My hombre Ryan took some great video of the Elite's at the Boulder Res which I want to share here. He got himself around the whole course and is nicely sequenced!

Web 2.0: eBay, Blogger, Twitter...name your web based poison which keeps your head craned over your laptop or iPhone, spending hours communicating with others you may never meet...seeing places your feet may never touch the ground of.

But in the center of all this Web 2.0 thing is trust, believe it or not. The entire predication of eBay's business model as an example, beyond creating impulsive buying patterns through 'Buy Now', is trust. I sell something, you buy it, you tell the world that I am not a wanker and what I sold was what I said it was. You grade me and I'll grade you. Trust.

The blogosphere is a lot like that. I met Timmy and Jay-RAD not only from racing, but a lot because their words spoke to me. But, I get to see them weekend in and out as we trade paint in the dirt.

But one blog in particular blew me away: Belgium Knee Warmers. I've said it a zillion times on this here blog how Radio Freddy gets right. He's the creator of PRO and talks openly about the small things in cycling that we all 'see', but likely take for granted. How to wash your bike; the style of a cyclists knit cap in the 60's; white bar tape ALWAYS matching the white seat....and ONLY in the Spring. Classic reads. He calls out the weenie-ness in us all and ensures we respect, embrace, and love our cycling roots.

So back to this trust thing. The bloggers of this world speak about a lot of things. In my case, the three part teeter totter and life trying to 'balance' all the things that are important to me and doing the best that I can with them. Spreading the word of 'reality' for bike racers like me. I guess Radio thought this cool too because out of the blue the UPS man comes to my door. "A box for me?" I say, like a little boy. I grab it and dash inside and open it up. As I tear away the paper, I see a beautiful white glow. It pains my eyes as I open it given the beauty and the sheer whiteness. And then it all came into focus...

REAL BELGIAN KNEE WARMERS!! And a small note. Just a small note that said..

Mr. Radio Freddy, THANK YOU SO MUCH for that man. Trust. I thank you for the trust that bloggers truly get. A package of the M & C love is on its way. More people should start to trust each other. It's quite fun living life this way.

My boy Jay-RAD and his Crossniacs team are puttin' on a little soiree at the Nationals in Kansas City. Check out the deets here!!

Crossniacs National Syndicate and Cyclocross Magazine present the Mud and Blood Ball

The Mud & Blood Ball
Premiering Zero Traction,
By Roll Your Own Films Production
The Mission Theatre Mission, KS
December 11, 2008 7-12 pm

Crossniacs National Syndicate and Cyclocross Magazine present the Mud and Blood Ball, the USA Cycling ’08 Cyclocross National Championship kick-off party to be held at the Mission Theatre in Mission, Kansas.
Clip into your race weekend with a cool movie, gourmet food, Boulevard Beer, give-aways and much more. Visit with other racers. Celebrate the season with a beer. Tickets are $10 pre-sale, $15 at the door. Get tickets at: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/47004

This gritty movie is a Roll Your Own Films Production with additional support from Trek Bicycles and KLM Marketing. It was shot entirely in high definition in December of 2007 at the Cyclocross National Championships in Kansas City. The film immerses the viewer in the real feel of hard-core cyclocross racing in extreme weather conditions, including driving snow, mud, ice and frozen mud. It includes interviews from Steve Tilford and elite men’s champion Tim Johnson. With a hard-charging soundtrack, all the action is from multiple races over four days, culminating with the exciting elite women’s and men’s championships.

Learn more about the film at: http://www.zerotractionfilm.com

The Mission Theatre
Celebrating 70 years of business, this great old movie theatre is the ideal place for this event. Learn more about the Mission Theatre at: http://www.themissiontheatre.com

Food and drink:
Gourmet food is prepared for the race-ready, you’ll be able to dine on the finest of carb-loading delights.
Minneapolis star chef, Mike Phillips, is our guest chef for the evening. Learn more about this chef at http://www.craftsmanrestaurant.com/about.html

Crossniacs:
Crossniacs are national racers joined together for the love of cyclocross. Syndicates are based around the country, including Portland, San Francisco, Colorado, Texas and Minnesota. Learn more about this team at http://crossniacs.com.

Cyclocross Magazine
Subscribe to the only truly dedicated cyclocross magazine today. Learn more about this magazine at http://cxmagazine.com

Contact Information

Contact:

Jared Roy
jared@mudbloodball.com
970-389-8456

www.mudbloodball.com

mudbloodballpressrelease1022081

Taro's got a new toy. Dubba takes us through it. And yes, the fleet of Carbon Scott Addict cross bikes have flooded into BCS....

