The most fun that’s been had at the seminary in some time…

Sorry Seminarians.  Being a seminary drop-out, I know good things can happen on the campus, but few things as fun as a proper cyclocross.  Fortunately Off The Front Racing put on a proper cyclocross.  It was my favorite course of the year thus far (including Sunrise Park in Chicago).  The course featured diverse surfaces (dirt, mud, grass, pavement, wood-chips, leaves, roots) with plenty of fun transitions.  It also had four “dismount suggestions”: 2 stair sections, a double barrier, and a log (on an uphill sector).

The plan for the weekend was to double up on Saturday as I had commitments on Sunday.  I got a late start leaving the house (but with family!) and I got registered for the B’s and A’s.  I snuck in a little pre-riding (without disrupting racers) so I knew some of the trouble I was in!  Got a poor starting spot and didn’t move up really until the barriers on the first lap.  I was really proud of my barrier work this weekend.  I’ve been working on barriers and I think it’s finally starting to pay off.  I received two compliments from my peers (“Were you a hurdler in H.S.?”), so I think this isn’t just perception – I regularly passed guys there.  I’m not going to say what/how I’ve trained this as I had to work to get it!  

Jumping the barrier.  Photo Credit: Ragfield.

 

After a lap or two I had moved up into the top ten and saw Peat (Have Fun), Matt (Big Shark), Peter (Big Shark), Patrick (OTF), and Rich (Dogfish) with a nice gap.  I had Mark (Big Shark) on my 6 and I wasn’t interested in getting beaten by him (again).  So I just worked to keep the pressure on, making things hard for Mark.

Mark was my shadow for several laps.  He's beaten me too much this year, so I had to hurt myself to get up the trail!  Photo Credit: Ragfield.

I soon caught up to Matt and worked with him for a bit which gave me some rest in the windy sections.  Patrick was in difficulty so we soon overtook him.  Unfortunately Peat, Rich, and Peter had a comfy 20 seconds on Matt and I, so I had my work cut out for me.  I attacked Matt through the barriers and kept the pressure on for a bit.  Fortunately, it worked and Peat was my next target.  He remained elusive, and it’s no surprise – he is an excellent bike handler and that course sure rewarded those skills!

Rich and Peter duked it out for the finish with Rich winning in a sprint at the line.  Congrats to Rich, I think that’s his first win.  That’s just what he needed in the Bubba Series Points Competition.  Can he catch Matt?  Will Peter win out to win it?  It will be fun to watch that unfold in the next month!

Thanks to my friend Rob "Ragfield" for shooting the race.  It's too bad he didn't get to race (cause he's not just fast with the camera), next time!

‘A’ Race

Grabbed a gel, swapped jerseys, downed some water and hoped in the grid for the “A” race.  I got a little argy-bargy with Scott (Ritte van Vlaanderen/Seagal) (all in good fun), and worked my way up in the field a bit.  The CX racing has finally paid off with my lower back strengthening up so that it didn’t “die” on me till 30+ minutes into the second race (it’s the little victories).  Anyway, Carl (Green Street Realty) was riding smooth and fast so I just tried to hang on to his wheel.  I could see the big dogs (Kurt (708), Johnson + Schottler (Big Shark), Sam (Canyon), and others) up the trail a bit, but I kept telling myself the good words of DoubleJ (MWI): “Remember, this thing is an hour long!”  After recovering on Carl’s wheel I think I attacked him and Stu (OTF).  Carl was complaining about his ribs (recovering from a crash/fracture?), but until then he didn’t look like an injured racer!

Up and over.  Photo Credit: Dennis Fickinger.

About this time my back started killing me and I began bleeding spots to better racers.  There was some dueling with Dennis (Dogfish) but I let Rock (The Hub) go by uncontested.  I got a second wind to finish strong and was pleased with my results: 4^th and 11^th on the day!  Plus the course was just a blast to ride.  On some courses the technical features just suck.  The whole time you’re thinking: “this is stupid, this feature is just annoying”.  But the course was challenging and fun.  It seemed to have everything (you want in a veldrijden) including that je ne sais quoi, flow.

