Cyclocross season so far

I don’t know about anyone else but I’m finding these darn cyclocross events pretty difficult after a long cycling season. But that’s what they are supposed to be, right? I’m hoping to sneak into a 6^th or 7^th place of Category 1/2/3 in one of these final ABRA races. I’ve been pretty happy about my effort and fitness in these initial events but my handling skills weren’t up to where I wanted them. Those are progressing along though. I’m a little sad that none of the races have had a hard “run-up” section, which is partly due to the really dry conditions thus far. I’ve been in the pit swapping bikes just a little too often to be successful. Hopefully my changes for this weekend will prove fruitful. My Kenda tires have never given out on me in these last few weeks of cyclocross racing and training. Except for the one that my German shepherd decided to bite through. My consistent favorite has been the Slant Six because its volume is high for a 35 mm tire and there are just enough knobs to stay very grippy. It’s really been working well in a variety of conditions, including scenarios where I surely thought any tire would fail. I’ve climbed some of my leafiest, rockiest and wettest trails on my cross bike and wasn’t spinning out. Any of the courses that climb or have some bigger power sections tend to be my favorite. I really liked the Franklin Cross for that reason. I haven’t raced in White Park since I was a teenager but the mountain bike race that once occurred there was always a ton of fun. I believe I won the junior expert division in its final year. I watched the cyclocross race that happened there back around 1999 but I hadn’t quite gotten on that cross bandwagon yet.

Start of "Go Fast If You Are"

Mountain bike racing through White Park as a youngin'

Everyone loves the White Park whoop-dee-doos

Cross Is Boss

Lately I have been hearing the phrase “Cross Is Boss” by many of my friends and fellow cyclists.  Well, I don’t know about that, however, I will say that I do enjoy the laid back environment and the sharing of adult soda pops with my fellow friends around a fire pit.  I would probably describe cyclocross as interestingly fun and entertaining with hopes of improving my bike handling skills for next seasons MTB races.

 

 

After doing two CX races in the past month I will definitely say that it provides for a great workout similar to a criterium all the while testing your bike handling skills which is needed in mountain bike races.  So hopefully the skills and experience I gain from doing cross races will allow me to see the podium in some mountain bike races next season.

 

(Rare occurrence)

 

Another cool thing about going to a cross race is that there are usually multiple races throughout the day so you have the option to race more than once and there are usually kids races which makes it a great family event.

(Look of determination)

 

If I can gain anything from the MTB training rides with JR, Jeff & Shawn along with the cross races I hope that it’s learning how to ride more obstacles and rugged terrain.

(I can ride this!)

 

(Maybe I can ride this?)

 

(I will never ride this!)

Either way I am having fun riding my bike for the DynamicPhysical Therapy cycling team powered by Pathfinder this year and I am meeting some very interesting people like this girl dressed up as a Ninja Turtle.

(Lambchop)

 

Once again thanks to all of all sponsors for supporting us!

 

Dynamic Physical Therapy

Pathfinder of WV

Morgantown Brewing Company

Mylan Pharmaceuticals

Kenda Tires

Sketches by Anne

Cannondale

Performance Coaching Services

Simply Saab

ProGold Lubricants

Honey Stinger

Red Rose Imports

Nalini Custom

 

 

 

 















Empire of the Sultans

The Sun comes up one morning in October and I take a deep breath. I realize that it has been a long but satisfying cycling season. I am excited for my teammates to start CycloCross and in that same moment I remind myself what a privilege it is to have the support system of the Dynamic Physical Therapy powered by Pathfinder Cycling Team. I still have a desire to compete but I know my body is in need of a break and so I shift my focus to other responsibilities.

This is the time of year that family asks if I'm going to crawl out from under the rock which I've been hiding under since New Years. Family and non-cycling friends are almost always neglected throughout the my race season so this is the is the time of year I choose to grab my wife and some friends to explore foreign cultures.  This year I told everyone that I wasn't going to come out from under my rock so they would have to crawl down into the catacombs with me. This years adventures were in Turkey!

