2008 - a new season, a new spirit

2008 began with the horrible accident that took Scott Matty's life and nearly crippled Jeff Davis for life. Jeff's progress in his recovery has been mind boggling in how well he is doing.

Our race season is dedicated to both Scott and Jeff. With that said - the year has started off pretty well. The road team has taken off with a great big bang!

Tundra Time trial saw the boys get two top 10's in a very competitive field with times that rival top finishes in previous years.

ALBANY - Georgia Cup
As Georgia Cup is the series we typically focus on - 2008 is not different. The GA Cup started in Albany in early March. Georgia Cup is a stage race format - modeled after more famous races like the TdF. Each stage earns the rider a time and the combined times of a riders events determine how their stage race placing turns out. Albany started well with John Stowe taking the Cat 4 Prologue and Steve Murray taking second in the Cat 4 -35+ group. The prologue was a very technical course with 12 turns in just over two miles.

The criterium was a 8 turn technical course and John again performed well with a top three finish and more MAR points than his competitors. The other guys did okay, but not like John. Also racing were Matt Ragan (fresh off knee surgery) and Victor Karm- V-man, Jonathan Cook, Steve Murray & Ryan Crabbe.

The Road race was pancake flat and the temps were brisk. Ryan Crabbe put in a monster sprint and placed 4th, John got 8th and the rest of us finished. For the RR, there were the addition of Shane Irvin,Bill Swain and Kevin Adams to our group.

Perry-Roubaix Series 7 Weekend (TT, circuit race and the RR with "Georgia Pave")

The TT was a tough one - 12 miles on rolling hills with rain looming. Steve & John each placed 3rd with good times. Matt & Victor also had good rides with top 20 finishes.

The circuit race saw some bold, aggressive riding from the faithful crew. The under 35 crew rode first. John finished 12, Matt 18th and Victor 21st. Steve placed 5th in his circuit race.

The RR was a tough course with hills, wind and a two mile dirt road on each of the 4 laps. John did great with a 4th place and next was Matt, Victor, and Ryan Crabbe. In the 35+ race - I have an excuse- a guy hit me and took me down on the last lap - threw my wheel out of true and I chased for 9 miles and never caught on. I finished 19th.

Mountain Bike - Macon Arrowhead TrailI have no details of the course- but Nicki Sutherland placed 3rd in the women's Expert group and Jose Mendez placed 9th in the men's Sport group

Columbus Race

Nicki Sutherland - 2nd place
Jose Mendez - 3rd place
Victor Karm - 4th place
Gabe Denes Jr. - FIRST PLACE
Dayton Preston - 13th place

Gainesville - Georgia Cup

For Gainesville -it was just Matt Ragan and Steve Murray. The weather was horrible. On Saturday, we awoke to heavy rain and got to race both our TT and RR in it. Did I mention the temps were mid 50's. That may be fine for Belgium, but this is Georgia for crying out loud!

Poor conditions worked well for me. I won the Cat 4 35+ TT and had a good RR. I took a flyer off the front with a few hundred yards to go. I was leading until about 40 yards when 23 other riders stormed by. Oh well. I still got the same finish time, so I had a lead going into Sunday. Matt rode a good TT and RR as well.

Sunday the weather got better and Matt and I both had good crits. I got 8th and didn't loose much time. I ended the weekend winning the stage race by 1.4 seconds.

Chattanooga - Georgia Cup

Matt Ragan and Steve Murray were the only riders from CBR to attend. The weather was great, the courses were great and we had a good weekend. Kind of.

Steve missed first in the TT by .5 seconds. It was a 5.5 mile TT with 3.5 miles of gradual climbing. The last portion was fast. Matt thought the course was 9 miles and didn't crank it up until the very end.

The crit course had six turns and was blazing fast. Matt's group had just over a 29 MPH average for the crit and mine had a 28.6 - really fast. I finished 8th and was going into Sunday with a 4.5 second overall lead. The RR was in a beautiful valley just below Lookout Mountain. Matt had the misfortune of getting wrecked by a guy 5 miles in and had to ride the race in the wheel truck. I rode a solid race and with 3 miles to go got behind a big wreck. I chased the group in front of the wreck, but never caught them. I finished :19 seconds back. The final results have me placing 2nd overall and Matt is not listed since he could not finish the Road race.

So far - So good!

Scott Matty, you will be missed!

Matthew Scott Matty

February 3, 2008 is a very sad day. Scott Matty was lost in a tragic accident while returning from a Sunday training Ride. The day started like many similar Sunday morning rides. Several people rolled out onto lightly used county roads. Our group had six riders and we planned to travel from Ellerslie to Talbatton and on to Buena Vista, Georgia and back. It would be a nice 85 mile ride. The weather was nice and Scott commented that he wished all our rides had weather like today.

