Monday, October 19, 2009

Do those crank arms look long?


Found a picture of my great-uncle Arthur Dingfelder. I'm guessing this was the early 1930's and he was maybe 14-15. It looks like he can hardly get on the bike but he would often ride from Brooklyn to his parent's summer place in Pennsylvania. Because 100+ mile rides alone through New Jersey is what you did as a kid in the 30's.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Ridin with Josh

I've had good intentions to add content, but...... I don't have a good excuse. Here is a short story about a recent ride Josh and I took on 8/2/2009.



Josh: "Dad, I want to ride to Eric's house tomorrow."

Dad: "Josh, you know it is far and up a massive lung burning, lactic acid generating, you are gonna whine the entire time type of climb....." [I've taken the liberty to add in how my brain interpreted his request]

Josh: "I know, but I want the challenge"

Dad: "Let me ask mom if I can take you on a 1:45 min ride on the road in the pouring rain"



I knew Josh theoretically could do it, we've been mountain biking all summer and we've already done several 15+ mile rides on/offroad. He just finished a week of mountain bike camp and got a new mountain bike a few weeks ago (an upgrade to 21 speeds from 6 speeds - wahoo!)...... I'm semi-confident he could do it (I just kept telling myself, maybe Nicole will put the kibosh on it and be the evil parent). No such luck....



(the next day)
"I'm ready" says Josh. "I'm almost ready", I said as I grabbed my cell phone unsure if I'll need to make emergency call to pluck an 8 y/o boy off the road. We saddle up under grim and threatening clouds and head out to our friend's place on top of a mountain in Etna, NH. About an hour into the ride it starts to rain. I try to block it out and hope Josh doesn't notice. "Dad, its raining". No response, I'm hoping it is just random things kids say. "I like the rain". "Huh?" I guess given all the rain we've had recently he has gotten to embrace it instead of despising it, this is a welcome relief and we continue pedaling on. We finally make it to our friend's place (ahead of mom) and Josh is pumped. He spends the next hours riding with his good friend Eric in the pouring rain. They even left a nice rut at their place as a memento and I'm happy to point it out to Eric's dad as I'm getting in our car.



This climb is phenomenal, it is one of the staples of my riding diet and I ride it to work almost everyday in Lebanon, NH. There a few cars, great road surface, dirt roads, lots of wildlife and even a small waterfall. In fact, the day that Josh and I rode, we saw a bear and cub cross the road about 50 yards ahead of us! In the early morning with low hanging fog, I end up riding above the fog for a few miles then descend down into work back through it. It is unbelievable..... I look forward to sharing it!

Josh and his new bike. This was taken on one of our mtn bike excursions. This was the day after he finished mtn bike camp and was eager to share ALL the trails with me on the same day.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

What I have been up to in the last 3 months. By KWPS


So I haven't posted in way too long, sorry guys and gals. To give you an update I moved out to Los Angeles to pursue my professional photography career. I am loving the southern California weather and riding a lot as you can see from a screen grab on January 13th. I did end up hurting my knee in the last cross race of the 2008 season, actually held on January 23rd, 2009, gotta love LA! I had a fun time but ended up hurting my knee on the first lap, I banged it into my bar end but finished the race. Please see my Video. I didn't take a rest like I should have and I don't wear my insoles for my flat feet. I developed a knee problem in my left knee, hmmm stupid? Yes. I went a little crazy, riding every group ride I could find. The weather was so nice I didn't want to rest. I tried to record a few rides using TrailGuru but didn't have much luck with my iPhone and the crappy Cingular service in Los Angeles. I did get it to work on the 3rd try, here is the famous Saturday morning Montrose Ride and see my TrailGuru data here. I ended up buying a fancy Garmin 705 from this guy, GeoMan the cheapest place on the web! I won't have anymore dropped data rides again. I have taken it easy the last few weeks waiting for my knee to heal and getting over a cold. I tried out the Backbone Trail, one of the best single track rides in the Los Angeles area on Sunday with a local group Corba. They are a really well organised group of fun loving mountain bikers. I had a great time, we did take to many breaks for my taste but check out my tracks from the Backbone Trail. I am going to get some custom insoles this week and a bike fit for my road and mtn bike and see if that helps with the knee. Take a look at some of the photos from the last 2 months here. I will keep you updated with photos, tracks and videos! We love Bicycles!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

This is why!

