Southern Cross Results

Same day results. Just barely.

Right here.

Well done, boys and girls. More to follow.

Are You Ready?

The A in ABES stands for awesomeness. Just as the G in FGBC stands for good times. Put these two groups together and the level of fun promises to kick up higher than a six year old kid in a runaway helium baloon.

All those hurtin' tunes in the soundtrack are going to hit home before too long. The Allman's put it particularly nicely: Good lord, I feel like I'm dying. And yet you will be hard-pressed to wipe the smile off your face.

It will be that good.

The Course

Is awesome. It will be the longest course of the year. It came out to just about 3.5 km on the nose. It has some sections that should allow you to set your high speed record for the year. I hit 41.5 kmh on test run just now. But there are also some tight and twisty sections that will slow it right down. There is sand. And some mud. And there is more running than any other race so far this year. In other words, it has everything you could ask for. And the six pack is going to be a highlight. Not to mention the sweet tunes, farmer sausage, and the post-race Southern Cross IPA.

20 or so kids showed up to the clinic. There could very well be more kids than adults. But hopefully not. Surely the adults can match the kids in number. And maybe even in enthusiasm.

Good times ahead.

Bike is clean...Beer is good!

The Soundtrack

Blackfoot, Train Train
Allman Brothers, Whipping Post
Drive-By Truckers, Let There Be Rock
Southern Culture On The Skids, Fried Chicken And Gasoline
Ozark Mountain Daredevils, If You Wanna Get To Heaven
The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Tuff Enuff
Lynyrd Skynyrd, That Smell
Allman Brothers, Statesboro Blues
.38 Special, Hold On Loosely
Little Feet, Dixie Chicken
Georgia Sattelites, Keep Your Hands To Yourself
Two Dollar Pistols, Heartaches and Hangovers
Stevie Ray Vaughn, Pride And Joy
Molly Hatchet, Flirtin' With Disaster
Lynyrd Skynyrd, Freebird
Drive By Truckers, The Southern Thing
Black Oak Arkansas, Jim Dandy
Charlie Daniels, The Devil Went Down to Georgia
Steve Earle, Guitar Town
Robert Earl Keen, Copenhagen
Old Crow Medicine Show, Wagon Wheel
Greg Allman, I'm No Angel
ZZ Top, Tush
Blackfoot, Highway Song
.38 Special, Rockin Into The Night
Lynyrd Skynyrd, Sweet Home Alabama
Molly Hatchet, Bounty Hunter
Allman Brothers, Rambling Man
Two Dollar Pistols, H***y Tonkitis
Southern Culture On The Skids, Voodoo Cadillac
Drive By Truckers, The Three Great Alabama Icons
.38 Special, Wild-Eyed Southern Boys
Allman Brothers, Midnight Rider
Fabulous Thunderbirds, Wrap It Up
Lynyrd Skynyrd, Gimme Three Steps
Black Crowes, Hard To Handle
Molly Hatchet, Whiskey Man
Steve Earle, Copperhead Road
Whiskeytown, Revenge
Lynyrd Skynyrd, Simple Man
Two Dollar Pistols, Bring the Heartache
Allman Brothers, Jessica
Drive By Truckers, Ronnie And Neil
Molly Hatchet, Gator Country

Only 2 more sleeps

Last year looked good. But this year will be bigger and better than ever. Good times guaranteed. Nice to see the poosher featured so prominently in that video. I hope he delivers on his promise to be there.

Does anyone need a ride? Bill A. says he has space. Call him: 786-3220.

Word.

Thursday Anticipation

There is only one thing that should be on our minds this week:


Everything is coming together nicely. The hill has been mowed and the basic contours of the course have been decided. It will be a little longer than what we have seen this year. But at roughly 3 kms, it comes in at just about the average length a cx course is supposed to be. We will hit the hill three times per lap--twice at the beginning of each lap and one more time after we spend some time playing in the sand, ripping around some trees, and riding through some picnic shelters. There will be plenty of barriers, with the A race set to enjoy a 6 pack. Johnny S, Jonny G, and I, along with a bunch of ABES, will be marking the course on Saturday morning. There will be a cross clinic at 1:30 pm. Feel free to come out a day early to familiarize yourself with the course.

Johnny S has been working hard at promoting the race in and around Altona. 1200 flyers have been sent out to kids, ads are playing on the radio, etc. We had 99 participants at Menno Cross. But there is a good chance that this will be first cx race in MB to crack the 100 mark.

The Secretary will be running the sound system and shooting the video. The soundtrack has been set: Skynyrd, Allmans, Drive-By Truckers, .38 Special, Molly Hatchet, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Black Oak Arkansas, Two Dollar Pistols, and more. The farmer sausage has been smoked and Mayor Mel is ready to grill them to perfection. The Southern Cross IPA is chilling in the cooler. And the big glasses are waiting for the winners to hoist them. There are 60 cowbells waiting for the kids to ring them at the B and A races. And the Duker will be there to show off his own kid. Charlene will hawking hats. And much, much more.

