HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

CORDIALLY FROM THE "ADDICTED TO BICYCLES" STAFF

YET ANOTHER OPPORTUNTIY

NOVEMBER 10TH, GUNNISON, COLORADO

http://www.americancycling.org/racing/ef/nov/MountaineerCrossFlyer.pdf

Ken Bloomer, IF Sponsored racer dude, (http://www.bikeandskieventures.com/) is putting on a UCI points CX race at Western State College...DO NOT MISS IT. Ken has invited yours truly to come down and help announce the event with other Gunnison locals of colorful personalities. It is going to be a Cross blowout so do not miss it!

COURTMAN HEADS TO HAWAII FOR XTERRA WORLDS

I received a text message from this guy yesterday, Courtney wawawawawuzup Gregory, (mafia racing) regarding his first Xterra World Championship (amateur) effort in Hawaii. This was Court's first year doin the Tri thing and he was 6th in his age classification at nationals...not bad for a freak.

Well...here is his text message from Hawaii...

"Race was brutal. Got cooked on the run. Finished. Going surfing now."

RIGHT ON BRO!!

He actually finished 23rd in his age group out of 44 people, most of them had names like Sven, Hans, Luca and "Nuthugging Frenchman".

23rd in the world in your first effort does not suck brooo....nice work.

SURF IS SOOOO UP DUDE!

CMON!

And by the way...the winner of the Xterra world's..Conrad Stoltz..uses SQUIRT lube exclusively!

GREAT NEWS ON THE KNEE, THANKS DOC DENT.

Charlie Brown checks out "independence" on our Colorado National Monument ride yesterday.

When you ride bikes with a large group of knuckle heads who are in their mid life faze of refusing to slow down on their bikes because we all believe we are immortal, it is very important to befriend a doc to join your group so he is always available on an as needed basis. Enter into the picture Doc Ed Dent, one of our riding buddies who also happens to be our local general practioner...man has this guy saved the day for us on many occassions. From the road bike pile up on Hwy 6 in Gypsum when he was summonsed to come patch and stitch up Johnny Danger and the boys, to the late night X-rays of Aimen's broken hand when he wrecked on his Mt Bike in the Maze....Doc Ed has saved the day many a time, god bless him.

Having lost sleep last night because my knee felt jacked up while making all of these crazy crackling noises as well as being quite painful when I was going through routine stretching, and fearing the worst, I went to see Doc today and after pulling on and twisting the knee I racked in Sunday's Boulder CX race....he assured me I'm OK...perfect!
Back to Boulder next weekend for Redline and Boulder Cup racing. This time with the Master's crew.

Knee check...A classic road ride through Colorado National Monument.

FR being the conservationist he is, waters a dead tree in the Monument.

A day after barely missing disaster in Boulder after survivng a rather nasty crash event at the start of my CX race. It was time for some quality "buddy" time and to make sure my newly bruised knee would still work OK. Bring to the plate Charlie Brown, owner of the Mountain Pedaler in Eagle and Fred Reynolds...two guys who road tripping with and then riding with are guaranteed to provide some great entertainment as well as the unsolicited attacks that only your best riding buddies can provide. The drive over to Grand Junction to ride the Colorado National Monument ride back and forth to Fruita was full of the normal lunacy of all of our road trips, and the ride itself was simply amazing, as this ride always is. This is one of the routs of the old "Coors Classic" and is plain and simply my absolute favorite road ride. To make it even better, the Monument had just been COMPLETELY REPAVED with brand spankin new super smooth asphalt....it was SICK! When riding with these knuckle heads...one thing is for certain. Despite the normalcy of the beginning and middle of these rides, the attacks are sure to come at some point. The ride over to Fruita was sane enough, and as usual I was dropped on the descent due to the fact the Fred Reynolds is just the "death wish" descender, plummeting down winding roads at breakneck speeds....Charlie Brown is not far behind, and then there is me just trying to get to the next climb safe...but arriving in Fruita with a huge smile just the same. Then it's back up into the Monument where the shit is going to hit the fan...it always does, just when and who is not known. The first effort comes from Fred and Charlie and I decide to sit back and let them go as there is waaaay to much climbing left on the way back...I've learned this lesson before. They arrive at the visitor station well ahead of me and we regroup at the potty. As the climbing intensifies the attacks continue and are viscous. We all take turns trying to do our best Lance or Contador or whoever the hell we think we are until we finally arrive at the guard station on the GJ side....IT NEVER CHANGES, WE ALL LOVE TO TRY AND PUT THE HURT ON EACH OTHER AND ALWAYS WILL. And you know what....we do indeed hurt each other, but soooo much fun.