A few pictures to show why we (Melissa and Dan Coady) are heading to the Cyclocross World Championships on Hoogerheide, Netherlands.

This picture is from Cross Worlds 2007 in Hooglede-Gits, Belgium.  Look at all those people.  This is just one small part of the course and people were lined up like this along the whole course.

This was outside the train station in Brugge Belgium.  The low countries love their bicycles and their Veldrijden.

I will post a race and trip report including photos and maybe a video or two when we get back!

Monday, January 5, 2009

Representing team WLB

So this has nothing directly to do with cycling but here's a picture of me sporting a sweet WLB t-shirt.


This was on the climb to the Taktshang monastery in Paro, Bhutan.


-J

Sunday, December 21, 2008

The Ice Weasels Cometh - Dan C

Dec 13, 2008, Wrentham MA - Cold and Sunny
Single speed Open Category
Cross Race #34 of the season for me

What a great way and race to end the cross season.

I had never really thought too much about single speed cross racing.  JD Bilodeau did it for quite a few years and seemed to have lots of fun doing it.   I did 3 races of the NY Cross series this year and they had single speed races at them all.  One of those races was the Bennington VT race.  This is where I began to think that maybe I should get a bike going so I can do some of the races.  Unfortunately that was going to be the last NY Cross race I was doing for the year.  I had pretty much put it out of my mind and thought I would do some next year if time and the new baby allowed.

When the Ice Weasels Cometh race was put onto the schedule late into the season, I checked out the details and saw that I would not be able to do the masters/elite race that was in the afternoon due to a previous commitment.  But, there was going to be a single speed category that went off at noon.  That would leave plenty of time to race and get out of there and get to the Nutcracker in time.

I had to rip apart the Surly that I had set up for touring this summer and set it up as a single speed.  This is the only bike I have with dropouts that would allow for a single speed.  I pulled off the handlebars which had the shifters, and the derailleurs.  I wouldn't need them.  A few other modifications and I was all set to go.

I wasn't quite sure what gear ratios would be good for cross racing or for this course in particular but from what I had read 39x17 sounded like a good start.  Colin (the race promoter) also recommended this ratio and said that there was not much elevation change at the course.  I did not want to be changing cogs right before the race so I put three different sized cogs (15, 16 & 17) on the wheel.  With this setup I would be able to quicky move the chain from one cog to another and change my gear ratio slightly to suit the course.

Once at the venue I did a few laps on the course and found that 39x17 should be just right!  I didn't do much of a warm up but I was not anticipating the race starting a blistering pace.  And it didn't. Not much effort at the whistle easily got me into first place into the first corners and I led it around for a while until Cort Cramer and Mike Rowell came by.  The three of us rode together for most the race.  With about 2.5 laps to go I started going through the corners a bit faster and accelerating harder out of them.  I quickly got a gap and kept it going til the end for the win.

That sure was fun, and I didn't miss having gears at all.!   I think that in part was due to the course being a good one for single speed.  The straights weren't long enough to get going super fast so there was no crazy spinning out.  The hills weren't so steep that the gear was too big either.  These guy did a great job with the resources that they had.  A race in a back yard does not get much better than that.

All in all it was a great season for me.  My legs felt great for all but maybe 3 weekends (which 3 weekends those were should be obvious by my results).  I had tons of fun and really enjoyed racing in the masters field.  They have really, really fast guys but I am able to race competitively in that category.  I met lots of nice guys that pushed me hard every race.

"Don't cry becuase it is over, smile because it happened!" - Often attributed to Dr. Seuss.  I am trying very hard to do so.  Every year at the end of the season I wish that I could do just a few more cross races, then I will be done.  I want the season to keep on going.  This year I have done 34 races.  By far more than I have done in any other cross season.  Lots of weekends I was able to do 3 races by doubling up the masters and elite races in one day.  It still does not seem like enough!  I didn't do any 4 race weekends this year.  Maybe next year.  Do you think that will be the cure?  No, me either!  Only 9 months to go!

