Andy does good things at his job and even has some cool posts on OAD like the recent ones on Road ID or updates on tech outerwear. But, this music video he shot at his real job to promote a Christmas sale is the most uncomfortable/embarrassed I have ever felt for him.
Promo Picture:
Video:
-DSheek
Watch out George Michael!
If my first day of racing was not enough I chose a second day of pain. The RRV cross race was an insane course but with all its technical features it left no time for recovery.
The fast guys from the previous day were all in attendance plus the Danny Summerhill (Garmin/Chipotle), Matt Pacocha, and teammate Jonathan Baker (Hudz/Subaru). In the emd Summerhill and Pacocha battled it out to finish one and two, with Baker in third.
In the Elite women it was Alison Dunlap (Luna) who is also tuning herself up for nationals like many other racers here. She absolutely destroyed the field and passed all the men in the 40+ open race in front of her group. It was impressive, watch out Georgia and Katie (KFC) if the course is right we might see a new champion.
The day was a blast again, hanging out with some good Colorado peoples like John (Skillet) Haley and friends but my racing was poor to say at best. I was wasted from the day before and with the climbs on this course I was searching for oxygen by the third turn. All I can say is the racing in Colorado is on a different level and I can’t even find the elevator to get there.
-DSheek
I need to do squats for ten years and get EPO to maybe hang in this crowd.
More info at: CYCLO X Boulder
December 6, 2009
CYCLO X Boulder is Colorado’s NEWEST Cyclocross Race that’s going to take the season by storm. $25 entry, Free Cyclo-X T-Shirt to those who pre-register, and AMB Chip Timing are just some of the highlights. Mark your calendars for Dec 6th, 2009. Brand New location returns after a 10 year hiatus with a professionally designed and rebuilt course that will take you on dirt, a banked go-kart track, run-ups, rollers, and the sand pit!
Happy December racing!
Andy B
outsideallday.com
Alpha Cross 2
November 28, 2009
More info at: http://rrvracing.blogspot.com or www.americancycling.org
If you think you are a good cross racer travel to Colorado. Between the altitude, cold weather, and stacked fields of riders the pain will seem endless. The temperature was 40 today but with the wind chill it felt more like 25, retreating a lot of spectators. The course was fast, fast, fast, and faster! It was a mini Cross Vegas style course of grass, a few slick turns, and deep double sand pits.
Overall, it was a blast! Especially, for Carter Brazelton who had the entire jump house to himself because all the other kids were too cold with snot cicles hanging from their noses. I only know this because the announcer was clearly excited for him.
The fastest man of the day was Brad White (Subaru/Hudz) and one of the slowest was yours truly in 20th.
-DSheek
Round two tomorrow, RRV Cross.
Day 1, Highlands Ranch, CO
It’s another Colorado trip for the Thanksgiving holiday. The first two days in town I spent riding around the hills of Highlands Ranch, Colorado.
The riding is smooth and fun. There really is nothing I found that is too technical for a cross bike and the warm weather made it even more perfect. However, all the warm weather was melting the snow making for some super fun and slippery descents.
On the way back to Aunt Florence’s house I stopped at the local high school to get in a few powder runs to train for the Powder 8 championships.
-DSheek
“Day 2 is better.”
Shout out to all of the Costa Mesa, CA peeps, you know who you are!
HT YourGroupRide.com for the video.
Andy B
outsideallday.com
Team Garmin-Slipstream officially renamed Team Garmin-Transitions
November, 27th 2009
TEAM GARMIN-SLIPSTREAM OFFICIALLY RE-NAMED TEAM GARMIN-TRANSITIONS WITH ADDITION OF TRANSITIONS OPTICAL AS NEW SPONSOR
Transitions Optical, world’s leading manufacturer of adaptive eyewear, Partners with Leading Pro Tour Team Garmin – Slipstream
Team Garmin-Slipstream, the elite American professional cycling team dedicated to ethical sporting and developing the next generation of cycling champions, announced today that it will become Team Garmin-Transitions with the addition of Transitions Optical as a new sponsor of the team. Transitions Optical is world’s leading manufacturer of adaptive eyewear, offering the most advanced photochromic technology in the widest selection of spectacle lenses such as Transitions lenses as well as Transitions SOLFX® sun wear. From the mountains of the Grand Tours to the cobbles of the Classics, Team Garmin-Transitions athletes will wear Transitions® lenses as they race and train around the globe in various lighting conditions.
