Spring is in the air

It's not common for the temperature to creep above 50 in the winter, so I, like many of the other cyclists I saw, decided to go for a road ride. These days don't come often and I feel fortunate to have been able to enjoy it in my own way.

Merry Christmas, bicycle man!

It's that time of year again; mall traffic, sugary treats, commercials and advertisements talking about the newest gadgets and why we have to have them, and the threat that a fat guy with a beard won't commit mass home invasions while we sleep to give us said gadgets if we've been naughty.

I'm not here to preach to anyone what "the real meaning of Christmas" is, but this year was the best example of what the most stripped-down version of such a potentially commercial holiday is really about. Some of you know that my dad has abandoned our family. For the record, I'm not going for pity points here, no one liked him anyway and we're all better off. It's left me to spend the day with the only members of my family that I deem "normal," if you can call us that.

For our family in years passed, and many others across the country, Christmas morning was just the way the television portrays it, whether it's a heart-warming family special, a disfunctional foray of Griswold-like antics, or some balance of the two. This year, and perhaps like many families across the country, during such harsh economic times, there was no early morning rush down the stairs to see what Santa had left us, no gift opening ceremony, no church service, and no table with twelve place settings. Instead, it was sleeping in, enjoying a ham & egg breakfast and pot of flavored coffee with my mom, going to the movies, and not seeing my brother until he woke up at 2pm.

I had given up on going to church years ago for my own reasons. What's worse than not going at all, in my opinion, is only going on Christmas and Easter. I have come to terms with my relationship with God, and I pray anywhere and anytime. Last night, I decided to attend my own personal midnight mass by going out for a bike ride. I had noticed that the manger scenes set up at various locations were sans baby Jesus, until after Christmas day. I was curious as to who was responsible for placing Him there and when it actually took place, but by the time I made my way around town, minutes after midnight, He had already miraculously arrived. As I neared home, I passed a corner bar with a crowd of smoke-emitting youths standing out front. I kept my eyes straight and braced myself for whatever drunken insults that were about to be hurled my way, when suddenly one of them yelled out, "Merry Christmas, bicycle man!" I gave a couple flicks of my ringabell and returned his well wishes.

Something else that was out of the ordinary for our family in past Christmas traditions was that we had never gone to the movie theater, as I had found that more people than I originally thought actually participate in. Such was the case when I saw that the parking lot looked like the mall the night before. I had seen a preview for the movie "Up in the Air" and was still not quite sure what it was about, but the critics said it is the best movie of the year. Since it's still 2009, I decided it was a worthy claim, since Hollywood had 11 months to do better. It had nothing really to do with Christmas, but rather did have a large bit to do with the sad truth that thousands of Americans had lost their jobs in the last couple years, which relates to me directly. It also had a bit to do with love and relationships, and I liked the message they sent, which relates to me indirectly. I don't know about best movie of the year, but I do recommend it. It stars George Clooney, whom my grandma thinks I share a striking resemblance.

I can smell the scent of turkey and sweet potatoes rising from the kitchen, two floors below, to my old room, which used to be the attic, where I sit now at the desk that used to be mine, before the computer that now belongs to my brother. In a few minutes, I will be seated with the two members of my family that I love the most. Maybe we will lament the fact that it's just we three, but it will only be in passing as we laugh about how no one there is drunk enough to throw a plate of food like a frisbee and make everyone else at the table uncomfortable. Here's to the best Christmas ever and the only real gifts that should matter to anyone, the love for the people in our lives who matter the most to us.

Merry Christmas

P'burg

This was the final race of the NJ Cyclocross Cup series and my last race of the season. One last chance to correct all my previous mistakes and go for the gusto one more time. The course was perhaps the most technical of the series which gave me an immediate edge. I've found the "roadies" have a great deal of trouble negotiating roots, off camber turns, and mud, but for anyone with a mountain biking background it's a cake walk.

