Indy 'Cross & Commute

Another Season is Upon Us

2010-03-08T07:06:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since my last post. Much has changed and yet much has stayed the same. One thing that is going to change for this cycling season is a return to the Sunday (or at least someday) CX rides here on the north side. There were numerous reasons for last year's lapse in the rides (Nata and Fritz coming home finally and the post crash recovery to name a few), but this year will be a return to the norm. Especially with so many people asking about it! Hopefully that means more than one or two will show up on Sundays! Either way, I'm looking forward to getting back to it.

This year will be season #2 riding a Shamrock (thank you Tim O!). I hope to do a bit better this year in the OVCX series than last, that shouldn't be too hard! There won't be any two month layoff mid season this year... I hope. If you want to see some really great frame building, go to www.lugotheirish.com and check out some truly inspired and inspiring art in the form of exceptional bicycle frames!

Lastly, the commute season is upon us too (for those not already braving the winter weather anyway). My commute total for last year only came to 108 days. That shouldn't be too difficult to surpass this year. I'm not sure that 175 days was realistic, but 8 weeks off the bike sure didn't help. We'll see what happens this year. I'm still going to shoot for 175... To put things in perspective, for most people 20 work/commute days equals one month of commuting. That doesn't seem so hard right?

Twenty bike commutes really is easy. Give it a try. You'll be surprised how much better your work day goes. Forget all the carbon foot print, eco-friendly, money saving, etc. benefits, cycling really is the absolute best way to get around town, period. Be selfish. Do it for you! It's one of the few times being selfish really does pay off for those around you. One more bike on the road means we all benefit from someone else being "selfish" enough to improve their fitness, their bank account, the environment and perhaps most importantly their mental well being. Well, I'm off for now, gotta' go for a swim and a ride!

Be sure to check out the new links I've added to the right (Dan, Shamrock & Versus TV) >>>>

days and miles

2009-10-27T22:00:00.000-07:00

commute days '09 - 104 (through 10/27) - just hoping for a B- now (140 days of 175)

commute miles - 2288

road miles - 508

'cross miles - 100 (still lame)

mountain bike miles - 9 (really lame!!)

Finally... 100 Days

2009-10-09T04:51:00.000-07:00

It took a longer time to get here than I thought it would, that's for sure! I planned on having logged about 140+ days at this point in the beginning. After a late start to the commuting season and the seven or so weeks off from the crash, I'm thinking this isn't too bad. To put it in perspective for myself, I figure that I've now commuted by bike, to work, the equivalent of five months this year. I'm still shooting for hitting at least 140 before the end of the year though. Maybe next year I'll have a shot at 175. We'll see.

New Pics

2009-09-24T06:01:00.000-07:00

If you'd like to get a little bit of an idea what the first 'cross race of the season was like, check out my new pics in my "cycling cycling slideshow".

One thing after another...

2009-09-20T17:01:00.000-07:00

is all that kept going through my head today in Landon, OH. The cyclocross season kicked off with a very wet and overcast King's 'Cross. What a course! For the first event of the season, it was very technical, very fast and very fun. The course was laid out on a former golf course and it was a great venue.

All of the Cat.4 racers started at the same time making a very large field of 120 fairly amped up guys ready to be turned loose on a course that was getting wetter and slicker by the minute. Having ridden 5 warm-up laps, I felt pretty confident I knew which lines were going to work the best for me. It wouldn't take long to dissuade myself of that idea.

The call-up had me placed squarely in the middle of the huge field... but to the far outside. Not having ridden down the far outside of the opening straight away at speed during warm-ups, I was not prepared for the large dips that nearly pitched me off before I even got out of the opening 150 yard chute. Still, I was feeling pretty good after the first lap, and was still within sight of the leaders. Only one minor spill, but I was still flying, and feeling good.

Then the course apparently became too small for one of my fellow racers. On a slight downhill just past the finish line, and the first barrier, I was riding a fast inside line a bit close to the tape barrier, when psycho-crosser began to overtake me. Apparently not content with simply overtaking me, he ended up running me into the tape and off my bike at about 20 mph. Luckily we had JUST cleared the only real section of gravel on the course. I was up fast but my bike was completely twisted. The handlebars were 180 degrees the wrong way and suddenly seemed very loose. NOT a good thing on a 'cross course. The shifter seemed stuck and one of the front brake calipers was actually bent (sorry Tim !!)

This section was followed by another barrier backed by a steep run-up. This was a bit sketchy as the bike was not shifting right due to a load of grass jammed into the rear derailleur. It only got worse before finally, mercifully getting better. The bars did another twist on me while traversing a very technical section called "the camelback". Imagine riding across the SIDE of a very wet, very unkempt, giant camel's back as it is spitting on your glasses. The off-camber up and down was too much for many riders on the day. Unfortunately, on this same second lap, it proved to be too much for a guy that went down right in front of me while going up the second hump. The bars did the twist again, so I was off and realigning them... again. This would be the last time I'd have the time to do this though not the last time it was needed. At this point thoughts of pulling out were running through my head as I was not completely confident that the stem was going to hold straight. In very short order, the fastest part of the course had me even more concerned as the bars went askew again at the bottom of a fast downhill... while doing about 27 mph! At this point it was getting ridiculous and we were only 1 - 1/2 laps in!

Thankfully at this point the race had sorted itself out and racers were scattered all over the course, so I decided I was just going to settle in and try to ride a smoothly as possible and see what happened. Thankfully the Shamrock Celtic Cross that I'm lucky enough to be riding this season handled very well and proved to be up to task. After the second lap, I only had one more minor spill while trying to make up time. The rest of the race was fairly uneventful.

I finished 15th in my field of about 40 riders, who knows what overall. Mike G. was there to cheer me on and told me that there may have been as few as 25 guys ahead of me. I don't know about that, but on a day like today anything would have been possible. I even had to call out my number for the spotters at the finish line each lap as the earlier crash had my number flapping and unreadable in the wind. Anyway, it was great to run into Mike while warming up and even better to see him do so well in this first race of the season. We got to hang out after our race (the first of the day) and watch/photograph/video the "Keystone Kops"-like antics of the next few races. Today, that might have been as entertaining as the course was fun.

The day came to a fitting conclusion when Mike told me something that a friend and fellow racer relayed to him. Apparently his friend witnessed someone quite literally getting run off the course during our race. Hmmm.... I wonder who that might have been?

In between the two humps of "the camelback" was hazardous to say the least
Are you kidding me? That's clearing high barriers in style.

Bad Start... Good Finish

2009-09-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

It was the second Sunday in a row that I've joined Scott B. out at Southeastway Park for a great morning of cyclocross practice. Some of the Nuvo boys showed up and a few new faces bringing the total to ten or so.

Having just gotten the Shamrock back from Tim O., I was excited to get a good ride in with the new steel fork as we had both discovered the lameness of the way-too-flexy carbon Alpha Q when coupled with the super strong Paul's brakes. Let's just say that the new fork is awesome! It looks great and rides even better.

I turned some good, fast (for me) laps and generally felt pretty good. The shoulder's still a bit sore, but the back hurts a lot less and the breathing issues are almost nonexistent. Yeah!

First though, the bad. On our first "hot lap" I got to the top of the steep run-up (the lead 4 or 5 we're still within view!), went for the "flying" 'cross mount, and bang! The saddle went from level to pointing straight up! NOT a good thing one mile into a quick 5.1+ mile sprint. I made the choice to head back to the car for the fix and actually made it back on the course and managed to finish on the same lap (I even caught a few) as everyone else, just WAY behind. Okay, so it could have been better.

I knew by the time I got back to everyone they were going to be ready for the next set of three hot laps... they were, but I was glad, and thankful they were content to take a nice breather in between sets of fast laps. A few had seen what happened to me. So after a quick breather and an even quicker drink, we were off again. This time the really fast guys took off and turned a pretty fast first lap. They were still within sight, but well ahead after the first lap, then I settled in and rode what I felt was a good pace. According to Scott B. they were turning laps somewhere in the 0:7:30 - 0:7:45 range, I was at 0:8:15. All things considered, not too bad. Only four of us even completed the full three laps of the second set. The steep run-up took it's toll I think, zapping the legs and lungs, and the steep downhill caused at least one rider to slide out and crash on the second lap.

All in all, I'd have to say the bike performed as well as these 42 year old legs could make it perform. It looks fast standing still, it feels fast on the course, and apparently helps this old guy even look fast as one of the guys claimed he thought I was noticeably faster than last Sunday. It has to be the bike. I think all my commuting on the fixie since being able to start riding again has made a difference. I'll just hope that this will all translate well to the first race coming up next Sunday.

Lexus Hugger!

2009-08-26T18:02:00.000-07:00

I had a strange interaction in the bike shop today with a rather bizarre individual. Let me set the scene here. A quiet morning was interrupted by a woman who came in armed with what I'm sure she felt was righteous indignation and the hope of finding a sympathetic ear. The scene was even worse in real life because we had to be exposed to her ridiculously garish Tommy Bahama-like luau wear. Seriously, it looked like she must have just driven up directly from her Sarasota retirement community with her self important persona convincing her that any right minded individual would surely see things her way. Her get-up and her huge, overly coiffed, late 80's hairdo made it difficult to even concentrate on what she had to say. It started with a few questions about the group rides that leave from the store. Clearly trying to align herself with "bikers" she began asking about where we ride, "Would you ride on a bike path?" No, not typically. Oooh, the excitement was palpable. She mistakenly sensed she may have found an ally. Then we started getting somewhere. "Would people that do the group rides here likely be interested in signing a petition.... AGAINST a bike path?" It was almost surreal, but it got better.

She clearly did not understand that just because I/we wouldn't necessarily want to use the proposed bike/multi-use path, similar to the Monon Trail, doesn't equate to being opposed to it. Apparently children, and families not being able to safely navigate the extemely dangerous stretch of roadway in front of her precious piece of nouveau country does not concern her in any way if it means people will be 16 feet closer to her front door. "What would people want to use it for?" Really? Could she be serious? Oh yes, she followed up with, "Doesn't everyone drive everywhere nowadays anyway?" I had to inform her that, no, indeed there are actually quite a few people, including every person who was then currently engaged or at least eavesdropping on this verbal circus, who enjoy riding their bikes... everywhere.

What a powerful statement it would be if cyclists, of all people, signed her petition against the proposed path! The path is clearly going to encroach on her piece of the American dream. She wants to keep "imminent domain" from removing trees, though she admittedly is not even sure what the actual plans call for. She's afraid to loose the "country feel" of her property. This woman lives off 106th Street and her property backs up to Crooked Stick Golf Course for God's sake! Yes, the same place that just hosted the U.S. Senior Open! Are you kidding me? Seriously! Her house stopped being in "the country", oh, about a decade or two ago. When I tried to politely point this out to her, she just kept plowing ahead with her goofy wrong-headedness. "Who would want to use this path after all?" Oh, I don't know, maybe someone who doesn't want to drive to the Marsh shopping center which happens to be across the street from a Walgreen's, and oh yeah, A BIKE SHOP!!

I'm all for saving trees and environmental stewardship and all that, but don't try to cloak petty, "I want to keep what's mine, mine" selfishness with a sudden, convenient environmentalism. Give me a break! On her way out the door, she just had to fire off one more bit of stupidity, "I suppose I'm from a different generation. I love trees!" My brain screamed, let it go! She's on her way out! She's almost gone! But... I just couldn't (it had gotten rather entertaining I have to admit), and so responded in a soft yell, "If you love trees, then you should love bikes." After making me repeat what I said as she pretended not to hear, I could imagine the wheels churning as she tried to come up with a stinging retort, but all she could muster was, "I love cars!" Whaaat?? Nothing else really needed to be said as she scurried for the cover of her shiny black Lexus.

Like Playing a Round of Golf with Only a Five Iron

2009-08-18T05:20:00.000-07:00

Have you ever known anyone who played a round of golf with only a five iron and a few golf balls stuffed into their pocket? I have. They will invariably tell of the skills that are honed and the pure simplicity of the game when unencumbered by all of the latest and greatest golf gadgets known to man. Back when I used to torture myself, thinking I might get "good" at this most maddening of sports, I always thought, "I should do that one day", or, "Wow, are you insane?" Either response driven of course by however I might have done out on the golf course that particular day. I've long since given up golf, but have never lost that very cool image in my mind of walking a course, lazily swinging my five iron like Gene Kelly's cane (ugh, I'm old!) twirling through the air as I stroll from shot to shot, hole to hole, getting better with each stroke.

Fast forward a decade (or two) and I found myself contemplating the "bag-less round" again. This time brought on by cycling of all things. My bicycles take me to many places, and I try to see, and really notice as much as I can (usually)... when I'm not too busy wiping the sweat out of my eyes. Lately my daily rides have been going by a beautiful golf course out in the country and it set me to wondering. I do that a lot while riding. Anyway, I thought, what I'm doing, right now, is the cycling equivalent to the "one club" round of golf. What? How can that possibly be, you ask?

It's the bike. As mentioned previously, I've been riding a fixed gear bike quite a lot lately. Before my accident just over a month ago, I was riding it exclusively for my commutes. My efforts to log the extra miles that I missed while recuperating has dictated that I find new, longer routes to and from work as I try desperately to prepare for the upcoming '09 cyclocross season. This is of course what led me to be riding out in the countryside, adjacent to a golf course... slightly worried that someone as errant off the tee as I once was (and I'm sure still am), was about to plunk me with an errant blast.

How ironic would it be if I were hit by someone playing with only their five iron? Golf's equivalent to the fixed gear bike. A fixed gear bike, some would argue, belongs on the track. Period. The benefits of riding one on the road are debated and sometimes derided by many cycling "gurus". Some riders use them because they're the "cool" thing. Think urban hipster with message-less messenger bag, ultra fashionable cropped-at-the-knee riding pants topped off by a "Save the Planet" tee and a backwards Campagnolo cycling cap. Many, myself included, hope that I'm benefiting from something that I simply enjoy, not for the sake of fashion or because it's cool, but because it's a form of cycling that I had always found intimidating, especially as a means of transportation.

The fixed gear bike does not allow for breaks. There is no seventh inning stretch, no half time, no coasting to catch the breath. You're 100% "on" until you get to your destination. Forget that bit about no coasting and you get anything from a mildly unpleasant jolt to a near hip dislocation as your leg is forcibly jerked up into the air as if under someone else's power. It's a very strange sensation, that whirling, jarring reminder to pay attention.

Approaching a climb on a "fixie" is a bit different than on a standard geared bike too. There are no quick calculations while trying to match some magic gearing combination to the approaching gradient. No thoughts of optimal shift points to maximize speed up the incline. You simply bear down and carry as much speed into the hill as possible and then grind out the last part as the lactic acid burn starts to set in. Simple? Yes. Elegant? Not always. But it sure gets you in tune with where you're at both mentally and physically. Fifteen miles on flat to rolling terrain can seem like Alp d' Huez when the wind is blowing in your face at 20+ mph the whole time. And you just have to deal with it. No searching for that pitching wedge of a lower gear, no golf cart-like alternate path to the destination, just simple determination and concentration.

On the flats, you simply cruise along, mechanically silent, at as high a leg speed as you feel comfortable. Simple, so long as your mind doesn't over-ride what your legs already know... DO - NOT - STOP - PEDALING! You very quickly begin to realize how much coasting is done on a typical ride once you hit the road on a fixie. Let's just say, A LOT. Beware too, the downhill. Even a mild decline can rapidly turn into a whirling dervish of crazily spinning legs that would rival your mom's old Oster blender. Control. You always have to maintain control... always.

Hmm.. the fixed gear bike as transportation... cycling's rough equivalent to the equally oddball 5 iron-only round of golf. I think I may go out in the garage and dust off that five iron... after I practice some more track stands and the oh-so-cool riding backwards! Try that on your old ten speed. Not gonna' happen. Thanks Brad R. for being the inspiration for my fixie fixation!

Snot Rockets are Flying Again!!

2009-08-16T05:37:00.000-07:00

Okay, sorry for being gross, but about three days after the crash, I went our for a test ride. Maybe not such a great idea in retrospect. As is typical (for me anyway), a bit of congestion typically sets in, thus prompting a forceful blast of air from each nostril. I won't go into the details of this practice, but let's just say it's the quickest, cleanest way to deal with the aforementioned congestion... usually. "Clean" is a relative term after all. I digress, the method described as snot rocketry does require a forceful blast. Suffice it to say that my first attempt nearly sent me careening off the road! Between the compression of the diaphragm, the expansion of the rib cage, and the torso twisting required to avoid really making a mucussy mess, I nearly blacked out from the pain shooting throughout my back. The rest of the ride turned into a fairly uncomfortable 14 mile torture fest made worse by my inability to breath through my nose properly. Oh boo hoo, right? Yea, things could always be worse, I was actually glad to be on my bike, but I also knew I'd be off the bike for a while too as I was not about to tempt fate as uncomfortable as I was during that first ride.

Well, one month later, I've once again begun adding to the commute totals and logging miles at nearly every opportunity. The commute has gone from being 22 miles per day, to upwards of 38 miles. It is my desperate though likely futile attempt to make up my training miles lost as I get ready for the start of the cyclocross season at the end of next month. At this point I'll be content to just feel good enough to enter the races. The painful reminder is still there with deep breathing, and I still am apprehensive and somewhat scared when I feel a sneeze coming on.

