North Tek Gear

As 2012 rolls into our lives, changes are happening here at the Your Ad Here club. With a roster full of some of the fastest ladies in the Mid-Atlantic, the YAH squad is looking forward to another year of exciting and competitive racing. Stay tuned for more updates about the squad, including a look at the 2012 jersey. In the mean time, enjoy your 2012, and look out for us on the roads!

This Sunday welcomed DCCX, which is MABRACross series race #4 and the only cyclocross race within the confines of nation’s capital city. Sunny weather and clear skies saw over 800 registered racers with even larger energetic crowds lining all areas of the course.

North Tek teamed up with the Family Bike Shop and DCMTB to award some nice tents to the top placing competitors in many of the day’s races. The sponsor also had an Expo tent on hand demonstrating a variety of outdoor equipment.

Tents for winners!

The crew was very familiar with the course and anticipation was high after previewing the day before. The race organizers were awesome enough to set up and open the course a day early which made for a fun cyclocross day with cyclocross friends. Kat, Nicholas, Taylor and Andrew took on the fast yet technical course. Two sets of barriers and a set of stairs forced dismounts and three off-camber turn sections tested the racer’s skills. Kat, in her first cyclocross race ever, took 2nd in the Category 4 race! Deciding she hadn’t had enough racing, she pinned on a number again for the Category 3/4 race. Kat came in 5th to score yet another podium finish!

Taylor and Nicholas lined up in what was one of the largest and most competitive elite fields that the MABRA region has seen. Both held on with a respectable 30th and 18th, respectively, while the podium was saw some top level international talent.

“NicDrew Shelbor” had enough left in the legs to try to improve on their 2nd place finishes at previous MABRA tandem races at Tacchino Ciclocross and Winchester Apple Cross. NicDrew was able to take the hole shot and lead the race from the gun. The Adventures for the Cure team, perennial tandem ‘cross winners, stayed close on the wheel of the duo through the early proceedings and made an attempt to pass. During their attempt, the team had a mechanical that unfortunately ended their race early.

Nicdrew was able to maintain their lead though their race did not come without some adversity. Captain Nicholas happened to grab the same beer hand-up that Stoker Andrew anticipated grabbing. In a spirit of unprecedented teamwork and cooperation, Nicholas took a sip of said beer and passed it back to Andrew. Andrew, in a state of excited agitation, attempted to imbibe the small cup of beer, a Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, but some how managed to throw the liquid into his eyes with such unintended precision that one would think he was applying Visine. Andrew noticed a distinct drop in focus after this dousing resulting in less than smooth barrier crossings and technical maneuvering. Despite a handicapped stoker, NicDrew was able to hold on for their first MABRA tandem cyclocross win! Bridesmaids no more!

The North-Tek crew drove out to Delaware this weekend to race in the Granogue Cyclocross two day weekend, comprising the Mid Atlantic Cyclocross series races number 6 and 7. Granogue is a well-known cyclocross classic of the East coast, taking place on an expansive 400 acre private estate owned by the DuPont family. The weather was dry and warm, an unusual setting for an often muddy and chaotic course. The boys set out to race the category 2/3/4, which both days of the weekend saw packed 125 person fields.

Day 1 featured a twisty and technical course with plenty of rocks, roots, and two steep run-ups. One of the run-ups took place on the large hill at the center of the course, which features an iconic stone water tower that is one of the most recognizable features of the estate. The larger of the two run-ups featured a fast and sweeping downhill turn that sent many unwary racers off their bikes and into the tape.

Nicholas had a slow start on the day, yet quickly moved into the top 20 of the field within the first lap. From there he worked into a select group of three leaders and traded attempts to create some distance with Alejandro Guzman of CRCA/Foundation and Matthew Bartlett of TOMS Shoes. The group came apart in the final half lap, which an unfortunate slide-out causing Bartlett to drop back. Nicholas was able to sprint hard to catch Guzman in the final few meters, but was unable to close the final bike length at the line and was left with a well-earned 2nd place.

