We are lucky in the Mid-Atlantic cyclocross scene to have several professional photographers shooting our races. Two of these guys, Jay Westcott and Darrell Parks, have spent years behind the lens and bring the sport of cycling to you in unique and stunning ways. Both have published works this year that are must haves.

Jay Westcott is a staff photographer for Politico who spends his days jockeying for position in the U.S. Capitol, among other places inside the beltway, to photograph politicians and other notable figures.  He’s also shot more than his fair share of NFL games. His love of the bike drew him to cyclocross and he immersed himself in the scene this year. The result of full Sundays taking in the racing and the cyclocross party-down atmosphere is Red Right!, a visual diary of cyclocross, which chronicles the 2011 MABRAcross Super 8 series. Although Red Right! captures just one region of the U.S., it is a book that can be enjoyed by anybody familiar with cyclocross, bike racing, or just good photography.

To order Red Right! visit www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2771187 Cost is $49.

Darrell Parks is a local Vienna, Virgina-based cyclist and photographer who works for PEZ Cycling News. Along with shooting the pro peloton for PEZ, he also has his cycling photography featured in this year’s VeloNews Calendar alongside notable photographers Graham Watson and Casey Gibson. The 2012 Darrell Parks calendar features images from the two largest U.S. Stage races, The AMGEN Tour of California and The USA PRO Cycling Challenge. Along with the cycling action, Darrell captures beautiful scenery and vistas. The landscapes that pro cycling races through are breathtaking and Darrell captures it all in this 2012 calendar.

The 2012 Darrell Parks Cycling Calendar is $14.95, plus shipping and handling, and can be purchased at www.darrellparks.com/Calendar.html 

Sample Pages from Red Right! by Jay Westcott

Sample Pages from the Darrell Parks 2012 Cycling Calendar

Stunning, right? Now go buy Darrell’s calendar and Jay’s book. And if you have a couple shekels left, maybe a shirt or some socks for yourself?

That Dam Bridge at Cap Cross

Capital Cross Classic goes down this Sunday in Reston, Virginia. It’s the finale of the BikeReg.com MABRAcross Super 8 series and a race not to be missed. This venue has been hosting cross races for well over a decade and sets up awesome for a fun yet challenging event. Unless something drastic happens between now and Sunday we will not have the “epic” conditions encountered in 2009. For the sake of the park, that’s probably a good thing.

Not many changes in the course from in the past other than the removal of the dicey off-camber section on the descent after the run-up. But fear not! It has been replaced with an equally dicey yet more fun roller-coaster ride down the hill.

It’s all here in the preview.

Thanks for watching and see you Sunday. Come say “hi.” Buy a shirt.

DKeg and Todd Man The Preview Camera

This Sunday is Rockburn Cross, race #7 in the MABRAcross Super 8 Cyclocross Series, and the Mid-Atlantic mountain bikers’ favorite course. Rockburn is known for its long single-track stretches and punchy terrain. Word has it that the Adventures for the Cure crew is going to plot out the course a little different than in the past. But for the most part it will capture the same features as previous editions. One big change to the event is that it will have a beer garden. Yay! And if you are going to serve beer, I believe there is some unwritten rule stating that you must do so near or adjacent to the barriers. This means that the placement of the barriers, as seen in the video below, is different than last year, so just disregard the no longer on point commentary that accompanies that part of the course.

In addition to the preview, course designer Mike West put together this a animated Google Earth video that takes you through the course. This will help you better figure out what has been changed from last year. Unfortunately, I didn’t look at this handy clip until after I recorded my commentary.

Okay, so watch the videos and we will see on Sunday. If you want a shirt or socks, please do not hesitate to ask. I will have plenty at the race.

Mario Bros. Course Preview (with real time commentary–if you listen closely–by Todd Bauer and David Kegley)

Google Earth Preview

Thanks for watching and see you at the races.

New T-Shirt Boy (Photo © Jay Westcott)

Hey everybody! We’ve got all new shirts with an all new design.  A design we are confident will appeal to everyone. It doesn’t matter if you are a brain trapped in the body of a game show hostess, an aspiring kickboxer who doesn’t want to sell anything bought or processed or buy anything sold or processed, or if you are just hanging out in the parking lot of the Gas & Sip, this shirt is for you.

If you have absolutely no idea what any of that means, it’s okay. I’ll explain. It all started in 1989 when a young Cameron Crowe directed John Cusack and Ione Horovitz in a coming-of-age teen dramedy called “Say Anything.” We first meet our protagonist, the off-center but lovable Lloyd Dobler as he … Oh, just go watch the trailer and meet me back here. I’ll wait.

