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: Capers' View

Yesterday we sa a recap from a long-time road racing veteran in Maurice. Today, the opposite end of the spectrum. This was Eric's first road race ever. No crits, no local road races, maybe not even any shop rides. Feet first, head first - no matter which way you look at it he went right to the deep end of the poop. Here is his view.

Battenkill - My first road race. Words can't describe the anxiousness I had the week leading up to this one. It was all I could think about. I'v'e participated in group rides, centuries and countless long road rides with lots of elevation, but not in the form of a race. My race experience is primarily on dirt, grass and mud. This is a whole different game with different rules and strategy. I didn't come out expecting to win, in fact I predicted that I'd probably end up mid pack. I was treating this more as a learning experience. 

I don't want to draw this out so I'll get right to my race. I started in the front, I think I was the 2nd or third guy back when we rolled out. The neutral start was something Iv'e never experienced before. Much more gentleman like than the "READY-SET-GO!!!!!" balls out starts in MTB and Cross. I was glad to warm up the legs and get a feel everyone around me. Seemed like we just coasted for the first 5-6 miles. Most of us were chit-chatting as we cruised steadily up 313, the only thing we were missing was tea. Shortly after the covered bridge everyone put their game faces on and we eased into a hotter pace. The race officially began on the Perry Hill Rd. Climb.

Perry Hill rd. was the first of many climbs that would start filtering out the group. I knew it would happen eventually but didn't plan on getting spit out the back of the lead group that early on. And by the time we began climbing up Juniper Swamp, the lead group was already pulling ahead. Oh well, thats racing. The rest of us got pretty strung out into 2's and 3's and each successive hill broke everyone up even more. Now we're in chase mode fruitlessly trying to catch the leaders but this was not to be.

From here on out I found myself jumping from group to group and also riding solo in the wind at times. The elevation combined with the varying skill levels of my fellow Cat5 racers made it difficult to keep a solid paceline going for any extended period. The wind was strong at times and I burned a lot of matches chasing down groups I'd see in the distance.

I was pleasantly surprised to see my girlfriend Megan with her hand out with a water bottle for me at feed zone 1. I did not expect her to do this but man, she's on top of it! She executed a perfect hand off and I was happy to know I wouldn't dehydrate! I rode with a group of 4 guys for he next 20 miles or so. At this point, I know I'm probably about mid pack.

Feed zone 2 near Meeting house road. Megan was there again with another bottle for me and a banana already opened. Man, she's good! Meeting house road was extremely dusty with large loose rocks. Racers were flatting everywhere. I got passed by the over 35 lead group as well as their support vehicle. They kicked up a sand storm as they flew by. It seemed like Meeting House road is where the race became a death march for many. This is where I saw the most racers from different fields and everyone looked like hell. The sun exposure, heat and dust gave this road a real desert like feel.

By now, I'm cramping everywhere and my lower back is killing me. Weakened by this, my avg speed is dropping. Hit the pavement after meeting house and cruise as best as I could working with another guy in the 35+ Cat all the way to Stage rd. Stage road…Oi, that was a doozey. I read that it pitches up 3 times and not to be fooled into thinking it's over until you hit pavement. Glad that I opted for an 11/27 cassette. I look over my shoulder and notice 4 guys that are in my field. I didn't wan't to loose any more spots so I hit the gas. By the time I crested Stage road I knew I was home free. I put the pedal to the metal and gave it all I had (which wasn't much) from this point on. Surprisingly I was taken out by a guy in my field with less than 1 mile to go. Unfortunately, I did not have it i me to chase so I let him go. Fnished 23 of 42 starters, 39 finishers Cat 5 blue with a time of 3:24.

Final thoughts:  The production was top notch and much more elaborate than any race Iv'e done in the past. This was a great experience, top to bottom and I will definitely return for another shot next year. Maybe even train specifically for it and make it a priority. 

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

Six Hours Cathedral pines. through the eyes of a Capers

Couldn't have asked for a better day for 6+ hours racing mountain bikes on Long Island, in the middle of November. As expected, this year's Six Hours Of Cathedral Pines was a real treat and an opportunity to shake things up a bit while in the midst of cyclocross season. This would be my second year participating in this event and I couldn't be more stoked to race it again.

Hit the road around 6AM with teammates Rob Perazzo, Dana Napurano and Chris Brawley (Pooriggy). We crammed 4 bodies, 5 bikes and a ton miscellaneous shit onto and inside Rob's little Toyota.




Arrived at Cathedral Pines County Park about an hour before the start. We hooked up with Kirt and Dave Clapp at the gate so that we could all park and pit together. Shortly after, the Gozicks rolled up.

I don't see much value in warming up before long format races like these, so my pre race ritual became a bit more laid back than normal. I picked up my number, kitted up, ate and cruised around to check out the scene. Chatted it up with several friends and teammates. The vibe was good.