Click here to read the rest of the article.
Andy B
outsideallday.com
Free $51 eGift Card with any North Face Jacket over $149! Use promo code, “TNF51″ at checkout.
Happy Thanksgiving friends! Here’s a picture of my boys this morning waiting for their mom to start her 4 mile Turkey Trot. She ran it in 29:20. Amazing day in CO!
Andy B
outsideallday.com
USA Cycling Pro Cross Country Tour ramps up for second season
Colorado Springs, Colo. (November 24, 2009)—USA Cycling announced today the return of the nation’s professional cross country mountain bike series designed to amplify athletes’ opportunities, increase exposure for mountain biking domestically and to maximize U.S. start spots on the sport’s highest stages. The USA Cycling Pro Mountain Bike Cross Country Tour (Pro XCT) presented by US Cup will consist of six UCI-sanctioned events throughout the United States, providing world-class athletes with a consistent stage on which to accumulate UCI ranking points and top prize purses.
Click here to read the rest of the article.
2010 USA Cycling Pro Cross Country Mountain Bike Tour:
March 13: US Cup Bonelli Park – San Dimas, Calif.
March 27: US Cup Fontana – Fontana, Calif.
May 16: US Cup Big Bear – Big Bear, Calif.
June 5: Bump ‘N Grind – Birmingham, Ala.
June 26: Subaru Cup – Mt. Morris, Wis.
July 10: Carmichael Training Systems International Classic – Colorado Springs, Colo.
For more information about the USA Cycling Pro XCT presented by US Cup, its races, teams and more, visit www.usacycling.org/proxct or www.uscup.net.
Andy B
outsideallday.com
Southern California/Nevada Cyclocross Championships
SCPS #12: Convert Cross
Photo: Kate Ybara
With clear skies, no winds, and a fantastic course Lake Casitas park was this year’s venue for the Southern California/Nevada Cyclocross Championships. The wonderful location and beautiful views made for an epic day. The course supplied one of the most consistently flowing raced this season. The combination of turns with loose dirt, fast sweeping grass sections, climbs, and the two flat road sections gave riders a lot of opportunities to race more tactically, which was evident all day.
We have to say congratulations to all the new champions who went out and worked so hard. There were many excellent races but a few that can’t go without mentioning are: the men’s 35-39, where Fritz Bottger (PAA) and Garnet Vertican (Giant Bikes) battled the entire race putting on one of the best shows. They destroyed each other, lap after lap, exchanging the lead until it ultimately came down to the final sprint were Bottger was able to take the title. In the men’s 50-54, it was Bob Langin Sr. who has been sidelined, off and on, recently due to a heart condition, however, it did not seem to slow him today as he pulled off his biggest win on the season.
Elite Women:
Coryn Rivera (Proman) was back in the mix this week as she tunes herself up for national championships and it was Rivera’s race from the start. She took the whole shot and lead the race off the pavement through the first 180 degree turn and did not look back. On her tail it was Melody Metzger (Cal Giant) with the other Southern California star Kendall Ryan (SoCalCross/CICLE) in third. The two worked hard trying to close the gap on Rivera but Rivera’s power was too much. The real battle then was for second and third, until there were two laps to go when Metzger had a mechanical which was just enough for Ryan to sneak away. Metzger held her ground but could not catch back with Ryan. In the end it was Rivera who added another title to her belt, Kendall Ryan second, Metzger third, Baumketzer fourth, and Alexis Ryan to round out the top five.
