Jesse Anthony

If you’re injured in the North Shore

I just got my back straightened out at Cape Ann Physical Therapy . Jodi is awesome and has been keeping my back in shape during the ‘cross season since 2004. I couldn’t race ‘cross without her, honestly.
Everyone who’s done a ‘cross race has experienced that crazy pain in their lower back. That’s because cyclists’ core strength is non-existent. When you dismount and remount your cross bike you twist your pelvis and lower back and flex the muscles around that area in a violent way. Do that over and over again and the muscles there become imbalanced, pulling your lower back into a permanently twisted position. This, in turn, hinders your legs from receiving equal and full power, and that makes the problem worse as your back tries to over-compensate.

Exactly how your back gets twisted.

The way I conquer this dilemma is to 1, have Jodi adjust my sacrum and pelvis in line almost every week, and 2, keep a regimented core workout going throughout the season to help my back keep itself in line. Over the years I’ve worked up to the point where I more or less keep myself straight, but I still need a little tweak once in a while.
Anyway, if you’re in the North Shore and have any type of cycling or other related injury, please give Jodi a call. She’s also helped me through 2 bouts with tendinitis and a broken wrist. Cape Ann Physical Therapy

GP Gloucester wrap-up

Pedal Power Photography

Photo: Pedal Power Photography

I am sitting here on a beautiful autumn morning in New England with the first chapter of my 2009 ‘cross campaign in the books.  This past weekend I tackled the GP Gloucester, my hometown race, and now that it’s over I think I can take a breather.

The first day at Gloucester was a complete mudfest, and racing in mud like that is so much fun.  I was definitely riding around with a big smile inside of me, even if I could not show it on the outside.  It was really soupy mud, not too sticky, but just messy enough to cover you up and splash around in for the entire hour.  I did not feel very powerful, but I maximized my technical skills and was able to pick good lines the entire time.  Other than whacking a few course stakes, I had a smooth race and finished 7th in the end.  I was happy with that, all things considered.  It was just really cool racing in front of the hometown crowd, as always.  So many of my friends and all of my family were out there yelling and cheering and getting soaked in rain.   That made it pretty special.

The second day of racing was fast and tacky, as the sun came out and dried up the course.  I had my best 2nd day race in months, so I was really happy that I recovered from day to day.  After a slow first lap, I finally found a rhythm and worked my way back up to 10th place at the end.  The course was super-twisty, so we had to stay on our toes and pay attention to the order of the corners.  Even by the final lap I was 2nd guessing if I was going to turn left or right next, there was some very creative course design involved!

So overall it was a good weekend.  It was fun to be a part of the big show near my hometown.  I gotta offer a huge congrats to Tim Johnson who won day 2 with a really sore, separated shoulder.  He is the toughest bike racer I know of, and he shows true grit that I aspire to have.  I also want to thank my coach, Gord Fraser at Carmichael Training Systems, for helping me micro-manage my training to get as much as I can out of my limited energy levels.  Gord has been receiving my feedback and making adjustments a few times a week, and I know it’s been a lot of work and effort on his part.  So I owe him a lot for the fitness that I am showing right now, and I can’t wait to keep building on it and getting stronger.

I want to thank all of my sponsors and supporters for making this season possible for me.  It’s been a tough summer for me, and even tougher entering the ‘cross season not completely on top of my game.  But I am truly grateful that so many people and companies still show faith in me and are standing behind me even through the tough times.  I hope I can make everyone proud.

Thanks,

-Jesse

Thanks to my awesome sponsors:

Jamis Bicycles

Mavic

Sram

Giro

Oakley

Champion Systems

Fizik

Ritchey

Clif Bar

SwissStop

Rob O’Dea Photography

Cape Ann Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy

Carmichael Training Systems

Ola Loa

Oooohh, so dirty!

First weekend of the ‘cross season

I got the first weekend of ‘cross racing for 2009 down in the books. I was really happy with how Star Crossed went on Saturday. I finished 7th and was able to stay upright for most of the race. The course was really greasy; it was raining lightly and the ground has a thin layer of mud on top of it. That made it a lot of fun and really technical, but it minimized the amount of pedaling which was really good for me. I spent most of the race riding with Tim Johnson, just off the back of the lead group. We were so close to catching them for 2/3 of the race, finally they started to open up the gap. In the end I finished 7th, but TJ crashed hard on his right shoulder and may have separated it.

On Sunday, the Rad Racing GP didn’t go as well. I started OK, but I was really lacking in power of which that course demands a lot. After the first lap I was around 25th place, and my left foot had a really bad cramp in it. I could hardly push down on the left pedal, and when I went to dismount for the barriers, I instinctively limped off my left foot causing me to catch the barrier and sprawl out on the ground in a spectacular somersault. After that, I had to take my shoe off and stretch out my foot because it hurt so badly. I got back on my bike in dead last place and made a training day out of it. Looking on the bright side, I got a good workout with some skills practice thrown in.

Next up for me is the Interbike show in Las Vegas. I’ll be signing posters at the Jamis booth from 1-2 PM on Wednesday; then I’ll be racing at ‘Cross Vegas on Wednesday night. It’ll be fun to race in front of a huge crowd again, I hope I recover from this weekend and have a little power stored up to lay out on the grass there. That’s gotta be one of the most power-sapping courses on the circuit, but I’ll give it my best shot for sure.

Getting it rolling! Cyclocross 2009 is here!