Campaign begins...

with the Charm City Cross this weekend!

Picking up my new & tuned up Gin&Trombone today. Hope to get some pictures of it up soon!

CRANKY MONKEY XC SERIES: SCHAFFER FARMS

EX2 Adventures always put on a quality MTB race…great courses…nice sized fields…free postrace food. This was the first time that Schaffer Farms was having a race in about 10 years and I was pumped for this one. My apartment is a nice 10 minute bike ride away so this was by far the easiest travel to a race in my recent memory. So, Schaffer is my backyard training grounds…I know the trails real well and I was looking for a great result.

A late start time allowed for a nice morning of a solid breakfast, coffe, and laying around. Packed the car and hopped over to the SoccerPlex to park for the race. Got kitted up in Black Metal and rolled over to the start/finish area with my girl. It was super humid so my warm up was rather light just to keep my muscles warm. The start of the race was pushed back a little due to an emergency in one of the earlier races.

Got lined up for the start a tad late and had to scrum my way up to near the front. Chatted with a few guys and settled in for the start. 2 laps of the 9 mile course was on the menu. On the horn we throttled up the gravel road…I bobbed and weaved my way up to the front and threw it into the big ring to cruise to the singletrack. On the sharp right hander onto the final stretch of road I dropped my chain…UGH! But I was able to keep it rolling and lost a bottle in the process. So I lost of few key spots dumping into the long and twisty singletrack.

Punched it hard on the open field climb to stay with the leade group. But once again…into some of the more punchy climbs, my chain kept dropping…which causes me to get off…spin it back on…and get back into line. Frustration was setting in. But this was my homecourse and I knew I had time to make up any lost places.

Came through the finish of the first lap and got a fresh bottle from my girl…she is super pro…flashed me a smile and it was onto the second lap.

I had a good reserve left in the tank from not blowing up on the first lap, so I gunned it on the open field sections and made up a ton of time…making passes…sitting in and pacing in the right places.

Second lap only saw one drop of the chain so I was felt great mentally…with 2 miles left I started feeling it in my legs…cramping. On the last punchy climb, I drilled it hard and dropped a fellow rider who was sitting in…he couldnt answer so I kept pushing to try and catch the next rider. Every time I stopped pedaling my legs would start to tighten immediatly so I had to keep grinding. Just missed out on the final pass by about 3 seconds…finished hard!

Whew! Tough effort! Got a big hug and kiss from my lady! We stood around and I chatted with a few guys from the race. Results posted and I took the 8th spot. Pleased with the result…curious to see if I didnt have a bunch of chain drops where I would have been…but that’s racing!

Made the walk back to the car…cleaned up…and was back at my apartment in 10 minutes! Sweet! Nap time!

Made the decision a few days later that this would be my final race of the XC season. I will opt out of the final race at Fountainhead. Lots of factors played in to my decision. Had a great season. Cyclocross is right around the corner. Needed a break from the time in the saddle to mentally reset my brain for cross.

Thanks for reading!

BEAR CREEK CHALLENGE XC 2010

The Bear Creek Challenge marked the final round of Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships. I was amped to race here because I had my first XC race on this mountain back in high school…back then it was called Doe Mountain. This was also a Kenda Cup Qualifier for the Shoot-Out.

Got to the venue nice and early…grey skies and a light drizzle met my girl and I there. Picked up my plate and kitted up to get my warm up started. Then it started to rain. Threw on my Metal Wind Jacket and it kept my kit nice and dry!

Felt good and ready to get the race rolling. The race was set for 2 7-mile laps of the course. Word around the start was that it was very rocky, rooty and an overall tough course. Sounded good to me! Little did I know that I was in for a beating.

Off the gun I had a good start and sat right behind in 5th place as we weaved around the base area before dumping into the first set of single track. Punchy and twisty track…with some quick decents and rooty climbs. I sat in and tried to keep my HR under control.

Road some fireroad into the next section…where I was met with rock garden after rock garden…downhil tech sections…up hill tech sections. It was crazy. I could not find a groove…kept dabbing and putting a foot down here…down there…it was frustrating. Stopped myself on a decent with my shin on a big rock and split my shin open…blood just was flowing down my leg…although it didnt hurt…at the time.

