bend at the elbows and knees...not the fork.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
some ideas, in case you're wondering
Cyclocross Training Schedule
From Simon Burney
September (3 weeks of training)
Mon 20 min steady running, am. 60 min level 2 road ride, pm
Tue 20 min steady running, am. 60 min circuit training, pm
Wed 20 min steady running, am. 60 min level 2 road ride, pm
Thu 20 min steady running, am. 60 min level 2 road ride, pm
Fri 60 min level 1 recovery ride
Sat 30 min cross technique, 60 min cross race simulation.
Sun 2-3 hour recovery ride over rolling terrain.
September (1 week recovery)
Mon, Wed, Fri 60 min level 1 recovery ride
Tue, Thu 20 min steady running, am
Sat, Sun 90 min level 2 road ride.
October (3 weeks of training)
Mon 60 min level 1 road ride
Tue 20 min run, am. 60 min level 2 road ride, pm
Wed 20 min run, am. 30 min warmup, 30 min level 3 road ride,or turbo trainer pm
Thu 20 min run, am. 60 min level 2 road ride, pm
Fri 60 min level 1 recovery ride
Sat 2 hour level 1 recovery ride
Sun Race or race simulation
October (1 week recovery) Same recovery as above
November (3 weeks of training)
Mon 60 min level 1 road ride
Tue 25 min run Level 3+, am. 60 min level 2 road ride, pm
Wed 30 min intervals on Turbotrainer, am. 60 min level 1 road ride, pm
Thu 20 min run Level 2, am. 30 min warmup, 30 min level 3 road ride or turbo trainer, pm
Fri rest or 45-60 min level 1 recovery ride
Sat Race or race simulation
Sun Race or race simulation
November (1 week recovery) Same recovery as above
December (3 weeks of training)
Mon 60 – 90 min level 1 road ride
Tue 30 min running, am. 60 min level 2 road ride, pm
Wed 30 min intervals on turbo trainer, am 60 min cross skills, pm
Thu 25 min running, am. 60 min level 2 road ride with jumps, pm
Fri rest or 45 - 60 min level 1 recovery ride
Sat Race or race simulation
Sun Race or race simulation
December (1 week recovery) Same recovery as above
Preparing for the Cyclo-Cross Season
From Adam Myerson
7/19/2001
I know it's the middle of summer, and many of you might be struggling just to get through the rest of the road or mountain bike season. The thought of racing through the fall and winter might be more than you can bear right now. But for some riders, cyclo-cross has become the focus of their racing, or at least as important as the racing they do the rest of the year. And since July tends to be the time that many riders are feeling run down and over trained, it's a good time for a break. A one- to two-week vacation from riding and racing followed by a build up that starts from square one again can leave you racing strong on the road or mountain bike in the late summer and fall, and peaking in October, November and December when the real action is on.
The first thing you have to pin down are your goals for the 'cross season. Do you want to be going well right out of the blocks in October? Is there a regional or national race series in which you want to do well in over all? Is there one big race locally you want to target, or are all your eggs in the basket for Nationals in December? You might even be planning to venture to Europe in January, or perhaps you live in the Southeast or Texas where they're lucky enough to keep racing 'cross until February.
All these concerns factor in to what level you start your 'cross program from. If you've taken the summer off and are really just getting things rolling now, then you'll have to start from a low level and build up slowly, with perhaps as much as three months of aerobic base training taking you into the heart of the season in November. At the other extreme, if you need to be raging in October for the start of your local series or maybe the string of Northeast UCI races, you'll need a different approach. You might only do one four- to six-week cycle of aerobic work, and have to rely on your fitness from the road or mountain bike season to get back into top shape quickly.
Since your training for 'cross will most likely overlap with some important late-season road or mountain bike races, there are certain 'cross-specific workouts you might have to avoid until as late as September. Running and road racing mix like oil and water, so if you've got a big event late you might decide to put off your uphill running sprints or tempo on the trails until after that point. Even then, you've got to introduce running into your workouts slowly. Ten to fifteen minutes per session to start is enough to let your body begin to adapt to what's to come. If 'cross is your priority, then you can start your running adaptation right from the get-go, leaving you in a good position to be turning the screws on the pure roadies when you hit the run-ups in October.
Your general routine for 'cross shouldn't be that different from what you might do in the road or mountain bike season, with the exception of your workouts on foot:
Monday: Recovery, easy one- to two-hour road ride, or day off.
