As I sit here in the airport with a half-finished article I know isn’t going to be complete before I board, I thought I’d give you this to perk your spirits on Humpday… Enjoy!

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In this third and final instalment of my interview with Team H&R Block’s Aaron Schooler, I ask him who he thinks has the edge come CX season, the Roadie or the MTB’r. Personally, in general, I have to hand it to the roadies because they show up with such great fitness. At least this is my perception. Take 20 roadies and 20 MTBers at any given Tuesday Night’r and you’ll see a skew toward the roadies in the top end of the field. That said, if take the fastest roadie and fastest MTB’r, and if they are of similar fitness, then I’d say the edge has to go to the MTB’r due to the bike handling skills, and the explosiveness of the MTB riding style. Really, it’s a pretty tough call, though.

View interview parts #1 and #2.

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Following up on the post from last week, here is the second instalment of my interview with Team H&R Block‘s, Aaron Schooler.

In this part of the interview Aaron talks about the shift from roads to cyclocross season, and the changes he makes to his own training.

For more information on Aaron, check out his blog at Schooler’s Cycling Stuff.

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Perhaps the first time I’ve seen a stage race start literally from off a boat – This is a nice look at Team Jamis as they take on the Trans Andes Challenge.

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Now into it’s second season, Behind the Barriers is a behind the scenes look at Jeremy Powers and his adventures in the US cyclocross scene.

I vaguely remember watching one episode last year, but never really got into things. Now that it’s cross season again and I’m following things a little more closely I gave it another go, and I’m glad I did :-)

Although ‘jPow’ is currently riding for Rapha/Focus, I decided to start with Season 1 (2010) when he was racing for Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com. They’re only three episodes into season 2, but I have to say so far I found season 1 a little more entertaining… Mainly because of the hilarious relationship between Powers and Tim Johnson. It was a lot of fun watching them duke it out both on and off the course.

I have high hopes that season 2 is just getting warmed up, but it’s a fun way to stay up on the season, get a sense for what a lot of these guys are like and to get a glimpse into cyclocross at an elite North American level. It’s also fun to see the friendly rivalries between competitors like Ryan Trebon and Geoff Kabush :-)

For a cycling nerd like me there were some pretty hilariously entertaining moments in the series… Mainly because I can see the same sort of conversations and shenanigans happening with my buddies.

Powers is a pretty entertaining guy and the videos are pretty well done, So if you like cross – Give ‘er a look. The episodes aren’t too long (usually ~15-20min) and can be a nice way to start your day ;-)

Enjoy it all on Vimeo here: http://vimeo.com/behindthebarriers

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Yup, cross season is simply too short. As summer winds down, you think, ‘I can’t wait for CX to start!’ and then the next thing you know September is over and you’ve only done two races… Okay, that may not be you. but it is the case for me.

Last weekend I was out at both the ERTC School of Cross and the Hardcore Hop n’ Hurl, in either a racer or spectator role. As a racer, all I have to say is, ‘HOLY CRAP! Is cross ever hard!’ I may have actually thought I was going to die out there on the course… And although death, is an egregious embellishment, I was delirious enough to not realize the race was over, and kept riding for an additional lap. Ahhhh… Good times.

Thankfully though, as painful as the racing may be, the riding part has been a complete pleasure. The VINER Perfecta cross bike I have this season is nothing short of ‘killer’, and now two races into the season, I can say this bike has more than just the good looks going for it. It’s light, responsive, and handles better than anything I’ve ridden to-date. I think this is in part to the carbon frame, which gives it a feel that I really like – stiff but forgiving in the choppy sections. So yeah, so far, so good. I just need to get stronger so I do the bike some justice out there and be a little more competitive. There’s little question, my personal lack of speed this season, has everything to do from the lack of training I’ve suffered. Ah well, though. Like my pal Ken Hurd says, it’s still fun as long as you’re in there mixin’ it up, no matter if that’s at the top or the bottom of the field. That said, I plan to see if I can get back toward  the pointy end of the field here yet this season. What’s racin’ without a goal?!

On that note, the attached video shot at the ERTC School of Cross, goes out to my pal Stew with United Cycle, who is nothing short of an inspiration to all of us out there. The footage I got of him cleaning that steep, side-slopped section speaks for itself. Keep ridin’, Stew!

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1. It’s Cyclocross Season!

Just ’cause we’re starting to lose daylight a lot earlier doesn’t mean you can’t still ride :-)

Granted it looks like he’s rocking a $600+ Lupine Piko… I guess if I was headed down a mountain in the dark I want some pretty serious candle power too ;-)

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It’s Friday. The sun is shining. Go ride.

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I had to watch this a couple times before I was sure, it can’t be real. I found another video that this one was clearly adapted from. Pretty good job though, and fun to watch.

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What a cool way to spend your retirement – It’s always fascinating learning how retirees got to where they are and the story of how they began. It’s also inspiring to see somebody take the skills they’ve learned over their lives, stay passionate about it and apply it to something new.

I’m getting quite a charge out of it really, because it’s a new thing for me to do.

I think it’s the time of the bike… Bike’s are coming on. If you can be part of it, it’s great, you know?

While you can get your own *real* wood grained bikes, it’s nice to see some artistry being injected into things and the old wacker getting such a ‘charge’ out of it ;-)

You can check the bikes out on Etsy.

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