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.
PRICE DROP: 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 $10 per pair!! Throw a pair in with your shirt order. Shipping will still be just $3. ONLY SMALL AND XL REMAIN.
Socks!
Pretty stoked with this year’s gear and hope you will be too.
NCVC broke the mold and started from scratch on this year’s edition of Ed Sander Memorial Cyclocross. A bold move, especially when you have one of the longest running and most popular cyclocross events in the Mid-Atlantic. I’m sure there were those that raced who missed the long gravel stretches but they were few and far between. The new course, with big flowy turns, a nice drop in and a fast ride through the lily ponds, still demanded lots of power but was overall a joy to ride. And the long uphill finishing stretch? Brutal at the end of any race. Even more so if you’re in a dog fight.
The video features four races from the day’s MABRAcross Super 8 Series festivities, including the tandem. The aquatic park combined with the time change made for some really nice shooting conditions by the end of the day.
Thanks for watching and we will see you this weekend at Schooley Mill.
Ed Sander Memorial Cyclocross presented by NCVC is one of the oldest cyclocross events in the Mid-Atlantic. The course has changed here and there over the years but nothing like what riders showing up for race #5 in the BikeReg.com MABRAcross Super 8 Series will experience this Sunday. Gone are the long gravel drag strips and the fun but sometimes daunting drop in [UPDATE: New intel confirms that the drop in lives! And is joined by a tricky off-camber left turn]. This may be good or bad news depending on your strengths. What remains is a revamped course that centers around a new prologue, finish line, more twists and turns and a better announcing area. Food vendors and a moonbounce will also be centrally located. And the lilypons will still be featured. The idea is to create a technically exciting course that embraces the festival atmosphere the Super 8 Series promotes.
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.
Every race in the MABRAcross Super 8 is breaking all kinds of attendance records this year. But DCCX is just getting ridiculous. The 2011 edition saw more than 800 pre-registered riders and over 900 on race day. Once again, the men and women of DCMTB served up a beautiful summer weather, in late autumn, and the party at the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington D.C. lasted all day long. Changes to the course added some excitement and definitely made riding more of a challenge.
So here’s some video. It features the stairs, the “big air” section and the new off-camber U-turns. And for the record, I did not come anywhere close to getting in the way of Ryan Dudek (He has a history of crashing when I’m around and have a camera). If he can’t take his eyes off me and ends up bobbling I can’t be blamed. Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful, Ryan. Okay, that will soon make sense. Go watch.
DCCX, Washington DC’s cyclocross party, happens this Sunday on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home. If you haven’t registered, you need to do so ASAP. Online registration closes tonight, Thursday, at 9:00 p.m., and many fields are selling or sold out. In fact go register now. As always, we will wait here until you get back.
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 everybody for coming out to Hyattsville CX. We had around 600 folks racing and could not have asked for a better day. It may have even been too hot during the afternoon races. Crazy.
The little modifications we made to the front side of the course seemed to be universally applauded and although a lot of people got a little too close and personal with the muddy wooded section, the new feature was a success.
Let us know what you thought so we can make the race even better next year.
Until then, here’s a little taste of what went down at Magruder Park this past Sunday.
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.
Last Sunday’s Winchester Apple Cross was hard. It is a challenging course in the best of conditions. Throw in a couple inches of rain the day before and it turns into an excellent mud course. For the most part, the entire loop was ridable. Superior technical skills, however, were a plus for some of the greasy off-camber sections, and those with some power in reserve had an advantage through some long deep mud stretches. The rain also turned a lung-busting run up into a lap-by-lap game of king of the hill. With traction hard to find, most racers were covering the same ground at least twice as they waddled up the “Belgian Wall.”
I was able to sneak away from announcing duties for a bit during the 3/4 and 1/2/3 races to grab some video. It’s below. Thanks for watching and see you Sunday at Hyattsville CX, sponsored in part by CXHairs.com.
Winchester Apple Cross, race #2 of the MABRAcross Super 8 Series, is this Sunday. The Winchester Wheelmen have once again put together an outstanding event, featuring a technical yet fluid course and a great atmosphere for a full day of cyclocross fun. The course preview relies on helmet-cam video from last year’s race. As has happened for every race so far, the organizers have changed things up a bit to make the experience even more awesome. If such a thing is possible.
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.
Had this up on the Tumblr account, which you can find at cxhairs.tumblr.com and believe it is worthwhile to post here, too. It is a short public service announcement intended to clear up some confusion in the cyclocross community. Compare and contrast.