Sunday

My wife and I are in the process of joining a local church, so we attended a membership “class” so everybody understands what they’re getting into.  Well, the class (while interesting and deserving of several blog posts of its own) ended an hour early.  While driving home I looked at the clock and thought “Could I make it to the race?”  The possibility was completely off the table, but quickly considered with the wife, it was now available.  What fun!  I packed the car and drove a little on the fast side over to Creve Coeur to line up for the A’s.   Let’s just say that when I got out of the car I already had everything but my helmet and number on!

I had enough time to ask Mark Ewers to pin my number and pre-ride the course.  Without a warm-up I knew it would hurt, and the A’s delivered.

The course was a standard Bubba (as I’ve come to know them).  Not much climbing, a little bumpy, dry, but rewarded smooth cornering.  One set of double barriers, and everybody’s favorite: a healthy dose of wind.

Dwayne G. (Dogfish) won the B’s outright, so he lined up for the A race.  I knew how he was feeling: nice and primed but probably wondering what he had in the tank for the last 20 minutes.  I made some early passes.  The odd one was going around “Butthead” (Big Shark).  Soon enough though, on a straight-away I tried to hold his wheel up to the top 5-6.  Blowed up.  Turns out he joined his teammate Schottler and they went 1-2.  

Tightening the screws on Dennis through the barriers.  Photo Credit: Creed Monster!

I rode with Rock till he dropped me, then did battle with Dennis and Trent to avoid being last place.  Dwayne started running out of gas towards the end of the race and I did overtake him.  His indomitable good spirits make him the best and worst carrot ever.  “C’mon Mark, you’ve almost caught me!” he cried, grinning ear to ear.  If you’re in “competitor mode” it may grate on you, but if you know Dwayne, he’s just gushing encouragement and loving every minute of the racing fun.  The next man up the trail was Chris (Big Shark) and I was getting closer to him but couldn’t close the gap.  Maybe another lap?  Maybe not.

Big ups to Scott for breaking into the top 5 for the first time.  It was good to see so many of my bike friends, I sure like the StL.  Thanks to my wife, OTF, Big Shark, and the officials for letting me play bikes.  Such a good time.  Also, thanks to Mesa Cycles for loaning me the Fizik tester saddle and gluing my tubulars.  The two have been awesome and make the entire CX experience that much better.

Next up: work trips to AR and maybe my last race of 2011: Bubba CX 11(?)

Things In Kansas

Things in Kansas work a little differently.  A guy who DNFs gets better points than the guy that wins by a landslide...

Lining up near the back of the Men's Open field in Shawnee, KS for the 360Cup, I had a decent start.  Following John Jones' wheel I tried to learn the lines on the technical course.  Through the barriers and into the final turn of lap 1 I overtook some guys and got tangled up with Lawrence Simonson, sending my rear brake into my spokes.  I lost some places fixing it but started gaining a few back in the subsequent laps.  Joe Schmalz lapped me, as did Andrew Coe.  This informed me that I suck at cyclocross.  Then my rear derailluer cable came loose and I packed it in, DNF (yes, I informed the officials).  This informed me that I suck at life.

So far the story sounds reasonable, right?  Then how does USAC score me with "better" points than the guys who lapped me? Of lesser importance, how do they also have the wrong team for me?  C'est la vie.

This kind of thing doesn't bode well for those who need it to work for nationals/world's call-ups.  Regardless, thanks to 360Racing for putting on a great event on a tough course.  That off-camber stuff was wicked!

Anyway, the family had a good time in KS visiting my folks and got to see my siblings (minus a bro-in-law).  My little bro bagged two pheasants on a youth hunt w/ a bird dog.  That's pretty cool.  I sucked at CX but got to ride some gravel on Sunday.  The kids rode horses and we ate like kings (like you haven't notice from my skin-suit shots, yikes!  Between no-shave Novembeard and the weight, I'm heading into Santa Claus territory for the 2012 road season.  Perhaps I'm subconsciously becoming a fred?)  Great weekend.

