A PROfessional Davedevil

Today, we the people, have lost a person that everyone admired and tried to emulate out in the front yard every summer day. We all owned some sort of bmx bike and would build jumps on the sidewalk and see how far we could fly and mark it with a rock. Then try again with more speed and more speed. And we did this all without helmets.

Evel Knievel has passed away today at the ripe ol' age of 69. It is amazing that even lived that long.

Some of you might have had the Evel stunt motorcycle. You could pose Evel on the bike, put it in the launcher and then spin the crank and at some speed it would release and you would make him crash into cans, walls that were on fire, jump over the pool in the backyard....almost anything that the real Evel would try.

Evel had all kinds of merchandise: toys, lunchboxes, pinball machines, bike accessories.

We would watch him on ABC's Wide World of Sports trying to jump busses, sharks, 50 cars, the fountains at Ceasers Palace. The greatest stunt ever attempted was jumping the Snake River in ID in the SkyCycle. His skycycle had so much horse power that it pulled the bolts out of the back that was holding the parachute. The chute opened before he even hit the apex of the jump and he almost drowned when the cycle landed in the river. He was not afraid to fail.

Even when he was a little frail, he was still pimping the speed of his new ride

So the next time that you come up against something that looks dangerous or a line that might be faster but could be sketchy....take a chance and see what happens. The worst thing that could happen is you fall down.

Dear Santa

Hey now Santa I'm writin' to you
'Cause there's alotta cool shit I want
I know I've been naughty But cut me some slack
'Cause theres alotta cool shit I want

- Tenacious D

Yo Santa, how bout some brakes for my cross bike that do not double as distant warning devices. The Avid Shorty’s I am running are a wee tad noisy. OK… I will be honest… these bitches screech like a bag of cats every time the pads get near the rim. I have reset the toe-in on them multiple times and removed anything that hinted of glaze. Still, any pressure on the levers brings on the cacophony. The bright side is that Dave Towle will always know where I am on the course. By the way Dave, I am still waiting for you to use my name in conjunction with your patented “they are throwing body blows” phrase. Just listen for the squealing brakes and you will know I am coming back round to you. So Santa, Katie “Straight Outta” Compton seems to be doing just fine on a combination of Rol Wheels and TRP brakes, can you hook a brutha up with those?

And Kris…. While you are at it, how about a 2^nd set of wheels. As a first year racer, I did not think I needed a 2^nd set of wheels. I figured that if things got bad, I could always just steal one of Rich’s pit wheels like I have done so far this season. Well, this last weekend that plan went all to shit when I showed up at Sunday’s race and discovered that the course was mud and snow. All good except I had Challenge Griffos on the one pair of hoops I have and those bad boys are not exact mud and snows if ya know what I mean. The Michelin Muds that I should have been running were hanging in the garage. A 2^nd set of hoops would allow this clod a bit of flexibility to adapt to the course.

OK… those first two are wants…. this next one is a certified need. Santa, what this kid needs is a custom Kevlar impregnated left knee. I would ask for instant skilz that allow me to stop crashing but you and I both know that ain’t gonna happen. So the next best thing is to install something in or on the left knee so that I stop tearing it wide open. Sunday was the third time this season. Crap man, the course EMTs all know be by a first name now!!!

To shave or not to shave...... that was never the question.

And finally, how bout we install and automatic clean on the steed. Sunday’s race was completely kick ass with all the mud. But the clean up afterwards was a three beer process. Not that that is a bad thing.



Thanks for reading my list Santa, I can't wait to see what is under the tree.

b.


PS. Beside the milk and cookies is a vial of Pot Belge and a syringe. This is for Rudolf, not you. If Martina Hingis and half the pro peleton are any example, just pop him in the ass with this stuff and hang on big guy!

Dont make me......

With the cross season coming to a close here in the states, there is plenty of racing action over in Europe to keep everyone all hot and bothered. Their was a big can of whoop ass that has been opened up across the pond for many people at this point.

