Travis Brown's Belt Drive Cross Bike

Interesting article in VeloNews on Travis Brown's belt drive single speed he used at the Dolores cross races:
http://www.velonews.com/article/84860/tech-report-trek-and-travis-brown-take-belt-drive-up-a-notch

300k Brevet

So I tried my hand at my first endurance event last Saturday - a 300k ride into the Black Mountains of the Gila down in New Mexico. This is part of the NM Brevet series, licensed by RUSA (Randonneurs USA), the governing body for randonee events over 200k.

Starting in Truth or Consequences at 6am, this was my first event requiring full lights and reflective gear. We rode our way NW to Winston with checkpoints in Monticello and Chloride, continued up over the Continental Divide and out to the end of the pavement at Beaverhead, 110 miles. Then retrace back to T or C (without the detour to Monticello) for a total of 195 miles and 10,500' of vertical.

I finished with the 3rd fastest time, 14hr:49min, at 8:49pm. I spent 1:45 off the bike, which is way too much time without the wheels turning. I also left my 2nd light in my drop bag out at Beaverhead, expecting to get it back before dark - but I beat the sag wagon back to Winston, so I couldn't ride as fast as I wanted down into T or C with only my small light, there were some steep descents.

But I learned a lot about nutrition, and how important protein is on rides over 3hrs. I used a 40/30/30 mix in my bottle, and supplemented with extra carbs in the form of gels and bars. My legs felt better after 300k than they ever did after a century when I only had carbs for fuel. Scott - I'll be ordering some Hammer Perpetuem!

Now if I can only do something about the cramping in my shoulders and back, I might actually be pretty good at this endurance stuff.

Dolores Cyclocross Race Overall Results

Dolores Cyclocross Race
Dolores, Colo. USA

Overall Results – October 18-19: FLC Squawker Cup #1 & #2

Women
1 Carmen McNellis (Aaron’s)
2 Stephanie Swan
3 Martha Iverson (Durango Wheel Club)
4 Kristin Danielson (Velo Bella)
6 Anne Cheeney
7 Tina Dominic
8 Shantelle Pierce
9 Mary Monroe (Tokyo Joe’s)

Men A
1 Travis Brown (Trek)
2 Joey Thompson (Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory)
3 Grant Berry (Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory)
4 John Stephens (Fort Lewis College)
5 Greg Lewis (Directory Plus/Trek)
6 Alister Ratcliff (Fior di Fontta)
7 Whit Johnson
8 Kenny When (SRAM)
9 Michael Carroll (Durango Wheel Club)
10 Ryan Barthel
11 Jesse Delaney
12 Brendan Schafer
13 Chad Cheeney
14 Gregory Carpenter
15 Robin Guillaume

Men B
1 Jonathon Delacey (Durango Wheel Club)
2 Tom Miller (Ciclistas del Rio)
3 Steve Lamont (DCCX)
4 Jason Curnow (Tamarack)
5 Jeff Fox (Ciclistas del Rio)
6 Eric Malone (Durango Wheel Club)
7 Alex Dossin (Cycle Loft)
8 Jess Arie
9 Matthew Phillips (Bicycling Magazine)
10 James Temte
11 John McManus (Durango Wheel Club)
11 Eric Burris (Durango Wheel Club)
12 Brian Bluemle (BSK Law/Bike Loft)
13 Beau Savage (Durango Wheel Club)
14 Wayne Nadalski (Kokopelli)
15 Richard Bagienski (3D Racing)
16 Brandon McNellis (Hobbit House)
17 Scott Pendleton (Ciclistas del Rio)
18 Walt Axthelm (Durango Wheel Club)
19 Tom Hoefer (Durango Wheel Club)
20 Scott Clow (Ciclistas del Rio)

Men 40+
1 Joe Burtoni (Durango Wheel Club)
2 Robert Sonora (Durango Wheel Club)
3 James Deaton (3D Racing)

Dolores Cyclocros Day 02 Results

Dolores Cyclocross Race
Dolores, Colo. USA

Race 2 – October 19: FLC Squawker Cup #2

Women
1 Carmen McNellis (Aaron’s)
2 Kristin Danielson (Velo Bella)
3 Stephanie Swan
4 Martha Iverson (Durango Wheel Club)
5 Shantelle Pierce
6 Mary Monroe (Tokyo Joe’s)

