Iceman Bonketh

Iceman has cometh and gone. Longer writeup when I get photos.

After dealing with some pretty pitiful traffic, which was a surprise as I was supposed to go with the fastest times from last year. I moved up to where I wanted to be with about 14 of the 29 miles down.

Time to sit in for a second and refuel... I grab my waterbottle and it's frozen solid. Water handup coming too, oh sweet, my frozen hands drop 2 handups.

I blew up spectacularly. Seeing stars for pretty much the last half of the race and barely limping back in.

1:51 for 4th place in 19-24.

Longer write-up on the horizon.

Louisville USGP

Holy late blog entry.

Louisville came and went. Disappointed with my results, but can't win them all. I had an awesome time hanging out with my dudes and that's what it's all about yo.

The course was super fun. A wild sandpit, sketchy wood sections, a few short super steep climbs. The logistics for the race definitely needed improvement. The thing that pissed me off the most was the fact that they cut our (2/3 and SS) race short because they were running late. Way to cut the biggest field of the day's race short.

I got a reasonably good start. Super duper Clif Bar wunderkind attacked a bunch, I felt good and was able to keep him in site for maybe 2 laps. Then I bit it in the sandpit. Shit.

After scrambling back on, I was riding with a dude for 4th. The top 3 were just too far out of reach.

I got outsprinted at the line by a junior, again, which is pretty much the story of my season. 5th place. I'll take it.

Sunday was a bit more fun, course-wise. They added some distance, got rid of a run up, and this lead to more fun racing.

I wanted to stay out of the wind for the first few laps, so I took the start a little easier. Bad idea. Clif Bar dude took off, and I wasn't in position to chase. No one wanted to go either, as there were still a few dude that start well and then blow up later on leading the way, so they were pretty much at their limits.

I worked my way up to 3rd, and then what do you know, a buried tree stump in some moon dust dirt. I hit it super fast and was scared that I flatted. About 2 turns later I bit it super hard going into a turn very quickly. Flat front tire rolled over.

Trashed Dugast Rhino. Ouch.

After riding half a lap on my flat front to the pit, I was able to get my pit bike. Shit! i forgot to air up my tires before the race. I probably had 15 psi front and rear. I slowly picked myself some places back up for the rest of the race and ended up in 24th I think. Oh well.

As said before, I never want to race cross in 80+ degree weather again.

Creek-less Cross

Thanks to Kevin and all the fine gents at Chagrin River Cycling for putting on a well run race.

The course was very much different. Not saying that in a bad way by any means. There was supposed to be a deadly climb / run-up and then an equally deadly descent, but I think too many people were scared and / or bitch and moaned until it was changed.

Instead we had a super technical course full of a million twists and turns. Some greasy double track and a little gravel added a bit of power areas to the course. It was unusual, but I think that's what made it very very fun.

I finally got a skinsuit, so I'm an official cyclocross dude now. I had to prove myself and show that my gut was really just belly breathing.

The lemans start was sano. Elbows were flying people tripping over each other, the whole nine yards. Some dude in town from California asked: "You guys don't start every race this way... do you...?" Welcome to Ohio dude. Jungle cross.

I didn't get a half bad start, which is nuts as I've ran about ten feet total my entire life.

Weeks got off the front, and I played the doting teammate trying to hold the man, the myth, the legend, Paul Martin off as long as I could. I was actually surprised. I was able to duke it out with Paul for probably 6 or so of the 11 laps (a wild guess to make me sound cool and because I was too gassed to see lap cards.)



After he decided he was done playing around, Paul ripped my legs off and moved up to Matt. Time for me to bridge back up.

I worked my ass off getting back up and had the gap down to maybe five seconds when I forgot every bit of techincal ability I had and washed out on a fucking acorn or something. Damnit.

It was going to be tough to move back up and I had Ernie fresh of a 24 hour race and a cross race the day before, on my tail.

Made good progress to move back up, and fell on like the easiest part of the day. A 2 mph little tight chicane thing. I think was just so gassed that my center of balance got goofy and I just fell. So dumb.

I got back up from that pretty easily and luckily was able to fight Ernie off for third place.

Third behind Paul and Weeks is first in my book. I'll take it.

UCI3 craziness

Long overdue for a write up on this. The Cincy UCI3 weekend has came and went. Big weekend for me, and it worked out pretty well.

Ok.

Friday

After last year's muddy shitshow, the conditions and course on Friday were a large change of pace. The course was extremely hilly, very bumpy, and full of twists and turns. A drivers course with very few areas to really recover.

