’Cross Weather

Members of the local cyclocross community have been meeting at Royal Oaks Park in West Bend for the last seven Tuesdays and at first there were some remarks about the hot weather making our practices feel out of place and not like “real” cyclocross.  Well, there were no such complaints today.  A cold breeze from the northwest and temperatures in the low 50s definitely made today feel like autumn.

I began my day with streaming coverage of the women’s UCI world championship time trial, in which American Evie Stevens took the silver medal behind Germany’s Judith Arndt.  As the defending champion, Arndt was the last rider to start, making for great drama as Stevens waited to see whether her time would hold up.  Next year for sure, Evie!  The men’s world championship TT is scheduled for tomorrow and I will watch it with great interest.  But for me the main event on Wednesday is CrossVegas, the first big date on the professional cyclocross calendar.  There will be streaming coverage starting at 10 p.m. Central, so tune in to watch defending US champion Jeremy Powers, Wisconsin’s own Brian Matter, and a host of other domestic and international men and women.

Between the TT and the cyclocross races on Wednesday, I will try to squeeze in a few practice laps at New Fane in preparation for Saturday’s WEMS race.  I’m pairing up with my Team Pedal Moraine teammate Steve Cummins for the 5-hour race.  It’s great to see WEMS returning to New Fane and it’s important to support a race so close to home.  Bill & Brittany Nigh are hosting.  I hope to perform well and will be very interested in comparing my lap times to those of more accomplished mountain bikers.  In WORS races, the higher categories usually have a more challenging course than the Cat 3s, but in a WEMS race everyone rides the same trails.  I’ll get a good feel for how far I have developed as a rider this year … and how far I still have to go.

Racing at New Fane on Saturday means no US Gran Prix of Cyclocross for me.  The two-day event in Sun Prairie will feature some of the same top-level pros as CrossVegas, as well as local pros and amateurs.  But with no WCA series points on the line, it’s a good event for me to skip.  I have a lot of two-race weekends coming up and neither my energies nor my finances are inexhaustible.

2012 Lake Geneva Cyclocross

Today's course was awesome for racers and spectators alike.

I placed 6th out of 19 racers in Cat 4 Masters 45+ this morning at Lake Geneva and was really happy with my result.  Isn’t that funny?  It’s only one position higher than last weekend, but I feel so much better about it.  That’s the difference, I guess, between having high expectations and being more realistic.

Seven of the racers in today’s field were from Illinois.  I thought there might be many more and that in a big field I might have a low placing with few, if any, series points.  But several of the “usual suspects” from Wisconsin skipped today’s race for some reason.  Only two of the six guys who beat me at Sheboygan were on the starting line today, so with two mid-pack finishes I’m now up to 3rd place on points in the series.

Ken Krebs was today’s winner, closely followed by Dave Dineen, the new series leader.  Paul Fox took 3rd, Jed Schleisner 4th, and a late-charging Larry Gundlach 5th.  I was ahead of Gundlach until early in the final lap when he found some crazy second wind and just blew by me.

The course was outstanding, a great mix of fast sections and technical challenges.  I was good on the gravel road hill climb and over the double barriers whose placement turned a rideable hill into a run-up.  And on all four laps I rode well through the sand volleyball court.  Prior to the race I completed two practice laps and the experience helped a lot.  I handled all of the technical stuff well.  So, why only 6th place?  I think the answer is an inadequate warmup.

Cycling orthodoxy says: The shorter the race, the longer the warmup.  At about 30 minutes, my cyclocross races are very short.  At Sheboygan and again today, I had a good start but faded midway through Lap 1.  Somewhere in the middle of Lap 2, I rediscovered my legs and had plenty of punch from then on.  I think a longer warmup will get me over the hump, so that will be part of the pre-race strategy at East Troy on Sep. 29.

