First focus triathlon of the '08 season...

Hey guys!

OK so it is winter and I am a summer person so I need something to look forward to while a freeze to death on my bike.

To kick off the racing season, our first focus race is going to be Mt. Gretna at the end of May. I have to talk to the race director but I want to set up a pop-up tent for YBR and E-town College members only. It will be a little hang-out before and after the race. I will supply Gatorade, coffee and bananas before the race and I can do a pancake breakfast afterwards. Maybe we can even recruit members! But... I highly recommend you do the race because it is going to be a bunch of fun!

Sarah

Fast Albert's USGP of 'Cross Report

USGP of 'Cross - Trenton, NJ

I’ve had some trouble writing race reports but I will give it another try. Its is not just lack of time but also lack of mental focus….. lack of mental focus.

My first impression of the course was its flat and that isn’t a positive statement for me. It turned out that it was a lot of fun and actually very interesting. Two of the most interesting features were the very long deep sand pit and the flyover. The sand pit wasn’t very ride able unless a grove formed from riders riding the same line. I chose to run the entire sand pit and don’t think riding it was much of a benefit. It was definitely a crowd favorite and any rider that made it thru cleanly received a huge cheer. The flyover had stairs up one end and a very steep ramp down the back. The flat transition was very short so you had to mount the bike quickly and hope you clipped in. I rode it a few times not clipped (I did have my feet on the pedals) in and didn’t have a problem but the thought of slipping off the saddle and landing on the top tube at speed scared me. The rest of the course had a pretty interesting flow with some tricky off camber sections and many tight turns that required riders to slow down and then accelerate back up to speed.

The first day the course was relatively dry – not dry like the dust bowls we have seen for most of the season. The 2^nd day it was rainy and they changed the course to add a few more tight turns. It was a lot of fun to ride a more technical course with all the off camber areas and most of the turns were much trickier. 38 degrees and rain on Sunday so waiting at the start was the worst part of the weekend. Once up to speed the cold wasn’t an issue.

I rode the 4^th cross bike this season and I haven’t even done that many races. I had ordered a frame from Hot Tubes in MA (my old frame cracked in 2 places) and when I asked the builder if he was going to be at the Mercer Cup he said he was and that he could probably have the frame done by then. Things didn’t work out to share a room so I had a room to myself. I decided Saturday night was the perfect time to build the frame so I brought everything I needed (I hoped I did – that rarely works out). The only thing that really crossed me up is the builder brought a 10 speed derailleur – guess who still runs 8 speed? Actually I have mostly 8 speed with a 9 speed chain. It turned out that my friend’s bike (the one I have been riding) had the right derailleur. Amazingly I got the bike built up and even had time to put my friends bike back together (I had put some of my parts on his bike). I even did things I haven’t done before like cut a carbon steerer. There is always something that comes up and this time it was the brake stud on the fork would become unscrewed. The way my brakes work they torque the stud when the brake is applied. I snugged it up while not trying to stress the fork and the thing ended up holding. I didn’t have any problems with the bike the entire race. It is hard to say the difference with the bike because the conditions were so much different but it seemed to be more balanced.

Watching the elite classes was so much fun. It is so cool to watch the experts ride the same course that you did earlier in the day. It was a really strong field with Ryan Trebon, Barry Wicks, Jeremy Powers, Tim Johnson, Todd Wells, Adam Craig, Kabush, and Chris Horner to name a few. A very deep field. The 35+ field was incredibly deep and fast. I was more appropriately racing in the 45+ field. Kevin, Nunzio, Joel and I were the YBR crew in attendance and everyone seemed to really enjoy the race and had good races. Nunzio gets the tough man award for venturing out racing both days with a sinus infection.

I don’t know if they are going to have the same race next year but I would strongly recommend the venue.

USGP of Cyclocross – Mercer Cup near Trenton, NJ

Iron Cross V is History!

...and race winner Rob Jebb of Team Wheelbase (UK) has set a new Iron Cross course record!