Tuesday: Recovery if needed, or sprint workout, either running or riding. Ideally you want your running sprints to recreate what you'd do in a race. Find a short, steep hill that takes you about fifteen seconds to sprint over. Give yourself two to five minutes between efforts for recovery. For your riding sprints, simulate the kind of accelerations you'll need to make in 'cross. Hard explosions from low speeds, with an emphasis on both speed and strength. This can be done on the road or one the 'cross bike, depending on what you need to work on.
Wednesday: Normally a 'cross workout, and perhaps the only day of the week you'll ride your 'cross bike unless you need to work specifically on skills. Here is where you can work on your fifteen- to twenty-minute efforts at threshold, again emphasizing both speed and strength to be prepared for all courses. You should be aiming to finish as many minutes at LT (lactate threshold) as the length of the 'cross races in which you'll be competing. Later in the season when your base is complete, you might add a training race or as many three-minute long anaerobic intervals to the workout as you can handle.
Thursday: Recovery day if you're racing on Saturday, or a two- to five-hour road ride depending on your fitness level.
Friday: Recovery day, or a short sprint workout on the road or 'cross bike if you're racing on Saturday.
Saturday: Race, or repeat Tuesday's workout.
Sunday: Race, or combine a road ride with the length of Thursday's ride and the intervals of Wednesday. This is also a good day to go for a longer, fun ride in the woods on your 'cross bike. "Mountain biking" on your 'cross bike is one of the best ways to develop good 'cross instincts in an unstructured way.
If you're serious about cyclo-cross, then these suggestions and time-line will help get you on track for a good start to the season. If you've never raced 'cross before and are thinking about giving it a go, now's the time to start looking for a bike and making sure you're ready when the September training races begin.
Running for Cyclo-Cross
From Adam Myerson
8/30/2001
Most of us are bike racers, not runners. And while some of us may have a little more natural talent for it, or even a running or triathlon background, running when you've spent a season racing road or mountain bikes just plain hurts. It takes some specific work to first be able to incorporate adaptive running into your training as the 'cross season approaches, and then actually be able to do some structured training to improve your running fitness. 'Cross is painful enough, but by focusing on running in your training you can turn a weakness into a strength, or further your advantage if that's where you're already strong.
The first step in your running program should be to determine when you think you can begin to include it as part of your workouts. Ideally, you don't want to begin until after your last important road or mountain bike event of the year. A mountain bike racer might be able to handle it a bit sooner, and may even include running as part of their plan already. But for a road rider, nothing will kill your speed worse that running, so wait as long as you can. If 'cross is your specialty and you're using the road or mountain bike events only as training, then you can begin running as soon as you start your base period for the season.
Once they begin, a mistake many riders make is to go for long, extended runs. That's great if you're training for a 10K, but in 'cross you have to be specific. Take a look at the length of time you're typically on foot in a 'cross race. Normally it's for stretches where you're at maximum intensity for about 15 seconds or so, and the longest a run should be in a well-designed 'cross course is 80 meters. Sounds more like a short sprint to me than a 10KS 'Cross races might be lost on the runs, but they're rarely won. It's still mostly about who can pedal their bike the fastest.
Even if you're emphasizing short bursts, you still need to do some adaptive work to be able to handle the training. Start with short, 15-minute jogs at a very low intensity one to two times a week, just to get your body used to the movement. When you can finish 15 minutes of jogging with no soreness the next day, you're ready to go. That might take only a week, or as long as a month. Always wait until the soreness subsides before you undertake another running workout.
When you're ready to introduce some real running work, there are a number of different ways to do it. Again, because you should be emphasizing short bursts, much of your running can take the form of a traditional Tuesday sprint workout. Find a steep hill, ideally off-road, that takes you 10-15 seconds to sprint up. Structure the workout just as I've described here previously for the road: 100% effort, from rest, with the sprints being no closer than one every 2 minutes. How many you do will depend on how many quality efforts you're able to complete. You should consider your average 'cross race: how many laps is normal, and how many runs per lap? If you have 2 decent runs in a race that will be about 10 laps, then you should be prepared to build up to 20 solid sprinting efforts in your workout.
