tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29904353576512390232011-09-01T18:03:41.657-07:00Here is my first effort at writing a blog about cycling in general. I also have a regular e-zine called Cyclocross News that runs from August to January, generally following the Cyclocross scene in Eastern New York's Capital District. Here, I will post occasional stories of all things related to cycling from mountain bike, 'cross, and road riding in and around the Albany New York area.Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.comBlogger311100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-89742431271014327942011-08-28T15:15:00.000-07:002011-08-28T15:19:37.919-07:00

A dozen or so cyclists from our local area made the trip out to Deerfield, Mass to ride the Deerfield Dirt and Road Randonee, aka the D2R2. This ride is known for its challenging climbs, narrow twisting dirt and gravel roads, scenic overlooks, and believe it or not, great food and drink. Organizers this year added a 115K route to the customary 100K and the 180K loops. I have done the 100K

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-70664134653265406642011-08-15T21:33:00.000-07:002011-08-15T22:18:15.144-07:00

I developed a technique that I describe here that I think is a great way to remove old glue from an aluminum rim. This week, I glued a new pair of Challenge Grifo Cyclocross tires onto a set of Mavic Ksyrium SL aluminum wheels.  The first step, of course, was to stretch the tires onto a old set of rims. I then pumped up the tires to about 60 psi and let those sit for several days. I also add

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-60748171024294628652010-03-19T17:58:00.003-07:002010-03-19T17:58:59.238-07:00

still here.

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-61902984665335954562009-12-12T17:18:00.000-08:002010-02-14T19:25:44.241-08:00

Its been 'cross all day everyday. What an awesome week so far. On Friday, Connie and i got up early to get out to the the frozen tundra of a course to see Emma White (CBRC) and her brother Curtis (Clif Bar Cyclocross Development Team) race. Emma's race was early.... 8 AM, and it was like zero degrees out. Emma got a great start and the race quckly turned into a two person race between Emma and a

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-12701074734442606182009-12-10T21:03:00.000-08:002009-12-10T22:28:08.689-08:00

Day 3 at the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships dawned bright and sunny with morning temps again in the single digits. My race was at 1:00 PM which is a good start for me as i am not a morning person. This start time allowed me to sleep in and have a nice breakfast at the hotel. The plan was to get out to the course around ten, check out the bikes again, and witness one of the race

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-45583039615249915272009-12-09T21:13:00.001-08:002009-12-10T22:11:47.671-08:00

Day 1 and 2 on the way to the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Chanmpionships were long days indeed. The trip actually started on Monday, when i stuffed two Redlines into a double bike box that i borrowed from my good buddy Tim Leonard. I spent 2 to 3 hours taking apart two bikes and fitting pieces into the box like a jigsaw puzzle before i was able to completely close the lid on the box. It was a

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-51903191390115307122009-11-28T18:36:00.000-08:002009-11-28T19:13:00.118-08:00

Today was 'Sterling', Race # 11 of the New England Cyclocross Championship Series. The Bay State CX race in Sterling, Mass. Connie and i drove out the night before and made it to the race venue slightly behind schedule due to a whole number of small incidents that just added up to being a little late. I was feeling a bit crappy besides, stomache or nasuea type feelings, nothing to speak of (and i

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-69456135015775181382009-08-28T19:48:00.000-07:002009-08-28T20:35:13.490-07:00

ok, that's a cute title 'cause this post is about my first CX race of the year which took place last Sunday at Blunt Park in Springfield Mass, about a 2 hr drive from Nisky, NY. The ride out in the AM was in the pouring rain. No matter, i was pysched to start the 'cross season and i was anxious to try out the bike in the mud. Connie too, wanted to go and we brought along Iris, our little puppy.

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-61508325992680400242009-07-01T15:56:00.000-07:002009-07-01T20:23:35.272-07:00

Last Sunday, I did a ride with Chuck, Artie and Curtis. And the story needs to be told.Curtis' Dad had contacted me to see if Curtis could perhaps connect up with some of the CBRC folks that were exchanging e-mails about a ride of some dirt roads. Several e-mail had been exchanged with several combinations of potential participants, including folks from Keltic, Battenkill United, and a Pro rider

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-83471778408825042542009-06-24T19:55:00.000-07:002009-06-24T20:33:47.737-07:00

Once a year, on or about June 21st, We in the Northern Hemishere Experience the Summer Solstice and enjoy the maximum amount of daylight. And every year to celebrate the event, MHCC President Skip Holmes organizes his Summer Solstice Ride to take advantage of the extra daylight with a 50 mile ride in Southern Albany County. The ride is always a Tuesday night so this year the ride took place on

