Frisco Cyclocross

The Frisco cyclocross race has dealt me some bad luck in the past. Last time I raced there, I burped the air out of my tubeless tires. Before that, I dropped my chain (behind a chain keeper) and got passed by the entire race as struggled to get it back on. Friday I felt like the Frisco bad luck was starting early as I went on an easy ride to blow the cobwebs off some wheels I hadn't used yet this year. My "easy" workout got derailed when I shifted my chain into the spokes and got it jammed behind the cassette. I ended up walking to the bike shop, carrying my bike. Not exactly the prerace workout I was looking for. The fun continued at the hotel in Frisco. Someone checked into the room next to us at 3AM. Every one of their many trips back from the car, our puppy got up and barked. It was his first night in a hotel, and every little noise was something new and startling. You couldn't ask for better weather on race day. During warmups I had on some warmer clothes, but by race time I was comfortable in shorts. This was the first race in the Cross Cup series. All that really means for me is that the points I earned last week meant nothing and I'd still get no callup. I started in about the 5th row this time. The race starts with a long climb and right away my legs felt soft. I don't know if it was fatigue from training or lack of sleep, but I didn't fly up that thing like I had hoped to. I tried to be aggressive on the first lap and make some passing attempts, but it seemed like most of them got shut down and I ended up having to grab a lot of brake at the last minute. Slowly but surely I picked my way through the crowd, trying to make smart passes and flow through course. Altitude was tiring, and I nearly blew up every time we hit the long climb on the course. Bike handling gets even more difficult when you're that far into the red, but I kept it upright the whole race. For the last half lap I had someone in my sights that I wanted to chase down. He had passed me earlier and I could see he was running out of gas (but so was I). Going into the last corner, he slipped a bit and had to pull his foot out of the pedal. That allowed me to get a bit close and we sprinted for the line. I'm not used to sprinting at the end of a cyclocross race, and it was pretty fun. I managed to take him by maybe a bike length for 10th place. Another step in the right direction. Next up - The New Belgium Cup.

Cyclocross at Xilinx

I haven't pinned on a race number since sometime last spring, but my racing hiatus came to an end in Longmont today. It was my first race of the cyclocross season and my first race in a new category. Having just come off a long vacation, I wasn't expecting much from the legs. I just wanted to get out there and remind my body what it's like to race. I didn't have any points this season, so I was stuck starting in the 5th or 6th row. It could have been worse, though. We probably had close to 100 racers, so I was starting somewhere the middle of the pack. The normal 1st lap chaos ensued, but I was a little surprised at what gave people trouble. The group got really bunched up as we had to come off the pavement over a curb. I ended up getting off my bike and running because it was just faster. After that, things settled down quite a bit. I mostly just rode within my limits and tried not to go into the red too much. The course was loose in spots, but overall not too technical. It was good practice for me, and I felt like I rode a lot of stuff faster than I would have in the past. I started to fade at the end of the race, which is about what I expected after having a bunch of time off the bike. I found myself on the back of a group of 5 going into the last set of barriers. It was a short distance from there to the uphill finish, and I felt confident that I could out sprint some of those guys. Unfortunately the guy in front of me decided he was done racing, sat up, took a bizarre line into the barriers, and gapped me from that group. Damn. Bummer of a way to end that race, but overall it went pretty well. I finished 19th.

Back in the saddle

Back from vacation, it's time get on with the riding. Early on this year, I kind of figured that I wouldn't do as much cyclocross racing this year as last year. So far, I think I'm right. The long vacation has kind of gotten me out of the training groove. But cyclocross is fun regardless of your fitness level. Unlike a criterium, where getting dropped in the first lap means your race is over, in a 'cross race you're still out there having a good time by yourself.

My race start time wasn't until 4PM so I had plenty of time to sleep in before heading out to a new venue in Allenspark. The course had all sorts of technical features that made it a challenge for a slacker like me. It wasn't "scary" technical, but "fun" technical. I wish I had a course like that to practice on near home. I'm sure it exists, I just need to find it.

Since I missed the only points race of the season so far, I wasn't getting a call-up to the start line. It's probably better that way, since I'm feeling kind of slow. Instead, I pretty much started at the back and took it easy for the first lap. After that, I hit the gas, and started having some fun. I had a couple mechanical issues - dropped chain, pedal issues, and a front derailleur that wasn't adjust right, but whatever. Not sure where I finished, but I had a good time. Fun to have some teammates on the sidelines cheering/heckling.

