The Heckler
You bring new meaning to the term SUCK
Intervals are fucking gross but in my imminent future.
immediate future?
imminent.
words.
Last edited:
The Heckle Report
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immediate future?
imminent.
words.
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
Okay, well check this out though. First of all you're throwing to many big words at me. Okay now, because I don't understand them I'm gonna take 'em as disrespect. Watch your mouf.
this is frightening. while i agree with you, good feels are to be had
Two points to make:
1) I think it's all about how you end up warm after being cold. It's one thing to wake up in the cold, drive in the cold, race in the cold be all wet and then be stuck cold and wet for the rest of the day. That day sucks. Much different if at the end of that you can somehow change into warm clothes, put on 30 layers and drink some hot chocolate and feel good.
2) I've learned how big the New England CX scene is this year. I totally understand now why Matt is so crazy into it. I have no idea how that scene grew the way it did but it's pretty cool.
1) I think it's all about how you end up warm after being cold. It's one thing to wake up in the cold, drive in the cold, race in the cold be all wet and then be stuck cold and wet for the rest of the day. That day sucks. Much different if at the end of that you can somehow change into warm clothes, put on 30 layers and drink some hot chocolate and feel good.
2) I've learned how big the New England CX scene is this year. I totally understand now why Matt is so crazy into it. I have no idea how that scene grew the way it did but it's pretty cool.
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
what can NJ CX learn from them?
The Heckler
You bring new meaning to the term SUCK
Remember, it's not NJ. It's MAC to be the equivalent.
New England is 6 states. It's a region, and a rather small region at that.
Gloucester, MA - Huge Atmosphere - beer tent
Providence, RI - Huge Atmosphere - beer tent
CSI - Northampton, MA - Large Atmosphere - beer tent (formally free beer tent)
Baystate(RIP) - Stirling, MA - So/so atmosphere
NBX - Warwick, RI - Cool Atmosphere
Those are the 5 UCI races all in New England. You could drive from any one of those venues to the next in about two hours or less. The only non scenic park was Baystate and it was at a highschool that also happened to have some of the most challenging features and calendar slots (weather wise) of the year.
MAC UCI
Nittany - T-Town, PA - High energy Atmosphere
Charmcity - Baltimore, MD - Good Energy
HPCX - Jamesburg, NJ - One small pocket of energy around MTBNJ tent - free beer tent
DCCX - DC - (I hear crazy energy, dont know of beer availablility)
Supercross - Stony Point, NY (though not technically MAC per say) - Mostly dead, but GREAT course.
Equal number of large races, larger radius, about 4 hours max from venue to venue. Venue quality ranges from nice course to boring.
After much deliberation I think we need more beer tents in the MAC area, and venues with more raditude for our UCI events.
As for local races, local racers are here for the UCI events, and in NE for their UCI events filling in local events in between.
You take for granted how naturally talented you are.
The Heckler
You bring new meaning to the term SUCK
I should emphasize @Dutch Frog and I try and crush each other's souls on the road all year long. It's brutal and it hurts but it's not structured intervals. I'm sure I'm wasting energy and not maximizing my training potential, currently thinking about the game plan for next year without getting ahead of myself.
I think Matt nailed it. Big multi-day races that bring in a ton of people all geographically close. It feeds on itself.
I drove up and made a weekend out of Providence, it's hard to do that with any of the NJ area races. If not impossible?. Providence had a handbuilt bicycles party on Friday night. I think Cannondale's had 50 bicycles for their team. Shimano's tent (with shop area) was larger than many bike stores. Rapha was giving out free espresso by hipsters that made me want to punch them in the face for being so...Rapha. 160 people in a field...
I'd be willing to do Providence again next year, although DCCX seems like it could be worth doing...
I drove up and made a weekend out of Providence, it's hard to do that with any of the NJ area races. If not impossible?. Providence had a handbuilt bicycles party on Friday night. I think Cannondale's had 50 bicycles for their team. Shimano's tent (with shop area) was larger than many bike stores. Rapha was giving out free espresso by hipsters that made me want to punch them in the face for being so...Rapha. 160 people in a field...
I'd be willing to do Providence again next year, although DCCX seems like it could be worth doing...