So that’s the inspiration and here’s the shirt. These came out looking sweet. Black American Apparel short sleeve tee shirts available in men sizes S/M/L/XL and women sizes S/M.

Dobler Approved.

Cost is $20 per shirt plus $3 more for shipping. If you are interested, you can PayPal a gift or donation to CXHairs@gmail.com. Just make sure to put your shipping address and the shirt size(s) in the comment box. If you want more than one shirt, shipping is still only $3. And don’t forget we still have socks, too! Super cool 5″ cuff SwiftWick socks with the classic Public-Enemy inspired CXHairs logo on the back. Socks are $15 per pair. Throw a pair in with your shirt order. Shipping will still be just $3. NO LARGE SOCKS IN STOCK

Socks!

Pretty stoked with this year’s gear and hope you will be too.

Thanks for reading and see you at the races.

Check out the map for details on the new course (click on it for a larger image).

Ed Sander Memorial Cyclocross new course design

And if you just want to see what the grounds look like, or reminisce about the past, here is the video preview for last year. Again, this is NOT the course you will ride on Sunday. For all of those who do not read this and just click the video, I’ll patiently await your Monday morning e-mails telling me the preview was wrong.

See you at the races!

For the most part, the men and women of DCMTB and Family Bike Shop follow the same course as last year. But there are a couple new twists and turns that you need to see. There is also a new prologue and start. My helmet-cam skills are a bit rusty so the angle is a little lower than I would like. To make up for that I have included in the preview video two concurrent views. One of the newly designed course and one from last year’s race. This should give you a pretty good idea of what’s going on.

The significant change to the course is a double-u turn section on the hill that last year had a barrier at the bottom. The barrier is gone but the technical difficulty has gone up considerably. How great is it when your race has a sponsor, Terra Lawn and Landscape, that can carve out a nice clean new feature on your course? So jealous. Also, the start is on the other side of the course. Farther from the parking lot. So give yourself a couple extra minutes to get to staging and make sure you don’t line up at last year’s starting grid or you will miss your race.

It’s going to be a great day of racing Sunday. Can’t wait to see everybody out there.

Thanks for watching.

HCX 2011

Hyattsville CX, race # 3 in the MABRAcross Super 8 cyclocross series, happens this Sunday at Magruder Park in Hyattsville, Md. Online registration closes at midnight, tonight, so if you still haven’t signed up, go here and do that now. We will wait until you get back. Oh, and buy some raffle tickets for the New Belgium Brewery Cruiser Bike while you are there. All proceeds (for the raffle and the race) go to Prince George’s County Special Olympics.

Okay, everybody back? Good. Sponsored by Arrow Bicycle, The City of Hyattsville, New Belgium Brewery, Franklin’s, Sonoma, Poste, Honest Tea, Raw Talent Ranch, and CXHairs.com, Hyattsville CX takes place in Magruder Park, the city’s central park and recreation center. Now in it’s third year, HCX has challenged racers with grassy power sections connected by technical sectors that test even the best bike handler’s skills. The park itself features indoor restrooms, two playgrounds, a barrier-side beer garden and a view of practically the whole race from a number of different vantage points.

Here are a couple things we can tell you about the course. First, we are 99% positive there will be no spiral. Second, there is a 99.2% chance there will be no sand. There will, however, be a new section that we can’t wait folks to see. Seriously, it’s pretty cool. And a little gnarly. But a lot of fun. At first, we really wanted to just keep it quiet and surprise everybody on race day that expected the same fast, flat Hyattsville. But since you are taking the time to do your homework and check out the course preview we are going to let you in on the secret. Just remember, it’s a secret.

Thanks for watching and we will look forward to seeing you Sunday.

Here is last year’s preview for the rest of the details.

It is great that promoters are doing this. Instead of just throwing down stakes and tape, race organizers in the Mid-Atlantic that “get cross” are learning from year to year what works and what doesn’t on their courses. Don’t take this for granted. It doesn’t happen everywhere. So if you like the course on Sunday, tell those folks in the orange and blue Winchester Wheelmen kits. And, if there is something you think can be better, let them know that as well. Just, you know, be cool about it.

Here’s a map of the course:

Winchester Apple Cross 2011 Course (click for larger image)

And here’s the preview. Thanks for watching. See you Sunday. Buy some socks.

“bunny-hop”:

“riding barriers”:

The more you know …

Thanks for watching and see you this Sunday at Winchester Apple Cross!