Bubba 3 in motion

Bubba CX #3 Race Report

Bubba CX #3 - With BT Epic on Saturday and the US Grand Prix races in KY Sat and Sun it was no surprise the A race was without some of the usual faces. Overall field size was low but the speed was still there.

Course was super bumpy. When I got there and did a pre-lap I was not sure what to think, but thanks to the other races they smoothed it out a little, it ended up being a fun course. Looking forward to a course here soon that is not dominate by long straight sections, this weekend should be more technical.


All photos by Dennis Fickinger

Got an OK start, within a lap or two a group of 6 of us formed the lead group; Jay, Ron, Chris, Dan, Dave and I. Quickly the lead group got down to Ron, Dan, Jay and I. I was falling of a bit but as I did Josh was making his way up to us and I hitched a ride back into the group.




Then things got crazy, we fly down the hill into a right then quick left turn, as we hit the turn Ron and Dan tangle up and both go down. Dan gets up quick but in doing so hooks up with Josh and goes down again into the weeds. Ron I guess had a mechanical due to the crash and we never saw him again.





Josh, Dan, Jay and I eventually re-group and away we go but only for a moment as Josh attacks; Dan and Jay go with but I was not able to respond and fell off.

No worries, I'll just settle in and see what happens ahead of me thinking one of them may fall off. With 3 to go that happened, Jay fell off and was within striking distance. I spent 2 laps on the limits working to catch. As we crossed the line with 1 to go I had all but closed the gap on his wheel a minute later.




Now it's Jay and I again on the final lap. I sit on his wheel thinking I'll stay here until the hill before the final turn to the finish line and try to take him there. All that worked out except the sprint part up the hill, Jay matched my attack and I could not get by him. Jay held me off to finish 3rd behind Dan who took first, Josh 2nd and I crossed in 4th.

Good hard race, nice job fellas!


Things shook up in the Bubba Cup points with these results. Dan moved way up from 10th to 3rd and I moved up one spot from 5th to 4th. Jay still holds a slim lead on first place over Josh in 2nd.

Next up a double header weekend, Saturday night race and Sunday day race at Creve Coeur Park, home of this race weekend for the past two years.

Friday Photos

Season is changing quick, cool AM temps and leaves falling fast. Photos from this weeks training rides. Looking forward to the time change, I hate waking up and it's still dark out and I like to train in the AM to start my day.

Bubba Cross #2

Photo courtesy of Dennis Fickinger
There is a model airplane filed at this park, look close you can see one in the background

Field of 27 lined up on Sunday for the 2nd of 10 races in the Bubba Cross series. Good start like yesterday and off we went.

Strong fast first two laps with about 10 guys in the lead group flying around this road race like cross course. Soon Josh, Devin, Dan M, Jay, Scott and I started to break away from the group.

Josh hit it hard as we entered the narrow bike bath leading to the hill, I could not match it. Josh, Devin, Jay and Dan made it clear with Scott in chase then I alone in no mans land sitting 6th.

The chase group not far behind was large, about 8 riders including Ron B, Paul Q, Bob A, Dr. Mark..... I crashed before the log allowing them to catch. Got up quick and attached to the back of the group.

We stayed like this for another lap then with 3 to go we enter the narrow bike path hill again. Get to the top in a good spot and begin to descend. I shifted into a lower gear ready to get on it after the sharp right hand turn at the bottom. The chain was not in place right because I shifted and did not pedal to set the chain in the new gear, so when I went to hammer the chain jumped and fell off. This threw me off balance, I was now hauling down the path on the top tube with my legs off the pedals trying to stay upright. I managed to keep it on two wheels, pull over, fix the chain and begin the chase. Now I'm in 19th place.

A bit pissed at this point at the circumstance I put my self into I set my mind for a hard 2.5 laps of chasing.

I soon caught and passed David and Drew, then Dan W, then Dr. Mark. Richard B and Karl S were the last two riders I had any chance of catching. In the last lap I passed Richard B on the back side of the course on the paved section then caught up to Karal as we approached the barrier before the finish. Karal hit the finish line before I did, I crossed the line in 13th place.

Despite the poor result the effort was good, neverl let up and stayed focused on making the best of it. My goal for the season is the Bubba Cup and the Big Shark points.

You never know, I may need those points near the end of the season, you can never give up.



After the weekend I sit 5th in both series competitions and gained 2 more upgrade points. Need 4 more.