The Heckler
You bring new meaning to the term SUCK
I think I also need to pencil in DCCX. Only heard good things
The Heckler
You bring new meaning to the term SUCK
Race #26 - Ice Weasels Commeth
Beautiful day, crazy party and an unexpected result. More words later, enjoy a few pictures until then.
SSCX - 2nd!!!
Beautiful day, crazy party and an unexpected result. More words later, enjoy a few pictures until then.
SSCX - 2nd!!!
The Heckler
You bring new meaning to the term SUCK
Floating in the Morristown water treatment plant is my best guess..
The Heckler
You bring new meaning to the term SUCK
A few words on Ice Weasels:
If you don't make Gloucester or Providence you should really consider Ice Weasels. New England grass roots non USAC racing at it's finest. It's the season finale for most and people be throwing DOWN. Mucho beer, mucho smiles, mucho good time.
This year the venue moved south a little more to Riverpoint CX park in West Warwick, RI. Riverpoint is the brainchild of Melissa and Cory Lefleur (sp?) who you may have seen at the races with either the BONK team car or the Bluemills team car. The town itself is an old mill town that is kinda on it's way of cleaning up and re purposing a lot of old space. The park itself is a multi use space with ball sport fields and a large wooded area that was un-purposed, so CX moved in.
The course is SUPER shreddy with 3 good chutes, rideable granite steps, UPHILL sand, curving sandpits, off camber uphill corners, a 2 line option PUMP TRACK, seriously, this course was insanely featured. Super impressed and couldn't stop doing laps. I raced 4 and probably did another 6, two of which on my MTB just for fun.
The chutes were pretty hairy at first. One specifically had a 10 inch rut drop at the top and ended with a loose sand dirt turn at the bottom. I was signed up for SS and brought the Peugeot Dream Machine (formally known as dumb bike). The Dream Machine barely has rear brakes. They mostly just resonate the rim and tickle your grundle via the saddle. Sweet, right?
This race was also the series finale for the Zanconatto SS series. There was 1 point between 1st and 2nd place. The real race was really between Kevin Church and George.
I lined up against a bunch of really fast dudes, I guess I went out about 8th. Lap 2 Eric Baumann hit the sand right in front of me and went OTB. He kicked his valve stem and flatted in the process.
Racing was madness. The heckle pit down in the 'Danger Zone' was keg fueled FURY. There was so much booze people were picking what they were drinking. There were fireworks and handups galore. Every lap through was more and more crazy. The final lap I caught a Next BMB rider. The final time up the sand he led but slowed while running. I saw the door on the inside and ran through it! BAM, ATTACKKK TIME.
I kept it on and was catching lap traffic left and right, calling myself and getting waved by. As I approached the finish I hear "Adam St. Germain, your 2015 SS winner!!" I finish then shortly after hear "Jesse Q in 3rd!!"
*Doing math in my oxygen deprived brain* "If I finished in front of Jesse, I came in second?"
I came in second. SURPRISE PODIUM! This was the best way to finish the season. Such a fun course, great vibes and to quote Ty "Dude, you beat a lot of really fast dudes on that bike." He was trying to get me to take it to the podium. I had people looking at it scratching their heads all day. It really upset a couple mechanics in all of it's glorious ignorance but that's half the point.
I won a 12 of Harpoon which I gave out a few at the venue then finished with Ty Saturday night with a Buffalo Chicken calzone and onion rings. I also scored a NECX Blend medium heat mad alchemy embro in a trade. After the Zanc frame raffle they tossed out some swag. I caught a small castelli bib and found a small person who happened to have the embro. BOOM TRADE. The NECX blend smells like maple syrup which basically smells like donuts once applied. I tested it Sunday on my MTB ride, nose approved.
Some more words later on the season. I know you hate words but they are for me as much as you.
TL;DR
Podiumed a death trap.
If you don't make Gloucester or Providence you should really consider Ice Weasels. New England grass roots non USAC racing at it's finest. It's the season finale for most and people be throwing DOWN. Mucho beer, mucho smiles, mucho good time.
This year the venue moved south a little more to Riverpoint CX park in West Warwick, RI. Riverpoint is the brainchild of Melissa and Cory Lefleur (sp?) who you may have seen at the races with either the BONK team car or the Bluemills team car. The town itself is an old mill town that is kinda on it's way of cleaning up and re purposing a lot of old space. The park itself is a multi use space with ball sport fields and a large wooded area that was un-purposed, so CX moved in.