Green Mountain Sports CX #1

Time for another race season. My season opener this year, as it was last year, was the Green Mountain Sports CX in Golden.

I started the day out by working as an official. This is a new thing for me. For the past few years, I've wanted to do some officiating and I finally made the time to take the test this spring. Why would I want to do such a thankless job? I feel like it's a good chance for me to do something to support the sport besides just showing up in lycra. I don't know how to balance racing and officiating just yet, but I'm giving it a try.

There are some racers who understand the officials and the thankless work they do, and there are those that don't. The latter should spend some time with the officials some day so they can learn to not be such pricks. (Thankfully, that's a small number of racers.) On the flip-side, I wish all officials would suit up and do some racing. There are things that may not be apparent to a non-racing official but may be obvious if they saw things from the other side of the scorers table. In the end, I think our officials do a fantastic job day-in and day-out and we wouldn't be able to have safe and fair competition without them.

A little side note about appreciative racers: I've volunteered at a few CX races before and now worked as an official, and generally you'll get some "thank you's" from participants. It's much appreciated. Yesterday as he crossed the finish line after an hour long suffer-fest, Aaron Bouplon used some precious breaths to thank the officials. I don't know Boops, but he always seems super nice at the races and really appreciates being able to race. I've heard him share his thanks on many occasions, and it's a really nice gesture.

On to the race. I took off my officiating hat, put on my lycra, and set out on the course for some warmup laps. In record high heat (90+), I don't know if "warmup" is the right term. I usually like to take a couple laps a low speed and then do some stuff at race pace to pick my lines and open up my legs. I just couldn't seem to get my engine to turn over in the heat. I was a little drained from being out in the sun all day (oh, and an Ommegang brewmaster's dinner the night before didn't help).

They used last years results to do call-ups, so I actually got the front row. My plan was to just settle in mid pack the first couple laps and then find some motivation to "race".

It's a tricky course for me - really loose and bumpy. I wish I could find something near-by to practice corning in loose dirt like that because I know I was going way too slow for a lot of sections. In addition to the loosyness, good passing sections were also limited. That made it really easy for me to get complacent, sit on someone's wheel for a while and recover until there was a good place for me to pass.

I was really unmotivated to race until someone near the start/finish was trying to encourage his friend to drop me. Then he had to go and say the Velonews magazine (my team) sucked. I decided that was good time to start going hard and I put at least 30 seconds into that dude that lap. Sometimes it's all about finding a reason to go hard. :)

I finished in the top 15, which surprised me. I'm on racing hiatus until mid-October. I probably won't be that fit, and I probably wont be that motivated to train, but I still hope to get out there and dominate the mid-pack. :)

Notes on how to attend and organize a world class CX race

While we were in Prague, it was announced that the 2013 World Cyclocross Championships would be held in Louisville, Kentucky. Since I now have experience at both World Cup and World Championship races, I expect that the organizing committee will be contacting me regarding my consulting fees.

Here are some notes on necessary items for both spectators and organizers:

Prague - Part 3: Cyclocross Elite World Championships

Sunday was the big show: The 2010 World Championships of Cyclocross. I’ve never been to a world championship anything, so this was all pretty exciting. We got to Tabor early so we could make sure we got to catch the Elite Women’s race at 11. I guess the Euro’s aren’t all the into watching the women race, because they crowd was actually smaller than it was for the U23 race. Surprising. On our way into the race area, we stopped at a nearby grocery store and picked up some beers. When in Rome…

Prague - Part 2: Junior and U23 Cyclocross Worlds

Saturday morning came around and we didn’t really have anything planned so we drove down to Tabor to check out the Cyclocross Worlds course. I’m glad we went down before the “big show” on Sunday because it gave us a chance to figure out how to get there, where to park, and where some good viewing points were located. We also got to watch Fort Collins’ own Skyler Trujillo race in the Junior’s race. It’s cool to have someone local to cheer for at a big event like that.

Skyler Trujillo racing at Junior Worlds

The Spoils of Victory

I did well enough in a 3-race cyclocross series last season to actually win 1st place overall. File under "better late then never", I got my prizes this week. Some of it's kind of amusing to me:

• Optic Nerve T-Shirt (Large) - I'm barely big enough for a medium these days. I swim in a large.


• Pearl Izumi Leg Warmers (Extra Large) - I could fit both legs into one of these things.


• 8 Honey Stingers (2 of them expired) - Somebody clearly needed to clean out the bike shop.


