GamJams.net: Where Mid-Atlantic bike racers roll

Could'a, Should'a, Would'a: 12-14-11

Here's how this weekend's racing could'a, should'a and would'a turned out if it hadn't'a turned out the way it did...

Most of the local scene was wrapping up this weekend even though there are a few races left to be ridden:

• Team Bike Doctor was at Luray Caverns Cross making its presence known and finally accomplishing some seaon-long goals in the elite field.
• It was a classic father-son battle for Scott's Right of Way except without all the hand-cutting-off stuff you see in the Star Wars documentaries.
• If you want to see what Luray CX was all about, check out the video posted by In The Crosshairs.  It's totally not processed, bought or sold.
• CX Wife was rocking out it in the next-to-last MAC race of the season at Geler Votre Cul on the "classic" Fair Hill course.
• He's got the video to prove that Luray didn't suck, even if Metro Sucks is his basic theme.  He had fun.
• He could'a raced and certainly would'a raced.  But Beer and Cyclocross got really drunk and changed his mind (not about beer, but about racing).
• FatMarcVanderbacon fought off a pair of "promoter legs" at the Geler Votre Cul race which was actually the Freezer-Votre-[Legs]-Off.

Know of any more great race reports?  Send them to me and I'll file them away to keep me warm during the long, grey winter ahead...

Could'a, Should'a, Would'a: 12-06-11

Here's how this weekend's racing could'a, should'a and would'a turned out if it hadn't'a turned out the way it did...

For some, there was the little matter of Mt. Trashmore on Saturday:

• Metro Sucks has videos, photos, a reference to "Monkey" and a dude with an enormous beard.  It's pretty much the coolest blog ever.
• The standings are up for the VA Cyclocross series.  If you've been racing, check and see how much you don't suck.
• Run, Ride and Love has a pretty solid essay on sandbagging (his own) and the feelings of disappointment that come with winning too much.

On Sunday, the efforts shifted to the Capital 'Cross Classic in Reston, VA:

• Want video?  In The Crosshairs is in your sights as you get yourself in position to watch this dude who was in the zone.  Lots of "in" going on.
• Team Bike Doctor has reports from nearly all the races and -- of course -- podium shots and promoter love for all the promoters that made it a great year.
• He's promised "Tuesday night."  So wait a few hours and check out Scott's Right of Way.  Give him heck if he doesn't produce.
• My goodness, Reluctantly CX has the whole thing in Iambic Pentamer (or something like that).  It's worth a look just to see a whole race set to rhyme. 

Know of any more great reports?  Send them to me and I'll make sure everyone sees them.

Could'a, Should'a, Would'a: 11-29-11

Here's how this weekend's racing could'a, should'a and would'a turned out if it hadn't'a turned out the way it did...

• Team Tom's Shoes was representing with a broken shifter, enough upgrade points and a podium step at the MABRA Championships at Taneytown.
• Other folks, such as Scott's Right of Way were contesting the VA State Championship down in Charlottesville.
• Money 'N' Stuff is also like "Twisted 'N' Muddy 'N' Stuff, after they hit Taneytown.  They must've also left with some shiny trinkets because they're pictured as well.
• Team Bike Doctor, what can I say?  Another week, another championship, another reason to say "thank you, MABRA."
• When an elderly gentleman like the Flamenco Chuckwagon makes the "pfffft" noise, I assume the worst and leave the room.  This one wasn't what I thought it was.
• The CX Wife tells us all how Taneytown is really pronounced (and she got some great racing in this weekend for pretty much everyone involved).

Can this really be all there is? Is everyone getting so burned out that they've blogged all they can and they can't blog no more?  If there's more to tell, tell me and I'll tell everyone else.

Could'a, Should'a, Would'a: 11-22-11

Here's how this weekend's racing could'a, should'a and would'a turned out if it hadn't'a turned out the way it did...

