Week in and week out we slay each other....like the gentlemen we are. It's very close and always tight like warfare in trenches in the First World War.

And yet we love it. Purely, sadistically and with as much affinity for our own families, our family of elite masters this 2009 season is tight. Yet we're a familiy who attempt to murder each other on the course, pounding each other into submission looking for any signs of weakness to jump all over. But as soon as that finish line is crossed we share war stories, beers and encourage each other on with true sincerity as we're all in disbelief at the efforts we've just gone through to put a place in the guy who put a place on you last weekend.

I live for this every weekend as a salvation. To try and slay my physical and mental dragons and completely drain myself to purge the toxins alongside a bunch of fast guys who are doing likewise and generally 'get it.' We need not even say much about it either as we're all pretty much going through the same thing in this life, balancing the three part teeter totter. And that is comfortaing to know about this band of brothers...as I contemplate my assault on their trenches once more next weekend! Ha!

And so it was this weekend. Full on trench warfare with muddy battlefields to boot. The Boulder Cyclocross Racing weekend was EPIC! Here's the score from the trenches of the 35 elite races.

Blue Sky Halloween Cross

(All still photos below from David Kutcipal of 303cycling.com. See album here.)

Passion. This band of blue and maroon from Blue Sky Velo eat sleep and live cross. They built an absolutey special course and got out there in the snow and filth to lay tape and dial every meter in of the long Belgian-style parcours. The Front Range got dumped on earlier in the week to the tune of 14 inches. And in classic Colorado fashion, we went from 20 degrees to 70 in the span of 4 days. Mud was the forecast as would be pain.

I had a feeling on Wednesday that this was going to shape up as it did so I rallied the team to think power washer. Team mate Mr. Sharkey went out and rented a beast of one and as you'll see made all the difference. I brought my Ridley's and my RoShamBo singlespeed to warm up on and immediately I knew we were in for some fun. By a 1/2 lap my singlespeed has ammassed so much mud it was crazy.

The course featured pretty much everything from pavement climbs to mud fields, to packed firm grass (that had dried as it baked in the sun) to off camber muddy whoops to sand. It was a crossers course in my opinion due to the weather. Else, it could have suited lesser technically focused riders. The fields were decent size with a gaggle of folks who came in from Utah, California and elsewhere to get a taste of racing in Colorado. I got a front row call up and was stoked to get 'er done. I had pretty good feelings going on as my warm ups told me that nothing was really aching or making it difficult to come around, I felt rather good.

The UCI official took charge of the callups and whistle blowing, pacing in front of the line even as close as 15 seconds. Kinda threw everybody off but I watched his mouth for the telegraph of a tweeeet!

TWEEEET! We're off and I step on it but only so much to stay out of trouble and to let some other dudes go out front for a change. Robson (blue) and Cospolich (orange Kona) led me out and into the first muddy section...

(Video courtesy of The WK)

On to the course, it took a few laps for the group to get its legs and bearings straight. We haven't had this level of mud yet this year and so it took a lap or two for folks to determine what the match burning would be like. I felt super comfortable running a Typhoons at 34psi r and 32psi f. Rhynos would have been perfect but I am Rhyno-less at the moment yet I barely missed a line with typhoons at that pressure. 

The BCS crew was in FORCE in the pits. As mentioned, the secret weapon was that power washer and the skills of the crew, Mike D, Philip B, Sharkey, Bobby Diesel, Rob and Dubba covering the BCS crew in the race. Each lap...no each HALF lap!....we had fresh bikes. Not only that Dubba had these guys dialed into pit procedure with a guy to catch my dirty bike and the thrower had the clean bike up in the air for me to simply throw my arm through and run out of the pit. Incredible.

JJ was on fire off the front with Mark Legg-Compton who are both stratospherically fast. I crawled up on Mark after a long effort and was able to sit in. Mark then blew a Dugast and had to DNF (and I'd experience some of that too...).

By the closing laps it's clear that the bike changes are making a huge difference. I was riding comfortably in 6th-7th with a gap to chasers Robson and Shawn. I am with Mike Hogan who had shredded a derailleur earlier and he still managed to bridge back and work with me. By the bell lap we are hauling and making time. He and I come off the pavement and into the muddy pit area. And then it happened! Like a truck fishtailing on black ice, Mike's rear end washes and I t-bone him and go ass over tea kettle. Mike goes down too and we quickly get up grab bikes and start running simultaneously into the pits to change bikes. Robson and Shawn benefit and the nab us sacrificing bike changes and they punch it...and it worked for them!