Disappointed with his 11th place finish today, Jeff Wren will try a longer warmup too.  Like me, he is fading after a strong start, then making a comeback.  Troy Sable took 10th place—I spent a long time looking at his back wheel, but I finally put him away on the run-up.  We’ll be back on the ’cross bikes this Tuesday for another practice session.  Practice will begin at 5:30 p.m., as usual, and we’ll start a 30-minute race simulation at 6 p.m.

And, by the way, during today’s race I surpassed 4,000 miles of cycling so far in 2012.  There’s an outside chance that this could be my second consecutive 5,000-mile year, but I won’t kill myself to reach that milestone.  Last year I reached 4,000 miles on Sep. 9, so I’m a week behind my 2012 pace.

By 11 a.m. it was already a nice Sunday, but the cherry on top was a late afternoon tour of Loops 1 & 2 at New Fane with my son Ryan.  For him, riding a bike is just a way to get around our neighborhood.  But today I was able to coax him into some mountain biking.  He did a good job, thanked me for taking him, and wants to go again sometime.

A Cyclocross Anniversary

Anniversary / Birthday / Whatever.  Have a cupcake!

One year ago today I rode my Diamondback Steilacoom RCX cyclocross bike for the first time.  I got it just early enough in the day to set it up for my very first cyclocross practice later that evening.  It would take a few days for me to adjust everything perfectly, but I was happy with the bike right away.  How happy?  Well, from the day I got it the Steilacoom was the only bike I rode until I took my Raleigh Competition for a short spin on March 15.  During those six months, the Steilacoom was more than just my cyclocross bike; I also used it to tear up the Eisenbahn State Trail and as a winter road bike.  This year the Steilacoom has been my choice for half of all my rides—78 out of 155—including 47 fast miles today on the Eisenbahn, 41 of which I rode with Jeff Wren as we tuned-up for Lake Geneva Cross.

Obviously I would like a good result in Sunday’s race, but it’s going to be tough.  My mid-pack finish last weekend didn’t give me any reason to expect a high finish at Lake Geneva.  In fact, it might be a throwaway race.  In the WCA’s new format, only the 10 best finishes count toward a racer’s position in the series standings.  A great weather forecast and a huge influx of racers from Illinois should ensure that Sunday’s field is one of the largest this season, and that means points could be in short supply.  By finishing 7th out of 16 in my age group last weekend I earned 11 points.  If I’m 17th out of 35 on Sunday I will earn just 1.

But there’s no question that I’m going to give it a try anyway.  It’s only the second race of the year and unless/until I reach 11 there are no throwaways.  Every point counts, and maybe the best I can hope for is to stop one of my rivals from getting an extra point or two.  If nothing else, the race will be a good training opportunity—it will be just my 9th cyclocross race ever, after all.  I could use the experience and the 30 minutes of hard intervals.

(Just Like) Starting Over

It’s been too long since we took the time …

Today I hit the weights for the first time since injuring my left shoulder in a softball game on July 26.  I probably could have returned to strength training a week or two ago, but only recently have I been free of little twinges.  Fortunately the injury didn’t keep me off the bike.  If the lower body had withered as much as the upper body apparently has, then I wouldn’t be much of a cyclist anymore.

It’s scary how quickly fitness can disappear.  After 30 minutes in the home gym doing a routine that I would have considered “light” just a few weeks ago, I’m literally trembling from the effort.  But in a way that’s good.  Those twitchy muscles are waking up from a long nap.  They’ll come back; they have before.

Every autumn as the days get shorter I find myself spending more time in the home gym.  This year I have the added incentive of a fitness contest sponsored by my employer.  The contest began today and runs through Nov. 4.  I’m not sure whether there are any prizes to be won, but the competition itself will provide a little extra motivation for me to keep hitting the weights and to look for other cross-training exercises.

2012 Sheboygan Cyclocross

I expected more than I could deliver today at Sheboygan in the first race of the 2012 WCA cyclocross season.  The race wasn’t a total disaster—I finished in 7th place out of 16 in the Cat 4 Masters 45+ age group—but I really had hoped to be on the podium.