Wednesdays. Pre work. The "Hump Day Accelerator." Bike practice before you punch the clock is such a good thing for the mind and body. Having it on Wednesdays helps you through that mental barrier of a stressful and eternally long work week.

Today was my first Wednesday Worlds in a while given all the travel and fairly hectic work schedule. All the kids came out to play early this AM which was fun. My initial workout at Elks was stymied initially by a thrown chain (and then three other times...odd as it's never happened before) but the cool part was going from DFL of a group of 70+ all the way through to bridge back and hang onto Boups for a couple of laps. Fun. Maybe the legs are speaking to me again... We'll see.

North Boulder Park was also fun. I jammed a few hard laps with some super deep efforts....mad 42 x 12 intervals through the grass for a minute or so....followed by some super light spinning as well to get in the hard stuff. Elks was all hard...ALL the time for the session. My body was craving the cross-eyed which I was happy to oblige it. Afterward, I ended up hanging with Powers whom I haven't seen since Cross Vegas and chatted up the goings on in the cross circuit these days.

Boulder Cups this weekend and it should be going off. I'm registered for the 35 A's both days and the UCI Elite on Sunday but the Elite is fading due to fairly poorly timed parent/teacher conference...on Sunday! But ultimately: bike race in left hand...child's eduction in the right hand. What's right is right.

Cross on ye laddies and lassies.

Digi celluloid.

Temporary Mass transplant J to the Pow was in our midst today, getting ready for the UCI's this weekend. Great to see him as always.

The Blue Sky Armada

North Boulder Park working group....

Matty O...in his new stealth Pro Peleton kit made by Curve. Go get 'em Matty.

The Wildest Cyclocross Weekend of the Year!

Boulder's finest cyclocross racing is finally here!. With a competitive field and fall in the air this is the weekend you won't want to miss this weekend. Whether your a fan, new to cyclocross or racing it yourself, it will be 2 days you won't soon forget. Come out on Nov 1st and 2nd to be part of the excitement. .

Both days racers will be competing for the title of The Annual ACA Best Cross rider and
Best Cross Team. Both days are also part of the North American Cyclocross Trophy. These incentives coupled with amazing cyclocross talent is sure to make for an exciting day.
Four of America's premiere UCI cyclocross weekends joined forces to form the new national race series for Elite Men and Women, the North American Cyclocross Trophy. Coming together to offer a series cash purse of $7,000, the eight race North American Cyclocross Trophy are: (Elite Men and Women winners)
Race 1:  Full Speed Ahead Star Crossed (Jeremy Powers, Sue Butler)
Race 2:  Rad Racing Grand Prix (Tim Johnson, Wendy Simms)
Race 3:  Gran Prix of Gloucester (Ryan Trebon, Amy Dombrowski)
Race 4:  Gran Prix of Gloucester (Ryan Trebon, Amy Dombrowski)
Race 5 & 6:  Boulder Cup Race (TBD!)
Race 7 & 8: Whitmore's Landscaping Super Cross Cup (TBD!)

Elite Men Current Standing:
Ryan Trebon
Tim Johnson
Jeremy Powers

Elite Women Current Standing:
Boulder's own Amy Dombroski
Wendy Simms
Sue Butler

What will happen at the Boulder Cup?  Who will be in first place then?  This will make the Boulder Cup even more exciting!  Don't miss the competition!

REGISTER TODAY! RACES ARE FILLING UP!

Don't be disappointed and be left out of the race! This is not the race where you wake up on Saturday and/or Sunday to decide you are going to race because there is a good chance the races will be filled! 
Register online TODAY!
For Saturday, November 1 - click here
For Sunday, November 2 - click here
There is a field limit of 100 for all races except Juniors.
Licensing Requirements:  The Elite Men, Elite Women, U23 Men must have a current UCI license.  An ACA license required for all other cats.  Your racing age is your age as of December 31st, 2008(not 2007). ACA one day license holders must line up at back
Online Registration closes October 30th at Noon!
Pickup your # Friday Oct 31st 5pm-9pm at the Boulder Outlook Hotel, located at 800 28th St in Boulder

Seriously, which rider would you want to be: Kevin, hanging on the sidelines or Ben, ripping up the course?  The race fills  up - the decision is yours!

CYCLOCRUISE!!!  EVERYONE WELCOME!

