Since NE Championships and Looking Ahead...

Since I last blew myself up at the New England Cyclocross Championships in late December, I took some time off to get my legs back under me and recover from 51 races over 9ish months. Now late January, I have begun building base miles for upcoming 2012 season. There are a lot of projects and plans in the works this year.

With no collegiate season ahead, I have turned my focus to a few early races after a pre season venture to South Carolina for training.  In addition, I have teamed up with Bobby Bailey of 1K2GO Sports to build speed and gain my place on top step of the podium.

January thus far has been building as many base miles per week as unreasonably possible.  In other words, hours and hours on the bike.  Additionally to time spent on the two wheeled battled axe, I have managed to squeeze in some time skiing slalom at Cochrans for two evenings during each week.  The quick and twitchy movements from skiing slalom have managed to make their way in to my cycling.  Cadence has increased with proportional power increase.  Each slalom has had huge benefits to what will be climbing and sprinting muscles.  Come time for racing, I can only hope to hold on to, and build on the new found quick twitching muscles.

Looking ahead to the season, I have my eye on the podium for as many races as I can enter.  A large goal, and a tough one to meet.  Building off of last season, up seems like the right way to go.

On equipment; I have a new battle axe for... well, racing, riding and anything else you'd do with a bike.  Based off some awesome new designs, Flahute has released a brand new more aerodynamic sprinters bike.  Tubing shape has also changed, in addition to a new cut out which allows the stem to sit lower and shrink the effective steerer tube, creating a stiffer cockpit which reacts to all movements that make up that minuscule amount at the line.  Full specs on the new bike to be released in late February after on road testing has been completed.

New England Cyclocross Championships - Fitchburg, MA

Remounting and riding away after the barriers for now.

The latest and last race of my 2011 season was this past Sunday.  While many teammates traveled home for winter break, two UVMers made their way to compete at the New England Cyclocross Championships in Fitchburg, MA on a rather cold Sunday afternoon.

With temperatures not rising above 28 degrees, the course remained frozen for all but 2 or 3 laps of the Elite Men's race.  The track was long and flat, twisting and turning over athletic fields and around trees.  Two sets of barriers, a sandpit, and a flyover were laid into the track to test the best of the best.  Being so far into the season, I only made it through 2 1/2 laps before full system shut down and resulting in the first DNF of the Cyclocross season.

Aaaand BONK.

That said, leading up to the full system shut down, I cannot say things felt great.  In warm up, I was able to rip through on my bike, everything was comfortable and I felt powerful from the weeks preparation of both running and riding.  By the time the race came about later in the afternoon, I had lost the sensation of speed and comfort lingered back to the warmth of the van which I would estimate remained at about 50 degrees throughout the day.  A warm refuge after a massive debacle of a race.

Arc hard...

Closing out the season with a DNF is not my idea of finishing on a high note.  However, I think it is myself telling me (confused? good.) that it is time to take a break and let things recover before building for speed in the 2012 spring, summer and fall seasons.  I will be taking the next few weeks (until January 1, 2012) to rest and just futz about with whatever Tubular Adventures come my way.  Rest assured, skiing will most definitely be a good portion of said Tubular Adventures.

Until 2012,  Arc hard, ride fast and go plaid! 

NBX GP of Cyclocross

Working the field from the back... it'll go better next time.

After taking a weekend off, UVM cycling ventured with four competitors to Warwick, RI to compete at the NBX GP race weekend.  Not wanting to get up early, and also having come off of two previous top 10 results, I decided to upgrade with the hops that sleeping in would counteract the unfortunate starting position of DFL.
Both days had fast courses, with only slight modifications from day to day.  Day 1 had a sand run ending on a hill, as well as a ride-up and a set of quick barriers near the Shimano PRO Pit and core center of the course.  Day 2 was only slightly modified, leaving in the first sand run, adding in a second sand run into a dune hill run-up as well as having moved the barriers onto an uphill run just before the core of the race.

Flying through some fast trails towards the beach runs.

