Staten CX- the best DFL

It's taken a good long while, but i think i needed some time to reflect on the race.

Staten CX ripped through NYC on November 30th. Jed, myself, and John put everything into this race and it paid off. I've never been prouder to be part of something like this. This whole event speaks volumes about the New York 'Cross scene, my friends, and the people that came together to make this race the awesome new nyc tradition that it will surely become.

I'm wary of taking too much credit for putting this race on (and that's rare coming from me,) but this race happened because of my friends and the greater cycling community here. this race was everyone's baby. We had incredible sponsors, fantastic press coverage, amazing volunteers (i owe you all big time...), fantastic music, great food, a killer course, awesome photos, and great racers all come together for a good cause.



putting this race on made me realize that if you really like what you're doing, you can do great things. it doesn't feel like work. you want to do it. we did so much work for this, but it didnt feel like a chore. Weeks after the race, i'm left with a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction, and i want to do it again (and we will).

I'm going to pull a move usually reserved by hip-hop grammy winners- time for long winded thank you's (its' a long list)

Jed



jed got the idea of putting on a cross race. we've been partners in this through and through. putting this race on together also made us close friends. i'm totally pumped to put more races on with him next year.

John Cutler



the lone ranger in the full CRCA kit and (kind of) matching 14-year-old-girl rollerblade helmet, john jumped in to help the cause out of nowhere. he's was responsible for getting us a ton of sponsors, including the FREE belgian wafels (more on that later), and also getting the race course equipment to staten island.

The Sponsors

Honest Tea showed up and supplied their great beverages.



Schaller & Weber Provided sustenance in the form of amazing sausages.



Wellshire Farms accosted us with 25 lbs of delicious, dry-rubbed bacon (drool).



Thomas Degeest, owner of Wafels & Dinges, sent some waffle men over to give out free waffles.



The waffles were free thanks two two great sponsors: Visitflanders.us (thanks Elke!), and Velo Classic tours (visit belgium! ride the cobbles!). Visitflanders and Velo classic also came to the race and added some belgian culture to our race village.

Chef Matt Sigel made sure the brats and bacon were nice and hot.

Kendra dropped furious beats and put on a euro-trash techno party in between races.



Cadence sent their team of crack mechanics (complete with Fu-manchu mustachio) to make sure the bikes survived the epic course conditions. they also came with 6 BMC demo bikes, which allowed for a ton of people (like Lisa Force!) to try out cross for the first time.



thanks to their bikes, a ton of people are going to buy a bike next season and race cross!


Claudette Lajam from orthochick.net made sure the ladies were taken care of and put in for Ladies-only primes. Robert Dvorin was another great sponsor and put in for additional Food and i believe some primes.

Jan from Sportique sent me a ton of great chamois cream and embrocation to give out as prizes.



Andrew crooks from NYC Velo donated a ton of great schwag to the prize list, as did Tandems east and Toga! john's friend Gus was a huge help and brought over Myles' Step ins and barriers all the way from Southampton. Myles did us a big favor by lending us his cross course equipment- a buttload of step ins and a pair of barriers.



Friends



The best thing i took away from this race was the affirmation that i've got the best friends in the world. they all helped in so many ways- whether it was gathering Step-ins in wet 35 degree rain after the race, getting the word out about the race, bringing in bacon sponsors, etc. So, i owe a beer and one (1) lewd act to each of the following people:



Kendra- DJ extrardinaire/Trophy assistant/podium girl


Kyle Peepo- He's Prussian, you know
Evie - sandbagging step-in-gatherer
Patrick littlefield- announcer/wino
Jason Gay- bacon intermediary- also did the write up for velo news
Rich bravo, Hott sam, Beth Renaud, Tony Slokar, Jed's Parents, brian gatens- (course setup)



