Race Season Approacheth

As it gets closer to race season, I get more and more nervous, but more excited! It's been a crazy month and a half, completely changing the way I train and how I look at cycling. The past couple of weeks have been marked with huge improvements but also serious problems for me.

Thanks to Don, I learned (finally) how to corner and bump elbows. I'm not braking through turns as much anymore, and I'm taking them much faster. A lot of it was a lack of confidence, but there was definitely a lack of technical "know how" as well.

Problem areas included nearly a week recovering from my crash (see my last post for gory details.) It didn't really seem too bad at first, but my legs were super sore for a few days afterwards. Then, to make matters worse, my legs started spontaneously cramping again during a run and haven't been the same since.

A trip to the doctor resulted in a knee brace, a physical therapy routine for me to do at home and a battery of blood tests, which showed a significant increase in my muscle enzymes that may be causing the cramping. The brace helped a lot, and I've spent hours hooked up to the stationary trainer in the basement watching Frasier reruns and pedaling furiously to get back in the game. Swimming has also helped in soothing my muscles, and I think a lot more cyclists could benefit from this cross-training (or maybe I just want to get more of the team into swimming!)

With racing only a week away, it's all starting to feel more real to me. Triathlon is a totally different animal- there, if I do badly, it just is about me. Here, I'm terrified of screwing up or doing badly and making the team look bad. I'm just not used to being part of a team yet!

In the meantime, tomorrow will be the first time in two weeks (yikes!) that I'm riding outside (barring cornering drills and biking to all of the different campuses on my mountain bike), so I'm really happy about that. Hopefully the doctor can figure out why my legs are acting up and how to fix them. For now, I'm going to ride as hard and as well as I can, get to work on a race day press release, and stick to the physical therapy!

I've been reading a book by Johan Bruyneel about how he masterminded 8 Tour de France victories, and I love this one quote from him: "If you’re going to expend that first big block of effort and energy to participate, you might as well go ahead and give whatever it takes to win."

Rutgers Cycling has already expended the effort and energy training for this season, so I hope that this Spring has a lot of victories in store for us!

Gu: Keeping Rutgers Cycling Energized and Hydrated in 2009!

Gu Energy Products has come aboard complement Rutgers Cycling's ever-growing family of sponsors.

Rutgers Cycling will be using Gu energy gels during training and competition and hydrating with Gu2O, Gu's electrolyte drink. For longer endurance events, riders will be reaching for Gu's newest gel, Roctane.

Rutgers Cycling at the Pool

Captain Chaz, Molly, and I got some cross training at the pool yesterday. We jumped in the open lanes on the far side of the pool, each of us taking a whole lane, because we had the room. We swam for an hour, and yet nobody came to our side of the pool... every other lane was empty when we left, even though the other side was full of swimmers.

It turns out, Rutgers Cycling makes a big splash.

Medium Rutgers Cycling Jerseys Now in Stock!

Thanks to our friends at Verge Sport, we have a limited supply of Rutgers Cycling jerseys in size medium in stock once again.

Jerseys are available to order in sizes Medium-XXXL through Bikereg here:

Order Rutgers Cycling Jerseys

Questions regarding clothing may be directed to clothing(at)rutgerscycling.com

Your purchase of Rutgers Cycling jerseys from Rutgers Cycling directly supports cycling at Rutgers University.

A Productive, but Painful Week

Another week, another set of bruises.

I'm getting better at riding hills, riding long, riding intervals, and everything else. It's happening gradually, but I can feel things changing.

I'm also feeling tired. But it's been an exhausting week.

Sunday saw me riding part of the century with the team again, though this time I didn't need prompting to keep up and only tapped the brakes once or twice by accident. I also went an extra few miles! The only bad part of the ride was when a truck with a trailer attached decided to pass us on a narrow strip of road, sandwiching a few of us between it and the guardrail. A lot of the team managed to pass it, but it closed too close to the guardrail for me to squeak by, and Ken and I got stuck behind it, waiting for an opening. It came (meaning a whole 2 feet of space between the flatbed and the rail) and Ken gave me the push I needed (literally a push and yelling "go!") and I pushed as hard as I could to get past it before it swung back towards me.

Terrifying.

Monday was a swimming day, but 65 degree weather meant running too. As usual, we had our mini-team recovery swim, and I learned the joys of aquajogging (very boring.)

Tuesday morning, I rode with the team on the A-loop. Hills and I have a love-hate relationship, but I appreciate the need to ride them as much as possible. We got to the top of the steepest one and somehow- I'm not sure how- I ran over a block of Styrofoam. Crash!

My shoulder ended up under Charlie's wheel (I owe him big time, since it almost was my head instead). But what hurt the most was my jersey, gloves, and new booties getting ripped. I managed to make it home, very very sore and very bruised. My arms, legs, and hands are host to bruises, scrapes, and cuts.

But that night, I was back to yoga, and Wednesday and Thursday were training as normal. It takes more than a few cuts and bruises to keep me off the bike!

I'm getting more and more excited about race season as it gets closer, but also a lot more nervous. Triathlon is totally different than cycling, and the rules I learned from that don't apply at all. I just hope I'm ok at technical stuff like drafting and cornering. We'll see, but I'm really looking forward to it!

It's all about Teamwork!

Well, I’ve survived long enough to write another update. But then again, this is just the Base past of training!

I feel the need to expound a bit on just how much I’ve found myself loving being part of this team. I never though I would say that, but as my awkwardness begins to decimate, I realize more and more just how important it is to have such a great support system surrounding you if you want to really succeed.

While I can’t claim to have biked the Century with the team this past Sunday, I rode a small portion of it with them, and an additional 20-25 miles before and after for a total ride of 75 miles. I met up with everyone in Frenchtown at the coffeeshop and got to meet a lot of people I hadn't before- I was also amazed at how many town locals and people on bikes stopped to chat with all of us. After coffee and bagels, we rode along the Delaware River to Titusville, before I turned around to meet my Dad for another 25 miles of riding.

However low my mileage with the team was, I learned quite a bit in that 25 miles. Don spent a hefty portion of time teaching me how to properly draft and how to avoid tapping the brakes so much, and Rich chimed in as well. (“It’s just a lack of confidence!” “No, it’s a lack of me wanting to kill any of you!”)

Their advice paid off, or so I’d like to think. This Sunday I’ll be ready to attempt proper drafting technique again. Corners are still nerve-wracking for me, always have been. But with a combination of Rich yelling, “stop braking!” and my Dad yelling, “cut that out!” over the course of the day, I think I’ve improved.

Just when I thought I was out of the draft and would never catch up, I had Rich behind me yelling, “Go, Molly!” and somehow my legs managed to pedal faster. Amazing what a little motivation can do for you!

Monday was a “rest day,” but those of you who know us triathletes know that bike rest days mean swimming and running. And who can avoid running when it’s warm enough to wear shorts and get muddy? Don and I did our Monday night swim, and he got to draft behind me for a change. Finally, something where I’m faster than him!

Tuesday night was spent in Chris’s attic on a trainer copying his interval riding, Wednesday was the gym with the team lifting weights, and Thursday I realized I was thoroughly disappointed when I couldn’t ride because I had class and plans with my Dad to hit the gym together, though my stationary trainer got an early morning workout.

I’m biking more than I ever have in my life, and I couldn’t be happier!

Ride Report: Super Bowl Century

Sunday the Rutgers crew came out in force, this time for a hundred plus miles of pre Super Bowl masochism. Spirits were high from the prospects of the temperature breaking freezing for the day. College Ave. was deserted when we met to leave. The whole campus is ours at this hour. There was agreement to keep the stopping to a minimum. We needed to get back in time to join the rest of the Heartland in the gluttony and general excess necessary for football watching. Like a skinny, silent motorcycle gang, we rolled onto College Ave. proper taking up both lanes. There were no cars, but we looked fearsome enough that it didn't matter. So many people in matching Rutgers kits earns more than the usual respect from the cars.

A few miles down River Road Ricardo flats, changes the tube, and flats again. So much for luck with the stopping! He decides his tire is not wont for this journey, so we leave him behind and press on. In the time spent changing the flat, Joe, Jay and I managed to ride 1.3 miles in circles on a side street. Take that, century.

The action begins when we climb the hill before Frenchtown. The long hill gives everyone a chance to overheat within the windproof confines of many layers. Chris takes a decisive sprint at the top of the climb, while the rest of us roll in throughout the ensuing 5 minutes. Don goes up the road to film some overly grainy footage for his documentary. We make it to Frenchtown and try to have hasty coffee, pastries, and bathrooms. This is impossible with so many clowns crammed into such a small clown car.

Leaving Frenchtown the sun shines and the layers begin to come off. We keep good time as we cover the flat miles along the river and enter the second climb of the day with big rings a roaring. We pass a recreational rider on the climb at a furious pace, no doubt looking like a bunch of showoffs. Sorry, dear rider friend, this fury has been brewing for miles before we saw you. I lead the stampede. with Chris, Coach Ken and Don clinging to me. Chris manages a second win, paying me back for nicking him on the line last week. The hills never forget.

After a quick water fill at the gas station, we get to the mile of dirt road in the century route. With ice melting under the afternoon sun, the road is ugly. Real ugly. Unable to decide the proportion of ice, mud and gravel beneath my tiny tires, I fall to the back and tripod the winding swamp decent. The rest of the team takes the ice with impressive (some might say foolhardy) speed. It is quickly clear to your roadie author why Rutgers is the three-time ECCC cyclocross champs. Something about the icy slush on their backsides makes the these guys right at home (or so I imagine, as the team is now far out of my sight).

We enter the "dark hours" of the century with plenty of time to spare. By this time each rider is battling personal demons. Chamoix are out of place, butts are sore, legs are fading. We still manage to assault the Landing Lane hill with prideful stupidity. If anybody has life in their legs, this does the job of emptying it out. The utter lack of any desire to pedal means we are finally home.

...just in time to watch the real athletes on TV.

New Kid on the Block (Bike)

I've never been a team kind of person. In fact, the last team I was on was when I was six, and they had to have my mom come get me because I wouldn't stop crying. So my experience with group sports has been pretty limited. My experience on a bike, however, has been going on since I was just an infant, dating back to the days when the only way to put me to sleep was for my dad to take me out for a ride in the baby seat affixed firmly to his old Cannondale road bike.

I eschewed training wheels for my first mountain bike, since I was in hot competition with my boy neighbor to see who could ride first. We tied in that, and spent the next ten or so years racing around our small town together on our bikes. My dad says that I was born to ride, since my legs never seemed to get tired.

So, when I got to Rutgers, I came with my dad's old Cannondale, just a hair too big for me. Building a fixed gear soon followed, and after that, a few attempted alleycats. Then, a new bike, bought solely to compete in… Triathlon. What followed was the transformation of a nonathletic and noncompetitive girl into someone who trains three or four hours a day and races as hard as humanly possible. I learned to push myself harder than I thought I ever could, and I saw results.

I blame a bike team alumnus for my foray into the multisport world (he knows who he is!) I started racing in tri's last summer, and managed to do reasonably well, getting third in my age group in my second race. The swim was scary, the run was painful, but the bike was just fun. I decided that while triathlon is my first love, I wanted to concentrate on my biggest strength- the bike.

So, for the first time in my life, I'm doing the "team" thing, and it's scary! While I may have the legs and the stamina for the riding, triathlon has in no way prepared me for racing strictly on two wheels.

I thought that joining the team would be hard in and of itself, but with people like Chris and Mark helping me navigate through the various paperwork and membership rules, it was actually surprisingly easy.

My first ride with team members was a bit of a disaster, I admit. Going out in 2 layers on top, 1 on bottom and just my triathlon shoes on my feet was my first mistake. I survived the ride, but the 20 degree weather took its toll on my system, and when we stopped at a park mid-ride, I got off the bike and started seeing in Technicolor before things started to fade out completely. Thanks to Chris and his bottle of Accelerade, I managed to recover and finish the ride, only to discover later that night that what I thought had been a tiny spill on the ice had actually caused a gigantic bruise on my leg that two weeks later is still healing.

The next ride saw me outfitted with neoprene booties, Assos legwarmers, tights, underarmour, and my new Rutgers long-sleeved jersey- 2 layers on bottom, 3 and a half on top. Much warmer, and the ride went much smoother, though I still have a lot to learn about riding in a pack. It's hard to get a knack for drafting when you're used to a time penalty for drafting in triathlon!

In the meantime, I also learned that the team does just about everything together- I've been to a team meeting, I've weightlifted, rode on trainers in an attic, and swam with members. It's a whole new world of training for me, one where I finally have a group to talk to, finally have friends that actually know exactly what my body is going through because theirs are too. I can't believe I missed out on such a dedicated group of people for three years! It seems like such a waste.

So I have a couple years to make up for, and with races starting in a little over a month, I'm incredibly psyched to get started.

Oh yeah- my name is Molly, and I'm really happy to be on this team!

Third Annual "Accidental" Century

Well folks, it's January, and that can only mean one thing - seriously, one thing and one thing only, and we'd better not find out it means something else! - it's time for the traditional Rutgers Cycling "Accidental" Century!

In its first edition, alumnus Jay #1 promised us an easy 60 mile cruise, only to be shocked when we hit the halfway point at 50 miles. Back then, it really was an accident, and we were exhausted. The more recent editions have had safer routes and bigger groups, but we continue to be exhausted. It's great!
25Jan09 - Rutgers Century at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail:GPS Geotagging

Even with sunny skies, temperatures were never higher than 32 degrees, and the cold was a constant challenge. Good company, warm coffee, and a little something we like to call "drafting behind Chris and the Wills" kept us strong. Our water bottles froze, but our spirits were high.

Twenty-five miles into our journey, we passed a Road Closed sign. Bridge Out. Blah, blah, blah. Detours are for wimps and Rutgers Cycling are not wimps. What we found was that the bridge really was closed. Did not exist.

The descent to the river - okay, creek - was simple enough, but the far bank was steep and frozen. Like a hokey "cooperation" exercise from middle school or perhaps part of Navy Seal training, our teamwork was put to the test. With a little ingenuity and a lot of laughter, we all made it safely across.

Two miles later, a sign announced that the next bridge was closed. Not eager to ford another river, we opted to follow the detour signs, only to find that we could've crossed this "closed" bridge blindfolded. Still, the detour afforded us some beautiful views of central NJ, plus some extra base miles.

I can't tell if the owners of the coffee shop love us or hate us. We took up every single seat in the place, trash-talked and joked and were generally loud, and were sweaty. We walked around barefoot to get blood back in the toes. We ordered small coffees, then took as many free refills as our stomachs would hold. Still, I'm pretty sure the proprietors love us... we do eat a LOT of pastries.

The ride back saw its share of adversity, with flat tires and mechanical difficulties and uncooperative joints. To keep our spirits high, we sang a stirring rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody", in its entirety. I'd like to think that somewhere, Freddy Mercury was smiling.

The cold weather - or, more directly, the multiple gloves each of us was wearing - prevented much photography. Eric R (aka Asphalt Eric, aka Big Papa) took pictures at every opportunity, and he synced them with his GPS map (see above).

Having finished the traditional, official, first Rutgers Century of the new year, we'll be doing regular centuries every Sunday. Fitness or Bust! If you see us out on the roads, wave hello... or roll down your window and join us in song!

Rutgers Winter Road Training Begins !!! (1/17 - 1/18)

The cold weather couldn't keep the RU squad down. After over a week of straight roller rides, and beating almost every NFL team on N64 while on rollers. I decided that regardless of the temperature on Saturday I was going outside. I posted the challenge to the group and put on every piece of cold weather gear I could find. I checked the weather online and a little piece of my soul died when I saw 4 degrees with a feels like of 0. Regardless I had already posted to the group and could not take back the e-mail. So I decided I would ride. Here is a list of what I wore for the ride:

- Polypropylene Long Johns upper and lower
- 2 under armor upper base layers
- arm warmers
- 1 under armor lower base layer
- leg warmers
- booties
- 2 pairs of winter cycling gloves
- cycling mask
- wool knit cap
- glasses
- s/s cycling jersey
- bib shorts
- Verge Warsaw jacket
- NO water bottles (no point, there were just going to freeze anyway)

It took me so long to put on all of the cloths that I was 15 minutes late for the ride. However, one brave soul, Matt Bathe, was man enough to wait. Wearing less cloths than me (proving his dominance as a male), Matt I and started out on our ride. What you don't realize that it is not the cold that makes it hard to ride, but the lack of movement from all of the cloths. So feeling like giant marshmallow men in all our layers we belabored our way the six mile. Pulling into the rest stop we saw a group on mountain bikers enjoying the snow covered trails. I have to admit, it felt good to hear all the mtbers conversations stop and watch them all stare at the "crazy roadies" out on the roads. At the rest stop, Matt looked down at his bottles almost completely frozen. Attempting to get the little remaining liquid H2O, Matt reached for his bottle only to find that it was frozen to his cage! We got going again and finished a first bridge just before we froze in place like the tin man. Near the end of the ride I look over to Matt, who has a relatively tame read bearded (compared to his beard in the past) and see that he has an ice goatee about a quarter of an inch thick. After I get home it takes me an hour to get off all of the layers and regain feeling in my toes. So the moral of the story is IT'S COLD OUTSIDE.

Sunday the cycling apartment hosted a 2 hour trainer ride in out attic, which is not much warmer than it is outside. The crew was Nick, George, Matt, Charlie T, and myself. This was a ride of first. It was the first trainer ride of the New Year, the first trainer ride ever for Nick and George, and the first time Nick and George had ever seen "Breaking Away". So in a reverse flying V, Matt, Charlie T, and myself up front with Nick and George in back, we set out for our Cycle-Smart dictated 140+ minutes of easy. I was quite impressed by the two new comers. I did not hear one complaint and they never asked how much time we had left, I guess they figured I did enough complaining for everyone. It was a good ride. With the exception of one stretch break and one pee break, we did a consistent 144 minutes, and by the time we had finished the attic was a sauna, in part from the rubber we burned, but also because we just looked that hot on our bikes.

Collegiate Cycling Article on Velonews!

Rick Crawford, director of the Fort Lewis College Cycling Team, has written a wonderful article about collegiate cycling for Velonews.com.

College Days (velonews.com)

The article captures very well the feeling and spirit of collegiate cycling and certainly the vibe here at Rutgers Cycling.

Crawford concludes with an appeal for volunteer or financial support of collegiate cycling. We'd like to echo Coach Crawford's appeal. In an era when only a few NCCA sports receive adequate funding from colleges and universities, cycling, a non-NCCA sport, is often left to fend for itself, despite the enormous costs associated with competitive cycling.

If you'd like to learn more about how you can help support cycling at Rutgers, please contact our Sponsorship Coordinator at sponsorship(at)rutgerscycling.com

Rutgers Cycling fueled by 53x11 Coffee!

It's been a busy start for the new year and Rutgers Cycling is proud to announce a fresh new sponsorship arrangement with 53x11 Coffee for the 2009 season.

53x11 Coffee is fair-trade, organic coffee made for cyclists, by cyclists. It is so good, though, you needn't be a cyclist to enjoy it.

Rutgers Cycling is a 53x11 Coffee affiliate, so when you order coffee through our web site and blog, you aren't just getting some of the finest coffee beans around, you are also helping to support one of the finest collegiate cycling programs around.

AngryMark likes the Chainbreaker blend, while the Kassassin and Beastmaster have been enjoying the Big Ring blend.

Click here to check it out:

Rutgers Cycling, now Powered by SRAM

Rutgers Cycling is very pleased to announce a grassroots sponsorship agreement with SRAM, makers of the outstanding Red road group and X.O mountain group. SRAM drivetrain components will grace the road, cyclocross, and mountain bikes of Rutgers Cycling members throughout the 2009 road, cross, and mountain bike seasons.

Rutgers Cycling is also be proud to be part of SRAM's work with World Bicycle Relief.

World Bicycle Relief is committed to providing access to independence and livelihood through The Power of Bicycles.

We hope that you will join us in supporting the efforts of World Bicycle Relief.

Good Company

Here's a great picture, captured by Ralf Warmuth during our pre-ride on Saturday.


Joe's beating defending national champion Tim Johnson!

Rutgers Wins 3rd Straight Collegiate Cross Title!

For the third year in a row, Rutgers Cycling has won the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference Cyclocross Series Team Championship!

A victorious Rutgers 'Cross Team in Warwick, RI this weekend

In a close and hard-fought series, Rutgers confirmed its dominance in the discipline of cyclocross with convincing wins at both days of the NBX Gran Prix in Warwick, RI.

In addition to the team championship, Rutgers riders also took home individual titles. Freshman Patrick Bradley won the A men's championship. Senior Amy Cutler won the B women's championship. In the C men's standings, Rutgers came close to its sweep of the podium last year by placing Rich Kassan, Matt Bathe, Eric Rundstrom, and Joe Gilch in 2nd through 5th in the overall standings.

Rutgers will finish of its cyclocross season this weekend at the US Cyclocross National Championships in Kansas City, KS where Rutgers riders will be competing in the Collegiate, U23, and single speed races.

Cycle Smart International Report

The time between changing into street clothes after my race and cheering for my teammate Patrick during his race, those are the magic hours of cyclocross. The pre-race nerves have passed, food can be consumed (the greasier the better) without fear of regurgitation, and it's the warmest part of the day. Sunday was temperate and cloudless, and with a burger in hand, I wandered around the race course.

I joked with Richard Sachs, who runs an eponymous elite team and builds their eponymous bikes. I walked the course and yelled at the Elite Womens with Sheldon, who had warmed up with me. I got a debriefing from Deedee Winfield, who had finished third in the Elite Women's race.

Among these other vignettes of American cyclocross, I spent a little time with the Secret Henry's team at their freaking awesome EuroVan. Jeff is a 15 year old phenom who has yet to lose a B race this year, Lauri had earned my boundless gratitude for loaning me embrocation, and Tom is the director of the Granogue race (which elevates him to deity status as far as I'm concerned). Nice people, and a pleasure to talk to.

When Jeff's dad joined the conversation, Tom introduced me as "the Rutgers recruiter". Now, I hadn't mentioned Rutgers at all, and I certainly hadn't mentioned the stacks of brochures in my trunk... but yes, I suppose I was recruiting Jeff.

I've recruited for a youth group, a fraternity, two Universities, and a cycling team. I've attended and given lectures on the fine art of recruitment. If there's anything I've learned, it's that it's easiest to recruit when you really love the organization. So yes, even though I wasn't recruiting Jeff, I really was.

That's the way the weekend went in the Rutgers camp. As a group, we did everything with such intensity that it oozed out us like an aura of unfiltered awesomeness. That may be a bit of an exaggeration, sure, but not by much. The Rutgers crew, for all of our youthful indiscretions and lengthy conversations about farts, rolls at least as cohesively as possible.

On Friday, for example, we arrived in Northampton well after dark. Patrick, despite being the youngest on the team, has been around the racing block once or twice; he insisted that he was going to go on a leg-opening ride. In the dark. Without any lights.

After a brief deliberation, we came up with the best solution (better than my "do a few thousand laps around the back yard" proposal, anyway): the team would ride on the road, with me and Cristian driving my car behind them. They put on their full uniforms, all Scarlet Red and big R logos. I turned on the hazards and lit the road with high beams, shepherd to a flock of exhilarated young'uns. The uninformed might've mistaken us for a ProTour squad. Cristian took pictures out the passenger window, but none of them turned out well.

It's the most fun I've ever had in a car at 20mph.


DAY 1

Andy, Patrick, Amanda, and I arrived at Look Park on Saturday in time to watch the C race. We ran around the top of the course, screamed at Rich, Joe, Matt, Eric, and Cristian, and got hassled by Richard Fries. Joe clipped the last barrier at broke our hearts... but you'll never hear him complain.

Something is just off about this pic of Matt remounting

Eric loaned me his tubular wheels - expensive, hard to repair tubular wheels. He's my hero. Especially after what would happen Sunday.

