Wednesday, September 29

BioWheels Racing Heads South for OVCX #2


“The Tour de Louisville is uniquely Kentucky,” says Race Director Steven Webster of the second round of the Zipp OVCX Cyclocross Tour presented by Papa John’s on October 3. “Kentucky’s a pretty place and it doesn’t take a bad picture. But the state is more hills and hollers than anything else, and our course at Fisherman’s Park reflects that. It’s a stoopid, sick, off-camber course that isn’t flat anywhere. It’s completely different than anything else on the Zipp Tour.”
The course at Fisherman’s Park park has been called “off-camber madness” and “high-speed technical”. OVCX Director Mitch Graham called it “that bitchin’ course”. It also features a lot of climbing, making it one of the hardest courses in the Midwest and a favorite of the elite racers. “It all comes down to how hard you can go for how long,” says Webster.
Mitigating the extreme effort of the race somewhat is the beauty of the venue: Louisville’s gorgeous Fisherman’s Park. The park is built around no fewer than eight stocked public fishing lakes (license required) in the naturally hilly area of eastern Jefferson County. “We don’t need to do much course preparation for this race,” says Webster. “We just leverage the existing natural terrain, and that gives us the opportunity to have numerous fall-away sweepers bordered by the lakes.” Then, with a smile, he adds, “If the weather is warm enough, we’ll probably run one of the off-camber descents close to the edge of the lake, so if you screw up you get wet. It should be a popular place for people to watch the races.”
More details about the Tour de Louisville can be found at BikeReg.com. For additional information about the Zipp OVCX Cyclocross Tour presented by Papa John’s, see www.OVCX.com.

Monday, September 20

Gerry Schultze Scores at OVCX #1

First Points Race of 2010 Zipp OVCX Tour presented by Papa John’s
September 19, 2010; Deerfield Township, OH, USA: After the first of fifteen races on this year’s Zipp OVCX Cyclocross Tour presented by Papa John’s, one thing seems certain: the unofficial battle for “Rookie of the Year” is going to be one for the record books. Just as they did the day before at the Kings CX preseason race, two riders who upgraded from last year’s Cat. 3 race dominated the Elite Men’s race at Sunday’s Kings CX Zipp OVCX points opener at Kingswood Park in Deerfield Township, Ohio.
32 competitors lined-up for the start of the Elite Men’s race, only to see DRT Racing’s Josh Johnson and BikeReg.com’s Erik Hamilton ride them off their wheels on a course that was hard, fast and dusty due to the lack of late summer rain this year. Johnson took first ahead of Hamilton in a straightforward race. Rob Kendall (Bob’s Red Mill) chased hard to nail down a podium finish for the second straight day and establish himself as a contenders for the season championship.
The Elite Women had a couple of new interlopers mixed in with the top riders from last year. Team Alderfer Bergen’s Niki Dallaire, coming off of a major injury caused by a collision with a car, rode away from the field after a couple laps. Bridget Donovan (Trek Store Cincinnati/Seven Cycles) took the sprint for second as she, DRT Consulting’s defending series champion Nichole Borem, Gerry Schultze (BioWheels/Reece-Campbell Racing), Team Wood ‘n Wave’s Kiersta Tucker, and Amanda Virotsko (ne: McKay) of Shamrock Cycles/Biowheels Racing all finished together in a pack.
The Zipp OVCX Tour presented by Papa John’s takes a bye week before travelling to Fisherman’s Park in Louisville for the annual Tour de Louisville. For more information, see www.OVCX.com and BikeReg.com.
Related Files:

Thursday, September 16

OVCX Kick Off Weekend


The BioWheels Racing team kicks off the 2010 Ohio Valley Cyclocross season this weekend at the Kings CX weekend in Mason, Ohio.  The weekend starts with a full schedule off non-series races on Saturday as a tune up and on Sunday the racers take to the course again for the first series race of the year. BioWheels Racing looks to send more than seventeen men and women to the start line to compete in categories ranging from beginner women to the men's masters 1/2/3 race throughout the weekend.

Be sure to check early next week for a recap of the weekend's racing.

