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2014 DCCX presented by DCMTB and CXHairs
 
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Stoopid 50 is an accurate description.....
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I ventured up to State College, PA Saturday arriving in time to get a hour or so spin up Bear Meadows road and hit the last downhill of the course. I felt great going into the weekend fitness was where I needed it to be. I did not however get in much trail time, much less rocks like they have in Rothrock.
Woke up bright and early with the sun on Sunday, did the usual coffee and such. Eventually we all lined up underneath the NoTubes banner, we were off and rolling shortly. Up Bear Meadows road sticking with the pack being led by some of the endurance hotrods, HR was not where I wanted it to be upper 180s. We made the turn onto the trail and I thought I might have a chance to get my HR down, was I wrong. Out onto Tussey I ate it in the rocks in what seemed to be the heckle pit. Rolled down Tussey passing a bunch of people with flats.
The rest of the race was uneventful felt great on the climbs, took me around an hour to get my rock riding skills back in check. Went back and forth with 2 of the Toasted Head Wine people not sure on names. No mechanicals or major cramps to think of.
Finish time was just over 6 hours, I had hoped for closer to 5:30ish. Not to far over. Nutrition was a mix of Roctane drink mix and gels along with aid station food. If you have the chance to do the race go for it, Chris Scott does an excellent event as always. |
6 Hours of Saunders
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Ventured down to Goochland, VA this past weekend with Graham Smith of the Seavs/Haymarket squad for a duo race at Darren's favorite course. The race took place at the Saunders Boy Scout camp same trails as the 18 hour they do in the fall.
Anyway Graham started us off at 1030am right after we both took a shot of Red Ace Organic Beet Juice We were turning about the same lap times 35-40 minutes, he came out of the woods after the first lap with a nice lead on 2nd place and 2nd overall behind a solo nut. On what would be my last lap I came around about 3 miles in to a bunch of racers standing around, a guy hooked a tree and went airborne cracking his collarbone. They stopped the race till it cleared up and everyone agreed mostly to party pace it back. The race kind of ended after that, Graham went out for another lap mostly for Bakers next weekend. The results were based off of the pre red flag lap.
We ended up 1st duo and 2nd overall.
So a solid weekend of racing for DCMTB. Looking forward to some XC racing in the next few weeks. |
Monster Cross - If 70's Elvis decided to Race.
From John Rogers..... If it had been up to me, I wouldn’t have raced MonsterCross this year. Asa, however, wanted to do it, and I’m glad I went along. Asa also brought along one of his high school buds. We were on the road by 6AM (and we happened to see Albert on 95 on the way down). Given my fat elvis state and lack of riding this winter, I raced my old bianchi cx bike with the horizontal dropouts. After all these years, you’d think I would know to cinch down the steel quick releases really hard. I thought I had, but no, the rear wheel pulled out. By the time I was done, practically the whole field was ahead of me. Horizontal dropouts are known for this issue, so: ! That said, after looking at all the crap on the bianchi after the race, I’m glad I used my beater, as this year’s track was pretty wet, with a number of mud bogs and wet soil throughout. There was just no rolling, and it made for a tough race. Anyhow, my race plan had been to start towards the front and surf the groups as they passed me by until I found a group that suited me. This time around, rather than getting dropped by groups on my way backwards, I was picking off people as I made my way up. I kind of liked the latter more then the former. Toward the end, it was fun racing with Peter Lindemann, Mark Stahl and. I think, Chas Ryan. I was really tired, but feeling ok when Peter made another move on the road rollers 5mi or so from the finish, and definitely felt I could hold it and was looking forward to the tactics playing out on the way in ... But, my mind made a promise that my body couldn’t fill ) and my right calf cramped up, leaving me no choice but to slowly roll it home. Though I’m going backwards at MonsterCross (doing a 2:58 and 3:03 previously), I was not unhappy with my time of 3:22 and change (for 13th