Iron Hill Challenge - 22nd place

This past Sunday I raced my second race of the season at the Iron Hill Challenge in Newark, DE. At 11am, myself and 39 other Cat 2 racers set off for two, seven mile laps of slippery single track. It had rained the night before the race. Greasy roots and rocks made for slow going through the woods and gave cause for sticking your face out over the bars going through those sloppy turns to try to get some extra traction over the front wheel. At times, the mud was so thick, that I found myself in my granny gear, rocking my body fore and aft, just to maintain the little bit of forward momentum I had.

The start was fast and loud, knobby tires rumbled over the stretch of gravel road before we bottle-necked into some grassy single track. I entered the single track around 12th position. I held on to the fast pace for as long as I could but then fell back and settled in around 20th. I wasn’t confident that I could keep the pace I set and before long I was rolling along just fast enough to keep racers from trying to pass me, though when they wanted to, I moved over to let them by. About ¾ through the first lap, I was feeling zapped. I had gone out too hard in the beginning.

At one point the course traversed a steep V shaped ravine. Straight down and straight up! Spectators gathered around this point and cheered on the racers, which was awesome and encouraging. When I got to this section, I was exhausted, but also amped-up by the cheering and so I gave it everything I had to try to make it to the top of the other side. I hopped off the bike nearly at the top and ran the last few feet of trail before hopping back on and sprinting away. At this point, I felt my guts turning over. There was definitely some big trouble in little China! Before I knew it, I was heaving and blowing chunks all over my right arm as I tried to projectile vomit the eggs and bacon I ate at the rest stop on Route 95 a couple of hours earlier. Note to self: No more rest stop breakfasts. I can still see the little yellow bits of scrambled eggs splattered atop the trail-side leaves and twigs – nasty!

Puking from exertion is nothing new to me, though it has been a few years since it’s happened. I accredit it to my lack of training and piss-poor diet.

I digress.

After a few minutes of rolling along at a snail’s pace I was feeling better and said to myself, once again, let’s just turn this race into a training ride. And so on I rode. Though, little by little I felt stronger and stronger, faster and faster, and soon, about a ¼ way through the second lap, I was feeling great. Racy even! I delighted in the fact that the super swampy sections seemed to have dried out just a skoach! I hopped up and cocked my bike to the side off of a little 10” drop-off. I manualled a little roller section and I had fully left my self-loathing, vomitous state and re-entered the joyous land of the living, the competitive; the racing! I even passed a couple of people. Wow, maybe I can place in the top 20! I carried on, turning the cranks, which turned my wheels, which turned my day into part of a fantastic weekend. Podium or not, I’m glad to be racing this season. I came in 22nd in a group of 40 racers.

Michaux Trail Cup Race Report - 28 miles

OK, so my first mountain bike race of the season was yesterday. I raced in the 25 mile version of the Michaux Trail Cup Endurance Race at Michaux State Forest in Biglerville, PA just outside of historic Gettysburg. Zach Adams, the race promoter (and a fierce rival from my cyclocross racing days) warned all of the riders that it was a “killer” course, with somewhere around 3,200 feet of climbing but that the actual mileage was only 22 miles. I wasn't too concerned because I'd recently rode 21 miles at Schaeffer Farms and climbed over 4,700 feet. I've also been putting a lot of miles in on the road bike, running here and there, and blasting around Hashawa Park on the mountain bike quite a bit. In short: I felt prepared for what Michaux was about to throw at me. In reality, I had no idea what a suffer-fest this race would turn out to be.

Breakfast was two bowls of Crispix, a cup of Joe and a pint of OJ. I was pretty sure this would be all I'd need. In hindsight I'd wished I'd eaten a pound of bacon and a dozen eggs! I rolled in to the parking lot at 9:30, my race didn't start till 11:00 so I had plenty of time to get my number plate, warm up and calm down. I was pretty nervous.


After a brief racer's meeting, the race was on. The field was a mix of men and women racing together, though categories were segregated by Mens, Womens, and Single Speed. I was running my 1X9 set up and was glad to see that I wasn't alone. Lots of people were riding with only one chainring up front. Anyway, off we go, immediately bottle-necking into twisty singletrack. It had been raining on and off all morning, so the roots and rocks were slicker than snot and my new and unfamiliar tires bounced and slipped off them unpredictably. I wasn't sure if I had too much or too little psi in them. So, here we are now, a train of us, tire to tire, ripping through some of the most difficult terrain I have ridden in years. The rocks were not smooth, they were large jagged shards of granite. Each one, no smaller than the size of a football and most were larger. I thought for sure my sidewalls were going to get sliced. And as I'm thinking about this: PSSSSSS!!!! My rear tire slams a rock and goes flat. Shit! I pull off to the side, drop my pack, rip the rear wheel out of my frame and start prying the tire off of the rim. Meanwhile, racer after racer roll by. Each one saying: You ok? Or You got everything you need? I was all set though, I had packed two spare tubes in my pack and while I was pulling the deflated tube from my wheel I had the valve of my fresh tube in my mouth blowing air into it; just enough for it to take shape before I frantically, stuffed it into the tire. In it went and after about 100 spastic pumps I had it inflated, and my wheel back on the bike.

