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.

Georgia Cup - Grant Park Criterium

It was the best of times....It was the worst of times

Saturday September 8, 2007 was the beginning of the final weekend of this year's Georgia Cup Series. The season began in late February and with all the races - it was a long season. Most of the riders are ready to wind down and ease up on the riding intensity.

Saturday saw CBR racers race in four races. Jonathan Cook did the category 5 race and did very well. The field was between 45 and 50 riders. Jon stayed right in the pack for the entire race. On the final lap he attacked up the climb from corner three and put many of the field into distress. At corner 4 he stood up again and attacked about 300 yards from the finish. I thought he had gone too soon, but his attack just before hurt the entire field. Jon held on and captured 5th place in the race.

Next up were the category 4/5 racers. In this group we had Matt Ragan, John Stowe, Ryan Crabbe and Jonathan Cook. The races were sponsored by Aaron's cycling team and they had raised plenty of money and prizes for the primes. They really used them in the races. The 4/5 race had multiple gift cards, cash and a $300 prime during the race. With a field of 75 and money and prizes on the line - the pace was really high. The pace and the course took it's toll on the field and our racers. The officials were not allowing racers to continue if they lost the pack. Well, that said, in the end only one of CBR riders crossed the finish line. John Stowe, the BIG Diesel crossed in 23rd place.

The next group was the 3/4 Elite races. Ryan Crabbe did his second race of the day and unfortunately, began to cramp up early on and was forced to leave the race early. The master's group for CBR was Steve Murray and Barry Carswell. The field was moderately sized and started out just fine. There were several of the local Georgia "big" hitters in the group and also visiting the race was the National 35+ Master's Champion. The group began to do some attacks and there were also the primes. What does that have to do with the outcome? Alot. A third of the way into the race, I was unable to respond to the pack and was out of the race. Shortly thereafter, two riders went off the front and were away. The National Champ jumped across. The response from the field was an attack by the current 45+ state crit champ (Doug Pomerantz) and another big dog of master's cycling (Andy Lougher). When the leaders appeared again, it was still just the original three. Doug and Andy were unable to bridge. They waited for the field to catch them and they were back in. The next lap saw Barry Carswell (CBR's premier master's rider) take the front of the chase field. Within another lap, he had dropped the field and has a 5 second gap. The next lap he had 10 seconds. The field closed within 10 meters, but Barry responded by putting a 150 meter gap on them and retaining it until the end. He was never able to close to the three leaders, but he put on a display of pure power to drop the field and take a solid fourth place in a strong, capable field of riders.

Congratulations go out to Jon, John and Barry for showing us how it is done!!

GSC#8 - Pig Trail, Macon GA - 08/05/2007 - race report

(as told by nicki sutherland, mountain biker chick)

Sunday marked the final race of the Georgia State Championship Series. All of us noted how ironic it was that the first race was the coldest (30s – 40s) and the last race was the hottest (90s – 100s)! The temperature was brutal and the dry conditions left the trail with some tricky sandy spots that claimed several unsuspecting riders.

(“I guess we have to start lining up”)

By 11:30, everybody was dreading the race. Bruce (our verbose announcer) kept “hydrate people, hydrate” coming across the speakers. I drank a bottle of water before lining up. I was feeling hungry (never a good sign before a race) and although the thought of having a hot dog before the start was very appealing, the reality was that it would NOT be a good idea. I was already feeling overheated and I hadn’t even put my armor on yet! I was putting it off as long as possible. Finally most of the men are gone and it’s our turn. Bruce is rushing us and encouraging us to try to catch up with the men, so 30 seconds later, we are off.

(“Wait, I can’t get my computer started!”)

