Guest Blogger: Kelly Cline: Exposing Yourself

Dear Readers,

We are honored to have Kelly Cline as a guest blogger here at  Fatmarc VDB is Cuter than James Franco.  Kelly holds a place on the Mount Rushmore of Mid Atlantic Cross and may very be the best cross community guy in the Mid Atlantic region. I count myself lucky to have him as a friend, and to have been able to work with him and race with him over the years. I'll be honest when I see the new generation of crossers, I often wonder who amongst them will step up and be the next Kelly Cline? But I digress...

We are very excited that he was so inspired by today's weather to put something together for us. I hope this piece resonates with you the way it has with me!

Exposing yourself

On my 45-minute drive to work this morning, there was some light rain. Leaves were falling like giant snowflakes.  It was still dawn.  I was smiling as it’s my favorite time of year.  With every leaf that falls, the tree branches are a little more visible, exposed.  It reminded me of us, ‘crossers.  Every year about this time, we are exposing ourselves a little more each weekend, but I’ll come back to that.

In the early 2000’s, we used to drive up to Pittsfield/Northfield, MA on the last weekend of September since they were the first small, “season opener” races.  They were not part of any series, just fun “Where’s my fitness level/Is my equipment ok?” races.  A time to start the bonding process with your ‘cross friends. It was a long drive to and from, and usually we had 4 or more people crammed into a tiny roach motel for 2-nights.  Good times, for sure.

The following weekend would be Evo Cross, the first race of the Andrew Albright-created Mid-Atlantic Cyclocross Series, better known as the MAC Series.  Today, we just finished our 4^th weekend of racing in October, and I’m 14 races into what will likely be a 24 or 25 race season. Back in 2000, we would only have 5 or 6 races under our belts by now, and the season would be complete with 12 to 14 total races. 

14 races in and I feel like I’m stripping myself down, exposing myself in a way. These days, we line up next to each other starting on the last weekend of August.  You give your quick hellos to those you haven’t seen since last ‘cross season, and smile politely to the new faces in the bunch.  There is not much hanging around, it’s still hot, and crazy humid.  Still summer time.  The next few weekends are doubles.  We get to pick and choose our races.  MAC?  PACX?  NJ?  MABRA? NE?  But every race we go to we see the same faces.  We learn a little more about the girl or guy you are going to rub elbows with as you race away from the starting grid. They learn a little more about you.

By October, our bodies are peeling away a layer of fat from all the training and racing.  We’re getting stronger, faster.  We’re also getting friendlier now with those girls or guys you didn’t know on the start line back in August.  We’re exchanging phone numbers.  We’re friending on Facebook.  We’re learning about each other’s families. We’re learning that some people actually have lives outside of the world of cyclocross.  We are exposing ourselves in more ways than one.

I’m thankful for the long-standing continued friendships that I found in the cycling community, and of course all the new friendships that result from the exposing process throughout the cyclocross season.  So go ahead, expose yourself.  

The cycling community will love you for it.

thanks Kelly- for everything...

thanks for reading.

respect

fatmarc

Best Medicine Ever...

Dear Readers,

Last week was a weird one for me. Work was really intense. I had some weird allergy/ cough thing. I was shot-gunning airborne like a college kid doing shots in a dorm room. I didn't sleep well, and in the end, I just didn't feel like myself.

Saturday morning Consorto, Monkey and I went out to do openers, and I was awful. I pulled the plug mid ride. "I'm not racing tomorrow, I am a hot mess."

Ladies and Gentlemen- Your Deluxx Bikes Cyclocross Team! Diane had to threaten Lux to get him to smile.

I went home and took a nap-Well, a shower and then a nap.

Saturday Night,  Diane and I met up with some close friends at Old South Smoke House in Port Deposit, MD.

Magic Healing powers through these doors...

the company was amazing, great laughs, a great time...

then the food came.

I had the best pit ham, bacon, swiss cheese on a pretzel roll sandwich I ever had in my life. It was so good, I was wishing I ordered a second to take home.  21st amendment had a tap take over and all kinds of prizes. I WON A GROWLER OF BEER!

That meal changed my life.

I went home and went to sleep.

I woke up the next morning feeling like a million bucks. The magical healing powers of pit ham, bacon and swiss cheese had brought me back !

