Indian Lakes Cross Race Report

3's Race

Another flat. So sad, right before the sand pits so I had to ride 3/4 of a lap on a flat and had no chance of placing in the points. Oh well, I got a good warm up and some great practice in the sand pits that set me up well for the 1/2/3 race.

1/2/3 Race

Wow, 67 registered riders. Crazy. I was lucky enough to get to the line early enough to get a second row start. On the gun, it was a mass stampede. Things of course strung out with the 1/2's off the front by the sand. After about a lap I was riding alone in about 20th place and a few laps later was joined by my teammate Dave Moyer. We played cat and mouse for a good 4 laps. I'd get ahead after the sand, he'd reel me in on the straights. In the end, Dave edged ahead by a few meters. We placed 21st and 22nd, just outside the money. Such a shame, but had a great time and banked more fitness.

Northbrook Cross Race Report

Fantastic start to the weekend. Short team ride on Saturday, followed by lunch at Julias Meinl with my wife. Wake up Sunday after a good night's sleep, the legs feel great. Packing up the car, I tell Dave, "Hmmm....bring the pit wheels? Nah, never flatted yet, and besides, it's bad luck". Yea, bad luck.

Line up for the 3's race with my 10th place call-up (hell yea, that was the best!). I get a good start, nicely situated in about 8th through the first third of the race. Perfect, this is my weakest part of the race. I am right behind Newt and Brandon, and all of a sudden my back wheel is sliding out in the corners. NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rolled tubie? Flat? I get off, check the tire, and it's a flat. A flat on my Grifo Seta, my precious and ridiculously expensive Seta. Oh well, I get back on the bike, to the sound of "woosh!, woosh!" as people pass me, and I limp the rest of the way to the start/finish. Oh yea, no pits wheels. I start running around like an idiot, looking for a xXx'er. I spot Nick, who graciously loans me his wheel, but it took a while to get his brake cable loosened and once I get back in the race I'm in dead last.

I drill it about 95%, not wanting to finish last, but not wanting to burn energy I'll need for the 1/2/3 race. I make up about 10 spots and finish 31st. Just short of earning some points. And slipped out of the top-10 overall, loosing my call-up. Because I didn't bring my pit wheels. D-U-M-B-A-S-S.

The 1/2/3 race started out great. Still lots of energy, for about a lap or two. And then oh my, the wind, the sticky mud on the back of the course, it all takes it course. All of the 3's that doubled up seem to be suffering badly. I settle in about 100m behind Newt who is killing it and we stay that way for 2 or 3 laps. Moyer catches up to me, but flats shortly after. Eventually Newt slowed a little and I came around, but am I going so slow at this point it does even feel like I'm racing. I come in for 19th place. Ugh. Painful as hell, but I put in $853 worth of fitness into the bank.

Thanks again to Nick who loaned me his wheel and started in the back of the 4A's because he waited for me to finish using in the 1/2/3 race. And thanks to Lou at the Pony Shop who will have me either on my repaired Grifo or a newly glued one for Saturday's race.

St. Charles Cross Race Report

Another great day of cross racing is behind us. That was the muddiest race I've ever done, and also one of the most technical. Good times, indeed.

3's race

I had a poor starting position in the third row behind the call-ups and costumes, but I was able to make it up during the race for the most part. While the course suited my handling skills and lack of climbing ability, the mud wreaked havoc on my ability to clip-in. I've never had a problem with my Speedplay Frogs in a cross race, but they performed horribly in this race. The only persons that seemed unfazed were those riding Eggbeaters. Oh well, I was able to deal with it and came in 9th. That, coupled with some no-shows, allowed me to slide into 10th overall so I get a call-up next week. I promise I won't waste the honor and will attack the holeshot with fury!!

I skipped the 1/2/3 race due to the shoes and bike being mudified.

It was nice having the hose to wash off the bikes after the race, at least enough to get the majority of it off so cleaning it at home would be reasonably easy. Also, glad the St. Charles is over and hopefully we didn't cause this.