I got a slow start. I just wasn’t feeling it. Angie was obviously feeling strong today and was pushing hard. I tried to keep up with her, but just didn’t have any desire to get out of the saddle and hammer ahead. I followed her into the woods. Now in the shade, I started to feel like I was recovering from the start. I passed her and just tried to relax and keep my momentum going. She stayed close behind me, but eventually I was able to put some distance between us. About a half a mile from finishing the first lap, I almost slide out going around a corner. Something doesn’t feel right! I turn and feel the lack of control of the bike that only can indicate one thing: I have a FLAT! Being so close to finishing the first lap, I didn’t want to get off the bike and mess with the tire there. Maybe that was not the best strategy, but all I could think about was just getting the lap behind me first, and then being able to cool off a bit (I was seriously overheating at this point) while changing the tire. I had to carefully navigate myself down the rest of the trail on the flat and almost lost control a few times. By the time we went into the completion of the lap, Angie had caught up to me and sprinted through to start the 2nd lap as I dismounted to start working on my bike.

I was shaking, sweating, and just not moving fast enough! Thanks to D running to get me more liquid and throwing water all over me, I managed to cool down and wipe off while changing out the tire. My pit stop cost me about 10 minutes or more. I watched as all the girls in my class passed me. I decided to ditch the arm pads to allow more ventilation. Finally I was back on the bike. It was hard getting going again, but I decided that I was just going to have to find a good pace so that I would be able to finish the race and not allow myself to back off so much that I am out there in the heat all day! It’s hard once you have had a mechanical or flat to mentally get back into an aggressive mode.

Once I hit the single track again, I felt like I had recovered a bit, and I was feeling good again. I got into a nice groove and was enjoying the ride. I got closer to the climb and as I turned the corner, I saw Trish (in 3rd) pushing her bike. I carefully maneuvered around her as I made my way up the climb. I didn’t think I would be able to be back in the race, and claiming back once spot, gave me an extra boost of energy. With the climb behind me, I only had to worry about doing it one more time.

(Angie riding strong up the climb)

As I came through to start the 3rd lap, I shed my knee pads. I just wasn’t cooling down enough! By the start of the 3rd lap, I had started to feel some cramping set in. I stretched on the bike as much as I could and kept a comfortable pace. Suddenly I saw Beth (in 2nd) in the woods up ahead. I tried to push just a little harder, staying conscience of the cramping. I managed to catch up to Beth and passed her before we hit the climb. I had already decided that I would walk up the climb this time, not wanting to risk cramping and having my legs lock up on me. I hit the climb, quickly dismounted, pushed my bike up it, stretched when I got to the top, and then was on my way again. The quick stretching of the quads definitely helped relieve some of the cramping, but I had forgotten to stretch my inner thighs and they were starting to tighten up more now. I just needed to keep it together for 1 more mile. One circle at a time, drink, drink, breathe… I start to hear the announcer through the woods. I’m almost there! As we come out of the woods to head down the straight-away to the finish, one of the guys that had been riding with me on and off through the race, encourages me to push a little harder to finish, and comes up behind me and puts his hand on my back, giving me a little shove. I am so relieved to be done! Bruce, being evil, starts joking about how I’m going to be disqualified because someone pushed me… whatever! He was just trying to get a rise out of me, but I was too hot and too tired to care. I had managed to dig myself out of the hole from last place, to get 2nd. I was thrilled.

(“Everybody STRETCH!”)

I realized 2 things after the race though: 1) I need to learn how to change a flat faster! 2) I need to drill some holes into my armor!

After sitting around chatting to some riders for a bit about the race and riding in general, we headed back to the car and D hosed me down for a good 10 minutes. It felt great! I wished I could have jumped in the pool! We had to wait around for the race awards and then later, they had the series awards. Dave and Terri did a great job putting together a nice spread of food, and then the awards were handed out. I had a great season this year. I am thankful for that. I finished in first place, and will be moving up to expert next year.

I want to extend a big thank you to everybody that has dedicated their time into making these events possible for us. These well organized events surrounded by many smiling faces, keep you coming back for more of the pain! =)

(“And the winner is…”)

NORBA National - Sugar Mountain, NC - 07/28/2007 - race report

[play-by-play as told by nicki sutherland, mountain biker chick]

No really, I won. I really did! This is a picture of the podium. The camera was not available at the time of the awards ceremony.

