cornerstone life

the fear

2009-11-22T15:22:00.000-08:00

This post also appears on the Crossniacs team blog.

Matt and I drove down to Cow Palace yesterday afternoon for Cross Palace, which was held in conjunction with SF Bike Expo. The course was incredibly short and went through a little pump track built inside one of the wings of the arena, then went outside again and dropped down into the lower portion of the fairgrounds where it took you up a run-up and back down an incredibly steep downhill then wound you through a maze-ified animal paddock then back up to the arena.

The rumor was that the downhill was around 45-50° grade; this might not have been true, but it WAS the same hill that the dirt jumpers were bombing down, and once you got down the hill you had to do an immediate right-hand turn on a berm and then an immediate left into a double-wide section of peanut butter mud. I hopped on the course to do do a few warm-up laps and ended up crashing incredibly hard coming down the hill the first time around. I didn't even get to make the turn - I hopped on the bike at the top of the hill, got one foot clipped in and spent the entire downhill frantically, and unsuccessfully, trying to get the other foot in and ended up plowing full speed into the berm at the bottom and endoing over the top of it onto the asphalt. Fortunately I jumped back on my feet really fast and was completely fine, except for a bit of road rash on my knee and a super-size feeling of embarrassment from crashing so hard in front of so many people. I hopped back on the bike, finished the lap and went around one more time to give the hill one last shot. I was able to stay upright the second time, but got whacked in the "boys" by my seat so hard that I had to stop and sit down. I went to the top of the hill a few more times but just couldn't bring myself to go down it again. At that point I had the full-on Fear, and decided not to take the start.

At first I was pretty disappointed in myself for losing my nerve, but as the day went by and I watched a few of the races it became apparent that the downhill section was genuinely dangerous. The hill and berm ended up collecting an alarming number of victims, one of whom had to be taken away in an ambulance. Another person voluntarily dropped out of the race because he thought the hill was unsafe, and Matt and I also spoke with one the bigger names in the Bay Area 'cross scene who refused to start for the same reasons.

I'm not sure if this race will be held in the future, but if it is and that same downhill is included, I will not be doing it. I love racing, but not so much that I will willingly ignore my self-preservation instinct.

basp #3 @ sierra point

2009-11-16T13:19:00.001-08:00

This post also appears on the Crossniacs team blog.

photo courtesy of @ecoPRchick

I was able to score myself an extra-long weekend this week and used it to eat diner food, drink beer and generally lie around trying to remember what regular, non-CX people do in their spare time. Needless to say, I rolled into Sierra Point with my mind and body elsewhere, but that wasn't enough to make me skip the spectacle of the only night race on the calendar.

We started at dusk and fortunately everyone made it through the drag race to the first corner (unlike last year, where things got a little crazy). After that it was cruising, picking up spots where possible and making sure that you stayed upright. There were so many turns, washboard sections, barriers and run-ups that it was almost impossible to get a rhythm, not that I would have raced any better if I had been able to find one. I still had a great time racing, though. My "lost" weekend may have hurt the fitness a bit, but I think it will probably help preserve sanity in the long run. I also ran into my friend DB from San Diego, who was on a NorCal roadtrip and tried his hand in the Bs with me, and had a nice start-line chat with Paul (I hope that's your name - apologies if I forgot) of Team BEER. Seeing old friends, making new ones and riding off your hangover.... gotta love cross!

As always, head over to the NCNCA Racing blog for more pics and video of this weekend's action. Next race is Cross Palace this weekend, at SF's Cow Palace fairgrounds. Word is that we'll be racing INSIDE the arena...

cxsr #1

2009-11-13T20:18:00.000-08:00

This post also appears on the Crossniacs team blog.

Man, the Bike Monkey crew in Santa Rosa knows how to put on a race! The course was super flat and super short and, other than two single-bike-wide bridges and a gnarly tree root, was a straight-up DRAG RACE which totally played to my strengths. I got a decent start just hammered, hammered, hammered for 15(!) laps… and did great! I finished 8th/38 and was the last rider to stay on the lead lap. I celebrated afterward with a beer and a brat, as usual. I guess the trick now is to get that same performance in fields three times as large, like they are at the BASP races. None of the fields were very big and the course wasn’t particularly challenging, but everyone was stoked to race and had a great time.