Off I go. I'm now dead last. Don't worry, I told myself, you've got 21 miles left, it's going to be a long haul. In the next minute I managed to catch two riders and pass them. I was just starting to get into the zone when all of a sudden I pinch-flatted again and heard that dreaded PSSSSSS of air rushing out of my rear wheel again. Shiiiiit! Off to the side I go again, this time, taking my time to replace the tube. I remember working more slowly this time, making sure I put my tools back in their proper pockets in my pack and rocking my rear tire so as not to pinch-flat again. I got back on the bike and told myself; calm down. You're out of spare tubes and if you have to use your patch kit, its' going to be a slow process waiting for your tube to dry before you can inflate it, so just calm down. I had to slow down and float over the jagged rocks and even walk some really jagged sections which was difficult in and of itself. I did not want to flat again and have to quit and walk back to the start area. And so on I went, methodically, picking lines of least resistance. Flow like water, I told myself.

Finally, the trail popped out onto a fire road and there were no arrows pointing which way the course went. I had caught up to about 9 other racers and we were all looking around and guessing which way to go. I decided to climb up the road and they all followed me. It felt great to get on to solid ground and motor for a bit. When I got to the top, I looped through the start/finish area again and popped out near the first torturous loop of singletrack in which I had just flatted twice. A girl with a flag stood at the entrance to this trail and I said “Again? Do we just keep doing loops of this?” and she said “yep”... so I rode the entire 6 mile loop again. This time, when I popped out on the fire road, I saw an arrow pointing DOWN the hill. I cursed out loud. I had just gone 6 miles out of my way and now, was surely in last place, I didn't see anyone behind me, so they must have been spared looping back on ground they already covered. DAMN IT! This has never happened to me. After the race, I found out that about 6 others had also gone the wrong way, and then quit. Apparently the sign marking the way to go had fallen and then been put back up by the time I came out the second time.

For the next 4 hours I rode carefully and gave it gas whenever I could. Each smooth section of trail or road section was a blessing because Michaux is entirely littered with jagged boulders. At times it sounded like riding over piles of broken dinner plates. Every once in a while I'd see a rider up ahead and make them my goal, come on', go get that guy. I'd reel them in and then just keep chugging.

Though we were warned that there was a lot of climbing, and that the course was “killer”, I feel that those words were a gross understatement. This was the hardest race I've ever done. Each time the trail dumped me out on to a fire road, it went up hill and not just for a little while, it went up and up and up for a mile at least. I was in my granny gear more than I'd like to admit and barely spinning the cranks at that. I would see racers up the road ahead of me barely moving and it felt like a snail race. When the roads did level out, it would quickly put you into the woods again, you guessed it; going up a steep rocky incline. I passed so many people pushing their bikes or on the ground changing flat tires. All of them with a good humored exclamation when I came riding by: You ok? “Yep, just doing some classic Michaux maintenance!” Or You got everything? “Where the hell do all these rocks come from?” I passed one guy who was walking back to the start with a flat tire. I asked if he was ok and he told me “Two flats are enough; I'm done.” I didn't have the heart to tell him flatted twice in the first 2 miles and was riding on luck till the end of the course.

I continued to pass people and when this happened on fire roads, we struck up short conversations about the pain and suffering we were enjoying. Many of the people I passed were doing the 50 mile version of this race and I couldn't even imagine such a thing. Even more impressive were the 50 milers I passed riding rigid singlespeeds! Yowza.

At about mile 20, I had eaten my three Gu packs and was fizzling out. I looked down for my fourth and last Gu pack I had tucked under my shorts on my leg only to see that it had fallen out. This was a crushing blow. I had drank almost all of the 2 liters of water in my pack and was starting to hit a wall. There was supposed to be an Aid Station somewhere on the course but I hadn't seen one and every person I passed asked me if I had. I was hoping to see it around ever corner. Just when I was thinking of pushing my bike up a steep section of fire road I saw a blue tent. YES! I pedaled on and dumped the bike at this oasis of carbohydrates. There were all sorts of snacks ripped open and strewn about. I grabbed at an open package of Keebler M&M cookies and shoved them in my mouth, then grabbed one of the 2 liters of coke and glugged a few big gulps down. A hand full of Lays potato chips were next. Ahhhh, salty goodness! And then more coke. I shoved two Keebler cookies in my back pocket and took off. I instantly felt energized.

