The Heckle Report

The Heckler

The Heckler

You bring new meaning to the term SUCK
RACE INDEX NEW FEATURE 9/2016
2013
Supercross cup 4/5 - 2013
2014
Forest Park & Blunt Park, Springfield MA - 2014
Nittany Lion 2/3/4 - 2014
Silk City & Hartford Riverfront 3 - 2014
Charm City 2/3/4, Baltimore - 2014
NEW BIKE DAY - Wraith Fab - 9/2014
Gloucester 3 - 2014
Night Weasels 3 - 2014 (CROSS-CATION '14)
KMC 2/3, Providence RI - 2014
Whirlybird 2/3/4 - 2014
HPCX 2/3/4 - 2014
Marty Cross 3 - 2014
Cycle Smart International, Northampton MA - 2014
Cheshire CX 1/2/3 - 2014
SCCX 3 - NJ State Championship - 2014
Supercross Cup 2/3/4 - 2014
Baystate 3, Sterling, MA - 2014
Ice Weasels Cometh 3 - 2014
2015
LDBCXNYDMMXVWC - 2015
The great de-bearding 2014-'15
Forest Park 1/2/3 & Blunt Park 1/2/3, Springfield MA - 2015
Granogue 2/3/4 2015
Post #452 - Racing Without Sleeves
Nittany 3 - 2015
Millcreek 1/2/3 - 2015
Gloucester 3 - 2015 VIDEO RECAP
Crosscation - 2015 VIDEO RECAP
KMC 2/3, Providence RI - 2015
HPCX Openerz - VIDEO PRECAP
HPCX 3 - 2015
New(re) Bike Day - Dumb Bike 2015
Whirlybird 3 - 2015
Martycross SS, 3/4, 1/2/3 - 2015
Cheshire SS - 2015
Newtown CX 3/4 - 2015
Supercross 2/3/4 - 2015
NBX 3 - 2015
Ice Weasels SS - 2015
Season Closing Words - 2015
2016
LDBCXNYDMMXVIWC - 2016 VIDEO RECAP
KÜDÜ Collective Announcement - 2016
New Bike Day Kindhuman KÜDÜ - 2016
KÜDÜ Team Camp - 2016
Riverfront CX 1/2/3, Hartford CT - 2016
Nittany UCI Elite - 2016 First UCI weekend
Townhall 1/2/3 - Bethlehem, PA
KMC 2016 2/3 & UCI Elite - Thompson Motor Speedway - Thompson, CT
GP Gloucester UCI Elite 2016 - Gloucester, MA
Whirlybird 1/2/3 - 2016 - Bensalem, PA
Martycross SS & 1/2/3 - 2016 - Chester, NJ
HPCX UCI Elite - 2016 - Thompson's Park, NJ ***PRO POINT***
Cycle-Smart International UCI Elite - 2016 - Northampton, MA
Supercross Cup UCI Elite - 2016 - Rockland County, NY
NBX UCI Elite - 2016 - Warwick RI
Ice Weasels - SSCX 2016 - West Warwick, RI
2017 National Non-Championship 23-39 - Hartford, CT
2017 SSCX Nationals - Hartford, CT
2016/17 Season Wrap Up

Races 1 and 2

I started my season this past weekend with Forest Park on Saturday and Blunt park on Sunday, both in Springfield MA.

Forest Park Cat 3/4:
I had no idea I was in Springfield. Forest Park was a gem of a venue. The course was 80% in the woods split between mostly single track and a few fire trails. There were a couple climbs per lap which were not long but allowed me to really open up the throttle and make some passes. There was also a great short steep run up before the small grass finish area.

I had a decent start and settled into 4th place. I pinched my rear Tubie really heard on a chopped up asphalt downhill the 3rd lap which luckily held air until the grass infield so I was able to ride the very short distance to the pit. I did my wheel change with lightning speed and only lost 4 positions. I caught and passed one guy pretty quick before having to stop to tighten my skewer. I got by him again on climb 1 and set my target to the next group of 3 (which included my teammate and training buddy, Zach). I sprinted the 2nd climb and blew by one guy and caught Zachs wheel just at the top of the hill. I held him close through the rest of the woods but had no good passing opportunities.

