COURSE CHECK OUT... THE FIRST LOOK

When you've been doing this long enough...

 

Like back when cavemen and dinosaurs roamed the earth, you learn a few things...

 

#1.  If you are looking at the course before 1500+ stampeding racers get a chance to ride all over it... IT WILL CHANGE.

 

#2.  If you are looking at the course 3 days before your race and all those stampeding racers will pre-ride the course a bazillion times...  IT WILL CHANGE.

 

#3.  If you're in Madison WI and they are predicting a thaw and then the possibility of rain... IT WILL MOST CERTAINLY CHANGE.

 

So, why do a course check out at all... you may ask???

Well first of all...

 

CAUSE IT'S FREAKING THERE!!!!

 

But more importantly, even though the conditions of the course are changing... riding the course over and over again tattoos the various lines into your memory banks.  So when you're too tired to think... the auto pilot can kick in and you know which direction to steer the bike.

 

That may sound a little far fetched... but a course has a million different tiny variations that you can choose to ride.  Knowing how they change under various conditions and riding the same course several times, slowly burns those variations into your sub-conscious. 

 

See...  Some peanuts do have brains...  they may be tiny brains, but they are rattling around in the shell somewhere.

 

 



  

So, with that long winded preamble...

 

The course is 99% the same as last year with one tiny change. 

 

The change shoots us across a section of pavement before making a turn after a decent... rather than forcing us to make the turn on the pavement.  There were a ton of crashes on the pavement last year, due to wet muddy tires and the change in course was a good call.  Other than that... we are racing the same course. 

 

I liked the course last year... still like it this year.  

 

The course at the moment is for the most part, covered with hard packed snow.  It is slippery in spots but totally ride-able.

 

The big climb is covered in snow... but a strip of mud is starting to seep through and by Thursday I believe it could be covered in mud and if it gets cold enough to freeze at night, the million dollar question will be, when the pitch gets steep...can we ride it or will we have to run it?  

 

The big descents are for the most part covered in snow as well and those will most certainly be some variation of a mud or ice/mud slalom. 

 

Tomorrow morning, we will hop onto the course again before racing starts 9:30, to check out the course and get in our "pre-race work outs".  Then we'll stick around, watch some of the races and also watch to see what the course does after a bunch of racers tear around the course a few hundred times. 

 

No matter how you slice it... it's gonna be a wild few days of racing!!!

 

On a bit of a separate note... I promised to share a little bit about my roommates Tom and Paul.

 

Before we headed out for our course check out.. I poked my head in Paul's room... and was amazed at how tidy this guy is!!!

 

 

 Paul the Monk's Room 

 

 

Then there's Tom's room...

 

 

 

 

Tom... there are things called hangers!

 

 

 

And to be fair

 

 

 

Here's the Peanut's room with the infamous exploding bags!

 

Now... I am discovering a few things about Paul.  Aside from being super neat...  This guy wastes "no time"!  Not one second.

     

Here's his trip plan to Madison...

 

 

 

 

Here's the Peanut's trips plan to Madison

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So... guess who's not going to caravan together on the way home???? :)

 

That's it for tonight...

 

More tomorrow after the pre-ride and watching some races!

 

Peanut out! 

 

 

 

 

 

       





Day 2 On the Road to Madison and OUR ARRIVAL

I gotta say... 

We haven't even started racing and it's already an adventure!!!  Brother... it's gonna be a crazy week!!!

So, let me bring you up to speed!

Peanut here...

For those of you who don't know how the hell I got this silly nickname... it started last year back at Nationals....

Oh.... forget  how I got the name!!!!   My nickname is Peanut and that's, THAT!


My Teammate and constant traveling and racing companion in absensia...  That would be Flea...

In other words,  She is not with me at the moment... and Bigpit... her husband and the 2nd member of what has become my posse, he's also MIA!!!! 

Can you tell I'm not happy that they aren't here!!!

So that leaves me.. Peanut... just Peanut... alone, racing alone.

Well, not really, I'll have lots of company, but it's gonna feel wierd.       

Okay...  I must move on...

