Lincoln Cyclocross Weekend

This weekend I decided to make the trip up to Lincoln, NE for a great weekend of racing. I've been up the last 2 yrs, but only for a single day. This year I ended up going up with Mark Studnicki and hitting up both days.

The course: Pretty long road section, a bunch of rolling climbing stuff, Hooligan Hill (named for the sort of character that hangs out up there to cheer), and then a bunch of flowy flat grassy sections. Found out fairly quickly that it was definitely a course for as low of tire pressure as possible with all of the fast, sharp turns.

Day 1: Got the hole shot and tried to drill it and see if I could open any gaps up. Chris Wallace was right on my wheel for a long time, but ended up going down late in the first lap. After we hit the pavement, Brian Jensen was right on my wheel and holding on tight. Pulled around for another lap, then followed Jensen for a lap. After hitting the pavement on the 3rd lap, Jensen put on the attack and got a gap on the paved section that I just couldn't close into the headwind. Had a small group somewhere behind me so there was definitely no easy riding for the remainder of the 11 total laps for day 1. Ended up rolling in for a 2nd place finish on day 1.

Day 2: Felt decent this morning...until I tried to go down stairs to hit up Perkins. Definitely was feeling the 11 laps up Hooligan Hill in my calves. Rolled out to the course around noon and got a few laps in to warm up the body for day 2. They ended up reversing the direction of the race which meant more climbing, and a little different routing for the hill. Today I decided to not go for the hole shot and rolled into the grass in 3rd behind Jensen and Nate Woodman. Most of the way through the first lap, I moved around Nate and jumped on Brian's wheel. Followed him around for another lap or so and then once again it happened. Much like Sat, Jensen opened a small gap on the pavement and grew it over the following lap. From here I ended up holding right in the same spot behind Jensen, never really falling back at all, but never really gaining either. Rolled in once again for 2nd. Props to Mark, who rolled a tire mid-race, ran/rode on his rim for half a lap, and still finished in the money. Mad props to the Lincoln crew too for another great weekend of racing up there. If you didn't go, you missed out.



No racing for me next weekend as I'll be heading back west for a little Thanksgiving, bird hunting, and gravel road riding!

Opening Weekend

Well...unfortunately, the KS state cx championships were held on opening weekend this year. This is one of the cardinal sins of western ks, to schedule anything on opening weekend, but these easterners just didn't know any better. Anyway, I headed back to Hays to kill some birds for the weekend with my Dad, gramps, and a few other guys. Ended up with close to my limit on Sat, but nearly got skunked on Sun hunting in the rain. Here is a pic of Saturday's kill (pheasant and quail) and my trusty dog Max.


Max and I were in the middle of taking a nap in the filed during a break in the action.

We had about 4 more pheasants, but we gave them to a guy whose land we hunted on.

Cross Under the Lights and DeStad #4

First up for the weekend was Grand Prix HPT in Topeka. This race is fairly unique for a number of reasons so there was some excitement about doing it. Number one reason was that the mens 1/2/3 didn't start until 6:45 pm...yes, that would be well after dark. Reason number 2 is the fact that it is held partially on a dirt track which = wicked fast. The organizers did a great job of lighting up EVERYTHING with either the track lights or rented generator/light poles for all of the stuff on the back side of the track. Initial impressions were wicked fast straights, sketchy corners with loose, rough stuff in most, 2 sets of stair run ups, and some tight twisties in the infield.

Got a pretty good start and headed up the first little hill on Joe Schmalzs' wheel, taking the lead once we got on the track. I hated to lead the race out, but it was better than sitting 4 wheels back trying to catch back on after blazing out of every corner. Somewhere in the first lap a small group formed with Joe, myself, Brian Jensen, and Chris Wallace. Joe and Jensen started getting a gap on Wallace and I, however Joe crashed after the steps which allowed Chris and I to catch back on to him. Granted, it was fairly short lived as he went flying off after Jensen again. Some time later I got a slight gap over Chris and started reeling Jensen in a bit. Then I started closing on him pretty quick and it became apparent why. I saw his seat/seatpost come flying off his bike, leaving him to pedal over half a lap standing up (try remounts without a seat). Note to self...don't use a carbon post on a cross bike...Got a pretty good gap on him as you can imagine before he could get a bike out of the pits and ended up finishing in that order. Joe, me, Jensen, Wallace, and Nate Woodman out of Nebraska rounded out the podium. For the type of course it was (smooth, fast, non-technical) I actually ended up having a lot of fun. Ended up rolling back into KC around 10:30 and was lights out by 11.

