Time Slips Away: Limestone Cross 2012

   If there's any factor that brings my motivation down to a yawning idle, it's cold, rainy early mornings spent trying to prepare for a cross race. I packed my biggest race bag full of gear in hopes to allay the unpredictable. Jackets, towels, clean socks, and a handful of kit changes filled the bag to the brim. Arriving at the venue, which I thoroughly enjoyed racing last year, was just soaking in the rain. The intensity of which was much more so than in Philly, not to mention the decent drop in temperature as well.
   I got a couple of laps on before the first women's race of the day and set off for a place to wash my bike. I came up short on that search, so I watched Nathalie and Shaina take off for their race and cheered them on for the easier to get to parts of the course. Nathalie was in a good position and her ability to handle the bike through the crazy conditions were obviously giving her an advantage over others.
  Ben, my team mate, smartly brought a pressure washer, so I was finally able to clean my bike before the start of our race, the Young Masters 35+. Bike cleaned, I went to puton some clean kit. Even dressed up in new gear and somewhat warm, my ambition was really laying down. The course was a mess, and I predicted the race would go best for those who made the least mistakes. That's not my favorite way to race mainly because making mistakes is something I'm pretty good at.
   With myself, Jack, and Ben in the Young Masters, I felt confident we could come away with a good result. I pretty much blew my front row start by spinning my tire off the line and coming face to face with a hay bale. Once around all that, I spent the first entire lap playing my best game of "that's not the line" and hitting the deck often. All the tricks I usually get away with as far as getting around people were failing me. On the tiered, off camber section after the climb past the reg building, I slid out so spectacularly, I went under the tape. I managed to be ok on the two successive run-ups-ride downs, though in a bit of traffic, the loose dirt and roots on the first one was really hard to navigate and I ended up in the cold mud again.
  I finished my first lap just shaking my head. My team mates were a distant vision in front of me. Something took hold of me though and I actually put in a couple good laps back to back and made up a lot of places.
  Then I couldn't shift. Or I should say, my chain wouldn't stay seated on any gear but my 26 tooth. I had heard of cassettes packing in, but I really hadn't had it happen to me before. I have no pit bike, so I had to make do with only shifting between my small and big ring, which left me pretty under geared  for the majority of the course.
   This was a big dissapointment because I was starting to ride ok and I now had watts to spare. The only places to put down any effort was on the one rideable climb. I had to spin furiously to make up any time on the riders ahead of me. I did manage to bring back Matt Morrison and Dan Rapp by the end of our last lap and finished right between them for 11th.
  I was pretty disheartened with the race and my poor equipment choices. It sucks when both your bike and your riding collude against you, especially at the last race of the year here.
   On better note, I learned that after a damaging crash, Nathalie was ok and Mike from SRAM neutral support replaced her broken lever right there! Thanks! Another reason SRAM is the best!
  Gerald, Mikey and Willem had a great final elite race with Gerry riding into the top ten and has the distinguished accolade of having ridden Heckler's Hill cleanly!
   Dennis Smith was on hand and took some great team shots of us, with a number of folks on the team coming up just for the photo. Awesome!
Dennis Smith
Dennis Smith

Kutztown and Continuing Our Podium Ways

   You may say this write up is a bit late, but I just see it as taking some time to reflect.
  Last year a few of us on the team went up to the race in Kutztown and went 3 for 3 in winning our respective races. Jack took the B race handily, I rode a clean, hard race for a win in the Master's, and Gerald had an exciting go of it with Gunnar and won the Elite race.
  This year we went up with a few more teammates, and for Saturday, still held podium placings for every race the team entered. Our most recent team member, Michael Miller took the win in the B race after a brave solo move on the last lap. Jack Drummond took a tough race to task to finish third in the Master's. Finally our Gerald rode with a stellar, strong group and finished 3rd in the elite race, just getting pipped at the line by Mike DiBie in the race for 2nd.