• Team Bike Doctor has surgically repaired (and not reinjured) collarbones and some new 'Cross bikes with which to seek the top steps at the Rockburn Cross.
• Chuck Kyle showed up at the Rockburn Cross and found that The Journey of an Amateur Cyclist is making him somewhat of a celebrity.
• Vint Hill shook the Flamenco Chuckwagon's not-so-sweet spots while Rockburn got him one step closer to actually getting on a step.
• Chain Free also did the double this weekend and, with a pit stop at Wegmans, found Vint Hill and Rockburn both to his liking.
• The Cross Wife has a nice report from Rockburn and a not-so-nice report from her doctor; get well, CX Wife, only 10 months until Cross season starts again!
• Rolling around in the sand like a dog on a beach is why Reluctantly CX is ready to trade some warm weather for fewer mistakes.
• Okay, it's a bit "old news" but the Crossasaurus Awesome lived up to it's name.  You can find some great 'cross pictures here and Mike Festa's report here.
• Sunnybrook Racing gives you all the details of the Crossasaurus Awesomeness here while Selene Yeager shows up right on Bicyclers' Magazine with her blog.
• In The Crosshairs has some great video coverage of the racing at Rockburn (as usual).  Check him out and buy some socks or a tee-shirt or a kickboxing video or something...

Know of any more great racing blogs out there?  Send them to me and I'll make sure everyone else sees them.

Could'a, Should'a, Would'a: 11-15-11

Here's how this weekend's racing could'a, should'a and would'a turned out if it hadn't'a turned out the way it did...

• Team Tom's Shoes p/b KindHuman Sports has two separate blogs this week.  One is all about their horrible starts and poker; the other is a "my first race."
• The Journey of an Amateur Cyclist made a stop at the Schooley Mill Cross.  He's beatin' the heck out of his cross-results nemeses and that counts for everything.
• Hey, Bike Doctor!  It's not podiums; it's PODIA!  Dang.  You stand on them all the time.  Get it right for once and quit ruining my life.
• So this weekend was a double-dip of fun for The CX Wife at Fair Hill and Schooley Mill; it's a rhyme every time for a poet who don't know it.
• You can't win when you crash and that's the lesson learned for Adventures for the Cure.  It's also a fair chunk of change for their noble cause.
• I Am A Bike Racer feels like he got schooled but he also feels like he loves his new tee-shirt.  Everyone should buy one.
• Man it sucks to ruin your wife's race by trying to do maintenance on her bike.  But that's how Flamenco Chuckwagon rolled (his wife's tubular) this weekend.  
• His son has a "stomach full of anger" and that's how Scott's Right Of Way is raising his kid to want it more than your kid.  Good photos as well!
• Cadence and Cogs is getting his best results and he still can't shake this nasty bug.  God help us all if he gets well soon!

Know of any more great reports?  Send them to me and I'll find some way to make you famous'er than you already think you are.

Best of the Rest: 11-10-11

Some folks needed a few extra days to recover from the Weekend's Fast.  Here's the best of the rest as the reports and images keep coming in...

• One Up, Five Down has some great images.  By "great," of course, I mean "really bizarre" in terms of the costume-aspect of cyclocross.  You really have to see this one to understand. 
• He's all about the kill points and Chuck Kyle's kill points are getting higher and higher every week. Keep up with him if you can and pass him when you can.
• If you want to know what Patapsco X (and other races) looked like, you'll need to check out the photos Kurt Long put out there.
• Ryan Dudek of TOMS Shoes has some great shots and video of the Bear Creek Cross.  I didn't do this one, but sort of wish I had now that I've seen these.
• Speaking of Bear Creek Racing, here's what SunnyBrook Racing has to say about it.
• Jay Westcott just keeps posting and editing and editing and posting.  You'll want to look at his latest offerings today even if you did it earlier this week.
• I love me some new blogs and I love me some Sticky Fingers.  So this new blog by Sticky Fingers' Dana Stryk might be Reluctantly CX, but I'm not reluctantly reading.

That's got to be about all there is.  But if you've got more, send them to me so I can waste time more efficiently.

Could'a, Should'a, Would'a: 11-08-11

Here's how this weekend's racing could'a, should'a and would'a turned out if it hadn't'a turned out the way it did...

