Whirly Bird Mix

WEEKEND CROSS WRAP #2: Whirly Bird & Ed Sanders

Another great weekend of 'cross racing is in the books, and another week of improvement has been accomplished. My finishing results were mixed, but my sensations out on the course both days was better than last week. Now I'm in for a week of resting before my team's race on Sunday, the Hillbilly Hustle V.4. The winner of the Men's 1/2 receives a custom trophy by Warren Holzman of Iron Studios. It's super sweet! I'm going to do what I can to make that trophy mine, no doubt! But that a week away, now for the race reports!

Saturday @ Whirly Bird Cross: After the mental and physical beating the previous weekend, I was more than ready to do some lower key local races and have more fun in the process. I clearly wasn't ready for 'cross yet, and most certainly not ready for 2 UCI races. But that being said, I felt better on course and was lucky enough to have the officials scrap call-ups and so I got a front-row start. At the gun, my front-row start turned into a front-group selection, which panned out just fine for the first 2 laps. On lap 3, after a minor mix-up in the front, I was working to close down a small gap that had formed when the crazy wind blew the course tape inward as I rode the good line on the inside of a bend, catching my bars and taking me down. Immediately, 4 riders crashed into me and we all set about checking ourselves, our bikes, and getting back to the pursuit of the 3 riders who got away clean. I was the last of the group to get back going unfortunately, so I tried to close the gaps down as quickly as possible. After catching the 2 riders that had passed me while stopped, I saw I was reeling in the tail-end of the riders I was previously with. As I caught one, we started working together to catch the rest. This proved rather difficult though, and while in hot pursuit I started feeling the effects of my crash and with 1.5 laps to go I lost contact as we caught 2 riders. My ankle was throbbing after the race, so I grabbed some arnica and made sure to ice it well once I was home. End result on the day: 8th out of 19 starters.

Sunday @ Ed Sanders Memorial Cross: This race marked my first MABRA race back, which is a series I loved to race when I was on the East Coast previously. Being the first MABRA cross race of the season, I was also hoping for a free-for-all at the line, but no such luck. The call-up process had me towards the back, and my clumsy self decided to slip a pedal at the start, leaving me pretty close to DFL into the first corners. Oh well, guess that makes the race more fun for me! The course on the day was a tiny bit sloppy, with some moderately difficult sections that required good firm-mud handling skills. Luckily, I came prepared on the day, having switched my normal Schwalbe Racing Ralph tread for the more aggressive, thinner, and classic CX Pro tread. These babies are great in mud, and they did their job as I rode by guys running their bikes through the half-dry peanut butter. I kept this up until 2 laps to go where I had 3 more riders well within my grasp. I stayed right on them, with the furthest only about 12 seconds up on me and recovered slightly so i could take one last long dig into the final lap to pass and drop all 3. BUT, just as I recovered I heard the insane laughter of the flat-tire gnomes from behind me and sure enough, PFFFFFFFFF. No more air in my rear tire as I rolled through the finish with exactly 1 lap to go. Now most elite level riders finishing in the money most weekends would have a spare bike, or at least a spare wheelset at the pit. Well, I'm not most Elite riders! I gingerly rode to the pit half of a lap in and silently prayed for someone to still be there. Luckily, when I arrived, there was a gentleman no too far away whom ran over and let me borrow their wheel to finish on. THANKS DUDE!!!! I rolled in as the last full-race finisher on the day, and set about cleaning up and thinking about what to eat on the way home. Stoked I was feeling decent both days, and can't wait to be back on all-cylinders in the coming weeks and fighting for VICTORY. End result on the day: 14th of 25 starters

So 2 weeks in, 8 to go? Ah, doesn't matter, I'm having a blast racing 'cross again and SO SHOULD U! So get a bike set up, any bike, and head on out to the races!

It looks like you need a massage!

One of the recovery techniques I've been using as of late is deep tissue massage. On Monday's after most race weekend's, I head down to Stephanie's place in the City of Nutterly Love (Philly, duh). After the hello's, playing with the dog and the cat, it's 2 hours of bliss as all the little kinks and stress built up from the past week's training and racing are worked out. If you're in the Philadelphia region, don't hesitate to visit her site and call for an appointment, www.stephaniestago.com. Tell her Jordan sent you!