The trip is completed with a stop at Outlaw Ribs in Parachute, if you have never eaten there...DO IT, this is the place Vance Johnson (ex Bronc0)opened two years ago and the food ROCKS...get the ribs, dont mess around!

Thanks for another GREAT day guys...one for the books!

My knee is hurt from yesterday's crash and doing some funky stuff as I post this blog, keeping my fingers crossed it's just soft tissue stuff.

Boulder Reservoir and the run-up from hell......

Trying to get down to the front range for the Master 45+ race which starts at 9:30 is such a stretch I just don't care to do it much anymore (boy, did I pay for that decition. Hence the entry into the Cat 4's today at Boulder Reservoir. The problem with being 50 and racing cat 4 is that in a big field of close to 90 riders, there is always a pretty good chance of a crash at the start because there are typically plenty of inexperienced riders in this class. Today was no exception as a BAD CRASH took place directly in front of me as the pack rolled up to speed. A couple of squirrely riders touched wheels mid pack and the party was on as bikes and riders went flying everywhere. How many times have I told myself to GET TO THE FRONT...ARGH!! I was lucky enough to lock it up and roll over one of the victim's bikes without eating asphalt myself, but then was dropped by the top 40 riders of the field while trying to get it back together....then the flat tire. But all in all it was a GREAT day on a tough course which included this brutal run-up in deep sand...what does'nt kill ya makes ya stronger.

JAKE WELLS VIDEO EAGLE CROSS

Jeez o moley...I've been trying to upload a JW video all season, uploading in this forum has proven to be quite the challenge, but here it is. Jake' s been killin it all season including the two XC races in Eagle last weekend, where he crushed the pros both days. Checkem out...I'll let ya know when I get his Brecktobercross "SAVE" up and runnin.

THE CREM DE CREM......INDEPENDENT FABRICATION

JOIN THE IF TEAM TODAY.......

JUST PLAIN FITS LIKE A GLOVE.

BUCKY RICE TRIES TO START NUKE WAR.

Condalisa Rice attempted to start WWIII this week when she told and showed the world what she saw GW Bush holding in the men's room at the White House. GW said it was an Intercontinental Missile he was getting ready to fire at Iran but when the actual size was revealed, the world suddenly realized he posed absolutely no threat to anyone but a Chiuaua Dog. When asked what she was doing in the men's room she replied " well, there was a guy in there re-grouting the tile work and I was trying to bumb a slab off of him to fill this huge gap in my front teeth."

DO NOT MISS NEXT WEEKEND IN BOULDER

BIG TIME CROSS RACIN MEANS.....BEER DRINKIN, BELL RINGIN AND SCREAMIN FOR YOUR FAVORITE LOCAL AND PRO RACERS!!

NOV 3RD

NOV 4TH

\ REDLINE AND BOULDER CUP CX RACES IN BOULDER NOVEMBER 3RD AND 4TH. THESE RACES ARE GOING TO BE "THE SHIT". REGULAR ACA RACES PRIOR TO THE TREMENDOUS PRO SHAJIZZLECROSS THROWDOWN.

IF YOU SEE THIS GUY...RUN LIKE HELL.....

This is "Frenchie". If you ever happen to see this indvidual at a race, or anywhere for that matter....run for your life. This dude turned 72 years old on Saturday and raced BOTH cross races this weekend in the blizzard, on his Mt Bike. God bless this guy's sole but he may be one of cycling's biggest pain in the asses period, next to me. I do encourage you to experience Frenchie violating your space, putting his freekin hands on ya, and spitting violenty in your face while screaming at you in conversaton, all this while he swirls his false teeth around in his mouth slobbering. It is quite the experience. Throw in an "F" bomb every other word while everyone is standing around with their kids and it is a Nirvana like experience. Hale Frenchie...you somtin my man!

