Gingy visits Venice

After two days of world class racing Gingy has headed down to Venice and then finally onto Florence. Gingy took a train down to Venice in the morning to be a tourist in one of the most beautiful cities n the world. He was fortunate enough to see the city during the Carnivale celebration. The city was full of masks and costumes. Gingy was able to see the Piazza San Marco with the famed Basilica which houses the Four Horses (dating to 4 BC - 4 AD) and amazing mosaic displays on the inside and outside of the Basilica.













Just some of the many of the Carnivale attendees.














Bow of a Venetian Gondolier

Pro Women and Pro Men

Gingy got up early to stake out a great spot on the course for viewing the Womens and Mens race but also to get a preview of the course and the conditions that the racers would be battling. The Womens races started with 5 racers from the United States. (Katie Compton, Kerry Barnholt, Amy Dobrowski, Sue Butler and Rache Lloyd). Gingy spoke to Mark Legg the husband, wrench and general supporter of Katie Compton the previous day and Mark stated that Katie was having difficulty even walking these last few days but would suit up today. Not knowing how long she might last in the race due to a physical condition that is difficult to explain Gingy hoped he would have the chance to cheer her on. The race was graced again with fine weather and soon after the first lap it was Rachel Lloyd sitting in the top ten which was the best US finish that day. Katie came up the back of the pack on the start and would soon pull out as soon as she entered the pit. A sad day for Gingy as he was hoping she would would show the world that day what a power house she is but he understood the complications that she has endured these last 3 weeks andhe hopes for a speedy recovery and the best for Katie. The womens winner was Hanka Kupfernagel (Germany) who drilled the course and again she was not even contested in this race. Additional images of the preview of the course.

One of the long hills where only the men would be able to ride this steep beast.












The podium where Gingy was hoping he would see one of the United States CX Team members standing today.

The last race of the day was the Mens pro race. Gingy saw an amazing race that was anyones race until the final lap, when Lars Boom (Netherlands) would pull away from the lead group to take the gold medal. Gingy was fortunate enough to speak with one of the photographers who had a chance to take the podium snapshots and the photographer stated that Lars seemed quite upset after the race and was exchanging looks with the head of the Rabobank team as if something had occured that had went unplanned. We shall wait to see in the next few days if anything surfaces within the cycling news to confirm the expressions that Lars exhibited after the race. Congratulations to Jonathan, Jeremy and Tim for a hard fought battle.

Gingy was also fortunate enough to have drinks with Jeremy Powers' father after the race and also see Jonathan Page dining with his family and Fanclub at Di Pano after the race.

Next year CX worlds is Hoogerheide, Holland and if the timing is right Gingy will be making a n appearance. No onto Venice and then Florence the next few days.

CX Worlds Day 1 - U19 & U23

Day 1 of the Cyclocross Worlds will have Gingy cheering on the Junior Men and then the Under 23 Men from around the world.

Gingy stayed at the Continental Hotel directly across from the Treviso train station. With a full belly from the hotel served breakfast Gingy embarked on a train ride to Spresiano where he thought it would be a short walk to the venue. Heavens no! After asking for directions multiple times from the locals it was 3 km later when he finally found the event. With only 30 minutes until the start of the first race Gingy made his way to the course to take on the action. the race started promptly at 11:00 local time and it was Arnaud Jouffroy (France) whom took the Junior world championship gold.















During the break between the races Gingy checked out the expo area .


The next race was the Under 23 Men at 2:30 local time and this time Gingy changed his viewing location to the rugged run up that proved to be very difficult. It was no wonder with the obstacles that strewned the course.


This race was not even contested and it was Niels Albert (Belgium) who grabbed the Gold. This kid put on a clinic for the other men and he will prove to be a great addition to the Belgian Pro team in the years to come.

The Pond Crossing to Italy

It was an early rise to DIA this morning for the trip across the pond. The weather is beautiful and no delays for the itinerary. The flight s are from Denver to Boston, to Frankfurt, Germany and then onto Florence, Italy. After arriving in Florence Gingy took a train to Venice and then a short train ride up to Treviso, Italy. Gingy was impressed with the location of the hotel being across the street from the train station. Tomorrow is the big day so Gingy got some food at a local English pub that was serving up one of his favorite beverages, Celis Blanche and then hit the sack for the big day tommorrow.

