The Squirrel
Well-Known Member
OH MAN, IS THIS THREAD CAPTURING MY TRANSFORMATION FROM DRUNK COLLEGE KID TO BORING ADULT!?
I think it is.
Welcome to my world. When you start looking for restaurants that open earlier than 6p let me know.
The Heckle Report
- Thread starter The Heckler
- Start date
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- Tags
- beard cyclocross recap
Welcome to my world. When you start looking for restaurants that open earlier than 6p let me know.
Magic
Formerly 1sh0t1b33r
I already do that. FML.
ChrisG
Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
Blue plate special!
RIP The Heckler. The only reminder will be your screen name.I'll probably touch more on this during my season recap but an extra 100+ hours on the bike this year has me pretty tired. I have enough energy to train, race and sit with my feet up listening to records. The game has definitely changed this year, or perhaps I'm growing up a little?
OH MAN, IS THIS THREAD CAPTURING MY TRANSFORMATION FROM DRUNK COLLEGE KID TO BORING ADULT!?
I think it is.
The Heckler
You bring new meaning to the term SUCK
12/9/2016
It has suddenly become much less likely I will be a national non-champion.
ALSO, the SS race is going to be BONKERS. How about Dan Larino with the 1st row callup!
It has suddenly become much less likely I will be a national non-champion.
ALSO, the SS race is going to be BONKERS. How about Dan Larino with the 1st row callup!
hotsauce
Well-Known Member
You can't be an adult until there's a Masters race for you at Nationals.
You're lining up w/Molly Cameron! This is gonna be awesome!
Also, you'll always be a non-champion in my heart.
Also, you'll always be a non-champion in my heart.
The Heckler
You bring new meaning to the term SUCK
IIICCCCEEE WEASEELLLSSSS 2016 - SS
What. A. Weekend.
This was the 9th edition of the NECX holiday party known as Ice Weasels and my 4th time attending. The 2013, 14 & 15 the venue moved each year with this year finally staying in place at Riverpoint Park in West Warwick, RI. Riverpoint has been developed into a "CX" park over the last few years. It utilizes land on the perimeter of a park which has baseball fields and a skate park. The course itself is wicked brappy with amazing natural features which make this CX course almost "mini euro" with chutes, drop ins, run ups, off cambers, sand, granite steps, and about 200 yards of grass.
That said the passing ops are few and faw between. Peep the course map.
The danger zone. Holy cow. The Danger Zone, "aka Heckle pit" is the hardest party at a CX race this side of the Mississippi. Seriously, the beer, liquor, cookies, cupcakes, cheers and jeers are all flowing in an excess way we only know about in America.
The danger zone actually moved to the ride up which was ride-able without traffic but became a mess with bodies in front. That said I didn't clean it once on the SS, but had a few good one dab scoots which were fast enough. I kept coming in left where the line was right, away from the root step up. Oy.
ANYWAY! You come up the ride/run up, 90 left, ride through the 20 foot landing of HECKLE CHAOS and drop in back down the hill. What a cool feature, and even COOLER PARTY!
The Danger Zone - During the Woman's event. This was easily 3-4 times larger for the SS race at the end of the day.
I drove up Saturday morning and got in around 11. I found Brad, Greg and Matt of the Drifters and asked if I could squat at their tent. I've been racing close to Bradford for 3 years now and have known Greg for the better part of that time frame too. That squad is 100% grade A radical and always take me in with open arms when I'm flying solo.
Course conditions were REALLY tough. It was about 28 degrees when I got there and may have warmed to about freezing by race time. The ground was ROCK HARD. As it melted conditions turned to grease over ice which basically is water on ice which is about as low friction as you get in nature. SAWEET!
Luckily that was only the corners.
The cork screw descent was out of the sun and just total ice hard-pack. I think I locked up and dragged the fangos down that accidentally every time. Steep, curvy and HARD.
Every time I started riding my fingers went numb. One point of this race was cold weather management. Merino base, skin-suit, zebra tights, madness embro, giro 50 deg gloves + warmers, toe warmers, gaiter and hat. Come race time this was great, but the instant the race started my fingers went numb. Each lap i regained feeling by 1 knuckle.
As it turned out SS staging was done by Zancanatto series points. Last year I won the Cheshire race which gave me a decent call up. This year I STAGED 6TH ROW. DAMN. damndamndamn damn. I drove up planning to hopefully race at the front of this race and I was starting next to someone wearing a wig on a SS mtb, and another guy with a bottle cage speaker blasting Metallica. LOL. woof.