Having just upgraded, I was started at the back since I have no points.  Unfortunately, I was only able to move upa few places from there.  I found the 3s to be so evenly matched that starts were everything within that field.  Since I have a terrible start, it was difficult to move up and make up time on the leaders. The only time I felt like I was able to ove up was on the dune run-up on Day 2, which allowed me to scurry up the hill and pass multiple people before remounting and descending back into the starting area.

Making this additionally difficult was the use of improper gearing.  I have since swapped my crankset for a cyclocross specific gearing by attaching a 46/39 to Dura Ace 7800 172.5mm crankarms.  From riding this past week, the gearing feels much better and is moe manageable to for riding trails and varied terrain as opposed to the compact 50/34 of previous rides and races.

I'll be taking this next weekend off from racing to ride and finish up classes for the semester.  Stay tuned for some training adventures and racing updates.  Up next on the calendar is New England Championships in Fitchburg, MA.

Arc hard, ride fast, go plaid!

Northeast Velo Cross

With Thanksgiving break on approach, UVM cycling took the weekend off from traveling, leaving race plans up to individual riders.  I traveled down with Bobby, from IK2GO Sports, to Londonderry, NH to compete at the Northeast Velo Cross.

Keeping an eye of the riders ahead, the velodrome was
a great place to mount an attack and make up ground.

The race was early.  Almost too early to wake up on time.  With the help of coffee, bacon, and eggs, I yanked myself from bed and venture down I89 to the race.  Upon arriving, little of the course was visible from parking.  Our first impression was that the race would take you around the Northeast Velodrome, and drop you in the center.  Once we kitted up, we were able to view the rest of the course.  From the Velodrome, the race went into the center field, where two sets of barriers and a water hazard were placed in the way of the riders.

Deep breath, now run.

After clearing the second set of barriers, riders ventured over the wall of the velodrome and into the woods where the course began a striking resemblance to mountain biking.  Roots and mud made up a good section of the course.  Taking riders of bridges and into a quick run-up coming from an off camber right handed turn.  Here, riders were able to power past each other.  With a quick remount, the run-up followed by a gradual descent turned into a strategic place to mount an attack and eat through riders like the fat kid in all of us does in the vicinity of cheesecake.

Whoop.  Whoop.  WHOOP!

Immediately after the woods, riders were tossed into the whoopdy-doos of the Northeast BMX park.  At race speed, it was harder to keep the bike grounded.  It was very important to keep contact with the ground, or establish a rhythm to keep balance before heading back into the velodrome for the end of the lap.

I managed to secure 10th in the race.  After not being able to shift into the big ring, I lost contact with places 9, 8, 7 and 6 ahead of me and was forced to sprint in the little ring to hold on to the 10th place spot.  This coming weekend, I am planning to take off and enjoy a few training rides.  Next on the calendar is Ice Weasels Cometh with UVM Cycling.  There are only a few weeks left in the CX season, and just a few more months until the beginning of Collegiate Road.  With only a little time in between the two season, there will be a brief rest period, and then onto building base onto what is already being built during cross.
Arc hard, ride fast, go plaid! and a Happy Thanksgiving!

Paridise Cyclocross Frenzy

UVM's Wrecking Crew taking 5 out of the top 10 places.

UVM Cycling took a handful of riders down to Windsor to compete at the Paradise Cyclocross Frenzy, a fitting name for the dizzying course.  Riders started the race just outside the doors of the Harpoon Brewery.  In the Men's Category 4 race, 6 riders took to the field, managing to claim 5 out of the top 10 and further glory hogging of the 1st, 2nd, and 4th places respectively by Jake in 1st, Myself in 2nd, and Greg in 4th by no more than a wheels length.  1-2-3 Will have to wait....

Exiting the corkscrew heading back
towards the road and to the run-up.

The race was fast, starting off in a large group and entering some quick traversing through a shallow and dry gully where riders could let there wheels rip through every turn.  If you were using your breaks, you were doing it wrong.  Coming out of the gully, riders entered the corkscrew which can easily be described by the first lap  Paradise Frenzy quotes of the day:  

"I feel drunk...."

