Cross in the NY Times

Here's a link to an article about cyclocross in the NY Times. The author does a race called Grumpy's in Minnesota.

And, here's an article on what I'm going to call Beat Bikes or BoomBox Bikes, urban bikes with elaborate sound systems attached.

On another note, I have lost my voice after a long day of phone calls yesterday combined with being sick. I have a meeting this afternoon. Anyone have a miracle cure for laryngitis?

My Skin Hurts

Chills. Fever. (is that an oxymoron, to have both at once?) Ache all over. Can't breathe too well. Sore throat. Ears are plugged up.

And above all, my skin hurts.

It seems like I always get sick when I go to Seattle. I think it's a combination of being around a sick toddler and all the mold in the damp air there. And maybe all the germs on the airplane. It's frustrating! At least this time I made it home before I got really sick. Last time I was sick during the visit. I like Seattle, but I hate being sick away from home.

I probably should have gotten one of these last month. And last night I went road riding for 1:40 with lights. I was warm enough, I didn't get chilled. I went slower than usual. But I started feeling really sick as soon as I got back. Before that I had just felt really tired. I wonder if exercising in the cold was the breaking point.

Arrrgh. I have so much stuff I need to do this week. And I didn't get to ride or do the eliptical last week - this week isn't looking so good for workouts now either.....

Deranged Yuppies on their Devil's Wheels

This letter from a reader was in the print edition of the Chicago Tribune last Monday (the 19th) in the "Voice of the People" section on the Editorial page.

Bicycles on Trails

"There have been many letters lately complaining about bicycles on roads and sidewalks, but nobody has mentioned forest preserve trails. I walk on trails occasionally and many times bicycles have come zooming by. Loose gravel and curvy trails are a recipe for disaster. I do not want to pay tax money for forest preserves that I cannot enjoy because they have been taken over by deranged yuppies on their devil's wheels. If bicycles are illegal on sidewalks, then they should be illegal on forest preserve trails."

Gobble, Gobble.

Happy Thanksgiving from Seattle!

And good luck to all at Jingle Cross. Wish I could be there, I'm sure it will be lots of fun.

On Tuesday 3/4 of an hour or so into the flight to Seattle, the captain announces that a piece has fallen off the wing and to be safe, we are turning around and going back to the airport! So we turned around, went back, and eventually got a new plane. (well, it most definitely was NOT new, but it was a different one) Crazy....

Lansing CX

Congrats to Scott for winning the Cat 1/2/3's CX race today in Lansing. Awesome job!

And congratulations to the many other friends who had great rides today!

Congrats to Gina on her move to Cat 3 after the race.

And thanks to EVERYONE for the entertainment in the sand pit!
Holly (above) shows us her impressive acrobatic skills! Ouch!! I hope she's not too sore Monday morning.
Almost everyone struggled with the sand pit at some point. It was deep and there were some holes. In order to get up onto the grassy lip at the edge and avoid the sand, you had to make it through the deepest part and past a hole that tripped up many a rider. Eventually the promoters moved the stakes so that you could no longer ride on the skinny little strip of grass at the edge. They also took down that big green post, thinking that the huge cat 4 men's field would hit it! Some people took the "ride through the middle" line, some tried to get to the strip of grass on the side and avoid part of the sand, and some picked the traditional running method.
Ben toeing the fine grassy line between sand and tape.

Cat 3 men duking it out in the pit: John F. got 2nd, Brian D. got 1st, and Chris L. got 3rd. I was amazed at the speed at which the Cat 1/2 and the Cat 3 men rode through the pit. I had been watching the women and juniors race. When the 1/2 men came through on their first lap, I was totally caught off guard by how fast they powered through the sand! Practically a blur.
Kevin sand surfing.
June and Holly battling at the barriers.

More photos here.

Urban Girlz Ride

Claire and Lori had already headed home at this point.




More later.

Iceman Results (and more)

Finally, here is a link to some Iceman Results. And the story can be found here. As of now, Sunday morning, results are not up on the Iceman site yet. And there's a pic of Brian Matter crossing the finish line on the main page, you have to wait for the slideshow to cycle through the various pics. (The pic above came from the Traverse City Record Eagle website.)

Tristan 4th, Jesse 5th, Marko 7th, in the Pros. Ned Overend, now in his 50's and still going strong, got 6th! Sara K-J got 4th (battling back after a bad crash early on), Kelli Emmet was the first woman.

I noticed that Ronsta, Russell, and John Shull won their age groups. Congrats!

Congrats to all the WORS riders who rode their hearts out! I saw lots of familiar names in the results - great job, everyone.

AND, on a sadder note, I hear the underground cross series race yesterday got busted. I am not even going to use its real name here. I am sorry to hear that, I'm sure it was a secret training weapon for some. I hope they can keep it going. (I am not referring to this weekends races in WI)

This being Veteran's Day, thank you to all who have served our country. Your service to our nation is greatly appreciated.

IceMatter

Congrats to Brian IceMatter on winning the Iceman!!!