I grab my bike and run past Mike and remount. I am determined to go and catch Robson and Shawn who are dangling in front. I go through the off camber 'pit of death' just outside the pits and I feel my front tire case something. It bottomed out the Dugast but not unlike normal bottoming sensations. By the pavement section I can feel things start to wash and then I realize I'm going flat. Arrgh! I keep up a tempo and try to keep it level. I need to ride another 1/2 lap until I can get a bike.

I can feel Mike gaining and I just drill it not caring about the tire or the carbon rim I am now riding on. (Awesome.) Coming into the pit area I put a hand up and the boys are ready. I fly in drop off the flatted bike and grab the other, remount and take a look over my shoulder. I see Hogan railing and I punch it harder. I was able to keep the gap over the finish line for 9th. All that effort... A true knife fight. Teamies Brian H (3rd) and Timmy the Truth (6th). Three guys in the top 10 and a large majority of it due to the team support in the pits.

Boulder Cup-Boulder Reservoir

(All still photos below from David Kutcipal of 303cycling.com. See album here.)

Back again for another round at the Rez! 2 times in as many weeks. The Boulder Cup was supposed to be on the grass at Harlow Platts, but if we ever want to use the course again, we had to take one for the team and avoid using it for fear of chewing the place to bits. It was the right call.

Pre-riding I could feel the effort from the day before. It was taking a loooong time for the engine to turn over but by the time I lined up, I felt like a B-. And so it would be that kind of day. Sort of a 'meh' feeling. My poorly feeling legs aside, the weather was spectacular and you could not tell that it had snowed days earlier. The course was dry and we were in shorts and t's!

On the mic today doing race commentary was Rob Coppolillo...old friend and one of the good guys. As we're getting called up, Rob over the race course's PA system calls me out by name, telling everyone he's unabashedly going to be rooting for me. I'm indebted Rob!! That made my day.

Our UCI guy is back pacing once again in frot of us right down to 10 seconds. Tweeeet! On to the course and again I do not want to lead and allow a train of 3-4 guys go and I sit in. I am surprisingly turning my legs over and just playing conservative as I'd need to save it up for the later minutes of the race.

The Boulder Cup Rez course was different than the Boulder Racing course used last week. We had tons of sand as normal for a Rez course but they used a lot of other parts of the surrounding area that included sweeping grass and off camber turns. It was quite flowy and fun!

Video by The El-Gee.

By lap 2 my teamie Brian H is taking a flyer. I am not going to chase so I have Jon C come and pull if he wants to make the bridge. I sit in with Timmy close behind as I know Jon is going to throw it down as soon as he bridges.

We snake our way through the sand section which has us weave around a boat house. Very technical but offers a 'cheater' line to run up on the cement of the boat house and wheelie drop in. Brian is still motoring and takes this line yet cases it on the drop in. Arrgh! Timmy and I jet past and Jon as expected is off. I yell at Tim to go as this is truly it and he's off in chase...

By 3rd or 4th lap I am in that same section by the boat house. I get bumped off my line and wrapped into tape and throw a chain. I am trying to run and sort my chain issues out at the same time as a block of dudes pass me. I go from 5th to 10th in an instant. You can not make mistakes. This one wasn't all mine but you simply can not make mistakes as everyone is as fit as the next guy. 

By the closing laps I am making attempts to bridge to Hogan who is in a group that would be the tail end of the top 10. I put in a massive effort and can't grab on. I can see Clay, Pat and another guy making time to me so I save matches and let them bridge. Clay and I proceed to drill it trading work lap after lap. If we can get to Hogan, we can definitely close to the top 10 and we can sprint it out.

By bell lap it's not going to happen. We can't cross that chasm to thenext group. The group in front stayed the same distance. Out of the sand, our group of 5 is still tight. I can see that Clay and I are the strongest so I am thinking we need to sprint this out. We blast on to the pavement in the finishing straight and I let Clay come to the front. I want to have a second of rest before we drag race it. Clay buries it and we start the sprint earlier than expected and he holds me off for 14th...14th! Ha! Yup...knife fighting in the trenches.