"When does it end?"
"I think we just stop in the middle...."
"Why am I going to other way?"
"Is this what drugs are like?"
All followed by the musical stylings of UVM: Circus music in E minor.
Out of the cork screw, riders went through more power riding, where the turns led to long straight aways and your ability to pick the right line through the corner could determine how far ahead of your drafting mate you were able to pull ahead.

The vicious run-up which ejected
riders back towards the brewery.

From here, riders approached the run-up which later in the day could be ridden, but because of loose dirt, had to be run during the earlier races such as the Category 4.  At this point it was important to remount as quickly as possible on the offer camber peak, and clip in to your pedals as to not be bucked off during the quick descent back towards the brewery and the finishing turns.

Just a little wide on the 180 degree turns.

Once back at the brewery, the course made a series of 180 degree turns into long straight aways.  Eventually, the race went through what we liked to call, the moon-landing.  In actuality, the moon-landing, was a corner of the construction site which was grey with ground up rocks.  At this point, there was no quick way to go through moon-landing because of the loose rock surface.  It is entirely possible that it would have been quicker to dismount and run through since right after the moon-landing were the barriers before a short hill and thus completing a full lap.

Around 2 or 3 laps into the race, with Jake from UVM in the lead, I leapt from the pack, forming a break of about 6 riders.  Slowly, the break thinned out and became a string of individual riders.  Sitting in 6th, I managed to jump into 4th after the run-up.  With Jake in my sights, I made a leap to try to bridge from the 4th place position.  Only managing to over take the two riders between me and Jake on the run-up, I got myself to within 10 seconds of Jake before my chain dropped off after the barriers.

2nd place, tongue and all.

I was able to get my chain back on just in time to drop into 4th and tag on to the same two riders I had over taken a few laps earlier.  With 1st out of contention, the race was for 2nd.  From there I was able to again, leap past the two riders on the run-up and hold my lead in 2nd place for the remainder of the race.

Arc hard, ride fast, go plaid!

Cyclesmart International Cyclocross Festival

A cold and early start makes more time for free beer....

This past weekend, UVM cycling ventured to Northampton, MA to compete at what is considered to be one of the best cyclocross races on the Eastern Seaboard.  My morning started off waking up early, downing some delicious homemade pancakes and dashing down I89 and I91 to get to Look Memorial Park in time to get to the start of the Category 4 race.  With frost still on the ground, mud and water frozen into patches, I inspected the technical and diverse course.  The race started with a sort grass section of a baseball diamond and lead racers on to a short paved section and then into the outer field towards a ridiculous run-up into the upper section of the course, which in itself, could be considered a whole separate course from what ran through the baseball fields.

The loose run-up strung out
the pack from the start.

The run-up could practically be considered a loose dirt cliff.  With the start of the race, over 130 riders were left waiting in line to sprint up the loose dirt run-up.  Starting about 8 rows back, put me about a minute back from the leaders  and further back because of the first run-up.  After the run up, racers dove through the woods, over roots and back down the hill into the field where racers dove across a sandpit, circled the trees and rode back up into the woods where there were brief moments spent on the bike path.  From the path, riders dove back into the woods where hairpins and roots could make or break a riders race.  After descending back down into the field, were launched over train tracks, into a few more turns before having to dismount and leap with a single bound over a single set of double barriers.

With temperatures rising, racers had to stay on their toes, as no lap would be the same as the last.  Burms were forming and thawing out, water created slick spots in the upper undrained forest and the baseball diamonds turned from frozen dirt, to loose mud.  Keeping the rubber side down, I managed a 47th place finish after Day 1.

Above is the speedy entrance to the pit.  Below is the tricky
180 degree turn around back through.  Like sliding on a 
wooden floor in socks.

Day 2 gave riders similar challenges, but in different orders.  This time, the race started out circling the baseball diamond, and launching riders out onto the pavement for a brief moment before arching into the hairpins before the double sandpit.
At this point, you may be wondering, what is a double sandpit?  I would describe it as an area of sand which you enter straight and come out onto a short patch of grass, which you then are forced to make a 180 and enter back into the sand.  Thus, becoming a double sandpit.
From the sandpit, racers circled giant pine trees, launched over the train tracks and were thrown into a quick 180 turn before the run-up, which the day before had been a descent onto the field.  After climbing the run-up, riders arched through the woods, in and out of the trees and then quickly dropped back down into the field where the train tracks could be used as a berm to make the turn as quick as possible before launching over the train tracks yet again.  From there, the race remained on the baseball fields.  Curving around bases 3, 2 and 1 but never touching home.

