NCCX Winter Series #4

Sunday, January 24 was the finale of the North Carolina Cyclocross Winter Series. After the first two legs of the series were characterized by bitter cold conditions, the third race in Fayetteville last weekend was a mud-fest. With heavy rains looming, the final race in Greensboro promised to dish out some Belgium-esque cyclocross goo.

Sunday's course was held in Bur-Mil Park, adjacent to Lake Brandt. The 3k loop featured two sand sections , a stair climb, and an uphill double-barracade obstacle. The sand pits were particularly tricky, situated back-to-back at the top of a gradual climb and separated by a u-turn. The sand was loose and deep, and all but the strongest riders ground to a halt if they attempted to ride through it. The smart rider ran through the pits, but this resulted in dismounting, running, remounting to ride through the u-turn (which was a bit too long to run), and then dismounting again for the second pit. While this approach was generally faster for most riders, it added up to four total dismounts each lap. This tricky and well-placed obstacle truly made competitors pick their poison each lap. Fortunately, the heavy rains held off, and the course was muddy but very rideable.

I again did the Cat 4/Masters 35+ double, placing 19th in the Cat 4 race while struggling with asthma toward the end. I cruised at the back of the field in the Masters race, finishing 15th and keeping my heart rate low enough to recover from my earlier breathing issues. My non-stellar but consistent finishes notched me 11th place among Cat 4s for overall series points and 9th place for Masters 35+.

I was travelling solo on Sunday, so I have no race pictures. However, for your consideration:

The blue poison frog, or dendrobates azureus. D. azureus is a mid-sized dendrobatid frog weighing about 3 grams and having a length ranging from 3 to 4.5 cm. It inhabits small isolated forest areas surrounded by the dry, prairie-like Sipaliwini Savannah at elevations from 315 to 430 m. It prefers a dark, moist environment, living only near small streams among moss-covered rocks. It typically remains on the ground, but has been found in trees at heights of up to 5 m. D. azureus is terricolous and remains close to some type of water source such as a stream. It is very active during the daytime (diurnal) and moves constantly with short leaps.

The blue poison frog has nothing to do with the NCCX Winter Series race #4, but it is wearing a handsome shade of Velosports Racing blue. However, if you are ever in the South American country of Suriname and spot a pretty little frog wearing a handsome shade of Velosports Racing blue, do not touch it, because it will kill you dead.

With the 2009-2010 cyclocross season in the books, it's time to hang up the cross bike and hit the road. Amy and I will be headed down to Greenville, SC, in late February to kick off our road-racing seasons. Til then, stay dry, ride safe, and don't touch the blue frogs.

2010 Winter Short Track #1

Sunday, January 17, was the first round of the Charlotte Sports Cycling Winter Short Track Series. The home of the 5-race series is Renaissance Park, featuring a 3/4 mile course designed and maintained by the Tarheel Trailblazers. At least half the course is singletrack, and the Trailblazers packed a lot of character in a short stretch of trail, including several banked turns, a whoop-de-doo section, and a short but very challenging swtichback climb culminating in a rock step at the top. The course was neutralized on this morning, however, by the deluge of rain that fell overnight. Several sections of the course were turned into thick mud, and drivetrain and traction problems plagued racers all day.

I entered the singlespeed division. Above, I'm coming out of the singletrack section on my first lap and heading up a doubletrack service road toward the start-finish area of the course. Kit still white and blue, bike still green.

Cresting the top of the short hill after jumping over the rock step.

Sprinting through the singletrack section.

More singletrack goodness.

My grimy Redline Monocog 29er, ready to hit the showers.

Is there an age at which playing in the mud stops being fun? Despite my strangely anxious expression, the race was a blast. I finished 10th in the singlespeed division, and I am still getting dirt out of my ears.

NCCX Winter Series #1 and #2

or, Adventures in Multiple Layers

The North Carolina Cyclocross Winter Series kicked off this past weekend with a pair of races. Despite the record-setting cold snap, I entered both races in an effort to regain some fitness lost during a month of house-moving tasks. Joining me was Paul Gamewell, who was eager to give cyclocross a try.

Saturday, January 9, Salisbury

As I watched the sky come to light on Saturday morning, I checked the weather conditions. Seven degrees. Not 27, or even 17. Single digits. Facing what was certain to be a day-long Boone flashback, I scrounged up as many layers as I could find that might shield me from the arctic blast. For those of you keeping score, my outfit consisted of: one thin long-sleeve base layer, two heavyweight long-sleeve Under Armor base layers, my Velosport jersey, wool tights, wind-blocker bib tights, Velosport bib shorts, DeFeet Woolly Boolly socks, Woolrich wool socks, polypro balaclava, and neoprene paddling gloves. Bring it on. Despite feeling like the performance-fabric version of Randy in 'A Christmas Story,' my core temperature seemed to drop when we arrived at the course to find that the septic chemicals in the port-o-johns were frozen solid.