Austin Horse, Evan Chalfin, Bret Vaughan- HUGE. course breakdown
Heidi Reijm- registration ALL STAR.
Lindsay Paluska and corinne Karmiel- podium girls, etc
Alan Atwood- officiating and facilitating USA cycling permit stuff. also helped with course logistics
Patrick wilder- PDX transplant! helped design the course- added some PDX flava'
Josh Creem- donated a sweet cyclosportif winner's jersey (which roger aspholm now owns- obviously)
the paparazzi: Maria Q (sweet video!), Anthony Skorochod, Liam Quigley, Kevin Dillard, david Chomowicz, Claudette Lajam, Jerry Kapkow, Eloy Anzola, and Harry Zernike
Colin Prensky- sandbagger extraordinaire
Lauren Zucker- for lending me her crazy Yellow Pickup Truck
The CRCA (notably Mike Green, Ken Harris, "Evil" Matt Howard)- for backing the event- this race was as much a CRCA event as it was an NYC event!


I want to thank the racers that showed up- we had over DOUBLE the pre-reg of any race that day in the north-east- 119 pre-reg'ed and a bunch more same-day. you guys braved the elements and came out to race in perfect, miserable Belgian weather. you made the race fun and duked it out on the course. Nice job to everyone- Especially to those who tried 'cross for the first time- what a day to try it! you experienced 'cross at its best and worst: the mud, the wind, the rain, the cold, the people cheering, the food, the music, and the attitude. The whole scene is what its all about. As Barry Wicks said- anyone can put on a 'cross race. But for it to be fun, you've got to embrace the right atmosphere. We had just that on November 30th, and it was thanks to all of the people i mentioned above



and a BIG thank you to the NYC Parks department- Sarah Frazier, Sandra Fernandez, Vincent, and Laurie. the parks department was a HUGE help, and this race could not have happened without their support. their willingness to help and their level of accommodation was astounding. From the entire new york cyclocross community- THANK YOU!



As for my race, well there's not way to sugar coat it: i came in DFL in my own race! DFL! I know. apparently 2 hrs of sleep has an effect on my performance. instead of coming in 3rd to last, i came in dead last. and of course colin prensky had to win the damn thing.... Next time i'm putting that guy into the tape...



By the way, i love how different his blogging is from my own. He reports from the front of the pack, I report from the middle/back. He waxes poetic on the spirit of competition and winning, i make fart/bacon/poop jokes. i think it's awfully complimentary...

Putting this race on was a great experience through and through- i made some great contacts, new friends in the cycling scene, and i was able to spend time in a borough that i had barely visited! Staten Island is a mythical, elusive, and funny place. it was the perfect setting for our race, and hopefully will be for years to come.

As for next year, watch out. We've got big plans. cool stuff is on the way. i think you're goin to like it...

I ain't 'fraid of no spokes

It's been a good while since I've updated my narcissistic corner of the interweb, so here goes:

cross has been super fun/painful. I quickly decided to take a break from training hard and just do cross for fun. I may be permanent pack fodder, but who cares as long as i'm having fun,right? I started to feel burn-out by the end of the road season, and any more training into the fall wasn't going to happed. Still, I've been racing almost every week and enjoying the cross scene with my friends and fellow bike racers.

As being lazy is the theme of the fall, I'll sum up each race briefly here:

Central Park cross in Schenectady
sum up: Chad and i rolled up to central park in Schenectady for a cross race put on by the CBRC. I would just like to note that when i first heard about this race a year ago, i thought there was a cross race in Central park. THE central park. I still think it's false advertising. anyway, the course was a good looking one with a nice mix of technical sections and some flat grassy goodness. a highlight of the course would have to be the huge falled log that you had to climb over during every lap. I know what you're thinking- dead wood's boring (unless it's on HBO), but this seemingly normal log had a wasp's nest in it. NICE! a few people got stung and one unfortunate dude slammed into it twice during the race. good times. I finished somewhere in the middle of the pack, and avoided getting stung by wasps. I think its because i started sporting the green meanie on my bike.



grrr. watch out. nothing says "don't F*ck with me" like a squeaky toy on a bicycle. After the race we had our traditional diner lunch and stuffed ourselves with trashy diner breakfasty goodness (Toto would be proud).