Anne Freakin' Rock...

I threw some kit in my bag and loaded up the car. Diane came out and said, " you're racing!?" I just smiled...

I was pleased with my race. I have said it a number of times, Crossasaurus Awesome is not the best race in the Mid Atlantic, but it is my favorite. The course is just amazing, the fun vibe, and the course encourages group racing. It was another battle with 10 of my peers/rivals  pretty much all together with a lap to go... So much fun racing in that group...

Monk continued to improve and have a great season. Theis course favored strong bike driving and worked really well for her. She was stoked with her ride.

I'm not gonna lie, the pit ham sandwich saved my cross race man. Airborne's got nothing on that sandwich man...

thanks for reading.

respect
fatmarc

Fatmarc VDB is Cuter than James Franco Cyclocross Rider of the Week: Charles Kline

Dear Readers,

Quick Post from Crossasaurus Awesome:

Meet Charles Kline:

Charles is the first ever Fatmarc Vanderbacon is Cuter than James Franco Cyclocross Rider of the week.

Charles is an outstanding 45+ racer. He was one of the guys that warmly welcomed me to the group this year, and certainly a racer I have great respect for and enjoy racing with...

Charles doubled up today at Crossasaurus Awesome, and in a hard fought battle with some bad, bad dudes in the 35+ pulled off the win on the final pass through the sand pit!  Much of the 45+ field waiting to stage for their own race,  cheered for Charles and went a little crazy as he crossed the line! It was an awesome moment to be a part of. As Charles came over to stage for the 45+ race he was greeted with a hero's welcome !

As if kicking ass in one race wasn't enough, Charles worked his way through our little group, eventually going clear with 2 laps to go and taking an outstanding 8th in his second race of the day.

I am super stoked for Charles, dude works hard, and you can't find a better guy.

Here's proof nice guys do finish first!

Please join me in congratulating Charles on his great races, and on winning the first Fatmarc Vanderbacon is Cuter than James Franco Rider of the Week Award!

Thanks for reading.

more from Crossasaurus Awesome later...

respect
fatmarc

Race Day Only...

Dear Readers:

Coming into the season my cross shoes were pretty trashed. They were beat up, getting really flexy in the sole,  the buckle kinda worked, and they smelled god awful. The insides are so rotten, that if I don't wear two pairs of socks, I'll get blister on my left foot. Did I mention how bad these things smell? It's like skunky-swamp-ass.

The shoes have been good to me, they don't owe me another day. In fact I like the shoes so much, I bought another pair...

I have been training with my new shoes, and breaking them in. But every weekend, as race day rolls around I can't accept any substitutes.  My race shoes, which live in the freezer during the week in an attempt to kill whatever is causing that god awful smell, are my go-tos. 


Sadly, the freezer contains the smell, it can't really kill it off at this point.  The stinky race shoes, the ones that live in the freezer have been the ones that have insured a clean start, the one pair that insure smooth dismount, and fast remount... the one stinky pair, that three weeks ago I said I would throw away. The pair that I never intended to use during Crosstober.

I had the realization that these  stinky gnarly shoes are my race shoes- stench and all. yeah, sorry about the smell, but they are my RDO shoes, and they will be for the final half of the season.

Bonus Pizza

Work has been super crazy this week. I ran across the street at lunch to the pizza joint and ordered two slices of pizza: one white and one regular. The lady at the counter is new. She smiles and hands me two pizza boxes.  I looked at her puzzled. She says, " I'm new, I screwed up cutting a pizza this morning, we can't sell the slices, I didn't want to throw them away.."

I hustled back to the office and opened the box to find two regular cheese slices in one box, and 4 completely mangled odd shaped and in no way consistently cut slices of white pizza in the second box. Altogether, they were a half a pizza, just not cut in any uniform fashion.

GOOD NEWS! totally pizza score!

BAD News! While I could easily normally eat 4 -6 slices of pizza, but during skin-suit season, I just can't eat like that, so I shared with some folks in the office...

This would have never happened in off season...