Faust Park Bubba CX, a Stupid Tax, and No Good Rotten Sandbaggers

The Stupid Tax

Thursday night I was trying to eat healthy, so I cooked some salmon and put it on top of some greens for dinner.  The fish that I ate I thought was about a week old (should be ok, right?)  My wife informed me later when I was nauseous and dizzy that the fish that *I* purchased and *I* opened was probably closer to 3 weeks old.  It didn’t smell bad…

Yes, I paid a stupid tax.  It sucks to be sick due to something so foolish/preventable.  My main suggestion to any of you considering eating old fish – don’t.  

The entire episode is quite ironic because of the intensity of my desire to avoid processed/industrial foods, especially “fast food.”  And here I go eating old fish and getting sick.  Fortunately only I ate it and the kids and wife had something else.  Whew.  Also, the whole episode only took 24 hours to run its course.  

Bubba CX Faust Park Saturday

Saturday evening Faust Park hosted the next round of the Bubba series.  This was the coldest race yet, probably in the 40’s.  The course was the least technical CX course this year (out of 4) for me with only 4 or 5 technical turns per lap.  Pre-riding the course, the grass seemed way too long and everything seemed super bumpy.  My only thought was: my back is going to be cooked after 1 lap!  Fortunately several fields went over the course and packed the grass down enough that by the B race, it wasn’t so bad.

I bailed on the costume stuff – I just didn’t have the energy after the fishy stupid tax I paid Thursday/Friday.  So I lined up in the second row of the B race and had a great start.  An Off the Front racer (dressed as Buddy – bravo) won the hole shot and was really digging.  I got into third wheel behind Rich and sat tight for a few minutes as OtF blew up…so that’s what I look like normally!  I took the front about halfway through the lap and soon found myself with Rich and Pete (on a single speed!) with a little gap.  Realizing that the race was not 3 laps, I let someone else pull for a bit.  Pete and I kept it quick as Rich started to fade.  At this point Matt (dressed as a woman) began reeling us in.  Soon it was three again and that’s more or less how it would stay to the finish.  There were some attacks, counters, and bad lines taken but whenever one of us appeared done, they’d fight to get back on terms.

On the last lap each racer wanted a favorable position.  Matt was leading with 3-4 turns to go while I was second wheel.  Into a downhill off-camber turn (my fav on the course), Pete took me on the inside!  We still had a few 180’s left but I got a little gaped and was forced into chasing back to Pete’s wheel through them. 

 

The barriers framed the finish.  Since the finish was downhill from the barriers, I reasoned that whoever got to the barriers first had this thing in the bag.  Coming into the left hand climb I sprinted up and gained the first spot, keeping it clean and fast through the barriers, thus sealing my first cat 3 CX win.

To curb my enthusiasm, I immediately lined up for the 1/2/3 (A) race.  I knew I wouldn’t be able to race the next day and I wanted another race start.  Beginning near the back I finished at the back - second to last.  It was basically a fun workout once the field got away from me.  Sadly, I got lapped by the podium, but I still had a good time fighting off last place.

After the finish Johnny served me up a bowl of chili and gave me a Bud Light (perhaps my first ever – not certain).  It was perfect in that moment.  Though I think about anything would have tasted good after that second race!  (Anything but fish, of course.)

The racing was encouraging as I felt I drove my bike better than previous races and my back didn’t give out in the first race.  Progress is progress!  

Sandbagger Ranting and CX Categories

There has been talk lately of sandbagging in our local series.  It’s pretty off-putting for me as internet ranting usually does not correlate to actually talking with people face(book) to face(book).