Next up Antire Valley Park on Sunday for Bubba #3, weather man said today there might be rain this weekend.

Bubba Cross #1 (Series Kick off Race)

It was dark, hard to see in some spots, gravel turns, narrow lanes, and lots of dust to fill your lungs; but it did not matter in the end, Bubba CX has started and we are off for a 10 race series!

Got on the front row with a good start about 3rd wheel into the first turn. Soon Schottler, Josh and Jay had a gap on the front leaving me, Scott O, Dan Miller, Dr. Mark, Matt(?) from Mesa and two others in a large chase group.

Things changed quickly only two or three laps into a 8 lap race. Jay flatted near the pit, switched bikes and quickly joined the large chase group and Josh did some gymnastics on the back side of the course resulting in a rolled tire and was seen running to the pits. This left Schottler off the front alone with the rest of us chasing.

With 3 to go the chase group was down to Jay, Scott O, Dan M, Dr. Mark, Matt from Mesa and I. We approach the nasty gravel U-turn, Jay and Matt enter first and make it through, Dan slides out causing a full stop traffic jam. I get around but Scott and Dr. Mark do not. I chase back up to Jay and Matt as we get a gap on the rest big enough to last to the end.

With one to go I punch in down the long paved section just after the start line to avoid the crew from behind to catch us, Jay takes over at the barriers then attacks leaving me behind Matt. I get around Matt on the gravel section chasing Jay as he has a few seconds on me. I hold off Matt and get a few seconds back on Jay but not enough as we come to the long power speed section into the finish. We were flying to the finish, I had that bike going as fast as it could. I gained a few seconds on Jay but not enough as he crossed the line in 2nd, me 3rd and Matt 4th. Good job guys! And to Schottler too for his win.

We re-set and do it agian on Sunday.

2010 Missouri Tourism Awards

Last night Dawndi and I headed to the Union Station Marriott in St Louis for the Annual Governor's Conference awards banquet.

Things got started with a nice reception followed by a very nice meal. There were people from all over the state of MO associated with tourism in one way or another including the Director of Tourism Katie Steele Danner . All very nice and dedicated to promoting the state. You could also tell this group of people have worked together for a long time, respect one another for their efforts and enjoy what they are doing.



So we ate, had a good time then it was time for the awards. There were 8 given out that night and each one started with a video.

I had the honor or being the recipient of the Pathfinder Award.

Pathfinder Award: Recognizes marketers aiming for niche markets and hitting the target. These trailblazers are showing the rest of the industry where to find new markets and how to best reach them.
More about all the awards

There was a cool video highlighting the work I've done associated with cycling, the Tour of Hermann, Hermann Cycling and the cross races. Then I had to get up a say a few words. I have no idea what I said as it was a blur but I do know I said thank you and was honored to receive the award.





Don't remember the last time I had to put on a tie :)


This was a very cool night, one that I would never had expected to happen. It's great how Hermann has embraced the cycling movment and allowed it to grow.

PMC Check

WKO+ Performance Management Chart I find to be a very useful tool. It's done a nice job of predicting how I will feel on race. I'm able to manipulate my training schedule to meet the desired level of form, fitness and fatigue. In general it's awesome.

Here is my chart from May 2009 through yesterday. I had a good base build, slowly growing fitness from 34.8 in January this year to a peak of 80.4 in August just before a week long break. You can see the sharp downward slop. That took me to 68, then the Hermann Cross race. It's hard to dial that week in just right as I was not on the bike much but under heavy fatigue and moving around all day for a better part of a week. So I made some estimations.

Now comes the delicate part. Cross races started mid September I've created a plan to be fresh for each weekends race with a mix of endurance, intensity,skills and racing. Result is is lower training hours, fatigue drops and form stays near or above positive (which is what I want and has worked), but fitness is impacted in such a way that it slowly drops. I think I can keep this up for another few weeks but come State Championships in December I may not feel like I do now without building fitness back up a bit.

So now is time for a mini build for about two weeks. After this weekends Bubba Cross double header I'll recover and start this process but still balance this with a need to be fresh for weekend races. This should get me through the rest of the season not running on fumes.

The cool thing about all this is, if it does not work just like I have planned, then I make changes for next year and the chart will allow me to do that.

Bad Math - Upgrade will have to wait

I figured the upgrade requirements wrong, 20 points in a 12 month period or two wins to upgrade form a cat 2 to 1.