Anyone have any ice cream they want to give me that I can't eat?

thanks for reading.

respect
fatmarc

My First Double Race Weekend of 2016 (AACX and West Chester CX)

Dear Readers,

This last weekend I raced my first double of the year. Coming off my knee injury, I figured out pretty quickly, I need to be really careful monitoring my efforts, and the kinds of stress I throw at my knee. Along this path, I've had two big set backs, and one small one a few weeks back... As I planned my season, there was only one planned double race weekend.

In events stranger than fiction, I ended up with the 45+ 3/4 leaders jersey for the Sportif Cup Series. I didn't know I was even leading that class until Jon Hicks posted something on my FB page. I am a cat 3, have been for a few years, but I generally just enter the masters 1-2-3 race. All of this, and the weirdness of your favorite mid-pack master (who is also cuter than James Franco) leading a series is too weird for me to get my head around and is frankly blog-fodder for another day.

End of the day, I decided to do a double this weekend. I followed my original plan and do West Chester CX, but also venture out to the Sportif race in Annapolis. I used to do double weekends every weekend what could possibly go wrong.

AACX at South River Farm
So I digress. I am grateful for the opportunity to race in a leader's jersey. I've never lead a series before, and however things turn out, it will be one of the high marks for my season. I also feel like I have an obligation to defend the jersey.  "respect the jersey" is what Stephan Kincaid once said to me, when he landed in the MAC leader's jersey when perhaps he didn't expect.  I made the decision to to do the AACX race Saturday. I was looking forward to a race I haven't done before, and I was hopeful for a good day.

When I arrived at the venue, I was greeted by Doug Gray, who told me that it was a giant grass crit. This sentiment was echoed by everyone I greeted on the way to registration.

beautiful Venue. Beautiful view of fatmarc kryptonite- photo credit Raymond Wright Drone.

I am a cyclocross racer.
I have a particular set of skills. I'm good at punchy. I can run with my bike. I'm good at tight corners, off cambers make me happy, I consider myself a great bike driver. Tape to Tape is a religion for me. I like to get off my bike 2-3x a lap. I like to race and get to use all of my 20 years of deception and guile.

While I had high expectations for the race, the longer the race went the angrier I got. I never changed positions on the bike, just seated and pedaling. Literally pedaling around a field.  I felt myself getting more and more frustrated as things continued to develop and I continued to go backwards. Ugh...

Note: I get there are horses for courses, and have great respect for the different kinds of riders. I just made my mind up a few years ago that racing grass crits isn't really all that fun for me, and I was out of that game. I wish I was a wattage cottage and could throw down like that, but it's just not my game.

I gave my best at AACX but at the end of the day, I felt frustrated and disappointed. Perhaps I had lost my mojo. Doubt creeps in, this was the worst race I have had this season.

I packed up the car and headed home.

I called my brother, "fucking grass crits, man..."

I called my team director, "dude, I was horrible, so frustrating... "

I called my wife, " Ugh, this was awful. The course didn't have a single challenging feature. I was so bad..."

She said, " you know, this is why we stopped chasing series. It's so frustrating when you show up and the course is everything you aren't good at. You've worn the jersey twice now. You've been respectful, you don't have to chase this damn thing, you can follow your original plan..."

Monk had one of her best races of the year at WCCX...

Maybe she's right. Perhaps time to re-focus.

I got home, took a shower and drank a beer, putting a disappointing day behind me and started mentally prepping for West Chester Cross. I love West Chester Cross.

WEST CHESTER CROSS CLASSIC IV

West Chester CX is one of the best cross courses in the Mid-Atlantic. Fast, Flowing, a nice run up, huge bike driving sections, off camber and a weirdo rock pile.

See Weirdo Rock Pile- photo credit KELPIUS CYCLING!

Yup, it's a real live 2015 cyclocross course. I LOVE IT.

I didn't have a great legs Sunday. The start was really argy bargy, and after last week's wrestling match, I decided to be cool like fonzie and surf out the aggro.

At the end of lap one groups started to form. I killed myself to get to Luxy, and  DLowe. Johan came back and joined us. I battled to hang on the back of this group of fine racers the rest of the day.

I didn't feel great. I didn't have my best. I knew if I lost this group, I'd be out in no-man's land and likely lose another 3-4 spots. DLowe moved to the front a few times, and Luxy wasn't having it as he would surge to maintain the lead of the group. I'd get gaped a bit and rail the next corners to get back to the third wheel -either Johan or DLowe.

