Matt Chrabot was HERE

The late great JB Blaszczak documented the 2006 Conte's Cycling Classic in Downtown Norfolk where a guy name Matt who was new to cycling broke away from the cat 4 men's field.  That person was none other than Olympic hopeful Matt Chrabot, whose story I tell in altdaily's magazine at this link.

Here is the page that documents Matt in downtown.  This is the same downtown course that Lance Armstrong raced in the late 1980's, long before he won the World Championships or Tours de France.  The link to JB's page can be found here, though you must scroll down to near bottom of page to find Conte's Cycling Classic coverage.

Monster Cross recon

I had the pleasure of pre-riding Monster Cross course with the promoter Mark Junkerman and about 30 other riders this past Sunday.  This 50 mile endurance cross event is happening at Pocahantas State park on Feb. 26 and follows a format similar to cross endurance and fondo events that have become pretty popular in the last few years. 


The course is smokin' fast, with Williamsburg-type climbs that last no more than 30-45 seconds a piece. 95% is on double track with only a fraction of that being gravel. The rest is nice packed dirt. There is one stream crossing (x2 since there are 2 laps), a couple of road crossings, and a road portion near the end of the loop. Cross bike is by far better than mt bike for this course in my view, but I am reserving the option to use mountain bike if there is ice on the ground.


There are a couple of very short sections with some embedded fist-sized rocks that could puncture cross tires Ironcross style. There were no flats in my group, but in the lead group there were at least 3. No need at all for tires that are geared toward doing well in grass.

Back to it

I did my first race since the spring today, Frogs on the Farm cross race in Chesapeake.  Nice that there is a 40+ Women's category this year which was very competitive but not crazy blow your doors off pro fast either.  I got 5th out of 10 which was actually my goal going in. 

I guess it will always be hard to explain how much fun competing can be.  It's a excercise in preparation, discipline, focus, persistence and that rush of hunting and being hunted.  I hope there are photos available of Mary Ann Snavely and me racing because she became my nemisis du jour--everyone has one nearly every race.  She passed me late in the race and ended up 3rd, me 5th.  I got a few shots of the mens 35+ and 45+ races:

Summer 2011

Please don't go

L-R, Anton, Beth, Matt, Melanie

I have seen lots of statistics and numbers associated with attracting and keeping good talent in communities.  It’s widely known that educated professionals often seek cycling friendly communities when it comes time to settling into a career.  Louisville, for example, has stated one goal for a bike friendly designation by LAB is to “attract and retain young professionals to expand the economic base in Louisville.” 

These four Eastern Virginia Medical College students are good examples of people that we probably want to retain here.  Matt is from Chesapeake, while the other three relocated here to attend EVMS—Anton from Northern VA, Beth from Boston and Melanie from Toronto.  I have ridden alongside them for a couple of years now, and what I have learned is that their rides in Norfolk make up most of their very limited recreation time.  They have YMCA memberships, complements of their paid tuition to EVMS, but their outdoor exercise time is limited to a couple of rides a week, resulting in them being heavily dependent on cycling for recreation right now.  Even so, their perceptions of how cycling friendly the region is not the most pressing thing on their minds right now, but I wonder what will be going through their minds when residences and internships end a couple of years from now.

I wonder how excited they will be about staying in Hampton Roads.  Will they want to practice closer to where they grew up?   Will they gravitate toward another region of the US where they have always wanted to live?  Maybe they will serve in developing countries desperate for physicians.  I wonder if any of them will weigh the benefits of staying here in town to build a career.  If so, it appears that cycling will play at least some role in their decision.  IF they have had had favorable experiences with drivers, city involvement and improvements throughout their EVMS years, I think cycling would be just one of many factors. 

However, I think it becomes a MAJOR factor  in a decision if these experiences have been unfavorable.  Why would they want to stay in a community after working so hard if they can’t enjoy their sport?  What does it say about a community if there are no advances made in improving cycling over after 5 or 6 years, especially in an era when large, more condensed cities like New York, Chicago, DC, San Francisco have been successful in making it happen, and areas with populations similar to ours—Louisville, Raleigh-Durham for instance—have made strides also? 