Did not realize to get credit for the two wins the the field size has to be 40 or more and in your same cat or above.


From USA Cycling.org
Note that if the field contains mixed categories (i.e. cat 3-4), then the number of starters is the number of riders that are the same category or higher as the person requesting the upgrade (i.e. in a cat 3-4 combined field, all riders count for a 4 to 3 upgrade, but only the threes count for a 3 to 2 upgrade.) The placing is the rider's placing across the line. In a mixed category field, the riders in a higher category are not subtracted out (i.e. in a combined cat 3-4 race, if a category 4 rider is 6th across the line but is the 2nd cat 4, that rider gets 6th place points and not 2nd place points.)

Right now I 14 points in a 12 month period, 6 to go, the mission continues.

Cross Out Cancer Race Report

Last trip out west to KC until state races in December. These races have been a blast over the past few weeks. Awesome competition and well run races, thanks to all the KC promoters for hosting these events.

Today's mission was to focus on the Men 2/3 race and win as I'm looking to earn an upgrade. I need 20 points in a 12 month period and had 13 coming in to the race, but with a win that would get me the automatic 2 wins upgrade.

Course was bumpy, dusty and had what seemed like 12 foot tall barriers, thought I was going to need an elevator to get over them :).

23 Men 2/3 racers lined up behind the Men 123 race.

I was in the front row with a good start about 5th going into the first turn.

Somewhere in lap 2 I took over the lead and held it to the end. Josh Taylor and Mathew Baugher along with Tige Lamb, a Men 123 racer, from Cow Town Racing chased the entire time. I grew the gap but never over more than 30 seconds is my best guess.

You can get some idea of how high the big barriers were.

Short Barrie's, some jumped them, some ran them as I did. I find that running them is faster. You can keep your speed, less risk of error and damage to the rear tire. I do like these new short barrier obstacles we now get to add to cross races.

Mission accomplished, earned the upgrade I wanted. The upgrade is important as my goals to race Masters Worlds come 2012 and 2013 this may be important to have. But that's a long way out....

Results:

Photos courtesy of

So where are thing now that the first round of CX is over. Round 1 were KC races to start the season, round 2 Bubba Cross then round 3 State races in KC, Washington Cross, CXMAS and any other CX races that may pop up after Christmas to end the season.

Next up, the much anticipated Bubba Cross Series start Saturday night for a weekend of racing!

Friday Skills

As you can see the park looks normal again. The wet grass this AM made for slick corners and a pain to clean off the grass clippings all over the bike when I got home.

Time will change soon so I've shifted to early AM training sessions, yikes it's been cold this week.

Training Images

I typically train on the Katy trail. I like it there, no traffic other than the squires, rabbits and spider webs. I can crank the I-pod and never have to worry about watching for anyone or anything.

Training with watts it does not really matter if there are no hills, watts are watts. And I'm there for a specific purpose that only lasts a short time. For those 3 to 5 hour rides, forget it, I hit the gravel roads for that.

Each day I normally send Dawndi a photo from my ride. Here are some from the past few weeks.

Sunday is Cross Out Cancer CX is KC just a few miles from my Mom's house. See you there!

Boss Cross #2 (end to a great weekend)

Another fast and furious course in the opposite direction today.


Good field again showed up with many of the same players from the day before. Did not get that great of a start as I was 15th or worse coming into the first turn. I need to get a little more aggressive so I can get closer to the first or second group into the first lap. I'm trying to balance not going off too hard so I have plenty in the tank for the 2nd half of the race vs all out on the first lap then fade. As it turns out right now I'm too far back and get caught up in traffic as the leaders motor away. I'll fine tune my start strategy before the Bubba Cross series starts in two weeks.






I worked my way up to a group that had Ethan in it. I thought I could take Ethan as I crossed the line in front of him yesterday and at Manions last week. After the beach I was on his wheel then passed. He soon passed me back before the sand, I bobbled, he got a gap then I began chasing him the rest of the day.







Travis from Ethos joined me a lap or two later and we did what we could to work together in an attempt to bring back Ethan. Ethan had good legs we never did close the gap on him.






In the mean time #33 was chasing Travis and I slowing bridging the gap. With two to go he caught us then took over at the front. At the sand Travis bobbled, #33 and I cleared it, gapped Travis and it was just us now going into the last lap.