Sunday, September 12

DINO 6 Hour Race at Versailles


BioWheels Racing made it's presence known with two podium spots at the D.IN.O. 6 Hour Solo Race at Versailles State Park in Indiana. Charlie Miller landed a second place on the day for BWR, while Nathan Mirus came in third for the final podium spot. James Billiter finished with a strong showing in fourth place.

Thursday, September 9

BWR's Brian Collier claims top spot in Kingswood CX Time Trial







BioWheels Racing's Brian Collier finishes atop the final standings for the advanced men in the Queen City Wheels Kingswood Cyclocross Time Trail Series. Fellow BioWheels racer James Billiter claimed the final overall podium spot in the advanced men with a third place in the series


On the women's side BWR's Gerry Schulze took the top spot in the advanced women's category.

Congrats to all of the BWR team members who participated in the Kingswood Time Trial Series series as they get ready to tackle the Ohio Valley Cyclocross Series which kicks off in Mason Ohio on September 19th.

Final standings are here Kingswood CXTT Final

Wednesday, September 1

2010 OVCX Preview


April 26, 2010; Conshohocken, PA, USA: The Zipp OVCX Cyclocross Tour has released a 2010 race schedule that is long on tradition, but with a heightened sense of significance. “I think this schedule will establish the Ohio Valley as a bonafide, red-hotbed of ‘cross,” said Zipp OVCX Director Mitch Graham. “There are only eight UCI C1 races in the U.S. this year, and the Zipp OVCX has 25% of them. We also have three races at the 2013 World Championship (and 2012-2013 Master’s World Championship) venue at Louisville’s Eva Bandman Park and the big three-day Cincinnati UCI3 Festival in October. And it’s looking increasingly likely that another of the municipal parks that we use as one of our venues may also be constructing a permanent cyclocross facility.”
Zipp OVCX’s 2010 schedule will look familiar to long-time followers of the Midwest ‘cross scene. Nearly all of the traditional races have returned, and only one new race, in Indianapolis at the end of the year, has been added to the program. The fifteen-race series encompasses three states, which together represent roughly the same land area as all of Italy. There will be two international weekends comprising five UCI races, two of which will be UCI C1. Altogether, there will be three races in Indiana, and six each in Ohio and Kentucky.
The Tour will start September 19 at the Kings CX weekend in Cincinnati, which last year broke all attendance records for a non-UCI OVCX race. From there, the tour meanders through the region with only one weekend off until the final doubleheader weekend in Indianapolis, Indiana in December. On-line registration for all races on the 2010 Zipp OVCX Tour this year will be through BikeReg.com. For more information on the Zipp OVCX Tour, see www.OVCX.com.
2010 OVCX Schedule:
September 19 Kings CX; Cincinnati, Ohio
October 3 Tour de Louisville; Louisville, Kentucky
October 8 Cincinnati UCI3 - Devou Park UCI C2; Covington, Kentucky
October 9 Cincinnati UCI3 - Middletown UCI C2; Cincinnati, Ohio
October 10 Cincinnati UCI3 - Harbin Park UCI C1; Cincinnati, Ohio
October 17 Bloomingcross; Bloomington, Indiana
October 23 Derby City Cup USGP - UCI C1; Louisville, Kentucky
October 24 Derby City Cup USGP - UCI C2; Louisville, Kentucky
October 31 Eva Bandman STG; Louisville, Kentucky
November 7 Gun Club Cross; Cincinnati, Ohio
November 14 Infirmary Mound; Columbus, Ohio
November 21 Promotion Cross; Lexington, Kentucky
November 28 Buckingham Financial John Bryan OH Champs; Yellow Springs, Ohio
December 4 Ft Harrison; Indianapolis, Indiana
December 5 OVCX Finale - Brookside Cross Cup; Indianapolis, Indiana

Mohican MTB 100 Revelations

MAKING KAJILLIONS
I am going to make kajillions patenting a design for Mud-shield sport glasses and then sell my brilliant idea to Giro and Oakley.  Those in the know at muddy races keep their glasses low on the nose to block the front wheel spray, while being able to see over the top.  Plus it makes you look as cool as Tom Cruise in Risky Business (see photo).  “Just take those old records off the shelf ladies!”  Unless you’re a mouth breather, the problem is, on the end of your nose, your glasses are constantly in a state of cutting off part of your oxygen supply.  I could make kajillions off a set of cycling shields with angled lenses solely to keep mud from getting in your eyes.  It’d be perfect in conjunction with a helmet visor.  Either that or I might try a fencing mask or peel away lens motocross goggles next year.