I'm hopeful that my Shamrock Cycles Celtic Cross bike will be my good luck charm this season. I need something!! That's for sure. For now I happy to be able to ride relatively comfortably, breathing through my nose!

Commute days through August 16th - 74

Commute miles - 1628

Total road miles - 375

'Cross miles - ? not many ?

2009-07-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

Commute days through July 16th - 65

Commute miles - 1431

Ouch!!!

2009-07-16T10:54:00.000-07:00

No concussion,
no broken bones! I'm feeling very lucky... and very sore!

AND very appreciative to Jeff B. for letting me (crash) test the AWESOME UVEX Boss Race. The same helmet protecting pro teams like Columbia HTC and Fracaise Des Jeux.

Training wheels...

2009-06-26T13:42:00.000-07:00

schmaining wheels. He don't need no stinking training wheels! Fritzson spent a total of about an hour learning how to ride without training wheels the day after he got home! By day two, he went from scooting around on the 12" wheel bike to riding the 16". Though it might look like he's practicing his cyclocross run-up in the grass, we're not quite there... yet.

Nata, on the other hand, seems to have other things on her mind, but I'm sure she won't be far behind with the help big sister Zoe!

Though 'cross has been a bit low on the list of things to do, training will begin in earnest soon. Commuting isn't cutting it as far as that goes, but it is better than nothing I suppose. Speaking of commuting, nine more days since the 9th. That puts me at 65 days for the year, for 1,419 miles.

I just had to talk about the rain...

2009-06-09T05:55:00.000-07:00

because of course that ensured that I'd get drenched the very next day! I really can't complain though, as the weather has been excellent for the most part for at least the last six weeks. Lots of good commute days. I think some people at work are starting to wonder if I still have a car!

For those wondering about the 'cross rides, they really are going to start soon! I swear! I need to get my new bike situated as it sits in pieces still! There has been a lot going on on the home-front lately. The adoption is finally nearing an end so lots of preparation (and too little riding!) has been going on these last few months. But that's okay, as we can't wait to bring the whole family together after such a long, trying process. Lara will be home with Nata and Fritzson this Sunday! It's almost too hard to believe!

We haven't heard from her since she left Miami for Port Au Prince, but that is not too out of the norm for travel to Haiti. The last time we needed to rent a cell phone, it took a few days to get everything squared away, so I'm not going to worry... yet. I haven't received any frantic phone calls or emails, so I will assume that all is well.

Many have questioned whether or not I'd be able to ride as much once the adoption is finalized and the kids are home. I can only say that we'll see. So far, other than my commuting I haven't done that much riding yet this year anyway, so I suppose only time will tell. I wouldn't bet against me getting at least most of the way to 175 days though. No driving for the rest of this month would get me to 72 days, which keeps me, at least mathematically within reach.

The totals creep ever so slowly upward, but will it be enough, and will I be able to keep it going once we become a party of SIX? Stay tuned...

total commute days '09 - 56 (including today)

total commute miles '09 - 1232

A rainy month of May...

2009-06-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

and barely a drop on my head with a full 20 days worth of commutes. Right now I'm a bit blinded and rather obsessed with the seemingly impossible 175 days. Through today, I have another ten days to add to my totals, yet it still seems that 175 is way, way out of reach. We'll see. Without even looking at how many days I'll actually be working this month, I already know I need to log no fewer than 20 to have even a remote shot by year's end as the end of June is half way through '09... now that is hard to believe! This year is going waaay, too fast.

Of the 440 commute miles logged last month, at least 374 of them were on the fixed gear Trek. I have become a big fan of the fixie and am still contemplating doing the R.A.IN ride (160 miles) on it. The other commute days were on the new addition to the family. The reclaimed '09 Cannondale CAAD 9 frame (thank you Jason E.) set up with a 1x10 SRAM drive train. A lot of fun to ride and very fast.

Total commute days '09 - 51

Total commute miles - 1122

A few pics from the past week...

2009-05-19T05:52:00.000-07:00

Thanks IBC for the continuing support of all things "bicycle" here in Indiana. You've gotta' love that logo. Another great Bike to Work Day event in downtown Indianapolis. The weather looked a tad threatening... for about 5 minutes or so! It was a beautiful day for a ride in to work! Lots of great people and interesting bikes to share a little of the morning with.

And I thought I was cool doing my ride on the Trek fixie, HA! This guy rode 8 miles each way, IN TRAFFIC, from the Major Taylor Velodrome! How great is that? Talk about a bird's-eye-view!

Jeff, here's proof for the Scott big wigs... now they know you weren't slacking off in Indy on "Bike to Work Day"! Thanks for joining us. Hey! Is that me in this picture? Something is wrong for sure. BTW, Jonathan, I want that Brooks jersey!

The boxed bike needed to get to UPS... PRONTO!! Thanks Brad for braving the high winds while at the same time showing the "ute-ility" of the the Kona Ute. Awesome! This was the photo-op turn, before departure.

The days are slipping by...

2009-05-19T03:07:00.001-07:00

and I have too much to blog about!! Bike to work week last week was a commuting success (i.e. managed to avoid heavy rain days by being off those days, had a great "Bike to Work Day" ride with the Nebo group - thanks Jeff B. for rearranging your schedule to make it!, was able to ride all 5 days). But jeeze, besides all the commuting, there's been lots of cyclocross talk going on as people are already asking about the Sunday ride, the new Cannondale is built, Brad R's boxed bike delivery excursion... on a bike... awesome (see the picture), the kid's school year rapidly coming to an end and yet another chapter in the family's life getting ready to open... more on that later.

I'm going to need some time to organize my thoughts and words, but it's been a productive month so far in more ways than one. I'll have some pics and stories to share over the next few days.

total commute days: 41 (not including today)

total commute miles: 902

total road miles: 237

total 'cross miles: hmmm...

mtb miles: :-o

Five more days

2009-05-11T19:50:00.000-07:00

I managed to commute every day since last Monday. Now I just need to keep it going. Five more days added to the total for the year.

This is a big week. Not only is it bike to work week, but Friday is bike to work day, and we at the shop will once again be leading a group of commuters downtown. That means a lot of miles (60'ish) for the day. I'm pretty sure I'll be doing the ride on the fixie. I can start to get an idea whether the 162 miles of R.A.IN is feasible (for me) on that particular machine. So far no takers on that crazy idea. I don't know if I'm up for doing that without the company of another fixed gear psycho. We'll see.

Two beautiful weekend days and I didn't manage to get out for a ride!

Total commute days : 36

Total commute miles: 792

May is bike to work month

2009-05-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again. Bike to work week is rapidly approaching, but hey, why wait? It's bike to work MONTH! After finishing off the month of April on a good note, I had to drive in to work on Saturday. Ugh. At least I had a good reason. I picked up my beautiful new loaner, hand made cyclocross machine that I have been given the use of through the end of this year. Now that is very cool. Thanks Tim O., master frame builder and the man behind Shamrock Cycles in Broad Ripple! I'd like to say my awesome cyclocross skills led to my Shamrock "sponsorship", but in reality it has more to do with luck. Tim and I happen to ride the same size frame. Tim decided he didn't want to race this season. Tim is a sponsor of the Ohio Valley CX race series, and wants someone racing on his frame this season. Yes lucky indeed. Lucky, and very thankful.

The days and miles are starting to accumulate. I'm starting to make a dent in my 175 commute days goal, with a long way to go yet. I plan on commuting to work every day this month. Even if I manage that, I still won't even be 1/3 of the way to my goal! Can you say daunting? It will put me back on track though to meeting my admittedly lofty goal. Okay, maybe not quite on track, but at least it will be mathematically possible again.

Oddly, I've become somewhat hooked on the old steel Trek 420 fixie conversion as my commuter of choice. My last 7 of 8 commutes have been on this beast. Think of a light touring bike with only one, fixed gear. Nice relaxed, comfy geometry with an unforgiving drive-train that will literally throw the unfocused rider upward like being on a bucking bronco with the slightest hesitation in cadence. They say variety is the spice of life. Right now my cycling life is like some crazy Cajun concoction that will burn your lips off. I haven't even finished building my newest road bike yet! It's almost too much! Just ask Lara.

commute days '09 - 31 / miles - 682

Constant motion...

2009-04-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

That is what is required when riding a fixed gear bike. I know this. Anyone familiar with track bikes knows this. Your legs move, you move... forward or backward. Your legs and lungs are your engine. Your legs are also your braking mechanism. Simple, effecient, a tad intimidating at first. After a few miles I was able to find my rhythm.

Though I'll never be a true, wheel standing, foot on the front wheel braking, track riding fixie dude, I can definitely see how people get hooked. It certainly seems like a great way to change up the day to day ride routine. As Brad R. so rightly commented, you definitely have to concentrate more than on a non-fixed gear bike. If your mind wanders and you forget your legs need to keep moving, it's possible to go down in a heap... real fast. What I found to be most challenging were those spots in the road that I'd normally stand and coast over, can't do that on a fixie. Though I'd tell myself to keep the legs going, old habits are hard to break, unlike bones. Thankfully no problems.

I wasn't sure if I was even being realistic to head out for my first fixed gear ride, clipped in to my Time ATAC clipless pedals, and strong gusting winds, knowing I was planning on riding 22 miles. All went well. Slowing and stopping takes a bit more forethought, but I'd have to say it was very different from the normal rides, and every bit as fun.

'09 road miles - 202

I was wind battered for 44 miles...

2009-04-23T19:21:00.000-07:00

tonight on the Nebo training ride. I rode to meet the group and didn't bother trying to hang on at the turn on to Lamong. Having ridden 13+ miles to meet the group and expecting that I'd have about 10 or so solo miles to get back home, into the wind, I was not looking to bury myself trying to stay with the lead group. I don't know how many started from the shop tonight, but I'm sure the groups were thoroughly splintered by the strong (30+ mph) winds.

After getting spit out of the back of the lead group(s) I was just in survival mode, trying to work with various riders and small groups to catch a break from the wind. All in all, it was a good ride and who did I see as I made my turn for home? George D. on his recumbent flying into the nasty cross head-wind about 3/4 of a mile up the road. George also happened to be the first rider I saw as the lead group was coming toward me on the road at the beginning of the ride.

We had a nice, surprisingly fast ride into the gusting winds. George peeled off and left me with my last 4 miles to ride alone. After chasing him down, I was ready to get home and hit the shower. Unfortunately the wind wasn't the only nastiness to be dealt with tonight.

I'm not sure what it is about 146th St. that turns motorists into idiots, but it does. I hardly ever get harassed anywhere in Carmel when I'm on my bike... except on this wide, four lane east/west connector. I ignored the first, but the next moron followed immediately on the heels of the first and got a very vigorous middle finger salute. I know, I know, not the smartest thing in the world to do, but I was spent, they turned left as I was heading straight, I knew it was high school kids with nothing better to do, and my patience is always a bit short after a few hours in the saddle. People are always brave when they're inside their cars huh? Lesson to be learned tonight, make a better effort to avoid 146th St. , that's for sure!

I think it's time to head out in the garage and work on a bike or two... I still need to unwind.

'09 road miles - 180 - this needs to change... dramatically!!! And soon.

'09 commute days - 23/506 miles - this is starting to look better, but 175? That's a long way off!

Will spring finally stick?

2009-04-17T17:18:00.000-07:00

I sure hope so. I spent one of the last two weeks being sick, and the following week not being too motivated to get out in the cold and rain... what a whiner, huh? Well, now is the time to kick it in to gear. I only got one commute day in this past week. That's going to come back to haunt me I'm sure, as I'm only at 17 total days!!! On the bright side, I've logged 82 miles the last two days, so at least I'm getting some good riding in.

Serious commuter miles/days begin in earnest this weekend! I can be close to 30 days by the end of the month. Which means I'm already running out of time to hit my goal! Ahhhh! Well, all I can do is get on it and stick with it regardless of the weather. I should be done with colds for the rest of the year, so we'll see how the rest of April and then may plays out. I need to be at or near 50 commutes by the end of next month.

commute days 17, miles 374

road miles, 136 :-(

Late spring and not being able to do the Nebo group rides is KILLING me!

Another 3 Days

2009-04-02T12:27:00.000-07:00

Not a good week for the commute. Three days total, got a cold, rode in the cold, just waiting for the warm weather. Here are the commute totals to date for '09:

16 commute days down, 159 to go!

352 miles

Spring has sprung

2009-03-16T17:09:00.000-07:00

The regular commute is back in swing. I've had a good week with the commute. Six days straight and something like eight out of the last ten. The longer days make the evening commute more enjoyable in some ways. It's nice to see spring is on the way instead of just sensing it with the varying degrees of grayscale you get when commuting with a headlight.

The days and miles are starting to accumulate now that the weather is staying a bit warmer. It's certainly easier getting ready now that there are fewer layers to, uh, layer. I say a bit, because a few of this past week's commutes were COLD! Temps in the thirties and forties with a cold wind blowing can be worse than calmer weather with temps in the teens and twenties!

Tuesday was cool, but nice in the morning and then I got rained on all the way home in the evening. I don't mind the rain so much as the crap that comes up off the road. Even with fenders on the bike, I'll find what I will euphemistically refer to as sand in places that are normally sand-free except for the occasional visit to a beach... or a sand box. Enough said.

This is definitely the hardest time of year to dress for cycling. Even for a relatively short commute like mine. The fingers might get numb, while the rest of me is near overheating. I'm looking forward to having the forecast lows being in the 50's that's for sure!

Well here are the totals to date for 2009:

commute days - 13 down, 162 to go

commute miles - 286

If you really want to read about someone logging some serious miles check out Lois B.'s blog, I have a link to the right. She's a customer at the shop who is in the midst of a cross country bike tour. Her trip began in San Diego and will end up on the Atlantic coast of Florida! Now that sounds like a lot of fun!

Two more days...

2009-03-13T06:12:00.000-07:00

added to the talley this week. Plus I got a road ride in on my day off yesterday with Jed K. Thanks for being crazy enough to brave the cold temps Jed. Quick totals for '09:

Commute days - 6 down, 169 to go

Commute miles - 132 miles of 3850

Road miles - 54 miles

I've got a LONG way to go, that's for sure.

This time, it wasn't ALL gravel

2009-03-09T07:06:00.000-07:00

I was able to get out on the paved and gravel roads up near Angola again this weekend. I awoke early Saturday morning to a cool misty/drizzly morning punctuated with a few downpours and even a bit of sunshine... a very small bit. Still, I was able to enjoy a simple out and back of about 26.5 miles. Not the typical distance for a Saturday morning ride, but the wet gravel roads made it feel a lot closer to 40 miles. I was sure on a few occasions that I had to have a rear tire going flat, but then the realization that, "No, I really am simply riding through wet concrete", would pull me back to reality. Luckily I had no run-ins with dogs, or it might have been ugly. It's hard to speed away from rabid canine danger at a top speed of somewhere nearing a slow jog on that type of surface. Thankfully that was not most of the ride. It was a mostly beautiful morning, with very few distractions other than my heartbeat and the occasional rain shower.

Happy 50th to my mom and dad. We had a great time celebrating with you. And a big thanks to D. & K. for always being so kind to share their home with such an unruly mob... ha.

road total '09 - 58.5 miles (pretty anemic!) That will be changing very quickly and in a big way, SOON.

2 more days

2009-03-06T05:43:00.000-08:00

Well, it's a long way to 175, but another 2 days of commuting racked up this week. Today would be another, but we're leaving to head north, so I have to drive in today...blah. Oh well.

The winds were favorable yesterday. That essentially means that, though it was hell heading in to work against the steady cross-headwind, the direction hadn't changed by evening. What does that mean? Just that I got home in about 27 minutes last night! I was flying! It got a little sketchy late in the day as the wind gusts were getting fairly strong, but no problems. It was definitely one of those rides where it felt like I had wings. Every pedal stroke seemed nearly effortless. We'll see what Tuesday brings. Tuesday?? Yes, three days off... in a row!

Commute days '09 - 4 down, 171 to go

Commute miles '09 - 88 of 3,850

I think I like the 171 to go. It seems so much more manageable!

N.A.H.B.S. 2009

2009-03-03T05:35:00.001-08:00

Well, I'm not the organizer, but based on what was said to be the slowest day of the Handmade show here in Indy, my impression was that it was a successful event. Despite the cold, or maybe because of it (?) the turn-out was very good for all three days of the event. My understanding is that there were over 6000 people in paid attendance over the course of the three days. More importantly, the number of individuals in attendance spanned a very wide bicycle demographic. Dedicated touring enthusiasts, hard-core racers, fixie fanatics, city bikers, you name it, they were there in abundance.

It was great to get feedback from industry representatives like John C. from Moots, regarding the "quality" of the typical attendee at the show. There were not only a lot of serious cyclists, but a lot of serious cyclists seriously exploring the possibility reaching for something more than the "typical" bike off the showroom floor. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the "typical", but there is definitely something to be said for riding something that is just a little more "you". Comfort, style, uniqueness, craftsmanship, performance... all things taken to a new artistic level, and all on display for those lucky enough to be in attendance.

If you were not so fortunate, and could not attend, check out some of my photos and see what you think. I hope that Indianapolis proved to be as successful a venue as everyone here hoped and knew it could be. If so, I'll look forward to the show returning, hopefully in the not too distant future.