out of 60 50+ racers), as it has been a hard winter and I got my fat elvis thing going on. I was also really happy that I could support 50 mins at a lower Z5 heart rate and over 2hrs in Z4. I’m hoping that this effort pays off down the road! Doing MonsterCross is a tough day, what with getting ready, driving almost 6hrs, and leaving home before dark and getting home after dark. I always wonder whether MonsterCross is worth it. But this year’s highlights (good racing, just hanging around after the race, listening to nice music, BS-ing with Albert and others and being warm as I was waiting for my youngster and his friend Ian to bring it home, which they did together - and seeing Asa and his friend Ian falling asleep within 5mins of starting the drive home), means that I suspect I’ll be back next year. PS-Shout outs to Albert, Corey and Matts Merkel and Even, and JonathanS and the FBS crew. Mr. Merkel pulled out a 2:50, a mere 11 mins slower than Mr. Bishop, for the fastest DCMTBer time of the day! John Rogers........ |
Team Meeting Feb. 10th 7:30pm Looking Glass Lounge
Team Meeting Dec 9th 8pm Looking Glass Lounge
Meeting will be at 8pm. Will have the QBP. Topics to talk about: Election of the Board Right now here are the people that have been nominated: Darren Biggs - President Chris D.-Treasure George - Secretary Raul-Board I am not sure if Brian wanted to run or not, since he might be leaving the area. If you are interested in running for the board, want to nominate yourself or someone else please let us know. Team Rides-Who will volunteer to lead them. Team Trips- where to go Maybe instead of DCMTB doing some grassroots races, Maybe some epic rides open to non-members? WE NEED NEW BLOOD! Pat Thru Ride Big Shed-Gambril Ride MoCo North MoCo South Monster CX VA Ride (difficult Run/Pimmit Trails) Dirtyburg Gravel Grinder. Introduce people wanting to be new members |
MABRA Cyclocross Championship - CAT 4-5 MEN
The MABRA Cylcocross Championship marks my sixth CX race this year. The season has been nothing short of absolutely fantastic. Each race feels more confident than the last; maximizing turn speed and riding more efficiently. Sunday's race started at 3:00pm so I was able to show up a few hours early. Scouted most of the course on foot, paying attention to each wave and identifying trouble spots. Met up with Jonathon about an hour before start and received some great advice regarding the start. Since the course was so muddy, the recommendation was to go all out in the first few hundred yards, secure a good position, and ride safely. The execution worked perfect! Since this was not part of the Super 8 series, and I signed up last minute, I was staged in the very back. Out of the gate I secured a position in the top 25%. Coming into the first muddy, technical part, I chose to dismount and run the entire section. This ultimately placed me in the very front since there was such a pile up in the first few hundred yards. Each turn felt fast and secure; drastic improvement from just a few months ago. As the field started to grow apart I focused on making fluid turns and went full gas on any flat I could find. Four laps total, and about 46 minutes of racing, I finished fourth place overall. A first time podium finish. Looking forward to wrapping up the
season at Capital Cross on December 8th. |
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45 podium.JPG
DCCX, October 20th, 2013
Race: Sunday, October 20th, 2013 Women's Skills Clinic- Saturday, October 19th 1pm ($1, $6 if you don't have a USA Cycling license) Open Course Practice time- Saturday, October 19th 2-4pm Registration has been extended to Friday noon on Bikereg! Race number pickup and late registration Saturday at venue, 1:00-3:30PM Staging in events with 1/2/3 Racers (Open, Masters, Single Speed) are staged by Cross-Results for Online Registrants!  DCCX, the only cyclocross race in Washington, DC, has quickly grown to be one of the largest Cyclocross Races in the Eastern United States, with ~ 850 registered racers and over 50 kids. Top regional talent compete in the elite categories, while age-group and lower category racers make up the undercard. Kids can compete on a separate course (free). The venue and course are designed to create a fun, family-friendly spectator environment, in addition to a challenging race course. Admission to the venue is free and refreshments from Staples Corner Liquors, Baja Fresh, and the DC Dutch club and others help keep the party going. Other Sponsors include Terra Lawn and Landscape, Family Bike Shop, Sonoma Restaurant and wine bar, Drink More Water, and Strava. |
