Diamond Blackfan Cyclocross Challenge Race Report

Today was round #1 of the De Stad Cyclocross Van Kansas series which I am promoting. Earlier in the year I asked Tige Lamb if he wanted to help promote and that we could use it as a fundraiser for the Diamond Blackfan Anemia foundation (Tige's daughter has DBA). Hence the name of our first event. The event was a huge success with 223 race entries on the day. I think that is a record in our area for a cyclocross race (except for Nationals of course).

The team really came out to help at this event! We set-up most of the course on Saturday and then got to the race site at 0530 to complete everything. It was very hard, but we got her built and the event went smoothly for the most part. Some scoring issues due to some lappers and slow protest periods. We will definitely work on this for the next round - Chris Cross.

Christopher returned to racing his bicycle today. After taking the summer off to become an expert at Halo, he decided he would come out of an early retirement to defend his Junior championship from last year. He did great today and had some good competition from a junior from the Bike Shack team. He lead for most of the first lap until a dropped chain over the barriers cost him too much time to make up. I was very proud that he did not give up. He finished in 2nd place and brought home the silver medal.

As I said before, I am running the Single Speed class in the De Stad series. We had a great turnout in the class with 16 riders. I almost changed my goal before the race of getting on the podium with the likes of Brad Sullivan and Graham Aldredge on the line, but decided despite being exhausted that I could still get up there if I really tried.

I got a call-up for being last years Single Speed Champion and this helped with my start has I settled into 2nd place with a good position leading up to Tige's Tantrum. The guy in front could not hold his speed through the section and I soon found myself in the lead. We started to catch the Men's Cat 4's after about a 1/4 lap and this cause me to lose one place to Brad Sullivan. I stayed on Sullivan's wheel for the first lap, but he was finding his way through the 60+ rider Cat 4 field a little quicker than I . I was feeling really good for most of the race. About 1/2 way Aldridge got by but I kept him in sight and at one point passed him back for 2nd, but he has youth on his side (I am more that twice his age) and did not have to pound 1,000 stakes :-) Both Sullivan and Aldridge are very strong riders so I was happy to be in 3rd.

In the end I held on to 3rd place and made it on the podium . Even won a pair of cool Tifosi glasses and foot booties for the effort. Is a promoter allowed to win awards? I might have to do some re-gifting at the next round.

Jacqueline M. Locke, Esq.

We got some really great news yesterday and wanted to share it with all our friends! My sister Jackie, a recent graduate of Mercer University School of Law, passed the Florida Bar. Carolynn and I are so very proud of her as this is really a huge accomplishment. It's rare to pass the Bar Exam the first time it's taken. As a qualifier for the FL Bar, she had to pass the MPRE which is the ethics portion of the exam with a score of 80. The highest required score for any jurisdiction is 85 ......... she scored 120! Jackie was a regular on the Dean's list so it was no surprise to us that she would ace the exam. Congratulations!!
Now go get a job....

Hermann Cross Under the Lights

First race of the season is finished. Glad to get this one behind me. Not a good result for me at all. Just did not have the legs nor did I have the mental focus to suffer for 30 min....

Start went really well for me. I was happy to get the jump on the other 55 riders. I opened up a little gap on the field and was really putting the hammer down. I had one other guy with me as we hit the sand pit. We both got through the 100 yard mud pit running well. As we hit the road section I tried to stay on his wheel, but was at my limit. I backed it down some knowing that I had gone out too hard for my present fitness level. I soon found myself getting passed and finished the first lap in around 5th. I had a rough 2nd lap and fell way back in the field. It was very depressing and I had a hard time regaining focus (and desire) to get the old heart rate back up. The 4th and 5th laps were better for me has I started to bring some guys back. Got by my teammate Rich Anderson in the "stinking" mud pit and actually worked my way back up into the top 20. Last lap I fell apart, mainly from lack of focus, and ended up in 24th with most of the riders that I had just passed the previous two laps getting back by. I will take this result and try and build on it next race - Diamond Blackfan Cyclocross Challenge.

Jeff and his crew did a great job. Live music was nice. Course set-up was first class and was very well marked. Most of the course flowed well except for those really tight turns by the wheel pit. Chip timing was very cool and we got quick results. Only negative would be the stinking 100 yard long mud pit. I love muddy races, but not when the mud stinks from flooding and what smelled like fecal matter.

Here some pics:

Let the Cow Bells Begin to Ring

It has finally arrived. The 2008 Cyclocross season begins this weekend for me over in Hermann, MO. On tap are 20 races (actually more with doubling up at some events). For the De Stad series I will race in the Single Speed class and try and defend my 2007 series championship. At other events I will either race Cat 1/2/3 or Masters 35+ (or both :-))

This is the best shape for cyclocross season I have been in since 2001. Feeling really fresh and ready for the Pure Sweet Hell that is about to begin and the sweet sounds of cow bells a ringing.