I ducked back into the woods onto some great singletrack, feeling better mentally but only a little bit better physically. I was exhausted and my coordination was suffering. My reflexes were slow and my lines were bad through the rocky sections. I had to ride smart if I wanted to avoid flatting and walking the last unknown length of the race. I had no idea how far I had left to go. My odometer read 21 miles. I knew I had more than a mile to go, but how much more?

I continued at a steady pace, passing a rider here and a rider there. I was beginning to think that I might actually be close to a top 5 finish, despite the 6 mile detour at the beginning of the race. Just then, the trail pointed down hill. Steep, and rocky downhill. I got back behind the saddle and pointed my toes to the sky, with both brakes nearly locked up. It was so steep that I was kind of steering with my rear wheel, like a rudder of a boat while large rocks and boulders tumbled down the trail next to me. My forearms and hands were so tired from squeezing the brakes, and my calves were screaming from standing in the pedals. When is this going to level out? Down, down I went, nearly pitching myself over the bars more than a few times. When the trail leveled out it was extremely rocky and I wanted to sit on my seat to rest my calves but I couldn't risk flatting again. This race is killing me! Eventually I popped out onto another fire road and was glad to be able to recover and spin the cranks for a while but I was just crawling along.

I crossed a deep river section and was greeted with a huge steep hill, up a section of power lines. Ahead I could see two riders carrying their bikes and walking very slowly up the hill. I got off and stood next to my bike, swaying back and forth. My odometer read 26 miles. I began to push my bike and thought for a moment, I can't go on. But, I've never quit a race and I didn't want to start now. Up the hill I went, like a slug on a salt lick. I reached the top and entered more rocky singletrack. It was really rough going, I could barely sustain forward momentum. It was a constant, start, stop, start, stop...

The next 2.3 miles were spent in a state of delirium. I was so close to bonking and each steep climb broke my heart. My legs were going through spasms and I felt a charlie horse coming on any second. Still I rode, even when I was going just a tad faster than walking speed. This has to end soon I kept thinking. Suddenly, I saw colors through the trees, reds, blues... I heard music and an announcer. A burst of adrenalin kicked in and I sped forward! This is it! The end! Yes! Out of the woods I popped and out across the finish line I rolled. Hallelujah! I crossed the line and dumped over on my side. I just laid there on my back, panting, motionless. What an incredibly hard race that was. After a few moments, I sat up and flipped through my cycle computer to see my stats: Mileage was 28.3 (I went 6.3 miles out of my way – due to a fallen trail marker), time was 3 hours and 58 minutes, average speed was 7.1 mph.

As I finish typing this, it is now the morning after. I'm sore and I'll spend the day recovering. I'm a bit upset about the trail marker and my extra mileage. I feel confident that I would have placed in the top five, but what can you do? I didn't want to complain to Zach, the promoter, because there really isn't anything he can do about it. It happens. It's OK. I am curious to see where I placed but the results are not posted at Bikereg yet. As painful as it was, I am proud I finished and I got one hell of a good hard day of training in. Next weekend is a much easier race at in Elkton, MD; the Bike Line Spring XC Race.

Let's do this

Tomorrow's the big day. First mountain bike race of the season for me. I'm racing at Michaux State Park up in PA in the 25 mile version of the Michaux Trail Cup. Only tonight did I realize that I've raced at this place before. I earned 5th Place at the Iron Cross Lite which was held here back in 2006 (Check out that race report and images of a younger, fitter me right here). I have to admit, though I feel fairly prepared for this race, I am nervous. I don't want to get destroyed! Hopefully my training will pay off tomorrow when all hell breaks loose. Either way, it was fun stuffing my guts with mas quantities of pasta tonight.