It was great to see all the out-o-towners once again, Timmy J, JPows, JesseD and others. It was an exceptional weekend of racing and the BCS crew should be proud.

Double hup...

After my race I was able to mess around before going to work for Dubba and Webber in the pits. I snapped the faces of my friends and some of the ladies in the Elite Women's race....where Katie proceeded to thrash the field. Enjoy. My weekend race report comin' up.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Full up report coming after tomorrow's race but ho-lee-poop it was....AWESOME! My team ROCKS!! The pit crew was so PRO it as nuts...clean bikes every 1/2 lap! Here's a pic from The WK as a teaser. Lots of drama in the last lap for a top 10 position...riding on a flat Dugast! Ha! Double hup...

Dale from Crossin Colorado once agian has kicked some butt...simply by being out in the freezing cold at the wee hors of the AM and capturing video! Thanks Dale! Scene's from our race this Sunday at the Rez...which will also be the scene for this Sunday's battle for the Boulder Cup due to the weather-forced course change.

Lap 1

Boulder CX Series #3 - SM 35+ open - Lap 1 from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

Lap 2

Boulder CX#3 - SM35+ Open Lap 2 from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

Lap 3

Boulder CX #3 - SM35+ Open - Lap 3 from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

Lap 4

Boulder CX #3 - SM35+ open - Lap 4 from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

For me cyclocross is a string of memories dating back to 2nd half of the 90s, living in the Bay Area with each winter bringing a worse El Niño than the last. Cross was an ALL day event, most of which was spent after the race, tearing bikes apart to clear out the Santa Cruz mud deposits. A very critical piece of equipment that was in every car that showed up was a roll of duct tape…to literally hold your shoes on as you hupped through mud bogs lest they get sucked off your foot, forever trapped in the terra firma.

Moving to Colorado was a shocker. Entirely different racing which amounted to dirt crit racing. Faster tempos, faster courses, cool temps and maybe ‘Colorado Mud’: Snow. But for us it is a typically dry and fast affair.

Until this weekend that is.

Week 6 of the ACA circuit brought us one new course and one old ‘standard’.

Saturday-Castle Cross, Castle Rock CO

Saturday I awoke with a smile. The crappy weather the day before…a combination of snow and some rain….would surely not disappoint…and she didn’t. The only unknown variable was the course, a new one put on by the Green Mountain Sports crew.

I pre rode with Timmy the Truth and honestly I felt flat. Not, bad, just flat. The course was really fun, albeit long and not even remotely a course in my kill zone as it had mad elevation gain. I make no claim to be a climber and these were fairly sustained climbs. The weather had created super greasy corners and slippery off cambers so I was confident that if I rolled, I could flow and try to stay away from folks to maintain my position. I ran Typohoons at stupid low pressure, 30 front and 32 rear which proved decent…although I kind of wish I had Rhynos for the day.

The course designers had us do a start circuit, never used again in the course. It was tight with a 100ft parking lot sprint to a sharp left, into trail, back onto pavement and finally onto the course for good. I punched it a bit to win the hole shot only so I would not be part of any mêlées that would ensue (luckily there were none). I carried on for a bit not necessarily going hard…just hard enough to put people into difficulty. I could hear breathing behind and Timmy likely did too. He punched it and Chris P jumped to cover. It went like this for two laps until the climbs started taking their toll on me and I could not push it up those things. Powerless. I decided to forego placings and let folks fly and save a matches for what I thought would be a harder race the next day, the Boulder Reservoir. All in all I’d call the day ‘OK’ with an 8th place. Timmy had a good day taking 2nd to a strong Phenecie. I had some mechanical issues that I needed to work out with the bikes but no real bearing on my ride. No pictures from the 35 A’s. Sorry!

Sunday-Boulder Racing No. 3 ‘The Rez’.

(All pictures below from the lens of Dave Weber unless noted)

The town watched the weather roll in Saturday with temps dropping by 30 degrees and rain and snow in the forecast. The weather and the brutal course would make for an epic. Talk to any racer in the Boulder/Denver area who've raced here over the years and they will tell of their love/hate relationship with this Resevoir or 'Rez'. It’s literally 45% sand…super tough on the bike, body and minds of the competitors. Compound that with the terror of Colorado, the goat head weed, and your tires are bound to get toasted either wrecking your winning ride with a flat or perhaps providing you the mercy head shot you needed to DNF.

