New Season, New Gear

It's another new season, and some more new gear!

I'm looking forward to yet again be riding with a great crew of guys, The Bike Hub/Specialized Cycling Team!


Above items:
S-Works Prevail Helmet
S-Works MTB Shoes
S-Works MTB Carbon Seatpost
S-Works Fast Trak(recently redesigned with FEA)


The new race bike for this upcoming season!
2012 Specialized Epic Expert 29"




With the warm, dry March we've had so far, I'm hoping to get out onto some singletrack thing weekend, and get this new rocketship dialed in! I remember how much I loved the 2010 Epic 26" I had, but wanted the larger 29" wheel, so this thing should be even better! And it's lighter!

Special thanks to Tom at The Bike Hub for getting me all set up! I sure spent a ton of time on the SPECIAL ORDER section, trying to find "go fast parts" for my new rig!

USA Cycling Coach

Finally, I get the great news that everything went thru with my USA Cycling Coaching certification!

I've been contemplating getting certified for a few years now, and decided to stop procrastinating, and put in the work to get-er-dun!

So, as of today I'm a Level 3 Certified USA Cycling Coach!

Sweet!

SBC Classic

Today was day two of awesome racing on two wheels. Back to good old, SheVegas for some Fall fun. SBC Classic. Good thing the rain held off.

This marked Jenni's first cyclocross race, so I was hoping for the best. It was also a good showing from the GB crowd, seeing this is the closest race of the season.

We arrived plenty early to be sure to get in a lap prior to the Junior's race. I rode the first half of the course, getting to the slickrock near the quarry. I slammed my rear (tubular) tire/wheel on a jagged rock/ledge and immediately heard the dreading "hiss" of the flat tire! Boo....mechanical on a pre-ride!? Walked back to the car, and tried to figure out what to do, as I packed light, and didn't bring a spare rear wheel.

Off to the SRAM Neutral Support Tent for some help, hopefully. Sure enough, "Yeah, just bring over your wheel, and you can borrow one of these for the race." In a matter of minutes I had a sweet new deep dish carbon clincher on my bike! :) Nice bling...




The race went well. Got a good start on the holeshot, and pretty much stayed there all day. It was quite the effort to not get caught from behind on the uber-bumpy course, with some fun twisting sections. I seemed to lose time on most of the slow speed corners, but would regain the gap on the straights? I guess Jesse Sharp was right, when he said "it'll be a big guy who wins the race." The Specialized Crux work flawlessly again(as did the borrowed ZIPP wheel), without any crashes. (I did have a course wrong-turn into the pits however, and at no point was I able to pedal up the entire Equalizer.)

(well-equipped for spectating, and awards)

All smiles on the podium. Photo courtesy of future Mrs. Shoemaker.

Stickers for awards!? Hmm...I like it!

Another great weekend in the books! Thanks to Jenni for cheering me along, and handing out kisses during the race, and to The Bike Hub/Specialized Cycling Team for racing well into the off-season!

Next week is Estabrook Park Cross in Milwaukee on Saturday. Hopefully I can get some tubulars mounted by then!?

And for all the haters out there....

"Your upgrade request has been submitted and is awaiting approval of this request by USA Cycling."

MTB -> CX

Tis another season of transitioning. Last weekend was the final WORS race of the season at Sheboygan.


The week leading into SheVegas, I ran over to The Bike Hub to disassemble/ship my S-works race bike(above) that I sold. So, that meant I had (3) options for the race:
1. Race my Singlespeed
2. Race my new Specialized Crux (like Wally Kunstman in the Sport race)
3. Don't race, and just play the role of team cheerleader/hydration technician.

I chose option #1, and enjoyed a nice MTB ride that day. Not much of a race for me. Five laps on the SS really took it's toll.

Another great venue to finish out the WORS season 2011. Thanks again to The Bike Hub/Specialized Cycling Team for the support this season!

Now comes CYCLOCROSS SEASON!!!

This Tuesday I made the phone call to Tommy at The Bike Hub, asking about a new tubular wheel/tire setup for my cyclocross bike. Apparently it's what all the top guys use? Anyway, he managed to have them there, with tires glued(and dry) by the end of the week in time for racing on Saturday! Thanks again Tom for the speedy service!!!(Porkchop owed me a beer, because he said it couldn't happen in time for the race!)




Saturday morning was Badger Prairie CX race in Verona, WI, just outside Madison. This is the same venue that is hosting Cyclocross Nationals in January, but this weekend was a different course.



Another day of toeing the line of the Cat 4 race to gain some experience. I had a good warmup on the trainer, and felt pretty good going into the start. Another front row spot is always critical, as it's hard to chase from the rear of the pack. After the start, I sat up and looked around as I didn't want to be first down the pavement into a 20+mph headwind. So, Quentin saw me looking around cluelessly and decided to hammer his heart out. Everyone else chased, and he strung out the field. I was 6th wheel, as everyone just sat in behind Q, not wanting to work.

The rest of the race was rather uneventful for me. Like last weekend's race, where I learned tire pressure is very important(when I was crashing), I learned the same thing this weekend. Except this weekend I had tubulars. And the rear tire must have had too LOW of pressure, and I kept "rolling" the tire in the corners. Needless to say, I LOST positions in the slow cornering, and GAINED positions during the straight-lines/climbs. Like Tim Wilcox says, a cyclocross bike is NOT a mountain bike. I ended up finishing in 7th place overall. Another fun day of cross racing with a good group of guys(and gals).

