather, iffy. I've never done the Black Fly in the rain. That could be fun. That could be 'cross like. Jets or Muds . . . that's the only unanswered question.

Cross Season Already?

2010-06-04T18:37:00.003-04:00

A few of the boys came out last night for a pre-Black Fly shakedown. If that doesn't get you thinking about CX season, nothing will. We bombed around the Canal Path, Green Lakes and Poolsbrook. Great riding, great teammates, happy to be on the CX rig.

After a few seasons on the Ridley's, I think I'm ready for a change. I've been scouring the internet in my free time looking for any preliminary info on the 2011 bikes. Last season I was certain I wanted a carbon Stevens, but having put a decent dig in my carbon road bike I started thinking maybe I should just go with something more durable. It looks like the new Redline Team's could be pretty sweet. The details are still a little sketchy, but it sounds like they will have carbon seat stays much like my Ridley's. I know that I want something with a lower BB than my Ridley's since sometimes I feel like I'm riding a unicycle. Of course then I found this today during lunch . . .

http://cyclingreporter.com/2010/06/03/van-dessel-rolls-out-carbon-cyclocross-bike/

That might be a game changer. The Gin and Trombones is already on the short list, but the Full Tilt Boogie might be the answer for carbon and durability. I might need to get to selling some stuff on e-bay to afford two frames, but where there's a will . . .

In any event, they won't be available until August, so I have plenty of time to ponder my future frames. Suggestions are welcome.

Books, Beers & Back?

2010-05-31T07:42:00.001-04:00

Books & Beers: Drumroll recently polished off Joe Parkin's second book about life as a pro cyclist. In this book Joe returns to the US and gets involved with teh domestic racing scene on the road, CX and even gets some mixed results in MTBing. While perhaps not as riveting as Dog in a Hat, it is a good read for a cyclo-dork. Drumroll also recently polished off Brewery Ommegang's Belgian Pale Ale (BPA) seasonal/specialty brew. While Drumroll has never been a big fan of pale ale's, this wasn't too bad. The Belgian chacacters and complexity were notable when compared to other (lesser) pale ales.

Back? ..... well maybe and probably or somewhere in between. Is Drummroll's back holding up well enough to ride and race? The answer to that is yes, so far so good. But is he "back"? Well, maybe, sorta, kinda. He actually raced the Race 4 Hope this past weekend. He finished "ok" but realized toying with the front end of a local club ride is a little different than hanging on the front end of a race. Back racing but perhaps not quite back to the level of previous years. Maybe a few more races and we'll see if he's really back.

Sh*t My Dad Says

2010-05-13T22:12:00.000-04:00

If you're a 'bit' off center (like I) and are in need of a smile or chuckle ... I present to you a bit of Twitter excellence in the raw: http://twitter.com/shitmydadsays .

Need to be convinced .. here's a few tweets to savor:

"A parent's only as good as their dumbest kid. If one wins a Nobel Prize but the other gets robbed by a hooker, you failed."

"Pressure? Get married when you want. Your wedding's just one more day in my life I can't wear sweat pants."

"I like the dog. If he can't eat it, or %^(* it, he pisses on it. I can get behind that."

Yeah it may be a little raw but you will probably be giggling like a school girl or snorting out loud once you get reading these.... And there's even a new book I just might have to pick up.

Mother's Day Gift for the Supportive Cycling Spouse

2010-05-07T17:43:00.000-04:00

You can't do two jobs . . .

2010-04-28T19:31:00.003-04:00

and expect to do either of them well. I just read a post from Adam Myerson and it more or less summed up Sunday's races. In my case, the the only thing at stake was a $20 prize and pride. Thankfully I don't race for a living so making the wrong choice is low risk.

More on that later. It seems like most of my posts start with an apology for the lack of posts. The good news is that I've been riding and racing my bike a lot. I already have 5 races in the legs this season which is an early start for someone that tends to start late and focus on CX. As I mentioned in my last post, I was headed for Battenkill. It went pretty well. 14th place out of 105 starters. Not exactly a stellar performance but considering how seriously some people take that race, I'm pleased with the result. I know there was a lot of debate over whether or not Battenkill was worth the price of admission. I must admit that initially I had no interest in paying for the experience. That said, I had decent early season form and figured I'd might as well check it out. Without going into a lot of detail, they did an outstanding job with the race. The volunteers were awesome, the course was very well marked, they were highly organized and there were port-o-johns as far as the eye could see.

By the end of the race I started to feel like the Grim Reaper. It seemed like every time I passed people and felt like I'd moved to the middle of the pack, I'd turn around and see the wheel van. We'd climb a hill, I'd move up 10 spots and start feeling pretty good about myself for moving up. A minute later I'd turn around and no one would be behind me. Kind of an odd day in that regard. I even finished with the wheel van right behind me in a sprint. Ironically I didn't have any wheels in there . . .

Fast forward to last weekend and it was time for the Binghamton Circuit Race. Typically this is my first or second race of the year. In previous years I've tucked in, held on for dear life with questionable fitness and sprinted to the finish. This year I was unsure how to approach the race. My fitness is at an all time high for April, so I had some options. Option 1 - sit in and save my sprint. Option 2 - get to the front and hope to get in a break. There were two races, so I ended up trying both options. In the first race I covered one break knowing I had some fast teammates in the race, but other than that I sat in and hoped to set myself up for a decent sprint. Coming into the sprint I was in great position, but it had rained the whole race and the guy to my right started sliding into me and I got off the gas on an uphill sprint. I was in the drops and in the wrong gear to wind it back up, so getting it going again wasn't really an option.