The start was surprisingly denser then the UCI starts I'm used to. This may have something to do with the 1 gear and possibly the general body density in the grid but I go out like a maniac trying to get up to the front. Forward progression is futile until after the first corner and at that point the field is already strung out.
I'm fighting harder for positions then I'm used to even in UCI. After reflection on this I was riding with a bit of entitlement not unlike the one Dan Chabinov had when he stiff armed my group on the run up at CSI. I felt like I belonged further up so I was taking action to get there. ***Action point for 2017 spoiler alert, ride like you know you belong there***
I'm moving up every lap and with 2 to go start catching the tail ends of the Fat bike, Woman's SS and SS races. Lots of lapping which makes catching my race even harder. I'm closing in one MadAlchemy Pete, a few seconds a lap.
With 100 yards left hes just seconds ahead, but sadly nothing I can close.
6th.
Such a fun course with amazing energy, totally bummed I didn't even have a chance to race Brad, who won.
Current feels:
I've got a cold
I'm cutting mat and framing photos for gifts, which I love doing
I'm trying to sell my Diamondback Axis TT
Really sad about the impending end of CX
Maybe CTCX this weekend, weather and health pending.
What. A. Weekend.
This was the 9th edition of the NECX holiday party known as Ice Weasels and my 4th time attending. The 2013, 14 & 15 the venue moved each year with this year finally staying in place at Riverpoint Park in West Warwick, RI. Riverpoint has been developed into a "CX" park over the last few years. It utilizes land on the perimeter of a park which has baseball fields and a skate park. The course itself is wicked brappy with amazing natural features which make this CX course almost "mini euro" with chutes, drop ins, run ups, off cambers, sand, granite steps, and about 200 yards of grass.
That said the passing ops are few and faw between. Peep the course map.
The danger zone. Holy cow. The Danger Zone, "aka Heckle pit" is the hardest party at a CX race this side of the Mississippi. Seriously, the beer, liquor, cookies, cupcakes, cheers and jeers are all flowing in an excess way we only know about in America.
The danger zone actually moved to the ride up which was ride-able without traffic but became a mess with bodies in front. That said I didn't clean it once on the SS, but had a few good one dab scoots which were fast enough. I kept coming in left where the line was right, away from the root step up. Oy.
ANYWAY! You come up the ride/run up, 90 left, ride through the 20 foot landing of HECKLE CHAOS and drop in back down the hill. What a cool feature, and even COOLER PARTY!
The Danger Zone - During the Woman's event. This was easily 3-4 times larger for the SS race at the end of the day.
I drove up Saturday morning and got in around 11. I found Brad, Greg and Matt of the Drifters and asked if I could squat at their tent. I've been racing close to Bradford for 3 years now and have known Greg for the better part of that time frame too. That squad is 100% grade A radical and always take me in with open arms when I'm flying solo.
Course conditions were REALLY tough. It was about 28 degrees when I got there and may have warmed to about freezing by race time. The ground was ROCK HARD. As it melted conditions turned to grease over ice which basically is water on ice which is about as low friction as you get in nature. SAWEET!
Luckily that was only the corners.
The cork screw descent was out of the sun and just total ice hard-pack. I think I locked up and dragged the fangos down that accidentally every time. Steep, curvy and HARD.
Every time I started riding my fingers went numb. One point of this race was cold weather management. Merino base, skin-suit, zebra tights, madness embro, giro 50 deg gloves + warmers, toe warmers, gaiter and hat. Come race time this was great, but the instant the race started my fingers went numb. Each lap i regained feeling by 1 knuckle.
As it turned out SS staging was done by Zancanatto series points. Last year I won the Cheshire race which gave me a decent call up. This year I STAGED 6TH ROW. DAMN. damndamndamn damn. I drove up planning to hopefully race at the front of this race and I was starting next to someone wearing a wig on a SS mtb, and another guy with a bottle cage speaker blasting Metallica. LOL. woof.
The start was surprisingly denser then the UCI starts I'm used to. This may have something to do with the 1 gear and possibly the general body density in the grid but I go out like a maniac trying to get up to the front. Forward progression is futile until after the first corner and at that point the field is already strung out.
