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Greetings!
November.
Leaves have fallen, cross courses are actually snowy and muddy, and Halloween has passed. We've even got a cross race on Thanksgiving!
Let's all put down the candy we've looted from the kids and pause to be thankful. Chances are, if you are reading this, you have much to be thankful for. Mainly, that you are healthy enough to ride your bike, enjoy the amazing Coloradoness of living here, and get to share our sport with friends, teammates and competitors.
Here's a few of our favorite articles having to do with thankfulness and the bike:
http://303cycling.com/thankful-to-ride
http://redkiteprayer.com/2012/10/fortune/
http://www.thebicyclestory.com/2012/03/the-enlightened-cyclist-bikesnobs-road-to-commuter-heaven/
You can do yourself a favor: Take the 2 minutes that you usually devote to updating your Strava account or your training journal and write down 5 things that you can be thankful for regarding riding your bike. Who got your started? Who or what has motivated you? How has cycling improved your life?
When we see the older kids who are supporting and coaching at Cross Camp or the smile on a rider's face after her first criterium, or the satisfaction you feel during a post-race talk with the guy who you nipped at the line, it's obvious that we are part of something big and fantastic.
Thank you to bikes and everybody who rides them!
Chris
Racer at sunrise. Photo by Mountain Moon Photography.
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Daylight Savings Time Ends - Set Your Clocks Back!
Check Race Flyers for the new Short Day Race Schedule
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2012 Junior Cross Camp
by Shelley Hartman
100+ campers, 25 young people helping the next generation, parents, coaches, volunteers - the 2012 Junior Cross Camp had it all!
Photo by Shelley Hartman
Perseverance, learning, and laughter summarize the ACA's 2012 Junior CX Overnight Camp. The weekend at The Ranch in Loveland, CO was dedicated to teaching cross skills to the present and future hard core junior cyclists of America. Rain, sleet, snow, and frigid temperatures only put a slight damper on the high level of enthusiasm and activity. The juniors met the slam of harsh weather with gusto and fought back hard, with each pedal stroke, as only true cyclocross racers can.
At night, juniors cracked jokes and discussed the latest techniques while piling in the conference room (turned slumber rooms) like sardines, encased in their sleeping bags, and surrounded by loose random smelly belongings. What a scene, yet true kid bliss. Friends were made, tears were spent, goals were accomplished, bruises were acquired, workouts performed, healthy food was consumed, techniques were adjusted, steps were deleted, games were played, courses were set, compliments were abound, smiles were bright, and the outcome was phenomenal!
The epic weekend ended with official age category cx races, and each member of the Junior Development Program was able to utilize lessons learned. They rode away with an exhausted smile, knowledge in their noggin, and passion for their next roll in the dirt!
Lennard Zinn's technical talk at Camp. Photo by Shelley Hartman
A HUGE "Thank you" goes out to Head Coach Ann Trombley, US Olympian and USAC Elite Coach, 2012 Women 30-34 Cyclocross National Champion Rebecca Gross, plus other great mentors including Velo's Leonard Zinn, Alpha Bicycle Co's Adam Rachubinski, Aaron Zoerner (USAC Level 2 Coach), Aaron 'Boups' Bouplon, and many dedicated parent volunteers helped the CX camp succeed without a hitch. Meg Forbes provided a great nutrition talk. The director and leader of the pack was Clint Bickmore (USAC Level 2 Coach). Cheers to Elizabeth Burt, who managed the camp while enduring the bitter cold at the front table all weekend, and provided yummy cupcakes to all, Brian Hludzinski and Margell Abel for all their work. Lynn Taylor and Tim Lynch from the ACA Board of Directors played a much needed part too!"
Tired camper. Photo by Shelley Hartman
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2012 Women's Summit
November 20, 2012 from 6-9 pm
Boulder Beer Pub
Colorado women at 2012 Cross Nats. Photo by Feedback Sports.
Join the Bicycle Racing Association of Colorado's Board of Directors, Susan Adamkovics and Rachel Scott, Sarai Snyder of www.girlbikelove.com, keynote speaker Jennifer Triplett and several female leaders in the cycling community at Boulder Beer from 6-9 pm for appetizers, happy hour and a formal agenda impacting bicycle racing for women in Colorado. Seasoned women racers and new cyclists encouraged to attend, as well as promoters, officials and anyone looking to grow, improve or learn more about cycling for women in CO. More info can be found here.
We will discuss policy concerning women's categories and grouping of categories for the 2013 road season prior to the December 5th annual meeting; discuss the first women's criterium race for 2013; understanding race data from previous years; recruit volunteers and committee members for mentoring programs and clinics; increase participation in track; and sharing in an open forum how we can continue to improve women's attendance numbers and camaraderie in the state of Colorado.
If you want a voice, then please come, share and be heard!
A formal agenda will be emailed to all female registered BRAC racers.
If you'd like to include an agenda topic, be more involved in the summit, or need host housing, please email
Susan at susankylie73@yahoo.com or
Rachel at lady@rachelscottworks.com
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Hypothermia - Watch Out This Time of Year!
SnowBowl start at Louisville 2011. Photo by Sportifimages.
Shivering is your body's automatic defense against cold temperature - an attempt to warm itself. Constant shivering is a key sign of hypothermia. Signs and symptoms of moderate to severe hypothermia include:
- Shivering
- Clumsiness or lack of coordination
- Slurred speech or mumbling
- Stumbling
- Confusion or difficulty thinking
- Poor decision making, such as trying to remove warm clothes
- Drowsiness or very low energy
- Apathy or lack of concern about one's condition
- Progressive loss of consciousness
- Weak pulse
- Slow, shallow breathing
A person with hypothermia usually isn't aware of his or her condition, because the symptoms often begin gradually and because the confused thinking associated with hypothermia prevents self-awareness.