Race number two was the opposite race. Right before the race I ran into a local Cat 3 and he excitedly told me we were headed right to the front. We were going to try and get in every break or start one. He said we could sit in and get popped or crash in a sprint, or we could try and get a break going and better our odds. That's exactly what we did. Actually, he was so excited about our plan that we didn't realize that we'd lined up behind the Cat 5 race and we had to chase onto our race. Once we caught on we got right to the plan. We bridged to a handful of breaks and got into a two lap break with 7 to go. Unfortunately no one joined us, so we were doomed for failure, but nothing ventured as they say. By the time I needed to wind up a sprint I was out of matches, but as Adam said . . . you can't do two jobs. Thankfully one of my teammates had gone with option 1 in race number two, after he'd gone for broke in race number one, and he grabbed third place in his second race of the day. Keeping all of this straight?

Next stop Hollenbeck. I haven't decided on option 1 or 2 yet.

Horner Dork

2010-04-23T23:51:00.000-04:00

So bite me, Drumroll is a Horner fan. Some love 'em, some hate 'em. The dude just pulled off the biggest win of his career a couple weekends ago .. and got a cool hat in the process. If he ain't on the "Shack's" TdF squad, Lance ought to concede now.

It started at the now defunct San Fran Grand Prix in 2001. Horner, a member of Team Saturn at the time, won the San Fran Grand Prix in '01 where Drumroll had scammed some press credentials. Drumroll thought it was cool that this pro dude was so freakin happy to win a race. He even paused to have a pic taken with Ms. Drumroll and when the flash didn't work, he even suggested taking another pic.

Always a good interview, sometimes too honest but tells it like it is and he has dabbled in CX for sheets & giggles on occasion. Drumroll even recalls seeing him at CX nats in the same year he rode a full Euro campaign. When Drumroll asked him why he would do CX nats after a Pro Tour campaign he replied, I just love riding and racing my bike. What's not to like?

Go Chris !

Sore groin and numb hands: related?

2010-04-14T16:19:00.000-04:00

I did a doubletake as I perused Velonews at lunch today. Yup, there under the "Coaches Panel" section, it did say that ... Sore groin and numb hands: related?

And before you ask, No, Drumroll has not experienced this (at least not since he was about 13).

A Good Day has Come & Gone

2010-04-10T22:51:00.000-04:00

As many have come to realize, Drummroll is a hurtin pup. Maybe age or just bad luck caught up w/him cause his back has been one MoFo for several weeks now. Riding/training highlights include about a cumulative total of 2 hours on the bike in the last 3 weeks. So Drumroll is a bit unstable without his normal training routine and looking for some good in it all ....

So he watched Chris Horner kick some serious arse today in Spain this am. Biggest win of his career ...Drumroll rather pleased as he's a Horner fan from back in 2001 where Horner won the San Fran Grand Prix where Drumroll fanagled press creds and actually met Horner. In celebration of Horner's win, Drumroll survives a 30 min EZ spin trainer session with no pain early pm (sweet!).

Mid pm Drumroll gets an update that the Ommegangsters represented well at Battenkill (wish I was there, Ok not really but awesome job guys).

Late pm SU LAX dominates Princeton ... all is good (including the Syrah Drumroll is ummm, obtaining antioxidant benefits from). Later pm, Sabres win to solidify their playoff spot (all hail grape derived antioxidants).

And even later pm pre-bedtime check of the cyclo-websites shows ... holy crap, the rumors were true, it's finally here ... Joe Parkin's new book. Thank freaking the powers that be I saved an Amazon gift card from Christmas. First, if you haven't read "A Dog in a Hat" by Parkin, you're missing out and should be prohibited from riding your bike and drinking a Belgian beer of any sort until you do so. And I'd be remiss not to give props to Joe's blog at 6 Years in a Raincape. His new book is called "Come and Gone". Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to to Amazon to place an order.

Battenkill or Bust

2010-04-09T19:51:00.004-04:00

It would figure that after lots of procrastination, you'd get two posts in one day. See Drumroll's post below. Sorry for the lack of posts. The good news is that I've been riding my bike a lot. At least a lot relative to the time of year. I've been riding it so much that racing Battenkill seemed like a good idea. I raced a couple of the Johnny Cake's in Albany and having survived all of the crashes in Race 1 and all of the hills in Race 3, I figured why not take my early season form to Battenkill.

I've never been in racing shape in early April, so this is all new to me. Having spoken to a handful of people that have raced Battenkill, here's what I've learned so far:

If you race CX, you should be all set running standard road tires and the race shouldn't be any worse than the local Hollenbeck race. If you don't race CX, this race is epic, and you should buy a special set of 700x25 or 28 tires with special liners, a one "off" Cervelo frame with special extended fork tabs that will allow for extra tire and mud clearance, double wrap bar tape, box section rims, a second seat post collar, and military issue MRE's in case you get dropped mid race. As a CX racer, I'm going with my S1, 700x23 Conti 4000's and PowerTap so I can remember the fun watt by watt at a later date.

I'll let you know how it works out. I've included a picture of my bike in a pathetic attempt to recreate a "pre classic" bike profile that you'd see in Cycling News or VeloNews. We'll see if I end up stuck in a sand pit or double flatting on a decent after taking the advice of the local CX'ers.

By the way, sorry the picture is so blurry. Bigfoot took the picture with his camera phone.

Making the Best of It

2010-04-09T16:52:00.000-04:00

Ommegangsters adhere to the one cup of Ommegang per person rule at the most recent tasting event.