This past weekend, I participated in my first National event at Sugar Mountain, NC. I had never been to one of these so additionally, I was looking forward to the opportunity of watching the top pros in action. I checked the weather before we headed up there, and with high chances of rain all weekend, it was set to be an “interesting” time.

We headed up there on Thursday. It took us 7 hours to get up there. I wanted to set up camp before the sun went down, and luckily we were able to do that, and thankfully without rain. We found a great site that was under several huge trees, which definitely came in handy during the “on again, off again” rain throughout the weekend. Our temporary home was quite cozy, except for an unfortunate leak in the air mattress and me not being able to get the lantern started the first night. Oops!

Friday morning, we headed to Sugar Mountain Ski resort to check in, pick up my package and race number, and pre-ride the course. The rain had ceased, but it didn’t matter as the ground was slick and muddy. I started up the mountain and had to dismount three times within the first mile due to loss of traction. It was a steep climb. I was running the smallest gear I had and wishing I had another. There is nothing more frustrating that spinning your wheels and not going anywhere.

The elevation was such that you just had to accept that you would be sitting back and slowly grinding up it. There was no sprinting or surging to be made within the first ascents. Three more times I had to push my bike through slippery sections before I reached the top of the mountain. Then it was time to descend. I had heard that the single track sections of the descent were part of the old down hill course, so I was curious to see how bad they were. I wish I had my camera. I don’t think I can truly describe the mess. You had to experienced it yourself. It was a combination of rocks, roots, mixed together by mud slush which pretty much took control of your bike as you tried to navigate through it in a “controlled” slide. I attempted most of the sections to gauge my skill and prepare myself for race day deciding that it wasn’t worth the risk and that I would be walking most of it, and very carefully.

When I got through the last section of gnarly descending single track, I was relieved that all I had left was a straight shot down the mountain. But I quickly realize that I should not be too hasty in my excitement, as going in a straight line on a wet trail that is a mix of mud and grass, with tires that or now fully caked in mud leaving no room for traction, was not something to be taken lightly! I finished and started to psych myself up for having to do two laps of that, when D came running toward me with much excitement. Apparently, due to the nasty conditions, they had changed all the women's laps to be one less. I somewhat felt cheated and relieved at the same time.

My bike and I were caked in mud and I headed to the supplied water hose to promptly clean us. Later, I still had to pick out strands of grass and packed mud! She will never be the same again… sigh.

Race day and riders are line up at the start in their categories. For some reason, I was not that nervous about this race. I don’t know if it was because I had no expectations, didn’t know anybody, or knew that I only had to get through it once. I had gotten a somewhat good warm up with one of the riders in my group and then was just waiting for them to count us down. The whistle blows and I get my shot gun start as always, but not pushing too hard as I know as soon as I take the corner, we will start going UP and I needed to not be blown up for the long climb ahead. We all slowly crawl up the mountain. I definitely think that the pre-ride paid off. I had planned what I would need to do in my head, and I tried to follow it without getting discouraged by not being able to climb the whole way. As soon as I lost traction, I was off the bike. I did a combination of running and walking. At some points, running would make you slide. We all fought our way to the top. We were head to head with each other. I pushed myself to be just ahead of the rest up the last steep turn and quickly got back on my bike, gaining speed and momentum which helped propel me up the next incline. My goal now was to keep moving forward. I never saw anybody else in my class again after the first mile and a half, but I didn't waste any time looking back either. Once I caught up with some of the back of the men’s pack, I was motivated to keep going and try to pass as many as I could.

The climbing is over and now it’s time to make the descent. The sections in the woods are slightly drier than yesterday, but not by much. Still they seemed slightly more manageable. I am able to stay on the bike through 3 of the sections, but then finally had to succumb to the rocks, roots and mud slush. My better judgment told me to walk it instead of trying to struggle through there in a control slide. I unclipped one foot through parts, pushing myself through. On others, I totally had to dismount and carefully walk through. Walking on wet, muddy baby rocks with cleats is like walking on ice! Add the fact that you have to keep both yourself and your bike from falling makes it extra fun! These sections made “blood rock” at Oak Mountain look like a walk in the park!