Though they may not have had awards for the following, here were some of my favorites:

favorite dirty bike - Richard Sachs Cross bike (straight from its last race apparently!)

favorite "dirty" bike - Naked's, uh, "twig" city bike, with a close second to Cherubim's hour record/pursuit bike (you know what I mean if you saw it!)

favorite booth - October Handmade Bikes - very cool bikes and great display

favorite "biggie" - Moots - I can always dream, right?

favorite hat (for the garage) - Tim O. from Shamrock - dude, let it go!!

favorite ridiculously over-represented bike accessory - wooden fenders

favorite ridiculously over-represented type of bicycle - cyclocross!!!! YESSSSSSS!

Ahhh....

2009-02-26T08:16:00.000-08:00

...sunny and in the high 40's! What a great day to go for a ride yesterday. Took a right out of the neighborhood heading north (riding the Salsa this time!) and the pedal strokes felt effortless. As always it took me a few miles before I realized that the effortlessness was not due so much to my awesome (hmmm...) winter training regimen as it was to the gentle breeze blowing out of the southwest.

This little realization led me to alter my ride plans. After enjoying the wind-aided 23 mph first few miles I took a left turn at 166th St., and headed into mid-west riding reality... a steady, unflagging, almost deviously determined, energy sapping cross-headwind. What made this potentially more gruesome was the prospect of turning almost directly into the wind at the Boone County line in about ten miles.

No worries. No hurry to get anywhere assuming I avoided the ever present possibility of getting a flat out in the middle of no-where... I am pretty sure that the spare tube I'm carrying is a good one! The kids wouldn't be home until 3:00. Still, I had 3+ hours to get what should be a two hour ride in. No problem!

Maybe the winter training has paid off a bit. I haven't been going as hard as some, but I was undaunted by the blowing wind and actually felt pretty good by the time I made it to Zionsville. After a quick stop at the shop to top off the water, my master plan worked to perfection. After winding my way north to 116th, I was able to quite literally fly at an easy 22+ mph until I hit Gray Road, where I turned left and proceeded to crank up the RPM's and sailed the last few miles home at a comfortable 25+ mph.

So after all that speed at the beginning and the end, do you want to take a guess at my average? Ha! It was only about 17.5! I was definitely feeling the head/cross winds, but when all is said and done, who cares? It was another day stolen from the icy grip of winter. I even had a little 2" dork tan to show for it for a little while on the exposed part of my arm between the gloves and the arm warmers. Maybe not a perfect day for riding, but close enough. No problems at all.

current odometer tallies for '09 (real miles - no indoor trainer softie miles counted here:

commuting - 44 miles (2 days) - I need to start cranking out some commuting days!!!!

'cross - 0

road - 32

mountain - 0

indoor - who cares? A few hundred probably..... blah.

This year the only miles/days I'm truly focussed on will be the commuting miles as I have a long way to go to get to 175 days total.

Two days this week...

2009-02-12T15:42:00.000-08:00

might count big toward my 175 commute days by the end of the year. I figure any days I can log for the bike commute resolution in February can't be passed up. So the official count has begun:

2 days and 44 mile down. Only 173 to go!

The weather was too nice to not ride both Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday was both windy and raining, with an even greater chance for higher winds and more rain during the evening commute. Normally I don't put much stock in the weather forecasts around here, but luckily I did this week as the wind gusts hit 40-50 mph Wed. evening! Thankfully I drove in and amazingly got most of the winter grime powerwashed off the Mini by the wind-driven rains.

N.A.H.B.S.

2009-01-25T11:38:00.000-08:00

"What is N.A.H.B.S.?", you may ask yourself. N.A.H.B.S. is the North American Handmade Bicycle Show. Why should you care? You should care because it is coming to the Convention Center here in Indy for the first time ever, AND it is open to the public! This is your chance to see handmade bicycle frames and bikes from some of the best builders in the world. There will likely be close to 150 builders showing off all sorts of amazing, handmade creations.

Local builder, Tim O'Donnell of Shamrock Cycles, in Broad Ripple will be there with built bikes of all sorts showing off the craftsmanship that truly distinguishes the handmade frame; road, mountain - including an incredible, brand new, 650B rigid creation, touring and cyclocross. Moots, CoMotion, Waterford, Keith Anderson, Bilenky, Calfee, Kent Erikson, Independent Fabrications, Richard Sachs, Serotta, Sycip, Don Walker and Ventana are but a few sharing the floor with Shamrock. This show is huge! Folks on the west coast (Portland in particular) are hoping and praying that the show will be a bust in '09 in hopes of having it comes back to them. Even if you're not in the market for a handmade or custom bike, this is an event that should not be missed! The only other show that could even begin to compare to this would be Interbike in Vegas and let's face it, there's a LOT of stuff there that most non-industry people don't really care about. Quite simply, this show, 100% of this show, should be a must see event for anyone who considers themselves a cyclist. You will see an unbelievable collection of unique and amazing creations from the best in the business.

Check out the web-site (find a link to the right in "Cool Links") and be sure to mark the dates on your calendar:

Friday, Feb. 27 through Sunday, March 1st

Indiana Convention Center - Hall D

Admission is $20 day of event, $15 for Pre-registered

Multi-day passes available

The 2009 Cycling Resolution Revolution

2009-01-24T07:52:00.000-08:00

For 2009 I resolve to:

1.) ride the mountain bike more (ok, just riding it once would be "more")

2.) ride said mountain bike at least a few times in Brown County

3.) ride said mountain bike at least once in a mountain biking destination, out of state

3.) race at least as many 'cross races as last year

4.) commute to work (by bike - no ambiguity here) at least, hmmm.... 175 days

And why, exactly, is this a "Resolution Revolution" you may ask? Well, first of all, I thought it sounded cool. But really, I pulled that number, 175, out of thin air and I will keep track on the blog for better or worse for the whole year. Uh, my feeble math mind is doing some quick calculating and I think I've just committed myself to getting in nearly 4000 miles via the commute alone this year and January is nearly over! Oh boy, I think I'd better get the cold weather gear out. Maybe I should have called it my insane, Revolution Resolution! Stay tuned...

Winter Blaaah's...

2009-01-23T05:38:00.000-08:00

The bike commute? Almost non-existent, I'm sad to say. COLD! Wimpy. Cyclocross? The cold definitely is a factor, but that will be starting up again here soon, just not if it's 5 degrees outside. Winter training? Other than the class I lead at the shop Saturday mornings, woefully behind where I should be.

Lara, in a crazed fit of sheer lack-of-exercise induced lunacy found the 100 push-up, 200 sit-up (crunch) web-sites. Lucky me! :-[ Much as I didn't really enjoy the prospect of this type of self inflicted torture, I got sucked in by the challenge. We're a few weeks into what is supposed to be a 6 week program, and I'm realizing 100 push-ups is still a long, long, way down the road to pumped biceps. I usually collapse in a wimpering heap 2-3 push-ups shy of whatever the day's goal is for the fifth and final set. I suppose starting in the third week wasn't such a brilliant idea after all, as I've been repeating days (usually 1x) until I can get to the end. The next four weeks should be interesting. My theory is that I will have a six-pack hidden under my "layer of winter insulation", and that I'll need to start getting bigger shirts to accomodate my huge shoulders and arms.... yeah, right. Who knew that such a good cardio work-out could be had simply doing core and upper body exercises. Now if I can only figure out a way to propel the 'cross bike using my arms.... Ouch! My abs just reminded me that they're not real happy right now. Oh, wait, self inflicted torture...cyclocross... hmmm...it's all starting to make sense now!

EXPLORE!

2009-01-22T07:11:00.000-08:00

I hope some of you who enjoy, or at least visit on occasion, will take the time to check out some of the cool content to be found here. Yeah, I'm partial to the slide shows, they're my pics after all, but don't forget about some of the other stuff. "Rolling Resistance" can always be found at the bottom of page one here... very cool. The "YouTube" cyclocross links are excellent. If you had an hour or so and didn't mind foreign language commentary, you could have enjoyed FULL coverage of last years Cyclocross World Championships from Treviso, Italy. Excellent! There's always new 'cross related video to be found here. There are some cool links to other blogs, flickr sites, etc. One of the newest additions is J3's very informative Mountain Biking Brown County link. Check it out if you haven't already, it's really excellent. Explore a little you might be surprised, or maybe even inspired by what you find.

Irrational Devotion

2008-12-07T12:54:00.000-08:00

That could best describe my cyclocross, or should it be "psycho-cross", affliction. After Sunday, psychotic affliction may very well be a better description. Is cyclocross something I'm great at? Even good, really? Maybe on a sliding scale that tops out at okay, I'm not bad, but I have no delusions of grandeur. I simply love to get on my 'cross bike and ride... sometimes fast (fast is a relative term here). I'm not likely to ever be racing for a win, but chasing down the guy ahead of me, finishing on the lead lap (sometimes not as easy as it sounds!), simply finishing a race cleanly (i.e. without crashing), are some of the things I try to focus on. Maybe if I'm persistent enough I'll end up with better results eventually, but I suppose I'm just one of those people that has found 'cross to be a challenging outlet for a competitive spirit that will likely always be a part of me. More importantly I can have fun doing it without feeling the necessity to log thousands of miles to feel like I'm "ready".

Sunday's Indiana State Cyclocross Championships at Brookside Park, wrapped up my first season of racing of any sort since I was, oh, 20 years old. Four races, (five really, though Louisville didn't count in the overall Ohio Valley standings) out of a possible thirteen, and I feel like I've raced just enough to not over-do it. Not exactly a full slate of races, but a start, especially considering Brookside was the only race not in Ohio or Kentucky. Next year, maybe five or six. Who knows, maybe next year we'll even be able to organize some official races here in the Indy area. Ultimately that is my goal, to help bring cyclocross racing back to Indianapolis with an organized series.

Anyway, Sunday was easily the most difficult race of the season. The course itself was not overly difficult, but the conditions certainly made it potentially hazardous at nearly every turn or off-camber section. The semi-frozen, roughly 1.70 mile course was definitely a challenge. Thankfully the organizers did not throw in a lot of the labyrinth type course detail prevalent in most of the OVCX races this year, or I'd likely have some broken, or at least seriously bruised limbs. I can only assume they wanted to minimize the potential for such injuries on a frozen course.

Let me just say that one of my primary goals, namely having a clean race, was not achieved. Unfortunately, I went down twice, though fortunately the ground was not frozen completely solid so I avoided injury. In reality it could have been much worse. I think that being too paranoid to let out that extra 10 psi in my tires cost me as I was slipping quite a bit at ra

ce speeds. Too late at that point to do too much about it. Hey, at least I didn't get a pinch flat! I suppose I shouldn't be too upset, both crashes were due to my riding aggressively in order to gain places, unfortunately all I managed to do was lose about 10. Patience is something I need to work on during races, that's for certain.

Getting to race here in Indy for the first time was nice. Seeing some familiar faces was great. Tim C. showed up for his first race of the year on his 29'r. Scott R. rode over from his house and by all accounts, had a great time. Most impressive was Dave T. He came into the shop Saturday to get his first 'cross bike and was racing Sunday!! Awesome.

The great debate, for the first race especially, was what, or more accurately, how much to wear. Race time temps were hovering around 15 degrees! Not kidding!!! I had to question the sanity of some of the category 3 racers who were crazy enough to wear shorts. Yes, SHORTS! Apparently they were unaware that they were killing their knees... pink flesh and all. Somewhat surprisingly to me, two layers were enough to be comfortable. Thankfully too, because I nearly changed my mind at the last minute and put a jacket on, but I already had my number attached and did not look forward to switching it as my hands were perfectly happy under the tri-layer of gloves I had configured after some quick experimentation. I figured, if my hands were good I'd be fine, and after numbing my fingers on the one warm-up lap I had time for, I swapped for a heavier, non-fine-motor-skill (i.e. non-safety-pin operation friendly) glove liner inside my ski type outer glove, thus my decision was essentially made for me. Long sleeve base layer + long sleeve jersey = :-] for me. In reality I was comfortable, never too cold or too hot during the race.

Sunday was not what I had hoped for with regards to results, but honestly, I'm just out there to challenge myself and have fun doing it. I think too many people feel they have to be

competative to race. In all likelihood, if your ego is so tied up in winning, then 'cross or any type of bicycle racing is likely going to be a frustrating, and very humbling experience. Sometimes you just have to be willing to get your ass kicked doing something that scares the hell out of you. Who knows? You might just enjoy it.

For those of you who may be wondering, the Sunday morning rides at Cool Creek will continue sometime after the first of the year, so be sure to check back or open my emails if you're on my email list. I will have details after I return from Haiti in a week or so. Get psyched for some cold weather riding in a few weeks!

2008 Cyclocross World Championships

2008-12-01T06:05:00.000-08:00

If you haven't checked it out already, the video link on the bottom right of my blog has been updated. Full video coverage of Lars Boom smashing the '08 field is pretty good as far as YouTube video goes. Even better if you happen to understand... I think maybe German? Check it out, it's the full race, great, fast, Euro-style course, with lots of action late in the event.

It's heeere...

2008-12-01T05:54:00.000-08:00

Well almost. December 7th is rapidly approaching and all is good with the ankle. Not so much with the email situation (lazy) and training (umm, yeah, lazy count #2). No matter, I still plan on flailing about in the cold, probably wet, of this coming Sunday for what will be the last 'cross race of the year... for me anyway. I'm looking forward to it, no matter how under-prepared. It'll be fun. I hope to see some Indy people out at Brookside Park clanging cow bells and freezing their butts off as we slog through the muck for our three quarters of an hour of self inflicted torture ;-) My hopes for a top ten finish in this event could well be determined by whether or not more than ten "gettin' to be old" (35+ 3-4 Masters) dudes decide to show!

Now this is 'cross weather!

2008-11-16T08:05:00.000-08:00

Bill C. and I showed up this a.m. for perhaps the coldest Cool Creek ride yet this year. It was barely above freezing and we both had numb digits before we even got started. We started off slow, mostly because we were stiff with cold I think, and I wanted to give Bill a chance to check out the course we'd be riding. After a few warm-up laps, we cranked up the tempo a bit, a little bit mind you, and as were just finishing our third lap, the wooden steps for the bridge crossing tried to eat my foot!

We proceeded to do a few road laps after that, as I wasn't sure I'd be able to manage any dismounting and running. Luckily we'd gotten about 45 minutes worth of riding in at that point, so we proceeded to do a few ankle friendly road laps with a bit of trail riding thrown in here and there. Other than the ankle mangling mis-hap, we had a good, all be it very cold, easy training ride. As always a great way to start a Sunday.

The ankle is stiff and sore for now as I haven't had a chance to ice it yet. Maybe after work today. The damage wasn't as bad as I'd feared when it happened, luckily just a minor contusion. Other than the pain and the skin that came off with my sock not much damage done... assuming it doesn't swell like a water balloon throughout the rest of the day!

More on all that later, especially if it gets interesting. I have to go for now. FYI, I've been battling my email for the past week so have been a bit pre-occupied. As of now I am not able to access my address book, so my mass emails have not been going out for the last week and a half or so. If you're interested in coming for the ride but need information, shoot me an email (tom@neboridge.com or tmulpagano@netscape.net). For now anyway, I'm still able to receive and respond to emails. I hope you're all having a great weekend!

Unseasonably warm on a beautiful fall morning...

2008-11-03T06:17:00.000-08:00

out at Cool Creek Park yesterday morning. Once again, the slacker park ranger was late crawling out of bed, so Bob B. and I parked in the alternate parking lot off of Hwy. 31. After quickly assembling the barriers, we rode them over to the amphitheater field and set them up just as Jerry drove up! Always so impatient, I could have just waited a few more minutes for the gate to be unlocked... oh well! Patience is not always one of my virtues!

We got rolling with four as Chad N. joined us just as we were about to start our warm-up lap on his awesome, new (bought it at Nebo!) Scott Scale mountain bike. The first lap was restarted as Rebecca Z. joined us just as we were passing the main entrance to the park. Not only did she show up sporting some splashes of mud from the Butler training ride, but she also rode up from Broad Ripple... AWESOME! We turned a few sub-race pace laps to familiarize everyone with the course layout, and then we took off for what ended up being two fairly fast paced laps. I've come to realize that the course I've laid out somehow manages to seem like it's always going up hill. At least way more than it goes down. I'm sure it's just a lactic acid based illusion, but it sure seems like reality. I was relieved to hear Bob tell me he was done just as we were about to start what would have been our third "fast" lap. We were both feeling it after having done five laps to that point. Chad wasn't complaining either!

We took one more cool down lap, and incorporated a bit of the single-track for Chad's benefit as he had never ridden at the park before. I was having difficulty at times finding what used to be familiar trail to me prior to all the leaf cover camouflage. We made it without incident thankfully. The last of the leaves are clinging to the branches, so if you plan on checking out the fall colors I wouldn't wait too much longer. We finished up at the field with some barrier practice and then called it quits for another, beautiful Sunday ride in the park. Hope to see you out there soon!

Butler Training Ride #3 (Is Third Time is a Charm?)

