No way ... still having too much fun.

down here, cross goes into Feb. Well, OVCX finishes in Dec but the TN boys still race into Feb. For us, there is no "off season". Feb X, March crit in Memphis and then road/MTB and Cross again. I've even seen a few of your Chicago boys in our OVCX series.

Don't ruin my cross mania. I'm actually having fun. Almost getting in a fist fight at day 2 of the USGP in a sand pit made me realize how much fun I was having.

It's been unbearably dry. And warm. Probably a good part of the reason the cross cup still sees huge numbers, though.

I did 2.5 hours on the road Saturday. It's amazing how quickly I got super-slow.

You looked like you were having a decent run on Sunday. I didn't check the standings... where did you finish?

Rutnick- no competitive off season sounds like a recipe for long-term burnout. As much as mid-Dec to mid-March kills me, it's not to not have to load the car and drive around every weekend. We've got enough intense events from June-August to carry the year.

Who says I'm competitive?

I took last weekend and this weekend off. 4 more races and then the rest of dec off until Jan and a couple of x races here and there. I was still considering the Dec 18 X race up there. I'm upgrading after Dec 5th in X and looking to get some good results before 2011.

Heck, I just might race SS in the TBRA races. Those boys are doing a lap/drinking a beer and repeat. Not really seeing much competition there. Plus, it gets me out of the house.

I did a group road ride last saturday and it was 24 degrees at rollout. I was still in shorts. I described the morning as "brisk".

Got 23'rd in 40+, mostly rode for training, and then 6'th in 50+. Boy was my back sore during the 2'nd race. I think you noticed my damn saddle tilting up ... during both races and it was way torqued. I am trying carbon paste to see if that will stop it from tilting.

You really should be out there man! And thanks for the heckles. I would laugh if I had the air at the time.

Heckles? pfft, Rob was alone with the heckles this past weekend, but come Bloomingdale, oh I will be there heckling! Seeing as I live damn near across the street from the place. LET THE HECKLING BEGIN!

"Nice saddle. Does it tickle?" That was me.

That back pain you felt in the second race hits me about 20 minutes in. At Campton, I had a hard time holding 80% of FTP for the last 25 minutes. I have yet to do a cross race where my back let me get everything out of my legs. That's a pretty big reason I'm not out there much.

Does your saddle have carbon rails, or something? Not sure I'd be riding any part of a saddle that relies on carbon... I'm a ******, though.

Sorry about the back. Is it an issue of core exercises or more serious medical?

The rails are Al and the top of the seat post is Al. They have a bogus clamping system with cups. They were greased and correctly torqued the first time it happened. Torqued higher the second, and then really cranked the third time and it still happened. I put carbon grease in there now and we'll see if that holds.

Infinite adjustment seatpost clamps are asinine for use in cyclocross. 2-bolt or prostate exam. You pick. Period.