closing shop, probably

Hey.

As you can tell, I've gradually run out of things to say since I moved to SF, so much so that my blog posting has slowed to a trickle. This is because my daily routine isn't very interesting. I basically spend my days working my butt off at the office like millions of other people and use my spare time to ride my bike, which I do alone 99% of the time because of time constraints and my training plan. Big whoop, right? You don't want to hear about that. I can barely read my race reports all the way through, so I certainly don't expect you to either.

I just don't have the time, energy or interest to keep this site going anymore. As such, I'm probably going to delete this blog and its associated GMail address within the next month. If you object to that, feel free to leave a comment saying so, but otherwise I'm done. Thanks to all of you who read this thing, left a kind word (or even a not-so-kind word) in the comments, enjoyed the pics and humored me when I told bad stories and unfunny jokes.

Now it's time to go do something else.

the fear

This post also appears on the Crossniacs team blog.

Matt and I drove down to Cow Palace yesterday afternoon for Cross Palace, which was held in conjunction with SF Bike Expo. The course was incredibly short and went through a little pump track built inside one of the wings of the arena, then went outside again and dropped down into the lower portion of the fairgrounds where it took you up a run-up and back down an incredibly steep downhill then wound you through a maze-ified animal paddock then back up to the arena.

The rumor was that the downhill was around 45-50° grade; this might not have been true, but it WAS the same hill that the dirt jumpers were bombing down, and once you got down the hill you had to do an immediate right-hand turn on a berm and then an immediate left into a double-wide section of peanut butter mud. I hopped on the course to do do a few warm-up laps and ended up crashing incredibly hard coming down the hill the first time around. I didn't even get to make the turn - I hopped on the bike at the top of the hill, got one foot clipped in and spent the entire downhill frantically, and unsuccessfully, trying to get the other foot in and ended up plowing full speed into the berm at the bottom and endoing over the top of it onto the asphalt. Fortunately I jumped back on my feet really fast and was completely fine, except for a bit of road rash on my knee and a super-size feeling of embarrassment from crashing so hard in front of so many people. I hopped back on the bike, finished the lap and went around one more time to give the hill one last shot. I was able to stay upright the second time, but got whacked in the "boys" by my seat so hard that I had to stop and sit down. I went to the top of the hill a few more times but just couldn't bring myself to go down it again. At that point I had the full-on Fear, and decided not to take the start.

At first I was pretty disappointed in myself for losing my nerve, but as the day went by and I watched a few of the races it became apparent that the downhill section was genuinely dangerous. The hill and berm ended up collecting an alarming number of victims, one of whom had to be taken away in an ambulance. Another person voluntarily dropped out of the race because he thought the hill was unsafe, and Matt and I also spoke with one the bigger names in the Bay Area 'cross scene who refused to start for the same reasons.

I'm not sure if this race will be held in the future, but if it is and that same downhill is included, I will not be doing it. I love racing, but not so much that I will willingly ignore my self-preservation instinct.

basp #3 @ sierra point

This post also appears on the Crossniacs team blog.

photo courtesy of @ecoPRchick

I was able to score myself an extra-long weekend this week and used it to eat diner food, drink beer and generally lie around trying to remember what regular, non-CX people do in their spare time. Needless to say, I rolled into Sierra Point with my mind and body elsewhere, but that wasn't enough to make me skip the spectacle of the only night race on the calendar.

We started at dusk and fortunately everyone made it through the drag race to the first corner (unlike last year, where things got a little crazy). After that it was cruising, picking up spots where possible and making sure that you stayed upright. There were so many turns, washboard sections, barriers and run-ups that it was almost impossible to get a rhythm, not that I would have raced any better if I had been able to find one. I still had a great time racing, though. My "lost" weekend may have hurt the fitness a bit, but I think it will probably help preserve sanity in the long run. I also ran into my friend DB from San Diego, who was on a NorCal roadtrip and tried his hand in the Bs with me, and had a nice start-line chat with Paul (I hope that's your name - apologies if I forgot) of Team BEER. Seeing old friends, making new ones and riding off your hangover.... gotta love cross!