THIS JUST IN...

GEORGE BUSH REMAINS "BEHIND" OUR TROOPS 100%

GREAT RACING AND MEMORIES FROM EAGLE SHAJIZZLECROSS.

What a great weekend of CX racing in Eagle. God only knows what I was thinking to myself when this pic was taken, but I'll guarantee you I was smiling and happy as hell to be alive experiencing this great ride. Can it get any better?....suffering in a blizzard along with a bunch of friends cruising along the banks of the Eagle River in six inches of snow? We all left better bike handlers and better competitors for it, and we all suffered and laughed through it as well, as only cyclocross brotherin can ever appreciate. Thanks to all that made it happen. I feel pretty alive (and warm) today!

AND THEN IT WAS OVER.......

Damien Frasier (Mountain Pedaler) of Eagle sums it all up in this pic. The guy is a glutton as he raced early, then decided to give it a go in the 60 minute men's open race. By the time the open race started, the course had deteriorated into a greasy slippery mud pit. Damien paid a dear price for his decision to give it a second go and proclaimed with two to go "I'M OVER IT". He then suffered through the last two laps stating he did not want to catch a bunch of shit from his buddies for quitting early. Well, he finished, and he got shit anyway.

Even the kids came out to play in the snow.....

Sam Brown pictured here on his lap through DEEP snow gets assistance from Peter Davis (PFD is currently leading the "greatest rider of all time poll"). Notice the smile on Sam's face? This is the future of cyclocross. And with guys like PFD helping out it is sure to continue....Peter at one time was one of the fastest riders in the country when he raced for CREST. He has also been key in my own development as a cyclist...and a partier.

Sam Brown (252) powering the pedals up the hill like dad Charlie would.

These are NOT idiots.....

Just a bunch of cyclocross junkies getting ready to chase the dream.....dream on. Eagle Cyclocross 2007

CROSS RACER SO ELATED HE CRAPS SELF..

This racer who will remain un-named was so happy to get out of the snow and mud after the race that he crapped himself as this picture shows...conditions were pretty ruthless but I never expected something like this to occur.....reminded me of my Brecktobercross experience.

JAKE WELLS DOMINATES EAGLE WESTERN SLOPE CYCLOCROSS SERIES WEEKEND WITH TWO CRUSHING VICTORIES

Airborn at 50...and lovin it.

It DUMPED during the night and through the early races....this was a tough and sloppy barrier section. The mud came later during the open women's and men's races.

WHO IS THIS FREAK? Jake Wells (http://www.mafiaracing.com/) on day two, lapped all but three riders in the men's open race. The course became a slopfest as temps rose into the mid 30's later in the day. Earlier the temps were in the high 20's....I literally froze my ass off during my race and left part of a cheek out there which was later used to build the snowman below.

Jake Wells the day before had one of his best victories period as far as I'm concerned. He crushed it right out of the starting gate and beat Jay Henry (in his first CX race), Mike Janelle, and Glen Light out of Steamboat by a substantial gap...Jay Henry came with a brutal chase with two to go and closed the gap down on his Mt Bike...but put himself in the CYCLOCROSS LOCKER OF HURT trying to catch and eventually conceded the very well earned victory to JW. Wife Linda and Daughter Tatum gleamed with joy as dad threw down his big can of woopass. Big win...Jay Henry could race in the Flintstone Mobile and it would be one hell of an effort to beat him...for JW, the future is now.

Courtney Gregory (mafiaracing.com) stands next to the GIANT snowman that showed up to greet racers just before entering "the maze".

STAY TUNED FOR EAGLE SNOWCROSS UPDATE

the ultimate squirt lube day...

it was indeed a classic cyclocross day in Eagle today as Jake Wells swept the Weekend open/pro races in stunning fashion...more to come with pics later this eve...I need a nap.


IT DUMPED 6 INCHES OF SNOW LAST NIGHT....IT'S GONNA BE EPIC CX CONDITIONS!

THE EAGLE CROSS COURSE......

