GamJams.net: Where Mid-Atlantic bike racers roll

Pre-Reg for the GamJams CompuTrainer TT Throwdown is open again

2010-02-09T06:04:56-05:00

You can be darn sure you'll be riding inside again this coming weekend. Why not at least race inside?

Pre-Reg for the GamJams CompuTrainer TT p/b Sweat GUTR (2/13 & 2/14) has re-opened. A couple of sessions are full but there is room still on Saturday and Sunday at both HPC in Herndon, VA and Conte's Bethesda. The Race Flyer is here and the course profile is here.

Monday Multimedia p/b Arlington Florist: 2-8-10

2010-02-08T15:41:57-05:00

Ed: Beginning today, Monday Multimedia is sponsored by Arlington Florist. Valentine's Day is next weekend. If you're buying flowers, please buy them from Arlington Florist. They deliver locally and are part of a national network that delivers everywhere - to your wife's office in Richmond, your husband's workplace in Rockville, or to your mother's house in Rochester. Order online or call 800-881-8309.

Want to see what Fast looked like this weekend? Here it is:

Kevin Dillard has posted galleries from the impromptu SNO-CX-ALYPSE.
Bruce Buckley has a helmet cam video of a snowy ride, with some Warren Miller and Kung Fu movie influences thrown in.

Update:

Anthony Skorochod sends along a gallery from Jack Simes' Championship Roller Racing in Emmaus, PA.

Know of others? Tell me and I'll tell everyone else.

Monday Multimedia is here courtesy of Arlington Florist. They know your intense preoccupation with this sport is bound to get on somebody special's nerves, and they want to help. Order online for local delivery anywhere in the country. Or call them at 800-881-8309 and tell them GamJams led you out.

CompuTrainer TT Throwdown postponed to 2/13 - 2/14

2010-02-05T15:11:30-05:00

It is now officially not the night before a race. Open a bottle of Cotes du Rhone or a bag of Oreos or whatever you've been depriving yourself of for the past couple of days and settle in for the weekend. The GamJams CompuTrainer TT Throwdown p/b Sweat GUTR is postponed until 2/13 - 2/14.

Pre-Registration is closing for a couple of days while the current registrants have first crack at re-arranging their schedules. On Monday we'll open it up again for new pre-registrations.

Email with any questions. To talk smack about your competitors, please use the comments on this page.

List Lurker: 02-05-10

2010-02-05T14:31:27-05:00

While you were busy hitting the delete key, I was busy living vicariously as a lonely List Lurker. Here's a quick look at what you might have missed from the various cycling list-serves this week:

In MABRA-land:

To reinforce the fact that mountain biking is the new 'cross racing, there was an announcement about the the 2010 Greenbriar Challenge and Championship Race. The 7th Annual Greenbrier Challenge mountain bike race is on an outstanding course, challenging for Pros yet rideable and fun for beginners. The whole family is welcome and there is plenty to do a this park nestled in the Western Maryland Appalachians, including hiking parts of the Appalachian Trail, boating and fishing on Greenbrier's beautiful lake, and enjoying hot showers in the campground' top-notch facilities. It's about an hour's drive from Washington, DC and Baltimore. Register here.
Some MABRA has-been, no Carolina wanna-be, named Pete Cannell posted an interesting item about a new TT series in the Carolinas. Apparently this Cannell fellow knows something about time trialing and getting the proper fit for a National Championship jersey (or three) -- I hear he goes fast from time to time... He promises that this series is going to be a well run event. So, if you want to see what he means when he says, "it's going to be super-fast," give this series a look. Let us know how it goes and, if you see Cannell, tell him to shave his legs; he'll go faster that way.
Mike May, master of self-promotion and sock design, once again popped up on the list to promote something else he's trying to do in his never-ending quest to take over the world of amateur bike racing. His most recent addition is a new racing calendar to which you can subscribe so you never miss an event. If it's on the East coast, Mike May wants you to know about it and, more importantly, write about it in your blog.
There was some interesting discussion -- perhaps a little too brief -- about the decisions from the 2010 MABRA Board Meeting. I'm sure we'd all like a little more information about the decisions reached, but the list seems most concerned with next year's BAR categories and Championship Races:

Men's Masters BAR, 3/4 35+ (NEW!)
Women's Masters BAR, 3/4 35+ NEW!)
Women's Masters BAR, 35+, 45+
Men's Masters BAR, 35+, 45+
Road Race Championship: Page Valley
Criterium Championship: Hagerstown
No Master's RR or Criterium Championship Races

Of course, a few old geezers, the 50+ crowd, started trying to complain but the debate died quickly when the young'uns proved incapable of converting the geezer's power data from rods/hogshead to watts/kilogram.
Finally, the 2009 MABRA BAR Awards Presentation will be happening next Saturday, February 13 at Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar. BAR Awards for the podium -- 1st, 2nd, 3rd -- in each category will be presented. Team and Track BAR winners/titles will also be recognized.

