Marilla WVCXS #3

(See attached file: marilla.bmp)

This was the second year for the Marilla cyclocross race Carrera de los Muertos (the race of the dead) in a way the name was very fitting. We go to Morgantown Friday afternoon around 5:00. The weather was a pleasant surprise it was like 70 and Halloween was the next day. So we did a few laps on the Red Sled and the biggest change from last was the barrier placement and the spiral that was added. It took a few times but we finally found a line through it, but had no such luck trying to ride the "Hill of Death". We headed over to Gina and JR's place and got cleaned up and were just hanging out waiting to head out for dinner. After what seemed like a long wait we finally got confirmation from Gunnar that they decided not to go. We headed to Black Bear for some great food and a few beers.
The nice thing about staying close to the race the night before is you get some extra snooze time. It was nice waking up at 8:00 and only having a 5 minute drive the race thanks JR and Gina. When we arrived to Marilla Park the weather was nice almost 60 and a little overcast. The single speed, vets and women were the first group to go at 9:30. I was able to catch some of the race before having to get ready for the Tandumb rematch. It was pretty fun cheering people on and ringing the bell. Ruth had a good race and finished fourth in what we found out later to be the biggest women's field ever at a WVCX race.
It was perfect timing for the weather to change for the worse. As soon as the first race was over the rain started coming down. Racing in the mud used to ready bother me allot until I learned to relax and try and be more patient. The worst things about racing in the rain and mud are getting ready and the clean up. But it was time for the second race of the day was the B race it also included the clydesdales and the tandumds. We go off to a bad start and got caught behind allot of traffic. By the time we got to the spiral we didn't even have a chance to ride it because of all the traffic. Maybe we should have practiced that last night? But to late now then onto the next obstacle the gravelpit. Same problem here too we rode it last night and before the race with no problem but didn't even come close. The worst part about not riding the gravelpit is the rocks that get in your shoes and trying to get clipped in after you get out. Then it was onto the next dismount the Hill of Death. Of all the obstacles the Hill of Death seemed to be my favorite because it had all the people cheering. I couldn't believe how much worse the conditions of the course got after each lap. We tried to chase the Gunnar and Betsy but didn't seem to be having any luck. Not sure which lap it was but we started getting chain suck and chewing through the brake pads pretty fast. I would have loved to seen the look on Ruth's face when we were headed down to the Hill of Death and I said shit no brakes. But even with very little brake left I was able to slow down enough to get to the bottom safely. Finally we came through and the sign said one more lap. Somehow we managed not to get lapped and finally finished the our last lap.
Now it was time to get ready for the A race I kept asking myself why am I doing this? I just finished racing for almost an hour and I was changing and getting ready to do it again. The worst part was I only brought one pair of shoes and they were trashed from the first race. When it was time to line up there looked to be a descent sized field of about 25 people and plenty of fast people. I had an OK start but it got tight quick and it was hard to follow because of the rain and mud. On the first lap I was maybe 7th or 8th and then I picked a few people off and was in 5th. I was trying to catch up to Gunnar and Jason Cyr but wasn't having much luck. Then after about 30 minutes the race changed for me I went from being on the attack and trying to move up to not trying to be caught. Funny thing about the cool spiral was when you were in it was hard to tell how close you were to other riders. I wasn't sure either if it was faster to run it or ride it. I knew that Chris Mayhew was on my tail and it was hard to tell how close he was. As the race went on the Hill of Death could have been easily renamed to the Descent of Death. Every lap it was getting harder and harder trying to find a safe route down it. By the end I managed to stay in 5th I was happy to be down but wasn't looking forward to the aftermath of two muddy races. Thanks to Marc Glass, Gary Rodosta, the great sponsors and everyone else for the great time.

