Geekhouse CX Team Party!!!

Be there or be sorry!!!

Fallen Hero

Photo by pdxcross.com

Heroes are hard to come by these days. Especially in cycling. I have never been a big hero worshiper. Sure I still love the San Francisco 49ers to this day but its as much a love affair with the red and gold as it is with a certain time in my life. I moved to San Francisco just as the 49er dynasty was waning. Montana had moved on and Steve Young replaced him. The old school fans hated Steve Young. He was the antithesis of Montana. Montana was cool and sooo gifted. He made it look sooo easy. Steve had to battle for every win. He sacrificed his body like no quarterback did before and certainly no quarterback has done since to try and bring his team glory. I doubt he won over the hearts and minds of every die-hard niner fan but if he didn't he came damn close.

I have one hero in cycling. And she is pictured above face down in the dirt. Molly Cameron is a pro cross racer, bicycle industry icon (veloshop/portland bicycle studio/Vanilla team) and all around amazing person. What is incredible about our modern era is how the internet has made connectivity and social networking so seamless. How can a old and slow masters racer even know who Molly Cameron is? The internet. Incredible. When I was first getting back into cross after a move back to the east coast Molly's blog was one of three that I combed over with almost fanatical fervor. She had so much solid cross content updated constantly it became a text book for new school cross. I learned so much from her and still do. Up until that point the only thing I had for a reference was a tattered first edition of Simon Burney's book and some advice I got from pinneaple Bob some ten years ago. 

Molly built my first set of cross tubulars which came ready to race with FMB tires glued up and some bon bons from France. Those wheels still are solid and I race the hell out of them each season. Back then FMB was just an underground brand. Molly pretty much has singlehandedly helped to put FMB on the map in the U.S. The point of all this is I know Molly but I don't really know Molly if you know what I mean. I have never met her in person and my contact is really either through email or some quick phone calls where I am more often than not in a panic about my need for new tubulars or some quick cross crisis. 

Every time I call in a panic, she takes my call, calms me down, and takes amazing care of me. I owe her big time. What's incredible about Molly Cameron the pro racer is the commitment she puts into the sport. She has traveled and raced in europe at great personal expense. She has battled. She has fought when there was zero chance of victory in World Cups. The victories were moral and the trials by fire in europe forged her into a tough as nails cross racer. This year it all came together as she focused her efforts domestically. She was leading the Cross Crusade series by one point going into the last race. She battled the entire race and it came down to one runnup. She was flying and ready to fight for the sprint to the line. Then she slipped and fell hard at the top. Crushing.

Molly was sooo close to winning the overall Cross Crusade series and is obviously and understandbly upset that she lost it in such dramatic fashion. But by losing and battling so hard through so much and being right there for the victory she is even more of a hero to me now by losing than she could ever be by winning. This is how legends are born. Sure she lost the series but she won a legion of cross fans this season and with that superhuman effort.

Harry Lam Fundraiser at Lowell CX

As if you needed a good reason to go to Shedd Park in Lowell and race the BRC CX race on Saturday Nov 21st. Need I remind you of this? The Forest of Lowellenberg! It was by far one of the most insane additions to any cross course last year. I just hope its epic nastiness can be recreated. Then again I destroyed two brand new tubies in that Forest so maybe just a little less epic would be nice.

But while the racing at Lowell is sure to be off the hook you can also go and support a good cause and get a chance at winning some insanely great swag. Looking at the swag list it is going to be all I can do to resist the urge to pack it all in the back of my van and head for the border. Seriously it is that good!

Ok so some background as to why BRC and Hup are doing a fundraiser. A UCI official named Harry Lam was hurt badly at the Verge race at Northampton. He was involved in an accident at the end of one of the races on Day 1. He suffered some pretty serious head trauma. He is from Utah and is a father of three. You can imagine the impact it can have on a family when a loved one is sent to the hospital 3,000 miles away. Bikereg set up a fund for him and it inspired us to do our own fundraiser locally. We feel it is the right thing to do to try and help Harry and his Family out as much as we can. 

Hup is putting on a fundraiser starting in the am. And one of the things that never ceases to amaze me is how quickly the bike industry rallies to support each other. I have to say a huge thanks to my friends at Pedros, Mad Alchemy, Landry's, Zanconoto as well as a very generous donor who wanted to remain anonymous.

The fundraiser will include a raffle full of the aforementioned swag, and a fundraiser in which we will sell Hupcakes, beverages, bagels, and other goodies. All the proceeds will go to Harry and his family. The raffle tickets will cost $5 each. It is possible a Hupcake will come with every raffle ticket! We will do prize drawings after each race. Get there early and get your raffle tickets at the Hup booth!