It's 1 am Saturday and I forgot about the Iceman until a few minutes ago. It's too late to call anyone who is there. So I've been doing a Tour de Blogs trying to find someone who has posted the winner. It took me a while to find one that told me that Brian Matter had won. I'm so glad one of our WORS guys won!! I really want to know if Sara K-J won the women's, but so far I haven't found that out. And I want to know how all the rest of our WORS peeps did!

I went to Brian's blog and felt a jolt of instant recognition from the photo of the "heavy hitters" he posted on Thursday. That's because I was there at the moment that it was taken, in the tent near the finish in 2005. I looked closer, and sure, enough, that's my shoulder, hair and nose at the edge of the photo. Funny. I'm trying not to feel bad about not going this year, but that sure gave me a twinge.

Raggedy Andy joins Ann in Toy Hall of Fame

Raggedy Andy just joined the Toy Hall of Fame, along with the Atari 2600 system and the Kite. Read about it here. Finally Raggedy Ann's brother joins her.

Interestingly enough - the Cardboard Box is in the Toy Hall of Fame, too.

Bicygnals

I just saw a link to a brand of wireless LED turn signals called Bicygnals on CNET. Could be interesting for serious commuters who ride at night, or it could make you look like a spaceship, not sure which?

Good Luck at Iceman

Good Luck to all the WORS peeps going to Iceman this weekend!!

New Cross Technique

I found out about this new dismount technique courtesy of an email from Lou. This technique is so advanced they will not be practicing it at cross practice.

Crossin' Estabrook

Jesse came in first place in the 1/2's.

Mike Phillips got second in the 1/2's.

Scott got 3rd.

Debbie (3rd place), Sam (1st place) and Devon(2nd place) rode together the whole 1/2's women's race. They were on the course at the same time as the 1/2's men and the 30+ men. Hence the guy in the pink helmet riding with them.

Holly was in a chase group of 4 fast women.

Goat sticking his tongue out in intense concentration. He came in 3rd in the 30+.

Kevin came in 2nd. He and Jeremey worked together most of the race for a super strong ride.

After the race we saw a guy who had on skull gloves that perfectly matched the Killjoy kit. He was nice enough to give them to Holly, who was pretty excited about her new pair of gloves!

The Unit

If there are any fans of "The Unit" out there, I read in the print newspaper that tonight's episode, at 8 pm CST on CBS, is going to be a really good one. The story line continues into next week. This columnist turned me on to the show last year, and it is much more than a military saga. It covers all sorts of morally complex issues and gives the viewer (well, me at least) an insight that I probably wouldn't have gotten otherwise. And it can be edge of your seat exciting!

Local Cross Photo Action

A couple of race pics I took at the local cross series race are up on Truesport and Cyclingnews.com, thanks to Imelda. I'm excited about that.

I didn't know she was going to ask me for pics, so I wasn't concentrating much on picture taking. So they aren't the best they can be. I am really out of practice on action shots, especially for cross! But I'll probably take some for them at the next race, hopefully it won't be too cold.

I have memories of camera batteries that barely worked in the cold, particularly at the various December cross nats I have been to where there was either 1) a snowstorm that closed the roads (Boston), or 2) very cold (Denver) conditions, with snow and ice on the ground that froze our gears. Another year it was chilly and raining so much there were gigantic puddles (CycloCanoe Nats in Seattle). I remember keeping the camera under my jacket in Boston to keep it warm, and out of the snow. I have no idea how this newer camera will do in the cold, I haven't really tried it in extreme conditions!!!

Cross Report to come - I spectated at both races, so other people's reports will be the best bet to get all the racing action...

Sing your troubles away

I read an article about Complaint Choirs the other day, I think it was in the Chicago Tribune. Then I just heard a thing on the radio about the Chicago Complaints Choir. People put their complaints about everyday things into verse and the whole choir sings it! It's supposed to make them feel better.

The Chicago Complaints Choir just sang at the Bean in Millenium Park yesterday, and they were at the Empty Bottle Saturday.

What would a bike racers' complaints choir sing about?

flats? rain? traffic? drivers yakking on cell phones? potholes? squirrelly riders? mud? bees? bad tasting energy drinks? hating to do intervals? moldy Camelbak bladders? boring race courses? rude passers? numb toes? ugly race kits? chainsuck?

Here are some videos of various complaint choirs. And this one is a little livelier (though not by much) and has a verse about cycling in the beginning. So is this one, which has better people watching.

I thought it would be more fun to watch them than it really is - i'ts actually sorta boring, though funny in spots - it must be much better to sing your complaints than to watch. You can learn about other cultures, though, by watching the ones from other countries. Apparently people in Helsinki hide from the TV inspectors who come to check your TV license!

Check out the Nintendo Choir while you are at it.

Smoque BBQ

I got an email from an old racing teammate Nickie the other day. Her husband Mike (a former UCVC road racer) recently started a restaurant in Chicago called Smoque BBQ, and they are going to be on TV Monday night. She sounds pretty excited about it. It will be on the Food Network’s "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" show, on Monday, November 5, 9PM central.

Check it out if you like BBQ.