Happy T-day

Today was a good day. We got up early and headed over to my folks for Thanksgiving. The roads in Maine were still pretty miserable from the storm yesterday, that kindly gave us a white Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, despite having more snow sports gear than you can shake a stick at, Cathy and I came up short in terms of actually having any at all physically with us. As such, we didn't really get a chance to play in the snow. Instead we did a short snow hike, or maybe you should call it a snow wallow, as we broke trail through a foot of snow in our boots a short ways up the AT in Shelburne, NH. Still fun to be outside.

Morning frost of the windshield.

Anyhow, today was about food and family and both were good. We got a chance to chuck some lead in the AM with my brother and nephew and I welded up some new runner shoes for my old snowblower (yes, I know you can buy new ones but I'm being thrifty). My dad spent lots of time showing his progress on the hot-rod truck he has been building. It's looking pretty good, especially with the new custom headers and straight pipes my brother built for it. Sounds pretty mean as well. My brother also had a file cabinet that he'd made (he works for a high end furniture company and also makes really, really nice hardwood furniture on his own so if anyone needs stuff, let me know) that he didn't need, so we went and got it at his place and snagged it. While there he showed me the monster JCB backhoe he bought. The thing is huge and weighs 17,000 lbs. It's an industrial sized pig with an 8' bucket on the front and full size hoe on the back. Works pretty well for pulling boulders out of his lot.

Santa's Village at night at 40 mph out the window of the truck.

We headed back home to Maine late in the day, where we had another Thanksgiving feast of leftover baked beans that Cathy had made yesterday. An excellent day indeed. I really have much to be thankful for and for all of it, I truly am.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone and we will see many of you this weekend in Sterling.

2011 Northeast Velocross

This years edition of the Northeast Velocross cyclocross race, the race promoted by NEBC and taking place at the Northeast Velodrome property saw a few changes year over year. No, the changes were not in the course layout but in the attendance. A massive show of support by the good folks of NECX made for much, much deeper fields. It was awesome to see all the folks there. From what I could see, most everyone had a smile on their face after sampling the course laid out by Kurt and his crew at the Velodrome.

Cathy and I arrived at the venue early Saturday morning to volunteer as well as to get a good parking sport. We weaseled our way into the venue and scored the absolute premier parking, forcing the Shimano guys to move their tents which they were in the process of setting up so we could sneak by. We simply pretended that we were official and those saps all bought it. Score! From there we sought out the volunteer coordinator to see what needed to be done. Parking was the first on the list and then we settled into course marshaling and generally getting crap done that needed to be done. Not exactly rocket science but good stuff.

The hours flew by and before I knew it, Tipsy was asking me if I was planning to race or just volunteer. That seemed odd as I had the perception that I still had hours before my first race. The truth was that we were only an hour away from the start and I hadn't began to think about getting ready. Panic sat in, I pinned up, ate some stuff and got suited. Quickly I pulled a bike out and onto the trainer and started spinning, all the while pounding the water that I hadn't been drinking. Soon the start time neared and I got the good bike down and ready to go. Cathy volunteered to take my SSCX bike, which I needed for the SSCX race and would also serve as my M35+ pit bike, to the pit for me.

On the line NEBC got a front row start so we all lined up right on the first row. Quickly got the count and shortly after that was the start. A mad dash around the track portion of the course saw teammate Scotty drill it. I settled behind him and when he swung off wide in the first corner as we came off the track and onto the infield, I hit it hard. Soon I had a gap and kept changing hard. I could sense that people were holding back and letting my run but like any fat tuna on the hook, I led with all I had. This held for the first couple of laps but coming through the start/finish I had been bridged up to by an unknown to me racer. He attacked hard and gapped me on the track but I kept close.


