Season Wrap

So, it seems traditional to write that "look back at the season, reflect on the season, how was the season, how did I do this season" kind of post. Don't think I'll do the blow by blow, but here are a few tidbits, likes and dislikes from this last cross season...

Likes:

- More & Better races

The races here just got better & better this year. The quality of race promotions is going nothing but UP.

- Support from my wife

She's been nothing but supportive of my race nonsense.

- Great team atmosphere from HPM

Our team has been great this year, a great bunch to race with. That great atmosphere has extended to "the competition" as well. Great competition with great people all year, complete with cyber-stalking, heckling and taunting blog posts. A LOT of fun.

- Lap time data and the timing system

Getting the lap to lap time data has been a really cool addition this year. besides just the plain geek factor, it can be useful for seeing how you race.

- This silly blog is slowly getting more readers

Thanks for reading! I hope it's entertaining. I even got my first nasty comment this year. A whiff of legitimacy? Getting 1100+ hits a month in the heat of cross season. Not the big time, but I'm happy that many of you want to read my rambling.

How I did:

- Meh.

In my normal measurements like finish percentile & crossresults.com points, I was about 7% worse than last season based on finish places.

- Got better at the end

I got better by the last of the season, 2 of the last 3 races I had decent results, so at least I did not burn out, and even better at the end.

- Fun

Either way, I think I had even MORE fun than usual, even with "meh" results. And THAT is the real measure of a cross season for us middle of the pack folks.

Dislikes:

- Course "gimmicks"

Spirals of death and flyovers. Is it just me? I don't think I "get" the appeal of them. Frites built a MONSTER at states, and I appreciate the effort & enthusiasm, but not sure it added to the course. Spirals just make me dizzy.

- USAC takeover

OK, it's DONE, and I'm giving it a fair & unbiased chance. We'll see if it impacts the great growth, momentum and community we have here in Colorado Cross.

So, enough navel gazing. Here is some more entertaining stuff I came across.

Here is what a REAL race bar-cam looks like. Christian Huele with a GoPro on board at the Lievin World Cup - Just like my videos.... well, except just a BIT faster.

And a great, artsy-fartsy videos of women's world cup racing. This guy does AMAZING videos...

4ème Manche de CDM cyclo-cross from Petitesreines on Vimeo.

Geeks & Nationals

Spent my Cross Nationals day this year doing it the easy way. A pint of good Stout & pub food in hand with a bunch of cross-crazed fans to share it all with. Went and joined the Frites en Mayo Guys at the Wynkoop Brewery for their Nationals Viewing Party, what a great idea.

Hats off to Brian & Rich for putting on a great party. May just have been more fun than racing.

Good race to watch, and it was really good to see Jeremy Powers get his jersey finally, and it obviously meant a lot to him. Colorado was not quite the dominating force it has been in the last few additions, but still a resounding show of prowess from the Colorado contingent. My personal hat off to my ski buddy & friend Deirdre Garvey for her career best 4th place in the 50-54 women's race, Great ride for sure, and go give them hell in Louisville, girl!

Even after posting a Statistical Analysis of Cyclocross Lap Times, I thought **I** was the geek on our team, until a nameless teammate (who just happened to kick ass in the beer-drinkin-dads Cross Cup this year...) started to beat me in data analysis as well. He has managed a script-based, load it and go lap time analyzer. His tool shows all the lap times, by lap, for each rider and splits out & labels each team members lap times for easy analysis and trash-talking. Lyons looked like this:

At least I had a decent race at States, and was able to "take apart" my inter-team Nemesis in laps 3 and 4 to prevent a complete rout in our "Rapha-Focus Cross Clash" battle for the year. Geeky, yes, but besides kinda cool, and shows how you are doing lap to lap against the field. An average bar shows if you are "above average" or not lap to lap, just to insure your feelings of inadequacy. With all the data coming out of the chip system now, what's next? Hmmm......

With the Cross Season nearing or past it's end, I guess it's time for the standard season wrap up post. Maybe that's on tap for next time. Best of luck to our Colorado boys & girls hitting up Masters Worlds this weekend!

Rear View Mirror

Part of my holiday time was spent trying to learn more about video editing. What I did come up with was this re-do on my Front & Rear race at the E2 Cross of the North race. My buddy Matt said "wouldn't it be cool to have a rear view mirror view..."

And here is a pass at just that.....