Suson Bubba - quick recap

Notice the different bikes in the above pictures??? (Thanks to Mike D. for the pics)

Don't ever race a new bike in a race. Lesson learned. First lap, don't know if someone ran into my rear derailleur on the start or the bike decided to begin mis-shifting all of a sudden, but within 100' of the starting line my bike wouldn't stay in any gear. As a result, I was off the back and almost a half-lap down by the end of the first lap. Luckily, I did have a spare bike in the pits and jumped on it and began my chase. I was able to chase down 13 racers by the end of the race, which I consider a personal victory.

The fans on the hillside were a tremendous boost for me, too. El Cavano, Slick Willy, and of course Team Seagal. My favorite chant of the day...."Welcome to Hell!"

Bubb-a-Rama

What a weekend of racing, spectating, and partying. Mike and the Big Shark boys along with Jay Strothman, Anthony Dust and others totally outdid themselves with the courses and creating the foundation for the atmosphere. Also props go out to my racing bud, Ralph Pfremmer for his continued pfood sponsorship for the series.

Saturday night, I got all decked out in a full Santa Claus suit and made myself fat again (this time not with all-you-can-eat buffets), but with 2 pillows stuffed into an older pair of bibs.


It was actually a perfect get up considering it was in the 20's when the race started and I decided since I was goofing around, I jumped into the C race, so as to not mess up that many serious racers. I started with a reverse hole shot and waved to the crowd as we tore it up the paved start. I think I passed 20-25 racers throughout the evening while working hard to not work that hard. Each time I crossed the start finish line I would work the fans into a little pre-Christmas frenzy!



Aaro Froese looking quite the playa in the leopard print robe was a big help on the PA announcing me several times. The only real problem I had was that I couldn't see my feet or the bike on the remounts thanks to the pillows. However, since I really wasn't racing hard, it wasn't too much of an issue. In the end, I brought it home to 42nd place. Afterwards, I hooked up with the Team Seagal gang for a rowdy evening of cheering, jeering, and beering. Fun times. Casey Ryback was looking splendid as ever....



Sunday meant some serious racing and I had a 2nd row starting position (why I'm not sure) and promptly turned it into something towards midpack as the race unfurled in a fairly brisk tempo. I grabbed a small chase group and yo-yo'd with them for a good part of the race.



However, in the end they lit it up and dropped me when I really wasn't paying much attention. As many of you know, it's much easier to keep a wheel than it is to bridge back up to a lost wheel. I need to get that through my thick head, quickly. Ralph and I had our early battle, but he had gone out a little too hard too soon and while he was trying to recover, I bolted around him and kept increasing the gap. He's fun to race with and I really look forward to our races. However, today my race became a race of trying to stay ahead of Craig Farrell. Craig is uber strong and usually starts slower and winds it up as the race goes on. He's that rider you keep seeing out of the corner of your eye and before too long, bang. He's passed you and put a sizeable gap on you within the blink of an eye. Today I was able to hold him off even though my bike started misshifting again on the last lap. He certainly pushed me to my limit. In the end, I think I eaked out a 23rd place finish and while I could have pushed a little harder for a top 20 finish, I'm happy with how I ran the race.

Next weekend, is my 'home' course in Queeny Park. I say 'home' because it's directly across the street from my house and I look forward to racing there. I can't say that I'll have a great result because of that, but looking forward to it nevertheless.

Bubba Faust (The Pictorial)

The Race is on.

Now, I know why BillH reels me in so easily. His legs are gigantic!!

Craig Farrell and Pfoodman in hot pursuit.

Mouth wide open...can't get enough air!!!

This is beginning to be a very common scene this year. Howells reeling me in and dropping me.

It was so bad I was getting jeered at by a street woman! (She was very ugly by the way.)

I was wondering why the crowd was yelling "go get him Craig!" because there wasn't anyone in front of me. Then I realized they weren't cheering for me.

Gassed across the line. Note the wide open mouth gasping for air.

Scott Mortimer looking fresh as a daisy after the race while Ralph teaches him proper technique for doing a bench press. Bob Crow and I are waiting to cough up a lung.

