Pantani 2013

Pantani 2013 started out just like last year, everyone show up at the Tevendale farm and rolled out at a casual pace.  Unfortunately, Joe and I were the only team members that were able to make it this year, but Richmond was well represented nevertheless. The group at the start was in excess of 50, easily double last years turn out.
The climbs this ride is named for would certainly make Marco proud. There was an elevation profile floating around Facebook showing three cat 5 climbs followed by two cat 2 climbs.  This is about how I remember it. I planned on riding the Stijl like I did last year, but somehow Joe was able to convince me it would be a nice challenge to ride the CX bikes.  I'm certain this was not the best bike for the ride, but it was fun cruising the fast downhills on this bike anyway.

DR grinding up Brokeback

The first climb up Fox mountain saw a small group break away, maybe 10 of us.  This selection was further pared down to 5 by the time we had crested the remaining two cat 5 climbs.  Joe, Gregg and I had made this select few along with strongman Gordon and Frank Yeager.  It was a pretty tough pace for the rest of the day.  Yes, Brokeback Mtn was just as tough this year.  Hard to tell from the pics below that this climb is in excess of 22* for mile after unrelenting mile.  The gearing of the CX bike and both Joe and I walking some of the steepest sections.

When I arrived back at the Tevendale farm after several wrong turns along with several miles of not really thinking I was headed the correct direction but just to darn tired to care, I was glad to find that all the members of our little group were able to make it back.  Gordon was king of the day and held onto the prized Pantani jersey for one more year.  Maybe next year Quadsworth will be dethroned. Richmond riders made up 4 of the top 5 finishers, not bad for a group of flatlanders.

Joe in the distance with Gregg off the bike.  One of the tougher sections of Brokeback.

Check out the elevation profile!!

2012 Cohutta 100 Pre-Ride

Take a look at the cool video Plassman posted on YouTube of the Thunder Rock Express downhill.  This was part of our pre-ride.

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Giant Party

Probably not the Giant Party you were thinking, but one none the less...  Joe, Jeff & Euro Dave all rocking out the Cohutta 100 this weekend.  Rumor has it there next stop on the way is by Industry Nine to see where the magic happens.  Good luck guys!

Three totally different Giants... NICE!

Hilbert #1

Hilbert is always an interesting race, and this past weekends event was no exception.  One thing that is always nice is to see all the Design Physics jerseys.  Seemed like everywhere I turned I ran into them, both before and during the race.  I won't even try to list all the members of the team that attended as I'm sure I would miss many of you.  Several podium spots were filled by DP racers which is always a nice bonus.

My race was alright, finishing second on a tough race day.  My stomach started to turn sour after 3 hours and no doubt my lap times dropped drastically at that point.  I think I need to dial in my nutrition a bit more before Cohutta at the end of the month.  The heavy pollen left me coughing for much of the later laps as well, not sure my body is used to the heat this early in the season either.

My first lap was quite the adventure.  My seat moved quite a bit on my seatpost about half-way through the lap. I didn't want to stop to fix it mid lap hoping there would be a team mate close by in the pit area. Fortunately there was, and Jim quickly lended me the tool I needed to tighten my saddle.  Unfortunately, I also wrecked on some pine needles nearing the end of that lap resulting in a bent rear derailleur which I hadn't realized till after I fixed my saddle.  I could only get to half of the rear cassette, so I laid the Giant down for the race and picked up my back up bike.  Luckily I had taken Friday off from work and built up the old Stijl with my new Industry Nine wheels and Schwalbe Racing Ralphs.  Turns out the Racing Ralph were actually a better tire choice for the trail conditions and I managed to remain upright for the remainder of the day.  Huge thanks to Jason and Paul for giving me bottles through the pit area all day.  After my first lap, I only set my foot down once thanks to their help.

Also wanted to thank RunRideRace for putting on another great event.  Not sure who added all those extra roots at Hilbert over the winter.

Alright, enough of my ramblings how about some pictures from the event.  As you can see, DP was everywhere!!

Erik Bleecher, Jeff Farmer, Matt Juaneza, Jeff Plassman, Paul Leeger, Joe Fish

Kate Fisher

Shannon Bush

Erik Bleecher, Jason Broussard, Jeff Plassman, Jeff Farmer

Byron Gonzalez taking 3rd

Joe Fish taking 2nd

We all feel you Jeff

Tom Richeson

David Reid

Season Kickoff Party at Moshi Moshi

Awesome team party at Moshi Moshi. What great sponsors we have!! The prizes for the BTS series were handed out as were the kits. Man, the kits are rockin this year, huge thanks to Sattler Creative for coming up with the design. Also wanted to thank Mark from Run Ride Race, Fruit 66, Pasture, ByeKyle and Design Physics for supplying the cool BTS prizes. Also wanted to thank Giant Bicycles and Stijl Cycles for coming out to support our event. Now take a look at the pics of us having a great time, make sure you're there next time!!