2008-10-30T20:38:00.000-07:00

Why no # 2? Well, it was an abbreviated effort last week after breaking a chain at a most inopportune time. Namely just before a steep, root filled, leaf covered down hill. I was lucky to even get the chain back, and that was with the help of an eagle-eyed little girl and her parents who happened to be hiking in the right place at the right time... for me! In a nut shell it was a let-down, especially after the long hike back to the car!

After flatting the first week and breaking a chain last week, I really just wanted to see the finish last night. I did, and I held my own for the three fast laps. I finished well back due to the blistering pace set by the first two riders and the bottle neck at the first turn, but was closing on #3 at the finish. One more lap at that pace might have killed me, but it was fun once I settled into my own rhythm and pace. Now I just need to work at making that rhythm and pace FASTER!

I thought my ride might have ended before it began as we were riding to the start. After crossing over the canal, we hit a short section of trail leading to the soccer fields. I really hit it! "It", being a semi-buried, rounded stone protruding from the ground. A sickening "WHAM", that I felt in my bones had me thinking I'd at least be fixing a flat if not trying to figure out how I was going to explain the need for a new front wheel. Luckily, not only was I flat free, but somehow my wheel was undamaged, running straight and true. Lucky! Thank you Mavic!! I've seen this little wheel mangler before, but have managed to avoid it until now. I don't know if it was the extra leaves on the ground, or my adrenaline level maxing out, but I hit it again at the beginning of lap # 3 and once again thought for sure I was going to be fixing a flat trail side. Nope. Lucky indeed!

Despite the inconveniently placed, semi-concealed boulder, the Butler ride is a great training ride, as all the riders who show up are serious about cyclocross. And they're serious about going FAST! Don't get me wrong, if you're on the fence about this ride, but feel intimidated, don't! That's one of the great things about cyclocross, you're not going to be left in the dust like if you get shelled off the back of the pack on a road training ride. You are able to do as many or as few laps as you feel like at whatever pace works for you. It's a great way to do a group ride with riders of very different abilities, and everyone is made to feel welcome. If you want to do a ride that incorporates a bit more 'cross basics and a little bit of instruction, be sure to come out to the Cool Creek ride Sunday mornings. If you have questions about either, don't hesitate to ask. They're both fun, and riders of all levels and abilities with any type of bike are welcome.

The Papa John's/Derby City Intl. (USGP#2)

2008-10-27T05:56:00.000-07:00

Let me start my offering up my rationalizing for why I feel like this was easily my best race of the season, despite finishing 48th!! In a field that was somewhere between 80 and 116 riders, I found myself, somewhat inexplicably, near the back of the field at the time of the call-up to the start line, like 10 rows back out of about 12 or 13, despite being pre-registered. According to my registration order I should have been somewhere in the 6th row. Our field's bib numbers started at #400 and mine was #498, so I had a sneaking suspicion that something was up at the registration desk.

Because the start time was 8:00, it was DARK until well after 7:00. People started pre-riding the course, which had been slightly modified from Saturday's race, with bike lights on. I was a bit nervous with the cold temps as I was unsure I'd be able to get my 40 something knees and heart warmed up enough before the 8:00 gun, and I had yet to be introduced to this course's signature feature, the "Green Monster". I managed to get 1.5 pre-dawn lit laps in prior to the call-up, so I felt a bit better about the course as it seemed well suited to my riding style (meaning no real climbs), with a lot of tight, twisting turns and a number of very wet sand pits. Make that sand traps, as this is the form Champion's Golf course on the river in Louisville. What a fantastic venue!

Did I mention the word tight? Yea, I think I did, and that singular, predominant feature of this course had the field strung out within the first mile... okay, within the first 500 meters. The short, paved road start/finish line was the only part of the course that could be considered wide. Despite reports of a few riders managing to pick their way from the back of the field, presumably somewhere near me, to the front of the field within a lap or two, most of us felt like rats in a cage trapped behind the typical array of first lap miscues (rider sputtering out of the start with a snapped chain, a bottleneck caused by a roadie's [I'm guessing here] first encounter with a grassy, off-camber turn over a knoll, another rider not realizing the importance of actually pedaling all the way through a sand pit, etc. My whole goal at this point was to get through the first lap without going down, and then just work toward the front as fast as possible after gaps started opening to ensure that I did not get pulled from the course due to being lapped by the leaders. I didn't want to have driven all the way there only to get yanked off the course before the finish! In reality, that is my real, primary motivation at each race.

Other than sitting in a bit too long behind a few riders I would later leave behind, everything worked out. I had to keep reminding myself that this race was only 30 minutes long, not the normal 40, so we all had to keep pushing hard. I managed to finish on the lead lap after all the accordion effect, first laps slow-downs, improving at least 30 positions from my placing at the start. I need to figure out how those guys were able to navigate the chaos of the first lap craziness and get so much closer to the front. Hmmm, it probably had something to do with actual speed, and a bit of luck, I'm guessing. More than anything though, their success was certainly due to experience. For a field of category 4 racers, there were quite a few guys who easily out-classed the rest of the field of beginners.

The single set of barriers was a piece of cake and the "Green Monster" turned out to be kind of fun as the down ramp provided great momentum. Oddly, the hardest to navigate obstacles proved to be two that I would not have suspected prior to having ridden the course. The last, and longest, sand pit was difficult unless you didn't have people flailing about, as there was no good line grooved into like the others. The only time I managed to ride completely through it was on my last lap. A seemingly innocuous set of railroad tie/steps on a slight uphill section proved to be a real momentum killer. The hairpin turn leading into them forced riders to scrub all their speed on the approach, coupled with the somewhat narrow spacing of the ties, essentially forced a dismount over what seemed like it could be ride-able from a spectator's point of view. Let's just say, I tried, and it's not! At least not faster than running over them.

Once again, I'd have to say that overall, it was loads of fun for a half hour's effort. It's so nice and so much more interesting to watch and participate in cyclocross than other cycling events. I hope more of my readers give it a shot, both on and off the bike. You won't be disappointed either way!

Sunday morning seemed a bit...

2008-10-20T07:56:00.000-07:00

more normal this week. Dave B. arrived early with his sweet, new IF (yea, that's #2), patiently awaiting the bar tape I had for him. After a quick handlebar wrap job, we were ready to go with yet another new face to add to the list of those who've braved the early morning chill this year. Chrysa aka "Sparky" showed, bundled up and ready to ride!

Taking a cue from the Butler training ride, I decided to have a course for us to ride, allowing plenty of opportunity to alter and configure at will. As the race courses all seem to be about 2 miles in length, I figured a perimeter lay-out with as much off road as possible would be a good plan. I also wanted to be sure that there would be plenty of dismounting and of course the stairs. I think it ended up being around 2.25 miles in length. After pre-riding the course, the three of us were off on decidedly different paces and paths.

I simply wanted to turn the fastest 3-4 laps I could manage in trying to simulate a race day effort. That goal was definitely accomplished as I felt like I was going to die at some point midway through the second lap! Now that I have a set course in my mind I'm going to try to make sure that I'm tracking my best lap times to see if I can manage to make some improvements as we approach the mid-point of the season. Probably a bit late to have come up with this strategy, but who cares? With anyone and everyone who shows up on the same page, it's easier to make sure we're all each accomplishing what we need to accomplish in order to improve. The great part is, is that the field where we have the portable barriers set up is basically the meeting point. If you're still undecided about coming out, take comfort in the fact that there really is no pressure to perform at all. Anyone can show up and never even leave the field with the portable barriers, simply practice, practice, practice, the dismount/remount, whatever.

I think I'm going to end this one right now as I have about 2 hours to get a ride in before the family gets home, so I think you all know where I'm heading!

Wednesday Night Butler Training Ride

2008-10-16T14:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I joined the group of riders that gathers at Hinkle Field House on Butler's campus for their weekly training ride. The course is well thought out with lots of trail, some tow path, a bit of grass, stairs, high speed descents, log barriers, oh, and crap loads of mosquitos which you're only likely to notice if you're unlucky enough to flat. Despite making numerous wrong turns after the group got spread out, it was a lot of fun. On top of the repeatedly misguided nature of my first ride with this fast group of riders, I flatted on the second(?) of four laps. Ugh! Kevin, a team Nuvo rider, happened to flat at the exact same spot I did, so we essentially rode the last lap and a half or two laps together finishing just as the rain began coming down. Not counting the warm-up lap, I'm pretty sure I only managed 3 of the 4 laps though I'm not certain as it was a bit of a blur and I never had the leaders actually pass me so I suppose maybe I did. Next time I'll make a better effort to get to and stay on the right trail at the front to make sure I get the laps in.

The 6:00 pm start pretty much demands the fast pace as the trails start getting pretty dark within an hour. There were some familiar faces, and a lot of new ones too. Some only did a few laps, others never completed a full lap of the course, but I'm fairly certain everyone enjoyed themselves. For me, the stairs were a killer! You haven't seen stairs as an obstacle on a 'cross course until you've seen these, that's for sure. If you're interested in joining this ride, take 49th street off Meridian heading west toward campus and Hinkle. Park in the Field House lot and start looking for riders.

Cincy Day # 2 - BioWheels United Dairy Farmers Harbin Park CX - Hot, Hot, Hot, and oh, did I mention the HEAT!

2008-10-14T04:52:00.000-07:00

Day two of racing, this time at Harbin Park in Fairfield,OH, was for me, amazingly similar to Saturday's race, except the course seemed longer, had a lot more climbing, coupled with a lot more fast descending, a lot more speed and a lot more "atmosphere". This was, after all, the "big" day of the 3 day series and it provided a full day's worth of entertainment for sure.

I wouldn't even want to think what the course would have been like had it not been, 80+ degrees and dry! Very little of the nearly 4K course was paved, and what was went up, up, up... thankfully! It was the only section of the course that allowed for getting a drink and catching a breather, if that's really possible when you feel like you're trying to breathe through a straw. I was very thankful that I had decided to deface my bike by adding the water bottle cage at the last moment that's for sure! Just kidding! When it's that hot you're crazy if you're not drinking. I'll lose the cage again when 'cross weather finally arrives. The climb led to the fastest section of the course after a series of turns and chicanes, some tight, some sweeping, all potentially hazardous if you didn't pay attention to your line on the way back down as there were holes, divots and a few sketchy riders all over the course. Had this been a wet course, it would have made for some spectacular crashes I'm sure.

Other than once again losing contact with the leaders too early, my day went as expected. The first lap with the sand pits from hell had us all sorted out by the end of it, and we ended up riding 3 more. To give some perspective, we were turning laps in the neighborhood of 10 minutes, the Elite men... as fast as about 7 1/2!! That's FLYING!! Especially on that course, and considering they did 9 laps in about an hour!!. Once again, I finished near the middle of my field and somewhere midway in the field (Beginner Cat. 3/4 men) that started just before our group. It was nice to see some familiar faces on the course.

One of the faces that started in the first group, I spent my four laps trying to reel in after the staggered start. After three hard laps I finally had him in my sights, coming into the fastest section, a 28+ mph downhill screaming into a sweeping, undulating hard right-hander. I pushed a bit too hard and my front wheel decided it had had enough and went out from under me coming up out of the "bowl" into the sweeping turn. After scrambling back to my feet with the right leg of my shorts wadded all the way up my leg, I gave chase, but never made contact again. He was in my sights at the finish, but that was a frustrating lesson in choosing the proper tire pressure that's for sure. For those who wonder, "Why cyclocross?", let's go back to that crash. I went down doing at least 25mph! On the road, I'd have been done... literally! Not so on the more forgiving surface we race on in cyclocross. That alone will keep me coming back for more!

What was most impressive about the day's events was the production quality that the UCI recognition brought. For a three day series, the level of preparation and organization was very impressive. This is definitely "big-time-bring-in-the-big-names" racing, but just on an obviously (thankfully!) smaller scale than what you get with events like the Tours of California or Georgia. The names aren't quite as well known maybe, but the action is a lot more fun to watch as it is right in your face! The access to the racers, the course, just everything is a nice change from what you might expect. Especially if your expectations have been tarnished by watching years of elite level cycling in other disciplines... not pointing fingers at particular groups of riders, but we all know what type of riders (rhymes with toadies!) I'm talking about. None of that. Some of the top men's and women's racers even took part in the kiddie race, herding a pack of wayward and sometimes crying, but usually smiling and having a good time, junior, junior 'crossers around a fun, modified course that included the main sand pits to ensure the entertainment value.

Speaking of sand pits. They are not as easy as they look to ride through, especially when you're not carrying a full head of steam into them. Most riders on the day were carrying through on the uphill section in front of the announcer's stage, but the fast down-hill half of that same pit was entertaining to watch. Let's just say it's all about weight distribution, speed, and most importantly, confidence that you have them right. I'm happy to report I had no crowd pleasing incidents in the sand, but others didn't fare so well on a few occasions.

The day finished with the most entertaining and dramatic race. Entertaining? Okay, not hard to imagine in cyclocross racing, but dramatic? You bet! The last 300 meters of the see-sawing, lead changing, always entertaining, Elite men's race come down to two riders, Jeremy Powers and Jeremiah Bishop, who managed to get a gap on the other leaders near the end. It couldn't have been scripted much better had it been in the theaters. With the uphill sprint just starting to wind up, Bishop's chain snapped leaving only who would get second place in doubt as Bishop quickly realized what it was going to take to finish second. After a brief hesitation and a glance back across the open grassy field to his pursuers, he shouldered his bike and sprinted for the finish! With third place finisher Troy Wells closing fast, Bishop crossed the line amdist the cheering crowd in a panting, gasping heap. That was the ride of the day in my book! If that doesn't make you want to come out and see some cyclocross action up close, then you need to check your pulse! It was loads of fun to watch, and somewhat masochistically, even more fun to race. Hope to see some more familiar faces in a few weeks down in Louisville. That is assuming I can get down there for the 8:00 am start!!

(check back for Harbin Park race pics, my flicker photostream has some from Saturday's race posted. More from both will be up soon!)

Java Johnny's Race Report - Cowbells and Caution Tape

2008-10-12T23:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, first things first. Before anyone who actually looks at the results starts giving me crap, let me just say that the S.O.B. (second oldest bastard) category has some really fast dudes racing in it, and the starts were staggered, so my overall finishing place is somewhat obscured by three different categories going off at about 30 second to one minute intervals. Am I rationalizing? Hell yes!

I was asked numerous times why I'd drive to Cincinnati TWICE on consecutive days for roughly forty minutes of leg busting, lung bursting, hotter-than-hell in October suffering. The simple answer... it was the most fun I've ever had on two wheels - twice! I just wish I could have made it for Friday's race too! If you've never attended or raced cyclocross, you owe it to yourself to check it out! The whole atmosphere is just different. Pros "racing" 5 and 6 year olds, amazing bike handling skills on display, families having a lot of fun, cow bells, actual race fans having fun seeing the actual race action, venues that afford views of HUGE portions of the course, racers who aren't flying by at 30 mph (usually), but have to navigate things like sand pits, nasty, off-camber-around-tree-with-huge-roots, right handers, nasty down-hill sections with hidden undulations that want to pitch the riders and their bikes if they're not ridden just right... I could go on and on. Oooh, did I mention cow bells. I'm a sucker for any sport that can incorporate the distinctive sound of cow bells into it's atmosphere. Cow bells rung by crazed fans who are just as likely to give you crap if you happen to be sporting a funny looking beard as they are to cheer you if you happen to be skillful enough to clear the barriers without dismounting! It's just fun, plain and simple. Cowbells just make it more fun somehow. I even broke down a bought one finally. The only problem is, is that Zoe made off with it already!

Saturday's Java Johnny's race was very interesting. The course, laid out in a tiny little residential park in Middletown, OH on the north side of Cincinnati, was an incredible network of at least 5 miles of "caution" tape. It still amazes me that the course designer was able to shoe-horn a fast 2 mile course into that space. Awesome! The biggest hazard was the blanket of sticks covering much of the course. One actually managed to partially disable my rear derailleur. I didn't even discover it until I got home Saturday night. I thought I had gotten all of it out before the race started! It had ever so tightly wedged itself into the lower pivot where the spring attaches. I couldn't have smacked it in there with a hammer any more precisely! My personal race photographer (Max) lost his rear derailleur less than half a lap into our warm-up!

No biggie, I wasn't using the high end gears anyway! The double barrier was set up just in front of a somewhat steep run-up, the double sand pit was a bear, and the off-camber stuff was tricky enough, I didn't need more speed to get myself in trouble... I'd save that for Sunday. Besides, the guy that won my category, did it on a single-speed!! Awesome! I try to convince anyone who'll listen, about the virtues of single-speed mountain biking, but now this?! I think I'll stick with my 1x8, (1x5 today!)... for now anyway.

Unlike my first race of the season I felt like I got off to a good start. For me anyway. I was feeling pretty good through the first two laps instead of just wanting to hear the bell for the final lap like last time. The lungs were burning this time, but I didn't feel like I was going to cough one up at least! That's pretty good considering my recently acquired fall allergies decided to kick in... on FRIDAY! My down fall came when I, uh, fell down. I kept managing to come up behind people through a series of steep uphill switchbacks and at the top it was particularly tricky being more than 180 degrees. Let's just say that touching someone's rear wheel, when they come to a near dead stop in front of you and you're doing about 6 mph in loose dirt, is not a recipe for success. I went down in a heap. It was like a flash knockdown in a title fight. I was up fast but the lead group was nearly gone! Being only midway through the second lap, I should have taken a little more time trying to get back on to the main group. But I didn't. Needless to say, I was gassed by the time I caught back on and spent the last lap and a half just trying to maintain position. Not surprisingly, I lost about 5 positions in the last few laps. Oh well! I think I did the right thing, I just didn't have the conditioning to pull it off.

