It’s never too early to start thinking about next year right? Awhile back I was in Bills shop (Cyclepath) and I was fondling these wheels, Easton’s EC90 SLX. Oh MAMA, sick ass light! 1175 grams of pure tubular wheel lust I tell ya. Those rims! So smooth, I caressed them like an object of my desire and all I could think about was how I’d love to put them on my road bike. I mean they couldn’t be tough enough for cross right?

Fast forward to today, as I’m talking to Dev and were geeking out over next years wheel purchases I mention the aforementioned EC90 SLX, so out of curiosity I did some digging and to my delight I got ahold of a rather prominant crosser who’s got a firm grip of my complete respect. I emailed him and within an hour I had his take on my object of desire for next year.

First, a pic of his bike and my coveted wheels of choice:

I’ve been through this before, I wrestled with buying my Dugast Rhino’s for about 6 months before pulling the trigger. this is even worse….

Anyway, here’s the response I got from my senior (in ability, not age) crosser:

“They’ve been really good. I’m very surprised at how tough the rims are, I rode almost half a lap with a flat at the Velo Bella Surf City race and the rim was unharmed. I’ve been running my tires at 24-25 lbs so the rims totally hit during the race most races: that’s what has killed a bunch of Zipp wheels for me a couple years ago. These seem to take it really well.

Get ‘em if you can, they’re sick!”

Great, a raving review from someone who knows how to race and beats his equipment. Now I’ve confirmation that those sick tubbies I thought merely road worthy have been battle tested and are ripe for CX too. Wow, this helps me not….. Now I’ll have these wheels rolling around in my head, just begging for a set of Fresh Grifo’sFango’s and to prop up my Zank. Ho’ man, I’m cheap too. Except for my cross bikes that is, I’ll throw dough at my crossers without a second thought, I’ll spend it like I got it: and I don’t. Racing is all that and then some. Makes you feel alive yo’. Granted, there not Deep, at 25mm there as deep as my current tubular rims. But man, that weight! Besides, I could rock these wheels much easier than some Deep Tubular Carbon rims, and I wouldn’t use them for the slop, I’ve got my CK/Rhino’s for that. I dunno, one thing is for sure: I’m going to stew on it for awhile. I love my EA70X wheels from Easton and I’m sure these would prove just as worthy of my affection. However, I’m terrified of carbon rims in cross, so there’s that. I’m in turmoil, turmoil I tell ya…..

Cheers!

I found this one on OregonVelo. No, I’m not trying to pass a kidney stone, that’s the face of the pain cave trying to pedal through za mud.

Funny huh?

Cheers!

After having been sidelined the last two races in a row trying to kick the crud I was less than optimistic about my return to racing. Although I’m feeling better, I’ve been off the bike for weeks and my fitness is squat. While driving to the venue, my wife looked at me and said: “just have fun, this is what you love you do” Ok, easier said than done. I’m no where near where I was physically at the start of the season, and I don’t know if I told you but I hate to suck.

To make matters worse Dev was racing the Master’s B and issued a challenge to me to race with him, there was no way I was going up to the B’s. Not yet anyway. I’m glad I didn’t as judging by my time of 50:11, I would have finished damn near last in the B’s, which would have ruined my fragile psyche. I needed to make the front half of the race today to feel good about my season. I got to the course early enough to preride and to my disappointment this venue tailored right to my weaknesses. Totally flat, lots of super fast flat sections where guys like Speedy and my friend Ken could use there power. Plus, we had to go through this horse arena. It was super deep with mud (horse crap) and I didn’t see anyone able to ride it. “Crap, lots of running too” I thought to myself, as that’s my other weakness, I’m just not a good runner. My courses are tight and technical, muddy and challenging. That’s where I do well. Can’t match the fast guys with powa yo’. As Dev would say; “I need mo Powa”

So with the new lottery, 47 guys got called up. I was lucky and my third digit was 7. I was the first wave after the call ups, so there was only around 55 guys in front of me. Could have been much worse. I was relaxed and calm at the start, telling myself to just have fun and enjoy racing the course, let go of your ambition Jim….. The gun went off and I just stayed on the gas and tried not to lose any ground, we had a nasty pile up and some poor guy went down, hard. By the time the 1^st lap was coming to a close and we were heading into the arena I told myself that I was going to attempt to ride it. What do I got to lose? It’d sure beat running. Lots of guys tried, but for the 4 laps I went through that arena with all the guys around me: No One was able to ride it, Except for me. (pat myself on the back here) Oh most tried, but halfway through there was the section that was dried clay like deep mud & poop which broke every one and forced them to run. I too would stumble there, on the 2^nd lap and have to run. I did ride it though, for 3 of the 4 laps.

