Cyclocross in Arapahoe County Colorado

On November 20, 2010, at about 7:00 AM cyclists of all sizes and ages made their way through the fog in the 20 degree weather to converge on the Arapahoe County Community Park. Why are these crazies doing this? The “Alphacross”, a Colorado Cross Cup event of the 2010-11 Cyclocross series, sponsored in part by Alpha Bicycle Company of Centennial.
What is a Cyclocross you ask? Good question but difficult to answer. A cycling sport, that starts in the late fall and into the winter, when normal everyday cyclist wrap their selves in layers of warm clothing and ride around a closed, off road course, on what appears to be expensive European road racing bicycles to have the time of their life. Now that is probably not an exact purist definition, but to the laymen recreational rider it sure sums it up.

The races, of various timed lengths, anywhere from twenty minutes for the junior class, 8 and 9 year olds, to forty-five minutes for the serious levels of the experts. Yes 8 & 9 year olds and believe me they are fast, well equipped and are having a ball, even at thirty two degrees when their race started at 8:31 AM. After observing a Cyclocross at the Centennial City Hall, my tall son wanted to try one. The “Alphacross” held a “Newbies” race which was just a handful of those present, doing thirty minutes around the approximately mile and a half course. The “Newbies” start time was scheduled for 7:50 AM the riders were whistled off, to start the day of racing, at 8:01 AM. The fog was thick and from the starting line, you could not really see where you turned out of the parking lot and on to the course, but the seven riders were guaranteed they would be able to see it when they got there. My son only made about a half a lap before he could not feel his fingers and was not sure if he was squeezing the breaks or not. Being on one of his teachers, very expensive, carbon fiber, competition Cyclocross bike he felt it might be wise not to destroy it. A friend that we sometimes ride with finished but became so cold she was unaware of hitting her shins on her pedals, causing multiple bruising, until she was home and thawed out. A note to self for next year, start collecting cold weather riding gear.

The course was very professionally laid out by the Alpha Bicycle Company and was available to pre-ride the course, the afternoon prior to the event, which, both of my boys and I did take advantage of. Alpha arranged for a free pancake breakfast, some vendors, and a jump house for the kids when they were done and Mom and Dad were riding their races. Yes this was a full out family outing of great camaraderie and just plain fun for family and friends. The event could be as short as a couple of hours or spend the whole day. The last 45 minute race went out at 3:46 PM. If this sport peaks your interest, check out the American Cycling Association’s web site (www.americancycling.com ) for a race near you. This is a very large sport in Europe and has been catching on here in the States over the last ten years.

Since I mentioned Alpha Bicycle Company as a sponsor, I should mention that they were assisted in that sponsorship, by the Groove Automotive Group, United Health Care, Raleigh Cycles and Moots Hand Built Cycles.

Till Next Time

Ride Safe, Ride Warm, But Ride

“G”

A Winter Ride

In Colorado we are spoiled. The weather changes daily not to mention hourly or go a block away. We can ski in the morning drive 45 minutes and golf, bike or enjoy the fresh air at your local park. Then the cold comes just to screw with your mind.

Yes it’s cold; at least to my old body it is cold. I see some sturdy cyclist going by the house, in shorts no less, see that beautiful mile high blue sky and I’m ready. I go to get my water bottles and look at the thermometer outside the kitchen window …….28 degrees what the…….Yeh, it’s Colorado.

One of my rides last week, my 32 mile loop, it was a beautiful 58 degrees, blue sky, no wind, the ideal ride in November. On the way south I watched the black cloud come over the Rockies the temp was now 68 and I had a nice breeze. 5 miles later there was a wind, not a nice wind, but a wind that took my bike with my super sized daintiness and blew it of the path. For the first time I actually wanted to call home for a ride. The wind eased the temp went up to the high 80’s (love that temp mode on my computer), and it was bearable. On the way back the wind kept changing directions, there was moisture falling from the sky, here and there, nothing consistent or getting anything wet. I decided to skip the trail and make a direct shot home, and cut off a couple of miles to get the ride over with. Then it became calm, the sun was back with the blue sky and no wind, just beautiful. I got home and sat on the back bumper of my van, getting my shoes off, taking in some more water and protein drink as I watched the first snowflakes of the season fall. Yes this is Colorado.

Riding in these weather changes, takes some self preservation as well as good clothing. There are a lot of companies out there getting on the “base layer” band wagon. I have been wearing Under Armour© for years, year around, it really does keep you cool in the heat and warm when it is cold. The plus side, besides having a shelf full of it, is it is cheaper than the same thing with a cycling logo/company on it. Leg warmers and Arm warmers are outstanding. I think of it as a cheap way to stay warm when you don’t ride below 55 degrees. You can usually find them from $14 - $19 for a pair of either (try Performance or NASHBAR online). This is much cheaper than buying a pair of $190 Gortex© winter bibs that you can follow snow plows in and be toasty warm. I also picked up a cozy pair of grippy, light weight, but warm gloves at COSTCO for $9.