Friday, December 12, 2008

NBX G.P. of Cross Verge NECCS Race #9 Ken S



I am going to stop right there.  Her racing age is 67 (sorry Julie), she has raced over 30 races this year and 23 were cross races.  When I ride or race I think of people like her and I want you to as well.  It shows me that with dedication I can be there too.

Race Report,

I had my best results to date, 24th (66 starters).  I won my sprint and I was about 70 seconds off 10th place.  I was feeling really rested as I didn't get to race saturday.  It was more worried about getting around the course and staying up than being super fit and fast.  I took a little fall around a corner but got up without loosing my place.  This was the first true cross race for me this year and my last in New England.  I will be moving to LA in about 10 days.  I love cross and how difficult and fun it is.  What I love about cross in New England is the people, competition (sandbaggers) and the unpredictable weather.  When I try to explain cross to someone typically their response is "really??!!"  Racing when it's warm and dry isn't really cyclocross to me, I am going to have to get used to that in sunny CA.  I was so excited to finish off this year in Rhode Island at one of my favorite races in the snow with my good friends!  After the race I took out my camera and shot some more.  It was a very different race today.  One of the highlights of my day was seeing this email from my teammate Mark Z, check the time stamp!



NBX G.P. of Cross Verge NECCS Race #9 - Dan C

Dec 7, 2008, Warwick, RI - Day 2 - Wet/snow and cold
Masters 35+ 1/2/3
Cross Race #33 of the season for me

I completely stole this idea from MarkZ.  It was so good I could not help it.  How many differences can you see between these similar photos. - taken by KWPS.  The first is from day 1 in Warwick, the second from day 2 in Warwick.


One, two, maybe three?  The snow is an obvious one.
The three most important differences (to me anyway) are are not visible in these photos.  First being that my legs were feeling great (maybe from the pints of Guinness and scallops wrapped in bacon from the night before?).  Second being that I was racing for 4th place, vs the 15th that I got on Saturday.  A much better day for me.  I like racing in the snow and usually do well in it.   Third being that I was having much more fun today!
All in all the race went much better for me today than yesterday.  I had a decent start and immediately felt good.  John Bold (click on names to see their crossresults.com pages) was not racing today due to a pulled muscle in his back from a crash yesterday.  He had the elite masters series all wrapped up and didn't need any points from this race at all.   Roger A and Mark M immediately got a gap, with Kevin H, me and a bunch of others behind.  A lap in, the gap was closing to the two leaders and Kevin jumped across.  No one else would and once Kevin got there they picked it up quite a bit.  I kind of think Mark was slowing things down until Kevin could join them.  They are good friends.  He does things like that.

With those three gone, me, Mark Stotz, and Alan Starrett (who I have not really had the chance to race with in a group at all but had fun doing so) formed a group for the rest of the race.  Some of us were doing more work than others.  Alan was really smooth through the corners.  There were a few closing in on us from behind so I wanted to keep the pace high.  I would rather ride hard and finish last in this group (6th) than get caught and possibly finish 10th.   Others would rather just beat me.

I pulled hard pretty much the whole last lap as the guys behind were getting really close.  I was hoping to get a bit of a gap in the tricky stuff and keep it to the end rather than have to sprint Mark and Alan.  I hit the finish pavement first with a few bike lengths and ended up in a huge drag race with Mark.  Here is how it ended up.  I am on the outside, Mark is on the inside.

Can you tell who won?

I can't.  But the officials could.  I guess Mark got it by a hair.  Not really a big deal as he had jumped across me in the overall series standings yesterday due to a great ride by him and a crappy ride by me.  I would have had to beat him by around 10 places to take back my 5th place in the series.  I was just really happy to finish off the Verge NECCS on such a good note.  Yesterday would not have been a good way to do so.

So that finishes off the battle of the Easthampton elite masters between me and Mark.  I am killing him in the total number of cross races done this year!

Next up will be this race.  I have to do the single speed event due to other obligations in the afternoon.  My niece is playing Clara in the Nut Cracker.  I had better get busy and get that bike together so I can actually do the race.  Crap, forgot to pre-reg.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

NBX G.P. of Cross Verge NECCS Race #8 - Ken S


Ok, this is my first post and I don't have a lot to say about this race.  I was late, about 10 minutes late to get my number.  I pre-registered thanks to the helpful folks at Bike-Reg.com.  They had my number, I drove 70 miles to get there.  I was doing both days.  