• Dale's Pale Ale socks (XL) - Again with the stuff that's too big. Maybe they're sending me a message to bulk up.


• Gift Certificate $30 I have no idea what this gift certificate is good for. There's no name on it. (Update - I found it it's for Green Mountain Sports bike shop. I'm sure I can find something to spend $30 on at a bike shop.)


• White Lightning Epic Ride lube - Not a fan of White Lightening in the past. Maybe I'll give this new stuff a try when I'm already planning on doing a drivetrain clean.


• 3 12oz bags of Kinetic Koffee - I don't drink coffee. But I know enough that do that this will find a good home.


• Optic Nerve "Revolt" Sunglasses - Revolt...they're not kidding.


• Sock Guy Socks (S) - Hey, I think I can wear these.


• Gold Cow Bell - The real crowning achievement of my 2009 season.


But hey, it's fun to win stuff. Before this, the only thing I've ever won from a race was a pair of socks. I hope this doesn't make me loose my "amateur" status. I'm really hoping to back my way onto the Olympic curling team.

January 'cross fix

Just when you thought cyclocross season was over, another one sneaks on in. Local junior racer Skyler Trujillo was selected to represent the United States in the World Cyclocross championships later this month. Unsurprisingly, USA Cycling doesn't do much to offset the costs so a fundraiser was held yesterday to raise some money. Getting to the Czech Republic ain't cheap.

One of the great things about this race is that it was done with little notice so nobody was in race shape. Most people had to dig their bikes out of cryogenic storage and make sure everything still functioned before they could even ride. It was fun to have people out there pretty much messing around on their bikes.

It wasn't a super large affair with only 10-15 racers in most classes. I was happy to see 7 more of my Blue Sky teammates made the drive up to Fort Collins to contribute to the cause. In my race, Blue Sky was off the front immediately. I swear Bill and Rob have been doing some secret training. I got caught up behind a couple early crashes, but I was having a good time chugging along. As we got to the last couple laps, I noticed that I was in forth, with 2 teammates taking the top 2 spots. I decided to bury myself and see if I could catch the 3rd place guy and have a Blue Sky podium sweep. I made several mistakes, crashed badly a couple times, but I eventually passed him on the last lap and finished 3rd. It's not a real resume builder, but it was still fun to make a strong finish and get in a good day of training. Later in the day, the course became a real mud fest. It was a lot of fun to watch the fast guys really rock that course and also have some fun getting muddy. There were a lot of on-course shenanigans that made things even more entertaining.

Following the racing, there was an after-party at the New Belgium tasting room. They were able to pull together some great donations for a silent auction and raffle. We drank plenty of beer, snacked, and even got some cool stuff. Best of all, Christine ended up getting a mountain bike. Soon we'll be able to go play around on some trails together.





New favorite pre-race ritual: the swig of beer

The end of a good season

So the season is over. My first "real" season of cross. The past couple of years, I've done races here and there (and only if the weather was decent), but I never really trained for it. This year I went all-in, and I loved it. It's a good thing I wasn't the fair-weather 'crosser of old, because we had an uncharacteristically wet season. Who knew racing in mud could be so much fun?

I really had no expectations going into the season. I just wanted to push myself to ride hard and get better. Mission accomplished. I was consistently finishing in the top 10 and I even won a race. Winning a race is an amazing feeling. To know that training has paid off and that for one day you were stronger than the people that you line up with week after week is an amazing confidence booster. I finished the season in 10th overall in the points rankings even though I skipped a lot of the points races. I also won the overall in a 3 race series, so I'll actually win *something*.

The state championships was a mixed bag for me. On one hand, I never expected to be top 10 when I was first starting out this season. On the other hand, I know I underperformed. I know that I would have done better if I had been more motivated and if I had worked on some of my technical skills. I have a lot of months to think about that now. :)

None of this great season would have been possible without the support of Christine. Even though she was traveling back and forth to Austin all the time and was sometimes in Fort Collins only on the weekends, she was cool with me disappearing to a race nearly every weekend. Not only that, but she frequently spent one of her valuable weekend days in Colorado by sitting at my races, cheering me on, handing me water, and putting up with my neurotic pre-race nerves. She's also my wheel and tire sponsor, buying me my first ever tubular wheelset. The wheels, by the way, that I used when I won my race. She's amazing and I couldn't have done it without her.