Last week I made the mistake of busting out way too strong and blowing up on the first lap, having not saved anything for later and never fully recovering before the race ended. This time, I knew to sit back near the front, but not in front, and wait until the leaders began to crack before making a move. I started in the front row, but eased back to about 12th for the first lap, keeping an eye on the big guns. If they attacked, I'd be ready. By the end of lap 2, guys ahead of me began fading and I started moving forward without even riding faster, but by then my body was ready to ramp things up anyway. I had seen where on the course I could make up time and I was feeling stronger by the minute. I began sprinting on the short straights, picking up a second here and a second there.

All the racers in the top ten were fierce competitors who came from different cycling disciplines; some roadies, some time trialists, and some mountain bikers. Spots were being traded everywhere. Roadies outran guys on the flats only to be overtaken by mountain bikers on the corners. Alex Belgiovine of Westwood Cycle, a TT'er, gets the medal of honor if you ask me. He definitely had the fitness engine to spank everyone in the C field at every race, but succumbed to crashes and technical problems that kept him off the podium. He was my favorite competition all season and I wish him some better luck next year so he can finish up front where he belongs. After some trouble today, we ended up finishing 8th and 9th and it was a pleasure to cross the finish line with him.

I'm sad the season is over. Since it's my first year of CX, I only just got to know these guys and will miss the scene around the races each week. Today is the hardest day since the 2010 'cross season is as far away as it could be. See you all next year in the B's!

Am I out of focus? Or was I just going too fast?

Finally Jdog and I have a legitimate battle!

Angelo about to pass me and continue on to a podium. Nice job!

The steepest run-up I've ever seen.

The turn of death! My little brother couldn't get enough of the carnage that went on here!

Smiling because we just decided to go to Fudd's. And it was snowing!

It was sticking on top of Jugtown Mountain, but not anywhere else unfortunately.

My victory dance.

Bros.

After we were done eating (actually after Anthony inhaled his burger in 5 seconds and watched me eat for the next half hour), we went for the Air Hockey Best of Three Championship of the Universe. I won of course. Here's some video footage of my game winning goals of games one and two.

Barnstorming: Part 2 - T.N.T.

So we were back again in Augusta for round two of the Sussex County Cyclocross event and the second-to-last race in the NJ Cup series. After crashing hard last week, I vowed to keep it on two wheels and have a better performance today. I succeeded in both those goals, yet I am left wishing things had gone better still.

I rolled in to the venue with AC/DC's T.N.T. cranking on the stereo. Nothing like a little "fire me up" music to get the head in the right place. The lyrics suggest "winning the fight" among other antagonistic phrasing. I had the song in my head at the start of my race and low and behold, I got the wholeshot and was leading for the first half lap around the time in the song when the lyrics say, "... watch me exploooooooooooode!" Well, I didn't physically explode, but I certainly blew up, as T.N.T. has a tendency to do.

I faded and watched guys go by me, trying not to count them. It took me about a lap before getting my second wind and I slowly began to come back. I was aware of what sections of the course I could make up time in and which ones I could rest and I passed a few guys with ease while others were less willing to let me go.

Some friendships have developed with many of the guys I've been lining up with each weekend, and after I'm done trying to kill them, it makes me happy when I see them have a good race or say something positive about one another. With one race to go, it can be any of us who ends up placing in the state championship and I'm looking forward to defending my now very slim chance, but I would be happy for all of them because we've all worked hard to get there.

I also want to thank Stacey Barbosa of Montclair Cyclery for coming to my aid at the start of my race. I had accidentally ripped my number completely off when trying to remove a layer at the last second, having missed my call-up, and almost the start of the race. She helped me pin it back on and I got to the line just in time for the 15 second warning. Thank you! She got some good karma sent her way as she also had a great race today. Way to go!

HPCX

This is what cyclocross is about; cold, rain, and a lot of mud. Only someone who has been there could know how it feels to pedal with everything you’ve got through deep mud and to feel like you’re not going anywhere. To quote Garth from Wayne’s World when he was having his hair cut by the Suck-Cut, “It’s sucking my will to live!” Well, it certainly does suck.