With a new year coming up, you may also want to start the year off trying one of the free on line training logs. I mentioned the one on Bicycling.com, and that the tall son was doing “Daily Mile”. We are doing both now, and I have been doing them together for about 6 months. They are both very good for the basic stuff and easy to add to, in their comments section, if you want to add more like I do. Daily Mile is also a cyclists’ social network which is pretty interesting without getting personal.

Till Next Time

Ride Warm, Ride Safe, But Ride

G

My Fitness Level Snuck Up On Me When It Became Cold

Well here we are at the end of October, goblins, witches and transformers getting ready to appear and we are still riding. I’m talking about being in Colorado, where the first ski resort opened this morning, are we fortunate or what? Yes it is a little cool in the morning but it warms up nice. There was a group of about five that went by the house this morning when the thermometer read 46 degrees, right now it’s 64.

I have noticed a new wonderful problem with my fitness level. You see as your fitness level improves, it is not always in leaps and bounds that give you that instant gratification. The long term gains are quiet and sneak up on you. Till it started getting colder in the morning I did not get the full impact of my rides becoming faster and longer. As I was attempting to stretch rides out to 20 miles 25 miles, 30 and now 32+ miles I kept attempting to do the distance faster, as I got faster I stretched it further. This summer my rides were about an hour and a half, hour forty five, doing 18 miles. I am now doing 32 to 35 miles a ride in about two hours, two hours twenty and haven’t thought much about it. This is great but it’s cold in the morning and I can be a woos when it comes to the cold and bicycling. No big deal, just start later. It’s in the high 50’s low 60”s around 11:00AM till noon and my old body will tolerate that without a problem. After all if you take the first half mile at a fairly quick pace and high RPM you will be nice and cozy warm. So this is a problem? I have the tall son that has no desire to drive, I mean after all why drive when Dad and Mom take him anywhere he needs to go that he doesn’t bike. He gets out of school at 2:40 and with an intersection re-build between home and school, I need to leave 45 minutes earlier than I did a month ago. So combined longer rides and longer trip to pick up the tall kid it is just to close time wise. It is time to invest in some winter riding gear and suck it up.

There is a lot of good winter riding gear out there but if you think out of the box there are some really good alternatives that you will not need a bank loan. I love bib shorts, they don’t slip down and when I had a bigger belly regular shorts were forced down and the belly would flop out and it was annoying. Winter long bibs with cold weather thermal fronts where the cold hits, lighter in the back to dissipate the excess heat and moisture, $190.00, not going to happen. Even a good mid weight long bib will be about $75.00 this time of year. Good winter riding gloves full finger or three finger “lobster” style, 35 – 85 dollars, wow. You need to look at what you are really going to ride during the winter and how cold of a temperature will you really put up with. I came to the conclusion that, at least for this year, I will not need clothing to keep me warm riding behind a snow plow. My decision, leg warmers and arm warmers at around 14 – 18 dollars a set. I get to use my own comfy bibs, or shorts now that the belly doesn’t fall out, as well as a plethora of jerseys I have been told were unnecessary. After all this is Colorado, I can put on the leg and arm warmers start my ride and when it warms up pull them off and put them in a jersey pocket. As far as gloves go, COSTCO has “Head” (the ski company) gloves that are a lycra/neoprem type material with silicone grips on the palms for $10. There warm and cheap. I also found that my stacks of ”under armor” sleeveless, short sleeve and long sleeves make a great base under jerseys no matter what the weather.

Well I have babbled enough, I hope there was something here that you can find usable for yourself. Fly away as a free spirit and enjoy the cold and you will have a beautiful swimsuit body next summer.

As an unrelated side note; my “new” Specialized Tri Cross, went over 4000 miles last week. The results of 26 months worth of fat burning.

Till Next Time

Ride Fast, Ride Warm, Ride Safe, But Ride

“G”

I Am Now Supporting Another Cyclist

Well here we go; I’m now supporting another roadie (a road cyclist). Yes the short son now has a road bike. Thanks to “Craig’s List”, where we were looking for a 44cm Specialized Dolce. After all, the women I have talked to, with the Dolce, wouldn’t get rid of the one they had for anything. We did see a couple for sale, but they were only a couple of hundred less than a new one. So the little guy understood and wasn’t expecting a road bike till the spring. Then comes an email, we just put our Dolce up for sale and saw your wanted add. So on the evening of the 28th the short son became the owner of a four year old Dolce Elite which was in excellent condition, to the point of the guys at Bike Source, who went through it for flaws, could not believe it was four years old. What flaws were found on super find you ask? Even if you did not ask, there was a slight screw adjustment on the front derailleur and the end of the cables need caps on them.