Saturday posed its own challenge, of course. Starting in the 8th row, I'd have to be aggressive during the first lap... not my strong suit. When my friend Josh from Colby flew by, I knew his was the wheel to get on, and so get on I did. We passed a handful of riders, took some rather entertaining lines through corners, and I was feeling fine.

Knobby tires make a distinct sound when they rub each other, like combining a two-stroke engine with a zipper. Josh's body wiggled as his front wheel contacted someone's rear wheel. The noise stopped, and he recovered. And then he didn't, and he was on the ground. With nowhere to go, I ran directly into his back, somersaulting into my patented ninja roll. It would've been perfect, if I hadn't caught a handlebar with my ribs.

Of the hundred-plus people in my race, I crashed into one of the two with whom I'm friends. Sweet.

When I got back on my bike, I was in dead last. I got out of the saddle, stomped on the pedals, and nearly ran into some dude who'd dropped his chain and stopped in the middle of the course. After grazing his hip with my knuckles, barely avoiding further calamity, I shouted an apology back to him.

I fought and fought and fought, swapped spots with a few collegiate guys, and ran out of gas a half-lap from the finish. Andy rode brilliantly to take the top D1 spot. A cadet from Army caught me at the line, taking 2nd D1. I'd like to tell you that I don't hate him.

Andy has more fun than any other racer
We should all be so cheerful while suffering

When it was time for Pat's race, I volunteered to stand with his spare bike in the pit. Yes, I volunteered to Pit for Pat.

Poor guy has no idea what's in store

The pit was two-sided, so that the course passed it twice per lap. After Pat passed on one side, I would walk the spare bike to the other side and wait half a lap, as would each of the other 40 pit-guys. With each half-lap, fewer mechanics were migrating before me... so I started to keep count. Pat had moved from 30th to 25th to 20th. He was 18th, looking comfortable and still advancing, when I watched him dismount and start running. He had rolled his tire and needed the spare bike. Oh boy.

After what felt like a few hours, Pat reached the pit and threw the bike at the ground. He'd only lost a half-dozen spots, and the race was only half over. Having procured a spare wheel from Neutral Support, I resumed the semi-lap migration. I shouted encouragement at Pat, but he'd lost his rhythm and wasn't gaining ground.

When he approached the pit a few laps later, pointing at his rear wheel and looking despondent, my heart sank completely. Pat had utterly destroyed a tubular tire - an expensive, hard to repair tubular tire. This time he threw the bike at me and muttered something not fit for print.

Back on his original bike, but floundering in 28th, Pat kept riding, even if no longer racing. He would finish on the lead lap... first in the Collegiate race, too!

I got us quite lost on the way home, which gave him plenty of time to vent. Slowly his tune changed from proclaiming "I quit forever" to sighing "it happens". Back at the house, the guys patted him on the back and we put up a giant pot of water. We had an absolutely classy dinner of pasta, meatballs, and garlic bread. We happily bid farewell to Daylight Savings.


DAY 2

I creaked out of bed on Sunday morning - and by bed, I do mean couch - and took stock of the previous day's carnage. The butcher's bill was lengthy... my left arm and my right butt cheek were the only body parts from the neck down that didn't ache.

There's a difference, though, between aching and hurting. Learning to recognize the subtle, paramount chasm between discomfort and pain is a rite of passage for endurance athletes. Consciously or not, we learn how to silence the discomfort and push through it, and also how to listen to the pain as it signifies some physiological compulsion to stop. Pain protects us from injury, but discomfort only protects us from excellence.

Think about it.

Patrick and I were sitting in the back of Bad Boy, the Rutgers van, an hour before my race started. I rubbed embrocation onto my legs, working the stiffness out of my uncooperative muscles, and Pat pinned numbers to his skinsuit. "You know," I thought out loud, "we rub chili pepper goo into our skin, then ride around in the cold and wet for an hour, knowing that we're going to suffer profoundly and probably not win".

"Yeah, so?" Pat didn't look up from his safety pins.

"I'm just saying, it's a pretty ridiculous sport we have".

The morning races had been even colder. The frost on the ground betrayed the chill in the air, and friction from hundreds of tires had melted it and flung it up at the riders' legs. Their tights were damp, and sand stuck to them like glitter.

Joe, Rich, and Eric were burying themselves, and it was beautiful. Rich was in pain, but he soldiered on. Eric was mired in the middle of the field, where people surged mindlessly, only to fade and impede the others' surges. It was ugly on the hill, the sort of chaos that snowballs as rider after rider dismounts.
Chaos on the first lap of the B Race.
See if you can spot the guys who didn't expect to dismount
and lost a ton of spots!

Lap after lap, a lone figure emerged at the top of the hill from within the cloud of kicked-up dust, riding forcefully between the exhausted-looking walkers. Elbows out, savagely turning over a huge gear, Eric rode like a champ when he could've justifiably wimped out, and it was inspiring. My voice grew hoarser with each lap.
Still my hero

Joe rode his best race yet. Mostly riding alone, in no man's land, he put his head down and worked. Worked. We ran around the top of the course, screaming encouragement, because no man's land is a demotivating vacuum and that's what teammates do. Joe rode across the finish in 9th place, putting the hurt on Army and UVM (10th and 11th) in the process! A thing of beauty.