Men A
1 Travis Brown (Trek)
2 Grant Berry (Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory)
3 Joey Thompson (Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory)
4 John Stephens (Fort Lewis College)
5 Greg Lewis (Directory Plus/Trek)
6 Alister Ratcliff (Fior di Fontta)
7 Jesse Delaney
8 Brendan Schafer
9 Kenny When (SRAM)
10 Gregory Carpenter
11 Michael Carroll (Durango Wheel Club)
DNF Robin Guillaume

Men B
1 Jason Curnow (Tamarack)
2 Jonathon Delacey (Durango Wheel Club)
3 Tom Miller (Ciclistas del Rio)
4 Matthew Phillips (Bicycling Magazine)
5 John McManus (Durango Wheel Club)
6 Steve Lamont (DCCX)
7 Alex Dossin (Cycle Loft)
8 Eric Malone (Durango Wheel Club)
9 Jeff Fox (Ciclistas del Rio)
10 James Temte
11 Eric Burris (Durango Wheel Club)
12 Scott Pendleton (Ciclistas del Rio)
13 Walt Axthelm (Durango Wheel Club)
14 Jess Arie
15 Tom Hoefer (Durango Wheel Club)
16 Richard Bagienski (3D Racing)
17 Scott Clow (Ciclistas del Rio)

Men C
1 Walt Axthelm (Durango Wheel Club)
2 Joe Burtoni Jr.

Juniors
1 Alex Bernholtz
2 Sam Kelly

Men 40+
1 Joe Burtoni (Durango Wheel Club)
2 Robert Sonora (Durango Wheel Club)
3 James Deaton (3D Racing)

Dolores Cyclocross Day 01 Results

Dolores Cyclocross Race
Dolores, Colo. USA

Race 1 – October 18: FLC Squawker Cup #1

Men B
1 Jonathon Delacey (Durango Wheel Club)
2 Tom Miller (Ciclistas del Rio)
3 Steve Lamont (DCCX)
4 Jeff Fox (Ciclistas del Rio)
5 Jess Arie
6 Eric Malone (Durango Wheel Club)
7 Alex Dossin (Cycle Loft)
8 Brian Bluemle (BSK Law/Bike World)
9 James Temte
10 Beau Savage (Durango Wheel Club)
11 Wayne Natolskie (Kokopelli)
12 Brandon McNellis (Hobbit House)
13 Richard Bagienski (3D Racing)
14 Eric Burris (Durango Wheel Club)
15 Joe Burtoni Jr.
DNF Walt Axthelm (Durango Wheel Club)
DNF Tom Hoefer (Durango Wheel Club)

Women
1 Carmen McNellis (Aaron's)
2 Stephanie Swan
3 Anne Cheeney (Durango Devo)
4 Martha Iverson (Durango Wheel Club)
5 Tina Dominic

Men A
1 Travis Brown (Trek)
2 Joey Thompson (Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory)
3 Whit Johnson
4 Grant Berry (Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory)
5 John Stephens (Fort Lewis College)
6 Greg Lewis (Directory Plus/Trek)
7 Ryan Barthel (Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory)
8 Alister Ratcliff (Fior di Fontta)
9 Chad Cheeney
10 Kenny When (SRAM)
11 Robin Guillaume
12 Michael Carroll (Durango Wheel Club)
DNF Brendan Schafer

Mens 40+
1 Joe Burtoni (Durango Wheel Club)
2 Robert Sonora (Durango Wheel Club)
3 James Deaton (3D Racing)

DWC Club Champs - MTB TT

I would not call this one of my strengths, but I had a really good ride, for me, in the final event. 4.75 miles and 900' of climbing, and some tricky descending. Despite a wipe out on a sweeping right hand turn on loose shale, and hitting an 8" oak head on but staying on the bike, I descended about as well as I ever have, certainly faster than I ever have. I'm comfortable going 40mph downhill in a group on the road, but I don't have the nerve solo on the dirt!

I finished 7th, with a time of 31:34, which was my lowest placing of the 4 events and therefore didn't get me any extra points. Brandon won handily and leapfrogged into the Champion's jersey with 65 points. Steve got 9th and ended up 2nd with 60 points. I stayed at 53 points and 3rd place overall.

I'm psyched with the final result, especially as I had a shot at the overall victory. The format of the event is fun, kinda like a stage race. I'd encourage other Ciclistas to give it a go next year. As for me, I'll bump up and do the "B" flight next year, see if I can be competitive there.

