Practice Makes Perfect

The troops woke up extra early this morning for an inaugural cross practice at a new location. I've thought about this location a lot and going back to last summer in the 95 degree heat with PVB, I've taken a few occassions to scout some possible course layouts. I've lacked the motivation until now to actually lay one down proper. After attending the featureless practice loop in Alston last fall I decided I needed something that would actually mimic a real cross course. With excitement brewing among the Boston HUP squad, I rallied enough help and motivation to put together our new training course.

Supplies were picked up by Chip and his personal support crew.
The course has some sweet bowl style turns as well as plenty of steep hills to pedal and run

It also has a long set of stairs to keep the runners happy

Lastly, practicing some turns on the ball field before hitting the off camber areas


Photos are crappy because it was early morning and it was my phone, not a real camera. But with sunrise/sunset views of the city from the hill top, I'll be sure to bring the real camera next time.

Bikes of D2R2 - Part 3

This was probably the most unique bike that I saw at D2R2. Not sure if it will ever have a place beyond "gimmicky" but it was a novel idea. The lugs are stainless steel, apparently welded by NFG, the guy behind most of Spooky's in-house welding. The wood is laminated I believe. You'll have to forgive my lack of knowledge and memory on this one. I finally stopped to inspect it at dinner, some 14 hours after my day had started.

The Bikes of D2R2 - part 2

There are a lot of companies in the cycling industry that slap some world champion stickers on their product to honor a world champion that rode their equipment to victory. Some riders request these world champion bands (or wc bands as they are more fashionably referred to) on their custom frames so the rest of us will know this same brand of frame was piloted to a world championship title.

Well, in the case of this custom frame, the owner himself is a former world champ! Humble as can be, Peter Bradshaw (aka Mustachio) won the messenger world championships (not necessarily UCI sanctioned but still more impressive than anything else the rest of you have ever won).

At the D2R2, Pete showed up on his work machine and was all business. He tried to be friendly and rode with us mortals until our first flat around the 3rd mile. From then on he was off aiming for a sub 8 hr time. Although he didn't break the 8 hr mark, I have no doubt he could/will now that he knows what to expect next season.

Check out this utilitarian pump location. These Topeak Morph series pumps are far and away the best option for easy, high pressure pumps. The only downside is that they don't come with a convenient water bottle mount. Very creative Bradshaw.

When you are as strong as Peter Bradshaw you don't need no stinkin' compact. Apparently you don't need anything bigger than a 25 in back either. Geez!

The Bikes of D2R2 - part 1

This bike is now in the hands of its third and (very likely) final owner. Mr. Jeffrey Bramhall is a well recognized and very well respected member of the Boston cycling scene. He is also the pilot of this classic Moser.

I had the pleasure of riding with Jeff for most of the 170k and I ran out of fingers quite early on trying to keep track of how many times he said this is the perfect bike. It's a classic for sure. A classic and simple steel tubeset paired with a steel fork, Campy 10 speed components and a sensible Specialized saddle. The classic frame had room for some extra comfy 25mm tires though he did pull off an awesome double flat just 5 miles from the finish.

Jeff made the 14,000ft of climbing with sections as steep as 27% look easy despite the lowest gear being a 39-27.

He and Stephen Jablonski (his bike will be chronicled later) also had really handy cue sheet holders that they fabricated especially for the event. This was a real blessing since the Garmin track I had received was only accurate for the first 100k.

Congratulations Jeff on a fantastically functional ride that brings you so much satisfaction.

Wet railroad tracks are slippery ATMO

I took a tumble on some wet train tracks Thursday morning. Besides the bruises and some bike scuffs I've got a sore neck. Watch out for those wet tracks, ok?







* I just wanted use ATMO to piss off the 5 people that might read this post, sorry.

Cyclocross 2009: Who to Watch

Registration is already open for September cross events and the list of competitors in the Cat 3 field for 2009 is looking pretty strong. I used our favorite cyclocross geek's predictive tool to get a sense of what might be in store for the Cat 3 field at the first Verge race of the season.


Let's take a look at what crossresults.com has to say about the performance of the top 5 finishers in VT:

Todd Burns: I don't know Todd. Crossresults tells me he is going to win so I will obviously be looking out for him at the start line. I'll try to follow his wheel and see if I can upset the predictive tool. Todd, if you're out there, let us know what you've been doing this summer to prepare for your upcoming victory (no pressure though)

Pete Sullivan: I saw Pete on the road a bit this summer. He said he'd never raced road events before but he certainly knows how to get around a cross course pretty quickly. With his teammate scheduled to solo to victory, we can expect Pete to provide some excellent blocking and controlling at the front of the chasing peloton. Nantucket Velo (Really? The island has like 15 miles of roads, how can there be a Velo?) looks to be the dominant force in the Cat 3 field so far.