I got off to a good start and was holding on in the Top 5 for the first half of Lap 1.  But then I just couldn’t sustain the pace of the leaders and once I lost contact I was easy prey for a couple of guys who had been chasing me.  Single-speeder John Grosz passed me to slip into 6th place and then John Norman dropped me into 8th place early in Lap 3.

Norman’s pass broke me out of a funk.  I knew the leaders were now long gone and my motivation was waning.  But I have a good head-to-head record against Norman in both cyclocross and mountain bike racing, so I resolved not to let him get away.  I stayed on his wheel for a few minutes, then reclaimed 7th place by mid-lap and extended my advantage to the finish.

PJ Braun was today’s winner, edging 2011 winner Timm Jacobson.  Today’s course was very different from last year’s.  The steep hill known as “The Equalizer” was removed from this year’s course, as was the corkscrew.  Overall, today’s course was less technically demanding.  A long section of sandy beach was the toughest challenge—I certainly didn’t get close to riding its entire length—but there were no really tight corners or off-camber turns.  Unfortunately, much of the course still consisted of bumpy straightaways and high grass that just sucked the energy out of every pedal stroke.

The other West Bend guys agreed with me after the race that our performances demand a redoubling of our efforts when we meet again for practice on Tuesday.  Despite a fast start, Jeff Wren placed 12th today.  Troy Sable, suffering from a rear derailleur problem, was 16th.

Sponsorship Matters

Yesterday morning, Wisconsin-based Trek came up big for American cyclocross by announcing its sponsorship of the US Gran Prix series.  Trek’s patronage guarantees that there will be a series this year, something that looked very doubtful earlier this week when it became evident that former title sponsor Exergy wasn’t paying the bills.  It’s good business for Trek to get behind the USGP, especially since the series kicks off Sep. 22-23 in Sun Prairie, just 11 miles from Trek’s headquarters in Waterloo.  Also rallying behind the USGP were Clif Bar, SRAM, and WD-40, which is launching a new line of cycling-specific products.

The USGP is the premier cyclocross series in the country, attracting the best American riders and even some top European pros.  It would have been a shame to let it die.  For the last couple of seasons I have really enjoyed watching live Internet video of the races.  I haven’t been to any USGP events in person, but I know people who have as spectators and as amateur racers.  Those of us who enjoy the series owe a big Thank You to the corporations that stepped in to save it, and we can show our gratitude at the cash register.

Sponsorship is everywhere in bicycle racing, whether you’re watching the USGP, the Tour de France, or just wearing the jersey of your neighborhood bike shop in a local event.  It’s easy to forget that all of those logos represent businesses that have helped to offset the costs of the sport we love.  Well, today I’m proud to say that there’s a SRAM drivetrain on my Trek mountain bike, that I use WD-40 for a bunch of things around the house and garage, and that Clif Bars go with me to every race and long training ride.

USA Cycling also has a group of corporate sponsors and I try to patronize them when I can.  Earlier this year, for example, I rented a car from Hertz for a business trip.  By using my USA Cycling member discount, the cost I passed on to my employer was lower than the corporate rate I would have gotten from my company’s preferred provider!

And there are other companies that support cycling in its various forms.  Cyclocross is dominating my thoughts this week, so I decided to drop $20 on a 1-year subscription to Cyclocross Magazine.  If the magazine’s circulation increases, then more advertisers will spend more money and the whole cycling economy will benefit.

I don’t have the deep pockets of a corporate sponsor, but I can help to make a difference.  So can you.  Please support the companies that support cycling.  Eat that big bowl of Bob’s Red Mill oatmeal, book that room at the Holiday Inn, “Sell or Buy with Brittany Nigh” and, above all, show some love for your local bike shop.