She Wasn't Amused

2010-03-12T18:39:00.000-05:00

Man, I can't wait for the residual checks . . .

2010-03-06T06:36:00.003-05:00

They should start pouring in any day. Actually, Drumroll reached out to these folks after a few glasses of Ommegang and they sponsored our CX race. Good people and an even better product. I've been using Assos and started using the Ballocks product with great success. It seems to hang in there longer than the Assos stuff and even after a long ride it's still around for the shower. Our team kits are a little scratchy "down there" so this stuff is a must! I highly recommend it, and not just because I'm intermittently on the front page of their website.

http://www.chomperbody.com/

Slacker . . .

2010-03-03T19:05:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the lack of recent posts. I'm sure that the three people that read the blog have been concerned over my well being. This is always a tough time of year. The rides on the hamster wheel don't tend to generate post-worthy content and although I've spent many hours in the cold and snow, those rides have also been fairly uneventful. Thankfully racing season is around the corner, the days will be getting longer and I'll get my creative mojo back.

One topic that keeps popping into my head is riding partners. It seems like year around there are always other like minded crazies to ride with. Who you ride with can have a major impact on the enjoyment one derives from a ride. Can the people you're riding with carry an intelligent conversation? Do they speak at a volume that you can actually hear? Do they ride well in traffic or are they constantly giving people in pickup trucks with gun racks the finger? At the end of the day, a 3-4 hour ride can fly by or seem like an eternity.

I couldn't possibly add up the number of miles I've logged with the likes of Drumroll, "Bob", Faso and more recently Timmy O. As fast as life can move these day, some of the most interesting conversations I've had in the last few years have been on the bike. When you have four hours of riding in front of you, you're going to talk. Conversations have spanned from whether mankind is inherently good or evil, what we might do if faced with terminal cancer (sadly last year a local cyclist was), the fragility of life, how to raise children (although I don't have any), politics, and of course more bike centric topics like rehashing past races, SRAM vs. Shimano, dream bikes, dopers, and the occasional gossip and smack talk. Good stuff.

Switching topics, I've been ratcheting up the training this winter. Since my primary focus has always been CX, the road season has always been an afterthought. This year I've decided to get an earlier start and see what happens. My CX season far exceeded my expectations so I figure it's time to give it a real go on the road. There's no question that my body and mind are better suited for CX, but I don't want to look in the rear view mirror someday and feel like I didn't maximize whatever potential I had on the road. Who knows what will happen, but I'm hopeful that I can at least finish most of the races with the lead group. Last season I spent too much time just a few watts behind the lead group. Maybe between the SLC-SL and some additional motivation I can close the gap. If not, there's always the "saving my best stuff for CX season" excuse.

Hopefully with racing season and daylight savings around the corner, I can step up the blog posts and keep my three readers entertained. Worst case scenario I'm on the verge of building up a training bike, so I'll have some pics to post once my frame gets in. Mrs. Skinny was surprisingly understanding when I explained that my new bike was SO nice that I needed to buy a second bike for training and crits. It takes a very special lady to support a bike racer, and by special I mean understanding, not a former passenger on the short bus.

Went to a 5K and a cycling event broke out

2010-02-08T20:54:00.000-05:00

On a frosty 3.5 hr Saturday ride that took me thru Caz this past weekend, I noticed the Chilly Chili banner. I wondered when it was as Ommegangsters Jeff W and Skinny Phil had run it in recent years. Low and behold I ran into some folks later in the afternoon who said it was the next day. I checked it out on the web and decided what the he!!, I had run Friday eve for 40 minutes for the first time in weeks so I was definitely not over trained and should give it a go. So Sunday morning I loaded the running shoes and other running apparel into a daypack and headed out on the bike to umm, yes, to warmup ... for 2 hours. See my masterplan was to ride then run and then ride home. I figured this would suck all aspirations of running hard, have fun, and build in a great excuse for sucking on the run. So as I get to registration, I see local cycling guru Diamond Dave and Sue joke and they chuckle about my bike parked out front. Then I run into cycling youngster Jake G who stopped for a quick hello. Once back inside to stay warm, Ithaca area cycling strongman Jeremy G walks up and says hello and that new Ommegangster Jason H was there. Holy crap. The only people I know at this 5k running race of 1100+ people are the cycling folks I ride and race with. So I head outside to the start and run into Tri-guy Jamie, another dude I have rode with. With about a minute to the start, Derek P (Fizz) walks up and says hello. Holy double crap. So we start and I watch all the "cyclist" run away from me. All in all I sucked (goal accomplished) and got my butt kicked by all the cyclists as a bonus. Some of them cycling dudes are fast runners.

The post race chili samples rocked, I sipped a few brew samples and then I took the brisk plunge back home kinda laughing that the venue was definitely different but the same cycling guys were putting the hurt on me once again and as usual, we all connected after to share the moment, have a laugh and catch up with each other and make plans to connect at some time in the near future.

Hypermyotonia, Popliteal Fossa and "the vein, the vein"

2010-02-05T15:14:00.000-05:00

What, what what? Hypermyotonia, Popliteal Fossa and "the vein, the vein" you ask?

Kinda sounds like a blood or kidney disorder, a new Italian cycling team, and a 2 year old trying to copy Tattoo from Fantasy Island.

Anywho, if your a physiocyclodorkasaurus, you'll find this article rather intriguing.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/feature-marginal-gains-and-hypermyotonia

You know what this means ... in addition to things like your AT, pedal stroke efficiency and power zones, now you gotta work on reduction of personal hypermyotonia through refinement of your nervous system.