I spent a little while today preparing my bike for the race. I picked up some new tires because I read that this place is very rocky. My Kenda Small Block 8's wouldn't have been ideal for this course, so I scored a great deal on some Mythos XC II's. The forecast is calling for rain, so I'm glad I have these knobbier tires. They're nice and skinny too. They're 2.2” tires but look more like a 2.0”. Believe it or not, I had a really great experience today at the Big P (Performance Bike) in Parkville, MD. I usually only go to this shop to buy tubes but today I got hooked up and enjoyed talking with a guy who, come to find out, is a friend of a really good friend of mine; Hoffman. He even gave me the low-down on what to expect at Michaux tomorrow. Right on. I popped the new tires on over a delicious new beer from New Belgium Brewing, their Shift Pale Lager. I suggest you try a can of shift at your earliest convenience. Along with the tires, I also scored a great new pair of shoes. Every 5 years or so I buy a new pair of Sidi Dominators, but this time I decided to go with a much more affordable pair of Shimano mountain shoes. Though they're not made of fine Italian leather like my Sidis, they feel amazingly comfortable and have a nice rubber tread instead of the rock-hard plastic tread of my Sidis. Fantastic. This may prove to be especially fantastic if I end up pushing my bike a lot tomorrow. Here we go!

First race approaches

I'm registered for the Michaux Trail Cup Endurance Race that's going down this Sunday in PA. You could register for the 25, 50, 75 or 100 mile course. I opted for the 25 miler. I think I made the right decision. It's my first mountain bike race in a long time. Years. Five years. Half a decade ago. Based on the results from this race I will either stay a Cat 3 or bump myself up to Cat 2. We'll see. As of this morning there are ten guys racing in my category. I see their names on Bikereg but I don't know any of them. They could be speed-racers, they could be beginners, who knows. Part of the fun of racing is finding out just who you're up against when the tires start rolling. I know it will hurt, I know there will be a lot of climbing but I also know that it will be a lot of fun, and that's the whole point of racing, in my book anyway.

Aside from my physical condition, I'm only mildly concerned about my 1X9 set up. A 32T up front is the biggest ring I have. My only ring. If there are any long road sections I might be in trouble trying to keep up, or hopefully, stay ahead. ha! optimism! In the woods, I don't think it'll be a problem; I'm pretty zippy with this gearing set up.

Windy training ride - 15 miles

Super windy day here in Westminster, MD, but I need to get some miles in this week in preparation for the Michaux Trail Cup cross country endurance race this weekend. I'm still not sure whether I'll register for the 25 or the 50 mile version of this race. It will be my first race in over 5 years and the sensible rider inside me says woah now, take it easy tiger. You're just baaarely in shape! But the burly, hairy chested, quads-o-fire Guy inside me says You want that pain; you neeeeed that pain! Quads-o-fire Guy is a jackass. I will have to see how froggy I'm feeling in the next day or so. I've got a few more days to register. Regardless, today's ride was a good one, albeit short. I meandered here and there around my neck of the woods and passed three other LSV riders, though I don't know who they were (See meandering image below). I've gone and hyped up today's ride (in my mind) by Photoshopping a glorious 15 on to today's post-ride image for my own personal and necessary confidence boosting. Must... ride... more... I don't want to get shelled by a bunch of beginners at my first race.

UCI Mountain Bike World Cup - 1st XC race of 2012

Found this coverage over at Dan.gerous.net (awesome site BTW) from the first men’s elite cross-country race of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup 2012 in Pietermaritzburg. Won again by Swiss racer Nino Schurter just like last year! Look at all those 29ers!

5th place at Iron Cross Lite!

I'm smiling because I'm proud. Damned proud. It's only 5th place; not a win, but I felt like I won.

Yesterday I raced the 4th race of the MABRA Cyclocross Series up in Gardners, PA. (about 20 miles north of Gettysburg).

I wasn't feeling good about my training at all this week but I did feel good on the line and my plan was to take it easy and just sit in near the front of the pack - if possible.

At the whistle we were off like a pack of cheetahs. The first stretch of course was false flat gravel road with two wheel ruts of fairly hard packed gravel. We rumbled up the road, stones pinging off of frames wheels kicking loose from bursts of acceleration. Dust clouded my vision and coated my tongue as we huffed and puffed our way to the first real climb. I stayed back in about 20th position.

The first climb was easy. We all rolled right up it with ease, dipped around the hairpin at the top and juiced it onto the sketchy gravel decent. This was a little hairy. I couldn't see my line at all. I knew, from pre-riding, that there were some serious ruts at the top of this decent but with the pack being so tight and the dust so thick, I just put my weight back and got in the drops.

The first set of barriers were right in the middle of a climb. No sweat: I was off, over, and back on the pedals in one smooth motion. Next up was a long grassy decent into the sand pits. Luckily the sand pits were solid and my tires were hooking up nicely. At this point I had passed a few more riders and was hanging around 11th or so.

Next, they threw us into the "circle of death". Promotors love to do this to us. They think it's funny. It's not funny... it is fun though. I did great through this section, sticking my face out over the front wheel to get some traction through those tight turns.

