Cyclocross Ride with THE MAN

Friday morning, I had the pleasure of riding with Olympic Triathlete, Jarrod Shoemaker. But first things first, this wasn't the typical ride you would expect one of the fastest men in the world to be on. Instead, it was an off-road ride on our cyclocross bikes.

As many of you know, I have been spending as much time on my 'cross bike as possible since triathlon season ended. It is a lot of fun to get off the road get in the dirt, on the grass and covered in mud. So this was the perfect opportunity to ride with a top athlete and pray I didn't get dropped.

So, Jarrod met me first thing Friday morning at Wheelworks (on my day off) and we finished building up his new CX bike. We put together a killer build and Jarrod topped it off with an SRM powermeter (drool!). We then took his race bike (a Trek Madone 6.9 with DI2) and duplicated his fit on the CX.

A few minutes later, his coach, Tim Crowley (USA Triathlon Coach of the Year) showed up and we pushed off. Immediately we kicked up the hill that is Mill street and then dropped into the off-road section. Rock Meadow is a surprisingly fun trail area nestled across the street from McLain Hospital in Belmont. We dropped in, had some fun going through the flowing single-track and fire roads. 40 minutes later we worked out way over to a field to practice some 'cross race skills.

Despite the fact that Jarrod had never raced a cyclocross bike before, he picked up the dismounting, runs and remounts very quickly. On his first time, he looked significantly smoother than I have ever looked. Stupid elite athletes!

Soon after, we called it a day and went back to the Wheelworks to do some final tuneups on his bike. It is a rare experience to be able to ride with an elite athlete and that is why triathlon is one of the most exciting participant sports out there. I can line up on the same start line as the best ever and we will have the same race experience. No other sport can you have this!.

Yesterday was Jarrod's first race and unfortunately a pair of flat tires ended his day early. Today is the second race and then tomorrow, Jarrod, Tim and I will be hosting a seminar at Wheelworks (Monday 6:30pm) talking about the "secrets" of the pros. Should be lots of fun and hopefully we fill the joint.

Regardless of how many people show up, I will not only be a participant in the presentation, I will be a student of the sport. Learning from the best is always a privilege, as was riding with them.

Cheers,

Jared