Walking on the moon

2010-02-01T18:01:00.004-05:00

This weekend turned out to be a great weekend for riding. Granted CNY was sub-zero Saturday and not a lot warmer on Sunday, but there was some great riding none the less. In fact when I rolled up my hill Sunday, it was a blistering 12 degrees and I was sweating my proverbial junk off.

I met Tim O. bright and early both days and although we avoided some of the big downhills (Rt 20) it was business as usual. I must admit that when I woke up and saw that it was minus 12 on Saturday I wasn't certain that I'd make it longer than 20 minutes, but 2:45 later I was in pretty good shape and the temps had only skyrocketed to minus 4. As far as a few local cyclists are concerned, and certainly the folks at the Nice N Easy, we'd might as well have been moon men. Partially due to our appearance, but mostly because a lot of people seemed to think that riding in this weather was tantamount to walking on the moon.

I must admit that as recently as last year I would have agreed. I spent weeks XC skiing because I thought it was too cold and snowy. Thankfully my buddy Tim did all of the initial testing and since he lived, I decided I'd might as well tag along for the subsequent rides. Tim is sort of an animal. He trains from 4am to 10am regularly, so I wasn't sure that I should be following his example. Clearly he's tough in ways that would make a Belgian racer proud to know him. After a little trial and error, I think I have the cold weather dialed in. If you'd like to join me in walking on the moon, here's the recipe:

Above 12 degrees F:
1 - CX Bike
1 - Fenders (optional but nice - keep you and your riding buddies dry)
1 - Blinky light (front and rear if it's still dark - rear at all times)
1 - Pair of winter boots (I use Lake MTB boots because you can walk in them if all else fails)
If you don't have winter boots, wool, bags, neoprene and duct tape may suffice
1 - Pair of winter tights with wind block on the front panels (wear tights underneath if necessary)
1 - Set of base layers and a windproof jacket
Wear a jersey underneath so you can keep bottles in it to keep them from freezing
1 - Pair of Mountaineering Mittens (I use EMS) Spend some $ and go $70-$90
1 - Set of hand warmers (buy in bulk at a hardware store)
1 - Winter hat or balaclava

Under 12 degrees F:
Add neoprene shoe covers over winter boots. Trust me, they help.
1 - Snow pants or some form of Gore-tex pants
1 - Toe clip strap to keep your pants out of the chain
1 - Balaclava
1 - Gore-tex jacket or 2nd jacket (Tim wears a down jacket, I just don't own one)

Any form of eye wear seems useless when it's below 12 degrees. They just fog up. I suppose you could wear ski goggles, but I want to have my peripheral vision when the snowplows are out.

Speaking of snowplows, any decent CX'er should be able to manage riding in the snow unless it's icy. It looks intimidating, but you really get a feel for it once you've been out there for awhile. I use Michelin Jet tires all winter and they work very well. They're pretty smooth when the pavement is dry and seem to hook up well in the snow and hard pack as well. 2-3 inches of snow seems to be the limit before you'd need a mountain bike.

If you see a snowplow coming up behind you, you have a couple of options. If there are no cars coming, move into the oncoming lane to get out of the way, or if there are cars coming, get off of the road as completely as possible. Get off your bike if you have to. Trust me, you might be pumped to be out there, but the plow guys are unimpressed. Unless you want to be lying dead in a ditch next to a dear carcass, get out of their way because they have a job to do and to them, you're just another mailbox.

When you head out:
Avoid going down huge hills - my right eye froze shut on Rt 20 a couple of weeks ago

Stay off of the busy roads as much as you can - The shoulder is going to suck and cars aren't going to want to swerve around you if the lanes are snowy. Much like the snowplows, they aren't going to risk sliding off the road because you're a cyclist with OCD trying to build base.

Plan to have a convenience store on the route in case you need to warm up or splash some hot water in your bottle.

All of this may sound like a huge hassle, but this time of year is a great time to build solid base, and riding on the trainer for 3 hours is far less appealing than facing the elements. Once you get into a routine, it really doesn't take any longer to get ready to ride than it does in the summer. Just a few more layers. Some of my best rides have been in cold weather. They will make you "strong like bull."

What else? Make sure to moisturize so your face doesn't look like a catcher's mitt when you're old. Gel packs are less likely to freeze than Cliff Bars. Keep 'em close to your body. Bring a phone in case you need to bail. Plan to see really lame average speeds if you're riding in snow pants. The effort is the same or harder, but don't let the slow speeds make you feel bad. Shifting in mittens isn't easy, but you'll get used to it. If you're thumbs get cold, tuck them into the mittens. You won't be able to shift or stand and climb, but once the thumbs warm up from the heat packs you'll be good to go.

I think that's it. Hope to see you out there, but not next to a deer in a ditch.

Laurent Fignon

2010-01-14T18:08:00.003-05:00

Just read this on VeloNews: http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/01/news/fignon-continues-cancer-battle_102403

I had read last Spring that he was battling cancer and hadn't really heard much since. Sounds like he's still putting up a decent fight, but also resigning himself to the possibility that it just may not work out in his favor.

Fignon and LeMond were in their prime just as I was getting into cycling in high school. I can remember running to the bottom of our driveway to snag the paper and read the small box in the sports section that listed the Tour results every day, then on Sunday I would listen to the musical stylings of John Tesh and vocal stylings of Phil Ligget for the weekly recap. Gotta love the internet and TV coverage we have today. It was tough to wait until Sunday to see what really happened, and even tougher that it was condensed into a one hour TV show per week. Brutal. In any event, my formative years in cycling were spent watching LeMond battle Hinault and then Fignon. I owned a sweet pair of La Vie Claire shorts, and I rocked 'em 5-6 days a week and probably washed them once a week. I don't know how my washing frequency is relevant to the story, but I thought I'd throw it in there anyway.