The podium girls for my race.

Special thanks to my good buddy and brother in Christ, Tom Heinze, for coming out to cheer me on and take the photos. Nice work!!

Who's Side You On?

For me, the answer to this question is a simple one. Always has been. I'm on God's side.

God has always been a part of my life. Notice I say "part". Why do I say "part" and not "whole." I'm a sinner. I'll always be a sinner. Sin is what works to separate me from God. Sin wants me in a full-time relationship. But so does God. Guess what? In the end God wins. Sin loses. Therefore, the choice to me is a simple one. I don't need to question it and I don't desire scientific proof (even though I love scientific studies.) Faith. Pure and simple. I pray and work hard each day to make God more than a part of my life. Faith is what I can control.

Consider this, Romans 3:23-24 says, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ." It's simple for me. During the race this past Sunday, I put this verse on my bike and read it several times during the race. The verse was Psalm 119:50 "My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life." God promises us an eternal life in heaven by accepting his son, Jesus Christ, as our personal savior.

Who's side you on?

Finally, Real CX Weather

Yesterday's temperatures were ideal for a cx race. Cold, windy, overcast. A raw Belgian day if there ever was. Possibly the only thing missing was some form of precipitation, but I suspect there's plenty of time for that. Seeing as the weather was below 40 degrees, many were faced with the dilemma of shorts, knickers, or tights. Not being a fan of the two latter choices, I opted for the "Belgian Knee Warmers" option and used embrocation. My choices for the day were a double layer of:


Qoleum #3


Mad Alchemy

The Qoleum #3 is the hottest of the trio of embrocations produced by Qoleum. The consistency is somewhat similar to mayo (don't know what it would taste like with frites, though) and it goes on in a sticky fashion. You really have to work it into your skin, but when it's on, it's on. You feel it begin to work almost immediately. When you're not moving around and creating wind chill on the bike, your legs will feel prickly and hot. In other words, you'll know it's working.

The Mad Alchemy medium on the other hand is a easily spread ointment of sorts quite similar to the consistency of butter. Goes on smooth and works into the skin nicely. The added benefit of the Mad Alchemy is the fact that it has a reddish copper coloring to it (all natural by the way) and it gives a nice PRO sheen to your legs. As was reported on Belgium Knee Warmers the natural color of this stuff "would convert George Hamilton to cycling." They are right, this stuff is PRO all the way!

I guess it worked for me, I had my best finish of the year, a 17th place, and my legs were perfectly warm and rockin' throughout the race. Heck, even after my shower this stuff was still keeping my legs warm throughout the evening.

Another Year in the Books

Turned 44 yesterday. Spent the entire day with my wife and kids at the Mizzou game. Eventhough it was the coldest day of the fall season, it was great being together and having no pressing bike race, soccer game, or school-driven commitments. Forty-four is also an odd birthday. From a racing perspective I'm not on the cusp of being able to race 45+, which is good. But otherwise, no real feelings or frames of reference.

Although I did get one frame of reference today (and unfortunately it's one that is too often getting repeated). The checker at Schnuck's was prompted for my birthday when he rang up my beer purchase. I responded that it was actually today. He smiled and too cheerfully said, "yeah, I just turned 19 this week!" I smiled, shook my head and replied, "well, I could be your father!" This is getting more and more prevolent for me. Just at work the other day, I was talking with some younger associates about college and when I started. That prompted one young lady to respond, "wow, I was only 1 then."

All I can say is that I'm in better shape (and weigh less) than I was when I graduated college. How many of them can say that? Although it's just another year in the books, it's been another great year and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Flying Blind

Yesterday morning, a handful of us played hooky or took the day off and rolled out of Greensfelder at 7:30am. If you recall yesterday morning, the temps were in the low 40's and the wind was brisk. Fearing not the troops (Pierce, Grothoff, Melies, Struckman, Peiffer, and I) staged at the Muckerman Shelter for a few hours of singletrack bliss. I took the lead and led the gang on the race loop. Little did we know the leaves were completely covering the trails making our navigation something more akin to heading off for a ride through the woods. Funny how the absence of a sight line really throws off your desire to bomb an otherwise fast trail. Furthermore, when the singletrack would appear the leaves made for minimal tread bite and therefore, sketchy lines.