I'm fighting harder for positions then I'm used to even in UCI. After reflection on this I was riding with a bit of entitlement not unlike the one Dan Chabinov had when he stiff armed my group on the run up at CSI. I felt like I belonged further up so I was taking action to get there. ***Action point for 2017 spoiler alert, ride like you know you belong there***
I'm moving up every lap and with 2 to go start catching the tail ends of the Fat bike, Woman's SS and SS races. Lots of lapping which makes catching my race even harder. I'm closing in one MadAlchemy Pete, a few seconds a lap.
With 100 yards left hes just seconds ahead, but sadly nothing I can close.
6th.
Such a fun course with amazing energy, totally bummed I didn't even have a chance to race Brad, who won.
Current feels:
I've got a cold
I'm cutting mat and framing photos for gifts, which I love doing
I'm trying to sell my Diamondback Axis TT
Really sad about the impending end of CX
Maybe CTCX this weekend, weather and health pending.
Delish
Well-Known Member
Definitely this.
I learned the same lesson at PVD C1 a couple years ago. Myerson got caught in a holeshot crash and ended up back in the deep scrub zone...right next to me. I followed his wheel for 1/24th of lap 1. Those those 17 seconds were a masterclass in slicing and dicing through traffic to make up time.
I found this gif of you today, which I assume you are discussing your chances of being the next national champ for the next podcast. That, or your virtual self created this gif to answer the question "Is @The Heckler dead?"
The Heckler
You bring new meaning to the term SUCK
UPDATEZ!
I was off the bike pretty much Monday-Friday last week with a cold, no racing on the weekend which I'm okay with having seen the feeds from Saturday. Sunday looked like a blast but I was only slated to race on Sat.
Back into the thick of training in a last ditch effort to hone up for natz. Last week was a bummer, but hell, I don't really have a shot at anything important anyway.
I shaved my beard and am working with a mustache right now, I needed a change.
On mointain bikes
I'll be sending back the KindHuman Kodiak prototype frame back soon. That thing was a jammer of a good time, definitely gonna miss it. I have something else lined up to replace it and will have some pretty great MTB parts for sale in the next couple weeks.
On holiday shopping
I decided to do prints for some of my gifts again. I picked up my own mat cutter and framed 3 12x18's, 2 11x14's and 6 4x6's. On top of that made another 8 cards for some friends who are spread all across the US now. Gotta get stamps.
Got my mom 30 pieces of pyrex. That's half lids, of course. That women has a Tupperware collection that's mixed and matched so bad it makes me cringe just thinking about it. Kind of a lame gift, but ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
Craft paper all day, for wrapping.
I was off the bike pretty much Monday-Friday last week with a cold, no racing on the weekend which I'm okay with having seen the feeds from Saturday. Sunday looked like a blast but I was only slated to race on Sat.
Back into the thick of training in a last ditch effort to hone up for natz. Last week was a bummer, but hell, I don't really have a shot at anything important anyway.
I shaved my beard and am working with a mustache right now, I needed a change.
On mointain bikes
I'll be sending back the KindHuman Kodiak prototype frame back soon. That thing was a jammer of a good time, definitely gonna miss it. I have something else lined up to replace it and will have some pretty great MTB parts for sale in the next couple weeks.
On holiday shopping
I decided to do prints for some of my gifts again. I picked up my own mat cutter and framed 3 12x18's, 2 11x14's and 6 4x6's. On top of that made another 8 cards for some friends who are spread all across the US now. Gotta get stamps.
Got my mom 30 pieces of pyrex. That's half lids, of course. That women has a Tupperware collection that's mixed and matched so bad it makes me cringe just thinking about it. Kind of a lame gift, but ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
Craft paper all day, for wrapping.
The Heckler
You bring new meaning to the term SUCK
It feels like it's been so long since I've danced the cyclocross yet the season isn't even over.
Hollah to Daghan Perker for this shot from NBX. Dirty side 4 lyfe.
Natz is coming and the weather looks like it's coming out to play in spectacular fashion.
Hollah to Daghan Perker for this shot from NBX. Dirty side 4 lyfe.
Natz is coming and the weather looks like it's coming out to play in spectacular fashion.
Dirty Side Dismount I knew you played with - but dirty side shouldering? That's just crazy talk
The Heckler
You bring new meaning to the term SUCK
Straight. Crazy. Talk.
You're right, my kits are stained from chain grease, but I'm a cat 5 NDS mounter.
"America is all about speed. Hot, nasty, badass speed."
-Eleanor Roosevelt, 1936
That sucks you have to give it back.