Jeff Davis

We reached Geneva and Scott and Jeff Davis decided to cut their ride short to get home earlier. Unfortunately for all of us, more than the ride was cut short. As they were riding single file along the white line on the right of the road, a young driver hit both Jeff and Scott from behind. They were just 2 miles from their parked cars. Scott passed away at the scene and Jeff was airlifted to the hospital. Jeff underwent the first surgery to relieve pressure on his spine. He will have at least two more surgeries for fractured disks and multiple breaks in his left leg. His prognosis is good with a long and painful rehab and recovery.

Our prayers go out to the families of both Scott and Jeff. We are fortunate that Jeff will remain with us and be back on his feet soon. Scott was the proud father of three beautiful girls. He also leaves behind a loving wife Sherry.

In Scott's death we have lost a fine man. Scott was the friend you always wanted, always smiling, happy and just fun to be around. If he was on the bike - he was attacking or just about to. You always knew what to expect. The profound sadness I feel with his passing is beyond words and will be with me for a very long time. Scott you will be missed!

CBR looks back to warmer weather!

The CBR race team competed in more than 279 events in 2007. Of these events, 167 were placings within the top 10. CBR had 49 podium appearances which included:
27 - First place finishes
16 - Second place finishes
6 - Third place finishes
Rankings based on USCF rankings listed as of September 15, 2007.

CBR State Champions
Nicki Sutherland - Georgia Women's Sport Mountain bike
Ryan Crabbe - Georgia Men's Category 5 Road Race
Benjamin Weinbaum - Alabama Juniors Road Race
Benjamin WeinBaum - Alabama Juniors Time Trial

CBR series results
Georgia Championship Series
Women sport - Nicki Sutherland - Winner
Men Sport 30-39 - Jose Mendez - 6th Place
Men Sport 19-29 - Joseph Grimes - 4th Place

New Jersey Cycle cross Cup
Men's - Mike Reardon - 1st Place

Georgia Cup Series
Men's Masters - Scott Matty - 7th Place
Men's Masters - Steve Murray - 8th Place
Men's Masters - Barry Carswell - 17th Place
Men's Cat 4 - Matt Ragan - 15th Place

National Rankings (12 top 25 rankings!!)

Mountain Biking

Nicki Sutherland - Womens Sport mountain biking - FIRST (as of September 2007)

Jose Mendez -19th place Men's 35-39 Sport class

Joseph Grimes - 22nd place Men's 19 -24 Sport class

Team Time Trial (as of January 2, 2008)
Matt Ragan & John Stowe - Cat 4 - tied in FIRST
Ryan Crabbe - 5th
Scott Matty & Steve Murray - Master's - tied in 5th Place

Stage Race (as of January 2, 2008)
Category 4
Matt Ragan - 3rd
John Stowe - 5th
Ryan Crabbe - 15th
Master's 45+
Scott Matty - 11th

Individual Time Trial (as of January 2, 2008)
Matt Ragan - Cat 4 - 14th
Scott Matty - Master's 45+ - 14th

CBR's achievements built on 2006's results which resulted from 246 events raced with 2 state championships and the winner of the Norba National Series by Ursula Sandefur - women's expert 45 -49. 2006 also saw multiple CBR riders ranked in the top 10 Nationally.

Mike Reardon's final Race Report of 2007

New Jersey Cyclcross Cup Series Winner - Mike Reardon

Welcome back cross fans! After a greuling season that saw the racing begin in the sultry month of August and finally end in the snow of December, I can finally look back on the 2007 New Jersey Cyclocross Cup.

After a somewhat challenging first half of the season, I decided to take two weeks off from training. If anyone else is ever thinking that's a good idea, think again. I came back to the bike with zero fitness -- so much for old man muscles.

The second half of the season took me to the state championships and a somewhat disappointing 15th place finish. It was a bitterly cold day and the course was a mix of mud over ice. I went down in the first turn and that pretty much ended the race for me. Distraught though I was, I had committed myself to the long term goal of winning the overall series and wasn't too disappointed without a win at the state championships -- not like I had any real chance of winning anyway!

The series would ultimately come down to the last two races of the season. After holding my series lead, I lost it at the aforementioned state championships race. I was 81 points out of first place and I needed some good placings to pull off a come from behind victory.

It was on a cold snowy morning that I loaded up and headed to the mountains of North Jersey for the coldest race of the season. After three hours on slick back roads, I arrived at the course only to find no one there! I figured I would win the race by default, but an hour before the race my competition started to show up.