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-73966521823074594532009-06-18T21:40:00.000-07:002009-06-18T22:41:48.799-07:00

Yikes, its been a while since i last posted here... well i've got a good reason to post now, the Black Fly Challenge Race, held last Saturday, June 13th. This is a point to point 'mountain bike race' that has really grown in popularity. I put the mtb race in quotes because there is a fair amount of pavement and mostly dirt roads and a tiny smattering of single track. No matter...this race is a

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-79144075337459415852009-03-28T19:12:00.000-07:002009-03-29T09:31:46.852-07:00

Today was the first race of the Johnny Cake training race series that my club (http://www.cbrc.us/) puts on every Spring. We had good turn outs and exceptional weather. All in all, things went well, no serious crashes, and a good time was had by all. Race Promoter, Tom Butler, Race Director Tom Despart, and a host of CBRC volunteers did a superb job and started the season out on the right foot.

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-74318378219793109842009-03-21T19:53:00.000-07:002009-03-22T21:02:43.544-07:00

Today, three of us old guys got together and made an hour drive north to Cambridge, NY to pre-ride the Tour of Battenkill course. Artie Gee, Q and I got an early start and left the Cambridge High School parking lot under brilliant sunny skies but bitter cold temps in the low 20's. The first hour or so, my toes and fingers were suffering from the cold. The sides of the road still showed some snow

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-54918381633605872962009-03-20T17:15:00.000-07:002009-03-20T18:08:23.354-07:00

The training camp has moved back home to the Capital District. Warmer temps and sunny skies lured campers back to the hills of southern Albany County. We connected this past Sunday and did a nice ride around the Alcove Resevoir. This is a favorite Spring ride of about 45 miles, depending on detours or deviations from the standard route, that heads south, then west on Rt 143 into the Town of

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-33745261331161808002009-03-14T17:43:00.000-07:002009-03-20T17:11:41.838-07:00

Day 6... not really from Asheville… the Asheville weather forecast for Friday was cold...temps in the forties and a 30% chance of rain and 90% chance of rain for Saturday… yuck. The weather forecasted for Albany was sunny and the predicted temps were approaching 50, so we decided to hit the road in the Toyota and head home. We stopped along the way at the pawn shop and we got 175 bucks for

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-27184322903174221292009-03-12T15:11:00.000-07:002009-03-12T15:39:11.030-07:00

Day 5 in Asheville… We started the day with French toast, eggs, bacon, juice and coffee. That was my job. That was easy. I can do basic breakfast stuff. Wayne is the real cook. Wayne did a great pasta dish two nights ago which was excellent. This AM, Wayne surveyed the meager provisions left scattered about the kitchen and cooked up this warm apple concoction with fresh apple chunks, brown sugar,

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-35376574696299721322009-03-11T18:29:00.000-07:002009-03-12T13:34:30.687-07:00

Day 4 in Asheville.... Yesterday (Day 3) while we were relaxing mid-ride in the town of Marshall, we ran into a nice man (Mike) who said he was going to do a bike ride with some of his local friends and invited us along. We agreed so this AM (Day 4) we met up with Mike and his posse at a lookout along the Blue Ridge Parkway. We had a group of nine. The plan was to was to pedal up Mt Pisgah and

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-36250983382030097582009-03-10T18:12:00.000-07:002009-03-11T18:28:34.193-07:00

Day 3 in Asheville. Well let's first rewind to last night.... where we went to a vegan restaurant in town, recommended by our good friend Frank from MHCC. The food was excellent. The beer was an English wheat porter served cold and especially tasty. It also packed a good kick at about 9 % alchohol. Good fuel for Day 3. In the AM, Wayne started us off with some oatmeal ... not instant oatmeal, the

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-49250958776621758212009-03-09T15:00:00.000-07:002009-03-10T16:33:03.974-07:00

Day 2 in Asheville... Most important task for Day 2 was to get to a Waffle House. Art had been chatting up this Waffle House thing for about 800 miles of drive time in the car trip down. Every Waffle House sign was a major scenic attraction. Each siting brought forth another story about a Waffle Hose visit or a how Debby made the best waffles and generally if we are not eating waffles, we could

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-81625947750701968672009-03-08T18:36:00.000-07:002009-03-08T19:22:58.338-07:00

Oh its been so long since i've updated this thing... well i've finally got something to report. Art, Skip, Wayne, and i decided to get away from this bone chilling cold Northeast weather and go some place warmer and ride. I was originally hoping to go the Spring camp in Majorca, Spain, but i couldn't get anyone to go along with that. Instead, Skip organized a training camp of sorts of his own

