Saturday, October 9th 2010 – Broomfield, Colorado – Elite Men. The conditions were more cyclocross, more east coast, more like it!  Temps still relatively warm in the 70′s but the course was wet and there was some mud,  not crazy mud, not peanut butter mud. not sloppy mud,  a conservative mud.  On a scale from 1-10,  it was a 4 on the mud caliper.  Enough to make a clean bike dirty, enough to spatter your legs, dirty your kit and make for some driving and powering of the bike. No bike changes needed in the hour of racing, no forced running on otherwise rideable terrain.  Hey,  it is Colorado and it is just early October which I think is perfect for cyclocross plot.  A few races with hot weather,  a few with some beautiful fall cooler temps and a transitional race with a tease of some mud. The race course was great,  a real treat compared to the stuff I have raced on since being in Colorado.  The race setting was great and reminded me a lot of the Louisville, Kentucky course that is raced on for the USGP’s,  that course is on an old golf course and what I could tell the Interlocken course was on a Frolf course.  Waffles, beers and some other vendors  made for a great race vibe with some big crowds lining the muddy run-up and a seasoning of others scattered about cheering and yelling. The initial inspection of the course was not without fall [...]

I recently set out to buy a new saddle, trying something new after all these years on a Selle Italia Flite basic saddle. I was interested in trying out the Selle Italia Flite SLR GEL with the cut out in the middle. Maybe add some relief to my area on the long rides but yet still stick to a saddle that was rooted in the one I had been using and liked. I ordered the saddle and it arrived at my door. The first thing I noticed wasn’t the shiny white leather saddle but instead the packaging that surrounded it. It was complex and out of place, confusing and at first glance even unnecessary. It did not really even look to work that well. The packaging weighed more than the saddle and had way more components and parts to it, why would the packaging be more substantial than the product? The main material of the package was a translucent plastic that was molded to take the form of the saddle and actually cradle the tip of the saddle. I can’t help but make 6th grade humor jokes when I look at this phallic looking packaging. My biggest question at first glance was how this could possibly be sustainable? It had all the logos and info printed on it that said otherwise, but I can’t imagine that this is more sustainable than just a simple hanging device. From the material use, the production, heat and molds used to form this, the [...]

Show up to the start grid and there are 50 dudes in front of you and expect to ride at the back. This is how it goes, especially in cyclocross when the back of the back is not going to get you to the front. I don’t care who you are weaving through 50 dudes on single track is not going to give you the best of chances when it comes to placing. I seem to find that in a 40 or more person field the best I can do is weave my way to 10-15. The riders in 1-10 are just to far ahead and riding to fast to make anymore ground up. What is the appeal of the back of the back? I find myself there often, more often than not. Pregame says get near the front on the grid, standing there in lycra with everyone else has me staging last, dead freaking last. Reasons for not getting to the front: 5. Low confidence 4. Not enough pre race preparation time 3. Bike skills not up to par 2. Average is the name of the game 1. Being at the front means riding at the front What is wrong with riding at the front or near the front? Not sure, for me it is easier to accept defeat and just plod through the sea of riders showing. Sometimes there is some success and sense of accomplishment with going from dead freaking last and passing 3/4 of the field, [...]