For my own part, I don’t think I’m ready to upgrade.  I haven’t met the performance requirement for the 3->2 license move, the road parity rule notwithstanding.  Also, as most of the races are on Sundays it’s quite difficult for me to race the A’s and still make it to church on time.  What’s worse, being called a bagger by whiny people (like myself) or not racing?  I think I’ll chance it with the whiners for the next month.

The nice thing about being a CX cat 3 is the variety.  If I want to race later, I can hop in the 1/2/3’s.  Earlier?  The B’s (3/4s).  Want to get smoked?  Double up on the A+B races or 3’s and 1/2/3’s in Chicago.  It really seems to be the best option right now.  Also, now that I’m officially old according to cyclocross, I can do the 30+ races when offered.  The triple fun day (30+, 3’s, 1/2/3’s) is tempting.  I haven’t done it yet but maybe if I want 3 lackluster results in a single day… I think next year will favor quality over quantity.

Charity

Finally, if you read this (wow!) and you race in the StL, give a thought to my friend and future teammate BJ “The Coach” Keane.  If the guy could go more than 3 laps without breaking a: spoke, chain, saddle, or rolling a tire, why, I think he might win again.  I think he has the Gateway Cross Cup Sandbagger Curse™.  I haven’t told it to his face(book), but he’s such a sandbagger, being a cat 4 CXer and (presumptive) cat 2 road racer.  *cough*

Ironic Self Referential Addendum:  If you missed the irony of the preceding section, I can't help you.  However, I think there is a real chance some of you might in fact "miss it" (hence this note) and this note is, ironically, my attempt to help you.  Wow, that was like The Matrix or something.

But the real irony of this piece is in the decrying of the sandbag whiners.  Sandbag whiners anonymously complain about others without (usually) naming them and insinuate some fault on the accused-baggers part.  Here of course, in this very blog, I have risen above them to call out some fault in the sandbagwhiners under a pseudonym!  This makes me no different, of course except, in writing this I acknowledge that I in fact know better.  Hmm.

This all begs the question: to what end do sandbagwhiners and smarmy bloggers call foul?  As I mentioned earlier, if they truly wanted what was best for the "accused", they would go to them face to face rather than bloviate anonymously.  I must conclude that I (and they) do not really want whats best for the other.  By process of elimination, it's not hard to guess who they are trying to serve with their comments.

Further Irony Which I Importune You to Consider in this David Foster Wallace Mini-Homage*:

After writing all that other crap I realized the name of the park.  Oh the tantalizing narrative possibilities.  

*Please pronounce "homage" like "oma" plus the "g" sound from "entourage." Please.

Love that Lasts + Sunrise Park CX

This past weekend the wife and I headed to Naperville for a marriage seminar hosted by Sovereign Grace Church wherein the Ricucci’s presented the material from their book “Love that Lasts.”  I thought it was really well done and reminded me how fortunate I’ve been to be close friends with several couples “ahead” of us who have healthy marriages.  The seminar was a “one off”, but I recommend the book.  By the way, it’s better to do stuff like this when things are going well than to wait till you two aren’t talking and investing your emotional stock elsewhere.

My wife cares for me enough not only to recommend the seminar but also to throw in that “there’s a cyclocross race the next day.”  Booyah. 

 

Bartlett played host to the sixth stop on the Chicago Cyclocross Cup circuit.  Last year I traveled up to this race and won the 4B’s (the beginners race), a race I had no business being in!  But I ate a hot dog while sandbagging, and I promised never to do it again.  This year I doubled up in the 3’s and the 1/2/3’s.

The course was fantastic: smooth with plenty of turns, power sections, a little wind, some uphill ramps, off-camber spiral, and the “six pack” of barriers.  Weather was perfect: 60’s with sun.

Through the brutal "6 Pack." Photo Credit: Josh Gore.

I felt good in warm-ups but didn’t eat enough on the day and had myriad other excuses which I’ll save.

In the 3’s I lined up in the 5^th row (they call everybody up, so no finagling!) and I moved up into the top 15 or so before bleeding back to 20^th (out of 70).  Not bad.  CX is so tough mentally and with a weak/fat body, it’s even tougher.  But it is fun in some weird sense and I do enjoy the release of competition and pushing myself.

