Kirt Rocking it at Waway

Waway. Clapp meet me at my house & we headed up to grab Iggy in Booton. Always better cruising up with people just makes the whole day more complete. Got there early enough to take our time getting ready & warmed up. 

Lap 1

The prologue had me a bit worried but it turned out to be a non-factor. Hit the double track about 2/3 back from the front. The 1st little rocky up & the group is off & walking. Jump back on & decide I need to make a move, really lots of moves. I guess at this point I decide to just go for it. Lap 1 would be my make or break lap & second would be the try & hang on lap. I'm being super aggressive, which is not normally my thing & passing a bunch of people. Finally settle in behind Esteban who I know is always up there in the end. Hang on his wheel for a while, even pass him after Outlook. Didn't last long as he runs by me on 1 of the slimy ups & is gone. Felt good while it lasted. In sitting Bear I get a glimpse of Victor, new target. Get to about 30ft off him close to the S/F & decide to fuel up before I try & make the move. 

Lap 2

Eat my gel (must bring the flask next time, just so much easier) pop a few Sportlegs & I'm off chasing him down again. Climbs & fireroads are uneventful. Come up on JimV at 1 point & crash trying to catch him, ouch #1. Back on the bike & I'm now chasing Jim again. Catch & pass him at 2 Bridges & then he passes me back on the next climb. I try to hang on which is a good thing as he pulls me to within 20 feet of Victor, bad thing is as he passes Victor, Victor try's chase Jim down, big gap again. Damn. We finally get into the ST & I pass Jim 1st as he's off on the rocky up. I'm clean on both & I close to the back of Victor's wheel. I'm riding clean & he is not so he just tells me to pass. Ok I'll take it because my legs didn't want to try a pass. Next I pass Mandell who's off the bike. I had decided at that point I was going to walk the Outlook climb as the cramping is getting worse. Get there & look back & Victor is closing. Damn I have to ride it now & I actually make it. Man did it hurt. I was so spent I crashed on the next rocky DH right in front of TomH (the bike patrol guys), ouch #2. Get back up & keep plugging away. I get to SB & the cramps are starting to get really bad. Mandell rides my wheel for a bit & finally passes. I stay with him until the last climb (MattyB's hangout) & he's gone as are my legs. I'm toast!!! Hit the end & couldn't be happier it's over. 8th out of 25. 2m off 7th & 3 off 6th. Not unhappy with that at all. All the faster guys beat me. I felt like I gave it everything I had & more. I'll keep working hard & hopefully can close the gap a little more each race.

Great seeing & hanging with everyone. I agree the whole scene was so much better with the format change. Congrats to Utah, Alex, Patty, Allison, Eric on the podiums, you guys earned it.

Mooch Midweek with Iggy

The best way to stick it to the man is to take a day off during the week and go mountain biking.  While everyone else is commuting into work, driving to the trail with your bike on the car feels so uplifting.  Getting up early to ride is so much easier then getting up early for work.   Work would be better if it lasted 2-3 hrs like a bike ride. You could work for an hour eat some gu, drink some water then work for another hour and repeat. When you’re out of gu and water that’s when you go home…simple.

A drizzly damp day on the trails beats a dry day at the office any day. That’s the kind of day it was at Allamuchy when I got together with John Kuhn, Dave Clapp, Ben Tufford and Kirt Mills.  Despite the temps in the upper 30’s and a damp mist from an over night shower we warmed up quickly climbing the hills of mooch north. Unlike the climbs of Round Valley these ascents are rewarding as you pick your line up through technical features. Lots of up and down but the rocks keep it interesting.

Kirt is always our Sherpa on these rides up north. He knows the trails and the lines well, which keeps the pace steady. With the elevation at mooch, 2 hrs. of riding can feel like a 4hr road ride.  The climbs supply a steady amount of interval pace intensity, which can wear you out. It’s the off season so we kept the ride under 2 ½  hrs. We had our fill of sticking it to the man and headed back to the cars…screw the man.

Old Guys Rule

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.