Watching Fignon, pony tail flying in the breeze was pretty motivating for me. He had cool glasses and always looked more like a poet than a bike racer. I even tried the pony tail look on for size during college. It was a brief stint and on the bike was about as successful as Fignon's. Much like Fignon's non-areo hairdo was no match for Lemond's trick aero helmet in the TT, my non-helmeted ponytailed head was no match for a steep embankment on my MTB. After sailing through the air and narrowly avoiding a tree, I took the landing head first and ended up with some sweet skid marks on the side of my head. It is better to look good than feel good though. I wish I could say that was the last time I did something stupid without wearing a helmet, but sometimes you need to land on your head a few times to learn.

Hopefully Fignon's third round of treatment is more successful that his first two. Cancer sucks.

Coincidentally, I happened to open a nice bottle of French wine tonight . . . a votre sante.

There's three years of French in the late 80's put to good use. My high school teacher, Mademoiselle Hastings would be very proud. Of course she set the bar pretty low for me. I didn't really want to learn French, I just wanted to race in France.

Omme Team Mate Makes it Big Time

2010-01-06T22:30:00.005-05:00

Damn, How do I get a beer named after me?

(Yeah, so bite me if you're buying into Ms. Drumroll's claims that Arrogant Bastard Ale was named after me. I will admit it is a tasty brew though.)

Core work and hill repeats . . .

2009-12-28T15:11:00.005-05:00

I decided it was time to put my winter training plan into action. Sorry the picture is a little blurry, but I was just going way too fast for a normal camera to capture the action (unlike one of my CX races). Great ab work, and if you sprint up the hill, that doesn't hurt. Unlike cycling, the front of my junk got banged around for a change. I don't recall that sledding hurt so much before puberty.

No matter what your religious affliction, I hope you received plenty of gifts with Dugast, Zipp, Saris, etc. on the boxes.

Holiday Message from Humperdog

2009-12-24T09:23:00.003-05:00

Damn I look good don't I? Some people might say I'm a poser but hey, if you got it, flaunt it... I'm ooozing style here peeps. Some might think they have style but hey, I'm a dog with true style and trust me, I know a thing or two about doggie style.

I just don't get the whole stocking thing though ... just give me the rawhide thingy already. How'd you like to pose with a glassful of Three Philosophers and not get to drink it?

All in all I think it was a pretty good year (except for that minor skunk incident). I got to chase a few pheasants, went to a couple 'cross races, sniffed some new butts, and got to do alot clean-up duty after Ms. Drummroll's grandkids come over. (The little guy leaves lots of goodies on the floor for me as he's still trying to master the fork.)

So I wanna wish y'all a Happy Humperdog Holiday Season and thank all those that rubbed my belly this past year.

The Wait for February 8

2009-12-22T21:10:00.004-05:00

A few clicks, input some basic data, credit card # and poof ....

Order Complete!

Thank you from the Leadville Trail 100! You can login to your LT100 account at any time to update your racer profile, confirm your race sign-ups, or sign up for additional races.

Please note that if you signed up for the Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race you will be charged the $15 application fee upon entry into the lottery. The lottery will be held the first week in February 2010. Those applicants who are successful in gaining entry into the LT100 MTB Race will be notified on February 8, 2010 at which time their entry fees will be processed.

If I get in, I'll be looking for some company on some loooong rides .....
Course Description:
The 100-mile course is a 50-mile out and back race within the beautiful, high altitude mountains and valleys of Leadville, Colorado. The majority is on back-country roads with some short sections of paved road. The entire course is above 9,000 ft. And climbs to almost 13,000 ft.

Holding court?

2009-12-20T21:41:00.003-05:00

Project Off Season is in Full Effect

2009-12-16T16:19:00.003-05:00

I guess it's that time of year again. Time files when you're obsessed with watts, training hours and racing. The last few weeks have been a breath of fresh air since the local racing season has dried up. The weather has helped to extend the riding season, so there have been some bonus road rides and I've been fortunate to get out on the Soul Cycles SS every week. I was even able to finally bust out the light I bought for night riding 5 years ago. Green Lakes is a pretty sweet place during the day, but the trails become much more interesting at night.

I've even mixed some running into the routine in an effort to build up some bone density. At 37 I've gotta make sure I don't end up breaking my hip. That kills plenty of old folks. I also don't want to end up in a foot cast like Brian B. At least he broke it in the last race of the season. I think I took the running too far this weekend when I decided to enter a 9 mile trail run at Highland Forest with about 2,500 feet of climbing. I actually ran pretty fast, but I was more than a little sore for a few days after. One of the guys behind me commented that he ran a marathon a few weeks prior and that the trail run was harder. I kind of doubt that, but I guess if you don't race CX it's possible to get a little mud in your lady parts and have it feel like it was harder than a marathon.

Me and Mrs. Skinny had a post-CX party a couple of weeks ago. If you weren't invited, you need to get on the CNY-Cross group and start racing CX. All in all I think people had a lot of fun. Tough to tell since I was pretty much incapacitated by the end of it. Loud, but incapacitated as anyone that was there could attest. I will say this, during the off season beer and cookies are way more popular than actual food. I had a lot of left over food, and not a lot of beer or cookies. That's probably best for me anyway since I don't need any more beer, and Mrs. Skinny won't let me have sugar.

