Southern Plains

Part of my holiday travel plans include a few days in eastern New Mexico, Clovis to be exact. Feeling the need to get in some good base miles, I headed out to some of the rural roads in the area.

The wind out here is incredible. The forecast called for 25 mph winds directly out of the West. Out here, you need a more precise forecast of the wind direction--you need a compass direction. If the forecast calls for wind direction of a few degrees less than 270, you make sure to head south and west. If it calls for wind direction of a few degrees greater than 270, you head north and west. With wind this strong, even one or two degrees off of an absolute cross wind can translate into a vicious headwind or an awesome tailwind. The forecast here called for wind out of around 260, so I headed south and west.

Going out was a bear. 325 watts could only get me up to 14 mph into the headwind. When I settled into a tempo range, I was lucky to get up to 12 mph.



The drivers out here, when you encounter one, are extremely friendly. Virtually every car that passed me switched lanes to give me the widest berth possible. The biggest danger was certainly not the cars, but the massive tumbleweeds blowing across the road at 25 mph.

After a few hours of pavement, I got bored and decided to explore the dirt roads that criss-cross this country as part of a massive grid that allows farmers to access their fields.


Within a few minute of leaving the pavement, it's an entirely different world. Nothing but absolutely straight roads disappearing into a vanishing point out on the horizon of the plains, the sound of the wind, and quiet farm fields.

It's amazing what you will see out on these farm roads. All kinds of animals--rabbits, deer, rodents, quail, snakes (in the summer), coyotes, and massive crop-feasting insects. Dead cattle. Old car parts. All kinds of trash. Spent shell casings. Beer bottles. You name it.

My friend Trebon

Can someone find me a cyclocross related blog that has not embedded the Youtube video of Trebon's crash at Nationals? I sure as heck can't find one.

Night Rides

If one thing could sum up why I love riding for this team, it would be the winter night rides we do together. The thing about racing in Texas is that the season is so long. The first race of the year is in January, and the road season runs through October. That means November and December are the months to get in the long, low-intensity endurance rides. That means rolling out at 4:00 on weekday afternoons, riding for a couple of hours in the fading daylight, and then cruising home on dark roads with nothing but your headlight to guide your way.

My favorite place to ride is south and east of town. No Hummers or yuppies blowing down busy roads on the way to the 'burbs out here, just quiet country roads occasionally interrupted by a friendly driver on the way home.

There is something surreal about riding at night on dark country roads, especially in December. The nights are usually quite perfect for riding, with temps in the 70s and 60s. With no concrete to retain and radiate the heat all night, you are exposed to the radical changes in temperatures as you meander through the countryside. One second you are riding along in balmy, 70 degree air, and the next you drop into a creek bed and get blasted by a pocket of 55-degree air lingering at the bottom.

I like the incongruity of riding in shorts at night in December, while taking in the many double-wides clad in christmas lights.

I like the odd looks you get from motorists and people going about their business at the convenience store we stop at south of town. People are always friendly, but somehow a little unsure of guys in tights and headlamps.

I like the narrow, quiet roads we take on the way back to town, roads so dark and still that they would be a little creepy if you were riding on them alone at night. Roads through towns with names like Calaveras ("skulls" in Spanish). Roads through towns like Elmendorf, which is where the carcas of a strange, dog-like creature (labeled the "chupacabra") was recently found, leaving DNA scientists baffled as to what it is.

Roads that cross the venerable Say-Town institution known as the "Ghost Tracks."

After logging around 60 miles of country roads, the ride culminates in a pass through downtown San Antonio and finishes off with the infamous Pig Stand sprint, a 3/4 mile drag race on a wide-open, usually traffic-free road in the heart of San Antonio.
Sure I always look forward to the time change in March, but nothing can come close to a ride on dark country roads at night with good friends.

Milan San Remo

Much has been written about how aesthetically pleasing a bicycle race is. Many focus on the team time trial as being the most impressive of all cycling events. I would find it hard to disagree. The imagery of eight cyclists powering down beautiful roads at 50 kph in a perfect synergistic harmony is rivaled by few, if any, other athletic events.