Bartlett/Sunrise Park Cross Race Report

Photo purchased from ProtonPhoto

One of these days I will have a perfect cross race. A top 5 or 10 position at the holeshot, stay aggressive in the next half lap, and then pick off riders for the rest of the race while not crashing or bobbling at all. I almost had that this week, in the 3's at least.

3's Race

Decent sized field, 50 I think. I lined up nicely in the 2nd row. Off to a good start already. Once the whistle blew, the rush to the holeshot was a little dicey with some bumping of shoulders, but not bad. I think I made it there in about 10th or 12th position. Around the corner, and it's like I gave up all the intensity I had going. People started taking wheels from me left and right. [sigh...] I fade back to about 20th or so, but as soon as we hit the long straight away and headed back to the start/finish, I started making up ground. From here, I rode smoothly with no crashes or issues. Fast forward 4 laps, and I cross the line in 10th, a couple spots behind my teammate Liam who now has the hang of cross and will no doubt be moving up the rankings. A great finish for me, but I burnt some serious energy in this race and I'd pay for it later.

1/2/3's Race

A larger field this week, 27 riders. I line up in the 2nd row again (not too hard to do in the smaller field) and soon enough we're off. Ugh, I am tired. I fade way back to maybe 22-24th position. My teammates Dave Moyer, Newt and William take off and are way out front. I slowly start to move up to them. As the race goes on, I start to feel a little better and make up more spots. Soon, I'm fighting for 17th place and manage to hold it, thankfully getting lapped by Scott and another rider so I can skip a lap. Every 1/2/3 race is hard, especially after the 3's race, but this one felt the hardest of all this year. Great training, though, and fun no matter where you finish. Newt rode strong and placed just a few spots behind me, and Moyer killed it, placing 13th in his first 1/2/3 race.

Carpentersville Cross Race Report

I'll say it again. I love the mild, sunny cross races. I'm only in the mood for nasty conditions at Montrose. What a great day for racing it was. First up, the 3's, and oh my is it getting crowded. Newt and Kirby upgraded, as did Chris S. We have something like 6 or 8 xXx riders in the 3's now. Good to see, I say.

The hole shot this time was 400m away on pavement with a nice series of easy turns to strings things out, UCI style. THANK YOU! I hate the 100m dive into a 90 degree corner like Dekalb had. That's even against USA Cycling regulations. Anyway, I got my head into the game this time and made it to the hole shot in about 10th. From there, it was much easier to hold that position. A few laps in, and William clips a pedal right in front of me and I go down. No harm, I did some sort of weird somersault while still being half-way clipped in and got up and going quickly and only loosing two spots that I quickly made up.


I soon found myself riding with Newt and William, when William clipped a barrier with his back wheel and went down pretty hard. "Ugghh!" is all I heard as I went by. He was fine, though and got back in it. Newt, who did great in his first 3's race slowed a little (uh, rest days Newt, rest days...but 14th in your first race is awesome!) and I came around. I made up some more ground in the final laps, actually speeding up and crossed the line in 9th, my best result ever in the 3's.

Next up, the 1/2/3's. About 22 of us lined up, and I figured I might as well shoot for a decent position to the hole shot, not contesting it with the 1/2's, but not being last either. I again came in around 10th and luckily avoided a crash where a rider rolled his tubular.

I tried to pour it on as much as possible, but I was a little tired. The damn sand pit did not help. Sand...my number one nemesis.


I was able to take advantage of a few people who had crashes where I stayed upright the whole race, and was in great position until about 2 laps to go when my back really got tight. I slowed, Greg and an Iron Cycles rider caught me, and I rolled in for 14th. Still, a decent finish and I never got lapped and finished about 1/3 of a lap behind the leaders.


How do celebrate a great day of cross racing? With a Chubby Spud brat and a bottle of Weinhenstephan Kristall Weissbier!!