You can do this as its own workout without your bike, where you simply jog at a light intensity to your sprinting spot and jog home. You can also do it as part of a 'cross ride where you do your warm up on the bike, and then include a dismount and mount as part of your sprinting effort. If your technique is good and you want to isolate the specific fitness aspect of the sprint, then chose the former approach. If you feel you still need work on your skills and ability to run well with the bike on your shoulder, choose the latter.
There are courses or regions where you'll find yourself dealing with longer, extended runs, and the 15-second efforts aren't enough to prepare you for all your races. This is where you might try to include more running as part of your training on Wednesday. Wednesday should normally be the day for a 'cross-specific workout on a local course or with a small group session. Here you can try to incorporate a longer, up to a minute-long run as part of your course. You might also decide to do a separate running workout, ideally in the morning, where you designate some of your threshold training work to be done on foot. Up to 15 -minute running intervals at LT is a slightly less race-specific approach, but can be a good way to improve on the longer runs.
Another angle on your running training for 'cross is to use it as a substitute workout on those late fall days where you find yourself stuck at work and getting out after dark. While again, long running days shouldn't be your first choice, if the trainer's lost it's charm and your pressed for time and daylight, converting your intervals for the day to a running workout can help you solve two problems at once. Tuesday and Wednesday are definitely the best days for this. Be sure to focus on the intensity rather than the duration. Get the intervals done, but don't worry about hitting the total time you might have done if you were out on the bike.
There are many different ways to approach running for 'cross. Your training might vary from 3-5 days a week with at least a short jog, to the other extreme of only running during a 'cross workout or race. What you decide should be based on the time you have available to add a running workout, if it's a strength or weakness you want to emphasize, or if the courses you race on require that you improve your skills off the bike. You might find that a little more focus on your running is a small investment that returns big dividends, and turns a place you once suffered into a place you can attack.
Adam Hodges Myerson is a cycling coach, race promoter, team manager, and USCF category 1 racer. In addition to being a cycling coach, he is a former Collegiate National Cyclo-Cross champion and promoter of both the New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series and the Amherst International UCI Cyclo-Cross. His company is called Cycle-Smart, and he can be reached at adam@cycle-smart.com. He lives in Northampton, Massachusetts with his wife, Allison, and their two cats Birdie and Marie.
From Simon Burney
September (3 weeks of training)
Mon 20 min steady running, am. 60 min level 2 road ride, pm
Tue 20 min steady running, am. 60 min circuit training, pm
Wed 20 min steady running, am. 60 min level 2 road ride, pm
Thu 20 min steady running, am. 60 min level 2 road ride, pm
Fri 60 min level 1 recovery ride
Sat 30 min cross technique, 60 min cross race simulation.
Sun 2-3 hour recovery ride over rolling terrain.
September (1 week recovery)
Mon, Wed, Fri 60 min level 1 recovery ride
Tue, Thu 20 min steady running, am
Sat, Sun 90 min level 2 road ride.
October (3 weeks of training)
Mon 60 min level 1 road ride
Tue 20 min run, am. 60 min level 2 road ride, pm
Wed 20 min run, am. 30 min warmup, 30 min level 3 road ride,or turbo trainer pm
Thu 20 min run, am. 60 min level 2 road ride, pm
Fri 60 min level 1 recovery ride
Sat 2 hour level 1 recovery ride
Sun Race or race simulation
October (1 week recovery) Same recovery as above
November (3 weeks of training)
Mon 60 min level 1 road ride
Tue 25 min run Level 3+, am. 60 min level 2 road ride, pm
Wed 30 min intervals on Turbotrainer, am. 60 min level 1 road ride, pm
Thu 20 min run Level 2, am. 30 min warmup, 30 min level 3 road ride or turbo trainer, pm
Fri rest or 45-60 min level 1 recovery ride
Sat Race or race simulation
Sun Race or race simulation
November (1 week recovery) Same recovery as above
December (3 weeks of training)
Mon 60 – 90 min level 1 road ride
Tue 30 min running, am. 60 min level 2 road ride, pm
Wed 30 min intervals on turbo trainer, am 60 min cross skills, pm
Thu 25 min running, am. 60 min level 2 road ride with jumps, pm
Fri rest or 45 - 60 min level 1 recovery ride
Sat Race or race simulation
Sun Race or race simulation
December (1 week recovery) Same recovery as above
Preparing for the Cyclo-Cross Season
From Adam Myerson
7/19/2001
I know it's the middle of summer, and many of you might be struggling just to get through the rest of the road or mountain bike season. The thought of racing through the fall and winter might be more than you can bear right now. But for some riders, cyclo-cross has become the focus of their racing, or at least as important as the racing they do the rest of the year. And since July tends to be the time that many riders are feeling run down and over trained, it's a good time for a break. A one- to two-week vacation from riding and racing followed by a build up that starts from square one again can leave you racing strong on the road or mountain bike in the late summer and fall, and peaking in October, November and December when the real action is on.