We approached the short run up. Zach made a nice move, dismounted early, and took a lot of space. This slowed me but I managed to stay pretty close to the top. He mounted right at the top and I gave an extra few sprint strides which paid off. I passed him on the first corner in the grass, held him through the barriers and the final sprint. 4th was 3 bikes ahead, but I was mostly proud to have caught and beat Zach AND I got 20 bucks out of it.

Blunt Park Cat 3/4:
I had a late afternoon coffee which kept me up about all night. Blunt Park is much more “Springfield.” Last year the course went by a small hobo camp and there was a dead rabid raccoon. The course is flat with 65% grass twisties 35% wooded straights with rocks a couple sections of bad roots. I started front row. The opening asphalt sprint leads into a 180 degree hairpin onto narrow grass. I wasn't braking any more than the guys next to me and some boner rammed into me, buzzed my wheel for a pretty long time and biffed it on the pavement. The guys behind me said he slid for a pretty long while. I stayed upright but realized I had a bent disk rotor since I sounded like a steam engine after the incident. The pit was not set up well and I didn't actually know how to get in so I decided to ride the race on that wheel.

I was around 10th for two laps before biffing it hard on a turn avoiding a tree. I took a little rest on the ground to recover then got back to it. My shift indexing was off the rest of the race. I made back 3 positions or so but ended finishing in 19th. My hanger was slightly bent, my rotor was VERY bent, I blasted a spoke and my tires had too much pressure. In the end I should have figured out how to get my pit wheel. Good shakedown for this season.

This weekend was pretty hot, but I had a good time. I was much more hydrated on Saturday. I took a beer hand up on Sunday which really hit the spot.

Heckling: 20% capacity. Mostly yelling at friends, with a few parking lot heckles. Last year was a break out season for me and I don't want to burn out too quick this year.

Next race: Nittany Lion MAC 1&2
 
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Yay racing! Congrats on the near podium. Time to step up the mid-week heckling intervals to get ready for Nittany.
 
No talk of the beard? Do you start with a fresh trim prior to CX or do you already look like a sovereign citizen mountain man?
 
Beard Report:
DOB: 7/26/2014
Current state: Medium short but decently full for her age.

Looks like my beard turns one month tomorrow! Why so early on the start? This was the same date I started last year. The last weekend in July the last two years has corresponded with trips to Cape Cod to visit my friends. I decided it was a fair starting point because it’s my face and I grow what I want when I want.

I feel like she is looking longer than this time last year.

There have been rumors about potential for a mid season handlebar mustache again however I can neither confirm nor deny said rumors. I can say I have located my wax.
 
The Heckler said:
Beard Report:
DOB: 7/26/2014
Current state: Medium short but decently full for her age.

Looks like my beard turns one month tomorrow! Why so early on the start? This was the same date I started last year. The last weekend in July the last two years has corresponded with trips to Cape Cod to visit my friends. I decided it was a fair starting point because it’s my face and I grow what I want when I want.

I feel like she is looking longer than this time last year.

There have been rumors about potential for a mid season handlebar mustache again however I can neither confirm nor deny said rumors. I can say I have located my wax.
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This blog has now become tolerable.
 
Let me get this straight. You did 2 races when 87% of the world is on vacation and you still lost both?

You suck. Try more hard.
 
Norm said:
Let me get this straight. You did 2 races when 87% of the world is on vacation and you still lost both?

You suck. Try more hard.
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Races 3 & 4 - Nittany Lion

Sunday:
Holy hell was it hot. Zach and I drove out both days. It's so nice to wake up in your own bed before a race. I was pretty high anxiety about my nutrition for the day. I'm still really only used to eating for 8:00 starts.

Food:
8:30AM Black Coffee, water
9:30 Cinnamon Bagel with butter, black coffee No. 2
11:30 Cran-apple / pineapple smoothy
12:30 (1) tube of margarita shot blocks
1:00 (1) 2x caffeine Gu
1:15 Race start.