WEEKEND CROSS WRAP: Nittany & Charm City

Well well well! Well........

Back from the opening weekend of 'cross racing in the Mid-Atlantic region. I'll admit to mixed feelings on the events that unfolded, but am optimistic for what the future holds. Please read on....

Nittany Cross (UCI Men): "I'm on a road bike. Wait, it's not a road bike, these tires are bumpy. And what kind of brakes are these? Canti-whats? Oh, I get it. I'm at a cross race!" This sort of sums up my day. A little confusion followed by the realization that I'm back racing cyclocross. The start was decent. Made up maybe 2 spots in what was a hectic but controlled start before we hit the first turns. I lacked the necessary pop and power to make my way up to the front quickly, but my handling was spot-on for the day as I made my passes on the inside about 90% of the time. Towards the end, started to feel the effects of last weeks crash at Bear Creek, but held my meager 21st position. The course was great, big thanks to the Mike Yozell who designed the course and to the whole crew on the day. Great way to start the Fall cycling season!

Charm City Cross (UCI Men): This was my first cyclocross race at the Elite level back in '05. Since then, the event has grown immensely to become one of the premier MAC UCI races. This course is fast and twisty, with challenging run-ups, sand-traps, and barrier sections that keep even the most experienced cyclocrossers on their toes. The last time I toed the line at Charm City, I was 5th on the day. Despite the lackluster performance the day prior, I took that knowledge to the start line and was determined to have a stellar day. From the gun, the start was much more hectic than the Nittany start. I had nowhere to go, and as we hit the grass I dropped my chain. Recovering quickly, I managed to stay on to the tail end of the pack as we made the first few turns and up to the sand-pits. I used these and the next few turns and punchy hills to my advantage to move back up to around 18th. I held this for the next lap as I reeled in a large group. As I caught on to them, we hit the long stair run-up and this is where things started south. My left leg, which is my lead-off leg for my dismounts AND the leg I like to jump with, started getting noticeably weaker as I went up the stairs. This opened the gap and I tried like heck to close it but couldn't do it. Stuck in no-man's land, I rode until a rider caught up to me and tried to work with them, but got dropped at the sand-pits, which I had to run most of by this point. This was the story the rest of the race as my leg got worse and worse. At the end, I was 25th, and glad to be done the first 2 UCI cross races of the season (glad in a positive way). Hopefully the next week will allow for my leg to fully recover and be back to 100% power.

Final Thoughts: With UCI points on the line, I really wanted to get at least 1 point on the weekend. I knew this would be tough, but I was hoping I could pull it off. With my limitations on the weekend, I can't be fully disappointed, but I know I'm capable of much better. Learning from the weekend and making improvements are the name of the game this week. Look for me practicing barriers before the Tuesday night clinic, and left-side dismounts. Also, I'll be starting at the back of the group during the Wednesday night workouts, as I'll definitely be starting towards the back at the big races!

Hope your cyclocross adventures have you yearning for more! Next weekend brings some new and some old again. Saturday is the new Whirly-Bird Cross at Bryn Athyn College, and is put on by the Guy's Bicycles Racing Club for the Pennsylvania Cyclocross series. Sunday is the fan-favorite Ed Sander's Cross in Buckeystown, MD, and is the first stop on the MABRA cyclocross calendar. Hope to see you out there!

- J

Bike Gamers REJOICE!

A collection of cycling inspired games for rainy days when you wish you were on your bike.

Enjoy!

http://www.cyclingboardgames.net/cyclogames.htm

And it finally begins........

Some of you may know this, but I have been absent from cyclocross for the last few seasons. That is about to change though, in a big way. After a somewhat disappointing mountain bike season, my debut season as a Pro, I wasn't sure what to think about a full cyclocross schedule. I took 2 weeks off after the Windham ProXC Tour race to rest, relax, travel, and see where I stood with my cycling. It was refreshing, exhilarating, everything I could ask for and more. And when it was all said and done and I straddled my bike again, I felt the feeling.