The Mud Pit

The Venue

The Runup

JONO BRAAAAAA RIPPIN SURF CITY...MOAB/2007

THE RIDLA RIDIN TO 3RD....

Between bouts of puking and stomach issues...Jono bra ripped a couple of smokin laps...just look at his form here and you can see why brothas....deep sand, weight back, easy on the bars and haulin ass.....that's how you ride the sand in Moab! Kill it brooooo!

CYCLOCROSS RACES DO NOT JUST HAPPEN

charlie brown livin the cross dream

With ACA cyclocross coming to Eagle this Saturday and Sunday thanks to Ken from Independent Fabrications, who put together the Western Slope Cross series, the local boys headed out to the course sight today to start creating the course. With implements in hand we knocked out most of the work and should be ready to go by Saturday A.M. Of course we knocked off at dark with a Guinness and the course will be similar to many of our old courses with a couple of minor tweeks. We don't get the chance to Cross very often here folks, so come out and enjoy and thank the fellas for their hard work......Charlie Brown, PFD, Brian, and Courtney wawawawawazup Gregory...

NOSE DIVE VIDEO FROM 24 OF MOAB/2007

CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO OF THE NOSE DIVE DURING THE 24 HOURS OF MOAB...ONLY A HAND FULL OF RIDERS ACTUALLY RODE DOWN THIS INSANE FACE. UNFORTUNATELY, NONE WHILE I WAS THERE TAKING PICS...DO YOU SEE A NEGOTIABLE LINE ANYWHERE IN THIS VIDEO TO RIDE? I BEG TO DIFFER.

AND THE UNHERALDED HEROES OF MOAB.....

Without this crew the race in Moab would be a super miserable experience. This is the infamous water truck that never stops running during the race and continues to wet down the camping area roads and trails in an effort to keep the dust down. The event is really quite the show with highly coordinated efforts to make the race as pleasurable as possible for everyone...too bad Laird is still a schmuck.

Nice Job H2O crew.

The Most Insane Start in Mountain Bike Racing

If you have never seen the start of the 24 Hours of Moab....it is insanity. This pic was taken about midway through the pack on lap one. This short but steep off camber rock face absolutely bottle knecked the pack as the stronger riders off the front were able to escape the crowd and power up this short techy section and be gone. This continuos snake of riders lasted for nearly 5 minutes. It was a sight to see and everyone who reads this blog knows at least one person in this mass of riders....

SWEEEEEEEEEP!!

HOLY CRAP!

THE ROCKIES ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!

I NEED TICKETS!

CALL ME IF YOU GOT SUM....

EAGLECROSS COMING THIS WEEKEND...10/19 & 10/20

DO NOT MISS EAGLE CYCLOCROSS THIS WEEKEND

ACA SANCTIONED, CALL 328-DIRT FOR DETAILS

24 Hours of Moab recap

Heading out to Moab this year and not actually racing was a super laid back experience with "no worries" all weekend but to polish off a 24 pack of Stella and a bottle of Crown Royal (Thank you Telluride gang on solo row!) with the gang and watch some racing around "Behind the Rocks'. Let me start this blog post buy saying that Laird from Granny Gear productions, who is the race promoter and organizer proved once again that he is the TRUE Sandbagger of all promoters, as he collects exorbatant amounts of money from people then tries to evaluate who is sandbagging on "his meter" and procedes to screw over a bunch of people who support his event....such a shame.

Meanwhile back at the race, locals ripped it up. Mike Janelle (Tokyo's) and Nat Ross (Subu/Gary Fischer) were in the money for the overall as a DUO team but faded during the night hours. Janelle, the sick one pictured here. road the "Nose Dive" clean every lap (that's nine times folks)

"Nacho Janelle"

!XXX! AND THIS IS THE NOSE DIVE !XXX!

in Men's Vet, Mike Gibbs, Ronan, Bill Mac and Adam Plummer squeaked one out for second over Jono Ridler, Toph Leonard, Zach Bingham and Adam Palmer who drove out to Moab race morning to replace Steve White who came down sick the day prior...a HUGE effort from Palms to get the boys on the Podge (the podium). Nice work guys.