Soon I could see another racer coming up, none other than Mark M., who had done thew same the previous weekend. Shortly thereafter Mark was with me and then came to the front. I was intent to stay with him but soon noticed a problem. My rear tire was feeling a little squish as I came around the BMX course. I couldn't tell the extent of the issue until I hit the track, at which point I was quickly flat. I rode it out around the track and on the infield without much issue, jsut a bit slower than I would have liked. After the 2nd set of barriers the chain jumped off and wedged in between the spokes and cassette. Ugh! I carried the bike up the track and down into the pit, which was only 30 yards away. Unfortunately I had trouble locating my spare bike and by the time I found it and got back out on course, arch rival (not really rival as much as guy who always finishes ahead of me) Billy had caught up to me.

The two of us worked together and although I was faster in the technical stuff he would school me and my one gear on the track and on the steep uphill, which I was forced to run. Bill made multiple offers to let me switch bikes back, as the neutral support had fixed my bike, but I was stubborn and refused. In reality, that was a really stupid move but I never claimed to be smart. On the final lap I go by Bill before the hill and killed myself to stay ahead of him running through lapped traffic but he made it through and got by me. We hit the track together but he easily crushed me and my wimpy gear. It was a fun race still.

A couple hours later was the SSCX race. I was disappointed at my performance in the first race but had high hopes for the second race. When race time arrived however, the sun and the temperature had dipped and I was freezing. I literally couldn't stop shivering. I even raced with leg warmers on. The start was almost surreal. I hadn't touched the bike since finishing the first race and was as cold and stiff as possible. My only hope was that we would all go really slow the first lap so the race would be as short as possible. This is because they use the first lap time to figure out how many laps you will be doing. It worked for the most part. I never saw the front of the race and just followed wheels. Scotty at first with the hole-shot, then Doug and then Curtis. After a couple laps I was solo chasing Curtis, who wasn't working nearly hard enough but which was OK by me as it meant I didn't have to work harder top maintain the gap he had. We all got spread out and it was basically a bunch of solo races taking place at the same time on the same course but that's racing some times. In the end Curtis easily stayed ahead of me, but I was OK with that. I felt pretty good for both races and had respectable results on both counts. I can live with that.

All in a great day of racing. This was a very feel good event, with ample smiles of joy and excitement. Why not after all, this was such a unique course, how could you not have fun? Only the most technically inept would see this as something less that it was, a cyclocross funpark. Many thanks to the good folks that made this event a reality. I'm proud to be part of the club that promoted it.

Fun Stuff

Today was the first complete and full day of vacation. We were off yesterday as well but were traveling, so it didn't count, really. After breakfast this AM it was still effing cold (17 degrees) so we opted for a drive to Berlin to snowblower shop and then hit Wallyworld for some sight seeing. We snagged a sweet new Ariens Professional 28" blower that cost a fortune but will hopefully be the last we ever need by buy. We then got some Blue Bunny, gun accessories and targets as well as some beef-ribs at Walmart and headed for home. Unloaded and did some chores and by 1:30PM we were at the day's high temperature, about 41 degrees. With that we suited up and went out for a ride.

Starting the climb up RT113 in Evans Notch.

The plan called for nothing too imposing, the rolling run out North Road to Gilead and then up RT113 into Evans Notch. This is is mild, 8 mile climb that kicks a little in a few spots but is a nice easy climb to the top of the notch. As we headed up, we noticed that thew suspension bridge that used to cross the Wild River is gone. A victim of Hurricane Irene I believe. As we progressed up the climb the sun sunk low and it became overcast. The temperature went from comfortable to pretty raw and chilly. As we crested it was starting to look like it could snow, which it is supposed to do in earnest later on, so we did not dawdle.

Looking out into NH from the top of Evan's Notch.

The descent down quickly cooled things off some more and the ride home was all but cold. We managed to get home before dark, though barely, and missed any adverse weather conditions besides the cool temperature. All in all a great ride upon which we met very little traffic and had no incidents. It wasn't super fast as we were on cross bikes with full knobbies but it was still good to be out riding and especially good to be riding some place different. It had been a couple of years since we did this out and back. It really is a very nice ride.

It's all downhill from here, except for the ups of course.

After some quality time warming back up in the hot shower, we snagged a rental flick and sat down for a couple brews and a plate of nachos at Suds Pub. Good stuff. Soon the crock-pot will yield the batch of corn chowder that we put together earlier in the day for supper tonight. Tomorrow promises at present to be a good old fashioned snow day, which will be fun in and of itself.