The first thing you have to pin down are your goals for the 'cross season. Do you want to be going well right out of the blocks in October? Is there a regional or national race series in which you want to do well in over all? Is there one big race locally you want to target, or are all your eggs in the basket for Nationals in December? You might even be planning to venture to Europe in January, or perhaps you live in the Southeast or Texas where they're lucky enough to keep racing 'cross until February.
All these concerns factor in to what level you start your 'cross program from. If you've taken the summer off and are really just getting things rolling now, then you'll have to start from a low level and build up slowly, with perhaps as much as three months of aerobic base training taking you into the heart of the season in November. At the other extreme, if you need to be raging in October for the start of your local series or maybe the string of Northeast UCI races, you'll need a different approach. You might only do one four- to six-week cycle of aerobic work, and have to rely on your fitness from the road or mountain bike season to get back into top shape quickly.
Since your training for 'cross will most likely overlap with some important late-season road or mountain bike races, there are certain 'cross-specific workouts you might have to avoid until as late as September. Running and road racing mix like oil and water, so if you've got a big event late you might decide to put off your uphill running sprints or tempo on the trails until after that point. Even then, you've got to introduce running into your workouts slowly. Ten to fifteen minutes per session to start is enough to let your body begin to adapt to what's to come. If 'cross is your priority, then you can start your running adaptation right from the get-go, leaving you in a good position to be turning the screws on the pure roadies when you hit the run-ups in October.
Your general routine for 'cross shouldn't be that different from what you might do in the road or mountain bike season, with the exception of your workouts on foot:
Monday: Recovery, easy one- to two-hour road ride, or day off.
Tuesday: Recovery if needed, or sprint workout, either running or riding. Ideally you want your running sprints to recreate what you'd do in a race. Find a short, steep hill that takes you about fifteen seconds to sprint over. Give yourself two to five minutes between efforts for recovery. For your riding sprints, simulate the kind of accelerations you'll need to make in 'cross. Hard explosions from low speeds, with an emphasis on both speed and strength. This can be done on the road or one the 'cross bike, depending on what you need to work on.
Wednesday: Normally a 'cross workout, and perhaps the only day of the week you'll ride your 'cross bike unless you need to work specifically on skills. Here is where you can work on your fifteen- to twenty-minute efforts at threshold, again emphasizing both speed and strength to be prepared for all courses. You should be aiming to finish as many minutes at LT (lactate threshold) as the length of the 'cross races in which you'll be competing. Later in the season when your base is complete, you might add a training race or as many three-minute long anaerobic intervals to the workout as you can handle.
Thursday: Recovery day if you're racing on Saturday, or a two- to five-hour road ride depending on your fitness level.
Friday: Recovery day, or a short sprint workout on the road or 'cross bike if you're racing on Saturday.
Saturday: Race, or repeat Tuesday's workout.
Sunday: Race, or combine a road ride with the length of Thursday's ride and the intervals of Wednesday. This is also a good day to go for a longer, fun ride in the woods on your 'cross bike. "Mountain biking" on your 'cross bike is one of the best ways to develop good 'cross instincts in an unstructured way.
If you're serious about cyclo-cross, then these suggestions and time-line will help get you on track for a good start to the season. If you've never raced 'cross before and are thinking about giving it a go, now's the time to start looking for a bike and making sure you're ready when the September training races begin.
Running for Cyclo-Cross
From Adam Myerson
8/30/2001
Most of us are bike racers, not runners. And while some of us may have a little more natural talent for it, or even a running or triathlon background, running when you've spent a season racing road or mountain bikes just plain hurts. It takes some specific work to first be able to incorporate adaptive running into your training as the 'cross season approaches, and then actually be able to do some structured training to improve your running fitness. 'Cross is painful enough, but by focusing on running in your training you can turn a weakness into a strength, or further your advantage if that's where you're already strong.