Michael Miller and Anthony So take off in the Men's B race

Gerald Adasavage sprints for 2nd in the Elite Men's race against Belgian phenom Mike De Bie (Philadelphia Cyclocross School)

   Now I heard a little bit of kvetching about the course through the day. I can't say I love the course, but it is a pretty fun maze to race through. It was the kind of course that when you pre-ride, it doesn't feel great, but then while racing, you can develop a good rhythm, with exception of the spiral. I dislike a spiral. But a race is a race, you gotta play it as it lies, right?
  We fielded myself, Brendan, and Gerald for the Elite race. To continue a theme, I again missed my pedal off the line, I made up some room after a horseshoe turn around a pavilion, but lost it all over cooking the next 180 turn to go past the start/finish. I didn't have clear sight of the turn in the scrum and went way, way too wide ending with me in the tape at a complete stop. Now I'm no jerk racer, so I waited for the guys to pass before trying to salvage my race which means I was pretty much at the end of the line.
   The course had no singular feature, but its theme was definitely turns. I love some good bike driving, but turns make passing very hard. I caught up to a big group of some familiar racers. Festa, Freyberger, Dag, Troy Kimball, Joe Pigga, and a few more. It pretty much felt like a crit. We were single file and for a while, railing the turns. I had more ambition than to settle into a group that big but making my way through it took a couple of laps. By the time I got off the front of that group, the race in front of me was pretty broken up. With 5 laps to go I got a good flow on and was really letting it out on the turns. It was fun! The rider in front of me was getting closer but I could also see he was riding really smooth. I really had to dig deep to even pull back a couple of seconds. With 2 to go the big group behind me was all but shattered, and a couple of riders decided to have a go of trying to reel in some people. I was so wrapped up in finding places to pull back time on the NJMTB guy in front of me that I made some dumb mistakes. I struck my pedal in a couple turns, pitching the bike sideways and drifted off the good lines.
   I lost some time to the guy ahead of me and on the last lap my game changed to just holding my place and staying ahead of the charging duo behind me. I did a bit of time calculations and rode a smooth lap. I did allow them to take back a little time on me, but I wasn't going to get pressured into making a mistake. With a hard effort in the final section of the race I rolled across the line 10th. It felt good to have salvaged something after such a horrible start and it's always awesome to feel like you're full on racing for an hour.

Railing some turns at Kutztown Cross

Pj Freeman Photos Here!

How Rad Is That: Stoudt's and CR/Cx

     Heading into the cross season that we're currently entrenched in, many of us mid-Atlantic racers spent a bit of time lamenting the loss of Granogue and a substantially shortened MAC points series. But if any one thing comes out as a theme of this year it is that the racing scene here is in a definite building period.
  Take, for instance, the introduction of two new venues in the past few weeks: Cooper River CX, and Stoudt's Brewery cyclocross. We are always excited and grateful when promoters and land owners invite us to come ride maze-like lines on their property. It seems we are not alone in this excitement as both races had fantastic registration numbers, not to mention a super fun and positive atmosphere, and tough, memorable courses.
   CR/Cx was held in Cherry Hill, NJ, in a park running alongside the river. The course ran long and narrow, meandering around trees and walking paths, rolling up and down the park's natural landscape. With a couple of sandy, rooted corners and a few wide open sections, the race became that of attrition. With the venue being so close to Philly, almost all the team went to race. We also got the chance to serve our favorite Melitta Coffee to officials, volunteers, and racers for free.
  Linda and Nathalie topped off their races at 6th and 14th respectively in the 1,2,3 field. I the men's elite race, Gerald pulled out a 6th place spot while Mike Green rolled in just out of the top ten after a hard fought race. I, myself, had a worse race in a while after Being on the losing end of someone making a pretty bad pass. My front wheel was chopped and I went to put a foot down, but at the speed we were rolling at my foot hit the ground and gave my back a bit of compression. A lap later, seeing four or five to go, my back simply seized. Oh well, that's racing. I left for home a bit dejected, but it didn't spoil my overall great feelings for an awesome new race and course.
  In contrast to CRCx's temperate, calm day, Stoudt's Cyclocross threatened to be a bit more ominous. The rains from the recents storm threw in a few more variables for me. Given that no one has raced this course before, it was anyone's guess what the terrain would be like.
  On the approach to the brewery, I saw many a mud covered bike. Upon arriving, there was much talk of the mud and weather. I was anxious to get on the course and try to dial in the lines and equipment. The course did not disappoint as far as being tough, with the feature of the race being a long uphill run with a serious mud bog at it's base.
   Watching the team excel in one race after another was giving me some confidence. Though all the assuring in the world would have been wasted on me anyway because I missed my pedal off the start and really couldn't get into it for anything. Starting on the 3rd row and on a narrow starting road, this all but sealed my race as I exited the road just about last wheel. It took a lap to even move up a few places, but soon I was riding with my teammates, so I decided to just be happy and try to stay focused. Ryan DeWald at some point flew past our group after having a worse start than I did and put the spurs into me. Mike Green and I rallied and spent the remainder of our race just trying to pick off the riders in front of us.
  It's rare in cross to be able to work together with your team, but here we were, taking our turns on the front and trying to keep the motivation on like a true chase!  Ultimately, we ended up in 10th & 11th with Mikey making a couple of good moves in the final to finish in front of me. Gerald was up battling at the front the whole race, as I gleaned by hearing the announcers while I was suffering, to finish 4th!
  With a couple truly outstanding beers at the end and some quality Team Time, I went home a very grateful racer for such a great event. Thanks!

