Southern Cross This Weekend!!

I will be traveling to GA to race SoCx this weekend.  Heading there on Friday morning with Greg Rittler and Tom Blanks, staying there over night on Friday, racingggg on Saturday and then returning home right after the race is over!

I am really looking forward to this one.  It is a 50ish mile ultra distance cyclocross race over mostly gravel roads and big climbs.  There will be over 6k in elevation and 2 major climbs that are about 10 miles each.  The course suites me well.

I ended base training (long slow mileage) a few weeks ago and my speed is just coming back.  I am hoping to be in decent form for this race, not great form but decent...  If I can just manage to ride hard the whole time and not have any mechanicals or flats that will be a victory!  My last Ultra Cross race was Iron Cross last October where I got a flat that took me out of contention.  This time I am riding Schwalbe Marathon Mondial tires that are basically overkill/bullet proof.  They might be a bit heavy but I will sacrifice that weight if it means no flats!  

Some of the fast guys, that I know, who are registered to race: 

• Gerry Pflug - Riding in the SS class but having only 1 gear won't slow him down that's for sure.
• Garth Prosser - 40+ overall winner from last year's Ultra Cross series
• Mike Simonson - Super fast dude who can crank out the wattage
• Paco Mancebo - Actually he is a pro level race who has crushed the Tour De France... I don't expect to be even close to this guy.
• Thomas Turner - Winner from 2012 Southern Cross in a time just over 3hrs!
• Brian Toone - This guy puts in massive mileage
• Brian Patton - Ultra CX expert!
• Jordan Kahlenberg - Training buddy and x-AFC team member

I hope I can keep up!

Snotcycle!!!

Snotcycle!!! presented by Go Time Racing is today!  I can't wait for this first race of 2013.  I am traveling to the race with Adam, Lance, and Danny Atkins.  We are all racing in the Cat 1 race although Adam, Lance and I will be on our SS racing rigs... SS is just better.

Coming off 12 weeks of base has made me slow for racing but I have a huge endurance base and I am very happy with where I am right now.

So excited to race again!  After this race I have Southern Cross and Monster Cross on the horizon.

Dirt Wire!!

I am so happy to see Thom Parsons starting up his own thing at http://dirtwire.tv/

If you are into cyclocross or mountain biking you gotta check out his site.  He is super passionate about his work and it shows.  This site is going to take off!!

Winter Setup

Posting this for people who were asking about the strap on my bike and the Barmitts.  These are just things that winter riders need to know!!!!  If you are training outside in the winter here are 2 awesome things that will make your training even more fun!

The guys at Backcountry Research have some awesome stuff going on!  It is so awesome that I can now strap a handpump to my road and mountain bikes so that I don't have to waste CO2 on training rides.  Seriously... you gotta get one of these things!

If you don't believe that a 'little strap' could hold all of that stuff without things falling out then check out this video:

 

My Barmitts enable me to ride in the coldest temps that MD has to offer without ever getting my hands cold.  I wear 2 pair of gloves and then the Barmitts and I have NEVER had an issue with cold hands.  The Hub in Catonsville is now selling them... seriously get a pair..

CX Bike used for Road Training with attached Barmitts and the Mutherload strap to hold a hand pump, tube, multitool, and tire levers.

Single Speed Superfly with the Race II strap to hold hand pump, tube, and tire levers

Base Training!

I am into my second week of Base training and things are going well.  I am using Joe Friel's The Cyclists Training Bible + my own knowledge of how my body responds to training to create my schedule.  I am using the 800 hour track of Joe Friel.

800 hours in 1 year is a decent jump for me compared to last year, however I think I should be able to handle it given my previous years of training for Race Across America and other super long distances.

Adam and Lance are on the same schedule as me.  Without their help riding 20+ hr weeks during base would be completely impossible.  Long rides on Saturday mornings starting at 4am would be miserable but instead it is an epic adventure when you have 2 other guys to ride with... so much fun!  I feel much stronger this year doing my base miles compared to last year.

Keys to doing 20+ hour weeks:

1. Nutrition: When riding over 4hrs.  Probars and Cerasport keep me going and Barmitts keep my hands from falling off in the cold weather.
2. Commuting: I don't think it would be possible to fit in that many hours if I was not also commuting to work on most days per week.
3. Training partners: Joe Friel says it is best to train alone, at your own pace, but mentally that is impossible.  Luckily Adam, Lance, and I are all about the same speed or at least it is close enough.   

Base is fun but I can't wait to be over with it and back to racing again!  Racing is what it is all about.  The first race next year is Monster Cross, that will be a C level race for me.  I am looking forward to seeing the 2013 NUE schedule to find out when my real races are.

Iron Cross... swwwweeeeeettttt!

Had a super fun ride at Iron Cross yesterday.  My teammates Adam Driscoll and Lance Byrd drove with me to the race.  Greg Rittler and Justin Taylor met us there.

The race started at a nice pace.  Adam and I were with the leaders into the first technical section (Lippencote).  I was feeling great and super comfortable with where I was.  About 1/2 way through Lippencote I flatted.  It took me way to long to fix the flat and there went my race.  After fixing the flat I regrouped and started racing hard again.  Even though I had no chance at a good placement I could still ride hard!  It was a super fun course and I had great legs, I will get em next time :)

Adam also fell off the pace in Lippencote with a leak in one of his tires.  His Stans sealed it up but it cost him precious minutes and he lost the front group.

Lance rode a near perfect race!  Nice work man!

Super 8 Race #2 Winchester Apple Cross

Oh man that was fun!  I still don't have my speed back yet but it is coming around.  By November I hope to be back to full cyclocross speed .... For me that is still kinda slow but it will have to do :)

Tom Schreck took these great pics of my race!  Thanks Tom

Up the Belgium Wall

So many fun turns!!!

Chasing Nick Taylor through the woods section

Nick outsprinting me to the finish line.. 10th and 11th