First, you have Katie Compton winning her first WC race in Pijnacker and then the following week winning in Asper-Gavere at round 3 of the SuperPrestige race. A huge accomplishment for any racer, not named Sven Nys, but the way that Katie won was impressive. At Pijnacker, the winning margin was 54 seconds over her main rival, Daphny Van Der Brand but the SP race she won by a wopping 2.43 over the defending World Champ.

Katie is now on her way back to the lovely confines of CO for some much deserved rest before hitting the USGP races in Portland and then Nationals in KC. Then it is back to Europe for the rest of the season and hopefully a worlds jersey of her very own.

Second, the apparent divorce of Jonathon Page and SunWeb-ProJob. American crossers rejoiced all over the nation when JP got second at Worlds last year. He then was signed up by SunWeb and everyone thought that he had come into his own and was ready for the break out season. He started the season well with wins in MI, a 5th at CrossVegas and then headed over to Europe. It went downhill fast from there.

He was building his own bikes right before the races. He got sick and had a couple of bad races. His boss, who is also a promoter, expected them to add races to their program and then complained when they were not going well. It all came to a head last week in some sort of yelling match in his rv at the races. It also appears that Sven Vanthourenhout is having the same issues with management…but appears to be getting a pass since, 1- he is Belgium and 2- he just had surgery for a blocked artery in his leg.

And to make matters worse, Klaas Vantournot called him out about his almost win at worlds last year. He has some choice comments about JP. Come to find out today, our man Klaas has signed on to race with SunWeb for the next 2 years....maybe this is a blessing in disguise for JP.

Third, Sven Nys has lost a Super Prestige Race. Neils Albert won over the weekend, in Gieten for his first major win of the season. He is focusing on winning the U23 Worlds this year…the only major title he has not won in this age group. In the last couple of World Cup races, he has been riding well but also has had some spectacular falls. He crashed really hard in the 2nd round of GVA series right in front of Erwin Vercecken.

New race wheels that need to be named

So like most of you, when new things come out for your ride, you want to be the first on your block to have it. So about 3 weeks ago, I talked to Sean about some tubular wheels that he might be able to sell since he only has carbon tubulars in the line up. Before last weeks ICCC race, he handed over the goods.

He is like the crack dealer on the corner when you need a fix - "hey buddy, check out the newest version of the this...sure to give you thrills that you have never had before."

So these new wheels are going to be the bomb. The rims are 26mm high. They are gloss black with a machined braking surface. They are built with ROL hubs, 20 hole front and 24 hole rear. They are built with DT Aerolite and DT ProLock nipples. At this point, they are 2 cross for both front and rear. I would prefer to have them radial front and 2 cross rear, just like the rest of the ROL lineup. This set is for Shimano but will also have a Campy setup too. Price has not been set, but we talked about them being in the 650ish range for the pair.

Weight for the front is 630 grams and the rear came in at 830 grams. This is weighed without skewers, but I think they are in the 120 grams range. At this weight, they are lighter than Mavic Ksyrium SL's, ES's, Bontrager Race X Lite and almost level with the FSA RD-400. It is within 40 grams of the American Classic CR420.

The biggest problem I have is, no name. These wheels could be used for crits, road races and will be used for cross by most of the Frites en Mayo team next year.

Please feel free to email me or submit comments with names that you think might work. I really like Super Prestige but it is kinda long. I will try to get them glued up for the last 5 races of the CO season.

Please check out all the other wheels that ROL has to offer here.

Could we get some bad weather in here quick???

After Sunday's race, I am riding back to the car with my spare wheels in hand, thankfully not needing them, and I check the results...hey look, the fat kid got 18th today. Get back to the car and both of my tires of full of goatheads.

Damn it!!!!

Now I get to spend the next hour using a set of side cutters and a sharpen spoke to get these out of my tires.