Ordinarily we'd all sit on our trainers warming up before the race ... but not today. We were all huddled inside our cars trying to suck up that last bit of warmth before we had to brave the driving snow that was quickly burying the course. On any other day the race wouldn't have been too technical, a mix of loose gravel, dirt, grass, and a nasty section though a baseball stadium. However, when all of that is covered with three inches of snow, anything can happen.

As we lined up on the starting grid, I had no idea what the course was like. I was a sissy and stayed in my truck, no pre-ride for me -- but hey, no one would have an advantage on the second lap. As the starting gun fired, I jammed on the pedals only to realize I was pedaling on a patch of ice. Oops! That would have been good to know ahead of time. I kept pedaling as all the other riders zoomed past me. The race hadn't even started and I was in last place. Fortunately for me, no one else pre-rode the course either, or they did and they all planned on crashing in the first turn, a crash that I missed because I was stuck on a patch of ice. I ended up missing the crash, lucky me, and I got past the pile up of men and machines to hit the second turn in first place.

Of course I didn't know that the exit of the second turn was not a solid surface beneath the snow but rather loose gravel. I hit it too fast, went down and got passed by seven riders. I tried to get on to the back of the group and I did hold their wheel for three laps but then the legs went (two weeks off, remember?) and slowly they pulled away.

With two laps to go, I was running in 8th place where I stayed until the last lap when the guy in front of me had a bad remount after a set of barriers. Of course, that's a really nice way of saying that as he tried to get back on his bike, he tripped because there was so much snow on his cleats he couldn't get into his pedals. Then he ran into the course tape, got wrapped up in that, and proceeded to slide headfirst into a mound of snow. I laughed, but not so hard that I didn't recognize the opportunity to take advantage of his misfortune. I rode around him and crossed the line in 7th place. All and all not too bad. More importantly, that finish put me a mere 23 points out of 1st place going into the final race...

The last race of the year. How appropriate that the series title came down to this. I figured the field would be small, at least I hoped it would be, but as luck would have it, this was the second largest field of the year with 68 entrants. You know, when I raced on the road, that number wouldn't have bothered me. I could sit at the back of the pack for the first few miles then draft my way to the front. A good leadout from Steve or Darrin and I could uncork a sprint and show everyone a clean pair of wheels (I love Paul Sherwin). But cross requires a different strategy.

The race started off right, then made a 90 degree left hand turn, which then led into a 200 meter grass straightaway that got narrower towards the end. At the start we were six across. At the end of the grass straightaway was a two meter wide opening with telephone poles on either side. My plan to sham at the back and draft my way up wasn't going to work today. So the gun went off and against my better instincts, I sprinted as hard as I could off the line. I knew that a good start would be critical and I had it in my mind that I was going to go as hard as I could for the first two laps and see how many people I could drop. As it turned out, my plan worked perfectly. As I jumped off the line, everyone else bottled up behind me, and like every cross race, there was a huge crash right at the telephone pole opening. I made it through with five other guys and we proceeded to get a huge gap on the field.

The course took some twists and turns up a few little hills and across some rooted off camber sections. Fortunately my former life as a mountain biker paid off as I was able to ride these sections without falling. The course then led into an asphalt section that favored the powerful roadie types before heading back onto the grass and into the first barrier. I had a good dismount/remount and was still in the lead as we headed into the painful part of the course.

A quick downhill on some icy asphalt put us at the base of a monstrous hill. I looked at it and figured I would need climbing gear to get to the top. Imagine a muddy campground hill, that's the only way I can describe it. Someone had cut little steps into this hill, but this person must have been a giant because these steps were about four feet apart. Had it not been for the toe spikes on my shoes, I wouldn't have made it to the top. Needless to say, this hill was a crowd favorite and the top of it was packed with spectators cheering us on. Well, it sounded like cheering in my head. They were probably laughing at us because we all looked like idiots running up this thing. After what seemed like a week of running up the hill, I got onto the bike and lost my lead to a much taller and obviously fitter rider. He dropped me quickly and went on to win the race, however, a race win wasn't my goal.

The course went down a steep muddy hill and then went right back up (after the race I watched five people crash on the part within three minutes, silly fools). I lost a few more spots and drifted back to 6th place. Three of us were in a pack chasing the leaders and I was more than happy to let someone else do the work for a few laps. As each lap went by, I was studying the two dudes in my chase pack, looking for weaknesses, trying to figure out where I could attack them with the most impact. I wasn't sure I would have the legs to outsprint them, but with a nice long finishing stretch, I figured I would give it a try.