The first race of the series took place in Salisbury Community Park, featuring a very open, sweeping course. Challenges on this day included a double-obstacle section, a two-step runup, and two steep rideable hills. Of course, the primary challenge of the day was the weather, and the wind-swept course was frozen solid at the start of the race, making for a very bumpy and tiring ride. I entered the Cat 4 race, the first of the morning, and finished the 30-minute event in 19th place. Wanting to get in as much training as possible, I also entered the Masters 35+ race, coming in 22nd.

Paul captured the start of the Cat 4 race on film, below:

Negotiating the steps at the bottom of the runup.

Clearing the double-obstacles. My jersey, straining from being pulled over three base layers, ruptured while I was at the start line and my zipper separated. I was forced to start a new fashion trend by tying the bottom of my jersey together in a hip, midriff-exposing style.

Paul entered the singlespeed division, his first bike race of any kind. The learning curve was steep in the small but highly-competitive SS field, and he was further hamstrung by racing on his Redline Monocog 29er mountain bike. Nevertheless, by the second lap Paul was quickly adapting to cross racing on a mountain bike, and his dismounts and remounts became fluid. With his skills improving with each lap, he finished 6th and completed the process of getting hooked on racing.

Sprinting back up to speed after remounting at the top of the runup.

Beginning the runup. Paul was lugging 10-15 more pounds of bike compared to the rest of the field.

Hammering to the top of the hill in the wooded section of the course. This picture does not convey how steep this hill was. Paul ran a 32x18 gear.

Paul's bike was so heavy, it jumped him over the obstacles.

Everyone smiles at the end of a cross race. His first race in the bag, Paul was no exception.

Salisbury was also Addy's first chance to "race" his new Redline Conquest. Bundled by mom to the point of being able to withstand an extended Yukon expedition, he stumped the NCCX race officials by showing up for a kid's ride that they had not planned on having. In the middle of preparing for the start of the SS race, they quickly devised a kid-friendly course and took Addy on a 2-lap ride, led by NCCX team member Jason Morgan. In addition to giving Addy his first cross ride by himself, they also gave him a pair of DeFeet socks afterward. Thank you NCCX for going above and beyond.

Addy's new bike is 15 pounds lighter than his former bike, the 'Chrome Dream.' However, the challenge on this day was not the weight of his bike, but the volume of his conversation. Enjoying the one-up "race" against Jason, his conversation was in hyperdrive and he couldn't stop talking long enough lift his bike over the barriers without an assist. Nonstop talking=happiness.

We're pretty sure bbq is contraindicated as a recovery food. We cared not. We cholesterol-loaded for the following day's racing at College Barbecue in Salisbury.

Sunday, January 10, Mooresville

Sunday's racing moved to Mooresville in Stumpy Creek Park, on the shores of Lake Norman. The Stumpy Creek course was considerably more technical than the previous day, boasting a runup of 40 concrete steps shortly followed by very steep but rideable wall; a bumpy, off-camber descent; a wooded singletrack section made treacherous by slippery pine needles and cones; and, numerous other sections of climbing that were deceptively steep. Despite daybreak temperatures in the single-digits again, start-time temps were warmer, making the weather less of a factor and necessitating fewer layers. However, the course offered few sections for recovery, and a tough day lay ahead.

I again entered both the Cat 4 and Masters 35+ races. With my legs still smarting from the day before, I remained consistent and finished 21st in Cat 4 and 20th in Masters. I was spent after traversing the Stairs of Misery 11 times (440 steps) over the course of the morning.

More video footage courtesy of Paul:

The Stairs of Misery:

After his first race the day before, Paul was confident heading into the singlespeed race, and indeed, the challenging course seemed a good fit for his 29er.

Heading out at the start in good position.

Paul's rapidly improving technique was evident, and he grunted up the Stairs of Misery with a nice carry of his Monocog.

And then... those treacherous pine needles. Brimming with confidence, Paul hit the wooded singletrack and lost traction, as did numerous others over the course of the day. The resulting fall injured his left ankle and brought a premature end to his race. X-rays the following day revealed that it was worse than expected:

Fortunately, Paul suffered only a hairline fracture, although this is small consolation. It does, however, give him plenty of time to shop for a cross bike over the next six weeks.