Half way into the last lap #34 was just seconds ahead of us loosing ground as we pushed our way around the final lap. Into the sand we go, #33 bobbles a bit, I pass him sprint hard trying to get a gap to last to the finish just a few turns away.

I was first to the barriers about 200 yards from the finish, did not get clipped in right away, #33 is on my tail, he clips in smooth then starts to sprint before I do to take 9th. #34 was almost caught in the fire works but held on for 8th, I took home 10th.

This guy held on for 7th - Nice job!

Boss Cross #1 Photos
Boss Cross #2 Photos

Good solid weekend of racing.

Next up, Cross Out Cancer in KC Sunday.

Boss Cross #1

28 Elite riders lined up for a windy, cool fast day at Boss Cross #1.

I was about 10th wheel after clearing the botched up off camber first turn thing where several riders had to unclip before we could clear out the bottle neck, including me.

Game plan for today was not to go HARD at the start, but to start strong then ramp my way up.

Winkler, Jensen, Schottler, Price, Coe, Stolte, Marshall, Tilford and some others formed the lead group. I found my self in about 10th place after the first lap. Josh, working his way up, passed me, I attached to his wheel for a ride into the groups that were not that far ahead but washed out in a corner and lost it. Dang it, I think I could have held there for awhile too.

The wash out allowed Dan Miller to close a gap I had on him, we are now a two man group. But soon after he washed out and I got the gap back.

I now sit in alone between Bill Marshall ahead about 10-15 seconds and Dan Miller, Ethan Froese and Nicholas Coil a chase group behind me about 15-20 seconds. At one point Andrew Coe, who must have had a mechanical, was part of the chase group, and they looked like they were going to close it up with 3 to go. Andrew came by, I grabbed his wheel and off we went. He was moving fast, the surge opened things from behind again and we started to close the gap on Bill.

Not being able to match the speed of Andrew he motored his way up the field and I was back to chasing Bill and keeping the chase group behind.

I started to close the gap on Bill on the last lap, he unfortunately washed out allowing me to catch and pass. I kept on the gas for the rest of the last lap to the finish 8th.

Awesome race from start to finish.

It can't go without mention the effort Winkler displayed today. He had a mechanical issue early on putting him back about a min from the lead group. Jeff got it fixed and worked his way up to eventually win. When he came by me I tried to match his speed but that guy was pushing a gear I could not match. Awesome job Jeff.

Sunday we do it again.



End of the race.


Results
1 WINKLER Jeff Blue Springs MO Unattached
2 JENSEN Brian Lawrence KS Unattached
3 JOHNSON Joshua Columbia MO Michelob Ultra - Big Shark Rac
4 Jonathan Columbia MO Columbia Bike Club Race Team
5 PRICE Thomas Overland Park KS KCCX
6 Andrew Mission KS SKC Racing
7 STOLTE William Topeka KS TradeWind Energy / Trek Stores
8 YIELDING Jeff Hermann MO Revolution Cycles
9 MILLER Daniel Columbia MO Columbia Bike Club Race Team
10 MARSHALL Bill
11 COIL Nicholas Prairie Village KS TradeWind Energy / Trek Stores
12 FROESE Ethan Columbia MO Columbia Bike Club Race Team
13 LININGER Luke Greenwood MO Bicycle Shack Racing
14 OGILVIE Scott St. Louis MO Dogfish Racing Team
15 BAUGHER Matthew St. Joseph MO Epic Cycling Team
16 TAYLOR Josh Olathe KS Slimenundgrossen
17 REMPEL Justin Tulsa OK 918xc
18 ELLIS Chris
19 WOERMANN Kent Lees Summit MO Bicycle Shack Racing
20 KUSIAK Britton Kansas City KS Team Colavita/ Parisi Coffee
21 OLDEHOEFT Dan Kansas City MO Team Colavita/ Parisi Coffee
22 BOWES Justin Overland Park KS SKC Racing
23 SCHULTZ Robert Overland Park KS LIVESTRONG Army KC / Midwest C
24 OZENBERGER Jason Ashland MO Columbia Bike Club Race Team
25 PLUMER Douglas Lenexa KS SRAM FELT
26 CZARNOMSKI Mariusz Grand Forks ND University of North Dakota Cyc
27 BEATTIE Christian Desoto KS Unattached
999TILFORD Stephen Topeka KS Tradewind Energy/Trek