beginning of a vision quest...

Dear Readers,

The other night Diane and I sat down at the table and were discussing our plans for 2015. We had a couple things marked out.

 "If we are traveling over a holiday weekend, I want to get the airfare, so that flights don't sell out." She said urgently.

"Monk it's over 6 months away, I think there will be plenty of time, we don't need to get the tickets tonight. I really think you're putting way too much into the logistics this far out."

She gave me the look that I imagine wives have been giving husbands for millions of years. The look that says, "I don't want to fight about this, but don't push your luck here..." In pulp fiction terms it's the "It's dangerous to push a race car in the red look." Men- you know the look. Ladies- you have given that look.

My phone rings. It's my brother. I'm saved.

Middle Run was in amazing conditions this morning. Maybe better than in the summer...


 With Cyclocross Nationals in Texas this week, Craig and I have been following the races, and enjoying all of the coverage that come with it. We also have developed a bit of a Vision Quest for our own trip to Nationals next year in Asheville. We started talking about the race schedule and if we expected it to be like this year's. We talked about when we plan on making the drive, and started talking about when we'd plan to leave, what days we'd be racing.

I looked up and saw my beautiful bride smirking at me.

"Really!!?" she muttered in a smart ass way.

"Six months is too soon to buy plane tickets, but you two are scheming a vision quest more than a year away!?" Monkey said smiling.

had the pleasure of riding with Mean Joe(he's not really mean), Ryan, Shane,
Hardest Working Man in Show business  Eddie, and  leading us today was
Birthday Boy Buddy the leg breaker...

"Touche Monkey!" I smiled. I could hear Craig on the other end of the phone laughing.  "Hey, man let me give you a quick call back, I gotta buy some plane tickets..."

thanks for reading.

respect
Vanderbacon

A meandering blog about Strava with Self Awareness, Brilliant Moves, Cannonballers, Fatbikes, Asshat Hannity and Gravel Grinders

Dear Readers,

I love Strava. I think it's a great training tool. It's amazing as a platform to store and analyze data. I like segments. I like being able to set goals for them. I love that it gives me an easy comparison between different times that I rode different sections. I like the social aspect of Strava.  I am happy to have connected with a number of friends and training partners through Strava. We have a Strava group that is primarily a local group of people that ride together. It creates a fun environment, and is a great training tool, and a nice addition to the community.

Recently, Strava made two moves that have generated lots of buzz in the Internets.  I think both recent moves were brilliant and helped to pump up energy and engagement for Strava.

First, the year end summaries:  I looked at exactly three of these. They were cool. It was nice to have an entire year's worth of riding summarized. I didn't understand why folks hated this. After I saw three I had enough. I didn't look at anymore. Everyone could make that decision.

Second, and probably the more controversial was the introduction of "best of the year" rankings. I'll admit that it was pretty weird to go on our annual New Year's Day Toast ride, which is by no means a hammer-fest, and come home and get some trophies. I know that some have criticized this as "everyone wins something". I don't see it that way at all.

First, those initial times will all be surpassed as the year goes on. They will be improved upon all year.  Most of those from our New Year's ride have been already. Honestly, there are really only a couple times a year that I normally look at the leader-boards. There are three periods a year that I'm really strong enough to challenge for any of them. You know what? January is not one of these times. Strava's move adding "best of 2015" has had me looking at the best of the year leader-boards, as well as the overall leader-boards. Riders will be chasing the best of 2015 results. They'll be looking at them in January. Frankly, I think it will create a  "rising tide lifts all ships" event. People engaged in the leader boards, at a time when normally maybe they wouldn't. I like it. It's fun. Cheers I say...

I have to admit, I  don't really understand Strava haters. I respect their right to not use it. I don't understand the vitriolic passion and angst against it.  Perhaps a soul rider that doesn't freakin' care at all about the ride data? That's cool.  I respect that. But do we all have to be the same? Clearly to some extent everyone of us get something different from riding. Strava is something that many enjoy and I believe adds to the experience for those that like that sort of thing.

I think of Strava use like my relationship with Fox News. I don't really like Fox News, but I also don't generally feel the need to tell the entire world that I think Fox New sucks. If you don't like Strava, don't use it. I don't like Fox news so  I turn off that ass-hat Sean Hannity every chance I get.

Okay, maybe Hannity isn't a great analogy. Let's say Fatbikes. Not something that I am interested in or understand. I understand there are fatbike evangelists. I just don't get it. That's cool, if that's what you dig. Good on you. Just not my thing. No one is making me ride a fatbike. Just like no one is making anyone use Strava. Each to their own.

 Now the term gravel grinder that's a different story- damn cycling marketing.... I do generally enjoy fire-road rides... I hate gravel grinders and that term should be banished from the cycling vernacular.