The first step in your running program should be to determine when you think you can begin to include it as part of your workouts. Ideally, you don't want to begin until after your last important road or mountain bike event of the year. A mountain bike racer might be able to handle it a bit sooner, and may even include running as part of their plan already. But for a road rider, nothing will kill your speed worse that running, so wait as long as you can. If 'cross is your specialty and you're using the road or mountain bike events only as training, then you can begin running as soon as you start your base period for the season.
Once they begin, a mistake many riders make is to go for long, extended runs. That's great if you're training for a 10K, but in 'cross you have to be specific. Take a look at the length of time you're typically on foot in a 'cross race. Normally it's for stretches where you're at maximum intensity for about 15 seconds or so, and the longest a run should be in a well-designed 'cross course is 80 meters. Sounds more like a short sprint to me than a 10KS 'Cross races might be lost on the runs, but they're rarely won. It's still mostly about who can pedal their bike the fastest.
Even if you're emphasizing short bursts, you still need to do some adaptive work to be able to handle the training. Start with short, 15-minute jogs at a very low intensity one to two times a week, just to get your body used to the movement. When you can finish 15 minutes of jogging with no soreness the next day, you're ready to go. That might take only a week, or as long as a month. Always wait until the soreness subsides before you undertake another running workout.
When you're ready to introduce some real running work, there are a number of different ways to do it. Again, because you should be emphasizing short bursts, much of your running can take the form of a traditional Tuesday sprint workout. Find a steep hill, ideally off-road, that takes you 10-15 seconds to sprint up. Structure the workout just as I've described here previously for the road: 100% effort, from rest, with the sprints being no closer than one every 2 minutes. How many you do will depend on how many quality efforts you're able to complete. You should consider your average 'cross race: how many laps is normal, and how many runs per lap? If you have 2 decent runs in a race that will be about 10 laps, then you should be prepared to build up to 20 solid sprinting efforts in your workout.
You can do this as its own workout without your bike, where you simply jog at a light intensity to your sprinting spot and jog home. You can also do it as part of a 'cross ride where you do your warm up on the bike, and then include a dismount and mount as part of your sprinting effort. If your technique is good and you want to isolate the specific fitness aspect of the sprint, then chose the former approach. If you feel you still need work on your skills and ability to run well with the bike on your shoulder, choose the latter.
There are courses or regions where you'll find yourself dealing with longer, extended runs, and the 15-second efforts aren't enough to prepare you for all your races. This is where you might try to include more running as part of your training on Wednesday. Wednesday should normally be the day for a 'cross-specific workout on a local course or with a small group session. Here you can try to incorporate a longer, up to a minute-long run as part of your course. You might also decide to do a separate running workout, ideally in the morning, where you designate some of your threshold training work to be done on foot. Up to 15 -minute running intervals at LT is a slightly less race-specific approach, but can be a good way to improve on the longer runs.
Another angle on your running training for 'cross is to use it as a substitute workout on those late fall days where you find yourself stuck at work and getting out after dark. While again, long running days shouldn't be your first choice, if the trainer's lost it's charm and your pressed for time and daylight, converting your intervals for the day to a running workout can help you solve two problems at once. Tuesday and Wednesday are definitely the best days for this. Be sure to focus on the intensity rather than the duration. Get the intervals done, but don't worry about hitting the total time you might have done if you were out on the bike.
There are many different ways to approach running for 'cross. Your training might vary from 3-5 days a week with at least a short jog, to the other extreme of only running during a 'cross workout or race. What you decide should be based on the time you have available to add a running workout, if it's a strength or weakness you want to emphasize, or if the courses you race on require that you improve your skills off the bike. You might find that a little more focus on your running is a small investment that returns big dividends, and turns a place you once suffered into a place you can attack.
Adam Hodges Myerson is a cycling coach, race promoter, team manager, and USCF category 1 racer. In addition to being a cycling coach, he is a former Collegiate National Cyclo-Cross champion and promoter of both the New England Championship Cyclo-Cross Series and the Amherst International UCI Cyclo-Cross. His company is called Cycle-Smart, and he can be reached at adam@cycle-smart.com. He lives in Northampton, Massachusetts with his wife, Allison, and their two cats Birdie and Marie.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Jim 'N Nick's (The Best BBQ in Town!)