On Sunday, November 2nd at 12:30 pm  join in the only CycloCruise Lap in the nation!
A CRUISER RIDE?! Are they serious? Why yes, we are. Not only are we serious, we intend to make the record for the World's largest CRUISER BIKE LAP on a cyclocross course. Come out to witness it or be a part of the race!
So here is what you need to know:
It will start at 12:30 pm, Sunday, November 2nd. Be near the start location and ready to go!  Everyone is welcome - any type of human powered bicycle welcome!  Let's show the world what Boulder is really all about!
Do you need to register?  Heck no!  Just be there ready to CycloCruise!  All speeds, talents, bikes welcome!
(Is that Rock Racing's Tyler Hamilton?  You know it - he led the CycloCruise Lap at the 2006 Boulder Cup! )

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The Best Spectator Sport in Town!

There is no better way to spend a Weekend then watching Cyclocross!   Think about it:

• Wacky Start Lines!
• World Class Cyclists battle it out through sand, hills, obstacles and you can watch all of it from one location
• Boulder Beer
• Great Expo
• Energy Charged Crowd
• A Cruiser Ride!
• Food!

Come on Saturday at the Boulder Reservoir. Come Sunday to Harlow Platts Park in Boulder.  Come both days!  Bring a picnic and be ready to watch some amazing cycling!

Check it Out

Boulder Beer Garden

NACT

Registration Filling up!

CycloCruise!

Spectators!!!

Quick Links

Register - Nov 1

Register - Nov 2

Directions - Boulder Reservoir (Nov 1)
Directions - Harlow Platts Park - (Nov 2)
Course Map - Nov 1
Course Map - Nov 2

Our Sponsors
2007 Boulder Cup Photos
2007 Redline Cup Photos

Boulder Beer Garden!

Not only do you get to participate in some great cyclocross and watch some great cyclocross but you can also enjoy some Boulder Beer in the Boulder Beer Garden.
All proceeds will benefit Community Cycles so make sure you stop by!

It's absolutely simple, really. That is what can appease my aching head. For me, as a kid, it was a Tamiya model or a new plastic M-16 and I'd go play. Now, I have this little black rain cloud over my head. It's all semi hilarious and trust me, I pop open the mental umbrella most days to fend it off and keep the powder dry. Now that I'm all grows dup, it's new rubber that can take the surliness right out of me. Challenge Grifo XS. 32's. File tread. White. Of course.

Kids to bed, wife with tea and book and smiling, me and my rain cloud head out to the garage dialing in the bikes. Door open. Fall coldness enveloping the room. A bit of tune-age going on...I'm vibing with Fleet Foxes these days...and it's Zen. Paradise. Bike in the stand. Gears humming up and down the cassette. Sweet smell of Tri-Flow. Everything gets polished. Dialed. Ready. Rain cloud disappears.

Being fast these days is tres difficile. The league is deeper. Way deeper. Still balanced but nothing's easy. Ever. Couple steps forward, massive steps back. A few more leaps forward, a tumultuous tumble backward. But I just clench my teeth and bring it.

Bike practice tomorrow. Shake the toxins still in me, won't you? It's hard to say no to a Delicious Beer these days. Or 3. Discipline or be disciplined. Left hand holds training and focus, right hand holds a cold beer and sensibilities.

Balance grasshopper.

Back in Boulder on Saturday from my trip abroad. Comfortably bloated along with a good case of mental and physical exhaustion. The perfect remedy: Squeeze your carcass into a skin suit and get cross eyed with 60 or so of your friends.

Sunday's course was at the Boulder Reservoir and put on by my team mate and race promoter Brian Hludzinski of Boulder Racing. Today was a special day in that my lady was doing her first cross race! More on that in a second.

First, the Res is an (in)famous course. It has spectacular vistas and lots of natural features such as rolling terrain and woods...but a massive dose of beach sand. Belgie style. We literally can make our own Koksijde here in Boulder. The only drawback of this cross-paradise are....

...goatheads. The nemesis of bike racers here in Colorado. They are like armor piercing thorns that cover the ground and are problematic for bare feet...but un-Stans'd bike tires as well. Warming up, I would ask everyone about their experiences and I got the sense that literally a 1/4 of the fields were getting flats. "Stay on the course" was the rule of the day. I bought inner tubes from Boulder Cycle Sport that had replaceable valve cores and pumped them full of Stans, using about a cup worth (e.g. the cup that comes with the bottle of Stans) in each tube. For what it's worth, I either did not get a goat head, or the Stans worked like a charm.