Perhaps the push-back on Strava is a result of some of the bad behaviors it can encourage. ( how many can you pick out of your community ?):

The Obsessed Hunter- the rider so busy collecting KOM/QOMs they don't have time to race, or to upgrade out of the beginner class.

The Mimic- the rider who will see one rider's successes, and the next day go out and try to better those successes by blatantly attacking all the same segments. I find that I inspire a lot of these folks. It's like they are saying "if that fat-fuck can get up that hill at this pace, I know I can crush it!" I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery? Fuck you very much for the compliment.

The Cannonballer- the idiot storming through sections yelling "out of the way Strava!" No comment really needed here. Strava is no excuse to ride like an idiot or not be social.

Yeah, these behaviors make me crazy too, but at the end of the day, I know everyone gets something different out of cycling. If their bag is different than mine, that's cool. Overall I find the benefits of Strava outweigh the folks that tend to dick things up... Don't worry, Hunters and Mimics- I still love you. Cannonballers, not so much.

Now a moment of self-awareness:

Yeah, I own that I can be an elitist, and I believe the game should be played a certain way. I also pride myself in listening and learning. I want to know what works for other people. I want to keep learning and getting better. Maybe not faster, but better. That's one of the things that I love about cycling- always something to learn and improve. I'm lucky to have a great support system and a great coach,  Chris Mayhew, who helps me from myself. But you know, I respect folks have different approaches and play the game differently. Frankly, this is one of things that makes cycling great as everyone can get something different from it.  Wait, I don't like cheaters, I have a pretty low tolerance for cheaters and vampires. Now jackassery, yeah I like that. So yeah, if folks don't like strava or fatbikes that's okay man. It's also cool if other people do. There's room under the tent   Long time readers of CUTER THAN JAMES FRANCO are probably not surprised by any this. AND YES, I get that NONE OF THIS PARAGRAPH REALLY HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH STRAVA, and MAY BE A LARGER OUT LOOK ON LIFE.

BUT I DIGRESS.


Obviously, I'm a Strava guy. In the last year, I've really used it more as a data analysis tool and frankly looked for my own PRs and goals.  All of that to say: Bravo Strava! I think both of your recent moves were brilliant. You successfully got folks talking about Strava, and got folks engaged in Strava at at time when most of us would probably not be looking at the leaders-boards at all. If you aren't a Strava person that cool too. We all get something different out of this game after all...

wow, that was some meandering...

thanks for reading.

respect
fatmarc

2015 New Years

Dear Readers,

That time James Franco came to ride with us.

New Years is one of my favorite holidays. While I am not big on resolutions, I am always grateful for the opportunity to reflect on the previous year, and to enter the new year with hope. Hope, I am finding as I get older is a pretty powerful thing. 

I also really enjoy the traditions that we are forming. The past few New Year's Eves have seen us out to an early dinner with friends. A chance to clean up, and celebrate a little together is always appreciated. 

Hubba, Hubba.

It's an early evening for a few reasons:

1. we are old. (well not Kita and Josh)

2. we are pretty lame.

3. How could you miss out on being woken up by the gun shots, and other celebratory shenanigans that go in Cecil County at the stroke of Midnight?

Perhaps most importantly, we are early to bed, is that we can be early to rise in preparation for the traditional New Year's Day Toast Ride. We had a wonderful group of folks come out this year, and Diane took us on a tour of the frozen the fast trails of Fairhill. The group included  Jen, Monkey, Dennisbike, SkinnyCraig, Kurtee, Todd (el presidente), Buddy the leg breaker, factory sponsored rider Travis H, Mean Joe Bothel, Nick, Ryan, Alan the Cleaner, James Franco, and of course Fatme.

Still playing with adding video to the blog. I'm having fun learning to edit, but I'm still not super sure. This clip is 2 minutes long, which is way longer than I like to post, but I think it's pretty fun. 

The music is an old Kid Rock mix...

The toast ride of course wouldn't be complete without some toasting:

One last video, this is a quick one I put together as Craig and I got out in MiddleRun Friday,and played on the man made features, and generally noodled around. It was really fun.




Here's to Hope, and a wonderful 2015.

thanks for reading.

respect
vanderbacon

Photo Blog: Elk Neck

Dear Readers,

Elk Neck is my favorite place to ride mountain bikes. Tight, Twisty, quick up and downs. A bike driver's paradise. (that one was for you Rotten). As Kelly said, "toughest 12 miles..." Great group yesterday and perfect conditions. It was a wonderful end to a wonderful weekend.

