With a little help from his team...

On a chilly Saturday morning at the end of September, seven riders from the Cyclepaths/Wild Cherries Racing team rolled up to start line for the last road race of the season. 72 miles around Lake Tahoe, with two goals; win the race and break the current record (3 hours and 1 minute).

As planned, Nate Freed won and broke the record. We also made it onto the front page of the local paper, which has a full account of our exploits.

• Read the complete Sierra Sun Article >
  

In years past, I've had a terrible problem finding shoes to fit my size 12 1/2 feet (typically 47). Narrow foot, boney, skinny, long toes--and I use orthodics. Outside of normal shoe fit/comfort, CX adds to the problems with run-ups and barriers creating footrub and heal slip with previous MTB shoes I've tried.

Enter the ADIDAS Pro Mountain Bike shoe (1-rachet & two "velcro-bungey" straps): First off, they're RED and I've received several "compliments"--they do standout in a crowd. If RED isn't your primary color choice--they have other options. Second, they are soft and flexible in the right places but with a stiff carbon sole. I received these as a package deal with my ADIDAS Road shoes. Given my recent expensive MTB shoe purchase in Fall '07, these shoes unfortunately sat there looking all Red and Pretty for about 5 months. My foot rub frustration & pain continued so while getting ready for a few late season MTB Races this summer and with CX looming on the horizon, I decided to give the ADIDAS a try. WOW--I really wish I would have tried them earlier. For my feet, they work perfectly--no heal slip, no footrub and my orthodics fit well. Even with the shoes barely tightened (which is how I ride baby) my feet don't swim around. Really a perfect shoe for me. The ratchet system seems to stick a little when tightening--similar problem with my Road shoes. With a little flick the lever pops down and you're good again. The two "bungey" velcro straps work well and, in my opinion, are more comfortable and secure than a conventional velcro strap. So after about 3 months of pretty tough trail abuse (including several 100-milers and CX prep) they're perfect for me.

Previous Shoes: Sept '07 year I plunked down for an expensive pair of "mold to fit" Shimano MTB shoes. Not because they were pretty or stiff or anything else--I simply figured that a mold to fit shoe would do the trick. Heal slip was fixed but footrub was beyond discomfort--it was downright painful and caused bleeding mostly on my right foot--basically where the buckle ratchet system is on the side. I tried to remedy this several times by remolding, new inserts, buffers, etc.--nothing worked.

Other shoes: Sidi Dominator (too narrow in toe box, heal slip), Old Shimano 3 Strap (Heal Slip)

I zipped home after my daughter's soccer game and loaded up the car. Hoping I could use my new tubulars--I was disappointed the night before when I realized that my rear came with Shimano vs Campy--after two calls to clarify they still didn't get it right. It's ok I guess as the course, though a little technial, didn't have many sharp objects causing pinch flats.

So I got in the truck and headed out at for my race. 2 1/2 Hours later and multiple wrong turns I finally pulled in completely frustrated with about 30min to sign-up and warm-up. The warm-up...well, it's already 93-degrees so it was more about course recon than anything.

This year, the Saturday Lion of Fairfax race was competing against the Sunday CCCX race and it was evident as the field was quite small. I was fine with it as this was my first race of the CX season. The course takes you through the baseball fields along the outside boundary of the school then up and down a steep run-up, a few off-chamber turns then literally through the school sidewalks before heading back out the fields to complete a lap.

The gun fires and we're off--a decent start in the heat and I found myself a bit stuck behind someone and not willing to dish out the extra effort required to pass. That proved costly as the break of 6 was just in front of him and he let it go. Once it cleared, I made a pass and just found the comfortable pain zone. Clark Natwick was kind enough to provide hand-ups and support--and I needed it as the heat after 15min of effort we taking a toll. Mouth dry, a little blurry eyed--I kept the focus. A few guys fell off the front group and the field was stringing out by the half-way point. There are number of places to check on who's gain/losing and it seemed most were holding steady. I did catch two from the front group and continued to hold off the chasers as we hit two laps to go. I saw a DFL guy clawing his way through the group behind me as we hit the bell lap--little did I know he had flatted out of the front group. Man, the last thing you want on a hot day like this is real race on the last lap. Well, it was on.