Cary Fridrich: Cary stepped it up in 2008 and from what I've seen in 2009, third place is the lowest we're likely to find him. Don't let his aliases fool you (it's Cary, not Gary or Carey). This season he was crushing it when we attempted the 6 gap and he's been mountain biking a lot lately, building on his handling skills for this season. If Cary avoids mechanicals and uses those newly acquired mtb handling skills, you can expect him to be a series contender as he represents for Embrocation Cycling Journal
Brian Wilichoski: I don't know this cat but looking at his results you can see he has made quick work of the Cat 4 field and many of the Cat 3 racers as well. Look at his nemeses. The only two names are a guy who regularly races UCI level and a guy who dominated the Cat 2/3 field last season. Plus, he is apparently in the minor league/development program with Cyclocrossworld.com so we can expect the TJ and JPow skills to manifest this season.

Greg Burbridge: This guy will kill you with his unassuming appearance and calm demeanor. Every time I see him at an event I smile. He's a good guy and an even better bike rider. No skinsuits, no shaved legs, and no cocky attitude (obviously not a roadie). I always say to myself I should stick to his wheel. Next thing I know he is gone and I am in a world of hurt. He doesn't bless the New England cross season with his presence nearly often enough but when he does you can bet he will light it up at the front.

I'm sure there will be more names added to the list. I've even heard rumors of last year's series winner returning to defend his title although I would hope he has more class than that.

All around town the talk is about tubulars, non-Verge races, and embrocation. That means cyclocross season is right around the corner. I'll be hitting the trails on the cross bike regularly, perfecting the smooth remount, gluing tubulars, and dusting off the skinsuit. In the meantime, I might get motivated to put up some more profiles so tell me who you think will be at the front when the mud stops flying in December.

No doubt this year will be fun. After all, Zanconato is returning to the scene, so what more could New England cross ask for?

Change of seasons

For a while there I started thinking that 70 degree highs were normal for New England summers. The last two weeks we all got a slap in the face as the humidity and temperatures rose to create those sticky, uncomfortable conditions we know and love in New England. Despite the arrival of summer, I dusted off the cross tires last week while I was on Nantucket. There are some really good trails out there!

This morning I detoured through Cutler Park on the way to work. That place is a blast on the cross bike. It felt so right (despite the heat) to be dismounting, remounting, railing corners, and bunny hopping on the hoods. I'm looking forward to some mtb racing this weekend and then a few more road races (hopefully) and then it is time to CROSS. I'm psyched for cross.

Oops, I think I broked it

After buying my sweet new ride my budget was tapped and I had to reach into my parts bin for used wheels from my stock of used wheels. The first wheelset I installed was a set of King hubs laced to Bontrager rims from 2001 or so. I bought them for pennies from a former coworker who was getting out of the sport. Although they were well built, I thrashed them for 3 years before finally relegating them to the parts bin (mismatched spokes and all). I figured I might as well finish them off so I could justify a rebuild for the new bike. It didn't take me very long and after two rides on the new rig, the rear is finished.

I went deeper into my parts bin for the next rear wheel, a King ISO hub laced to a hefty Sun rim that I built with straight gauge spokes in my "hucking" days. By hucking I mean falling over 3 foot drops and usually tacoing the front wheel. Anyway, this is one of the first wheels I ever built (I am reminded of this when I look at the valve stem that is not properly located between straight spokes, ugh). What was I saying? Oh yeah, I intended to install this wheel on the new rig. As I removed the old disc rotor and cassette body I quickly realized things were not right.

I apparently snapped the axle on this wheel, though not having ridden it in 1+ year I can't remember where or when this might have happened.

I just finished talking to Chris King and they are more than happy to work with me on the repair. Not only did a live person answer my call, but that live person was able to accurately and confidently answer every one of my questions. It's so rare these days to get that level of service from any company, let alone a bike company. But I guess if you are going to expect it anywhere in the Bike Biz, Chris King would be the first place I'd look. So, for $125 a new axle is on its way. When they get my broken one back, I'll get a credit for the cost. In the meantime, I'm stealing my wife's wheels (which are nicer than any of mine anyway). Hope she doesn't mind...