charmcityvelo.com Blog

still getting my energy back after the weekend, but here’s a pic and the full results from this weekend’s race

Click MORE for overall results and results by race.
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So I haven’t updated this thing in a while, but I will try to start back up:

Oh, if you haven’t been turned on to google reader yet, it’s a really good way to keep up with your daily web stuff and it’s particularly good for reading things that don’t get updated regularly.  It’s worth a try, and maybe you’ll even put this on there.

So here is a  recap of what’s been going on the bike front:

• CCVCX Summer fun series never happpened.
• I have been racing ‘cross, I made it out to a bunch of races this year
• charm city, where I did OK.
• 
• cross vegas where I got crushed, but it was really cool just to get to race it.
• ed sanders which was muddy
• 
• kelley acres which was a very interesting course
• granogue which is still a favorite
• wissahickon which was way better than i expected
• dccx which is now the best event of the mabra series
• rockburn which was my worst race so far and extremely hard but fun.  I crashed before a sand pit and ran through it with my bike shouldered backwards.
• coming up are tacchino, taneytown, and capital cross.  training has been thin so poor results are expected, but I’m sure I’ll enjoy myself anyway.
• there have been a few updates on my team’s blog so you can check their for more details.  It’s really grown, there are between 10-15 members now depending on how you count.
• I am in the process of getting all the paperwork submitted for a real-deal legit post-season cyclocross race in College Park on Feb 1st sponsored by Proteus Bicycles.  It’s going to run backwards with the Men’s Open going first.  The last race of the day is the real selling point.  A Single Speed Only ‘cross Race.  Tom Palermo is donating a fork to the winner!  So keep that date clear!
• The BMORE CX Stage Race WILL happen again in 2009.  The date is up in the air because I want to make sure that I don’t conflict with another underground event.
• If you are planning on buying a bike in the next week or so, you might want to wait because the shop where I work has a huge sale coming up and there will be some ridiculous deals.

Here is an update of things on the music front:

• the comp.  yes, it’s taken me forever.  I’m about to get it mastered and it should be coming out.  HELL is actually on Hiatus until January 09.  I want to make sure that it comes back from Hiatus because if it doesn’t, that might change some decisions I make in terms of how many to press etc.
• I’m in 2 bands now.  one is playing a show this friday @ in baltimore.  the other is playing at the black cat on the 25th.  The 21st is a rockin’ show.  the 25th is a screamin’ show.
• Brace Face Mini PunX release.  Apparently the band has restructured.  So maybe it will get recorded, maybe it won’t.
• 
• Some bands that I have been really into lately:  Pedals on our Pirate ships from Richmond, Cringe from Baltimore, The new Dillinger Four.  your friend google will take you to their webpages I’m sure.

so cross season is coming, but not soon enough.  I had the idea of doing a summer cross series.  I would like to do 4 races, but my summer calendar is almost packed to the gills already so I had to compromise a little.  If you have done cross before, it will be like that, but MUCH less organized.  If you have not raced cross before, it will be like riding your road bike, but less comfortable and more fun or riding your mountain bike but less technical and more fun.
Here’s the basic details:

1. Wed July 30.  Riverdale MD.  early evening.  this is very close to my birthday.  Feel free to chip in and buy me a Surly Karate Monkey or a Kona Kapu because everyone knows that I don’t have enough bicycles.
2. Sunday Aug 10.  Columbia MD.  EARLY morning.  later that evening, or perhaps as a matinee show, I haven’t decided, there is a rock and roll show for a band called Pedals on Our Pirate Ships in Baltimore.  One of my bands will probably be playing as well.
3. Sunday Aug 17 ccvcx finals in Baltimore MD.  This will be another “stage race” event.  There will be 3 stages.  Each stage will have a recommended rehydration point.

A few more details.

• ride whatever bike you want.  cross bike is ideal.  road bike with knobbies or rigid mountain bike after that.  suspended mtb or regular road bike will still work .  and as always single speed is strongly encouraged.
• this is NOT a very serious event.
• Don’t want to race?  Come Spectate, take pictures, bring a cowbell, rehydrate with us.
• to “register” you have to e-mail me directly at jim(AT)charmcityvelo.com  you will receive all other important details that way.  I would like to keep a running tab of who’s coming so I have a general idea.  Even if you have my normal e-mail address that I check more often, e-mail me at that one so I can keep everything in one place.
• flyer will follow.
• at this point, this is VERY tentative.

• 5 of us left baltimore at 8:15 AM. There were many no-shows. they got caught be fear, reason, or the aftermath of the previous evening. 1 fixed gear, 4 road bikes.
• met up with 2 members of the SSOFT in Elkridge. 2 more fixed gears.
• met up with a random guy rolling on a really nice seven road bike in Laurel. He asked where we were riding to, and decided to join in.
• took this picture @ a 7-11.
• 
• In College Park, we lost our first rider (pre-planned). Jen parted ways and hopped in my pre-stationed getaway car and drove back to Baltimore.
• in DC we about doubled in size. all but one on fixed gears (2 more SSOFT members, they rep hard).  I suspect that Steve will probably write something up about it.
• DC riders were fresh and ready to go, some baltimore riders (especially me) had a little less vigor and vim.
• lost our second rider to some non drive side crank problems in beltsville.
• made it back to Baltimore later than expected. Some riders, and by “some riders” I actually mean just me, were totally fried and rolled in the last 20 miles at a snail’s pace.
• Brewer’s Art French Fried made everything better.
• DC folks hit the road at 7 PM hopefully not too much darkness on their way home.

Here’s the link.

http://charmcityvelo.com/monumentcuesheet 

1st time in a 24 hour race. Anyone who has ridden with me knows that I am a mediocre mountain biker on my best day. The following thoughts occurred to me as I completed my first foray into 24 hour racing:if you don’t feel like reading, here’s a video of the lemans style start from my helmet cam. I wanted to record my first lap, but I forgot to delete old footage so I ran out of memory pretty quick.Friday evening:

• Well Joe and Julie of Single Speed Outlaw say that it’s not so bad. Julie warned me about a tricky descent and how I need to just let go of the brakes and trust it. I met internet celebrity Joel Gwadz, and he said that it’s an easier course to race than to ride because you want to keep your momentum up on it. I guess that makes sense.
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things are coming together nicely.  I’m getting a lot of “probably” responses and a lot of “I’m totally doing this” responses.  Hopefully, those will turn out to be true.  But honestly, everyone will probably have a good time regardless.

If you’re interested in coming out for this, please drop me a line at jim (at) charmcityvelo.com .  it will give me a general idea of how many cue sheets to print out.

If you would like to help, the best thing you can do is tell people about it.  print out a flyer, hang it in a bike shop, stick it in the spokes of a parked bike, etc.  I’m pretty swamped with work, but that should die down soon and I will be able to put some more time into getting the word out.

Here’s the tentative route from Baltimore.  If you’re going to do the ride, please take a second to check it out, maybe trace it with a google map.  I’m sure people will be more than happy to help if anyone has a mechanical or gets lost, but since this is an unsupported ride, it’s totally worth it to review the route beforehand.  Here is a preview of the route, I will make sure that there are pretty cue sheets and all that business.

click for the route.

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