Just me dangling out there- photo credit Dennis Smith

Last lap and the group started to attack each other a bit more, I got gaped one last time around the pit, and couldn't get back this time.  I rolled in 4th out of our group of 4. Never been so happy to finish 4th in a four man group.

They are right there... photo credit Dennis Smith

Today was very hard, I had to use my full bag of deception and guile. While my game wasn't my best , I was really proud that mentally I was able to hang with the group. My legs were destroyed afterwards.  I was exhausted and ecstatic. So stoked to battle, when maybe I shouldn't have been.

I did apologize to Luxy because I couldn't do anything to help with the pace making today. I was not helping the home team today, although I did save him a sweet parking spot.

Such a good day, such a great course...

Mama Lux's Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter frosting was delicious.

hope springs eternal...

thanks for reading.

respect
fatmarc

Charm City Cross...

Dear Readers,

Best Heckle of the Weekend...

Warming up Saturday morning, I was riding with Team Director John Lux. I commented to him that a couple of our rivals had mentioned that they have a tough time telling if it's him or me in the group when we are racing.  He sat up looked me in the eye and said, "Crap man, I didn't know I had let myself go that badly. Holy Crap."  

Photo Credit dennis smith (dennisbike)

We both laughed and almost crashed in the warm up.

Charm City Cross

I love Charm City Cross. Always an incredible course with lots of features. Jay Lazar, Kris 'effin Auer and company never fail to layout one of the best courses I believe in the country. This weekend was no different. Five features a lap (planks, stairs, planter, fly over and sand pit) challenge the most technically savvy racers, and lot of rolling hills to favor the riders that have watts to spare. Add this off-camber corner which was super fun both directions and I have named "the perfect corner"

photo credit Adam Erb!

I've referred to Charm City as one of the Monuments of the Mid Atlantic- this weekend further set that as high bar, and high water mark for cross in our region. Event wise, team row was super fun to cheer on racers and race by in your event. The food trucks, cold frothy beverages  and fun setting make the race the total package. Cheers to all of the C3 team for an incredible weekend of racing. WELL DONE! 

Some of the kind folks bringing you Charm City Cross!!!

Strange Saturday

As cross season rolled around this year, Monk had just started riding her cross bike again, and really didn't believe she'd get to race cross this year. Then things started to work out. Her knee was getting stronger and she was doing a great job managing it. She got a couple of races under her belt, and circled Charm City on the calendar. "This is my favorite race. I haven't been able to do it for years. I can't wait" 

This was her Vision Quest.

Saturday came, and the 40+ masters women welcomed her back and she got off to a great start. I was warming up and riding around the course cheering her on. Diane was off to a very good start. I was excited for her.

I had gone to team row and expected to see her...  Her group came by and she wasn't there.  Jen Sears came by and yelled to me, "Diane got hurt on the flyover!" I felt my stomach dropped and I charged over to the flyover. When I got there I saw a woman on the ground with blood all over her face. She was being tended to by the race doctor (go Mike Boss) and  it wasn't Diane. I started to panic as I looked around and couldn't find her.  Someone yelled that she was in the pit. I charged over there to find her being tended to by Jay, JH III, and (I)Paul.  Her hand looked nasty and swollen. 

As I understand it. The woman just in front of her didn't make it up the fly over, she started to slide back down and sat up sliding down, just as Diane was charging up. As the woman slid down the flyover Diane's left hand and shifter went right into her face violently. The woman slumped down and slid to the bottom and Diane grabbed the side railing of the flyover to try and keep from sliding down.

There is a video of the crash that I have seen. I watched it, and shared it with a couple of folks. It's really violent looking. I have since deleted it. Watching that video is not good for my constitution.

As Diane made her way back to the bottom it sounds like someone else hit her, as her rear wheel was knocked totally wonky. She couldn't hold onto the bars, but she explained she thought her hand would loosen up in a few minutes, so she was running to get her pit bike. Thankfully, friends stopped her in the pit. When I saw her hand/wrist I was pretty certain she had a boxer's fracture.

We high-tailed it back to Delaware, and got some X-rays.

ER Waiting room Selfie! 