She said NO! 

 I was super pissed, I am not going to lie to you.  I don't want to tarnish the good name of WLB. I asked her a few times to let me race.  Come on, it wasn't like I was going to win!  Dan has worked way too hard for this club, he is the only one getting decent results.  I didn't need to make a stink or race with no number.  I rode back to the car, took off my kit and then started answering to folks asking me when I was going to race.  My answers varied from "tomorrow" to the freaking Bi#$& didn't let me race.... I was LATE!  Those are the rules.  LAME!  Anyway I decided to turn my frown upside down and deciede to take photos of my friends.  I never do it,  I don't have the gear that I want to do the best possible job.  I love to shoot but I am in race mode and I have been working enough monday-friday I want a break from shooting.  I am very happy to get some great images of my friends.  One of these days I will pass out my camera so I can get a photo of me!  I will post Day 2 later.  


NBX G.P. of Cross Verge NECCS Race #8 - Dan C

Dec 6, 2008, Warwick, RI - Day 1 - Cold and dry
Masters 35+ 1/2/3
Race #32 of the season for me.
 
Lots of people talk about courses being either "power" or "technical" courses and there was a lot of talk that this was a "power" course. I am not 100% sure I agree with courses being one type or another, but I know that typically I do well at this venue with the various courses that they have done here. In past years I have placed 15, 16 and 18th in the elite field, so I had high hopes that this would be the perfect place to halt my downward slide in results from the past few weeks. Unfortunately that would not be so.

This venue is great for cyclocross. Pavement, two long beach ride/runs that finish with an uphill runs - one hill twice as long as the other, a slight uphill with the barriers, lots of off-camber corners, some roots, some woods, some grass fields, a pedestrian bridge over the roadway just beyond the finish line, a round building in the middle of the course with registration, results, food, beer, and warmth. They have been putting on races here for many years. They have one course that is quite similar year to year but now that they have gone to a two day event, they have done quite different and varying courses the other day. Cross in NE doesn't get much better that at Goddard State Park.
 
I arrived to the start line around the time I usually would, knowing that because of the points I have in the Verge Series that I would get a front row seeding. But for some reason, everyone was lined up in the grid already. Would I have to start in the back? Luckily they were not using the right most starting lane, so I rolled right up to the front in this lane. A non-New England official asked if I was supposed to be there and asked what my number was and all the racers around him, and some NE officials all told him I should. The officials told me to look out for the little "lip" on the right side about 10 meters from the start line. That is why they weren't staging in the lane. Normally I would never do anything like walk past everyone and grab a front row spot, but I think everyone knew that I belonged up there and no one seemed to make any noise like I should not be.
 
My race wasn't very exciting. My start wasn't great and I quickly realized that my legs weren't either. They were pretty horrible. After maybe a lap and a half I had worked my way up to 8th place or so with the leaders far enough ahead that I didn't really have any chance in getting up there. About 1/3 of the way through the race I clipped a pedal on a root in a corner which caused my rear wheel to jump to the side about a foot and a half. This caused a small part of my tire bead to pop out of the rim. No big deal. It happens at least once a year to me (second time this year). A small consequence of using clincher tires and running them at low pressures (typically 32-35 psi for me) so that you can get some traction and some shock absorption.

The pit, which was a double pit, was close by, but my bike was on the other side. I had to get through a bunch of bikes, get mine, pick it up over my head, get to the correct side of the pit and then get back on. By that point about 10 people had gone by so I was now in about 20th. The next lap I passed a few back and then rode the rest of the race in a group of 5 or 6. I finished at the back of this group in 15th place. I know, not too bad, but when I have 4 top 5's in other Verge races, my expectations are higher.
 
I had to drive back to Easthampton that night to go to Melissa's work holiday party. The drive home was one that was filled with good thoughts. Thinking of getting to go out with Melissa in a  dress (her, not me), the pints of Guinness, the scallops wrapped in bacon, the cannoli and eclair for desert, and of the race tomorrow. I usually race better on day 2. My legs couldn't feel any worse than they did day 1. And 1-2" of snow was forecast to fall over night. I love racing in snow and usually do well.
 