Due to my ninja computer skills I was able to procure a front row start. I was going to use this to my advantage and blow the race apart as soon as possible.

Ray Smith took the holeshot with me planted on his wheel. I bid my time and made a pass when the course allowed. Now time to attack!

Attack I did; I ended up opening up perhaps a 30 second gap and was feeling good, aside from the oppressive heat.

Life was fine and dandy until 29er crew rider Travis Mullen made it up to me. He seemed in better shape than me, and pretty much towed me around the course. To say he was smooth was an understatement, he would flow through the turns as I washed out and rode my brakes. For the last few laps I held on for deal life as he gapped me out of the turns and I had to really work to get back on. With two to go, it finally became enough. Travis got away. I was all by my lonesome



On the bell lap, I thought I might be able to close the gap on him, but a lapped rider miss interpreted my RIDER BACK for FALL IN FRONT OF ME. So that pretty much ended the chase. Travis got me by 20 seconds. 2nd place. Thanks bro.

Nonetheless pumped on my result and I didn't die of heat stroke, so life is good.

Saturday

Java Johnny's was awesome last year, and the course was pretty much the same this year. The exception being the double sandpit was replaced by two tight 180s through the sand.

The race started the same as Friday. Ray leading it out and me blowing the race apart as soon as possible. After everyone settled in, myself, Jason and two Red Zone juniors got away.

The race then began to be a battle of attrition. The redzone juniors ganged up on us and would attack and then counter relentlessly. Whenever Jason or I would get away, they'd bring us back. It wasn't looking good, so I wanted to sit on the front and control the pace. I got to show my cyclocross skillz by dismounting on the driveside and taking the quick way around the sand every time and that helped to tire people out and buy me a little gap.

So after lap after lap of being attacked into the ground, one of the attacks shook Jason, so it was the two Red Zone dudes and I. I was liking my chances as they were both seeming super tired and I was opening up a reasonable gap out of turns.

On the two little humps before the paved second, dude number 2, who sat in most of the time attacked. It caught be by enough surprise. I laid it all on the line to close the 2ish bike length gap he had on me before we got to the pavement, but I couldn't.

So sprint time it was. I was able to get about a bike length away, but it wasn't in the cards. Outsprinted by a 16-year old. Haha at me.

Sunday

I was out for blood on Sunday. The course was way wide open and sort of a power rider's course. Not my style, but no biggie.

What do you know, the 16-year-old dude proved he wasn't a fluke and ripped everyone's legs off.

But before that, I once more tried to blow the race apart. I hauled through the start finish and through the sandpit and got a group of 5 off he front with me eventually.

It was all about staying smooth and not crashing and conserving energy on many of the wide open areas through the course. It was 90ish degrees and I was dying.

Everything was going fine and dandy until youngman attacked right before the sandpit. I wasn't in the best position and foolishly instead of chasing, I figured we'd reel him back in. Nope.

Jason, Travis and I were together with someone maybe 10 seconds behind. It was way too hot and I was way too tired to make anything happen, so I hung on to Jason and Travis for dear life.

I finally started getting into my groove and enjoying the course a bit more. I planned on sitting in until the uphill finishing straight and making my move there after getting nice and rested up.

The course had other plans as I ate a tremendous amount of shit on the swooping left before the descent / right hand turn of death.

See ya later second and third place. Hello fighting life and limb for fourth.

I was able to recover quickly enough and rolled across the line comfortably enough in fourth, close enough to second and third to watch Jason take the sprint finish from Travis. Atta boy.

I never want to race cyclocross in the heat again.



The end.

Kings CX weekend

THE GARTMAC© and I motored down to just outside of Cincy early Saturday morning to race the 2 day weekend put on by 7 Hills cycling.

The venue was pretty sweet, it was an old golf course that was taken over for cyclocross and cross country. We should do that in the Cleveland area...



Saturday's racing was pretty straight forward. The course was pretty much the least technical thing ever. A few fast 180s and a few off camber sections, but besides that, a grass crit, which isn't my strength.

I got a good start, and was with a lead group of maybe 4 dudes for 3 or so laps. It got to the point that they'd put in these gigantic accelerations out of the corners, and I eventually couldn't match them. So off the lead group I went.

It was pretty much a time trial from then. I had to hold off Kenda's Ryan Gamm behind me, and was thinking about making a move up to a Bob's Red Mill dude in front of me, but that would have required a huge effort, and with the big race being Sunday, I wanted to have a little in the tank.