Short son and I managed to go out and get in his first longish rode ride today. It was fun and a Father or Mothers great joy of celebrating this first experience.


Short Sons first Rode Bike Ride (Photo by Connor Livingston)

With all of the work he has put in on his Mountain bike and year around Basketball, he rode 26.35 miles in two hours. He took a break while I extended my ride another six miles. He had a good time, the only thing that was slightly sore, on him, was his neck and he did not think it was that hard. So by late spring, I imagine, I will have two sons that I start rides with and they will wait for me to catch up every ten miles or so.

That tells me I will need to have quite a few back to back months like September. I rode 408 miles in September which includes the last three weeks of over a hundred miles a week. My rides have been getting longer a mile or two at a time. This, in turn, gives me more endurance which makes it easier to go further. Such a wonderful circle to cycle. I really see a century in our future next year, or at least the MS 150. I wanted to attempt to do the “Ride the Rockies” when I turn 65.   I’m much closer to both.

Till Next Time

Ride Fast, Ride Far, Ride Safe, But Ride

“G”

Do Shinny New Bells and Whistles Make You Pedal Faster?

Well I went to Performance Cycle and spent some money. Actually I went to their web site since the actual store did not have the sale Items on hand, big surprise. I went on line and they had a few items but not what they showed in the size I wanted, or the color they showed. A little disappointing but the tall son now has possession of a new jersey and we both did get some new carbon fiber substance, pedals. I still would like to have/need a new helmet.

We replaced our Shimano “SPD” type clip in pedal with a, heavier (they are much bigger), carbon fiber, Forte “Keo” type clip in pedal. The sale prices were well worth it, the pedals have fixed a couple of problems. Since I have an updated, designed in this century, new pair of bike shoes I could never get the cleats adjusted to the pedals quite right. With the new type pedals and cleats, I was actually forced to learned how to adjust them to work together correctly. I’m not a professional but I am in a really small ball park of being right on. The results, I have no more ankle, knee or hip pain. Another plus, the pedals are large and give you a larger platform to actually pedal in comfort and more important, efficiency. Lance Armstrong, the cycling legend, has been quoted as saying “Cycling is measured in millimeters”. This was during a discussion of advantages between competitive cycling teams as well as the members within those teams. Bottom line, for the recreational rider, adjust, adjust, adjust.

So am I any faster? Did the simple change really make a difference or did the shiny new bobbles, that we are all so attracted to, just make me feel faster. 10 rides with the new shoes, the last 3 with the new pedals. Prior to the new found comfort I was pretty consistent with 13 -18 mile rides and an occasional 25 -30 miler. The last 10, 6 were over 30, my cadence is up, and the last 3 rides, 2 were with an average cadence of over 70 for over 30 miles. That is coming up to the lower end of being respectable. Even though I am only faster by fractions, I feel much faster. Feeling faster combined with no pain, equals longer rides, which will equal faster and lighter.

As for the tall kid, he’s taller and now about an average of 1.5 mph than his previous rides, Ahhh to be young again.

Till Next Time

Ride Fast, Ride Safe, But Ride.

“G”

Ever Notice How One New Bike Item Leads To Another

I got back on the bike after three weeks of swimming and vacationing with the boys. Like I had mentioned at the beginning of the year getting back into the swing of things can be scary. Also I treated myself to a new pair of shoes, after 18 years on the old ones, who knew that grown feet changed so much.

Was going with the tall son as he shopped for a new pair of shoes and figured hey, I deserve a new pair of shoes too. The good thing my size was in stock. Our friends at Bike Source fitted tall son perfectly, with growing room, and then had him order a half size bigger. They have watched him grow the last couple of years. Anyway I picked up a pretty spiffy pair of Specialized Body Geometry shoes in white, I like a little flash. It is amazing the technology that has occurred over the last 18 years in bike shoes. The new ones are like slippers that seem to self cool as you ride, amazing, simply amazing. After the down time and armed, or should say footed, with my new shoes I took off on my first ride. My time came up, my cadence came up and I did not hurt. No pain in the ankle, knee or hip joints could this be from shoes? I waited a day took another, same outcome, the next day a 30 miler and wow. Till I attempted to move the cleats from a neutral position on the shoe no pain. The last 12.5 of that 30, after my SWAG adjustment, my ankles, knees and hips burned. So much for SWAG. The cleats went back to neutral. The tall kid’s shoes came in; I set his cleats very neutral, with a plum line and a ruler neutral. He took a ride and we slightly dialed the feel in till he could not feel any discomfort and we were good. Good enough to jump into a 55 mile ride with a couple of friends, fast friends. We were a group of 5 and though I have stayed away from group riding just because of my slowness. It didn’t make much of a difference, we all rode with each other at one time or another, I pushed a little harder, and we all had some really good conversation, good laughs and an excellent ride. I really need to reevaluate the whole group ride thing, especially if it is a small group. If you have been worried about your abilities take that step and give it a try, you may have the same happy surprise. Even the female in the group made me feel good by riding with me about 14 miles even though she was, tall son fast, and showed it down the stretch. The new shoes, never thought about them or my joints the whole ride. Bottom line if your going to bike, fit is everything.

