Winter has arrived?

Although the calender says that today was the first day of winter, the weather was not full of much conviction. I personally am hoping for a mild winter but I know some of the winter sport enthusiast have expressed their discontent. Winter is typically when the bear  hibernates using its stored fat to keep  warm and well, quite lazy where animals like the deer and rabbit stay active and always on the search for food in order to survive.
A cyclist can be compared to the deer and rabbit using the winter to stay on the move building what is referred to as "base" miles rather than succumbing to winters wrath and going into hibernation.

I'm looking forward to what 2012 has to offer and trying to find the balance of not overdoing it, staying focused and keeping the training fun while maintaining a descent fitness level. If winter is kind enough to us I plan on spending allot of that time on the mountain bike. The new venture with Nuts About Granola has me fueled with a high level of ambition. We look forward to the adventures and plan to to keep you posted on what we are doing as well as involving you (yeah you) in some of our fun activities. Until then enjoy your Holiday season and cheers to a great 2012!
SM

Scraps of Rockburn CX MABRA Super 8 Series.

MABRA Super 8, Rockburn cx, 'cross racing

Here's couple of shots I found from the 2012 MABRA Super 8 Rockburn cx race. I guess Angie is waving her arms at Mike B because he forgot to order pinto beans on her burrito.

Mike B giro?

Never short on effort for the Cap 'Cross Classic

The final cx race for this season's MABRA Super 8 Series came to Reston, VA. Due to commitments beyond anybody's control, KVR fielded just two racers for the Sunday event.

Hopefully some photos will follow this post so for now I'll give a shout out to Mike Brenneman for finishing up his season in the Masters 35/45+ 3/4 field that day in 67/100th place finish. His 9 year old son, Owen, in the JR 10-14 field had an honorable 4 place finish. Great work father and son!

2011 MARBRA Super 8 / Rockburn wrap up.

To say that I wasn't looking forward to the Rockburn event wouldn't be fair to the spirit of the 'cross season and the guys who have stepped up and thrown down every Sunday, this fall. But let's face it, all of us and random dudes I spoke with that morning, had some kind of bug in their gut/body or some comment of, 'Man, I feel like crap this morning...'. Not to psych out the other racers, but an overall feeling of, YUK!

Me, I spent most of the Friday before the race sleeping in bed, hiding from a gut rot that came from who the hell knows where. Being unconscious, sleeping, disconnected my brain long enough to allow the body to heel itself. Not the day off I was hoping for, according to my Facebook Status update for that day.

CXHairs.com posted the course preview and from what I could make of it, this was going to be a brutal race. I was seeing technical, long stretches, on the gas, elevation changes and enough off camber sections to question your sobriety, for weeks after pinning your number on for said event. Would this be a course for me, no us, where we go away saying, 'Meh, nice race but it wasn't my type of course...'? I haven't met a course that we haven't enjoyed this year; as all of the MABRA Super8 course have been dynamite.

We snagged the team tent area by 0830, dumped all the gear and eyeballed the course in between registering and potty breaks. The sand pit would be questionable, the long drag race on the road leading into the first left handed grass transition looked fast and some of the off camber parts might require a little tripod action from my 6'5" -self. I'm feeling mentally good already from what I've seen, my stomach on the other hand...

Our junior, Owen Brenneman was on the course and riding his way to a 3rd place podium. Great legs Owen!

A.Brennemen photography

So light, he floats over the sand like it was grass.

A.Brennemen photography 

Owen B, raising them up for the 3rd spot!


In the Masters 35+ we had myself, Mike B, McCready, Evans and Sherdel for the 3/4s; a good showing of team colors I must say. Mealey was on hand for the Masters 35+ 1/2/3, Clark was excused that morning, doing a running event with his son.

I registered late for Rockburn, was sitting in the like #80s for the starting grid (no not Flock of Seagulls 80s...) but when I lined up, my number had put me in the fourth row from the front. Whoa, upgrade miles? I was now about 30th on the grid. This start is going to be painful sitting closer to the fast dogs.

The first lap for those who didn't do a pre-ride of the course is generally an eye opener; feeling out the turns, timing for dismounts_to_running sections, etc.

Capture by S. Mealey

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I'm seeing that I brake checked way too much going into this section of barriers. Next time...

A. Brenneman Photography

Evans in the thick of the field, large field those Masters 35+/45+ can be! Evans finished the day 61/97th place. Good fight man!

 A.Brenneman Photography

McCready has a baby on the way, make that two. Twins to be exact, which is a handful, yet well planned as he'll bounce back to racing, faster than the those of us who spaced the kiddos 2-3 years apart. Shane ended the day close to Evans at 63/97th place.

  A.Brenneman Photography

 Mike B (background) on Shane's wheel. Mike's move to the M35+ 3/4 has been a fruitful one, consistent fitness each race, and his efforts at Rockburn put him 67/97th.

A.Brenneman Photography

Chris Sherdel testing the new Grifo tires he installed on the Zurigo for this race. So far, we all give the Grifo rubber two thumbs up and by the looks of Chris's corning angle, loves them as well! A crash kept Chris at 66/97th for the day. Better luck next time man.

There was a section of single track at Rockburn which provided the you the opportunity to either reel in that S.O.B you'd been chasing between the tape, sit up and spin the legs out a bit or drop the hammer and make up much needed time on the next group ahead of you. If you didn't burn too many matches on this section of trail, you were greeted by a mild-S section, leading into a section of steps on a hillside. 