DWC Club Champs - RR

I had three goals for the road race:
(1) - Win it;
(2) - Prevent Steve D. from getting the bonus sprint points;
(3) - Get the sprint points myself if I can.

Well, two out of three ain't bad...

It was a gorgeous if chilly morning as we started at Trimble Lane on 550, headed to the summit of Coal Bank. At mile 4.5, (on the rollers right before the hot spring) there was a sprint for bonus points. We all knew we had to wear down Steve or else he would just increase his lead with more points, so there were lots of attacks after the train tracks. He covered them all and in the process wore himself down. As we approached the line, I stuck right on his wheel to cover any move he might make. Jim came flying by on the left, and there wasn't anything Steve could do. As much as I wanted to try to go for the points, I knew that if I went, I would just drag Steve to the line. So Jim got the points, and Steve did not - a good start.

Then we all soft pedaled trying to recover before the climbs. I pulled away slowly on the lower slopes of Shalona, and nobody followed. Just before going over the tracks, Brandon jumped across, and the two of us worked to increase the lead. We had a few hundred yards at the top of Shalona. By Haviland Lake, there was no sign of anyone behind. We worked really well together on the rollers to the base of Coal Bank, catching some stragglers from the groups who started earlier. Then we dug in for the last 6 miles.

We each pulled for about 2 miles. As we neared the top, Brandon was in front, and I was feeling OK but not great. I pulled alongside, and we discussed our options. We thought about finishing together and splitting the points; if either one of us won outright, we would take the lead in the omnium, but if we shared the points, Steve would still be in the lead. So we decided to go for the win, and with that, Brandon accelerated. I put in a dig and got back on his wheel. I decided to stay right there, and try my sprint at 100m. Brandon would accelerate and slow, accelerate and slow, trying to drop me. As we neared 100m, he accelerated again, and I knew I would have to go for it. I took a few meters to get back on his wheel, and then stomped it. I got by him almost immediately, and then just hung on for dear life for the last 50. Whew! I am really thankful for all those hill sprints we've been doing on the club rides, without those, I wouldn't have known I could do it.

So Steve and I are tied at 53 points apiece, with Brandon in 3rd with 52. The fourth and final race is a MTB TT in Horse Gulch tomorrow. Best 3 of the 4 results count for the final omnium. Steve has the advantage, as this will be his third race and all his points count (he dropped out of the RR once he missed the sprint points). Brandon and I are each racing for incremental points, trying to do better than our lowest placings (5th for me in the crit, 5th for him in the TT). I think we're racing for 2nd, but anything can happen, I suppose.

DWC Club Championships

I've been riding in the club championships in the 'C' flight this past week. That may be sandbagging a little bit, but I know for sure I am not competitive in the Bs.

Anyway, a good start last Thurs in the 16 mile TT. I took 3rd place with a time of 42:18, just over 23mph average. The criterium on Sunday was mixed for me - I rode a strong race and placed 5th, but strategically it was very poor. The TT winner also won the crit, and may have an insurmountable point lead at this point. Trouble was, all of us knew he was likely to win a bunch sprint, and yet we couldn't get it together to try a break, or at least push the pace to string it out some. I felt strong all race, and for some reason thought I'd see if I could outsprint him, but I should have gone on a flyer in the last lap and a half and hoped to stay ahead. At least then I'd have a good guage on my strength relative to the group, and probably done no worse than 5th anyway.

So, a little frustrating. Only my fifth competitive criterium, and there's lots to learn about tactics! Road race is this Saturday, Trimble to Coal Bank, and I have a good chance of winning that, but I think I'm too far behind to win the overall. We'll see.

Tues Ride - CX and road

Hola Ciclistas:

As Lance mentioned last Friday, for those who want to start their cyclocross training, there will be regular(?) Tuesday evening cross rides, most likely at the course on Boggy. We’ll try to keep you posted on particulars as they happen, through e-mail and at the blog. For this Tuesday, meet at Flanders/Sol Cycles in Dolores at 5:15pm to ride to the course, or 5:45 at the course. (The start/finish for the course is on the FS road in the Boggy area – continue past the Boggy parking lot on Road W for about 2 miles, park on the side of the road). If you’re interested in learning about cyclocross, bring your mountain bike, and have a blast!

I, however, am still riding on the pavement, and am looking to ride to House Creek Tuesday evening. Meet at Flanders/Sol at 5:30, and we’ll head out from there.

Hasta,
Michael