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)

Special Delivery: MTBNJ Socks

It was dark when we started. It's an interesting time of year, in that riding at 6:00 isn't an exercise in cold-pain management, but at the same time, the sun isn't remotely close to waking up. In fact, it's not even thinking about the snooze button yet. It's just plain dark out. Witness, too dark to even focus:


We hit the road at 6:23, lights fully blazing. The cast of characters for this one was Chris RU, Kirt, Utah, and myself (Norm). Iggy wants to see a picture of the author for every post, but at this point, the last thing the world needs is more pictures of my ugly mug (at least this early in the morning). Young Rob was close to joining, but he had to work at the shop at 10:00, and it wasn't likely we'd be back in time to allow him to swing that.

We set sail with a mission in mind: get the socks to Fred. The aim was to get one of the few remaining pairs of MTBNJ L/XL socks to Fred so he can deliver them to a special, yet-to-be-named, guest. I had mailed out a top secret letter the day before to go with the sock delivery. If all goes well there will be more news on that front in the future. For now, let's just hope this bike ride will be the beginning of good things to come.

But hey, at worst it was a good bike ride with some good friends. Here we regroup at a traffic light on route 22, the sun having just come up not too long ago. From left to right, Kirt, Utah, and Chris:


You may recognize these guys from...well, pretty much everywhere. To the far right is scorekeeper extraordinaire, Chris RU. You know the short track results that are emailed to you within 1 hour (truth!) of the race being over? That's him. For 2012 I've promised him a monkey with the ability to type 90 words per minute, so you can expect those results to hit the airwaves in less than 4 minutes, 15 minute protest period be damned.

Anyway, on we continued to Fred's house, where he was letting his dog Nacho get some business done before he tried to drool all of us into submission. Fred was getting himself and his bikes ready for the first of his back-to-back cross races down at Granogue this weekend. No comments on the Beastie Boys stache he's got going on:


So I delivered the socks, we had a quick chat in his kitchen, then we were off to tackle the informal Zion Road Time Trial hill climb. We stood around just enough to cool down, so when we hit the road again we were all pretty much freezing. In a few minutes it was business as usual and before long we hit the base of Zion Road, far too deep into the ride to post any meaningful results.

In the end, only Utah and I took a shot at it. He led most of the way up the hill, but towards the top I jumped around him and did my best to make the top 5 of the overall. Alas, due to my proficiency at eating ice cream, I failed in that quest. I rang in a bit of a disappointing 9:52 which puts me in 8th place.

Here's the end of the run, a picture taken with Robin from another day. As much fun as it would have been to ride with her she wasn't around for today's festivities:


From there it was an about face, cruise back down the hill, then a route home which was exactly the way we had come - a true out and back. Normally I'd try to make a loop out of it, but with time constraints we needed to be as efficient as possible. The day was warming up on the return, but it continued to be a breezy one. The wind hurt more on the the front half, and going home we had the pleasure of picking up some tailwind. But as anyone who rides the road knows, the wind is against you something like 80% of the time. So it was on this day.


We rolled in just a shade over 3 hours, which was more than enough for me. Just like cross season last year, my ability to ride much more than about 90 minutes at a time disappears. In addition to the day being a special sock delivery, I wanted to help remember that big base I built way back in January when I was riding overseas for 6 weeks while everyone here was snowed in. Not sure that 1 day is going to do it. But of course, 1 is a bit more than 0.

When we got back, my daughter Julia ran out and greeted us with smiles. It was a good day, and it was nice to see her so excited to come out and say good morning. She's in this goofy stage now where she can't smile normally when a camera comes out, so this was purely for the moment. Notice the clasped hands and left foot slightly twisting off the ground. Where do kids get this stuff?


In all, a good day, sock delivery or not. I enjoy fall riding, be it mountain biking in the wet fallen leaves, cross races in the mud, or plain old road riding. No matter which way you slice it, this ends up being a great time of year to be out on your bike. Yes, it can be a bit chilly in the morning. But I love the crisp air and the changing season. Do yourself a favor and get out there while it's still nice out.

-Norm