I slide down the last section of single track and hit the open run down the mountain to the finish. My excitement starts to build, and I am almost hitting 30 mph. I remind myself that I have to bleed speed in order to remain in control through the slick sections. The downhill descent ends in a sharp 45 degree turn then rolls around into the start/finish area. I am done and managed to hold on to my lead to cross in first place having covered 6 miles and 1000ft of climbing. The race was the shortest this entire year but one of the toughest. Chatsworth was still worse! I was thrilled to have finished so well on such a tough course and at my first national event. I think I may go to this again next year, but hopefully conditions will be better. Of course, it won’t really make it easier, but maybe I will be able to stay on my bike a little longer. =)

The aftermath: the pictures never do it justice. The bike was trashed!

CBR gets a top 10 in Huntsville

The team forgot a camera, so this is an edited version of Jeff, Adam and Bill



Prepared by Jeff Davis

The CBR Cat 5 group went to Huntsville for the Alabama State RR championships. The Cat 5'ers were Bill Swain, Adam Weinbaum and Jeff Davis, with Ben Weinbaum there for the Jr's race.

The Cat 5 field was capped out at 50 riders. The route was mostly flat with a few rolling hills similar to Sunshine Road beyond the bridge. At the beginning of the race I was worried and thought I was in for a long day, as we were going 28 mph the first few miles. I thought I may have accidentally entered the Tour de France. Luckily, it slowed down to a manageable pace after that. We ended up averaging just over 24mph for the 33 mile route.

It was also a bit sketchy at times too. Some guy hit my rear wheel so hard on the first climb it almost knocked me down. Now I know why some guys can't wait to cat up to the 4's.

The pack stayed together for the most part, as the hills were not significant enough to split up the group. So, it basically came down to a group sprint in the end. I found myself in the 15th spot or so with about a 1/4 mile to go and had a good position on the center line. The guys on the shoulder took off early and the guys in front of me couldn't respond, so I had to wait a few seconds for the 200 meter mark to go across the center line. I picked up a handful of spots in the sprint but the guys on the right just got too much of a head start and I crossed the line in 10th.

It seemed that most of the pack didn't understand the center line rule with 200 to go. They were unaware they could cross it for the final sprint, despite that fact that our Starter clearly stated this at the line before our race. That really kept the field tight and kept some of the guys from being able to sprint for the finish. Adam took major advantage of their ignorance and came from the back of the pack all the way up to finish 19th. Bill got pinned on the inside and couldn't really make a move without putting himself at risk and finished 27th.

We all felt like we had some gas left in the tank after the race. The consensus among us was if we knew how to work together better and understood the tactics of road racing a little more, we could have really left a mark for CBR on this race.

Ben Weinbaum entered the juniors race and had a tough day. There were only 10 jr's and one was a 16 year old that had just won the US Jr. TT Championship the week before. He is classified as a Cat 2 men's rider and also had three teammates with him. He was also wearing his National Champion's jersey which had to be intimidating. A 12 year old against a Cat 2 just doesn't seem fair, but Ben showed alot of determination in finishing the race and can chalk this one up as more experience. He did not many 12 yr. olds to race against, so they combined his group with the older kids. Ben did not beat the 16 yr. olds, but won his age division and took home Gold medals in both the crit and Road race.

The "Siege of Rome" - Georgia Cup Style

"Some men seek glory, others wealth...old racers seek rest"


Barry & Butch crashing after the TTT

The Southeastern All Star series visited the hamlet of Rome Georgia the weekend of July 14 - 15. The event would be a timed stage race that included a Team Time Trial, Criterium and Road Race. Our team - CBR , Columbus Bike Racing, took a 4 man team for the master's and a 5 man team for the Competitive class (Cat 4/5).