After the dizzying circle of death we were bottle-necked into a trail through the woods. A trail of super sketchy loose gravel. They conveniently put some logs along the trail which I nearly wrecked on every single lap. Unfortunately for Marc, he bit it on these logs in the first lap. As I rode past I saw him on his back, with his legs straight up in the air. Seeing his pink helmet so stationary during the race was not a happy sight. Nothing you can do but keep racing... so I did.

Through the trail we railed and over a nice tiny section of singletrack before being dumped back out on the gravel road on which we started. Lap 2 here we go.

At this point I was in 7th or 8th I think. I switched the wheel of a ADG rider and put in a hard effort to bridge up to the lead group of 4 riders. Once I hopped on that train, I stayed there for the rest of the race and the 5 of us put a big gap on the chase group. It was awesome and I kept telling myself "stay with em'... DON'T fall off... DON'T fall off."

I hung on for dear life... Todd Hessle was pulling the train, John Brewer was the coal tender, then there was some guy in a red kit, then Zack Adams and I was the caboose. We were seriously hauling ass. I was amazed to be keeping up with Hessle and Brewer and my legs were feeling great.

On the next to last lap, either John or Todd, put the pedal down hard. We were already hauling along on that gravel road but the train lurched forward even faster and I popped as soon as I noticed it. I wanted to stay tucked in and let them pull me for as long as possible. I didn't have the strength to attack but I wasn't going to let them leave me either.

Through the grass sections I was constantly loosing them and reeling them back in. The announcer was killing me: "O'Hara just can't hang on to them... oh wait, he's bringing them back.... he's back on! .... oh he's off again! Wait he's back!".... grrrr....

On the final lap, they opened it up once more on the gravel road and this time I couldn't hang on. I let them go and settled into my own comfy fast rhythm. I wasn't worried about getting gobbled up by the chase group because I knew I had a large gap on them. So I focused on Zack and tried to reel him in with my own steady pace. I got close but when I saw him descending to the finish while I was nearing the top of the climb, I knew I'd finish 5th, and man I was stoked for that!

No, I didn't win. But I'll tell you: This race was just what I needed to get my spirits back up. I've had two races that I botched up pretty good. A 16th and a 17th place finish don't make me feel so great, so to have a 5th again... well, it's just great. I love cyclocross and I love racing.

Mike

Blah training ride.

Today's ride was pretty blah... with scattered patches of blah mixed with more blah.

• Distance: 25.95 miles
• Time: 1:25:10
• Avg Speed: 18.3 mph
• Max Speed: 39.1

- Mike

It's ok Floyd.

Photo by: AFP

We still love you. You're still going down in history!

All the info on Stage 16 where Floyd blew up: http://www.velonews.com/tour2006/details/articles/10479.0.html

-Mike

No Tour for you!

Ok, so I was really looking forward to the Tour de France this year, seeing as how Lance is FINALLY gone. Now we have a chance to watch real racers compete against each other. Racers that have been racing all season and not just training for one, single event. Nothing against Lance...

Ahem. But, now Ivan Basso and Jan Ulrich have forfeited their spots in this year's Tour due to a recent doping scandal... I guess it just gets better and better for my boy Floyd Landis!

Check these articles:
http://sport.guardian.co.uk/tourdefrance2006/story/0,,1809456,00.html
http://sport.guardian.co.uk/tourdefrance2006/story/0,,1809681,00.html

While you're at it, you should check out Doper's Suck too.

Keep it clean,
Mike

Cross Nationals Galleries

Well, I have finally gotten my photos from the Mens Pro race up on my site. Enjoy. Links are below.

I mostly, concentrated on the Kona Boys (Trebon and Wicks) and another favorite of mine; Gunnar.

My girlfriend and I had a really great time watching the races. It was unbelievable to watch the pros cruise around the course - they made it look so easy. Doing it myself on Sunday really made me realize how skilled those guys really are.

***Cyclocross Nationals Galleries***
Men's Pro Gallery Killer B Gallery - photos by my girlfriend 

my girlfriend enjoys the Pro Race

-Mike

Cyclocross Nationals!

Well, my girlfriend and I just got back yesterday from the Cyclocross National Championships in Providence, RI. That was an incredibly frigid, fun, and painful event! There was mud, ice, broken arms, hypothermia victims, fans and racers falling on their arses... it was great! I managed to place 52nd out of the 170 racing in the Killer B's - the most fun race so far this season! I'm still getting a gallery together from the racing, but should have it up tonight!

Merry Christmas,

Mike

Freezing cold cross race - 5th place

Yesterday was the coldest race of the season. It was the 8th and final cross race of the MAC Series, held in Elkton, MD. I managed to pull off 5th place and narrowly escape hypothermia! It was THAT cold.