Southampton Super Cross



I hit up the first day of the Whitmore super cup race in Southampton. it was a huge turnout, and a bunch of the big dogs were in town. The course was fantastic. it was fast, technical, and painful. a couple of run ups, some off cambers, and some sand thrown in for good measure. I must have biffed about 4 times during the race. I stuck on Chad's tail for most of the race, but never had the chance to pass his gangly ass. At this point in the cross season, my goal has shifted from placing in the race to just beating any other teammates in my field. After the race (and once i stop coughing up mucus) , we checked out the pro races. before the big boys went out, I got to meet Erwen Vervecken and chatted with him for all of 30 seconds- the photo should amuse you:



I know what you're thinking- and no, despite my height, I can still get on most major roller coasters.

Casualties: Littlefield has a domestic dispute with a 'cross barrier, Bravo tears his rotator cuff, and of course, CJ loses more dignity:


Granogue



Granogue was a interesting this year. Last year this super-hard cross race was my 2nd cross race ever. I came in 2nd to last and almost puked. This year I had a pack-fodder finish, but it was comfortably in the middle (Yay mediocrity!). The course was beautiful as ever, and the run up was just as menacing as i remember t. The organizers at Granogue really do put together one of the best race events in the northeast. The course was fantastic, the ground was a bit muddy, the off-cambers were tricky, and it was pretty grueling. one of the vendor tents was selling "Bart Wellens kickboxing academy" T-shirts. I've gotta have one. A ton of people came out for this race, and we all convened by the beer tent to kill the kegs that a local brewery had left for our enjoyment. Is there really anything better than beer after a cross race??

As the B race finished, someone comes up to me to tell me that my teammate Ethan had crashed during the race and was asking for me. uh. oh. lets just say Ethan is to crashing as I am to talking about bacon- it happens more than it should. Ethan says he thinks he re-broke his collarbone. nice!



I ended up driving him back to Westchester and decided to forgo the next day's race in PA. turns out he didn't actually break it- which is a relief. however, it was funny as hell to hear him tell me during the ride back that "it doesn't really hurt like the last time." hmmm, a clue!

Chainbiter 9.0


I like the Chainbiter course a whole lot. It's a giant sandtrap. its a well-designed course and a ton of fun. Unfortunately, my race didn't last long- crashed out in the first lap. I slid out on a sharp turn, and the derailleur decided to make out with my spokes. snap, snap, see you later! last year Chad's Chain exploded mid-race, so i guess it was my turn this year.

The highlight of the race turned out to be going back to Littlefield's to each about a pound of artisanal cheese and drink who knows how much good wine. Every race should end that well!

Craigmeur 2

The Halloween race at Craigmeur is a ton of fun. I was more concerned with winning the costume competition than with doing well at the race. I really wanted to do Mario brothers with Chad, but it turns out that Kmart doesn't even sell overalls. Aw well, backup plan:



I managed to win the C-race (the costume contest, that is). A few lessons were learned at this race:
-Don't race hung over
-Don't race with a proton pack on your back.
-If you're that much of a narcissist, be sure to not race the same field as Marco if you want your picture taken.

I could barely lift up my head with that thing on my back. Ah well, who needs to look where they're going during a cross race?

Highland Park



today's race at Highland park was alot like old people having sex: it was icky, slow, and hotter than I thought it would be. I woke up this morning to a thermometer telling me it was 30 degrees outside. I put about 4 layers on and drove out to the race, only to have the sun come out and be in th mid 40' s right before the race started. The ground had frozen overnight, but it quickly thawed right when the race started. it made for a trickier course. Big ups to the Rutgers guys for putting together such a great race. the weather was perfect, the course was challenging, and the race was a ton of fun. I had a good rhythm going for most of the race until i slid out on some sandy dirt and dropped my chain. after that the race was a one-way ticket on the pain train. I was able to ride the muddy switchbacks that had people running, and even manage to do a ridiculous rear-wheel slide on one muddy turn without falling. Tokyo drift style, yo. (what a terrible movie).