J

Month of Mud #5

(See attached file: MOM.jpg)

Finally it was here the final MOM race of the year at Moraine. I was excited and worried about being in first place in the single speed series. In the past I've been in contention for the overall going into the final race and always managed to screw it up somehow. I was hoping this year would be different. The morning went a little better than some but that would soon change. I only left 20 minutes later than planned and stopped to get a cup of coffee and everything was going good. Then with less than a half mile to go on 422 the day took a turn for the worse. I was more concerned about getting to the race than the speed I traveling. Luckily for me a nice PA State Trooper decided to stop me and point this out to me. So after that unexpected delay I was really getting there late. I hurried up got registered and then more bad news. When I got back to my car to get ready Team Echo was parked beside me. If you know Echo this requires no explanation. While getting dressed I heard 15 minutes to get lined up. So after a short quick warm-up I felt like crap and figured today was going to be a rough one. We lined up and rolled out on a neutral pace to the start.
It's always nice to get a call up so tried to make the most of it but came up short. After a short flat section we started up the first climb and I was feeling it and getting dropped. Then after a flat section we were headed up the second climb and I started feeling a little better and managed to be fourth into the single track. I worked my way up into third and felt like I was doing OK then it happened. I don't ride with headphones or listen to music much when I ride. Usually I can get a good song in my head and get in a groove. But today my mental playlist was broken. I got a bad song in my head and couldn't get it out of my head. The cover of Careless Whisper by Seether how does this song and group get any air time? Then I crossed the road and was headed into the big rock garden. I ride at Moraine at least twice a month and if I don't clear this entire section of trail I'm disappointed with myself. Not sure if it was the mental abuse from my playlist, the fresh leaves or the fact that I was running a tube in my rear tire but I couldn't ride any of it. After running and walking though it I got my playlist working again and caught up and passed to Tim. Then it came back and I'm not sure what happened but I crashed it was like I just fell over. Tim passed me and we rode together through the finish and headed out for the second lap. This is when I looked down and noticed my Garmin was missing and figured it came off during the crash. I started feeling a little better and past Tim then is was back. I got in the rocks and somehow took a really bad line and rock or something knocked my rear wheel out of the dropouts. While I was getting it straightened out Tim went past me. Then I crossed the road and was heading into the rock garden again. I was thinking to myself that there's no way it could me as much trouble as the first lap did. I soon proved that thinking to wrong and walked through it again. At this point I pretty much wanted to be done. I came to the area were I crashed on the first lap and decided to look for my Garmin. The only reason I stopped was because I was feeling lazy and knew it would be hard to get the motivation needed to go back and look for it after the race. But after some leaf picking I decided to move along and finish and come back for it.
By the time I reached the finish it wasn't great a race but it was OK 4th overall and 1st SS. I also had a huge relief because I knew that I had won the series finally. While I was waiting at the finish I was happy to Joe Fotia come rolling in he had allot of pressure going into this race. He was one point behind Frankie Ross at the beginning of today. So if he could beat Frankie he would have the tie breaker and the series win. I talked Joe into heading back with me to look for my Garmin and some leaf picking I got lucky and found it.
I was happy that the series turned like I planned for once. I also had a couple of other surprises waiting for me at the award ceremony. The big one was I got inducted into the Month of Mud Hall of Fame I'm really happy and honored about this. So that means I'm like famous or something now right? Almost but not quite my plaque has my name spelled wrong. So is it really me or someone else they meant to induct? Funny thing is that I like that it's spelled wrong. For as many races that I do my name always gets spelled wrong. It's my own fault for not listening to Sheriff Gary NO CORRECTIONS FOR SPELLING ERRORS PRINT BETTER NEXT TIME! I just want to say thanks to the Month of Mud crew and Rob Riddell who did an awesome job filling in some pretty big shoes. One more thing be sure to listen to the Sheriff.

