On Two Wheels Keeping it Dirty : March 2014

There are some days where you have a plan but nothing quite works, other days in which you have no plan and everything works. At the UNC crit, first criterium of the '14 season, it was the standard short distance skinny tire race plan: go real dang fast, pedal really hard and try to do something at the end, all the while keeping this sweet new cutaway kit off the pavement. According to this everything did go to plan, sort of...

"Planning" or something

The first lap started out quick and by the third corner I forgot how to bicycle and clipped a pedal hard enough to scare myself. This is quite hard, the frightening that is, but setting the bike down with the rear end ~75 degrees from the direction of travel will do that.

Successfully bringing the machine under control I was informed by riders behind that my wheel looked all screwed up. Peeking back revealed a decent hop/wobble look that wasn't good to go, I assumed a broken spoke, but it was still rolling. I can make it to the pit, change it out and chase on, its only the first lap! Just take it easy 3 more corners to go till the pits...

Then this happened....

Listen to that rim on pavement action....

Still not quite sure how only my feet hit the ground, and I didn't take anyone else out.

If you are still confused what happened in that video, here is the break down. Tire explodes, drift, bail, run, cyclocross mode engaged! Once the tire went things got sideways and violent very sideways and very violent.

So thats what a kevlar bead looks like

Here is the time moving really slow due to the quickly approaching very bad things playback. As soon as the tire blew I knew it was going to get rowdy, even felt the Stan's hit my leg, never a good feeling. While attempting to ride out the drift the shredded rear tire locked the wheel, grinding the rim down. Aluminum to pavement at 35 km/h is a scary sound to say the least. At one point completely sideways I felt the bike give a solid buck forward and I knew I was going off. Seeing and expanse of pavement resembling a cheese grader, the time had come to go for it. Using bail out skills honed from crashing with clipless pedals on the mtb for almost 10 years, I unclipped and jumped with help of pressing off the bars as hard as I could to clear the bike. Some where between the top of the bike and half way down I remembered that I was moving close to 35km/h and needed to start running very very fast. Keeping my wits about me I held on to my bars in order to save my bike unneeded harm and keep my friends safe behind me. No sense in wrecking anybody if I don't need too. Following through I held my line running and made it to the out side of the next turn. Shouldered the bike and CX beast mode engaged, run, run, run!

That won't buff out...

A few notes, was not set up tubeless I was running stan's inside my tubes. All that thought happened in less than a few seconds, the adrenaline really kicked in to slow it down. Redbull does in fact give you wings! Also the Ultegra 6700 rear wheel was trashed and the only way I could run that fast is due to riding mtb shoes all day everyday!

Stan's tired but it was a lost battle

Still having the cross mentality of never leave to course unless you want to DNF drilled in over the last few months I completely forgot that one can go straight to the pits after a mishap in crits, and continued to run the entire course, of to the side. Oh well, I made it there, good thing it was only a 1km lap! Threw on my spare wheel on and thankfully the official let me loose right behind the lead group. Since I had enough adrenaline pumping through my veins to kill a horse, I quickly caught back on.

Starting out of the pits!

My "crash" had shattered the field leaving six or so up front and small groups behind. Navy had the firepower in the lead, and I was quickly informed by spectators that my teammate Luke was attempting to bridge up with two App State riders, Craig and Gene. I sat in the rotation several times soft pedaling on the front as long as I could till Navy realized that I was purposefully slowing down, attempting to disrupt them enough to give Luke a chance. Somewhere in there they bridged up!

Throwing some watts down in front

We hung out keeping the constantly attacking Navy riders in check for a while without much incident, with only one minor crash of a Navy rider right in front of me. Held my line and he slid out of the way just like speed skating.

With two laps to go I asked Luke for a lead out, going through the start/finish he obliged. The next 800 meters became an intense struggle to hold Luke's wheel, I was close to getting dropped a few times. 150 meters to go with a 90 degree turn at 100m, Gene attacked for the sprint, trying for his wheel I came around as well. Blowing too wide trough the last corner, and managing to hold second for the second time in two days was a plenty fine way to end the day!

Its great to know I have teammates that will destroy themselves on the bike for my finish, more than grateful for that leadout!

Out wide, still able to hang on to second!

Replacement Shimano rim: $199.99
Bontrager RXL mtb tread: $39.99
An amazing save: Priceless

Just goes to show that no matter how bad it looks, go for it, give it the long shot, you never know how quickly things can turn around!

In the words of G.W.Wadsworth "Time on dirt well spent"

Thanks to East Coasters, especially Kirby for fixing up my wheel! Lacing that 6700 straight pull hub to a Stan's ZTR Alpha 400 rim should be fun!

If you aren't winning, style it! This has been my motto for a few years to keep racing fun. No body wins all the time, except for the Magnificent Quadsworth or Big B Lewis, even then nothing is guaranteed in bike racing except there will always be someone, somewhere who will drop you. Honestly this is a pretty bleak out look, but one has to accept that they aren't the best rider in the world and probably never will be. Once you get there just have fun! In short if you aren't winning, style it! Style points are worth more anyways, throw some wheelies, hit the jumps, ride the skinnies, put some style in there! It gets one noticed, if your on a team, it gets the team and sponsors noticed which is good. Spectators love it! Keeping some style, having fun just makes the world a better place and keeps a good image of cycling, the team, oneself.

Its fun to win, but more fun to ride!

Some specifics on style.

The most important decision one can make all day is which pair of rad socks to rock out in the race.
Rad Socks = Rad Race
If you don't have at least 3 pairs of cool graphic socks to ride in, you are doing it wrong.

Some of my favorites, "Droppin' Bombs"

During a race, if you have lost the lead, have fun! If you're in the lead have fun! If you're off the back from the gun then you might as well have some fun and style the heck out of it!

"Run" Up, BRAHPPPP!

Getting rowdy on the CX bike in the homemade cape kit!

At the end if you by yourself might as well make a show, a finish line wheelie is sure to please the crowd!

I tend to do quite a few of these no matter the discipline of race.