Colorado State CX Championships

Yesterday was my last bike race of the season - the Colorado State CX Championships. Mentally, I was done with my season a couple weeks ago, but I decided to drag it out a couple weeks and race states since I was doing reasonably well. The body was willing, but finding the motivation to ride in the recent cold snap was difficult.

As much as I wanted to stay sitting in the nice warm car, I got out and raced. This was just not a good course for me. The temperature was dropping, and any hope of mud was rapidly freezing away. With some tricky descents and off-camber snowy slopes, it was more technical than I was ready for. Mental note for next year - do more skills work later in the season.

I got a decent start, and went into the first corner in the top 10 or 15. That put us on to a pretty tricky section, and I lost some spots as I was being tentative. I also dropped my chain. First time of the season amazingly.

I could see the leaders pulling away. Always a disappointing sight. Within a lap or so, I settled in with a group of 3 and I was content to follow them all the way to the end. We swapped positions occasionally, but I mostly just tried to sit on them and not set the tempo. My lack of motivation towards racing was really showing. :)

Eventually, one of that group had a mechanical and that just left two of us. I took a nice spill on the off-camber snow, but caught back up. I really wasn't working all that hard surprisingly, and I should have just attacked. In the end, I finished just behind that kid for 8th place overall.

Just for fun, I looked up the ages of the people in front of me. Everybody in front of me was younger (22, 22, 26, 23, 29, 14). So, I'm first place in the 30+ crowd. :)

Green Mountain Sports 'Cross

The cyclocross season is winding down. Last Sunday it was back to Golden for the final race in the Green Mountain Sports series. It was at the same location as my first race of the season where I decided to really take it easy. This time I wanted to go full gas.

Alpha Cross

Another weekend, another race. Today's special: Alpha Cross in Brighton.

My legs were missing some snap today. Don't know why, they were just kind of dead. I had to hope to outlast people instead of attacking them. My second row call-up was quickly killed when there was a lot of pushing and shoving at the start. I was a little bit unprepared to deal with it, but this was more than the usual elbow and shoulder bumping. This was "I'm going to put my skewer in you spokes" kind of action. After nearly going down on the gravely start, I ended up near the back of the group. Ugh. Lot of spots to make up throughout the race.

The course was not exactly my favorite. With the exception of one bumpy grass section, the entire course was on dirt. It seemed like more of a short track MTB course than a cross course. Not only was there a lot of dirt, but it was rutted up, construction traffic tread bumpy. Adding to the fun were several switchbacks. It was like they needed to add time to the course so they just kept adding switchbacks. I don't have a problem with switchbacks as a technical element, but 10 (there were at least that many) is a bit much.

It seemed like there were always people around me, which is nice. It's way more fun that way, rather than racing alone. On the last lap there were a couple people in front of me and a charging pack behind me. One of the riders in front of me took a water bottle in an unusual spot and it was easy to cruise around him. I managed to hold of the rest and finish 14th.

Not my best performance, but Christine put it all in perspective for me. She reminded me that I used to be happy with top 20. So yeah, 14th out of 50 is decent. I can deal with that.

Blue Sky Velo Cup

Yesterday my team put on a huge race, and it went off in a major way. Our race, the Blue Sky Velo Cup, was part of the North American Cyclocross Trophy series, and a UCI C2 categorized race. (The UCI is the international cycling organization.) What all that means is that this race would have the eye of the national and international cycling world and we'd play host to some of the best cyclocross racers in the country.

In the end, everything went amazingly well. The UCI official on site was shocked that this was our first UCI race. The lion's share of credit for the quality of the race goes to our race director, Bill Teasdale. Throughout the year, he has put in a ton of time getting all our ducks in a row and dealing with the UCI, USA Cycling, and ACA to make sure our race was a professional quality event. A lot of thanks also goes to the volunteers. We had an army of people setting up, tearing down, marshalling, registering racers, and more.


In week leading up to the race, Colorado saw some record snowfall. I wasn't sure what to expect of the course Friday when I prerode it. I was surprised to see that the course was mostly free of snow. They didn't get as much snow there, plus our setup crew did a good job of clearing snow in a lot of areas. With the sun out and the snow melting, there was a lot of mud. Sticky Colorado mud. It was clearly going to be a fun course.

After my win last weekend, I got a sweet front row call-up and I was hoping to perform well at our home race. My legs were a little tired from pre-riding the day before. I guess I worked harder than I meant. I went hard up the long uphill starting straight and went into the first corner in the top 5.