Side note: The new tubular wheels/tires are pretty sweet. It's a huge difference as far as ride quality goes. Very smooth and supple! I can see the benefits over a standard clincher wheel/tire.

The name of the race was "Furthercross", as in Furthermore Beer. Gotta love a race that has FREE BEER post-race! The "Fallen Apple" brew was awesome....good thing Quentin drove me down there.(Don't Drink & Drive!)

I managed to meet up with Andy Tegge on Sunday morning for a CX ride at the Reforestation Camp for a couple hours of riding. I realized my tubular tire pressure was pretty damn low, and my pump is reading ~4psi high, compare to Andy's digital tire pressure gauge. (When I got home I found THIS on The Bike Hub website, so I'll have to order one ASAP!). Tires felt much better with a higher pressure.

I made it home in time to watch the Packers own the Rams. I made some Chili, and am watching the Brewers playoff game. Fingers Crossed!

Next weekend is crazy busy!!
Saturday: CX race #1 in Milwaukee (then head home immediately after the Cat 4 race. carpool anyone?), then I need to make a showing at my fiance's bridal shower in GB(Thankfully, she's super-understanding about my newfound cyclocross addiction!), then drive to Stevens Point for the WORS banquet. Hopefully I can crash at MDC's house!?
Sunday: Drive from Stevens Point to Sun Prairie for CX race #2 on the weekend. Then drive back home to GB.

Hopefully, if racing goes well, I can get my upgrade to CX Cat 3!?

Geesh...lotta miles next weekend.

....Keep on, keepin' on...

Bear Paw & Oct 1/2

...rain, rain go away...

Rough day today at Bear Paw. Quite the mudbath of a race. I decided it was in my(and my mountain bike's) best interest to pull the plug after one lap. I was one of the 15 racers that DNF'd. There were only 24 finishers in the Pro/Cat 1 field! Props to those that endured for the whole thing!

I'm glad I don't have to hose off all of my clothing before putting it in the washer/dryer on a daily basis. Hosing the mtb shoes off post-race is not the best feeling either.

This isn't my bike, but most bikes looked very similar. Mud. Everywhere.

Anyway, I did have a great time enjoying watching everyone else race, and taking some photo's and video.


Moving on.....Next weekend.....what's everyone doing??

Who's racing the WEMS race at Levis Trow?

Who's racing Cyclocross in MKE or Kewaskum?

I'm contemplating with the idea of doing some course recon in Sheboygan on Sunday morning, then driving over to Kewaskum to heckle some racers with a cowbell!? Anyone else up for it??

Anyone want to carpool from the GB area, let me know!!

IMBA & Bear Paw

Here's the singletrack that was built at Bear Paw, when IMBA came for the trail building school. It's always a great feeling to enjoy the fruits of your labor. The section took 3+hours of ~20 ppl to fine tune. That's a lot of man hours, for a section that takes 60 seconds to ride!

CheqFat

Hayward, WI is gorgeous this time of year. I really look forward to a long weekend in the Northwoods in Wisco with some great friends, and some good racing.

This year was no different! Good roster to stay in the sweet cabin for the 2nd year in a row again. Well worth the long drive!

Friday's drive up went pretty fast, as I was in good company with Jvog and Sikora. Made time fly.

Everyone else arrived shortly after us, and then it was off for an 'easy' 1hr pre-ride. We rode the course backwards from the finish for 30minutes then turned around. I was surprised to see we rode just under 1,000ft elevation gain.

Rad baked ziti feed when we got back to the cabin, and starving! Thanks Swede & Kim(bo Slice).

Early morning staging sucks. 4:20am wake up calls, to drive your bike to the start line, in cold temps is getting old. We managed to stage about 7-8 rows back. Not too bad. Tired.

Back to the cabin to sleep for a couple hours, then wake again for pre-race breakfasts. Rolled out to the start at about 8am. I was able to bring my CX Bike and trainer for a decent warm-up next to the car.

10am rollout behind the quad. Hammer/draft/hammer/draft. Made it up to the main 'peleton' on the road, and noticed a small group WAY up the road. I assume it was CVV and some other roadies?? Shortly after we hit the off-road goodness, I was in close quarters to Brett and Jvog, most likely just outside the top 100.

It's always surprising the amount of flats/crashes/mechanicals in the first section of 'Rosies Field'.

The first 20 miles or so were pretty good. Raced pretty hard.

Then came the CRAMPS. damn.

I managed to push through it for another 5miles making sure to keep up with/trying to drop Jvog. Then I popped. I sat up on a long gravel grinder in order to try to spin out the legs. That would be the last time I'd see Jeremy until post-race. I hope his Blizzard tasted good!

The last 15miles were a tempo ride to the finish. The bike was fast. I was not. Blah...

I rolled in 247th overall, out of the 1900 participants. Not quite the race results I was hoping for, but glad to finish in one piece.

I was glad to be done to congratulate the guys who came in before me, and welcome in those racers behind me. What a great venue, and great weather for a long race! Hopefully Lifetime Fitness keeps it going with the same vibe next year!?

Saturday night post-race is always a great time. The traditional Famous Dave's recovery BBQ was in order! And boy was it gooooood.

Campfire till 11:30pm or so reminiscing about the day's events, and then it was off to bed, and another year in the books.

I wonder what 2012 Chequamegon 40 will be like?



Sorry about the lack of photos on this one.

Here's a more exciting RACE REPORT from the CheqKing, Brian Matter.

RACE REPORT from The Bike Hub/Specialized Cycling Team.