Rough Day at the Office

Ouch. You know what it's like to have not had a bad race in while and you kinda forget what it feels like, then you get totally worked and you're like "oh, yeah, that's what it feels like"? Right. I had one of those days today. It looks like my run of form has come to a bit of a lull, so it's probably a good thing I'm coming back to Canada on Tuesday. Take a week to recharge and then get it rolling again for Nationals (after getting spanked around in Gloucester MA for two days).

The course today actually really reminded me of an Ontario course of old (further to the whole course design thing). Gently rolling trails in a pine forest, lots of singletrack and fast sweeping corners. There was one good CX section around the soccer field though, so that was cool. I just didn't get a good vibe out of it in practice and my legs really weren't responding the way they should have, so I wasn't feeling great at the start line.

Got the first row call-up, right on, and then threw it out the window cause I blew out of my pedal almost right away. I had to chase pretty hard for two laps to make the lead group, where I was just starting to feel OK after about a lap when someone attacked and that's when I cracked. Just started going backwards, blowing lines all over the place and generally looking ridiculous. So after awhile I just throttled right back, regained some composure and managed to pick it up a bit near the end to finish 6th. Not bad, but then again this was only a Deutschland Cup race, no UCI points, and on the same day as Kalmthout WC so not a super-strong field. My roommate Johannes killed it to take the win and Finn Heitmann (who hasn't been seen since Beauce, where he was the youngest and only finisher from the mighty Stevens Racing squad) came back from a summer of logging serious couch time to take 5th.

I've been saying my goodbyes to all my various support personel, friends and training partners over the last few days, but I'll be back here in a little while so it's not like we're all crying and shit. Looking forward to a fun day of packing up my 2 bikes and 1 gear bag tomorrow for my (argh) 5 am wakeup on Tuesday morning. Think about it - I'll be waking up to a day of 15hrs of travelling at about the same time you're going to bed! Hamburg -> Frankfurt -> Montreal -> Ottawa. Fun times!

See y'all in Ottawa,
GReain

The PezCyclingnews Secret

OK, so I did a little research into PezCyclingnews thing. In case you are looking in that site for my diary and can't find it, here's how:

1) Go to Pezcyclingnews.com
2) Find, on the left hand navigation bar, the "latest news" button
3) This takes you to list of all the Latest News stories
4) On that list there should be a "Introducing - Homeboy Hamburg" item dated Fri Oct 14
5) That's me

And that's how it's done!

Race on Sunday in Lohne- Deutschland Cup. Should be a fun time as usual.

GReain

A collection of mid-week nonsense

Oh man, I hate being sick. I woke up last Saturday with a bit of a cold which, strangely enough, did not disappear by race time on Sunday. So one race and three training days later and I really feel like crap. Unfortunately, it's not bad enough to justify a complete halt to training but also not good enough for me to feel stellar on the bike. I opted out of the interval & start training yesterday and went on a 2hr technique session instead; that made me feel better about where I'm at. I did spend half an hour hooked up to an IV drip yesterday, but that apparently has not really helped at all.

The Pezcycling diary can be found by going to the main Pezcyclingnews.com page, then scrolling down the menu on the lefthand side until you see the button for the "Homeboy Diaries". Should be in there, unless it got removed for objectionable content. Always a possibility!

Now for the real point of today's editorial - Cyclocross course design. This has been on my mind a lot over the last year or so as I find myself wishing for more in the way of "euro-style" 'cross courses back home. I go back and forth on this though, because the whole deal with cyclocross is the fact that it should take place on a variety of different terrains and surfaces, making use of what is available. That being said, I do believe that a course should be set up in such a way as to not favour one style of riding over another. There has been some discussion about this in other forums lately, with some displeasure voiced re: singletrack and other "bottlenecks". There certainly should not be an overabundance of singletrack, otherwise we should all just go back to racing mountain bikes. Conversely, a wide open highway with no speed checks should also be avoided as this presents no real challenge to a competitors ability to pilot his or her machine.

Maybe I'll give you the rundown of a typical Belgian or Dutch 'cross course...