J

Murrysville Cross

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I took advantage of last weekend being race free by doing a couple of long rides. Saturday I managed to get a nice 5 hour mountain bike ride in. Then on Sunday Ruth and me did a century on the Red Sled. Centuries are hard but I'm not sure why they seem even harder on the Sled.
The only bad thing about this weekend was that it was booked with local races. Saturday was the Murrrysville Cross which was cool but Sunday there was a conflict the MOM race at Moraine and the Raccoon Cross race. If I wasn't doing the MOM series I'm not sure which race I would chose. Saturday I was looking forward to the cross race even though I haven't ridden my cross bike since the Grove City race. I did this race last year and it was a blast fun course, well organized, muddy and cold. This year the biggest difference was that is was about 20 degrees warmer and I didn't do the Dirty Dozen the day before. I surprised myself and got there in enough time to get dressed and pre ride the course. The course was similar to last year with only a few changes but still seemed fun and challenging too. Using the I only have a single speed as an excuse I had decided early in the week to race the 35 plus race and if I felt OK after that I would race the 1/2/3 too.
It was finally time to get lined up and there was 23 people in my group and I got a spot on the second row. We took off up the pavement and turned into the muck and not long after that there was a crash which somehow I managed to avoid. I was in a group of like 5 people or so and getting close to the hill that I rode every time during the preride but as it would be no such like. The worst thing is having to dismount when your not planning on dismounting because your not ready and lose all your speed among other things. I continued to work my way through the field until Gunnar was the only one in front of me. We rode together for a little then I managed to get past him. I had a small gap after the first lap then starting into the second lap Gunnar past me. We traded places a couple of times on the second lap then that was it. I tried to catch him but never did and the only thing that changed was the lead he had on me. With two laps to go I was feeling pretty spent and was worrying more about getting caught than catching him. At the end I managed to stay in second and was happy to be done. Now it was time for the worst part of cross racing getting changed. It feels great to get out of the muddy clothes but it sucks knowing that you have to go hame and clean it up.
I came close to racing in the 1/2/3 race but decided against it with the hopes of saving a little for Sunday's MOM race. With nothing planned for the rest of the day I figured I would hangout and watch the other races that were going on. While waiting for the races to begin I ran into Gerry Pflug and he was planning on using his mountain bike for the race. I also seen Tim Carson and he was planning on racing a borrowed cross bike. Both of the decisions had me scratching my head. Both of these guys are super fast but after racing the course I thought a cross bike was the way to go for Gerry and felt Tim would be better on his mountain bike. Why the difference in bikes? Here's why it was a traditional cross course a little bit of road, some tight twisty turns, run ups, and super muddy. Gerry races allot of cross and practices allot too so I felt he would be better on a cross bike. Tim on the other hand only does a few cross races here and there and uses his mountain bike. So by not ever using this cross bike before I thought he would be a disadvantage. The race finally started and it was a pretty exciting race. Early on it was a two person race for first between Steevo and Mike Mihalik with other battles going on for the rest of the podium. Not sure when Gerry and Tim switched bikes but it seemed after they did they each made up a few positions. In the end Mike got Steevo, Gerry ended up 4th and Tim was 7th. Funny thing is I know some other people that race a little bit of cross and say there faster on there mountain bike than a cross bike. I tell them that might be true but that because they don't ride there cross bike enough. But now it was time to head home to get ready for Sunday.
Thanks to Fred Baldassare, Henry Dimminck, the Freddie Fu and AG3R teams and everyone else that was involved in the great time.

J

Month of Mud part #4

(See attached file: Grove City.jpg)
At this time of the year I feel like I should be taking a break from long rides and start focusing on cross. But with La Ruta coming up in November I feel torn between trying to race cross and doing long training rides. The hardest part for me about doing long training rides this time of year is the lack off daylight as I found out on Saturday's long ride. In an ideal world I would like to do my harder shorter workouts on Saturday then on Sunday do a long easier ride. But I'm still searching for that ideal world. I decided that I would do a long ride on Saturday and the MOM race on Sunday. After getting started a little later than planned I was out the door on the fixed gear at like 11:30. The plan was head down towards town then jump on the tracks and hit the Armstrong trail up to Tempelton and back. The idea of bringing a light never crossed my mind. Near Ford City I ran into Ruth she left about the same time but went straight to the trail. We stopped in Kittanning and got some water and food. I planned on riding north on the trail until for another hour or so then turn around and head back home. When I turned around it finally hit me. It's after 5:00 I have about 45 miles to get home it will take a little under 3 hours but it will be dark out in less than 2 hours. When I was getting close to Schenley I caught up to Ruth and it was getting pretty dark at that point. I told her that I would just ride ahead and get home first and come back with the car to pick her up. The worst thing about riding in the dark is finding that hole in the road that you for didn't know about and getting blinded by oncoming cars. I got home a little after 8:00 and was getting ready to go pick up Ruth (she thinks this makes her tough) but she called said she'd be OK riding home alone. After she got in it was time to start getting ready for the MOM race at Brady's.

Surprise I got to Brady's an hour before the start and was pretty happy about that. I got ready and did a pre riding to check out the course and then with little time to spare it was time to go. It's always cool to get a call up, but I also knew that it wouldn't help much. Because during the prolog around the horse arena I knew I was out gunned being on a SS. Just as I figured I think I was pretty far back in the pack when we started up the hill. I rode as hard as I could up the hill and passed allot of people. I think I was like 5th or 6th heading into the singletrack for the rest of the climb. At the top I passed a couple of more people and was in third. Funny thing was I figured after the long ride on Saturday that I would be climbing slow. But I seemed to be climbing good, but I was descending pretty slow. There was a few times I'd look back and nobody would be in sight then right after a downhill Joe would be right on my tail. In the end I got 1st SS and 3rd overall I was pretty happy with the results. This weekend I get a break from racing I was thinking about going to the Cross Your Heart and Hope to Die cross race but just going to stay home and put in some extra miles. Thanks again to the MOM crew.