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-37739293283501060642008-11-23T20:10:00.000-08:002008-11-23T20:46:00.933-08:00

My broken clavical is healing but i'm still not out on the road or doing any cyclocross training and that is really killing me. Today, i sat on the trainer for almost two hours while i watched old VHS tapes of the 1996 through 2000 World Cyclocross Championships. I believe it was 1999 in Poprad, Slovakia that the US bagged its first two medals in the 50 years of World Championship racing, when

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-33284148992347725532008-10-27T17:59:00.000-07:002008-10-27T18:26:56.726-07:00

So with a busted collar bone, i will be off the bike for a while. I am setting up my Serotta with a spare rear wheel and a hefty rear clincher and a big ol' steel skewer to hook up to my trainer in the family room downstairs. What an awful thought...months on the trainer. Earlier this week i was leaving work and i saw a CBRC kit whiz past on a local training road. I drove up alongside Schill, who

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-20245209077510117692008-10-23T20:20:00.000-07:002008-11-11T14:53:30.428-08:00

Oh how i look forward to Gloucester. Its such a cool venue, in Stage Fort Park right on the harbor. My wife and i make a weekend out of it, staying overnight at least two nights, getting to the Park early and staying late to watch all the days' races. This year we brought along our two new puppies, Hudson and Ruby. These two are such great travelers and they love to spend the day in the Park

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-42420302437295258362008-10-10T07:59:00.000-07:002008-10-28T20:57:13.025-07:00

Off to Gloucester... the coolest race on the East Coast, the G-ster, the New England Worlds. Stay tuned...

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-46461935728903418542008-10-07T21:32:00.000-07:002008-10-09T18:44:36.547-07:00

Well, i have not been doing a satisfactory job in keeping up this blog... i've been just swamped with stuff... Mostly busy with being the race director of the Schenectady Central Park Cyclocross Race.  Tons of details to take care of at the last minute.  One thing is for certain, though, i am fortunate to be part of the greatest CX community on the face of the earth.  Our club is so CX

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-74977395667972621882008-09-21T21:03:00.000-07:002008-10-09T18:44:36.548-07:00

I did my first CX race of the season at the Kirkland CX race in Clinton, NY.  The fields were rather small but the course was a lot of fun and i felt pretty good. It was very cool to see a bunch of friends from the CX scene...too many to mention here.  It was a great day.  The bike worked flawlessly.  I had rolled my rear tire earlier in the week, and Jeff at the shop re-glued it and all was good

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-80688399327094298672008-09-09T19:53:00.000-07:002008-10-09T18:44:36.548-07:00

Here's a picture of the new Redline taken at the Cycle Smart Cyclocross Camp in Northfield, Mass... aoljpictureUpload, aoljpictureUpload_1

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-38019807819895139422008-08-25T20:39:00.000-07:002008-10-09T18:44:36.549-07:00

As a 'master' age cyclist, i have acquired a lot of stuff over the years.  i need to make room for the new bike, so i have been cleaning out the garage, getting rid of stuff unused for years, and most all that has been tossed  has been non-bicycling related.  As a husband and father of two daughters, way too much stuff accumulates in a house over the years.  So after my youngest daughter moved

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-118411468597741482008-08-10T20:28:00.000-07:002008-10-09T18:44:36.549-07:00

I just picked up my new bike... i'll have to post some pictures.  I made the leap to tubulars this year after convincing my self that tubulars roll better, grip better, and they look cool.  I really convinced myself after racing in the rutted frozen icy conditions at the 2007 CX Nationals in Kansas City.  I did OK in that race but i felt i could have done so much better.  It seemed that i had

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-50653524643446648802008-08-03T20:06:00.000-07:002008-10-09T18:44:36.549-07:00

The page on my VeloNews calendar has flipped to August and that means its the beginning of cyclocross season... and all thoughts turn to 'cross. Well, it turns out that the cyclocross fever cools a bit from February to July, but the season is never totally purged from the consciousness. My preparation for putting on the 2008 Schenectady Cyclocross Race is well underway. All the permitting with

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2990435357651239023.post-81069652922050382662008-06-30T19:54:00.000-07:002008-10-09T18:44:36.550-07:00

A ride with a National Champion Last week, a good friend e-mailed the cycling club to invite club members over to his house for an easy ride of 50 to 60 miles. Nothing too strenuous, just a chance to get together to ride with friends and teammates. It sounded good to me. I hadn’t ridden with Tom; the host of the ride, for many months and it would be cool to ride together and to also see his

Dave Bealshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04953225802893215086noreply@blogger.com3