2009 USAC Ultra-Endurance Calendar

I plan on doing some endurance races in 2009 and two of the events on my hit list are part of the USAC Ultra-Endurance Calendar. Any advice will be most helpful. ;)


Feb 14. "Mas O Menos 100k",
Terlingua TX.
www.desertsportstx.com

*March 7/8. "Spa City Extreme",
Hot Springs AR.
www.DLTmultisport.com

*May 9. "Dirt, Sweat, and Gears",
Fayetteville TN.
www.dirtsweatandgears.com

June 20. "8th Annual Cowbell Challenge",
Davidson NC.
www.cowbellchallenge.org

July 4. "Marathon National Championships",
Breckenridge CO.
www.mavsports.com

September 19/20. "24-Hour National Championship",
Payson AZ.
www.tucsonracing.com

October 24/25. "National MTB Oktoberfest",
Davidson NC.
www.NationalMtbOktoberfest.org

Trainer Season

Okay, so winter doesn't officially begin until December 21, but it sure feels like winter to me. There was a slight frost on the grass this morning for my bicycle commute to work, and I just can't get warm. The weather for tonight doesn't offer any relief with a frost warning and a low of 29. To make matters even more depressing, There isn't enough daylight to enjoy once I get home from work.

It's time to break out the trainer and the Metallica CD.

My New Favorite Website.

I have a rather goofy sense of humor. Okay, I have a juvenile sense of humor. I admit it. TV programs like South Park and The Daily Show crack me up, especially South Park. While I really don't watch all that much television, I do often surf the internet for entertainment. You just never know what you'll find out there. With this in mind, I offer my new favorite website. It's a spoof of Wikipedia, the popular online encyclopedia, only this site is a collection of famous people who are ... well, dicks.

Be warned and enjoy! :)
dickipedia.org

Black & Blue

The CycloCrunk race was apparently rougher than I first realized. I felt fine after the race and even felt good yesterday. However, today is a different story. I have a large bruise on my right shoulder and a slightly smaller bruise on my right elbow. My calves are painfully stiff and my thighs hurt.

CycloCrunk

If you missed CycloCrunk, you missed 40-minutes of race in the dark madness at Tobey park. The event kicked off with a LeMans-style start that had around 50+ participants dashing for their bikes. I managed to reach mine rather quickly for a good start. However, my lighting situation was anything but optimal with a cheap Wal-Mart bike light literally duck-taped to my handlebars and a small LED headlamp I borrowed from Jon. I was fine for the first three laps, but became progressively blind as the race went on and had to slow down more times than I wanted. Try racing toward a wooden barrier you can barely see.

The course featured 5 barrier groups: two double barriers (one set on a small hill), one triple barrier, a single barrier and a four barrier run with each barrier a different height. There was also a 10 yard sand pit. At some point during the race, someone smashed into the triple barrier and it was taken down because it couldn't be repaired in the dark. No one complained. The course also looped around a field, through a baseball spectator area, around an off-camber corner on grass between a chain-link fence and a metal light pole. Big fun!

I felt pretty good during the race and actually passed a lot of people in the various barrier groups. My big problem, other than not being able to see, was getting up to speed on some seriously rutted ground after one of the barriers. I really wanted my mountain bike on that section.

I asked the promoter how I placed, and he said I finished somewhere in the upper middle, probably between 15th and 18th. That's good enough for me.

National Mtb Championship pics.

Cyclocross Events

Shame on me for missing the first CX event of the season. Fortunately for me, I have an opportunity for cyclocross penance. The events marked with an asterisk are the ones would "like" to do.

2008 Cyclocross Events
10/19 - Prattville, AL
11/2 - Tuscaloosa, AL
*11/9 - Birmingham, AL
*11/16 - Memphis CX Championship, Memphis, TN
*11/22 - Anniston, AL (night race!)
11/30 - Montgomery, AL
*12/7 - Cullman, AL

2009 Cyclocross Events
*1/3 Columbia Cyclocross Series #1, Columbia, TN
*1/4 Columbia Cyclocross Series #2, Columbia, TN
*1/17 Columbia Cyclocross Series #3, Columbia, TN
*1/18 Columbia Cyclocross Series #4, Columbia, TN