Killin it in Women's Vet, and almost beating every women's team out there was the team of Julie Morrow, Heather Sappenfield, Katie Brazelton, and Michelle Keane. This is where the SQUIRT crew set up camp as we'd rather have hung out with some of the fastest chikas during the race than a bunch of stinky dudes...Great work ladies! We had a blast crashing your camp!

Main highlight of the the weeee hours of night racing was hanging out with the Telluride support crew for Rob P. Lichtenwalner, friends of Dave Griebling from SQUIRT. We brought gifts (Crown Royal) to their tent which the support crew galdly HAMMERED DOWN in record time. We then spent the rest of the evening trying to burn every single goathead weed we could find within a mile of camp. It was a HUGE time as we screamed for everyrider on course and watched select riders jump the "Karma" fire pit where we promised "time primes" for succesful jumpers.the karma fire pit on solo row.

Rob P. Lichtenwalner finished third in men's solo...the dude was sick, he would come into the tent after the lap, eat a grape and go back on course, I'm not sure how the hell he pulled off a third but the guy was an incredibly tough SOB from South Africa

DEREK J. FISH BELOW, HIS FIRST LAP, HENCE THE SMILE

And one of the best freekin stories in the men's solo division was Derek Fish on his single speed, I caught this pic of him on lap one at "the move" on the first climb in the middle of 400 riders. When I finally went to sleep at 2 A.M. Fish was in 19th place in Solo....which I thought was a pretty amazin effort on the single speed. When I woke up and checked the standings that morning he had moved up to 6th. Sick, I stood on the last hill of the course to go scream at his ass and encourage him to do one more lap before cutoff. I waited for a long time, when he finally came buy me he was battered physically and broken mentally, it was 11:30, I jumped his ass with every bit of encouragement I could and he simply looked at me and said "I think I'm done". Just looking at him told me he was indeed done, but I shouted encouragement just the same, he gave it all he had as I put a hand on the small of his back to push him up and over the last climb to the tent on the road and felt the weight of a man who had just left every ounce in his body out on the course. He finished 8th overall in solo. What a warrior.

When you drink and don't race...this is the result. The ignorance of youth.

24 OF MOAB GETS POACHED

As many of you know, last years 24 of Moab experience was miserable for EVERYONE. This year left endless opportunities for someone still pisssed off about last year to not only protest this experience but perhaps show thier displeasure in some way at this years race. Attached is the video which shows how someone decided to protest last years ripoff of the masses. Notice when you stop the video, the orange ski mask, covered by the 1983 Brancale helmet (seen that one before?). This charge to the tent took place 15 seconds before the first racers (Mike Janelle) entered the start tent after the first lap had concluded as the rider shown poached the first lap honors under full camo....orange ski mask, patagonia boxers pulled up to his boobs, no sox, and a Squirt Lube sleeveless mid-drift jersey. Notice the announcer reference to Rosie Ruiz? And notice the Salsa El Santo under foot.......unfortunately the video was taken sideways so you must turn your head to appreciate it....as well as slow it down as I was COMIN IN HOT. yeah....

the "poacher" hits the tent hot on lap one.

\

AND THEN THE ESCAPE FROM THE START TENT....WITH THE LEADERS COMING IN RIGHT BEHIND ME....

dog with game face on...Moab 2007

ROCKIES 4 DIAMONDBACKS 1

SOMEWHERE UP MCKENZIE GULCH....

the reason I live here, and one of my favorite pics, just dumb luck for an amatuer photo person.

ROCKIES 3 DIAMONDBACKS 2

LOOK FOR NEXT WEEKS BLOGGING FROM 24 HOURS OF MOAB. SHOULD BE WORLD CLASS.

MOAB SURVIVAL KIT

THANK YOU COSTCO!

ROCKIES 5 DIAMONDBACKS 1

AND IT'S OFF TO MOAB WITH THE SQUIRT BOYS

LOOK FOR THE SQUIRT GUYS AT MOAB...WE WILL BE THERE PUSHING PRODUCT, RINGING COWBELLS AND PERHAPS SHARING A COCKTAIL.

