318 Ride - Studs only

Rode the icy trails between downtown Mpls and Excelsior today with the 318 group. Studded tires were a must. Most didn't have them. People were going down left and right. It was comical at times. There were sections of the trail you could have easily ice skated on. The crazy people included Jordan, P-slim, Painman, Red Lantern, Skibby, Thorlson, Dorr, Frye, and myself.

Update: Several ride participants report being stiff, bruised, and sore. But this is no surprise, given the age of some of them.

Pslim's back in town

Pslim is back in town for a couple days from Omaha, and joined us for an great ride on the Mpls trails.

Tis the season to hurt oneself...

An oldie, but a goodie. Merry Christmas everyone.

Sub Zero Flanders Ride

@ Start: -8degF Temp, -28degF Windchill

Jim Flanders, Dave Zimmerman, and Jordan. These guys wore me out today.

Jordan post ride.
Jimmer Post Ride. Got a little nippy comin thru the pass (ala Dumb and Dumber).

A couple more tale telling photos from Cross Natz

Photos compliments of Kristin Wentworth

Jordan's Wilier, Post Race. No wonder it quit working.

Jordan's backside was a lot muddier than his frontside.

Carla washed his skinsuit 5 times to get it clean.

58 RSVP's so far for Jan 25th MCF Party

Click here to send an RSVP to the party.

Click here for the current list of RSVP's.

Click here for the flyer.

Click here for the list of award winners.

US Nationals Podium Boys from Hudson, WI

Jordan Cullen (3rd - Jr13-14), Bjorn Selander (5th - U23)
The rivertown is quite the cycling hotbed.

2008 USA Cyclocross Nationals Junior Male 13-14 Podium

USA Cyclocross Nationals Junior Male 13-14 Podium

Courtesy of Jamie Young

(click photo to enlarge)
(L-R) 5th - Michael Dessau, Boulder, CO; 3rd - Jordan Cullen, Hudson, WI; 1st - Logan Owen, Bremerton, WA; 2nd - Nate Morse, Cohasset, MA; 4th - Curtis White, Delanson, NY

Cross Natz Pics

Hitting the stairs on the first lap
Top of the Stairs
2nd Lap - Getting Muddy

The Snowullens

Carla and Maren played in the snow today, resulting in the snowy version of our family.

Click on the picture to enlarge it.

A bittersweet farewell

I did my 81st race of the season today, and my final as a Loon State Cyclist. There were 115 starters in the Masters 40-44 at Cyclocross Nationals in Kansas City. My starting position was about 10th row.

I started easy, as I normally do, letting the more aggressive by, only to pass them 1/2 a lap later when they are totally wasted and going backwards. I continued to move up when on the 2nd lap, my pedal broke off at the axle.

I made my way to the pit, and got a neutral support bike. The only problem was it had flat pedals. To make matters worse, it was way too big, and was rocking on the saddle. I struggled through the course, and entered the pit to get a smaller bike. It fit much better, but without being able to clip-in, my feet just kept slipping off the pedals.

I wanted so badly to just bag it, but trudged on. I felt a sense of duty to LSC to be tenacious and ride proud. I was actually able to pass a couple guys and then I got lapped and pulled with 2 laps to go. I finished 81st (they misplaced me at 3laps down in 92nd, but what's the point of protesting that?).

I've finally reached the off season.

Jordan finishes 3rd at Cross Nationals

Jordan's first US nationals experience was a successful one, finishing 3rd. Click here for Results. Jordan's field started 30 seconds after the 15-16 year olds. Jordan worked his way through most of that field too, finishing 11th overall, 3rd in the 13-14's. The winner of Jordan's race, Logan Owen, won his 4th national junior cross championship in a row (2 in the 10-12's, 2 in the 13-14's.) Sorry, no pictures yet. Check back Monday.

Planet Bike played a huge role in Jordan reaching the podium, by providing him with a set of Edge carbon wheels mounted with Dughast Rhinos. They stuck like glue the entire race.

The conditions were as muddy as they get. So muddy in fact, he had to run part of the last lap because his front chainring was engulfed in mud, and the chain wouldn't engage. At that point, Jordan was in 2nd place and was forced to run with his bike, which actually turned out to be faster that riding anyway.