We headed into the last lap, I gave a quick glance behind me to see if anyone had closed the gap we had worked so hard for, no one had. It was going to be a game of cat and mouse for an entire lap.

The first attack went on a fast ashphalt section. The rider got a quick gap and I had to dig deep to get back on. Fortunately, he jumped a little too late and we headed into a hard left turn before he could get any real speed up. I knew I had to save as much as I could for the final sprint but I wanted to soften up their legs a little. I knew a barrier section was fast approaching and I had consistently better dismounts and remounts so I figured I would put in a little digger at the barriers. I dismounted late and hit the barriers at a fast sprint, immediately getting a gap. I got back on and looked back, my plan was working. Both guys were falling back.

Not wanting to work by myself for the rest of the last lap, I slowed down to recover and let the other guys catch up. We stayed together leading up to the monster hill and I carried enough speed into it that I dismounted a quarter of the way up, saving precious amounts of energy. At the top of the hill, another attack went off the front, a surpise to be sure. He had a good gap and I was slow to respond. I looked up and saw the two of them slipping away. I was in the red and I knew I had to recover. With two more techinical sections plus two barrier sections coming up, I didn't panic. I drifted back and they got about four bike lengths on me.

With less than a quarter of a lap left, I knew it was time to get on the gas. At the first barrier, I had a flawless dismont (I probably looked like a three year old trying to run on a patch of ice, but I'm telling this story and I say it was flawless). I didn't remount but rather I ran all the way to the second barrier as the other two riders tried to remount and pedal. I caught up to one of the other two riders and remounted for the pass to move into fifth place.

Two hundred meters to go to the finish and now there was only one rider to pass to score my best finish of the year. He had two bike lengths on me and as I jammed on the pedals, tragedy struck. I had so much mud in my right cleat I couldn't get back into the pedal. Oh well, it was now or never. I shifted to my hardest gear and jumped. All I could think of was all those sprints we did on the riverwalk all those years ago. Would the old instincts pay off? One on one, we thundered down the finishing stretch. I could see I was closing with every pedal stroke, closer and closer to the finish. Would there be enough room? Did I start my sprint too late? I looked up and saw the line. I gritted my teeth trying to overcome the pain in my legs. Half a bike length to go. Pedal, pedal, pedal. Half a wheel to go. I looked to my right. We were dead even. Pedal, pedal, pedal. I had a gap! Head down, I charged to the line. I looked over to my right as I crossed the line and I was by myself! I had won the sprint to the line, securing 4th place, my best finish, but more importantly, I had secured my overall series win! I was now the New Jersey Cyclocross Cup Series Champion! I pumped my fist into the air and not wanting to miss the opportunity to get a good plug in for CBR, I sat up proudly pointing at the CBR logo on my chest -- of course no one got a picture of that.

I would be remiss if I didn't pay a special tribute to the silent fan of my season, my wife Darsi. She has put up with a season that saw us out the door at 5 am most weekends with at least 4 hours of driving time for a 40 minute race with nary a complaint, she has been my coach, personal trainer, manager, photographer, pit crew, and editor (these race reports would suck without her) This victory is as much hers as it is mine.

So this closes another chapter on the dominance of CBR. With any luck, next year will bring us all more fitness and faster legs, but failing that, remember, none of us ride to get weaker!

A trip to the Mountains for CBR

We spent several days up and down the six classic gaps around Dahlonega and Helen, Georgia. The weather ranged from mid 30's on Thursday to mid 60's on Sunday. Everyone suffered and everyone pushed legs that are used to riding in the flatlands. Some members came up for a day and others stayed for several. Fun and suffering was had by all. Once again, we would like to thank our hosts in the mountains Josh and Leigh at the Hiker Hostel - http://www.hikerhostel.com/. They have a great place, are wonderful hosts and ideally located for the cyclist or hiker in your group!!


pictured above: Steve Dozier, Steve Murray, Matt Ragan, Jonathan Cook, Darren Sorrells, Joey Mayhand & Jeff Mayhand

The group relaxes after the first long climb and descent of the day

This weekend was a cool weather trip o Dahlonega. The CBR race team spent several scenic days huffing and puffing up the long beautiful climbs of the northern Georgia mountains. One of the benefits of being ametuer cyclists is that we can eat and drink whatever we want and not loose our "jobs" on the CBR team.

The group poses for a picture after a grand meal of Mexican cuisine and beverages!

A bleery-eyed group just finishing up a breakfast of Pancakes, oatmeal, eggs, grits, juice & coffee

"The perfect meal to fuel a day on the mountains."

Race Around the Moon!!

