Wow...

.....time flies. Starting to target some races for next year. Signed up for Trans-Iowa again. I did it in 2005 and this year's version 6 is scheduled for April 24 and 25th. 320+ miles of gravel road riding! Mohican 100k/100 is a must do in late May or early June. Kevin Daum is trying to talk me into doing USA Cycling 24 hour nationals in WV (Big Bear) in mide-June as a 2 person team....ouchy!

Looks like I bettter start doing some long rides! As such, I am riding to Akron and back this weekend to check out the final BA cross race of the year. Anyone care to join me for a little towpath and road riding?

Later,
BRD

Back to Back

With the nice weather and kids spending some time at their grandparent's house I was able to get out for long rides both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday I rode to Kent for the BA Cross race via the Hike n Bike trail. What a glorius day. It took me over three hours to get there 'cause I made a couple wrong turns in Kent trying to find the race venue. Once I finally found it, I did a couple laps of the course...it was awesome! I could not stick around to race as I had to head home. I took anohter wrong turn coming out of Kent, but manged to make it to Macedonia (271 & SR 82). I called ahead and had my wife meet me there. For the day I managed 5.5 hours and probably over 85 miles (no computer).

Sunday, I left house my 7:45 and met Ross in Bedford where we rode some secret singletrack. I split off from him at about 9:30 and headed to Aurora to meet up with my friend Bill to check out some new singletrack. After doing a loop with him I headed back to Cleveland Heights by way of Geauga Lake, Bainbridge and Chagrin Falls. For the day I ended up with 4.5 hours and no idea how many miles .

Hope to start commuting at least once a week until the weather gets really bad.

Later,

BRD

One month..

...since the last blog post. Since that time, I promoted a two day cyclocross race on October 31 and November 1. We had a nice turnout both days. I need to thank Gary Burkholder, Bob Rodgers and Tom Keller for their help and to my parents for letting us use their place.

This past weekend was Iceman. Depsite the best intentions, I did no do much training or bike riding leading up to the race. As such, I was unsure what kind of results to expect. We drove up Friday afternoon and after dinner and a few beers I decided it would be a good idea to go to the casino. So to add to the undertraining, I was now short on sleep.

My wave of 150+ in the 40-44 age group rocketed from the line at 9:15am on Saturday to clear skies and temps around 50. I got a good start and was about 5th wheel going into the trail. I stayed with the lead groups for about 4 miles and then a group of 6-8 went off the front. I chased with a few others and was feeling good until we got the IceStation Zebra at about the halfway point where I started to feel some legs cramps. Not good! I hung on for as long as I could, but got passed by what seemed like a thousand people in the last 3 miles. At the end, I finished 5oth in my AG in 1:57. About 8 mins slower than last year.

Afterward they had a great party and I hung with the Soupcan boys along with Dave, Tom, Ron, Matt and their lovely wives. Had a great time.

My season is officially over. Maybe I'll go for a run?

Later,

BRD

Quick Update....550 miles

Leroy Cross (10/3) - Kevin K. and CRC did a nice job with the course. It was muddy and I had nothing....except tired legs and lots of lung flem. Nearly DFL in the A group but no worries as there is always another race.

Java Johnny's Lionheart Cross (10/10) - Watched the Friday race and decided to sit it out after arriving 15 minutes before start. That plus all the mud and rain. Pros are fast. Saved my energy for the Cat 4 cross race on Saturday. Dry course with some nice features including pavement, grass, sand and some short hills. Third row start turned into top 5 start where I managed to stay for 5th overall and 1st in 35+ AG. Planned to leave directly after the race but they has some sweet awards (see below). Unfortunately, it took them nearly 3 hours to sort out the results so I hung around later than anticipated to collect my hardware.

After the race I drove 90 miles to New Bremen to make a presentation to Ohio Bike Federation regarding the progress of our indoor velodrome project. I made a quick 10 minute presentation along with some Q&A and then took 15 mins to check out the Bicycle Museum of America. Cool!

Left New Bremen at about 4:30pm and headed towards Loudonville for OMBC cross country race on the 25 miles Mohican SP loop. Arrived in time to set up camp and enjoy some pasta and brews at the local sports bar. Enjoyed a nice campfire and retired for the night at around 11pm.

OMBC Mohican SP (10/11) - Slept in until 8:30 and then enjoyed a campside breakfast of coffee, eggs and bacon. After mounting some new rubber and changing rear brake pads I toed the line for the 1pm start with about 15 or so in the Vet Expert Class (35+). The start was fast through the campground and then turned left up a very steep climb. I nearly slammed the twig and berries when my chain fell off the big ring at the start (twice). We joined the 25 mile SP loop at the beginning and I forgot how hard the first 1-2 miles are. I eventually got into a groove and passed 4-5 people. I caught Rodgers and we went back and forth until the climb along the ridge when my chain broke. After a clumsy and lengthy repair I was back on trail. I managed to pass a few of the Sports that had passed me along with a few experts. I rolled in at 2:21 which was way behind Garth at 2:02 and Lorson (2:09) who took the third and final paying spot. Rogers finished at around 2:14 if memory serves me.

In an exciting finish, Twining beat Walker in a sprint finish at 1:51 (wtf?) with Ross back in 4th at just over 2 hours. Afterwards I enjoyed a few beers with my Solon teammates along with the Soupcan boys. Overall a great weekend.

Later,

BRD

10 Years of Racing

With about 6 weeks until Iceman, I have been looking back at my 8 years worth of training journals to try to make the best use of the training time that I do have. I like graphs. The one below shows my annual cycling hours, average weight on a weekly basis and number of races.