Out of the funk and into spandex (or not)




Hannah with altdaily.com doing PSA.

 
Last Tuesday, Wes Cheney and I represented Bike Norfolk on Heresay, the local noon radio show hosted by Cathy Lewis.  The past several weeks all came to a head as I was prepared for the show because I finally had to think hard about everything that has happened over the past 2 months.  I have not posted on this blog primarily because recent events have been overwhelming and difficult to even navigate.  There have been two hit and runs on Shore Drive involving experienced cyclists, one who I have long admired and learned much from; numerous letters to the editor and op-eds mostly about cyclist misbehaviors and driver rage over bicycles even being on the road; a barrage of topics on the cycling listservs about how to best combat angry motorists, our bad reputation, lack of police enforcement; the thumb tack attack in Pungo—the list goes on and on.


Does this really offend you?  The spandex I mean.



I had to snap out of it hard to prepare for the radio show.  I would have never agreed to do the show if Wes had not been invited because he has a knowledge base, charisma, articulation and likeability that I will never have.  Add to that a photographic memory—I watched as he rolled out points and facts on the air that we discussed over a 3-day period with none so much as a sticky note in front of him.  Cathy Lewis was clearly not as enamored with his sidekick (me) who had more notes in front of her than the host herself.  She ran a tight ship for the hour, bringing in our points as well as those of street interviews from her interns, including one from Paul Flannigan, owner of Conte’s Norfolk, a book author interview and several listener phone calls.  Wayne Wilcox, Virginia Beach city planner, was also in the studio with us.  I actually spaced out a little watching Cathy coordinate everything so effortlessly, especially considering she is not an expert on cycling. The program was pretty darn good, and Wes and I celebrated with an early afternoon beer and omelet.  Listen Here.



Urban riding--this guy lives in Larchmont.


One regret that I have is that Cathy did not ask me the “To spandex or not to spandex” question she directed to Wes. Had I answered, I probably would have said, “Well, the real question is to helmet or not to helmet” because I really hoped that some helmet talk would make the show. Upon further reflection, however, I realize that “To spandex or not to spandex” is the most critical question of all and one that has flung me into such a funk here lately.


The most difficult task in every community of riders is the problem of unity. We talk endlessly about how the cycling community needs to be on the same page with issues, behavior and goals, yet the task seems impossible when there are different issues, behaviors and goals that each faction of the community expects of its members. The spandex question is one of the most popular gauges of just how serious a person is about this biking thing, and at its root, there is often resentment, laughter, headshaking and maybe awe but that’s probably pushing it. Certainly the person who wears spandex takes himself just a little too seriously—geez, it’s a bike, a way to escape—let’s not make a profession out of reverting back to a few light minutes of childhood fun. With the spandex comes a set of goals, or at least perceived set, that are remarkably different from those who wear baggy workout clothes. And maybe different from those who wear street clothes. Certainly different from those who wear work clothes on their way to the jobsite. Completely different from the child on training wheels, or the surfer pedaling to the oceanfront. However, if pushed on the subject, most would probably say that our goals must be very similar, but there is enough distain and misunderstanding between the groups to prevent the conversation from even starting. What has been nagging at me, really, is the tremendous task of bringing all these groups to the same table to lobby for a set of agreed-upon goals.




It's not always about the bike.



Wes could undoubtedly point me to scholarship on this subject and to writers who more eloquently convey these hierarchal tensions, but I would be more interested in reading about how—or if—a community anywhere has successfully resolved it.  I look around me and listen, and depending on what bike I ride, what clothes I’m wearing and how fast I’m going, conversations of the “otherness” of different riders emerge.  Don’t call me crazy—if you have ever asked “was he a rider like us” when you hear about a cyclist getting hit by a car, that’s what I’m talking about.  If you have ever said that you have no interest in helping some wanna-be racer get his workout in but are only interested in helping those who commute to work, that’s what I’m talking about. 