Did I mention that no licenses are required for this one? The FGBC prefers to eliminate all potential excuses. Juan? Weasel? Poosher? Rachel, Lori, and others will be rocking the C race--their first ever bike races. And rumour has it Swatty will be dressed up in his finest ABES colours while rocking the B race.

The forecast calls for good times. Not to mention some sunnier and warmer weather than we have seen in a while. Do not miss this one.

TNR Report

It is not only in the modern imagination that forests cast their shadow of primeval antiquity; from the beginning they appeared to our ancestors as archaic, as antecedent to the human world. We gather from mythology that their vast and somber wilderness was there before, like a precondition or matrix of civilization, or that . . . the forests were first. Such myths, which everywhere look back to a forested earth, no doubt recall the prehistoric landscape of the West, yet this by itself does not explain why human societies, once they emerged from the gloom of origins, preserved such fabulous recollections of the forests' antecedence. Why, for example, should the founding legends of ancient cities declare that Rome had a sylvan origin? . . . Human beings have by no means exploited the forest only materially; they have also plundered its trees in order to forge their fundamental etymologies, symbols, analogies, structures of thought, emblems of identity, concepts of continuity, and notions of system. From the family tree to the tree of knowledge, from the tree of life to the tree of memory, forests have provided an indispensible resource of symbolization in the cultural evolution of humankind, so much so that the rise of modern scientific thinking remains quite unthinkable apart from the prehistory of such metaphorical borrowings. Even the concept of the circle, we are told, comes from the internal concentric rings laid bare by the felling of trees. --Robert Pogue Harrison, Forests: The Shadow of Civilization

That is why the FGBC pays a visit to the forest every now and then. It reminds us who we are. Yesterday provided an opportunity for one of those visits. It was profound. And therapeutic. Now we can go on.

Addition to the Dork Club?

Or an idea for your next dance party? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fir6neas6I8

TNR

9:30 at my place. It feels like a ride in the Ass. Forest is in order.

God is Dead

Sadly, no. God is not back. On the contrary, his time appears to have run out. RIP VDB.




Seems like a good excuse to watch this one again too:

Look Who's Back On Top

Last year, the FGBC CX Pool saw only two different leaders over the course of almost 5 months of vicarious racing. Rachel led for a couple of days early on. But Gary grabbed the lead for good on Oct. 19 and never let it go. In the end, he won by over 600 points. So far this year, we've had a little more variation at the top of the standings. Seven different people have found their way to the top of the standings over the first four weeks. And this weekend the lead changed hands no less than four different times. Matt kicked off the weekend by taking the lead back from Dallas on Friday in Cincinnati. But after the first GVA race of the season on Saturday, Olli moved to the front of the pack. By the end of the day on Saturday, however, Matt was back in the lead thanks to another strong showing in Cincy. And that's when Gary made his move. He took over the top spot after the Superprestige race in Ruddervoorde. And he extended it later in the day at the final race in Cincinnati. He now has a 75 point lead over Vic. Matt is in third place, another 105 points back. It's still pretty close at the top, so hopefully Gary will let the rest of us keep dreams about winning the 2009-10 FGBC CX Pool for a little while longer. Last year, he monopolized all our fun.

As for the individual races, Cincinnati saw three-way ties for first place in each of its three races. On Friday, it was Charlene, Mike, and Craig, with 355 points each. Saturday saw Gary, Matt, and Jonah take the top three spots. They had 300 points apiece. And on Sunday, Charlene, Mike, and Craig found their way back to the podium with simultaneous 375 point days. Over in Europe, thing were a little less cozy. Olli took the win at the GVA series opener at the Citadel in Namur. He had 465 points to finish ahead of Darryl (420) and LeAnn (415). At the Superprestige opener on Sunday, Hal's 350 point showing was the best of the day. Jonny B had 325 points for second place. And I rounded out the podium, with 310 points.

Full results here.

Next weekend, the NACT Series resumes in Toronto. And the second World Cup race of the season takes place in the Czech Republic at Pilzen.

Close Call

Without the double-digit numbers we have become accustomed to seeing at the cx races, it looked like we might be in trouble. And with Archie's win and the Impaler's podium, the talk at the Belgian club over post-race frites, mayo, and ale was that the cereal pushers might have taken this round. But our all around awesomeness helped us extend winning streak. Having an extra rider didn't hurt either. Neither did Mike's flat tire. 103 - 85 for the dark side.

Individual results, translated into Challenge points, are as follows:

Craig - 22 points
LeAnn - 20
Chris - 16
Vic - 16
Thomas - 15
Jonny - 14

Artur - 25
Brad - 20
Michelle - 18
Larry - 16
Mike - 6

Full results here.

See you next weekend in Altona.

Belgian Supercross Report

It doesn't get much better than that, at least as far as cx goes. Cold. Greasy. Frustrating. Awesome. Well done, boys and girls. And special thanks to Hal, Ian and the Oly Crew. That was fun.

There weren't very many who didn't crash a couple of times. I think I went down 5 or 6 times. Twice over the bars in the mud bog alone. Jonny G got tangled up in a fence, just as he was about to catch Halberto. And every off-camber corner was a crapshoot.

