The Grasshopper Adventure Series is a great Sonoma county grassroots event that draws lots of riders to the dirt roads and pavement of West Sonoma County.  I've always tried to do the Old Cazadero ride, as it provides enough dirt descending and climbing to allow me to be competitive on a mountain bike.  They moved the race to January from February last year and I was unable to do it due to a work conflict.  This year my work schedule, if not my training schedule, allowed me to make…

Second week in a row racing at Golden Gate Park.  This one was a little more serious and less sloppy than last weeks SSCXWC race.  The weather was cool and sunny for our afternoon start and the Elite men's field was loaded with talent.  I recognized the usual podium finishers, as well as Justin Robinson, Ned Overend, and a Jelly Belly pro I had seen at a DFL race.  As there were only 60 feet of climbing per lap, I knew this would be a fast race.  I'm reaching the end of a fitness peak and…

I showed up on Sunday for the 2011 Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships in Golden Gate park ready for business!  Dressed for success, from my double vented tropical wool suit, to my Zegna shirt and Faconnable tie.  I left the brief case in the car, though.…

As luck would have it, the San Francisco installment of the SSCXWC happened to be while I was racing cyclocross.  I love to ride single speeds, so I had to overcome my distaste for "ironic racing" and check it out.

Saturday was the qualification process, as they had hundreds of people that wanted to race and only 150 spots for the main event.  I was encouraged that there was a qualification process, as that did suggest a level…

My older brother called me up last week and asked me if I wanted to do a dual slalom race.  I thought about it for a minute. I hadn't done a dual slalom race sense 2005.  What the hell, I told him, I'll give it a shot.  My Brother, Auric, has been racing with the Santa Cruz collegiate mtb team.  This was the final race of the collegiate season, there had been an xc race the day before and there was a short track race the next morning just before the slalom.  I didn't race the short track and…

Like last week, rain the day before the race cleared to create pretty good conditions on race day.  The course at Sierra Point was a little soft, but the weather was ideal for a race under the lights.  The men's A race was going off at 8:00, so I took a nap in the middle of the day then made my way down for the festivities.

A quick reconnoiter of the course revealed lots of corners.  They do the best they can with this venue, which is a large flat field of landfill with a small hill…