for me. The pain and swelling in my wrist is to much. It has gotten worse everyday this week. X-rays show no breaks (that’s good) but I still can’t do shit with my right hand. I tried riding with it all braced and taped but I can’t hold onto the handle bars. I have no strength in my grip. I think working Mon-wed was a bad idea. I’m really bummed out I can’t rock it this weekend. This sucks. See you guys out there.
cj

Cross in New York Times. Toronto

Cyclocross: Mud, Sweat and Gears in MN

Cyclocross Is Colorful. Mud-Colored, That Is – PORTLAND

The infamous  Hollywood in the background

A: 7640 NW Tiffany Springs Pkwy, Kansas City, MO 64153-2304

1: Start out going SOUTHWEST on NW TIFFANY SPRINGS PKWY toward N AMBASSADOR DR/N EXECUTIVE HILLS BLVD/NW AMBASSADOR DR. 0.2 mi 2: Merge onto I-29 S/US-71 S via the ramp on the LEFT. 6.5 mi 3: Merge onto I-635 S via EXIT 3B toward KANSAS (Crossing into KANSAS). 12.6 mi 4: I-635 S becomes US-69 S/METCALF AVE. 1.2 mi 5: Turn SLIGHT RIGHT toward JOHNSON DR. 0.0 mi 6: Turn SLIGHT RIGHT onto METCALF LN. 0.1 mi 7: Turn LEFT onto JOHNSON DR. 0.8 mi 8: End at 5909 Johnson Dr Mission, KS 66202-3330

B: 5909 Johnson Dr, Mission, KS 66202-3330

Total Time: 25 minutesTotal Distance: 21.38 miles

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that LARPD (PDF alert) is the best local series that no one goes to. All the races are at the Robertson Park rodeo grounds and the organizers did an amazing job of cramming an incredible amount of racing into such a small space. This weekend’s course started by going up and down a sloping staging area a few times before winding through the main arena and all of the side paddocks, and also had a few nice run-ups, a short off-camber section and a quad barrier. The whole thing was twisty and technical but super fun. The last lap was rough; the legs were on the verge of cramping up something vicious, but I was able to stick it out for 7th out of 17 finishers in the Bs. I have a feeling that the sparse attendance was due to the NCNCA Cup doubleheader out in Reno and Sacramento, but still . . . even with an extra 10-15 riders, the field would still be relatively small compared to other local series. If you are reading this and you are from the Bay Area and have not made it out to a round of LARPD yet, get out there and have at it before the season is over. It’s fun as hell, they need the support AND they have a long season (9 races this year) that starts EARLY – their first series race was on September 6!

(photo courtesy of liveplayride – more pics here)

- Nick in SF

from http://www.silversone.blogspot.com/

Buy them from Frank Rowe

This race is usually a full-on roadie course with a ton of double track and dirt roads…today changed the race completely. It was full-on muddy and dicey..in spots were you could usually rail it, you had to hold on tight or get thrown into a tree from loosing control in the mud. I got a good start and hit the first climb and the tires totally sucked today..the Challenge Grifos are not a good mud tire. I spun out on the climb and had to run it 1/2 way every lap…I was rolling solo for a couple laps, which totally sucks and then I caught John from Great Plains and the race was on. He would gap me on the hill because he could ride it and I would chase like mad through the muddy corners and catch back on…with 1 lap to go I attacked before the climb and he caught me on the climb and I chased again and attacked him on the next climb and was gone…I caught Little Guy by surprise and then caught his teammate Jake by surprise..Jake road smart and came off my wheel for the sprint.. I ended up 8th overall and 1st in 35+.

What do you recommend for a good tubular in mud?

J-rock summed it up pretty well. I got the best start I’ve had all year. I wanted to settle in and stay with the group I was with, but the legs were as flat as could be. No pop in them what so ever. I let alot of gaps open up and was unable to close any. I crashed pretty hard and was I was pretty pissed with Paul at the time cause it looked like he just turned across my front wheel for no reason when I was passing him. Turns out he clipped a pedal and it kicked his bike sideways just as I was coming up next to him. I should have known better. Paul is an A+ dude and a really good friend who kicked some serious ass yesterday. Rubbing is racing, way to throw down old man. It was alot of fun when Jared, Guy, and myself were all lined up rockin it. I wanted to do all the work and let those guys stay rested for the last couple of laps, but it was all I could do to hang with them. Enough whining, the course was one of the best I’ve seen all year and H-wood did some MCing. What more could you ask for on a beautiful Sat afternoon.
cj

34 cold and wet….it was fun racing up at the velodrome…the course was twisty, turny, off-camber crossy…the field was bigger because it was “in town”. I got a great start, sitting in 4th, but the fast guys went by soon after and I waited for my legs to open up…it took awhile. I finally got into a group with 3 crossniacs: CJ, Guy and myself. It was cool riding together and taking turns on the front. We were then caught by Paul (45+ superstar)….We sent CJ off the front, but Paul quickly chased it down and threw down some crazy speed breaking up our group. Guy was cracked and I chased…CJ, Paul and I were now in a group and in the off-camber section CJ and Paul “rubbed” and CJ went down..I hopped on Paul’s wheel and held on – he was flying. We caught Jake from Specialized and the laps counted down. 1/2 lap to go and I was ready for a sprint finish…but I made a mistake and clipped a barrier with my front wheel and the gap opened and I couldn’t close it. I ended up 5th in 35+, 15th overall. 2 more races left in MN.

Cool pics of the race at BikeThrow from Frye

Wah

buy the pics from Frank Rowe

34 degrees with strong wind & snow/sleet mix – very crossy.  The course was mostly flat with 3 sets of barriers & a couple technical sections – including a section inside the velodrome.  During warm-up I caught a wheel on a barrier and crashed hard.  It reminded me how cross seems to be about maintaining a good rhythm.  I got a good start, but couldn’t match pace with the top riders.  I can see that Ladric’s with them – so that’s cool.  I ended up getting isolated between the top group & the chasers.  Normally that wouldn’t be so bad, but the wind made it hard to maintain pace on certain sections.  A Ridley rider caught me with a few laps to go & we stayed together for the rest of the race.  I led for a while, but it required a big effort & I couldn’t shake him.  He was faster over the barriers, but I seemed stronger on the technical sections.  He passed me with 1 lap to go, so I decided to sit on his wheel & wait for my opportunity.  I rode up next to him on technical sections just to remind him that I was still there.  He got a gap on me over the last set of barriers, but I closed it on down-wind section.  I thought I could out sprint him, so I got tight on his wheel for the up-wind section.  I took a fast inside line on the last corner then stood up and hit it as hard I as I could.  I pulled even with about 10 meters to go & took the sprint by ½ a wheel.  We shook hands in the parking lot.  Pretty cool day of racing.

Eric S