Day 2 report to come later.

Incredible photos by KenScottPhoto.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Sterling Race Report - by MarkZ

The last time I did a cyclocross race was in the late 90s – I don’t even remember exactly when or even where (Devens?).  Back then, my steel ‘cross frame wasn’t quite as old school as it is today, and it certainly ran a lot more smoothly a decade ago.  It turns out that damp cellars are not exactly the best places to store bicycles of any kind, let alone those made from steel.  The years took their toll on my ‘cross bike, and I spent a frantic Friday night trying to get it in shape for Saturday’s race.  I knew my fitness would be tested, but I didn’t want equipment to be an issue. 

I fiddled with the brakes so the levers wouldn’t bottom out on the handlebars, tried to get the front derailleur to budge, and noted that the rear derailleur cable housing was frayed and simply compressed trying to shift into a lower gear.  My old mtb pedals were shot, so all I had was a set of single sided road SPDs.  So much for eliminating equipment issues….  I wasn’t too worried about this, though – I wasn’t out to win or prove anything; I knew that spending the last few months running and not biking would be the bigger factor in how well I did.  I just didn’t want to get lapped.

The Baystate Cyclocross in Sterling, MA was, from what I had heard, a really great course, and would be a suitable event for my somewhat less than dramatic reentry to the cyclocross scene.  Unlike running events, where the masters are 40+, cyclocross masters start at 35+, and I was slated to run in the second race of the day in the masters 35+/45+ category 3/4. 

I showed up early enough to catch the beginning of the first race to see how it was run, and to see what the first lap might be like once I was running.  The conditions didn’t look too bad to me – a heavy frost coated the ground, and was only slowly being worn away by the riders warming up on the course.  It seemed mud would not be much of a factor.  The cat 4 racers lined up in rows of 10, preparing for two laps around the frozen dirt track before heading off on to the rest of the course. 

I went back to my car to get ready, noting that the unofficial transportation vehicle of choice for cyclocross must be the Honda Element, judging by the sheer number of them in the lots around the school.  I got dressed, realizing I had only forgotten to bring a few warm items, but as it turned out I didn’t really need them.  After riding around a bit to warm up, I headed over to the course to see how the race was unfolding and was able to get about half a lap of course inspection in before they started lining us up. 

The 55+ masters were to start just a few minutes ahead of us, and so we lined up behind them just off of the dirt track.  About 50 yards into their race, there was a nasty crash requiring several ambulances and adding a significant delay to our start.  (We later heard the announcer inform the crowd that the injured rider was ok, but would be spending the night at the hospital for observation). 

Master bike mechanic Dan Coady took the time to swap out the cable housing for my rear derailleur – something I never would have considered doing at the start line of any race.  I am very glad for it though, since it certainly had a positive impact on my race, considering how much time I spent hunting for the right gear.  (Ken WPS helped out too – go team WLB!)

Registering that morning got me number 95 – starting 9 rows from the front. This was not going to be easy.  Because of the late start, we just did one lap instead of two around the dirt track before heading off on to the course.  By this time the top inch of the frozen dirt track had thawed to a soupy mud that was filled with ruts on the south side of the track.  My master plan of moving up to a better position before we hit the first run-up was slowly falling apart. 

Not having done any kind of bike race at all in over a year meant that my already weak bike handling skills were also a bit rusty.  I just sat at the back of the pack trying to keep the shiny side up, which really isn’t that big of a deal in a crit or a road race, but in ‘cross the back of the pack is exactly where you don’t want to be. 

The first run-up was short, and a short flat run led us over to the second, much longer and steeper run-up, but there was not much point in trying to ride this.  We were packed in pretty tight and basically just waiting in line to get to the second run-up.  Someone made a crack about it being a nice day for a stroll.  I thought it a very strange case of hurry up and wait.  Unfortunately due to my pace, it was the last time I would experience traffic holding me up. 

I finally got to the top, hopped on and rode over to the big downhill section, which was quite steep at the top, and nice and wide at the bottom.  This turned right into a very large “natural” hurdle, though hurdle is not quite the right word.  It was more of a retaining wall about three to four feet high made out of timber.  Turning left after that we went through a series of esses which were still in the shade and there was a fair amount of frost still on the grass. 

