Hunting on Hunter, by Glick

Most people associate Hunter Mountain with skiing however Saturday they held the first annual Hunter Mountain Spring Classic Road Race. The same people that do Battenkill, Tour of the Dragons, Tour of the Catskills and a handful of other ultra punishment road races put on this race. 

I shared the ride up with Shawn Ericksen (Elite racing cat3) and Alex Cooper (Tenafly Road Dawgs cat 4) on what was about as perfect weather conditions and as beautifully clear sky as you could have. Sunny clear and cool (60s ish). Walking over to registration I introduce them to my teammates Ben and Kush, as they are both in these guys groups. The overall vibe was really great and I have to think that the weather had everyone in particularly good spirits. I was a bit surprised and glad to see Roger of Fincraft there for his first race since his severe crash last season. Great to see him back in racing action on a bike. 

This race is 80mi, 5k' of climbing and although not super hot it was going to get a little warmer and regardless it’s a long way to go with no water. I was concerned about being short a bottle but I wasn't going to carry 4. Ultimately it didn't turn out to be an issue and they did have a feed station shortly after the lap 2 start where they handed out poland spring bottles and I was able to snag one. Oh that reminds me, as I entered the feed zone at the start of lap 2 I had my empty in my back pocket so I went to toss it off the side of the road by the 300m to go sign so that I knew where to find it later and my toss had such amazing aim that it actually hit the post that the sign was mounted on sending it shooting back like a grenade hitting one of those baseball practice thingys and launching it right back into the pack. I held my breath for a few seconds praying I wasn't about to take everybody down. Yikes.

I'm not going to give a play by play but to summarize, the front of my group stayed together for the most part all the way to the big climb in the second lap which was around 65 miles in. At this point we were down to 7 riders and this is where I began to struggle a bit. For the first time I had to work harder to stay on and sure enough another rider and myself came unhitched not far from the top. This was very physically and mentally frustrating because I knew if I could just hang on for like 15-30 seconds longer I would be able to stay with the lead group probably to the end. Amazing how a race 80 miles long comes down to critical seconds. When we got over this I could see that someone else had popped also and was dangling between the leaders and myself. I worked like a bastard to get to that person fast enough before they totally popped so that we could work together and try and get back on. But as I have experienced so many times this always seems much more possible in your mind than in real life. We chased for 15 miles and were never able to close that down but holy crap was that hard just to maintain that gap of what eventually became like a minute. So close...

 In closing, overall it was a great race experience and I would highly recommend this to anyone looking to do a long road race that has 2 major things going for it logistically: first it is not quite as early in the season as Bkill so you are likely to be in better shape for a big event and second, it is significantly closer to get to than Bkill. Course is also much easier on your body and equipment, there were holes but they were clearly marked, nothing compared to Bkill terrain. In closing, this is likely a not to miss event for the predictable future for me. Oh and lastly can we make arrangements for the same weather next year?

Singlespeed-A-Palooza - The Day After the Hangover

Now that all the beer cans are cleaned up, hot dog breath is brushed out, dust is our of our pores and blue tape is wrapped up in the garbage bin, we can discuss what an awesome weekend the boys at Dark Horse Cycles put on. If you are reading this you already know how big of an event this is. People travel from all over the east coast to throw down on some of the best singletrack NY has to offer. If you haven't ridden Stewart, you need to get out here. If you haven't raced a Dark Horse event, you really are missing out!

The last two years offered wet conditions and some sloppy riding. This year brought dust from the fire roads. The dry conditions brought smiles to faces and pain to legs. I personally have never gone this fast on my mountain bike before in a race.


The race is ultra competitive with such deep fields. Sure you remember the race and remember the super fast singletrack, but what is more memorable is crossing the finish line and hanging with 250+ like minded people you just shared 27 miles of racing with.

Robin had a mechanical and was the first one to the keg!

The Maddawg himself and Sport NJ Winner Mitch

The Scene

Jeremy, Jay and The Birthday boy

Open Menu Podium with Fred, Utah and Ilya 4th-6th

Bunch of MTBNJ regulars; Martin, Mitch, Dustin, Chris and Jay in Sport NJ

Look at that smile!

Fred and Jake really know how to enjoy each others company.

A Cake presented to Pearl for his birthday from George, Mayor of Dark Horse himself.

Ilya and the rest of the people who stayed around for the festivities got to enjoy some cake.