On The Question Of Upgrading

The 2013 mountain bike season is a long way off, but I’m already considering the question of whether to upgrade from Cat 3 (WORS “Citizens” class) to Cat 2 (WORS “Sport” class).  I was sort of hoping the question would resolve itself: with three Top 10 overall finishes this year I would have been forced to upgrade.  I’ve had two such results and missed a third by just 18 seconds at Suamico on Aug. 26.  The last three WORS races on this year’s schedule conflict with my cyclocross ambitions and I may skip all of them, so the chances of triggering an automatic upgrade are very low.

Arguing in favor of upgrading are my age group victory at the Reforestation Ramble, my eight appearances on the podium in nine races this season, and the fact that my closest series rivals have already announced their plans to upgrade.  Upgrading would put me in the same race as many of my cyclocross rivals—including carpool buddy Jeff Wren—and would allow me to race later in the day when the temperature is higher, always an advantage for me.

Arguing against upgrading is my desire to remain competitive.  Being one of the top guys in my age group has been a lot of fun.  Moving up to Sport for 2013, I likely would find myself an anonymous also-ran in the middle of the pack … at best.  I have the fitness to handle longer races, but the upgrade also would mean competing on more difficult terrain.  That’s the part for which I don’t feel prepared.

Can I get prepared?  There are 8 months between now and next season.  Winter will make some of that time unsuitable for mountain biking, but still I should have a lot of opportunities to improve my singletrack skills.  And would it be so bad to dedicate the 2013 racing season to development rather than to competition?  There’s no training like racing.  Jeramey Werbelow reminded me of that while pondering the ramifications of his own upgrade for the 2013 road racing season.

Coming into 2012, I didn’t have any series ambitions and I was prepared to take my lumps.  Finding a little success was a bonus.  The season I have had is the one I thought I might have in 2013.  And if I’m a year ahead of schedule, then surely I can afford to use next season to become a competitive Sport racer.  I think I just talked myself into making the choice to move up.

Ready, Set, Cowbell!

Recent training rides and mountain bike races have given me good indications that my fitness is where it should be for the cyclocross season, now only five days away.  And just like last year when I came out of the Kirke Vei Time Trial feeling good about my preparations, today another TT effort gave me a confidence boost.

I covered 19.3 miles in 54:14, beating my previous best time by 33 seconds on a rolling course in northwestern Washington County.  That’s a 21.35 mph average … not bad.  I placed sixth out of seven riders in today’s unsanctioned TT, but really I wanted only to beat my old record.  Back on Memorial Day I completed the course in 54:47, a 2:36 improvement over my time from July 2011.  Today’s improvement wasn’t as dramatic, but it’s still faster and that’s good enough for me.

I have arrived at the beginning of September with great fitness and without any hint of burnout.  At this time last year I was already seeing signs of fatigue.  This year I have ridden more frequently but for a lower per-ride distance, and I have stayed fresh both mentally and physically by doing a nice mix of endurance road and rec trail rides, mountain bike races and skills practices, fast group rides, time trials, and cyclocross practices.  Since May I have been riding about 600 miles per month while still taking 7-8 days per month completely off the bike.

The season opener of the WCA cyclocross season will take place this Saturday in Sheboygan and I feel ready.  Between now and then I will stick with what has been working.  Tomorrow I will practice my ’cross skills at Royal Oaks Park.  On Wednesday I’ll take a rest day.  On Thursday I think I’ll do a few laps aboard my 29er at New Fane—mustn’t forget to work on mountain biking skills.  On Friday I’ll probably do a fairly short road ride with a couple of sprint intervals.

Last year was something of an experiment as I jumped into cyclocross for the first time.  This year I expect good results.  Success at Sheboygan would be a sign of good things to come; failure would send me back to the drawing board.  But should failure come, at least I will have time to make adjustments.  Mom goes back to Pennsylvania tomorrow, my wife goes back to work and my kids go back to school.  Life has been in overdrive for the last few weeks but it looks like things are about to become much less complicated.

Life Offline

Getting ready to ride through the northern Kettle Moraine on a gorgeous Monday ...