This is always an interesting time of year. The diet is a little off, booze consumption is definitely up, training has tapered off and the energy levels are dangerously high. That can always lead to trouble since my extra energy is seldom constructive. I've never been one to pick up a broom when I have extra energy. I'm more like a Black Lab with a propensity for destroying furniture when I haven't gotten my daily allotment of exercise.

I'm definitely looking forward to getting back to the training grind. I'm just waiting for my life sized posters of Faso and Bray to arrive. I've already taken a black Sharpie and written BEAT FASO on my white handlebar tape. Who needs a DVD of the 2007 Paris Roubaix to get motivated when you have those guys in your head?

Sorry for the stream of consciousness, but it's been awhile since I posted anything and I had some time to kill in a hotel. I should probably hit the gym, but it is the off season . . .

What to Get Your Girl

2009-12-11T18:36:00.004-05:00

Ho, Ho. Ho ... Time to man up and get your lady a Skinny Bitch Booty Bounce DVD. You just gotta tell her straight ... "It's a gift for both of us." (Hint ... try to be sincere and avoid the use of the sheet eatin grin when you tell her.)

After all, you know you'll be cranking away on the trainer to turn yourself into an absolute cycling machine for next year so she's gotta get on the program too and get the bounce back in the booty.

And if you act now, I'll sell you a brand new one. It's still in the original packaging. Just make me an offer and give me a heads up when you'll need it -- I'll have to go see the doc have it removed.

Don't be "That Guy" Part III

2009-11-27T20:48:00.007-05:00

News flash: Drummroll joins Team "That Guy"

2010 Ridley X-Fire
Goodies include SRAM Rival gruppo, TRP EuroX canti's, Thomson Elite seatpost & stem, and Easton EA70X w/Challenge Fango 32 tubbies

Don't be "That Guy" Part II

2009-11-22T19:28:00.004-05:00

If I suck now, there's simply no excuse. This bike combined with the Zipp 404's is about as legit as I can get. My teammate decided to upgrade his SLC-SL (race only with less than 400 miles on it) to an S3, so I had no choice but to wipe out the bike fund and snag the SLC-SL frame. Combined with the SRAM Red and the Zipp's I pretty much have built up a Tour ready bike. Well, if it was 2007 anyway. I built it up yesterday. I decided I'd might as well do it right, and snagged some Zipp bottle cages, a 3T carbon bar, and a titanium railed Specialized seat. I also bought some new sneakers and went with Continental's with the Black Chili compound. I have absolutely no idea what the Black Chili will do for me, but it sounded pretty good. The only thing left is a new 3T stem, but I wanted to get a ride on it before selecting a size.

Took a quick 20 mile shakedown run yesterday and it was clear that this was going to be a fast bike. It is ridiculously stiff and in a good way. The real test was today's Faso Ride. We rode a brisk 55 miles with a handful of town line sprints. I beat my previous watt record by about 90 watts and I haven't done a legit road sprint since before CX season. This bike is gonna be sweet.

I'm not sure if this bike can overcome middling genetics, but I intend to find out next season. There's no doubt that this bike will put the watts to the back wheel, I just need to make sure I'm around when everyone gets near the finish. Hopefully I can pull that off, otherwise I'm going to be "That Guy" on the tour caliber frame, components, and Zipp's dropped with a fat guy on the old Cannondale. Then again, perhaps I'll be dropped with the fat guy riding the Pinarello, with Campy Super Record 11 and Bora Ultra Two wheels. Maybe I should have taken Jeremy B's advice and just raced the old Trek XO-1.

On an unrelated note, congrats to Drumroll on his dominant season. He snagged three CX wins this year. He had a solid year last season, but he's definitely moved to a new level. Good to be "That Guy."

I'm gonna miss this bike . . .

2009-11-14T17:54:00.005-05:00

Actually, maybe I won't miss it that much . . .

Grizzly Sighting in Massachusetts

2009-11-09T19:38:00.004-05:00

I saw it with my own two eyes. I even had two credible Syracuse CX brothers (Bryan B and Eric G) who can vouch for me as they saw it too. ….and this doesn’t include the several hundred others who witnessed the same. We were at the Cycle-Smart Invitational (CSI) CX event this past weekend and during the men’s elite race on Saturday, the announcer yelled out something about a grizzly. This announcement was followed by a huge roar. I chuckled and thought, now that’s pretty damn funny, gotta love ‘cross.

Flashback a few years ago and I remember (a clean shaven) Dan Timmerman, totally dominating (perhaps devouring) the open men’s field at the Syracuse CX Grand Prix. He impressed everyone that day as he bunny hopped the barrier and rode up the hill while everyone else dismounted and ran.

Flash forward back to this past weekend and you might say he’s upped his game a bit along with his notoriety. Seems Ithaca’s very own Dan Timmerman, with his prominently bushy facial hair is now affectionately New England cyclocross’ very own “Grizzly”. The roar we had heard after the announcer’s “Grizzly” callout was the crowd responding as they've fallen for the Grizzly. Seems “Grizzly” has become a genuine fan favorite with the bearded look coupled with some stellar results this year in the elite level of the New England CX scene (we’re talking UCI level podium spots and wins here kids). Great to see a CNY guy mixing it up with some of the best. Hats off to the Grizzly!!

The healing effects of the Single Speed

2009-11-05T17:48:00.002-05:00

After some rest and a couple of "out of plan" rides I'm a new man. Or maybe the man I was. Whatever. Drummroll organized a night ride out at Green Lakes. Good chance to bust out the SS and night light. First time ever using a light on the bike (not including in my back yard). VERY cool. If you don't own one, get one and find some friends to ride with in the dark. It's a whole nother world and a good one at that.

