Speaking of Movistar, I’m cautiously optimistic of the women’s team. Marlen Reusser was a great pick up. And Cat Ferguson might be the real deal. Along with Lippert, et al, they’ll be in position to play spoiler in one-day races and pick up stages elsewhere.
It’s hard to like Vollering, for obvious reasons. But, due to her difficult personality, she adds some excitement wherever she goes (i.e. she screws Kopecky at Strade, gets all her teammates to ride away without her at the Tour, screws Vos at Worlds) Can’t wait to see her racing against Kopecky.
Agree the drama in women’s racing will be off the charts next year. Not just Vollering v. Kopecky, but Vollering v. AvdB and Vollering v. Niewiadoma.
I try not to be a hater, though, since we don’t know the full story. I hope Vollering gets along famously with her new FDJ teammates.
I move to the Mid-Atlantic and somehow the weather is worse here than Bend (and with no real skiing, be it up or downhill). And to top it off, moving truck, with my trainer setup, is at least a week away. Plus I’ve been fighting a cold and not wanting to exasperate it. But also reaching point where my lack of fitness is appalling, so looks like it’s going to be a cold start to ‘25 while I do something about it.
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Sorry to hear things arent off to a good start, and I hope you’ll be back in the saddle soon.
Is this a permanent move? I seem to recall you have some connections on the East Coast, albeit a tad south of the mid-Atlantics.
Privileged problems, really. Shouldn’t be complaining.
We permanently moved to just north of McNultyville, little town called Middleburg, VA. Our parents are getting up there so we felt it was time to be closer (but not too close). Few other factors as well. Was tough to leave the west, but we were also ready to trade things like smoke for heat & humidity. Haven’t told our dogs about the fleas and ticks yet.
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hope the weather doesn’t delay your moving van, abd that you recover quickly
nice wins by Brand and Wout this morning; mud and cold proper cyclecross conditions
13" in last 3 hrs @ Alta, finally getting some coverage and terrain openings though avy conditions will delay access - probably hold off till Monday but may brave LCC tomorrow
check this out on Mavericks
https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/santa-cruz-surfer-rode-potential-world-record-wave-20008890.php
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Brand rode a smoking last few laps for her 24th straight podium. That’s pretty incredible to not have an injury or mechanical to disrupt that.
Wout had an absolutely smoking start. How he managed to immediately be in the top 3 after the start from the third row is beyond me. It was a very good win, but not Mathieu good. You could tell he was gassed to get those 10 seconds on Iserbyt.
I’m very comfortable swimming in the ocean with chop, but how someone has the nuts to get in with those conditions is beyond me.
FFS that’s huge. I have a college buddy who I think was a lifeguard at Mavericks - said it was just non-stop action at times.
Got a little spicy between Backstedt and Carmen Alvarado for 2nd!
If not here, where else? Lord knows I’ve kvetched enough here, and the rest of the folks have been awfully kind.
Very nice! And it’s a lovely area (though I don’t quite have the cajones to ride on some of the country roads).
Front Royal and the Shenandoahs are great and not too far away, and you are a short hop away from the West Coast.
Further south in the Virginian Piedmonts, Thomas Jefferson and others tried to replicate the viticulture of Italian Piemonte region, to varying degrees of success. I think some even tried growing nebbiolo grapes? Napa it aint, but it would be interesting to hear your take on the wineries. You can probably just ride to some of these from your house and enjoy a stay overnight before riding/driving back.
Hope your enjoy the new locale!
Sorry, I posted that a few days ago - check the time-stamp
https://forum.slowtwitch.com/t/been-a-while-since-the-last-surfing-thread/812436/120?u=randmart
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@Carl_Spackler - middleburg is a gravel bike sweet spot. I’m sure McNulty has routes but stalking some strava will also give you plenty of ideas. The pre USA cycling gravel nats - i think its called gravel fondo nats now??? - has been just north of middleburg for a few years now. I’m about 108 minutes ENE of there and venture towards middleburg/purcellville for the occasional big gravel day out (with less elevation than other options). I’d be happy to give you a lay of road cycling land at some point - as @echappist hinted - i think the quietest/best road stuff is a little ways away (every direction but east!). Understood on the parents - I’m in a similar mode - visiting much more often and contemplating a closer move. Mid Atlantic winters are fickle. Hang in there (Ny eve was 55), hopefully we’ll get a few gems thrown our way.
Wout and Brand! sounds like I have some highlights to watch!
Haha, true about a like-minded confab in this space. Got out for a run today and aiming to man up tomorrow before the heavy stuff comes down. Plus, had a coffee with McNulty this am, so that’s a worth inclement weather perk.
Thanks for dropping the history! Yesterday my wife and I were wondering where the Piedmont naming came from.
Re wine, good riding buddy in Napa who is a winemaker said: “For riding it’s incredible, wine, not so sure.” But thankfully there’s a bevy of EU options, which are tougher to come by in CA and OR wine country.
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Knew you were around here, would be great to do some riding — so long as you go easier on me the next time.
Thanks, hope so as well.
All the running on that course would favor Isyryt as much as any against Wout, who looked a bit gassed at end.
A guy who does the Bike MS City to Shore with us rides one of these, which can be problematic, as there are some sections that can require starting & stopping
A bit late to the game but just started watching the last few woman’s CX races on Max, it’s really noticeable the dearth of any US woman at the top level, just a few years ago there used to be a few woman in the top 10/20, anyone know what caused this decline? I realize that Compton retired, and just looked up and see that Clara Honsinger also retired, anyone know why? she is still pretty young. no new talent coming up?
YMMV but from what I’ve seen of CX, Winter in BeNeLux can be pretty dreary, if not out tightly fucking depressing; damp, cold, & grey are a bad combination
Granted, I understand that is part of the appeal of CX - watching badass athletes kick Old Man Winter in his frosty little balls - but those short daylight hours and that lack of sunshine would ramp my SAD to a level where I’d just want to dump a handful of Vicodin on my oatmeal, wash it down with a quart of Vodka, and call it a day
Yeah, my wardrobe might mostly be black, giving the impression that I may actually be a vampire, but - MUCH to the contrary - I do so enjoy a bright & sunny day; I fairly say that I require it!!!
Did anyone watch Dendermonde today? Absolutely incredible in both races.
The mud goblin himself has been vastly outdone.
That was some kind of middy mess. Women’s race for 2nd was solid.