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DCCX

DCCX, the only cyclocross race held in the nation’s capital, will be held on
October 26 on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home in NW Washington, DC. Registration is now open on BikeReg.com.

 http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=7143

For the second-annual event, race promoters DCMTB/City Bikes are building on
last year’s exciting, successful race and will offer improvements to an already awesome race experience — and provide even more extra-curricular fun for
racers, kids and spectators. DCCX joined the MABRA cross series this year.

Three ways the fun continues from last year:

  1. The race is held on a classic, European-style cyclocross course. It’s fast
    with lots of transitions from grass to pavement to gravel and back. There are some tricky barriers and roots. Amateur archeologists from DCMTB uncovered a stone, Paris-Roubaix-style path before last year’s race, and that has become DCCX’s signature feature. The layout is great for first time cyclocross racers and a fast, challenging event for veterans.
  2. The Armed Forces Retirement Home is the site of four National Historic
    Landmarks, including the Lincoln Cottage. Lincoln withdrew to the
    Soldiers’ Home each summer to escape the heat in the White House. It’s difficult to get on the grounds the other 364 days of the year; with a registration you can drive right in and check out the grounds, and schedule a tour of the Lincoln Cottage.
  3. Beer. Yes, indeed: Racers will once again be able to enjoy a beer after
    their race courtesy of Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar in Washington, DC.

Three ways the race will be so much better this year:

  1. We’ve upped our payout for elite racers. Whole Foods-P St. has expanded its sponsorship of the event so that the winner of the women’s 1/2 race will for the first time get the same payout as the winner of the men’s 1/2 race. City Bikes remains as the title sponsor of the men’s elite race, with both races paying $700 total, seven deep. Other category winners will get cool loot.
  2. Li’l Belgians will be sponsored by the Belgians. This year, as part of the MABRA series, DCCX is adding a race for kids, and we’ve pulled in as sponsors the Belgian Embassy, which will be offering all participating kids a special (and tasty) prize.
  3. Frites! Just adding to the Belgian ambience, we will be serving free — yes, free — frites (that’s Belgian for French fries) to riders and spectators. Oh, and there will be delicious, vegan cookies from Sticky Fingers bakery and Drink More Water for those opposed to beer and frites.

What you need to do:

  1. Register early at BikeReg.com.  Last year’s race drew 240 participants, including a sold-out 80 for the Cat 4/beginner category. Given the great buzz that followed last year’s event, this year’s race is likely to be even more popular, and so register now to get into the race of your choice - and get a better call-up. (As of Oct. 2 there were already 51 Cat 4 racers registered.) http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=7143
  2. Bring an ID on race day. You may be asked to present an ID upon entering the base; please be prepared. Also, there will be day-of registration, but it is guaranteed to be a royal pain in the neck. No money can change hands on the grounds of the Armed Forces base, and so you will need to drive back out to an undisclosed location to make your payment before you race.
  3. Remember that Oct. 26 is also the day of the Marine Corps Marathon. There may be traffic issues. I-395 is open to traffic from the south (except the HOV lane). Road closures can be found at:
    http://www.marinemarathon.com/Assets/Street+Closings+Release+07.pdf
  4. AFRH address: Rock Creek Church Rd, NW & Upshur St, NW, Washington, DC 20011

Other Notes:

DCCX is also sponsored by Cyclocross Magazine.  

Course layout can be seen at:
http://tinyurl.com/4r6nve
Use the satellite view. Distance 2 miles. In last year’s dry conditions the top B and masters riders did 5 laps in their 45-minute race. The winning elite men averaged seven minutes a lap.

Photos from last year’s race: http://picasaweb.google.com/ou98dtbiggs/DCCX

The write up of last year’s race is here: http://www.dcmtb.com/blog/archives/222

Starting order will be based on the most recent MABRA 2008 CX Series standings, order of registration, and promoter discretion. The most recent MABRA-Cross standings will be used to call up the first 2 rows (16 spots), then racers will line up row by row, as determined by order of registration/bib number. There are no call-ups for the 9am/Cat 4 Men race. Racers will line up by row based on order of registration.

City Bikes/DCMTB Cyclocross Clinics - Wednesdays in September at Ft. Reno

Cross Clinics

DCMTB/City Bikes will be conducting a series of free Cyclocross clinics on Wednesdays in September at Ft. Reno in Washington DC from 6pm until dark. The clinics will feature basic cyclocross instruction from DCMTB team members and other experienced local racers. September 3rd will be a special women’s only DC-ChiX clinic with instruction by Melanie Swartz; September 10, 17, and 24 will be open to all. Space is limited, so email gwadzilla8@yahoo.com Just show up!

