Cyclocross Nationals in the books

Amy Dombroski asked if I would be interested in going to CX Natz in Kansas City, MO.  “Come on… it’ll be fun”   she said-  How could I say no?

The Hit List-  Kansas City Style

• 1926 Miles for a bike race (each way)
• Average Speed in Colorado, Idaho, Utah and Oregon- 90+ mph.  Number of speeding tickets= 0
• Average speed in Kansas – 82mph .  Number of speeding tickets= 2  (less than 1 hour apart)
• You can deep fry the following: Corn, Cauliflower, Salsa, Mozzarella, Zuccini, Mushrooms, Onion Rings, Tacos and Cheeseburgers
• You should not pick on Balemics.  It is not easy to do what they do.  Trust me. (see above entry)
• One should not tell others that they will  “punch you in the ovaries.  Right in the baby maker!!” especially when the person being threatened is a man and your mechanic and does not have said ovaries.
• Pro bike racers should not drink to excess (see above entry)
• Hosts that go above and beyond are few and far between but deeply, deeply appreciated.
• Upstairs kitchen in Boulder has the best beer list I have ever seen.
• Dave Towle is the man.
• Colleen Flaherty-  8th place 30-34 Masters
• Colleen Flahery- 34th Place Elite Women
• Amy Dombroski- 1st U23 Women (lapping everyone upto 4th place)
• Amy Dombroski- 5th Elite Women
• Anna Milkowski- 3rd Place 30-34 Masters ( I pitted for Anna too)
• Will Dugan- 1st Collegiate Men
• Kansas is very Pro Jesus- 
• “abortion stops a beating” an out of place billboard in no-where Kansas
• Chellie and Tim-  Two of Boulder’s finest-  thanks for the hospitality!
• Dan Dombroski-  Best Maple Latte ever (dude you should patent that stuff)
• Bouford Wyoming-  Population=1, Elevation 8,000 feet.  Felt oddly obligated to buy something there.
• Two truths and a lie-  very hard game when you are tired
• Yo Mama jokes-  good for at leat 2 hours of entertainment in the wee hours of the morning in Idaho
• “Yo mama’s so fat that when her beeper goes off  people think she backing up”
• Ipods-  gotta love em
• Best travel food-  Chocolate Milkshakes and French Fries-  it’s odd that when you really want that crap you can’t find a Mcdonalds to save your life
• The friendliest yarn store in Kansas really is.
• Matt and Mo-  class act all the way.
• Jamie Driscoll-  Holy Shit.  Breakthrough is an understatement.
• What do you do when you killing the field?  practice your bike changes-  AMy took two per lap during the U23 race to practice for the Elite race incase the weather was shit-  that’s pro!
• Thanks to Don at Challenge tires for the help in the pit and for letting us seek warmth and shelter at his booth
• Cross race fist fights.  Damn hooligans http://www.velonews.com/article/86089/scuffle-at-kansas-city-cyclocross-nationals
• Good friends are hard to find-  keep the ones you have.

 

Dreaming of Podiums-  guess it works!

Don of Challenge tires  was a big help all week!  We pretty much lived in his booth

Dombroski U23 National champ-  three in a row

“It is illegal in the state of MO to spank your kids as hard as Dombroski spanked the U23 Women’s field today ” – Dave Towle

Will Dugan- Collegiate National Champion.  I bought Will his first CX bike back in 2003.  I introduced him to CX with a 42cm Surly crosscheck.  Now he rides for Richard Sachs – and he rode like a man possessed in the Collegiate race coming from a last row start to the head of affairs within 2 laps.  We celebrated with beers at the post race bash (which was very odd-  man I am getting old)  Nicely done Will.

Colleen had to drive back through Kansas so that I would not lose my license and or go to jail-  thanks Colleen

FTOM 08- Foozball Tournament of Midgets!

Dombro leaving the truley PRO thank you note on  the host house’s copy of VeloNews

USGP Portland- Unicorn slaying and some bike racing too

Dombroski kicking a giant unicorn’s ass with her ninja skills at the post race prom

I am just going to post a few pics for now and I will do a proper update later.  USGP in Portland was epic!  two days of racing-  one warm and sunny and the other rainy, cold and well…. very, very muddy.    Amy Dombroski came out to throw down and practice her ninja skills and I got to practice my super fast bike washing skills.  We hung out with good people.  We ate really good food.  We drank really good beer and we saw a guy staple $75 to his scrotum with a staple gun and topless chicks spinning stuff on fire!  Like I said-  epic!  check out some pics

Amy after Sunday’s race -  photo “borrowed” from velonews

Prepping the Pit bike

Another awesome sunset in the PDX

Sometimes missing an exit is worth it-  Sunrise and Mount Hood from WA state

Cyclocross expert and Author Simon Burney trying to dodge my photo!

Season ender Prom

 Race tactics discussions-  with frites and garlic mayo… it is cyclocross isn’t it?

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Amy and her Prom date and Portland host Colleen.

The Thank You.

I am a Professional Cycling Team Mechanic.  My days are often long.  I am usually the first person up and the last to lay my head down only to be up and ready before the sunrises for whatever the day may bring- regardless of how much sleep was had or how horrible I feel because I have been burning the candle at both ends for weeks at a clip.   

The mechanic is the first and last line of defense for the Pro Cyclist.  Fitness, technique and mental preparedness mean nothing if the equipment is not perfect.   The bikes are meticulously gone over after every ride.  Whether it is a training ride or race day every nut, every bolt, every cable is cleaned and checked and then re-checked.  The gears are run through.  The drivetrain is cleaned- clean enough to eat off and the tires have been checked for foreign material and nicks.  The bikes are showroom perfect on raceday and I am confident the bike will perform at it’s very best.  I am a professional mechanic and this is my job.  I know the dedication that is required.  I know of the sacrifices that must be made-  this is the career I have chosen.    I know that when the race is done and the girls have had a good day-  I probably won’t get to share in the victory at the podium presentation-  I have work to do.  Knowing that they are donning a jersey or a new piece of hardware means that I have done my job to the best of my ability and that is enough for me-  I don’t expect to get a thank you…. but I always do.  I am one of the luckiest mechanics in professional cycling.  I have a team that appreciates the sacrifices I have made and the dedication that I have displayed. 

This past week I received a text message from Katherine Mattis saying that a package was on the way to me in the PDX.  She didn’t say what it was nor did she even hint at what it could be.  I couldn’t imagine what it could be-  luckily it didn’t take to long to arrive.   The “Package” contained the ULTIMATE thank you a team mechanic/ bike dork could ever want.  Many have dreamt of it and there are only a handful of these in the world and I am lucky enough, no- honored enough – to have had one presented to me AND with a kick ass dedication and thank you to boot.  I present to you the ultimate in mechanic thank you gifts…. the autographed World Cup Leader’s jersey  (of significance because I was there when she won the opening World  Cup round in Australia) 

 

Thanks Katherine….  You have no idea how much this means to me.