Speaking of those shoes, what’s a new shoe without putting feet with new socks into them? Throw in thoughts of having new shoes and getting accustom to getting in and out of the pedals, tall son gets me thinking, this would be the time to switch to a larger platform carbon fiber pedal. This gets me thinking more, not a good thing in my case. Tall son has a new high end Giro helmet, mine is a good 10 years old, not acceptable for safety. New shoes, new socks, possibly new pedals and skid lid, hey my bib shorts are looking a little saggy. So the question here is; bicycling a money pit or the more you bicycle things just wear vs. ever notice how one new part leads to another. Oh by the way I just received a new Performance Cycle’s warehouse clearance catalogue and it looks like I might be able to save a little over $200 on my recent thoughts. Timing is everything.



As for the actual riding in August, 151,8 miles in 5 rides, I deserve some new gear.



Till Next Time

Ride Fast, Ride Safe, But Ride

“G”

OK, I Didn’t Make A Post The First of The Week

I know how important it is to have a good group of followers and to keep them a blogger must be consistent. I also have had times I haven’t been that consistent and the amount I have been read shows the drop. Life does really get in the way of all of us, especially if you have a real life. I have thought of what I was going to write in this post, being first after vacation, and as I had said I came across some things on the vacation that was of interest.

On our first day of the trip we were heading west on I-70, going through some of the canyon lands of Utah and observed an odd thing. Out of nowhere, in the middle of nowhere, at the crest of a long climb, there was a cyclist. On a road bike, the full roadie outfit, no luggage or bags, and just hammering away. I thought, WOW, this guy is nuts to be out here alone. It was about 1:00 pm and touching just under 90 degrees. Then I thought this could be cool if you had a couple of friends to do it with. I was now a couple of miles down the road and there were two more, same shorts and jersey as the first guy, no bags and a pretty good pace. Looking ahead, tall son saw another single rider. As we passed same thing and we figured this must be a local club ride only there was nothing that resembled local. Up a head we saw a van with a major load of bikes on the roof and a rear rack and I said “I bet this was all part of a tour company”. I was partially correct; it was a tour company with mountain bikes from a company that did tours back in Moab. All in all we passed about 10 of the roadies. Watching them ride a good pace, especially at the front, I thought this really would be cool. Traveling down the interstate going to exciting places, cool. I did see a couple of good swerves with all the crap in the emergency stopping lane they were riding in. Bottles, trash and nasty chunks of blown out semi tires. Then an actual crossed my mind again, no bags, how many flats have they had or what are they using for tires. All and all it was pretty darn cool even though they were spread out over about 7 miles.

Since this was a boy’s road trip and Mom doesn’t like Vegas the boys wanted to spend a few nights there. One of the impressive things in Vegas, to me anyway, is the Metro Police Department bike unit. Now the casinos have their security, also dressed in Yellow shirts and black shorts and some, a lot, are also on bikes. But Metro is impressive. It caught my interest since I started a PD bike unit in the early 90’s and I attempt to talk to a couple of the guys every trip I make to Sin City. They travel in a minimum of pairs, spread a lot of good PR by taking endless silly photos for the tourists and are very, very visible. For those of you that may not have taken the drive to the 24 hr never sleep city, you would be amazed at the amount of people and wonder, recession? I’m not talking at rush hour; I’m talking about 3:00 am. The strip is so backed up it is easier to attempt to walk it rather than drive or take the monorail, bus or cab. On occasion you can see a swarm, 4-6 members of the bike unit, crossing 8 lanes of traffic going against the traffic at 2 -3 times the speed of the “moving” traffic. The grace and precision is that of the water show at the Bellagio and should be seen by all. They jump the center medians, the curbs; avoid the crowds all without a hesitation or mishap. They are as cool as the roadies in the middle of nowhere.

We did take a kind of a ride one morning on the beach in Ventura California. The Tall Son wanted to ride in a two person surrey and we attempted to stay up with the little guy on a recumbent trike. It was fun but made us wish we would have brought our bikes.

The Ventura Performance Cycle was closed down and the space was empty. We did not see any other shops during the trip. I was really expecting them to be more visible.

Did you hear about the LA Mayor? Typical politician, bike friendly roads didn’t mean squat until, while riding downtown last month, he was hit by a cab that pulled out in front of him. He fractured his shoulder. Local cyclists did not even know he rode, but now sharing the road is a priority, funny how that works eh?

Till Next Post

Ride Fast, Ride Safe, But Ride

“G”