The Wilds

Gorski and I raced at the OMBC Race called the Wilds this past weekend. The venue is near a wild animal preserve called the wilds, hence the name. The course was on a 13 mile loop of some pretty sweet single track. We did two loops, or about 26 miles of racing. The course was technical without being too grueling on the mind or body.

Since I have been doing the single speed thing this season, I decided to stick with it at this race. Apparently, I was the only one that actually registered for the single speed class. I did not learn this until after the race was over though unfortunately. I could have sworn I saw many other single speeders riding around before the race, so I am not too sure what happened there. Anyway, the race promoter called the experts and single speeders to the starting line and off we all went. I raced like I was leading my class, which I was because I was the only one in it.

At the end of the race, I ended up taking 5th in the expert class....the 1st (and only) single speeder. Of course, only the top 4 expert riders got paid. If I would have known that I was actually racing with the expert class, I might have raced a little more aggressively, or maybe even chose to race in the vet expert class. Oh well, it was a fun race and the $10 seat bag I got off the prize table certainly made my trip a worth while experience....

My angry little travel buddy, Gorski, was able to take the vet expert win, so that was cool too. The picture above is Gorski grabing his cash and a view of the huge prize table from where I got to pick my finishing award. One last mentionable note about the race was seeing SteveO make his 2009 mtn bike debute. Always good to see SteveO, especially since he was able to snag 2nd place in the expert class!

I can't seem to find any nearby XC races this weekend, so I think I will do a few long and hard days of training before tapering off for the Mohican 100 on June 30th.

Happy Trails Friends, Gerry

Racing out of the Saddle

Usually, when someone speaks of being out of the saddle, it means the race was fast and hard. Well, the second stop on the WVMBA XC Series was the Mountwood Race and it has always been known as being a challenging course because it has many climbs. I raced out of the saddle today not because I was going all that hard, but because about 6 miles into my 22 mile race, I cracked my carbon FSA Seatpost off at where it enters the frame. At the point in the race where the post cracked, I was leading the single speed class and had worked my way up to about the top 5 overall. I was feeling good and enjoying my ride in the nasty mud, which covered the course.

I am not too sure how the post cracked because it is only a week old and I was not even riding on anything that could be consider too rough. When I noticed that it cracked, I grabbed it with my hand and carried it for a short distance, trying to consider all of my options. I thought about putting it back in, but knew it would not do too much good because of the short length. Since I figured that getting the remain post out of the frame would be a very difficult task, I ditched that plan and decided to try riding without a post. I then saw a course volunteer standing by a truck and I asked him if he could hold onto the post until the end of the race. He agreed and off I went.

It did not take much time for other riders to start catching me as I got used to riding a bike without a seat. I was surprised, though, that more riders were not catching me and that no other single speeders had caught me yet. I kept pounding away on the course out of the saddle. After doing this for a few miles, I could tell it was definitely taking much more effort than spinning along seated on my bike. My arms and quads were certainly beginning to feel the effects of my extra effort. I challenged myself, however, to keep going and to not give up. I figured that I paid my entry and drove 2.5 hours to the race, so I might as well get a good workout out of the day, if not anything else.

It took quite sometime before the second place single speed rider caught me. He rode behind me for a short distance and then came around me. I was a little bummed to be caught, but did my best to hold his wheel. After riding a mile or two with this other rider, I started to catch my second wind and decided to pass him to keep my pace up. I did not see him again until after I finished the race. It was an ugly win, but I must say a gratifying one for me, since I had to overcome such a difficult obstacle.

There will be no racing for me next weekend. My plan is to do two long rides each day. I will do at least 100 on Saturday and probably about a 4 hour hilly ride on Sunday. Anyone care to join me? I will be sure to bring an extra bottle of pain along with me if you like, but this time my bottle of pain will include a seat. Later Friends, Gerry

A New Racing Season

Well, it has been quite awhile since I have posted anything to this site. Don't see much point of writing when I am not racing. The problem is that I did start racing on the road at the end of March, but just couldn't find the time or motivation to write for many reasons.

As with most years, this year I started racing at the Mingo Road Series, which is promoted by Don Mosites from Trek of Pittsburgh. Don, with the help of Gary Bywaters and many awesome volunteers, does a great job at putting on this race series. Pretty much each of the Mingo Races came down to a sprint, though, so I never did all that well with any of my individual finishes. Overall, I did finish the series in 3rd in the 40+ male category.

During Easter weekend, I did another road race, which was part of the WVMBA Road Series and started near Mount Morris, PA. The course was mostly flat for the first 13 miles or so, but then had a few big climbs on it, which did split thing up nicely for me. The race was about 50 miles long in total and I ended up riding about 30 of those miles alone on a solo break. I must admit that I do like when a road course is designed with a climber in mind. I ended-up winning the 40+ male category with a long, hard individual effort, but I enjoyed every minute of the suffering.

Now for the exiting news! My first MTB race of the season was the Cohutta 100, the first race of the NUE Series. This year I decided to do the Nue Series on a single speed MTB instead of a bike with gears, so I lined up this past Saturday with my new MTB ride and a single 32x19 gear. The race went well for me. Like the road race I did in Mount Morris a few weeks earlier, I ended up riding the majority of the race alone. Initially, fellow single speeders Gunnar Shogren, Chris McGill and Matt Ferrari were all with me in the beginning single track section, but on one of the first big climbs my legs felt like they really wanted to get moving, so I went to the front of the group. I notice around a bend that my move created a pretty big gap, so I just stayed on top of my gear and kept it rolling during the rest of the race. About 85 fairly lonely miles and a bazillion pedal strokes later, I ended-up finishing in first place with a finishing time of 7 hours and 20 minutes.

So, in a nut shell, this is my account of my early racing season so far. In the future, I will add more detail and color to my race postings and will definitely start up dating this blog after each race, since the season is now in full swing. Thanks for reading and Happy Trails! - Gerry

KC Day #3

I was expecting an exciting race from the UCI Elite Men at Cross Nationals and I was definitely not disappointed with the show that I watched yesterday. The warm weather from the previous days racing had disappeared by the start of the elite UCI Race, but the course dried a little more, giving the elite riders super fast conditions. The usual group of top contenders in the sport pushed the pace to unbelievable speeds at the start and quickly had the pack strung out in a single file pace line. By the top of the first climb, a lead group of about 7 riders had separated from the rest of the field, which became the decisive move of the day. The biggest surprise of the race was Jamey Driscoll holding on to a second place overall finish behind eventual winner Ryan Trebon. Cross racing in the US has a bright future with young riders like Driscoll and also Jesse Anthony progressing as fast as they are. It was amazing to watch the speed and tactics of the race up close and personal like I did. To me, being able to watch cross nationals live was like being able to watch the super bowl in the front row on the fifty yard line. It was truly an awesome show of talent and determination.

The Elite Womens Race was also exciting to watch. Katie Compton pretty much dominated the race from start to finish, with Georgia Gould and Rachel Lloyd chasing hard, but unable to match the pace of the five time national champ. Below is a video of the womens

KC Day #2

What an exciting day of racing!!! Things went well for me, with a 9th place finish today. I was actually as high as 7th for about a lap midway through the race, but I just didn't have the power to maintain that spot for the remainder of the race. Andy and Ernesto had good races as well, finishing 20th and 18th respectfully in the 35-39 age class.




Compared to the day before when we warmed up on the course, things were much faster. The higher temps in the mid 50s and the strong wind really helped to dry up the course. I don't think the course conditions could have been any better. I found the course to be one of the better cross course I have been able ride. It was fun, somewhat technical without being stupid technical and allowed riders to pass without difficult. As a matter of fact, the winner of my race, Roger Aspholm, started about 6-7 rows back and was able to work his way to the front of the group by lap number two.

Today's racing is going to be spectacular with the UCI elite men and women racing. I have my cowbell ready for the action, along with my running legs to cover the whole course. I will be carrying my camera to record the action.

Update to come later. - Gerry

Check out the crazy start of Andy's and Ernesto's Race on the video below.

KC Day 1

I arrived at KC today to find sunshine and blue skies. This is a much better sight than what was forecasted earlier in the week. They did get some snow out here I guess on Monday or Tuesday, so the course is muddy, but it is only bad enough to stick on the wheels and nothing more. The course is the perfect for someone that can put out a ton of watts. It has more vertical climbing than any cross course that I have ever witness and is probably on the biggest hill in the KC Area, too. The course kind of serpentines up the hill to the top and then does the same coming back down. Don't get me wrong it is a fun course, but it is going to make racers hurt real bad. There are three dismounts per lap; one set of double barriers and two separate sets of steps going up steep inclines.

I did get to watch the end of the womens 30-39 masters race and the entire mens 45-49 masters race. Betsy Shogren rode to a 10th place finish in the womens race and her husband, some guy that very few people have heard of, Gunnar Shogren was 7th in his race. I put a picture of each of them above. There is also a picture of the first uphill run-up on the course.

There are tons of people here like there are every year at cross nationals. It is like a big party with bikes, mud and cold weather all thrown into the mix...always a good time. If you have never been to cross nationals, make a mental note to yourself to do it sometime in the future. Not much more to say for now, hopefully my race reports tomorrow will be a little more exciting. Later - Gerry

Spin Class

No, I did not enroll in a new gym, decked out with a room full of lycra wearing MILFs riding spinning bikes. Instead, what I did was get schooled at picking the right gear on my single speed at a cross race. When you race cross on a single speed, the most important thing is gear selection. I learned this very clearly yesterday when I raced with a gear that was way too low, a 34x18 to be exact. I guessed that the course at the final Bike Authority Cyclocross Series Race in Copley, OH would be a mess from the snow and all that the weather forecast was showing. I planned to race with an easy gear on the bike, so that riding the snow would be no problem. Well, I guessed wrong. The course did have snow on it, but by the time the elite race went off it was hard packed and fast. Unfortunately, I also did not bring a higher cog along with me to the race, so I knew from my first warm-up lap that I would be doing a lot of crank rotations to keep pace with the other geared bikes.

I definitely could not generate the power and speed that I needed with the gear I had on my bike, but I don't necessarily think that this was a bad thing. Spinning that easy gear gave me a great workout, albeit a completely aerobic workout. I just didn't have enough of a gear to give my legs a hard effort type of workout. But, from what I understand, this should be a good thing going into Nationals next weekend. My heart and lungs were still tested and they did feel good, even after my nasty cold that is waging a good fight with me. At the same time, my legs did not have to really work too hard with all the spinning, so they should be primed for a hard effort at the Nationals. Another thing I noticed about doing 100+ RPMs during an entire cross race is that it does keep one warm on a day when the temperature is in the mid 20's at best.

Spinning like a possessed mad man, I was able to finish 6th overall and win the 40+ race in which I was entered. The 40+ win was enough to give me the overall 40+ series victory as well, so I guess the race was a success today even though I was not at the front of the pack like I would prefer to be.

I am flying out of PIT early Friday Morning for Kansas City, MO to compete in my final race of 2008, the 2008 National Cyclocross Championships. I am not too sure if I am more excited about doing my 40-44 masters race on Saturday or watching the elite men's race on Sunday. Both of these races plus many others over the weekend are going to be awesome events to watch. At last count, my race had 138 riders registered. Many of the guys in my class are the top master racers in the county, so my thinking is that a finish in the top 20 would be a good result. Of course, my plans are to do much better than that, so please do wish me luck.

I will try to give an update of the course, venue and the race atmosphere when I arrive there on Friday. I will also add a recap of my race, Andy's Race and Ernesto's race after the battle is done on Saturday. As of today, the weather has a Murraysville Cross Race look to it. Lovely! - Gerry