I snapped a couple of quick shots that I really like from the look out:

l-r Benny the Jewler, Jacob, Joe B, Eddie, TedLogic, Buddy the leg breaker, CONsorto, 

Nick, Kelly, Jeffy.

that dude to the right is definitely cuter than James Franco. 

CONsorto, Kelly and Jeffy  are all smiles enjoying the view...

Eddie and Joe take in the awesomeness of the day...

thanks for reading.

respect
Mr. Vanderbacon if you're nasty.

Cocker Rides

Dear Readers,

This time of the year, I'm happy to lead some pretty amazing road rides out of my place. I'll say that I have a pretty consistent format and I think it helps maximize winter miles. Generally I plan out a route with a few challenging sections that folks can open it up on a bit, but at the end of the sections we always regroup, and then we ride steady to the next section. I like to think of these rides as Joe Cocker rides, meaning that "we all get by with a little help from our friends". The rides are generally pretty well attended. They are hard, but fun.

Today we had one of these rides. I got dropped a lot. Luckily, I'm surrounded by a great group of riding partners, and I was able to get home with a little help from my friends. The group today was Nick, Phil, Brandon, Dave, Shane, Buddy, Jay Jay, Consorto, Me, Eddie, Kurtee and TedLogic.

Here's a quick video of me getting dropped one of the "peppy" sectors:

and again:

The final "peppy" sector clears, we work together and drag my enormous carcass home. (thank you).

After the ride, my kind training partners were happy to help me with another of my projects, which was reducing the number of awesome winter/Christmas beers in my fridge!

what can I say, I get by with a little help from my friends...

thanks for reading....

respect
Vanderbacon

Festivus: Feats of Strengths

Dear Readers,

Happy Hanukkah. Happy Christmas. Have a great 2015.
Happy Festivus.

Mother Nature decided to be a bit of  Grinch this week, as light rain fell all day yesterday. The weekly Fairhill ride would be a fire road expedition. (Note I did NOT say gravel grinder). Unlike last week's first ride where we had 2 rides of 15, this week only 7 hearty souls showed up.  Six of us where certified ride leaders for Fairhill. The group was Jim B, Justin, Jimmy V, Dave S, Brian K, Sharon the Hammer, and I. It was misty, but really warm. A light fog settled in over the park. The lights brightened our way, but the fog had us riding in our own amazing bubble of light. The fire-road network at Fairhill easy provides 20+ miles of riding. It was warm, and kinda of beautiful night.

Near the end of the ride, as is often the case when you have a group of solid riders, it got a little chippy as we climbed up one of the park's main gravel sections. Brian, Dave and I moved towards the front of the group. Brian, who doesn't realize yet how amazing of a rider he is yet set a nice tempo. Dave is like me, an old dog who has been around bikes for years. Dave graduated to the Cat 1 class in 2014 and made a pretty big splash. Dave is a cagey and smart rider. The force is strong with this one.

Despite my affection for my two companions at the front, we sped up the twisting climb, and the boys had me hanging on for dear life. I was hoping to pull a rope-a-dope and make it to the top with these two. I heard Dave shift into a harder gear. The lunacy of shifting into a harder gear while climbing never ceases to amazing me. And yet, here we were the three of us bounding towards the top of the climb. I stood and spun out the gear on my single speed monster bike (note I didn't call this bike a gravel grinder). I could see the crest of the hill, and in our own little bubble I was smiling. We all felt the effort. I'm not sure who got to the top first. It was meaningless, but fun. It was an awesome night.

Perhaps Mother Nature wasn't a Grinch at all...

thanks for reading.

respect
Vanderbacon

Please note: Night Riding at Fairhill is not permitted outside of the once a week sanctioned Fairhill ride. If you have questions about the note shoot me a note or hit up the trail spinners facebook group.

Winter Blogging...

Dear Readers,

Yeah I know. It's the slow time of the year for your team's mid pack masters rider blog. I'm getting to put in some really good, fun rides. Doing some of the work that I haven't been able to the last couple of years, because of school. The rides have been great but they don't always translate to wonderful blogging. Monk got me a sweet go-pro for my birthday in October, that I have had some fun with, but again I'm not sure that POV (point of view) video of your team's mid pack master rider trying like hell to stay on Buddy, Jay, Chris or Steve's wheel on our local trail system is great blogging either.

The subtleties of my bike driving skills don't translate to the blogosphere very well. (HA!)

Sunday's ride was a sweet one, as we ripped through White Clay and Middle Run. I'll admit it was a bit harder than I had expected. Buddy drove the pace, and is really going good right now. Probably the first time in years that he's been 100% healthy on the bike. I'm happy for him, even if I want to kick him in the nuts as crushes my soul with a smile on his face.  He thought he was laying down a nice even pace. (warning adult language below):


BUddy from marc vettori on Vimeo.