CXSR (and also Livermore) might not have the flash and prestige of the bigger series in the region, but they are invaluable for racers looking to pick up extra starts and work on the race fitness. Another advantage of having these “feeder” series around is that they almost double the length of the racing season out here. The bulk of the racing naturally runs from October through December just like everywhere else, but when you tack on Livermore, which starts in early September, and CXSR, who hold their last race in mid-February, you get a regional cross calendar that is nearly six months long! Needless to say, I feel very lucky be racing in a region that offers so many opportunities to compete. The only downside is that I usually run out of steam before the race calendar does! I'm trying to work on that, though.

AV Club: The root claims a victim!

good job, moonies

2009-11-04T19:29:00.001-08:00

Courtesy of Lee
Originally uploaded by tedketai

remember that thing I said back in february?

2009-10-30T16:31:00.000-07:00

You remember, that.

Looks like I was a lot closer to being right than I thought, unfortunately.

According to Intervíu, police evidence revealed that Rock Racing's Francisco Mancebo also maintained a relationship with Losa. In a reported exchange between Losa and Mancebo, Mancebo sent a text message dated Jan. 28 to Losa: “Call me to eat one day and bring me something … we have a crisis.” To which Losa responds, “Ja, ja … whenever you want.” A few days later, Mancebo won the first stage of the Tour of California.

Sad. We of course need to wait for due process of law to sort this out, however flawed that may be, but still... pretty damning stuff.

Feel free to throw in your two cents any time, Mr. Ball.

basp #2 @ coyote point

2009-10-27T00:15:00.001-07:00

This post also appears on the Crossniacs team blog.

photo © Cyclocross Magazine

Man, I was ready. I spent all last week kicking butt at work, training was going well and I was rested. Matt and I got to the course a few hours early, did a few recon laps and then just hung out until it was time to roll to the staging area…. good mood, no problems and no stress (other than the usual pre-race jitters). I got to the starting chute extra early and was rewarded with a fifth-row spot behind the call-ups.

The start chute wasn’t actually a part of the course loop; it went up the side of the hill and (for the lack of a more better word) injected us into the Northern part of the course and through the finish line chicanes in the parking lot on top, and from there we went over top of the hill to the far side, then back and forth a few more times and through the “Hecklers’ Corner” sand pit. The course was excellent and very technical and I overheard many people describing it as similar to a short track XC course. Skills are usually more important than speed at this venue, and this race was no different.

The ref blew the whistle and we were off. I was good on the asphalt and into the woodchips - I held my spot pretty well, wasn’t getting pinched or pushed by other riders and the speed was low because we were climbing, which made me feel marginally safer. Then…

PPPPPPPPPSSSSSSSSSSSSssssssssss

Not sure what I ran over, but it must have been sharp as hell because I immediately lost all pressure in the rear tire. I stopped and threw the bike on my shoulder and ran through the chicanes to the neutral pit at the finish line where Zipp Greg threw a new wheel in and I took off again, working my way back up through the pack from DFL and ended up finishing 46th/72.

An honest day’s work, but man…. I had good legs and really wonder how I would have done without that flat. Flats suck, but they build character. I’ve also got to thank all the guys who showed a bit of sympathy as they rode past me - I heard about a dozen “bummer, dude”s as they all went by and another dozen people yelling that the neutral pit was right around the corner… you all rock, seriously.

If this video is any indication, I may be better at carrying my bike than actually riding it. Head on over to the NCNCA Racing blog for more pics and videos.

lion of fairfax

2009-10-18T22:02:00.000-07:00

This post also appears on the Crossniacs team blog.

My best race of the season! Matt was kind enough to give me a lift to Marin yesterday morning (thanks dude) and I think we were both anticipating a mud bath. I mean, how could you not after seeing this the day before?