Lycian Tombs of Myra

I love to explore the nooks and crannies of the villages we travel because that is where you discover the true local culture. I'm always amazed by the sense of togetherness brought about by simplicity. This group of family and friends didn't speak any English yet invited us over to help to make fresh pita bread and prepare ripe olives for fermentation. They rolled fresh dough with bamboo sticks and cooked on an open grill. In spite of the language barrier we were able to learn their traditional ways and laugh at each other along the way. Sometimes I am reminded that material things are not as important as quality time and being able to enjoy the moment. The most memorable thing about this time was that we were fed by the local people that barely had enough food for themselves. I found this trait to be common among the Turkish people-they would go to any length to help. They would include their last piece of bread.

Back Streets of Cappadocia

We spend days exploring the caves of Cappadocia! It's amazing that people used to inhabit these caves. Best known for their appearance in Star Wars, the rock formations of this area are otherworldly...

Cappadocia

Cappadocia

Cappadocia

Cappadocia

After cave hopping and spelunking we decided to challenge ourselves and climb Mt. Nemrut to watch sunrise. I always feel I need to push myself to some new fitness. It was worth the 2am departure!

Mt. Nemrut

The climb to the summit wasn't easy so we decide to end this adventure with a trip with a  Mediterranean sailing voyage! 

Mediterranean waters

corboydj@gmail.com

'Cross season is finally here.  Although it is the third race in the 2013 ABRA cyclocross series, Marilla Cross felt like the true start of cyclocross season in WV.   The first two races were unusually warm and dry for cross races.  In fact, they were warmer and drier than any of the mountain bike races from May through August this year.  On the other hand, the weather during the week leading up to the cross race at Marilla Park in Morgantown was actually cold and wet with a few snow showers.  Although this is only my third season racing cyclocross, I've been able to gather from other racers that these are the conditions that they look forward too.

On the day of the race, I woke to temps in the upper 20's and a heavy frost.  With a heavy baselayer, warm gloves, and winter riding shoes with longer toe spikes packed, I was prepared for the worst conditions, and the typical conditions seen at Marilla park cyclocross races.  Surprisingly though, the temps warmed into the 50's by the start of the Master's race and much drier trail/course conditions than I   had apparently prepared to ride.  

Marilla park has always been one of the more challenging courses due the bump-filled trails, a steep run-up, the gravel pit with barriers, and the acorns.   But, for the first time ever I had loaded a second "pit" bike.  And it was a good thing that I had.   After a fairly good call-up position, I was able to get into the woods and past the bottle-neck unscathed.  Pushing hard to keep up with the 10 or so riders in front was hard enough without my chain jumping from one cog to the next every time I shifted.    I realized within the first lap that I wasn't pedaling as hard as I normally would, fearing I would break a chain.   Those that I typically raced near--Chris H., Betsy S., and Danny W.--were pulling further and further ahead.  So I swung into the pit area after a lap and a half to switch bikes with the help of a good hand-off from teammate Shawn.  Now it was time to catch up and regain a few positions in the field.

My Cannondale Caffeine F29 was the pit bike of choice today...mainly because it was the only other suitable bike that I have.  The 29er was quickly proving to be the right choice.  Front suspension, 2.2 tubeless tires, and disc brakes instilled confidence on the rough course ahead.    I began passing racers

in the field...Chris, Danny, and a few others.  Zipping through turns appeared much easier with less to no braking than I would typically do with my Cannondale CAAD8 cross bike.   The mountain bike would simply flow over the roots in the upper portion of the course and eat up the steep downhill and gravely sections.  

Although I was loving the feel of the mountain bike on the cross course, I was beginning to feel the leg fatigue of pushing the heavier bike with greater rolling resistance several laps later.  I was still holding my field position, but barely.  Just before the final lap, Chris would overtake my lead.  "Not a problem" I thought, "I still have more than a mile to get this back".    Surely with the bike I had, I could regain and drop him on the last straight by rolling through the roots easier and faster than he could.  However, he began pulling away after a faster transition back to the bike at the top of the run-up.    With every twist and turn of the course, he seemed to be a little bit farther into the lead.   My motivation was there.  The legs, on the other hand, were not.  They had just become to worn out to maintain the level of acceleration that they had during the first half of the race.  Another 10th place finish was in the books.

Thanks to Gary Rodosta and Mark Glass for another great race.

Thanks to JR for a great fall race series to keep me on the bike.

Thanks to PathfinderWV for keeping my bike ready to roll.

Thanks to ProGold for keeping the bike clean.