He grabbed his backup bike from the pit, still in 2nd place. Unfortunately, his backup bike did not have Rhinos, and Jordan struggled in the last technical section of the course. Jordan slid out in the final corner, and a hard charging Nate Morse snuck by for 2nd. Jordan was disappointed at first, but then put in perspective, and was all smiles.

A huge congratulations to Jordan on a hard fought battle in some extreme conditions.

This isn't Jordan's Bike, but gives you an idea of how bad it was.

2009 Cat 1/2 Elite Teams

UPDATED BASED ON FEEDBACK ON 12/12/08

Here's what I have learned about the make-up of the 2009 Minnesota Cat 1/2 racing scene. Nothing official here, just what I have heard. I'm sure there are some names missing here. In particular, I don't know anything about Hoigaards or Revolution Cycle and Ski.

Flanders/MBRC:
Scott Flanders
David Zimmerman
Adam Froemming
Chris Doig
Michael Woell
Erik Dahl
Yorgos Arambadjis (sorry Yorgos, my bad, I missed you in the inital post)
Rich Settergren (sorry Rich, my bad, I missed you in the inital post)
Jim Cullen (from Loon State Cyclists)
Jay Woller (from Bicycle Haus)

Grand Performance/SBPRC:
Pete Hanna
Paul Ellis
Dale Sedgewick
Gregg Brandt

Grandstay:
Doug Swanson
Dan Swanson
Andy Minier
Ian Stanford
Micah Moran
Dan Casper
Matt Williams
Lance Beuning
Dave Schueller (from Gopher Wheelmen)
Jens Brabbit (from Grand Performance/SPBRC)

Synergy:
Tim Mulrooney
Aric Hareland
Greg Lavick
Rod Raymond
Matt Muyres (from Hollywood Cycles)
Joe Lewis (from Grand Performance/SPBRC)
Adam Hanson (from Lake Superior Cycling Club)
Jake Boyce (from Lake Superior Cycling Club)

Texas Roadhouse:
Adam Bergman
Pat Lemieux (from Grand Performance/SPBRC)

Nature Valley/Flat City:
Tony Olson
Paul Harrison
Matt Anderson
Josh Roeser
Alex Atherton (from Loon State Cyclists)
Ed Alpasa (from Grand Performance/SPBRC)
Dave Muecke (from Birchwood)
James Lockwood (from Birchwood)

Revolution Cycle and Ski:
Andrew Schlict
Jake Cohen

MCF Awards Party RSVP List

I will maintain an MCF Party RSVP List on the MCF message board. Send RSVP's to j.cullen@sbcglobal.net.

Boys will be boys

So Jordan is outside playing tag today during school, and manages to run into the side of a semi-trailer. He clocked himself good on the left side of his head. Carla is with him right now at the Emergency Room in Hudson waiting for him to be checked out. He may have a slight concussion. Jeez!

Monday Afternoon Winter Cross

Jordan didn't let the snow stop him from his final preparation for Nationals.

After Jordan's workout, I fine tuned his bike for Nationals, including replacing the chain and adding carbon specific brake pads. His Wilier now weighs a scant 16.6lbs, thanks to superlight EDGE wheels from Planet Bike.

MCF Awards/Bowling Party - RVSP Required

It's not until January 25th, but be sure to mark your calendars for the MCF Awards Party.

This years event will be held at the Park Tavern Bowling Center in St. Louis Park. It will include a full Italian Buffet and FREE BOWLING!

Fabulous awards presented to top 3 in each category MCF ROY, CRY, TROY, KOS, and MWCMR.

Award winners attend for free, only $5/person for everyone else.

RSVP Required: j.cullen@sbcglobal.net

Head on crash at Jingle Cross

I was standing right next to where these 2 collided.

Jake Helmbrecht Shows No Fear at Jingle Cross

80 Race Milestone

Jingle Cross Day 1 was my 80th race of 2008. 15 more than 2008. One race to go: Cross Nationals in 2 weeks.

Jordan has done 75 races in 2008. He would have surpassed me, were it not for breaking his wrist and missing most of August, including Jr Road Nationals.

And it's almost time to start training for 2009.