The cold overnight temperatures froze the all the muddy ruts from Friday's preriders, and that made for some tricky racing. I hit one section of ruts that bounced me around so hard that both of my feet popped out of the pedals. As the race went on, though, the course warmed up and there was a tricky mix of frozen ruts and mud. Every lap brought new conditions and challenges.

By the second lap, there was a group of 4 of us off the front. I drifted on and off the back of this group, but felt pretty comfortable for the most part. With a long climb to the finish line, I knew I had an advantage over most people. With 1.5 laps to go, tragedy struck.

I was running my tubeless tires and I burped some air out of my front. I rode gingerly for a little while, but then it was just futile and I had to run. I picked up a wheel a little while later and got back into race mode. I didn't know how many places I had lost, but I figured I'd at least try to finish strong.

I gave it my all for that last lap as I saw someone closing in on me. Every corner I'd check my progress and I was happy to see I was keeping my distance. Through all the mud and slop, I was trying to be careful while still riding fast. When all the mud wrestling was done, I finished in 8th place.

It's a little frustrating, because I just knew I could have gotten on the podium. But at the same time, it gave the feedback about my form that I was looking for. Was I just lucky in winning last weekend? I guess not entirely. I actually *am* in good shape right now. Now, I wonder if I should upgrade to the next category and get my ass handed to me all over again.

Castle Cross

I don't normally cut to the chase on my blog, but I'll make an exception today:
I won today. I f'ing won. (Read on if you need more detail than that)

Red Rocks Velo 'Cross

What a difference a week makes. Last weekend I was bundling up in all my warm cycling clothes. Yesterday I was sweating my tail off in a short-sleeved skinsuit for the Red Rocks Velo cyclocross race at Tony Grampsas Park in Golden.

The problem with racing on Sunday is that I have a tendency to workout too hard on Saturday and then I'm tired by Sunday's race. As I took a few warmup laps before my race, it was pretty clear I had overcooked things on Saturday. It was also clear that this was going to be a tough course for me. There were a lot of loose, bumpy, and off-camber corners. On top of that, there were two sand pits, and a steep staircase.

The only thing that save me on this race was the elevation gain. There were two long climbs on the course that turned the screws on most people. If you weren't already tired, these climbs were going to change that.

I had a decent starting position in the second row, but I didn't get a very good start. My legs didn't have the 'pop' necessary to get me off the line quickly so I just settled in well behind the leaders and waited patiently for people to blow-up. I made one bobble early by taking a corner too hot, but I kept it upright. Other than that, things were pretty smooth.

Round and round we went. I steadily caught and passed people, dirt caked on my face and on the roof of my mouth. Thankfully, Christine was there to hand up a water bottle to me every lap. Invaluable. Not so much necessary for hydration as it was for getting some moisture back in my dessert of a mouth.

I rode my way into 12th place. I was really hoping for a top 10, but give the difficulty of the course (for me) I'm happy with that. I like to think I earned the two apple fritters that I destroyed this morning. :)

Boulder CX #2 – Interlocken

Winter arrived just in time for the second race in the Boulder Cyclocross series. This one was at Interlocken in Broomfield. I’ve always like this course because it’s not particularly technical and it features a lot of energy zapping grass.

Our team has a tent that we’ll set up sometimes at cyclocross races. It’s nice for shelter if the weather gets nasty, but it also marks out our territory and gives us a nice place to hang. Ideally, different team members would take turns setting up the “Blue Sky Velo Compound”, but in reality it usually comes down to just a couple people that do it. I always feel bad about not being to help out with tent duties, so with Christine out of town I decided to spend the whole day down there and put in my time for the team.

I dressed pretty warm, but I was still pretty darn cold sitting outside. The weather man was predicting highs in the 40’s, but it lingered in the low 30’s most of the day. I spent some time in the car in the afternoon just to get warm.

I bundled up an hour before my race and headed out for some warmup laps. Surprisingly, I wasn’t too cold once I got working hard. Once of these days I hope to figure out how to keep my toes warm. On my warmup, my legs felt tired. Not sore, just dead. I figure it was from being out in the cold all day, or maybe from my “carbo-loading” the night before at the Crown Pub. Whatever the reason, I didn’t feel like starting in the front and clumsily getting in the way. I skipped my call-up and started near the back and talked shit with a couple friends.

