From Dawn to Dusk

Just got back from Gloucester- the New England World Cyclo-cross Championships as it's known in some circles. For 9 years this race has been the center of cross in New England, and for good reason. The folks from Essex County Velo have created one of the best races in the country in those 9 years, and each year they keep getting better.

Without the USGP coming to town this year it was "just" a Verge series race, but it's still a classic, and riders come from all over to participate. For us the weekend routine is pretty simple- show up at dawn (or before) and work til dark (or after). There's always plenty to do- from fixing fencing to pounding stakes, selling t-shirts and sweats to cleanup and breakdown. It's hard work, but watching the sun come up over the water, then watching it set in the west is pretty awesome. People pay to have views like that- so to have that 'in the office' so to speak is very special.

The weekend went pretty well- though lots of stuff broke- wouldn't want to break the streak now would we? Here's the short list- trailer lights (fixed on Friday though), 10 fence panels that got run over, a dozen metal stakes that tried to hold up the snow fence and failed, one section of the officials platform that delaminated (again) and of course a bunch of the step in stakes. On the plus side dropping the delaminated platform on my finger only bruised it instead of breaking it, so that was nice.

Next weekend we head South again for more vending fun!

Thanks Erwin

This past weekend started off the East Coast UCI cyclo-cross blitz- probably the most work of the entire year, but easily the most fun. Long days are made much easier when you're smiling and having a good time.

Saturday and Sunday were the Whitmores Landscaping Super Cross Cup out at the very tip of Long Island. Myles Romanow puts on one hell of a show, and this years races topped everything he's done so far. Myles stepped up to the plate this year to put up equal prize money for the men and women- a huge feat considering it's a UCI C1 race. That means over $6k in prize money- and some big name riders showed up to chase those dollars.

With cycling being so strong in the Northeast it's not uncommon to have big name riders show up- it seems as though every week there is at least one national champion jersey on the line. But it's something special when this jersey shows up:

We've worked lots of events with lots of big name riders show up- but this was the first reigning world champ to toe the line. Erwin Vervecken flew all the way from Belgium to race. And true to the cyclo-cross credo- there was smiling and fun all around. It would be easy to be smug and aloof when you're wearing that jersey- especially when it's the 3rd one you've won. But that's not Erwin. He stopped for every photo op, answered every question, and even when he broke his bike on Sunday he just shrugged it off and smiled. If it wasn't for the brilliant white kit with the rainbow stripes he could have been just another guy riding around. Of course some of those other guys and girls riding around were pretty good too- Both US elite champions were there, both Canadian champions, the German mens champ, and a whole host of others. But everyone had one thing in common- smiles all around. It was a big race for sure, but it was fun, and everyone knew it.

Leading up to the Whitmores race there was a bunch of whinging on the blogs about its location- that it was too far to go to, that you had to take a ferry to get there, yada yada yada. That it wasn't part of this series or that series.. and on and on ad nauseum. Well for those who didn't go- you missed a great weekend, great racing, and a great champion.

So Thanks Myles, and Bedankt Erwin.

The System Is Down

Whew- a long time between posts. But not much happened there worth posting about. We worked the last few races of the road season and broke more stuff- pretty much par for the course this year. Hopefully Santa will be bringing a bunch of new gear for 2008... A few scheduled races got cancelled so it's been pretty slow for the past few weeks, which leaves plenty of time to read blogs.

This is not always a good thing.

While there is a ton of great stuff out there, there is a ton of stuff to make you pull your hair out. It's funny how blog postings and e-mail lists can be taken to such extremes- that people can be so caught up in the minutiae that they miss the big picture. Well, there's a quick fix for that:



Hopefully culling the bookbarks bar will help keep life a bit more positive this fall. Oh, and it's cross season now. If you haven't wandered over to cyclofile.com yet, hurry up! If you're into 'cross, it's guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. Thanks Sam!!