What does this stuff mean? Maybe that during this time, I have never had body fat percentage of an elite cyclist? Maybe that my hours have been consistent with no big blocks taken off due to illness, burnout or overtraining? Maybe, I would like to think I can continue to get faster? I do know that I truly enjoy all aspects of cycling (wrenching, riding, racing, equipment, comraderie and competition) and that love all types of cycling (road, mtb, cross and now track).

In going back over my training journals, I did realize that 2009 is my 10th year of bike racing (I did not keep training records in 2000 and 2001). My first race was back in 2000 at Alpine Valley and I finished DFL in the Beginner Class. It was agonizing and I'll never forget it.

Upon some reflection, I think that my ten year racing anniversary is deserving of something of note, something special. A big party? No, nothing new there. Only another month or two left in the year. Maybe go 100% towards a big result at Iceman (Expert 40-45 AG)? Now that sounds interesting.

More later.

BRD

4th Annual Chagrin River Cyclocross - Race Flyer has Been Posted

Check it out here. Course has been cleared and is smoking fast (for now). Same as last year although we will switch it up the second day. We'll start doing some practice sessions next week on Wednesday from 6pm to dark. All are welcome.

Later,
BRD

Weekend

Due to some family commitments on Saturday, I skipped BA Cross #2 at KSU Stark campus and instead raced OMBC at West Branch SP. Due to some overnight rain the 9.0 mile course was slick, expecially the roots. There were 6 or 7 Vet Experts (over 35) including Rudy, Chris Skinner, Rusty from CAMBA and a few others I did not recognize.

I got a good start and stayed on Rudy's wheel as he worked his way to the front through the XC Ski trails. I let Skinner and another guy pass just before the single track and regretted it as Skinner and Rudy initially struggled in the rocks. The Dirty Hairy's rider who led into the rocks eventually ended up winning.

About three miles before the end the second lap (of three) I suddenly forgot how to ride my bike. I was sliding out, falling off bridges and hitting trees with my shoulder. It may have been due to a little bonk. As I started my third lap I ate an energy bar and that seemed to help. As I was trying to get my shit together, Rudy came flying by me on the XC Ski trail like I was standing still. I tried to ride smooth on the thrid lap which was aided by the rapidly drying course.

I eventually ended up in 6th place about 9 mins behind Skinner who ended up 3rd, 3 minutes down Rusty in 4th place and 2 mins behind Rudy. After nearly coming apart for 10 mins, I was pleased that I was able to regroup and ride reasonably well thereafter. Glad I had that eneregy bar.

Next week is Leroy Cross race. Anyone want to ride there for a little warm up?



Later,

BRD

Reagan Park TT

After missing the first two rounds of the NEO Power Series, I was able to attend the third and final round held Sunday at Reagan Park in Medina, Ohio. Kevin and the boys do a great job and I hated to miss the races at Manitoc and Vultures Knob but family commitments trumped bike racing.

I was able to get down to Reagan Park for a little pre-ride on Tuesday. I ran into the Mirandas and rode with them for a bit. I then did a very hard 20 minute effort. The course was dry and very fast, except for the 9 million turns. I had a decent week of riding and was confident going into the race on Sunday.

I was the 20th person to start and had Auggie, Brian Lennon and John Proppe (among others) ahead of me with Rodgers and Wilhelm behind me. I could see that I was gaining on a few people when Wilhelm caught me. I planned to try to stay with him, but had my only crash immediately after he went past me. Eventually I caught back up to Auggie and stayed behind him until we came to a clearing. I then caught Lennon and later Proppe when he fell in the woods. I rode behind John for a while as he seemed to be keeping a pretty good pace. When we reached the next clearing, he let me by. From that point I was by myself. I tried to push the pace as best I could. Eventually, I rolled in at 45:11 about 3 mins down on Walker and Twining and about 90 seconds behind Wenger and Cochran.

Next weekend is BA Cross #2 down near Canton on Saturday and OMBC at West Branch SP on Sunday. Decisions, decisions! Trying to gain some fitness for Iceman on November 7th.

Cyclocross - BA Series #1

Big turnout of around 150 racers on Sunday for the first race of the Bike Authority Cyclocross Series. Weather was perfect and the course was excellent with grass, dirt, sand, asphalt and gravel to contend with. The A field was large at over 40 riders and fast with many of the top local riders in attendance. I got a good start and was right in the top 10. I was feeling good coming through the start/finish on the first lap when I dropped my chain. I tried to re-install it while riding, but was forced to stop. I lost probably 10 spots and about 20 seconds.

After remounting, I started passing people. After chasing for a couple laps, I finally caught Ehrlinger and Steiner. I got by Steiner when he dropped his chain and later caught Erhlinger. I got a nice gap on them and seemed to be catching the next Spin rider, when with 2 laps to go I caught a pedal while rounding a turn and partially rolled my front Tufo tubular clincher. It was rubbing on the brake and I had to take it ez on the corners. I should have probably grabbed a new wheel but decided to ride it out.

Erhlinger and Steiner eventually caught me and I was unable to keep up with them. Then to add insult I dropped my chain after the barriers and Chip Meek caught and passed me. Anyway, I had a good day and felt strong. I was only 2 mins out of the top 10 after 60 mins of racing. Last year I was nearly 8 mins behind the winner and this year I was around 5 mins, so not too bad.

Thanks to Robert Sroka for the pictures.

Later,

BRD