So this would be my calling card, I wasn’t going to place well, but I would conquer the mud pit in the arena and ride where most guys couldn’t. At least in my class anyway, I know the Elite’s went thru it like it was nuthin’. There was a set of bleachers and the crowd would erupt each time I made it past the breakpoint, screaming “Ride it! Ride it!” which would fuel my desire even more to get out of the arena rubber side down.

I had a ball as that was a challenge indeed. I felt like a damn warrior each time I made it out of the arena with my feet still clipped in and pedaling. That was fun!

By the time the race was over I lost around 20 spots, unable to hang on the fast flat sections were guys went by me for most the race. In the end, I finished 74^th out of 147. I just missed the front half of the race by 1%. I did however; beat Hinkley for the 1^st time. Jim has whupped my butt for two seasons…..

All in all is was a great day of racing and I got to hang around and watch Dev in the B’s plus a few other races with great sunny weather. I had fun: and isn’t that what cross is supposed to be? Fun?  

Relaxed and contemplating at the start.

Were off!

the mound of stall clean up….

A couple pics of my pal Speedy (in the blue jersey) running the slop in the arena

Jammed up and avoiding a big hole concealed buy the mud, I managed to save it and stay upright

I’ve righted the ship and I’m determined to ride on..

on the other side of the arena, still pedaling!

Through the barns..

Running the barriers..

Speedy and I, tellin each other how it went down…

My Bike.

Cheers!

It didn’t happen today; I packed my bag last night and got all ready to head out to the venue this morning, but twas’ not to be. I had a decent day yesterday, felt like I was getting stronger. I was nervous and anxious about racing today. I woke up again feeling like crap, not like bad enough to stay in bed, but just crappy. It seems that I start to feel better for a day or so, then I go backwards. I’m not alone, I’ve spoke to lots of people who share my symptoms including some fellow racers. My pal Bill would also not race today. Something is going around.

I felt concerned enough to go to the doctor last week and have some bloodwork done, I learned nothing. Nothing that could explain my total lack of energy and overall fatigue. I just feel lousy.

I decided that I’d error on the side of caution and not race, knowing I have a guy on vacation next week and a demanding work schedule. I also have 4 days in Bend planned over Thanksgiving weekend and I can’t afford to put that in jeopardy. I’m really looking forward to getting out of dodge and riding some sweet Central Oregon Singletrack. Not to mention, eat drink and be merry, I really want to put this crud behind me and enjoy a little bit of a vacation.

I felt so guilty, I love cross. But, it is what it is. I could whine and tell you how disappointed I am, that I’m demoralized after having worked so hard all year only to have the crud impede my season; but what good would that do? It is what it is, I need to get healthy. Regardless of how the rest of the season plays out, I’ve already raced more races than last year and I’ve moved up in class and had better results. So there is that, I’ve improved over last year.

Being the analytical type, I chose to go out for a light spin. I wanted to validate my decision and needed to get outside. I wanted to see how far I had fallen fitness wise. I figured I’d just go real easy and get some fresh air. After about 3 miles I was huffin’ and puffin’, drenched in sweat, and shedding layers. I had my answer, I made the right call. There was no way I was going to be able to race today. I struggled to maintain an easy pace, Hell, I’m wiped after just an easy road spin, racing would have really put me out. At least I feel confident in that I made a good call. Doesn’t however ease the pain of how damn slow I was, and how far my fitness has fallen. I doubt I could have had a decent showing in the beginners class for cryin’ out loud. I stunk, bad. I couldn’t even manage a 15 mph average. Doesn’t leave me with much optimism for a decent result this year, given my current fitness level, and the few remaining races all I can do is hope to participate. That’s life yo’, you don’t get to write the script, I just need to get healthy.

Hopefully, I’ll feel better this week and get in some good exercise, maybe I can still salvage Hillsboro. Really, I need to go out and buy something… that always makes me feel better.

