Ouachita Challenge

Hardwick debuted the new colors last weekend while competing in the Ouachita Challenge in Arkansas. The Ouachita Challenge is a mountain bike race that traverses the Womble Trail, Ouachita Trail, and forestry roads. Unlike most races where you have different age classifications and skill levels, this was old school. They broke the field into Men's, Women's, and Single Speed. Hardwick battled hard but had an issue with his chain that had him off the pace for 10-15 minutes. He finished strong in the top half of the field. Good effort for the first race of the year!

Powerman Alabama Multisport Weekend

Team CCR's first cycling podium of the year came last weekend when Beth Santoro competed in the Xterra Off-road Duathlon at Oak Mountain State Park. Finally, we had some nice weather, so the event was contested under pristine conditions. The event involved a trail run, a mountain bike leg, and another trail run. By the time Beth crossed the finish line she was totally spent. Her efforts in the race did secure her a podium finish in 3rd place. Way to go Beth!

(Pictures)

The dawning of a new season

This weekend is the equivalent to opening day in baseball for Team CCR. We have riders headed down the road to Tuscaloosa to race in the Tour de Tuscaloosa, and we have riders headed out to race in the Power Man Alabama Mutisport Weekend that Team Magic is putting on out at Oak Mountain State Park. For those members of the team that will not be racing they will be leading 2 rides out of the Cahaba Cycles location in Pelham. Getting to this day though, has been quite the experience.

On the bike, we have dealt with a little of this.......

and some of this......

We have had more snow this year than in the 6 years I have been here. When it is not snowing it has been raining. When it has not been doing either it has been cold and gloomy, so when we have had sunshine it has been cause for celebration. Through the snow, the rain, and the gloomy weather it has not kept us off the bikes. The team was able to participate in the training races held in Sumatanga.

One of our off season additions and resident Marine, Alan Laytham, notched 2 top 10's in the training races held at Sumatanga. Not to shabby for a guy who took a 17 year break and hopped back on the bike less than a year ago.

Larry and Mike both worked on racing form and opted to race with the big dogs in the "A" races. It was a great learning experience for both of them and after a few rides with them after the races, I would say they both came out a lot stronger.

The weather has played havoc on the roads around town and forced the cancellation of the "Spring Forward Metric Century" that we were planning on doing to celebrate the new season. It has been tentatively re-scheduled to August. We are going to have to come up with something catchy for that one.

We have also grown quite considerably since 2009. Not only did we add Alan, we also added Mick Gould from Britain, junior rider and climber Payne Griffin, cross junkie Chris Leven is back on the team after a year sabbatical, George Shamburger and his wife Elizabeth not only co-sponsor the team but but can ride a bike with the best of them and have the paint jobs to prove it, mountain biker and slowly becoming a roadie Mitch Moses, and jack-of-all racing disciplines Beth Santoro. When you add that roster to the returning roster it is a pretty stout bunch.

It was also a time for Team CCR to dawn it's new look along with it's new sponsor. Team CCR was pleased to announce it's association with Digital Era Banking Serivces. No longer will we be sporting the red, yellow, and black. We have traded those colors in for green and white and chose a classic look to show it off.

The time is finally here for us to open up this season. Cheers!

Red Nose Run

In the off season most cyclists recover from the long hard racing season. Hardwick on the other hand, laces up the running shoes, and heads back outside. Recently, Jan. 9th, Hardwick competed in the Red Nose Run finishing 1st Grand Master (50+). To add a degree of difficulty to the run, the temperatures were abnormally cold, 18, with a wind chill hovering around, ZERO! Nice way to start the season off Hardwick!

Turn out the lights when you leave.......

The team arrived in Cullman with high hopes and the possibility of taking home some heavy hardware for 2009 Bama Cross season. The theme for the season was unchanged. Though it would not rain today, it had rained enough all year to guarantee mud and lots of it. The temperature the week leading up to the race took a nose dive so that by the time race day arrived it was below freezing. In some of the shady spots, some that probably have not seen sun in the 50 years the trees have been there, a light dusting of snow clung on for dear life. I am beginning to think that this team thrives on the muddiest, nastiest conditions, because today they were spectacular.

Hardwick Gregg joined the team early in the season and did not disappointment. Honestly, he should have to re-tread his shoes with as many times as he was up and down the podium. Hardwick battled a cold all week, so he skipped the 45+ race to focus his efforts on the Men's "B" race. Hardwick won the "B"race, and then won the overall in the 45+ and the "B's".