Riders in Broad Creek line up for a bike parade.

 I challenge those who only ride skinny tires with spandex, to take a ride on a cruiser with your grandmother to a restaurant one day and then tell me sidewalks are always bad. If your riding consists of trips to the market, try doubling your mileage and then tell me spandex sucks. If you typically drive to a mountain bike trail, map out a road route to get there from your house, and then tell me a roadie has no skills. If you only ride cruisers in the neighborhood, jump into a group ride and then tell me how much healthier and energetic you feel the next day.




There is a different and important perceptive to be gained with a different route, different tires, a different reason for getting on the bike in the first place, and certainly different clothing. “To spandex or not to spandex” –the answer is simply “yes.”

Mountains of Misery 2011

This weekend, I completed my 7th Mountains of Misery century with a slow time (8:30) but a contented soul. It was the hottest year that I have ever participated in this grueling event, but that did not stop first timers and teammates Anette Johnson, Dai Roberts, Todd Miller, Mike Carhart and Bethany Cahill from doing a great job!


It appears that Dai, with a time of 6 hours flat, was a top 10 men's finisher for the day. In fact, I am not sure if any Tripower guy has ever finished that quickly. Jim Dunham said he and John Flora finished in 6:01 back in 2011, but it's not a perfect comparison since the course has changed since then.  The ride now starts in Newport whereas in the early days, it started in Christiansburg.


Anette tore it up with a 6:39 time. I think that may be a Tripower women's record. Last year, Sally and Brenna finished in the 6:50 range.


Todd Miller finished with a 6:54.  I have yet to meet Todd but from what I know, this is his first year racing and doing challenge centuries like Mountains of Misery.


Mike Carhart completed the double metric (120 miles) century in 9:17. I think others have done this ride with the Tripower jersey (Wayno? Justin Samuel?) but not sure of their times.


Bethany set a goal to complete 70 of the 100 miles and did just that.  At the 70 mile point, the ride swings back past the parked cars at Newport Rec Center, so that's where she completed the day.  She has been riding for a few years, but not huge miles.  She completed her first 100 in the flats 2 weeks ago by completing the Knott's Island Century. 


I met two NCVC riders, Tim and Cynthia, on the ride.  I could tell as they passed me at about mile 30 that they were experienced riders that were setting a reasonable pace.  I tagged on the back and asked Cynthia if I could stay with them for a while.  She agreed, and I realized soon after that Tim was setting the pace of the day and did not expect help from either of us.  A Northern Virginia resident, Tim told me that he'd been "avoiding mountains all his life" and that he recently started trips to the hills to prepare for a trip to the Pyrennes.  I could tell that they'd drop me on John's Creek Mountain (mile 60), so I bid them farewell at that point.  But as I grinded up the climb, I passed them back as they fixed a flat. 


I did not see them again until the last climb of the day, the ass-kicking brutality of Mountain Lake.  Tim passed me first at the bottom.  Cynthia passed me with 2 miles to go and we died together at the finish.  As it turned out, I actually crossed the line with another NoVA resident, a cool guy whose name I wish I could remember.  He said that I kept him motivated which made me happy.  He started in a different wave from me, so his time is different than mine even though we crossed the line at the same time as Elizabeth, Anna and Madeline Carhart cheered us in.


As much as I enjoyed (and hated) the main event Sunday, I think staying at Jean Troutman's house in Peairsburg will be what I really remember about the weekend. Jean, Carol, Bethany and I relaxed in style at the Troutman's country house which has the best sunrise and sunset views imaginable.  Memorial Day weekend has become one of my favorite holidays thanks to Jean's hospitality.  Most of the cycling photos below were taken during the laid back Wilderness Road Ride on Saturday, our stay at Jean's, and images of an overstuffed bike shop on Main Street in Radford. 

http://www.cyclingdoubleheader.com/2011-mountains-of-misery-results   Results link for all riders 2011.

http://bikevoice.blogspot.com/2010_05_01_archive.html   My previous finish times