To me, however, one of the most impressive displays of athletic agility and prowess is not found in the TTT, but in the last few kilometers of one particular race--Milan San Remo, or "La Primavera" as the Italians know it. Nothing embodies the core attributes of being a pro than this 10 minutes of bicycle racing.

My personal favorite part of the race is the ascent and descent of the Poggio. Year after year I am absolutely impressed by the shear, raw power demonstrated in the attacks on the ascent of this climb. I am equally impressed by the agility and finesse with which the riders descend the Poggio on the serpent like roads overlooking the Adriatic.

Take a look at this clip from the '05 MSR:

Wurstcross '07--double 5

The weekend before last I lined up for my first 'cross race of the season. I opted for a double header and figured I would do the Masters race as a "warm up" followed by the 3/4 race later in the day. Initially, I figured I would sit in on the Masters race and just get a feel for the course. But that was not to happen. I got lucky and lined up first row. I got luckier at the start and grabbed the holeshot before the first turn. It didn't last of course, but I stayed in the mix to get 5th overall.

After an hour of rest, I lined up for the 3/4 race. I got second in the holeshot and ended up riding with a group of about 5 guys. A couple of guys slipped away, and I ended up with 5th again.

I was completely shot after the second race but happy with the performance. It reminded me of just how much I love the discipline which is psyclocross.

Pics:

The holeshot

The rock wall dismount

'Crossing the Fort

Yes indeed. The team has received the green light to host a 'cross race on that beautiful swath of grass located between Williams Road and Nursery Road on Ft. Sam Houston. The date is January 13, the day after the State Championship race at University of Incarnate Word. iDiot and I rode the course the other day, and it is awesome. The course is situated smack dab in the middle of a broad, gentle hill, so lots of climbing and descending will be the order of the day. The military was even kind enough to install concrete obstacles that will work nicely as a flyover. Expect a good, long run-up as well.

The best part is that the race will benefit the Fisher House at BAMC (the same place to which Denzel Washington donated a lot of money after visiting last year). The Fisher House is a housing complex for family members of wounded soldiers undergoing treatment at BAMC. This allows wounded soldiers to have their family living nearby without having to incur additional living expenses.

Here is a map of the course for now:

Ft. Sam Cross Race v.1

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Playin' Hookie

Last Wednesday, the forecast called for highs in the 70s, low humidity, and not a cloud in the sky. Not riding on a day like this would be criminal. To hell with the fact that this day was a work day and that I had lots to do. The soul needed a little cleansing, by god. So I tended to some business out of town for the morning and, on the way back in, made a pit stop north of town to begin a 3-hour ride.

It's amazing what 3 hours in places like this can do for the soul:


And, of course, pit stops at stores like this, in Waring, Texas:


I was looking forward to a little jaunt down some of the beautiful dirt roads in the area. Much to my chagrin, however, I discovered this at the gate accessing the dirt section:



Gone were the simple clasp chain and the friendly "please close gate behind you" sign that had adorned the gate for god only knows how long. Exhibit A of what happens when yuppie, hummer driving city assholes move out to the country.

When I made it around to the point where the dirt road exited to pavement, it all came clear. If there was any question as to the ethnicity of the asshole who chained the gate, this sign cleared it up:



If Silva owned this piece of land, would he have called the road Hispanic Creek Road?

12 oz of pure bliss

It's hard to imagine that just 60 days ago, it was so hot here that on one long, Saturday ride I cramped up so badly when we stopped to change a flat that I could barely stand. Now, with the first cold front having passed through town, it's time to dig out the cool weather gear--the leg warmers, arm warmers, thermal base layers, shoe covers, but, most importantly, the embrocation cream. The Belgian knee warmers. The stuff that warms my soul.