Everyone battle's the hill - every lap!


The middle of September saw the first USCF bicycle race in Phenix City, Al ever! Adam Weinbaum, local school teacher, reservist, bike mechanic and racer wanted to have a local race. With little or no help, Adam planned, organized and staged a prologue time trial and circuit race. With very little funding, Adam put on a race just for racers. Entry fees were minimal ($10) and the courses were a challenge. I asked Adam what his thoughts were and this is them:

"I really love the sport of cycling so I decided to promote a race for the local riders. Hopefully the race will continue to grow. I plan on doing it again next year. Riders from out of town said it was organized and they plan on telling others about it. GW from Auburn, Alabama said the time trial was perfect for a prolog time trial. He raced in the Masters category but is really a pro 1-2 racer".
The Phenix City Police Department was very helpful and supportive. The volunteers that helped made things run smoothly. Local sponsors included: Avon, Rapture Products, Crown Trophies, Bicycle Magazine, Ride On Bikes, Mikes Bikes, and Columbus Track Club. Hopefully next year we can get more sponsors. Adam has some expereince under his belt and with the help of his wife - next year will be even better!
Local racer's participated as well as those from Auburn and Atlanta. Since the race had limited promotion, it was the end of the season and a major race was being held in Greenville, SC the turnout was not large. The fields were combined with the juniors and cat 5's racing together. The cat 3, 4's and masters in the same field mad for some interesting racing. Out of our guest that raced, GW Wenzel, Auburn legend, was the overall standout. GW was the fastest in the TT and also the fastest in the overall Circuit race field.

The circuit Race prior to the start

Time Trial results for local racers

Junior 13 -15

First place -Benjamin Weinbaum -CBR

Cat 5

Fourth place -Kevin Adams -CBR
Sixth place- Jonathan Cook -CBR
Ninth place -Jay Horn -Ride On Bikes
Tenth place -Jason McKenzie -Ride On Bikes

Cat 4

First- John Stowe -CBR
Third -Victor Karm -CBR
Fourth- Matt Ragan -CBR

Master's

Third -Buddy Nelms -Ride On Bikes / CBR

Circuit Race results

Juniors 13- 15

First -Benjamin Weinbaum -CBR

Cat 5
Third -Jonathan Cook -CBR
Fourth- Jeff Davis -CBR
Seventh -Kevin Adams -CBR
Cat 4
First -Victor Karm -CBR
Second- John Stowe -CBR
Fourth- Matt Ragan -CBR
Fifth- Scott Matty- CBR

Great weekend for CBR Cross Riders

Cycle Cross take CBR suffering to a new level! Mike Reardon races Craigmuer 10/28/2007

This year has seen the virtual explosion of CBR racers trying cycle cross. This past weekend we had four riders racing Cycle Cross. The CBR riders racing are Mike Reardon, Ryan Crabbe, Adam Weinbaum, and Benjamin Weinbaum. Mike lives and races in New Jersey, this weekend he raced in Craigmuer, NJ. Ryan, Adam & Ben raced in Ft. Yargo, GA

Ben Weinbaum - Ft. Yargo

Results:

Ben Weinbaum - 1st (14 and younger olds)

Mike Reardon - 8th

Ryan Crabbe - 19th

Adam Weinbaum - 27th

Josh Dunn - 44th

Ryan - Jumping the Barriers

Ryan's recap of the Ft. Yargo race

It was toughter than last week. I finished 19 out of 48 scored. I went down on lap 2, dropped my chain and only made up about half the positions I lost. I have a couple of pics as well. The Weinbaums were there.

Race #2 of the GA Cross series provided a number of new challenges not seen last week in Conyers. The second installment of the series took place at Ft. Yargo State Park in Winder, GA. CBR was well represented this week with myself, Adam Weinbaum, and his son Ben.
This course featured a paved start followed by a very fast technical section, tight single track, another tight technical section, and then the main feature of the course; approximately 100yds of beach, fully dismounted and running through the sand with the bike shouldered. This section was the gateway to another dismount over a set of barriers before heading back onto the road for the start/finish line which was a long uphill drag. Something that I am learning about cross very quickly is that every course features very different and very challenging characteristics.
My own race started about the way I expected sitting around 10th through the first lap. A mishap on lap two in the first technical section cost me a couple of spots that I was never able to recover. On an off camber turn with very loose traction I came in a little fast and went down. I was in the middle of a fast pack of about five riders at the time. Dropping my chain at this point did not help either as riders from a group just behind caught me. From that point on, the day was about getting positions back and I fought hard all the way. The final tally was 19th overall out of 48 scored riders. Due to my schedule it may be a few weeks before the next race so I will keep training hard and keep having fun with this new endeavor.