I started to add a little extra effort--careful not to pop. He was fast and though my power was good, he was making up big time in the corners. As we hit the fields, I just kept my head down--he was on me now as we hit the barriers and I guess he bobbled as I gapped him and just held him off to the line for 3rd. I was pretty excited--first to stay focused in the heat and not give-up and second that, even though the field was small, I had a solid finish in my first race.

In a couple of weeks, I'll have my first real test of fitness and how I stack up against a deep field as I race the first NorCal CX pts race. Should be stacked field with all the big hitters.

Glenn

I raced this weekend at the Folsom Cyclebration, but both races were pretty unevenful. I do have a great/sad story from after the circuit race, which was on the second day. After the sprint finish of the race, I did a cooldown lap by myself, and rolled back toward the finish. I noticed a guy sitting on the curb all by himself under the shade of a tree. He had an old beat up bike sitting on the ground next to him. He was very tan, and looked to be about my age or a little bit older. I just passed by the guy, and he looks up at me and says out of nowhere, "Hey buddy, I hate to break it to you, but you're a fuckin loser." I just looked back at him and said "Yeah well you're a fuckin drunk". Then I went to meet up with Matt, Katie, Ramsey, and Alanna who had stuck around to support me and watch my race. I talked to them for a minute about the race, and told them the story about this crazy guy who was still sitting under the tree about 100 yards away. We said goodbye, and for some reason, I decided to ride back by the guy again on the way to my car. I wasn't trying to start a fight or anything, I was just curious to see if he would say something again. He looks up at me this time and says something to the effect of: "You would make a great sandwich in loserville." At this point I realized that he was either nuts or on a lot of drugs, so I kinda just rode past him. At the same time, he gets on his old beat up crappy bike and rides next to me. He just looks at me, and I look back at him. Then I recognize him! He was on an episode of the A&E show "Intervention".... so I say to him, "Hey, I know you." He says, "I doubt it." And I say, "I know you from TV." Then he instantly takes off down an alley and I just let him go.

When I got home from the race tonight, I did a little bit of research on this guy. At first I forgot his name, but I do know that he was a pro bike racer for US Postal at one point. He had a troubled childhood, and was sortof a loner as a bike racer. He got kicked out of the Olympic trials because he poked Lance Armstrong in the stomach, and called him a "doughboy". After that, his career seemed to spiral downwards. Then he started smoking crack..... In the episode of "Intervention", he did accept treatment at the end, but obviously he relapsed. What I have taken out of this is that, as bike racers(or athletes in general), we almost have an "addiction" to the awesome feeling we get when racing our bikes. We finish one weekend, and look forward to the next. We are lucky that we are addicted to something so positive and productive and healthy... and it is now apparent to me that it could very easily go the other way.

His name is Chad Gerlach. You can read more information on his pro cycling career and the aftermath here:

http://www.aetv.com/intervention/int_episode_guide.jsp (find Chad from season 5)
http://chicocyclist.blogspot.com/2008/06/chad-gerlach.html
http://www.beersteak.com/sports/chad-gerlach-promising-american-pro-racer-addicted-to-drugs/
http://www.byjamesraia.com/articles/124/1/Chad-Gerlach-Former-Pro-Cyclist-Lance-Armstrong-Teammate-Subject-Of-Pending-AampE-Network-Program-Intervention/Page1.html
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13791390&postID=4403400084802965497&page=1


Good luck Chad.

Last minute surprise: 2008 Chickadee #2, The Asphalt Outlaw is this Saturday, TOMORROW!