The Birmingham News is asking readers to vote for their favorite BBQ place in town - and we all know that's Jim 'N Nick's!
Here’s the link to vote:
http://blog.al.com/bn/2008/07/best_barbecue_cast_your_vote_h.html
SUPPORT THOSE WHO SUPPORT YOU!
Here’s the link to vote:
http://blog.al.com/bn/2008/07/best_barbecue_cast_your_vote_h.html
SUPPORT THOSE WHO SUPPORT YOU!
Saturday, July 05, 2008
2008 BAMACROSS SCHEDULE
It's Tour DE France time, so all important announcements in the cycling world must be made, right? BAMACROSS being no exception, here it is:
10/5 - BBC (Homewood)
10/12 - Pathworks (Mobile) x 2 points, possible 2 day race
10/26 - Competetive Velo (Prattville)
11/2 - Velocity (T'town)
11/9 - GSMR (B'ham)
11/16 - Wig's wet wipe special (Anniston) possible night race with after party at Mellow Mushroom
11/30 - Cycle Escape (Montgomery)
12/7 - CCC (Cullman)
We will have a "drop" race this year.
We (the organizers) are still ironing out details, but this should be the biggest year yet. 9 races? ouch!
10/5 - BBC (Homewood)
10/12 - Pathworks (Mobile) x 2 points, possible 2 day race
10/26 - Competetive Velo (Prattville)
11/2 - Velocity (T'town)
11/9 - GSMR (B'ham)
11/16 - Wig's wet wipe special (Anniston) possible night race with after party at Mellow Mushroom
11/30 - Cycle Escape (Montgomery)
12/7 - CCC (Cullman)
We will have a "drop" race this year.
We (the organizers) are still ironing out details, but this should be the biggest year yet. 9 races? ouch!
Thursday, May 01, 2008
course
tell me which course was your favorite and why. what elements would you like to see incorporated?
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Mobile,Al.
Mobile has requested a spot on the '08 calendar. I was reluctant last year about it because of the travel time. If we do add them this would have to be the double points race. Maybe even do 2 races (time trial or dirt crit?) at Chickisabouge (sp?) Park. What do you guys think?
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
2008
Since Travis directed you here...
I'm getting the sponsorship packages ready for the 08 season now. If you are interested in being a sponsor of the series this year you can contact me at marshallbrent at gmail dot com.
bamacross '08
BIGGER AND BADDER
I'm getting the sponsorship packages ready for the 08 season now. If you are interested in being a sponsor of the series this year you can contact me at marshallbrent at gmail dot com.
bamacross '08
BIGGER AND BADDER
Monday, March 10, 2008
Jim N' Nicks new brew!
Ok, so I am not sure if y’all have had Jim ‘N Nick’s new beer but it is great! It’s called Reverend Mudbone’s Homegrown Hopshine. It’s kind of like Sierra Nevada, and it’s great. I would like to invite you all to check out our new website and join our campaign.
Mudbone for President, vote Labertarian!
www.revmudbone.com
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
upgrades i'd like to see for next year
4 to 3-4
matt holdbrooks
geoff leonard
bill andrews
frank brockson
3-4 to 1-2-3
everette herring
david mcneal
jonathan robbins
dusty davis
it has been spoken, now be it done!
matt holdbrooks
geoff leonard
bill andrews
frank brockson
3-4 to 1-2-3
everette herring
david mcneal
jonathan robbins
dusty davis
it has been spoken, now be it done!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
as blurry as me
i had this crazy dream last night that we had this cross course that went through a lake and it was like 29* outside... 
Thursday, December 13, 2007
points, part 2
i need to clear up a couple of points mistakes before we head into cullman.
1) stephen erickson placed 11th at the first race in homewood. the score sheets confirm this, but he was scored as a dnf for some reason. he should have 20 points which has him with 206 points overall and staying in the same position.
2) jonathan payne finished 8th at avondale, but his points didn't make it on the spreadsheet. this would give him 13 points bringing his total points to 82 and moving him up a couple of places to 6th overall.
sorry for the confusion, it happens. the points will be critical heading into sunday, with double points placings can change dramatically and move you up or down by as many as 10 places.
man, it looks like it's gonna be nice and sloppy on sunday...great cross weather...maybe we should start the season in december from now on...