INJURY UPDATE: speaking of breaks, Amy's collarbone is healing nicely and ahead of schedule. She is out of her sling and using her arm as much as she can tolerate, including plenty of running and cycling on her wind trainer. Everything seems to be on schedule for her to be out on the road by her team training camp at the end of January. She will be racing on the developmental squad for a new women's team this year, SpokesWomen Syndicate.

NCCX 2009 Fall Series #9

Sunday, December 6 was the 9th and final race of the NC Cyclocross 2009 fall series at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons. Watching the UCI race in Hendersonville two weeks before was too much to take, so I scored a Redline Conquest from Carolina Fatz and dipped my toes in the cross pool for the first time. With a typical 6-year-old's affinity for mud, Addy joined me for his first cross event, too.

The course at Tanglewood was fairly flat, although mud from the heavy rain late in the week slowed things down and made for a more technical ride. Temperatures remained cold all day, with the high never getting out of the low 40s and the air feeling much colder. With this being the final race of the fall series, the vibe was considerably laid-back, with cold beer on tap and brats on the grill all day.

Addy hit the track first for the kid's race, which consisted of one lap around the flatter section of the course. The only real snag for him was not being able to lug his bike up and over the obstacles, despite ample cheering by the nearby beer gallery. I was able to team up with him to get his steed over the obstacles, and he was on his way to the finish. He was the second kid to finish the non-competitive event. Word has it that Santa is checking out a new bike that comes in under the 33-lb behemoth he's riding now.

I raced in the men's Category 4 event, a 30-minute race that traversed the circuit three times. This category was by far the largest of the event, so my plan was hang around the back and get used to the unique technical skills required in cross without taking anyone (or myself) out. This appeared to be a good plan as the field experienced a pileup just seconds into the race. I avoided the mayhem and ran into no further difficulties during the race. In fact, my crash-course in cross technique over the previous two weeks seemed to pay off, as I not only negotiated the technical sections of the course with no problems, but typically passed others who struggled in these sections. Overall, I overtook 2-3 people per lap and steadily moved up in the field. As of this date, the results haven't been published. Now that my addiction to cyclocross is complete, I am looking forward to the NC Cyclocross winter series, which starts in January.

As for my bike, I converted my Redline Conquest to a 1x9 drivetrain. I tossed the cranks that came on the bike in favor a set of SRAM Rival cranks in my preferred 175mm arm length. I used a 39t chainring in combination with a 12-26t cassette. The gearing seemed fine for the Tanglewood course, although I would maybe go with a 38 or even a 36 for a hiller track. The stock Shimano Tiagra shifter and rear derailleur shifted fine initially but became unpredictable as the drivetrain became muddy. I used Challenge Grifo XC clincher tires, which have a fine diamond tread designed for drier, faster conditions. However, they are considerably lighter and more supple than the Continentals that I picked up for mud, and I didn't seem to give up anything to anyone else due to traction. I used the Alex wheels that came with the bike, and although heavy, I'm going to go ahead and wear them out before stepping up to a more performance-minded wheelset.

INJURY UPDATE: Amy is recovering slowly but steadily and is in her 4th week post-crash. Most bumps, bruises and road rash have healed up, but she still has a lot of soreness. Her 3-week follow-up with her orthopaedist revealed two additional breaks in the clavicle, which have already calcified and appear mostly healed. She is looking at 12-16 weeks for complete recovery, although she is hoping to get back on the bike in time for her new team's training camp in Chapel Hill at the end of January.

NC Cyclocross Grand Prix

We headed to Hendersonville yesterday to watch The North Carolina Cyclocross Grand Prix. For family and friends who don't know what cyclocross is, it is a form of bike racing that is part road biking and part mountain biking. Popularized in Europe, a cross bike looks very similar to a road bike, with with a frame designed to shed mud that is common during the fall and winter cross racing season. In addition, cross bikes use wider tires than road bikes, often with knobby tread patterns to tackle off-road conditions. Cross races are typically 30-60 minutes in length and are run on a mostly off-road circuit course of around a mile. Cross racing is unique in that courses are designed to force racers to dismount their bikes and jump over obstacles at different points over the course. Short, steep climbs, often requiring riders to carry their bikes, are typical as well.

The race in Hendersonville was part of the NC Cyclocross 2009 fall race series. The weekend's racing featured internationally-sanctioned divisions for elite men and women, meaning that the respective fields, which were comprised of some of the top national cross racers, would also earn points toward their international ranking.

Below are pictures of the "wall" at Jackson Park during the elite women's race. Despite the steep grade of the climb, most racers sprinted hard before the climb and grunted their way up without dismounting.


Our buddy Paul with Amy and her broken collarbone/conversation piece, watching the action at the wall.