I didn't stay for the pro race but wish I had now. I found out later that the front of the field stacked up in a huge crash right out of the start. One of those domino effect situations where the last guy to get leaned on has no where to go except all the way to the ground! Ugh! Not that I like to revel in the misery of others, but it sure makes for a good photo op! Plus, some of us always think, "If only the top guys could ALL just manage to crash, I might have a snowball's chance...", but that never happens, right?

Cincinnati Day # 1 / Java Johnny's/Lionhearts International Cyclocross

2008-10-11T16:19:00.001-07:00

First let me start by saying that it was absolutely beautiful in Cincy today. Maybe a tad on the warm side (it got up to about 85!) for 'cross, but I'm not complaining! Max and I left home at about 6:15 for the drive to Middletown, OH, and we made good time. We arrived well before most of the other racers, though we actually followed one guy from the freeway to the venue who also happened to be a very helpful volunteer/racer... he finished just ahead of me!

It was great to have a road trip with Max, as we really don't get the opportunity to do that very often. Shortly after our arrival, I got registered

for my race and we were off to check out the course. Very soon after making the observation that there were A L

OT of sticks on the course from all the trees Max's day came to a grinding halt. A stick got caught in, and bent his rear derailleur!! Luckily he wasn't planning on racing.

That was just the start. My nose started running like a faucet shortly after we got there... I'm guessing all the leaf mold. What a pain! Do I sound like I'm complaining? I'm not really! I swear! After we got his bike stowed, Max was on camera duty. As it is rare that there is actual pictorial proof that I actually ride a cyclocross bike, he set out to confirm that the rumors are in fact true, and I do know how to ride a bike! Thank you Max!! The great photos in this post are all his...

More on the races later. I have to go get ready for tomorrow's race and actually get some sleep tonight!

The ever expanding 'cross web...

2008-10-05T07:53:00.000-07:00

ensnared a few more riders today. While I was contemplating a chilly and lonely morning in the park, unpacking the barriers, I was pleasantly surprised by the arrival of two team Nuvo riders, Aaron H. and Rich D., who materialized out of the woods. Having parked in a different lot, they were able to sneak up on me almost unnoticed. Typically, when I hear voices in the trees I always assume it's my overly active imagination or hikers, so this morning was a nice change... team Nuvo! Dave (not B., not T., lots of Dave's this year!), another new face decided to check it out on his mountain bike... always fun. Jerry arrived ready to ride and thankful that I managed to be without any fresh batteries for the camera! Oh well! He escaped yet another morning of riding un-photographed.

Aaron and Rich were able to get a look at some of the trail having ridden over to the Nature Center lot from the other side of the park. By the time I had the barriers situated we were ready to roll. We took the first, 2 mile, lap of the park's perimeter at a pretty good clip without going too crazy. The cold morning had all of us bundled up to varying degrees, me most heavily for sure. So by the time we finished a lap and rode some of the trail, we were definitely starting to heat up.

Eventually we made our way back to the amphitheater field where we got started with the barriers. Not having ridden much 'cross yet this year, Aaron and Rich were trying to brush off a bit of the rust, but were very quickly getting back into the groove with the dismounting/mounting routine. Dave proved to be a quick study for someone who's probably never been in a situation where he's trying to get off his bike at speed, only to remount a few seconds later in a dead run in what looks a bit crazy with legs flying and saddle rapidly approaching. Not much margin for error.

I'm happy to report that other than a few minor run-ins with the barriers, we had no major mishaps. No blood, bruising or other bodily harm was incurred, at least that I am aware of. I think we've got a few new faces that we're likely to see in the coming weeks. Very exciting! I'm hopeful that word will keep spreading and we can really keep the momentum building through this season and into next. 'Cross racing in Indy isn't exactly happening right now, but that can change. All it's going to take is enough people interested who are tired of driving to Ohio and Kentucky to get their racing fix. For now, I hope some of you will be heading to Cincinatti this coming weekend to race and or watch some of the action! Let me know if you need any information about the races, venues, directions, etc....

It sure is a long stretch...

2008-09-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

in between races! Jerry and I held down the fort at Cool Creek Park while Dave B. went down to Louisville for a day at the races. LUCKY!! I can't wait to hear how it went. I'm sure he had a great time.

Jerry and I spent our part of the morning hurdling barriers... repeatedly. Today they were set up in a more race-like manner, one after the other. We must have attacked the pair of barriers at least 20 times each by the time we finished. Jerry claims I seem to be getting better, I suppose it seems smoother these days, but I can't see myself doing the exercises so I I'll take his word for it. Jerry is definitely getting the dismount down. We practiced the running dismount trying to avoid hitting the brakes. Yea, it might not sound too difficult, but go out and try dismounting your bike at somewhere between 10 and 15 mph as a wooden barrier rapidly approaches! I really want to be ready for Cincinnati on the weekend of the 12th! We'll see what happens.

We spent some time scouting the perimeter of the park today too, as there's word that we might see the development of some new mountain bike (CX) trails! That would be really great if it really happens... and is done right... and doesn't exclude riders from existing trails... and, oh, never mind. I hope to be able to provide some input to the planning and development as it progresses. I'll keep you all posted as it develops.

The trails, as always were very ridable today. Some of the trees that have fallen across various trails recently have been cleared, leaving sawdust remains in a few locations. I have mixed feelings about that. As a cyclocross rider, I like the on-trail challenge of a barrier, while at the same time, a few that have been removed have made for some very nice, uninterrupted sections of flowing trail. So long as they don't remove "the one" original, I'll be happy. It's nice to see that the trails are being maintained.

There are at least two cyclocross bikes in the works that I know of. R.Z., I hope the build is coming along smoothly, we can't wait to have you come join us (maybe this weekend?). The season is still young, there's still plenty of CX season left, if you haven't made it out yet, now is the time. If any of you are interested in joining us for the Cincinnati Area Three-Day International Cyclocross Weekend (that's a mouthful!), please let me know. Even if you just want to go to watch, it should be a lot of fun. The racing over the three days (October 10th-12th) is going to bring some of the top international pros and should provide lots of great cyclocross action!

A few more new faces... sort of

2008-09-21T14:57:00.000-07:00

This morning was NOT a typical Sunday morning for me. Nothing seemed to be going right initially. Front flat (must have been a left-over from the race), left the shoes at home (thankfully I was early, so I had plenty of time), left the computer on the commuter, forgot the gloves, geeze, maybe I should have just stayed in bed! But then...

I had the pleasure of greeting newbies Dave T. and co-worker Lindsay today, along with 'cross stalwart Jerry. We spent a few minutes getting situated with the barriers and tire pressure (I gambled that the leak would be a slow one and so didn't change the tube), and then we were off. Lots of grass riding today. We went easy to start, as I did my best to be park guide, for the first few miles. As we warmed up, we started incorporating more of the trails and eventually made our way back to the barriers for a little mounting/dismounting intro and practice. Dave and Lindsay caught on pretty quickly and seem ready to go at it on 'cross bikes. They quickly discovered the advantage of a 'cross bike over a full suspension mountain bike when it came time for actually lifting the bike, that's for sure.

In honor of Dave B. we (okay, I think just me) did our standing two lapper about 45 minutes into the ride. It felt pretty good, but the legs were definitely burning for the whole second lap. Ouch! The trails were sticky from the over-night light rain, so traction was good today. No standing water to navigate, but the falling leaves are starting to accumulate. A few sections are going to be particularly slippery once the leaf cover gets really heavy and wet this fall.

We rode for nearly two hours, everyone tolerated my photography obsession (even Jerry!) , and I never had to add air to the tube. We had two newbies, a new face, a few familiar faces, and the day continued to get better. That's one of the great things about riding a bike. Sometimes, if you just let it, a bike ride can make all seem right with the world. Very often, it really is the little things in life...

'08 OVCX Season Opener

2008-09-14T17:28:00.000-07:00

Well, we had quite an eventful day at the races today. Besides the incredibly strong, intermittently gusty, winds, it was a great day for a cyclocross race. It was surprisingly warm turning to downright scorching, especially after the first racing lap. Thankfully the 3/4's only ended up doing five total laps of the tight, technical, and very twisty 1.5+ mile course.

I joined Dave, his wonderful wife Jamie (I'm not exaggerating, she was checking baseball and football scores on the way home!!), and adorable daughter Gabby, for the 2 hour trek over to Loveland, OH. Think suburban Cincy. I dozed toward the end of the drive, but Dave had everything under control, and we made great time.

Our race was the first up at a traveller friendly 11:00 am, and after pre-riding the course numerous times, we were ready to go. Unfortunately we still had nearly an hour before the starter's whistle. After our reconnoitering/warm-up session I felt pretty good about how to attack the course. There were two sets of barriers, one particularly short, steep climb, and four maze-like sections that were full of crazy, off-camber, fast turns. The only thing missing was the traditional cold and mud. Belgium it wasn't! The course actually dried out substantially by the time the race even started.

Our race had the typical assortment of "sandbaggers". They were even calling each other out, giving each other crap about racing with all of us newbies. Whatever! I just knew I wanted to finish on the lead lap, hopefully in the upper half of the field overall. Top five in my age group seemed reasonable considering the size of the field (pre-registered total of... 11!) In the Ohio Valley Series cyclocross events, they run categories 3/4 35+, 3/4 45+ and open 4 all together, so the whole field together I think was somewhere between 50 and 65. We won't know for sure until tomorrow, as race organization was not a strong point for this event. Anyway, it was a pretty sizable field, so much so that the juniors and women, who were going to start on the course 1 minute after our start, had their own race instead.

There were a handful (3-5?) riders that went down in a heap right after the start. On the high ground approach heading toward the first series of tight, steeply descending turns leading to the first set of barriers, some riders chose the wrong path. Namely, a trench covered in long grass obscuring the true hazard lurking beneath (see the foreground in the middle pic above). Luckily they went down next to me and not in to me just as they were starting to pull even. That turned out to be the only real mishap in our race, other than the occasional tangling with a course marker or barrier.

I never thought that forty minutes could seem so long, but when we came around the first time and the scorer was holding up the sign signaling 4 laps to go, I could only think of how nice that last lap was going to feel. That and the brief thought that either my brain was going to explode from the heat, or maybe I'd just puke. I have to say, other than not going quite as fast as I might have liked, overall it was a good first 'cross race for me after I settled in for the last 3 laps. No mechanicals, no crashes, no getting lapped, never putting a foot to the ground in fact, except at the barriers, and basically accomplishing what I had hoped for at the outset, including, most importantly, having fun doing it. I'll be curious to see how many riders ended up in my category and what the overall outcome was... but in reality, other than for pride's sake, I don't really care. I'll be back even if I was 20th out of 20!

Motherblogger!!!

2008-09-07T16:31:00.000-07:00

Not exactly what left my mouth when I took a spill this morning, but this is a "G" rated blog (okay, maybe "PG"), but it was quite a tumble as my front wheel went out from under me on the rain slicked asphalt. Nothing too dramtic, but, it sure would have been less painful on the trail or in the grass. Not much to list in the injury report department, thankfully; a little road rash on the hip (no fun cleaning out, that's for sure!), slight scrape on the elbow, and lesser so on the shoulder. Other than a mild bruising of my pride, a little stiffness is really about all that will linger for a few days.

I distinctly remember thinking, "Crap, I shouldn't make this turn off the road this fast", "Oh crap, it's too late! I hope my new helmet doesn't get messed up when I hit! (a millisecond prior to impact, no less), "I hope my derailleur hanger doesen't get messed up! (as I don't have a spare), and, "I hope my jacket and shorts don't get messed up sliding over the pavement and through this gravel!" ... precisely in that order. Evidently the brain's coping mechanism for allowing the apparent slowing of the time contiuum is ultra simplified mental language. I've noticed that, "in the moment", that certain and imminent injury is always furthest from my thoughts. I suppose the words of Mr. Fouts are true; "Skin grows back, bike parts don't!" Luckily all was okay, with the exception of a small dimple in the shell of my extraordinarily tough UVEX helmet. It will serve as a reminder to not be an idiot next time... maybe.

After collecting myself, I couldn't really dust myself off as the dirt and gravel that I slid through had been getting rained on intermittently for the last few hours. It appeared as if half of me had been motorpacing behind a leaky cement mixer. So it was more of a smearing in, instead of a dusting off. Probably most surprising was the fact that no one actually saw my crash! I had been in the process of looking for Jerry, and all the bird watchers, hikers and joggers were nowhere in sight. I suppose my bruised pride will heal a little more quickly knowing that some soccer mom isn't telling her family how she saw some poor guy crash-and-burn on her morning jog.

It was, with one minor exception, another great morning for 'cross. Jerry and I were able to get in a good 11 miles or so with lots of barrier practice. I've gotta' say, Jerry's step-through dismount is looking pretty smooth. This morning's rain was refreshing and it definitely made for a very cyclocross-like environment. If you haven't already checked it out and don't really know what I mean by "cyclocross-like environment", pick one of the videos to view on my 'cross specific YouTube link in the right sidebar.

Don't forget, this Sunday is race #1 of the OVCX season in Loveland, OH so you'll have the park all to yourselves if any of you want to show up early-ish, say 8:00 am or so, to keep our reluctant park ranger/gatekeeper/slacker on his toes! Dave B. and I will be busy doing our best impressions of cyclocrossers! LLL, it took a while, but I was finally able to use it! It came to me almost immediately after my crash. Thanks!

Jed jumped so high...

2008-09-01T06:14:00.000-07:00

he flew right through the top of the frame! I'm sure he'll give me grief for being such a crappy photographer, but in reality, he'll be thankful I didn't capture the look of abject fear in his eyes as he realized that little bump put him at least 4 feet above where he was going to land! Bob B. on the other hand took a more 'cross-like arc over the same jump on his Redline Conquest. We had a bit of fun at the grassy berm and thankfully no one (i.e. Jed and his high flying Rush) got hurt thanks to a great save on a not so great, front wheel, third landing. More proof positive for any of you Cannondale Lefty doubters out there! Jerry, camera shy as ever, re-surfaced after a few weeks absence. Welcome back! Our ride today consisted mostly of short, but intense bursts, followed by brief waits as we re-gathered at various trail heads. Not that you can get lost at Cool Creek, but it was nice to actually have to think about keeping a small group together!

Bob, winding down his road season, finally decided to take me up on the invite. Unfortunately his road season was not graced with the presence of his newly rebuilt(and when I say rebuilt, I mean REBUILT), and recently delivered Eddy Merckx race frame. A bit of the history of that bike will be the topic of another post. If you like a good love story, you'll have to be on the look-out. Anyway, the Merckx is better than ever and I was honored to have the privilege of riding it. Carbon, schmarbon, aluminium, eh, Ti, uh, why? Steel is where it's at and if you doubt me, and you happen to ride a 55cm frame, be extra nice to Bob and maybe you'll be lucky like I was. After just a few pedal strokes you'll know what a road bike is supposed to feel like. But, once again, I digress. In a few short moments the beautiful Merckx was stowed and the Redline was ready to go.

With the 'cross season rapidly approaching, and me feeling plenty under-prepared, we included lots of barrier run-ups and some fast sections on the trails. I could feel Jed breathing down my neck as he bounced off trees and surely missed the hanging, handlebar snagging vines by the slimmest of margins. The new Castelli jersey survived unscathed! Bob, as expected, was a barrier maniac. It was like watching a greyhound set loose after the little toy rabbit for the first time... 'round and 'round, making up for lost time.

I suppose the trade-off for having a few new faces showing up at the revised 8:00 start was worth it. There were definitely more trail users today, but I think it had more to do with the fact that the weather was about as perfect as one could expect early on a Sunday morning at the deep end of August. If an extra half hour of beauty sleep is what it takes to get a few more riders to show, then so be it, at least the other trail users were friendly enough. We now have an official new start time... until next spring anyway!

For those of you who still haven't made it, or are putting it off until next Sunday, it's time to strip off the fenders and racks. Get rid of the lights, locks, straps, bells and horns. Pull out the racing wheels and/or tires and get that cyclocross bike that's been masquerading as a commuter for the last 5 or 6 months back where it belongs, in its element, hitting the trails and the open grassy fields. Even if you have no plans on racing, even if you don't have a 'cross bike, there's no better way to start your Sunday off right than to come out for a few hours of fun at the park!

Ansel wanted a little more...

2008-08-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

publicity, so here are a few more of his shots, plus a shot of what you get when you cross a good shin whacking with remnants of a little poison ivy (pretty sure from the yard in case any of you are wondering, NOT from Cool Creek). I liked the progression with the pics in the last post, but I think the shot directly above is pretty nice with the brilliant greens and just a hint of the fog in the background. Probably my favorite of the day. Below, I'm clearly expending more energy than necessary to clear the mini barrier, but with Dave's watchful eye behind the camera, I couldn't risk a high speed crash, 'cause then I'd have to post that! Thanks Dave.

"Ansel Adams...