 

  Capture by S. Mealey
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I was still struggling with quickly getting into my pedals so I opt'd to run this entire hill, hoping my long strides will keep a gap on the group that was buzzing behind me as shown in the video above. 27/97th place for me that day. I guess I was doing something right to hold my starting position but I can honestly say the brutality and speed of this course warps your assessment of where you feel finished.

 A.Brenneman Photography

Mealey hitting the step section fast in the Masters 35+ 1/2/3 field. This guy is all about technique.

 A.Brenneman Photography

Mealey was schooling us new guys on how to carve around this tree, already stepped through the frame, ready for dismount. It's great watching someone who has been doing this for 10 years, there's a lot to learn about 'cross, not just hammering on the pedals but also polishing your technique. A pesky rear brake which popped open twice, put Sean's day at a 27/32nd place finish for our DS.

Rockburn was pretty much the last race for most of us for the year. I've grown closer to my teammates and can say that we have a solid bunch of guys, going forward for the 2012 season. 2012 sponsorship discussions are already on the table as well development work for new riders looking to join the team and be a part of what I'd gather as one of the most addictive sports on two wheels. 

So much of this season of 'cross reminds me of racing mountain bikes back in the mid-90s...the team aspect is strong yet rich with support and respect for the other racers; compounded by the competitors enjoying the rest of the races which occur throughout the day. I hope this bros before pros mentallity lasts for a while because I know I'm enjoying and so are the guys on the team. 

-Will 

Rockburn CX recap coming soon...

The Rockburn CX race recap will be up by the weekend.

In the meantime, watch the cat in the red/black kit and brush up on your barrier dismounts, flow like water...

iPhone4 users can view the video...[here!]
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Local granola maker as title sponsor for 2012 race season.

We're proud to have local granola maker, Nuts About Granola as our title sponsor for Keystone Velo Racing in 2012. [....more]

Schooley Mill Cross recap

I'd like to speak on behalf of the team and many of the appreciative MABRA Super 8 series racers and thank Joe Mallis for lending his talent every Sunday and exposing the locals races through his lens. His camera work is excellent and for you ladies out there, I'm sure your man would love a 10x8 framed portrait of his suffer face, for the holidays so hit up the website and buy a photo from Joe. Thank you.

I parked the Element and began unloading everything into the team tent area. I'm definitely getting the knack of setting up the area quickly. This morning I had a fire under my bum to have the area ready for Chris Sherdel who was in need of a tire change that morning. The night before he decided to go with some lighter wheels and wider rubber for Schooley 'cross so I patiently waited with my tools and a talc powder for his tubes.




After the work on the bike was finished, I bounced over to the registration building, got my number and returned to slip into the kit. One note for this race, it was really nice to have heated bathrooms near the course, luxury!

My strength coach, Mike DeCarlo was scheduled to stop by for the start of my race. He has never seen this crazy thing called cyclocross and after that day, realizes what a drag race in the grass it can be. In addition to the rest of the guys in my M34/45+ 3/4 group, Evans was out to race, now that his bike was back in working condition, McCready and Sherdel were close by in our group and Brenneman took a step up from the Mens 4 field to or Masters group. Good choice Mike B!

Our junior racer, Owen Brenneman finished 4 on the podium for the day. This was a terrific finish for the little guy as there were 3 monster features to conquer on the course. One was the large 'giraffe coffin', a set of up hill barriers and a hillside 'M' where the last part of the 'up' on the 'M' featured steps.




Push it up, up, up! Owen wishing for a Slurpee hand up at this point.

The Masters 34/45+ 3/4 field was large and in charge again. I was on the grid starting 30 something, behind Adam Austin.Evans, McCready, Sherdel, and Mike B the row behind. '30 seconds to go....' then the whistle blows and the drag race starts. I'm learning this starting thing the hard way this year and this morning, I was over geared when the guys got rolling. Once on top of the gear, I reeled a handful of places back in, saw one crash at the grass transition area; then off to the punchy first half of the course.

I really like the layout of Schooley Mill course. The first half was punchy and featured a gigantic wooden...what looked like a massive coffin or equestrian feature which you had to dismount and jump up on then back off the other side. After snaking over a baseball infield and back to the middle of the course, you had a 90* left turn into a slight rise with the barriers and over the more open part of the course. This is the section where if you have any matches left to burn, you can reel in some guys who got gassed in the first half of the course. I was able to keep the pedals moving, yet bring the heart rate down a bit without loosing positioning within the field. The hill run up with the steps on the last half of the field was a game changer for many. I enjoyed it as sick as it sounds, anytime I can run with the bike, I can settle down a bit and focus.



I'm up and over; four more times of this. After this shot was taken there was a kicker of an uphill which most remounted at the bottom which for me to do and get going again didn't seem too efficient. The remaining laps, I ran with the bike up the hill, passing some racers, gaining position in the field. Thank goodness for a light bike. I knocked out a 23rd place finish for the day.



Chris Sherdel staying light on his feet. He finished 52nd due to a mid race crash.



Mike B leading McCready through the barriers. A solid mid pack 46th and 43rd place finish for them.

 A.Brenneman Photography

Evans rolled for a 59th place finish in the large M35+ 3/4 field.



Our team director's son, Ean, leads Owen B. through the practice course. Future team rider.



Mealey in the barriers for the Masters 35+ 1/2/3 finish 25th for the day.

Clark Evanitus is thinking of two things here in this photo:
-Be the water and flow, become the cup.
-Damn race license.

Clark had a slight snag with his registration that morning and had to race the Killer Bs instead of with Mealey in the Masters 35+ 1/2/3 field. 10th place for Evanitus.

Next race- Rockburn CX.