My bunk mates for the week will be Tom Stevens and Paul Curley.  I have known them both for years, traveled with Tom (my coach) overseas and all over the country, so we know each others habits well. 

I've never roomed with Paul, that should be fun... there are a million urban legends about the guy and I plan on finding out if a few are true...   Like, does he really sleep with that tiny little mirror???

Kay... Here's a quick recap of the past 24 hours

It's 4:00 pm and less than 1 hour ago I was bouncing along in the shotgun seat of the van while Tom tried to keep the van on all 4 wheels.

Tom drives like he races a bike.  The van whipping all over the road while he wiggles in his seat and flaps his long arms around... normally reaching for food or something else well out of reach.    Despite his enormous wing span... from the drivers seat, it is never safe to turn around while rocketing down the highway at 75 mph and try to locate doritos!!!

I have been taught not to alarm the driver... so as calmly as I can.... I'm screaming at the top of my lungs.... WTF!! LET ME GET THAT!!

Tom just hammers the brakes and says " no I got it'!  Ignoring the fact that we almost slammed into a 14 ton truck, hauling cargo with skulls and cross bones plastered all over it!!!

The weather today is mild for Wisconsin, a far cry from the blowing slush we drove for hours in last night.


So... things are going well...

Aside from almost tearing down a toll gate (totally my bad)...  Who puts a drop down gate in a high speed EZpass and has a green light over head... it's like a tease!!?   I never saw the gate and only saw the green light... it was Tom yelling that got me to slam on the brakes....  

It was a totally close call... and required a smoking lock up... and a load shift of immense proportions and an amazing swear combination (that's Tom's interesting combination of swear words when under high levels of stress).  Kinda makes up for his driving foo phaasss.... 

A narrow miss with food poisoning.... That's totally Tom's fault. 

I wasn't aware the proper  protocol prior to accepting food from Tom was to watch him sniff it first and then wait15 seconds to see if he tosses it out the window!  That's exactly what he did with his stuffed grape leaves, after he said "want one"... wagged a single grape leaf 1 inch from my face from a fork (as I'm driving)... and I say "sure", pop it into my mouth and proceed to focus on the traffic. 

Next thing I see out of the corner of my eye, is Tom sniffing his grape leaves and then rolling down the window and tossing a few out the window.  I ask him what's the deal?.. and he informs me that "stuff is growing on them"!   That's when I asked the fated question.   "Hey, when did you buy them?".   Answer... "a little over a week ago."

"ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!!?"  I yelled....  toss those damned things out, the last thing we need to do in come down with food poisoning!

He did see some wisdom in my logic and tossed the balance of the grape leaves....  I luckily, felt fine for the balance of the day.    

And staying in a hotel that doubled as a demolition zone (again... my bad).... Note to self:  When in Cleveland, it seems that it is necessary to inquire if the entire first floor is under renovation and covered in plastic sheeting when calling for room reservations.  Seems this information is not volunteered over the phone... they feel the free breakfast is the compelling reason you are staying there!!  

So... other than that, so far, it's been a relatively uneventful trip :) 

I will get some pictures loaded in the next day or so... for your entertainment pleasure...

Tomorrow, course check out!!

Peanut out.

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM... ROAD TO NATS

Before I get into it.... 

I want to take a moment to reflect on the Blue Steel Cross Team.  

What a awesome group of people... It truly has been my privilege to race with this talented group of athletes.

During the course of the season, we were very fortunate to add to our talent pool... with additions to both our men's and women's teams.

Collectively, we ended the season with in excess of 33 podium finishes... many of which I was not responsible for.   What an incredible accomplishment!

The reason I wanted to point out that most of the podium finishes were not my doing was simply because, one would expect that I should be carrying the team... since I'm wearing the World Jersey... right????  

Wrong!!!!

That wasn't the case.   Nope...  My teammates actually carried me!!!  The vast majority of those podium finishes were from the efforts of my teammates!!!  I was but a small contributor to what turned out to be a very dominating Blue Steel Cross Team. 

The fastest women on our team this year, from a very  humble and classy racer...Karen Tripp...  she simply tore it up this year!

