Happy Thanksgiving!!

Much love to all my family. I'm very thankful for all of you. I'm looking forward to a great day of food and football.

Also much thanks to all our service men and women. You sacrifice so much in service of this country. I hope this holiday season that you are away from home protecting our freedom you feel our support and thanks.

Weekend Off

No racing this past weekend so I dusted off the road bike. It was the first ride on the Cannondale since the end of September. Woke up and rode from the house to the shop. It was cool and cloudy morning but the speed and quickness of the road bike was invigorating. A small group from the shop went out for a slow and steady ride with a few burst and a city limit sprint. AI finished with 68 miles which is my first 50+ mile ride since the beginning of September. My legs felt it and it confirmed my suspicion that my base form is on an extended vacation.

I've decided to rebuild my commuting wheelset. The old Shimano Ultegra hubs are out. They're rebuildable hubs but I found that they can be finicky when trying to get the tension right and can require frequent adjustment. They went on eBay today and some DT Swiss 340 hubs will replace them. I've heard great things about DT Swiss hubs and if these work out I'll probably put DT Swiss 240s on my tubular race wheel set.

Austin - Cyclocross Scuffle

Last Saturday I made the quick trip north to Austin to race the Cyclocross Scuffle. I was coming off a good results on a very open course but was now approaching a more technical course.

The course had a rolling uphill start before a sweeping left over some pavement and then another sweeping left into a fast off-camber section. The off-camber section curved right before a hard left around a tree. The off camber left around the tree was a hard turn on a steeper off camber grade that also had some loose dirt. The pre-ride confirmed that you could easily enter the corner way to hot and either fall or go off the course. It then led into a grass sections with a series of 90 degree turns. This threw you onto a bumpy straight that led to a steep run up with two taller then regulation barriers. A hard left followed onto a dirt/gravel road that was fast but had a railroad tie laid across the road. This was just low enough to convince you to try to bunny hop it but was tall enough that if you mistimed your hope (which could happen after a couple of laps and your brain is short of oxygen) it could send you over the bars (which happened to several riders). You then went up a steep ridable berm and immediately went back down to a long grass straight. The course finally cut back down a sidewalk followed by a hard left into a sandpit. Another grass straight followed with another sandpit before a couple of tight turns that led into the start finish.

Heading up to the race my stomach felt queasy and I questioned whether I should race but my competitive side overruled my unhappy belly. When I arrived at the race I was surprised to find a couple of teammates there to race the 4s with me. Jimmy was back off his Wurstcross shoulder injury and Connor (1 of our super juniors) was there after his high school cross country season. Jimmy and I agreed to start fast due to the large field (almost 40) so we could have a good position going into the off camber section around the tree. I guaranteed Jimmy there would be a crash in that section on the first lap. The whistle blew and Jimmy took the whole shot and I was 4th wheel. We came to the tree fast, braked hard and no sooner had I cleared the treacherous section then I heard a a bike go down behind me. This caused about 6-7 of us to have a gap on the rest of the field. Jimmy went off with a Bike Heaven rider and I blocked and sat on the chase group. It was nice having a teammate ahead as I was able to take it easy the first 1 1/2 laps while others had to chase. Rolando (a marathoner that is finding success in cross) and I caught Jimmy and Bike Heaven going into the run-up on the second lap with Brett (Austin Flyers) not far behind. Jimmy was hurting and Bike Heaven had nothing left. We passed Jimmy and Bike Heaven and Rolando put down the hammer. Going into the barriers for the 3rd time Rolando had a gap and only Brett was close behind. I caught a foot on one of the barriers and went down and Brett caught me. We rode together trying to bring back Rolando but he still had a decent gap going into the last lap. Both sand pits were deep but had been ridable. Entering the first sand pit on the final lap I was on Brett's wheel and he went on the right side of the trap and I went left. Almost simultaneously we both sunk our front wheels and filled over the bars. Brett was slightly faster back on the bike and through the second sand pit and had a small gap. After getting through the second pit I tried to shift and power down but my shifter was full of sand and wouldn't budge. I tried to spin a high cadence to bring him back but he held on by a bike length. Jimmy finished 5th and Connor 10th.

With a large field on a more technical course I could not be happier with 3rd. It was the most satisfying result of the season. Two consecutive podiums despite last lap crashes. The season takes a break till Houston in early December. Time for rest and base miles.

Heading into the oversized barriers

(Closest, Brett, then Roman, followed by Jimmy on the left and me on the right)

You almost had to jump more than hurdle to get over the barriers

Going through the last turns to the finish

Mistakes & Success

Went up to Ft Worth to do some racing. It was a tough week and the opportunity to get away and push the body to its physical limits was a welcome release.

