Nov 23: Ohio State CX Championship

Sam Morrison, Rich Allen and I (Henry Dimmick) hit the road at 5am headed for Columbus and the 2008 Ohio State CycloCross Championships.

Our first race of the day was the 3/4 Masters Race, where I finished 17th (according to their results!)...

...and Rich finished 23rd (also a bit suspect).

But neither of us cared if there was an error, because were were both Pa. residents, because the course was really fun, and because despite the 25 degF temperature…the sun was shining brightly!

Our next (Team) race was the U19 race, in which Sam RODE AWAY from all other contenders in the first lap. So while Sam took 1st Place in the race, as a Pa. resident, he did not qualify as the Ohio State Champion! But a local paper did interview him (while he ate a sample of the Tofu Hot Dogs being sold at the Start/Finish area!) and the race promoters let him keep this cool trophy :)

After hanging out for a few hours, Sam then started in the Cat 1/2/3 race, where he contracted the Claw of Death (forearm cramp) and had to abandon.

Other neat things at the race were, (1) The Bike Rack outside the potty, (2) The Drum Corps, that could be heard ALL OVER the course…

(3) The Ridge of Doom and Destruction Finish Line, where if climbed too fast, you would catch air launching over the top...

...and (4) My (CycloCross) Cow(Bell) Hat!

All in all, a great day and a course to return to next year.

For more on the day, watch Sam's Blog for anything he may post.

2009 season starts now

My 2009 season started today with a one hour trainer ride after a month off of the bike. That was a long time off after going more than two years without missing back to back days on the bike. So today I was back on the trainer in my parent's basement, the same place where I started my odyssey to try and become a bike racer 5 years ago. To read more, GoTo: http://www.briansbikeblog.blogspot.com/

Local CycloCross?

Sure there are CX races every weekend...over in Ohio, or "out East". But on Thanksgiving Weekend, Sunday November 30th, there will be a CycloCross race in Murrysville, Pa. (Monroeville).

So far, Ag3r - ButlerHealthSystem has 5 riders signed up, racing in 3 different races. Additionally, Agr International is one of the sponsors... and ... as Agr's representative(!), I am enslaved to help with course set-up the day before, and the morning of, the race :) So if you are looking for something COOL and DIFFERENT to do over the Holiday weekend, THIS is it!

There is a (Nov 12) posting about the course to be found via our BLOG PEEPS links under "Team Freddie Fu". Check it out! If any of you are interested to attend, or help, leave me a comment to this posting.

CX Bead Blasting

While I was unable to reproduce Vaughn's Taco-Wheel pictured in an earlier post... I was able to POP-a-BEAD by locking up my brakes, cutting the "wheel" hard to the right, and launching myself over the bars... trying to avoid t-boning Sam Morrison during a CX jaunt he, Ray Sielski and I did this weekend. By the end of the day, all three of us were sent packing due to tire failures! Remember, the whole world is a playground on a CX bike... just remember to wear a helmet :)

Sam's Black Cloud

Poor Sam Morrison has had a run of bad luck at his last 3 CycloCross races!!! At the Willoughby CX, he flatted...but was able to finish 15th in the A race. At the Marilla CX, he flatted, then experienced multiple chain drops on his backup bike leading to his eventual abandon. At the Kirtland CX, he got himself all tangled up and crashed in the course marking tape, but fought back to finish 8th in the A race. After all that, he thinks he is finally getting the hang of this "CycloCross Thang"!!! Looking forward... a few CX races in Ohio, then a local CX in Murrysville, Pa. Check out Sam's Blog for more on his trials and tribulations! Until then, I leave you with this great picture of a "Wheel Taco" ...from some dude named Vaughn. He says he was "...just riding along, minding his own business, and POW... over the bars" !!! ...Right :)