And with regards to the men, I have to say that Andy Gould and Eric Carlson, consistently ranked in the top 3 in their fields... gathering several podium finishes under their collective skin suits.

Below is a not so aligned list of the podium places.  

So... Congrats to everyone, for a great season of racing.  You all did really, really well!!! 

2012 Season highlights:

Name         Place      race

Cathy R      3            Regional Champs

Andy G      3           Regional champs

Ronni V     1           Regional champs

Leah C      2           Regiona champs

Cathy R     3          Regional champs single speed

Karen  T    3          Baystate

Cathy R      3              Shedd park

Cathy R         1            Velo cross

Andy G          3             Velo cross

Ronni V          3            Velo cross

Eric C             1            Paradise

Karen T         2            Cycle smart

Kathy S          3            cycle smart

Cathy R         3            Orchard cross

Andy G          2             orchard cross

Ronni V         1             orchard cross

Sarah C         2             canton

Kathy S         1            downeast

Karen  T        2            downeast

Cathy R         3               minuteman

Eric   C             3                   minuteman

Karen            2              Providence

Kathy S         3                  Providence

Karen            1                  Providence day 1

Kathy S         2                gloucester

Karen T        3                 gloucester

Karen           1                gloucester

Kathy            3              gloucester

Eric C            1              White park

Karen            3              green mt

Karen             2             green mt

Eric c              2             bob cross

Kathy S          3             bob cross

Total 33 Podiums for cx!

Not to mention all the personal achievements and numerous top 10 finishes!

Road- Eric podiumed in Beverly, Andy at the Indoor TT

Mtb- Andy: 3rd at the Burlingame TT, 3rd at Endurorama New Jersey, 1st overall at 12 hours of Bradbury, 2nd at the Millstone Grind marathon distance, 1st at the Camden Enduro, 3rd at the Mt Snow Downhill race.

Karen- 3rd at willowdale

Ronni- 2nd at Pinnacle, 2nd at moody park

George - 3 at harding hill

Jim hall- 3 at harding hill

BTW... Getting on the podium is NO indication of how well you raced!  Some of my best and hardest fought races never resulted in a podium.  But it was still a great effort and a great race.

So... now that the regular season is done anyone who isn't going to Nationals or Worlds are now sitting back, drinking beer... and not even thinking about going out for a training ride... because frankly, it's too damned cold!  

Plus... they are doing what any reasonable person would be doing, they are busy recovering from close to 6 months of racing Cyclocross!!

Not me... Nope, not only do I still have 2 races to race.. these 2 races are what what my entire year has been focused on... HOW CRAZY IS THAT??!!!    


6 days before the National Championships... 29 days before the World Championships.  For me... this is what the entire year of training and racing boils down to... these 2 races.  

Talk about putting all your freaking eggs in a few baskets!!!

 





Yikes... don't drop that egg!!!



If anyone were to ask me at any point in the season, what's my goal? My answer would simply be... "To do as well as I possibly can at the National and World Championships."

Every training ride, every training hour, each of the close to 30 races we've raced in the regular Cross Season has been with these two goals in mind.

With that said... As I have eluded in my earlier comments, this past year of prep and racing hasn't been alone.  It's been with an awesome support system made up of teammates, close friends, family, The Blue Steel Crew, my coach Tom Stevens,  all our Blue Steel customers and all the folks I race with on the weekends.

This incredible group of people have helped me get ready for these 2 important races and without them, it would be damned impossible to get ready.

You have helped me stay mentally tough and made me want to continue to turn the pedals, even, when I didn't think I had the strength to go another second.  So... Thank you.

Someone asked me... which is harder...

Trying to win the jersey when you don't have it?  Or defending it?  

WOW... It's a 2 part answer... because I have been on both sides of that equation.

#1.  It's way easier trying to win the jersey when you don't have it... because you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.  

#2.  Defending is harder.  In a sense, you have a target on your back, you "feel" as if you have everything to lose and you don't want to give it up...

BUT... having answered the question... here's what my heart would tell you....

