Cobbs Hill, Iron Cross & A Charity Ride

A good batch of Ommegangsters headed off to Rochester to take on Cobbs Hill this past Sunday.    Upon arrival, a course pre-ride revealed that the course seemed a bit shorter with the crazy lllloooonnnggg hill climb being only about half of what it had been in previous editions.   With a few days of no precip prior and temps also pushing over 70 degrees on race day,  it made for a pretty fast course. 

Ommegangsters posted some great results with Aaron J picking up the win in the Cat 4 race (it's about time to upgrade isn't it?) and Tim O missing the win by a whisker in the 35+.   There were also some pretty good performances by a number of others with respectable placings. 

A lone Ommegangster, perhaps using some of is IronMan Lake Placid base, headed down to PA to participate in IronCross. Here's "K's" race report: 

I just came back from Iron Cross, and just wanted to say the race was
a BLAST. It was the funnest race I've done, by far, and the scenery
was stunningly beautiful! If you like Rambler, you MUST do this race.
The course is just like Rambler: a mixture of pavement, dirt roads,
gravels, single track trails, and mud, except there are more climbing,
and the course is twice is long (60miles), ... and it's sunny and dry.
Oh, and there is a long, long, walk-up which they call "hike-a-bike"
or something. There are a few short sections where you would want a
Mt. bike but the course definitely favors CX bikes. (I wouldn't be
able to shoulder my 29er for the long hike-up anyway.) I think CX
bikes with disk brakes are the ideal (Joe???).

The only downside(?) I found were 1) the start/finish was at a state
park, so it's strictly no alcohol :-(  and 2) the mass start is very
congested, so if you want to race, you have to start from the front,
otherwise, you will loose good 5 mins by mile 2; and 3) the burritos
they served were amazingly bad.

I got a flat 10 miles to go, only to find I brought a 20 year-old tube
with 7 patches on it (, which apparently didn't hold air), but thanks
to the neutral support, I got a brand-new tube and managed to finish
the race. Still enjoyed the every minute. Given my fitness and
handling skills, I would never want to "race" it, but definitely would
love to do it again.

While there was racing scheduled for Sunday (as noted above), a batch of Ommegangsters participated in the Trek Womens Breast Cancer Awareness Ride put on by Syracuse Bicycle the day before on Saturday.  While these events were held nationwide by Trek retailers, the Syracuse event somehow arranged for a beautiful fall day with a sunny 70+ degrees which only added to the festival atmosphere.  Some Ommegangsters hung with the family on the 10 mile route while others pushed the pace in the flat 25 mile ride.  As a nod to the cause and show the team's support for the event, all Ommegangsters present sported hot pink socks. 

Syracuse Bicycle put on a first class event with tons of food, bountiful swag and draw prizes and an incredible good karma vibe.  While official word has yet to be received,  the Syracuse ride was most likely the largest ride in the U.S. with over 400 participants.   Huge props and congrats go out to Syracuse Bicycle.

Cobbs & Iron Cross results here:

http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2011/10/09-Cobbs-Hill-Cyclocross.asp

http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2011/10/09-Iron-Cross-IX.asp