 

I honestly thought about bailing on the 1/2/3’s but after some water and a hammer gel I convinced myself to line up.  Barry Wicks was staged behind me, which is hilarious.  He won, from last in the grid.  If the first race hurts, let me tell you, the second race REALLY hurts!  I was racing alright until I tried to make a pass of a bike heaven rider before a turn and didn’t come around in time.  He put me into the tape (which I probably deserved) and that killed a lot of momentum.  Nick Ramirez (Psimet/Enzo’s) passed me while I got my bike untangled and encouraged me to get back in it – which was very helpful.  My lovely wife caught some of this race and I guess I was having such a good time from the looks of it that she shouted: "it's almost over!" 

My Fango/Grifo tubies were perfect for driving in Sunrise Park.
Photo Credit: Cameron Pease.

I soon hooked up with Kevin Flowers (Wheelfast) and we rolled together the remaining laps.  I didn’t have much power but I could drive a few sections cleaner than him.  It ended up that we caught an Iron Cycles rider and the three of us worked together to avoid being lapped by Wicks.  By “work together” I mean I took token pulls for like 2 straights and then sucked wheel.  Oh, and our “working together” extended to me bumming a drink from Kevin.  Water never felt so refreshing!  I promised that I would pull to the line if he gave me a drink and I was true to my word.  I did pull, but then I pulled faster until I had a gap.  Lesson: never help a wounded road racer.  They are no good sons of guns! 

The Chicago race afforded a chance to say hello to guys I won’t see until March or April on the road.  It was good to catch up a little and remind myself that there are some strong dudes to face off against in 2012.  This winter is not a time for complacency!

The whole weekend was a blast.  Big ups to my in-laws for taking the kids for the weekend.  I’m very thankful for the chance to spend an entire weekend with my best friend, race my bike, and just have fun.

Dogfish Hermann CX Race Report

Cyclocross!

The season has started and I feel 50 years older.  Back, legs, arms, feet, hands all have cuts, bruises, knots, and soreness.  With my body beat up, why am I so happy?

This past weekend was the Dogfish Hermann CX Weekend.  I was on the fence about racing the 3/4s or the 1/2/3s but decided to race the 3/4s to gain experience and to get back home for church on time Sunday evening.  I think I made the right choice.  We made it to church (though I was pretty strung out and covered in mud) and I have a lot of room to grow as a crosser!  Here’s the race rundown from my blue Kona:

Saturday:

Conditions were cool (high 50’s) and we were racing in the dark/under the lights.  About 40 guys lined up and the course was wet but not too sloppy.  I got a 2^nd row start due to pre-reg order and promptly missed my pedal but moved up during the long paved hole shot.  I think I took the first turn in 10^th wheel or thereabout.

The course was a lot of fun to race.  There were open power sections, lots of 180’s, a few off-camber bends, a double sand pit, 2 mini barriers, and 2 regulation barriers.  There were also a few swampy bits and a double staircase runup!  Lighting was ok and there was only one corner that was completely dark – right next to the band.  Yes, live band during the races!

At the front of the race BJ (Momentum) took the early lead with John (My Wife Inc) on his wheel.  I could see the two of them establishing a gap on the line of guys I was with as soon as the first bend around the baseball outfield!  I passed several guys on the stairs and worked my way up into the top 5 catching BJ during lap 3 (I think).  We rolled together for a bit until he slid out on a turn.  I think the two of us were evenly matched this weekend – he with the bigger motor but I with slightly better driving.  It wasn’t much of a difference but that’s how I think it was.

Huppin' through the 2nd sand pit.  Photo Credit: Dan Singer

Out front John was cruising along to a nice gap.  Some friends said I was chipping away at it but I never got within 20 seconds.  My back started to get to me and two Michelob Ultra riders were nipping at my heels.  Then I dropped my chain on a remount and bled 8 spots (my guard obviously was not set up correctly – by me!).  Big thanks to Revolution Cycles for getting me back in the race!  