Most of the ride was without injury or mishap, although Matt G did take an ejection seat ride at the expense of a leaf covered rock outcropping. No harm, though. JP fell at the hands of a root that was hiding rather sinisterly in the corner just below the shelter. He was riding at a good clip directly in front of me when his pedal caught and he shot skyward. Unfortunately, so did his bike and let's just say his saddle found it's home in a rather forceful manner. Again, he was fine, but the nose of the saddle looked a little down.

Most of us ran our s/s bikes and JP was a good sport to stick to similar gearing for most of the ride. Climbing was a little tougher due to leaf-induced lack of traction, but who's complaining when you're not working.

Great Deal My Butt!

October 10th of last year our old dishwasher shot craps. I trudged out to Lowes in search of a replacement. Much to my delight they had a KitchenAid unit that originally sold for $1200 on closeout for $739. This was a beautiful stainless steel unit that had every bell and whistle and the only reason it was deeply discounted was because it was a display model and the store was in the process of updating the old models with the new one. Everything was included (manuals, hook-ups, etc) and it carried a full warranty.

The unit sucked. It never cleaned well and my wife complained the entire time we owned it. To top it all off, I just discovered it's been leaking from under the motor for most likely the last week or so. I pulled the unit out tonight and it's sitting in the garage awaiting the trash pick-up. The 1 year parts and labor warranty ran out 20 days ago and now we're left with the parts are covered but not the labor. I don't have the time or inclination to put up with the pains of calling, scheduling service, and dealing with what's going to go wrong next with this lemon. I'm chalking it up to I should have known better. Tomorrow, I'll pick up a new unit and then I'll be installing it or I'll be doing the dishes like I did tonight. Trust me, if it's too good to be true...it is.

Faust Park quick update

Felt better on the bike at Bubba 3, albeit that doesn't mean there wasn't any suffering. Towards the end of the race, my lower back was hurting but I have to say my legs actually felt good. I had some power and I think the worm is starting to turn. I'm going to keep hammering this upcoming week and building more strength. I'm also going to tweak my bike set-up a little more. Based on my cursory glance at the results, looks like I finished around 33 out of 51, so I'm moving up (or should I say I'm moving farther away from the back of the pack.)

More later and hopefully some good pics. I had a friend out there watching and he was snapping a lot of pics, so I'll post them up later along with a preview of the new cross ride.

Just Keep on Building

Friday afternoon I decided to again hit the 'wood before the Halloween frenzy began. It was an awesome day weather wise and I worked my butt off in hopes that I would be able to steal some time to get in another ride before dark. Luck was on my side and I was able to get out around 2:00pm. I arrived at the park and was ready to roll by 2:30. The only bad thing was that I didn't have any short sleeve jerseys in the car, so I rolled the l/s team jersey. Not too warm, but definitely not my first choice for the indian summer day.

I warmed up with 2 laps on the dirt crit loop and then headed for Justin's trail. My new goal (and no this wasn't a result of my exploding rear derailleur) is to climb as much as I can in nothing lower than the middle ring. I've never really been a fan of the granny gear, as it just seems as though you can climb anything as long as you're willing to plod along at a snail's pace. My bike choice of the day was my fully rigid Mamasita that currently tips the scales at 22.5 pounds. This bike was originally built up as such for the dirt crits, but I've got to tell you, this has become my go to bike. It climbs like a mountain goat on EPO and descends fairly well thanks to the carbon Origin 8 Black Ops fork.

From Justin's trail, I crossed over to the Rollercoast and enjoyed one of the sweetest trails in the area. To me that trail is just fun. Keep your head up and your eyes down the trail and you can really rail. I'm really not the best at carving a trail with pace and little braking. For me, the ultimate test for that sort of riding are the trails at SIUE. However, the Rollercoaster is the next best one to practice on if you want to learn to stay off the brakes and pin it.

