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A recent post on the Cyclocross Magazine forum and our recent weather patterns have had me out on my ‘cross bike (in ‘commuter-form’) way more than my road bike lately. it’s the bike i ride all winter (aluminium) but by now I’ve usually switched over to my road (steel) bike. beyond the differences in the potential corrosion of the frames from moisture and rock-salt, there are alot of factors that effect a bike that’s on the road almost every day for 15-30 miles. i do highly recommend a cyclocross frame for a commuter bike, but there some things that you need to take into consideration if you’re going to race it as well.

1) drivetrain wear is imminent. you can wash your chain twice a week and brush the cogs and rings too, but all the road debris that gets stuck to the chain is going to eat the teeth faster than if you’re just training/racing. like i said, you can be diligent, but you’ll need new parts. i keep several different cassettes — usually of higher quality — in the tool box for race days. i also save my “good” chain rings for the race season. a brand new chain goes on the bike at the end of September too.

2) brakes break. especially if it is wet. this also makes dirt, etc. stick to the pads which in turn wears them down much faster than normal. again, you can clean the pads (and rims!) often but they’ll still wear down and effect stopping. it’s arguable that this doesn’t really make a difference in a race but, i mean, they’re your brakes… i replace the pad cartridges with sets of higher-quality ones for the first race too.

3) the same applies to rims. the braking surface gets all scratched up from that debris and the junky pads that stay on there. a race-only wheelset is pretty much a necessity if your using a ‘cross bike for double duty.

4) bearings, etc. the same little bits of grime that mess up all the above mentioned are going to work their way into all the bearings too. and, if your ever “power-wash” a bike after a muddy race or because you just commuted through monsoon season, you risk damaging them by stripping them of their lubricant. again, race-only wheels will help this but you’ll really have to break the bike down and clean/re-lube/re-adjust for racing after commuting. I’ve completely re-built a complex freehub, complete with loose needle bearings, that had been raced/commuted — no one wants to do that; trust me. it was also shocking to see what had accumulated in there…

So; you have to take the good with the bad. It is worth it due to the typical ‘cross bike’s versatility, etc. however, if you’re serious about racing use a diffrent bike during the season and get another pair of wheels. I’ll be gluing up these (pretty affordable tubulars) real soon.

It should be somewhat obvious that I am enthusiastic about road racing. So when presented the opportunity to visit the Highland Park Trek Store to meet with the ATA and Robbie Ventura, I was very excited. While I am not a very serious road racer, I have the utmost appreciation for it and train just the same way for cyclocross as roadies do, for the most part. Also, being able to spend some time with the good folks from ATA and some of their members was a pleasure.

As you may know, I don’t own a Trek but do ride some Bontrager components. I had also only been to the Trek store in Michigan Ave downtown prior to Thursday. That did not stop me from being continually impressed by Trek. The Highland Park location is huge. Partly due to the fact that it also houses a Vision Quest training facility as well. I was immediately impressed be the magnitude — and there was a lot of awesome old US Postal/Lance Armstrong memorabilia on display.

The event served as a benefit to ATA members and as a social get-together. The presentation by Ventura was to be the highlight (despite the bicycle powered blender’s best efforts).

small bike or big blender?

He went on to explain Vision Quests’ mission as well as telling some very interesting stories about providing commentary on the Tour de France for VS. It made me, and hopefully everyone else in the audience, even more excited to see what unfolds in July (Contador has it locked!).

I have known people to use Vision Quest for winter training programs and they all spoke very highly of them. During the Q & A portion Robbie also mentioned that the spectrum of instruction they offer at VQ includes lessons on riding in a pack. It made me think back to my first Hillsboro, last year, when I was in a chase group without any of my own teammates. The two Vision Quest riders in the pack were able to keep the paceline organized despite alot of other riders’ inabilities. It really solidified my opinion of them as a class-act — and now I know why.

Overall the event was great! Next time maybe I’ll get to tell Robbie a bike racing story; like about the time I saw him jump a curb on Zipp 808’s at last year’s Glencoe Grand Prix!

Congratulations to Tornado Tom! I knew he was going to do it again, but it’s amazing none the less. WIsh I could’ve seen the whole race (sounds like there were a lot of crashes). As for me, I’ll be racing Mountain Bikes(!?!?) this weekend. Check back in soon for more posts, though.

… as a Cat5. Also the last race I completed. The last road race for a few weeks too. Anyway.

Hillsboro Roubaix delivered yet again, with drop-dead gorgeous weather, great racing and a banner day for my team.

As for my race; it seems as though I was one of the only ones in the field that had raced, possibly at all, this season already. There was almost a crash not 2 miles in and on a straight. The pack could keep no semblance of steady pace, so i attacked at just about mile 5 (of 22). I felt good. Too good. As I kept looking back I really started to believe my break could stick, so I stopped looking and put my chin on my stem.

After a while the wind got the best of me (they should call it Windsboro Roubaix). 2 other racers had chased me down and we began to work together. After we all took a few pulls, I was unable to hold their wheels up one of the climbs. It wasn’t such a bad ascent, but I was cooked and it was beginning to show. I decided to let them go.

Apparently I did a good job of breaking up the pack. Another chase group of about 6 picked me up and in in was my teammate, Stan. Again, we all tried to work together and I tried to keep Stan out of the wind. After getting stuck behind the women’s PRO field on a descent — rendering us unable to pass legally — the climb back up “broke” me (according to the wheel-truck driver’s assessment of my facial expression). The rest of the group got away and I was alone.

Recovery being a strength of mine, I was at least able to catch up with Stan again. He was having a hard time getting his heart-rate down so I kept him in the gutter (see photo) as best I could until the final climb into town. Having just ridden Georgia’s mountains, Hillsboro’s “toughest” climb seemed like a cakewalk compared to last year. So, i just spun up it as fast as I could. I did not realize that I was dropping Stan.

The 40+mph descent into town is always one of my favorite parts, so I laid it all down. I had slight concerns regarding the remaining pack and I wanted to ensure a spot for both Stan and I in the top 10. Unfortunately Stan got nipped at the line in a sprint with a xXx rider, but he still got 10th. I got 8th. Our teammate, Mia, in her first race ever got 9th in the women’s Cat4.

I wish all road races could be like this… but it’s back to “reality” now. Can’t wait ’til next year.

I bought it hook, line and sinker.  My friend/teammate Julie wrote the “press release” that i posted the other day. Fool me once…

Welcome to April in Chicago. Windy, cold, impending threats of snow. Maybe this is worth the exorbitant price? I could see using it for 5 or more months a year around these parts. Sidi needs to get those to shops here, stat!

The Spring Super Crit also delivered on the Midwestern promise of “spring.” While I was able to get both of my races in before the moisture fell, it was obnoxiously cold. I still had fun though, and am pleased with the results from myself and teammates.

check out this video of the bunch-sprint for the finish:Burnham 4/5 sprint