We got to the venue around 11am and found that the course had almost completely dried out. There were a few spots that were still a bit slippery, but for the most part the course was either completely dry or satisfyingly tacky. Our race wasn't until 3pm, so we spent the next few hours watching the racing (Josh Snead murdered everyone in the Men's A race from the gun), scouting the course, and feeling bad for being on our feet and in the sun when we should have been sitting down in the shade.

Finally, after hours of waiting, it was time to race. I got an okay starting position a few rows back, but it wasn't okay enough - some guy went down in front of me within ten seconds of the gun, of course. I slammed on the brakes early enough to stay upright and ride around the fuss, made the front split and pounded on the pedals for the next fifty minutes. The legs felt good, the course was awesome and the hecklers mostly left me alone (I nailed all my remounts so they didn't have anything to make fun of). The only bad part was coming through the start/finish line on my second lap and hearing "SIX TO GO!"... Are you telling me I have to run up that stupid hill SIX more times?!? That seemed like a bit much. Turned out they let us race an extra ten minutes since we were the last race of the day. Still not sure if that was a blessing or a curse.

something for william

2009-10-06T23:06:00.000-07:00

It's still on my front door, has been since I got up here.

See you on Twitter.

weekends

2009-10-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so it's not just racing that is running me ragged on the weekends and making me (can't believe I'm about to type this) look forward to going back to the office on Mondays...

- Been hanging with my pals Nicole and Jason on the Janky Barge... they rage.

- Got fitted for my new suit (mine will be navy) by the charming Seyta of Duchess Clothiers.

- Been trying to not get behind on my fall reading.

- Been volunteering at the SF Food Bank with Grilled Cheese and Rodney in an effort to chip away at huge mound of bad karma I must have accumulated over the last 28 years.

ATTN C-Murder: You need to check this out RIGHT NOW.

basp #1 @ mclaren park

2009-10-06T22:05:00.000-07:00

This post also appears on the Crossniacs team blog.

The first round of BASP is always well attended, and this year was no exception - my race (Men's B) had 77 finishers and Men's C had 107(!). Insane.

This course absolutely KILLS me every year... no matter how good I feel leading into it or how well I do in the flatter races, the combination of massive elevation gain and my single-ring setup pushes every shortcoming to the surface and I usually end up getting spit out back by the end. But I'll be damned if it's not fun as hell, even if my result did get botched (this has become an annoyingly often occurrence in the last year). Big thanks go out to the Freewheel Hayes crew for letting me share their tent and Mark, Matt and Gabe of Squadra Ovest for providing me with a brat and recovery beer after the race.

Some media from around the web:

sandy switchbacks on the upper portion of the course
teaching the young'ns a lesson - grab the dollar, don't bunny-hop it
racing music
photo above courtesy of Cyclocross Magazine

As always, there's lots more pics and video @ NCNCA Racing blog.

larpd #2

2009-09-15T22:41:00.001-07:00

This post also appears on the Crossniacs team blog.

Man, check those QRs.... the sketchy one I was using on my rear wheel came loose(!) going into the last lap. In the ten seconds it took me to stop, fix it and get up and running again I went from a virtually guaranteed 6th place (with a good chance at outsprinting my on-course companion for 5th) to eeking out 8th with more than a few people breathing down my neck!

Other than that loose QR, everything is A-OK out here in the Bay Area. The speed and race fitness are coming along nicely, the weather is generally cooperating, and all my fellow racers are psyched to be back on the dirt.

And for those of you who like your racing not-so-sanctioned, the DFL Urban Outlaw Cyclocross-dress series is (dressed) up and running as well. If Barry Wicks shows up and digs it, it must be good!

larpd #1

2009-09-07T23:02:00.000-07:00

This post also appears on the Crossniacs team blog.

The Bay Area CX season officially started this weekend in Livermore at LARPD #1! I checked the weather on Friday evening and it said it was supposed to be a toasty 85F at race time, but when I arrived at Robertson Park on Saturday morning it was overcast and cool... not really what I was expecting (Livermore has a reputation for being a furnace in the summer) but I'll take it.

