Rockin' the Snotcycle

A new race took place today in Leesburg VA. It was the Snotcycle. The rider formerly known as Fort James was there competing in the under 39 Sport group. James is a new addition to the Allied Milk Cycling team this year and he didn't disappoint.

Now, I'm still waiting for the full race report (and hopefully some pictures) but from what he said it was sloppy. He compared it to a messy 'cross race. Sliding into and out of turns. Virginia never had the deep freeze that we had here so the trails were a mess. Yum.

All said and done James took 3rd in his category of about 60 or so riders. Nice. A month into 2009 and a podium already. I knew I had a good feeling about the team this year.

Just around the Corner

'09 schedules are starting to take shape and BikeReg.com has some road and mountain races posted already. Our uniforms are in production. Pre-season orders are being filled. Of course the January weather is not cooperating to get some good base miles in so it looks like it's officially cross-training and trainer season.

Shawn is finally back on the bike after a detached ligament in his thumb. Yum. He was on the Sunday ride with us and was hanging pretty well (even pulled me back to the group when I started to fall out). Not bad seeing as he hasn't been able to ride for 4-5 weeks.

The MASS team leader/race promoter meeting is this Sunday and that means the season is almost here.

2009

2009 will see a few changes for the Allied Milk Cycling team. We have new sponsors; Schwalbe tires, SRAM, nuun, Tifosi, and Magura. These companies gave us some really good deals and we are super excited to have them on board. Many new riders have joined the team as well. I can't name them just yet because a few have not talked to their former teams. This is something they want their former teams to hear from them rather than through the grapevine. Totally respectable.

Other new things: Facebook. We officially launched a facebook page and our website is under construction. These two things are all thanks to a new rider named Joe. He has devoted a metric ton of time to this team already. I can't wait for the start of the season.

Dreams of Summer

At Marysville this summer some friends of ours showed up to film the race. They are starting a production company and just wanted to add to their experiece filming live events. This was just a (very) short clip (since it takes forever to upload) that they shot. Take note that I am not busting out of my skinsuit mid summer. Cold weather is crappy.

Did anyone notice who took the CX Elite National Title? Mr. Ryan Trebon, no surprise there. Tim Johnson ended up 5th behind his teammate James Driscoll, Jonathan Page (Planet Bike), and Never Trust a Man with Two First Names Jesse Anthony (Jamis). Powers ended up 19th about 5 minutes off the pace. Wes Schempf had a very respectable 22nd (of 74 finishers). Molly Cameron 28th about 7 minutes back.

Bad Andy was a DNF along with about 20-25 others. I will have to talk to him about that.

On the women's side...Katie Compton took her 5th National Title in a row. She's been kicking some butt over in Europe so that was no surprise either. Georgia Gould gave her a run for her money but in the end fell 45 seconds short. Laura Van Gilder (C3) took 4th.

'Cross Nationals

I was checking the updates at cyclingnews.com and saw that our Temporary Milkman Jake took 38th and Zach (C3/Slippery Rock) finished 28th in the under-23 category. Not too shabby considering the field these guys were up against. Wes Schempf of C3 took 3rd in the Masters 30-34 group and another C3 rider Kris Auer grabbed 8th in the 35-39 field. All of these races had over 50 racers at the start line. Rob Lea won his age group which I think was 60-69 but I'm unable to find the results right now. Awesome ride guys.

The best result so far for any Mid-Atlantic rider would have to be Jeff Bahnson (Van Dessel/Henry's). He took his second consecutive National title in the 15-16 age group. The kid is simply amazing. His margin of victory was 40+ seconds. That is an eternity in a 'cross race.

The Elite Men and Women are set to go tomorrow. I'm pulling for Bad Andy, Wes, Molly Cameron, and Jeremy Powers. Of those guys Jeremy has the best shot but I think it will come down to Powers' teammate Tim Johnson and Kona rider Ryan Trebon.

Johnson won last year after Trebon was taken out by a head on collision with another rider. Ouch!

In team news...

I'm pretty excited about the 2009 season because we have some new sponsors that will be revealed very shortly, uniforms are being slightly altered, and a flood of new riders. The road team has been given a big boost with the pick up of 3 new riders (two of which will race 'cross also).

The mountain team still has one opening left. If you are interested just leave a comment with your email address or phone number(I won't publish it) and I'll get back to you.

States

Yesterday was PA States. Seeing as it was just my second 'cross race of the season I figured I would be fairly fresh. Another good day to bust out of my skinsuit. I started warming up on the course and noticed that there was only one barrier section and no run-ups. It was pretty twisty though so I knew that blazing speed was not necessary.

Now let's go back to last week. In that course there were two sets of barriers, two run-ups, and a sand pit (this year it was rideable but last year the sand killed your brakes if you rode it). During the four dismounts per lap (I think I did 7 laps) I must have aggravated my "special" muscle. It was really a discomfort thing not a big deal.

Fast forward to Wednesday. I was walking my dog Skellington. Sometimes he likes to run so I run with him. I felt a little tweak in the special spot. I hoped it would be better by Saturday.

Now back to Saturday. During my warm-ups I like to hit the barriers with some speed to get a feel for what they will be like in the race. I did just that. I felt a "pop" in said "special" area. I raced anyway. Hey, I'm not some pansy football player or something.

From the start I was chasing. I missed my pedal and was stuck in the back. These things happen. Now not to give away my training secrets (like anyone reads this anyway) but I've been working on 8 minute and 20 minute TT drills so I felt confident that I could chase down most of the riders in front of me. Some of the others I knew would have too big of a lead by the time I got up to them. I picked my way though traffic. Passing little groups of riders here and there. Every time I hit the barriers though my special area hated me. With about three to go I heard the announcer talking about Vegan Rob being in 5th. I could see him and knew how many people were in between. I was sitting in 11th. I put in another big effort and got within 10 yards of Rob's group of four riders. Just as I was about to make contact the whole group took off. That move demoralized me. I had just put in a huge effort just to get close and had nothing left to respond with. One rider that I had passed earlier managed to get around me. I was just hanging on. When I crossed the finish line I felt pleased but also disappointed. I know that I raced well but if I had a better start I could've been in the top 5. Overall 10th. I don't think anyone could beat Zach (C3). He doubled up with the Collegiate and B's State Championship.


Big ups to my man Bad Andy (C3) too. He took the Elite field for (at least) his second PA State Elite title.

I have some exciting news about the Wonderland race...I finished 6th! (out of 7 finishers).

Looking ahead, this Saturday is the PA State CX Championship. I made the wise decision to drop back into the B race which is set to go off at 11am. I checked the weather forecast and it looks like another wonderful day for a 'cross race. I think the high was 35.

To get there...

Google Maps – 1401 Lehnert Road, Allentown, PA 18052

My only hope is that everyone else gorges on their T-day feasts and are all still bloated. I'm not feeling very fast.