Photo courtesy of Kevin Dillard at Demoncats.com

Colby Waller, Juggernaut Racing, took some time away from the MTB trails to put together a really nice short film on DC courier culture.
Along with Maria Helena Carey, Dakota Fine and Reyna Levine—collectively Fixed Focus Productions—Colby put together a mini-documentary that follows a handful of DC messengers as they go about their day.
As an extra-added bonus for us here at CXHairs, one of the film’s main players is Crosshairs Cycling’s Sean Campbell. Check it out, and thanks for watching.

Greenbrier Challenge Cat 1 40-49 Start

Great day at the Greenbrier Challenge. You could not ask for better conditions. The trails were fast but challenging. And the day? Beautiful. Sunny skies and comfortable spring weather. I had the honor of playing race announcer for the day and had a great time chatting with my MTB brethren. It’s amazing how much cross over now exists between mountainbikers and cyclocrossers. It used to be that a portion of every CX race field was MTB dudes. Now, the tide has turned a bit and more and more of the MTB fields are populated with ‘cross racers.

With a day full of cat-herding, awards ceremonies, and DJ duties, there was not much time available to take many photos or shoot any video. I did have the opportunity to set up a camera and shoot timelapse sequences of the start of the cat 2 and 3 fields. Not much race action but it is a bit of a curiosity. Take a look. And thanks for stopping by.

Greenbrier Challenge 2012: The Start from In The Crosshairs on Vimeo.

U.S. National Cyclocross Championships (Masters 40-44) from In The Crosshairs on Vimeo.

And for no particular reason, kites.

Kite Festival at National Mall

Kites at Washington Monument

Exciting stuff just around the corner. Let’s talk more, soon.

We caught up with the group as they completed the final leg of the trip outside the capitol. The TJROW peloton grew to around 100 riders by the time the pack hit the streets of D.C.

Pictures! Go.

Thanks for watching.

The Elite Men

The Elite Women

U23 Men

Dialing in the shortcuts at Bilenky Junkyard Cross. Photo by Shira.

After the success of last year’s Bicycle Film Festival short film based on The Bilenky Junkyard Cross, it was a bit surreal going back for this year’s race. But once we got there, it was the same junkyard, a different course and a whole lot more people. This edition was nuts. Jam packed with racers and revelers, multiple heats in multiple categories and about the most fun you can have in a junkyard without matches or a wrecking ball. The special features for this year’s course included a conversion van run-through, car hood ride-over, wooden boxes, and a sweet session area for the BMX and trials guys. It was a spectacle. It always is. Here’s the video. See for yourself.

Thanks for watching.

We are lucky in the Mid-Atlantic cyclocross scene to have several professional photographers shooting our races. Two of these guys, Jay Westcott and Darrell Parks, have spent years behind the lens and bring the sport of cycling to you in unique and stunning ways. Both have published works this year that are must haves.

Jay Westcott is a staff photographer for Politico who spends his days jockeying for position in the U.S. Capitol, among other places inside the beltway, to photograph politicians and other notable figures.  He’s also shot more than his fair share of NFL games. His love of the bike drew him to cyclocross and he immersed himself in the scene this year. The result of full Sundays taking in the racing and the cyclocross party-down atmosphere is Red Right!, a visual diary of cyclocross, which chronicles the 2011 MABRAcross Super 8 series. Although Red Right! captures just one region of the U.S., it is a book that can be enjoyed by anybody familiar with cyclocross, bike racing, or just good photography.

To order Red Right! visit www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2771187 Cost is $49.

Darrell Parks is a local Vienna, Virgina-based cyclist and photographer who works for PEZ Cycling News. Along with shooting the pro peloton for PEZ, he also has his cycling photography featured in this year’s VeloNews Calendar alongside notable photographers Graham Watson and Casey Gibson. The 2012 Darrell Parks calendar features images from the two largest U.S. Stage races, The AMGEN Tour of California and The USA PRO Cycling Challenge. Along with the cycling action, Darrell captures beautiful scenery and vistas. The landscapes that pro cycling races through are breathtaking and Darrell captures it all in this 2012 calendar.

The 2012 Darrell Parks Cycling Calendar is $14.95, plus shipping and handling, and can be purchased at www.darrellparks.com/Calendar.html 

Sample Pages from Red Right! by Jay Westcott

Sample Pages from the Darrell Parks 2012 Cycling Calendar

Stunning, right? Now go buy Darrell’s calendar and Jay’s book. And if you have a couple shekels left, maybe a shirt or some socks for yourself?

Luray Caverns CX promoter Chris Gould does a great job putting on top notch road and cyclocross events in Page County. The drive is under two hours from the DC Beltway. There’s no excuse not to go. In fact, here’s what you are going to do. In a couple weeks, When you unwrap that calendar that Aunt Marge is going to get you for Christmas, you know, the one with the puppies on it, the first thing you are going to do is mark Luray Caverns CX on the second Sunday in December. In pen. Easy.

Okay, not much time to shoot video today. But here’s what I got.

Thanks for watching.

I had the pleasure of calling the action throughout the day, which is always a ton of fun and made forgetting my own less-than-optimal effort on course easy. The one downside of announcing races is that it doesn’t leave much of an opportunity to shoot video. I was, however, able to sneak away for about twenty minutes or so and shot enough to get a look at the “chute,” the run-up and a couple other sectors of the Cap Cross course.

Although the Super 8 season has ended, there is still cross racing to be had in the Mid-Atlantic region. Next Sunday is the 2nd annual Luray Caverns CX. This is a phenomenal venue and course and a race worth attending. Even if you think your form is gone, I guarantee you have at least one more race in you. Come out and have some fun. No pressure. Just race to race. Beer garden, drumline, caverns, what more can you ask for?

After Luray, we will be heading up to Philadelphia for the Bilenky Junkyard Cross and then in January it’s off to Madison to be a fan at Cross Nationals. Lots of cross left this season!

Okay, here’s the video. Thanks for watching. And, Erin, heal up fast. We expect to see you racing the Super 8 in 2012.