These little things are a pain in my ass and every cyclist in Colorado. They grow along side the road, the bike path, in fields and when the wind blows, they go with it. Since the weather has been so nice lately, the plant has bloomed again and they are everywhere. Every person with a bike will eventually find one and your day is ruined if you dont have the RVTK. This is one of main reasons I dont like to ride the bike paths, the other is the recreational cyclist that wants to run into me when thier bike wont stop and they are doing the Flintstone towards me. I will let Brian tell that story though.

I have these True Goo tubes that are supposed to seal themselves when they have a puncture. Pull the first couple out of the front, spin the wheel and that hissing noise was the 12 bucks being pulled out of my wallet since it did not seal up the holes. The rear had a regular tube with some Stans in it. Started to pull those out and it sealed right up. At about the same time, Mike T. rides over and has now got his second flat and his race has not even started yet.

I give him the Stans tube and let him know that it should work and he is thankful that he can race at this point. I get an email from him later on Sunday and he was able to finish the race and got 11th. Nicely done once again Mike.

Do yourself a favor, buy some regular tubes and then squirt in some Stans. I use 3 tablespoons and that seems to work best. You put all this time into training and race fees, now spend a little time on your setup so you at least start the race.

CX Magazine - Support the sport that you love

At the On the Cross race this weekend, ICCC had some nice goodies for everyone that raced. Products from Hammer Nutrition, Spot Bikes and Schwalbe tires. They also had the first edition of the new CX Magazine. And best of all, it was free. We all know how bike races like to get things for free!!!

Cyclocross Magazine is a new upstart from some fellow cross nuts in Northern CA. They have put together a nice mix of interviews, reviews and stories that everyone can relate to. They also have a website, http://www.cxmagazine.com/

Please click over to thier site and subscribe. It is only 12 bucks for 4 issues. You might think to yourself, only 4 issues, but realize that cross season is only 20 weeks, so you get lot's of info in a short period of time.

Put me in coach, I'm ready to play

Well, taking a mandatory break is never a good thing, even if your hematocrit is not above 50. After taking on the bog at Interlocken and losing out to a sprained ankle, I was finally able to get back on the bike and raced this weekend. Damn, it is hard to get going again after being out for 3 weeks.

Saturdays race in Highlands Ranch was a great way to get back into the swing of things. The Frites en Mayo squad was a co promoter, so racing was bevrijd (free) for us. Good thing, since I started DFL and then rode at the back, giving out pointers to guys falling down in front of me. In the end, I finished and the ankle was good. Cant say the same thing about the lungs though.

Sundays race at the Fed Center was another eye opener. With a dirt "wall" to climb every lap and a cement drainage ditch that was eating tires on every turn, I thought I would go into survival mode early. There was a small turnout, 35 or so, for the beer drinking dad's league race. After the first lap and my legs burning again, I was told 19th place. They must of have missed some people I thought.

Rode the next couple laps with the same group, each taking pulls and trying to scratch our way to the next group up the road. Going out on the last lap we had a good gap to the chasers. Up the dirt "wall", which had to be about a 60 degree pitch, I looked over and here comes some guy from CO Bike Law, full gas towards us. I took off and rode quick and told my legs "dont fail me now" and motored to the finish. I got 18th, not a great result, but a finish with speed is a good finish.

Brian rode to a 10th place finish on Sunday. This is Brian's first year of racing cross. He has been killing it all year. He also finished 18th on Saturday. When you see a really really big guy in the Frites en Mayo argyle kit riding an Orange Kona, stay out of his way. You will know when he is coming up to you, his brakes squeal really bad.

Koppenberg Cross....we love this place

Yesterday was the first round of the Gazet Van Antwerpen (GVA) Cross series. And the first race on the docket is the KoppenbergCross.

This mythical hill in the city of Oudenaarde in East Flanders has seen many a bike race in its day. It is only 77 meters long but at its steepest pitch, 22%, it has seen many a bike cleat from some of the best riders in the world. It is most famous for the 1987 Ronde van Vlaanderen when Jesper Skibby of the Roland team fell and the race commissionaire drove over his front wheel and frame because the race was right behind them.