2012 Southern Cross

It is hard to believe that it had been a year since we made our last trip down to Georgia when we (me & Mason) were introduced to Southern Cross.  Mason was super excited to be making the return trip and try her hand at the 50 mile course.  We loaded up the bikes and left the snow covered ground of Richmond.    

The girls played in the snow until 10pm knowing we were booking out first thing in the morning.

We did make one pit stop on the way down at Industry Nine, one of our new sponsors for 2012.  I got some new wheels for my 29er and Mason got some i25SL's for her cross bike.  Being that Mason is only 12, we left the cross bike at home and opted for her mountain bike, the Giant Anthem Advanced instead - well aware of the climbing that awaited us.

We are going to make it on time t his year!

This year we actually arrived on time and did not get turned around heading to the winery.  It was cool because at registration Namrita remembered Mason from last year.  Once we registered, we drove down to park the car and pulled up next to the default tandem winners.  They were gracious enough to take our picture and we returned the favor.

Where are your sleeves little girl???

Then we headed for the start line.  Maybe next year we will get there early enough to actually get a decent spot on the line.  We must have, once again, been one of the last five people to ride up...

End of the line for you KID!

But wait...  who do we see straight out of RVA....  METRO!  Stopped and chatted with him, never left that spot, which was good for a mid-pack start.  He was also turned into Kegman at the last run up late in the day.

Metro is a favorite at all our cross races.

Then the start was on, we were all funneled through the start chute which was like 10 feet wide.  I wanted to ride around it since I was not officially registered, just making sure Mason made her way around the course safely.  I chose not to since I figured it might freak some people out - like I was skipping the start.  We found ourselves winding through the winery in similar fashion to the previous year.  This year there was a tree down which would have been easy enough to hop over, but it would have been downright treacherous with all the people around.  As we made our way to the first run up, the hill looked crowded and I told Mason to slow a bit and create a small gap so she could shoot the bottom hill before settling in to climb rather than push.  She almost made it, put a foot down at the top of the bank and two half pedal strokes later she was riding up the hill.

This has to be my favorite picture of Mason on a bike to date.  Awesome shot Weldon!

She ended up making it around half way up before being stopped by the tufted pasture grass.  I almost ran over the camera guy on the right as I blazed a trail up the hill passing quite a few people and getting a few cheers along the way.  Unlike last year, we were not DFL by the time Mason made it to the top of the run/ride up.  We even got to ride with people on the road and take advantage of some drafting!  Then the road turned up and Mason's day started to go downhill...

So far so good...

A whole lotta climbing left...

Mason was having one of those days where she just could not get it going.  She kept saying that she knew she was going slow but there was nothing she could do about it.  Sometimes that is just how it goes.   Mason being the billy goat that she is, did ride all the way up to the aid station, though.  That was a goal set last year after she walked about 300 yards of the steepest pitch.  This year she got bucked off once, but got back on and kept riding all the way to the top.  I could not tell if it was the physical or emotional challenge that was getting to her.  I suspect it was more mental as that girl is very strong.  

Just another beautiful day riding.

Wow, I do not remember it being this difficult and by the way 'dad' stop taking pictures of me all the time...

Well we finally did make it up to the aid station, got some refills, ate a little food and went on our way.  We were immediately met by a few riders coming at us.  I was not sure if they were dropping out of the race or what.  It was a bit unnerving though.  So this is now the best part of the day for us.  We are just about to top out the climb when Mason is letting me know over and over again how cold she is.  She also informs me that she left her armwarmers in the car.  Yeah, when she aid she had her arm warmers and I said 'well then you only need your vest' it was taken as all you need is your vest so leave the arm warmers in the car.  Will not make that mistake again...  So I proceeded to give Mason my long sleeve jersey (because that is what dads do) and she gave me her vest.  Awesome trade!  So now she is nice and warm and I am riding around like Juan Luis Pedro Felipo de Juevos Epstein (yeah, sweathog Epstein) with the full on sleeveless look for the rest of the ride.  If I did not have the Verge base layer that my good friend Greg Wittwer had given me the week before, I would have really froze.  As it was, the rest of the day was pretty darn cold.  Once we had a chance to hit the descent, the day started to turn around for Mason.  We were railing it all the way down to the pavement.  It was a blast and we hit the road in the big ring and were finally nailing it trying to make up some time.  Then we started going up again, up to the aid station we had just left.  The climb was not nearly as difficult as the first climb and we knew we were home free once we hit the aid station since we covered that portion last year.  A few rollers, a couple decent pitches and some really fast downhills before hitting the pavement back to the winery.  Ahhhhhhhhhh, but I am getting ahead of myself.  About a mile from the aid station, we were greeted by the dredded sweeper car!  After a minute or two, it was decided that we would finish the climb and decide what to do at the top.  Once we got to the top, the car was already packed with no room for us so we decided to keep riding until they could come back and get us.  This worked out good since we got to go full tilt down the mountain again.  One of Mason's highlights was passing an SUV on the way down the mountain - we were screaming.  Best I can tell, we got picked up right around the 40 mile mark.  It was never a question about whether we could finish, we just did not have the legs to keep pace with the aggressive cut-off times.  At least we got to ride more while they took some other people back.  While Mason technically did not finish ahead of anyone, she did ride farther than some.  All in all it was another great day on the bike and Mason was all smiles when it was over.

