2011 Detroit Invitational Cyclocross

Wow!  What a great day.  It couldn't have gone any better!  Huge thank's to everyone who pitched in, all the racers and the fans who cheered them on.  We had a great day, an awesome course and everyone went home happy.  I'll have a more thorough race report soon.  In the mean time, enjoy a little video of the first lap & prologue, courtesy of Craig Morris. 

Detroit Invitational Cyclocross T-shirts

Hand printed by Natalie at Ducky Detroit.  Available in Long Sleeve mens sizes.  They will be on sale at the race for $25. 



 I am interested in doing this but I have to get it cleared by my university CC coach before I can say for certain.

Cx Czar here,

Life is made from the decisions that we make, based on the advice we choose to accept, either concious or subconsiously.

I'm not going to tell you how to live your life, but based on my experience that I've gleemed over my last 43 years on this planet, I would recommend that you enter the race

If you consult with your coach he will probably advise you to stay home to avoid potential injury and follow the training plan that he plagurized from a Jim Fixx biography. So Saturday, after following your prescribed training exercise, you kill the rest of the day watching the college gameday matchup between Central Iowa Agriculture and Truck-driving Institute and an even lesser known rival in a field goal shootout as you gander up the TV guide to and wonder if the 18 and pregnant episode comming up in an hour is a re-run or not. All the while, not realising that you had wasted 12 hours of your precious life following the dogma of your coach, because it suits his best interests, and not necessarily yours.

or...


You send me an email. On Saturday, you show up at a park that has been abandonded by it's city, then reclaimed by it's inhabitants. For one day there is yellow tape that winds around it's hills marking the course. There are wooden barriers, hay bales, off-camber turns steep run ups, and even the banked turns of an abandoned velodrome. You watch the first race and are amazed with the noise from the cowbells and the shouts from the fans. Its as if you've walked into an "Imported from detroit" ad and Mardi-gras simultaneously. Racers chug up hills, grab dollars and beer from screaming fans, and when required to make up extra ground on a competitor, take the dreaded "Tequila Shot Short Cut".


When it's your turn to race (11am) you line up with the other competitors. Within minutes of the start you feel your heart rate rise to levels that youve never experienced. Riding on the bankes of the velodrome is a new and foreign experience. Your lungs are burning, despite being young and in shape. At the barriers, you clumisly try and remount, you are amazed at how fast some of the riders are able to clear the barriers and remount gracefully, as if they were born doing this. You try to let up, but at the top of each hill and at the end of each set of barriers there are a dozen fans with cowbells yelling at the top of their lungs telling you to hammer it. You pass a couple of riders, and feel completely exhilerated, another washes out his front wheel on a wet sloping turn, almost taking you out as well. You press on, Members of the crowd hold out dollars and beers for you. You try to grab a couple bills, but the guy in front of you gets to them before you. You manage to grab a beer, pouring half of it down the front of your jersey. It temporarly soothes your burning throat and the extra carbs give you a new kick to your step. Within a lap you catch the guy in front of you and are able to grab a dollar or two.


After the race, you are congratulated by your competitors. You follow the crowd to Kuhnhenn's brewery for some of the best beer you've ever tasted, and to listen to the results. You win a pair of arm warmers & a water bottle in a raffle. You catch the eye of a cute brunette, she asks you if you raced today, you use the wadded up dollars you grabbed during the race to buy her a pint... or two.


Now I'm not guaranteeing you that if you sign up for my race that you'll end up hooking up with your generational equivilant of Jaclyn Smith ... but I'm not ruling it out either (look her up, it's well worth it)


Fact is, your heart will race, you lungs will burn but this race is an awesome time. (I realize that this is probably the the same argument for huffing paint, but bear with me.) You mentioned that you want to try it but something is holding you back. Let it go, give it a try you wont regret it. (BTW, you can always use a false name)


Jeff Wood
aka The CX Czar
register for the race here: cxczar@gmail.com

Counting down

...by flaming do you mean outlandisly effeminent?

Raced last year and loved it- I want in again this year. I think you should add a flaming hay bale maze to the course so that I can use my fire-fighting skills- imagine the excitement that would generate!
 
Thanks,


David Chapman

Thanks for the suggestion Dave, but I think the "Better Judgement " light just went off in my head.  Besides, the only thing I want burning at the race will be the competitors lungs.   The idea of hay bales as an obstacle is intriguing...

The CX Czar

Serious Indeed!

Was ready to ride the Massive Fallout today with about a dozen or so of my buddies, upon looking at the weather, we thought better of tearing up the trails  and wallowing through peanut butter for 60 miles.  So I came home, registered for Mad Anthony and figured that I better start winding up the old hype machine for the Invitational cyclocross.

On a whim, I looked at the page views and as a few minutes ago, it was ramping up to a nearly respectable level.    I thought to myself, shit, I better give them some content!  So let me address a few questions that have been presented to me.

First of all, if you'd like to race, shoot me an email (cxczar at gmail dot com).  We'll be using an RFID  timing system this year and it makes things infinitely easier if we can load up the database in advance.  Where did we get a timing system?  We made it!  Seriously, over the winter one of my teammates picked up a demo system on ebay and with a little bit of collaboration we were able to write a web based timing system that we have been using on the greyhounds internal racing series.  I'm happy to say that it works very well, considering it cost thousands of dollars less than the pro systems  Plus, the lead programmer who will be setting everyone up was originally a triathlete, so I don't imagine that he has a high resistance to cold.  (so register early!)

Second, yes the race is free.  no registration fee, no license fee.  After last years events, I had a lot of people tell me that I should contact USA cycling and get this event on their calendar.  Though I love & compete in those races throughout the year.   I realized that, I don't take myself that seriously, and my race should reflect that this is just about having fun and maybe bending the rules a little bit.   Besides, the best part of this race is all the "You know what you should do!"  conversations throughout the year.   I've had suggestions for flaming hoops, ramps, ball pits, water balloons, swinging heavy bags, etc... I've gotten countless suggestions in the form of photos & videos and I love to hear more.

Last year it did have a 'stone soup' type of vibe.  Random people brought stuff to share.  A few people brought growlers of their own home-brew concoctions.  A guy from Liberty brewing brought a delicious pony-keg of imperial stout.  Others brought cookies & snacks to share.   In my opinion, this is what made the event awesome.   If you are a bike shop that has random swag, accessories, or excess inventory, i's be happy to give it away as a preem or raffle to a spectator.

Finally, I'm excited about the track.  Dorias is really a great park for a cyclocross race.  I'd like to put in a bit more time prepping the course this year and I think we may go out there the day before.  As always, I prefer to set up a course that favors those of use that ride cross with the traditional drop bars, as opposed to a mountain bike.  Expect to see some modifications to the course that reward those of you that are good transitioning through barriers and have a strong stomach for tequila.

See you on the 26th!

The CX Czar