   With the addition of new races and venues, I can't help but feel we, here in the Mid-Atlantic are really building toward a wonderfully full calendar of classic and inventive courses to rival any other region. And that's that.


Awesome shots from Dennis Smith

Hitching post

Sometimes CX is a dreamy blur

http://instagr.am/p/PfPj-jJSry/

How we roll: Velocity Rims and Wheels

    The inevitable march of time has brought us through another summer. For the Bicycle Therapy team, with the twilight coming earlier each day, our anticipation grows greater for the cyclocross season. August is always a frenzy of equipment choices and evaluations. We study tire treads, rim widths, and handlebar shapes with a curiosity to match that of the best tinkerers. While the team is rich in spirit and good looks, when it comes to our equipment budget, it occasionally seems we have more cobwebs than cash.

    Having equipment sponsors then becomes a super important part of keeping the team running like the well-tuned machine it can often be. Velocity, the manufacturer of rims and complete wheelsets, has come on board as the team's newest sponsor, and the pairing could not have been more timely nor a better match for us. The folks at the Grand Rapids-based operation have always made impressive products, but in their latest offerings, they have really hit the nail on the head.

   Velocity has versatile and customizable options tailoring to just about every desire and price level. Need some 20 or 24 hole rims to build on some Chris King R45's? Looking for a pre-built wheelset that may outlast most others? Through the varied builds our team has requested, each order was completed expertly and quickly.

     For the 2012 cross season, the Bicycle Therapy team is taking advantage of both of the wider rims Velocity offers: the Major Tom and the A23. The Major Tom is their tubular rim offering that measures to a portly 22mm wide. This above average width provides more purchase between the rim and tire allowing for more surface area for better adhesion. While the Major Tom is not the lightest in the strata of tubular rims, at ~420g each it is not unduly heavy. It builds up into an exceptionally stiff and responsive wheel which tends to be able to take more than its fair share of abuse. The machined brake surface offers consistent and predictable braking with minimal wear to the rim over time.

     The A23 rim is the Major Tom's clincher counterpart. As the name suggests, it is 23mm wide and weighs in at ~430g. The wide rim craze is sweeping the industry, and with good reason. The wider rim allows for a more rounded tire shape which decreases the rolling resistance as well as cuts down the possibility of getting pinch flats. Also, with Velocity's recent move to U.S. manufacturing, the A23 is now a tubeless ready rim.



While carbon wheels are fantastic and enviable, they're not always the most practical choice for a privateer team like ours.  We try to get the most racing as possible out of the season and can't afford the time lost due to scrambling to replace hopelessly damaged equipment.

Bay Area Super Prestige #1: Candlestick Park

I went out blazing and had a smoking first lap. Too smoking, in fact, as I couldn't hold it. (In this series there's a Women's C race in the morning, and then the As, Masters, and Bs are all on the course at the same time, which is a lot of carrot for me on the start line.) It felt good to be riding well though, even if it only lasted a lap and a half. The rest of the race hurt more and I was sliding backward. I had a small slide-out and dropped chain, wound up as packfill in the Bs.

