killthedarkness

no pictures/1000 words

a moment of reflection if y ou will. two thousand seven proved to be my breakout. i went from hessian to honky to clean cut american. with my first year of support from sponsors the results followed. first race of the year brought rock cut, and my first mechanical. a flat on lap one brought me to the realization that i had some good form, chasing the remainder of the race to third. wors number one was a disappointing sixth place. i put it behind me and started to roll in the draft of creepyfriendly. what followed was four seconds and five thirds with another national championship in the four man twenty four hour championships mixed in. a trip to scotland for sswc07 left me wanting more. the tacoed wheel did anything but satisfy the thirst for blood. we headed north to the hinterlands with aspirations for greatness, maybe they were just dreams. but forty miles later jesse was hoisting the trophy above his head as i sipped a pbr in the crowd, knowing that we had arrived. the ball was rolling and a rarely attempted (by us) balls to the wall from the gun strategy brought my first elite win at the tater bake open. a so so race at the big money sheboygan race send me spiralling into the cx frenzy.

money primes, beer handups, screaming superfans; its another world and its just what i needed to refuel the motivation. a third in the wisco series race prepped me for my first weekend of uci racing in ohio. a couple of decent races left me just shy of any uci points but the experience was there. i returned to a closely fought third followed by a win to bring me into iceman. the brutal pace shelled me early. the battle ended in seventh, much improved over the year prior.

state champs season was here and we kicked it off in mn. a so so race brought a fifth but the next day was another story. the angel park mayhem propelled me to a second just off brian's pace. jingle cross brought another attempt at uci points. first day just off, second day brought 4 points and a priceless picture (or was it $2 worth?). the wi state champs were up next and i took advantage of the sloppy conditions to win my first state championship. a much needed rest week propelled me into the final weekend. the us cx nationals. i managed to pull off the win in the ss race and half ass myself to a fifty first in the elite race. five wins for the season and unlimited motivation to do more next.

there are a great deal of people who contributed to my success this season. my girlfriend meghan, my parents and brothers, the second families. all the great sponsors: gary fisher, bob brown cycles, t6, oakley, bontrager. all the kind souls that donated money to get me overseas. the superfans. time to sit down for some high lifes and put the feet up for a bit.

inside line.

a few run down notes from my final cx weekend for the year:

rode the custom bob brown cycles. gear ratio of 44x21 both races. normally i run 44x17/18 but the conditions warranted a lighter gear. worked perfectly. mavic ksyrium rr wheel w/ 32c tufo elite lps mounted at 30ish psi. front wheel was borrowed from david, da hub laced to mavic rim w/ a 34c dugast typhoon mounted at about 25 psi. egg beater pedals. as far as i saw, i had the only reynolds 953 bike at the event.

a crash a few laps into the elite race fuckered my rear brake lever. after a pit i rode the jericho the remainder of the race. the 42x18 was a bit tall but still worked alright. had a ksyrium w/ 32c tufo lps at 30 psi on the front and an xlite w/ challenge grifo 30c on the rear at 34ish psi.

the only thing i ate before either of the races was a pack of clif bloks and a clif shot.

i normally have problems w/ cold hands and feet. my fingers went numb in the ss race even with lobster mitts and heat packs in them. my feet were fine w/ two heat packs in each shoe and two pairs of thin, wool t6 socks.

since the ss race was "non championship" i didnt get a stars and bars jersey. i did get a bunch of strawberries and a sram rival crankset.

pic by andrew of cx magazine.

feast and famine.

c x season has come to a close with mixed results. every race of the day seemed to have different conditions. i made it through two days of spectating until sunday race day. the eight am ss start time was something im unaccustomed to. up at 5 am. arrived at the course at seven. a few laps on the course and it was race time. i was pleasantly surprised to get a front row callup. i had planned on starting in the mid fifties. i got out pretty well, sitting about fourth around the first few turns. i took pauls advice and gunned it over the untravelled line moving me up to second. i followed tony wilhelm around half a lap until he went down. i went to the front with a surge. before i knew it people were yelling that i had a gap. the pace stayed high as i could still see cam chambers within striking distance. after two laps t.brown had moved to second i pursuit. i had a few bobbles and went down once but still managed to bring it home with a twenty eight second gap for my third national title. a few hours of sitting around and i was on the line again. my head wasnt really in it but i decided that i had nothing to lose. i had a decent starting spot in the fourth row which i proceeded to lose on the road start. the ice of the morning had turned to a layer of mud over ice. i was no where near as aggressive as i needed to be. i was riding sloppy. the first race of the day took more out of me than i thought. before i knew it i was getting pulled. i was a little disappointed at how early they were pulling people. the leaders had about half a lap left on their current lap when they pulled me. the results show a 51st. i should have been 49th as two guys cut in front of me as we rode off the course. the officials didnt seem to care. i guess in the grand scheme of things it really doesnt matter. the wisco crew faired quite well. several national champions and a load more in the top 10-20. tristan rode unbelievable with an 8th. thanks to everyone that helped make this trip possible. paul and david for working the pits for me. renee and john for helpin me get there. all the superfans, dave, glen, chris, kristen, jen, gordy, diane, djonn, dave, bob, the snob, the eppens. thanks to bob brown for building me the coolest bike at the national championships. thanks to the bkb, my parents, my brothers for the support. and thanks to meghan for helping me kill it all season. ill be back on the bike soon enough.

missing frites.

the wi state cx race was a battle against yourself. the sloppy conditions were fun but the going was slow. by the two fifteen start time there was a muddy single track around the course. it got sloppier as the race went on. my toes went first. then late in the race my hands were gettin chilly. kyle took the race out and i did my best to hang on. he went down at the bottom of the hill on the backside of the course and i took charge. brian was still playing catch up so i went with it, keeping the pace steady. the gap seemed to be growing so i stayed on it. after two or three laps the gap seemed constant at about ten or fifteen seconds. the next lap around  the gap doubled. turns out brian went down a few times. with the win in sight i stayed aggressive but careful in the corners. a few dabs and that was it. i won my first state championship. as i crossed the line the boy lobbed a heater and jacked me in the face. congrats are given differntly in wisco. in fact, half the race i was barraged by snowballs. probably one of the funnest times ive had in a race. brian won the style race with his frenchy stache. the most impressive performance of the day was thrown down my bro james. third cross race of his life. first as a cat three and he wins the state champs, on a borrowed bike to boot. same bike, two state champs. a weekend off for once and some winter mtbing, then off to nats. thanks to jay and madcross for the photos. also, a huge thanks to JPE and Renee for some extra support in getting me to nationals. much appreciated.