3rd 2013 DCMTB Free CX Clinic, September 25th @ 6 pm
Folks, Wes Schempf (SEAVS-Haymarket) is back from China right on time for the last CX clinic! http://www.cxmagazine.com/justin-lindine-podiums Wes will cover techniques key to finding and keeping speed on the course -- cornering, momentum, run/ride decisions, and keeping speed thru barriers. If you want to get faster and don’t have lots of time to train, attend this clinic. Wes’s tips are very helpful! The clinic is open to racers of all levels. Jrs, advanced, intermediate and rookie racers are welcome! Bring a photo ID. It is required to access the AFRH campus All clinics will be held at the Armed Forces Retirement Home - Rock Creek Church Rd, NW & Upshur St, NW. Enter at Upshur Rd. gate and follow signs to clinic site. Please arrive early to register. Clinics will start on time. * If you hold a current USA Cycling license you pay a $1. If you don’t have a license, you pay the $1 fee but you are also required to buy a 1-day license for $5. ** After the clinic, participants will have the opportunity to ride around the race site/course to practice the newly learned skills. *** All riders under 18 years old need to be accompanied by his/her parent/guardian to sign their waiver. Clinics and DCCX race info is at DCMTB.com Questions can be directed to Raul Rojas rojasrau@gmail.com |
Terror of Teaberry
This is the third race of the three race Michaux Endurance Series, along with Michaux Maximus and The Curse of Dark Hollow. I had done both of the previous races with George Flam, and chalked up two third places, with a flat tire, and bad cramps probably costing me a spot in each. Nevertheless, I was in good position to win the series, as the only other rider to complete both close to my times was Don Dowgialo (Bike Doctor). We drove up Sunday morning for the 10:00 start. All three are an hour and a half (or less) from Montgomery County, so it was an easy race to get to the day of. In typical Michaux fassion, set up in a gravel parking lot. But the organizers do a good job of staging and registration with minimal (or no) existing amenities. I looked for Don at the start, asked some of his teammates if he was coming up, but no on knew. Did not see him at the start, either. George and I had been talking all season about the need to start at a reasonable pace, and ride your own ride for these 2-3 hour races so as not to get overcooked early. So naturally, right before the start, he says "We're going for the holeshot!" They start us, he hits it, and I get third wheel. We kept that order through most of the first 2 miles ( which was mostly downhill). At the first gravel road crossing I gained a spot to be right behind George. A little bit later I went by him to get out in front of our field outright. Then there was a long technical singletrack climb, leading into continued technical and rocky singletrack. I continued to lead all the way to the long gravel road climb (High Rock Rd.) at 6 - 7 miles. Here I got passed by another Masters category rider. I let him go in order to save my energy for the presumed technical singletrack to come. That worked out as I was able to reel him back in before the next climb on High Rock Rd. This one was not so long and we went back into the singletrack with very little separation. He gained the lead back but eventually made a mistake on the rocks and I got by him again. From then on I did my best to ride efficient and keep the pressure on without overdoing it (and blowing up before the finish). There was some very rocky riding on the ridge top (Rocky Ridge). I didn't ride all of it but I rode enough to keep the lead. Then a gully downhill leading to a tire sucking up hill (long grass over rocks) that couldn't end soon enough! At 16 miles all the big climbs were done and I was still out in front. Another half mile of gravel road lead to a short (had to walk) climb back up to the top of the ridge, then single track to repeat our start, which led to the finishing chute. Coming through I asked if I was the first Masters rider, fairly confident that I was. My "shadow" came through not a minute later. I think the result was close enough that I think the early lead out by George was a legitimate factor, letting me conserve my energy for later in the race when I really needed it to ride the rocks and keep the small gap I had. So along with the race win, I also go the series win as well. Not a bad way to end the MTB season.  |
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