2008-08-24T07:09:00.000-07:00

...ain't got shit on me," I heard my guest photog, Dave B., jokingly mutter as I passed by on one of my last barrier laps to end our practice. I have to admit he got some great shots with a not too great camera! Considering how un-graceful I was feeling on the bike early in the ride today (a few minor spills, a shin whacking, and a pedal snagged on a hidden stump that nearly caused a swim in the creek) I think he managed to make me look like I actually know what I'm doing! Thanks Dave!

As always, Cool Creek was beautiful this morning. I was assuming I'd be opening the gate myself today as it was not quite sunrise and there was a mild "spooky" factor with lots of low-lying fog, but the cricket crowd beat us today! I have to admire their spirit, they had no fewer than 30 to 40 cricketeers (?) out there whacking that little white ball around... before 7:30 am! They pretty much prove the lameness of the ,"that's too early" excuse huh? Well, for those who do find the 7:30 start time a bit too challenging, we'll be starting at 8:00 am next Sunday, so if you've been putting off coming out to join us due to the early hour, you can get an extra half hour of beauty sleep!

While neither one of us was feeling great today, Dave getting over a cold, me a bit gimpy on my left knee, we definitely put in some high intensity efforts. Lots of barriers, lots of riding through the wet, slippery, grass fields, and a fair amount of trail riding worked in too. We're hoping to both be ready for the first race of the Ohio Valley CX series next month. Ready or not, we'll be heading to Loveland, OH September 14th to kick the '08 cross season off in style at the "Cyclocross at Riverview Park". We hope to see some friendly faces there too.

Barrier Bash!!

2008-08-17T06:53:00.000-07:00

Brad R. and I had a great time experimenting with the new newly constructed 'cross barriers. Not having read last night's email, Brad obliged and unknowingly provided the answer to the question, "Who will be the first to crash into one of my barriers?" In Brad's defense, it was his first time encountering an obstacle on the new Jake, with borrowed shoes and SPD pedals he's not used to. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the loose cleat!! We both had a good laugh and, thankfully, there were no injuries besides a scrape or two.

After the initial set-up, Brad and I went for a quick lap around the park, only to come back to a field devoid of barriers! What happened?! I think park ranger guy may have been irritated that I beat him to the punch opening the park this morning, because they were pulled out of the field. The gate was closed when I arrived this morning (I'm going to assume that's what caused some of the regulars to abandon!) so I took the liberty of opening the gates myself. The pad-lock is never actually locked just in case you're ever wondering. Anyway, our cars, the fresh foot-prints and tire tracks in the dewy grass leading to and from the barriers were evidently not enough evidence for him to deduce that the owners were in fact out and about. He showed up after Brad's initial "breaking-in" period and we assured him that the barriers would be leaving with us.

Brad insisted I include the admittedly humorous pic of his high-stepping, Heisman Trophy-like pose, barrier crossing. I think our bunny 'crosser was thinking, "Hey I can do that too!", as he appears to be contemplating a run-up. Brad's only thought was likely, "Yea bunny dude, but you don't have a bike!" I think after Brad's initial run-in with the very forgiving barrier, he just wanted to be a little extra careful and ensure that he cleared without any doubt. The second pic should make him feel a lot better. Looks pretty good to me!

Though not as muddy as what Brad was hoping for, we had a good ride on what was officially the best morning so far this year. We didn't see anyone on the trails and they were fast with minimal mud and standing water. I think we definitely have another 'cross junkie on our hands with Brad that's for sure. If his cleat hadn't finally broken loose, we'd likely still be riding! For the rest of you, there's always next week!!

Finally!! Advanced Bicycle Chain Cleaning 201

2008-08-15T07:45:00.000-07:00

At long last, I have some pics to add to this post. I've had a few people ask about this topic as it was mentioned a few weeks back. The method of drive-train maintenance described here is all really very simple, even for those who NEVER perform their own bike maintenance. The pictures I think are fairly self explanatory if you're actually going to give this a try.

Okay, I know everyone knows how to clean a chain. Most every cyclist has a White Lightening, Park, Finish Line or some other variety of chain cleaner, so what could possibly be easier or better? Well, easy is a matter of opinion, but what I will attempt to explain and illustrate here is quite simply the most effective and eco-friendly method of chain cleaning that I've ever tried. The following is a list of what you will need:

a quick link (Sram, Connex) for your chain or a Shimano chain pin

a chain tool, and the knowledge to use it!

a quick link removal tool (sometimes you NEED to use this tool to remove your quick link... always assume you will

an empty 32 oz. Gatorade bottle (clean and dry!), 3 if you want to re-use your solvent (save $ and help protect the environment!). Bottles 2 & 3 can be of any type

an eight inch section of coat hanger, or other similar heavy wire

degreaser (Park Chainbrite, White Lightening/Clean Streak , etc.)

a few shop rags (old socks work great!)

your chain lube of choice

Okay, now that all your stuff is assembled, it's time to start.

Once your chain is off (chain tool or quick link removal tool), drop it into one of your freshly cleaned Gatorade bottles. Pour, squeeze or spray about an ounce or so of cleaner into the bottle. It doesn't take much, and you want to make sure you can tilt the bottle enough to get the chain out without making a mess.

Cap the bottle, and start shaking it like a maraca. Kids love to do this part, thanks for the help Zoe. Shake, shake, shake, and shake some more. A few minutes of non-stop shaking is usually enough to get even the nastiest of chains nice and clean.

Now it's time for the wire. The shape of the "chain hook" is key as it can

serve a dual purpose if fashioned the way I have illustrated in the picture. In this case, using one hooked end, you will simply reach into the bottle until you hook a link in the chain. Pull it part of the way out and inspect some of the links. Likely the chain will be almost completely clean, if not more shaking. If you only see a little bit of grime, usually on the inner links, just wipe it down

and it will be almost as good as new. I like to use an old tube sock (turned inside out) as the non-smooth inside of the sock easily scrubs off any remaining grit on the outside of the plates and rollers. Re-rinsing with fresh cleaner is good if you're extremely particular or you have a really grimy chain like the one on my 'cross bike (soaking might even be in order). If you've used White Lightening/Clean Streak cleaner, the chain will be ready to be lubed right away. If you use any other solvents be sure to let the chain dry (an air compressor can be helpful to blow dry if you're careful). Once I've cleaned and dried it, I let the chain hang as I work on whatever else I have to do (like cleaning t

he rest of the drive-train!).

This is also a good time to reclaim your solvent! Re-cap and shake your bottle, then pour off all of the solvent and sediment into another clean bottle. Once the sludge has settled to the bottom (wait until the next chain cleaning to pour off, and/or use a strainer if you want) just slowly pour into your third, now designated, "reclaimed solvent" bottle. My 16 oz. bottle of Chainbrite will last for quite a while (we're talking seasons here!)

At this point it is time to re-install the chain (now is also the perfect opportunity to install a quick link if you don't already have one) , re-lube and you're done! If you're a glutton for punishment and you've done all this without a quick link, pull out your double-hooked wire because now it's time to re-connect your chain. Hook both ends of the chain 4 to 6 links up on each side to create slack at the ends of the chain while you position the pin in your chain tool to push back into the chain, or use your Shimano chain pin. I like to use the double-hook even when re-installing with a quick link too.

This method is so fast and easy that you should always have a clean, quiet chain!

Again, thanks go out to J3 for telling me about this (AND recommending the Gatorade-type bottle), and whoever was brilliant enough to suggest "the bottle method" to him in the first place. Other bottles may work, but they'll need to be similar to the Gatorade bottle (i.e. not smooth on the inside) as the formed, rough sides are key to getting the desired cleaning action.

The initial expense might be a bit more than getting an actual chain cleaner ($25) but that depends on your sports drink of choice and what supplies and tools you already have. You may already have everything you need right now! Most importantly you'll get a cleaner chain without much more effort, thereby extending the life (read, $$$ SAVINGS) of your whole drive-train.

Chain and drive-train cleaning is an easy bit of maintenance that everyone can and should perform, no matter what type of cleaning method you choose, and no matter what level of mechanical competence you may or may not have. Please share this with that someone we all know whose noisy chain is in desperate need of some TLC (and don't be that someone any more if it's you!) Now have some fun pretending to be a bicycle mechanic and go get a little dirty cleaning your chain!

How's that for a little RRR (reduce, reuse, recycle)? Four of the seven items are going to be RRR, two are tools, and one (quick link) is going to be used for along time before discarding. While we're on the topic of chains, I've got the "el-cheapo" chain-stay protector that anyone can manage to create in an upcoming post (thanks to Brad B. for reminding me). Maybe we'll talk about bicycle chain bottle openers too. If you have any questions or comments, shoot me an email or leave a comment on the blog (don't worry, they don't post automatically).

Whaaat???

2008-08-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

I was expecting a few people this weekend, but was surprised by the unexpected faces! We would have had 7 or 8 if some of the riders I was actually expecting had showed. Joe M. was back after a brief hiatus. We also had newbie Shawn (sp?) join us for his first Sunday morning ride it the park. Other than Joe's early departure due to getting smacked by his bike during a tough dismount in the very difficult drain pipe trail section, all went well. We were able to get a lot of good trail riding in combined with a fair amount of cardio in the shape of extended riding through as much grass as we could find, incorporating the perimeter of the park with the normal loops around the soccer field and baseball diamonds. It was cool and wet after last night's rains, but the trails, as always, were in pretty good condition with a minimum of standing water.

After some fairly fast "laps", we focussed a bit on mounts and dismounts with Shawn. Not being an expert, I felt like the demonstration went well (i.e. no embarrassing low speed crashes) considering it's a whole different ball game when you're trying to do these things slow enough to show someone. Dave B., my 'cross partner in crime, was back and feeling better, and was primed and ready for the standing 2 lap grind. The guy misses a Sunday and he turns into an animal! We had to chase him down a few times as a matter of fact. Other than Joe's misstep, there were no other mishaps on what was a very slippery morning. The wooden bridges were particularly treacherous, and all the exposed roots on the trails were just waiting to give a the slip, but it never happened.

Cyclocross Magazine now has our Sunday ride listed, so be sure get the word out! We all had a great time today, and look forward to seeing some new and old faces this coming Sunday. 'Cross season is nearly upon us! Next month... are you ready?

Little Belgium (movie)

2008-08-07T13:46:00.000-07:00

If you're into cyclocross and haven't used my link to cyclocross magazine yet, this movie is a great reason to check it out now. A high school student from Boulder, CO made "Little Belgium", which chronicles action from seven, 2007 New England CX races. The audio is a bit sketchy at times, but that's nit-picking, this kid put together a great movie that really catches a lot of what CX is about, from the racing, to the fans, to frame building. You really should check it out even if you only have a passing interest in the sport.

The Nebo World Championships

2008-08-05T18:24:00.000-07:00

All day today I was thinking about how my second group ride of the year, affectionately referred to as the Nebo Worlds, would go. Other than the commuting miles I've been logging this year it's been cyclocross on Sundays. I wouldn't say I was nervous, but considering I plan on doing a few CX races this fall, I was curious to see how I'd do. I figured I'd be hanging on for dear life, and eventually getting dumped off the back of the pack like on my only other Nebo ride of the year. That's mostly what happened last year too, despite the fact that I rode a vast majority of the group rides.

I hedged my bets and laid low for the first half of the ride, shamelessly taking whatever wheel happened in my path. Early on I was a bit concerned, but I knew I'd be fine as I was focussing on spinning in the small chainring for the first third of the ride, while others were mostly pushing the bigger gears. Where last year I might not make the gaps coming out of the turns, today was a different story. I didn't exactly feel great, but I felt like I could make the accelerations when I needed to, and more importantly, I did. I paid no heed to speed, didn't bother with my heart rate monitor, and the road bike computer has no cadence, so I was mostly riding without electronic feedback. The very rare glance at the speed reading confirmed what I already knew... we were flying! It felt great!

Though lacking enough snap in the legs to make the fast accelerations, I was able to close all the gaps that opened in front of me... again, a vast change from last year. I think mostly the improvement had to do with the amount of time I've spent working on spinning a higher cadence (100 rpm+) for extended periods (5-8 miles at a time) during the commute and on the 'cross bike, and not spending too much time on the front. This strategy never paid off last year like it did today. Ultimately, today made me feel just a little more comfortable going into the fall as Dave F. confirmed what I already suspected at the end of the ride, we had averaged 22.5 mph for the whole ride. Considering that included the 8 or so mile "warm-up" time spent at 20 mph and below, that was a pretty fast training ride.

Today was officially my fourth time out on the road bike this year and only my second group ride. The first one was very early in the spring and it was NOT fun. I distinctly remember thinking a lung was likely to get coughed up. So now I know the commute "training" and the once to twice weekly 'cross rides are paying off. Either that or I'm hopped up on "the juice" and avoiding the out of season drug controls... ha! Only if they're testing for higher than normal amounts of Jif in the system, J.K.! BTW, where were you, I figured I be drafting you all the way back in! All I know is I was able to catch the "Dave-Train" a number of times, and it was great!

Arm warmers in August?

2008-08-03T07:50:00.000-07:00

This morning was alarmingly similar to earlier spring rides as it was very cool - a refreshing 63 degrees - when I left this morning, and yes, the temperature weenie in me grabbed the arm warmers. I never did take them off. After sweltering on a 36+ mile road ride Friday, this was a nice change. Jerry showed up this morning and managed to find me after I'd gotten in a few meandering laps through the woods. I worked in lots of running dismounts and re-mounts today, trying to manage at least 1-2 per lap. I definitely was not "feeling it" today with regards to being smooth on the re-mounts. No groin smashing mishaps thankfully, but just not as smooth as I'd like. At least there were no spills on the slippery grass for a change.

In addition to the running transition work, I incorporated the only stairs in the park into a few of the laps. Don't let them fool you. They're more challenging than they look as they are not regularly spaced by any stretch of the imagination. Start trying to take two at a time and you'll be asking for trouble! The pic of the stairs also offered one of the few opportunities to get a pic of Jerry who also happens to be very camera shy. Sorry Jerry, I got that one on the fly as the camera whizzed passed your head. I don't think he appreciated the stairs... sorry for that too! We had a good time though. Nice easy laps with lots of diversions off onto the singletrack. Amazingly the mud bog is no more... for the time being anyway. Nice and dry and even a rideable path through what is normally a soupy mess of logs, branches, muck and hidden dead stuff I'm sure I'd probably rather not know about.

We finished the morning with a little cricket! Who knew? When I rode into the park I didn't look closely enough and just assumed it was a bunch of guys with a strange sense of how to play softball. Sometimes my powers of observation are truly staggering! They were having a great time well into their second hour of play by the time we stopped to watch. Maybe if I shag enough foul balls for them they'll let me take a swing with one of those funky bats one day! Hopefully they'll continue playing into the fall... I know I will be!

Okay, I finally did it!

2008-08-01T13:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Dave B. and I hit Town Run Trail on the 'cross bikes. I'm a little embarrassed to say I had never ridden there (except from the BGI side, which doesn't really count). The trail was a lot of fun. How can about seven miles of mostly singletrack not be? Especially when you don't have to start the car to get there. The nearly seven mile ride there was a nice warm up for our new-for-me riding adventure.

I have to say, based on some of the looks we were getting, we had more than a few people wondering what the heck we were doing there on the "skinny tired" bikes. Our first lap was mostly fast with a few slow downs mostly due to my being unfamiliar with the trail. Unfortunately I was feeling a little too good on the return leg, after getting a handle on anticipating what the trail was going to do in the trees, we came out of the tree cover and hit a section of trail, consisting of mostly loose sand. The sand was not the problem, but an unexpected table-top jump/bridge/ramp constructed from what seemed to be be reclaimed chunks of concrete and rock, did me in. A little too much weight forward, a little too soon, with a very rough, and unexpectedly, long-ish "top" sent me flying. I landed on my right shoulder, rolling to my back, and after a moment realized both feet were still clipped in, thus suspending my bike above me while I looked at blue sky through the swirling dust storm I'd created. My next thought was, Dave! He was behind me and I wasn't sure how far. Luckily, my dust storm (not to mention, what I'm sure must have been an impressive sounding "thud") provided enough of an early warning that I was able to avoid what would have been a much more painful collision. Thanks Dave!

After a quick check to make sure all was as it should be, and assuring Dave that I was good to go, I straightened the shifter and right side brake lever, and we were off. A rush of adrenaline does wonders! It took a few turns of the trail to get back in the rhythm of things, but we were back at the parking lot only a few minutes later. I was so close to making my first run crash-free. Oh well! The parking lot was a welcome reprieve, and offered the opportunity to discover that I hadn't demolished the camera or any important bike bits.

We had a nice conversation with, for me anyway, a kindred spirit who finished a few minutes after us. A guy riding a single-speed Bianchi! We talked a bit about the merits of riding a rigid bike vs. all the full suspension rigs we see everywhere. Don't get me wrong, J3 just about has me convinced I should make a full suspension bike my next ride, but there's nothing wrong with a little change for those who have never ridden anything but. Town Run is the perfect example of a trail that will ride completely differently depending on what you're riding, but is very rideable on nearly anything (my son has ridden it on my 24" BMX cruiser).