I hooked up with Cody for the bike shop and we tackled the back part of the park. The washout (scene of the drivetrain mishap) is really getting bad. You can ride the entire section when coming from the back to the front, but on the way out you'd need some trials skills to clear the steep, uphill step over the tree root. Cody and I took turns of leading and carving the trail. On one particular section I refer to as "Misery" you're forced to make a choice to dive between two trees just barely wider than your handlebars or take the sissy route and shortcut the corner. I was leading and came into the corner really hot and had to dive to the outside of the corner and Cody took the opportunity to put a wheel underneath me and take the lead. We weren't racing per se, but certainly had fun riding at tempo and testing each other's handling limits. All in all a great 90 minute workout and that marks the longest training week I've had in the last several months. I was able to get on the bike 5 times in the past week and that certainly should start to help me a little in the cross races.

$200 mistake

Hit the 'wood yesterday with Pfood and Thrasher yesterday for some miles before dark. After attacking the upper trails of the park we rolled the River Scene trail enroute to the back side of the park. I decided to lead the gang and was mashing the big ring trying to put a little pain into Ralph. I don't know that I did as he was right on my wheel at the end. I backed off before popping into the field but forget to shift out of my big ring. As we rolled back towards the 'illegal' washout area, I went to upshift into the 34T in the back when I started hearing banging and grinding coming from the drivetrain. Thrasher was dodging carbon and metal behind me as my rear derailleur ripped itself to shreds as the chain stretched between the big chainring and the largest cog.

What resulted was a derailleur with no cage left and a bent derailleur hanger. I nursed the bike back to the truck, called the shop, and had them hang around so I could drop another $200 on a new SRAM X.0. I saved the old derailleur and I think I'll make a necklace out of it to remind me what a dumba$$ I am.

New Kicks

I picked up a new pair of mountain bike/cross shoes last week. Richard and Christopher down at Mesa helped me wisely spend my money on the new Shimano SH-M300's.

Truth be told I had heard of the shoes, but was really heading down there to pick up some Specialized shoes. Yes, the Shimanos are pricey (not much more than a pair of Sidi's) but their benefit is the individual customization which comes as a part of a heat-induced, vaccuum molding process.


I've been running my shoes with custom insoles and I have to say the new Shimanos blow them all away. The shoes actually feel comfortable. No hot spots, no tightness in the wrong areas. You slide your foot in, tightening the straps, adjust the buckles click in and ride. No second thoughts of your feet. Very nice all around. The only negative I can recall with this shoe is the actual vaccuum process. It becomes a little uncomfortable due to the force of the vaccuum, however that feeling is temporary and the fit is permanent.

Is Anybody Home???

(Thanks to Mike D. for the pictures)

Mike Weiss and the crafty cx boyz set-up a mad course this past weekend. Of particular interest was the "spiral of fear and death".



Okay, no one died, but it was damn confusing at the start. I was spinning around in a hallucinogenic fashion due to the colors of the jerseys, helmets, and bikes. At one point I thought I was riding around in a kaleidoscope. Definitely interesting.

The course was set-up a power course which generally should bode well for me. It didn't. I think the only time I was in contact with other riders and moving up was near the start of the race. Quickly after this picture was taken I began getting caught and moving backwards.


I'm a little confused by all of it too. I feel good on the bike, but I really feel as though I have no power when I need it. I've been changing my diet around lately and trimming back on the carbs. Now I'm starting to wonder if that isn't hurting me a little. It's certainly a possibility. I'm sure missing almost two weeks on the bike in the last month hasn't helped either. Back to the race, there's not much to report other than Bill Howells and John Reimbold put me in arrears fairly easily during the race and they are two guys I look forward to being able to race with. I should say they are riding really well and I don't have anything on them right now.

Next week, due to a scheduling issue I will be running the C race. Yes, down a class and my goal there is to not get passed by as many guys. Let's face it, the fields are getting strong and the race paces are fast. That's all good for the local scene, but leaves you feeling like the lights are on but nobody's home when your legs can't respond.