Thankfully, no broken bones. She got some swelling, and bruised fingers, and she'll loose her fingernail, but she'll be back at it soon enough. Sunday as we were leaving, I watched Diane put her hand on the hood of her bike and see if she could pull it. "Knock it off !" I said to her as we walked out of the garage and headed back to Baltimore. 

Also thankfully, the woman that crashed with Diane is also fine. A slight concussion, a nasty cut, but no stitches, and hopefully she'll be back at in a couple of weeks too.

Couple more thoughts on this:

1. THANKS TO EVERYONE who helped us out. Philly Ciclismo Tent, everyone that stashed our stuff over night. Everyone that emailed, texted and called to check on us. Mama  Lux's cookies were delicious and frankly the only thing that we had to eat until we got home from the ER. The Cross Community can not be beat. We really felt the love Saturday. Thank you! Diane was also super stressed as she was supposed to run the Kid's race both days this weekend. thanks to Erin Wittwer who stepped in an covered on Saturday. Diane was happy to be able to run the kid's race Sunday...

2. Nothing is more awesome than sitting in the waiting room in an ER in a skinsuit. The obvious questions from other people sitting in the waiting room :  Are you a biker? Where's your Bike? Did you ride here?

In my state of concern my emotional intelligence was not at it's highest. It was hard for me to not answer, "No, I'm not a biker at all. I just like spandex. I'm a huge David Lee Roth fan."

sometimes small talk sucks.

And finally I did actually race my bike.

My original plan for the weekend was to race just one day. It's a long season, I'm not chasing the MAC and I want to stay hungry. Part of that is managing my race schedule. I had planned to race Saturday, that didn't happen. Kris 'Effin Auer was kind enough to comp my race for Sunday after how things played out Saturday. I very much appreciated that guesture.

You know I gotta point out here, I raced for Kris 'Effin Auer for 7 years as a member of the C3-Twenty20 team. I never got a comp for the Charm City Race.  First year, on another team and he throws me a comp? I mean, what's it take to get a comp outta that guy? My wife needs to cause utter mayhem and destruction? Jeeze... In all honesty, I really do love that guy, and the gesture was appreciated.

My race went well, it really felt a little anti-climatic after the events of Saturday. I had a 5th row start, and had to claw my way up to my teammates, and my normal group. The Charm City Course Sunday suited my skill set. Lots of on and off the bike, features, and good driving sections. My race went really well. Maybe my best of the year so far. That was a nasty deep field, and I'm happy with how my ride played out.

I should also mention that I had a bit of an altercation with Trevor, who I have great respect for and personally like as a human being. We were both being too aggressive, and at the end of the day, it didn't help either of our races. Masters Racers behaving badly. Thankfully we hugged it out afterwards. I'm a little embarrassed by my actions. I'm glad that's behind us, and I look forward to chasing him again next week.

respect

fatmarc

Bicycling Magazine's Fall Classic

Dear Readers,

Last Sunday I went up to the Trexler Town and did the Bicycling Classic Ride. I have to admit this has quickly become one of my favorite events. We had a nice little group of folks including Gus, Diane, Anne, Beth and Craig. Gus and Anne were celebrating their 19 anniversary this day!

Photo Courtesy of Bicycling mag..

We set out on the 50 mile route. The course was very well marked and supported. Along the way we saw lots of friends, and had folks ride in and out of our group. That was fun.

About an hour in I started to notice this white mini van that kept popping up along the route. A woman would jump out of the mini van and was snapping pictures. I remember thinking, that it was cool that they were sending folks out not only on motos, but also had photographers moving around.

Half an hour later, I noticed this white mini van on top of one of the KOM/QOM hills. The driver/photographer jumped out of the van and was excitedly taking photos.

 Later on top of yet  another hill, I would spy the white mini van again. This time, however in addition to the woman driver, I  noticed two young children had gotten out of then van as well. Both of the children had made signs that said "go Daddy! you can do it" They held the signs up and cheered as their father passed on. It was then that I put together that the mini van was trailing their father and giving him support!  That was one of the most rad things ever.

Our group clawed our way through the initial hills and descended into the valley. The valley is my favorite part of the ride. It is beautiful and the roads are amazing. I sometime recognize that I'm getting older because I recognize and appreciate roadside beauty in a manner I couldn't grasp as a younger man.