It's such a privilege to wear it... I am happy to bear the weight of trying to defend it... but in reality, the day of the race, it's no longer mine...  There is no Champion until the winner rolls across the line to claim what is rightly theirs...

So we all have to go out and race for the privilege of wearing it... be it for the first time or for another year.  

You can bank on one thing...  I will do everything in my power to do my very, very best... I am not afraid to suffer and I'm not afraid to do what I need to do, so let's keep our fingers crossed that everything goes well and I'll keep you posted on our adventures along the way.

Sadly the Flea (Karen) and Big Pit (Jeff)... won't be joining me on the first leg of the trip (Nationals... in Madison WI)... but they will be blogging from a unknown remote location... Hell knows where they will be at... but I bet my bib shorts it will be a lot warmer that MADISON WI.

They will be joining in on the second leg of the trip to the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS in Louisville KY, that's when the joint blogging with commence.

I am however going to be traveling with Tom my coach in the Blue Steel Van again... God only knows how that's going to turn out... my stomach is already churning in anticipation.  


I've decided I'm not going to tell my insurance company... it's best they not know!




So... with 3 day left before blast off... now's the time for final equipment check out!!

3 bikes and 4 sets of wheels... that should do it!



 











Can't forget my lucky Ice Weasels T-shirt!!!  I will wear this to bed before each Championship race!! 


 

















Colby knows that a trip is on the horizon and is already burying her bones in my bag... she doesn't know she's not going....  



Until later.... 


The Peanut Gallery

The Birth of Our Shop's Motto

A motto is a weird thing.  Particularly a bike shop or team motto...

It's not something you normally sit around and think about...

Sure, you could build a big ole bonfire... crack open a bunch of beers, invite your friends, teammates and best customers and try like hell to come up with some inspiring  "motto" for your shop... but at the end of the exercise... everyone will walk away feeling a little buzzed, smelling like smoke, and the list you all worked on got tossed in the bonfire hours ago out of frustration.

Nope... I believe inspiring motto's come from inspiring moments... some of those moments are good, some of the moments are down right awful.   

But sometimes... when you do hear words of inspiration in those moments... it's like getting hit in the face with a bucket of cold water!  You know those words  belong to you, if you want them.  But you better grab them and take them, before they slip away and become lost words. 

Lost words have never inspired anyone...

I want to share, the event and the moment in which our Shop and our Team's motto was born.

Blue Steel's Motto   - I am Blue Steel
 

  

So... here's how our Motto was born...

 

As a preamble... Anyone who has been in the sport of cycling long enough, recognizes that bike crashes are unfortunately part of our sport... we don't like them... actually, we hate them...

But when you put lots of racers on bikes, blow the whistle and then have them race towards a narrow opening... well, everyone goes for the "hole shot" and no one wants to back off and ... Sometimes as they say, "it doesn't go so well". 

So... from time to time, there's a crash. 

 

Some crashes aren't so bad... a few scrapes and cuts and everyone walks away...  With war stories that will cause your hair to stand on end.

 

Other crashes are awful.. They are the ones that leave riders on the ground with serious if not life threatening injuries.   Last weekend, one of my teammates, Kathy Gagnon, was involved in such an accident.. and thankfully she will be enjoying Thanksgiving Dinner with her family this year...

 

Her accident... actually, her email exchange with me... inspired our Shop's Motto... and that's what I want to share with you..    

 

This is the email I sent to the Blue Steel Cyclery Team... after her accident.... 

 

Many of you may know... many of you may not,

I have gotten several concerning calls and emails, and I think Kathy would be okay with my sending out an email with her status...

Kathy Gagnon was involved in a pretty serious bike crash this past Sunday, during a Cross race.

Good news... she can wiggle all her fingers and toes and she's willing, able and is quite freely swearing like a sailor about how she's feeling... which isn't great! Candidly... I don't blame her one damned bit!! She's pretty beat up!!

That's the bad news... she's hurting like hell, feeling like crap and it's still unclear what the full scope of what her injuries are until she see's a few other docs. The soft tissue damage is still unclear at this juncture.