Life is good and vacation is great.

That's Right

How's this for bucking the accepted living from paycheck to paycheck in financial servitude trend. Corporate and personal greed as well as "the man" can pucker up and kiss our collective bottoms. Team Two Adventures is FREE AT LAST!

Just in time for Black Friday in fact. Off to Walmart for a big-screen TV or maybe a slick new euro-car so I can look and feel more important than I really am. Heck, you know, we deserve it.

Plymouth Cross Fest 2011

No, not Cross Dress, Cross Fest. This past weekend Cathy and I once again packed up the van and made the pilgrimage to historic Plymouth Massachusetts for the Plymouth Festival of Cyclocross. The two day event has come to be held exclusively at the Plymouth South High School campus in the past couple of years. In the past, the event was split between Plymouth North and Plymouth South High Schools, the former being a past home of the US National Championships. As always, the event is promoted and organized by Bill Sykes and family and sponsored by George and Corner Cycles. Good people and long time staples in New England bicycle racing. Cathy and I have attended this race since we started racing cyclocross, way back in 2006 and our attendance has become a yearly tradition.

The 32nd Annual Plymouth Festival of Cyclocross in historic Plymouth Massachusetts.

On a side note, despite the fact that this was billed as a "festival", I was disappointed to find no fried-dough, folk-music or clowns making balloon animals. I'm not sure how you can consider yourself a "festival" without any of those staples. In all fairness though, there was a bouncy-house, which I suppose could possibly meet the formal qualification for a festival.

In looking at the two different course layouts for the two days in the online race guide, I noticed that there were some strategic changes to both day's courses versus those of years past. I've got the bigger description and report from last year here so if you want more on that, go there. With great expectations we suited up upon arrival Saturday and went out on course for a pre-ride. The changes were indeed subtle but took a big portion of the boring drudgery out of the course, in the form of removing the big perimeter loop around the back playing fields. In it's place were a couple of switchbacks and a double-back around a playing field that was also in play for another section of the course. That afforded you views of other racers coming the other way on the course and broke up any potential boredom. It also meant you went in both directions allowing for opposite wind patterns one direction to the other. A headwind one way promised a tailwind to look forward to the other way. There was only the one short section of mud behind the barriers, which is always there, at least from my experience.

Cathy was up first in the women's open race. She was feeling pretty good and the course was a good match for her strong suit, steady power and lots of it. I made sure to try and get a good training week in the week leading up to the races. As I mentioned before, the ride interval Tuesday made a big difference for Cathy in terms of boosting her confidence. I wanted to continue with that through the rest of the week and so we did skills and a few mid length intervals on Wednesday and had a good spin-sprint opener on Friday. That seemed to work well as it has in the past. She got a great start and rode really strong the whole race. I could tell from the way that she was racing that there was a change in the style I had seen of recent and in fact, for much of the season. She was driving, not just sitting back and following. The result was a really exciting race and one of her best results this season.

There is not a whole lot to say about my race, really. I had a good race but was outgunned by one of my across the boards (except maybe on the MTB anyhow) rivals, "Wild" Bill from Corner Cycles. The start was one of my best ever though we had a couple of really fast starters in our field like "Mr. diesel" Kyle from the Embrocation Team, who managed to curtail my short lived holeshot before the first corner. Old time friend and 45+ strongman Don from Bikeman was a major factor, as expected, especially early on in the race. What I didn't realize but should have based on past performances, was how much of a battle I would have over the course of the weekend with the other Corner Cycles racer in the field Saturday, Dave.

What played out after the first lap was Bill, myself, Dave and Don each separated by 10 yards, plowing around the fields battling the wind. Eventually the elastic snapped and I managed a small gap and caught Bill. Unfortunately, Bill's teammate Dave was also coming up, so I knew I had to stay on the gas. I went to the front and hit as hard as I could for half a lap. This managed to put some distance on Dave but when Bill decided to come around and punch it, I was gone. The remainder of the day was spent trying to stay away from Dave and Don and reel back Bill. The former worked, the latter did not. Still kept me in the money though, which is a nice change.