-minimum 200m start stretch, normally paved/cobbled
-most of course is 2-5m wide, sometimes a short (100m or so) singletrack section
-plenty of corners on a variety of surfaces/speeds - 180 degrees is very common
-one double set of barriers, no more than this, sometimes none
-one 8-12 stair runup; maybe one additional short hill/stair runup
-lots of grass
-sketchy overpass bridges as required
-slippery pavement/cobblestone corners
-unbending 200lb. fencing and support posts
-total disregard for rider safety
-shitty weather

That's about it. Staying out of trouble is up to the riders. In spite of some really nasty stuff I have yet to see anyone go home in an ambulance. There is really very little running here these days unless the weather has been particularly horrendous. Bike handling is usually rigorously tested, but the racing surface generally smooth-ish (no rocks, roots etc.).

The main thing that we lack in Canada is tight corners - I'm not talking gentle curves here. Fast corners, slow corners, downhill corners, slippery corners, whatever. Not enough! Also, not enough places where a total speed dump followed by a nasty acceleration is required. Most of the courses I have ridden back home require a really good cruise control function. Barriers have a habit of cropping up in the most unusual places here, usually when you are travelling at warp speed. Haven't seen them on a downhill. Yet.

But I must reiterate - anything goes. It's all about making the bike go fast over what you're given. I've also done cx races in parking lots and on mountain bike circuits here, and usually the same people win.

That's enough for today,
GReain

One week left!

I hope that everyone had a chance to check out the diary on PezCyclingnews.com. Expect a new entry soon as a wrap-up to my first stint in Europe for the 05/06 season.

Speaking of which, it hardly seems like 6 weeks ago that I got here. When I look back, training camp in Freiburg seems so long ago and yet the time has passed fairly quickly. Racing does that - you spend half the week getting ready, then you race for and hour and spend the next couple of days fixing stuff up. By the time you're done with the fixing, it's time to get ready for the next one.

I am spending some time today planning my schedule for when I arrive back in Canada. Lots of things to do, but I can't forget the racing angle. I think it'll look something like this:
1) October 29/30 : USGP races in Gloucester, MA
2) November 5 : Canadian National Championships, Barrie, ON
3) November 6 : Aurora UCI C2, Aurora, ON (look out Tim Johnson!)
3) November 12 : Chainbiter 2.0 UCI C2, Farmington, CT (long-ass drive, but need pts)
4) November 13 : Ontario Provincial Championships, Ottawa, ON
5) November 19/20 : A weekend off. Finally.
6) November 26/27 : ah, forget it - that's over a month away...

As you can see, a little busy.

Oh yeah, I did race yesterday in Hannover. No, I didn't win this one as predicted but that's only because management decided to send in their secret weapon Jens Schwedler to make sure the job got done. After I got the holeshot off the start and proceeded to take a faceful of grass after the barriers (while in the lead, how embarassing!), Jens and I rode away in commanding fashion. OK, so Jens rode away in commanding fashion and I suffered on his wheel like a bitch. Same deal in the end. So it was Jens in first, me in second at same time and Sebastian Hannöver in a distant third at 40sec. or so. Maybe next time. Another very bizarre circuit, this time in a semi-abandoned parking lot in an industrial/commercial area. Short circuit too- 20 laps to make one hour. My rear tire has lasted exactly 4 races with all the pavement kms we've been logging. Cool.

Talk at you later,
GReain

Coming to you live from Pezcyclingnews.com

Just punch that little fistful of letters into your compy, click on my pretty face and you will be able to read more straight from my brain. I think there is an editorial filter built in there somewhere, so that's probably a good thing. I just can't seem to get rid of that swollen-face portrait pic though. People really like putting that one on the web.

I don't really know what this means for this here blog. I think that I will continue to hit you with the random-ish stuff here and the Pez diary is going to be a little more formalized, less raw and certainly less frequently updated (prob. every 2 weeks or so). So don't stop checking up in here.