Juniors/kids: Children lose heat faster than adults do. Children have a larger head-to-body ratio than adults do, making them more prone to heat loss through the head. Children may also ignore the cold because they're having too much fun to think about it. And they may not have the judgment to dress properly in cold weather or to get out of the cold when they should.
Follow this link for Bicycling Magazine's
Cold Weather Riding Tips.
Stay Warm, Stay Healthy, Stay Fast
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ACA Person of the Month #1:
Heather McWilliams Mierzejewski
Heather helped Boulder Orthopedics to its title of #1 Masters Team
in the country. Photo by Len Pettyjohn.
Apparently the length of one's name directly correlates to their speed in racing. At least it does with Heather. Not only does Heather have the longest name of any racer outside of Great Britain, but she's pretty fast too. How does a masters criterium medalist take to cross?
A year ago I banished the mileage chart pinned to my bulletin board and stepped into my first pair of team bibs. Sporting the Boulder Orthopedics colors, I trained using a coach-designed plan geared toward racing rather than distance. It's been an exciting journey ever since, with a trip to a masters world championship and two national championships, culminating in an age-group silver medal in the criterium.
As the road season fades away along with the summer sun, the sound of cowbells ring along the Front Range and for those of us still hungry for racing, cyclo-cross is on! Speaking as a newbie racer and from a mom's perspective, there is no better place to get into racing than 'cross--it's got folks grilling out, food trucks, people in costumes and silly socks, enthusiastic crowds and bicycles. What more could you want?
Cyclo-cross offers a laid-back atmosphere with encouragement handed out on the start line (at least in the women's field), and beer handed out on the course (sometimes) and plenty of congrats to go around after the race (because you finished). There's often a play area in the infield perfect for the kids while mom or dad is racing. My son jumped into the pre-junior races offered at many events this year. It's been great to load up the car for our race days together.
I love cyclo-cross for the atmosphere but also for the opportunity it provides to improve my bike handling skills, focus and technique. The many barriers, run-ups and transitions mean constant mental engagement and demand awareness of how my bike and body work together. When the technical aspects go right there's an impressive elegance about it. When something goes wrong it's a good chance to laugh, pick yourself up and keep going. It's something that's, for me, transferred to improved performance on the road and in other sports. Physically it's intense and demands fitness to do well, making for great motivation to stay on top of those winter workouts. Wrap that together and I can't wait to hit the 'cross course next weekend for another round of wacky, drool-producing efforts alongside some fun folks. See you there!
-Heather
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Back to Basics 2012 - Super Successful Mid-Week Cross
 Listening to instructions before the race at B2B. Photo by Katie Macarelli.
The Back to Basics Series in Golden delivered the goods through six consecutive Wednesdays this fall. With 1,047 racer days, the Series was well attended and downright fun for everyone.
 Riders in the evening light. Photo by Mountain Moon Photography.
Big Thanks to Lee Waldman, Team Routine Leg Works, Dean Crandall, Tom Foss, Sheri Barr, Yvonne van Gent and everyone who worked tirelessly to makes these races a resounding success, even during days of wicked weather and impending darkness.
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2012 Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals
Our good friends at the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Cycling Conference continue to post incredible results at the National level. These clubs and athletes play a big role in the Colorado cycling community, and deserve our congratulations. Check out these results and stats - I like to think that we are all working together in our efforts to make Colorado cycling the best in the country. We see many of these athletes at our road, cross and track events - great riding all!
Colorado Mesa U's Alexis Skarda on the top step at 2012 Collegiate Nats. Photo by CMU Cycling/Rick Crawford.
- Overall participation up 34% (by race starts) from 2011 (1343 starts over 21 events to 1800 starts over 21 events)(both years over 6 weekends).
- Conference membership up by 26% (USAC license holders) from 2011.
- 42.5% increase in women's endurance (XC & STXC) racers (40 racers in 2011 and 57 this year).
- 76.5% increase in women's gravity (DH and DS) racers (17 racers in 2011 and 30 this year).
- 1 of the 3 conferences nationally to show ANY growth this year (North Central and South Central both grew by 6%).
- Won 10 of 22 possible National titles at Collegiate MTB nationals in Angel Fire.
- Took 51 of 110 possible podium spots at Collegiate MTB nationals in Angel Fire (up from 45 last year).
*** ACA Person of the Month #2 Racer/Artist Zach Lee  Talk about somebody who works very hard to represent our sport in the best possible way, and you have Zach Lee. You may recognize Zach both on the race course and with his art. Zach Lee is a professional graphic designer, serving the cycling industry and beyond. He is the designer of the Cross Cup logo, Road Cup logo, BRAC logo, the Kick-It Cross Fest, the Boulder Cup, Valmont Bike Park, Cross Vegas, Clement Tires, Pro Peloton Cyclery, and Alpine Bike Parks. Like many Colorado cycling organizations, we shop locally for the services that are so important to run a successful business. Thanks Zach for your work for the ACA over the last five years! *** Shopping for a Team? Are you looking to join a team? There are many teams out there who are taking applications NOW. Most teams are built on the twin principles of competition and fun. Here is the link to the ACA's Club Page. *** Please watch the ACA website, Facebook (we're near 2,500 likes on our page!) and our weekly updates for the latest in ACA happenings. As always, you can find all the race details on the ACA event calendar. Thanks for sharing this e-newsletter with your friends and family. Have a great Thanksgiving! | 
