Devil's Backbone Mountain Cross (like Ironcross but better)

Let me start by stating that things did not go well. I was sick and in no condition to race but that was OK because the event promoter was clear that this was not a race, it was a ride. That went out the window when J. Bishop and some other local cat1/2 guys showed up. Being that I was just recovering from a miserable cold I was on a mission to Ride with Steve B. and just try to enjoy a bike ride on 62 miles of back-country gravel roads. Steve agreed with this idea because he wanted to destress from his week of tests at IUP. The ride started off with a killer hill (Steve told me it was 2000 ft elevation gain in 2 miles but I don't have a GPS so how would I know but it was tough). This first hill was all on a paved road. Upon reaching the top the road turned to gravel and we were treated to a hair raising descent that left several riders thrown into the woods and at least one with a broken frame. We managed our way through 23 miles of gravel and then the almost unthinkable happened. Steve's pedal stripped completely out of his crankset. Try as we might there was no fixing this one. With no way to continue Steve had to stop and I decided to abandon with him so he wouldn't be stuck waiting around for hours for me to finish. We got a ride back to the start area and got cleaned up.
The day ended in disappointment because we didn't get to finish but it was still alot of fun. I'm going back next year to try and race this thing. It was like Ironcross but better. Don't ask me to explain that statement because I don't think I can other than saying I'd rather do huge climbs on gravel roads than moderate climbs on single track. The two races have alot in common and one is great practice for the other. I can't wait for Ironcross(coming next month) and I can wait to give Devil's Backbone another try. Next time I'm in it to win it;)

Racing into shape

The phrase "racing into shape" just never made much sense to me when used to describe how Grand Tour riders would show up for the event slightly under trained and get faster over the course of the event.
Well,.................I guess I was wrong. This summer I've done more racing than ever before between weekend races, Tuesday night races in Shippensburg, and Thursday night time trials with YBR. Throw in a few more YBR/Ship/South Mountain smackdown races and I've been racing about 3 times a week all summer. It's great because on days when I don't race I don't have to worry about intervals because I'm just doing recovery rides.
The only reason I'm thinking about this is because after a killer Tour de LaTonka over the weekend and a hard ride with Sean yesterday I was going to take today off to get caught up with some stuff around the house. I ended up deciding at the last minute to go to the Shippensburg race and ended up winning the sprint even though I thought I was too tired and should have stayed home. Just goes to show you how much I really don't know. Suprise, Suprise!

YBR TT new PR tonight

I set a new PR tonight at the YBR Thursday night TT. 23:01, almost started and U23 club. Conditions were perfect and I think I could have done it if I had a cassette with an 11 tooth cassette because there were parts of the course that I just ran out of gears:( Looks like I may be getting faster after all. Hopefully the good times will continue.
Ironcross VII is quickly approaching! Registration opened Saturday and it'll be here before we know it. So clear the weekend of October 10-11 and get ready for a party at my place. Also, it's time to get your cross bike to the shop for any work that needs done and don't wait until the last minute. The first cross race of the season was last weekend in NJ so it'll soon be in full swing:)

Tour of Lancaster Day 2, TT and Crit

Day 2 started with a 10 mile ITT on a mostly flat course. It was a torrential downpour and I'm sure it affected the final results. Some riders got lucky and no rain, some (like me) got intermittent rain, and some got hurricane like rain and winds.
I ended up winning my TT and so did Steve. On the back stretch I went off of the road once just because I wasn't really paying attention. Then on the return on Snake Rd I almost wrecked in the first corner because I was carrying too much speed. That really was a difficult road in the rain (lots of turns).
Things started to dry out for the Cat 5 crit and Steve managed to stay safe in the pack for a good finish and 5th place on GC.
I was really tired and wanted to go home but decided to stay and do the crit simply because I had already paid for it and the weather was getting really nice so the course was completely dry. I'm glad I stayed. I hovered around the back of the group for the first half of the race and then moved up to about the front 1/3 of the group. From there things were status quo until the bell lap (that's when all Hell broke loose). We took the first left hand turn3 wide and I was on the outside line. The inside guy didn't hold his line causing the middle guy to jerk his front wheel to avoid him. This sent the middle guy towards me but I was leaned hard into my turn and I wasn't moving for anyone. He ended up smashing his face off of my shoulder and then wrecking. I got bumped a little off of my line and I was skirting the edge of the road so rather than trying to save it and catching the edge of the road and possibly wrecking I decided to do some cyclocross action through the field and then rejoin the group. Problem with this was that it relegated me to the back of the pack and with only 1/2 lap to go I just sat in and rode to the finish. Then on the final corner there was one final wreck involving a couple riders in the top 5-10 positions. Who says the front is always the safe place to be? I went looking for the guy who wrecked into me to make sure he was OK but I couldn't find him so apparently he got up and walked away.
I ended up tied for 10th place on GC. Only 2 points from 8th place (and in the money). Who knows, if I hadn't been bumped off the course and to the back of the pack on the final lap I may have got those points. I would have only needed a 18th place finish for 2 points. Oh well, it was a great time and I learned alot.

Thanks to Steve for coming over to race with me.
Very special thanks to Hanna (Steve's wife) for coming to cheer and for taking some wonderful photos.

Tour de Lancaster RR

It was 5 10 mile laps. 1 climb of significance per lap. 50 starters. My goal: not to get shelled out the back:). The race started out pretty easy and a few riders broke away. I'm in this thing for the whole weekend and not just the RR so I decided to stay in the pack and not do anything crazy. Things started to heat up a little and the speed picked up but a strange thing happened. I was still with the group and actually feeling pretty good. The fourth lap started really fast and when we hit the climb I had to go hard just to stay with the group and I was the last person to make the junction and not get dropped (another plus). Another group of riders broke away on that lap and I spent the rest of my lap working my way back to the front. I finally got near the front when we arrived on the flat section prior to the big climb for the final time. I was talking with a guy from one of the larger teams at the race and we decided that there were already too many people off the front to pick up all of the points from the stage so a group of us decided since there was no time cut off and no points to be gained we would just soft pedal it to the finish and prepare to come out fighting again on Sunday at the TT. Steve Brewer was also at the race and finished 16th place in the cat. 5 race, Great Job! I ended up finishing 34th position. I could have done better if I had killed myself to the finish but still wouldn't have got any points. I'm happy I was able to ride with the pack and not get shelled as I normally do so I am making progression. Now we'll just have to wait and see how Sunday goes with a morning TT and afternoon crit scheduled.