Some trails almost demand full suspension to avoid losing all your teeth, but this is not one of them. Much of the trail, yesterday at least, was hard-pack and very fast. Learning how to ride fast on a rigid or at least a hard-tail bike, can only make you faster on a full-suspension, make up for your mistakes with 5 inches of travel, bike. Picking the right line, instead of plowing into whatever the trail happens to throw in front of you is one of the first things you had to learn in the old days. I can tell you that riding a 'cross bike on a trail like Town Run definitely feels a bit like starting over. It is the perfect laboratory for such self experimentation. Now all I need is the full-suspension bike!

Anyway, we had a great time. Dave got a nice picture of me going over one of the bridges, once again getting a better shot of me than I was able to manage of him. It's his blinding speed, and the lack of it with regards to the shutter on the camera. Not to mention that once we stopped to get a pic with the busted tree, that turn became Grand Central Station, with no few than 5 or 6 riders magically appearing out of nowhere... repeatedly.

The backroads...

2008-07-27T20:23:00.000-07:00

of Northern Indiana really are worth exploring by bike if you've never had the pleasure. I went back for the second time this month, and it was great! Though I didn't get to put in a lot of miles this past weekend, I had fun on a speedy 20 miler over mostly gravel road and a bit of beautiful, twisty, lakeside trail. More importantly, I was able to enjoy some great time spent with the family in these closing weeks of summer. We had a blast on the water at Crooked Lake, hanging out and I was able to take lots of pics of the thrills and spills of tubing, barefooting and wake-boarding. I discovered a new game (to me, anyway) called washers (think horseshoes but with really big, painted, metal washers) that was a lot of fun, and just generally had a nice relaxing weekend.

The 'cross season is rapidly approaching as our steamy summer slips away! The Ohio Valley Cyclocross Race Series starts up September 14th in Loveland, Ohio! It's hard to believe that fall is closing in, as the days are starting to get noticeably shorter with each passing week, and it's back to school pretty soon for the kiddos. I hope some of you are starting to think about getting ready for the rigors of the season. Now is the time to start polishing those 'cross skills (and your bike) so you don't have race-day mishaps and injuries.

I'll be trying to do my part by keeping you all updated with information, pics and any first hand race reports for those events that I plan on attending and/or racing. I've already had a few people ask about my upcoming post on drive-train cleaning. It's coming soon, definitely in time for getting the bike ready for the season. I just need to get some photos taken. Thanks to all for the interest that has been shown so far, and be sure to stay tuned, as there's a lot more to come!

Camelbak Podium Bottle... Health Hazard?

2008-07-22T07:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, so what's the word in water bottles these days? Yes, we've all been informed that we've doomed ourselves and our children to a shorted life, or at least have been somehow biologically compromised by BPA. Huh? Yea it's a steroid of some sort (hmm... Floyd was drinking and pouring lots of potentially BPA infested water on and in himself a few years ago...). Don't really care, as I'm probably doomed to sprout an extraneous arm out my back, or maybe a breast on my forehead, late in life. Whatever!!

All I know is that if BPA contributes to the nasty plastic taste that the typical water bottle has, then forget the superfluous arm or inconvenient breast, that taste must go! Yuck! The Camelbak Podium bottle really is different in that respect. The taste, and presumably unwanted BPA related side effects are non-existent!! I've left water in one of these bottles for over a week and then had the guts (read, desperation borne from poor preparation) on a hot commute to actually take a swig. They're really not lying when they say the plastic taste is gone. It just tasted like water, warm and possibly suspect, but at least plastic-taste free.

That's the best and possibly only reason to get this bottle. The other features? I'm not so sure about. The open/close feature? Why? Maybe to keep people like me from the mess resulting from the nearly imperceptible seeping water, or whatever else I'm drinking, onto my bike and/or the floor if I happen to hang it up with the valve twisted (yes, I said twisted) "open". That's one of the problems, you have to remember to twist closed what really should be an auto-closing valve if you hang it by one wheel or upside down with a bottle in the cage (like you might if you happen to be a commuter).

If, on the other hand, you pull the bottle out on a hot ride assuming you left it twisted open and go for a quick drink... it'll likely be closed! Then you either take the other hand off the bar to open or stick the bottle back in the cage and twist it open. Stupid! Can you say group ride fiasco? I'll stick with the "bite, pull" to open, and the "hip-slap" to close thank you very much. The Podium's mechanism is a more complex, gimmicky and cumbersome method than is necessary for sure.

Worse is the grit catching potential (oh, and it's a reality) of the opening. It looks similar to the bite valve on a Camelbak, but there is an open cavity between the recessed, (supposedly) auto-closing squeeze valve and where the liquid actually leaves the bottle. A preemptive, wasteful blast likely will dislodge most of what crud might accumulate on a typical road ride, but a mountain bike ride? Can you say crap chamber? As in horse, dog, raccoon, cow, bear, squirrel, bird, yea, you get the picture. Personally, I wouldn't trust the sterilizing qualities of the aforementioned blast on a mountain bike ride, nor would I be likely to sacrifice my last sip if I'm dehydrating just to perform a potential fecal-flush for the valve. That last, contaminated sip could save my life whereas I could always go to the emergency room with my intestinal distress and at least die in the comfort of a hospital bed. It's a potential crap-catch-22 that, I for one, don't want to be caught in. Come to think of it, this is livestock country! I'm feeling a little "crappy" as I think about using it on road rides now!

Maybe I'll start using my presumably BPA free Polar Bottle water bottles more (they're stickered "BPA Free" now, but has that always been the case I wonder?) A bit more research is necessary I think. Maybe a Polar/Podium Hybrid is in order here. That'll make one expensive bottle, especially when the Polar is already plastic-taste free! Why bother?

With regards to grading the Podium; A+++ for the BPA/plastic-free taste. Depending on how you want to use the bottle, maybe a good choice, F---, multi crap-o-la rating for the opening. Only use this bottle if you're fairly certain that your ride will keep you clear of crappy contaminants... like my commute (NOT!). My powers of rationalization are second to none, but I'm still going to put a Polar cap on this bottle if I can manage to score an extra, as I happen to know it fits. Unfortunately, the ubiquitous and much cheaper Specialized screw-on cap doesn't work. In short, if you're going to spend $10+ on a bottle, get a Polar Bottle and enjoy a drink of cold and plastic-taste-free water.

50 miles on a beautiful Sunday...

2008-07-21T19:21:00.000-07:00

is all I could hope for after weeks of late-in-the-week rains. 20 mostly fast miles in the park. 8 miles getting to and from my favorite Sunday morning workout. 22 more miles tacked on for the commute to and from work. Is there a better way to end the week?

Jerry and I had the trails TO OURSELVES the whole morning. No kidding! We didn't encounter even one trail user. It was a bit odd actually, as there were plenty of people in the park; joggers, walkers, nature lovers, dog lovers, a family photo shoot, and an unfortunate little boy who, according to Jerry had an unplanned, up close and personal meeting with the asphalt as he had a high speed endo coming down the hill on his scooter/skateboard/death-trap. Needless to say, mom's morning jog was cut short. Fortunately I missed the drama, but did witness the aftermath... the slow painful walk back to the car. The good news is he was walking, and had been wearing a helmet. Thanks mom!

Anyway, the trails were in excellent condition as they haven't been rained on for over a week. The drying out is creating new routes around old obstacles. The mud bog is ride-able, the standing water is no more and the grass fields are getting downright fast as the ground is firming up. The softball/baseball fields have new outfield fencing so there is a much more defined perimeter for our grassy diversion.

So, the keys here; 1.) miles are good (always), 2.) speed is great (usually), and 3.) changing condtions create new possibilities... just keep your eyes open! See you on the trails!

Feeling down right Sven like...

2008-07-16T21:08:00.002-07:00

Nys that is! We had a good ride this evening. I did anyway, I can't speak for my two cohorts. I managed at least three clean (i.e. injury free), smooth (for me) flying re-mounts on the trails. Ahhh, the simple things. Greg A. showed up on his rigid, old school Nishiki Ariel and absolutely rocked on his semi-slicks! About as close as a mountain bike gets to a 'cross bike, that's for sure. Dave B.'s circadian rhythm was off as he wasn't too sure about how he feels riding so late in the day with the heat, dogs, hikers, more of the same dog, soccer players, ultimate frisbee...ers, big dogs, soccer players, small dogs, baby packing hikers, and that same woman with her dog! I think maybe she was stalking us... I have to say that I'm liking the early Sunday ride even more now.

At first I was a bit hesitant as I had an unplanned date with Home Depot, but home improvements can always wait for a good ride, especially when they involve electrical problems... I hate electrical work! Thank goodness the email had been sent or I'd have probably talked myself into finishing my frustrating work. I felt compelled to go ride. Afterward, I had a successful Home Depot visit and my ride-cleared head helped me think through my project with a fresh perspective. Now I can look forward to enjoying a repaired and fully operational ceiling fan as I doze off to sleep tonight. Hope to see you on the trails at Cool Creek this Sunday... bright and early!

2008-07-16T21:08:00.001-07:00

Gravel, gravel everywhere!

2008-07-07T05:43:00.001-07:00

I did my best to keep my whole ride on the many miles of gravel roads near Angola. At first, I was a bit paranoid about getting a flat, or many, out in the middle of nowhere, but I had no problems. Riding the roads up there on a 'cross bike is absolutely the best way to really see the countryside that's for certain. In nearly two hours of riding, a total of two cars passed me... in either direction! I got to see the Pigeon Creek Nature preserve up close. I went just far enough that I wasn't completely certain I'd remember all the turns I took to get back... I didn't! My non-gravel miles were mostly a result of inadvertently taking the long way around the preserve on my way back. It was still a great ride and I'm looking forward to getting back up there to do some more exploring. I think one of the reasons I enjoyed myself up there so much is that much of what I saw reminded me of riding in Italy, with the rolling hills, plentiful gravel and general lack of vehicular annoyance... what a great place to ride here in Indiana!

LLL, thanks for the license to freely utilize your literary mechanism of choice (the ellipsis) and no, no dogs gave chase when I passed Chasey Lane though there were some confused doggie/bloodhound gang, looks as I don't think they were expecting to see me, or anyone, on a bike. Probably the most surprising thing, in retrospect, was the complete lack of canine interference. All in all, it was a wonderful, long ride home. I'll see some of you out at the Creek on Sunday and I hope to hear about some great rides from this holiday weekend!

The final race of the 2008 Zionsville GP was...

2008-06-30T04:31:00.000-07:00

fast and furious as the boys tried in vain to chase down the lead four who managed to lap the field. The main group had already been pared down by the middle of the race, and the lead four were alone to battle for the podium positions. Frustrations amongst themselves were to be heard around the course from the main field as they frantically chased in vain. A little of the action is captured in these pictures...

(for more great race pics go to Indywriter's flickr page in my "Cool Links")

So it's neither 'cross nor commute related (GP pt. 2)

2008-06-29T15:43:00.000-07:00

but it was fun to watch and take some pics with the shop camera. After work on Sunday Jonathan, Brad and I went over to watch the Zionsville Grand Prix criterium races, lovingly referred to as the Zionsville World Championships. Team Nebo did well in the earlier racing but didn't have anyone in the last race of the day. All of these pics are from that last race, sorry Team Nebo.

It's hard to believe...

2008-06-29T06:38:00.000-07:00

it's not 'cross season already! The ride has been consistently cool and wet, at least to start, every Sunday for at least the last 3-4 weeks. Dave and I like to tell each other that we're getting a head start on everyone else with regards to training... we'll see about that come fall! The above pics clockwise from bottom; Dave as ghostly apparition, Independent Fetish, Fetish Independence or Co-dependent Fetish??, and Dave, I think you have a little schmutz.....

As always, the park was beautiful this morning. We spotted the doe from last week and the rabbits are apparently getting used to our escapades. I passed a suspiciously relaxed rabbit as he sat and nibbled some grass at the top of a small knoll that we like to "jump". I fully expected him to dart away at the last second, hopefully not into my wheels, but he just sat and watched while lazily munching away. He's either a cyclocross fan or he was hoping to see a high speed wipe-out, either way he was definitely watching! I have to admit it was a bit strange, not exactly intimidating, but maybe a bit disconcerting. Thankfully I didn't oblige on the wipe-out front, and he stayed put as I literally flew past him within about 5 feet.

After a recent, commuting run-in with an errant, and most definitely crazed squirrel who zigged instead of zagging, I was definitely a bit wary of my furry spectator. For those of you who might be animal lovers, I'm not sure how the squirrel fared last week after my foot smacked him in the head(?) while doing about 22 mph heading down 106th street. He avoided the instantaneous and most certainly messy death that would have been wrought by the DT spoked threshing machine, but must have had a massive squirrel headache assuming he survived the impact. Rabbits 1, Squirrels 0.

Anyway, we were all over the trails today. The tight twisty sections were a lot of fun as they were a bit on the slick side after last night's downpour. Dave had a run-in with a slippery log and I foolishly thought I could ride through a vine hanging across the trail. Let's just say we both found ourselves on our backs wondering, "What was I thinking!" Thankfully the camera was stowed away for both incidents, though my bike was literally hanging above the trail after my forced ejection... could have been a cool picture! Thanks for not running over me Jerry! The trails once again proved to be very ride-able. It is amazing how most of the sections drain so well. The ravines (my title pic is Dave heading down into one of the two) were even free of standing water.

We stretched our standing, two lap grind to include the soccer field loop, and I was definitely having second thoughts after instigating that. I foresee barriers in the very near future to spice up the running work-out we torture ourselves with over by the open air amphitheater. A time-trial, 'cross style is also in the works. Hope to see more of you soon. I might not be out there this coming Sunday as I could still be out of town for the holiday weekend, but we'll see.....

We had another first-timer...

2008-06-22T06:33:00.000-07:00

join us today. First time at Cool Creek on a 'cross bike anyway. John W. showed up a bit late and still had no problem finding us. The brief storms yesterday seemed to have little to no effect on the trail conditions... all were very rideable. We did a lot of the tight twisty, single-track sections, and Jerry R. got a feel for how different the trails are on a 'cross bike. We discovered he'd been sand-bagging us on his Fisher mountain bike as he pulled out the cool, disc brake equipped Schwinn 'cross bike that had been his "road bike" up until a few days ago. No more slick tired road riding for the 'cross beast, it is now a dedicated, dirt-seeking 'cross machine.

Before Jerry and John arrived Dave B. and I were lucky enough to not only see, but get a picture (no I wasn't taking a picture of Dave's very nice Moots jersey...look closer!) of the very elusive doe that has been running through the trees lately. No sign of the much larger buck spotted a few weeks back though. We also spied plenty of rabbits and a mystery creature that could best be described as a very large beaver or a small wolverine? I'm clearly no zoologist, and I certainly, didn't get a good look but if we were in Southern Cal with some of my old riding partners from south of the border, I'm sure we'd be joking about an El Chupacabra sighting.

We were able to get some good road miles in, in addition to the trail riding. If you know Dave ask him how much he loves the standing only, single gear two mile grind loops. Fun, fun, fun! We really were lucky today as the trails were completely devoid of hikers and bird watchers. The dogs on the long retractable leashes are a bit of a concern, but they're relatively few and far between. Once again, the beauty of getting there early is the fact that we mostly have the run of the park for at least a little while. We're officially up to 7 riders so far this year, and I'm still expecting some more riders to show up one of these days. Dave, thanks again for the ride home today.

Don't forget to spread the word! Send me emails if you or anyone you know has any questions or wants to come join us. Have a great Sunday!

Happy Father's Day!!!

2008-06-15T19:44:00.000-07:00

My hope is that everyone has had as wonderful a Father's Day as I've had! My Sunday, as usual, started off with a fantastic ride in the park. Everyone in the park (except me) was sticking to the road. The trails were in very good riding condition considering all the rains. Some puddles here and there, but nothing too terrible. I made a point to avoid the mud bog today as I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be able to cross it without a serious amount of off-bike work. The morning sun brought a welcome warmth to a surprisingly cool ride. As always, the 16 combined miles provided me the absolute best way to start my Sunday off on the right foot...or pedal! Post ride, the rest of my Father's Day was spent, as it should be, with my beautiful wife and wonderful kids. I hope you're all as lucky as I, and I hope to see you next weekend!!

The trails were wet, wet, WET!!

2008-06-08T07:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, one stretch was technically under water. For the most part we stuck to the road after the initial reconnoitering of the normal route. It was slick and there were a few trees that found new homes across the trails. Packing a hand saw might be in order for next weekend. Incredibly our "bridge" was mostly there, though Dave B. was the only one brave enough to give it a try...almost made it too! After hitting the race down in Brown County last week, we had the two "J's" (Jerry and Joe) rejoin us along with a new face, Yngvar! Dave cut out a little early but we got some good riding in prior to his departure, and a bit more (mostly on the road) after.

Dave got to take a bow after his mostly graceful step-off on his first bog crossing attempt. My aborted attempt ended somewhat less... clean. Joe took the pic of my mud splattered head which was relatively clean in comparison to the rest of me. We hope to start seeing more of Yngvar, and Brad R. if you're reading this, you and your new Jake will be expected this coming weekend! Thanks to those who have come out to ride, and thanks also to those who have been keeping tabs through the blog. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome.

And then there were two...