The feeling was a piece of the spark that I was missing all mtb season. I had the drive, determination, dedication, and focus all year, but the spark wasn't there. I raced with the Lupine Corporate Team at the Seven Spring 24hr Challenge and could feel the ignitors clicking. At the first Wednesday night 'cross workout, I could feel the warmth. And even when mechanical mishaps were holding me back at the last mountain bike race of 2009, I could still feel the build-up.

The full brunt of what was to come hit me this passed Monday when my 2010 Giant TCX 0 made it back home to my workstand. As I built it, adjusted it, and fine-tuned it, the symbiosis between man and machine was made complete. And the spark that I was looking for? Well, the spark came back full force during this past Wednesday's 'cross workout. Running the barriers after an off-camber sweeper, bunny hopping a branch pile, weaving through muddy grass and trees and accelerating out of the final turn. This was the feeling I had been waiting for. This was the spark. This was cyclocross.

And it finally begins, after 3 empty Fall seasons, this weekend at the Nittany 'Cross and the Charm City Cross. An East-Coast UCI Double-Header Cyclocross Kickoff weekend. If you're racing, than I'm sure I'll see you there. If you're not, than come on out with your cowbells and a bottle of your finest Belgian hops and cheer us on over barriers, over sandpits, over run-ups, over cyclocross.

Cross-ready, but not quite mother approved.

Just in case you haven't heard, I'm putting on a 3-part cyclocross clinic for my team at the Belmont Plateau from 6-7pm. The first one is tonight, so if you're reading this and can make it, consider this a special invite. It's officially for Breakaway Bikes affiliated riders only, but we'll make an exception if you're reading this ;). Did I just type a wink? Excuse me while I chop a finger off as punishment.......

She sure is purdy ain't she? Hopefully the weather holds and the courses are nice for the weekend, as she's the only steed I got at the moment. I'll be using my road bike as a pit-bike until my second ride arrives. I spent a late night givin her my love and attention and she's now ready to rock'n'roll. Thank you Gary T !!!

Broken pedal misfortune turned raffle delight

I'm still a little out of breath from Sunday's race. Mostly due to all the frustrations I was voicing over more than 2/3rds of the course. After we started, I knew my legs were feeling good. I moved up from my back-of-the-pack start position to just outside the top-10. In the singletrack, I made some quick passes up to about 8th or 9th. As I got on the wheel of my team-mate from last weekend, The Big Shebelsky, we hit a rocky, technical decent where I hit a pedal on a rock, causing my foot to come out. I quickly recovered, but could not clip back in. The pedal was stuck in the open position and I spent the rest of the race having to reset the pedal every time I grazed a rock or had to dismount. HUGE bummer, but that's racing. I did want to close out the mountain bike season with a bigger success, but this year I have CYCLOCROSS to look forward to. I've been feeling reeeeeeaaaallly good since my 2 week break, and with the decreased number of training hours I'm staying fresh.

But it's hard to stay frowned at the last MASS race of the year, and I spent the remainder of the time talking it up with friends and eating delicious cheeseburgers. Giant Gary was on hand to raffle off a brand new Giant 29'er 1, so I grabbed a raffle ticket and crossed my fingers. WELL, I guess I had my fingers crossed tighter than everyone else, cause I WON. Sweet, now I got a kick-ass winter training bike and race HT for next season. All it needs is some lighter components come race time. It is a medium frame, so as soon as I get a swap for a small I'll be writing up some reports on it.

GOOD LUCK to all those finishing their mountain bike seasons the next few weeks, and for all those gearing up for 'cross, See you over the barriers.........

Last gasp of the fat tire

This weekend is the Mid-Atlantic Super Series finals at Bear Creek. Theoretically, it will be my final mountain bike race of 2009. Although it was a team race, I'm hoping to use my momentum from last weekend's win to propel me to another podium finish. My switch over to more cyclocross specific training is giving my legs a beating. Wednesday's are double days for me with a 30 minute run in the morning and cyclocross workouts at the belmont in the afternoon. The cyclocross workouts were more difficult than normal since I was on my mtb this week. Hopefully my 'cross bikes get here very soon...... My recovery from that wasn't ideal this week, as I worked a campus event for my Aunt on Thursday morning and was standing on my feet all morning instead of spinning a recovery ride and stretching. With the help of my SKINS and some rest, I should be back to 100% for Sunday.