Weekend Update

(Thanks Mike D. for the photos)



I hadn't been on the bike since the Dirt Crits on 10/5 and thought it was high time to break free and double up on the weekend. Work has been nuts lately and I've been regularly putting in 12-15 hour days so suffice it to say I would be in "less-than-perfect" racing form. Saturday our team hosted the area's mtb race finale at Spanish Lake and Sunday was the official opening to the Bubba Cross series. I planned on racing both. The heck with official training plans, let the games begin.

The first game I had planned was to start at the back of the Sport class in the mtb race and then see how many rider I could pick off. We started with 21 or 22 and I proceeded to reel in over 1/2 the field before having an epic wipeout in the slick, long grass. I was running a Kenda Small Block 8 in the back and when I grabbed a little rear brake to set-up the 90 degree right-hander, all hell broke loose and the next thing I know I'm flying through the air and then slamming my head into the ground. In flight I must have punctured the side of my knee cap and it was swelling and bleeding for the rest of the race. I then bridged back up to 8th place or so and ran in a train with several other racers (one of them Sam Yount of Ghisallo) who were running very well. Just as I was setting up Sam for what I hoped was the last time, I sucked my chain and away the 4 of them went. I charged as hard as I could on the final lap to catch them. I did catch onto the back of them at the top of the final gravel climb, but it was too late. They had started their initial decent and it was directly into where I had crashed earlier. No need to tempt fate twice, so I let it be and settled for 12th. All credit to Sam and the others. They rode strong and kept me pressured the entire time.



Sunday, Bubba Cross #1 was laid out at JB Park and the course was painful. 3 decent climbs in the day and it proved to be too much for me and the single 42T chainring to handle. I didn't start fast (knowing this was a day to suffer, not race in the front) and tried to pass some riders. Out of the 35-40 that started the race, I think I made it as high as 22 or so before giving a lot of it back late in the race. I really had hoped to avoid getting passed, but that wasn't happening either. I got passed with 2 to go by the race winner, and then passed by the chasers 1 lap later. Right about the time Drew Black and the others came through, my shoe decided to let loose and I was trying to stay out of their way, cross the barriers, and keep my shoe from flying off. I kept the 'wheels' on and made it back to the start finish. Exhausted, I called it an officially hard weekend.



I'm glad I didn't wuss out and not race because of my work-induced layoff. Won't get back into form watching races, so the time was right. Thanks to my wife and son for coming out to watch me race! Sorry I stunk, but thanks for helping me turn the pedals over. Great cowbell ringing!!!

My knee is quite sore, as is my neck, but they're better when iced down and I'm getting ready for week #2 and Spanish Lake. Perhaps a little relegation to the C race until my fitness resumes. Look out LC and gang, I may be paying you a visit!

Not for Long

In this Oct. 13, 2008, photo released by Denny's Beer Barrel Pub, Brad Sciullo of Uniontown, Pa., is seen before attempting to eat a 15-pound cheeseburger with five-pounds of toppings including bun, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onions, mild banana peppers and a cup each of ketchup, mustard, relish, and mayonnaise.

"The 5-foot-11, 180-pound western Pennsylvania chef..." not for long.

GoPro Hero

I picked up one of these the other day. I plan on filming some of our upcoming Bubba series races and from everything I've read on these, they are easy to use and shoot respectable pictures and footage. Truth is, they are cheap and I'm not making a large investment in something that could easily get broken. I'm going to be doing some 'beta' testing in the upcoming week, so look forward to a little cutting room floor clips.

Someday

Today, was the first day of singletrack for my son, Collin. He's 11 and he's always wanted to test his skills off-road. We loaded up after church and headed over to the 'wood for a little workshop. Now, the bike he's riding is at least 10-15 years old and it's a 14.5" Giant fully rigid mtb. It sports the tiny wheels - 26ers, so his learning will continue the curve until he hits the 29ers. At least that keeps him away from my bikes for a while, too.

