Cyclocross Lessons learned by the rookie

I thought I would sum up what I have gleaned from my first season of racing:

1st Race: Alum Creek, placed 9 out of 28 — don't underestimate yourself, practice helped, training pays and adrenaline is gooooooooooooood.

2nd Race: Harbin Park, placed 27 out of 46 — pre-ride the course and scout areas where you can accel, be cautious and ride smart in areas where you are less skilled. Use this and sensibly pass other riders.

3rd through 5th Races: Lobdell Frisbee Park, DNF, 18 out of 24, DNF — Double check your gear and pit gear is a must, the extra wheel set saved my day. Don't overdo racing! The adrenaline keeps the pain at bay, but you'll hurt the next day. Make sure you are adequately fueled. Also, I did well unintentionally marking and following the eventual winner of the C race (before I double flatted).

6th Race: Gun Club Cross, 29 out of 45 — Stay off the ground! The first crash ruins the day... Learn where my 80% feels like and race at that intensity. Over-exerted myself at times and it caused more slipups.

7th Race: Promotion Cross in Lexington, 16 out of 29 — need to start better, rode conservatively at my 80% and limited my sloppy handling. Practice paid off, stayed calm, need to work on more speed and harder starts.

8th Race: Lane Rd Ohio CX Championships: 12 out of 22— had a great start, warmed up with more intensity (a couple intervals after a pre-ride), I made an attack in the middle of the race but lost the spots due to loss of breath. Need to lock-in a preferred tire pressure for clinchers next year, ran it low again (around 40 psi) and it kept feeling like I might slide out on the turns.

I really had a great time and I only wish I could have done more races!

Live the Dream: Cumbant Training 2008

As the cold, wet winds blow into the Ohio Valley I can't help but reminisce about the cumbant training of my youth. Last year I took utmost caution to add the body weight, develop the still, steady pulse and slow-twitch fibers necessary for the sport of cumbant cycling.

As many of you are probably unaware, Cumbant Cycling is a sport of the future that combines long-chain bravura and short-chain machinery. While cruising at a slow speed gently slide your chassis back behind the saddle, inhale and fill your gut with bravery, pull your legs back and you will fly! It is so sweet and liberating! Stay calm, cool, collecting and you will enjoy twenty to thirty feet of pure ecstacy.


You're welcome. Now live the dream!

Fit without a Bike

Today is my two year anniversary of using a fitness routine to lose weight and improve quality of life. Bridget was wonderful and bought me a Nike+ device for my birthday in 2006 and that was one of the best presents someone could have given me.

I was immediately excited to see my numbers and track miles and calories easily. I could even set goals and Nike+ would track my progress. I felt enabled to alter my life and after only a few months of running I was already training for a 15K race. Shortly after that I discovered cycling and as you can see from the chart above my running has pretty much tapered off.

I have run less than 80 miles this year after logging almost 450 in my first year alone. I am intending to get back into running in my third year — there were some pretty tedious rides last winter where the cold, dark, windy and dreery Ohio Valley winters made it really miserable to ride some days. So I plan to run more often and bike when I want to so I won't burn out.

Pure Bike Porn

She is a beauty. 20 lbs. of dualie goodness. I was looking forward to riding it but pounding rain & wind necessitated the cancelation of the demo day at England Idlewild Park. I guess I'll have to wait until spring to ride this beauty.

I'm looking forward to 2009 and hoping to do a few more endurance races. That is always my plan but it seems to get crushed by the reality that endurance racing can be really expensive and ultra time consuming. Right now I am helping a certain race director with the NUE sponsorship/marketing proposal so I suppose that is why I have been bitten by the bug. My goal this year is to kick off the season with the Cohutta 100K.

My final CX race will be this weekend. I am a fair weather CX racer and this last few cold weather races are killing me. I'm sorta glad this is the last one.

Pure Bike Porn

She is a beauty. 20 lbs. of dualie goodness. I was looking forward to riding it but pounding rain & wind necessitated the cancelation of the demo day at England Idlewild Park. I guess I'll have to wait until spring to ride this beauty.

I'm looking forward to 2009 and hoping to do a few more endurance races. That is always my plan but it seems to get crushed by the reality that endurance racing can be really expensive and ultra time consuming. Right now I am helping a certain race director with the NUE sponsorship/marketing proposal so I suppose that is why I have been bitten by the bug. My goal this year is to kick off the season with the Cohutta 100K.

My final CX race will be this weekend. I am a fair weather CX racer and this last few cold weather races are killing me. I'm sorta glad this is the last one.