Apparently the crash happened 30 seconds after the start, speeds were high... Someone in the back of the group got crossed up with someone else... you know how it goes. Then someone else, hooked into Kathy. As I understand, the hook caused Kathy's wheel to turn and that was enough to shoot her over the handlebars.

She landed hard on her head, neck, right shoulder and right hand...

Due to the type of hit and potential injuries, she was placed on a backboard and taken by ambulance to the hospital where she stayed on the backboard for close to 4 hours, until they were sure there were no neck and back injuries ... thank God it wasn't as bad as it could have been!

We all play hard... we all know the risk of riding and racing, but none of us... Not one of us, likes to see anyone get hurt. Particularly one of our own!!!

Thanks to everyone for your concerns and I will let her know you have been asking about her...

She's tough! She's got spirit... she's Blue Steel... she'll be back at it before you know it.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

 

This is Kathy Gagnon's email back to me and the Team.....

 

Thank you Kathy! With my writing hand not working so well text and emails are quite short today. Thank you all for your thoughts and kind words. And, as Kathy said Yes I am Blue Steel and will be back before you know it!

Kathy's simple statement "I am Blue Steel"... was my bucket of cold water.  Those words inspired me. 

At that moment, I realized that every one who wears our kit, walks in the shop, supports a racer, buys a pack of GU, employees, customers, friends and pets... can answer when asked "who are you"?  We are part of a big family... we are there for each other...

I am Blue Steel!

 

Something that "say's it all", in one simple phrase. 

So...

We just happen to be in need of reprinting our Shop t-shirts and guess what... that motto will be in bold on the back of them!

When we reprint our uniforms... that motto will be on our uniforms!

Going forward, this motto will be part of who Blue Steel Cyclery is...  we are more than just a business... we are part of the community, we are team, we are family.

Yes... and proudly... I am Blue Steel!

Thank you Kathy Gagnon, for helping to inspire me... heal fast!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

 

Racing In Moop

If you race Cyclocross long enough, you'll discover tons of things... 

But when you focus your sights, specifically on the Cyclocross courses, you'll notice 2 things in particular 

* No two courses  are exactly the same (even if the venue is the same for both days...)
* Weather conditions are a huge variable to any course

With that said...

Year in and year out, certain races become a tradition... to name a few

Gloucester
Providence
New Gloucester, Me
North Hampton


Some courses are traditionally dry,  some courses are traditionally flat and fast... Some courses are known for their mud, some courses are very technical, and some courses (like the one we raced on last weekend in Maine)... are known for their MOOP!

What the hell is MOOP????

HAH!!!  Funny that you ask!!!  Cause I'm going to enlighten you... with pictures even!!! 


First... we'll start with a cow field...   In Maine.

Actually... that's not accurate... let's add more cows....










That's better....



And then... let's factor in the first thing that cows do...






















As we all know... what goes in at the front end must come out at the business end...
 
This shot wasn't an easy one to get SPORTS FANS!!! 




















This is a single serving size.....


















Now..... when you add in  a bunch of these guys....










a bunch of these  
















Aaaaaannnnd

And a metric crap load of rain the night before the race!

























Hey Peanut... I have a question for you, what's all the rain doing to the cow fields? 





Answer! Turning it into MOOP!
















Translation of Moop is - Equal parts of Mud and Cow Poop!


This is what happens when things don't go well in Moop













This dude hit something buried in moop that broke his frame in 2 places... he was lucky to walk away with no injuries!










 




But this is what you got if you did really well...  Pie for 1st place!!! What a great award!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All in all, racing in moop is like racing on any other course... you and your stuff just smells a little funkier!

 

Only in Cyclocross!!  Gotta love it!

 

With the Cross season well on it's way, I feel the need to send a very special shout out to all the race promoters and course builders and volunteers, for all the time they put in to putting on these great events.  It's certainly not for the money... God knows they break even at best.  It's purely for the love of the sport.  You all do a wonderful job.  Thanks for all of your efforts!

 

Many, many thanks!

 

 

 

Have fun out there

Ride Safe!!