Man alive the weather is killer here. Just got back from training (Racing?!) and it was like 15-20 deg. (that's in celsius for you American types) and super sunny. Everyone is telling this is not normal for Hamburg, it's usuallly cold and damp and rainy, and I'm just like "dude, this weather kicks ass!". Haven't had to ride in the rain here yet. 2 rain days in 4 weeks ain't bad.

Split schedule for racing (real racing...) tomorrow - 1 team at the SuperPrestige in Ruddervoorde, Belgie; 1 team at the Deutchland Cup race in Güstrow; and 1 team at some other race in Hannover. I'm at the "some other race". The good news is that I may be in a position to win this one, which is good for my profile and good for the team. My profile here in D-Land needs some help - the last race promoter we called was like "who the F&%$ is Greg Reain?!" and then said maybe there'll be 50€ for me to start. Hm. So a win would be nice.

OK, enjoy the weather back home!
GReain

Sticky Fingers

So, as promised I guess that I will give you the low-down on how I glue my cyclocross tubulars.

I should probably first point out that there is a pretty big difference between road tubulars and 'cross tubulars in terms of how they stay on the rim. A road tubular at 8 bar of pressure will stay on the rim almost by itself, sans-glue. The glue is essentially there to prevent any movement between the tire and rim from starting in the first place. You can try this if you have a new tire and new rim at home; just throw the tire on the rim, pump it up and try to push it off. Hard, yeah? Now release the pressure to 1.8 bar (about 25psi, a standard CX racing pressure) and the tire will slide right off. Scary. That is why standard tub-glueing knowledge does not necessarily apply for 'cross use - the only thing holding the tire on the rim is the glue, there is no help from air pressure.

Next up is the issue of tubular tape. Great for road applications, especially the Tufo variety, horrible for 'cross. Here's why. As has been repeated ad-nauseum in other tubular installation instructions, the bond between tire and rim at the very edge is über-important if you want to keep your rubber on. This is even more critical in 'cross because there is so much water flying around on the course and from the ubiquitous pressure-washers. If there is any gap in this area, water and dirt will penetrate into the bond and weaken it to the point where it may fail in cornering. Tubular tape is bad because it never completely fills the interface between tire and rim. It also causes the center section of the tire to sit a little higher than the edges, making it easier for a gap to form. This is true even of the so-called "Belgian Method", where glue is applied to both tire and rim and tape used to complete the joint. Another bone of contention here- if you are using glue and tubular tape, why not just use glue?

My solution to this problem is Vittoria Mastik´one - and lots of it. Next best is Continental. If you can get your hands on a big can of the stuff, so much the better. If not, be prepared to use about 3 (maybe even 4) litle tubes per wheel, if you are starting with new fresh rims and tires. My team-mate Jiri told me he uses 1 can for 4 wheels. That's a crapload of glue. Some people will say that's too much, but Jiri has also never had a rolled tub in 14 years of high level racing. You decide.

You should probably start by cleaning your rims, just a really quick polish with some light sand paper and then acetone should do the trick. Now you need to apply a relatively thin layer of glue to the rim, making sure that you get it all the way out to the edges of the rim. I don't really care how you spread it, just get it on there. Take your tires, put a little air in them to make them easier to handle and put a thin layer onto the base tape, making sure the entire surface of the tape is saturated (but not dripping) with glue. Now you wait. General rule of thumb is 8 hours of drying time between coats on the rim, but basically as long as it is dry to the touch and not too rubbery you can apply the next coat. Ideally you should do 3 thin-ish coats to the rim this way. For most people who aren't sitting around all day waiting for glue to dry this means three days. Somewhere in these 3 days you need to pull out the tires (remember them?) and put another coat of glue on the base tape. This layer should be über-thick - as thick as you can make it and not have it running off the tape as you apply it. This is when a brush of some type is required. Let that dry overnight too. Finally, on the fourth day you can put the tire to the rim. Put a medium-thick layer of glue on the rim, give the tire a quick stretchy-stretchy and fire it on the rim, starting at the valve. For God's sake make sure you put the tire on in the right direction first, otherwise you will make an atrocious mess peeling it off while the glue is wet (assuming you didn't make an atrocious mess putting it on. Sorry, can't help you there!). Make sure the tire is centered, put it up to 4 bar and leave overnight. Next day, deflate the tire and check the edge bonding by going around the entire circumference of the tire (on both sides), trying to peel it off the rim with your thumbs. If any gaps form, you need to poke some glue in there and inflate the tire again. Leave overnight again. Check the edges again. Now nothing short of a herculean effort should separate the tire from the rim - this a good thing. The glue generally requires 24 hours from the time the tire goes on the rim to reach full strength.