On Monday my Internet service went down and it wasn’t restored until earlier this evening.  So, today I finally learned who won the US Pro Cycling Challenge and the last three stages of the Vuelta.  I’m frighteningly dependent on the Internet and being without it really sucked, but the timing could have been much worse.  I work from home and absolutely need a reliable, high-speed connection for my job, but this week I’m on vacation.

My wife’s sister and brother-in-law visited from California this week.  I took Glen up through New Fane to Dundee and then back through Beechwood on Monday afternoon to give him a taste of the northern Kettle Moraine.  He was effusive in his praise of our roads and our landscapes, and his enthusiasm served as a good reminder that we shouldn’t take for granted those “standard” cycling routes that are so familiar to us.  On Wednesday morning we rode together again, this time exploring the parkways of Milwaukee County.  There was nothing familiar about those, but they proved a very nice way to get around.  We also rode the Hank Aaron State Trail to Miller Park before heading south on city streets to our start/finish at my wife’s parents’ home in Franklin.

I didn’t see Glen or Jennifer on Tuesday, and without Internet/TV/phone service it was a quiet day until cyclocross practice began at Royal Oaks Park.  We had six participants this week, including two riders we hadn’t seen at practice before.  With the WCA season scheduled to begin on Sep. 8, hopefully we will have a big turnout next Tuesday as racers make their final preseason preparations.

Today was an overdue rest day for me.  Tomorrow I plan to do a long, solo road ride to bring August to a close.  Then it’s back to training with another road ride on Saturday, a short effort on Sunday, and a time trial test on Labor Day.

2012 Reforestation Ramble

That's me on the top step, happy.

Last year the Reforestation Ramble in Suamico convinced me that mountain bike racing can be fun.  Today it was the venue for my first-ever victory.

I went to Suamico full of confidence.  I knew my fitness was good and that the course’s many open ski trails suited my style of racing.  I didn’t know that the Cat 3 (Citizens) men’s 40-49 age group would leave the starting grid first.  Combined with the call-up I earned by being in second place on points in the series, that put me on the starting line with nothing but open trail in front of me.  What an advantage!  I got off to a great start and for the first 3 miles was threatening to run away from the field.  Hitting the first section of singletrack slowed me down, though, and brought series leader Jim Steig back to my rear wheel.  He was content to stay there, and mile after mile we worked together to stay ahead of the others in our age group.

At the halfway point of the race, Jim’s son Nolan Steig caught us.  We immediately yielded the trail to allow Nolan to run free.  He’s trying to wrap up the series championship in the 15-16 age group and finished today with the best overall time, 55:31.3.  I think springing Nolan was “job done” for Jim today, as he didn’t seem interested in overtaking me.  If he had made a late move in the singletrack, he probably would have ridden away.  Out in the open, I might have had the advantage.

But there was another rider who wasn’t reading from the script that Jim and I were following.  Robert Hoefert made a last-minute bid for victory by passing Jim and me on the fast finishing straight.  But he misjudged the distance to the line and when I saw his body relax I kicked one more time and beat him by a foot or two.  The official results listed my time at 59:13.0 and his at 59:13.2, but it may have been closer than that!  Jim Steig was third in 59:15.1, followed by Jon Mathews (1:00:02.7) and Brad Jorsch (1:00:54.1).  Steig continues to lead the age group by an insurmountable margin.  I extended my lead over Jorsch to 1333-1272, making it nearly impossible for him to catch me for second place with just three races remaining.

Hoefert was gracious in defeat, perhaps even amused by his mistake.  He said that when he thought he had crossed the finish line he heard me take two huge breaths and knew he was screwed.  I was making a final burst as he was winding down and there was no time for him to react.

Heather Liepert, Brittany Nigh and Jeff Melcher also won their classifications today, and several more Team Pedal Moraine racers finished on the podium.  Morning rain changed the character of the course somewhat, but didn’t ruin the race.  And that final sprint is something I’ll remember for a long time.