• Road Bike: 72 road miles (70m pavement, 2m good dirt road)
• Saturday September 13th, 9am
• Start: Sattley, Road A-23, 0.5 miles Northeast of Hwy 89 (same as the NCNCA regional TT staging area)
• 3x KOM and finish points awarded (though like always they have no value " except for smack-talkin)
  

Hope to see you there!

I entered the Dunnigan Road Race aiming for some upgrade points. Here I am again focusing on the pot-of-gold instead of journey. Well, do to that, I was handed an interesting course. Right off the bat I realized that I entered the wrong race. Looking around me I notice a ton of big guys. Not tall, I mean big guys. The kind that eat up head winds and flat courses and then disappear on ascents. There would be no ascents today - so I found the best draft I could behind a Webcore guy and made myself at home. The funny thing is that I cut into the draft of this said Webcore fellow and broke up his team paceline consisting of four guys. I sat in behind three of them, the third being largest, and the fourth guy who apparently was hoping to get pulled to a win by his teamates, stuck his bar into my quad and pulled out of the draft cursing the spando plaid. This changed nothing for me except the fate of my top 5 finish which you find out about below. At this point in the race the Davis team was putting on a big 32 mile an hour effort into a massive headwind. Honestly, I got popped but managed to bridge latching onto a breakaway at mile thirty or so of the race. The break was big and consisted mainly of Metro dudes, Webcore riders, and Davis riders, as well as a couple of Vintage pedalers who transition into Jordache denim after the races (forced style from my perspective = contrived). The sweet irony of it all is that seven brutal miles later we realize that we made a wrong turn and that everyone we gapped would go on to win the top 9 or so places in the race. Our lead pack dwindled as we chaced or survived depending on you look at it. Many riders descided to make the beer-thirty call at the finish of lap one and 10 or so guys including me forged on to finish our feat making up for our indiotic off course attack. To give the group credit, the attack was feirce and the course markings were lacking. There too was one motocyclist for all race categories leaving a large margin of error. So, we missed the only course turn. Awesome, so I held in, focused on my nirtition plan and won the sprint in my group hopefully landing me in a top hat finish. I'll repost results asap. Also, I set my watch to alarm me every :45 minutes at which I would take an endurolyte caplet, drink something, and munch a little cliff bite from all the cut-up bite size bars that collectied lint from my jersey pocket. This seemed manageable and allowed me to excell in the sprint putting the smack down salvadging a race and putting a smile on my face. Thanks for reading - Matt Chappell. Dunnigan, the most boring road race ever.

L-R: Greg Forsyth of Cyclepaths, Gary Mandy, Conrad Snover, Rich Blanco, Glenn Rawlinson, Carl Dekker (2008 Champ)


By Conrad Snover
The SSWC is approximately 30% serious race, 50% costume party, and 20% beer drinking, and we allocated our efforts appropriately. We dressed up, drank beer, and raced hard and had an amazing time

The NY Times wrote a great article, describing the race pretty well; read about it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/sports/othersports/31cycling.html and be sure to view the slideshow.

While half our team was racing in Santa Cruz, the other half - the misfits - gathered in Napa for some serious tomfoolery and shenanigans. The course was super technical, and scared many people into stopping halfway through the first lap and focusing on drinking beer more than riding. Forrest ran farther than he probably ever has in his life (his motto: why walk or run when you can ride?), while wearing a black velour jacket with gold embroidering, to earn an entry. The HUGE effort certainly cost him a few places, but at this race who cares?

As we were all milling about waiting to hear how the LeMans style start would work, Glenn had an epiphany. He was worrying about how technical the course was while I was worrying about my gear and tire selection, and he looked at me and said " who cares!? The beautiful thing about this race, is that nothing matters. Were all there to have fun; were simply not going to contest against guys like Carl Dekker, Barry Wicks and Travis Brown.

