October 2013

October kicked off with one of the most exalted and recognized events in cyclocross: the Providence Cyclo-cross Festival on the pristine grounds of Roger Williams Park in Providence, RI.  The three-day event receives the highest UCI grade every year as part of the prestigious Shimano New England Professional CX Series which draws racers from around the world.  The fast and flowy course features technical twists and turns, a flyover and barriers.  Dennis Dischler and Heather Heinrich raced the two person relay Friday – shaking it up along with some of the pros.  Saturday provided dry conditions making the course very fast.  Dennis raced in the Masters Men and finished a solid 75^th in a very large class while Heather finished 54th in Elite Women.  The weather Sunday added to the fun – and the crash count…a rainy, muddy mess!  Our racers had no fear having lots of experience in the mud!  Dennis missed his call up (hhhmmmm….is that a picture of him at the beer garden in his kit?!?!) and yet pulled out a solid 65^th from a dead last starting position.  Heather again raced with the top women in the world and finished a solid 44^th.  Despite three straight days of racing and the long drive home, both Dennis and Heather already have it on the calendar for next year.  While Heather and Dennis were battling it out in New England a second WWR crew was tearing it up at Independence Cross, in Bridgeton, NJ. This perennial favorite includes the infamous "Amphitheater of Pain" with steps up to racers knees.  The course also includes a beach run, sandy corners, a few climbs barriers, and log-overs.  Got to push it on this course – its fast – but not too hard as the risk of washing out or getting slowed down in the sand is high.  Our WW racers proved their mettle with great races:  Andrew Webster finished 10^th in Cat1/2/3; Will Neide, Jason Temple and Curtis Miller raced in Cat 3 and finished 13^th, 17^th and 27^th, respectively.  Way to go all!  Webb, deciding once isn’t enough, raced the course again Sunday and finished an outstanding 5^th in the Cat 1/2/3 class. 

Heather tearing it up at Providence!

At the home front that Sunday, Wooden Wheels co-hosted Introduction to Mountain Biking coaching session with our friends on the TrailSpinners club at Lums Pond near Newark, DE.  The session featured information and discussions on bike set-up, bike maintenance, equipment, trail etiquette and nutrition, specifically the import of proper nutrition before, during and after riding, including various PowerBar product information/uses and samples.  The session concluded with a skills practice and a trail ride on the fun, flowy trails of Lums Pond.

The following weekend featured two women of Wooden Wheels.  Heather Heinrich and Emily White headed to Bensalem, PA to race in the Whirlybird Cross on Saturday the 12th.  Despite a rain-filled Friday, the course was surprisingly dry with only a few muddy bogs.  Our amazing junior racer, Emily finished 2^nd in Juniors and Heather finished a solid 19^th in Women’s Elite.  On Sunday our resident ‘cross addicts, Heather Heinrich and Andrew Webster headed to Rosaryville State Park in Upper Marlboro, MD for the Tacchino Cyclocross Race.  This course featured rolling grass fields, gravel, two dirt track sections, numerous off-cambers and two sets of obstacles.  Heather battled it out in Cat 1/2/3 finishing 10^th and Webb doubled down and finished 22^nd in Cat 1/2/3 and followed it up with a stellar race in SingleSpeed Open finishing 4^th.  Will Neide took up the WWR banner to Cherry Hill, NJ for the Cooper River ‘Cross Race.  Will crushed it on the fast, flat and twisty course laden with barriers and off camber sections.  He finished an outstanding 3rd out of 23 in the SingleSpeed Open class.  Awesome!

Heather and Emily post-race smiles!

 Andrew Webster headed out solo to the Star Rock Cross race in Washington, PA.  Held on the rolling acreage of Star Rock Farms, the race course includes barriers, a star-shaped field chicane, a sprint through the barn, paved roads and a woody rocky run-up.  Demonstrating that he is indeed a rock star, Webb finished a solid 6^th in Cat 1/2/3.  Way to represent!  The next day, our rock star was joined by some teammates to compete in a local favorite, the West Chester Cross Classic, in West Chester, PA.  This is a classic ‘cross course was designed by “Angry” Bob Reuther, a local ‘cross legend and advocate of the local biking scene.  The flowy and twisty course was mostly grass with some roads but lots of natural run-ups and off camber sections with two sets of barriers.  Our outstanding junior Emily White kicked things off in awesome fashion finishing 2^nd!  Webb continued the podium presence finishing 2^nd in SingleSpeed Open (this is proving to be your class Webb!).  Curtis Miller and Alex Frigon also had awesome races competing in Cat 3/4 finishing 6^th and 16^th, respectively.  Awesome all!!

Alex and Jason taking the outside line

Despite the government shutdown, 740 ‘cross racers had faith in our leaders to end the crises and pre-registered for the DCCX, the only ‘cross race in Washington DC, held on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home.  WW racer Heather Heinrich was one of those racers relieved to see the government re-open.  The course was fast and dry; and the atmosphere was spirited with beer vendors, music, burritos made to order, a high school marching band and the infamous mariachi band at the crest of the stair run-up on the course.  Heather finished a solid 13^th in Cat 1/2/3/Elite.  After her finish, persuaded by a racing friend, Heather scrambled for a pair of zip ties to lock out her shifters and took a place on the starting grid among a few women in the men’s SingleSpeed Open race.  Yes, she is a ‘cross racing addict!  However, she may have cured her two-race-a-day fever as her adrenaline rush quickly wore off and despite the beer hand-up at the top of the steps, realized the gearing she chose was too hard.  She put in a valiant effort and finished 32^nd out of 43 in the mixed class!  But maybe Heather is on to something…a WW women’s singlespeed team???!!!?? 

The last weekend of the month brought out a large WWR crew to take on the Crossasaurus Awesome race in Salfordville, PA.  Perfect fall conditions made for a fun race, and a sand pit, barriers and short up-hill made for a challenging course.  Kicking things off, Liz Jones – in her first cross race of the season – finished a solid 19^th in Cat 3/4.   Emily White finished in the 2^nd podium spot in Women’s Juniors.  In Cat 1/2/3, RockStar Webb finished 17^th in Men’s and Heather Heinrich a solid 12^th in the Women’s class.  Dennis Dischler competed in the Masters 1/2/3/4 class with an awesome 19^th finish in a large class of almost 50.  In Cat 3/4, Curtis Miller and Jason Temple finished 8^th and 27^th respectively, in a very large class of 60.  RockStar Webb, who has found his niche with one gear, finished an awesome 5^th out of 54 in SingleSpeed!  Awesome way to finish up the month.

Dennis and Emily making it look easy!  What form!