Two Ways to Bearscat

Why do people do this ? I have no idea, there is a point at every endurance race I've done where I think to myself I should not sign up for a race like this again. Sure enough though, as soon as they are over I can't wait for the next one. Yesterday's race was much more brutal than last year's. The course was awesome and Black Bear put on an awesome event, but the conditions were rugged. So it goes.

Day started off beautiful. Slightly cool, sunny, and seemingly perfect for a race. Endurance races always seem more low key before hand, I love the vibe. People aren't as "in the zone" warming up and things seem more laid back than other formats. The game plan was to go self supported for the race. With the 2 laps I would only stop at my cooler on the lap turn to swap out supplies. That meant carrying 2 bottles of Gu Brew on the bike and 1 bottle of water on my back. For foods I went with Gu Chomps and Gels. I got my shit together and just rolled around until the meeting.

I was a little late to lineup so I was towards the back. I've done enough of these to know your either out front or stuck in the caravan that ends up forming as the trails bottleneck the field. I wasn't planning on going out hard, but as the horn blow the pace wasn't too hot so I was able to work my way through the crowd and get through some traffic early. I settle in line as things start to gum up. Coming up to first section that bobbles people up (the right hand turn into a muddy/armored section) there is a long line of people seemingly happy to wait their turn to get through. I decide to be a bit aggressive and just ride around everyone. I probably passed about 20 people here. Similar story at the rock bridge, people were fumbling around so I just shouldered the bike and jogged my way through advancing a few places.

To my surprise, traffic was pretty much non-existent after the bridge. It was also very apparent early on that this was going to be a slick and muddy race. My feet were completely soaked through within the first few miles. For the first lap I found myself riding on and off with the same 2 guys, we chatted on and off trading spots repeatedly. We would fall out of contact then end up crossing paths again. Having contact with other racers helped to keep things moving along. I tried to race smart, I didn't bother killing myself grinding though stuff, and opted to walk some short sections if I thought it would be more efficient. I was able to clean most everything I decided to ride, only getting hung up a few times. Overall I thought my first lap was really uneventful. I thought I paced solidly and felt good. I reach the road for the lap turn. I'm pedalling along all dumb and happy, then BAM!, I almost get knocked off my bike. Without warning, my legs cramped up so bad I almost ate it. I think to myself its way to early for this, as I spin the rest of the way to my cooler. Swap out my supplies, pound a can of coke, and off I go.

As I head back into the woods I look at my Garmin and see that my first lap was 3 hours. Wow. I wasn't expecting any stellar results but was hoping to be a bit quicker than that, I now knew that I was in for a really long day. The conditions were just a killer on keeping any speed up and I was battling to keep the cramps away. The trails were greasy, rocks were slick, and the fire roads didn't offer much relief as they were bombed out with deep mud and bike swallowing bodies of water.

I somehow managed to keep things steady on the second lap. I was definitley feeling fatigued, spinning up the short punchy climbs that rather than attacking them, and not being able to keep my speed as high through the flats like I was on the first lap. I did an ok job eating and drinking the first lap, but I don't think I ate enough and was now paying for it. At some point the skys starting looking pretty ominous, and thunder could be heard. Sure enough, it began raining on and off, and did so for much of the second lap. I didn't really mind the rain, I was already soaked so it didn't matter much.

The first half of the lap went quickly, but I found myself bordering on zombie mode after passing the aid station. The aid station to finish seemed to go on forever. I was mostly by myself at this point, but got some mental relief by being joined by Mitch for a brief spell, and then Liong a bit later. I was happy to only be passed by those two and one other rider between the aid station and finish. After what seems like an eternity, I finally hit the pavement again, and even though no one is near me, I make what I think is a strong finish. There are alot of friendly faces along the road cheering me on down the home stretch, which was awsome. As I cross the line, its 6 hours and 23 minutes since I started. Good enough for 37th out of 109 starters.

Walter's Short Track Recap

Mooch ST Series

The Short Track series kicked off on March 3 with the 1^st Walter’s No Frills ST race.  The 1.5 mile course located on the Boy Scout property at Allamuchy was the same one used last fall for the premier of short track racing in NJ. After positive feed- back we decided to stay with the same course for the spring series for the 1^st 3 races then use a newly built track built over the winter for the 4^th race. We dropped the Bagels and Bacon title and went with Walters No Frills.  This title reflects our goal going into the spring ST; keep it simple while getting into race shape on the cheap.