As a note, I liked the course switching back on itself the way it did, affording the opportunity to see racers going the other way. When the race settles in I enjoy cheering on teammates like Scotty and other friends like Brant, G-Willy and Gary in those face to face sections. Don't get me wrong, this is more of an encouragement grunt, but it's something I always like to do in all competition. "Be nice, until it's time not to be nice.". The switching back also gives the impression that you are still racing people rather than just doing a solo time-trail, despite the fact that those people may be on completely different sections of the course. Often you find yourself alone on remote sections of a course, leaving you to wonder if there is still a race going on.

Day two was a slightly different course with some additional technical features and a little more variety to it. There were also two sections of deep, loose sand. I liked this course layout a lot and think that the changes made over years past were excellent. In hindsight, this could be one of my favorite courses. There was also a downhill, low speed, fresh cut loamy, tight switchback section in the woods that proved a great challenge. This was a very neat feature and the more I reflect back, the more fondly I think of it. The also used a couple aspects of day one that had been never used before, including a miserable little steep and slick grunt. Each time up I would spin out for the final couple pedal strokes over the top.

Once again Cathy was first up. She was having a great ride in a much stronger field until she pulled out of her pedal in a convoluted sprint attempt going through for the lap. This nearly resulted in a tangled up in the bike face plant but she managed to pull it out and get going again. Unfortunately the bobble took a toll and she lost contact with the woman with whom she had been racing. She still managed to retain her position and get a solid result. Most importantly she didn't get hurt. Upon examination of her bike after the race I noticed that she had bent the front wheel in the incident such that it was rubbing quite a bit on the brakes. Too bad she didn't notice and switch to the bike she had in the pit. That said, it didn't seem to make too much of a difference. Later that night when we got home, I pulled the tubular tire off the wheel so I could access the internal spoke nipples and got it all squared away for her for next time.

My race saw some additional players in the form of Curtis B., Mark M. and Alec P., all of whom often beat me. Bill and Dave were there as well so it was going to be a challenge. I didn't get a great start and had to chase through a couple of people to get up to Bill, who was driving hard. It was near this point that I was feeling really good and thinking to myself that I could maybe win this thing. Kyle had a great start and was riding super well for much of the first lap, with four of us managed a gap on the field and moving nicely. Eventually Curtis took over from Bill and drilled it hard. I was on the back behind Kyle who was starting to struggle, so came around to grab Bill's wheel. The three of us moved forward quickly through for the lap but when we hit the fields in the back the gaps started to open. Back to reality.

Curtis rode off the front, Bill dangled in the middle and I dangled behind him. This was the scene for another lap or so until I could see Mark and Dave coming up. I tried to recover for the surge that I knew would happen after Mark caught me and recovered. That trick never works though and when he jumped and headed up to Bill I was only able to hang for half of the effort. Dave had wisely come up to me with Mark and firmly affixed himself to me. I tried time and time again to ride him off my wheel but couldn't. I knew with his teammate Bill just ahead of us, he wouldn't be interested in dragging me up but we agreed to work together to preserve. I'm terrible at following for some reason and never seem to recover or be able to hold tight. Fortunately I'd catch on the technical sections and corners despite gapping off on the power sections. We worked together for the rest of the race, now running from an advancing Alec, who is yet another Corner Cycles rider. On the final lap I made a hard charge to try and catch Bill and drop Dave but accomplished neither. I stayed in front of Dave up the final climb and kept on the gas the rest of the way, getting within seconds of Bill and managing to fend off Dave and Alec. I'll take that.

All in all, a great weekend of racing in good weather that wasn't all that far from home. Bonus was that on Saturday, one of the local radio stations started their seasonal 24x7 Christmas music run. After some back and forth as to the appropriateness of this at this particular date, we decided it was indeed officially Christmas season. I finish write this listening to Johnny Mathis.

Ho-Ho-Ho!