Passing through a small town, we got stopped by a train. We gathered and took selfies. The white mini van was there too. As we waited for the train to go by, two kids came bounding out of the back and ran over to hug their father as they chanted, "GO DADDY GO!"

That will be one of the lasting impressions from the ride for me...

The last 15 miles of the ride we drove straight into a nasty headwind. I'll admit I was feeling a bit cracked, but also knew that everyone else was too. Craig and I sat ourselves on the front and pulled into the wind. We kept a good pace and continued to pick riders up along the way. We kept a close eye on our group to make sure everyone was there, but I also realized that our little group of six had grown quite a bit.

Just 4 guests in this shot- there were a few more...

One of the riders we picked up was the man whose family had been driving along in the white mini van following the route and cheering for him.

As we came into the last mile, Craig looked over at me and said, "do you think some of the folks we have been pulling home are going to jump us as we get to the finish? " I smiled and said, " the horse always smells the barn!"

Sure enough, a couple of the group, came around us and rode off the front. Seconds later, the crack in the damn continued as more came around us.   As we  made our final turn, and headed towards the track, the man whose family had cheered him on finally on came around us. He looked at Craig and I. He looked more exhausted than us. He nodded at us, which I took as a thank you for letting him sit in and then stood and pedaled hard for the finish.  His family cheered and held signs as we trailed him into the velodrome finish.

We celebrated battling that stiff wind and making it back as a group.Passing out high fives and sharing stories.  The food truck selection and cold frosty beverages were amazing. It was a spectacular day.

thanks for reading.

respect
fatmarc

The First Rule of Racing Cyclocross in the Mud...

Dear Reader,

Saturday Craig and I loaded up the car and headed down to Sykesville, MD for the aptly named Psycho Cross Race. Yeah, it seems every region in the country seems to have their own  Psycho cross. I get it a play on words psycho and cylco. I would guess that none of them could claim legitimately the name as much as the Sykesville edition, as this race is actually held on the grounds of closed and abandoned psychiatric facility. Cool venue, really cool course. (2 runs, a log, barriers, and all the off camber a guy could dream about- Cheers Sportif Gentlemen) With the week's worth of rain, we had ourselves some classic cross conditions!

It was a pretty damn good day for those Fabulous Vanderbacon Boys:

I can't say we ever both hit the box on the same day before. Maybe when we were wrestling. Maybe not. So that was pretty rad. I haven't had too many trips to the box in recent years, so I'm beyond stoked.

The days of rain before the race made for some heavy sections on the course. Perhaps more concerning was the parking situation. The promoter warned folks who didn't have all wheel drive to not park in the upper field lot. Craig and I don't always take good advise.

As we packed up the Honda Fit, and got ready to pull out, we watched as a gentleman in beautiful white front wheel drive Passat plowed into the deepest, darkest, muddiest section of grass- the last 20 yards of the field before making it back to the asphalt. He immediately got stuck as his front wheels spun out.

Craig, ever the citizen of the world, hopped out of the Fit and began to  help push the guy out of the mud. I rolled down the window of the fit acknowledged a woman from The Bicycle Outfitters Team  getting ready for her race parked next to us. I asked her, "what's the first rule of racing cross in the mud?"

She smiled at me and said, "Green means go!"

I stepped on the gas, and revved up the full 4 cylinder Honda motor and took off, heading for the exit of the field. I took the high line to the left, trying to capture just a small section of green grass and keep my traction. I passed the man with beautiful white Passat, still stuck in the mud and rolled on to asphalt looking back at my brother with a huge shit eating grin on my face.

Craig smiled, and commented to the driver of the beautiful white Passat, "you gotta take that line."

Yeah, I probably got lucky, but you know, Saturday was a good day to be one of the Fabulous Vanderbacon Boys.

thanks for reading.

respect
fatmarc

FATMARC CROSS COURSE SURVEY RESULTS

Dear Readers,

Premise
Okay, I set up a survey monkey.  My goal was to collect data from local crossers on their favorite courses and try to see what are favorite courses and are there any consistent characteristics between local favorites. I'll put this out there, this is not a scientific survey at all. The pool of respondents is roughly 60 folks. I put the survey out on Facebook and twitter. I know that to some extent that skews the responses. I mean I am assuming that not too many people choose to follow on me on FB/Twitter do so because they think I'm a total asshole. I also know that because I am located in the Mid Atlantic the results primary focused on races in this region, although not all answers were from the region. I'll add I am no Nate Silver and no Colin Reuter. All of this was for fun and information purposes only. Finally, I tried to focus on course characteristics not overall production value.