The whistle blows, and it’s, of course, mayhem. There were a couple early crashes of from people rubbing wheels and locking up brakes on the wet grass. I was too busy laughing at my friends in front of me trading elbows into the first corner to notice. About halfway through the first lap, things were good and spread out and it was time for me to start picking people off. One thing I like about this course is that there is ample opportunity to pass. You’ll spend some energy riding through the thicker grass instead of the matted down race line, but the opportunity is almost always there.

My biggest problem on the day was getting clipped into my pedals after remounting. I had adjusted the position of my saddle Friday night, and this was my first time testing it out. I’m hoping that’s what led to my pedal fumbling and that I’ll take care of that with a little more practice this week. I messed up one time in the sand because I wasn’t clipped in, and I took a nice forearm to the back from somebody. I thought that was pretty lame, so as I was running, I made sure I cut him off. Never saw him again.

Coming into the final few turns, there were a couple people within reach. I took those corners as fast as I could and then outsprinted them to the line for 17th place out of 77 riders. I’m surprised, because I started pretty near the back. If I hadn’t wussed out on my call-up, I would have been top 10 for sure. Oh well, I’ll save it for next weekend.

I don't have any pics of me, but here's a teammate in the sand

Insult to injury

To add insult to my clavicle injury, I just found out that our team is in second place in the overall standings for cyclocross right now. If I hadn't crashed....we'd be in first. Argh! There's still one more race so I'm hoping some of our boys can score big.

Is it broken?

My blog has been pretty stagnant lately, so we not enliven it with a doozy...

Yesterday I rode down to Colorado Springs with a couple teammates for cyclocross race. My first in over a month. In fact, I've only ridden my CX bike once since my last race. I've been feeling unmotivated to ride, so I thought this would at least force me to put in a good effort.

The course was decent for me. It started out with a big hilly loop, which meant that I didn't really need to fight for a position at the front. I just sat in the top 20 and picked people off as they got tired. I was around the top ten by the time we got on the actual course.

I rode pretty well and also made some mistakes. I was caught up behind a group of three that was using a smooth dirt section to recover so I decided to pass them. It made me take a really sketchy inside line through a steep downhill corner, but it worked out. Until later that lap. I went to get on my brakes in a bumpy 180 and slipped off of them. I ended up in the weeds and the people I had passed went right by me.

I stayed in the top 10 the rest of the race, and on the last lap I was in 7th. Coming out of the final barrier section, it was clear the I wasn't going to catch the guy on front of me so I just needed to take it easy into the finish. Only 3 more corners to go, and disaster struck.

On my remount, I didn't get clipped into my pedals. My right foot slipped off the pedal and got grabbed by my front tire and sucked up to the frame. My front wheel, of course, immediately stopped and the bike flipped hard. In an instant I was on the ground.

Helmets save lives. My helmet hit the ground hard and did its job by breaking. No concussion for me. The medical guy on staff came over and recommended I go to the hospital for an x-ray. While my friends were getting my stuff together I called and told Christine. Then I nearly passed out as I finally calmed down from the race. I was 40 minutes into a race working hard, and then came to a sudden and complete stop.

Mike D took me to the emergency room (which was freezing) and I didn't have to wait all that long for an xray. I'm no expert. Do you think it's broken?


They gave me a sling, and I'll go to a doc up in Fort Collins for a follow up. They offered me a Percocet, but I'm just not that into pain meds. I guess I like to be constantly reminded that I'm hurt. I took the prescription so I could take some to sleep if I had to.

The value of this team goes beyond the race course, and they really showed it today. I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have friends close by to help me out. Ron was first on the scene. He happened to be driving by and saw my spectacular new method of dismounting. Mike D was close by and ran up to help. Both of them hung with me while I recovered my senses and then helped me get my stuff together before going to the e-room. Ron stuck around and let Isaac and Kevin know the scoop because they were lining up to race as I crashed. Conveniently, Isaac and Kevin finished up their race and got to the emergency room just as I was getting out. Bob and Susan were there to take videos of me *not* crashing and offer me well wishes before the hospital. Thanks Isaac for buying me a Whopper, but in retrospect I should have gotten a kids meal so I could wear the crown.

So here I am, in some sort of sling for the next 6-8 weeks probably. I guess this is a decent time of year for this type of thing to happen. It's early enough into ski season that I should heal up in time for the really good snow. I've got lots of time for cycling season, although my training will probably have to be pushed back a bit. Christine leaves for London next weekend, so it ought to be interesting gimping around for a few weeks by myself. Hello fast food and TV dinners.

CX pics

Here are a couple amusing pics from the Blue Sky Velo cyclocross race: