Freemont CX KISS CROSS #2

John Meyers and Scott "I am back" Quiring attended the 2nd stop of the westside Kiss Cross series in Freemont MI. Scott battled the Bissel teammates for 4th as John held on for a well earned 5th.

Race Report by John Meyers:

CycloCross racing is in full swing on the west side of the state. Scott "Q" Quiring and John Meyers returned to the cyclocross action at the second stop of the Kisscross race series at branston park, fremont, mi. Scott broke out his cross bike to give things a whirl. He stated that he has been training a little and has not done any intervals yet? Scott finished 4th. overall in the "A" race and his teammate John finished 5th overall. The race was fast with the long section of asphalt leading into the start finish. Team Bissell controlled the race from the gun with Scott and John in the mix from the 3 second count down start. Scott was able to hang with young Bissell pro's for the first 5 laps of the 8 lap race. He easily rolled in for fourth place. John had a couple crashes....not use to the cx tires (just put them on that morning) and used the race as his first cx ride of the year and finished a strong 5th. ahead of a Bissell teammate.

Results -> http://www.kisscross.com/results/2008/fremont_092708.htm

Next Kisscross race -> October 4th - Race #3Caledonia Lakeside Park, Caledonia - Map

Hosted by: TNR and Caledonia Cycling Club

The Tony Torrance interview

Tony Torrance works for Pearl Izumi in the Design and Development Dept. Tony is an ex MICHIGAN resident, Michigan Tech graduate and past team mate of the Bells Team.

We asked Tony a few quick questions and he gladly took time from his busy schedule.

Tony with 2008 Olympic gold Medalist Sabine Spitz of Germany

1. You work for the _Design and Development department _ at Pearl Izumi ?
Excactly I help design and create shoes for PI.

2. Our team loves the P.R.O. MTB by Pearl Izumi, what have you done to the 08 shoe to make it better for 09 ?
For spring 09 we used our one piece upper technology and Direct vent from our Octane SL rd shoe for the P.R.O. mtb shoe. It's making the shoe about 40 grams lighter plus it fits better and looks super hot!

3. How has the riding been in Colorado ?
The riding in CO makes all the hard work to get out here worth it. This weekend we rode in Breckenridge. It was 65 degrees, sunny and aspens were changing colors. it doesn't get much better than that.

4. How is/was Interbike or Eurobike?
Eurobike was crazy. I met with Sabine Spitz and Jan Frodeno. The both won gold medals in our shoes. I even got to party with Jan Ulrich. That's three more names I get to drop on a daily basis. I leave for interbike tomorrow morning. That place is always crazy.

5. Can you comment on the PI CX shoe rumor?
Superlight, gore-tex (waterproof), thinsulate insulation, toe spikes, built in gaitor, felt insole. it'll make your feet sweet in all weather. All of that at it fits great. we'll be showing it at interbike. They're available through Pearlizumi.com or your local retailer can get them through QBP or Pearl Izumi.

6. What tires are you running @ ICEMAN this year ?
I'm going to use a 1.75in 29er tire... Brand is confidential.

7. Can Tom make the top 20 @ ICEMAN in the Pro class ?
He's been training super hard. He's hired Ex-Olympian Ann Trombly as his coach... Watch your back.

8. Will you make the BELLS SUNSET ON THE SEASON PARTY @ The Loading Dock ?
Absolutely.





The 2009 CX race shoe !







The 2009 P.R.O MTB shoe !

CHEQUAMEGON FAT TIRE

2008 Chequamegon Fat Tire is done, Jonathan Page won. Great weather, course,competiton and friends. We await the 2009 edition.

Team results:
JOBERON 14th
Jason Lummis 15th
John Meyers 26th
Erin Vicary 5th
Jason Aric Jones 475th
Scott Quiring 3 Hoplslams and 12 pints (Scott was the ultimate teammate handing out feeds at Seal Tower)

Garmin data from Lummis:http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitation/email/accept.mb?senderPk.pkValue=122202&unitSystemPkValue=2&episodePk.pkValue=6768529

photos by: http://www.skinnyski.com/

The mass roll out !

Lummis and Michigan racer Ron Sanborn at the start

Jason hanging on to the leaders

Joberon getting ready to make his move.

Jason's last sight of the leaders as they head up the first of four inclines to the top of Sealy Tower.

Erin Vicary on her way to 5th place overall, on the only flat part to the top of sealy.

John Meyers making it to the top of sealy.

Great weekend, Chicago traffic sucks.

Up next CX race season starts this weekend with Tailwinds DBL UCI CX races, Iceman (in 1.5 months).

JOEBRON CONTINUES:

Joe on his way to a 2nd place at the Stony creek XC:
Photo by the Biz: http://www.cycletherapyracing.com

Joberon Race Notes Cont.