Like anything related to bicycle mechanics, there is a certain amount of feel involved with all this. With tires and/or rims that already have glue on them, less glue will need to be applied. The end result should be somewhere around 0.5mm of glue thickness (even up to 1mm is OK). Sounds like a lot, but it works. With Tufos you can get away with less because there is no seam on the underside.

That's the extent of my knowledge. Argue all you want, but I have never rolled a tub since I started doing it this way.

Please don't sue me
GReain

Interview on CyclocrossWorld.com

The title says it all folks. Thanks to Vicki Thomas for doing the e-mail interview and Stu Thorne for posting my horrible allergic-reaction head shot on his website.

In related news, I am due to have a regular diary posting on pezcyclingnews.com. The first entry has been submitted but we are currently waiting on fresh action pics. In the meantime, please check out the other Homeboy diaries for a snapshot of racing life in Europe.

GReain

Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned

The latest Prodigy album title seems somehow apt after today's experience at the Hamburg horse track.

So we were out to dinner with management on Friday night and I got a look at the confirmed starter list for Sunday, and I saw that my man Jeremy Powers was on there. I had a full jones on to see him 'cause it's been awhile since I saw any North Americans over here. JP was here the same time as me last year so we shared a few Belgian ass-kickings together. As the only two NorAms on the race today, we were definitely outnumbered in a pretty massive field, but we charged pretty hard and finished pretty respectably (I think) in 11th and 12th spots. Hence, certainly not outgunned.

Because this is the Stevens home race the full team was present and did a really good job of packing the top ten (1,2,5,6,7,8,10 I think), so I didn't really feel that any obstructive team tactics were the order of the day. Basically that this means I felt pretty happy to work with Jeremy to better our placings instead of being a jerk.

I got my good start position today and had a rocket start, which was being led out by Austria's latest fast-start sensation PeterP. When you have a gap on Heule and van den Berghe after the first 100m, you know you're going quick. I found the top ten really quickly and hung out near the middle of that for a bit, which honestly didn't feel that bad, but the pace got ratcheted up near the end of lap 1 and I came off with a couple other guys. That was pretty much the race right there with JP, me and Fabian riding together for most of the time trying to keep our gap on the chase group behind.

Good fast course, lots of deep rutted sand passages and some nice corners to keep things interesting. Small time gaps again today, and I am starting to feel really good about how my form is progressing for Nationals.

Until next time,
GReain

Sorry Kids

I know that I promised you all a primer on tubular glueing this week, but things got a little out of hand. I am working on a diary for PezCyclingnews.com right now, so that is taking up my time. Next week, I promise...

Most of the team is in town this week, since Stevens is sponsoring a C2 race in Hamburg this weekend. It's nice to have a larger group to train with for a bit. Lots of guys in white lycra. Hot.

Team presentation on Saturday, race on Sunday. Check out cyclo-cross.info for the scoop on results etc.

GReain

Comment Spam and Dugast Tubs

So, since I haven't been able to respond to any of the supportive comments you guys have posted up here I will globally say - "Thanks!". It's great to know that people back home actually care enough to read this and write back. Just know that it does make me feel good to hear from you.

Incidentally, since I really don't feel like getting my penis enlarged or making a zillion dollars working from home if anyone knows how to get rid of unwanted comments please let me know.

And just to put everyone's minds at ease, yes, I am "keeping it real" by using the sketchiest tubes and tires I can find in spite of having access to the good stuff. Yes, Jaymie, I do have a very nice jersey for you (but no e-mail address). Roscoe, it is good to hear that you are showing the good ole boys how it's done. Bob, there is no way in hell I will ever make a 6am ride on a Friday morning. You've got to be joking.