In the A race, the FGBC placed three in the top 10. The Cricket was 2nd, I was 6th, and Jonny G finished 8th. That's the best result of the season for Jonny. So far. The Fraggle broke a derailleur. But she ran it out to finish and collect her Challenge points. Mike had a flat tire, but got back out on course to finish 16th. Dan N has had some bad luck this season. But he picked up the win today.

Thomas and Vic did the B race. I have no idea how they did. But needless to say they made us proud. The deep FGBC B race crowd we have come to expect did not materialize. Some were sick. Others were hobbled. Some had other commitments. And some simply failed to show up. Penner? RRR's new recruit, Artur, pulled off a thrilling come from behind win over Josh G, who was riding the Poosher's old Steamroller. The poosher himself was nowhere to be seen. The Impaler, however, was there. And he finally got onto the podium, finishing 3rd. Michelle won (and lost) the women's race. And El Españolito was there too.

Has anyone seen my shoes? Black (and very muddy) Sidi Bullets. They were last seen in the lobby.

The photos sum it all up nicely:

In case anyone is wondering . . .

The course is awesome.

And my back is sore from shovelling.

See you out there.

Giddy-up.

Remember three weeks ago at Kings Park when it was 30 degrees?

I recall hearing lots of complaining. People were saying that it wasn't really cyclocross weather and stuff like that. Apparently that meant that it wasn't really a cyclocross race. And I suppose that had the convenient consequence that crappy results didn't count. Well, it doesn't look like it's going to hit 30 today--except maybe in Fahrenheit.

We've got ourselves some real cyclocross weather, girls and boys. How sweet is that? The Belgian Club always gives us a memorable race. But today might very well be one for the ages.

Course set-up commences at 7am. The kids take to the start line at high noon.

One More From Gary

Meanwhile the Oly Crew is promising that in addition to the usual awesome course and post-race good times, there will be all manner of "extras" this year--a DJ, race announcer, trials, jewellery, and bread. No word yet on whether they have decided to go with the idea of transforming the always popular mud bog into a mud-wrestling venue. Tent, beer garden, and even hotel lobby ride-throughs are so yesterday. But a mud-wrestling match ride-through? How could you not love that?

And finally, Gianni passed along some info regarding a new initiative that sets out to save cyclocross from itself. They are billing it as "the hand down." It claims the same spirit as the hand-up, but is not technically illegal. Yet. It seems worthy of consideration. Perhaps a test run is in order.

Thursday Anticipation

1) Only 10 more days until The Big One.


Johnny S has all kinds of treats in store that will be sure to enhance your racing and spectating pleasure. Yes, it will be awesome. But if you still need more convincing, there will be Southern Cross IPA on hand for the post-race good times. What more could you want?


2) This weekend is the last chance to get everything dialed in before the one race that really matters. It promises to be spectacular in its own right. Frites and mayo, Belgian ale, the mud bog, and more. Good times guaranteed.


The weather looks to be cooperating too:



3) Perogie Cross serves up the official Southern Cross pre-race meal and also provides an opportunity to loosen up the legs for the next day.



4) Altona sets the bar so high that a whole series of posters is required to promote the race that follows it. Not to mention some super sweet draw prizes! They also have their very own website.

(Complete TRP EuroX Magnesium brake set.
Retail value with taxes about $450)

TNR Report

It was a short ride. But a sweet one, nonetheless. Craig had some bike problems, and Luke had some problems getting out of the house. So we had a bit of a late start. But we still made it out to the Belgian Club, where Gianni and Halberto gave us a guided tour of the course they are developing for Saturday. It includes all the same bits and pieces we have come to love. But they will be strung together differently--and essentially in reverse. There is still a bunch of work needed to prep the course. Gianni and Halberto would very much appreciate your help. They will be out there tonight at 6pm, working mostly on the riverbank. And also on Saturday morning. Be there if you can. They have also asked if we could help supply some marshalls during the races.







Back at the klubhaus, KK and Jonny B were warming the seats for us when we arrived. Jonny G showed up a little later to hawk some hats. And we had a surprise visit from Uncle Phil. Among other things, he suggested that there might be a possibility of an indoor cyclocross race at the MTS Centre sometime this winter. For the record, we at the FGBC heartily endorse such an idea. The Secretary entertained us with stories from the first Hummelt Hockey game of the season. There was also some conversation about vicarious hockey and baseball. Gianni supplied a brief ethnographic look at some of the cultural intricacies of Belgian folk dancing. And KK enthusiastically shared some of his research on 24 hour races, and what would be involved in putting on an awesome event. Finally, some consideration was given to the possibility of an FGBC choral effort. Vic seems to think we could pull it off, maybe even produce a CD. I have my doubts about that. Which is why I suggested we consider a nude calendar instead. It would be tastefully done, of course.

The tunes were better than they have been in a while. There was some Boston, BOC, and the Doobies. But no Skynyrd, Allman Brothers, or Molly Hatchet.

TNR

Hockey starts for some. Others are playing volleyball. The rest of us--the awesome ones--will be joined by Gianni (and possibly his sidekick Halberto) to get a preview of the course we will be racing at the Belgian Club race on Saturday.

Once again, it might not be a bad idea to bring your cx rigs.

My place at 9:30 pm.