Brompton US Championship 2013 - Minneapolis by Calhoun Cycle

Last year, I participated in an incredibly quirky, yet intensely rewarding series of events at the 2012 Brompton US Championship. In the actual race, I placed 3rd, and I took home the prizes for Best-Dressed male and Fastest Folder. I watched from the bottom step of the podium as a worthy racer, Mr. Wallace Alexander, earned his spot in the Brompton World Championship events in London. I had replayed the details of the race over and over in my mind over the past year, questioning what I could have done differently to have taken the top spot on the podium. Clearly I have issues.

Last year's event was INCREDIBLE, and I expected nothing less this year with the experienced and savvy staff at Calhoun Cycle coordinating the event once again. Seriously, they're amazing. My preparations this year consisted of the following:

• Daily 22-mile (35km) commute from Eden Prairie to Richfield. This is no small feat for a 200lb guy on a 25+lb bike loaded with panniers, especially in the Minnesota winters (I don't commute this distance on the Brompton). 
• An enhanced diet that shed 10lbs or so of body weight from the prior year.
• Lighter-weight attire for the event itself.
• YouTube bike training videos.
• Leg shaving. Took forever:

Sasquatch was here

Smooth and ready to race

My wife & kids were there to cheer me on, as well as my dad, brother, and his fiancée who were visiting from Utah. My dad was traveling with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as the lighting designer on their Midwest tour, and the last stop happened to be in Minneapolis on the same weekend as the race! Bonus!

The Prerace

Calhoun prepared a plethora of weekend events for Bromptooneers, but, with family in town, I was unable to participate. The weekend featured a multi-modal 30-mile group ride, and an urban, infrastructure-focused ride around Minneapolis. The race itself was held in conjunction with a Minneapolis event known as Open Streets, where a large portion of Lyndale Ave is shut down to motorized traffic. 

My darling wife & kids. Kate (in white) had her 8th birthday!

Chatting with pops, with Martha from Calhoun surveying the crowd.

Semi-nervous smile.

My brother's lady Anneli with my fam. 

Arriving at 34th & Lyndale, I surveyed fellow folding bike aficionados, looking for last year's winners, the aforementioned Wallace & Pedro. Sure enough, there they were. Drat, methought. My strategy this year was to let others set the pace and/or set a sustainable pace, whichever is faster (a little "if" statement). Details to come on how that strategy worked out. 

The Race

After the rules were once again explained, we staged the bikes in grid-like fashion on Lyndale Avenue. 100 yards or so down the Avenue we lined up for the Le Mans-style start.

Setting up the bike

Receiving final instructions.

Run! I'm in the blue shorts, behind the fashionable Susan Todzy.

Working the unfold.

And we're off!

And the lead pack heads out.

Off to set the pace at the front.

During the first lap, I was comfortable at the pace I had set (my "if" statement returned = set the pace).

#s 2 & 3 were working to catch up.

The gentleman in the light-colored jacket, Scott Berger, was racing at a 3-lap pace instead of a 6-lap pace, and pulled Gear Junkie editor Stephen Regenold to create a lead pack of three riders. Once they caught up, my "if" statement returned = follow along. 

Aaaand 3 laps = halfway. Scott has great GoPro footage (linked below).

The race continued with Stephen and me pedaling at the front. By this time, we had started lapping riders, so I was unclear about who was in the #3 spot and how far back they were, which ended up confusing my strategy of setting pace vs. following pace. The last three laps were a bit of back and forth. 

Finishing lap 4

Finishing lap 5, 1 lap to go!

Approaching the final turn

Stephen taking the sprint finish

A hard-fought battle landed a 2nd place finish. A handful of strategic mistakes put me 30 feet off the top spot of the podium. I took the last turn too wide, and Stephen, rightfully so, took the inside and had more sprint speed to pull out the W. Here's his recap (link1, link2). DISAPPOINTED! I worked hard, though, and had great support from family, Calhoun, fellow riders, and spectators alike. THANK YOU ALL!

It's sinking in....not going to London!

A full podium shot. Great work everyone!

I am now the proud owner of a fantastic S-bag from Brompton and Calhoun Cycle for finishing in 2nd place. I look forward to using this gem of a bag!

Folding Contest

Surely I'd have better luck in the folding contest, right? After all, I won the competition last year, and I had worked to decrease the time of my fold a bit. I experienced mixed results in this event as well, however! In this elimination-style contest, the two slowest are eliminated until the victor of each heat of ~10 folders moves to the finals. In this contest, the pedal fold is omitted, as many folks race with clipless pedals. 

The fold begins.

Dual knob approach.

Last step, the seatpost.

First fold complete. Sweatpit and all.

Melissa, from Atlanta, either admiring the fold speed or one of my calves. The former?

Fold #2

Fold #3

The final fold of the heat, with Ross representing, you guessed it, BROMPTON! Nerves, blasted nerves.

He removes the jacket

The shake

And I flubbed a knob turn, out of the competition!

Congrats to the winners who scored Schwalbe Kojaks! Nice work! Alas, I didn't outrightly win any of the competitions, and, although I did well, fell short of my own expectations. In the words of the great (?) Jim Carrey:

But Wait....

A few days later, I got a call from Luke at Calhoun. Turns out Stephen is unable to go to London, so I was asked to fill his spot in the BROMPTON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After a change of my shorts, I gladly accepted and am STOKED to be going to the main event. Sloppy seconds or not, I'll take it! 

My lovely lady. Thank you for all your support!

Soooooooooooo excited about heading to London and the adventures to be had there. I'll have to consider the use of the 3-piece tweed suit...

Please visit the links below for additional coverage, including video footage:

The Dirty Brompton by Fernando Ma (including video footage)

Scott Berger's video footage

Brompton US Champtionship 2013 Flickr pool

• Fave 1
• Fave 2
• Fave 3
• Fave 4
• Fave 5
• Fave 6
• Fave 7
• Fave 8
• Fave 9
• Fave 10
• Fave 11
• Fave 12
• Fave 13

Enjoy, and see you next year, wherever the race may be!