Pre-riding the course effectively had the same lay out as some of the Boulder Cups of years past. It has everything…and sand. Did I mention sand? The warm up felt pretty good with my legs coming around after Saturday’s efforts and thanfully saving some for Sunday. Even with the potential threat of goat heads, I ran my Tufo File treads and had my backup bike with an old pair of Dugast Typhoons, both pumped with 20ml of Stans. Giddy up.

I took the line and given the massively long straight away, did not want to be out front. The ACA official blew the whistle and Timmy nailed the hole shot with my main Oz-meister Michael Robson sitting behind and with me 3rd wheel. 

We flowed nicely and evenly around for a 1/2 lap pushing a nice tempo to separate us from any danger..until I heard a pile up. I nudge Timmy and Michael to punch it and we have a gap and we carve out almost 10…who would effectively dice it for the rest of the race (some more at the dicier end of the dicing than others! Ha!). Brian Hludzinski, Michael Robson, Timmy Faia, Jon Cariveau, Jeff Hartman, Ryan McFarling, Mike Hogan, and yours truly.

By the sand on the first lap we are all still tight. My teamie Brian H takes a flier and Timmy and I back it off. We come in to lap 2 and I can see the pace push. Coming into the barriers I was able to get around Jon C, Robson and Timmy as I know it was going to happen right there. Jon was licking his lips (I got som eon me...). I cooked the barriers, got to the front and proceeded to sloooooow down. The Moots powerhouses, Jon C and Robson and I had a laugh with Robson saying “Ooooh! So that’s how it’s going to be!” True team fun at the front.

For the next few laps it was attrition. Like WWI Ypres Salient  attrition. Timmy Jon C, Ryan and Michael Robson pushed the pace and broke away for 20 seconds. Hogan and Jeff bridged to me and I sat in until I felt over cooked. I did feel fantastic through the sand running but would lose momentum on the some of the straights and that got compounded. I floated between 6th and 9th over taking some, then being over taken. I still need that extra wee bit of fitness to make the breaks then stay there. Right now, it’s just within reach. I’ll see if I can get there without putting the three part teeter totter into a bad spot.

By the last lap I put in an effort with Dubba screaming at me in the pit to grab Hartman. I bridged to Jeff who was suffering a bit. There was a group if 3 coming up behind us so I thought it best to bridge to Jeff then continue to punch it to try and break free as the sand was coming and I knew everyone was dying. Jeff turned turned himself inside out and was able to stay within 20 feet or so of me in the sand. As we exit I punch it on the pavement to determine if he would settle or fight. The quiet big man decided to fight. I sat up and and he closed the gap when we essentially slow to a crawl. Full on cat and mouse. It was clear it was going to be a drag race and so it was. We started our sprint at a few hundred meters sharing pedal stroke for pedal stroke with Jeff taking 8th in a throw at the line. I forgot I was going up against one of Colorado’s best sprinters. Oops. It was as fun as hell though. 

So 9th place on the day which belies the effort. These races are insane with the same crew flogging each other week after week. Knife fighting in the trenches as I like to say. I am convinced it some of the best racing to watch as it is incredibly fun to be in it. Pumped that Timmy pushed hard for the win with a savage Jon C never making it easy.

Up next: Colorado’s BIG cross weekend! The Xilinx and Boulder Cups which are guaranteed to go off!

(See photos from the Rez through the lens of Bryan King here. )

It was a 72 hour interval of sorts…squeezing a boat load of work into a Thursday AM, boarding a plane that afternoon for Vegas, doing my thang with my company then getting back on the plane Friday evening and getting home at the crotch of dawn only to wake in a matter of hours to somehow summon the racing mojo.

Breath…lay back…feel your wife next to you in bed as your ears ring and finally the sleep comes…

Beep!  Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! 

The alarm clock registers, my eyes flash open, sunshine already outside, and I jump up thinking I am late for my meeting. But I see where I am. I smell the coffee being made downstairs and I smile. I’m home. I made it. And while waking was near heart attack-instigating, what motivated me to put both feet down on the floor was the most exciting day in Boulder for me personally since moving here:

The Ground Breaking Ceremony of the Valmont Bike Park! Oh, and a cross race…<wink>

I spent the AM with the fam fueling up on home made pancakes and thinking about the day ahead. I’d just got in from a trip, have this huge day ahead of me and then need to flip it back to the homestead to immediately get showered, dressed up and out the door with my lady for a surprise night out in Denver.