Over in the world of the Virginia Listserve, there were some interesting goings-on:

Two early season training crits have been added in Richmond, VA on February 20th and March 7th. They are afternoon races which means warmer temps and more reasonable drive times from the DC area! Check them out here and pre-register to avoid the hefty day-of penalty.
The Category C (Beginners) Officials Clinic and the Refresher Clinic for currently licensed officials originally scheduled for February 7th will be held instead on February 14th due to the weather. The clinic will still be held at Equilibrium Fitness in Toano, VA. Check the flier on the VCA calendar for directions.

Got any comments, interpretations, re-interpretations, or mis-interprations? Send them to me; I've got nothing better to do than to sit in my darkened room and live vicariously as a list-lurker...

Gus Grissom races for Team GamJams Racing, teaches Greek and Latin at DeMatha Catholic High School, and writes a dissertation in his spare time. He compiles this column strictly for fortune and glory.

10 Questions With... Wade Wallace

2010-02-05T06:09:39-05:00

by David Kirkpatrick, Features Editor

Transplanted Canadian Wade Wallace moved to Australia thinking it would be the end of his cycling days. Instead, he's doing as much riding as ever and has founded the excellent and widely read CyclingTips Blog.

10 Questions With... Wade Wallace

(GamJams) 1. You moved to Australia and thought that it would be the end of your pedaling days, but instead bumped into a vibrant cycling scene. What are some of the top tips for integrating one’s self into a new cycling culture?

(Wade Wallace) To be honest I found integrating myself back into a new cycling culture fairly difficult at first. I wasn't in good form, I didn't know the group rides, I was unfamiliar with the training routes and etiquette in the massive rides seen here. You forget how elitist cycling can be until you move out of it and try to get back in.   This was a blessing in disguise though. I would have never started Cycling Tips without having to find my way again.

My advice is to join some group rides. From there you'll meet someone of the same ability who's hooked into the scene. This is what I ended up doing. The guy who took me under his wing was the most motivating and hardman I know. I had to prepare for our training rides like they were a race. He got me into shape and showed me all the local races. I have him to thank for so much.

Joining a club is also a great way of meeting people and figuring your way out.   It's not half as intimidating as it seems at first.

If you're super good and can win A-grade races, you'll have people to ride with in no time. Everyone is your friend when you're good…

(GJ) 2. You’ve often written of your struggles to learn the Australian language. What are some of the challenges in being a voice for the “Australian Everyman Cyclist” (or maybe just a bit faster) when you are not, in fact, Australian?

(WW) The only thing I find difficult is that I'm still learning about Australian cycling history. I feel like a bit of an ass when I meet someone who I should know but it goes right over my head. Living in Melbourne gives you the opportunity to meet and ride with some of the greats. I had no idea who someone like Phil Anderson was before I moved to Aus.   Now I frequently cross paths with some of the most amazing cyclists.

Australia has become my home. I'm not too fussed to ask if I don't understand an Aussie colloquialism. Everyone usually has a good time taking the piss out of me while explaining. The Aussies have taken me in and my career and cycling have given me the opportunity to be friends with some of the most amazing people I've ever met. Every single one of them have invited me into their homes and their lives. It's a very social culture here and the idea of having a foreigner around isn't new to them. Many times when I look around the groups I'm in the Poms, Kiwis, Americans, etc usually outnumber the Aussies.  

 (GJ) 3. Which cycling sites inspired you when you were beginning, and which ones do you spend the most time visiting now?

(WW) I wasn't much of a blog follower before I started Cycling Tips. I did follow a few from time to time but after a while I started to become inspired.

Belgium Knee Warmers, fyxomatosis, Velodramatic and Fat Cyclist are the ones that got me off my butt and started something for myself. I discovered BSNYC through these and really enjoy what he does as well. I'm still waiting for a plug from BSNYC and Fatty, but I figure my chances of a tweet from Lance Armstrong or better.

I have an RSS reader packed with blogs now that I check every day. There are so many fantastic ones out there. I only go to cyclingnews and velonews to skim the headlines these days.

(GJ) 4. You’ve at least flirted with making the site your full time occupation, and now you’ve got the new line as a syndicated (although as yet unpaid) cycling columnist. Do you still consider yourself a telcoms guy or are you well and truly now “A Writer?”