The course is SUPER shreddy with 3 good chutes, rideable granite steps, UPHILL sand, curving sandpits, off camber uphill corners, a 2 line option PUMP TRACK, seriously, this course was insanely featured. Super impressed and couldn't stop doing laps. I raced 4 and probably did another 6, two of which on my MTB just for fun.
The chutes were pretty hairy at first. One specifically had a 10 inch rut drop at the top and ended with a loose sand dirt turn at the bottom. I was signed up for SS and brought the Peugeot Dream Machine (formally known as dumb bike). The Dream Machine barely has rear brakes. They mostly just resonate the rim and tickle your grundle via the saddle. Sweet, right?
This race was also the series finale for the Zanconatto SS series. There was 1 point between 1st and 2nd place. The real race was really between Kevin Church and George.
I lined up against a bunch of really fast dudes, I guess I went out about 8th. Lap 2 Eric Baumann hit the sand right in front of me and went OTB. He kicked his valve stem and flatted in the process.
Racing was madness. The heckle pit down in the 'Danger Zone' was keg fueled FURY. There was so much booze people were picking what they were drinking. There were fireworks and handups galore. Every lap through was more and more crazy. The final lap I caught a Next BMB rider. The final time up the sand he led but slowed while running. I saw the door on the inside and ran through it! BAM, ATTACKKK TIME.
I kept it on and was catching lap traffic left and right, calling myself and getting waved by. As I approached the finish I hear "Adam St. Germain, your 2015 SS winner!!" I finish then shortly after hear "Jesse Q in 3rd!!"
*Doing math in my oxygen deprived brain* "If I finished in front of Jesse, I came in second?"
I came in second. SURPRISE PODIUM! This was the best way to finish the season. Such a fun course, great vibes and to quote Ty "Dude, you beat a lot of really fast dudes on that bike." He was trying to get me to take it to the podium. I had people looking at it scratching their heads all day. It really upset a couple mechanics in all of it's glorious ignorance but that's half the point.
I won a 12 of Harpoon which I gave out a few at the venue then finished with Ty Saturday night with a Buffalo Chicken calzone and onion rings. I also scored a NECX Blend medium heat mad alchemy embro in a trade. After the Zanc frame raffle they tossed out some swag. I caught a small castelli bib and found a small person who happened to have the embro. BOOM TRADE. The NECX blend smells like maple syrup which basically smells like donuts once applied. I tested it Sunday on my MTB ride, nose approved.
Some more words later on the season. I know you hate words but they are for me as much as you.
TL;DR
Podiumed a death trap.
Mountain Bike Mike
Well-Known Member
See - you finally admitted it.. you tried to bate me into that madness... I'M NO SUCKER! Suckuh
The Heckler
You bring new meaning to the term SUCK
2015 Cyclocross - Closing Words
This season was another really fun season. Mission entering the year was remain a Cat 3 unless things went very well, race 1/2/3 at local races and Cat 3s at the big races. I stayed mostly true to this less a couple late year 3 local drop ins when I lost some upgrade points on cross results and was wondering if I still had the sauce.
Zults
1 – Forest Park 1/2/3 - 5/17
2 – Blunt Park 1/2/3 – 10/23
3 – Granogue 2/3/4 – 8/60
4 – Nittany Lion 3/4 – 6/88
5 – Nittany Lion 3/4 - 30/69 (crash, rear flat)
6 - Mill Creek 1/2/3 – 5/11
7 – Gloucester Cat 3 – 11/117
8 - Gloucester Cat 3 – 9/103
9 – Night Weasels 1/2/3 – 35/81
10 – Providence 2/3 – 39/133
11 – Providence 2/3 – 22/117
12 – HPCX 3/4 – 5/49
13 - HPCX 3/4 – 4/41
14 – Whirlybird 3/4 – 5/46
15 – Marty Cross SS – 1/12
16 – Marty Cross Cat 3 – 10/37
17 – Marty Cross 1/2/3 – 10/11
18 – Cycle Smart Cat 3 – 14/101
19 – Cycle Smart Cat 3 – 10/106
20 – Cheshire SS – 1/20
21 – Newtown 3/4 – 2/22
22 – Supercross 2/3/4 – 10/79
23 – Supercross 2/3/4 – 13/63
24 – NBX Cat 3 – 77/82 (front flat)
25 – NBX Cat 3 – 9/74
26 – Ice Weasels SS – 2/74
Highs of the season for me were Gloucester weekend, Marty Cross 3x challenge, and HPCX. Gloucester was a weekend with the full team reminiscent of years past. It’s getting harder to get everyone together, but that one weekend we did and the weather was PERFECT, the venue was stellar and the course was excellent. Marty Cross weekend Ty and Chris M visited and of course racing 3 races in one day was easily the dumbest/most awesome thing I’ve done in a long time. Finally I hold HPCX so highly not for the results, but for the truly excellent time I had at the MTBNJ tent. Sunday was a gift with all of the great, positive, and friendly people along with bounties of food and booze. @gtluke even showed up to a skinny tire thing!