I worked my way back up to 5^th at one point but in my duels with Aaron Koch (Dogfish) I was bested, finishing 6^th.

I watched a few laps of the 1/2/3s and saw former teammate Jason (Psimet) throwing down monster attacks with the area big dogs.  The kids and the wife were either sleeping or about to be and I needed rest before round two so I missed the finish.  It was a great day of racing though.

Sunday

The forecast was for more heat and more water!  It rained enough overnight that the course Sunday morning was pretty swampy.   The masters coming off the course all told the same tale: don’t take the lines you can see!  It’s slick!  However, as the day went on the rain stayed away while temps went into the 70s (F) making a tacky track that was quite fun.

Another 40 (+/-) dudes lined up for 45 min in the crucible.  John (who won Saturday) won the hole shot and we foolishly let him start earning a gap on the ball field.  I couldn’t believe it, I was in 6^th wheel and couldn’t move up!  Argh!  My legs weren’t so fresh for day two but I started passing people before the stairs and found myself with a little gap in 3^rd by the end of the lap.  I wasn’t really comfortable out there and really felt the fatigue from yesterday, but I was chipping away at the guy in front of me.  

Due to the increased temps I didn’t use embrocation and I also stowed a bottle in my skinsuit between my shoulderblades.  This latter choice was a mistake as it was soon in my saddle area.  Rather than ride it out, I sat up on the road section and fished it out of the skinsuit.  I lost 3 or 4 places doing this dance.  Rather than messing with the bottle, I should have been RACING MY BIKE!  Aaron came flying past me during this time, since he was, y’know, racing his bike.  He was not going to wait for my shenanigans!

Flowing on Sunday!  Photo Credit: Jason Watkins

Well, I clawed one more place back from the guy who was in second earlier but blew up.  The closing laps I was getting closer to the fifth place rider but needed another lap to overtake him.  However, that last lap was zen-full of smooth cornering.  I felt like I could flow on the course that last lap!  I was finding my pedals, taking turns faster and smoother than previously, it’s like I finally “got” the course.  It is my hope that with more cx racing I can start to figure out how to ride a course before the last lap of the second race!!

Auditioning for Stomp?  Photo Credit: Jason Watkins

Epilogue

Big congrats to John on two decisive wins.  Also, thanks to Dogfish Apparel, the city of Hermann, and the promoter Jeff Yielding for putting on a great event.  Those of you who missed it, MISSED OUT!  The family and I are already looking forward to next year's event.

ABD Sunrise Park CX & Campton CX 2010

Monday morning I rise with a slow burn. I’m not sure what it is, but after a bike race it seems your body is intent on continually burning fuel, producing an elevated temperature for some time. Is it an immuno-defense mechanism? The body rebuilding and repairing? Not sure, but it’s cycling’s afterglow.


The last two weekends I’ve raced cyclocross in Chicagoland. Here’s how it went (in agonizing detail):

Sunday (10/24/10) the wife dropped me off in Bartlett, IL to race the ABD Sunrise Park Cyclocross Race. This was the sixth stop on the Chicago Cross Cup circuit. It was my first race in the Chicago series and my fourth cross race ever. For all intents and purposes, I’m counting this as my first “official” CX race. My first three races were done in soccer shoes, in 2008, so the jump to clipless pedals in 2010 was only surpassed by the use of tubular cross tires. Oh my, how those things are magic. After training on the Kenda small block eight clinchers, the Challenge Grifo tubulars are heavenly. Bumps are suppressed yet you have more traction and better control. No pinch flats. Glorious. Forget about fancy frames and such; put your money into a tubular wheelset. Single biggest equipment benefit in CX (according to this novice!).

The Course and Conditions:
Overcast with intermittent drizzle. Temps in the high 60’s for most of the day. Not quite proper cross weather, but good enough. A fair amount of wind (10+ mph) was gusting over the course and made the “power sections” well, that much more power intensive.