Trying to see lines out of brown instead of green was a little disorienting. It hasn't rained since April so that grass has been dead for 5 months. This course was just 3 miles from home, in the marginal land around the 49ers football stadium, and they made good use of what they had. Can't wait for a mud race, and I think we might even time it so newly-Californian Jon Goulet, a visiting Mike Mast, and I can all meet up at the next race in the series.

Photo by Dylan McReynolds.

Good people race cyclocross

"Jack had a good race yesterday. Jack is good people. Good people race cyclocross." So says @surlyrider (and thanks to the same for the photo).

Racing with Sue Haywood

Last Saturday Team Bicycle Therapy / Melitta sent a six-pack (Linda, Angie, Nathalie, Mikey, Jack, Brendan) to the Iron Hill Challenge and came home with a little bit of mud, a lot of podiums, and even more grins. Here, Linda Mattioni looks back from the Pro/Cat 1 podium.

On the way down to the Iron Hill race this past Sunday, I wasn't too thrilled about the idea of racing in the slick condition that the course was probably in. Then there was the condition of MYSELF that I wasn't too thrilled about either. Does anyone ever feel ready for their first race of the season??

If I had time to fill my head with those thoughts, then of course I was totally oblivious to the fact that I'd be racing with (make that waaaaay behind) a MTB legend. It didn't take long for me to figure out. As I jumped out of the car to run up to registration, the first friend I ran into let me know: "DO YOU REALIZE YOU'RE RACING WITH SUE HAYWOOD???!!!??!". Not that I had a chance to even keep her in sight after the first 10 seconds of the start but I somehow managed to beat out a few other ladies for the chance to stand at the bottom of the same podium as her. I can't forget to mention Cassie Smith and Kathleen Harding though; both extremely talented riders!! I felt a tad unworthy of even my ground position on the podium with those ladies. It was very inspiring and showed me I have a lot of room left to grow.

So, there was the talented company, and then the memories of the un-talented rider I used to be. I can't remember the year it was when I last raced Iron Hill but I kept on getting flash backs of my former mountain bike self during the race; me in my logo-free get-up of a cotton tank top and well worn chamois with no idea what Hammer Gel was. I rolled through sections where I would remember the anger and fear and all the other awesome emotions that come along with being a not-so-awesome mountain bike racer. I would snap out of it just in time to realize I had cleaned the section like I had been riding it every day since the last time I raced there. Between those memories and the stacked podium I ended up on, it was a pretty awakening day.

I've come pretty far from the days when I thought mountain biking was just a fun way to get dirty (you only ride trails after a heavy rain and it's really muddy right?) to now holding a CAT 1 MTB license. I have no desire to train my butt off to be the very best and be #1 all of the time, I just get a bigger smile on my face the faster I can go :)

Here's to bigger smiles!

Oh, and the course was fun as heck!

Gerry's 2012 Red Hook Crit Race Report...

Well, it started with me missing my pedal and basically nutting myself on the front row. I barely hung in the main group the entire race, mostly last wheel. On lap two ( I think) someone went down ahead of me and a cone went flying almost into my front wheel, I thought I was done. Luckily I missed it, but I was pretty much terrified the rest of the race. Mike M watched the crash happen, I didn't really understand where the cone came from. I went to the front and put in as big a pull as I could for about 9/10 of a lap, then went straight to the back, and I barely hung on. I ended up 16th out of 28 finishers. I'm not sure sure if it was just a matter of me not having the legs this year or that the pace was that much faster, but it was was certainly tough to hang on. I was wrecked and once the bell lap hit, I drifted off the back of the main chase. Good times! Now I'll wait another year to pick up a track bike again. Maybe...

More exploration and the 2012 debut of the litespeed

Yesterday the weather was incredible and I had just put my litespeed road bike together.  Going out for a hill ride by myself to work out the kinks in the build I decided to make use of the lack of foliage and check out some old ruins just off the beaten path.

 This could be our new team clubhouse (we can sleep in the hole in the wall at the back right)

Its what real estate brokers call "cozy"

 Some more old stuff

and a hobbit hut

Gerald Adasavage a Featured Competitor at the 2012 RedHook Crit...

Can you say dark horse?

http://redhookcrit.com/competitor/gerald-adasavage/

Adasavage is a rider who excels at cyclocross making him a dangerous competitor in the RHC. Last year, racing the crit for the first time, he rode perhaps the most aggressive race in the field. With more tactics built into his relentless attacking nature Adasavage will be at the front of the field.