I rolled through in 8th place in the elites. Not bad.

Sunday was the course reversed. Still fast and dusty. The only hard part was the sand from the first day was now uphill. Ouch.

The race played out the same exact way as it did on Saturday. Good start, hung with the fast guys for 3-4 laps, and then had to chase. As you can see in the video, I was in no-mans land.


Same deal as the previously day on the finishing end too. I was able to hold off Gamm, but this time I took the dig to try to catch the guy in front of me. I wasn't able to do it, but such is life.

8th in elites again.

NEOCX race at Kent State Stark this weekend, along with OMBC at West Branch.

Cincy UCI3 is on the horizon, and I'm very excited.

Wendy Park sweatfest

The photo pretty much describes my feelings on the day... hurt and sweaty

Spin organized the second race of the NEO CX series. It was actually pretty similar to Lake Effect's setup last year, with the addition of a nice long beach section, which was rough, and some additional twists and turns.

So on to the racing: I have had a mental block this year with getting myself clipped in and getting a good start. This race was no exception. I completely blew it at the start and had a ton of difficulty clipping in, so I was probably 6th wheel or so through the first few turns.

Luckily I was able to move up by the barriers and myself, Matt Weeks and Steve Twining got a little bit of a gap. I'm not quite as super stud as they are, so I was able to hold on for a lap and a half, then had to fall back, being passed by Paul Martin and Jason Halloran. Ernie and I rode together for a few laps, and reeled Jason in. The course was pretty much a madhouse. There were people walking through it with their heads down to go fishing, stakes and tape were falling over, people were faceplanting, and pretty much everyone was getting flats.

After Ernie and I got up to Jason, Ernie was able to get away letting Jason and I duke it out for the last 3ish laps. He was riding very strong, so I new I was in for a hard fought battle. When push came to shove, he had the legs that day and I didn't. He attacked me at the end of the pier right before 1 to go, and when I went to counter, I just couldn't get back on, no matter how hard I tried. So, defeated, I was able to keep the rubber side down and roll through in 6th place. Not as nice as the Manitoc results, but the season is young.

Big Valley Day 1: CX Race

First and foremost, thanks to 331 racing for putting on another awesome year at Manitoc, and thanks to Team Lake Effect and all of our gracious volunteers for putting on a well-ran cross race.

After much anticipation, cross season was upon us. I had spent a day earlier in the week laying out the course, so I knew what to expect: some twisty, rooted singletrack, and some nice wide open grass. A U-Turn sand pit mixed stuff up a little bit. It was a tough course: if you let your guard down for a second you'd pinch flat, or do as I did, wipe out on gravel.



I lined up next to Team Jamis mountain biker Blake Harlan whose bags were lost in transit and was rocking some stylish baggies and a polo.

The gun went off, Blake got the holeshot, and I was right on his wheel. We twisted and turned a little until we got to the first bit of singletrack. It was then and there that Steve Twining made his move, and that was pretty much the last I saw of him all day.

Steve was in the lead, Blake second, and me third. The rooted section was very adventageous for a mountain bike, so I hoped that I could keep them in sight, then make up some time on the grass sections. Matt Weeks was bridging up to me, and when he got there, it was time to do some work together.

That would have been fine and well, until he pinch flatted at the very top of the singletrack section. Time to go it alone. I proceeded to bury myself to catch Blake, and during lap 3, I was able to. Sweeet.



What wasn't sweet was about 10 seconds after passing him, I got a grape vine type twig wrapped up in my cassette, and had to stop to take it out. All that hard work for nothing :-(

I then continued to try to play catch up, burying myself to catch Blake again, and keep Cameron Jackson, who was behind me at a comfortable gap. The laps pretty much went the same. Try to lose as little time as possible in the single track, and then make it up on the grass. Twining was kicking ass, so was Blake, so I figured I'd hold on for third.

Must have been my lucky day, as Blake cracked in probably the most huge way that anyone has ever cracked. I felt bad for him when we caught up after the race. He said he was hurting. So there you have it. I was able to pass him with maybe 2 to go, and opened up a more comfortable gap on Cameron. Aside from eating shit super hard in the gravel, the rest of the race went off without a hitch.

Twining rolled through in first, me in second, Cameron third, Weeks fourth (after being in dead last because of his flat).

Good job to everyone who raced, Lake Effect had a strong showing, with 4 guys in the top 10 of the A's, Julie kicking butt in the women's B's and A's, and a good chunk of B racers killing it.