(WW) I’ll never consider myself a "writer". I'm definitely inspired by what I see every day while on the bike and I'm happy I have a way to express it. My goal is to make people think about cycling for just a few more minutes in the day and wish they were out on the bike. I'm trying to get better at photography. It's another growing passion of mine.

Will this ever become a full time occupation? I couldn't think of a better job. It would be a dream come true.

(GJ) 5. The cycling print media has, to one degree or another, adapted to the new world and are now less focused on time sensitive content. How do you foresee the new vanguard of sites like your own affecting the more entrenched “big media” sites?

(WW) The unique thing that blogs have to offer is reader engagement and a personal perspective. There’s a real person behind a blog. This gives people something to relate to and have a connection with.

The big media sites all have their place, but they're not engaging. I love how the Cycling Tips readers contribute to the content just as much as I do.

(GJ) 6. It’s interesting to see so much overlap there is between what Australian cyclists and riders in DC face – people acting like dopes on group (bunch) rides, face offs with cars, etc. How much do you try and make the site “locally Australian” versus courting content that’s relevant to a global audience?

(WW) When I first started this I tried to make it as geographically neutral as possible. After a while I found that I couldn't deny the rich cycling culture that Australia has. Inevitably I started writing more about it and learned very quickly that it's much better to be something to someone rather than nothing to everyone.

I also think there's a certain amount of voyeurism that comes along with an Australian focus as well. More visitors come from the US, Canada, NZ, UK, etc than from Australia. While it's cold and dark in the northern hemisphere it's beautiful and sunny here. I think this provides a bit of escapism for a couple minutes of their day.   I find it interesting that very few people from outside of Australia comment on the site.   Lots of quiet watchers out there!

(GJ) 7. You’ve just finished a brilliant job of covering the Tour Down Under. Any plans to pack up the show and hit some Euro races this year?

(WW) I had a lot of fun showing off the TdU. It would be a dream come true if I could go to the Spring Classics or the TdF, but I have my doubts it'll happen this year. If this was my full time job and I made enough of an income to go I'd be there in a snap. I have all sorts of ideas I’d love to see come to fruition.

(GJ) 8. An Aussie in rainbow stripes, the Road Worlds Race headed your way later this year, Stuey’s bagged Roubaix, Australians picking up big stage wins left and right, and a bumper crop of up and comers. What’s causing this bloom of Australian cycling talent?

(WW) You should see the roads here on a Saturday morning. The amount of cyclists in parts of Australia is just nuts. I find that Australians put a lot of emphasis on sport and they make heroes out of their athletes. I think this is awesome. It gives the young talent something to aspire to, gives outstanding support to their athletes, and fosters a national pride that's infectious to everyone.

(GJ) 9. Despite frequently offering non-didactic material, the genesis of your site is offering useful cycling tips. How do you suppose you’re so consistently able to do that without sounding like a preachy old gas bag?

(WW) I'm constantly humbled by the amazing cyclists that I'm surrounded by in Australia. I sometimes think that I'm the only guy in the group who hasn't been in the Olympics or ridden PRO.   I watch them very closely to see what I can pick up from them. 100% of the stuff I know is passed on to me from others. I can't take credit for anything and I try and I'm still learning every day.   I was a beginner once and I'll never forget the people who helped me. I don't think that the sport of cycling should be learned through the school of hard knocks.

(GJ) 10. Finish the following statement: “In 12 months I’d like to…”

(WW) …be planning my coverage of the Spring Classics and TdF!

David Kirkpatrick is a Features Editor with GamJams. He is enjoying growing fame through his blog Flamenco Chuckwagon, and as promoter of the lauded Lost River Classic.

If-The-Weather-Sucks CompuTrainer TT Throwdown Policy

2010-02-04T09:49:49-05:00

From this day forward, we'll be careful what we wish for. Just a week ago we were praying for snow this weekend, luring more people to the GamJams CompuTrainer TT Throwdown p/b Sweat GUTR. Now there's a good chance we'll get so much of it that we'll have put off the event. Yep, an indoor race is in danger of being snowed out.

We'll make a decision at 9pm on Friday 2/5 and post it here, to the MABRA list and also notify all pre-registrants via email. Our strong preference is to try and push it back a week. Yes, there's a Trade Zone conflict. But Trade Zone also looks iffy if we get a foot and a half of snow and the temps don't crest 35 for a week.

Either way, know this:

There is no cancellation penalty. If you register and can't attend because of the weather or a reschedule, just notify us 12 hours in advance we'll refund your fee. We don't want your money - we want people to race their bikes. So go ahead and Pre-Reg, risk-free.
If we do push it back a week, everyone registered will have the first crack at keeping or rescheduling their slots. After that, we'll accept new registrations.

It's aggravating. I'm going to go take it out on the trainer.