Team Results

Open Men
4th - Utah Joe
5th - Ilya
6th - Fred
14th - Norm
25th - Jeremy
27th - Iggy
38th - Chris26er
41st - ChrisG
43rd - RobG
44th - Woody
45th - Pearl

Sport South Men
10th - Capers
12th - Matty
14th - Jake
30th - Brad
Some reason Shaggz is not on this list. Will update.

Sport Women
5th - Dana
7th - Patty
DNF - Robin (Bending chainrings!)

Here are all the results, just incase. Throughout the week we will let you know how the races went, stay tuned.

Battenkill: Old Rob's View

First Maurice, then Capers, and today we have Rob, the older of the Robs on the team, thus the name. After surprising himself the year before with a 6th place finish Rob was eager to get back and improve upon that. But as with many things Battnkill-related, nothing is as you expect it. If nothing else, this is the race that keeps you guessing. 

This is a really tough recap for me to start. I have so many different ways of looking at this that I feel like I have a pinball banging around the inside of my head. I felt like I was pretty well prepared for this based on my experience of what the race was last year in my group. Right off the bat this is lesson 1, “EVERY race is different, even if it is the same class, venue, weather etc, you can not assume that the effort and dynamics will be the same”. :Last year was my first time up there I was really surprised at how tame the pace was in my group on the flats, except for 4 guys that went off the front after the first major climb. Other than that it was a controlled climbing race and who could out last the next guy and the groups just got smaller and smaller as it went on. Well this year was the opposite. I’ve gotten ahead of myself already.

Friday I made sure I was hydrating a lot as I saw that temp was going to be around 68 and felt that this was going to be a factor. Because of this I got up like 3 or 4 times in the night to pee. Got up early and didn’t feel like I had a fantastic rest but really not that bad. I do normal routine stuff, stretch, dog stuff, etc and go to bathroom one last time before I head out. While in the bathroom the light goes out. I figure the bulb just blew but get this weird feeling like that scene in Apollo 13 when the guy is in the shower the morning of the big launch and his wedding band comes off and goes down the drain. I comfort myself by thinking that although a lot of crazy shit happens between that scene and him going to outer space and getting back to earth again everything turns out ok. Get out of the bathroom and realize that the power for the whole house is out. Ok this is strange.

Take my stuff out the front door instead of the garage as opener won’t work of course and head over to Paramus where I am meeting Jeff (Gratefulrider) and will ditch my car and go together. He makes the trip go fast by good conversation and also doing like 90 the whole time except when slow down to pee 2x. His BMW suv thing is smooth. I think we got there in like 20 minutes even though it should have taken 3.5 hours.

We pull in to park next to some Tenafly guys I know and the 4 of us reg then back to cars for a really slow prerace routine as Jeff’s race is in like 2 hours and mine in 3. I eventually get my stuff on after eating a little bit, Jeff is ready before me and rolls off. I am very indecisive on what to eat ( major mistake?)I then roll out just to coast around and look at the start area and then over to the finish and expo. I see Zach Coop right after his finish and he is sitting on his bike with his legs dangling down and leaning against a pole in pain. He says his both legs are cramped and he can’t move. I give him a few sportslegs that I had in my pocket and made a friend for life. With an hour to go I head back to the car, eat a clif bar and drink some more, and do my pre race warmup on the trainer. I feel good and my heart and legs are responding and I feel I have good power with less perceived effort actually. I’m thinking systems are a go. Get race ready and head over to start with about 20min to go.

Watch the women pros go off while talking to some of the guys lining up for my race to try and get a read on people. I don’t recognize anyone from last year. We roll out behind the pace car and I can feel the front group coming into shape and who will likely be doing most of the work. Pace starts to build much quicker than I expect so early but I figure some of these guys may just be feeling it out. Within minutes I get hit in the face with a big black bee that I guess is a wasp and it gets stuck in the small space between my helmet and glasses and as I quickly pull off my glasses to give it room to escape the bastard stings me right at my eyebrow over my left eye. Next time I will hit myself with a tennis racket and knock both of us out. I let out a couple of choice words and the guy next to me asks if I was ok and if I was allergic which I am fortunately not. It hurt though and I felt with my finger like there was something in there and got it out and see blood on my fingers. Great. Now I am just hoping it doesn’t swell up and or affect my vision, which fortunately does not.