Talk with you soon

The Peanut Gallery

 

MTB & CX What's the Deal!

First of all I want to thank Kathy for asking me to write in the most prestigious of literary publications as a guest writer. It's probably due to it being the heart of her race season and she's busy riding and training.

(Peanut here... Uhhhh... not true!!!  I asked the Ride Bully to write this blog cause he's a damned fine writer and I know you guys get sick of hearing from just me)

Just after Kathy and Karen tore it up at Gloucester I had a short conversation that asked the question. "Why don't more mountain bike guys race cross"? Kathy responded with a perplexed "I don't know, but they should".

So when in doubt, write it out.

First a little background on me. My first passion has been riding mountain bikes, and I've been doing it since 1994. I liked it so much I decided to get a job at a shop in Mass to support my addiction. I've been riding ever since and currently enjoy road, cross, and mountain. Bottom line I'm attracted to the simplicity, complexity, technology, adventure, adrenaline, competition, challenge, and personalities of the sport of cycling. I'm not a mountain biker or roadie, nor am I a cross guy. For all intensive purposes I'm just a cyclist.

So what keeps the masses from crossing over from the dirt to the dirt? Did that make sense? No!

So what's the deal!

The two sports seem almost interchangeable. 

Both sports are primarily done off road in sometimes adverse conditions, both sports require power and technical bike handling ability, and both sports require a bicycle! (OK so that last one was a bit obvious) Seriously though if you're a MTB racer and just need to get your weekend fix of racing then cross may be the perfect fit.

Sure the cyclocross races are shorter but you've got to be on the gas for the full 40 - 45 minutes. If you're not on the gas you're last! Silly you say? Check the popularity numbers, The typical New England race has 80 to 125 participants per racer category, and guess what, they're all racing at once. This would be the equivalent of sending off the full Elite/Expert/SingleSpeed  mountain bike fields all at once every Sunday. The larger races will see upwards of 1000 racers per day.

Like a mountain bike race no two venues are the same. There's power, technical, and hilly type courses. Like mountain bike racing the equipment is insane except lots of folks bring with them a spare set of carbon wheels, or even a spare bike that they leave in the pit just in case of a mishap.



It's spectator friendly! Bring the family along. Most laps are 6-8 minutes in length and there are plenty of great crashes to be witnessed. Many races take place at a park or school. So more often than not there is something for the little ones to keep them occupied.

And just how many mountain bike races do you know of that have a beer tent on location?
So what's the deal? What's not to love? I have lots of bikes in the stable at home and while they may not all be the top of the line full XTR/Red/Record components. They are all fun to ride and race with your buddies and teammates. If you haven't given CX a try then you don't know what you've been missing.
Here's a short list for all you MTB guys of the Top 5 reasons why you should try a CX race.

1. You enjoy massive quantities of pain delivered all at once.

2. You've run out of quality MTB races for the season.

3. With shorter days you're looking to extend your season of fitness.
4. You want to see if you can beat Andy Gould at something  bike racing related.


5. You love to race bikes, hang with your buddies, and have frosty libations at a most festive environment surrounded by many like minded  bike folk.

For those of you hot shot mountain bike racers reading this saying "but I don't have a CX bike" you're in luck cause you can race your MTN bike! So come on out and let's see what all you fat tire folks can do!

 




















Hey do you see what this thing does to my fur!?...   Someone buy me a Cross Bike!


Sincerely,
The Ride Bully

My sincere thanks to the Ride Bully, for taking the time as a guest  writer to our Blog... nice job.!!!

The Peanut Gallery 

MUD, BLOOD AND COW BELLS

OK... I have a small confession to make.

Before I went to bed last Friday night... after I made a few apologies and said a extra few Hail Marys for excessive swearing...  I asked God for a huge favor.

I asked for rain in Gloucester...  Now, I didn't ask for "rain in general"... I specifically wanted it to rain during "MY" races... And let me tell you,  I GOT WHAT I ASKED FOR..

 























 Ummm... where's my bike????  The last time I was on it, was in the off camber section....