Scott & Steve enjoying a late breakfast

The master's team were the first of our group to start. We had Barry Carswell, Butch Brookins, Scott Matty and Steve Murray. The format allows for up to 10 riders, unfortunately, we could only muster four this week. We had a 24K (15.36 mile) Team time trial. We started out a little hard and in doing so, burned through Butch around 25% into the race. The course was flat with slight rises, this led to rather faster speeds and efforts. Butch was able to put in two great pulls through the rotation. This allowed us to keep good speed and keep working. Only Scott and Steve had TT bikes, so Barry and Butch were at a slight disadvantage in equipment. Over the course of the ride, Barry was able to keep us driving, but used up his cardio about 10 miles in. Scott and I continued, but at a slower pace than we had with our team mates. We did not pass any teams, but we also did not allow anyone to pass us. We finished the TTT in under 36 minutes and got 4th place. Butch and Barry were able to complete the course within 20% range of our time which allowed them to keep our time as the overall finish time for the team. Our ending average was 27.5 mph. We were 1 mph slower than the winners, so we were close, but still too far to be in the money.
Breakfast before the Team time trial

The Cat 4/5 team started out with Sam Gwin, Matt Ragan, John Stowe, Victor Karm and Jonathan Cook. The abilities within the group were varying, so they anticipated loosing a rider or two along the way and using whatever boost they could get. Jonathan was the first to fall out, but this was Jonathan's first real race weekend. He did a great job considering he is very new to cycling! John, Matt, Sam and Victor rode a very hard pace and kept it up. They were up against some teams with the full 9 - 10 riders. Matt sacrificed himself with some monster pulls and was off the group late in the TT. Victor, Sam and John stayed together to the end and all 5 guys were awarded the same finish time. They scored a 5th place out of around 15 - 18 teams. Very impressive result for such a small group.

Barry & Butch at the LandMark diner
The criteriums were later in the afternoon and the course had 4 corners, a climb you had to stand for each lap and a blurringly fast decent into a 90 degree turn. It was a fun course. Fast, hard and exciting to race and watch. The master's group did a good job and all finished with the pack. Barry scored with a 10th place, Scott with a 13th, Steve with 15th and Butch with 16th. In the C4/5's - Sam was the strong man and rode the front and took 5th. John was just behind him in the pack with 13th and unfortunately Matt and Victor got caught up behind a wreck mid way through and were out of the race.

The whole team dines together after the crits

The Road Race was held around 30 miles north of Rome at a park call the Pocket. The Pocket is at the base of a small mountain or a really big hill. We had two laps which included climbing the mountain and the final climb was also the race finish at the top. Truly a sadistic design! In the masters and Cat 4/5 groups - the fields stayed together until the climb. We started the race and everyone stayed together until the hill. At that point the field began to spread apart quickly. The climb was around 3 miles with several switch backs. The average grade was around 8 -9% with spots exceeding 20%. As I watched the leaders leave me, I wondered again why I do this. I can tell you - it isn't for the climbing. I had installed a 25 to make the climb easier. I was in need of a 27 by the second time up that hill. For the RR, only Barry, Scott and I were in the race. Butch had only been able to race with us on Saturday. As we approached the summit, Scott was in the chase pack and Barry was just behind them. I crested about 30 - 40 yards behind Barry. I tried to catch him on the decent, but he was just too smooth and fast. We encountered emergency personnel as a Cat 3 rider had taken a spill and had to be airlifted out to a nearby hospital. As the race progressed, I was in no man's land watching the chase pack slowly go away. I rode the remainder of the race solo for around 25 miles. I did stop for a nature break and missed another chase group that was behind me. So, there I was, no hope of a good finish and my overall time down the drain. The scenery was lovely. I time trailed as much as I could to stay on task, but it did little good. Once I hit the hill for the final ascent, I began to cramp badly and was forced off the bike on two occasions. I finished, but in a lack luster showing.