The Field:
73 (according to results) guys and gals lined up for the 4A’s and 4B’s. The A’s had 2/3 guys who looked like racers, while the 4B’s had about 1/3 that looked like racers. I’m not making judgments here - everybody should be there - it’s just an observation.


The 4(Z)A race:
Starting from the third row (we lined up 30 minutes prior to the race, just silly!) I witnessed a crash in the first 100 meters. I rode over a guy’s rear wheel (not a Zipp, and by accident) as he went down right in front of me. It was bedlam. My teammate (who handily won the 1/2/3’s!) told me I took the first corner outside of the top 35. I jumped out of every corner and booked it through the straight-aways, working my way up to the top 10 by the start of the second lap. At this point I was competing with the guys who got call-ups. A little gassed from the efforts so far, (cat 2 teammate) Razzle Dazzle/Jason goaded me to move up and keep it smooth. I really appreciated it. Perhaps my calling out splits and encouragement helped him earlier? Well, I kept jumping during the straight-aways and while my back was tightening up pretty bad I worked my way into third place. I couldn’t shake the 14 yr old (Lombardo of Verdigris) off my wheel and when I washed out the front on an off camber 180, the kid took leave of me. I got back to his wheel once or twice but he was much better technically and I was running out of steam. I bled one more spot before the final twists and turns leading into “heckle hill” where I was promptly reminded from the bullhorn of my cat 3 road compatriot (and cat 2 crosser) Jason Knauff (Burnham) that I was beaten by a junior. It wasn’t the first time and it won’t be the last, I’m sure! Crossed the line in 5th a little disappointed at missing the podium when it was within reach. I still had a blast. It is so good to be back racing after coaching soccer.


The 4B(aggin’) Race:
After washing down a hammer gel I jumped in the grid for the 4B race. Seeing how I had to drive 3 hrs to get there, I was not leaving after 30 minutes of fun – and besides, it still says 4 on my license for CX. (Guilty conscience?)

I felt kind of bad hoping in there but I thought that the previous race would tire me and we’re all out there to have fun anyway, right? Well, I stopped feeling ashamed when CAT 4B CALLUPS started. Guys that take series result callups in the 4Bs? That is shameful. Now the guys in costume or the guy that youtubed his post race hurling from his helmet cam – those guys should get the 4B callup. Anyway, when I see homeslice on a full carbon Ridley/SRAM Force/Carbon tubie setup getting called to the front row of the killer Bs, I don’t feel so bad about beating him.

No start gate crashing in the B’s, and coming around the first turn in 20-30 something I worked my way up to start the second lap in 1st place. I attacked into the wind on the open stretch before the pit and opened the gap up to about 1:16 by the end of the 3 lap race. Disgusting? Perhaps. But not as disgusting as the hot dog, donut hole, and twizzler I consumed during the race via “Heckle Hill Handups.” It seems the 4B’s race is always a spectacle. Granted I was ridiculed as a dirty rotten sandbagger by a couple dozen folks, it was still worth it. But I won’t do it again. Regardless, between the 2 races I got an hour of racing in, and that’s why I came out. 1 hr of going hard, learning how to drive my bike, and all of it great fun.


(10/31/10) First Cat 3 Race:
Costumes got a callup since it was halloween. I wrapped myself in the lamest costume ever perpetrated on a cross race: white shorts, white base layer, 50 cotton balls taped to the front of the baselayer, black arm-warmers, white helmet w/ 2 black paper triangles taped to the sides. What was I? I was going for “lamb” but I would tell everyone that I was a wolf – in sheep’s clothing. Cue: groan.

The field looked much faster than the 4’s, mainly because they were. Guys that have been eating my lunch on the road all year were lined up around me - I was a little nervous.