Thawing conditions kept riders on their toes.

With two laps to go, and the course thawing, I couldn't tell if I was loosing air, or the ground was just getting softer.  Eventually figuring out that it was a mixture of both, I dropped the hammer to get to the finish before it was too late.  Without pitting, I was able to finish the race on about 15 psi.  The worst part of it was probably the final three corners which took riders through the baseball diamond and on to the pavement where I was caught and force to sprint on the flat, which was no fun task.

Loosening conditions and a slow leak
made the last three corners
the most difficult.

All in all, the result was  a good one.  Out of 137 riders, I managed to post a 39th place finish, which translated to a 4th place finish among the Men's Collegiate C.

On top of some excellent racing, there was lots of fun to be found from watching the pros race.  Particularly watching Katarina Nash, the Czech national champion solo off the front of the women's field with what seemed like almost zero effort.  Within a single lap we watched Nash put a good 30 to 40 seconds into the rest of the field.  A demonstration of utter domination and raw power.

Arc hard, ride fast, go plaid!

Training Week...

  While I wasn't able to race, I was still able to ride a ton.  These are just the highlights.

Dusk training at the Whale's Tails.  Class is overrated anyways... right?

The past week was full of training of the suffering variety with UVM and 1K2GO.  The middle of the week took us to the Whales Tails in Shelburne, an iconic image of Vermont.  There, we built our own barriers out of PVC pipe and managed our own course to work on CX skills like sprinting from a still start, cornering, dismounts, remounts and eating mud.

Runups at dusk.
Not late for class yet...

As a reward for our suffering, we got extra muddy practicing our runups at the Whale's Tails themselves.  Click on the map to zoom in and see the "course."  It's the bottom right corner of the GPS map.  Before moving along to the remainder of the week, I'd like to thank Bobby Bailey for trying to make me late to class, and Jake Warshaw for helping me TT back to campus from the Whale's Tails in 10 minutes.

With snow looming over the weekend, race directors made the choice to cancel the Wicked Spooky Cyclocross Race to be held in Bennington, VT.  Of course, in Burlington, we got no snow and had sunny skys throughout the day.  The boys of UVM cycling ventured out to Catamount Family Center where we attempted to suffer and ride through the pain cave, straight on to the glory hole.

A fine looking crew of UVM CX'ers.  What's Ben looking at?

This was not an easy task, especially since three of the six riders are elite cyclocrossers, and the rest of us are well... out for a Sunday ride.  Nonetheless, we managed to verbally abuse each other just enough to motivate one another to spend a good portion of Sunday afternoon suffering.

Ghost ride the bike. "Alex, catch!  It's carbon"

More specific to the suffering, we spent a good amount of time working on barriers and riding a steep runup in the middle of the woods.  This involved riding over two logs on a decent incline.  In addition to the runnup riding, we practiced bunny hopping barriers.  Let's leave it at, I have no ups, just flips.

Overall, a great week of riding.

Arc hard, ride fast, go plaid!

SPA:CX

UVM Cycling CX Squad storms Saratoga Springs with 1st, 3rd and 5th
in the Men's B/Category 3/4 Race

UVM Cycling ventured to Saratoga Springs for the SPA:CX race weekend, the first official ECCC Collegiate Cyclocross race of the season.  All of us entered into the Men's B Race, which was mixed in with the Men's Category 3/4.  To put this into perspective, I am a Category 4 Cyclocross racer having only started this season and completed 5 CX races.  A Category 3 racer has successfully scored points in multiple category 4 races and is considered to be an Amateur Elite.  The mixture of Category 3 and 4 in a single field makes for, and during the race, made for a difficult time.

There are no breaks in CX.  Always
moving, never resting.