Racing photos by Ed White and Brian Morrissey

Random Gear Reviews

Challenge Grifo Seta Tubular Tires. These things rock! Super supple because the Seta's have silk casings, the best tread for just about any condition outside of euro-like mud, and of course tubular. Running pressures in the mid to high twenties is no problem at all for me. But they are not cheap. Start saving now, and don't run them at the mid-week cross practice lest you run over some glass and flat one.


Mavic Chasm MTB shoes. I just picked up a pair. Very comfy, even after I stuffed my Aline insoles into them. They are super stiff, having a carbon sole (my number one reason for getting them), and come with toe spikes. I like the adjustable velcro straps, and the ratchet buckle is sized appropriately. The toe box is nice and wide, wider than a Sidi for sure, even wider than Specialized/Carnac, but not quite as wide as a Northwave. I guess Mavic bought the Adidas show line, so if you like the Adidas, this is a natural choice. The shoe does taper a bit as it reaches the ankle, but again, not as tight as a Sidi. I could easily run two pair of socks when it gets chilly. And they much cheaper than Sidis. I picked mine up for $160 instead of the $220 retail price.

My only complaint is the toe is all mesh and thus your toes get pretty cold if the temp is south of 45 degrees. Looks like I might be having to sport thing shoe warmers at the colder cross races this year (dorky, I know, but hey, my toes get cold).



I also have really come to appreciate a new pair of Rudy Ekynox SX glasses I bought with the ImpactX lenses. They go from clear to somewhat dark as the light increases (photochromatic). Great for cloudy weather rides, track and cross. I still use the dark blue lenses for sunny rides, but I'm really liking the ImpactX lenses otherwise.

Dan Ryan Woods Cross Race Report

Brrr... I know it's going to get colder, but I kinda like 60 degree cross races. Anyway, Newt showed up with Espresso in hand and off we went to South Chicago with at least some warm coffee in our bellies.

3's Race

Had a good warm-up, I almost as fast as Wat and Daley on the starts when we practice them, but good God do I suck when it's game time. Despite a 2nd row start, I went to about 35th position by the wholeshot corner. I know, I watched the video the Burnham guys made, and there I am, near the back, looking pathetic as hell. Someone slap me upside the head next weekend and tell me to get aggressive. No worries, though, I usually get my act together about half way into the first lap and get to making up those spots I so graciously gave to my competitors.

Up the hill I go, not looking like I'm in too much pain. I would of rode it, but I am a horrible climber.


I finally start to move into the usual spot, in about 15th - 20th place, right behind Luke, William and Liam. Luckily there was enough technical parts to the course so I could make up some more ground. A few more laps, and I'm right behind Liam who has caught up to William. We roll in placing 15th through 17th. Not bad, considering my start. [sigh...]

1/2/3 Race

Oh boy, I am now dreading that hill and coughing like crazy from the 3's race. We have a good showing from xXx in the big show. Greg, Jacques, Liam, William and myself. Greg of course is gone in a flash, Jacques motors away with Liam in tow, and it's William and I in the back. Hey, it's training, although we race with 100% intensity.

Now that hill hurts. A lot.


Fast forward a few laps, and I actually start to make up ground. Hey, wait a minute, I feel pretty good. Still drilling it out of every corner, climbing the hill as fast as I can. The fitness is coming around now, thanks to lots of threshold intervals and Newt coaching me in the gym.


Soon, I catch up to Liam, but he's suffering from the Get A Grip party the previous night where rumor has it he had a *few* beers. No worries, he'll be back next weekend and ready to inflict some pain on us all. I pass a few more folks, loose a nice lead to a Bicycle Heaven rider behind me in the last lap (can't believe I let that one slip through my fingers), and rolled in for 14th. The best part, I wasn't caught by Brian C. and Scott M. until 500m or so before the finish (retaining a little bit of dignity), but also not having to do another lap up that hill.

Photos by Ed White and Luke Seemann (Thanks, guys!) and Michael Young, whose camera is a piece of shit, but raced three times on Sunday so he's redeemed himself as a true cross fanatic.