So Erin and I rolled out of beautiful Windham NY with bandages on my knee, ice on my thumb and a few medals hanging from the rear view. A successful outing for sure and great start to our trip. Next up was US MTB Nats at Mt. Snow in Vermont. But first, we were off to Boston. My sis Mary and her hubby Garett live there. It ended up being a great pit stop. Our hosts set us up nicely in their sweet downtown condo. We had a great time touring Boston with Mary(www.marylynnburke.com) and Garett. Both by foot and by bike. We hit up a few different eateries sampling some great pizza, brew and, of course, the clam chowda. We also made a late night appearance at the aquarium to visit the fat lazy seals. We started our trip up to Mt. Snow around lunchtime on Tuesday. We arrived with enough time to sneak in a pre ride of the race course. Like a smack to the face, I was reminded quickly just how tough this course is. There were a couple of mods to the course this time making many of the climbs much steeper. The downhill's were...the downhill's. Good o'l white knuckle stuff. We took it as easy as possible on our pre ride then set off for some dinner and R&R at a local motel. Wednesday came and we had more pre riding, eating and poolside chillin' on the menu. I busted out two, probably to hard, laps of the course. I felt pretty good. Riding solid and feeling strong I felt much more confident than the day prior. Then, just as planned, we had some lunch and hit the pool. Thursday came and I could feel the nerves starting to develop. Early Friday morning it was game on. Thursday I went out and hit the course again. After one fairly brisk lap I decided that was enough. I spent the rest of the day and my nervous energy tinkering with my bike. That evening we moved all our things into a sweet mountain/course-side condo. That's when the rest of the crew showed up. Our teammate John along with Mike and Michelle Simonson(Trek Midwest) arrived after a long haul from Michigan. Our good friend Kelli Emmett(Giant) even made a appearance for our pasta feed dinner. It was fun and helped keep my mind relaxed. Friday morning came quick and I had slept fair. I prepared my break quietly trying not to awake the crew. Eventually we were all up drinking coffee, chatting and watching some TV. Then the time came to suit up and warm up. So listen to what happened next. Mr. Semi Pro mountain biker dude walks outside with bike in tow to the car. I top off the tires, put on the helmet and throw down a few sweet looking yoga style stretches for good measure. Here we go. I hop on the machine, lose my balance and tip over into the bushes. No one saw this ridiculous moment in my cycling career. I quickly stood up, brushed off the top soil and pine needles and headed out to race. Mt. Snow. Nationals. Yeah, I'm so cool;) Not! There were around 70 guys at the start. I was standing somewhere in the middle when the start whistle was blown to begin our 4laps of fun. It seemed the leaders were halfway up the first climb by the time I hit the base. The climb starts fairly mild, for Mt. Snow, with a not so steep gravel road. The new section has riders turning to go up a slick with morning dew grassy wall. I was already thinking "granny gear". I just wasn't able to put the power down. The legs and back weren't on my side this day as I tried and tried to work my way forward. The looks on my friends faces kind of said it all as I rolled through the feed zone to start lap 2. I was riding and surviving. I've had these days here in there over the past couple seasons and just accepted it. I never gave up. I certainly didn't stop pedaling or trying to chase. It wasn't my day but there were many others in the same boat. I saw one dude puking. It is a grueling and relentless course. It just keep hitting you no matter if you're going up or down. I ended up finishing 38th and a mountain of minutes off the lead pace. Next up was the short track on Sunday. Saturday morning was spent supporting and cheering on Erin and John in their Expert races. The afternoon brought out the pro's and we had a blast hiking to the crazy spots on the course to spectate. That evening we all went out for some Mexican grub and cervesas to celebrate a job well done. Sundays short track warm up went pretty smooth. The balance was there and I kept the bike upright. I packed in to the on deck circle with about 40 others when they started the call ups. Eventually they released the masses and elbows were flying as riders tried to find a good spot on the start grid. Mine, unfortunately, was towards the back. Bang! We were off and I was immediately gasping. By the time I reached the first corner the leaders were on the other side of the course heading the opposite direction. Work to be done. For the first 3 laps I felt like I was holding my breath. Gasping once or twice as I sped through the start/finish. Eventually I had worked my way into the top 20. I was suffering. I was afraid to look at the clock. But I did. 9 minutes! Damn! Only 9 minutes had passed. I took a breather and went back to work. I was actually working my way up towards the leaders. Next thing I knew I was in the top 10. The last lap had me in a battle for the 7th spot which I missed going into the finish giving me 8th on the day. I was pleased and could only wonder how things would have went had I started up front. After a hour or so I started to feel recovered. From there Erin and I loaded up and began the long drive back home. We made it safely and avoided the bushes.

Thanks for Reading.

Joberon