One of the challenges of having a camera just run on the ride is that you record every bit of shit you talk on a ride. Sometimes that's funny.  Good thing I didn't have the camera when I told Consorto I'd pay him $100 to go get his car and come pick me up as I died coming home from Turkey point on Friday.

Anyway, looking forward to seeing family, getting some more miles and a great Christmas

thanks for reading.

respect
Vanderbacon

something about monkey

Dear Readers,

After a week of being sick with the Flu and a sinus infection, I finally got myself back out on the bike with Monkey Sunday morning over at White Clay. Monkey had been taken it easy herself in an effort to not catch what I had, and well- December.

We bombed around the trail system, and both of us were clearing out sinuses via snot-rocket-palooza. This could have been the cool weather, or the effort finally allowing us to clear out the last of a sinus infection. Monkey has always shot a lot of snot during her rides, today was an all time level of snot rockets. It was truly impressive.

Up the border trail, one of the longer escalating climbs in the park, Monk fired a snot rocket which I thought came by my head a little close. "easy there monkey, let's no have any friendly fire accidents here..."

We laughed and enjoyed the rest of our our ride.

Flash-forward to Monday. I head out on the road bike a lunch, My glasses are sitting on my helmet as they were Sunday during my mtb ride. I pull them off and actually use them. When I place them on it is immediately clear that I cannot see out of the right lens. My near miss, was actually a hit. I had visions of Something about Mary, only with Snot not... well hair gel.

Smiling, I placed my glass back on my helmet and spun on...

thanks for reading.

respect
fm

Bob Joos: Mid Atlantic Cyclocross Man of the Year

Dear Readers,

Just prior to the start of the season, Kelly Cline, who no doubt would belong on the Mount Rushmore of Mid Atlantic Cross, or the Mid Atlantic Cross Hall of Fame if such a thing existed posted this to his Facebook page:

"Before heckling. Jeers of now use to be cheers. We used to have something called the Brotherhood and Sisterhood.  We fed each other. We pitted for each other. We trained together. We unconditionally supported one another regardless of what kit we were wearing. We rode hard and had fun. Let's get back to those days."

Bob up the stairs at Sly Fox

Bob at Crossasaurus Awesome

It is with this quote that I approached my cross season, and while I had only intended to do 1-2 races, my season and love of cross blossomed into a wonderful time, 13 races strong. And while it may have finished a little pre-maturely -getting to cheer for, be cheered on by, supported by and in general watching Bob support and foster our community will be one of the memories of this season that I will keep fondly.

Bob ready to take on his race..

Bob is a 56 year old cat 5 in his third year of cross racing. He has done 16 races this year. Bob has produced strong results on the race course. But far more important that what Bob had done between the tape, is what Bob has brought to the community. 

Bob pitting for one of many riders this year...

When I read Kelly's pre-season quote, Bob Joos is the guy who quickly comes to my mind first. Our friends at crossresults.com confirm that Bob raced 16 races this year. I know that doesn't seem like enough, because from his race reports, and cheering voice, 16 doesn't seem to capture all the places and races Bob has been. Bob would race his guts out, and regardless of placing, start the hard work of his day. From the moment he was done racing, you could count on him to be in the pit working for everyone regardless of team. Shouting encouragement and sharing his energy with all the community.

On your worst days, Bob was the voice that keep you digging deep, and on your best days Bob was the voice that made you feel like Sven Nys. Bob embodies community. After each race, Bob would write up a brief report of his race, honest and fun to read, but his race was never the focus of the reports, it was his friends, teammates, and community that he continued to cheer on, encourage and take pride in.

We all have the power to lift people up or knock them down, I'm proud to have watched Bob lift far more than his share this season. Bob is awesome, and his efforts this year truly unmatched. I hope we can all bring what Bob brings to the race next year!

Please join me in congratulating Bob Joos as the Fatmarc.com Mid Atlantic Cyclocross Man of the year.

Thanks for all you do Bob. Thanks for being one of the guys that makes this community special.

thanks for reading.

Photos by: Jen Sears, Bill White and Nicole Sheets

respect
fatmarc

Buddy the Leg Breaker...

Dear Readers:

Here's a video of Buddy the Leg Breaker throwing down watts on Saturday:

See I told you.

Here's a little of Buddy, Consorto and I doing a little dip, duck, dodge and dive...
More watts from Buddy on the climb... And my first experiment with snarky commentary..

thanks for reading and you know watching some strange  POV videos...
The second video is not playing as I would like... Still figuring this out to some extent...
All for the benefit of the Fatmarc Vanderbacon blog readers...

best to you

respect
fatmarc