Half of the course was made up of grass corkscrews winding in on themselves and the other half was a mix of sandy trails and really fast hardpack. It was also overwhelmingly flat with about 10 ft. of elevation gain max through one section, which was just fine with me since I've never been much of a climber.

My race (Bs) was twenty strong; I got a crap start and had to work my way up though the pack before settling in with a group of guys of about my same fitness. Earlier in the week I had decided to just focus on having a clean, smart ride and staying upright, and for all intents and purposes that goal was accomplished - I took my pulls, battled a bit with a few guys and finished the race without cramping, which was a major problem for me last year. My ride certainly wasn't a revelation, but I did feel fitter, faster and smarter than I did at the same time last year.

Overall the series opener was pretty well attended for an early-bird race in BFE East Bay. There were more than a few big guns out there, and the fields should only get larger. I guess LARPD isn't much of a secret any more...

Leave it to me to sniff out the only mud hole in the entire parched town of Livermore.

(Top two pics are courtesy of liveplayride, last one courtesy of my jerkphone)

You can get more info on the LARPD series here.

Good luck to everyone gearing up for the new season! I hope your first race was as enjoyable as mine was!

long time no see

2009-09-03T20:47:00.000-07:00

So.... long time no blog. Haven't been doing much lately other than working and training, but here are a few notes to get you up to speed with my boring life and get me back in the habit of blogging more than once a month.

- Dressing better! Well trying to anyway. People in SF sure don't dress like they do in San Diego, and after two years of hoping beyond all practicality that I would be able to survive up here on my native diet of t-shirts, cargo shorts and sandals, I've given in to the inevitable and decided to buy new clothes. This has actually turned out to be pretty interesting and pretty fun with the added benefit that I look less like a 15-year old skater during my off-bike/work time. Style-oriented posts may be forthcoming, but until those materialize I suggest you head over to A Continuous Lean and Ivy Style for interesting reading, and don't forget to scour their blogrolls too... lots of good stuff in there.

- Race prep! It's been going well. Road season was horrendous and exhausting and I have no regrets about cutting it short, but since then all has been well. I've gotten through three mostly-uninterrupted months of training and the weather, while rarely being great, has cooperated enough to make the after-work rides viable. It seems that summer never really materialized, a suspicion confirmed here. Hopefully the heat is just late...

- CX Scale Slaughter 2009 is on track! See?

Not sure if I'll be able to hit 160 (it might actually be too light - it certainly was last year), but it keeps the carrot dangling far enough away to keep me vigilant. But don't worry, I'm not too nuts about it... just eating better and a little less than I do in the off-season. I also have a few regular indulgences (like a hot dog every Thursday from this fine establishment and drinks from this fine watering hole when needed) that keep me from going crazy.

*For the douchePhone enthusiasts who might be interested, I use Weightbot to keep track. It's simple, looks cool and has lots of metrics so I can obsess over how fat I am in new and interesting ways.

- And what goes better with a new season than a new race rig?

That's right... after a year of waiting and hoarding parts, it's finally ready and it is LIGHT.

- Crossniacs! Stu Thorne (you know, that Stu Thorne) name-dropped our crew! We must be doing something right if he knows who we are. I can't tell you how excited I am to race with these guys for a third season and have to thank Jared and FPA for all the hard work they've put in on the team's behalf over the last few years. Here's to another season of trans-continental HTFU.

Meanwhile South of the border down Mexico way, the Adams Ave. crew has been snapping up nacho plates left and right.

Way better than those crappy medals you get stateside, right?

Good job, amigos... miss you all lots and thanks for letting me tag along from 500 miles away. I'll see you over Thanksgiving.

reunion

2009-08-03T21:21:00.001-07:00

Damn, what a great night. Just like old times. Love these people.

whippersnappers

2009-07-26T20:54:00.000-07:00

AAB juniors throwing down @ San Marcos! They keep this up and I'll be switching to the Del Mar Glue Factory squad sooner than I expected.