Even with this perspective, I still stressed. I was worried that I had too easy of a gear (32x20), and I hadnt ridden the Michelin Dry 2.3 on the rear " it was huge. The gear worked out ok, though I was spinning a little more than Id like. The rear tire was too big and rubbed against my chainstay with every right pedal stroke. I was poopy when I finished the race since I also felt lousy and through the entire race didn't feel like I could get on top of my gear, and it took a while for me to be happy with how well I did and remember how fun it was.

Glenn and Forrest

Next year: Durango amyone?

Click here for our Flickr Gallery: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21265854@N02/sets/72157607029043182/

Results:
8th: Conrad Snover
12th: Gary Mandy
24th: Rich Blanco
58th: Glenn Rawlinson
63rd: Forrest Huisman

Last weekend we packed up the subie and marched down to San Francisco catching the last part of the Radiohead concert in Golden Gate Park. This marked the first-ever night concert in the park. Katie, being a little apprehensive in my taste of music had no idea what she was about to see. As we entered the concert and jockeyed for viewing position amongst 60,000 other Radioheads we realized, or at least I did, that we we're taking part in an experience that I deem "the future of music experience" or at least the present of which I may be behind the curve. The show consisted of brilliantly performed music, amazing interactive large screen televisions with extremely, and often awkwardly pleasant images of the band in vibrant color schematics and euphoric sound/image matching. Radiohead was absolutely awesome. Exiting the park with 60,000 other people made for an interesting experience. Yellow jackets were swarming everywhere, I was stung on the tip of my nose, Allana was stung everywhere important, so we jumped fences and hugged the tree line landing us seats at a great Thai restaurant soon after.

After waking up in Pacific Heights we ventured down the coast, the girls got out and rode Highway 1, and Ramsey and I headed for the University Road Race Course to pre-ride the course. At first glance it appeared like an easy race to me. The next day proved me to be wrong as Ramsey, Devon, Andy, and I (me) all took part in what would eventually become a struggle for survival.

Good positioning in the race proved helpful but nutrition, once again, caught me by surprise. The course was a 3.5 mile loop. You start on a slight climb and then you descend while admiring the coast, then ascend, descend, and repeat 15 times. Ascending the climb took the heart to max love and descending put you into a cold recovery. If you fall out of sync, and the peloton keeps this rhythm, then you miss out on the recovery and get popped on the climb. It sounds easy doesn't it, well it is if you remain focused. On the 12th lap, up the climb I struck up a conversation with a fellow rider wearing a BikeRX kit. BikeRX is a rad Mill Valley, CA bike shop who coined the bike vending machine which apparently Trek put in their distribution catalog for 2009. At least this is what I remember from conversing at heart rate max.

Next, I learned that my fellow conversator and I let a 5 foot gap turn to 10 feet and witnessed a surge. We sessioned up the steep climb and rotated pulls quickly landing us back in the back protected with 3 remaining laps. The next climb was all out and recovery was out of sync. The entire peloton blew and small groups formed everywhere. I was in the chase group rotating through within the top ten at this point.

We chased, chased some more while closing in when my legs began resisting the tremendous variance in heat. It went from a freezing descent to a 90 degree exposed climb every ten minutes or so leading to fierce cramping with just 1-2 remaining laps.

With one lap to go, and my best finish yet, I kept focus and envisioned windmills swooping around naturally which helped me to keep a pedal rhythm.

The embarrassing part about this was that 4-5 people passed me 200 yard before the finish line where my largest ever cheering crew sat hooping and hollering for my finish. I dreamt of attacking and actually surged. My surge looked great, to me, but it only lasted long enough for the other riders to notice and then pick up pace themselves landing me a top 15 finish instead of my top 5 goal.

As I crossed the finish line, I dropped my chain, literally right on the line. As means of survival, I popped my cleats out, jumped from the bike, had an entire body cramp - Allana grabbed my bike shouting "just get me off this thing" (she was reading my mind) and I tip toed very quickly, while crying deep inside, into the shade where I would lay down looking up at the 15 fans staring down at me saying so many positive things like you inspired me, you could have had it, it was a tough one and on and on.