(Norm: On that note, we're always looking for new & exciting names for our races. If we do a fall series there may be free pickle juice for all racers.)

The 4 Saturdays in March grew each week in racing intensity.  We saw some excitement over the weeks from the top 3 finishers in the crazy men class , Rob Lichtenwalner, Jesse Epstein and Jonathan Lombardo.  Strong finishes from Ed Ceccolini, Rich Wolter,  Matt Miller, Jonathnan Lombardo and Utah Joe kept the series battle raging up until the end. The last race in the series saw an appearance from Mike Montalbano lining up for the final showdown. Last weeks ST winner Ed Ceccolini (fast Eddy) gave Mike a fight to the finish but Mike was able to pull out a win getting to the line 8 seconds before fast Eddy.

As the crazy men class grew every week so did the women’s and men’s sport class. The MTBNJ ladies were consitant in there races and getting faster each week with Robin Everson, Patty Bender and Mandi Tabbit finishing 1-3^rd in the series. It was nice to see the field grow by the 4^th ST race, thanks for your support ladies!

The silly sport class grew as the weeks went on thanks to William Lorenzo for spreading the word. The first ST race saw 11 racers while the last one was at 60 (Norm: these numbers are not real, no clue where Iggy got them), thanks guys! Congrats to Doug Alpers, Willy and Greg Heller for placing top 3 in the Silly Sport Class.

While we don’t have an official slogan, motto or mission statement for team MTBNJ ,  if we did it would say something like who we are off the bike is what makes us winners (Norm: Actually, I prefer "Beer & ice cream for dinner, thanks!").  At the close of our ST race series I am happy to be a part of a team that made this series a success.  Norm and Matty Bender were instrumental in making this happen as was Chris Ruiz (Norm: Let's not forget his lovely sidekick, Kayla), who came through all aces in the scoring. Carson, Mandi and Robin, with Shaggz floating in between scoring and registration to keep things flowing, handled registration smoothly. Filling in the gaps to take care of all the other race prep was done by the team who came together to make this event as enjoyable to work as it was to race.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the MTBNJ Stewart 6-Pack on July 1!

https://www.bikereg.com/Net/15383

Sussex TOOOOO!

At the end of the long 4 day Thanksgiving day weekend, when everyone is feeling fat & lazy, the second Sussex race comes along to give you a little kick start to get ready for that post-turkey slumber week that nobody wants to face. In a way, it's makes life easier, because the pain of the 45 minute race makes going to work easy in comparison. At least for an hour or so. This weekend we had another good crew of blue & orange up at the Sussex Fairgrounds for installment #2 of the SCCX Double.

40+ Men

Foreshadowing:

First race was Norm & ChrisG (and some other guys) where we saw Lombardo check out as usual. There was a fight for 2-3 between Eric and some other non-regular, and then the 4-5-6 was a bit of a battle with Norm, Doug Spitz, and a 3rd guy who I'm not familiar with. In the end, I didn't have much in the tank as my season feels like it wants to drop kick me at this point. So I ended up 6th of the 3. As the bell rang on the last lap, nothing changed at all. That's a tough time to try to cover anything and as usual, the lap ended as it began.

I don't have the results so I'm not sure where ChrisG ended up. He was battling behind me and I saw the trailing blue and orange the whole race, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't too far back.

C Women

After the 50+ the ladies lined up to go, with Robin & Mandi representing yesterday. Robin is in mid-stride with her training and really did a great job trying to hang on to Gerilynn's wheel yesterday. I stuck around for the women's race and got to see a lot of familiar faces in blue & orange as well as assorted other colors. Here's Robin trying to track down that tricky podium:

Alas it was not to be, as the1-2 girls checked out and Gerilynn managed to hang on to the 3rd spot. Mandi rolled in with a 7th place finish, solid times all around. I have to say that for as little as she ends up on the cross bike, she's a near pro with the remount. Here she is on the tricky downhill section:

Meanwhile, Pearl watched it all unfold:

A Men

No blue & orange in the fast class, as Fred is mired in central Jersey with no coffee roaster so spends most of his time with a Big lighter and an old wok that he found in a Carribean island. But Maurice was out there, who does wear blue & orange for some of the races. He checked out yesterday and won the A race, hands down. Here he is on the triple barrier run-up:

B Men

Feeling the effects of coaching his kid's hockey team, Ilya was forced to skip SCCX #2 which left Utah as the only blue & orange rider in the B class. He managed a 12th place finish, which is the same as last week but better since the fields were deeper this time around without the Supercross race to compete with. Here Utah makes an aggressive pass as Chris Esnes watches on:

40+ C Men

Next up were the 40+ C men, where Sean Runnette has been ripping up the class this year. Lo and behold, Rob (old not young, but I guess that's implied by the class) did his best to rip it up and he did exactly that. While not walking away with a win he did manage to land us a 3rd place and help the team cause. Rob managed our best result of the day and along with Robin (4), myself (6), ChrisRU (6), and Mandi (7) led the charge in helping us retain our hold on 2nd place in the NJ CX Cup standings.

C Men

Finally the day wrapped up with the C race, where we have our strongest presence. Chris26er was rocking a potential podium until he flatted towards the end.

ChrisRU tried to hang on to 26er and he did for a while, but in the end he let that podium slip away a little bit and would up 6th on the day. Chris has really come a long way this year and it's great to see him reaping the rewards of all the hard work he's put in.

Like myself, Pearl has about had enough of the cross season and the big rides over the Turkey weekend added up to produce a somewhat lackluster result on the day. Slipping just inside the top 10 isn't a bad day for not feeling it though. Here he approaches the sketchy little downhill turn.

Rounding out the team day was Capers, who is off his great ride at Cathedral last weekend. The 6 hour training does not really translate to the shorter, high-end efforts of cross. By his own admission he was a bit of pack fodder on the day. To be expected given last weekend.

In all a great course again, and a great weekend for the team. No idea where we sit in the team standings but hopefully we managed to hold on to the 2nd place overall. Somerset is likely too far out to catch. But there are a slew of other teams breathing down our neck last I checked.

See you next week at the Scramble!

More pics here:
Norm's pics
Mandi's pics
Robin's pics

Supercross & Sussex Weekend

That's right, 3 races, 2 states, 2 days, 10 MTBNJ racers, and 1 newly certified spin instructor. If you weren't out there racing this weekend you missed plenty of good times. If you were, then bonus! Surely you saw lots of blue & orange if you were.

Behind the ‘Stache : Super Cross Cup Edition (by Fred)


The Long Island race weekend historically for me has been the weekend that leaves me packing my car with haste and more than a few curse words about my weekends riding.  Fried burnt out, cracked.  Ya, any of those describe how I would be feeling on Sunday.  But this year I have focused on trying to keep things fresh and not race EVERY race that I could find.  This has become especially crucial with the addition of Nationals to the schedule.  Wisconsin in January?  Sure!  Sounds like a great idea!

The mid week rain had me curious to what the course conditions would be like come the weekend.  A Fast, Flowy (more so on the second day) and Fun race course are what we arrived to mid morning Saturday.  Good, hard, clean (like not muddy) bike racing was in store for us at Eisenhower Park.

Both days were just that.  Good and hard bike racing.  I hung onto the wheels of the boys at the front for as long as I could…the brutally hard accelerations corner after corner made things a bit tough to keep up with.  I’ll get there one day I hope.  The fields were not big but they sure were strong.  I was happy to finish inside the top 10 on both days.

 I am pretty happy with the weekend.  Two good rides and I am not ready to hang it up just yet.  Plus I was able to convince Linda to take the winnings on the weekend and apply them to something I have had my eye on for quite some time.

 Time for some rest, relaxation and over eating.  Madison or Bust!

Saturday:
Fred: 9 of 20 - Elite Men
Maurice: 3 of 30 - Masters 35+


Sunday:
Fred: 8 of 16 - Elite Men
Maurice: 2 of 25 - Masters 35+

SCCX#1 (by Norm & Pearl)


Meanwhile, in NJ I lined up with the old men at 9:00 and gave it all I could for a good 3-4 laps, where I was able to hang with those leaders until they pulled away from me on the run-up. For all my preaching not to bother running when you train, this thing really got me. By no means am I short, but I felt like I was 3 feet tall on this one. The last 2 laps was an effort in just riding it out, as 5th place was pretty far back. I ended up 1-2 minutes back of the leaders and comfortably in 4th place. My series is pretty much locked up in 3rd place at this point.

