Team Newsletter 11-05-08

his newsletter is dedicated to those of you who are still thinking about which PSI to run on the grass, which cantilever brake pad compound will prevent squealing and fork shudder, and which degree of “hotness” to choose for your embrocation .

We had seven team members converge on Rexburg this past Saturday for a fun day of racing followed by pizza and beers on the way home at Tony’s Pizza in Driggs. What would a cross day be without a beer?

Your last chance to do a local cross race in 2008 is this weekend. We have The CUBE Cyclocross race #3 in Rexburg followed by the The King & Queen of Cross in Poky on Sunday. Not to sound like a broken record, but we have the opportunity to grow our cycling community by showing our support for events like these in neighboring towns. Join us for one or both races this weekend!

With Daylight savings time ending, our 5:30 PM cross practices on Wednesday night have come to an end. However, the barriers are still up and you practice any time you like. Hup Hup!

Thanks to everyone who sent in reports this week!
The CUBE Cyclocross, Race #2
Rexburg, ID

November 1, 2008
Our neighbors in Rexburg, ID took it to another level for Race #2. The guys behind The Cube Cyclocross are passonate about cross and they did a great job with Race #2. The course was improved, the start/finish area was more convenient, and the field was deeper. 29 men lined up for the combined A & B start! Not too shabby eh?

It would be great to see another big showing from Jackson this weekend at Race #3! You can chop wood later!

Many serious questions will be answered this Saturday in Rexburg:
1) Will Schildog come out of retirement two weeks in a row?
2) Will Fitzy ride a clean race and claim The Cube Series overall victory?
3) Can Jannine continue to suprise her fans with a new sock look each week while winning the series overall?
4) Will I finally manage to get through a pre-ride and a race without crashing?


The CUBE Race #2 report from Schildog:
“Despite my best attempts to avoid racing ever again, my semi-retirement lasted a total of 6 weeks before Bergart and Fitzy guilted me into to going to Rexburg to try my hand at cyclo-cross. Not that I don’t know full well that cross is an absolute blast and basically the most fun you can have with your heart rate over 300, but I had successfully resisted the peer pressure until I finally ran out of excuses this weekend. Knuckling under, I hauled my 25+ pound 2003 Specialized Epic over to Victor and picked up Bergy and his brand spankin’ new lightweight Salsa cross bike.

By race time I was a total pro at dismounts and remounts despite my unique left-handed switch leg style (hey, at least I didn’t stack into the barriers during warmups like someone else wearing an orange jersey riding a green Salsa). Fitzy gets the award for blasting off the line like an Italian climber, but after dodging and weaving through the first set of turns boxed in by some less-than-confident bike handlers, I can understand his strategy. He had 45+ seconds on the field about 200m into the race.

Soon enough, things settled in. Bergy threw in a few attacks to bridge, we caught Scott, and then started to pull away a little. I tried to get comfortable in 2nd on Bergy’s wheel, but quickly started feeling the effects of the heavy, slower-accelerating MTB vs. the light and nimble CX ride. I could close the gap on the twisty sections, but the straightaways and pavement sections were taking the juice right out of my legs. Without much technical stuff, the gap grew steadily by about 2-3 seconds/lap. Soon I found myself in no-man’s land, but some skinny kid in 3rd kept me honest enough to have to keep working consistently.

Every 3 laps or so, I’d focus on ramping it up and would actually shave Bergy’s gap by a good margin. Cagey racer that he is, he would detect this and throw in some attacks of his own and I’d be right back to where I started. Bastard. I also was in constant fear that my untested legs and lungs would suddenly give out, and I would come to a screeching halt in spectacular barrier crushing/technique meltdown fashion, but the one good thing about getting older is you tend to have more resistance to drastic changes in pace. You also don’t have the ability to put the hammer down, but it doesn’t seem to hurt as bad as when you’re young and stupid. I managed to keep my 3rd place challenger at bay (although I shouldn’t have been too worried–one good kick to the sternum and he would have been out for weeks anyway), and came across the line 30 seconds or so back from Bergy. Not too bad for a comeback race on the completely wrong equipment.

All in all, it reaffirmed my belief that cyclocross is stupid good fun, and seems to be a great way to spend a Saturday–great vibe, good exercise, fun people. Plus, the 10 lb. bags of potatos in the raffle made the drive to Rexburg totally worth the trip.” - Schildog

Another CUBE report from Jannine Fitzgerald:
“The second race of the Rexburg Cube series turned out many fitzy-tards! 4 Daves, 1 Brian, and 2 Fitzy’s turned up to the start line! They changed the course for the second race and proved to be quite challenging! Fast into the barriers, sharp and slippery into the turns and a couple of slick bridges to keep us all on our toes. I had Amanda Riley to chase down the entire race. I was feeling really good and was able to maintain Amanda’s wheel for most of the race (not without wanting to puke…she is a power house)…but after my wheel almost popped off in the woopty doos (Amanda kindly waiting), sliding out on a wet, leafy turn, and just plain old “blowing up” I happily settled in for second. The boys all raced hard and had great races! It was great to see so many team folk come and I hope even more will show up this Saturday for the last race. We all headed home with sacks of Idaho potatoes…we all know what we are bringing to potluck Thanksgiving parties! Pocatello on Sunday will round out the double-header weekend! Grab your cross bike or mountain bike and come out! ” - J9

Here at Fitzgerlad Bicycle’s Team World Headquarters, we have heard rumors of the cross race exploits of our own TK from across the country. There were rumors that he was in Portland, then Seattle, and then Boulder for the Boulder Cup racers, etc. But all we have is this crappy low-res pic of TK in a 2007 Fitzy kit and a bunch of guys chasing him. This could be anywhere. Until we actually see a first-hand report we have to assume he at home stuck to the rug with tubular glue and unable to type or race cross.