Nonetheless, it was a ton of fun from start to finish. Congratulations to Ramsey for tremendous progress this last week in both UCSC and Boca, to Andy for making dreams reality, and to Devon for getting in where you fit in (a San Ardo victory for DV). Also, thanks to everyone who joined us in Santa Cruz, I hope you attend another event, just wear spandex next time.

Thanks for reading and go see Radiohead if you get the chance.

Matt Chappell

Winters Road Race is set on a 25 mile loop of beautiful clean roads with one short 5 minute climb.















Conrad Snover: Cat 3: 75 miles
In Cat 4 races (and also Cat 5 ) riders arent allowed to break away because the pack always chases them down within a mile or so. For this reason, the safest way to finish in the top 6 and get points is surely to sit in the pack and wait for the sprint. After a few Cat 4 races, Id become a bit of an expert at sitting at the back and doing nothing, then unleashing the fury for the final sprint. In Cat 3 races, riders are allowed to break and sometimes additional riders bridge up to them, though that can be tough. These breaks then sometimes make it to the finish before the pack, but are often swept up with just a few miles to go, just like in the pro races I watch on TV.

In all of my Cat 3 races so far, a break away has successfully made it to the finish and won the race; or at least someone from the breakaway made it, often many of the other riders are shelled then passed by the peloton, only to finish far down in the standings. Last weekend at Patterson Pass, I hadnt quite adapted my strategy for Cat 3 races yet, and while socializing at the back of the pack halfway around the first lap, watched the winning break shoot off the front, never to be seen again. I was annoyed with my lapse of attention, tried to initiate a chase, and finally ended up helping create a second break.

This last weekend at Winters, I wasnt going to make the same mistake, and positioned myself near the front so Id be able to respond. Several breaks were attempted, but all were reeled in by the pack. I had joined all breaks and was recovering from my latest effort when yet another break went off, and I wasnt prepared to cover. After a few minutes, I tried to bridge, but decided I didnt want to lay it all out and risk blowing up. Of course this was the break that got away. I ate myself up about missing it, and thought through the best way for one guy without teammates to cover all the breaks. I concluded that its just not possible. Instead Ive got to learn whos strong, and wait to go with them. I kept my position near the front, and just sort of hung out for the rest of the race. With 5 miles to go, we caught all the riders from the break one by one. Time to get aggressive.


















The finish was a dicey affair. The road was mostly flat for the final few miles, so speeds were high. Riders were darting in and out, trying to get on wheels and out of the wind, trying to stay near the front but not be at the front. I rode aggressively, taking a wheel when there was even a tiny opening, stuck my elbows out to keep some knucklehead from passing me on the yellow line and followed the biggest/strongest looking guy when we went for the sprint. He quickly opened up a lead, then I snaked him at the line for my first Cat 3 win.


Nate Freed: P/1/2, 100 miles
Many times while I am racing, I think about all the witty stuff that I want to write in my race report the next day. How I was feeling, the funny shit that happens, and all the weird stuff that guys talk about, etc. Then after the race I forget almost everything. It's like one of those extremely vivid dreams that you completely forget about when you wake up. Then all I can remember is how hard it was, where the hills were, and various other boring details about the race.