It was nice to have a dry course for a change. Here was the easy run-up, which was right after I slipped and almost fell.




After I cooled down and got dressed, I hung around for a bit and took some pics of the ladies. Here Robin rips on her way to 4th place, matching what I had done in the first race:



Then I had to go. Eventually some of the other guys showed up, including Pearl. In his words...

Front and center. The trumpet sounds and we are off. I find my pedal and I'm in front of everyone in sight... WTF? I easily had the best first 200m of my life. I'm 2nd into the first uphill climb behind the Knapps rider (guy who was pounding the beers at Westwood). Paul easily sneaks by me. I try to latch onto his wheel and he pulls away. Can't remember how the next 3-4 people get by, but they do. Mostly on the climbing sections of the course. I end up behind Dan Harpers wheel. Motivation kicks in. I want to give this guy a run for his money. Couple of times I try to sneak by, whether dismounting the tree turn or after he OTB's on the smaller barrier section. I have better cornering skills than Dan but he has the legs and lungs. Chris26er squeaks by and is now working on Dan. He eventually gets around him.

This happens for 4 laps, me chasing Dan around and trying to squeeze him out. The bell goes off and so does Dan. WOW. Dan and the rest of the field had another gear that I didn't that day. I lose contact with Dan and am in no mans land. I see RobG and another rider battling 2-3 turns back. I'm trying to save something as I know they will get me, but not let off the gas too much. I peak back and see RobG take a good, protecting line from me. Not sure if he knew this, but the inside line helped out with the other guy on his tail to keep his position. One last turn.

I feel as recovered as I could for the last 200 meters of a sprint. I peak under my left arm and see another rider, not RobG, out of the saddle and hammering it.



I give it all I can, for as long as I can... I had about 20 pedal strokes in my body and it shut down. I lose 8th spot and finish 9th.

What an awesome venue and course. 13.5MPH average? I was on the fence about racing next week at the same place, but holy crap this was fun.




Norm: 4 of 16 - 40+ Men
Robin: 4 of 9 - Cat 4 Women
Ilya: 9th of 24 - B Men
Utah: 12th of 24 - B Men
ChrisS: 6 of 31 - C Men
Pearl: 9 of 31 - C Men
RobG: 10 of 31 - C Men
ChrisRU: 11 of 31 - C Men

Fair Hill & Westwood Weekend of Pain

Saturday: Fair Hill & Westwood

The weekend kicked off down south at Fair Hill, which is somewhat north of the Mason-Dixon line. I think?

From Robin:

"This past Saturday I had the choice of either racing Westwood (NY) or Fair Hill (MD). Both were going to be a drive and I was already signed up for Sunday’s Westwood race. I decided to go with fair Hill since my coach, Ben, would be there and it there would be some new faces to line up with in the Cat 3/4 Women's.

"Arrived early enough to get a lap in between races and went over some spots with Ben. Warmed up and went up to the call-up. There weren't as many girls as Granogue, which was my first MAC race, but more than I'm used to at the NJ series. I was in the third row for the start, which included slight gravel climb. I felt really good out of the start, making my way into the course - which I absolutely loved. Turns and little ups and downs. Conditions were prime - dry and fast. Did I mention I loved the course?

"I had a blast out there. I placed 9th, and considering the girls I was up against, overcoming my fear of passing, and dealing with a "flat", I'm very happy with that finish. Great vibe at the race - spectators cheering and tasty beverages. The race promoters did a fantastic job and I’ve put this on my “to-race” list for next season."

-Robin

Fair Hill Results:

Robin - 9th/16
Fred - DNF (he got run over)
Maurice - 1st/33

Meanwhile, up north it was a disaster. I (Norm) got there bright and early and did a lap of the course, and while it was wet, it was nothing like it would become. I was having a great race, holding down 2nd in the 40+ until my wig was soiled, and my chain exploded. Without question, I was incredibly disappointed and wanted to throw my bike. I hear stories that Fred did exactly that which is what I was close to doing. But the price tag on this sport is already high enough, no need to tack on a few thousand dollars smashing a perfectly good carbon frame. Better luck next time, so they say.