The course was a completely swampy mud bog that made it difficult to propel yourself forward even on the flat areas. My tires had a little too much pressure in them to hook up as good as they could have but I wasn't about to stop to let some air out.
above photo by: Dennis Smith

Several sections of the course were so muddy that you could bearly keep it upright while you slowed to make it through the tight turns. Thank goodness there were some road sections which enabled you to gain speed and make up lost time spent in the muck.

above photo by: Dennis Smith


above photo by: Dennis Smith

My girlfriend did a great job shooting the race with the digital Nikon and did a great job shouting encouragement as usual. My number one fan, she is. Below are a few shots from the race that she took.

I tried to hop this barrier... not a good idea....




-Mike

Race Pace Cross - 9th place

It's been, nearly, a week since my last race. I have been completely lazy about updating this news blog this week - please forgive me...
So this past Sunday (11-15-05) I raced in the Killer B's at Race Pace Cross, the 6th race of the MABRA Series of Cyclocross races. The race was held on a beautiful sunny, warm day at Freedom Park in Sykesville, MD. Not exactly your typical cross weather, but I wasn't complaining. Sunny and dry means fast fast fast! I was fast... but not fast enough to do better than 9th place!
As usual, my girlfriend, took all of these great photos. I'm lucky to have a girlfriend with such photographic skills no? Oh yes... :]

This race was basically a grass criterium. It was easy to cary speed to through a lot of the corners, there were some areas to get catch some areas and also plenty of pavement sections to make up for any lost time spent... oh.... say... going off course in the tight turns! Ahem. The course was really beautiful though. Mostly wide open expanses of grass, golf course style paved road sections, some really nice tree sections to weave through and to top it all off, the barriers were on flat ground - hallelujah!

embarrassing shot 1
embarrassing shot 2
Sailing off course through a sharp turn didn't help me much today... I really ought to try to avoid doing that in the future. It's pretty embarrassing. It also made me have to run up a rideable hill.

I planned on just opening it up in the first couple of laps and that's what I did. I, leisurely, worked my way to the front of the pack one racer at a time... no hurry... then sat in for most of the first lap. When I was 3/4 of the way through the first lap, I attached. I passed the racer in 1st position and stood up for the nearly the rest of the next lap. I didn't look back and just pretended I was Ryan Trebon. Hammer hammer hammer!
I led for about 2 laps and then slowly started to fade. I realized that I couldn't hang with the pace I set for the rest of the race and racers slowly began to gain on me. After a while I slipped back one position at a time until I was settled into a comfy pace in 7th place. By the end of the race, two more racers managed to pass me and I put in every bit of juice I had left to make sure I didn't drop back any farther.
Lesson learned: Once you get out in front with a really huge lead... ease up a little and settle into a pace that is fast but also comfy... don't go hard till you explode.
I have this weekend off. Should have some nice ride report photos to post as I'm planning on doing a nice long relaxing cross ride on Saturday.
-Mike

Double race weekend... 42nd & 7th

So, this past weekend I had two races. These were numbers 5 and 6 for the MAC Series of UCI races.

Picture at left taken by Kevin Dillard. Cyclocross Rock Star and Freelance Photographer. Check his site!

Saturday's race was held in Camp Hill, PA at Lower Allen Park. Conditions were dusty, dry and fast. For some reasons, I really don't want to get into, I had the worst race of the season this day. I had a great starting position on the line but botched up my start with a terrible starting gear selection and horribly clumsy clipping in issues. I just couldn't get going.

A couple crashes in the first lap, left me with a painfully pulled groin which pretty much ended the race for me. I did the remaining 5 laps sitting down, and just soft pedaling. It was a bad bad bad.... bad day for me. I placed 42nd.

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!... after kicking my own ass for a poochie performance the day before, I lined up for Sunday's race in Highland Park, NJ ready to put the hurting on. (On myself AND the other racers). That's exactly what I did. I ended up with 7th place in the end, and I'm happy with that. What I most happy about is that I managed to make myself hurt the entire race and I didn't let up once on the effort pedal. Total commitment to winning... just... no win. Hmm... anyway, I laid it all out on the line, the way you should.

So, in a nutshell: Saturday; bad race. Sunday, great race!

Yet another two race weekend - 7th & 7th!

Another two race weekend. This makes 3 in a row now. I'm not complaining though; I'm having a blast! This weekend I raced in the Killer B's at...

These two races were #'s 3 and 4 for the Mid-Atlantic Cyclocross Series. There are 4 more left in the series I believe.