Lows of the season are not something anyone wants, but are inevitable in racing. My crash at Nittany which resulted in a flat was pretty low. I took out Pearlberg and in the tangle up he busted a shifter. I found out after he was riding a flat. As I remember it he shifted lanes while I was passing but I know I could have passed wider than I did which would have completely prevented the damage. Providence day 1 was another day that lives low in my head. I’m not often ‘off’ but the stars didn’t align in my favor that day. The course was wet but not muddy, I didn’t have much aggressive will and I had a few stupid crashes that I work so hard normally to avoid. The course however was excellent and the weekend as a whole is a fond memory.
My biggest point of pride comes from NBX Day 2. My front flat out of the money with 1.25 to go resulted in a new challenge, just finish at all costs before the next race starts. My first and only DNF in 77 races was race #6 all the way back in 2013 – Charm City Day 2. It was lap 2 and I had no pit wheels. This was before I understood the haunting effects of not finishing a race. At NBX I was thinking back to that warm day in Baltimore 70 races prior and different the sport looked when I was as a Cat 5. I didn’t yet understand the big picture and it was easy to just step off the course and cheer on my new friends. Three full years in I may not yet understand the full picture but it’s taking shape. What I’ve figured out includes having a great time, making memories, finding discipline, being someone positive and pushing myself to be better. Some days the best you can hope for is finishing and NBX was that day. I did it, and I did it with a smile which is something I am VERY proud of.
On that Cat 5 reminiscing.. I’ve come a long way from the loud mouth punk heckler I was in 2013. This was way back before I figured out “you bring a new meaning to the term suck,” is something most people don’t want yelled at them. I think I’ve come a long way. I met a lot of people yelling my face off that first year, many of which ended up in pretty good race friendships, somehow. These days I’m mostly cheering. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still screaming my face off. Someone said this year “When Matt Tyler yells in Gloucester you can hear him in Providence,” which I really kind of like.
Looking forward
I’m now a Cat 2 which means I will be racing 1/2/3’s locally and UCI Elites at the big events with only a couple 2/3’s and 2/3/4’s sprinkled in. I’m already mapping out training ideas in my head and preparing for what I would like to be a very intense year on the bike. I think I’m ready to relight that fire I sparked in 2014 and see what I can push myself to do in 2016. As far as mountain bike racing I’m definitely planning on some short track, maybe 3-4 XC races out of the H2H, and maybe one or two more in New England with a couple of my buddies up there.
Thanks for tuning in this year, I hope I provided some entertainment to you. I’ve already picked up the Hecklecation blog so I’ll head back that way until this CX rollercoaster picks up again in only EIGHT MONTHS!!!!
The Heckler
TL;DR CROSS IS OVER
This season was another really fun season. Mission entering the year was remain a Cat 3 unless things went very well, race 1/2/3 at local races and Cat 3s at the big races. I stayed mostly true to this less a couple late year 3 local drop ins when I lost some upgrade points on cross results and was wondering if I still had the sauce.