Westwood:

Ilya - 5th of 13
Utah Joe - 8th of 13 - B
ChrisRU - 2nd of 17 - C
Capers - 11th of 17
Norm - 2nd...wait, DNF. EAT IT!!

Sunday, Westwood

Pearl on Sunday:

Sunday Westwood Experience: I raced Sunday, and boy was that painful. Mud sucking your shoes off and running through long stretches of oozy, thick, peanut butter mud just did me in. I can't remember the last time I ran more than 20 feet, but trying the run, learn how to shoulder (my shoulders are really puny and boney) and try not to fall on my face was a task in itself.

I ended up flatting halfway through the second lap, so my day pretty much was over. Dan Larino was in the pit and loaned me a wheel, but my brake wouldn't work as his wheelset was wider. I can't say what else I had left in the tank, as I was slowly starting to walk instead of even jog in these mud sections. Anyway, Here is the rest of the day in pictures!







Mandi starting another painful lap, ladies ended up doing 4!







Robin through a tricky downhill corner, saw a couple of guys eat it here later in the day







Mandi and Robin right after the race, Fun faces!







Fred working the steps






Fred and Maurice on the podium in the A race.







This was the scene for a couple of sections of the course. Ouch.







Chris showing the rest of the field how to ride the run-up.







Shout out to this guy from Knapps, can someone ID him? I think he was doing well in this race as well.

Team Results:

Ilya - 5th of 23
ChrisS - 11 of 29
ChrisRU - 15 of 29
Pearl - 22 of 29
Robin - 5th of 10
Mandi - 7th of 10
Maurice - 2nd of 13
Fred - 3rd of 13
Norm - 7th of 18
RobG - 8th of 22

Hidden Valley in Our Own Words

Breaking down Hidden Valley, race by race, racer by racer. The day started cold, but we did our best to warm it up fast. First on tap, the old men. Represent!

Master 40+ (8:30 am)


 "I just could not bridge that goddamn gap. When I went to bed that night, I fell asleep 5 seconds from getting to bed. No matter how many times I woke up and tried to crawl into bed, I just never made it. I woke up Monday on the floor." -Norm (4th/23)

 "Startedfrom maybe the 3rd row, was in 10th when we hit the grass.  This was myfirst key for the race:  To improve my start.  I really enjoyed thelog, bunny hopping it allowed me to briefly move into 9th on the first lap. The remainder of the first lap was given to settling in and seeing whatmy motor would give me.  Doug Spitz and Chuck Erndl, the guys I ride withmore than just about anyone, both got by me by the start of the second lap, andthat was that.  No one passed me for the rest of the race.  I kept myhead down and dug, opened a big gap on the rider behind me, and tried to reelin whoever was in front of me.  Second key point:  To maintainposition with consistent effort and good driving.  Finished 12, animprovement over 14th at Morris.  Most of all, it was super-fun, a coolcourse, and lots of good folks.  Thanks to everyone who took the time toencourage me, it’s a huge help." -ChrisG (12th/23)

Woman B (10:29 am)


 "As always, I want to poke my eyes out as I'm racing...hate it. But as soon as I am done, there is a smile on my face." -Robin (3rd/16)


 "I end up crossing the line 6th, my best finish yet. I rode up to the top to give Robin a big hug since I knew she must have had a great result. After that we waited to watch Patty finish who kicked butt on her mountain bike!" -Mandi (6th/16)


"Raced the Hidden Valley on my Mt. bike today. Mission was to get a good workout, have fun and spend time with my team girls. Mission accomplished. Robin picked me up so we had some catch up time together. It was great to spend time w/ her and Mandi. I see why racers get hooked on cx. It's awesome." -Patty (11th/16)

Men B (12:35 pm)


"This is what I love about this sport, every season I meet people who I will know forever, and every race is a reunion of sorts as we are all in a kind of graduating class." -Ilya (3rd/29)


"By the last lap I was feeling like the august version of me again. I had worked my way up and Esnes was either 1 or 2 guy in front of me. I think I had a good shot at catching him...then front tire explosion...yet again. I really have no luck with CX tires. So far I have done 9 CX races and have flatted 4 times. With the mountain bike, I have yet to ever get a flat in a race since 2008." -Utah (18th/29)

