My season is done…the argument could be made that it never really started.

This has NOT been a banner season.  I think even last year went better than this year and at that point, the kid was tiny and waking up every 3 hours.

• Charm city:  DFL – cross results says otherwise, but it was DFL.
• Granogue:  DNF on the last lap.  I regret this one because there was no good reason not to finish.  I would have been last, but I should have finished.
• Hyattsville:  almost reverse podium (bottom 6).  results out of the equation, this was a good race for me.
• DCCX:  Next to last, but crossresults and the internet say that I don’t exist.
• Kindercross:  DNF.  mechanical, but I was glad when it happened.
• Tacchino:  I was DFL, and most definitely IN THE WAY of the field so I went DNF.  no regrets.

I thought I had a few more in me but I’m going to call it.

Last year, the HoCo weekend did me in. This year, it wasn’t even an option.

I as in Boston for work this past week.  I knew ahead of time and had plans to check out some of the famed New England CX scene.  In the end, I didn’t bring a bike up because I was pretty pressed for time.  I thought I might regret it, but the weekend was already packed so it was a good call.  Not racing also let me get back home to spend the day with the fam after 3 days away.

Nothing really to bring to the table for Taneytown. Cattle Cross is still a maybe since it’s a new race and an interesting format.

I haven’t heard of any Jan/Feb Races so Season 6 is in the books.  Now the trick is to find some time to get back into the woods again.  Until then, most of my riding will be banging around on my sweet new grocery getter/Johnny Rad’s/Mahaffey’s mobile.  But hopefully I can get some dirt under the tires sooner rather than later.

2 groups of folks that I don’t ride with that often:  the Bmorefixed crew and the SSOFT gang.  The Bmorefixed folks, I mostly see when I manage to make it out to the six pack rides.  The SSOFT gang I see at events now and again.  Both do some pretty amazing stuff with fixed gear bicycles outside of the riding around the city and look cool.  Personally, I only ever manage to ride around the city and look like I’m trying to look cool (ineffectively might I add).

These two bunches of bike nerds manage to do things that I have no intention of ever doing, but enjoy checking out.

Every Sunday, the Bmorefixed folks get together and do tricks on fixed gears.  I realize that it’s very fashionable to make fun of that stuff nowadays.  It’s not my cup of tea, but I’m the last guy to make fun of people doing stuff that I could never do in a million years.    

(picture snatched from Keith’s Flickr) When the fixed gear freestyle stuff was mainly over the handlebar skids, I was not so stoked on it.  But the stuff they’re doing now is definitely impressive.

The SSOFT guys, are spread out all over the area, but it seems like home base is Frederick nowadays.  I see pictures of the Frederick Watershed and I keep hearing how awesome it is.  When I see pictures, it looks totally out of my comfort zone.  The lines they ride are the things that I would ride around, and they often ride it fixed.  Here’s a video lifted from Ricky of one of their rides.

I’ve taken a crack at fixed MTB.  It did not go well.  Both are flickr contacts of mine so their updates often show up side by side.

Buonasera!  La corsa e fantastica.  Sono ciclista della corsa SSCX.  Le persone gridano molto.  Grazie per questo.  Continuare e dificile quando non posso vedere il ciclista davanti a me.  I gridi aiutano molto.

Oggi, ho abbandonato aultra competizione.  E la seconda, ma il giorno e piacevole perche ho parlato con molti amici, ho bevuto le birre buone.  La squadra coppi fa un evento straordinario.  Nelo futuro certamente vado a fare questa corsa altra volta!

Well, it’s probably fraught with errors, but that’s what I could pull off.  I fought the urge to write the entire thing in the present tense.

Here’s another short video.  bits and pieces from B masters, women and elite masters (I think).  Music by a long gone Pittsburgh Ska band called the skablins.

It made me laugh that Charm City Velo Records got referenced today by the race announcer as I watched the surly steamroller in front of me drift off into the distance.  That was pretty much a failed endeavor.  Was going to put out a cd for one guy and he disappeared for a while so it never happened.  I put out something for one of my bands, but that doesn’t count.  the next release was going to be for a younger band, who broke up by the time we could work out details.  The final failed attempt was a bicycle themed comp record to benefit a bicycle helmet giveaway program, by the time I had all the tracks from all the bands, the charity had run its course.  In the end, running a small record label out of my basement was not meant to be.  So I’m left with this website to write about bike stuff.

Working backwards.  Saturday was a fun bike day as well.  Fair Hill is another one that I like a lot, but Saturday I was on daddy day care duty so the only way Fair Hill was going to happen would be if I picked a random person to hold the bug while I raced.  So instead I headed out to the Bootlegger’s Bliss.  I had not been before and it was a really good time.  Most went for a legit MTB ride, I took the bug for a ride in a kid trailer and met up for the festivities later.

We left Saturday’s event before things got into the full swing but here’s a video

Loaner bike that was too big and a DNF or not, it was 2 awesome days on the bike.

new race,  lots of twisty turns, long sandy section.  Best of all, it’s 30 min from the house.  Looking forward to doing it next year.  good job ABRT.

My race:  I flip flopped between the geared bike and the SS.  Original plan was to do the 4′s on the SS and the B masters on the geared bike.  The thing about having multiple bikes is, you forget when something needs to be done to them.  Oh, that hub needs to be adjusted, I guess I’ll ride the other bike.  That has a funny way of catching up to you and you need to fix all of your bikes at once.  so 2 bikes and they were both partially screwy.  The SS was less screwy so it was going to be that one.  I flatted after the long sandy section.  If I took the innertube out of the untrue front wheel of the other bike and changed it, I would be good for the 10AM race.  I had PLENTY of time to do this, but then didn’t have a tire lever.  At that point, rather than hunt one down, I threw in the towel, went down, made a short video.  talked to a guy about his awesome older bike, and made it home in time to spend the lion’s share of halloween with my wife and a charming little lady dressed as a glow worm.

Rest of the season for me?

• Tacchino – my first foray into the B race (the allure of the single speed race)
• Shedd Park – I’ll be in MA for work so I guess I get to see how they do it in New England. The bike is also the Boston Transportation, so I will opt for SS as well.
• and that looks like that’s it.  If the stars line up and it’s convenient, perhaps taneytown.
• Bakers Dozen FOlks are putting on the CATTLE CROSS:  no USAC, and chip timed!
• The proteus race is officially not happening this year, but maybe if we’re lucky, some folks will throw some post season races.

looking at my options for the rest of the year, I think I will finish the year out on the single speed.  Now the trick is to remember to do the upkeep on the major jake.