Cross - New Jersey style....by Maj. Michael Reardon

Pain, Misery and Suffering in Craigmeur, NJ
NJ CX CUP race #4, 28 OCT 07

By the title you can guess how I felt today. But I suppose that's to be expected after coming off of a strong three weeks of no training at all. I really need to get a different job, or at least find one that doesn't screw up my training plan by sending me packing a few times a month.

Despite returning from my latest trip a mere 15 hours prior, I was back at it in the fourth race of the NJ Cup series, fighting to hold onto a precious 56-point lead for the overall. I had a few riders marked that I knew I had to beat, but the 'cross gods would see to it that we all were beaten.

The course was brutal. It had rained for the past five days so the ground was a soupy quagmire that all but swallowed our tires. I barely made it through the 3 km course during my two warm-up laps without falling over. The course had a fast gravel start that led into a gravel chicane -- I knew this would be a key section as I expected lots of crashes. I got a good start (hard not to with a call up) and went into the chicane in 3rd place. Then the course wound through what could only be termed a grassy swamp, or swampy grass, I don’t know, it smelled bad and slowed me waaaaaay down. After a few switchbacks on this, the real fun started. The middle part of the course consisted of a fast stretch about 200 meters long that led into an off camber section. Only the perfect line would do here as there was a 30 foot tumble to the left and a chain link fence to the right. Throwing caution to the wind, I put in an attack here. I know, dumb, 1st lap, bad section, but what the heck, I hadn’t been training for three weeks, what could go wrong? I hit the gas and the course then plunged hard and to the left onto a steep downhill section, then it was a hard right turn onto some chicken head-sized gravel that led to a nice steep uphill section. As if the gravel wasn’t bad enough, the top of the hill had four railroad tie stairs. The course then took a hard left and hit the only barrier section of the course. I was sitting in first but all that was about to change.

The barriers led to some more gooey terrain and then it was into the woods where I saw my race start to come apart. We left a short section of woods and hit a section of asphalt and I got passed on an inside line by the three individuals that would go on to take 1st, 2nd and 3rd. A hard right led to a sketchy downhill that required the use of the all important S.P.I.T maneuver, also known as the "seat post implantation technique." I was so far back on my bike that my butt was dragging on the rear wheel, this was actually a good thing as it slowed me down enough to make a hard right hand turn into some more chicken head-sized gravel. As is consistent with cyclocross, just when you expect the suffering to be enough and think that maybe the race organizers might work in a nice flat section so you can recover, well, think again. I came to another uphill-downhill-uphill section, hard to describe, you have to experience it. Trust me, it hurt. That led to another long hard slog uphill through a mix of pebbles, gravel and more foul-smelling mud. I was still holding 4th with four people on my wheel. We had a big gap on the field so I wasn’t pushing it too hard, not that I could have if I wanted to -- remember three weeks off, yeah, another bad idea. There's no rest in cross so after the uphill the course came to a section that I believe was designed by a medieval torturer. It was a run-up, but not your ordinary short steep run-up, no, this run-up was up a flight of poorly laid, uneven, slick rock steps. I hit the top and that’s when the legs went out. I boffed the remount and was quickly passed by the four dudes behind me. I looked down, saw I had no gears left to shift into and I knew that the rest of the race held the pinnacle of suffering that is cross racing. All I could do was sit and grind away, the lactic acid in my legs knew no rest, often times I felt it taunting me, telling me to quit. The lungs went next, every breath was a new journey into a world of suffering. Each lap was worse than the last, each lap I looked back waiting to see if anyone was chasing. I knew they weren’t, they were all in the same painful world of existence that I was, no attacks, just keep on going and try not to give up any spots to the poor miserable sap sitting on your wheel trying to suck up any draft he could find. My mind wandered off for the rest of the race, trying to focus on the technical sections so as not to become a permanent fixture of the course. When I thought I couldn’t take anymore, off in the distance I heard a sound, a sound that must have come from someone more merciful than the sadist that designed this course, yes, it was the bell signifying the last lap. I dug in my heels, gritted my teeth, and downshifted, I was going to show this course who was boss. I started to speed up, only to be slowed a few meters later by the greedy grass taking all my momentum. I stood up only to have my rear tire spin and lose traction, all my efforts proved to be futile. I was not master of the course today. As I finally rolled across the finish line, not really knowing what place I was in, I jumped off the course and into an open field adjacent to the finish line. I dropped my bike and before I fell to the ground gasping for air, I looked around and saw the first seven finishers doing the same thing. Some were leaning on their bikes for support, others, still clipped into their pedals, were lying were they fell, we were all beaten today.


