Kansas State Cyclocross Championships

The plan was to to use the 40 minute Masters 35+ race to get warmed up and get the course dialed in. Things didn't go exactly that way. Great start and I was in the front group and we were pulling away, when I dropped my chain (yes, again). Put it back on and dug deep for the entire next lap to get back into the lead group. Then it happened again, in the exact same turn, exact same bump. Those of you that read my blog know that i've been haunted by this stupid little problem all season. Everybody within a 100 feet heard the R-Rated expletive and saw the equally stupid bike throw. I was done! Pissed off and in no mood to continue. Had a cooler head prevailed, I could have put the chain back on, road to the pit, and finished the race on my pit bike and still made the podium. Well, the cooler head did not prevail. I spent the next 30 minutes trying to get the problem diagnosed. The chain on my race bike was a bit ragged so I elected to put my race wheels on my pit bike and use that for the 1/2/3 race. That race went rather drama free for the most part. Still don't have a whole lot of power in the legs so I finished up mid-pack somewhere. Ironically, Troy Krause dropped his chain in the same turn, same bump that I did. That was just the start of his issues. He flatted somewhere and had to run a good half-lap or so to get to his pit bike, and STILL almost caught me. Brian Jenson and Shadd Smith were glued together the whole race and sprinted out the finish, with Shadd winning by a bike length. Next up is Nebraska. Yes, I will have a new chain on.

DeStad Series/Veterans Cross

Finished 10th. Fairly chilly out. Good start behind Shadd Smith, Bill Marshall, and Chris Wallace, and Brian Jenson. The course was super fast and had no shortage of traction anywhere. Race stayed together for the first couple laps. I didn't have the legs to stay on this train of guys so I backed off and let some guys come up. Adam Mills and Cameron Chambers came up and eventually went by and kept on going. They got a small lead and it just stayed there. Troy Krause joined me and we worked together for a few laps. Coming up behind us was Tom Price and Andrew Coe. Tom was with me earlier in the race but faded back for a while. Now he and Andrew were coming. Troy put in a little surge with a few laps to go and I was started to get cooked. I couldn't hold off Andrew and Tom. Behind me it was a tight battle between Shad Schreiner and Aaron Elwell that went all the way to the line. Can't complain with my effort. I lost 3 spots in the closing laps so maybe I can work on that but other than that, I did the best I could with the legs I brought. With the time change, my already-small amount of training just gets that much smaller. Let's see if "less is more" really works. I knew I was a few pounds over my normal race weight but it turns out to be about 6 pounds. That easier mtb program over the summer is coming back to haunt me!

Boss Cross #1 - Nationals Course Preview

Another rather un-seasonably warm day here in KC and bone dry. Course featured quite a bit of elevation gain, but nothing very steep, and plenty of off-cambers turns on the way down. These will be a handfull should the course be wet in December. All the usual suspects on hand: Steve Tilford, Brian Jenson, Shadd Smith, Bill Stole, Joe Schmalz, Chris Wallace, Bill Marshall, Adam Mills, ect ect. After a couple minute delay at the start while Bill Marshall and the race referree had an entertaining discussion, we were off. I slotted in behind the Trek/HRRC train leading into the grass. Tilford, Shadd, and Brian went off the front fairly quick but the rest of us managed to stay close for a lap or 2. Eventually Jeff Winkler, Joe Schmalz, and Chris Wallace (he's about 1/3 my age) moved in front of me and kept going. I got locked into a tight battle with Bill Marshall, Nate Woodman, Andrew Coe, and Graham Aldredge, and Tom Price. Graham pulled away (he's less than 1/2 my age). I lost contact when I chain dropped going over the barriers and got nice and stuck on the wrong side of the Third Eye. I ran the same set-up for 2 years and never had this happen, but this year it's been an on-going problem. I fought back and got by Nate and Tom (with a little help from his own mechanical). I was making up some ground on Bill Marshall and Andrew Coe but the heat and effort eventually flat-lined my effort. At that point I was just trying to keep Nate behind me. I was still happy with the effort since I was able to race the whole race and never really blew up. Need to fix the chain problem. When I dismount and hop the barriers, the cranks sometimes spin backwards just a little bit. When this happens, nad the bike is at at angle, the chain rolls off the ring from the bottom and then gets down in where the inner chain ring should be. It stays on at the top where the Third Eye Chain Catcher is, but if you try to pedal it back on, the tabs on the crank arm that support the inner ring hook the chain and drag it right into the chain stay. If I grind these tabs off, that should help. How do Cat 4's get into a 1/2/3 race anyway?

Cool helmet cam video below from Gary Calton in the Masters 45+ race

DeStad Series - Smithville Lake Day 2

Same course with just a few little changes. A bit colder, but the wind was even worse. Another good start with Shadd Smith, Bill Marshall, and Cameron Chambers. The wind made for a very tactical race. Some sections of the course were a death sentence if you were by yourself. Shadd Smith quickly took a small lead with me, Bill, and Cameron sticking together. Cameraon left us and bridged across to Shadd and then went off the front solo with Shadd soloing in 2nd. The race for 3rd was tight then entire race with myself, Bill Marshall, Kyle Bush, and Shad Shreiner trading punches the whole way. Countless surges by everybody but it stayed together. Coming into the bell lap, Kyle Bush and Shad Shreiner got a small gap with me and Bill not far behind. I put in a big effort coming up the paved finish hill and nailed then first grass section and clawed back onto Kyle and Shad's wheel. this surge sent Bill out the back so now it was down to a 3 man race for 3rd. Hitting the paved path section after the wheel pit, Kyle put in a surge that I couldn't respond to right away but Shadd stayed on. I got back onto Shad's wheel a bit later but it put me in the red one last time I couldn't hold it. Rolled in for 5th, final podium spot. Kudos to Cameron on a great race, especially since he was on a bike he'd never ridden before. During practice, he attempted to ride the run-up and came to a rather grim ending. The down tube of his frame snapped and the fork went straight back. He was a bit shaken but shook it off and came back on a borrowed bike. That's just shows how good he really is. Now that I have my training program fixed, I feel 100% better physically , but more important, mentally.

DeStad Series - Smithville Lake Day 1

Feels awesome to be back actually "racing". After last weekends race, I took a good look at my riding schedule over the last few weeks and found a serious series of mistakes. I've been so busy, I hadn't picked up on the fact that I hadn't switched my training programs and did my normal phase one for a few weeks longer than I did last year. I changed into my normal phase 2 this week and ohhh what a huge difference. I got my normal good start out with Shadd Smith and Bill Marshall with everybody else lined up behind us. After a few laps, Cameron Chambers came by by and was off and running. Josh Johnson was still behind me but this is his typical race stategy: start slow, then rocket up to the front and go clear. Sure enough, he came by me and was gone. I could see him catch Cameron, then Shadd not longer after that. Bill Marshall dropped back leaving me in 4th. I felt super good on the course and could put out some high watts for the entire 60 minutes. The wind was brutal. Johnson took the win with Shadd Smith 2nd, Cameron Chambers in 3rd and 4th for myself. I was able to put time on the guys behind me in the closing laps. Very cool video our the race posted on Kyle Bush's blog .