Rolled through the finish of the first lap in just over an hour for 7 miles…brutal…got a fresh bottle from my girl and some positive cheers from her family that had come out to support me.

Throughout the second lap I was gassed…bouncing off rocks and roots trying to maintain and finish the race. I was coming into the final steep grass climb and PING…chain broken! ARGH! Again! Was able to fix it in about 2 minutes and finish the race.

Got cleaned up and went over to First Aid to look at my shin. Cleaned it up…no stitches needed…sweet!

I was asked if I would race here again. I answered: Yup!

Finished 7th on the day and still waiting for overall MARC results…hoping for top 3!

Thanks for reading!

'CROSS? ALREADY? YES PLEASE!

It is already time for my brain to get into 'cross mode. I have some great news for the upcoming season. I will be racing for the Cycle-Smart Grassroots Cyclocross Team! Cycle-Smart is a coaching company set by pro Adam Myerson and his staff. They were looking for riders and I submitted my results and got placed onto the team. I am super excited for this opportunity. Adam has a great line of sponsors set for the season: Van Dessel Bikes, Verge Clothing, Challenge Tires, Lazer Helmets, Williams Wheels, TRP Brakes to name a few. I am lucky to getting to ride a new Van Dessel Gin & Trombone for the season.

I can't wait!

Adam Myerson:

The Van Dessel Gin & Trombone:

THE BLACK KEYS!

This past Monday, my girl and I got a chance to check out a sweet show: The Black Keys! I have been following them for about 2 years now and was stoked to see them live.



Concert was at D.A.R. Constitution Hall...a really cool venue to see a show...super loud...great time!

WEDNESDAYS @ WAKEFIELD SERIES RE-CAP

Wednesdays @ Wakefield is a cool little mid-week summer series. It is a good time to get a hard effort in with little pressure to get a big result. It is a 4 race series…the plan was to do all of them at first…then ran into some frustrating issues. Here is a small re-cap:

Race #1: Rocked Full Metal Gray…lined up in the start. The start was interesting to say the least. The park dumped a ton a gravel in the start so it was a couple inches of loose gravel. Gun goes off…slip my pedal and lost a ton of places right off the start. Things didnt go well from there…dropped my chain on a rooty flat section…lost places…clipped my pedal on a turn and dumped onto my buttcheeks. Finished up pretty frustrated…but thats racing. Had a nice rash on my cheek…looked like i got hit with a meat tenderizer.


Race #2: Rocked the Speedy USA Kit…lined up…blew the start again in the gravel. Chased hard throughout the first lap…then flatted near the end of lap 1. Changed the tube and rode just to finish up…bummer.


Race #3: Passed it up to rest for the Bulldog Rump XC.

Race #4: Back in Metal…finally nailed the start and went with the lead group. Had a solid first lap and turned back the throttle for the remainder of the race.

All in all…not the best showing for me at W@W…but tried my best to have fun and use it as good training.

Thanks for reading!

Mid-Atlantic Super Series 2010: DTS Fair Hill Classic

The DTS Fairhill Classic is fast becoming one of my favorite summer races. The format is simple…one large 20 mile loop over some really solid trails. Being a Cat-2 the race had an early start…8:45am…so my girl and I had to get up early. Had a little warm up knowing that I would be able to get into it on the 2 mile dirt road lead into the singletrack.

Had a decent position dumping into the singletrack…made a good amount of passes through some twisty trails…then dumped my chain…again…seems to be a theme for me. Got out onto the gravel road connectors and made up some time on the lead group.

Felt great throughout the race. I was climbing real strong…but was in no man’s land for the majority of the time…passing a few here and there. Lost one bottle early on, so I had to conserve some fluids until I got to an aid station. Luckily there were a good amount and got a fresh bottle from the DTS volunteers…nice.

With a few miles left the legs began to tighten up and cramp a little. Put the rest of my fluids into my body and made the break for the finish.

Finished with a good pace and a smile when I saw my girl right there! Downed a coke in the air conditioned pavillion…cleaned up…headed home for a needed nap!

Again…thanks for reading!