NO RACING FOR ME THIS YEAR! IT'S GONNA BE A BIG TIME! THE 50TH CONTINUES

IT SHOULD BE WONDERFUL STAYING IN A WARM SLEEPING BAG AT 3 A.M. INSTEAD OF SCROUNGING AROUND LOOKING FOR MY ARM WARMERS THEN STANDING AT THE START TENT FOR 45 MINUTES....CHEERS TO ALL YOU WARRIORS! LET THE SUFFERING BEGIN!

A QUICK MOM BLOG

Mom visits Colorado Where in the world would any blogger be without the backing of his mom? Seen here at Age 80 (my mom that is) on her recent visit to Colorado from Florida, it's clear I've come from a pretty good gene pool at least on one side as mom took the 80+ open division Cross race in Frisco this weekend. She just hammered the climbs, it was awesome, then it was back to the couch for Regis and Kelly.

So I'm suffering on day two of Frisco Cross....

Mario C putting me in my place....

and on the third lap (or was it the second?) I see this punk come flashing by me on the climb...and it's none other than Mario Chiarani (mario c), 15 years old, and racing with the 45+ crew because he has scared all the other juniors out of the sport. I'm currently running 11th in a pretty good field and as Mario blows by me he looks over as if to say "come on old man, lets go get some." At that point I'm just hanging on for life and trying to hold my place in the race as he disappears into the top ten....my only solace that I was able to ride the short sandy run-up which he had to dismount and run...making more ground on me in reality. At my age I find clutching for straws is the only way to get anything one-up on this kid at this point. MC finshed 8th in a smokin field...and may have finished higher with a better start. Nice job grasshopper. Check out HIS blog at http://racerwrenchkid.blogspot.com/

Larry G himself, either off the front, or off the back, I'll leave that up to you. At least I was not sprinting to the toilet.

Crossmania weekend in Frisco

Wow...definitely feelin the love of 50 years today. Big time CX racing this weekend in Frisco with plenty of local talent throwin it around. In the middle, Dave Burns of the Mountain Pedaler team on the day two run-up. Burnsy crushed it and finished 6th in the mens Cat 4 race. The top pic is Courtney Gregory (mafiaraing.com) drivin to a top ten in the Mens Cat 3 race (Georgia Gould crushed the men's cat 3 race the day before...amazin). And the lower shot is Charlie Brown, shop owner of Mountain Pedaler, cresting the run-up as he prepares for a run at Nationals in Kansas City this year in December. As for myself, racing the open 45+ cat is becoming an excersize in futility as far a high placement in the standings goes as I'm racing against a bunch of ex pro roadies. When Steve Meyer from summit is placing 6th you know you have your work cut out for you. I mean Meyer is a guy who was regularly beating Peter Davis in our Local Mt Bike scene this summer for the first time, which means he is a VERY fast rider, and he is finishing 6th? Yikes. I placed 19th and 14th respectively and despite getting my ass handed to me realize that at 50, it is a blessing to be out there with these guys and that I still LOVE CXing despite the toll on my body and cycling ego. This may actually be the perfect training for Nationals as I'll be in a group of 50+ guys instead of 45+.......we shall see.
Jake Wells also racing for Mafia, crushed the mens open field on Sunday finishing second, sorry I missed that one JW but CB was drivin and had to get back home......ALL LOCALS COME OUT FOR THE TWO EAGLE CX RACES ON THE 20TH AND 21ST OF OCTOBER.....see u there!

FLYING FRISCO CROSSERS...

Just being to plain tired to try and BLOG right now, here are a couple of pics from Frisco Cross today, it was a stellar day with snow predicted for round two tomorrow. check out these flying crossers, Tim Faia being third here, but went on to win this 35+ open race

And then there is the latest addition to Mafia Racing below, Courtney Gregory working his way up through the field. He was going really well when he dropped his chain on the last lap and lost half a dozen spaces. IT'S ALWAYS FREEKIN SOMTIN!

As for me, I'm back to the couch with a pile of Chinese food bigger than the pile I dropped at Brecktobercross in front of me. Rockies-Phillies game three in 30 minutes. Jono Stopped by the race scene this morning on his way to Denver and he is at the ball game as I write, bastard. Actually Jono, have a great time and drive home safe my friend, the weather sux tonight and that means Frisco Cross tomorrow in the snow and mud...yeah brothas!