To race cross is to know every emotion you can experience in the field of cycling -- the amazing highs of crossing the line with hands held high to the incredible lows of coming off a course with nothing but the clothes on your back holding you together, physically and emotionally. I was beaten today by the course, but I’ll be back to ride again. After all, I don’t ride to get weaker!

This is the world of cyclocross; this is the sport I love.

At the end of the day, I finished 8th out of 51, enough to hold the overall lead in the cup series. Whether that lead will keep me there through next weekend will be determined in my absence. Darsi and I will be celebrating our 3rd anniversary in a warm, sunny location so I can only hope that the cold, wind, and sadistic race organizers will be just as brutal on the riders as they were this week so I can return once again to defend my lead in what should be another hotly contested suck fest.

Georgia Cross - Race # 1

By Ryan Crabbe

For my first foray into cyclocross Sunday, October 22, had to be considered an overwhelming success. With a bit of extremely helpful advice from fellow CBR cross racer Mike Reardon, I set off race #1 of the Georgia Cross series at the International Horse Park in Conyers, GA.

The course was a 2 mile loop with two barrier obstacles and one run-up on a steep sand embankment. I raced the CX4 class which is equivalent to Cat 4 road down to beginners. Our field was quite larger with 45-50 starters so I knew getting to the line early would be important to get a good starting position. We were set to run a 30 min. race which meant 3-4 laps.
From the start I got off the line very quick and clean and I had myself positioned top 5 in the first corner where our first dismount obstacle was located at the exit of the corner. From that point forward I was positioned pretty well in the race as the large field began to string out. By the end of the first lap I was somewhere in the top 15 and getting great encouragement from my wife, Jennifer, who kept me informed of my placing throughout the race.

At lap two I was firmly holding down 11th place and felt very fast through the obstacles, and the technical sections. Lap 3 I began trading positions with the rider in front of me battling for that coveted top 10 finish. I really felt strong and knew where I could put in some attacks in the final lap in order to nail down a top 10. At the beginning of lap 4 I was 10th and flying, I gave back the spot at the feed zone (where Jennifer gave me a bottle) in order to re-hydrate and throw water over my head for this final effort (real cross racers don’t carry water bottles I’ve been told). At the second obstacle I took back the 10th spot and attacked hard through the technical switchbacks in the woods. I sat up a little to recover through the lone long climb of the day, and on the descent threw all caution to the wind to try and open up a gap. It worked and I stayed on the big ring and stomped on the pedals through the final sections of the course. On the finishing straight (which was long and fast) I opened up a hard sprint just to make sure. First race, 10th place. My goals for the day were no flats, no crashes, and top 20. Next week on to race #2 in the series at Ft. Yargo in Winder, GA. I think I’ll keep my goals the same and continue having some fun with this.

“Attack on Swayback”

"Attack on Swayback" has always been a race I look forward to, not because my results are any good but because it’s just a fast/fun/challenging trail to ride. This year was no different. Rain came down the day before – packing down the trail nicely – and cooler weather moved in – low 50’s at sunrise and upper 60’s by race time. Conditions were perfect, what could go wrong? Well unfortunately the event showed some poor planning and made for some tense situations with racers, course and results etc but that’s another story. Now to the race...
Probably the most "eventful" part of the race for me was the line up. I lined up along 5 other 30-39 guys and it appeared we have the 20-29 group in front of us and the 40-49 behind so I was set. Wow this is a small group we all laughed about. We are almost guaranteed top 5! So the whistle blows for the 20-29 group 15 feet in front of us and something odd happens. Half of the group did not move. Suddenly it hit us – the "other" 30-39 guys had just piled up right behind that group and we now ended making up the BACK row of racers for my start. Let me tell you, that stressed me out! I have never started a race anyplace other than the front row and have always considered that to be key to racing if you’re not the sandbagger that can just start late and blow by the field in the last five miles and come out with your arms in the air. I’m that guy – not the sandbagger but the one that has to stay with the front to be in the front, you know, the guys better known as the "mid-pack hackers". Nothing worse than starting in the back and some yahoo clips a tree 30 seconds into the woods creating a traffic jam. So now I’m nervous and bummed. Oh well...."FOCUS!" I said to myself.
Whistle blows and I start looking for holes in the group, the guy in front of me has trouble clipping in, just to the right another guy had both feet planted on the ground for the whistle so he’s late to start. Now I’m saying "FOCUS and PATIENCE!". Eventually I find a line, shift down and crank thru the group getting up into the top ten. We have another straight away – after a turn – which gives me enough room to climb into (what I believe is) 6th place before the woods. That’s all I could ask for after being way in the back. Sure enough as soon as we enter the woods I hear a crash behind me somewhere and some people begin to complain as others apologize. Did I mention it’s key to get out in front before you enter the woods in a race? Well that’s why!
The rest of the race is uneventful until the last three miles or so. Before then it was clean fun racing for the 8 or so of us. Tight pack riding a good pace and slowly people begin to peel off eventually leaving me in what I believed was 2nd place as I begin my second lap. I’ll tell you now that come to find out a local had flown off the front shortly after the start never to be seen again. So I was in 3rd place, not 2nd.
Stroll along a few miles and I begin to feel the true pain of racing with 3 miles left but still hanging on to the second place guy. Two other guys catch up to us and I eventually just have to let them pass. I knew I did not have legs to sprint away from them at the finish which is a quarter mile "sweet" but fast fire road. I stayed close but couldn’t stay with them. I could literally see them sprinting to the line I was so close. Oh well, that’s life. I crossed the finish line in 5th place (19 racer field) and pretty happy with it. Finished off the season skimming a top 5 and with a blown fork. Yea, I got home and noticed my fork’s right leg was drooling oil. I’m sure selling that free t-shirt on eBay will lessen the blow of a $150 repair. Ahhh, it’s all worth it.
As for CBR, well we had a great showing. I drove out there with Gabe Jr. and Dayton drove out with Barry riding shotgun. Probably the largest CBR mtn bike crew I’ve seen this year. They can recap their own races if they want but here are the numbers...