With a couple of miles left, Drumroll ripped his front chainring in half. What a beast. Jeff W was kind enough to push Drumroll back to the cars. Maybe Jeff is the beast.

One pedal stroke ahead of crazy

2009-11-01T07:37:00.004-05:00

The car is mostly packed after racing yesterday and it would be easy to hop in the car and race today, but as Willie S. once wrote, "the better part of valor, is discretion."

I'm 9 races into the season, and early season freshness and success have given way to fatigue and more modest results. The power just isn't there right now and enthusiasm is turning to anger as my motivation. With the cancellation of Greene I'm going to take next week off from the races and try and finish the season as strong as I started. That's the goal anyway. Anger will keep you motivated through the week, will get you to the start line, and will probably carry you through the first couple of laps, but ultimately the body needs to participate. I've gotten so wrapped up in chasing NYCross and upgrade points that I've definitely over done it. The motivation, albeit slightly twisted, is still there but the body appears to be an unwilling participant at the moment. Just hurdling the barriers yesterday was an effort of epic proportions. Time to listen to the body.

Hopefully this doesn't come off as too whiny. Ultimately who knows what motivates us to get out there and compete each week. Most of us have jobs and families, and between training, traveling, bike maintenance and surfing the internet for CX results and pictures we're probably tying up 15 hours a week on a hobby. Combine that with the considerable expense of participation in our sport, and most people would think we're nuts.

In my case, cycling is pretty much the only sport I've ever excelled in. I was 5'3" and weighed 89lbs as a freshman in high school. We had one Filipino girl that was smaller than me. Conventional sports weren't really an option. Amateur bike racers can be divided into a number of categories, but two that come to mind are former athletes that have outgrown football, hockey or soccer and are looking for a competitive outlet that won't require routine knee surgeries, and us skinny geeks that have only known cycling or running. You can usually tell by a racers build which category a racer falls into. Clearly I fall into the latter. We all have different motivations, but the 5'3" kid that never got to play football still has a huge chip on his shoulder. Being skinny has more or less paid off in the long run, but I think I'm hyper-motivated to succeed in the sport. Probably to the point of overdoing it at times.

Time to e-mail Bob and see if he wants to go MTBing. There's no reason to ride angry, at the end of the day I simply love cycling and getting caught up in the points isn't really helping. I'm pretty sure placing third place in the 3/4 series will net me a spare tube and no place in history. It's time to get a little rest, get through this block of the season and finish strong.

Man I love CX, even with two race bikes, tubulars, a coach, and all of the other expenses it must be cheaper than the quantity of therapy I would take to keep me on the straight and narrow. One pedal stroke ahead of crazy . . . usually.

Oh My ...

2009-10-30T18:53:00.004-04:00

So after scrubbing the living he!! out of my MUDDY skinsuit and getting the Ridley in some semblance of looking mostly red & white again, I decided it was time to celebrate. I went deep into the Drumroll beer cave (ok , my downstairs closet) and pulled out a year old Ommegang Biere de Mars. The first sip was all I needed to know this was something else .. oh my, soooo good. Ms. Drumroll noted something was up right away so I offered her a taste .. she says "hmmm, that's pretty good". A moment later she's pulling a glass out of the cupboard so she can have her own.

So lesson learned. When you pull a Biere de Mars out be discrete or you might have to share. Cheers!

It's Mud -- Honest, Really, It's Mud

2009-10-30T09:34:00.002-04:00

I think I might 5hit my skinsuit . . .

2009-10-18T19:17:00.003-04:00

That's paraphrasing what Drumroll said right before the race. Apparently he got a hold of some bad oatmeal. About 50 minutes later he rolled across the line in 1st place in the Masters Men's race. It bears mentioning that his kit looked clean to me.

Just goes to show, you never know what's gonna happen on race day. If you feel like 5hit, or 5hitting your pants, get to the race and toe the line because you just never know.

Great job Drumroll, now you can bask in the warm glow of a win while you're sitting on the can.

Chocolate & Vanilla

2009-10-16T20:49:00.005-04:00

My original plans for an X-Fire were dashed by a lack of 54cm availability early in the season. The good news for me was that they had Bryan B's size and he was willing to swap his 54cm Supercross for my Specialized road frame. More on that another day, but I was now the proud owner of 2 matching Supercross frames. Initially I thought I'd build up an inexpensive "B" bike. I should have known better because when it comes to bikes, bling and grams always outweigh common sense. I could have bought some inexpensive TRP brakes, but the adjustability of the TRP Mag's was too much to pass up. I could have thrown on an old seat, but I really needed a white one. While I'm at it, I'd might as well just spring for the titanium railed version. In hindsight, I'm gonna jump on it 8-9 times per race so maybe I should have saved the $164. Handlebars and stem . . . the white look pretty sweet, might as well spend a few extra bucks and get something decent. When it was all over I was left with two bikes that were very similar, but both had their pro's and con's. My original "A" bike was all of a sudden better in some ways and lacking in some. I could have taken all of the best parts and built a "Super" bike, but I decided to go with Chocolate and Vanilla. Red crank here, FSA there; Carbon seatpost with a heavier seat here, standard seatpost with the titanium railed seat there; heavy cockpit here, light cockpit there; clinchers here, tubulars there. At the end of the build, the most obvious difference was the black wheels and stem vs. the white wheels and stem. Chocolate and Vanilla. No "A", no "B", just two sweet bikes. Maybe next year I'll get that new frame. Well, I guess two of them now. Maybe I shouldn't have given up running, matching shoes are pretty cheap in comparison. Then again, running sucks.