Also, it's 9/11. My style isn't to provide commentary on things like this, but do ask we all remember the events of that day and those lives lost.

7 Springs, you treated us well

No rain, no mud, no tears. This past weekend's course at Seven Springs was dry and fast, and was one of the best times I've had on a bike all year. Oh yeah, and we won too.

For the drive out, I had my friend from college, Champion, join me and on the way I picked up Das Schobernator in Lancaster before hitting the long stretch to Somerset. Nothing of note happened on the drive, amazingly. When we showed up at the team 'chalet', I was a bit numbed from the road, and things sort of blur together, but I'm pretty sure Gretna Bill was doing a lot of rambling about crazy things. He's the best.

After about an hour of that scenario, it was time for some shuteye. Upon walking upstairs, I was greeted with the team sleeping quarters. A large room littered with barrack-like bunks I quickly set out finding myself a top bunk and got some sleep. This would be the only time I would get real sleep for the entire weekend. yay.

Upon waking, we quickly set out to the top of the mountain in search of our number plates and registration paraphernalia. The weather was gorgeous and was a sign of things to come. Luckily, we chose to drive up, as when we arrived we found the staff had not shown up yet and so we hastily jumped back in the car to join the rest of the crew for a delicious buffet breakfast at the main lodge.

After enjoying our 3 course breakfast, there was much rejoicing and discussion on what was to come for the next 24 hours. We headed back up to the top of the mountain to sign our waivers and then back down to the chalet to get everything ready. Another pal of mine, and cyclocross nemesis, Bad Andy, was our lead off for the event. This meant that he would do the LeMans run around the lake. I did this a few years back, and I wasn't too enthralled. Second in the lineup came yours truly, followed by 3 more fast dudes then 3 solid dudes, with Gretna Bill pulling up the rear. This made for 8 total riders competing for Corporate Team Glory (which in this case turned out to be a jersey, medal, and real schwag bag, but more on that later). When it came time, I suited up for lap one and headed out on my warm-up ride before making my way up to the mountain top and our team encampment. Our said encampment was pretty impressive, consisting of team bus, multiple tents, stoves, chairs, tables, support, and a storage shed. Gretna Bill was on hand to give me some last minute instructions and I was off to the transition area to wait for Bad Andy and head out on my first lap.

My first lap went much smoother than anticipated, as I only blew a few high-speed corners. You see, I didn't pre-ride the course. Luckily for me, The Experience was on hand to guide me through the first half, which was just as good as pre-riding. Actually, no, it was better. Sadly though, I was on a mission and he was not, so he shut it down after halfway to save some energy to help his friend out who was racing solo for the weekend (solo is another word for nuts). Coming into the transition area I quickly swapped our ankle chips to our next rider and we were happily on our way to what would be a 20+ minute lead after 5 laps. Satisfied with my first performance of the weekend, I swept back over to the tents to give my brief synopsis of current events and glided back down to the chalet on the wings of sparrows to shower, eat, stretch, and get a little nappy-nap in before heading out on my night lap.

Now, I'll have to admit, I was a little nervous about the night lap. I hadn't ridden at night for quite a while, and the last time I did it was with a woefully inadequate setup. Luckily for me, I was racing on the Lupine Lights Corporate team for the weekend, one of my sponsors, and I was set up with two of their super sweet Wilma lights. One for my bars, and one for my helmet. Ladies and gentlemen, these babies are like stadium lights. Once I turned these bad-boys on and started pedaling, I completely forgot I was on a night lap. When I got to the transition area though, some of the nervousness creeped back in as I found out we had slowly lost the lead and that Bad Andy was working to pull us back. When he came in, we were still 50 seconds back. I blazed through the trails at the same pace as my first lap, and if not for a mechanical mishap I would have more than likely equalled that first lap's time. Upon finishing, I had put in a few solid minutes on second and we were back in the lead again. Whew!