V-man & Jonathan at the Landmark diner


The Cat 4/5's had a similar scenario that their field remained together until the first climb. Sam was able to make a break away group and stayed there for a 6th place finish. The chase group included Victor who finished 12th. Matt & John were in the next group and finished with the field. Jonathan was slightly behind them. It was definitely a hard first race weekend for Jon. He showed alot of heart and will power just competing in a massive field of 75 riders.

The weekend was really fun overall with a good group and some nice results!! I also have to mention "Dora the explorer". Dora Ditchfield, a former resident of Columbus was our local contact in Rome. Dora works at Berry College in Rome and is very active in the local bike club. Dora helped us find our way to everything we needed. Thanks Dora and good luck on the upcoming move to Indiana!!

Alabama State 40K Time Trial Championships

Sprott, Alabama
Never heard of Sprott? Well there is a reason for that - there is nothing of note there. Only a road. And that road was all we needed. CBR took 13 riders to Sprott for our maiden voyage to the middle of nowhere Alabama. We had three teams for -Team Time Trial and one adult and two Junior riders for the individual event. The day started in a rainy Wal-Mart parking lot at 5 AM. We gathered and combined stuff to get down to 5 vehicles for the 3 hour drive to Sprott. The rain fell off and on the entire ride. The rain continued to fall during our TT's which made the rooster tails in the face really nice for everyone riding the TTT events!

The young guns started off and rode a 20K out and back route. They rode very well and represented Columbus and the valley very well. In the Juniors, we had Benjamin Weinbaum from the great state of Alabama competing for the state title. Ben was the fastest Jr. from Alabama in the 13- 15 group and won the state title!!! Gabe Denes Jr., not from Alabama, was second overall in the Jr's and won some cash. The rest of us had a full 40K team time trial. On the teams we had a full 4 man category 5 group with Jeff Davis, Shane Irvin, Bill Swain and Jonathan Cook. In the category 4's there was Matt Ragan and John Stowe. In the master's there was the ill fated team of Scott Matty, Gabe Denes, Adam Weinbaum and Steve Murray.

The master's group was the first to start from our group. On the way to the line, we lost Adam Weinbaum to a nature break and he missed the start. Scott, Gabe and I started out a little fast and Gabe paid the ultimate price as his legs refused to push that hard, Gabe was off the pace and fell back. Scott and I continued on and traded pulls every minute and a half. There was a slight tail wind going out and the course was flat. The roads was a pebble surface, but still quite fast. At the turn around point 20K into the ride, our average was 28.5 mph. (We were flying!!) We had passed three other teams at that point. After the turn we hit that same wind that had helped us going out. One word -OUCH! Our speed dropped and the suffering intensified. We took shorter pulls and continued to try to maintain the pace. I was worried that the Mellow Mushroom team would be gaining on us. They were two minutes back at the start, but they were young and looked strong. I had seen them after the turn and they were riding smooth. Our driving pace took its' toll around mile 19. Scott started fade just a little. We regained our composure and dropped the pace slightly to adjust. We pushed the remainder of the ride more from the desire to get off our bikes and end the suffering rather than winning anything. Scott reached deep and stood and sprinted the last 75 yards and we were done. Praise the lord! Our ending average was 26.5 mph. We won the Team Time Trial beating 9 other teams. Our finish time was 56:12. We had the third fastest overall time. Two pro/1/2 category riders had put in faster solo times.

Cat 5 team

We sat at the finish watching for the others as they were just behind us in the starting order. Matt and John came in exceptionally strong. Shortly thereafter - the c5's were approaching. They worked well together and launched two to the line to get the best time possible. Shane and Jon took the line with Jeff and Bill following close behind. In the middle of these two groups - Gabe and Adam rolled in. Adam had come to the line and found Scott and I gone and rode out chasing. Shannon Dickerson had also gone and suffered two flats 8 miles into the TT to end his race. We then waited for 2 hours for the results to post and finally left the metropolis of Sprott. Gabe has decided to come back next year and take the tandem title.

Did I mention there is nothing to do in Sprott? Well, if you look closely, you can see we were just sitting around watching Scott sleep. No one was able to ring his mouth with pieces of paper. Maybe next race!