After the pre-race meeting, all 300 or so of us lined up for a mass start. I picked a spot towards the front and shot the shit with my buddy Dan Brodeen. As we were talking, the gun went off without warning, taking us completely by surprise. Unprepared for this, I leaped onto my saddle cyclocross-style and pedaled like a madman up the prologue. As with any race, I did my best to pick through the riffraff to secure a decent position towards the front, leading up to the singletrack.


The Mass start is as crazy as you've heard - Photo by Jennifer Carlson

There was a bit of congestion as we entered the woods but thats unavoidable considering the volume of riders. There were some hang-ups on the first series of hills but I managed to dodge & pass those folks and kept pedaling. I wasted no time jumping ahead of riders that were not moving fast enough and by about 25 minutes in, settled into a nice groove with a group of about 8 guys. We hammered out the remainder of the first lap which ended up being 51 minutes exactly.

I continued riding with this group for just about the entire second lap, always keeping someones wheel a couple feet in front of mine. Half way through lap 2, I spot my teammate Rob and he takes the lead for a while. we pushed the pace a little bit harder and banged out a 49 minute 2nd lap. I'm feeling pretty good at this point. While passing through the transition area, I pull up alongside Rob, we exchange pleasantries and I take the lead into the singletrack. Always a good feeling when you have a friend to ride with. Rob stayed relatively close behind and was never out of site. By now the group had mostly broken up into smaller pods of 2's and 3's as we continued to hammer through the sweet, flowy Long Island singletrack.

I kept a consistent effort, onwards through the next several laps but It wasn't before long that something evil began lurking within my legs. I have never experienced this before in a race, and that evil was the cramp monster! The cramping was relentless and hung around for the remainder of the race. The only way to suppress the pain was to pedal faster. Slowing down only caused my legs to lock up. At times I found myself shifting to an easier gear to spin a faster cadence. Nevertheless, I fought through it and did my best to maintain momentum. I still had plenty of gas in the tank.

I really had to force myself to eat every time I came around through the transition area. I didn't want to loose any time so my stops were 30 seconds or less. I mostly ate on the go, which was rather difficult with solid foods. Nearly choked on a cliff bar. That was ugly.

At the end of Lap 5, Chris (Pooriggy) catches up to Rob and I. We all pass through the transition area together. My cramps are at their climax right now. I downed almost an entire bottle of water, a banana and a package of chomp blocks. Chris Takes off and thats the last I see of him. Rob decides he doesn't want to ride anymore and bails right then and there. This is OK for him as the registration numbers were so low for his age group that at this point, he wins by default! I congratulate him and take off for lap 6.

For the next 2 laps, I find myself mostly riding solo with the occasional wheel sucker latching on. Dialed into autopilot mode, my bike rails the twisty turns with speed and finesse. I am quite literally in that special place called "the zone". James Brown's "Get on the Good Foot" is on repeat in my brain and my groove is unstoppable. By now many of the other racers are really beginning to fade, none of which were racers in my class. I 'm passing folks like like crazy. Well, passing as courteously as one could. We're all here to have a good time so I did my best not to be a jerk.

Towards the end of lap 7, I look down at my Garmin and see that I have passed the 6 hour mark, so an 8th lap isn't going to happen. I have a huge gap on the next rider in my field behead me so I ease up and cruise the last mile or so to the finish line. I end up wrapping it up with 7 laps at 6:11 and a 5th place finish. Not a bad day!
It wasn't until I dismounted that it hit me how beat up my body felt. It's the good kind of soreness though, the kind you earn!

I was pleased to learn that every single one of my teammates threw down strong finishes in their respective classes. Outstanding! Quite a few podiums were had for MTBNJ..


Results

Rob Perazzo 1/1, Cat 1 Male 19 to 29 Laps 5, Time 4:18:26.9
Dana Napurano 3/5, Cat 2 Female 30 to 39 Laps 5, Time 5:51:12.6
Eric Capers 5/23, Cat 2 Male 30 to 39 Laps 7, Time 6:11:11.6
Chris Brawley 3/27 Singlespeed Open. Laps 7, Time 6:02:22.7
Chris Gozick 7/27 Singlespeed Open. Laps 7, Time 6:17:09.3

Kirt Mills 3/19 Male Duo Relay Laps 8, Time 6:38:19.5
David Clapp 3/19 Male Duo Relay Laps 8, Time 6:38:19.5


ChrisG - Photo by Wayne Lewis


Dana - Photo by Anthony Benavides


Capers - Anthony Benavides


Iggy on cruise control - Photo by Jennifer Carlson


Kirt doing his part - Photo by Wayne Lewis


RobP drinkin' up - Photo by Jennifer Carlson


Part of the crew enjoying the delicious post-race chili.

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

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.

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)