How can you be happy sitting in the back of the sweeper car... really doubting whether she is my daughter... hahaha

Chillin post race at the winery.

I am still amazed at the people Mason knows through cycling.  We were hanging out waiting for food when Chris Merriam walks up and starts talking to Mason.  Seems they hung out in the pits up at Charm City Cross while Mason was with Fred Wittwer pitting for Greg.  Come to find out he also parked next to us at DCCX.  Small world when people recognize you from mid atlantic racing down in Georgia.  Of course there was Metro (aka kegman) and a couple other people who remembered Mason from last year.  It really makes her feel welcome even though she is so young.  We are already planning our trip back next year and being 13 equals not being a kid anymore.  So we will be working on our Southern Cross fitness in order to make sure we are far ahead of the sweeper car...

Thanks again to Namrita & Eddie for putting on a great event.

Special thanks to River City Womens Racing for their support of Mason as well.

Monster Cross!

Some of the Design Physics squad geared up and took to Pocahontas State Park for the inaugural Monster Cross race this past Sunday. David Reid and myself rolled up in style on our bikes to intimidate the competition. This strategy had no effect whatsoever on our opponents but the chilly ride loosened up the legs a bit and got them ready for a long day in the saddle.

Once the race promoters figured out how to get 400 people organized in the starting area the race started. The start was a bit chaotic with lots of riders making their bid for the lead group. I'm not sure even the motorcycle rider leading us out knew where we were going.

Eventually we all found our way to the race course without any major incidents. The group contained some familiar faces and some unknown to me. It was encouraging to have an ally, David, in the group with me. I struggled early finding a smooth line to follow on the cross bike, kudos to the Giant's wheel, tire and tire pressure setup because I nailed some rocks, roots and even a stump while following mostly mountain bikers who just floated over any obstructions.

The main group single filed the new bridge crossing over the creek when the first major attack happened. The pace up the following climb was blistering, so much so I even had to feather the brakes around what would normally be just a slight bend on the climb. By the time the pace dropped back off I looked back and no one was there, like really no one. This is were my ally David and I parted ways. But wait who's that, it's Greg Wittwer! It's on now!

The race was super fun after that. I don't believe anyone even noticed me in the group of 12-15 and I just hung back for awhile. By around the half way point the attacks came and came hard. Most attacks came with questionable tactics from the Harley team duo. One rider would get to the front to pace then block while the other attacked. This is were I made my presence known and personally reeled in most attacks. While this all happened the group thinned out. Eventually my new found ally, Greg, disappeared.

The group now containing 7 riders blazed into the second and final lap. Both Harley team riders had tire issues shortly into the final lap and disappeared. This made me happy, it also left me alone with 4 (very fast!) mountain bikers. These four I knew all to well. But wait, who's that? It's Greg Wittwer back again! Greg, without a moments rest, attacks again. Once we reel him back I think he was ready to sit back for a while. Around this time the 6 of us got organized and formed a pretty efficient pace line to reel in the solo leader. Funny thing is I never even knew there was a solo leader 'til then. After all the attacks and pace changes I was not surprised someone could stay away, but the way we were going now he wouldn't stand much of a chance, would he?

After dropping Greg again the group continued on. We received time gaps from people along the course, 3 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 1/2 minutes.... We were catching him, but was it fast enough? Well, I wouldn't be there to find out as I was unable to keep their wheels with less than 5 miles to the finish. The newly added rooty field section on the course was my demise. I had to take a different line than the mtb's due to roots, in addition, I got hit with a nasty head wind and could not get back on their wheels. By that time the pace was flat out, short and hard pulls by all. Slowly the group disappeared and I made my way to the finish lonely with thoughts of what could've been.

Great race!