2008-06-01T06:44:00.000-07:00

of us on the absolute best Sunday morning so far this year! We lost two riders to the mountain bike race down in Brown County, so Dave and I had the park mostly to ourselves. No one was on the trails and only a few hikers, bikers and joggers were on the road. Apparently the roadies we saw haven't heard about all the great riding they're missing at the park, right under their noses!

We were able to ride about 15 miles total, half of which was on the somewhat slick but firm trails. Amazingly no reconstruction was necessary for the log, bog crosser. Both times across for me were successful, that is, until I dumped my chain at the exact same point three quarters of the way across, but Dave had no problems.

I've taken care of half of my chain problems with my custom made chain-guide/bash-guard, now I just have to break down and give up trying to find my 3rd Eye Chain Watcher and get a new one so I stop dumping my chain onto the bottom bracket. If you want budget 'cross bike, that's what I've built. If you want to run a 1 X 9 or 1 X anything, on a shoe-string let me know, I'd love to make some more guides.

Thanks to Dave for managing to work my camera better than its owner. Thanks too for NOT getting a shot of my not too graceful dismount/fall. As always, we had a blast, and we hope to see more of you out there in the coming weeks.

What a beautiful...

2008-05-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

morning to spend riding at Cool Creek. We got to welcome a new rider to our small group today - thanks for joining us Joe M. We spent some time re-constructing the log, bog crosser, and once again were "beaten to the punch" so to speak, by a very grateful trail runner. We found a perfect, natural 'cross barrier that I can't believe we had missed for so long. Maybe it was the recent storms that knocked this tree down to the perfect height for an obstacle demanding a dismount. I'd pay to see someone try to clear this barrier without getting off! Maybe a trials rider. The hikers and bird watchers were few and far between so we had the trails mostly to ourselves...it was great. I was sorry to have to leave a bit early as it was sooo nice, but there's always next weekend!

I had some more pics from Bike to Work Day...

2008-05-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

that I wanted to share. Getting to share my ride to Monument Circle with Bill C. (that's his blue pack in the first pic) also made me think of an email exchange we had. I'll share part of that too.

Bill's email is an absolutely perfect post for this blog. Succinct and to the point, and it so brilliantly illustrates so many examples of the beauty of the cyclocross bike as a utilitarian, every day bike. Not to mention race machine.
....................................................................................................
Here's the life of my Kona, Jake the Snake:

1. Race in the BCSP road race (may not have been the best idea, but it was fun!
2. Throw on the fenders and commute to/from work
3. Drag the boys to Eagle Creek Park in the Burley to watch the crit races (after my race)
4. Hook up the Trail-a-Bike to take Isaac to soccer
5. Tow the Burley to the store for groceries
6. Group road rides in bad/wet weather
7. Cruise around the neighborhood with the boys
8. In the fall, strip it down to nothing and go 'cross racing!

It's getting a lot of use for a such a relatively inexpensive bike. My Six13 really only comes out for the Tuesday night shop rides and occasional road races now. I certainly remember why I owned a CX bike before, and why I missed it so much when I sold it.
....................................................................................................

I consider myself a cyclist, period. I've raced a bit, mountain biked a lot, ridden centuries, and logged lots of road miles over the years, but it always comes down to simply finding peace of mind on two wheels. Thanks again to Bill and all the others who participated in Bike to Work Day/Week/Month. Let's keep it going!

Cool seems to be...

2008-05-18T06:40:00.000-07:00

the key ingredient for our Sunday morning get togethers out at Cool Creek Park this year. We had four riders today! The trails were messy, our log, bog crosser was destroyed with torrential downpours from last weekend. We'll have some work to do getting that straightened up! Let's just say some BIGGER logs came crashing through the fence line during the storms. More obstacles though right? The bird watchers were out in droves (flocks maybe?) so most of the 11 or so miles was on the road, but we managed to get some good trail riding in with a minimum of "stink-eye" and no nasty comments. It was slippery and a bit messy, but as always, fun, fun fun! We're figuring it's only a matter of time before someone actually takes an inadvertent dip in the creek. Now that I've said that I'm sure I've doomed myself to being the first. Shop customer Jerry managed to find us and he's not even on my "list" (yet!). He was a trooper lugging his big Fisher MTB while we tortured ourselves doing our "field work". Scott R's only comment was, "I can taste my bagel again!" It's been a few weeks, huh? As always we had a great time. The wildlife was especially spectacular today with the airborne road crossing of a very large deer, witnessed by Scott and myself. It looked like one of Santa's reindeer it was so high! Seriously we could probably have ridden under the deer as it effortlessly cleared the road and more in a single graceful leap. I only wish we had been closer and I had my camera ready. As always, thanks go out to Dave B. for always showing up with enthusiasm! Thanks too, for the ride home today, I think the extra soccer field loop zapped me! Thanks to those of you who keep coming back to my blog to see what's going on, we hope to have you join us soon!

I had to add a post...

2008-05-17T17:46:00.000-07:00

Bike to Work Week/Day, uh, "post". I wasn't able to participate last year so was unsure what to expect. Let me just say that I was impressed with all the hard work and effort that clearly goes into organizing something like that...and what a great response! Congrats and thanks to Chris Hancock with Indiana Bicycle Coalition for playing such a big role in organizing such a fantastic event. I left with a small group of cyclists from the shop on the west side, and we meandered over to the Monon through the neighborhoods on a beautiful brisk morning. Lots of fun was to be had riding with so many people on a weekday morning with everyone having a distinct purpose. Training rides are fun, but using the bike as something other than a toy or piece of exercise equipment is so much more rewarding. The only thing better than getting out and riding, is getting out and riding with a purpose! It was great to see so many people, even for just one day, celebrate the bicycle as a viable means of reliable transportation. Our group successfully navigated our way down to Monument Circle to enjoy the camaraderie with a wide variety of enthused, interesting cyclists and their equally interesting and in many cases quite unique bicycles. One thing that struck me probably more than anything else was how genuinely happy everyone attending seemed to be, just to be in the company of so many like-minded individuals. Smiles and laughter were to be seen and heard at every turn. Getting to see friends and make new acquaintances were just a few of the best reasons to take part. On my way back up the Monon, I realized how lucky I was to be riding to work TWICE in one morning! How cool is that? Thanks to Bill C. on his trusty Jake the Snake for riding down to the Circle with me, great company! If any of you weren't able to make it on Friday, just pick a day...soon, don't wait 'til next year, it's too much fun to wait.

It's National Bike to Work Day (tomorrow), and...

2008-05-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

it doesn't get much better than that. Except, it's been National Bike to work week since Monday! Unbelievably, Indy is tied with four other cities for next to the lowest percentage of population that commutes to work by bike (.4% if I recall correctly!) That's CRAZY! That's got to change. Infrastructure changes will help, but I think those of us who consider ourselves cyclists, need to set an example for others to follow by getting out on the streets more, instead of only doing the "group rides" or the ever popular, "load the bike on the car to go ride". There's nothing wrong with that if you're heading down to Brown County to do some mountain biking, or have time constraints, but we should all think about using our (cross) bikes for more. I went to Lowes on Tuesday - that was a first for me - on my bike. I've literally had people tell me they've been inspired to commute simply by seeing someone else doing it. $4/gal gasoline doesn't hurt either! Get a rack or grab a back-pack and head to the grocery store. It's liberating to be freed from the car! Commuting by bike has always been my favorite means of getting to work, but heading to lunch with the wife, going to my son's soccer practices, making a stop at the drug or grocery store - are all do-able on a bike. Even better on a cross bike in Carmel, the city of pointless sidewalks! Has anyone else ever noticed that if you're riding with the family in Carmel, you're almost always presented with a sidewalk that simply STOPS...usually in the middle of NOWHERE, or worse, just shy of SOMEWHERE! The next time you're out riding or driving see how many you spot...seriously! A 'cross bike at least makes the insanity (or at least short sighted-ness) a lot more fun! Also, a little food for thought, a kid trailer holds an incredible amount of bagged groceries...try it sometime. Anyway, have a happy, sweaty, Bike to Work Friday, and I hope to see some of you readers out at Cool Creek Park this Sunday morning for some 'cross riding, 7:30 am a the Nature Center Parking lot.

Bikes? In China? Oh, yes...

2008-05-12T07:49:00.000-07:00

and lots of them! Over 9 million, JUST IN BEJING! The following excerpt is from an email exchange that helped me form into words some of my thoughts on the bike in general, the state of the bike in the United States as transportation in particular, and, of course, at least a passing mention of my beloved cyclocross bike(s):

Matt,
What the heck are you doing in China? I'd guess scouting Olympic sites if it were Bejing, but Shanghai - it must be the wealth? I'm guessing your mission has something to do with getting every Chinese person to buy just ONE bag of anything you sell! ;-) How awesome would that be? Good luck. The reason you're seeing so many bikes is that you are seeing a culture that has embraced the bicycle out of necessity. No matter how many cars ultimately get sold in China ( and that number is rising dramatically every year ), sheer population numbers will, I think, ensure that the lowly bicycle will always remain the number one means of affordable transportation in developing economies such as China. The whole world would be in trouble if every household in China could suddenly afford a gasoline powered car, don't you think? There are all sorts of programs right now - specifically Africa Bike ( thanks Kona Bikes -see www.rodaleinstitute.org/biketownafrica - that promote getting dependable bicycles to communities, organizations and individuals who are truly in need. I'm sure you've noticed all the bikes locked up on the streets on your travels in Italy, no? From what I understand, those numbers pale in comparison to Northern European countries like Holland and Belgium. Why not that level of popularity here in America?

China is bigger than the U.S. both geographically and in terms of population, but on a per capita basis poorer, while most European countries are at least on par economically speaking. So why is the bike so popular in both, but not here? We're too big AND wealthy. China needs the bike economically speaking, Europe loves the bike for what it truly is, the best, most convenient means of economical transportation, especially in smaller communities that typically just aren't that car friendly. Not to mention the sport, three Grand Tours, the spring classics, how could they not be in love with the bicycle? Couple the average American's sedentary lifestyle with how spread out everything is and it's a bit of a wonder that the bicycle hasn't been relegated strictly to museum artifact status. In much of the rest of the world, the bicycle is a necessity, to varying degrees. In the U.S., it is largely seen as a toy for both adults and children. I hope that will change. I'm seeing that change start, however short-lived, as gas prices creep up to $4/gal. A lot more people are starting to see the economic value of getting on their bikes and off their butts! I for one think that $4+ a gallon will help get more people out of their cars and on bikes. Unfortunately, much of the infrastructure in the U.S. is geared exclusively for gas powered vehicles. Hopefully that will continue to change too. This week is National Bike to work week, and I hope that more and more people start extending that one week a year, to maybe one week a month, or more. Who knows, maybe eventually the U.S. will lose its status as the fattest country in the world. Wishful thinking? Probably. One can hope though.

Now, to answer what was your real question. You're seeing so many "step-thru" ( "girls") style bikes simply because it's easier and more cost effective to produce one type of frame. Additionally, many people can not comfortably manage the mounting and dismounting of a traditional "men's" style frame. So there you have it; a short answer to your actual question, and a somewhat longer diatribe on "the bicycle as transportation".

Anyway, my very un-Dennis Miller-like rant is now complete. Two things before I sign off; are we on for the Chicago Muddy Buddy, and when the hell are you going to break down and get your cyclocross bike 'cause I'm not selling you one of mine!? Travel safely. Hope to see you soon.
Tom

Okay, so I lied...(sort of)

2008-05-11T05:48:00.000-07:00

when I said I wouldn't be riding if it were raining this morning. Well, it had been raining when I awoke to check the radar and the forcast and all that. It looked like it might start again any time...but it wasn't raining when I left. A brief, intense thundershower greeted me as I pulled into the parking lot at Cool Creek Park wondering what I was doing there. My intent was to ride a quick 10 miles on the road, and then beat the rains home. I was contemplating going home defeated, and actually was on my way, when I was inspired (or at least motivated) by, of all things, a lone rider on a Huffy, huffy-ing along in the downpour. Needless to say, my plans were back on. As I'm sitting here typing, it appears that the rains were there just to try and deter me from my ride, as they have once again subsided. I haven't been that wet on a bike since commuting in SoCal during El Nino season. It was really coming down! In the end, the bike got a much needed rinsing, and I got my 10+ miles in. I'm glad you were all smarter than I, and stayed home, but it was fun!

Catching up on the 'cross rides at Cool Creek...

2008-05-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

for those of you who haven't been getting my emails, is easy. We've only had three rides to date, and my emails updating everyone have been brief so here goes (please note that my lack of patience kept me from downloading all of the accompanying photos - I'll have them posted elsewhere soon):

from Sunday May 4th, 2008

3 Cold Sundays...in a row for 'cross at Cool Creek. Dave and I were on the same wave length today though! We were both thinking about the mud bog, and how nice a bridge over the mess would be. J3, don't tell "the Super-Alex" about our trail work, as I'm sure they would NOT be impressed. Its ugly, but it gets the job done. Quite nicely I might add. Two trail runners were very grateful and christened our log, bog crosser before we had a chance to give it a try (we were beginning to question whether it was a good idea or not... it's pretty slippery!). As you can see Dave and his killer IF made it across with no problem on its two wheel christening. What was I thinking? My first attempt was a bit on the slow side (DOH!!) and that's why I'm making an abrupt left off the logs mid-crossing in the third pic... how embarrassing!! Thankfully, my next effort was a bit speedier and a lot more successful. Thanks for manning the camera for me Dave... I think!

This little bit of "trail work" kept the mud on the bikes to a minimum and should keep this section from getting overly rutted as it dries. Even with all the rain, the trails were very ridable. Standing water was nearly non-existent throughout. We only got in about an hours worth of riding, but both agreed the time spent transforming the mud bog to a log bog was well worth the minimal time and effort. Not quite as the elaborate "bridges" you see in the Pacific Northwest, but not bad for a couple of rookies. It also got us warmed up! It was a brisk 41 degrees when I left the house this morning. Lastly, Thanks to Dave and Andy P. for motivating me to finally create this blog.

from Sunday April 27th, 2008

Dave and I had a great time this past Sunday. Dave traded his bad-ass optic orange Jake the Snake for his even more bad-ass, freshly minted and very white, Independent Fab 'cross machine... truly a thing of beauty!! Cool temps again at Cool Creek, but the park was mostly empty for the first hour. The trees are blooming, the trails are in great shape, so what's keeping you at home? If anyone thinks there aren't any hills in Carmel...well, you're mostly right, but that's Dave disappearing into the woods at the top of the bigger of two road climbs, and I'm huffing my way up a short, root covered climb at the back of the park. As you can see we were quite the contrast in colors. Gotta keep the hikers and wild turkeys on their toes! I hope you're all having a fantastic week, and I/we hope to see you this Sunday.

from Sunday April 20th, 2008

We had a few hearty souls brave the early morning mist, and cool temps out at Cool Creek this morning. Dave showed up on his hunter's vest orange "Don't-shoot-me-I'm-just-'crossing" Jake the Snake...nice. Scott's trusty but not rusty Lemond Poprad was ready to go after a quick swap of rubber. My Fetish Cycles 'cross beast has once again been resurrected, but as it should be - no more cross dressing as a commuter! We spent most of our time riding, but we worked a bit on running, pushing, and dismounting (EXHAUSTING is what that was!) Even though the bikes look a bit messy, that's mostly from one ridable, little mud bog. The rest of the trail was firm, and a bit wet without being overly slippery. There's a lot of nice paved road that connects various trail sections, with a surprising amount of change in elevation and terrain - perfect for cyclocross. Lots of fun! Early at the park = open trails. Hikers didn't show up in numbers until close to 9:00, and not many at that. We'll be out there this coming Sunday, same 'cross time (7:30 AM), same 'cross channel (Cool Creek Park Nature Center parking lot), so bring a bike, bring a friend and check out it out. Call or email if you have any questions. See you there!

I have to start somewhere....

2008-05-05T04:48:00.000-07:00

so I'll begin with what's been going on so far this spring. I knew based on 'cross bike sales and from what people have been telling me since moving back to the Hoosier state, that cyclocross is not happening right now in Indiana. Fewer and fewer local races, no organized rides, lack of interest in the bikes themselves, etc. has led me to this point. In my opinion, if someone is in need of a dependable, fun bike to ride, whether it be commuting, trail riding, racing, pulling the kids in a trailer, whatever, then a cyclocross bike should be the bike of choice. Once the typical, casual rider gets over the idea that you don't have to have a fat tired (also can be read FAT AND TIRED in this context) mountain bike to ride off road, a whole new world of possibilities is opened. Especially since, like most SUV's, a great number of mountain bikes sold to casual riders never see the dirt!

I'm hoping to help spark, or maybe re-ignite an interest in cyclocross in the Indianapolis area as a sport by getting people interested in the bikes themselves. There are a lot fit, active and competative people who might only want to invest in one bike. Those people should be seriously considering cyclocross bikes as they can literally do it all...comfortably. Commuter bike during the week, racing or trail riding on the weekend.

For now having fun riding the beautiful trails and road loop out at Cool Creek is a great way to start. But, given enough time and exposure, I think there is bound to be a resurgence in interest in cyclocross. We're hoping to eventually organize a race/race series. In the mean time, come out and join us if you want to see how much fun there is to be had on skinny tires, OFF ROAD!

My next post is the content of emails sent out to cyclocrossers, or those who expressed an interest in keeping up with what's going on so far this spring.