Let's Get Physical

I've been reading the Joe Friel book for Road Cyclists, which helped, but this information seems more tailored for the Cross rider. Good thing I found it a week before my last race:

Monday: The Cross Sabbath
- 1hr Recovery ride or rest with lots of post-ride stretching, especially hamstrings, groin and lower back.
Tuesday
- AM Run 20-30 minutes.
- PM 1.5 hr road ride w/ short hard intervals.
Wednesday: Gettin Rad with a Hard Cross Workout
- Barriers and running transition practice with short technical race intervals.
- Short race endurance practice 15-40 minutes.
Thursday
- AM Run 20-30 minutes steady medium
- PM 2.5 hrs on road easy
Friday: Rest Day
- 1 hr spin very easy
- Stretch and hydrate
Saturday
- 1.5 hr cross or road ride with 2 x 5 minute medium intervals and 2-3 race intervals of 2-5 minutes each with 5 minute recoveries, open up them legs!
Sunday
- Race (including minimum 30 minute warm-up and stretching)

Of course this will vary between the OVCX and the CapCity series.

Warming up before the Race
- PreRide Course, scout difficult sections
- Watch previous race if you can
- Ride Trainer for 20 minutes: start slow and begin amping up,
almost reach maximum intensity, slow it down for two minutes, then lactic intensity for 2 minutes
- Stay warm, maybe pre-stretch

Running Program
Pre Season
10-50-minute runs beginning with walking the downhills and flat portions* and working toward steady threshold intervals with recoveries 3x/week.
Season
20-30-minute runs starting with 3 x 3-minute intervals at race pace 2x/week.
Peak
20-30 minute runs with short explosive uphill running bursts of 5 - 30 seconds 1x/week.

Link to the online article

Cold, Slick and without Bourbon

Indian Summer has been replaced by the bare trees, grey skies, misting rain and wind of the Ohio Valley winters that usually last four months. But for racing enthusiasts it's just beginning to feel like cyclocross weather — where a little imagination transports you halfway across the globe to Belgium and Northern France.

The Promotion Cross at Lexington's Veterans Park tested some racers resolve but I enjoyed the challenge. After a few rough races I wanted to see if I could apply some things I have learned and observed. One of these things is handling, it seems that although my skills have really progress I still make a lot of silly mistakes that put me on the ground. I think one thing I do is take corners too aggressively, leaning in too far causing my rear wheel to slide out. Another thing I wanted to work on is referred to as "sensation" or the amount of effort you feel you are applying. Go too high and your woozy head causes you err, go too easy and you basically aren't racing. Lastly my starts are always bullocks, maybe my legs aren't strong enough for quick bursts of intensity, maybe I am too cautious, maybe I do not warm up correctly.

So again I bullocks the start — I think I was pretty much the last rider at the top of the asphalt hill before going into the course. After inadvertently following a wheel during the Lobdell race I felt I should mark Geoff from the Seven Hills team and see how he rides the course. Unfortunately he had an injury that began to bother him after the first set of barriers.

After about a lap I settled into a spot where I was part of a little race for the 15-17 spots inside the big race. I was second of the three riders and for awhile we were close together. Then on some single track the first rider slid on some mud and hit a chain link fence. Well, I watched him do it and took the same line and did the same. Unfortunately my front wheel slid under the fence and was caught for a moment. The third rider passed me, but I was able to regain the spot after a half lap or so. That first rider ended putting a gap onto us.

Well, with a couple laps to go the third rider sprinted up a run up and passed me. I was shouldering the bike while he ran it on the ground. I had a chance to pass again, and I should have. I gave him the spot and he ended up having something in the bank for the last lap and put about a 15 second gap on me. So in a race of three I ended up third.

I thought it was an interesting course — I really liked all the mud. Maybe a bit too much pavement but that was an interesting companion to all the single track. Three months ago I would have been so scared I would have crashed several times a lap. I love that I have learned so much due to Cyclocross.

CX Racing

It has been a little while since I updated the old blog. I have been busy searching for a new job and trying to train hard until early December when we are taking a little vacation. With my future so uncertain it is hard to focus on racing. I thought a C2 upgrade would give me some confidence but instead it has left me a bit confused. Should I pursue the cycling thing with vigor? Some days I think I could ride forever, that I'd be content riding bikes and working part-time jobs to make ends meet. Should I pursue my design career for a while and put cycling on the back burner? Uggh, it is driving me nuts.
Racing cyclocross has been fun this year. I am more fit now than I have ever been. I having been racing around at like 80-90% but I can't seem to make the mental leap to dig deep. Thus, I haven't won a single race. I have finished top 3 in all of my races except for one. Now is the time to gun it & go for it. I have two more chances in the OVCX to score a win.