Nicholas passing the Castle on Day 1

Taylor bombing the downhill on Day 1

2nd place on Day 1

Day 2 drastically altered the course, replacing many of the twisty and technical features with broad, sweeping turns, long power sections, and a steep dirt climb. The large run-up by the water tower was still in place, yet replaced a nearly-flat remount area with a tricky 180 into a sheer drop that left many racers flying down the hills with one or both legs unclipped.

Nicholas again quickly found the top 20 after a chaotic start that included getting caught behind a pileup in the first grassy corner after the starting stretch. He quickly made ground to catch the leader with 3 to go, and went on the attack, building a gap of roughly 15 seconds. The gap was successfully held against two fast chasing contenders in second and third to bring home the win. All in all, a great weekend for the boys of North Tek at a fantastic East coast venue.

Andrew in the tricky runup on Day 2

Large fields led to chaotic bottlenecks - Photo courtesy of Dennis Smith at Dennisbike.com

Soloing in - Photo courtesy of Dennis Smith at Dennisbike.com

Taking home the victory on Day 2

The weekend kicked off with Nicholas competing in “Psycho Cross” in Sykesville, MD, race #2 of the Sportif Cup series. A warm, sunny day marked a drastic change in weather from the previous MABRA weekends. A deceptively technical course greeted racers with an extremely twisty, mostly off-camber course with two steep run-ups. Nicholas was able to bring home some results for North Tek with a 3rd place podium finish and further securing his spot among the top 5 in the series standings.

Sunday saw the return of the MABRAcross super8 series with Race #3 in Hyattsville, MD. A normally flat, fast course saw the addition of a wooded section with a loose, rooty off-camber downhill followed by a wheel-grabbing mud pit. Nicholas again finished well among an always competitive MABRA field by coming in 7th and further working towards a top 10 in the elite series standings.

Nicholas coming out of the mud pit - Photo by Pam Mauch

Taylor entering the woods - Photo by Pam Mauch

In other racing news, Andrew made the pilgrimage to Michaux State Forest in Pennsylvania to partake in the parcours and savor the suffering at Iron Cross. For the uninitiated, Iron Cross is a 100 kilometer cyclocross race across rocky and rooty single-track, double-track, gravel and paved surfaces. The day did not begin well as Andrew’s rear shifter exploded in his hand 2 minutes prior to the race start.

Andrew’s mild sense of panic turned into hope as he remembered that neutral wheel and bike support was being provided. He raced back to the parking lot where Mike from SRAM, the neutral support mechanic, got him situated on a carbon bike with carbon wheels: a racing rig far nicer than Andrew’s regular ‘cross ride. Much relieved, Andrew sprinted back to the start and integrated himself toward the back of the racing field as they completed their parade lap.

For the next 30 minutes, Andrew rode “in the red” to get himself up to the leaders of the field (perhaps riding “in the mauve” or “in the magenta” would be more appropriate for Andrew’s current level of fitness). He was successful in reaching the lead group just prior to ascending the most significant climb of the first half of the race. With legs already seared, Andrew tried as best he could to maintain his position through the first technical single track section but lost some spots to more technically proficient riders. Back on the road, he went to business trying to make up ground. Andrew was consistently passing riders on paved and gravel surfaces. He passed many riders on a gravel descent that had the unfortunate luck to get a flat tire. Though it made for a very unforgiving ride, Andrew was glad to have very high tire pressure on his neutral support bike until…. FLAT! Andrew had pinch-flatted his rear tire. After a complicated procedure involving valve extensions, teflon tape and prayers to the Iron Cross gods, Andrew was back on the road.

He made the best of the groups of riders on the road to make up what ground he could before the next technical section but was disappointed to have lost the group that he had been riding with to that point. Andrew grunted it through the remaining single track sections with many large downed logs requiring dismounting and remounting. Each dismount and remount required a little triumph of the will as Andrew’s wrecked and addled body was ready for a beer, a burrito and a nap after a long day on the bike. After one last long “run-up” and a couple miles on the road, Andrew’s day was done 4 hours and 40 minutes after it had started. Despite the flat tire, he managed to finish in nearly the exact same time he had finished the year previous. He is already looking forward to next year’s race!