So on the first Thursday in November, they close it down, roll out the Primus beer truck, where pints are 2.50 euro during the race and setup a cross course. The men usually do about 10 laps over the course. It starts at the bottom of the hill, like most good rides normally do, and then race up the hill and hang a right. Over the past couple of years, it has been very wet and Thursday was no different. With temps in the low 50's, overnight rain and mud that only the Belgiums can make, the best cross racers in the world ready to toe the line. The Americans are represented by JPage and Colorado's own Jon Baker. The gun goes off and we are racing!!!

As usual, it was the Sven and Bart show until the end. Our man, Zdenek was there until he got dropped on the climb with 2 laps to go. Bart was taking chances and went ass over tea kettle into the fence, got back up and caught Sven. Up the climb for the last time, Bart took the inside line, pushed Nys to the outside of the right hander at the top of the climb and looked like he would break the Nys domination of 3 in a row. Sven had other plans and came by him for the win and now leads all three major cross series: SuperPrestige, World Cup and GVA. Hell, he is also the leader of the USGP because he is Sven Nys, even though he has never raced in the States.


Check out the video of the race here. http://www.sport.be/nl/wielrennen/veldrijden/video/player/index.html

The season is in full swing....for most of you

Well, another weekend of racing and I am not apart of it. After bailing after 4 laps of the Interlocken course with a bad ankle due to the only bog in Colorado with Astro-turf in it, this weekends Redline/Boulder Cup must go on. I also sat out the 2nd Red Rocks race with said bad ankle and booked airline flights to CA for a family emergency.

I have not been on the bike for almost 2 weeks at this point. It is hard not being able to race but still going up to the venue and watching…I guess that is the masochistic thing to do though? The ankle is better, I walked on it for 12 hours while at Disneyland last weekend. I will be there both days, with Ron and Big Brian, supporting the team and drinking Belgium Beer. So if you need a hand up, please let us know if you like Leffe, Duvel or Hoegaarden.

Now from the dumbest story of the day, we bring you, Mr. Lance Armstrong. It appears that Mr. LA is hanging out with Ashley Olsen….yes, that Ashley Olsen of the Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen Full House show…..dude, she is only 21 and you are 36. I know that there has to be some other hottie in NYC than her. It was all over the net about them at a hotel and going back to his room and such. Glad to see that our “hero” has such good taste in women…he should of stayed with Cheryl.

Now on to real cycling news:
The 1st and 2nd World Cup races are in the books. My man Zdenek won in Belgium and Sven killed them in Tabor over the past 2 weekends. The Fidea team looks strong and have lot’s of talent this year. All their top guns have wins under their belts at this point.
Sven leads the UCI Points standing and will now have a blue skinsuit to wear instead of his Rabobank kit.

Back in the good ol’ USA, the first USGP was held at a new venue in KY. Home of Churchill Downs, Jeremiah's Froghead Brewery in Paducha and Ashley Judd. But in Lousiville, there was a mascare happening. Catie Compton toe’ed the line and then went all Secretariat on them. She won the first day by 1 minute 20 seconds and the second day she cruised to the victory by 26 seconds. Congrats to Catie for also being the UCI Points Leader…too bad the UCI cant get her the correct clothing so she can show it off while in Boulder this weekend.

On the mens side of domestic racing, Jeremy Powers and Tim “dude, stop messing with my bike” Johnson won over the weekend (the middle name comes Interbike: We are at the Sram booth and there is Tim’s back up bike on display with the new Red Grouppo on it. Brian and Ron start shifting and Tim is looking over their shoulder. He tells them, every time you shift it costs you 5 bucks….Brian was up to 30 bucks when he stopped and then Ron had to start in) Good win for both of them. Jeremy is hunting UCI points for Worlds so the win was nice. TJ got the win and the leaders skinsuit when the USGP starts back up in NJ next weekend.

Up next, is the biggest race for the website….the Koppenbergcross