Below, the elite women are hitting one of the other steep climbs on the course. This climb required riders to dismount, jump over two obstacles, and run with their bikes to the top of the climb.

Here are a couple of videos of the wall, which was situated just before the start-finish line.

One Tough Broad

"Snap back to reality, up, there goes gravity.."

While Eminem wasn't rapping about cycling, the reality of riding a bike is that, at some point, every cyclist will confirm the laws of gravity and hit the deck. This past Sunday, approximately 2.5 hours into a training ride south Black Mountain, Amy crashed while descending a mountain at 30+ mph. After hitting a disguised rut in the road, she lost control of her bike and flipped over the handlebars, landing on her head and left shoulder. Although unconscious when myself and teammate Frank got to her, she quickly came to as Frank called 911. Despite being in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, the first responders were in church right at the top of the hill, so help arrived almost instantly after the call was placed, with EMTs from the local VFD around the corner arrived soon after. The first-response care was excellent and we are forever indebted. Amy experienced amnesia for the day's events, but even by the time the ambulance arrived, her memory was steadily returning. Evaluation in the ER at Memorial Mission hospital in Asheville revealed a broken left collarbone but no concussion, her crushed helmet having done its job. Follow-up evaluations on Tuesday confirmed no hidden head trauma. Additionally, a follow-up x-ray of her collarbone revealed that it broke in a manner in which a child's more elastic bones would, stymieing her orthopaedist and making for a very clean, non-displaced break that will heal well with a much lower chance of calcification.

In a testament to her character, Amy has taken this painful rite of passage in stride, still claiming that it pales in comparison to pushing out a 9-pound baby boy after 26 hours of labor. We of the male gender are having to take her word on that one. In fact, her first question to her coach was, "How long before I can start training again?" Tough indeed. So, Amy has come out of the experience with more resolve as she looks toward racing in 2010, and we had a bonding experience with teammates that was unwished for but nonetheless positive. Erica, Frank, Joey, Andy, we are glad you were there with us.

And to all you kids out there - stay in school, say no to drugs, say your prayers, and ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET!

Bank of NC Short Track Mountain Bike Race

Saturday was the third race in the Bank of NC Short Track mountain bike race series in Harrisburg, benefitting the Cabarrus Rotary Club. The 4-race series takes place at Harrisburg Town Park, which features a NORBA-style 3/4-mile short track. The local mountain bike club put together a great track including a downhill singletrack section with berms, a grassy cyclocross-esque grassy section coming into the start-finish stretch, and a short, nasty climb.

Conditions were near-perfect, as we enjoyed weekend temps in the mid-70s. Ahhh, the summer we never had, right smack in the middle of November. The rain from two days ago left the trail in excellent shape.

Amy's teammate Erica Chard hit the loop first for the day, competing in the women's Cat 3 division. With some snap still left in the legs after a season of road racing, she paced the eventual race-winner and finished a strong second. Above, Erica is coming off the upper half of the singletrack downhill section and cresting a short hill before finishing the downhill.

Since my last race, I was invited to join the Asheville-based Velosports Racing Team for 2010. Above, new teammate (and Erica's boyfriend) Frank Obusek begins the grind up the steepest section of the climb during the Cat 2 40+ race. Frank also rode strongly to finish 3rd.

Rounding out the day, I entered the singlespeed division for my first mountain bike race of any kind. Above, I'm coming out of the grass track and heading into the gravel start-finish double track.
Grinding through the steepest section of the climb in my crisp, new Velosport kit. Pushing a 32x18 gear, in hindsight I probably would have given up a little on the downhill sections in favor of being able to spin a little bit more on the climbs.

Hitting one of the berms on the upper downhill section.

Another shot of the upper downhill section. Amy handled the photography for the day.

Grunting up the short climb separating the upper and lower downhill sections.

Cresting the top of the climb. I rode my Redline Monocog 29er, set up by singlespeed and fixed gear guru Chris Jordan. Steel and fully rigid with Sram 175mm Hussy downhill cranks, Thomson seatpost, Ritchey stem, saddle, and bars, Surly stainless chainring. Wheels are Salsa rims laced to Surly singlespeed hubs, handbuilt by Chris, with Maxxis rubber.

Hitting the finish line after the 45-minute effort. I came across the line in second place or last place place, depending on one's interpretation of the half-filled glass. With only two entrants in the singlespeed division, I was assured of at least second place. As the other singlespeeder sprinted away from me at the start line, my placing was secure. Regardless, the results show second place. It was a fun event, well-organized on a great course, and a fantastic day. Next week is the last in the race series, but it will be at night. Time to break out the lights!