I don't know what it is about this stuff. Is it the sweet scent of Eucalyptus oil? Is it the tingling sensation you feel when applying it? Or is it the soothing warmth that begins to penetrate deep into the muscles? (I know, this paragraph could just as easily appear as a poorly written product description in some sordid "adult gifts" catalog--not that I would know or anything). But I really love the ritual of putting this stuff on before heading out for a ride in the crisp fall weather we have been experiencing of late.

It's probably that this stuff reminds me of some of my most epic--and favorite--rides. The night ride last December with Tim, Lopresto, and Jeff where it was cold, dark, and rainy; the ride where we got chased by dogs and stopped by a train on a dark road on the Southside of town. It reminds me of the rides when it is so miserable out that no sane person would be out on a bicycle in these conditions--the days you certainly won't see MS150 trainees out riding. The days when South Texas looks and feels more like Belgium in February. The days that the cold overpowers the embrocation, leaving you doubt whether the stuff is even working (but a brief stop inside a warmed convenience store causes your legs to burn and reminds you that, indeed, it is still working).

Hiccup #1

The project to convert the 1976 Raleigh Grand Prix already hit a little speed bump. First, after inflating the tires and taking it for a little spin around the neighborhood, I discovered that the fork is bent, which causes the bike to pull to the left when you take your hands off the bars, much like a car that is out of alignment. No two-arms-up victory salutes on this bike for me (come to think of it, there probably won't be any on my modern carbon fiber road bike either). Nevertheless, I proceeded to strip the parts off and begin the transformation from 70s 10-speed to Twenty First Century retro fixie:

After going through the painstaking process of removing the cottered cranks, I got on the interweb to find out the best way to mount modern cranks on this bike. It turns out that Raleighs of this vintage use their own proprietary 26 TPI thread pattern that makes it very difficult to find replacement bottom brackets, unless I want to shell out about $150 for a Phil Wood BB and specially made Raleigh retaining rings (which I don't). Fortunately, however, the Sheldon Brown website I linked to in the previous post is a virtual cornucopia of information on these old bikes, and I discovered that I can use the old BB with a modern, square tapered spindle. Now the only challenge is to locate the spindle I need.

New Project

As if the 4 bicycles I have in my garage aren't enough, my neighbor just gave me the vintage Raleigh Grand Prix that had been gathering dust in his garage since the 1970s. Here is what it looked like the day he rolled it off the showroom floor:



As you can imagine, the bike my neighbor gave me looks a bit more worn than this beaut. I don't think he ever had the thing serviced, and I am willing to bet it's still got the original chain. The plan is to slap on a Brooks saddle, a new crankset, and a fixed gear wheel. Fixed-gear base miles, here I come!

Post script: after tooling around on the interweb for a while, I have come to realize that the Grand Prix is an excellent choice for a vintage fixie conversion. I Googled "Raleigh Grand Prix" and came across a smattering of excellent websites on these bikes, such as this one here photodocumenting a conversion, and this one here on old Raleighs in general.

That feeling in the air.....

Man I love the first signs of fall. Last night's ride at the Helotes Toos was awesome. It was a nice 80 degrees when we rolled out, and it probably was in the low 70s by the time we finished. At the obligatory post-ride stop at the Shell station, I actually felt a little chilly.

I really love riding in the Fall. Although "Fall" in South Texas is a relative term, those of you who ride around here must admit it is nice change. Sure, this summer has been mild with all the rain, but Fall means there will those cool fronts will bring in some of that dry, cool air to keep things nice. No more of those rides where you have to wring out your socks at the end because of the sweat, and not because it was raining. Now that DST has been extended, it now means we will be doing the Toos into November.

Sure it will still be warm for a while. I remember doing races around Halloween and the temps climbed into the 90s, but at least we can enjoy it for a while.

The thing about Fall is that one of my favorite cycling seasons--the 'Cross season--is right around the corner. For me, it looks like the first race will be in early November at the Wurstcross. Fall also means some of the classics will be coming up, like the Tour de Gruene Team Time Trial.

Time to update this beyotch

I hope you enjoy the new look of the team blog and the first point since Hammerfest 2006, yes 2006. Hopefully we can do better than one post a year from here on out.