Breath…

The DBC Events crew, Chris Grealish, Brook Watts, Joe DePaemelaere and an army of volunteers spear headed by Pete Webber, Bobby Noyes and work crew chief John Bevans slaved for two days to assemble the exhibition course we’d be racing on. I rolled in later in the morning as the activity was already under way and simply looked around. I could not believe my eyes. Even while under construction, with bald mountains and tons of dirt still needing to be placed and shaped, I could see it. I could see just how magical this place will be…

Pre-riding the course we all had smiles. If you were a mountain biker you were in heaven on this fairly technical course. Big tires were a necessity and this past week I had Mike Doyle at BCS dial in a pair of Tufo Dry file treads in 34 for me. Balloon tires! They felt like they were made for Colorado and this course in particular.

After my warm ups I sat silently in the BCS tent and just took it all in. The people were happy, kids were everywhere, we were crossing on ‘hallowed’ ground. Life is good. I sat back in a folding chair and popped open for the first time ever…

OK, typically I’ll have a gel, maybe a bar before a race. I literally had this can of Monster collecting dust in the fridge for months. One of those artifacts from an event in the past that I never used and sat neglected out of site in a tray in the fridge’s nether regions. I popped that beast open and put some back. It…tastes like….burning. By 10 minutes before the race I feel like I am on meth, not certain if I’ll hear the official say ‘go’ off the line let alone if I’d do a simultaneous vomit/diarrhea while waiting for the whistle. Heed my advice: this is the devil’s elixir.

I line up with all the boys under the Clif start. It’s a big field and everyone is amped to go. There I am on the start line like an addict. Head humming, leg twitching due to the green poison I’d ingested. Friends are talking to me and I’m responding like a coked up fiend with quick answers, laughs and general idiocy.

We get the whistle to go and I have one thing on my mind: Go! I’d been complaining incessantly of having cleat/pedal contact issues on remounts and occasional starts and well whaddya know, it happened again…

I thankfully recovered pretty instantaneously and give it a go. The course was a mixture of freshly dug out trail plus sections of bush whacked forest. It made for a hard yet twisty course albeit with tons of bumps and the continuous need for control and flow. On the first lap, Moots strong man Glen Light took a flyer and strung us yet I could feel the hounds on us. I decided to up the tempo and pulled the group around for a lap. Fairly instantaneously it was me, Ryan, Dennis, Brian, Mike and Jeff. We were gone. 

And then I got stupid.

Lap 2 it’s the same order. I am still pulling. Lap 3 same thing. Nearly all of lap 4 the same. I feel good and turn around to take stock. No one is coming around. What I fail to realize is that this is Colorado. And the guys I race every weekend are…fast. And more importantly…smart. I’d put in an effort, turn around see heads down suffering and attack again. These guys would claaaaaaw back every time. Regardless how hard I’d hurt them, they’d bridge back. Bulls.

By the beginning of lap 5 I suspect Dennis had had enough of the interval session and got out front. We all were a giant train sitting fairly OK until some new and significant attacks came and I paid for my earlier sins and faded. Jeff was with me and we traded work on lap 6 and he put in a punch and with it a gap. I clawed back got back to him and push passed with Jeff saying “…Nice!”. That was rad Jeff.

Last lap Jeff and I converged on the run up, crowds cheering and we both gassed it trying to scramble for that precious inside line. Jeff squeaked passed and got the gap when I freeeeking bunged the remount with another slipped pedal! ARRGH! That little gap was it. The group of 4 (Dennis, Brian, Mike and Ryan) pushed it to the line with
Dennis taking a hard earned “W”, Jeff floating in for 5th with me trailing in seconds thereafter for 6th. What a rad race.

I sat afterward and could feel the effort and my head swirling with the green crap still floating in my veins. Keller and Cospolich drill it. Not sure if I’ll ever do that again. Moreover I though about all the little pieces that have to come together. It’s amazing to think of all the little tiny parts of a race when you decompose it afterwards…especially those parts you contribute. Each little mistake adds up and those that make the fewest win. It’s an awesome game we have.

See more of Jeff Cospolich's awesome photos of the 35 A's here.

This park is going to shine. It is going to be the place I get to do hot laps with my boys. Where many Wednesday Worlds will be held with no hiker.dog walker conflict. It is ours and we pushed hard for it. Racing on it was so sweet.