Iron Cross V results, blogs, photos, and GPS data (we'll keep updating this list as we get more links!):

(thanks to Bina B. for the photo above)

Results:

IC Lite:
http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2007/10/13-Iron-Cross-Lite.asp

ICV:
http://www.prologsoftware.com/proracingtiming/results/r10_14_07BikeFinal.htm

Blogs:

Aaron H.:
http://hofelt.blogspot.com/2007/10/iron-cross-v.html

Anne G:
http://speedychix.blogspot.com/2007/07/iron-cross-plus.html

Anne G:
http://speedychix.blogspot.com/

Cara "Crash" McCauley:
http://caramccauley.blogspot.com/

Chris (fixed gear SS):
http://lockringnotincluded.blogspot.com/

Cyclochris:
http://cyclochris.wordpress.com/2007/10/15/half-blind-and-undertrained-my-ironcross/

Danielle M. (and Naomi):
http://daniellemusto.blogspot.com/

Darren B:
http://www.thebikeandmore.blogspot.com/2007/10/ironcross-v.html

Liz S:
http://bikevoice.blogspot.com/

Kevin H:
http://kevinhorvath.blogspot.com/2007/10/ironcross-5.html#links

Marc W:
http://marcwinder.blogspot.com/2007/10/i-finished.html

Ron G:
http://racingyenski.blogspot.com/

Serotta forum clips:
http://www.serotta.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33613

Steven L:
http://cyclingmanimal.blogspot.com/2007/10/ironcross-race-weekend.html

Central 757 tripower blog post:
http://757ironcross.blogspot.com/

Photos:

IC Weekend, by Uncle Don:
http://singlespeeder.smugmug.com/

IC Weekend, by Ian's Bina:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lemansgtman/sets/72157602585490396/

IC Lite, by Kevin Dillard:
http://velophotos.phanfare.com/album/448356

ICV, by Chuck Armstrong:
http://www.elementoftheeye.ifp3.com/

ICV, by Tom Miller:
http://tomi.smugmug.com/gallery/3649121#208212122

GPS data from Anne G:

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.do?episodePk.pkValue=4246215

See you'uns next October at Iron Cross VI!

+ The Iron Cross Crew +

(Photo by Uncle Don Pagano)

MABRA Breast Cancer Awareness 'Cross Results

October 8 - On Saturday, the Carlisle Family YMCA's Yellow Breeches Racing cyclocross team travelled to Hagerstown, MD for the third race in the 2007 MABRA cyclocross series. Hundreds of racers from all over the Mid-Atlantic competed on a tight, bumpy, hard-packed course that wound through the Hagerstown Fairgrounds. Making the course difficult was a steep, short climb, numerous off-camber turns and a deep, loose sand pit.

YBR racers fared well...Nunzio DiBiasi led the way for YBR, winning the Men's 55+ race, after finishing 32nd in the Men's B 35+ race. Also in the Mne's B 35+ race, Joel Moats finished 12th, followed by Kevin Breckenmaker (18th), Chris Schaeffer (24th), Mark Laser (28th), and Michael Taylor (34th). In the Men's C race, Chuck "C-Bu" Buczeskie, finished 34th.

Next weekend, YBR racers stay home to host the Iron Cross race weekend to benefit the Carlisle Family YMCA and the Blue Butterfly Fund. Detailed race information can be found here: http://www.yellowbreechesracing.org/ironcross/ . All racing (biking and running) will be staged from the YMCA's Camp Thompson in Pine Grove Furnace State Park south of Carlisle.

Great photos (like the one above) by Kevin Dillard here: http://velophotos.phanfare.com/album/438314

M.

Ed Sanders 'Cross

October 1 - On Sunday, the Carlisle Family YMCA's Yellow Breeches Racing cyclocross team travelled to Buckeystown, MD for the second race in the 2007 MABRA cyclocross series. Hundreds of racers from all over the Mid-Atlantic competed on a tight, twisty course that wound throughout the grounds of a lilypond farm. Making the course difficult were steep run-ups and drop-offs, deep gravel, and man-made barriers. YBR racers fared well...in the women's B race, Cathy Large, in her first-ever "'cross" race, led the charge for YBR, finishing in 6th place, followed by Mary Fetrow (14th), and Laura Jones (15th). In the men's Masters B race, Joel Moats rolled to a fine 10th place finish, followed by Mark Laser (29th), Chris Schaeffer (31st), and Michael Taylor (54th). In the Junior race, Josh Bard finished 3th and in the Masters 55+ race, Nunzio DiBiasi finished x4h.

Said Large after the race, "this could become addicting!"

YBR travels to Hagerstown, MD for MABRA race #3 next weekend.

Contact: Mark Laser (245-2423) or woodcrest21@gmail.com. Photos by denS (www.dennisbike.com).