And check out this weirdness:

The resemblance is uncanny, all the way down to the tuft of hair sticking out of the helmet vents.

new arrival

2009-07-18T15:27:00.001-07:00

This bike will literally shame me into riding better...

full frontal

2009-07-04T18:22:00.000-07:00

*DISCLAIMER*: I have no formal training or expertise in aerodynamics, engineering, the history of Monaco or blogging, so all "info" in this post could very well be wrong. I'm just calling them as I see them, literally: all I know about these bikes/riders are what I've been able to glean from pictures of them. Hell, I didn't even watch today's stage. Go figure.

Seems like Specialized and Trek are winning the aero wars, as far as bike design is concerned. Check out how clean these rigs look at the sharp end:

Cancellara on Specialized

Contador on Trek

Both are very clean setups - the already miniscule amount of exposed cable is cleanly routed and sheltered, the base bars are flat to make them as short as possible and the brakes are tucked away inside the front forks (Contador gets extra points from me for the use of low-tech electrical tape to cover the brake bolt holes and bottle cage bosses; it's debatable whether or not it actually makes a quantifiable difference, but it does indicate that someone, if not Contador himself, is paying attention to the details). Also, look how tightly the aerobar extensions, armrests, cables and stem clamp are packed togther on the Specialized. Either someone is doing their job very well down in Morgan Hill or Cancellara is making it easy for them. Or both.

What do both these companies have that make this possible? I think the answer is in-house component manufacturing, which is just a fancy way of saying money and infrastructure. Specialized and Trek are huge companies with tons of people and resources, and if they want to make fast-looking integrated fork/stem/bar/fairings out of carbon fiber for their star riders, they can do it efficiently and effectively (though certainly not cheaply or easily... I do know that much).

But when you are a team or manufacturer without that ability, you end up with this kind of craziness:

Hesjedal on Felt

Wiggins on Felt

Unknown on Felt

In the final photo you can see that, rather than being used as a finishing touch like on Contador's bike, electrical tape is actually an integral part of the setup. I'm sure the Felt and 3T boys were working overtime to get these things up and running, and props to them for their DIY ingenuity (they helped put four of their guys in the top 20 today) but damn... it looks like Rube Goldberg is their head mechanic. Also, could the Di2 setup look any more unwieldy?

But what do I know, I'm just a caveman...

Update 7/5 - VN chimes in on Garmin

raptor classic #1

2009-06-27T12:06:00.001-07:00

Raptor Classic #1 from Nick on Vimeo.

You can also check out pics here.

sf loves mj

2009-06-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

Later Mike... see you on the other side.

west coast lumber

2009-06-18T22:07:00.000-07:00

Gina looking fit and fast on the boards at ADT!

pic by Maxine (?)

Gina felt bad that I didn't win any cookies at Ronde van Brisbeen, so she is saving a box of Thin Mints in here freezer for me for the next time I go down to SD. Good thing too, because I just finished off my last box this week.

pro-pork

2009-06-15T19:45:00.000-07:00

Went to Cochon 555 last night. I am STILL in a food coma.

Peep the pics here.

belgie style

2009-06-13T19:10:00.000-07:00

I was really naughty this week and rode a lot more than the training plan said to.

Also getting things together for a proper classics-style wheelset for the Ridley...

social media is great!

2009-06-05T21:41:00.000-07:00

The event

The tweet response

rest week

2009-06-03T22:02:00.000-07:00

Not even looking at the bike.

Appetite is still raging though... you'd think I'd be able to get on top of it since I'm not riding, but that apparently isn't the case, at least not today.

Food food food!

Meat: it's good. In addition to Sausage Making 101 this Sunday with @Chicharrones, I will also be attending Cochon 555 at the Fairmont on the 14th. You are jealous, and that's why you should buy your own ticket and come with me to eat good food, drink good wine and schmooze with carnivorous ladies.

Go download the linecook415 podcast.

a little bit of altitude

2009-05-31T23:00:00.000-07:00

In other news: I registered for Sausage Making 101. It's going to be awesome.