Saturday...

Saturday's race in Delaware was a mud fest. It was quite chilly and very wet which is typical during cross season. Luckily, this time around, I was running a narrower tire set up which allowed for more clearance between my mud caked tires and frame - always a good thing.

I enjoyed the course, and managed to wipe out only once on a very slick off-camber turn. Riding this course involved a lot of one footed pedaling and a lot of pushing the bike. The course was really scenic, however, and it routed you around the backside of a really mid-evil looking water tower before dumping you onto an insanely washed out off camber series of switchbacks. Then you had to make your way back up the muddy incline, over a set of barriers and then back down the hill. When you reached the bottom it leveled out and there was a nice road section to help you make up lost time.

I fought hard to gain a finishing position of 6th place but lost it as I was pipped at the line by a blur which was a rider behind me on the finishing stretch. I made the classic mistake of easing up as I rolled to the line thinking "there's no way that guy's going to catch me"... foolish! I'm happy with 7th place.

!Download the video I made of the Pro Men racing this course!

Sunday...

Sunday, was much drier than Saturday, thank God! Although, it was much cooler with morning temps in the high 50's. I was just happy to feel the warm sunshine and actually be able to get some traction on the race course. This course was very fast.

There were more turns in this course than any other race, so far, in the series. The promoters definitely had a good time routing the racers through a maze of TIGHT turns and dizzying spirals. There were a couple short gravel road sections which you could really motor on and the also some fun short and steep hills which you could dive into and roll out of without even touching the brakes! The barriers were placed in the middle of a short steep climb but didn't seem to be too difficult. I shouldered the bike and charged through them as fast as possible.

I stayed in the front of the group, which seams to be my usual routine, and managed to pull away from my group of 4 or 5 riders and get a good lead on them in the 4th lap or so. I held this break away for the last couple of laps and managed to earn 7th place.

!Watch some phresh phattire video coverage of the Pro Men's race on this course!

I want to thank Kevin Dillard (DC based freelance photographer and cross rock star) for taking all of the photos which are linked to in this post and also my girlfriend, for her unending support and encouragement!

Next week: NO RACES!! Road trip to NY!!

Another 2 race weekend - 3rd & 5th Place!

I look happy in this black and white picture because it was taken just after I finished 5th place at the 2nd MAC Series race in Bridgeton, NJ. That was the most fun I've had on my cross bike yet! (photo by Kevin Dillard - DC based freelance photographer)

SATURDAY... IRON CROSS LITE CYCLOCROSS RACE - Central, PA.

This weekend was another double banger. I raced on Saturday at Micheau State Park, PA and earned 3rd place at the IRON CROSS LITE. (MABRA Series) The course was dry, for a change, and my tires hooked up nicely, again, for a change. I was suffering in this race and had planned on saving my energy for Sunday's race but those plans went right out the window when the pedaling started.

Regretfully I lost 2nd place to an NCVC rider who had a better position in the last 10 yards to the finish line than I had. In the last 10 yards as I made my move to sprint around him, I was road blocked by some lapped riders who were mosying there way along - "DOH!" I hurt pretty badly after the race but I was happy with my results nonetheless. And hey, I walked away from the podium with an Iron Cross pint glass and a jar of Bob's Salsa.... excellent!

SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!!!....

BEACON CYCLOCROSS RACE - Bridgeton, NJ.

"Release the hounds... release the bees... release the hounds that shoot bees from their mouths!"

Sunday morning brought strong winds, a dry FAST course and plenty of competition. This was the 2nd race of the MAC Series and was also a UCI event so it had a huge turnout, which included two Pro riders from Kona. I felt great and was happy to be on the line that morning.

I was prepared for this race and was feeling good on the start line. I drank plenty of water, had a good meal of pasta and had gotten plenty of rest the night before. My mental state was very positive and I kept thinking positive about my training and previous race results as I waited for the start.

This course was predominantly composed of fast hard-packed sand trails which you could really open it up on. There was one short road section, which also served as an uphill finishing stretch. There was a big sand pit, that I rode through a few times and shouldered the bike through as well.

There was a really steep and rough downhill blast into a painfully long, 80 meter beach run through deep sand which was thrown into the course to further demoralize you. Once you came out of the beach areas you traversed a flat stretch of grass which put you back into the woods. The most noteworthy (and painful) part of the course was the stair case run up, of the "Ampitheatre of Pain". There were some barriers which were strategically placed in the exit of a hairpin right hand turn but they proved not to be too big of a problem. At the end of this race I was exhausted but extremely happy with my results! 5th Place for the killer B's at a UCI race is just what I need to keep me motivated to attain my goal this season :] 

My girlfriend did a great job of shooting the race while I suffered through it all and she really got some great photos! Good job girlfriend :] Also, Kevin Dillard's lens was sharp for this race and you can be sure to see his excellent work over at Truesport.com. 