The prize list includes:

-3 ipods

-A Pedros Super Pit kit that is filled to the gills with extra Pedros bling including Critical Mass Carbon multi-tool, tire levers, Demi Torgue wrench, Super Prestige Pump worth $300; Pedros has also generously donated A chain machine kit, and a total bike care kit

-Mad Alchemy embrocation

-Landry's has offered up 3 x $25 gift certificates to their store

-Zanconoto has donated some seriously cool wool socks and other swag

And this is just the tip of the swag iceberg! See why I want to be like the Grinch who stole Christmas and just make off with all this loot! Do the right thing get to Lowell buy some raffle tickets and get a chance at winning some amazing prizes all while enjoying the crossawesomeness that is Lowell and helping out a good cause. 

The Hup Booth will be right by the start finish after checking in at registration come on by, buy a raffle ticket, eat a Hupcake, and hang out. And don't forget we'll have a celebrity announcer on the M.I.C! Thanks for all your support any questions hit me with an email at velocb@mac.com

Fat Tire Wednesdays

Hence forth Wednesdays will be all about the small and fat tires. One month left of cross season. Mid-week playing in the woods is good for the soul. I can't even look at my road bike right now. And I've had to cannibalize the shit out of it anyway for this year's A cross bike. Damn I even had to cannibalize parts off my wife's old Lemond...and she busted me! That was pretty Hott actually. Not only is my wife sexy as hell, smart and funny but she know's bikes enough to tell when her dirt bag husband has poached her nice clincher wheels for his cross bike...oopsies...Luckily she is very understanding this time of year. Its a three month window right? And then back to normal...well kinda.
Went out to Caryl Park and Hale Reservation in Dover. It seemed totally foreign as all the leaves are on the ground. Makes it harder to cue on turns in the trail. I got lost a few times. Got so lost I hung the bike in a tree sat down and ate a clif bar. Listened to the wind through the trees and just chilled. Damn I love mountain biking in the Fall. I can't remember the last ride I went on that I wasn't either doing intervals or rushing to get home. It was fantastic. The only thing missing was some teammates. It did also cross my mind that if I stacked it hard I'd be pretty f'd all alone in the woods with no one having a clue where I was. But that thought passed quickly thankfully.
The trail elves have been busy and some of the "trails" I found this summer are still in great shape. The leaves actually made it easier to ride some stuff I usually freak out on as the ax head rocks were all hidden beneath a blanket of brown. It also made for some pretty sketchy dismounts as it was almost more hazardous portaging the bike across some stuff than riding it. 
Great day out on the bike. Sola is riding tight. Almost ripped the entire rear end off the bike when I somehow sucked up an enormous branch into the rear triangle. But guess what? Ti is stronger than wood. Wonder how a plastic bike would have done? Probably not so well...

***Cross PSA-A UCI Official was involved in an accident at Noho last weekend. He was badly hurt. A fund has been set up to help with his medical costs which likely will be substantial. Please do what you can bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=9607

Why must he torture me like this?

I totally ripped these pictures off Paul's Rock Lobster blog to illustrate a point. Why does he torture me like this? My god I have zero bike budget for 2010 and he makes this? I am screwed. I have to have this...its just a fact. That road bike is gorgeous! Look at it. And go to Paul's blog  @ rocklobstershop.blogspot.com to read the details. Because with Paul its what is beneath the skin that is so special trust me. He is one of the true master frame builders in the U.S. of A. No argument. By any measure he is a master. The plan to have one of these ready for Battenkill starts now....maybe with a little Ultegra 6700 hmmm

Back in Black

The top of the runnup never felt so good. My god that runnup kills me...if the tape was a rescue line I'd use it to pull myself up that sketchy hill cause running seemed like a crawl with my stubby legs

I forgot just how badass the Hup Noir kit is. I have been rocking Blanco for the last month since we got it as its been so warm this fall. Noho on Day 1 was pretty cold for the Masters 45+ race. Not freezing like some years up at Noho but high 30s low 40s. Perfect weather for the Noir thermal skinny! We are so lucking on Hup to have such amazing kit. 

This year so many teams have taken their kit up to incredible levels. Embrocation, Svelte, Cambridge (its always been cool in my mind) and yes even Geekhouse. But Hup still is the tops in my mind and the choices we get are amazing-Belgian Bleu, Blanco and most of our all time favorite Noir. Natasha was the official photographer of the race and did an amazing job. She always does an amazing job but like often happens with your friends sometimes you just forget how talented they are until you see them at work. Kudos to Nat she really kicks ass! She's so PRO she can actually make me look like I don't totally suck on a cross bike as these two photos she took up at Noho illustrate. Thanks Natasha for that I really appreciate it.

My favorite part of Noho! The crazy off camber drop off...this year it got my attention a bit more as it was literally my first ride on my sexy new FMB grippos...the glue job was barely dry...dry enough though thankfully!

Hup Hup Hup

Lodrina sent me this gorgeous photo of the new Hup United Noir Banner. Really the first time that standard flew in action. My good friend George printed it up for me for the sole purpose of kicking Hups booth up another notch. I love how Lo captured the Lion of Flanders and the sun shining through it with the Ksyrium in the foreground. Noho really was an amazing weekend of cross. Words can't even give it justice...next stop the Forest of Lowellenberg! I sooooo hope for the mucky muck like last year. That was one of the most insane races of the whole season.