After a bit of ibuprofen and a solid hour of stretching, I actually felt good during my warmup. Snappy, like. The first lap was calamity-free, and I spotted the Army guy who'd caught me yesterday. Oh yes, Army guy. Today would be my day. Oh yes.

I charged around packs on the pavement, cornered aggressively, attacked the barriers, sprinted like a maniac. It was probably the hardest I've ever pushed during a first lap. Which isn't too fast, but that's beside the point.

So, there I was, scrambling to earn every collegiate spot I could. The first lap had ended, and I was just a few spots behind Army. I dove down the descent, hopped recklessly over the rail road crossing, threw my bike to the left, put my elbow in the course tape, straightened out before catching a stake, sprinted out of the turn, touched the brakes, and made the next turn. And then the problems started.
Andy takes the rail road crossing... with panache!

As I floated over the rail road, the rear wheel got a bit of air, and when it landed, it grabbed at the dirt. It grabbed so hard, in fact, that the glue between the tire and the rim was sheared to oblivion. The tire was no longer attached to the wheel. Fwip, fwip, fwip. I couldn't move anymore.

What else could I do? I shouldered the bike and started running for the pit. Racer after racer passed me, and I was powerless to respond. Goodbye, bike race. I got to the pit, maybe 30 seconds after the back of the pack. My heart pounding, I hunted for my spare wheel. Shift into the proper gear for a wheel change, unfasten the brake - augh, the tire is stuck and I can't dislodge the brake! - neutral support comes over and helps me change wheels. Another minute passed before the bike was rideable. A solid shove on the small of my back from the neutral support guy, and at last I was on the course once again.

Hooray!

The guy one spot ahead of me rolled by on the pavement. Geographically, he was close to me, but he was at least 90 seconds ahead on the course. I was alone in my suffering. And to make matters worse, the drive-train was tuned for the tubular wheel, and my spare wheel was causing it to skip. Every pedal stroke, I was in a new gear. Misery.

I changed bikes a few times. Remember how I said that Eric is my hero? Here's why. He ran to the van, got me Joe's bike, hustled to the pit, and exchanged bikes with me. Then, while I floundered on an ill-fitting, mis-shifting bike (seriously, Joe got a top-10 on a bike that was horribly mis-tuned), he fixed the drive-train and called me back in to the pits. A more selfless teammate you will not find.

By two laps to go, I was asking the judges what their lapped-rider policy was. Basically begging to be pulled out of the race. When I finally finished, I grabbed my jacket and rolled back to the car. Some non-cyclist passers-by shot a quizzical look. "Dumbest. Sport. Ever" I replied, only half-joking.

I washed the chili pepper goo from my legs. I'd ridden around in the cold and wet for an hour, suffering profoundly. I did not win.

Time, though, heals all wounds. In my case, 5 minutes of spinning my legs out, followed by 1 minute of changing clothes, followed by 30 seconds of cheeseburger consumption. Cheeseburgers, in fact, heal all wounds.

As great as hamburgers are, Taco Bell showed its virtue that night. One of the guys, I don't recall whom, announced that he was craving some Bell, and the idea spread like a virus or a wildfire or some other metaphorical spreading-thing. We would spend nearly an hour wandering southern Massachusetts that night, pulling U-turn after U-turn, exploring the dark recesses of the Mass Pike. Because by God, we needed that Taco Bell, and damned if we would be denied its spicy, greasy flavor. Burgers are dandy, but Taco Bell, especially as part of a team adventure, is earth-shaking.

Mega was racing once I'd inhaled my cheeseburger, so I took my trusty noisemaker and wandered the course. She may not be my teammate, but she is worth every ounce of encouragement. Nobody outside of the Rutgers team is so vocal a supporter of the Rutgers racers. So I made noise and screamed "faster" and tried not to be scared of Meg's INTENSE game face.


The Elite Men's race started, and I stood at the bottom of the descent, pan and ladle at the ready. The field streaked by, and I tried to pick Pat out. Perhaps I wasn't paying close enough attention? Two corners later, they came by again. Still no Pat.

Eric, who was standing in the pit (it was his turn to Pit for Pat, which is such a fun phrase), called me and asked if I knew what the story was. "The official said that EMTs had been called to the start line." Upon hearing this, I took off in a dead sprint, faster even than I'd run during my race. The pavement at the start was empty. I started running along the course, until JD pointed me to a corner where there was a small swarm of people.

Pat had suffered a freak accident, bumped while remounting so that his knee was wrenched awkwardly. His race had ended after 30 seconds.