Also add a VERY large amount of water in between. Seriously, I drank and drank and drank water.

My number for the day was 679. No 2/3/4 Mac points and shoddy reg speed put me in the last 1/4 of a ~106 person field. It sucks being back that far. They start the race and you just kind of casually clip in and start your sprint a little later. I took my start pretty easy. I had myself in a good spot on the left and managed to get around a pretty big low speed pileup on the first corner. I think I made it up to maybe the low 50's after the start. There were still a lot of people ahead.

It's great to be racing again. All of the guys I was racing with in the 4/5s last year have upgraded and I know who I should be beating and who I should be trying to keep up with. I did most of my early race passing on the straights.

I felt great and kept picking off 1-3 guys at a time. The heat was terrible and you could really tell who was really really hurting from it. I managed considerably well. I was on Lance's wheel until the quick down hill/180/uphill where he washed out his front wheel. I JUST managed to steer around his head which landed right in front of me. I yelled a pretty dramatic, "LANCE!! NOOOOOO!!!" and I flicked my bike around him.

Finish- 26/106. Sprinted to try and get one more at the line but couldn't get by in time. I rode directly to the MTBNJ tent, dropped my bike and collapsed in the sun. I managed to crawl into the shade, thank you for the water!

Sunday:
Same food, seemed to work well but I subbed a poppy bagel in. (seed watts)

My number was 373 so I started around the same place in the pack.

The opening sprint dumped into the mud pit behind the track. I locked up my brakes and skipped into David Hall's cassette on the first corner when the pack stopped suddenly before the first corner. No one went down, no gear was damaged, all was good.

A King Kog rider went down on the right in the sloppiest part of the mud pit. I was 2 bikes behind him and managed to sneak around through a very small lane.

I looked forward and back on the first long 180 switch back and it seemed like I was in about 403 place. Such a long train. We hit the log for the first time and it was a shit show. I tried to ride it last year, caught my 52T ring and fell over with a dropped chain. This year I swung my leg over, coasted the hill and popped out at the top, ran it and remounted. This worked well. The guy ahead of me stumbled and I accidentally gave him a bit of a shove when I ejected from my pedal.

My target Sunday was Zach. He was up about 15 spots from me and I did a lot of work to catch him. The course was so fast Sunday. The corners had so much grip and flow to them. Through the pain I found myself smiling during my precise weight transfers as I ripped through the corners leading up to the barriers and mud pit. Every turn felt natural and I felt confident.

I caught Pearl I think with two to go. He gave me a friendly gesture along the lines of "oh hey Matt" through the finish line flat. I grabbed his wheel around the mud and there was only a couple guys between us and Zach. I motored by Pearl on the first basketball court straight. It took a whole lap to get by the remaining guys between Zach and I. That final lap I cut his lead over my in half. I needed to recover a little in the woods the final time then hammered though the big field 'L.' As I was dismounting for the barriers Zach was just remounting. He was close but there were some technical turns ahead with very little room to make up bike lengths.

I knew I wouldn't connect as he hit the pine tree corner. I finished 5 seconds back in 23rd, it was a blast of a pursuit.

Beard Report: You tell me! I think shes looking mighty majestic at the moment.

Heckles: Tame, mostly cheering for Norm and Robin.
 
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heckles were low for the two days, but power on the last two laps was way in the A+ territory. its hard when your race is towards the end of the day. great ride man, especially after that fiasco at the start of the race. i would have loved to see another lap and you and zach at it. would have been a war.

at what position do they stop giving out points for the series? 20?
 
The Heckler said:
Looks like points to 40 for 2/3/4!

Based on page 16 of the MAC Bible.
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Oh that's right, I forgot they sent 1s all the way down. Makes sense though, it's a big field.

80% of my field from yesterday gets points. Not sure how the class starts so big (80) and ends up so small (50). Where do these people go? Do they literally die out there?
 
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