Through the covered bridge I’m in the front few and nothing really changes just the same guys up front taking unorganized turns although pace is still much faster than last year. A few guys ride off the front a little for no reason and no one even discusses it. They all wind up in the back at the next climb. Finally at Juniper things get more exciting and pace picks up a lot near the top and I am right there and this is the move and I am right in the center and we are gone. About 7-8 of us off the front and we drop the pack like a rock. I am working but nothing crazy and wasn’t even like the super hard Rocket Ride sections in my mind. I do my share of work and am cautious of not overdoing it however totally out of the blue after a while on a very minor rise in the road I feel a twinge in my right calf. Alarm bells and whistles go off in my head screaming DANGER DANGER, I’m like WTF???? I have never ever E V E R cramped on my road bike. EVER. Of course on the MTB I have and it was always hydration issues so I instantly started downing my bottles thinking it must be the issue. I am unsure though because I drank a ton the day before and all day. I start hiding right away to conserve and loosen this up very nervously. I am more than a little concerned as they come and go but eventually the calf seems ok. About 30 mi in we are climbing and I get a twinge in my right upper quad climbing muscle and now I am really concerned. I feel it contract a couple of times and feel that it is going to lock up on me and I have to back off about 50’ from the top. And there they went. I get over the top and it is a long rolling section that even though I try and think I can hammer it I know I am not getting back on and the gap gets bigger and bigger. Train is out of the station.

I know we had a big gap on the field but I am thinking this is bad. 32mi to go and I have to manage my body totally different from normal. I do 12 miles solo in the wind and then on a flat dirt section 5 guys come up on me and say join on. At that moment it felt like an oasis in the desert. I hop on and say thanks by telling them how many and how far ahead the leaders are hoping that will count as payment to the cause rather than take any pulls. We go for awhile and on another climb we lose 2. So the 3 of us crank on through the worst of the bad dirt road sections. I tend to be the fastest downhills and get ahead but that’s only because I am looking for every bit of help from gravity I can get. One section where the dirt was super loose and washed out, (you know the kind where you don’t really steer and just let the bike go where it wants to) my momentum carried me all the way across the road onto the grass and I just rode on the grass. The 2 guys I was still with followed me on the grass and thought it was intentional and said that it was a great idea. I didn’t tell them I didn’t get there on purpose.

Approaching that double tiered dirt climb that crosses a road the stronger of the 3 of us moves ahead and I can’t stay on his wheel and neither can the other guy (in green). I think he realizes he is doing all the work and that we were not going to be much help anyway. I see him go over the top as green guy and I start to climb it. My quad starts twitching really bad here and when the second tier starts I am feeling it increase. Then right in the middle of that second tier BAM! Full out mandatory Alcatraz style FN lock down. Can’t move right leg but somehow get my foot out of the pedal and get my foot down without tipping over and just stand there afraid to move while grinding my teeth. I grab my quad and it feels like concrete. There were some spectators and a woman runs over and starts to tell me to walk it off but I know if I move a smidgen right now it will be worse. I ask her to fill my bottles as she has a big Poland spring bottle. I don’t move for about 4.5 minutes (according to my Garmin) and finally it releases and I can walk. She tells me if I can just get to the top there is a downhill and recovery time afterwards. I walk to the top and eat a bunch of gels and wash it down with almost a full bottle and remount.

While in lock down mode I notice a few guys pass me but I have no idea if they are my group or some of the previous that we had caught when I was in the lead group but truthfully I don’t care. I am just trying to figure out how to finish this without another massive lock up like that as it is terrifying to me. I still have decent power amazingly when on the flats and can carry some speed. I make it to the last feed station and toss all my bottles again and take a bunch of the green ones at the top of the zone. Now all I can think about is Stage road and how the F am I going to make it up that without cramping. I am with a couple of guys at this point and I shift into my easiest gear even before the climb starts and they take off up it. I concentrate completely on just turning the pedals as easy as I possibly can and amazingly I am passing people who had attacked this and are blowing up. I even see a guy zig zagging the road. I get to the top and I am just so super happy to not have cramped. Coming down the other side feels great and I am really relieved. When the road straightens I can see far in the distance the green guy from before and I know he is in my group. I watch him from a distance and realize that very slowly but surely I am closing the gap on him. 

I get in the drops and concentrate on maintaining the best pace I can and although he is still far off I am closing on him. When I get within a couple of hundred feet I am just hoping he doesn’t’ turn around. I get about 20’ behind him and ease up a drop because I don’t want to get on his wheel and turn this into a final spring as I am not sprinting, no damn way. But I am thinking I don’t want him riding my wheel either and passing me at the end so I stay back a bit and then increase my pace so that when I pass him it is fast enough that if he doesn’t see me coming he won’t be able to surge and get on my wheel. This goes exactly as planned and I am dangling like 20’ in front of him and I hear him shift and breathing hard but I keep him off my wheel and I basically outlast him to the finish.