The course then wound through a small grove of trees and zigzagged back up to the main area of the fields.  I was able to pick up the pace bit here and pass a few people before we hit the pavement.  This led us around the school to an off-camber hairpin that I had a bit of trouble navigating successfully while maintaining any speed.  The run back to the central area from here was very bumpy, and after two laps my palms were cursing the abuse. 

I couldn’t seem to get enough speed to carry me very far up the next hill.  It seemed to be rideable, but I always had to run up it.  At the top was another hairpin turn leading back down the hill, where the transition from hill to flat was, I thought, quite harsh and was probably my least favorite part of the course. 

This led us around the outside of the track, back to the central area where we went down, up, down, up along the slope south of the baseball field.  In the middle of this were the only set of hurdles on the course, and I didn’t really have much trouble with them, though they seemed quite high.  They were far enough in front of the run-up that followed it that one could remount and ride up it.  I always ran it and, at least in the back of the masters category 3/4 field where we don’t posses the smoothness of the 1/2/3s, this was the faster way to do it.  I was able to pass one or two people here. 

After this there was a big out-and-back loop (with a hairpin) around the baseball field that was actually pretty smooth and I was able to keep a good pace.  I managed to pass a few more people here.  The way back was always slow for me and I’m not exactly sure why.  It was bumpy, but I don’t feel that should have slowed me down so much.  This led back on to the slick mud track to complete the lap.

Overall I really liked the course.  My dismounts are okay, but my ‘cross mounts are terrible, so I’m glad I didn’t have to show everyone how not to do it too many times.  I’m not a very big fan of the sand pits that I’ve seen and heard about in ‘cross races.  They just look more annoying than fun or challenging, and I was very glad to see that there wasn’t one at Sterling, though the muddy track seemed to be a fairly comparable substitute.

My biggest problem came on the back side of the course in the esses where the shade was protecting the frozen ground.  On the second lap my rear wheel lost traction going through the last right turn.  It was one of those crashes that happens so fast that you’re already on the ground before you realize that you lost it.  I landed squarely on my right side, which hurt a bit.  After the race, as I was loading everything into the trunk of my car, I realized it was more than just a bump.  By the next day I was convinced I had cracked a rib – I couldn’t breathe, laugh, cough, turn, sit up, lay down, etc.  The doctor says it’s just a muscle spasm, but what does he know?  This thing *&^$*% hurts.

In the end the time sheets listed me as 79th out of 84, with 99 starters.  I’m not so sure there were 99 starters, but it sure didn’t feel like there were only 5 people behind me.  I wasn’t last, and I didn’t get lapped, so given my equipment and fitness, I guess I really can’t complain.  I did learn a lot for next time:

- First and foremost – single sided pedals don’t cut it in cyclocross.  I feel like I spent a good ¼ of the course looking for the right side to clip in to.  I’ve ordered a pair of Crankbrothers Candy C pedals for next week, and I can’t wait.

- My 12-30 cogset is spaced way to far apart for my liking.  Too many times I needed a gear in between the two that were available to me.

- Register early to get a decent spot.

- Hand protection – my hands were so beat up by the end I found myself riding on the tops when I should have been on the hoods.  I never wear gloves when I ride, so the thin, unpadded, non-cycling gloves which would have been fine for a nice Sunday ride did nothing for me as my bike bounced over the frozen ground.  Reducing the tire pressure a bit would have helped as well – something I’ll pay attention to in the future even though my 23s feel a bit thin to be playing with the pressure.

- Fatter tires would really have been a quite welcome improvement, not just for smoothing out the bumps, but to improve traction and control.

- I want my excuse to be, “I suck”, not “my bike sucks” – it’s far more frustrating to deal with equipment trouble that it is to say, “Well, I guess I wasn’t quite ready for this.”  If I don’t have a new bike next year, I’ll certainly have this one running in much better shape.

- Mud is always a factor in cyclocross.

- Bike races suck compared to running races when it comes to the shirts, food and beer you get (included in the price of admission!) after just about any running race.  But you don’t come to eat, you come to race, right?

I learned a lot, and I’m ready for more – next up is day 2 (only) of the NBX G.P. of Cross / Verge New England Championship in Warwick, RI.  I can’t wait....