It freaking poured.... ALLLLLLLLLLL WEEEEEEEEKEEEEEEEEEND!

Now... despite popular opinion... I'm not a crazy person.

I don't particularly like the rain... you know, those soggy conditions that turn a comfortable pair of bib shorts into a wet diaper that doubles as a sling shot, that will catapult you over the handle bars and into outer space, if you mistakenly hook your shorts on the saddle (like I did in the 2nd lap), during your flying remount.... 

Wanna watch me fly???  Just wait until I do my flying bicycle remount in my soggy shorts!



For the record... I don't feel any particular attachment to the shoe sucking mud either.  It's two faced...  as soon as you get comfortable it will quickly rip you off your bike the second you think "you've got this corner".  Now that I'm thinking about it... I'm not "attracted", to the sponge like... wheel grabbing grass fields that seem to have magnets straight from hell, much either..






















This is my evil devil cat... we are going to grab your wheels and suck you into hell with us!!!


It's like the Klingons and their damned tractor beam... Draining every ounce of energy from your aching legs. 

Hey... turn the tractor beam up... Their race hasn't hit the appropriate "SUCK  FACTOR" yet.

Ahhh... Yes, now the "SUCK factor" is at the appropriate levels...  "Cho oy plvlob"



Nope... I don't particularly care for any of it...



BUT... here's the deal!

I KNOW MOST OF MY COMPETITORS WOKE UP TO THE PITTER PATTER OF RAIN DROPS, THEY WERE TOTALLY HATING THE CONDITIONS ... even more important... I know they're afraid of what the rain is doing to the course!!!

So.... A long time ago I made a decision.  I decided to take the totally opposite perspective on things... I have turned the foul weather into my absolute best friend.  It is something I hope, pray and yes, even dream for... because it is my greatest ally.

If you want to get good... Really good at the sport of Cyclocross, you better make the weather your friend, not your enemy.  

Anyone can race well in dry conditions.... but dry conditions are never a guarantee and guess what, being a winter sport, dry conditions are only temporary.

YOU DON'T want the weather to be the variable that leaves you flopping around on the side of a muddy off camber corner, like a fish that just fell out of its' bowl. 

  














Crap!!!  How do I get back in the bowl!!!

So... what do you do??

Welp... 4 things immediately come to mind

1.  Start doubling up when you pack (at least 2 sets of everything).  If it rains, you'll want to get out of the wet stuff after your pre-ride, to race in a dry kit.   Starting a race in a dry kit, is good both physically and mentally.

2.  Next time it rains or snows... grab your cross bike and go play in it!
 
If you don't train in it... you can't expect to race well in it.

If you don't practice in it, how can you ever expect to ride well in it, never mind race well in it... right????

  
3.  "As a general rule"... when the weather goes south...  if you race on tubulars... your tire pressure should go south as well.  The slicker the conditions the softer the tire pressure for better traction.  But always pre-ride the tire pressure you adjust to, and make sure you're good with any change you've made.


4.  If you complain about the weather when it's nasty...  Odds are, I've already beaten you... and we haven't even raced yet.

I realize I have an attitude problem... but you would too with mud up your your nose!!

What goes on in your head has a huge impact on how it translates into "performance on the bike".  Don't kill your race before you even roll to the line.



Since you're going to race in it anyway... learn to love it.  If not love it... then at least, make a deal to make friends with it vs. making an enemy out of it.



So...  

As you roll to the line in the pouring rain, snow... whatever mother nature is tossing your way....  Embrace it!!!   

Once the whistle blows, you will forget the weather... all you will hear are the shouts from friends and family, and the ringing of cowbells.

And afterwards... as you're hosing mud and yes, even a little blood off your legs... you might surprise yourself.  You might find that you are silently  wishing for rain next weekend...

  

This is what happens when you make mud, blood and cowbells your friend!


Our next Blog will be a week early, because we have a guest writer, the Ride Bully who I am proud to say, is also my Blue Steel Teammate... so be sure to continue to  check in, for what I know will be a good read. See you next Friday....

Have fun out there

Ride Safe!!

Talk with you soon

The Peanut Gallery