I found my spot, once again, in the back of the pack at the start in a field of 54 C racers. I got a decent warmup and prerode the course, so I felt ready for what was about to go down. From the gun, I just went all out and tried to pick off as many guys as I could on the first lap. Unfortunately, I came out too strong and didn’t save anything for the end. I blame it on the mud, since the effort put into powering through it is twice that of what you’d normally expend. I still managed to finish in the top half of the field, which at this stage of the game and this being only my first cross season, is pretty good.

Despite the most abysmal conditions, I had some of the most fun I’ve ever had on a bike. Cross is amazing that in such a short time, one can experience every kind of emotion ranging anywhere from, “This is awesome!” to “Why the f*ck am I doing this?” I can’t get enough of it.

Barnstorming: Part 1

Lined up in the front row during call-ups. How can I mess this up?

Like this.

Today was day one of the Sussex County Cyclocross event and to date is my favorite course in the NJCup series. It had everything (except mud, but wait 'til next week), two climbs, a sand pit, off-camber technical curves, a run-up, twisty high-speed descents, paved and unpaved roads, and my favorite... a zig-zagging path that took us through several barns. Awesome!

I got a great start and was 4th in a breakaway group including points leader Bill Romollino, 4th ranked Greg Pizarek, Jason Fenton himself of Halter's Cycles, and myself. I was feeling great and happy to be doing battle with Jason who is a worthy adversary, but certain events such as crashes or flat tires have kept us from dueling it out to the end each time we faced off. I buzzed his tire a few times and we traded back and forth in the first half of lap 1, until I removed myself from the chase.

Upon successfully storming the first barn, we made the tight left on a dirt road to enter the second. The turn had a huge patch of loose gravel, making it super sketchy. I had the inside line and overcooked it, lost traction and low-sided it at full speed. As I was falling, my head narrowly missed the red painted bench that protruded from the side of the entrance to the barn. Luckily, I hit it with my hand to protect my melon. There is red paint on my glove and left control lever. I proceeded to slide, crit-style, on my side until grinding to a stop. I felt tears building and my heart breaking as my view perpendicular to the vertical saw a chance of a series title and the lead group disappear.

I picked myself right up, ran into the barn and attempted a remount, but my rear wheel wouldn't spin! Damn it! A quick systems check to find the issue; Derailleur straight? Check. Chain on the chainrings? Check. Brakes? BRAKES!?! The culprit: my left caliper had been shoved beneath the braking surface of my rear wheel as a result from laying the bike down. I quickly popped it back out, made sure it worked, and was on my way.

Mentally, my race could have ended right there, but I wasn't about to let it. My hand ached, my control lever was askew, and I had no idea my leg was hurt yet, but quitting never crossed my mind. I continued to race at full speed and the gap the leaders had on me never grew, but it didn't diminish either. I just didn't have the ability to ride at 2x my capacity to bring them back and I settled in to the position I was in when I recovered from my crash. I still managed a respectable finish and am really happy that I was able to enjoy such a great course.

Afterwards, I was talking with my friends about our race and how I wiped out when one of them pointed out the blood coming through my shorts. I hadn't felt anything, but I pulled them down to reveal a nice raspberry on my thigh. As my adrenaline wore off, the pain began to set in. Bill Romollino was so kind as to supply me with some first aid supplies to take care of my leg. On the course, he was the only guy I really wanted to beat the crap out of today, but off the course he is one of the nicest people I've met through racing. His dog, Camper, is awesome, too.

I stayed until the last race and enjoyed cheering for all my friends and I'm happy that they all did well in their respective races. Now, I'm going to take care of my leg, keep up with my training, and continue to prepare for next Saturday, which will be a return to Sussex and another chance to do better and not eat it on the gravel. I was a little bummed about what happened when it happened, but I'm over it now and will use the experience as my ammunition to kill them next time. In the FACE!

1st degree MURDER!!!

Ok, I just had to call it that. Check back soon since I am yet to collect all the photos from this race and a full report is yet to be written. One thing I can say is, this was the best day of my life.

Hup! Hup! Hup!

I would have gone faster, but I think my number was acting as an air brake.

I love this picture because it depicts two polar opposite states of heart rates. I'm turning myself inside out and the lady in the chair is passed out. Greg Pizarek is seen nipping at my heels.