Gabe Denis Jr. - 1st place Beginner, 19 and under (he had an interesting race, ask him about it)
Dayton Preston – mid pack Sport, 40-49
Barry "I don’t ride" Carswel – 3rd place Expert overall, 1st in age group
Jose Mendez – 5th place Sport, 30-39
Don’t forget time change is approaching. Buy some good lights and join the CBR mtn crew for nighttime riding at Flat Rock over the Winter. Beats taking the COLD wind on the road. Good times!

JOSE

CBR Rules Jersey Cross!!!

by Major Mike Reardon

(Mike is the northernmost representative of CBR. He is stationed at Ft. Dix New Jersey. Mike raced with us in GA until he was sent to Korea for several years)

I'm such a bad team member, I haven't published any of the three race reports I owe so a quick summary will have to do.


First race, lots of sandbaggers, winner got a free cross frame, bad crash on the first lap going into to first turn, I got caught behind it and had to chase the rest of the race for placings, I got tenth. My legs were not with me that day. Lesson learned, get a good starting position to avoid the inevitable first lap crashes.
Second race, lots of sandbaggers again. really rough and technical course, more like a mountain bike course without the mountains, kind of reminded me of Flatrock park a little. Once again, I got a crappy start, I took too long to warm up, and once again I got jammed up behind a big pile-up in the first turn. Because it was so rough though, there were lots of people that couldn't hold the pace so I was able to pass lots of folks on the tough parts, tubulars help, low pressure and no pinch flats. I ended up chasing a guy on the last lap and put in a strong attack on the last section of barriers then out-sprinted him for the line. I took 5th, yeah for me. Lesson learned, tubulars are great, sandbaggers suck, get a good starting position, if you're not in the top 5 on the starting grid, you're not racing to win


Third race, guess what? more sandbaggers, the top 2 riders had 2.5 minutes on the field. This weekend was hot, hot, hot, I think we topped out at 92 degrees, many people were not prepared for the heat and because real men don't carry water bottles in a cross race, we suffered badly. Once again, I got a bad start, you would think I would learn my lesson huh? apparently I like to suffer and chase the entire race because that's what I did again. Good hard course this time, three barrier sections, good singletrack sections and a few spots to really open it up and hurt yourself. Things took a little while to thin out but the last 4 laps we were all fighting for the 3rd spot as the top 2 chuckleheads were way ahead, both of them are 3's on the road. I had good legs and actually felt like I was getting stronger as the race went on. On the last two laps I started to real in the pack and moved up from 9th to 7th. On the last lap, I put in an attack on a technical section and passed a guy on a very sketchy inside move, think Robbie Mcewen in a finishing sprint. I hammered as hard as I could and won a sprint for the line to take 6th. Lesson learned, get a good start, duh. Tubulars Rock!

So after my somewhat consistent performances I am leading the C men's series by 46 points. CBR Rules Jersey Cross!!!


My pit crew and I, that would be Darsi, she has gotten really good at wheel changes, proudly display our CBR clothing, thanks for the t-shirt, she loves it.