2 down

So with 2 UTCX races in the books it's clear that the competition has been elevated once again in the 35+A field. There are now 2-5 additional guys who have added there names to the throwdown: the Glen brothers, Dave "gotta shave" Wood, Gary Fuller, Darren Cottle (who WILL come back stronger from his wrist injury), Jon G, Bo, etc. It is a tough field.

For me a 5th and 7th; respectable but maybe not what I was hoping for. In both races I got gapped at the beginning and spent the rest of the time trying to catch the leaders. Weber is a wide open, draft dependent course with little chance for recovery. I think my warm-ups have been adequate but for the next race I am going to write out a warm-up and follow it to the letter. Gonna pre-ride the course early as opposed to using it as a warmup then hit the trainer for about an hour long prep. May even set my road bike up on the trainer. I hate it; more crap in the car!

Anyway, Another intense week. Maybe it will pay off with some better USGP results.

What Wisconsin is all about. . .I know, I'm native

Rain, let your love rain down on me

What could be better CX weather: 45 degrees and rain. I suppose 4o degrees and rain. Today will be spent gluing tires. I wonder if Art will see this? A new set of Tufo Flexus 32's for the dry: I am tired of trying to make these work in the wet; and a pair of Vittoria Evo XM's. With the knobs on the Evo's running much farther down on the casing, these should be good. A lot of larger sizes in CX tires simply put the same size tread on a larger casing whereby reducing the contact patch. Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

USGP #1/#2 in Sun Prairie, WI:
I went into these races with more than a little trepidation having been sick for about two weeks and then 10 days of antibiotics that ended on the 26th of September, the day of the first USGP. Jon G. had taken my bike with him on his mega-drive out to Sconie (the length of the drive is probably old hat to Jon but that is looong).

#1 Saturday: The had a second row start based on registration order and promptly let what seemed like the third row swarm me. The course was somewhat greasy from the rain. I felt pretty good but the tires that I used all last year in mostly dry conditions gave "out". As the above stated I think they are a great dry and loose conditions tire, very sticky compound. Anyway, the result was two crashes on the second(?) lap which significantly reduced my enthusiasm aggressive cornering. Started picking off people and eventually finished 12th with 11th (Devon Alverez! booya!) and 10th in view.

#2 Sunday:
Today's race was better. No falls and my tires worked great. Now I know when I should use them. . .and when I shouldn't. I have to find a mud tire cuz' these ain't it. The course dried out some; no greasy turns. I started in the second row (based on yesterdays results) and got an okay start. Just keep it steady at first and just railed the turns (at least what to me was railing!). After the some gaps started to appear I began trying to jump across to them. Soon there was nobody else to catch. No, not because I was in first but because I couldn't see anybody else to chase. So, I ended up 9th which was pretty good. In Louisville I should get a second row start maybe first if some guys here don't show.

Good solid work from Jon G., Art, Devon, and BIG WINS on both days from Ali(!).

Back in the Day

Went and skied Snowbasin for the first time and let me tell 'ya it is one fantastic mountain: huge, wide open, long and very few people. It reminded my of my days working in Alta during the late 80's. I am sure some of my enthusiasm for the hill was brought about by the massive amount of snow we just received and the fact that I felt like I was in the "zone", hoppin' and poppin' my tele turns from 10 'til 4.
Did some intervals on the bike yesterday and still have some decent power. Have pretty much committed to doing the Tour of the Gila in late April. This is going to be one tough motha' and I am pretty damn nervous. But so far training is going well and will start some specific work in February.

Love is in the Air. . .

I love it: a countdown timer until the start of next years cross season. You can check it out on www.utahcyclocross.com. Right now I plan on racing the A's next year, no more 35's. I do this with the idea of racing some of the USGP races and Nationals. I am hoping this will give me an idea of the speed I'll see at the USGP's, especially the starts.

The first two races of the series are in Madison, Wisconsin; my hometown!!! I am super excited about it. I'll get to race in front of my Dad for the first time. I hope he can make it. I wonder if my brother will be my pit crew? Then in December I'll do the last two in Portland before heading to Nationals in Bend. That's the plan but this is now and that will be then. We'll see how it goes.

2009 Utah Cyclocross Series Schedule

Mark your calendars...

# 1	Saturday, October 3
# 2	Saturday, October 10
# 3	Sunday, October 11
# 4	Saturday, October 17
# 5	Saturday, October 24
# 6	Saturday, October 31 - Halloween Cross!
# 7	Saturday, November 7
# 8	Saturday, November 21
# 9	Sunday, November 22
#10	Saturday, November 28
#11	Saturday, December 5
#12	Saturday, December 19 Last Call CX 9Non-Series Event) & Awards Party

Party's Over

Well, cross season is about done for 2008. Well, for me, it was done several weeks ago but the allure of potentially vomiting all over my lycra enclosed legs has brought me back to the "Last Call" cross race at Wheeler Farm this weekend.

It was a great year: great courses (although Matt could have added a few more "off-bike" sections, we'll get to that later) and great racing. To be up there with Art, Sam, Matt, McCone, Darren, etc. was, for me, a rebirth. I guess I'm a born-again Crosstian. It's been several years since I was able to sniff the front of the race.

One thing that I learned this year is that, as you get older, you can't really take time off from training. That doesn't mean keeping the same volume but it does mean making any gains in power the new normal. With a few hours a week on the trainer, sub-threshold and a couple of days skiing, tele and skating, I figure I'll come into the road season with about the same power levels. I may try a return to mountain bike racing by doing some of the mid-week races at Solitude and Soldier. I certainly could improve my CX starts.

Back around the turn of the century my racing was more of a steady, big gear style. Now, with cross-specific workouts (thank you JonnyG) it is much more of an attacking style: "I'm going to attack you 'till you cry". To some degree this was detrimental as I probably could have been a little more strategic with my attacks but hey, ya gotta find your breaking point.

So, thanks to all who made it happen this year; from Matt to Gardie/Bruce to Jon to all those racers who, while I was passing by, yelled encouragement to chase down Matt and Art- ALL TREMENDOUS. And especially to Teesh who came out to a bunch of races to cheer, take photos and who, despite enduring some grumpy-ass episodes by yours truely, still hangs out with me.

Cross Suffering

The Party's Over- Last Race at Draper

Wheeler CX 11/15/08- Racing Tactics? Smashmouth!