1) stephen erickson placed 11th at the first race in homewood. the score sheets confirm this, but he was scored as a dnf for some reason. he should have 20 points which has him with 206 points overall and staying in the same position.
2) jonathan payne finished 8th at avondale, but his points didn't make it on the spreadsheet. this would give him 13 points bringing his total points to 82 and moving him up a couple of places to 6th overall.
sorry for the confusion, it happens. the points will be critical heading into sunday, with double points placings can change dramatically and move you up or down by as many as 10 places.
man, it looks like it's gonna be nice and sloppy on sunday...great cross weather...maybe we should start the season in december from now on...
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Points
They should be updated today. I know a few of you had issues with points getting funkered at a race or two (jonathan,stephen...?) If you had a request and I dropped the ball, shoot me an e-mail - marshallbrent at gmail dot com . It looks like the weather may be just right this weekend (rain on saturday and a high in the 40's on sunday. Hopefully, some of the Ga. racers will make the trip to Cullman for a beat down...
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Cullman Cross
DOUBLE POINTS!!!
I can't believe the season is almost done. Seems like yesterday we were lining up in near 90* temps at west oxmoor. It's always good to save the best for last and Cullman is a good bet for that. BSJ and crew will have 1st class trophies for the winners of each category on Dec. 16th. We will award series finalists and present trophies and prizes as well. The first 100 entries get one of these:
SIZE WARS WILL BE FIERCE. GET THERE EARLY, UNLESS YOU LIKE SMALL.
I can't believe the season is almost done. Seems like yesterday we were lining up in near 90* temps at west oxmoor. It's always good to save the best for last and Cullman is a good bet for that. BSJ and crew will have 1st class trophies for the winners of each category on Dec. 16th. We will award series finalists and present trophies and prizes as well. The first 100 entries get one of these:
SIZE WARS WILL BE FIERCE. GET THERE EARLY, UNLESS YOU LIKE SMALL.
NY Times article
Cyclocross: Mud, Sweat and Gears
T. C. Worley for The New York Times
UP AND OVER Mark Weispfenning, one of 160 competitors at the Grumpy’s cyclocross race in Blaine, Minn., leaps a barrier as he holds his cross bike.
By STEPHEN REGENOLD
Published: November 30, 2007
ABOVE the pool of filth, but still within the shadow of the ditch, my bike skidded sideways in muck. “Heads up!” yelled a fellow racer, elbow out, body a blur.
T. C. Worley for The New York Times
THE DIRT A cyclocross race in Blaine, Minn., covered grass, gravel and mud.
It was lap No. 5 at Grumpy’s CX, a cyclocross bike race in Blaine, Minn., and I was fighting for position in a deep gulch of mud.
“On your left!” a rider yelled, tires squishing through the ooze.
The race had kicked off 20 minutes before, a crush of cyclists squeezing through a start gate to the two-kilometer course beyond. What would come included a gravel track, pavement, grass, switchback climbs and multiple knee-high barriers that forced riders to dismount, shoulder their rigs and hurdle on foot before hopping back on their bikes to race away.
Cyclocross, a growing off-road discipline, appears at first to be an amalgam of BMX bike racing and road riding. The sport’s short, looped courses include obstacles, ramps, bumps, sand pits, sharp turns and lots of the aforementioned mud — all navigated on a road-bike-like cycle that has drop-bar handles, skinny tires and no suspension.
Cyclocross, invented nearly 100 years ago in Europe as an off-season training regimen for road-bike racers, has a storied tradition and a worldwide following. Internationally, professional competition is administered by the Union Cycliste Internationale, the Swiss organization that also oversees the Tour de France.
And in the United States, a longtime dead zone for cyclocross, the sport has recently caught fire.
“We’re seeing a cyclocross phenomenon of sorts in this country,” said Stuart Thorne, a former professional cyclocross rider from Wenham, Mass., who now runs the online publication CyclocrossWorld.com. “A race in Oregon last month drew nearly 1,000 cyclocross racers, which was one of the biggest showings ever.”
About 40,000 cyclists registered to race in a cyclocross event last year, according to USA Cycling, a Colorado Springs organization that sanctions competitions. That’s up from 17,000 registered racers in 2004.
Cyclocross is a fall sport, with races starting in September and continuing every weekend past Thanksgiving. Hundreds of races are held each year nationwide, many organized into regional series, from Maine to Colorado to California. USA Cycling’s season-ending Cyclocross National Championships this year are in Kansas City, Kan., Dec. 13 to 16.