Elite Men:
The long road start was taken by last weeks winner John Behrens (Bailey Bikes) who came out in the lead through the first loose turn and he continued his pace through the first half of lap one. Then it was series leader Brent Prenzlow (B&L/Celo Pacific) who commanded the front spot going up the long climb and through the triple barrier section. He had the lead position but the front group was not breaking up. All race it was a group of at least six to seven riders as they tactically watched each other, applying their efforts in their chosen sections but it would not crack the group. On the third lap going into the fast flat barrier section Sid Taberlay (Sho-Air/Specialized) went over the bars hard as he was hopping the barriers. It was a hard crash but not enough to put him out of contention because he has the power and pedaled back onto the front group within half a lap. Prenzlow was racing smart at this point with the other lead riders as the exchanged pulls through different sections continuing to pull away from the rest of the elite field. We saw Gary Douville (Platinum Performance) up front, and then Taberlay, Mountain Bike Legend Ned Overend and others as the group came through each lap. With four to go Prenzlow dropped off the front pack with his foot unclipped, maybe with a pedal issue, but by the fifth lap he was back in the group. Finally, with one to go pack of six came to the last turn before the barriers. Mark Noble (Nonstop Ciclismo) made a move in the tight corner to pass Overend but he lost traction and slid out which made Prenzlow run into the back of him. It was just what was needed for Taberlay, Douville, and Brandon Gritters (Rock N’ Road Cyclery) who monopolized on the two tangled riders. Taberlay instantly attacked leaving Douville and Gritters in the chase. Prenzlow and Noble were back in the chase quickly but it was close. Taberlay kept attacking through the final climb and onto the road for the final sprint for the win. However, while he did have an impressive race to take the win, his Australian citizenship does not allow him the Southern California/Nevada Championship so Gary Douville took the championship title and second on the day. And, behind sprinting up the road it was Brent Prenzlow who just passed Gritters before the line for third, with Gritters Fourth and Ned Overend to round out the top five.
Photo: Kate Ybara
Thank you to all who came out for another weekend of racing and spectating. The crowd’s cheers definitely charged the racing for this exciting championship weekend. We look forward to seeing everyone next Sunday, November 29, for the always-fun post Thanksgiving, Gene Galindo Memorial Turkey Trot, where the free turkey dogs flow like the salmon of Capistrano.
Congratulations to all the awarded Southern California/Nevada District Champions…
Juniors:
Women
10-12, Hannah Eckvahl (Velo Bella)
13-14, Tori Baldewin (Team Velocity)
15-16, Hannah Rae Finchamp (Team CICLE)
17-18, Somersby Jenkins (Echelon Santa Barbara)
Men
10-12, Duncan Reid (BikePalace/BackOnTrack)
13-14, Cammeron Williams (Bear Valley Bikes)
15-16, Alex Darville (Echelon Santa Barbara)
17-18, Peter Morris (Bike Religion)
Masters/Elite:
Women
50+, Carol Ruckle (Team Possibilities)
45-49, Trina Baumsteiner (Team Reubuski Law)
40-44, Christina Probeft
35-39, Rachel Schmidt (XStrategy)
Cat 3/4, Sarah Brodsley (SCNCA)
Pro/Elite, Coryn Rivera (Proman)
Men
60+, John Ruding (UC Cyclery/JW Flooring)
55+, Jon Miller (Rock N’ Road Cyclery)
50-54, Bobby Langin Sr. (Platinum Performance)
45-49, Gary Hanson (Bike Style USA)
40+, Mike Lee (Rock N’ Road Cyclery)
35-39, Fredrick Bottger (PAA)
Cat 4, David Bianco (PAA)
Cat 3, Marco Arocha (Sho-Air)
Pro/Elite, Gary Douville (Platinum Performance)
Single-Speed:
Open- Noah Holcomb (Cannondale Factory Team)
Last weekend I was able to sneak in a 90 minute trail run at Coyote Ridge. It had snowed the night before and was getting ready to snow again, amazing 30 degree morning. The video below highlights some of the most beautiful parts of the run along with the some commentary about my new NORTH FACE ULTRA 105 GTX XCR.