With the night lap completed, I was pretty spent from my second all-out hour-long effort of the day, and was looking forward to another nappy-nap. I forced myself to stay up long enough to eat a proper recovery meal and shower, then put on my SKINS recovery tights and went to sleep. Luckily I set my alarm, otherwise I would never have gotten up in time to get out on my third and final lap Sunday morning. Getting up for a quick breakfast and to get my gear ready again was a no-fun scenario. I slowly woke up, and eventually managed to suit up again and head out. This time, I decided to skip a warm-up, and save all my energy for the course. I was feeling confident as I headed to the transition area, despite a little tiredness. I crossed my fingers as I waited with Bad Andy to see how Gretna Bill's last lap would be. Unfortunately, we again lost the lead, but this time it was REAL close, only about 15 seconds off. Bad Andy flew off the transition and went about pulling a super strong lap which started the back-breaking process for good. A quick transition and then I was off. My no-warm-up plan paid off in spades as I pulled off another strong lap consistent with my first, despite feeling tired, having furthered our back-breaking tactic on second place. Once again, it was off to the chalet for recovery and this time back up to the venue to see the finish.

Once again the weather was beautiful as we all sat on the hillside watching racers pass. We waited in nervous anticipation for Das Schobernator come through so we could determine the gap to second place. When he came through, the gap was 16+minutes. YES! It seems as though our tactics had worked in the end. With Das Schobernator in, we sent out Clinton for our last lap and with the times showing on the boards and the gap back to second place, it was a nail-biter to see whether or not they would be able to go out for their 21st lap as well.

As the clock ticked down, it was getting closer and closer to doomsday for the second placed team. I ran over to the transition area as they came around the lake, knowing that it was going to come down to seconds. They had until noon to get in, and as I ran my cell phone clock showed 11:59. I sprinted over to the tent just in time to see the look of dejection on all of their faces. Hiding my excitement, I glanced up at the official time to see that they had missed the final lap by less than 20 seconds!! VICTORY WAS OURS!!!!! After dumping Gretna Bill with his victory ice ala superbowl winning coach, we headed over to the awards to stand on the podium.

It was great to be a part of an amazing team effort for the weekend, and I'll definitely be back next year for more. We have a title to defend now! BIG THANKS to everyone at Gretna Bikes & Lupine Lights for a fantastic weekend of racing. Also thanks to SCHWALBE tires, whose Racing Ralphs and Nobby Nics graced literally EVERY BIKE we rode.

Return to 7-Springs

This weekend is the 24hr Challenge at 7-Springs. I'll be competing on an 8-man corporate team for my friends and sponsors at Gretna Bikes & Lupine Lights. If you haven't had a chance to check out Lupine's amazing line-up of trail lights, check them out at www.gretnabikes.com.

I've had some epic rides at 7-Springs. Two in particular are the 2004 Collegiate National Championships and the 2006 24hr Challenge. One was epic in a good way, and one in a not-so-good way. The '04 Collegiate nationals was my last collegiate race ever, and after racing a few Collegiate National Championships on foreign turf (Georgia and Angel Fire), it was nice to only have to drive 1.5hrs to the race venue. The night before the XC, a storm came in and drenched the mountain, much to the dismay of the Mountain region and California schools. I, on the other hand, secretly was performing rain-dances all week, and was more than happy for the downpouring of delight. With a decent starting position, I managed an 11th place, which with some bad luck mixed in was a good result on the day. The race trashed my bike, and my chamois, but I was totally enthralled with my race and couldn't wait to go back to 7-Springs again.

Fast forward a little to the 2006 7-Springs 24hr race, and I was lending a hand to my buddies from Gretna Bikes on their corporate team. I was their lead-out man, getting to do the Lemans style start and the first 2 laps. The intent was to put time on the other corporate teams, enough so that we could lead comfortably for when the slower riders on the team went out on course. Instead, I ended up trashing myself and my bike, and came in after 2 laps in second. Bah!

So.....this year I'm bringing the cleaning gear and only doing 1 lap at a time. The tentative plan is to do 3 laps, fairly evenly spaced so that I can recover in between and pull the fastest laps possible. We'll see how that pans out.......

Hope to see you out there this weekend! Pray for foul weather! Muahahahahahaa!