CX Racing

It has been a little while since I updated the old blog. I have been busy searching for a new job and trying to train hard until early December when we are taking a little vacation. With my future so uncertain it is hard to focus on racing. I thought a C2 upgrade would give me some confidence but instead it has left me a bit confused. Should I pursue the cycling thing with vigor? Some days I think I could ride forever, that I'd be content riding bikes and working part-time jobs to make ends meet. Should I pursue my design career for a while and put cycling on the back burner? Uggh, it is driving me nuts.
Racing cyclocross has been fun this year. I am more fit now than I have ever been. I having been racing around at like 80-90% but I can't seem to make the mental leap to dig deep. Thus, I haven't won a single race. I have finished top 3 in all of my races except for one. Now is the time to gun it & go for it. I have two more chances in the OVCX to score a win.

CX Gear for Next Year

It may be interesting to go down to a single chainring up front — TJ and Tony from Biowheels are running a single with a device that won't allow the chain to drop off. This is a great idea if I plan to use this bike exclusively for cyclocross and not on the road.

So the list for Santa/Mommy & Daddy for Bday:
1. 42.5 for the Crank
2. Double chain guard for front chain ring
3. Carbon Fiber fork from Tony
4. New set of wheels?
5. Tubular tires

I also would not mind removing the handlebar brakes and only have the brakes in the shifters. This will take some weight off my bike as well.

Soul Ride with Lil Sis

From Road Rash Billiter

I didn't get to make it to the race today. Unfortunately my Grandmother is very ill and I spent the day with my family. A bike related highlight did happen later in the day as my sister and I took some vintage Three-Speeds out for a spin. My Father has an old "Robin Hood" bike and my Sister has an AMC.

So we went off for a ride that is typically my recovery route around my neighborhood. It was kind of chilly so I suggested we start climbing some hills to get the blood flowing. I said hey, let's all act like 1930s Tour de France. So we would sprint for hill top finishes and attack each other.

We varied from my typical route when we got into Mariemont. We ended up riding down where there are some public gardens. We rode around the dirt access road and it was somewhere between Cyclocross, Paris-Roubaix and mountain biking. It was just really fun to be going so crazy on those old bikes!

So Bridgie got to go to John Bryan today and she got third. I wish I could have been there hootin' at her.
It was nice to hang out with Lil Sis and be with my family in our difficult time.

Cat 2!

Well, it is official, I'm a category 2 cyclocross racer. Yeah, that means I'm sorta good, sorta an elite racer. It means I won't have to worry about signing up next year when I do some bigger races. I'll be racing with a class made up of mostly pros.

Pretty crazy that my cyclocross season has been really great while my MTB season left a lot to be desired. Now, if I could only win a CX race...not many more chances.

Cat 2!

Well, it is official, I'm a category 2 cyclocross racer. Yeah, that means I'm sorta good, sorta an elite racer. It means I won't have to worry about signing up next year when I do some bigger races. I'll be racing with a class made up of mostly pros.

Pretty crazy that my cyclocross season has been really great while my MTB season left a lot to be desired. Now, if I could only win a CX race...not many more chances.

Thank God for Athletic Supporters

We had the Picnic in the Mud and I really want to thank my friends and family for coming out. I repaid them for their attendance by crashing over the barriers in front of them!

I did not have a good start. I didn't hear my name to get called up for a spot and wound up in the back row of over 40 riders. Had a great time commenting on everyone's butts. The first lap is always so bizaare, the riders are so bunched together we are practically like cattle and swerve or jam into the occasional rider falling off their bike.

After a lap or two I saw Tony ahead of me and I thought I would try to catch up. Maybe he was having a day, but he took off after I saw him. It turns out later he went down and was bunched up in other riders. I started passing a lot of riders in the straights before the sand pits. Unfortunately in the off-camber section after the sand my tire slid out and I fell over! And on top of it my chain fell off... I felt defeated as I watched ten riders pass me.

I felt my day was done. And on the turns my tire kept sliding out, I think it caused another wreck somewhere else. So I pitted and changed wheels, the next wheel having a much higher tire pressure. Then I was just trying to work on technique and have some fun. Unfortunately about this time is when I biffed it going over the barriers. I heard Chrissy yell "oh my god!"!!!! It was so funny. Although the chain rings ended up cutting into my leg and would leave scars for weeks!


It was so great to chill and eat a huge meal after a tough race where I burned a ton of calories. It was such a fun change of pace to have everyone show up and holler at you, and to do something different with my friends.

Get out the VeloVote!

I rode my Jamis to the polls this morning. It was a good idea — the parking lot was full and the line was an hour long! It's really inspiring and exciting to see all these people energized and getting out to vote. I have voted every chance I could get since I was eighteen and my wait has only been five to ten minutes at the most. When I left there were two other bikes parked so I wasn't the only oddball.

I was inspired to create the icon above after seeing John G sporting a tee shirt with it at the race on Sunday. Sweet mixing of symbols.

My new Madone?

Trek has launched the new Project One site. It is an absolute blast to get on the site and to configure your dream ride.

Here is what I came up with.

My new Madone?

Trek has launched the new Project One site. It is an absolute blast to get on the site and to configure your dream ride.

Here is what I came up with.