Next week is the GP of cross in Trenton, NJ (exotic!). That'll be the last big cross race of the season for me, although i might hop over to do a few more Augusta races if there are any. I've decided to not even think about racing at nationals this year, because a bike race is just about the only interesting thing to do in Kansas city. They should do nats in portland or rhode island (again) next year.

Hopefully the weather stays brisk for a while before it becomes nut-bustingly cold again. I'd really like to put off riding on my trainer again until i absolutely need to...

Writing for ChaosCyclingClub.com

In addition to this specacular, epic, and eloquent blog that you, my loyal readers, enjoy on a regular basis (HA!), I have also started writing for www.chaoscyclingclub.com as one of their blog writers. The site is up but not completely functional yet. You can get the gist from their myspace page HERE. Here's the first piece I wrote for them:

State of the cycling Union

My fellow cyclists,

As we stand on the horizon of the 2007, I can't help but think about what this year has in store for us. What will bring us excitement? Who will win the tour? What scandal is going to rock our world next? Will the Pro-tour survive another year of mismanagement and bad protocol? Will I even come close to winning a bike race?

Who knows.

I've been mulling over the general state of cycling and how it has changed over the past year. The thing about this marvelous two-wheeled invention is that it means so many things to many different people. a work of art, a commuter, a $12,000 racing machine, a bike messenger's most prized possession, and a weapon of competition. Hell, to you it may mean all of those things rolled into one.

Look at the current state of pro cycling. Unfounded accusations can ruin a pro's career. Anti-doping regulations have turned into glorified witch hunts. All hunches, no evidence. It's a shaky base to build a case on.

What will happen in the next twelve months? Will we ever be able to look up to these cycling masters with the child-like reverie that people had for Eddie Merckx and Fausto Coppi? Can a cycling legend be forged in the current environment we live in, or will the reputations of every budding cycling hero be so easily chopped down by accusations and scandal?

When looking at the pro cycling world, I've realized a few things:

-A simple accusation does not make a person guilty until they're proven to be so in a court of law. Until then, they're innocent. Remember that the next time you get into a debate over Floyd, Jan, or Ivan. They're innocent until a court proves otherwise. Sorry. It's called the justice system.
-The (general) media does more harm than good when cycling is in the news. Does it ever surprise you that the media attacks cycling for being a dirty, scandal ridden sport when it is in fact vastly more regulated than other professional sports that overweight beer swillers watch? If Barry Bonds were a cyclist (which is a hilarious visualization in and of itself,) he would have had it MUCH rougher than he does now.
-The Officials governing the sport need to get their acts together. Sometimes it seems like they are out to kill the sport. They have to stick to the rules that they come up with, and there needs to be a system of checks and balances to ensure that officials cannot abuse their power. Reputations of the cyclists and the sport in general will be at stake if the officials can't get their acts together.

As for my predictions for the next year's winners, they're as follows:

Paris-Roubaix: Big George Hincapie
The Giro: Basso or Cunego
The Tour: Landis (if he can compete), Basso, or Vino

We as cyclists have to make a choice. There's no place for cynicism in cycling- that's what'll kill the sport. The world of cycling is larger than the pros. Sure, they're amazing to watch, and they're stronger cyclists than most of us will ever hope to be, but pro cycling shouldn't define what the experience means to us. It is what we make of it.

It's time to return to the simple joy of pedaling a bicycle. Get out there and suffer up a hill, blast down a descent, and trackstand at the stoplight. Do a wheelie. Sprint for the Line. Compete in your first race. Bunny hop a cyclocross barrier. Try to ride a unicycle.

Push yourself, and let this two wheeled wonder make you a better, stronger, and more balanced person. The more you ride, the better it gets.