J

Month of Mud part #3

The Grove City MOM race was the third of the series and the second and last cross race of the series. I really wasn't looking forward to this race because I was feeling crappy and sick all week. So I took is easy and reduced my hours but it didn't seem to help to much. The one thing that I was excited about was that it was going to be the Tandumb rematch. We got to the park with little time to spare as usual I was going through the over thinking of which gear to use. I decided to stick with the same gear as last week 42x19. It seemed to be a little heavy at Raccoon last week and was hoping it would OK here. At the start I found out that it was a little light on the road and got past by lots of people. After the prolog I started to make some up some ground and passed a few people. I could see Gerry and Steevo had a pretty big lead on everyone. I knew I had no chance of catching them. The gear felt OK in the woods and grass but I was getting crushed on the road. I was going back and forth with a few people on the first 4 laps. Then after about an hour it was over I finished 9 overall and was the first SS. I was hoping for a little better in the overall but whatever.

Now to the main event of the day the Tandumb rematch plus one more. It seemed like less pressure with three Tandumbs racing. Because when there was only two you could go from first to worst by one position change.The Shogrens learned something from the last race and had 26" mountain bike tires and wheels on. In the beginning on the prolog we were in third but passed Andrew and Maggie. It seemed like our barrier practice was paying off because we were keeping it close on the barriers. This race was going allot like the first race. We passed Gunnar and Betsy in the woods only to be passed on the road. There was one section that had a downed tree were we had a big advantage. We were riding the log on every lap and they were dismounting on it. But thanks to the hecklers the started riding it on the last two laps. We gave it our best shot and kept it close but in the end the Shogrens got the W. It was only by 12 seconds but as anyone that races cross knows that 12 seconds is allot. We never seen Andrew and Maggie after the beginning and found out later that they flatted. Now it was time to get cleaned up and head to the North Country Brewery for a few well deserved brews. Thanks again to the MOM crew and the rest of the fine sponsors.


J

Month of Mud part #2

(See attached file: Tandumb.bmp)

Even after a long day of racing and traveling on Saturday I was pretty excited about racing the 2nd MOM race at Raccoon. This was going to be my first cross race of the year and I wanted to see if my practice would pay off. We didn't get home Saturday until like 10:00 and got cleaned up and I did some last minute bike preparations. Sunday morning came way to early as usual. The plan was to get to the park by 8:30 to do some pre riding so I could pick my final gear and also wanted to practice some dismounts on the Red Sled. But as usual left late and then to top it off 10 minutes into the drive I seen I forgot my helmet. Finally we arrived at the park at like 9:15 got registered and dressed that didn't leave much time for any pre riding. I asked a few other SSers what gear they were using and changed my to a 42x19 which was the easiest I had with me. I did manage to squeeze in a full and got to the line. The field had about 40 people in it and I was very happy to get a call up. Then it was off I had a good start and after a couple laps I found myself in third. Which I was pretty happy with but after about 30 minutes of this pace I popped and had to slow down. By the end 4 people passed me and I was glad that there wasn't anymore. I would have liked to done a little better but after a long race the day before 7th overall and 2nd SS will have to do.

Now it was time to hurry up again and get on the Red Sled to do a little practice. If you think dismounts and run ups are hard on a regular bike try it on a tandem sometime. After a few dismounts and remounts it was time to go. Mechanicals always suck but somehow we managed to pop our chain off in like the first ten feet. I want to say THANKS to the Shogrens our only competition for the day that waited until we were up and going before taking off. We stayed pretty close to them on the first couple of laps. It was amazing how clean they're dismounts were. I think on lap 3 is when we started to make up some ground. This is also when I realized that we had a big advantage over them big and wide tires. We were making up lots of time because we could almost everything and they were walking allot due to there skinny little tires. Then on the 4th lap we go around them and held them off to get the win. It was fun and pretty intense racing on the Red Sled and thanks to everyone that was cheering us on. I noticed that Gunnar is already onto us and looking for a different wheel for his sled. But maybe he needs to look a little closer at the pictures to see the big advantage. I never noticed it until I looked at the pictures was that our pedals were out of sync. Stay tuned for next week's rematch at Grove City. I also need to say thanks to the MOM crew and Gary Dugovich for the awesome job like always.