  The pace started off hot.  With about 70 racers sprinting towards turn one, we began the gentle grass cut grind until the first set of stairs before a long hill, which had to be run UNLESS you were skilled enough to ride up the stairs which would have then set you up for the hill.  However, I noticed that the riders who were hopping the stairs were not getting much of, if any sort of an advantage from doing so.  Other than of course a moment of fame and glory from on watchers.  My personal choice was to dismount and run the hill.
  For the rest of the race I felt like I was grinding uphill.  With switchbacks and hairpins to control the pace, the pack strung out from the first lap.  Any effort to chase towards the front was futile and wasted.  From the small stairs and the run up, we descended and eventually took a long sweeping turn before the gentle ride before the long sandpit.  Luckily, the sandpit packed down throughout the race, making it very manageable.  Just like ski racing, looking ahead, ignoring the ruts and keeping the pressure forward allowed me to tank through the sand at a high speed.

Mud, mud, mud, mud, mud.

After passing through the sand, we reached a brief section of mud before some barriers near the end of the lap.  The barriers came after a quick 180 degree turn following the mud.  Explosive power was quickly smothered by the dismount for the barriers.  Once through the barriers, you were almost home clear to the finish.  All that lay between the barriers and the end of the lap were some hairpins and 180s through the trees and up some small steep banks.
  Finishing 42nd, I know I have a ways to progress.  Finding the time to ride this time of year has been tricky for me.  With school and work I am pressed to ride at night with the brightest headlamps I can dig up.  It's a huge motivation to see teammates do well.  This weekend, in the same race, we placed 3 riders in the top 5, taking 1st, 3rd and 5th.

Super Stealthy Ninja Training

Under the glow of Burlington's street lamps, in the dead of night...

I got the call to meet in a secret cyclocross training location in the middle of Burlington.  Asking no questions I threw on my trusty mix-matched kit and sped at high cadence to the scene.  Bobby Bailey, coach and founder of 1K2GO was waiting to lead me through some choice CX drills to improve both strength and skill.

As to not reveal any trade secret of the man himself (Bobby... not me), the night ended with some simple mounting and dismounting drills to help with the fluidity and comfort of getting on and off the bike and high speeds.  It is important to remember when dismounting to have a stabilizing hand on the top tube before your final foot touches the ground.  That way if the bike hits something after the dismount, you then have the ability to keep control of the bike.  It also decreases the chances of the chain bouncing off the rings and dropping.

Visit 1K2GO for more information on Bobby Bailey and his methods.

Monday Night Cyclocross Clinic & Wednesday Night Catamount 'Cross

Right to left: Bobby Bailey(1K2GO), Amy Miner(1K2GO), Josh Saxe(ORR)

Start together, suffer together
celebrate together.

Monday:  Bobby Bailey of 1K2GO lead riders in a brutal cyclocross clinic at Catamount Family Center with special help from Issac Howe (who even brought a hammer with the sole purpose of dropping it).  The specifics of said clinic are blurred together by dirt, mud and the potential of vomit.
The night began with a small minute sprint loop from a mass start.  With the sun setting, we rushed into the next set of intervals; a 5 minute interval which included barriers and stairs separated by technical switchbacks and fast descents.

Eying Ben before the sneaky sprint for the line.

The final interval was greatly an exercise in running, when we came to the "Stairway to Heaven", which was a long run up after a gradual hill and set of stairs, it was completely necessary to sprint up to the stairs and to the top...  here's the breakdown.  The interval hillclimb started riders 15 seconds apart and lead them from the grassy straight followed by a sharp right hand cranker back through the finish and into the climb.  Once into the climb, there were some brief straightaways into some simple switchbacks.  Once arriving at the stairs.  My account after the long ass stairs is as follows: with two riders in sight, I hucked my bike onto my shoulder and began the long haul to the horizon.  I pumped my legs to sprint in an attempt to catch the two riders ahead of me.  Gaining precious ground, I arrived at the top to be greeted by the other riders from the clinic.

Tailing a healing Amy Miner.  She's still wicked fast!