So on the other end of the tire spectrum, something like a dozen Dugast 'cross tubs magically appeared in team bus after Monday's race. Holy crap those are nice tires. They feel kind of like sex. But for bikes. Or something. You don't really want to know what we pay for those, but suffice to say it's a really good deal. Just reassure yourself that EVERYONE pays for these babies. Even brother Nys. No, you won't see me riding them any time soon (see above).

Outtie,
greain

Berlin the hard way

Hm. Seems that in retribution for my great start position on Saturday I got dished the 5th from last call up today. I think there were something like 70 starters, so there just isn't much you can make from that situation. I am pretty happy though, as I managed to make my way into 21st when all was said and done, and not having to kill myself for it at that. I did have to ride pretty damn hard for the first 2-3 laps or so to get past all the choppers and into a good group, but after that it was just cruising until I turned on the jets on the second to last lap to see what kind of damage I could inflict. Not much, but a little :) I guess that's a start. Racing here it's super hard to jump between groups after the opening few laps, so if you haven't made it then it's better to just chill and save your bullets for the next race.

A little about the course now, I guess. Well, if I'd had body armour I probably would have strapped that on, becaused 75% of the round was on narrow, fast and ridiculously slippery mossy pavement paths. Add some significant elevation change, fast corners and that's a recipe for complete carnage. Oddly enough I did not see any crashes, but quite a few close calls. Three stair runups and a rubberized running track for start/finish completed the circuit. I'll be happy if I don't have to race there again! It's funny because after a few recon laps I was super-bummed and scared. I made open predictions that I would either be at the front, or straight out the back. I had the form for the front, but not the start. Next time...

Another good day for Stevens, with Heule taking the win and CvdB third place.

I should maybe point out now that I did have a less than comfortable hangover on Sunday morning, which made my morning (or noontime) recovery training and subsequent schmoozing chez Stevens a little rough.

For my midweek update this week I will expound on one of my favourite topics - glueing tubulars (the right way). Stay tuned.

GReain

Right back at it!

Oh man, does it feel good to get the first race over with!

No more nerves, just good feelings all around. OK, well I probably wouldn't feel this good if I didn't have an awesome ride, so I'll kill the suspense now and tell you how it went.

Quick recap - Today was a UCI C2 race in Harderwijk, Netherlands. Just to beat yesterdays dead horse, again, when was the last time you saw Sven Nijs, Groenendaal, Vannopen and a bunch more at a C2 race in NorAm? Right. Does not happen. Needless to say things were a little quick. The course was super-compact, all corners, lots of grass, 1 short stair runup and strangely enough very dry. This in itself was odd given that we drove through pounding rain for 4 hours to get there.

Got a so-so third row call up today, but managed in true euro-style to weasel my way through the second row and halfway into the first. I also nailed the start for the first time in recent history, found all the right holes and through the first corner and into the barriers I was hanging out with Groenendaal somewhere near the back of the top ten. I was all like "whoa this is a new experience." So I just had to murder myself to try and hang with that group but it worked out since I was able to stay in contact for the better part of two laps before someone (probably you-know-who) punched the gas and blew the whole thing up. There were a couple of laps of confusion, with guys going backwards and coming up, but I ended up in a 5 man group with Vannopen and Dariusz Gil at about the midway point. From there I tried a lame 1/2 lap attack that for obvious reasons didn't work out, then just sat in since I had a couple of team mates pretty close up the road. And that was about it. I was sitting in 3rd in our little group, 15th on the race, so I had to try something. On the last lap I attempted a somewhat less than sensible pass, but got pushed into a barrier (with just cause) and went to the back after recovering. Made it home in 17th, which ain't too bad!

Rundown on the top names- 1) Nijs 2) de Kneght 3) Groenendaal 5) CvdB (stevens) 6) Heule (stevens) 9) Schwedler (stevens) 11) Urban (stevens) 13) Vannopen 17) me.

Good day for the boys in white, apparently.

Rest day (and PR ops) tomorrow, another (slightly less fast?) C2 race in Berlin Monday.

Tchüss,
GReain