Great weekends include Phlyer, Party, Karaoke, Mtbing, and exploration.

This last weekend was the Philly Phlyer.  Someone else might have some good input on this and some pictures to upload.  In short, we had a pretty good showing but the best the team could do was a 7th place finish for Mikey, after a group of 3 got off the front. The race was the slowest Phlyer I have ever done, mostly because team BT changed their tactics this year and weren't attacking the whole time.  Oh well good first race of the year out of the way.  

Saurday night was Brendan's and Gerry's combined birthday party which ended with us all successfully being reunited with our old friend the Karaoke Cop over at Brown st. pub.  It also happened to be a st. Patty's day celebration and we were all witness to at least 2 fights and numerous people puking. 

Sunday came and Brendan, Jack and myself went into the woods riding our funny looking fat tired bikes.   Jack had to turn out early and Brendan and I went to exploring the abandoned reservoir over by the Mann music center.  We found some creepy things in them there woods.  First off, there were a lot of old shoes all over the place, this one was my favorite.

Then we found a weird little area that had bottles on the end of all the branches.  

There was also about 5 of these Giant rusty steel boxes, that upon closer inspection seem to be old heavy-duty safes, taken into the woods and broken open.  Pretty wild stuff

All in all, This weekend was a great showcase for all that Philly has to offer, from beautiful bike racing to drunk people in green to creepy bottle tree / satanic worship woods.

Catch Team BT at the Philly Phlyer this Weekend!

The eyes of the cycling world will be focused squarely on two monuments of spring racing this Saturday: Milan-San Remo in Italy and the Philly Phlyer in Fairmount Park.

While the Phyler may lack the prestige, distance and rich history of Milan-San Remo, it's the unofficial start to the season for the men of Team BT and always promises an afternoon of exciting racing.

While the race is short (only ~25 miles), it offers a little something for everyone...a flat drag race on West River Drive, a climb up Greenland Ave with a fast descent down Ford Road, ending with a few technical turns leading into the finish at Memorial Hall.



Gone are the days of snowy MTB rides, snotsicles and weeks in the little ring...spring is here and it's time to sharpen the knives and get down to business.

The men's 3/4 race goes off at 2:15 and we hope to see you there!

Some thoughts on T-shirt design

So Far This Year

We are just over ankle deep in the year so far and the team, like always, is alive with energy about the prospects of the upcoming bicycle seasons. New coaches have been hired, others dismissed, and luckily no one has been electrocuted by the watts surging through their power meters.
The team has been on a striking amount of both road and dirt in the past few months given the non-winter we seem to be in the midst of. Strava probably had to buy more data storage space just to keep tabs on the team.
Nathalie and I have just returned from a week long getaway in Gainesville, FL where we indulged in MTB Fantasy Camp 2012. We were able to get some long days in the hot weather, which even as mild as it's been around Philly lately, 80+ degrees is no joke and can leave you pretty light headed after 4 hours or so. Thanks to the shop for becoming an Osprey Packs dealer just in time.
As a self respecting, lycra wearing cyclist, it's not easy to strap a water backpack on aesthetically. Like a straight edge kid holding onto a bong, it can be uncomfortable and all that water sloshing around can be a bad spill. The packs from Osprey are awesome though, given that they're easy on the eyes in colors and have nice profiles complimentary to minimal dress. They were a must for a couple of snowbirds like us for sure.


We love Melitta coffee, but this is magic for a cup or two of pour over.

With all the quality time the team has been putting in on the MTB's, I can't help but get excited to do more racing of that sort this year.
It seems that excitement is everywhere right now as all the roadie sightings on the trail indicate. You can surmise they're roadies because they point out sticks and roots on the trail to the people riding behind them.

Also, let's put in a good word for all the rad sportives popping up in the area. The PCS folks are hosting the Bucks county/ Lambertville rides again this year. These super fun kermesse-style rides traverse pavement and gravel over hill and dale along the Delaware river starting with the Hell of Hunterdon. Ride fast and try to punish yourself and all others around you, or have a nice time and enjoy the ride and company, everyone gets beer in the end. Isn't that what really matters?