The Saturday race at Z Boaz park was a fast open course with the exception of a drop down into a muddy creek bed. It was a decent size field and I had a good sprint and ended up 4th wheel in a fast start. On the second turn which was a sweeping right hand turn after a fast straight my rear wheel let go and I went down. The sound of bikes and bodies going down behind me immediately followed. I quickly jumped back on and chased now sitting in about 9th. After a lap of hard chasing I managed to work myself back up to fellow SA rider Henry G. and a local stud junior Imari. We rotate and try to bring back the top 3 but never make any progress. As the race progresses my struggles through the muddy creek begin and the chase back on in the beginning take their toll. I'm okay going down into the creek and through the mud but on the climb back out the other side I can't get good traction and I crawl out. We received the 3 laps to go card and I come off the group climbing out of the muddy creek. I fought to get back on but the next lap the story repeats itself and the crawl up out of the creek bed creates a gap I can't pull back. The last lap I have one chaser but I feel good. The last drop down into the creek and again I struggle getting out. The chaser is now close enough that I can hear his derailleur shift. We go over the barriers and down a straight to a 180 degree turn to the final sprint. He catches and passes me around the turn and we sprint for 6th. The sprint is just to short and he holds on by half a wheel. 7th isn't bad in that field with a crash.

Below is a video of the action through the mud pit with first the 40+ race and then my race. I make a brief appearance at the 1:20 mark and then our race is at the 2:30 point of the video.

Sunday was a "crit on the grass". It started on a wide paved road that fed into a narrow path up over a berm. It then went through a small ridable sand pit followed by a forced run up the steep berm. It was speed and power through the rest of the course with only a set of 3 barriers to break it up before entering the very long paved section.

Recently I have been aiming to be 3rd wheel when the order establishes. The whistle blew and I tried my normal strategy of going hard but trying not to get the whole shot. It was a long ways down the pavement to the bottleneck and about halfway there I looked around and everybody else was waiting for someone to go. 2 quick down shifts and I got out of the saddle and went hard. I entered the bottle neck first and went through the sand pit and up the berm and realized I had a good gap. I put my head down and road solo for the next lap and a half. I was then joined by a rider from Mad Duck, Imari from Saturday, and another junior from Imari's teams. We worked together and built a large gap that would stick. With two laps to go Imari's teammate attacked and I covered. Then Mad Duck and Imari counter and get a small gap. When we get back on the pavement Imari's teammate tries to jump and bridge but I quickly grabbed his wheel and he sits up. I lead back through the sand pit and run up but feign that I'm cracking. Imari's teammate bites and tries to jump across again and I grab the wheel and we're all back together going into the barriers. I'm sitting 3rd wheel with Imari in front of me. We go over the barriers and Imari's teammate clips a barrier and goes down hard. I started thinking about my sprint to early and as I remounted my bike I rubbed my front wheel on Imari's rear wheel and went down. I was able to get up and ride finish 3rd despite a bent right shifter. It's my best finish this season but it's bittersweet because I liked my chances in a heads up sprint.

My form is starting to show up especially in these less technical courses. One more race in Austin and then a break till after Thanksgiving. It's funny how success can make you love racing even more.

Test iPhone post. At a cross race in Fort Worth watching the Open race. To observations..
1. Brian Fawley is back from racing on the national scene and is destroying the field from the gun.
2. A pro Johnny Sunt (sp?) in a Kelly Benefits kit rolled up to the back of the field. Rolled around the first lap in last place, let a huge gap open, and then begin to work. Currently sitting in 4th.

Ups and Downs

It was a tumultuous weekend of racing.

It started with Wurstcross in New Braunfels on Saturday. It was a highly technical course with lots of tight switchbacks and off camber action with loose dirt or gravel. I manage to stay upright despite a couple of close calls but lost time through all the technical areas. I started 3rd on the 1st lap after the sprint and slipped back to 12th by the end of the race. It was fun and challenging and continues to make me more determined to improve my bike handling.

Lined up at the start. Good size 4 field for Texas cross.

The start, my greatest strength in cross.....

The beginning of a technical portion.......definitely not my strength

A little barrier action

Entering the final twisty section

Exiting the final twisty section before rise to the finish

Sunday's Tour de Gruene was full of drama. My teammate Anthony who dragged an out of shape me around the course last year hadn't been riding much leading up to this two man time trial. To top it off he went out to celebrate Halloween the night before and called me around 3am to notify me that his car had been stolen from outside the club and he would need a ride in the morning. We finally get there and warmed up but still managed to miss our start time by about 45 seconds. We started off strong but and I was more than happy to lead but Anthony finally came apart over the big hill with about 7 miles to go and faded from that point on. We finished significantly slower than last year and failed to make the podium in our age group (we won it last year). Thankfully, after the Tour de Gruene a lot of the team gathers outside Gruene Hall for a big year end BBQ. It was great to swap stories and enjoy the camaraderie of what is the best team in Texas.

The sequence of events was frustrating and to say I was moody Sunday afternoon would be putting it nicely. Thankfully, the weather is beautiful and slow rides to and from work the past to days along with a patient wife have healed my racing soul. There is heartbreak and frustration but racing is about the beauty and fun of it and I can't wait to race again.