J

Revenge of the Rattle Snake

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Where should I begin? One thing I knew I had working against me from the start was the goal of by 6:30. We came pretty close and left at 7:15. It was wet, rainy, windy and chilly on the trip down. Almost seemed like the prefect storm for a race in Davis. The goal was to get to Davis by 10:00 for the 11:00 start and we were so close to making it. At 9:50 and only a 1/4 of a mile to go traffic was stopped at a 10:00 Ruth decided to jump on her bike and ride down to get us registered. Finally at 10:20 traffic started to move and I found somewhere to park and found out what the holdup was caused by. The Leaf Peepers Festival was a holding a 5K run with a huge turnout. So after a hectic scramble to get ready in the rain I was finally ready and headed down to the pre race meeting. That's when I heard something that I always hate hearing. " Make sure you take a map with you" we marked the course yesterday and you never know if anyone sabotaged it. I know it's hard to mark a course and when it's a 40 mile race it's even harder. So here's my problem the I have no map reading skills so if I'm off course I wouldn't know and wouldn't be able to get back on course. What I have learned in the past is always try to follow a local or at least someone that knows the way.

But at 11:00 on the dot it was race time and we were headed down route 32 for a little bit onto a gravel road. For the first 3-4 miles it seemed like a bad course for a single speed and I was wishing I had a little steeper gear. But finally I got into some single track and everything was going get until I realized that I was on Mountainside. If you ever rode this trail it's pretty hard to forget. I don't think it's to technical but it's a gentle downhill grade but it's littered with baby head rocks and just beats you up and without any rest until the end. Nearing the bottom I happened to see a couple of familiar faces TJ and Nick Waite were pulled over and fixing the flats together how special. Finally at the bottom I was looking forward to the long climb out. At the top of the climb was the first aid station and Matt said I was 5th. I was pretty happy cause up until then didn't have any idea where I was. This is were we turned onto Plantation trail another one of the world famous in Davis. At this point I was feeling pretty good. The trail was rocky, rooty and wet but for some reason I felt like I was riding pretty well. Funny thing is sometimes when you think your riding well your really not because you either get caught or dropped. But today at this point I was still catching and passing people. I passed three people and had the 4th in site and it turned out to be Rob Spreng after riding with him for a little I passed him. He stayed close and we passed someone hiking in the trail and he told us that aid station 2 was only about 1-1/2 away. I popped out on to route 32 and got to the aid station first and grabbed and fresh bottle and something to eat. As I was heading up the road I looked back and someone was right on my tail. I had to look twice because it wasn't Rob anymore it was Nick and Rob was right behind him. The three of us headed up the road together and then when the trail headed down I just was spun out and they were out of sight.

Something else that happened very soon is when all the technical skills that I seemed to have disappeared. The trail was freshly cut and at some points it felt like I never rode a bike before. It didn't come soon enough but I came to the 3rd aid station and didn't even stop. But I felt allot more comfortable because this is where we got onto to the State Championship course which I've raced before. I heard someone saying that we would be riding Moon Rocks in the opposite direction. I was hoping that it was going to be a little more rideable in this direction. But I can found out quickly that I was wrong. But all I knew is that I had to be getting close to the finish and finally after 4 hours of riding there it was. Just like that it was over I finished 3rd overall and first SS .

It seemed to rain for the entire race but as soon as you finish and stop you get cold really fast. So I quickly headed to the car and got cleaned up and grabbed something to eat. I also decided to move the car to the other side of town so when Ruth finished she wouldn't have to ride as far. Just as I was parking the car I looked over and was surprised to see her riding down the street. What happened is Betsy and her both missed a turn early on in the race and had to back track and got to aid station after the cutoff and were sent down route 32 to the finish. We were hanging out under the tent and had some great food from Sirianni's Cafe and some awesome beer from Mountain State Brewing Co. That's when Gunnar and Betsy talked us into racing the Red Sled at the Month of Mud cycle cross race at Raccoon Park on Sunday. Stay tuned to see how it turns out. Thanks Blackwater Bikes

J