A BODY BAG IS NO EXCUSE TO DNF
There are three ways to DNF in a race: mental, physical and mechanical.  No matter how hard you rationalize it, when you hang-it-up all three feel like a bad excuse you gave your parents for missing curfew.  Even if they left your bike at the bottom of the ravine and carried you out of the woods in a zippered black bag and tossed you in the back of a big black Cadillac station wagon, you’d still wonder if you could come back as a ghost and finish the race.  With 2 days of torrential rain, hail, flood warnings and tornados prior to and during the 2010 NUE Series Mohican MTB 100, 30% of the riders I was staying with either DNF’d or DNS’d.  DFL (dead freaking last) is better than both of them.  Exhaust all possibilities before telling the official you’re a DNF.  You’ll never know if in the pouring rain while standing in ankle deep mud as the fat guys pass on full-suspension Diamond Back’s you could’ve pulled off the MacGruber and fixed the 7-8 inches of twisted chain on your bike with slippery fingers, those two chain pins and the 3 inch length of chain in your bag.  Otherwise you’ll go home and try to make the fix to see if it was even possible.  Then you’ll think of another way you could’ve saved the day, such as waiting for someone about your size to ride by, pushing them into the ravine and stealing their bike.  Save yourself some misery.  If you DNF’d, just let it go.  Like not getting to the top of Everest, we all have our limits.  You just found your personal death zone.

TOOL #1: CASSETTE BRUSH
If it’s muddy, carry a cassette brush.  Two of us in the cabin this weekend had the same revelation.  I think they’re called the Park Tools GCCB-UT (Park Tools Gear Cassette Cog Brush Unclogger Thingy.)  Lightweight and small it could instantly fix chain suck caused by mud and debris.  I pulled an eight inch vine, grass, roots, pebbles, sand and a 2 inch stick out of my chainrings when I got back to the cabin.  No wonder with every other pedal stroke my chain was getting stuck worse than Oprah in an innertube.  That, a bottle of water and a tiny bottle of lube would’ve saved me from race ending chain bending chain suck.  30 seconds at the side of the trail cleaning is a lot faster than fixing broken chain or limping your way home with a twisted chain.  Plus, you could brush your teeth mid-ride and ham it up for the course photog like this guy.


A BIKE RACE IS NOT A MEASURING STICK OF SELF WORTH (but it sure the hell feels that way)
Never sign up for a race and back out because conditions look bad.  No matter how bad the course or weather looks, it’s a bike race, not walking into a burning building wearing a Vasoline skinsuit.  A friend bailed the morning of the race, eating the $100+ entry fee and a ton of self fed crow.  At the cabin, he could barely look his pristinely clean Sram XX equipped bike in the eye.  As he sat on the couch, a guy in his late 30’s watching a Saturday morning episode of iCarley; his bike sat in the corner and called him a douche all day.  He turned up the volume on the TV to drown out the voice in his head.  He had to resort to kicking all our asses in post-race putt-putt golf to temporarily feed his competitive spirit.  He probably went out for a 100 mile ride when we got back and is still sulking at this moment.  He will continue to beat himself up until the next big race.  Believe it or not, sitting in a warm dry cable TV equipped cozy log cabin is worse than racing the in worst imaginable conditions.  Better to endure the suck and DNF trying.  Later he would ask me, never let a friend back out on a race.  Call them names like wuss-face and pansy pants.  Tell them you just saw a one-legged cancer patient ride by on their way to the start with an IV chemo-bag as a Camelback.  Throw their team kit at them and tell ‘em to suit up.  Strap their helmet on their head.  Fill up and put water bottles on their bike.  If all else fails, take their bike to the start line and tell them, “Dude, if you want your bike, it’ll be on the starting line.”  They will thank you for it.

MY NEW PACKING LIST IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE: (copy and paste for personal use)
Coffee
The really good coffee.
Seriously, because you know all they sell in Boondockville, OH is a 9 pound red metal can filled with dirt and hair from the local barbershop floor masquerading as real coffee.
Bike, Helmet, Shoes, Etc.