Gingy prepares for the Trip across the Pond

The bags are packed and Gingy is preparing for the trip of a lifetime to spectate this years 2008-2009 Cyclocross World Championships in Treviso , Italy a town just North of Venice. The events take place on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday is the Juniors and Espoir men and then Sunday is the main event where the Women and then the Men will be duking it out for multiple laps to decide who the best in the World on that one day.

The winners of each individual event receive bragging rights for the rest of his/her life but also gets to wear the coveted Rainbow stripes in full regalia for a year and then a more subdued version years after on his/her sleeve or neck collar. For most racers this is the Holy Grail of races and every race this season gets them one step closer to getting on the podium for the right to say I am the Best!

Best of luck to all the Americans going for the Gold in Treviso! Gingy will be there ringing his cowbell and cheering you on you while you give 110%. Godspeed!


Across the Pond...
Across the Pond...
A trip of a life time...
I got my bags packed up...
My boots tied tight...
I hope I don't get in a fight....
Across the Pond...
Across the Pond...

Here Gingy goes!

No Rest for the Wicked- Prepping for the CX 08-09 Season

Its never too early to be thinking about or getting ready for 08-09 Cyclocross season. Gingy got out today for a mellow 2 hour spin through the Colorado countryside. Fighting the westerly winds was quite a chore but knowing the work put in now will be beneficial come Cyclocross season in 2008. Pictured here with Rob Love from Blue Sky Cycles in Longmont, CO.

Gingy goes Japanese

Gingy was invited to some friends this Sunday to sample some homemade Japanse style cuisine. The dinner was a homemade Miso soup and for the main course Koara (tile) soba (noodles). The dish is a local specialty of the Yamaguchi prefecture in Japan made with fresh soba noodles that are cooked on a piping hot roof tile. Cooked meat is added on top of the noodles with egg and lemon and some green onion. The meal was incredible and Monday morning was a tough one after Gingy had too much sake. Kampai!

Gingy makes a guest appearance at the Vail Beer Festival

Eighth Annual Big Beers, Belgian and Barleywines festival hosted in Vail Colorado was this past weekend and Gingy was fortunate enough to participate in an amazing event. The festival had breweries from all over the United States and from international countries like Belgium and Germany bigbeersfestival.com/

This event is allowing Gingy to prepare for the upcoming trip to Cyclocross Worlds. While Belgium is the country most notorious with Cyclocross it is also a land rich in brewing history. The classifications of Belgian beer are wide spread but the notorious styles are Abbeys and Trappist. For a beer to qualify as Trappist, the entire production process must be carried out by, or supervised by, Trappist monks on the site of the monastery. Only seven monasteries currently meet this qualification, six of which are in Belgium and one in the Netherlands.

At the festival Gingy sat in on a seminar by Tomme Arthur from Lost Abbey Brewing in San Marcos, CA which allowed him to converse with one of the industries finest brewers in the country. The seminar was to be on Farmhouse ales but Tomme had something better in store for the fans. Tomme brought with him his limited selection of Veritas (Latin for Truth). The three he brought were the blends 001, 002 and 003. The Veritas blend has only one thing in common and that it is a blended beer. After that the beer is unique in each of its vintages. Having had too much to drink prior to the seminar Gingy did not take notes well enough to decipher so tasting notes cannot be included. Sorry!

Gingy Prepares for CX Worlds in Treviso, Italia

Cyclocross Worlds is less than two weeks away and Gingy is starting to get built up with anxiety. Gingy has not been outside the of the States before to witness a Cyclocross race in foreign lands. Though used to the local races here in Colorado, Gingy has decided to embark on an epic journey to the country of Italy to watch and cheer on the worlds best in Treviso, Italy.

In preparation for the trip, Gingy worked with cowbell.com and had a customized cowbell made specifically for this trip.