Men C (2:30 pm)

"Same race as norms. After the first lap I am passed by one person and that is it. Kind of just ride smooth and keep the pressure on. Never bridge to Anthony or Overlook guy. Finish 7th. Great course. I really enjoy cross and love just about everything it has to offer." -Pearl (7th/40)


"I ended up 10th. Not too bad but if I took any care of my self this week and didnt gourge on shitty food and alcohol I may have been able to make a few more moves. I had a cramp in my side the entire race which i'll contribute to the crap fuel i have been feeding me. " -Jeremy (10th/40)


"This race was a bit disappointing for me. Last weekend I had an awesome race in terrible conditions. Looking back at today though, I probably ended up where I should have. I'm not going to make excuses, stuff happens in races and that's part of the game. Its a bike race, and at the end of the day its about having fun, which I did. Its always a good time being out on my bike, especially now when the only time I get to ride during the daylight is on race days and sometimes Saturdays. Next up is the Westwood double." -ChrisRU (17th/40)



The Team

The top 5 on the day was a pair of 3rds, a 4th, a 6th, and a 7th. Solid, and that should help us keep our spot as #2 in the NJ CX Cup. Looking forward to next week and the Westwood double. Bring it on!

Is this the most epic weekend of CX in NJ?

When you sit on your patio in July, having maybe your 4th or 5th beer on the last real throw-down of the summer, and think of cross, this is kind of what you have in mind. I say "kind of" because this isn't really what you have in mind. On one hand, it's summer, it's 90 degrees out, and you're drunk. So you're thinking that the easy mid-summer miles are about to end, and you're about to ramp up for the second season, cross season. You think mud, rain and snow, beer and waffles. Maybe not in that order. Maybe not all at once, but that's what you think.

Just...not in October.

With snow (and a shit load of rain) in October, the cross fans were in for a treat. For anyone who was out at Beacon or HPCX, hats off to you. For anyone who was out at both, you may want to check your head. Without question this was an epic weekend. Yes, I said epic.If you were there, you'd know. If you weren't, you should have been. As you sit here and read this, you're safe and warm, just like I am. Point is, you get over it.

Beacon

I wasn't at Beacon this week, but a few team members headed down. We heard tales of a 5 hour drive back in the crazy storm that hit us. Amputated toes, frozen fingers, sideways rain, foot deep puddles and long stretches of sand set the stage for an incredible event. I haven't found many pictures, as 38 degrees, windy and rainy are not ideal photography conditions. I will take everyone elses word for how crazy of a day it was. By all accounts, it was crazy. Fred summed it up in 1 word: Miserable. He later added stuff like: incredible, amazing, epic, and "crap my shower broke."

Results:

Sherry Shapiro - 15th/19 (cat 3/4 women)
Fred Brown - 27th/40 (UCI elite men)
Maurice Gamanho - 2nd/37 (master men 35+)
Ben - DNF (master men 35+)

HPCX 

On Sunday, the snow in Jamesburg quickly turned from 2-3 inches of a hard, crusty surface to soupy, peanut butter deliciousness. After that it got downright stupid, in an awesome way. While a fair bit of New Jersey was without power due to the heavy snow, people decided not to sit in their houses and instead came out to play anyway. The turnout was huge, the day was beautiful, and there was money in the mud before too long. All was good at HPCX.





Mandi battling Melissa atop the short run up.





Freds mud bath, complete.





Ilya through the goop.





The Killer B's. Chaos.

Results:

Chris Ruiz - 16th/65 (men C)
James Pearl -30th/65 (men C)
Eric Capers - 31st/65 (men C)
Chris Gozick - 15th/30 (45+ men)
Mandi Tabbit - 18th/25 (cat 3/4 women)
Maurice Gamanho - 2nd/43 (master men 35+)
Norm Zurawski - 25th/43 (master men 35+)
Fred Brown - 19th/32 (UCI elite men)
Ilya Cantor - 17th/64 (cat 2/3/4 men aka the Killer Bs)

Stay tuned, as there was apparently 17 inches of snow up at Hidden Valley this weekend.