And yes, I made it home in time to scoop up my beautiful wife wife for our Denver night out. And it was gooooood. I knew you were keeping tabs.

All around good-guy and hard man Rod Yoder captured our 35 Master's race Sunday on a cold and frozen day on 'the grass' at Interlocken...BoulderRacing's 2nd race in its 4 part series. Have a look-see at the video carved out into three parts. Most impressive is Rod's wattage from how many crashes he goes through to bridge back and drop the leaders....me included! Ha! Home boy is a stud.

Full race report forthcoming by the way.

Interlocken CX 35+ (Part 1) from Rod Yoder on Vimeo.

Interlocken CX 35+ (Part 2) from Rod Yoder on Vimeo.

Interlocken CX 35+ (Part 3) from Rod Yoder on Vimeo.

Cyclocross…is…hard. I’ve raced it all, even a little track, and cyclocross is simply the hardest (in my overly biased opinion) to put all the pieces together and do something ‘special’ in a race. To be absolutely pinned for 45-60 minutes, maintaining your smoothness while on the bike under this load, keeping absolutely fluid and efficient when off the bike through barriers and run-ups and finally paying attention to the race as it evolves so you are ‘in it’ to make decisions on what to do to improve your position…is simply mind bogglingly hard. So, the above said and already known to you my cyclocrossing fanatics, I give myself the…

 DOY! AWARD

…for week 3 in the elite master’s category here in scenic Frisco Colorado. I think categorically I could not do any of the things I talk about above as it relates to fluidity, efficiency and of course smoothness. In fact, I might as well have raced completely drunk and likely would have had better flow. It was comical and I’m not in a ‘weep with me’ mode here…just expressing how hard it is to continually put all those pieces together and race a great race. I think y’alls know what I’m sayin’, right? So on to the details.

Frisco Day 1:

Frisco traditionally attracts great fields as it is the traditional kick off weekend for many of the racers transitioning from their mountain biking and road seasons into ‘cross. So it’s definitely a reunion of sorts. This weekend saw the arrival of Jon Cariveau and of course “The WB” Ward Baker…both dear friends and known hard men of the sport in the fast old guys group. Also, we saw the true coming out of Mr. Timmy The Truth Faia in his new Boulder Cycle Sport kit and Ridley! A new team mate! The fields were pretty complete and the throw downs would commence.

We launched into our race and essentially picked up from years past. The front group got a split and we moved pretty quickly into getting folks into discomfort. Tim was off the front with Ross and Chris Phenacie super quickly and with a teamie up the road, I merely had to sit in! Brian H and I admittedly sat on The Ozster’s wheel (Mr. Robson) and allowed his immense diesel engine to tow us around. Life is good. Engine feeling awesome. And then…

Doy! I become a total side show act.

Flowing into one of the wood chip S-turn sections I come unglued and dab throwing a chain to the outside. I try to drop ‘er back on by shifting the front derailleur but no joy. I get off, put that mo-fo back on and then go to remount. I slip in the wood chips and essentially spaz out and miss the mount and jack up the seat. I stop again and pound that seat down with my fist. Awesome. Meanwhile….whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh! The chase group is sweeping in upon my carcass like a buzzard dive bombing a dead rotting possum lying on the highway.

I get back up to speed and am pinned to chase on. 10th place. I will fight back up. Another lap around and…

Doy! Whooopish! On the ground again.

I suddenly within a lap un-learned how to handle a bike and forget completely that I am a mountain biker. Front wheel wash out in the wood chips  AGAIN. (What’s the definition of insanity?). Two more guys drop me like a bad habit as I collect my retarded spaztic self off the ground and ramp the engine back up. 

Round and round I go and I’m racing myself. I come into this apexed corner that sends you up and around this tree and…

Doy! Whooopish! On the ground again.

By this point I am reconsidering bike riding let alone racing as a hobby…sort of laughing. I finish in 15th place, tail between the legs and proceed to have a little stormy rain cloud over my head and act like a total knob (for 15 minutes). That is until I was handed a Mama’s Little Yella Pils which nearly instantaneously corrected my foul and childish mood.

I see Timmy and he’s smiling like the Cheshire Cat having bagged this one and the first for BCS this year. Salvation.

