CX is a GO!

A few pictures from last weekend...

Long Overdue

Alright Everyone.

So it's been a few months and between work, training, and getting back a bit of my long lost social life, I've been neglecting my old blog.
Well, NO MORE.
In honor of the Cyclocross World Championships coming up this weekend, I'll be posting up a bunch of photos from this past season.
All to be finished off with a few picks of my new cross framesets/builds when I get them Tuesday.

Enjoy!

Giro di Lombaria

It's been just over 4 weeks since I've been back from Italy and a report is well overdue.
I've been busy with work and a tiny bit of social life, but without further delay:

Italy is incredible.
Sure, anyone will tell you that if they don't live there but in all seriousness; it's great.
First of all: There are NO PAPER CUPS! I know this may seem like a strange highlight, but imagine not being able to get take out! No Starbucks, No Dairy Queen, No BK, nothing. If you want a coffee in Italy, well guess what? Sit your ass down because it's coming in a glass. It may seem strange but there doesn't seem to be the same sort of urgency that we have here.

This brings me to another point: Lunch is from 1-3pm.
Everything is closed for 2 hours. People leave their jobs, go home, make food, socialize, and return. Coming from a place where 30minutes is the norm if you are lucky, this seems incredible.

Cycling:
Italians are Cyclists.
I capitalize that word, because when speaking of a Cyclist, it's not the same as when people say that they "ride their bike." In Como people ride, much in the way I would think folks in Seattle ride. It's everywhere. Bikes are around every corner, and every bike I see is sparkling with Campagnolo or some carbon rarity. 50 year old men dismount off of their bikes and if you were to only notice them from the waist down they would seem like a 20 something Cat 2 racer.
Giro di Lombardia
The event is crazy. Initially it may not be as big as you would think, but as the time drew closer to the finish the whole city of Como began to change. Old men carrying Flemish flags, groups with fan club banners, and packs of photographers all began to come out of the cracks. This year Damiano Cunego would win his 3rd Giro di Lombardia. I was lucky enough to be 5 meters from the line and as I saw him cross the man in is late 70's began to cry out "Bravo Damiano!" That's priceless.




Grand Fondo This would be the amateur race held on Sunday. It's a bit shocking, but in Italy 40 Euro buys you a full dinner, a police escort of 15 and a helicopter. There were 2000 people at registration and it took me 15 minutes to get my number and pay and keep in mind I DON'T SPEAK ITALIAN. A bit of a far cry from Ironman here in the US where it take 4 hours to even hit the bathroom at an event that size. Somewhere along the line, it may have been lost in translation but this was a RACE! Here in the states, we have the MS ride, the tour of blah blah. In Italy, a Tour means it's a race. This one happened to be 143k with a 2000 person field, All categories. It didn't really hit me until the start line when I started to see some of these teams lining up in the front of the field. These were full squads. All pro/semi pro racers. And quickly reality caught up. The gun when off and the pace was blistering. The lead group finished the 143k averaging 37k and hour, which included 3 climbs crowned by the Madonna del Ghisallo.

I would recommend this trip to anyone.

There area, the food, the culture, it's all incredible. However be warned before you line up with the locals: You may be there to play, but they are there for business.

Dopo Bici.

I'll be gone for the next few days... Work and fun will be taking me to Italy and Switzerland, and just in time for the Giro di Lombardia. Expect a full posting of pictures when I get back. For now, I'll leave you with a picture of where I'll be staying:

Lake Como

In the money.

This past weekend I decided to take the drive up to Schenectady NY, for the #2 Race in the NYCROSS series. I'm not trying to do well in the NY State events or anything, I just wanted to race. Since the 2+ hour drive was the closest of the Mid Atlantic races I thought "what the hell?"

Together with the "Twins," I drove up for the Men's B Race and decided to register for the Men's Pro event which was a Pro/2/3 field. The course was fun, and even though I was expecting tons of mud, it turned out to be very dry. Kinda surprising considering it had been raining for 3 days prior and as we drove up.

The B race hosted a field of 36, and it was my second B race as an official Cat. 3. The start was great and I quickly led for about half a lap. However my cornering skills are not where they should be and I was quickly passed. Held strong for 9th place.

After a 30 minute nap I suited up for the Men's Pro race, and even though if this was a real field I would have no business toeing the line... With only 13 racers, and some of them having raced earlier that day I figured it would be good training. Gun goes off and I just kept moving. 5th gear just wasn't there and I rode steady to take 9th again.

Here's the strange part. It turns out that the Payout ran 10 deep and I got handed an envelope with cash?! Yea. I actually won money! I'm not going to lie... this was the first time I won money for racing, and it felt really good. Man. I need to log some more miles and get my upgrade so I can always race for cash!

A big conrats to Lisban and Alejandro on taking the win's in the Men's B and Pro fields... not to shabby for their first cross race! See you all next weekend at Westwood Velo Cross and Hill Billy 3.0!

Red Bull Cola.

I was catching up with some of my old friends over at Red Bull this week when I stumbled upon something amazing.

RED BULL COLA

That's right. I must be falling behind but no more.

I already have a case coming straight from Las Vegas. Apparently this is the only US state which has it for sale? It's not too uncommon though, the original "larger" can of Red Bull Energy Drink was only available in California for the first few months of production.

Either way, I look forward to trying it, and will follow up with more info once I have it.
For now you can go to: REDBULLCOLA.com for more info.

Bear Creek CX.

So last weekend I toed the lione for the first race of the 2008-2009 Cyclocross season.

I headed out with a strong crew of 4 from the Rutgers Cycling Team. As an Alum I was really glad to see everyone, since it's been a while.
After a few warmup laps, everyone seemed to be in good spirits. The course was top notch, muddy as hell since it rained the day before. Perfect.

Men's c (3/4) Race.
I lined up 2nd row, gun goes off and I'm 4th into the hole shot. By the first lap I'm 2nd. Lap 2 I begin to trade off attacks with 1st. We go back and fourth for a bit and I break free. For the next 3 laps I ride solo until 1 lap to go. ThrouAll of a sudden, Flat.
Got off the bike, walked to the registration and signed up for the Men's B (2/3/4) Race. Took 11th.

Guess that's life.