I’ve been sick, again. Can’t seem to shake this bug, tomorrow is the SSCXWC08. I’m nervous. I won’t be racing the SSCXWC race cuz no way I can hang with those guys, but I will be racing my race. I haven’t really been on the bike since Astoria trying to get well. I’m gonna give’r a go tomorrow, but I’m nervous……

I damn near bought a Felt Breed today, damn near. I test rode a 51cm and loved it. I’m hankering for a SS CX. Iffin my pal Tim would have manned up and put the plastic down, I would have followed suit. Sweet bike for a stock SS, another level over the San Jose and the Singlecross IMHO. I think racin’ cross with a SS would be fun as hell. I love my Langster. Anyway, did I say that I’m nervous?

Race Report tomorrow…….

I’m nervous, hope I can manage a 45 min output and don’t stink it up too bad. I sure wish I had me sum teammates out there…….

Cheers!

Ok, so I’ve always had a real soft spot for Lobsters, I’ve lusted after them for years….. Paul really knows what he’s doing when it comes to building cross frames, and this beauty is no exception.

I had to post it! Click on it to get a larger view.

I think this pics was circa 2006, so it’s a few years old but oh! Is it pimp! lets go over the little details shall we?

1st) there’s the CUSTOM Michy Green Mud treads put on those soft as a baby’s ass Dugast Casings. Yikes, there’s some monies in those tubbies….. I’d kill for a pair!

2nd) the drive side chain stay has been crimped to accomodate the double chain guards on the single ring crankset, a subtle touch that’s really sweet. No need for a third eye here.

3rd) there’s no cable routing for a front derailleur, this baby’s single only, and the rear brake and derailleur cable stops are mounted on the side of the top tube, again sweet!

4th) Custom Scandium tubing tuned just for you…..

Is that bike hawt or what?

Wonder if Paul would build one for Devin, Marcelo, and I? You know, just for kicks……..

Cheers!

I found this one from OrVelo, and since I’ve gotten so much response about my socks…….

Those little red spots are skull and crossbones. Too bad my socks got more attention than my racing did…….. But whatever, Tonkin I’m not.

Cheers!

What a day it was today. I gave and gave and gave. I dug deep. So deep in fact that I was dizzy, light headed, nocuous, sick, and generally thought I was going to die. In fact, I was so wiped that I had to go to the car during the B/SS race and lay down. That course really beat the shit out of me. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

I kinda felt it this morning, well what I mean to say is: I didn’t feel it. My wife looked at me prior to the start and said “what’s wrong?” I looked at her and said, “I’ve no legs” meaning; they were heavy and tired and I had prerode the course and knew what was in store for me. Mostly, some very choppy meadows with no good lines and lots of speed killing holes and bumps. Hard I fought, but I could just not get anything going in those meadows. Plus, they were not only killin’ my back, but my kidneys too. My friggin kidneys hurt the rest of the day. There was a nasty climb right after the Mac’s 6 pak barriers to add to our pain.

There were positives today: no mechanicals, no flats, no crashes. I prolly had the tubbies a little too hard though, we had a lot of pavement and paved transitions, and I didn’t want to run too soft and have the tires get squirrely on me, I wanted to be able to corner on the pavement, I paid for that decision in the meadows.  That was a battle, not only with my fellow racers, or the course, but with my own head. I wanted to pack it in and was questioning why the hell I was out there. My heart won out and I kept digging, kept putting the pressure on. I didn’t realize that I wasn’t having that bad of a race; I saw the preliminaries and the video my wife shot. I thought I had stunk it up good.

We’ve this new lottery staging, and being that my last digit was 7, I had 7rows of riders in front of me, I was row 8, rows 9 and 10 behind me,  Plus the 28 guys that got called up. I had a monumental task ahead of me. I don’t know how many guys were in front of me, we had 80 something in the race so prolly 60 to 65 between me and glory. I stayed calm at the start and told myself I was gonna real some guys in and make up some ground. On that 1^st lap I was very aggressive and was fighting for lines, wrestling for position, diving to the inside of corners, I had to put the elbow out more than once, that’s racing. I think I made most of my gains on that 1^st lap as by lap 3 my kidneys and back were killin’ me.

I didn’t know who guys were, most were in costume and I was just racing guys. Had I known who they really were and how close I was to them I’d have gave even more. Some guys I know by face, some by number, some I have talked to a bit. I was in a group of guys who normally finish in the top ten. Ken Pace, who finished 8^th yesterday finished right in front me. Had I had another 100 yards I might have caught him. Ken Pace is a far faster rider than I am. Course Ken raced yesterday; maybe he was having a bad day. Hinkley was a few riders in front of me as well; I’m getting closer to Jim and one of these days…….