I then get to watch my best buds race the Open race while I shoot pictures and enjoy some adult beverages. Double salvation.

Frisco Day 2:

(Note all pictures below credited to SixDegreesToSlush)

(Note all videos below credited to Dale Riley of Crossin Colorado)

I went to bed restless the night before. Thinking about all the little mistakes…all the willingness to ride smooth and keep fluid. My heart was also racing a bit too given the nearly 11,000 I was sleeping at that night at my friends cabin.

Waking up I felt re-born. Head was really happy and I was determined to ride clean. Think not of places but think of every single lap cleaner and more precise. I needed the mental victory.

Call ups again and I am in the front row. I go out semi-hard to attempt to be in the clear and off the front for Timmy and Brian H to sit in. It’ll be harder with Jon and Chris ready to slay dragons so in my caveman mind, I go and try to string it a bit.  The course was better than the day before. More ‘crossy. It utilized many of the same features from the day prior but included a great run up which would prove decisive. Both days had massive elevation changes with actual and LONG-ass climbs. Never ever good for a tank like me but I’d go hard regardless.

Frisco CX #2 - 35+ open start from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

So back to those first lap heroics: I proceed to push it too hard into this maze of turns all separated by white Shimano tape. Pre riding I even said to myself ‘whoa, be careful’. Of course bombing into this maze I am like a deer in headlights…utterly confused and I proceed to follow the lines from tires of the day before! Directly into the tape! HA! Essentially I get laughed at and I too laugh pretty loudly as I get dropped untangling myself  by the passing freight train of 4-6 folks. Jon C, Robson, Hartman, Farrell, Faia…others all whoosh whoosh whoosh! So not even the first lap and I’ve failed my plan of cleanliness. Doh!

Frisco CX #2 - 35+ open Lap 2 barriers from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

I settle in and just focus on lines and flow. Nothing else. Flow into corners, accelerate out. Precision on flowing into the run up and go hard. Lap after lap. I end up working with Ward, Ryan McFarling and Brian Maslach and others. I can’t cover some of the accelerations but find that I am flowing and way more confident.

Last lap and I push it hard to ensure I am near the group. I know I am feeling better and better as the race wore on and wait until the run up to put in a move. I work the run up with Maslach and we come out pushing hard. A set of grass turns, barriers and a pavement stretch to the finish. Brian pushes me hard all the way to the line for 10th. Battling for 10th! It’s like a frigging knife fight amongst all of us week in and out. Timmy  again is sitting there at the line waiting for me high fiving having bagged another one! He fought it out hard with Jon C and Chris for another great BCS effort.

Frisco CX #2 - SM35+ open Lap 3 run-up from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

So there ya have it. Week 3 and me ranting already! Ha! Honestly it’s all this that keeps me coming back. It’s the imperfections that must be perfected. When it all comes together….when all that hard work comes together…its what makes it worth it.

Clean.

After my debacle-race on the first day (report coming), I was able to whip out the photo shooter and snap some pics of the Open Men. Jake Wells rode super strong with a tenacious 16 year old Yannick Eckmann causing all kinds of drama for 2nd place. I'm figuring all this photography stuff out on my own kids, so I hope you like! Credit back to the site as always if you use any.

Click on the photo below...

For more Frisco Day 1 action, see my man from Six Degree's to Slush's photos!

Frisco Nordic Center tomorrow in scenic Frisco, CO. Just a snowballs throw away from Breckenridge at mad Colorado altitudes. Back to back races this weekend and Dubba, Pilot and I are heading up to get our game on. Should be fun and I'm again indebted to my rad wife for these weekends. It's huge.

The mystery blogger that is Mr. Bike Snob NYC himself sent his readers....and a mass of readers I must say....to M & C on his hilarious regular Friday quiz post. I hope my home boy is retiring because the amount of readers he gets a day is sick. Monitize, yo! His writing speaks for itself and he deserves every amount of readership he gets. It' makes me crap just a wee little bit in my pants when I laugh reading his site.

Lastly, my main man Brian Patrick from On Site Media...the folks who do a boat load of the race coverage you see on Velonews....gave the Boulderites some love in this video clip! Boups using is collegiate running skills is the first guy coming up the run up followed by a focus on Dubba. I'm in the next clip which was the group right after theirs, dangling behind that group the whole frigging race.

Reports from Frisco forthcoming. Huppity hup.