welp, 5th at kent state cross last weekend. not the race i planned, but with my mind on heading out to 24 nats i forgot about the loose seatbolt clamp on my focus carbon cross bike.
so, with matt and paul going like hell, i was in a chase in group behind, hit a bump at speed and wham, the seat was pointing at a sharp angle. my bad.
with that, i had to switch bikes and i lost contact with my two chase buddies - i was now sitting in 5th.
now on my aluminum focus, it somehow seemed to jar me twice as hard as the carbon frame until i got my grove back. that is, until i noticed that i didn't get around to switching the brakes out to my new TRP's. damn.
so, with me having a drama over my bike setup, i slipped back to sixth.
i battled it out, found my lines, caught him back for 5th just quick enough to tell him that the next guy is 8 seconds back, we have 2 laps to go and one of us is taking 5th.
he ends up wrapped up in tape on a bad line, i get 5th, he gets pimped at the line and takes 7th. damn. had the legs, but my mind was elsewhere.
moab.
it's been on my mind for a long time, now it's down to less then 10 days away. will be a tough battle with the toastman and kelly and all the other enduro freaks.
just want to say thanks for the sponsors that have backed me through the years. still can't believe some of the places i have been. i still dream of racing in texas at the mas o menos again.
that's it - gotta roll. get your miles in - we still got races to race.
sologoat out
9.30.2010
5th at kent state, moab on my mind
9.24.2010
9.14.2010
whiskey island cross
Whiskey Town cross, was the second stop in the Northeast Ohio Cyclocross Series held this past sunday -- where i was hoping for some redemption of last weeks double mechanicals with a rolled tubular and a loose canti brake stud on my spare. the race was over for me in two laps last week, i was not looking for a repeat dnf.
i opted for the newly wobblenaught fitted focus marres for the day, rolling clinchers. normally i am ok on clinchers, but a quick few pre-race laps of the course had some concerns for me with all the glass and the tight corners. tight corners cause a clinchers sidewalls to give out every once in awhile if you are coming in hot - the lower the pressure, the higher the probability. i was running pressure pretty low, but i decided to put a few more pounds in the rear to avoid the clincher sidewall issue as well as the likelyhood of a pinch flat.
gun goes off and i get my customary cruddy start and am at least 15 guys back from the front. into the first sand section, guys flail in front of me - and the gap grows to the front. shortly thereafter in the long sand section i don't even try to ride and dismount immediately to avoid some confusion. i pass a few guys riding while i am in a sprint.
now my chase is on.
the lead group has a gap and i am in the second group. i try to to use every mountain bike skill i have to keep up speed, and i slowly break away from the second group with john p.
half way through, coming off of the pier in full speed, some fisherman decide to walk accross the course. One is walking extremely slow, the other at a standstill about 20 feet away. with me yelling, his speed does not increase but instead scares the other teenage fisherman wearing a hoodie that capped his eyes, into full flight nearly right into me. it's yet another great example of why people who are a couple apples short of a picnic shouldn't be wearing ipods or try to do two things at once in public.
soon after, i am by myself with the laps cards counting down. i catch two more riders and am now sitting in 4th with 3 laps to go.
2 laps to go and i can see steve twingey on his mountain bike, i push hard to catch him and the gap is closing, but i think he feels me coming so the gap sticks at around 10 seconds.
on the pier for the last lap, there was no hopes of catching him, i make a few more efforts up the last two little climbs, but the gap is too big. 4th place it is. matt rolls in first, mr martin in second, steve in 3rd. great race, great venue.
9.12.2010
9.03.2010
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