Here is my schedule:

9/20 - Cross Under the Lights
9/28 - Diamond Blackfan Cyclocross Challenge
10/4 - Omaha Cyclocross Weekend Day 1
10/5 - Omaha Cyclocross Weekend Day 2
10/12 - Chris Cross
10/18 - Capital Cup
10/19 - Butthead Cyclocross Smackdown.
10/25 - Smithville Cyclocross Festival Day 1
10/26 - Smithville Cyclocross Festival Day 2
10/30 - Celebrate 15 wonderful years with Carolynn Locke
11/9 - Veterans Cross
11/16 - De Stad Cross Cup (KS State CX Championships)
11/22 - Nebraska Sobe No Fear Cyclocross
11/23 - Nebraska State Cyclocross Championships
11/29 - Jingle Cross Rock #1
11/30 - Jingle Cross Rock #2
12/6 - Bubba Cross #7
12/7 - Missouri State Cyclocross Championships
12/11 - USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships - Men's B 40+
12/13 - USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships - Masters 40 -44
12/14 - USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships - Single Speed

DZ-Nuts

I have to get me some DZ Nuts.

View and comment on David Zabriskie talks chamois

I Finally Made it to a Cat 1

Yes! After 20 years of cycling, I have finally made it to a Category 1 racer. In 2009 I will be a Cat 1 Mountain Biker :-)

Colorado Springs, Colo. (September 12, 2008)—USA Cycling announced today the development and implementation of a new mountain bike category system set to take effect for the 2009 season......

USA Cycling MTB Category Changes.

MTB Home Page

Tour of Missouri

Updated with Pics....

The 2nd Annual Tour of Missouri has finally arrived. A lot of the teams are staying in hotels around KCI in the Northland. We have been seeing their team cars all week long. Today Carolynn saw one of BMC riders in the local Wal-Mart. He was with Trudie and they were looking for something in the health section. Carolynn was being a smart @#$ and said that he may have gotten a little saddle sore from riding in all the rain we've had. She almost recommended that he pick up some Boudreaux's Butt Paste if that was the problem.

I rode over to Joe Fox's Cycle City store this morning for a little ride with the Health Net Pro Cycling Team. Being a Cannondale dealer has it privileges...For most of the ride I rode behind last year's National Cyclocross champion Tim Johnson and his teammates. We headed North along the our normal route that brings us to the very popular Interurban road. The Health Net boys only wanted to ride for a little over an hour so we turned around just short of the water tower. One the return trip I peeled off from the ride to complete my interval routine that Studnicki has layed out for me. Got in a good 2 hour ride including a very hard interval session. Mark you would have been proud of me.

Day 1 of the TOM started with some heavy rains and some cool weather. As Carolynn and I headed up to St. Joseph for the start the rain started to clear out. It turned out to be a great day to race with the cool weather. With lower crowds in St. Joseph we were able to get really close to all of the riders. Carolynn even got to take her picture with 3 time TT Champion David Zabriskie and Johnathan Vaughters. Below is our slide show of the start, the first sprint in Platte City and then the finishing circuit in Kansas City.

What is Cyclocross?

What is cyclocross to me? Pure Sweet Hell!

****Check out www.kansascitycross.com ****

Smithville Spider Fest Ride

Surf's Up!

I finally got a morning that I could head to the beach. I have been down in South Florida visiting my parents and sister Jackie. My mom has been keeping me busy with a long "mother do" list. And I thought Carolynn's "honey do" list was long....

I hit one of the Boca Raton beaches first - Red Reef Park. As I entered the beach area there was a big sign that said "No Swimming". Apparently the rip currents were really bad due to the hurricanes and tropical storms that are out there. Yesterday 3 swimmers died down in Ft. Lauderdale. I ended up just walking south to watch all the surfers on the south end of the beach. They allow surfing when there are high surf conditions, but not swimming. What's up with that? Well, at least the surfing conditions were great today. There must have be 30+ surfers out there having a blast. One came by yelling "Surf Up!" It was fun to watch them all. Some were actually really good.

I decided to head North to one of my favorite beaches to do some running and maybe swim. Spanish River Park is a nice park that offers a good location to train and is the site of the annual FAU Triathlon. I spent many days at this beach when I was going to Florida Atlantic University. Good memories for sure. The waves were not as big here so I decided to go for a swim in spite the rip current warnings. What a blast! It was so much fun battling the surf and I was getting one heck of a workout. I got caught in one rip current, but kept my cool and swam along the shoreline until I was out of it. Just when I decided that I better return to shore I got hit hard by a large wave. As luck would have it another wave hit me again just as I surfaced. I was tumbling along the ocean floor and thought I would never come up. I almost started to panic, but knew that I just had to ride it out. I was really glad when I came up and I quickly made my way to the shore.

My next stop was Deerfield Beach. This place has changed a lot during the last 10 years. Now this was the place to be, as the beach here was packed with 100's of surfers, volleyball players and packed full of sun worshipers. I spent about an hour there enjoying the sites. That was until a older man walked by in a G String. When I saw that I knew it was time to head home.