‘Mr. Strobes’ Mark Woolcott braved the early AM cold and snow to shoot the Interlocken race, including a focus on the Juniors in the wee hours of the AM to give them some due air cover for all their hard efforts!

Moms and dads: Buy some of these keepsakes of your grom railing the snowy off cambers!

Click here to see Mark’s gallery of Colorado Cross Races this season (including Interlocken) or go to his home page here to see some of his other work, including ‘interviews’ with local racers.

“Stay loose. Just stay loose, kid.” It was his patent phrase. He’d use it with me on the field, when I would take a test and was stressed beyond my small brain’s capacities, or when I’d call home from New York, close to jumping off the WTC as my first real job that I had to ‘work at’…well it scared me and wasn’t confident that I’d be able to succeed.

“Stay loose, kid.”

He was a baseball player. A good one in high school and got sucked into the Yankees and Washington Senators training farms after high school right before getting sucked into Army Green to go defend us from tyranny of the evil North Koreans and their diabolical plans to attack…Alaska. Which in reality amounted to him and his buds going skiing, shooting elk and tending the officer’s club in that desolate outpost. Hilarious. Anyways, he had a phenomenal throwing arm and taught me the secrets of his ‘fork ball’ and all kinds of change up stuff that I’d practice over and over and over again. I sucked, beaned batters all the time to the horror of their parents who’d come to home plate…their child sprawled on the ground, bell rung and crying….to dust off and escort them to first base to take their freebie. So he stuck me in the hot corner most of the years he coached me instead of his hope for me to strike out batters. Again, hilarious.

But alas, it was always “stay loose”. Lessons he learned form coaches about how to keep the elbow, shoulder, wrist…and mind…loose. It rings continually through my ears and I see it as he would mouth it to me in silence across the field for only me to see to ensure I’m in the game. No where else.

Cyclocross is as I keep saying…hard. Anything you want to do well at is hard, right? Else, why bother. This past weekend at Interlocken for Boulder Racing’s 2nd race in its 4 part series I’d run ino those feelings again. Honestly, it is a course that I loath. Lots of dudes relish it…thrive on the all grass course which in all reality is beautiful. But for me, it’s been a write-off course as I’d performed so badly there over the years. The grass and elevation changes working me over and over and over into a vegetative pulp.

Sunday would be different, however. The weather conditions changed everything with snow and bitter cold temps. That variable and Boulder Racing’s modifications to the course made an absolute ‘cross playground. A twisty, flowy faster and more technical affair with off cambers, twists speed straights and recovery sections. INFINITELY more balanced in my opinion. Frozen grass has never felt so good.

Warm up was difficult with my head popping and crackling with sinus-infected blood-booger hell and legs that were heavy and would not come around. I seemed to roll just OK in warm up but the bike and 32 p.s.i. Typhoons seem to roll me around the course with confidence. So I had that going for me… I’d try my best but was still all mentally bound up. I got to the car to change clothes before the race and broke a zipper on a jacket and instantaneously had this pissy black raincloud over my head. Brandon came over to help and for about 10 seconds I proceeded to spit venom, with him giving me a simple smirk to tell me I am being a retard and to chill out. Stay loose…

The start needed to be a drag race as we launched a 100 meters into a sharp left…all of us gunning for this pathway followed by another tight left to get us into a barriered run up. I got clear with team mates Timmy Faia and Brian Hludinski and into the apex and that’s when we heard the horror behind us. Someone mussed up and cased  a sidewalk lip in the hole shot chaos wreaking havoc. A group of us were safe and clear thankfully. I told Timmy to punch it when I heard the mele and to go get a gap. My legs were still not able to come around and feel fresh as Dennis Farrell and Jeff Wardell bridged to me by the end of the 1st lap and I simply sat on into those machines floated away to go in pursuit of Timmy but it was never to be for them. By the first lap, it was all Tim all day. Off the front…a 45 minute time trial straight through to the finish. Arms up. Good on ya Timmy. That’s 3 in a row for BCS.

The race for me was less of a race, and more of a maddening torture training test. Trying to push out watts that were not able to get pulled out, but I hung. My team mates Von and Brian worked with me through the race until I needed to collect and conserve. Essentially it was a game of bridge and drop a dude/get bridged to, then get dropped! Back and forth it went like this for the race staying level headed and trying to get the best ride possible in for the day. The last few laps were dodgy as all get up due to lapped rider scenarios where new guys were not sure what to do and not clear lines for race leaders (so sorry dudes I sort of had to muscle a bit!). But alas, 4 of us in the top 10 with me taking 10th. Honestly, I can not complain even though I’m in that zone of knowing what I need to do to push ahead and hold positions and race more conservatively. We all know what we need to do, right?

But back to staying loose. The ‘cross season is a long one. Patience is so key and mentally flailing is the disease that will send athletes off the rail. Staying loose simply means…relax, trust, work, stay focused on the big picture. Stay focused on the belief that if you can put the work in, the right things will build upon themselves and materialize. I’m in love with this concept. This hope that forms not by simply having the feeling of it, but the pushing that goes on to create hope and opportunities. It’s not the other way around because hope on its own is a strategy for suckers. The game is how you never lose sight.  Keep the mind loose, the legs more so.

Stay loose and come back weekend after weekend, ‘crossers. Personal victories await you: a race with every corner smooth; a race where you emerge from mid to front of the pack; a race with no mechanicals; a race where you feel earned accomplishment.

Stay loose.

(All racing photos by the now famous Mr. SixDegreesToSlush)

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.

Check out my home boy Jesse’s new site. Pretty pro, Jesse! You can keep up with all his travels and travails on the blog, or his twitter feed of course like all the kids are doing these days in the interwebbies.

Prowl around on his site and scope out the photo Rob O’Dea snapped of him. F-ing money hero card shot. Absolutely SICK! Until you see this…

Dude, Jesse, is that thing cramping???

You ever wonder how a bike park gets built? Well, in the case of Valmont Bike Park, this is a MAJOR undertaking as nearly 45 acres of land will be meticulously groomed and shaped by earth movers to literally make the elevation gains and losses we want to have the most fun on as off road cyclists. Your donations and the substantial money invested by the city of Boulder make this happen and the VBP committee is dedicated to ensuring this becomes world class. To our knowledge, no bike park in the United States is at the scale or caliber of this multi-million dollar investment. So to demonstrate, here’s what a typical day in the life of a bike park’s development looks like in a brief 45 second snapshot:

Over and over…all day…a parade of monster earth movers and groomers literally take land from one place and deposit it elsewhere to create the contours, hills and valleys we’ve designed into the Park. Once groomed and shaped, the park will have it's courses laid in and natural vegetation carefully replanted to give the park a great taste of Colorado’s finest singletrack.

As previously mentioned, October 17th will be the park’s groundbreaking day and a Cyclocross Race! To give you a bit of a teaser, here’s a preview of the course to whet appetites. HUP HUP!

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.