Champions!!

OVCX racing came to an end in Lville on Sunday and amongst the drunken carnage Bton riders finished the year with some creditable results. Even with double series points on the line it was unlikely that Adam Rodkey could prevail in the Cat3s but after a surprisingly poor performance from the previous series leader Adam was able to solo away to another victory and the overall title by a mere 3pts. Read all about it on Adams blog. Full results can be found here.
As expected Fred Rose won the 35+ masters title and his better half Elizabeth Cobb maintained her 3rd overall in the W3/4. A great season of racing by many Bton and IN-based riders! The DRT-consulting team based out of the RevB+B saw Nicole Borem take the Womens Overall title whilst Messer, Knapp, Hamilton and Sherer showed that Bton is becoming THE place to be for Midwest Cx race talent! I'm excited for BloomingCross already!!

OVCX Finale

Sunday sees the conclusion of the 15-race Ohio Valley Cyclocross series with the last ever event at River Road County Park in Louisville. It should be a great day of competition with a big award ceremony and raffle to follow the racing (in a great idea anyone who has ridden 10 races gets put in a raffle to win some very nice schwag). Unfortunately it's pre-reg only so if this inspires you to want to race you are SOL. However if you're in the area go along and watch how things develop before Midwest bike racing gets put away for a few months.
Fred Rose has an unassailable lead in the Master 35+ competition whilst Elizabeth Cobb and Zach Edwards are assured of top 3 and top 5 finishes in their respective divisions (womens 3/4 and elite). With a good ride Adam Rodkey could move into 2nd position in the Cat3 series even if the overall win is out of reach. OVCX wins for Mike Sherer, Ryan Knapp, Pam Loebig, Ryan Shanahan, Don Galligher, Rose and Rodkey together with the inaugural Bloomingcross has made it a great year of OVCX racing for Bloomingtonites. Look out for the famed Underground CX series to start soon to keep the competitive juices flowing until road season (watch this space!).

Wednesday 3pm

Anyone wish to ride tomorrow at 3pm then let me know by email. Looking for a steady 90mins. If i don't here I'll probably find something else to do so come on out and ride!

Gravel Grovel Redux

If you'd predicted that 120+ riders would line up for a 60mile gravel road race in late November I'd have told you you were crazy! Not so as that's exactly what happened this past Friday out at the homely Story Inn! The Gravel Grovel was blessed with excellent (if chilly) weather and had an air of big-time legitimacy with the attendance of Kenda Pro's Jake R and Chad B. The results show that Jake, Greg Strock and the Mexler made the break of the day with Jake soloing in for the win from Messer and Strock! The comment section on the website and the FB group are full of glowing praise and a few blogs have writtne up interesting reports here, here and here. If anyone has other information or photos then please post a link in the comments section. All in all it gets the Turkey juices flowing for next year.....where it might be 20F and snowing!!

Gravel Grovel

There might not be a more perfect way to burn off the excesses of Turkey day than the Gravel Grovel. A 60mile ride/race over the gravel roads of the Hoosier National Forest starting in the Story Inn a mere 20miles from Bloomington. It starts on friday at 10am and I'm amazed to report that 85 riders have already registered. It's very much a fend-for-yourself race but looks to be a blast with so many riders on the route. There is no Day-of event registration so register at Truesport and get all the info at gravelgrovel.com

INDY CX Recap

Fantastic weekend of racing at the Indy CX festival. Check out http://www.truesport.com/ or http://www.ovcx.com/ for results and details. Bloomington highlights include Adam Rodkeys saturday win and sunday battle, Ryan Preske saturday 4th place, Ryan Shanahan's chase yet ultimate defeat in the 35+ Cat4 race, Fred Rose's Elite masters state champ win and Erik Hamiltons dual 5ths. Top billing must go to Mike Sherer's return from a bust collar bone to claim the IN state champs. Could this be the stimulus for a run at the US collegiate title....flights to Portland are pretty cheap as I understand.
Elsewhere Ryan Knapp was also back in action down in NC (together with The Mexler) where he added to his haul of UCI points!

The Brookside Park venue is awesome for CX and check out some photos from the stairs during the Eite Race (+ Ryan S and his unusual carrying style!)

Indy CX weekend

The OVCX series is winding down but makes a long awaited trip to Indy this weekend with a duo of races at Southeastway Park (saturday) and Brookside Park (sunday). These events will also round out the IN cup series as well as go someway to deciding the OVCX overall titles. Both Adam Rodkey and Fred Rose are well placed in their respective overall categories with the latter likely being able to wrap the title up over the weekend. Good luck to all who go race!

2009 Little500 Race Viewing......with Pizza!!

From Erin Axley-
There will be a Little 500 race tape viewing tonight at 7:30 pm in Psychology 100 and
101 for anyone who is interested; current riders, prospective riders, past riders. We
will be showing the 2009 men's and women's races, and there will be pizza! Bring your
team, bring your friends and let's watch the race!

This should be fun! Laugh when the announcers fail to mention Pi Phi when they cross the line in first place! Cry when the Cutters claw their way back from a half-lap deficit! Puzzle over your teams 2010 tactics to win the race!

Fixey for Xmas?

USA Cycling announced the list of National Championship events for 2010. Of Midwestern interest are the Masters Road champs in Louisville, Collegiate Road Nationals in Madison and most notably Collegiate Track Champs being held at Major Taylor Velodrome. This past year Eric Young was the sole IU representative at Track Nats, claiming an excellent bronze in the match sprint. The proximity of MTV and their sheer number of riders should enable IU to have a significant presence at Nationals next year. I understand the new IUCC organization is pushing velodrome racing so when you're considering Christmas presents then turn your thoughts to a nice track bike!

Rose in Full Bloom

The Cap City Cross yesterday saw another victory for the recently mercurial Fred Rose! Three races and three wins since last saturday at MTV! A man on form to be sure! Elsewhere Erik Hamilton is starting to feel the effects of a long season but still managed a solid 7th place in the Elite race where he was joined by Zach Edwards in 10th. Elizabeth Cobb continues her improvement as a CX racer with a top 5 finish in the Womens 3/4 race!
Rose in action earlier in the year