Cannondale Demo Day

Last weekend, a big trailer filled with nothing but top-end Cannondale bikes came to town, and set up shop in front of Pathfinder.  Some members of the team and I decided to help out with the demo, but really, we just rode awesome bikes around all day.

I rode the 2014 Cannondale Synapse Hi-Mod with a full SRAM Red build.  What a bike that was, as stiff as anything I've ever ridden, but somehow, softer over the bad pavement.  I found myself purposely hitting potholes just so I could feel the speed-save technology at work.

By the end of the day, I got in a little over 20 miles on the Synapse, and while I love my CAAD10, I know what my next bike's going to be!

Late Season Suprise

     They say all good things must come to an end, but apparently all bad things get to come to and end eventually too.  So it was with the 2013 road racing season for me.   Compared to last season’s 61 starts, my 18 starts this year make it seem like I hardly raced at all.  Of course, if you race 3 times as many races in a season, you have 3 times as many chances for podium finishes, so the fact that I hadn’t found my way into a podium spot this year wasn’t terribly depressing to me.  I thought about it, but after suffering through the first few events of the season, I was well aware of the fact that I was best suited to try to just survive races this year.  And being in less than desirable shape, I rode each race with the mindset of doing whatever I could do to help my teammates early in the race because I didn’t figure I would be around to help them in the end.

     Up until September, the highlight of my racing season was the McKeesport Criterium. With 2 laps to go, the pace slowed down a little bit as people tried to jockey for the right wheel or to set themselves up in an ideal position.  So I made a split second decision and  I went to the front and lifted the pace going into turn 3 and dug deep and buried myself for as long as I could.  I wasn’t trying to breakaway form the field but  rather just string the field out, thereby making it difficult for anybody to advance, if they had made the mistake of staying in the back to draft their way to a podium finish.  I knew Jerry was in the top 5 spots so I just went as long as I could with a solid pull. When I finally flicked my elbow  coming out of  turn 2 on the final lap,  Jerry was sitting in 3^rd spot  and the field was a 20+ rider long string. I tried to stay on and finish with the field but I was seeing stars and unable to grab the last wheel  and just had to watch them ride away to the finish.  Jerry had attacked the next corner, separated himself from the front and carried it home to the finish for his first ever win on the road. While Jerry had to be in good enough shape to win, I took a certain amount of pride just thinking that I had increased his odds by putting some of the strong riders out of contention because they chose the wrong strategy for THAT race on that day.  m

Stringing it out for Jerry (sitting second wheel)

     And although I tried on several attempts during the rest of the year to have an impact on the outcome of the race, it just never worked out.  I was out of shape and was usually off the back before we got to the halfway point, and almost always by the time they got to the deciding moment of the race. I spent a lot of time riding to the finish by myself.  And given my competitive personality, I refused to ever quit or even take it easy during a race. Even being in DFL and minutes behind the peloton, I always pushed myself to continue on at my maximum sustainable effort.  I always figured that even if I wasn’t able to race with the leaders, there was no reason I shouldn’t  feel like I had raced with the leaders. 

     So when I signed up for the Appalachian Bicycle RacingAssociation’s Appalachian Time Trial in Rowlesburg WV, I did so with a desire to just finish the 16 miles and not get passed by my 1 minute man. As it turned out, JR was short volunteers so I told him if he moved me to the last rider, I would volunteer in the start area by being the holder of the bikes.  So, as soon as he accepted my offer to help, I had effectively guaranteed that I wouldn’t get caught.  Yay me! And after the last individual rode off, I changed my shoes, grabbed a drink of water, donned my helmet, and got ready to ride.   Without a proper warmup, I decided to take the first mile or two easy and then pour whatever I had in the tank into the last 14 miles.  I got a new Garmin since the last time I had ridden the TT bike and had forgotten to update the mount, so I couldn’t even watch the miles tick off, monitor my heart rate, or even watch my average and current speed. I was just going to have to listen to my body and let it tell me what I needed to know.  I pushed it when I felt like I was going too easy and let up when my eyesight started to blur. I rolled across the finish line and went for a short cooldown spin.  I got changed and headed over to the podium area to help Gina keep things running smoothly. When results go posted, I went to check out how far down I was and started from the bottom up.  I was starting to think that they had missed me until I saw my name in first place, one spot above teammate JR Petsko.  Woot Woot! My first podium of the year.