Four Mid Atlantic Cyclocross Monuments:
Okay, this has nothing to do with the survey, and is purely my opinion. As I see it, in Mid Atlantic Cyclocross there are 4 Monument races. They are Nittany, Granogue, Charm City Cross and DCCX. These races are highly regarded, known for high levels of production value, great venues, and unique features. They are all the total package from an event standpoint. In the survey, it's clear that from a course design standpoint these races are getting it right, but also in the sense of an event, they are nailing it.

"Hey Faticus what about HPCX!?" yeah there's probably  a good argument that HPCX could be listed as one of the monuments. I just don't put in on par with the other four. While I admit I haven't been to HPCX in 2 years, historically the production value, following (rider numbers)  and as fleshed out in this survey-course design have not been on par with the other monuments.

I know what you're thinking, didn't you just say this survey was based on course design only and not production value? Yeah, but the whole monuments thing is purely something I invented in my head, and unlike for the survey I looked at the entire event. Again, this was something I made up not really official anyway. That said, as we dive into the survey results you'll see why I called out the Monuments as I did.

I'd also say that if I was in the business of running series, I think it would be pretty damn awesome if the 4 Mid Atlantic Monuments got together and made a series. Yeah, Granogue is just one day, but couple that with a Beacon or West Chester, or another of the emerging races and you'd have a pretty bad ass 4 week/8 race series. Hell, 3 of 4 weekends are UCI, that's just another UCI weekend from being an amazing UCI series... But again, I'm kinda out of that business.

Favorite Courses:
Looking at the the results from just question one: What is your favorite 'cross course? This is how it broke down.

These results are further reinforced  when we combine all the results from the respondents top 3 favorite courses:

What I find most interesting here is that Providence, which is NECX and not Mid Atlantic comes in so highly. I'll admit I didn't take the survey, but Providence would have made my top three. I also think that's a statement about what those guys are doing right. Here's a couple of quotes regarding the Providence course:

"great terrain, interesting challenges (run ups, snow at nationals), roller coaster hills"

"Constant changes. Off cambers, up and down like a roller coaster, flyovers, stairs, great pit, great scene, great start grid"

"an onslaught of fast sections, technical turns on bad ground, fly overs, box jumps, stairs, planks, no respite. has it all with lanes wide enough for the big fields..."

Cheers to Richard Fries and company for that...
here's the other big question what do respondents want to see in a cross course?

"technical challenges, flow, good pit layout, paved start/finish sections. lack of gravel. sand pits. climbing. features that take a bit of time and/or experience to figure out. more technical challenges"

"I like course where there's not a lot of repetition, so I look for a course designer to make creative use of the space he/she has. Courses that are just one thing (either all power, or all driving) get boring to me, so the best courses have both. I also like courses with technical challenges. Man-made dismounts are good, but natural dismounts are better. I like a course designer to use all the terrain they have at their disposal to make something interesting."

"Run ups. Stairs. Swoopy, flowing descents. Not just endless tape, gratuitous spirals and grass crits. NOT bumpy ruts."

"Use the available space to do something not seen in other courses around the area, if possible. Whether elevation change or some technical feature, I like something that stands out and is different. Also at least one feature that makes my sphincter pucker is good. (DCCX - the "M" turn, Charm City - downhill right hander to stairs, uphill off-camber; Reston - "The Chute" bombing into a mud bog, etc)"

"1.Technicality, turns that require thought and skill to maneuver at speed. 2. Multiple (at least 2 but 3 is better) dismounts/options per lap. This is a cx specific skill set, if you don't practice it, too bad. Go race a crit. 3. Good flow. I like when a huge power section is followed by a section that is technical/turny. This balances the force by allowing those of us who just buried themselves to stay on the wheel of the roadie to dole out the pain in return. 3. At no point should there ever be a spiral of death,doom,or love. "

So what do respondents think the Monuments get right?:

Charm City:
"You have to have fitness, skill and you're off the bike 3 times per lap minimum , stairs and sand = rad"

DCCX :
"Stairs, ups and downs, brick pavers, off-camber hill and the amazing park-like venue in the heart of DC"

 Nittany:
"Nice flow, mixed terrain. Power sections and climbing. The fact that it is the first major race of the year,  
makes it even better "

Granogue:
"Great people, hard climbs, hard descents, enough dismounts, amazing crowds, ensures tight racing. The people and the atmosphere really make this race the best. Granogue is just a special place."