Got up this morning and headed up for what was promised to be a painful day in Leavenworth for round 4 of the DeStad series. This course was quite a bit like the Chris Cross course from a few weeks ago up there. Lots of climbing, lots of soft grass, bricked uphill every lap. There was also a little bump at the bottom of a downhill that you could get some pretty sweet air off of so that was definitely a highlight! Got a pretty good start, rolling into the grass in 2nd spot behind Shadd Smith and was definitely feeling the effort from last night. Probably didn't warm up enough because luckily the legs let go after a little while. Not even half way through the first lap I managed to get a handful of leaves stuck in my cassette and wow...my chain was skipping everywhere. I tried to just ride them out of the cassette but it was no use. I fell back about 10 spots while my chain was bouncing around like crazy. Spent half the lap yelling at my bike until I figured out I could still use the top 4 cogs of my rear cassette. This paired with my big ring would have to do. Finally got that figured out and started working back through the field. After another lap or so I had bridged up to Shadd and Chris Wallace and sat on for a lap trying to catch my breath. No one was really around so I figured I'd take a dig for a lap or so. Pretty soon we had a little gap on Chris so it looked like I'd be pulling a while longer. As it turns out, Shadd and Chris both ride for KCCX so I ended up pulling most of the race as I didn't figure it'd be good for me to have Chris join up with us again. Second to last lap I forced Shadd around and he kept it pretty easy with a couple digs that I was able to counter. Decided I'd just go back and pull and hope for a bobble. I got my chance when I heard him slide out a bit coming around a corner so I made my run. Held the gap for most of the rest of the lap, however I knew I was in trouble when he caught back on just before the bricks. Yep...down to a sprint....with a sprinter...Made my move (from the front) but couldn't quite hold it so I ended up with 2nd for the day.


Near the start, right before I jammed my drivetrain full of leaves

All in all a pretty good weekend. Had a bunch of fun with some descent field sizes again and some great courses. As for next weekend, I'll be heading back to Western KS for opening weekend of pheasant season taking a break from the CX bike for the first time since early Sept! Then it'll be up to Lincoln, NE for a great 2 day weekend the following week.




Also, as a small side note I'm going to be selling my Gary Fisher Superfly if anyone would be interested. Here's the link to the add on Craig's List http://kansascity.craigslist.org/bik/1452343778.html Thing is still like new, but I've been working on a few new things for next year and it may be time for us to part ways :)

Boss Cross #3 and Sunflower Cross

Saturday was round 3 of the Boss cross series held up in Platte City, MO. I remembered this course from 2 years ago which involved a lot of climbing and a few rocky sections which claimed my tube (and my race) in a pinch flat. This year it was a lot the same only quite a bit shorter with one of the big climbs taken out. Initially I was kind of bummed about this, however around lap 11 of our race I couldn't have been happier. After talking to my teammates who just finished the Masters race they claimed there was no recovery and just a tough race overall. Surely not...well, I went out to pre-ride and yep...it was like riding through 6" deep mud, only there was no mud, and there was lots of climbing. It rained all week so the entire course was just like a sponge. There was a bunch of off camber, rough stuff thrown in too which I didn't figure would hurt the MTBers chances.

From the gun I jumped in at about 4th wheel heading off the road following Wallace, Jensen, and Bill Marshall. It was fairly apparent from the get go that I was riding the technical stuff a little faster but I tried to sit on for the first lap and not pull one of my "lead the race for a lap and blow up" moves. Managed to stay on their wheel the remainder of the first lap and then hit the pavement on Jensen's wheel and into the dirt once again. Made one failed attempt at a pass early, but then finally moved around. From here I tried to just keep it steady and ride strong without blowing up...I was also keeping an eye on Winkler who was steadily making his way through the field. Luckily I was able to ride smooth the entire race yesterday, not crashing or slamming my bike into anything...a success in itself. Ended up finishing the 239 laps in first for the day and mostly just glad to be done. Definitely one of the tougher courses I've raced on this year. That being said, it was one of the best courses I've been on this year too (a close second to Smithville).

Surprisingly I wasn't that sore this morning and was kind of excited to hit it again over in Lawrence at Sunflower Cross. After getting there I rolled around the course a bit and was pleasantly surprised at what they had done with the venue. This campground as many of you know is super flat and relatively featureless, however they threw together a pretty fun course running back through the trees and over enough gravel to really force you to keep on top of things. From the gun today, Shadd Smith rode away for the first half of the race or so making Jensen, Winkler and I battle it out a bit from behind. After some monkeying around we sort of got organized and put the chase on Shadd. After we got close we moved through the "technical" section of the course and I bridged up to Shadd getting a small gap over Jensen. Ended up starting to open a gap on Shadd after a lap or so and was feeling decent. With about 3 to go I noticed Jensen start coming up fast. He came by me like I was standing still with 2 to go...Thought I could lock up 2nd from here, but it was not to be. Somewhere, Shadd came back to life and caught back on during the last half of the last lap. I figured if I could ride the sand pit I may be able to put a small gap on him and get to the finish first. Yeah...didn't happen, with my mid-sand pit dismount, Shadd came around and the race was basically over. Rolled in with 3rd on the day which was hard earned for sure. For the small field we had on the starting line, it was actually a really fun race both due to course and competition.

Another double header on tap for next weekend in Topeka and Leavenworth.

Smithville Cross

Headed up for round 3 of the DeStad Series this weekend in Smithville, MO. To be completely honest, my aims weren't set overly high as I spent most of last week trying to recover from my beating in Boulder. Just couldn't get my legs under me early in the week, but towards the end I had a couple good days so I felt a little better. Lined up on the front row this weekend with the intent of pegging it and staying toward the front for once. Lined up with 15 this weekend as a bunch of the KCCX crew was down in Louisville. Still had a plenty fast field with Shadd Smith, Jeff Winkler, Andrew Coe, Aaron Elwell, Studnicki, and Cam on the fixie MTB all in the mix.

