Back To School

Where to begin ? I suppose where I left off, which was back in the Spring and not feeling terribly motivated to write through the Summer. So first off, thanks to the Frites guys, Keller, Lortie and Dale for picking up the slack and keeping the crossy vibe going though our Colorado summer. I trust that everyone enjoyed theirs ? I certainly did and as always, the season passed by far too quickly with most every weekend packed with something. Jen and I were able to carve out time for the must-do list. Steamboat on the 4th, a couple of shows at Red Rocks, hike a 14er, a few Colorado high country epics on the fat tires, a trip back East to our old stomping ground on the coast of Maine to partake in Lobsters, Whoopie Pies, Moxie and the deepest, darkest, root and rock infested terrain that you will ever roll a knobbie through. All on all, a fine summer, but I digress, because the fairest season of all is upon us, cyclocross season, otherwise known to some as just,Fall. Trust that even with a summer filled with extracurricular activities, I was still devoting some spare time prepping for our season.

Twins: yep I did it, after racing cross since '95, I finally put together a proper pair of bikes, Does it scream "poser" ?! Perhaps a little, but whatever, I harbor no illusions of grandeur, making my wife/friend/abducted stranger stand in the pit with my spare waiting with baited breath on my every gesture that I might come in for a swap. I'm relying on my puritan, Luddite New England roots that "by-jeezum, it's just common sense!" After last years mucky mud fest every weekend, I wanted an option so now it's done. Yes I will feel shamed when I finish in 46th place and sulk off back to the pits to pick up my "B" bike

Rule changes with Disc Brakes and 32c tires: the UCI and it's infinite wisdom decide that it's wise to massively increase braking power while reducing the size of the contact patch on the ground. Brilliant, this should make for some good racing

Call-ups: There aren't any. Granted I get that the ACA is trying to bring up the quality of the race experience with the Colorado Cup and just applying points on those specific races. However, this is troubling for the 100+ riders frothing at the mouth in the beer drinking dads league. I used to bank on cherry picking certain races ( Pikes Peak, Frisco, etc ) that I know would have smaller field sizes in order to earn a decent call up spot when it came time to race the larger events ( anything in or around Boulder ). So, I'm thinking about jumping in with the 45+ guys just to avoid the rush for the start line which may prove to far uglier than the fight for the hole shot.

I'm finished ranting, I can't wait to see everyone soon. As of today, I'm not even sure I'm racing this weekend as I seemed to have sprained my groin with an over enthusiastic remount with cold muscles. Riding a bike right now isn't feeling too comfy but I'm trying to be good about staying off the bike. As usual, my plan is to race myself into some type of shape. We've been granted an extended season this year so I'm in no hurry, especially when the weather doesn't scream "cross"

Thanks for reading

shotty