So let's dive in deeper and take out the Monument Races looking at all responses pulling out the 4 Monuments and Providence:

My thoughts:
Interesting that Sly Fox- a first time race makes a splash. The only first year race to make the survey. With a year under their belt, I expect this year will be even better. Based on it's technical characteristics, I'm not totally surprised.The course is technical and has a unique feature (their run up).

Winchester and West Chester are getting some love too. Based on the data I think both of these races will continue to grow and emerge. I haven't made Winchester yet, I'm gonna have to get down there in the next couple of years.

Interesting that the now defunct Beacon comes in so strongly. From a course standpoint it's such a unique venue and a great course, but I know in the past few years they struggled to draw a crowds.

The re-born Cap Classic gets strong marks, another example of a course with a signature feature.

Fairhill (Gallagher)  is understated as an event, but really is one of the best courses in the region. Not surprised it showed up here.  NECX sneaks in with Gloucester- which is just a race that I recommend everyone does at least once.

Here's some of the love:

Cap Classic:
"Gnarly descent and always epic conditions"

Fairhill :
"small town feel, nice mix of toughness, off camber, punch in the gut climb"

West Chester CX :
"Fast and flowy with more punchy little ups per lap than seem possible. Roomy venue with a nice grass roots vibe. Did I mention fast?"

Rockburn:
"Some "singletrack", sand, lots of mixed terrain (power climbs, off camber turns, high speed descents), technical"

Sly Fox:
"Crowd, venue, log hill run up. log hop was cool, good turns for bike drivers and barrier location was perfect."

Winchester Apple Cross:
"I like the steep climbs and the turns are really well laid out to connect together; no meaningless dead stop 180s one after the other; there is also a variety of terrain--tarmac, grass, dirt through the woods"

Gone but not forgotten:
I kinda love that some of the races that have stopped got mentioned in the survey. Beacon obviously got a lot of attention but other retired races getting love included Wiss Cross (Ludwig's corner) , Geler Votre Cul (Fairhill Fairgrounds), Pittsfield (NECX), Camp Hill and even Monkey Hill all garnered praise.

Questions I wish I asked:
First is there a race that may not be one of the best, but that you like? Or a race that may be appropriate as an early season shake down but not in the heart of Crosstober? (ex: Blunt Park in MA, and even Cross of the Corn this year)... Additionally I wished I'd asked what race do you see getting strong or better?  What race do you recommend but might not be one of your 3 favorites? An example there for me would be CSI (Look Park, MA) great course, very balanced, always have fun, but not gonna make my top three. Crossasaurus is similar I love that race, highly recommend it, but it wouldn't make my top 3. All essentially trying to get another slice at what works as a cross course.

Most Important Question:

Who is cuter Fatmarc or James Franco:

Well clearly 70% of folks get this right, and the other 30% of you, Well,  I recommend that you see an eye doctor shortly. There's only one right answer to this question. Only one right answer.

In Closing:
Promoting races is really hard work. Thankless work for the most part. Designing a course, Finding venues even tougher. I remember our first Granogue Course in 2001. It sucked really badly. Like seriously, I'm so glad no one remembers that race that was both in the PACX and the MAC. It's super easy to say that a course needs to flow, but creating flow is much harder. I think the key is to go to other races, see what works, ride courses, ask for help... A personal observation would be that the Mid Atlantic lacks run ups. People love to hate run ups. We need more run ups. Most of all thanks to all the promoters out there that help our region to have such a rich, and diverse schedule. Thanks to everyone who took the time to take the survey and share your thoughts.

What am I missing? Questions? Your interpretation?
thanks for reading!

respect
fatmarc