Hit it from the gun and rolled off the pavement in 2nd position behind Shadd. Cruised through all the twistys and then came into the first barrier set hot...this was my first of 3 "rookie" barrier moves for the day. In my defense, they were on a downhill so it was easy to overcook them...bad :) With the group all together and hot on our heels, I went ahead and slammed my front tire into the first barrier, and then hit the back tire on the 2nd (I wasn't trying to bunny hop them...I just couldn't lift my bike up high enough). Anyway, as I was fumbling over the 2nd one I noticed my back wheel lock up and realized I had popped my rear QR loose. After slamming it back on the ground and shutting the QR on the run, I only cost myself 4 spots or so...ugh. Luckily it was the first lap and I still had a lot of that "first lap adrenaline" so I was able to pass a few guys and chase back onto Shadds wheel. The next feature was one of my favorites as we rode along the shore of Smithville Lake through some sorta deep sand. Getting out of this there were steps cut in a steep "wall," however if you played your cards right and hit it with enough speed it was fairly easy to ride. From here Shadd and I established a small gap with Winkler and Coe chasing hard. I eventually lost contact with Shadd and had Winkler close in on me. After a few well planned attacks, I could no longer counter and lost contact with Jeff. A few laps later we rode up on Shadd re-mounting from a pretty bad crash that unfortunately (for him) took a while to re-group from. Ended up finishing in the same positions with Jeff taking the "W", I was 2nd, Shadd 3rd, and Aaron in 4th. On a side note, by the end of the race I only crashed my bike into the barriers 2 more times, smoking my elbow on something in the process once, and mowing over a stake trying to regain my footing another time...wow...Aaron may have been right with the "rookie" shout out on the first lap.

Probably hang around next weekend for a double header in Lawrence and Platte City.


Climbing up one of the walls in the course

Morning Thoughts

Been up this morning with no class to go to, so what have I been doing....building bikes (in my mind) of course. Contemplating what to saddle up on next summer when I actually can chase some big races, and that illusive Pro upgrade. Finally figured out that the mountain states cup aren't ranked high enough to upgrade, so it looks like I'll be doing a bit more traveling in 2010 which is fine. It looks like I'll be focusing all of my efforts on the MTB next year basing out of CO somewhere. Anyway, here are a few thoughts from my searching this morning. For now I'm thinking about going back the way of the 26" HT. Dropping 5lbs off of my pretty light 29er is just hard to beat. Then again, I may just end up racing the Fisher again, but hey, it's sure fun to look.

Valmont CX - Boulder, CO

Made the long trip out to Boulder, CO this weekend for a little change of scenery. A bunch of friends were getting together for the weekend in Denver too, so that was another reason to just get out of town. Anyway, cruised out Fri morning and got a great warm-up ride in on my MTB up and around Green Mountain.
Sat I headed up to Valmont park which is outside of Boulder and is the future site of a new bike park. Eventually it's supposed to be pretty sweet, but yeah...it's still just a bit under construction. It had a fair amount of elevation for a future dirt jump course so that added a little bit of climbing for me which was nice. They had literally gone out and graded a cross course in and then mowed a bit of grass off. The dirt was all super hard packed with a lot of loose rocks working their way up. Then a number of corners were full of loose dirt/rocks. Out in the "grass" section it was mowed super short and was mostly dirt again. The grass was so stinkin rough I literally had a tough time holding on to my bike in a number of sections. The positive for the day, 75 degrees, and a 15mph breeze to keep the dirt moving. After freezing here last weekend, it was pretty great to play in the sun for a change.

Anyway, that is the skinny on the course. Since it's the front range...they only use the ACA instead of USA Cycling so I got to purchase a 1 day license which landed me a spot on the back (6th) row of staging. Lined up with 40 in the pro field and got a decent line leading into the first climb but from 40 back, had to breathe in a LOT of dirt. It was fairly miserable being at elevation, then riding through a fog of dirt as hard as you can made it all the better. I was just kind of hoping that the guy in front of me could see where he was going, because I definitely couldn't.

After the first lap I had slotted into about 20th place or so and began working with about 4 different guys. It was fairly entertaining as we all were breaking out of the group or falling off the group at one point, but just kept shuffling around the entire time. I decided if it was fast/flat, I'd just have to let them go but as soon as we hit the tight stuff I could easily close any gaps. Continued the dirt bath for 60 min and eventually came through for 16th place. I felt ok, but never spectacular. Just didn't have a whole lot of punch, but that's what I get for that little 5 thousand foot increase. JHK took top honors for the day, proving that not only is he the XC national champ, but the dude can ride his CX bike as well.

Originally I thought about hitting another race Sun in Golden, but the body said otherwise Sun morning. Decided to just peace out and bust it back home. Planning on hitting up Smithville CX next weekend for another round of the De Stad series.

Some friends after my dirt bath

My sweet staging position