Check for updates, weather cancellations, and additional details on the DCCX page on dcmtb.com and the Gwadzilla blog.

Dates: 9/3 (Women Only), 9/10, 9/17, 9/24
Time: 6pm
Location: Ft. Reno Park, Northwest Washington, DC
Cost: Free; bring your USAC license is you have one, if not we’ll cover the cost of your 1-day license
Schedule:

6:00 pm - 6:10 - registration
6:15 - 6:45 pm - skills instruction
6:45 - 7:30 pm (light permitting) - unstructured skills work and ride on practice loop.

DCCX Clinic Flyer

Race 3# of Cranky Monkey series and over-all results

Lynne Rocking it

The weather was warm and conditions dry and dusty at Quantico for the last of the three race Cranky Monkey series. Matt Donahue, Tris Newbury, Lynne Oliver, Mike Scardaville, Tom Vaughn, Eric Welp and Jon Wheaton were present to represent the black and red.

Lynne put the finishing touch on her domination of the Expert Female class taking 1st place again for a perfect score of 150 in the series! Way to go, Lynne! Jonathan placed 4th at Quantico and 4th in the series in the Single-Speed class. On a rigid fork, no less! Tom took 4th place for the series in the tough Expert 35+ class, despite a 7th place finish at Quantico. Also, congrats to our friend Steve Viers for a second place finish in Single-Speed, taking first place in the series!

Thanks to Jim Harman and all at EX2 Adventures for such a well run race series. Thanks to our sponsors: City Bikes, Merkle, Whole Foods P Street, Continuum Energy Solutions, Serfas, SRAM, The Looking Glass Lounge and WTB.

Cranky Monkey #2 - Fountainhead

By: Jonathan Wheaton

I decided after the first lap of Cranky Monkey #2 at Fountainhead Park in Virginia that the trail there isn’t such a great singlespeed race course. Especially riding fully rigid and having your teeth rattle about in your head. The whole thing is just roots, direction changes and short, steep hills, with very little chance to stay in the saddle and pedal, and taken all together it worked to minimize the advantages of riding a singlespeed. Having said that, it was still a lot of fun to race today.

8 AM this morning found me wolfing down a bowl of hot cereal, then racing down to the car to put a pair of cleats on a brand spanking new pair of biking shoes, to go with a new style of pedals (Crank Brothers) that I had ridden for the first time the day before. I was hoping everything held together, as I’d also installed a new bottom bracket to go with the pedals. At 8:08 AM I was on the road, and after an hour and a half drive I arrived with not much more than 20 minutes to put shoes on, hit the porta-john, get my race packet (thanks for getting that for me Mike!), get everything together, and make it to the line for the 10 am start. No warm up and cold legs is not how I would normally want to start a race, but what the hell, I could warm up during the 2 mile road start. I was on the front line for the start, and a few guys went off quick, spinning like mad. I have a pretty fast spin, but without warming up I just wasn’t feeling too spinny. After the first mile (is it really 2 miles?) I was near the rear of the class of 15 or 16 riders, but was able to make it to mid-pack in the second mile, and was positioned about where I wanted to be going into the woods. Although, after going fast on the road, a few of the guys in front of me were slowing me up on the trail. Whatever, I had determined not to blow myself up in the first few miles, choosing instead to keep a good steady pace and let the engine warm up for a bit.

My legs were feeling good for most of the race, and as the first lap wore on I passed 4 or 5 singlespeeders, until by the end of it I was somehow in 4th place. I didn’t know it at the time though — I thought I was somewhere in the top third but didn’t realize how far up I’d gone. I managed to pass Jonathan Seibold somewhere near the end of the first lap as well, before passing one more guy. During the second lap Seibold recovered from going out too hard and about a third of the way into it I looked back to see where people were and there he was, chasing me down. “Damn. Okay, I can’t let up. I have to keep on pushing hard, see if I can hold onto this position until the end.” For most of the rest of the lap I was looking back periodically. Sometimes I wouldn’t see anyone, and then there he’d be, and I’d think, “Damn, he’s closing on me.” That lap seemed like a long one, with me and my sore back trying to hold onto our gains. As I came to each hill I’d think, “This race is going to be decided on the hills. I have to gas it and give it all I’ve got.” Surprisingly, my legs always felt strong, and even on the steepest hills that were near impossible on a singlespeed I was able to jump off and run up the rest of the way. I can’t remember ever having that kind of fitness. Up the last of the hills I pushed hard and kept pressure on the pedals, and was finally able to make some distance on Seibold, but he pushed me to give it my all that whole lap. I didn’t know it, but I must have been closing in on third place, as I finished only 24 seconds behind.

So, I got to stand on the podium and collected a 4th place finish pint glass. Sweet! There was a bit of a mix up with the scoring, as originally I didn’t even show up in the singlespeed class at all. Several of the guys let me know this, and I was able to straighten it out with the scorer. Apparently they had recorded my number as 386, but the number they gave me was 286.

There weren’t a whole lot of DCMTB/City Bikes jerseys there today, I think a total of 7 altogether, but we had 5 people on the podium. Tris Newbury took 4th in women’s sport, Joel Gwadz dominated the clydesdales to take 1st, Tom Vaughn battled the expert vets to get 5th (and that’s a hard class to race in to be sure!), Lynne Oliver stepped on the gas for her third lap in the women’s expert class to soundly beat the woman she trailed for two laps, and I held a steady pace to wind up 4th in the singlespeed class. Great job everyone!

12 Hours of Cranky Monkey - A Race in Four Haikus

I

An hour gets longer
every year. Where is the thunder?
That was Joe Fo — bye.

II

What strange beast took down
Mathias? Six miles is past.
It’s time to smile.

III

Let it flow, faster.
Get past the bunny girl now
before the downhill.
IV

Who added the hills
to this lap? When will that twitch
cramp? Not now, I — ouch.

Four for Four at The 12 Hours of Cranky Monkey

Four DCMTB/City Bikes teams toed the line to race at the 2nd annual 12 Hours of Cranky Monkey this Saturday and all four walked away with top-3 finishes. The race, promoted by EX2Adventures at Quantico Marine Corps Base, took place under brutally hot conditions, from 8am to 8pm on a fun 11 miles of trail at the base.

Mike Klasmeier, Ilana Knopf and Raul Rojas took First in the 3-person Co-Ed category with the team of Michael Mathias, Lynne Oliver, and Mark Drajem close behind in 3rd place.

Taking 2nd place in 3-Man Masters (35+) was the team of Marc Gwadz, Tom Vaughn, and Chris Clarke in a fight that went right down to the last lap. In 3-Man Expert JJ Foley, Alistair MacDonald, and Joe Foley took 2nd place behind a fast team from the Bike Lane. The expert and masters teams both finished in the top ten overall with 11 laps each.

Thanks, once again, go to all of our 2008 sponsors: City Bikes, Merkle, Whole Foods P Street, Continuum Solar Energy, SRAM, Serfas, Deuter, WTB, and Looking Glass Lounge.

Starting Fast at Wednesdays at Wakefield

DCMTB/City Bikes took home three victories this past week at the kickoff of the annual Wednesdays at Wakefield race series at Wakefield Park in Annandale, Virginia. The series, promoted by the Potomac Velo Club, is a summertime tradition in DC and looked forward to by many local racers.

Mike Pearce started the evening off on a high note by taking 1st place in the Singlespeed race. Last year Pearce won the singlespeed race 3 out of 4 weeks to win the series by 42 points. Also competing in the singlespeed race were Dave Vannier, who took home 15th place, and Jake Danoff, who had an unfortunate DNF.

The successes continued into the 2nd wave of racing with 2 more victories. Lynne Oliver stormed to victory in the Women’s Expert race, winning by a margin of over 4-minutes to her closest competitor, and DCMTB/City Bikes newcomer Alistair MacDonald took 1st place in Clydesdale. DCMTB/City Bikes clydesdale mainstay Joel Gwadz wasn’t able to make the race this time around, but we’re looking forward to a showdown for DCMTB supremacy between the two in upcoming rounds.

In the sport classes, Jennifer Wills took 3rd in Women’s Sport, and JJ Foley took 11th in Men’s Sport. In the Men’s Expert Class Tom Vaughn took 10th place, and Joe Foley took 19th place.

2008 Roster & Races

The DCMTB/City Bikes Team has grown for the 2008 year. The many members who were team in 2007 have put in the effort and have moved up to the Elite level. 2008 for DCMTB/City Bikes, looks to be filled with new goals, The Mid-Atlantic Cup, the 24 hour U.S. Relay Campionships, Along with local favorites. DCMTB/City Bikes is celebrating 10 years and here is a look at the last year or so in pictures Enjoy!

2008 DCMTB\City Bikes Priority Calendar *

Mountain
Leesburg Bakers Dozen April 19th
Greenbrier Challenge April 27th
12 Hours of Lodi Farm May 3-4
24 Hours of Big Bear June 7-8
12 Hours Cranky Monkey June 28
Cranky Monkey Wakefield July 27
Cranky Monkey Fountain Head Aug 10
Cranky Monkey Quantico Aug 24
SM100 Aug 31

CycloCross
Ed Sanders CX Sept. 28th
DC-CX Oct. 26th
 
Road
RFK Crit May 25th
Giro di Coppi July 19th

* For Priority Races there will be at least 50% of the Elite Team at these races.

2008 Roster

Elite

Team

Club

*New Member This Year

Congratulations Marc!

BIKEREG.COM MABRACROSS DECLARES ITS CHAMPIONS

Wittwer, Shogren and Gwadz win Elite Crowns

Press Contact Information: BikeReg.com MABRAcross Cyclocross Series
Ken Getchell, Media Director: kenmacpr@yahoo.com; 610-397-1950

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

December 19, 2007, 2007; Conshohocken, PA, USA: The BikeReg.com MABRAcross series celebrated its most successful season ever in 2007, with average attendance at each event growing by over 20% for the fourth consecutive year. Excitement is already building for 2008 as at least two new races, DCCX and Rockburn Cross, are expected to join the series next year.

Of course, cyclocross is all about riders, and the most successful riders were the new Elite Champions: Greg Wittwer, Betsy Shogren and Marc Gwadz. Shogren and Gwadz won three races apiece to dominate the Elite Women and the new Elite Masters classes, respectively. Meanwhile, Greg Wittwer took the opposite approach and used consistency to squeak out the season title from Wes Schempf in the last race.

It was a season of transition for the MABRA men as, for the first time, world-class professional talent started lining up next to the regional stars. Former Italian National Team member and newly-crowned Verge MAC Champion Davide Frattini (Colavita/Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light) opened the season with a win at the season-opening Charm City Cyclocross. Wes Schempf (C3-Sollay.com), the 2006 Verge MAC Champion and BikeReg.com MABRAcross runner-up out-dueled mountain bike superstar Jeremiah Bishop (Trek/VW) for victory at the Ed Sander Memorial, while Bishop scored the victory at the Tacchino Cicliocross in November. But local talent Wittwer (FORT Factory Team) snookered all the outsiders by quietly scoring points in nearly every race. His third place finish on Thanksgiving weekend clinched the BikeReg.com MABRAcross jersey with just three points to spare.

While Wittwer won with quiet consistency, his FORT Factory teammate Betsy Shogren dominated the Elite Womens series standings to win her second BikeReg.com
MABRAcross championship. The three-time Verge MAC champion had previously dabbled in MABRA races. But the rapidly growing profile of the series, and its proximity to her home in West Virginia, made the championship an enticing target. The BikeReg.com MABRAcross championship capped-off an excellent year for Shogren, who also scored a perfect score en-route to victory in the pro/elite division of the heavily-attended West Virginia Mountain Bike Series and set a new course record while winning the Wilderness 101 ultra endurance mountain bike race.

Like Shogren, Marc Gwadz (DCMTB/City Bikes/Metro Gutter) scored three victories to win the new Elite Masters crown. Like many series in the East, the huge number of Masters participants was threatening to overwhelm courses and organizers. But unlike other series, MABRA elected to have their Elite Masters race for a full 60 minutes in conjunction with the Elite Men. Gwadz was a busy man this Autumn as, in addition to winning the series, he was also the promoter of the first year DCCX race on the grounds of the Armed Services Retirement Home. The DCCX was the first sanctioned cyclocross race ever held within the limits of Washington DC and Gwadz aspires to have his event join the BikeReg.com MABRAcross Series in 2008.

Other riders to win BikeReg.com MABRAcross Championship Jerseys were:

Randy Root, of ABRT/Latitude in the Cat. 1/2/3 Masters 45+ division
Nunzio Dibiasi of Yellow Breeches Racing in the Masters 55+ division
Eric Linder of Hunt Valley Bicycles/Marathon Roofing in the Mens Cat. 3/4 division
Sam OKeefe of C3-Sollay.com in the MABRA Junior (U18) division

OKeefe also led a contingent of no fewer than seven BikeReg.com MABRAcross regulars who stood on the podium at this past weekends U.S. National Cyclocross Championships. Joining OKeefe (4th in the 13-14 age division) as National Championship podium finishers were:

Rob Lea, 2nd 65-69 age division
Wes Schempf, 3rd 30-35 age division
Mark Kutney 2nd 50-54 age division
Fred Wittwer, 1st 55-59 age division
Alicia Styer, 3rd 10-12 age division
Gunnar Shogren, 3rd 45-49 age division

Full standings for all classes in the 2007 BikeReg.com MABRAcross Series can be found in the cyclocross section of www.mabra.org. The Mid Atlantic Bicycle Racing Association would like to thank BikeReg.com for the continued support and streamlined registration for the ever-growing rider base in the MABRA region.

Weston Schempf and Betsy Shogren take top honors at DCCX

From DC-CX

Weston Schempf of C3-Sollay.com and Betsy Shogren of FORT Factory Team pulled away from their top competitors early to ride to commanding victories in the inaugural DCCX Cyclocross Race presented by DCMTB/City Bikes in Washington, D.C.
The event, held on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home, was the first-ever cyclocross race held in the nation’s capital, and — with a crystalline fall day as an added draw — the race had a full field of 225 riders, including a packed CAT 4/beginners race with more than 80 riders.
The race was promoted by the DC Mountain Bike Team with the assistance of team sponsors City Bikes, Metro Gutter and Home Services, Temperance Hall and Whole Foods Market - P Street. Specific race sponsors included Sticky Fingers Bakery, Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar, DrinkMore Water, Louis Garneau, WTB, Serfas, Surly and Salsa.
The course, which was muddied up by three days of rain in the days before the race, included a wide mix of rooted, swooping curves, open road, two sets of tricky barriers and a Paris-Roubaix style brick section. Roadies called it a mountain bikers’ course because of the rough, rooted sections; mountain bikers wondered why their competitors hung on their wheel during the brutal windy, road section. Everyone was heard praising the course design.
“Props to whoever put it together,” Schempf said. “There was a lot of good rhythm to it.”
Schempf, from Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, led the field of 17 top riders by the time the field hit the first uphill barrier section and said after that he knew the race was his to lose. No one else had a chance: Schempf had his car, with his bikes in it, towed the night before. He had to scramble in just the few hours before the race to recover his bikes (and car) and make his way to the venue.
“I was a little angry,” Schempf said. “I decided to take it out on the course.”
Blair Saunders of Henry’s Bikes led a group of four riders who chased Schempf for much of the race. Saunders tried in vain to get some help to lead the effort to work the way back up to Schempf, whose lead exceeded one minute at halfway into the hour-long race. Saunders finally attacked his group and got clear for second place.
The most dramatic finish in the race came from Bethesda’s own Nick Bax, a member of the junior national road team. Bax started at the back of the field and was shaky around some of the tight, technical turns. But as the race went on he picked better lines — and picked off riders ahead of him. With less than a half a lap to go, Bax put on a charge, and was able to nip Patrick Engleman at the line to take fifth place and a podium position.
“He might have won this race if it lasted another 30 minutes,” announcer Shawn “Bega” Blumenfeld told the crowd, which at that point was enjoying the free beer offered by Sonoma.
In the women’s race Shogren, from Morgantown, West Virginia, took off with Jessica Hill from the start, and then built a lead after Hill had technical problems. She smoothly built up a big lead, wide enough that she could switch to her single-speed pit bike after a few laps.
For Shogren, the DCCX event was about more than just racing: She hadn’t visited Washington before and spent Saturday touring the historic monuments with husband and third-place finisher Gunnar Shogren on their bikes.
The earlier races had bigger fields and lots of drama. Russell Langley, a professional with Battley Harley Davidson, throttled the B field and then pledged Blumenfeld — and the crowd — that he would race with the A riders next week.
In the Masters race, course designer Marc Gwadz moved out to an early lead but was slowly roped in by Randall Root and Bernie Shiao. Gwadz held on with the Root and Shiao and then made a dramatic sprint in what he thought was the last lap. It wasn’t, and Shiao and Root, who are both 45+ riders, then moved out to win the race in that order.
In the packed C Race Ryan Bannon used his mountain biking skill to move out to an early lead. Steve Wall and Matt Parse put on the chase and took the lead. Parse of Route 1 Velo held out for the victory, and Wall faded to fifth - one place behind Bannon - after a flat tire.
Race director Matt Donahue lives near the Armed Forces Retirement Home, and approached the government-sponsored retirement home about using the grounds for the race. Race proceeds will be donated to benefit the veterans at the AFRH. One official donated his daily salary to the veterans.
Results are here: http://www.dcmtb.com/blog/archives/221
Photos are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/ou98dtbiggs/DCCX
Photos and blog here: http://www.gwadzilla.blogspot.com/

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