I have to say he did a really good job with the trails. Granted, we didn't roll anything beyond the dirt crit loop or the River Scene trails, but he handled the roots, rocks, and sand portions without so much as a little braking. I told him the bike would be much more stable at speed so don't go too slowly if you think the particular section of trail begins to look more technical. He kept his speed up and many times, I'd look back to see him rolling right up to my wheel. I'd hit the gas and put some daylight in between us and he'd roll right back up to me. I rode in front of him to help show the lines and call out what I wanted him to do or think about. He was a good student and had a fun time on the bike. At the end, his hands were getting tired, as the rigid bike was fairly unforgiving.

Our next stop will be to Ballwin Cycles to get a real bike for him to ride. We'll donate the old one to charity and get one that fits him a little better and is updated with some better functioning gear. I look forward to the day when he feels strong enough to actually push me on a ride. I've got a feeling that 'someday' will come sooner than I think.

Dirt Crits & Creek Crossings

(Thanks to Mike D. and Pfoodman for the photos)


As you can see from the photos, this weekend gassed me. First the B race and some serious racing for sure and then the PF race, which is when this pic was taken. I had just come off one of the first laps having really put the hammer down. As you can see, neither me or Jeremiah were looking ready to hit it again. The PF race was like riding hard intervals in front of a crowd. Fun stuff. In the end, I made too many riding mistakes and it cost our team. Most of my mistakes involved the creek crossing. I could never pick the right line and as a result, I often dabbed or in the case of one crossing, crashed on the far bank of the creek. On the time I crashed, I was unlucky enough to snag my necklace around my handlebars and since I had one arm pinned under the bike, it was a little awkward getting up. That crash left me with some nice bruises on my legs. However, on my second to last lap our team was about to get put a lap down by the Ploch-Cash powerhouse. As we took our hand-off's Carrie was about 3 bike lengths behind me. Carrie and I had a good race together in the B race and I was going to give it everything to keep her from passing me. I was mostly successful until we were about to pop in the start/finish area wherein I hit a tree with my right shoulder while flying along pretty well. It certainly got my attention (as well as the attention of the spectators and even Carrie.) Stunned and with my right arm hanging, I made it to my teammate and evaluated another lap. I did finish, but it was only because I had one lap to go. I felt bad for my teammate Rob Oellerman. We certainly could have finished closer to the top, but it was fun racing with him nonetheless.


During the B race, we had a train of 6 in the first chase group which included two of my teammates, Kent Jones & Mark Hasler, racing with Carrie Cash, Todd Holtman, and another rider. We were putting down some serious efforts hoping to catch a glimpse of the lead group of 4, but it never materialized. It was okay for us, as we had a teammate in the lead group, Zak Hafner, but he was up against some serious competition in the form of John Peiffer, Jeff Powell, and Devin Clark. Those guys were thrashing each other with Devin, John, Zak, and Jeff going 1-2-3-4, respectively.



Here I am after my teammates broke free of the train before the creek crossing to get away and I'm waiting to get through traffic and bridge up to Todd Holtman. Carrie Cash is so pro, she offered so much encouragement to people during the race. I really enjoyed the competition with her during the race. (Little did I know one, Casey Ryback was lurking in the pack as well.)




I made the bridge up to Todd, but in the end he had too much for me to deal with and he beat me out. He's a strong dude that will be more competition for the Sport racers next year.

In the end, I finished 8th out of 29 racers and that was a solid effort. Big thanks to my teammates and to Pfoodman for putting the series together! Well done and look forward to next year!!!

Dirt Crit Finale (aka I hate creek crossings)

Very sore shoulder, multiple bruises, big ol' smile knowing our team had 4 guys in the top 10. More to come later.

I'm Yearnin' for Burnin'

Last year was my first year racing and I had no idea what Burnin' was or what I was missing. After living vicariously through others, I made a vow that come hell or high water, Burnin' would be on my calendar as a main event in 2008. It was the first race on the calendar and everything in the fall revolved around the event. That is until my wife's cousin decided to plan her wedding for the same weekend in Omaha. Now, I'm missing the race so she and her sister can fly to Omaha to attend the wedding. You know what, it's cool. Yes, I'll miss the event, race, and party of the year but I'll get to spend a little time with my kids and rest up before Bubba hits full swing the following weekend. It just leaves me with another year of Yearnin' for the Burnin'.