Check out the links below for more info on the greatest trail running shoe of all time!
Happy trails!
Andy B
outsideallday.com
Thanks to the help of the cross community to get the stories in this week so that we could put this together…
SCPS #10: Dog Gone Cross!
Sunday brought us San Luis Obispo’s (SLO) first Prestige Series race at Laguna Lake Park… Dog Gone Cross! The venue was a beautiful lakeside park complete with geese and seagulls adding to course obstacles. The atmosphere was low key and relaxing even a massage zone set up in the shade under the trees.
Thanks to Shaba of Nimble Creative and her SLO peeps, Edmin and Trina of Team Rambuski along with SLO-Nexxus Cycling Team and the Great Chiweenies for bringing us this special experience. The course was fun, challenging with good opportunities to test your power AND skills! We hope to see SLO grow its cross culture in 2010 and beyond so that it becomes the gateway to California (CA) cyclocross. This is a vision that could bring a battle for bragging rights, a true California Championship, where Northern and Southern CA meet to compete for a “California Golden Bear Belt,” a giant belt, similar to that of pro wrestling with the states flag in gold.
With the racing this weekend, SLO’s parks, and the distance between the two being equal maybe our great sponsors can help us make it happen in 2010. Furthermore, thanks to all our great sponsors! Shimano, Fluid, Planet Bike, Kool N Fit, H20 Overdrive, Stone Brewing and more for helping support us to grow cross and develop our future stars of the sport!
Elite women:
It was a smaller field but strong as some new faces rose to the top of the podium. It was Somersby Jenkins battling it out with hometown favorite and World Masters CX Silver medalist Trina Baumsteiger to win her first elite women’s race at CX race age 17.
Elite Men:
It was a fast start and after a some riders tangled or sliding out a group of 5 had formed a gap – it was John Behrens (Bailey Bikes), Mark Noble (Nonstop Ciclismo), Gary Douville (Team Platinum), Fritz Bottger (PAA/Sixtumed) and Morgan Ryan (Team SoCalCross/CICLE). Riders were working their way through the field to get back on the lead group. It took two laps and it was John Bailey (Bailey Bikes) who was back to the front group that was now just Behrens, Douville and Noble.
The moment the group hit the pavement, Behrens tactically made an excellent move –attacking on the long road section. It was almost a sacrificial attack because he thought the group would most likely catch him but a well-planed mission as Behrens saw his teammate, Bailey, get back in the group. The goal seemed to be that he wanted the group to work hard, allowing Bailey to rest on the chasers, so he would be fresh once they caught him again. In which we then would see a counter-attack on a softened group and one of the Bailey riders could get away for the win. It worked perfectly.
The two chasers left, Noble and Douville, kept looking at each other trying to decide what to do. They didn’t want to drag Bailey up to Behrens so they tried to shake him. However, Bailey answered Douville’s hard charge on the front and Noble dropped off the two. Bailey stuck Douville’s wheel and Behrens had built a 30 second lead.
Unfortunately, Bailey’s front tire was going low and Douville was able to open a gap in a turn. He looked over his shoulder to see Bailey slowing through the turn and then blasted off. Bailey scrambled for the pits to get a new bike and make chase but it was enough time making the bike change that Noble was now back in front of Bailey. Bailey was able to get the bike change and pass Noble but was making a little ground on Douville and there clearly wasn’t enough time to close the gap. Behrens lost about 10 seconds of his lead but still comfortably rolled in for his first prestige win of the season with Douville 2nd, Bailey 3rd, and Noble 4th.
It was another fun weekend of cross and good times were had by all! Now its time to rest up for District Championships next Sunday, November 22, at Convert Cross in Ventura.