As always, head over to the NCNCA Racing blog for more pics and video of this weekend's action. Next race is Cross Palace this weekend, at SF's Cow Palace fairgrounds. Word is that we'll be racing INSIDE the arena...

cxsr #1

This post also appears on the Crossniacs team blog.

Man, the Bike Monkey crew in Santa Rosa knows how to put on a race! The course was super flat and super short and, other than two single-bike-wide bridges and a gnarly tree root, was a straight-up DRAG RACE which totally played to my strengths. I got a decent start just hammered, hammered, hammered for 15(!) laps… and did great! I finished 8th/38 and was the last rider to stay on the lead lap. I celebrated afterward with a beer and a brat, as usual. I guess the trick now is to get that same performance in fields three times as large, like they are at the BASP races. None of the fields were very big and the course wasn’t particularly challenging, but everyone was stoked to race and had a great time.

CXSR (and also Livermore) might not have the flash and prestige of the bigger series in the region, but they are invaluable for racers looking to pick up extra starts and work on the race fitness. Another advantage of having these “feeder” series around is that they almost double the length of the racing season out here. The bulk of the racing naturally runs from October through December just like everywhere else, but when you tack on Livermore, which starts in early September, and CXSR, who hold their last race in mid-February, you get a regional cross calendar that is nearly six months long! Needless to say, I feel very lucky be racing in a region that offers so many opportunities to compete. The only downside is that I usually run out of steam before the race calendar does! I'm trying to work on that, though.

AV Club: The root claims a victim!

good job, moonies

Courtesy of Lee
Originally uploaded by tedketai

remember that thing I said back in february?

You remember, that.

Looks like I was a lot closer to being right than I thought, unfortunately.

According to Intervíu, police evidence revealed that Rock Racing's Francisco Mancebo also maintained a relationship with Losa. In a reported exchange between Losa and Mancebo, Mancebo sent a text message dated Jan. 28 to Losa: “Call me to eat one day and bring me something … we have a crisis.” To which Losa responds, “Ja, ja … whenever you want.” A few days later, Mancebo won the first stage of the Tour of California.

Sad. We of course need to wait for due process of law to sort this out, however flawed that may be, but still... pretty damning stuff.

Feel free to throw in your two cents any time, Mr. Ball.

basp #2 @ coyote point

This post also appears on the Crossniacs team blog.

photo © Cyclocross Magazine

Man, I was ready. I spent all last week kicking butt at work, training was going well and I was rested. Matt and I got to the course a few hours early, did a few recon laps and then just hung out until it was time to roll to the staging area…. good mood, no problems and no stress (other than the usual pre-race jitters). I got to the starting chute extra early and was rewarded with a fifth-row spot behind the call-ups.

The start chute wasn’t actually a part of the course loop; it went up the side of the hill and (for the lack of a more better word) injected us into the Northern part of the course and through the finish line chicanes in the parking lot on top, and from there we went over top of the hill to the far side, then back and forth a few more times and through the “Hecklers’ Corner” sand pit. The course was excellent and very technical and I overheard many people describing it as similar to a short track XC course. Skills are usually more important than speed at this venue, and this race was no different.

The ref blew the whistle and we were off. I was good on the asphalt and into the woodchips - I held my spot pretty well, wasn’t getting pinched or pushed by other riders and the speed was low because we were climbing, which made me feel marginally safer. Then…

PPPPPPPPPSSSSSSSSSSSSssssssssss

Not sure what I ran over, but it must have been sharp as hell because I immediately lost all pressure in the rear tire. I stopped and threw the bike on my shoulder and ran through the chicanes to the neutral pit at the finish line where Zipp Greg threw a new wheel in and I took off again, working my way back up through the pack from DFL and ended up finishing 46th/72.

An honest day’s work, but man…. I had good legs and really wonder how I would have done without that flat. Flats suck, but they build character. I’ve also got to thank all the guys who showed a bit of sympathy as they rode past me - I heard about a dozen “bummer, dude”s as they all went by and another dozen people yelling that the neutral pit was right around the corner… you all rock, seriously.

If this video is any indication, I may be better at carrying my bike than actually riding it. Head on over to the NCNCA Racing blog for more pics and videos.