     Two weekends later, I headed out to Canton, OH to spend the weekend with Teammate Billy Bearclaw.  We rode the singlespeeds on Saturday and headed up to Deerfield, OH to take part in the final Eastern Ohio Time Trial Series event. I was competing in the 40+ and Billy was in the 30+. He was also signed up to do the stoker category with his daughter Addie Girl. After the recent success, I knew better than to expect a miracle to happen twice. I warmed up but put the Garmin in my pocket and decided to approach the race with the same frame of mind from the previous race.  I took it easy out of the block and then ramped it up in the final 10 miles. I felt happy with my performance, especially when I caught my 1 and 2 minute men by the turnaround.  Upon finishing, Billy met me and begged me to ride with a girl he knew who had planned on doing the 2 man team but couldn’t because her boyfriend had snapped his crank off when he started.  I was already tapped out but because she needed her fourth and final start to wrap up the series championship. I agreed if she promised not to be mad at me if I just let her ride off if I couldn’t hang on. As it was, we were matched really well. It took a few rotations but soon we were chewing up the real estate between us and our minute markers.  ^th fastest time overall.  I also had the pleasure of watching Billy standing on the top step in his age division as well. He swept the series and was crowned champion of the series. Then, he and Addie claimed the top time in the stoker division and secured the series championship as well.  But the highlight for me may have been when the  results were called and I was called to the podium , tied for third place in the two man teams.  We were the only M/F team to make it on the podium so it was like we won the coed division if it had existed.

By the time we hit the turn, I was feeling  “IT” in a good way and was taking longer and longer pulls at the front. I’d pull off at the bottom of the climbs and follow her to the top but then forced myself around her and hammered down the straightaways.  I kept looking between my legs to make sure I still had her front wheel on my back and I just kept cranking if I did. Next roller, I would let her take her turn because otherwise Id pull off from her without trying to. We rolled across the finish and this time I was completely spent. I made it back to the vehicle and didn’t even bother to cool down.  I started braking the bike down and putting it in the car so Billy couldn’t talk me into riding the 30 miles to his home. NO CHANCE of that happening.  When the awards ceremony came, I surprisingly took the top spot again.  I didn’t know anyone else in my age division so I wasn’t sure how strong they were so I was shocked when they called my name. I grabbed my team jacket and smiled for the little birdy. I was even more surprised when the results were posted online that I had the 5

     I guess all those miles of pushing myself to keep chasing the peloton during the rest of the road races helped me finish the season on a positive note.  It probably didn’t hurt that cross season was under way and maybe a lot of those tough guys were already off playing in the mud. That time would come soon enough for me but Im glad I held off a few more weeks on the road and finished the season 2 for 2 in time trials this season.  Maybe the season wasn't as bad as I first thought, and I guess in the end it turned out pretty good, but unfortunately, it too must come to an end as well.

Take a Kid MTBing Day

A few weeks ago Addie girl and myself participated in "Take A Kid Mountain Biking Day" at Vultures Knob in Wooster, OH.  Nothing beats hitting the trails with your daughter. 

 We had a blast camping out under the stars and spending two days riding together on the trails.  Throughout the entire weekend our Cannondale bicycles performed flawlessly.  It was also great to see that ProGold was a sponsor of the event since that is the lubricant of choice that we use to keep everything running smooth. 

Addie did great in her first MTB race and came in 4th overall.  Needless to say I was a very proud daddy.  I hope as she continues to grow she also continues to appreciate God's beautiful creations and always has an appreciation for the outdoors and "hitting the trails."



After Addie's race we had time to do some riding together and she even did a lap on the MTB CX course that I would race on later in the day. 

It is always nice to hear family and friends cheering for you during a race.  Especially when your legs are dead and you just want to finish.  During my race Addie found a unique spot to cheer on her daddy and it was very nice to hear her screaming at me to "ride faster" on each lap.

I definitely will always cherish these memories of spending time riding with my daughter and hope to continue to make more for many years to come.  Thanks Addie girl and I love you with all my heart.

I have to give a big shout out to Pathfinder of WV.  Don't forget that this coming Sunday, October 27th is the Cannondale demo day from 11am to 7pm.  Come out and test ride some new bikes so you know which one you want to ask Santa to bring you.