Warming up, the body was telling me lots of things. The feedback in general was neutral: "Just get cross eyed and do your best". The legs felt shallow but not bad. The body felt tired but not sick. I had that haze of jet lag going on too...you know what I mean...that sort of semi narcoleptic wave of tiredness that envelops you. But, I digress. I'm alive and I'm out racing!

The field in 35 A was stacked. Timmy, Phenicie, Carivou, Wardell, Gallegos, Oliver, Mike Hogan as well as the BCS crew me, Webber and Brian H. Special guest was our friend and known local hard man Whit Johnson. A thrilla in Manilla. ACA's Al does call ups and says we're going to roll to the 'true' start line. I am in the front row again and we casually drift up. As we are still rolling..."TWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!" They blow the whistle! It's chaos. They never stopped us. We talked with the ACA folks afterward and resolved it but it was horse cocky. I ended up getting in the top 6-10 or so which is where I wanted to be anyways. Matty O jammed the first lap hard and I think paid for it as we started moving up and ejecting riders with flats or bobbled in the sand. I simply rolled. The mind never getting into that place of venom and go-go anger needed to bury yourself. I rode as clean as I could which was about a B+ but never had the legs to go deep on the extra long straights where I lost all my spots. The sandy beach section was chaos and still hadn't developed 'high ways' which the open men would have later on once all the other cats had formed the lines. I'd liked to have stayed on the bike and ridden the sand (see video below) but had to dismount and run each time. So, all said and done, I ended up an anonymous 15th and have to feel 'Zen' about it as I know where I should be and have GOT to have patience in myself to ramp up for when it is all important. The great news on the day is that my boy Webber took the W again for the 2nd week in a row.

WAY more importantly, it was my wife's first cross race! She was absolutely pumped. What we didn't tell her the week leading up is that the course she picked for her entree into cross racing was arguably one of the hardest of the year. Sorry hon! Didn't want to break your spirit! The sand, wind and goat heads make for an epic on most days the race comes through the Res. She killed it. Finishing on the lead lap of her category...the 35 Open women. She suffered silently and excellently each time having her mad husband and kids cheering her on up the long sandy beach run up. I think she's hooked!

Not a helluva lot of pics but here's some from me and others....

Amy getting ready to rumble

Look at that form through the barriers!Brandon and his new bride Heather took SUCH good care of my boys while I helped Amy warm up. Thanks you guys!! (Photo by Cat Johnson)

Mark shoing a top 10 form in the 3's

My boy Sean Steeves in the 3's

Blue Sky's Isaac in the 3's

Rocky Mounts own Bobby Noyes showing the Belgie form...

Dales Pale Ale out in force with their most excellent brews...

The boys cheering on their mommy lap after lap!

....in Germany. Part H20, part CERA, I guess.
Get yours here.

You must believe me when I say this: In no way shape or form did I Jedi mind-trick my wife into doing what she's about to do tomorrow:

So before I made off on my trip to the UK this week, I set up a mini clinic for Amy and her friend Angie last weekend. We brought out the port-o-barriers and I gave them an hour's worth of the good stuff. Both these ladies rocked. Clearly they have some serious athletic talent, but after the instruction, they just got on with it inexplicably well. I've never seen anyone pick it up this fast. We did my basic 'intro to barriers' which breaks the process into three fairly easily learn-able chunks. And nothing is learned at high speed. All slow speed until the little nuances are felt, and then we crank up the speed once the comfort is there. The three pieces come together and we go full bore at the port o barriers to gain confidence Today, as you'll see, we upgraded to unmovable logs.

So, the evidence! Amy is ROCKING it. While I was away she practiced the barrier work skills by herself once, then we did these hot laps you see in the video along with a bit more instruction. All before the Boulder Res race tomorrow. Her first. I'm so proud of her...

from Gregory Keller on Vimeo.

And of course equally solid lap after lap. I made her get a bit cross-eyed so she could feel her body when it's gasping for air as you come into barriers. Mainly so she can know what to expect when you're under stress. But all she could say..."THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!!!!"

Amy crossing 2 from Gregory Keller on Vimeo.

And clearly, this is a true family affair. My little groms were out in force tearing it up today.

Seamus and Mommy ripping from Gregory Keller on Vimeo.

I am so impressed and proud and in awe, I do not know what to say. My lady RIPS!!!

Nijs-like

Ready to rumble. Watch out Katie. Here comes my lady!