Next weekend holds to MAC series races... Here we go again!

-Mike

EVO MAC Series CycloCross #1 - 34th place

Yesterday's race was a real toughie. It was the first of the MAC Series and was held in Buckingham, PA just north of Philly. It was muddy that's for sure, but it was thick, goopy, peanut buttery mud. Not the slimy thin stuff.

My tires were way too wide for this race and as soon as I got rolling in the grass field sections, my frame built up with grass and served as an instant and constant brake for the entire race. I tried to knock large clumps of mud and grass free from my bike by hopping up and slamming my bike down on the pavement sections but to no avail. It was just a mud boggy mess.

I'm not sure where I placed in this race. I'm guessing around 35th or 40th or so. My legs were a little tired/sore from racing the day before in Hagerstown (3rd place) and I was no match for these guys at this race. There were some REALLY strong racers there.

The course was great though. There were some really steep run ups with hairpin turns at the top which routed you right back down the hill. Only one set of barriers that I hardly had enough energy to get myself and my bike over by the last lap. There were two nice road sections that allowed me to make up some lost time, and get some mud to fly off my tires before dipping back into the muddy field sections... which I was thankful for.

My girlfriend took some really great shots of me while I plowed and churned and most of the time pushed my bike through the goopy mess of mud that they called a race course. Nice job pal! I had to stick my tounge out to show her that yes, indeed, I was having a good time.

Luckily a hose was available for washing up before I loaded my bike into my girl's car for the ride home. ...there was still a hint of cow manure but nothing too unbearable.

Things to change for next weekend's race (Beacon, MAC Series Race #2): skinner tires. Also I'm going to start running. My legs are killing me from all the running I had to do yesterday.

I had a blast this weekend, looking forward to next weekend!

-Mike

Hagerstown Cyclocross Race - 3rd place.

Today I raced my first B race at the Breast Cancer Awareness race held in Hagerstown, MD. This was an absolutely epic, mud bog, wheels-like-big-chocolate-donuts, cross race. Complete with thrills, spills and plenty of mud in your eye. Even mud in your teeth. ... my teeth even.

I got up at 6am and pedaled my cross bike with all my gear through a soaking wet, Baltimore, in a state of tremendous downpour and meet my teammate Sean at the Patapsco Park & Ride, where we set off on our merry way to Hagerstown.

As I said before, this was my first B race and I feel really good about how I did. Mike Rea took 1st. An NCVC guy earned 2nd (with much resistance from yours truly) and I ended up loosing a finishing sprint battle to place 3rd.

The course had a lot of challenging sections. There were pretty much NO clean lines left after the 4th lap around what was, in my opinion, a great cross course. There was one steep sloppy run up, and one hairpin "F-U" turn with a run up that gave me a lot of issues on my last two laps. Only one set of barriers in the middle of a flat field. Also, I give the promoters a big thumbs up on the water crossing! During my race the water was a good 12 inches deep. My cleats were so packed with mud, I just couldn't clip in right away and the guy behind me was constantly gaining on me because of this.

Mike Rea and I stayed away for the entire race and I was only caught by the NCVC guy on my last lap, so I feel good about the race. If I could change a few things, I'd have ran different tires (something more knobby) and I'd have worn my sidis. That's about it. This race ROCKED!

Now it's time to get my kit cleaned up for tomorrow's B race in Buckingham, PA. The first of the MAC Series!

-Mike.

Ed Sandor Race - 4th place

This past Sunday, was my second cyclocross race of this season. I raced Category C once more. Again I walked away with a near win. Close; but no C-gar.

The race started off great, I was called up from earning 2nd place in the Charm City Cross race the week before so I had a good starting position.

Right off the bat I had a good start, cranked up to my typical race start surge and was out in front right away. I had a 42 second gap on the pack during the first lap, which only increased in lap 2. I was feeling great!

Then I flatted. Not having a spare tube/tire/wheel... I decided to just hammer it out on a flat rear wheel. "There goes the win" I thought... I just kept hammering thinking, at least I can hang on to 2nd or 3rd.... nope. I ended up getting 4th place which I'm happy with, but it's a little frustrating to loose slots due to mechanical issues.

Next Sunday takes me to Buckingham, PA just north of Philly for the EVO Verge MAC Cyclocross Series Race No.1 - I'll be racing B's this time!