And so, team CyclingReporter.com

By The Editors

A year or so ago, one fall day in Brooklyn, a few of us sat down over burritos and beers after a tough cyclocross workout.

After replenishing our reserves and quenching our thirst, one of us asked, “Why don’t we start our own ‘cross team?”

Hmmmm.

Long pause.

“That’s hot,” someone said.

“Shit yeah!” another offered, making a loud clap with his hands.

And, as simple as jumping a barrier, this was the beginning of cyclocross team CyclingReporter.com.

It’s been a lot work starting up a team, even this small one. There’s kit to be designed and ordered, riders to buy out of current contracts, that sort of thing. But surely this squad will go down in the history books as one of the great formations in world cycling.

Or not.

At any rate, the reality is this: We are five riders who are sufficiently like-minded when it comes to the cycling subculture of cyclocross. So much so that we decided to form our own team and spend many hours together training and going to races and standing around in the cold rain.

And so we proclaim: Our humble collective is commencing Operation MAC this Saturday.

Somewhere in Pennsylvania.

We are something of a motley crew, too. Mostly roadies. Some of us have years of racing experience, others none at all. But we join together and set our sites on the East Coast races, and those beyond. We shall endure freezing rain, soupy mud, and long road trips to races beginning way too early for civilized people.

We are all about the 11 MAC races. However, there will be other events we’ll be doing along the way.

And we’re so pro we don’t even have our kits in yet. But the folks in China promise they’re coming fast.

Anyway, wish us luck!

—The Editors

P.S. We just realized we forgot to introduce ourselves individually.

Here, then, our riders. Whose fall plans are put on hold to participate in a sport that one wisecracking ‘crosser has described as the European equivalent of the tractor pull.

THRILLHOUSE, aka Saverio Alejo “Sam” Fiorino, has been into bikes since his older brother got a Huffy and rode him around the block, crashing into bushes and trash cans. Sam was just 4 years old. He himself lacked the motivation to learn to ride until he was 8.

As he grew older, Sam drew a certain pleasure from throwing himself and his bike down staircases, over large plywood structures, and down handrails. After a few too many injuries and a severe lack of health insurance, he did something he swore he’d never do: wear Lycra and shave his legs.

Since he runs a rather busy bicycle shop in Scarsdale, New York, Danny’s Cycles, he doesn’t really have time to race, except occasionally at the Kissena velodrome and, of course, a full season of cyclocross! 2010 marks his fifth season racing (fourth year racing ‘cross).

Sam looks forward to many more years of racing and jumping stuff.

STEIGERCRAFT, aka Leslie Steiger, has never done a bike race before, but this ’cross season she’ll go from the sidelines to the start line. After enjoying last season’s views and heckling fallen riders from a safe distance, this fall it she’ll have to earn her beers the hard way.

With her new team and bundle of nerves, she’ll be trying to have as much fun in the mud as many weekends as she can, ideally with all bones in tact.

Given her penchant for tough gym workouts and fierce competitiveness, she could be the proverbial dark horse the Cat. 4 women fear.

She’s very, very confident that she can ride all the way up to the tower at Granogue.

JOHANN VAN OMMEGANG, aka Ian Landau, did his first ’cross race in 2004 at the world-famous Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta, New Jersey. Despite riding a crazily cobbled together Bianchi Volpe that wouldn’t shift into the big ring, he was hooked on the madness that is cyclocross.

Since then he’s improved his equipment and traveled to races throughout the mid-Atlantic and New England, piloting a Van Dessel Gin & Trombones to some not-half-bad results from time to time.

BATMAN, aka Fred Grim, was born in Pittsburg and grew up in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where he first encountered bikes at age 13. The year was 1989: Greg LeMond won the Tour by 8 seconds and Fred had a bowl haircut. In his first race he came in second to last, only because the kid who came in last had taken a wrong turn.

By April 2010, he started racing again. Being a true a Cat. 5, he made sure he raced with his saddle bag every time and never wore bibs.

Fred couldn’t afford RadioShack kit, but considered getting some. There were some races, then he was a Cat. 4.

With his Olympic dreams on the way to being realized, he decided he wanted to try ’cross. He got all the necessary gear, including pink skinsuit, aero helmet, and rubber chicken.

He looks forward to bringing his newborn daughter to hang out in the mud, ring cowbells, and meet nice people.

D-MAC, aka Daniel McMahon, tries hard to be a mediocre cyclocross racer and succeeds.

When he’s not reading about bike racing, he uses up perfectly good bandwidth on his website, CyclingReporter.com, which brings in no money and on occasion earns him public flogging on the internet.

VeloNews.com editors sometimes publish his articles about unsanctioned bike races and NYC riders.

Daniel rides a Van Dessel Gin & Trombones only because Adam Myerson does. On race days, he pisses off teammate Ian Landau by guilting him and his car to stay late to watch the pros race.

He never refuses a beer hand-up. Or waffles.