Eventually we all found Patrick. Joe took his bike, Rich found his jacket, Eric brought the spare bike. The EMT wrapped his knee with ice and sent him on his way. We walked slowly back to the parking lot. Mega and the DCCoD guys stopped us en route to the van, a gesture we won't soon forget.
Pat manages a post-injury smile
Over decadent Taco Bell that night, I realized something important. I could've talked to Jeff, the super-fast DCCoD junior - or any other prospective student, for that matter - about the merits of Rutgers until I was blue in the face. Maybe that would've convinced him, probably not. Pontificating only goes so far. However, if he saw the team walking back to the car, he saw something unique, and more poignant than any sales pitch.

People get injured in racing all the time. How often, though, do you see an entire team rush to the crash? Not even knowing if anything can be done to help, just knowing that we had to be there for our guy? It happened at Hillbilly Hustle, when C-Money fractured his collarbone, and it happened at Northampton for Pat. It's not a fluke, but a mindset. For all our petty squabbles, we are a team.

The entire team helped Pat back to the van. Professionals don't have that many support staffers.
Also, Hooray for Taco Bell!
Behind the scenes, the "old guys" of the team spend a lot of time wondering how to develop the organization into an elite cadre of racers. Yes, we're always looking to recruit the fast juniors, as should any ambitious team. If any junior racers stumble across this post, though, there's only one message I want them to read:

No matter how fast you ride, how many races you've won, who you think you are... if you're with Rutgers, you run to your teammate's side.

Rutgers Cycling Jerseys, T-Shirts, and Hooded Sweatshirts Now Available

At long last, Rutgers Cycling is happy to announce that we have a full size run of 2008-09 Rutgers Cycling jerseys, T-shirts, and hooded sweatshirts in stock and ready to ship.

The are all available for immediate order right here:

Purchase Rutgers Cycling Jerseys





Our cycling jerseys are custom made for us by Verge Sport. These are the same jerseys worn by members of the Rutgers University Cycling Team.

New this year is the Rutgers Cycling casual line featuring hooded sweatshirts, t-shirts, and (coming soon!) embroidered polo shirts. T-shirts and hoodies are a 50/50 blend custom screened for Rutgers Cycling by American Youth Enterprises based in Cape May, NJ.

Rutgers Superprestige Report, 22 Oct

Today marked the grand return of the Rutgers Superprestige competition to the cyclocross practices on Livingston field. With the sun rapidly setting, we opted to do one 6-lap interval - this made scorekeeping easy, even if the ride itself was not.

In recognition of the growing size and wide range of fitness levels of the team, the organizers of Rutgers Superprestige have opted to give out two prizes each week. As with years past, the Bumblebee jersey (despite its less-than-impressive name) will be given to the fastest Rutgers rider. New this year is the Day-Glo jersey, the luminence of which represents the inner strength of its owner... in other words, the Day-Glo jersey goes to the rider who shows the most heart.

Today's Bumblebee jersey goes to Patrick Bradley, who put his Elite-level experience to use and rode away from the pack.

Far more importantly (no offense, Pat), the Day-Glo jersey was awarded to Cristian Adams. On a course that is notoriously fast, built more for a road bike than for its trail-worthy cousins, Cristian rode a MTB through the entire session. Never complaining, and spending most of the windy ride in no-man's land, Cristian rode like a champ and impressed the judges. He even dismounted and cleared the barriers at speed, a feat of which most MTBers dare only dream.

Honorable mentions for the Day-Glo jersey go to Amy Cutler, who attended her first 'cross practice today, and Eric Rundstrom, who destroyed a tubular tire before we even started riding.

See you next week on Livingston!

Rutgers Cycling Jerseys Now in Stock

We're pleased to announce that the 2008-09 Rutgers Cycling Jerseys are now in stock and ready to ship.

To order, please visit our order page on Bikereg.

In addition to cycling clothing, in a few weeks we'll be adding a full line of Rutgers Cycling casual clothing including t shirts, hooded sweatshirts and winter hats.

Rutgers Cycling Announces New and Returning Sponsors

Once again, Rutgers Cycling is proud to announce its new and returning sponsors for 2008-2009.

New sponsor this year is Berkeley Heights and Beyond, specialists in New Jersey real estate.

Returning for 2008-09 and increasing their commitment to Rutgers Cycling is Maul Electric, Inc., your choice for commercial electrical services.

Also returning for its third year as shop sponsor is Efinger Sporting Goods. Located in Bound Brook, NJ, Efinger Sporting Goods is your source for professional-level bicycles and repairs in additional to a vast selection of outdoor sporting good and apparel.

Rutgers Cycling will once again be donning Rudy Project sunglasses and helmets.

Cycle-Smart is once again the coaching sponsor of Rutgers Cycling.

Rutgers riders will be riding Specialized bikes to victory.

Ritchey Components will once again take care of Rutgers Cycling's component needs.

For its 5th straight year, Verge Sport will be the official clothing provider for Rutgers Cycling.

The ever-genrous Schwartz Family is once again sponsoring Rutgers Cycling.