MABRA was heavily committed to water gardens and serious drop-ins at the Ed Sanders Memorial Cyclocross:

• The Flamenco Chuckwagon had an unplanned dismount using the head part of his body as cushion.  Fortunately for him, it's basically a useless appendage anyways.  So no harm, no foul.
• I'm so jealous of these guys that I basically count it as a win anytime I pass a Team Bike Doctor kit.  This week was a little "off" for them, but they'll be back and I'll be sorry.
• In The Crosshairs has some great video coverage of the event and you'll like it better than his preview.  Seriously, let him know his preview was a bit off.  He'll be glad you did.
• I'm not actually sure where FatMarc Vanderbacon was, but he likes pictures of himself that make him look like he knows what he's doing. Don't we all?
• The Cross Wife got just what she needed and -- apparently -- the best waffles in the world were just what she needed.
• Four beer handups and first place in the tandem event helped Adventures for the Cure feel better about the earlier mechanical nonsense.

Know of any more great race reports?  Send them my way and I'll make sure everyone understands how fast you could've been out there.

Best of the Rest: 11-02-11

Some folks are still recovering from the way things should'a been this weekend and the reports and items of interest keep coming in...

• One of the folks who is recoverig is me and I think I subconsciously expressed displeasure for the nice hipsters at Money 'N' Stuff by messing up the link to their podium highlights.  Dang me.
• Okay, it's a few levels above our normal stuff, but "First UCI Win" is a nice title for Renner Custom at the Beacon Cross and it deserves a look-see from you.
• Squadra Coppi got down and dirty at Kinder Kross and they have a picture to prove it.  Handling and guile proved to be the order of the day.
• When your report features my photo, I'm always going to highlight it.  If you are Hip Rouleur, you're photo of me actually makes me look good.

Now from the "Photo of the Week" file, we can't let the week go by without focusing your attention on the weirdness that is cyclocross...

 I would love to give credit where credit is due, but this was just sent in by J.R. Petsko, our West Virginia Cycling Promoter-Extraordinaire...

Could'a, Should'a, Would'a: 11-01-11

Here's how this weekend's racing could'a, should'a and would'a turned out if it hadn't'a turned out the way it did...

MABRA was enjoying the cold, wet mud at Kinder Kross in Severna Park, MD:

• Chuck Kyle is an Amateur Cyclist basing his season on the number of goats he can photograph and the CrossResults predictors.
• Money 'N' Stuff is now posting podium 'n' stuff as the women (woman?) on the team represents for all the guys.
• He thinks he should have stayed in bed, was sick and hates sandbaggers who beat him by not upgrading.  I agree, AVP4 Auggie, you should've stayed in bed.
• Flamenco Chuckwagon is dreaming of a day when he'll not start on the back row; still getting all those kills means his bike is pretty fast.

There were, of course, other opportunities to get wet and go fast:

• Back Street Skeets shows it like it was with photos from last year and videos of the weather from this year.

Now there simply has to be some more out there.  Send them to me when you can and I'll spend most of the morning dreaming about the weekend.

Best of the Rest: 10-27-11

Most reports of how it could'a happened and images of The Fast come in on schedule.  Here are some of the best of rest (from those who needed an extra recovery day!):

• I Race CX and his girlfriend hit up some of the action at DCCX and one elite field is going to get a new rider soon.
• I think the WashAngeles Cycle thinks he's in the running for a "Daily Distractions" award.  Sorry, no free socks this time; but I'm happy to ogle your girlfriend if that's what you were going for...
• Want to see a little Fast?  Shreya Mehta sends a shout out to DCMTB for the great race.  We send the shout out for some great shots!
• In The Crosshairs has some video coverage of the festivities and they graciously sold me some sweet socks this weekend!  Love them!
• He was Learning How To Suffer; now he's learning how to do really well while suffering (or at least to put it all in perspective).
• Many teams give away beer.  North Tek-Aria gives away tents.  I like these guys but wish they gave out beer (to me, not just to winners).

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Gus Grissom races for Team GamJams Racing, teaches History and Latin at Flint Hill School in Vienna, and writes a dissertation in his spare time.  He compiles this column strictly for fortune and glory.