7 Years Ago Today

2009-10-14T09:44:00.003-04:00

7 years ago today (October 14, 2002) I woke up in a hospital. I had an oxygen tube up my nose (that was irritatring the living hell out of my sinuses and throat), inflatable compression stockings on that hurt each time they inflated, an IV in my arm pumpin in all kinds of meds, a catheter jammed up my "man parts" and one incredibly deep and throbbing pain in my lower back. I was not a happy camper. Freaking tubes and cords everywhere, an anesthesia fog/hangover with a boatload of pain just to round it out. I believe my first words (at least the first ones I was cognizant of) were, "how's Tim"? I was told he made it through fine. Not sure if I physically smiled at this news but I was smiling inside anyway. Tim is my little bro and he now had my left kidney "inserted" into him just below his belly button.

I typically don't mention this to alot of people because, while it's hard to explain, it is kind of a personal sort of thing. I figured I would "mention" it here because probably most of you know me and I want to (1) show you that a kidney donor can lead a normal lifestyle (note the beer in my hand and they fact I'm racing a bike in the previous post) and (2) to ask you to consider getting your name on the donor registry. Online info can be found at the following link:

http://www.health.state.ny.us/professionals/patients/donation/organ/

So yes, that is a kidney pic (not mine) above. And yes, it is true that (in a highly medicated state ) I got frustrated with my mom asking about the catheter and just whipped open the covers to show her much to her surprise. And yes, of course, the cutest nurse in the place ended up being the one to remove the catheter.

Beer hand-ups 101 ... Why he's the King of Kross

2009-10-05T18:58:00.006-04:00

Study this picture. Zoom in and slowly scan the varying nuances of what has been digitally captured here at this precise moment of time. Think iconic action photos like that of Michael Jordan in mid-air coiled for a highlight dunk or Bobby Orr splayed out horizontal like Superman just after he releases a shot to find the back of the net. Yes, look closely my CX brethren. Are you seeing it ... no. no. no, not the bike, not the jackass on the bike ... What you are seeing is perhaps the perfect hand-up.

Puzzled? ...Let me explain. First we should note that the guy offering the hand-up (technically called the "hander-upper-er") is known as the King of Kross. For the uninitiated, CX (or KX if I may in deference to the King) is more than just the bike race itself. You see, KX is the alpha, and the omega of cycling. It is not road biking, it is not mtb'ing, it is neither and it is both and the hand-up is the path to KX enlightenment.

So now let me help you take the first steps on your personal path via the KX hand-up with a detailed examination of this picture.
(1) To start, the hand-up is within close proximity to the golden elixir dispensing station. Think easy access, minimal transport, readily available and steady supply.
(2) The hand-up is occurring at a location where the rider's (receiver's) speed is relatively slow as he comes out of a technical chicane onto a straight section. In this manner, the receiver can most easily disengage a hand from the bars and prepare for a transfer. Please note that a hand-up right before a super technical section or a power climb is a waste of golden elixir -- both hands are needed on the bar and the golden elixir cannot be properly protected for consumption. Any waste can be easily detected in the form of spillage or vomitization.
(3) The transfer vessel contains approximately 3-4 ounces of golden elixir. Any less and you have to ask why bother. Any more and you risk spillage or vomitization as technical sections approach. Also note that in this case a lighter style of elixir (Witte or Hennepin) was chosen. Heavier elixirs (Abbey Ale, Three Philosophers) are best for post race consumption.
(4) The hander-upper-er has clearly identified himself ... in this case in an Ommegang cycling cap. It can become difficult to decipher hecklers from hander-upper-ers in the heat of the battle.
(5) Plastic cup. Should be a no-brainer but let's consider hitting a root with a glass bottle in hand -- can you say dental visit? Also the plastic cup can be harmlessly and easily discarded in the direction of a heckler or let's say some Catskill hillbilly in a Banana Republic sweater he found in the trash. Firing bottles off from the bike is just not cool or enlightening, especially if you don't see it coming.
(6) Zoom "way-in" on the exchange of the vessel of golden elixir. You will notice the hander-upper-er has left the bottom 2/3 of the vessel exposed for a smooth and efficient transfer. Additionally, the cupped grip the hander-upper-er has over the top of the vessel helps to maintain stability and limit potential spillage.
(7) Perhaps the most subtle aspect of this transfer, yet a very advanced technique, may not even be noticeable unless specifically pointed out. What is it you ask? ....Notice how the King (the expert hander-upper-er in this case) has just the slightest of bend in his elbow. This is key; I cannot emphasize this enough. The very slight bend allows for a firm yet flexible exchange of the vessel containing the golden elixir. A locked elbow, or overly bent elbow will significantly magnify any seemingly minor misalignment of the transfer with the potentially devastating result of spillage.

It is unlikely you will find similar instruction at any 'cross or KX clinics so consider yourself fortunate. You have been granted insight to a powerful and exhilirating part of the KX world that many are scared to explore. Go forth my friends, my consumers of golden elixir, and hander-upper-er wannabe's, explore and discover your inner KX through the process of the hand-up.

Note: Drumroll is available for group or personal hander-upper-er training. Please do not hesitate to contact him through this website. While open minded, Drumroll explicity requires a true Belgian hand-up experience, and cash up front.

Ommegang Race

2009-10-03T06:54:00.001-04:00

It's tomorrow . . . Do it. Do it.