Zults
1 – Forest Park 1/2/3 - 5/17
2 – Blunt Park 1/2/3 – 10/23
3 – Granogue 2/3/4 – 8/60
4 – Nittany Lion 3/4 – 6/88
5 – Nittany Lion 3/4 - 30/69 (crash, rear flat)
6 - Mill Creek 1/2/3 – 5/11
7 – Gloucester Cat 3 – 11/117
8 - Gloucester Cat 3 – 9/103
9 – Night Weasels 1/2/3 – 35/81
10 – Providence 2/3 – 39/133
11 – Providence 2/3 – 22/117
12 – HPCX 3/4 – 5/49
13 - HPCX 3/4 – 4/41
14 – Whirlybird 3/4 – 5/46
15 – Marty Cross SS – 1/12
16 – Marty Cross Cat 3 – 10/37
17 – Marty Cross 1/2/3 – 10/11
18 – Cycle Smart Cat 3 – 14/101
19 – Cycle Smart Cat 3 – 10/106
20 – Cheshire SS – 1/20
21 – Newtown 3/4 – 2/22
22 – Supercross 2/3/4 – 10/79
23 – Supercross 2/3/4 – 13/63
24 – NBX Cat 3 – 77/82 (front flat)
25 – NBX Cat 3 – 9/74
26 – Ice Weasels SS – 2/74
Highs of the season for me were Gloucester weekend, Marty Cross 3x challenge, and HPCX. Gloucester was a weekend with the full team reminiscent of years past. It’s getting harder to get everyone together, but that one weekend we did and the weather was PERFECT, the venue was stellar and the course was excellent. Marty Cross weekend Ty and Chris M visited and of course racing 3 races in one day was easily the dumbest/most awesome thing I’ve done in a long time. Finally I hold HPCX so highly not for the results, but for the truly excellent time I had at the MTBNJ tent. Sunday was a gift with all of the great, positive, and friendly people along with bounties of food and booze. @gtluke even showed up to a skinny tire thing!
Lows of the season are not something anyone wants, but are inevitable in racing. My crash at Nittany which resulted in a flat was pretty low. I took out Pearlberg and in the tangle up he busted a shifter. I found out after he was riding a flat. As I remember it he shifted lanes while I was passing but I know I could have passed wider than I did which would have completely prevented the damage. Providence day 1 was another day that lives low in my head. I’m not often ‘off’ but the stars didn’t align in my favor that day. The course was wet but not muddy, I didn’t have much aggressive will and I had a few stupid crashes that I work so hard normally to avoid. The course however was excellent and the weekend as a whole is a fond memory.
My biggest point of pride comes from NBX Day 2. My front flat out of the money with 1.25 to go resulted in a new challenge, just finish at all costs before the next race starts. My first and only DNF in 77 races was race #6 all the way back in 2013 – Charm City Day 2. It was lap 2 and I had no pit wheels. This was before I understood the haunting effects of not finishing a race. At NBX I was thinking back to that warm day in Baltimore 70 races prior and different the sport looked when I was as a Cat 5. I didn’t yet understand the big picture and it was easy to just step off the course and cheer on my new friends. Three full years in I may not yet understand the full picture but it’s taking shape. What I’ve figured out includes having a great time, making memories, finding discipline, being someone positive and pushing myself to be better. Some days the best you can hope for is finishing and NBX was that day. I did it, and I did it with a smile which is something I am VERY proud of.
On that Cat 5 reminiscing.. I’ve come a long way from the loud mouth punk heckler I was in 2013. This was way back before I figured out “you bring a new meaning to the term suck,” is something most people don’t want yelled at them. I think I’ve come a long way. I met a lot of people yelling my face off that first year, many of which ended up in pretty good race friendships, somehow. These days I’m mostly cheering. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still screaming my face off. Someone said this year “When Matt Tyler yells in Gloucester you can hear him in Providence,” which I really kind of like.
Looking forward
I’m now a Cat 2 which means I will be racing 1/2/3’s locally and UCI Elites at the big events with only a couple 2/3’s and 2/3/4’s sprinkled in. I’m already mapping out training ideas in my head and preparing for what I would like to be a very intense year on the bike. I think I’m ready to relight that fire I sparked in 2014 and see what I can push myself to do in 2016. As far as mountain bike racing I’m definitely planning on some short track, maybe 3-4 XC races out of the H2H, and maybe one or two more in New England with a couple of my buddies up there.
Thanks for tuning in this year, I hope I provided some entertainment to you. I’ve already picked up the Hecklecation blog so I’ll head back that way until this CX rollercoaster picks up again in only EIGHT MONTHS!!!!
The Heckler
TL;DR CROSS IS OVER
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
big mistake, should have just relocated and raced the 3 races like i am