11th place in 3:25, this is 10 min faster than last year even wth the near 5 minute stop.
I am still trying to figure out my cramping issue. Now I think it ended up being a serious nutrition F up and I was carb depleted. I felt a significant change after downing those gels and heading into Stage road. I did not eat enough “real food” the day of the race as it was really tough timing with the early drive, the drive itself and then not wanting to eat a real meal 2 hours before the race and feel like I was full. I also reviewed my Garmin info and even though that fist 1.5 hours had a pretty hot pace and my HR was pretty up there for a road race especially, I never really felt like I was even close to the edge. This definitely was not like one of those times where you are riding with much faster people and you say to yourself, no way can I maintain this I predict blow up in x minutes or seconds. My perceived effort did not feel at the max. The next day my entire body felt like it had been through the ringer. This is another clue that it was not just legs getting tired. In fact my legs aren’t even super sore today except where I think my groin muscle got a little tweaked during the big lock down cramp. So we live and learn yet a little more….

The takeaway: so this is the part that I am now really kind of confused about. Last year I knew that my plan for this year was to make sure that I was ready to go with the breakaway group which I was and did. However the irony is that (yes this is Monday morning quarterback talk) had I just stayed with the pack and outlasted others (like last year) I would have likely wound up with a similar or possibly better result actually with a lot less pain and suffering. Granted my time would have been slower. I guess here I am making the same mistake and assuming again that next year will be just like this year which was supposed to be lesson #1 in the first paragraph. I do fully understand now why the pack stays together in these kind of races the same way Zebras do…. Survival. 

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

Robin's October 22-23 Weekend Recap

-Contributed by Robin (Robin)

My how times have changed...a year ago the Morris CX race was my first glimpse of what ‘cross is. A year later, I was racing in it. This was my second CX race of the season. After hitting Granogue last week, I was looking forward to lining up with some familiar faces.

I arrived early enough to see Norm and Chris G.’s race and get a glimpse of the course. Shortly after I arrived, Mandi and James pulled in next to me. We had some time before the ladies went off, so we changed, zipped around on our bikes and did a lap on the course...oh and did some fist pumping to Fred’s music.


Time to line up...I would say between both classes, a total of 20 women were at the start, all with smiles and wishing each other the best of luck. I have major “proximity anxiety”...so big groups scare me (i.e. Granogue’s Cat 3-4 line-up). However, I wasn’t too worried about being in the back row, since it was only the second row for our class. And the start was on a “four lane highway”, as Norm put it.

Bam! We’re off...and I sprint up to the front of the pack and into the course. I make my way into the top third of the girls and maintain it through the first lap. Second lap I start to inch up a bit and keep pedaling...I sprinted into the third lap to pass a few ladies...and I paid for it...hence my suffer face....


I managed to stay upright on the bike and had a great time out there. I definitely felt like my mountain bike skills paid off on the turns and some of the twisties...I was dogging on the straight aways. I managed to place 4th - which I was happy with.

The after-party was a blast - cheering on friends and teammates. The sounds of cowbells and cheering carried all over the park. Oh, and the Waffles & Dinges...I’ve been introduced to Speculoos...oh the horror!



Fred and the rest of the fast guys in for an hour of pain


Pearl and the Mens Cat 4 start


From L to R: Fred, Kirt, Capers, ChrisRU, Jeremy, Robin, Pearl


Waffle guys. Yum.


Post Race Treat!


Greystone Morris Cross

Ilya Cantor - 4/36 (cat 3 men)
Utah Joe - 36/36 (cat 3 men, rolled his front tire)
James Pearl - 9/69 (cat 4 men)
Chris Santalucia - 15/69 (cat 4 men)
Chris Ruiz - 17/69 (cat 4 men)
Jeremy Short - 19/69 (cat 4 men)
Eric Capers - 36/69 (cat 4 men)
Jake Kovalcik - 41/69 (cat 4 men)
Robin Evensen - 4/12 (cat 4 women)
Mandi Tabbit - DNF (cat 4 women, pulled calf)
Fred Brown - 3/18 (cat 1/2/3 men)
Norm Zurawski - 5/27 (men 40+)
Chris Gozick - 14/27 (men 40+)
Rob Glick - 5/26 (cat 4 men 40+)
Kirt Mills - 7/26 (cat 4 men 40+)

West Point Sunday

Rob Glick - DNF (master men, mechanical)