Eric Wohlberg from Symmetrics was at the race. He's fast. He is affectionately known as "Team Wohlberg" by some members of the P/1/2 field. I would assume that this is because he is always racing the NorCal races without teammates, but dominates as a strong team would nonetheless. The course is a mostly flat 25 mile lap with one real climb followed by a sketchy technical decent. This climb proved to be the major deciding factor, which I discovered on the first lap. I didn't get dropped, which in itself was a small accomplishment for me. On the second lap I decided that I should stay as close as possible to the front. The only problem with that is that the strongest guys on the front hit the climb in an all out sprint, which I can only hold for so long. I held it together, and noticed that by the time we hit the third lap, at least a third of the field was already gone. Once we reached the climb on the third lap, I was pretty much smoked. We had already ridden about 65-70 miles, and were averaging a swift 25 mph. So on the climb when the pace was once again upped to insanity pace, I dropped off with a few other guys. We chased for about 5 miles, and never would have caught the field, except for some reason they were neutralized. I think it is because they were starting to catch a group that was nearing the finish. So there I was, back in the main pack with about 30 other guys who were all stronger than me. I was the last person to catch back up before we were de-neutralized. I hung for about 15 more miles, eating and drinking everything I could, but it was to no avail. My legs were locking up with monster cramps and I was completely shot. So I just rode the last 10 miles solo, passed a few guys who cracked worse than me, and finished the race in 4:15. I imagine that the leaders finished right around 4 hours flat.... fast race. It was a small victory for me because I had dropped out of the last 2 races that I entered.... I can't really recall ever dropping out of a race before this year(not even for a crash or mechanical) so it has been a bit demoralizing for me. However, I have been noticing that these P/1/2 races have around a 50% completion rate, or much less. Last week at Patterson Pass only 10 guys finished! My goal for the rest of the season is to maintain my current fitness, and hopefully eventually reach a point where I can hang with NorCal's best of the best. Congrats to Conrad and Andy, who both won their respective races!!!

Results:
Conrad Snover, 1st place Cat 3
Nate Freed, TBD P/1/2
Andy Scott, 1st place Masters Cat 5

Riding a single speed bike is fun, to a degree. Going up hill makes you feel like your towing a train in a strong man competition but there is something fun about pedaling a hard tail bike once again and doing so with only one gear. It's a familiar practice in that it has similarities to running which many of us have experience with. You stand a lot, and coast a lot. This race was my 3rd ride total on a single speed so I set out with little expectation and a lot of unanswered questions about descending and maintaining momentum. Immediately I thought to jump on teammate Justin Thomas' wheel but, as the pictures exemplifies, this man is like a freight train and leaves most riders in his small but wicked wake.


At the start my plan immediately changed and I jumped on local racer Jason Walker's wheel. I paced with him for as long as I could and made sure that I could see him on the course to remain aware of my position which at this point would be the two spot.



Not bad, at the top of the next ascent I caught the rabbit. He flatted and said "go win". I rode the remainder of the race picking off geared riders trying to get to the top 5. I could have ridden in happy with my place but I wanted to work for it, and since I knew I was out in front I focused on staying there, socializing with as many riders as I could catch, and enjoying this awesome XC day. The finish line was right at the crest of this little popper so I finished by airing it out. Nothing feels better than a little hang time at high speed. I cannot wait until Scott makes a single speed race bike, count me in. This single race also awarded me with a 3rd place finish for the Single Speed Class in the State of Nevada for 2008. Not all that bad for a Sunday close to home. Following the race I went out for a recovery ride up to the Lookout chairlift at Alpine Meadows Ski Resort with the lovely Miss Linnett. I took a short nap and woke up by following Miss Linnett down to the river. This section of single track is super fun. It rolls through sweeping forested turns all the way down to the Truckee River where Katie and I jumped in, cleaned-up, and hit the Bridge Tender for a pint and some food. Another epic day chalking up 45 miles of Single Speed riding/racing. Its going to be a coin flip decision on which bike to ride in the Tahoe Sierra 100. The clock is ticking, and the Cyclepaths/Wildcherries Racing Team is holding their own in every discipline which is beginning to become a team mantra. Along with "Get A Life"...alright I'm punchin out. Wait, wait, rumor has it that a few cats are gunning for Conrad's podium spot at the Tahoe Sierra 100. I hope they're waking up at 5 a.m. for 50 milers on Truckee dopest trails or else their going to pay the piper...better have cash in hand cause we're collecting. Unleash the plaidzilla.