Lisa Trainor also joined the team midway through the season. Accompanied by her trusty side kick Sophie(seen in the picture) she went on to win races, and lead points. Lisa, a Maine native, was dreading the weeks race because of the amount of water to cross and the freezing temperatures. Her inner polar bear shone through for the race as she went on to not only win her race, but also sealing the deal to win the Women's 4 overall.

Stacey Davis moved up this year to the Women's 1-2-3 category and never missed a beat. Riding focused, Stacey won the finale of the Women's 1-2-3 race, and finished second overall.

Larry came into the season with lofty goals, and nailed pretty much everyone of them. Larry finished 2nd in the 35+ race, and 3rd in the series overall. Keep in mind that he was also doubling up racing the Men's 3/4 races as well. Awesome effort.

Zach moved up this year from Junior's and let it be known that he will be a force in the 4/5's, and probably the 3/4's in the near future. Zach finished 4th in the 4/5 race and 4th overall in the series.

Mike Herring just missed the bottom step of the 45+ podium finishing 4th in the series, and 5th on the day. Mike also doubled up throughout the season racing in the Men's 3/4 category.

Josh, after taking a year long break from cross came out and raced like he never was off the bike. Josh finished 7th in the race and 5th overall. We at CCR are glad that the endurance running he did in place of cross did not work out.

Chris Leven made his come back appearance with the team. As you can tell, it did not end like he wanted. I am glad to have a good friend back with the CCR family.

What can I say. I raced hard, had a lot of fun, and have a ton of stories. A series worth of mechanicals had me just wanting to finish. As director sportif for Team CCR, I filled the void of my sub par season by watching the team just crush it. It really was an awesome sight.

As a team, 3rd overall in the men's and 2nd in the women's!

Pictures

Fain Pain=Rain

Every true cyclocross racer dreams of racing in the nastiest of conditions. I guess we here in the states are drawn to those conditions because of what we see over in Europe. It snows and we want snow, it rains and we want rain, it blows sideways and we want it to knock us down. I guess deep down in our souls we realize that in order to call yourself a true cross racer, you will be required to race in conditions that make the mere mortal cyclist stay inside on the trainer.

Montgomery continued the tough racing conditions that we have experienced pretty much all season long in Alabama. It was like racing on a peanut butter covered sponge. They actually re-routed the course before the Master Men's race because the water crossings were too deep. No matter how hard you pushed, you still went the same speed. Changes in air pressure seemed to work the best, but irregardless of wet tire or dry tire, it all came down to how you managed your power to get the tires to hook up.

Team CCR had 7 top 5 finishes on the day. Hardwick doubled up and won both the Master Men 45+ and the Men's B races. Lisa continued her dominance with a victory in the Women's 4 race. Stacey showed how quick she is regardless of the conditions with a victory in the Women's 1-2-3 race. Larry Stanely had a strong showing and finished 3rd in the Master Men 35+ race. Mike Herring finished just off the bottom step with a 4th place in the Master Men 45+ race. Zach went out strong and managed to secure a top 5 finish in the Men's 4/5 race. Garner struggled, it's just one of those years.

The team going into the last race at Cullman has the the potential for a podium finish in the overall team competition, and the potential to snag 5 spots in the overall competition. Another solid outing by the team.

Anniston After Dark

When the Bamacross series calendar comes out towards the end of summer, everyone looks for the (brackets) after the race venue. It means one of 2 things, either the state championships or a night race. Since the 2009 state championships have come and gone, it could mean only 1 thing going into this week. For some riders it really messes with their flow. They are used to a routine for the Sunday morning races. Eating, packing, travel, are a mastered science. Now their world is turned upside down for that one night race of the season. They spend the day discombobulated. For the rest of us, we greet the night race with the anticipation of school kids knowing that we have a day off. We are so excited that we show up 2 hours before the course even opens to get a good spot for the tent, put out the chairs and coolers, set up the bikes, and then we nervously wait. We seemed to be the giddy school kids that day. With no organized caravan to Anniston, Zach, Garner, and Powell managed to all run into each other at Chick-Fil-A, while Larry was there 30 minutes before we even got there. We still had over an hour before the first race!

We had an awesome night of racing. CCR put 3 riders on the podium. Lisa Trainor won the the Women's 4 race, while Hardwick Gregg and Mike Herring got 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in the Master Men's 45+ race. Top 10's were earned by Zach, 5th, and Josh, 7th, in the Mens CX4 race. Larry fought his way to a 5th in the Master Men's 35+ race. Hardwick, doubling up, just missed the podium finishing 4th in the Mens CX 3/4 race. Garner raced hard, but never could catch back on after a first lap incident with several riders. The team put in a solid effort and is setting themselves up for a top 3 finish in the overall team standings with efforts like this. Check out some photos from the racing.