Preliminary results had me finishing in 43^rd, not bad given where I started. It’s no top 20, but that will be a tall order for me to fill this year given the lottery and how many guys are in front of me. I wish Devin had raced today: it would have been nice to have a teammate out there.

Not sure what my goals are for the remainder of this season? I’ve not enough ponies to make up the deficit the lottery presents me. I need a top 18 to get points and with no points, the lottery and bad starting position.  I’m in a lose/lose position. So, having said that; I’ll continue to chase the guys who are  in front of me, use them as a carrot, and continue to get race experience and savy. This was our last dry race, next weekend Barton will be rainy and challenging. Who know’s? maybe lady luck will role my way, stranger things have happened……… I’m a good bike handler, sloppy conditions don’t hinder me, they help me. Maybe the mud will present me with some options that haven’t existed so far this season.

The Course:

The start shute took us through a right hander that lead down our only descent. This was where I would real in my group after getting dropped each lap. I can bomb with the best of them yo’. Anyway 1st super choppy meadow ensues, a right hander followed by a few lefts and then a very short steep climb ensues. Gravel road heading into two barriers and onto the highway. Paved uphill road race that turned into a very steep short climb, the field got busted up on this one. We went up a paved section around a tree and headed back down towards the road again, swung left and came around to the finish line. Then more pavement and a right hander into an arena with a dirt floor. Out of the arena and into meadow, choppy suck meadow. This section took us through a little ramp and what I called the gauntlet, lots of fans screaming and watching us jump the ramp. The course curved around a building and took us down a short off camber section that started the climb up to the Mac’s 6 pak. This was a tough section as the approach to the barriers was uphill, followed by the barriers, and then more choppy suck meadow that rose steeply into a big climb. It was hard to remount with any momentum going into the climb. This blew the field. We then descended through teeth rattling meadow and went into some animal stalls, we zig zagged through several of them before heading back into the dirt floor arena, which took us out to the area we started from.

I’m sure there were racers who liked this course, I wasn’t one of them. I’m not however going to beat myself up over my placing. Lots of guys struggled today and I hung with a group of riders much faster than me. Given where I was staged it could have been much worse.

At least I didn’t have this guys day: Doh!

The steep short climb right after the highway.

coming around the barn…

another barn….

Top of the suck meadow…

Coming down….

The gauntlet…

Cheers!

How does a Father of a 9 year old girl spend his Friday night before a big race on Sunday? If it’s before Halloween, carving pumpkins of course.

1st, there’s the important decision of which tasty Seasonal Stout I’m going to savor? Last night it was one of these……..

Mama, that’s sum tasty elixir there……

On to bizness, the 4 of us gather round the table with 4 big pumpkins, carving tools and our imaginations. I kinda like carving pumpkins, but my design usually is too intricate to really see well when its lit up. I wanted to do a cross theme, and my artsy fartsy side just wasn’t cooperating.  I ended up with this…..

I tried to do a “Fango” tread on the side but it just was too small to really have the light shine through, so whatever, I tried.

A good time was had by all and my front porch looks great. Not scary really, but great all the same.

Cheers!

Results are up and it would appear that the preliminary results were accurate (at least in my case) 48^th out of 126 riders. 38 percentile.

I did however make up some ground and I beat a few guys who got called up to the top 28 at the start. One guy sticks out in my mind: an Organic Athlete rider that fought me like a true warrior the whole race. Respect to you dude.

He started in the 2^nd row, and I in the 4^th. I’ve read other blogs (including Devin’s) and the memory retention is amazing. Hell I can’t recall a race like that. Most of the race is a blur for me, a few things stand out, but most of it is intense focus and survival mode. Anyway, I watched the film and this rider really battled with me and we see sawed back and forth the whole race, finally on the last lap I took him at the top of the climb and absolutely blurred my vision on the descent. I didn’t see him again, I think he finished 52^nd.

So, I did have a positive today. I battled a faster, younger rider, and I beat him fair and square with a 2 row disadvantage. I believe I beat a few other guys who got called up also after reviewing the film. Unfortunately, about 12 guys who started behind me, beat me. So there’s that. L

I had me a good race, and I HURT today more than I ever have after a cross race. We really had some climbs yesterday and the legs are sore as hell!

Damn I love Cross……..

Cheers!