SS World Photos, Cactus Cup, & Pro Upgrade

Well, I've totally slacked on giving a more thorough update on SS Worlds. I think the New York Times article did a really good job of describing the fun and semi-organized chaos that is SS Worlds, so I won't try and improve on that with my own yarn. A bit late, but here's some good photos from BMW, who made the trip out from Ohio (en route to Hawaii) to enjoy some wine country and observe the wild antics on one geared bikes. I'm definitely working SSWC09 in Durango, CO into the schedule for next year.

Pre-race warmup.


Descending, a bit off the line (eek, sorry trail police).


Feeling spry with a wheelie through the start/finish before heading out on Lap 2.


High fives from the fans out on course as I come through to finish.


Done, dusty, and happy to have a black bottle opener.

This weekend is my last mountain bike race of the season at the revived Cactus Cup stage race down in Las Vegas, NV. This race carries some personal significance, because my first ever MTB race was the Cactus Cup in Mansfield, Ohio back in 1992. I jumped head first into the junior sport category. It was a super muddy race and I loved every minute of it. I survived several tip overs because I was using clipless pedals for only the second ride. If I recall correctly, I was top 5 out of like 40 kids. I have been immersed in the cycling lifestyle ever since. Sport to Semi-pro. 16 years old to 32 years old. Same obsession with bicycles. It's funny how things come full circle over time.

USA Cycling announced a new category system for next year. The semi-pro category is gone. Existing semi-pros have been given a free pass to go pro or to go down to the newly created Category 1 that is comprised mostly of racers from the former expert category. I'm faced with the dilemma of whether to go up or down. SLR and my riding friends say go pro or I'm a sandbagger. I've read comments from USAC board members that the intent was for the top 1/3 of semi-pros should go pro and the bottom 2/3 go down. I'm ranked just inside the cusp of the top 1/3. I could go down and have a chance at getting some more podium time or I could go up for the opportunity to tell my future child that Dad was once a professional athlete and raced against Olympians. I have until December to decide. I may use my result from the race this weekend as the deciding factor. Do well, I go up. Suck wind, I go down. Then again, maybe I'll flip a coin. Feel free to weigh in.

Other things on the horizon: some riding on Orcas; if the good weather holds, attempting the Cascade Triple Crown (including 12k feet of climbing) on my SS; building up a project bike in the off season; learning to build wheels; exploring more Belgian beers; and maybe a few cyclocross races if I feel like going cross-eyed for an hour.

Thanks for reading,
Blue Star