“Cyclocross caters to the abilities of both road cyclists and mountain bikers,” said Andy Lee, director of communications for USA Cycling. “Thus, it draws from both worlds.”
Mountain bikers, Mr. Lee said, excel at the technical off-road terrain. Road cyclists bank on power and speed honed from pedaling on pavement. Cyclocross’s idiosyncrasies — from sand traps and standing water to the get-off-your-bike-and-leap barriers — necessitate technique specific to the sport.
“There’s an art to popping off, shouldering your bike, then getting back on without losing speed,” said Mark Mettler, a 45-year-old road cyclist from Minnetonka, Minn. Mr. Mettler spins through 36 road races a year, starting in the spring and pedaling through the end of August. Then he moves on to cross, as its riders tend to call it. “You build a base all summer road racing,” he said, “then you’re fit and ready when cyclocross season starts.”
At Grumpy’s CX — a race held earlier this month in Blaine, Minn., that drew 160 competitors — Mr. Mettler and dozens of road riders, almost all men, tried to hold their own against a smaller crowd of mountain bikers. Most rode cyclocross-specific bikes, which — unlike mountain bikes — have stiff forks and thin, knobby tires, trading shock absorption and some traction for a cross bike’s bigger gears, lighter weight and inherent speed.
Other riders pedaled pared-down single-speed bikes. There were track bikers and road specialists who came to try the sport for the first time. A contingent of urban bike messengers with tattoos, nose rings and knickers rounded out the field. “There’s a wide demographic in this sport,” said Robert Danneker, a Grumpy’s CX organizer.
I rode in the first race of the day, a half-hour-long lap event open to neophytes on up to intermediate riders.
Our heat began at the shout of an official: “Racers ready, and go!” Wheels started to turn. Pedals clicked. Riders leaned in to fight for position.
“Come on! Come on!” yelled a racer in the back.
The course, set on the grounds of the National Sports Center athletics campus, twisted and turned on grass at first, with little orange flags and police tape strung to sequester the lanes. It climbed a hill and then dropped on a carpeted ramp into a velodrome track-bike stadium — the first of many oddities encountered on the course.
A crowd cheered from bleachers above the track. “Go Mike!” someone shouted. “Let’s hit it, guys!”
Three barriers — stout 16-inch-high wooden walls — blocked the lane inside the stadium. Brakes squeaked in abrupt goose honks as the pedaling procession slowed to dismount and jump.
I swung a leg over my bike’s frame before slowing, coasting on one pedal for five feet. Then it was: unclip from the pedal; hit the grass running; grab the bike; hoist it; gallop; and leap.
Ozzy Osbourne blared on the stadium speakers: “I’m going off the rails on a crazy train ...”
The mud pits came next. The first one — a sulfur-smelling mess — was a dis-aster, with riders flipping, feet flying over handlebars, as a fist of riders again collectively slammed on the brakes.
“Look out!” one downed competitor screamed.
The course swung east on a straightaway. It dived down a ditch to a long channel of mud. Grit crunched in gears. Brakes chattered through tight turns.
A race official shouted as I flew by the start area: “Rider 275,” he piped, noting the number on my bib. A tally of each rider’s laps would determine race standings.
And so I started on lap No. 2, a few minutes into the race, pedaling somewhere in the middle of the pack. Mud was already matted on my legs. Sweat dribbled off my nose.
I cranked up a hill and leaned into a turn, straining to see ahead. Tires searched for grip. Dirt flew. Fans screamed. Riders whizzed by, pedaling to hurdles and ramps and mud pits beyond.
It was a strange show, and I was happy to be a part of the act.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
medals
Master 35+
1.will hibberts
2.scott staubach
3.stephen erickson
Masters 45+
1.jim brock
2.miro novak
3.jeff dorminey
CX 4
1.bill andrews
2.matt holdbrooks
3.geoff leonard
CX 3/4
1.everette herring
2.dave mcneal
3.dusty davis
JRS
1.justin bynum
2.austin oliver
3.trevor west
WM 4
1. lila bowers
2.alex miller
3.elizabeth st. john
WM 1/2/3
1.ursula sandefeur
2.heather ladd
3.kelly bownes
MN 1/2/3
1.mike hurley
2.will fyfe
3.brandon curtis
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