...and here's Laura's take on things:

"Earlier this year during a training ride with Mark, I was lamenting my painfully lackluster road season. At some point, Mark raised the topic of cyclocross. (I know, I was suprised too.) Since I was suffering from a delirium caused by lack of oxygen and low blood sugar, I don't remember the entire conversation, but it went something like this:

MARK: You should do 'cross! It's LOADS of fun and it will build up your power and aerobic fitness for next year!

LAURA: Yeah, I've heard that 'cross is good winter training. But I'm not very coordinated. I don't think I'd be able to get over the barriers....

MARK: Oh don't worry about that! 'Cross isn't very technical and it's mostly flat! You'll love it!

LAURA: Really? Well...OK....

Fast forward 3 months, and I arrived at Lily Pons with my very own 'cross bike, still bearing the collection of bruises that I had amassed while falling into and around the sand pit and barriers at Charm City. This time, I knew how to get through the barriers (thanks to the apt instruction of Mark and Zach) and there were no sand pits. Convinced that the mechanical difficulties at Charm City were the only other obstacle to my complete domination over the cyclocross world, I made my way to the registration tent.

Mark and Michael met me at the registration tent and offered to take me on a pre-ride of the course. As we threaded our way around the lily ponds, Mark pointed out places that offered a good line through corners. It was flat, there was no sand and, armed with Mark's advice on cornering around the ponds, my confidence grew. At last, I would do well! A top five finish was mine!

But then we came to the cliff. I had heard this particular topographic feature described previously as a "run up" and a "drop off". Because I don't yet speak 'cross, Mark and Zach translated for me: "It's a short, steep little hill. You run up and then drop down the opposite side. It's nothing to worry about." I had watched a Utube video of the dropoff again and again during the week prior to the race. Somehow, though, the perspective in the video didn't quite do justice to the wall of dirt and rocks that I was staring up at on the back section of the course dubbed the "party zone".

I began lugging my bike up the cliff (aka "run up"). Meanwhile Mark and Michael casually dismounted and bounded, antelope-like, up the wall, scissor-kicked in the air, remounted, and hurled themselves down the opposite side, emitting cries of "Yeeha!" and "Woohoo!". I, on the other hand, stood at the top, looking down at the litter of weeds, rocks, and dirt at the base of the cliff, trying to recall whether my current benefits package would allow me to be treated by an out-of-state healthcare provider, or whether I would need to have my husband cart my broken body back to Pennsylvania before I could be pieced back together.

Mark and Michael stood at the top of the rise opposite the dropoff calling for me. There was an awkward pause. "Are you kidding me?!" I called. After realizing that I was having second thoughts about throwing myself off the top of a cliff, Mark and Michael graciously returned and tried to coax me down off the ledge. "Don't think about it!" "Just put your weight on the back wheel and let go!" Mark and Michael, in an effort to convince me that this was all carefree fun, ran up and threw themselves down the hill 2 or 3 more times, whooping and yeeha-ing. "See? Nothing to it!"

A traffic jam of riders began to build behind me and a small crowd of on-lookers began to gather. I kept waiting for the chant: "Jump! Jump! Jump!" Everyone began offering advice and encouragement: "Just don't think about it!" "They have excellent hospitals in this area!" "Don't hit the brakes on your way down!" "If you start to lose it, throw the bike!"

Michael and Mark, in an amazing show of team support, stayed with me. By then, I'm sure they felt like witnesses at a car accident. Mary rolled up. "Come on, Laura, you can do it! You gave birth to 2 kids. This is nothing!" I pointed out that childbirth was much slower and involved no rocks. Apparently, this didn't convince Mary, and down she flew with an enthusiastic "Woohoo!"

I stared down at the rocks and tangle of weeds again and began fishing for excuses to graciously bow out. Mark, however, was not accepting excuses and he and Mary came back up the hill. I rolled up to the edge, wondering if it would be bad luck to tell someone to have my husband bring the car around in order to avoid the pesky wait for the ambulance. I let go. I did it! WOOHOO! (Apparently, all of the whooping is a shout of thanks for returning to sweet earth unharmed.)

I managed to cause a traffic jam only once more when I came back to the hill on the first lap of the race. Fortunately, Diane Vettori, accompanied by a group of women that I had just passed on a flat section, rolled up behind me and offered inspiration: "MMOOOVVE!" That worked, and I was off.

Everything after that is a blur of lilypads, gravel, and the sight of that hill over and over again. I finished the race and didn't even come in last. I successfully went down the cliff 4 or 5 more times (I lost count--as I said, it was a blur)."