Wednesday Night: Cyclocross at the Catamount Family Center was an experience to be remembered.  About 30 riders approached the line.  Mountain bike and cyclocross bikes, pros and amateurs, juniors and seniors all riding within the same pack, sprinted off the line at 5:40 and began the 45 minute suffer fest on the newly extended course.  I managed to move up quickly and pass some UVM teammates along the way.  Leading the charge up many stairs and over barriers, my legs burned with the burning of 1,000 suns.  Heart pumping and lungs burning, I made my way through the course with the simple goal of survival.  As the race went on, my survival instincts began to drop and my speed increased.  Sadly, my back began to seize up and my speed significantly dropped.  I am not sure what was different from the weekend, but my best guess would be the slow uphill grinds and perpetual pumping on the spine did a number on my core.  Not wanting to give up, I managed to finish the race and even sprint strong for the line.

We're done... can I puke now?

After the race finished, a bon fire was made in the parking lot where beers were enjoyed, along with delicious sausage shaped foods.  I am not sure many other places have a community of riders who would come out on a Monday evening after work and classes to suffer like we did.  In this case, suffer is a relative and in general to be expected by cyclocross.  I am proud to have such a strong community of riders to suffer and enjoy these experiences with.

Northeastern University Wild Western Mass MTB Weekend

  The weekend was marked with dirt and water, which as we all know can make a buttton (yes, a buttton) of mud. For those who are unfamiliar with the unit if measurement, a buttton is equal to a ton of butts, which as you all know is quite a large amount. We arrived at Jiminy Peak the evening before our races to find a condo large enough to house the whole team. The tall fluffy carpets provided additional sleeping comfort as many of us slept on, under and next to tables throughout the unit. The dense night air did not particularly help with pre race rest. Even with the rain, humidity levels remained consistently moist throughout the evening and into the next morning.
   Being my first mountain bike race, I wasn't sure what I was in for (other than a god-awful early start). I warmed up as I normally would, doing a few intervals to open up my dormant legs in time for the Men's C Cross Country Race.  My first mistake of the day was underestimating the race before the race. I.E. getting to the starting line and being one of the first to cross it. I arrived with enough time to get in at about row eight or nine. Pretty far back from the start of the pack, which in road biking is not as big a deal depending on the type of race. Being a mountain bike race, starting on a fire road and diving into the woods, I found that a bottle neck situation was highly likely. As we were started by the mighty Sully, my thoughts were right. The pack bunched up and bottle necked into the first turn onto the fire road, and then again into the single track which lead past the Dual Slalom course. Because of the consistent moisture from the night before, and light rain during the race, the track was muddy and slippery, which split the pack up very quickly. The first hill we reached dismounted many and shuffled the order of racers by those willing to ride the muddy slope, run the muddy slope and finally slowly wheel their bike up the muddy slope. Because of my starting position, I was caught behind a mix of walking, running and slowly wheeling and was forced to dismount and haul ass up the hill.
  The 3.3 mile cross country race loop was a demanding one at the least. Mud covered the bridges and rocks making them like slip and slides for bikers to test their balance and finesse. Slowly, I was able to pick off riders and move up on the leaders. While I never saw them during the three laps, I know I was able to make up ground. On the final lap, my legs had finally awoken and I was remembering how to rip up the hills and across the flats. Riders nearby fell behind me as I took them victim on the hills. Going through the finish I was glad for it to be over. The technical sections and descents had left my hands cramped and glued to my handlebars. Peeling them off was a chore and a half.
  All in all, mountain bike racing is a lot of fun, but very different from road. While in road the pack sticks together and attacks are warranted by ballsiness, mountain bike racing requires ballsiness the whole way through. While I will admit, racing with a pack of 90 other twitchy riders takes balls, I believe it takes those same balls, if not a whole new set to be able to launch or huck yourself if you will, down a mountain face or through a rock garden, over a bridge, through rivers and puddles hub deep. I have a new found respect for what it is to be a mountain biker. As I am still fairly new to the art of mountain biking, much less mountain bike racing, I applaude those who are able to succeed, or even attempt to be competitive in both.  Here's to a new found game.  Mountain bike racing.
  You may be wondering about the bike which I rode.  I will soon be posting a review of it once all components are up to spec and I am able to rip on the first Flahute Carbon Mountain Bike a few more times.

Arc hard, ride fast, go plaid!