I rode hard and got into the top ten on the first lap, even passing Whipple (Tati) and Luke (xXx-Athletico) [who had enough breath to yell “sandbagger” as I passed!]. But like most cross races I was all “fly then die” and by the second lap I needed a tourniquet I was bleeding spots so badly. Goodbye top 10 - it’s been great. There were countless passes and repasses, miny duels that make CX unique in cycling. (Perhaps some track events are like this? I don’t know.) I crashed once, in traffic, during the off-camber heckler packed section. Needless to say I was appropriately mocked. Rob (Psimet) laid it on heavy throughout. I’m pretty sure he heckles because he loves us.

By the end of the race I finished 12th out of 50 some riders, my back cooked and my mouth parched from the smoke. Did I really expect to line it up with the 1/2/3’s in an hour and have anything to put to the pedals?


(10/31/10) First 1/2/3’s Race:
Warming up I caught a chat with Liam (xXx-Athletico) and then introduced myself to Barry (Kona). Both are nice guys. Both are faster than me. I asked for tips since it was one of my first CX races, Wicks’ words: “go fast and have fun.” Good advice indeed. I was looking for barrier hopping tips or something bike-ninja-esque, but “go fast and have fun” seem like things I should strive for out there.

Since there were only 26 of us in the race it wasn’t too hectic at the start and while my goals coming in were: 1) don’t get lapped and 2) don’t get pulled, when the whistle blew I forgot about those goals and cranked on it. I even worked my way into the top ten I think, passing Jason (Burnham) after a bit of braggadocio between us. But per the usual, the blood loss began until I was even passed by a triathlete. Oh the shame! We dueled for at least a lap where one or the other would take the lead. Eventually I blew myself up and drifted backwards.

Bryan (ReCycling), a cat 1 on the road then caught me – but not before calling out: “I’m reeling you in!” I said something like: “you’re a cat 1!” while sprinting out of each corner. Who knows what I actually said as I was pretty crosseyed at that point. He passed me after a barrier and opened up a gap. On the last lap there was a technical section (4 or 5 off camber up and down the hill-side deals) that I rode better and better as the race went on. Bryan had to dismount and run them and I heard him yell: “I left the door open!” Forget the technical misstep, those words were his chief error! My confidence soared and I ignored the pain in my lower back, standing to close the distance. I caught him on a climbing section and took him on the inside of a 180 (something a MTBer did to me in the 3’s race earlier!). We headed downhill, left, into a super-technical 180. The surfaces changed from grass to pavement to sand+rock to grass then to loose gravel. Oh, and the sandy/rock part was a bridge over a creek. Yeah – scary pour moi. Surface changes are not my bag and this one was always a really slow corner for me. Bryan didn’t accelerate around me coming out of the previous 180 since the downhill was kind of a “recovery section.” Knowing this I got in front and moved him to the left side while coasting. Since we had to enter the turn from the right he was “pinned” where I wanted him and I could rest before swinging out to make the turn. It’s a small thing, but I’m pretty proud of it. I guess you had to be there. I survived the turn and held him off to the finish.

Another interesting (to me, ha!) point of the race was following Barry Wicks (Kona) for a bit. Barry’s bike was acting up and the single speed he was killing us on kept droping the chain. When the chain was on, he would ride away from me instantly. Then I would pass him while he was stopped on the side fixing it. Anyway, entering the “single track” wooded section, he was blocked by slower riders in front. This gave me the opportunity to take his wheel and see how the section aught to be ridden. The realm of the possible expanded. The first thing I saw was the whoop-de-doo after entering the single track. If you went over it in the standard way you came out aimed at a tree on the right and had to brake or hope you didn’t slide out banking hard left. Barry made the line straight by ramping over the much higher dirt pile/vegitation on the left, something nobody else was doing (based on the absense of tracks, etc), maybe caught some air, and carried way more speed through the section. It was smashing. I copied his line thenceforth. I also saw how he rode the roots, finding clean lines when during the entirety of the 3’s race I was convinced there weren’t any. Again: copy cat. Afterwards the wooded section was one of my fastest – something I didn’t realize until I was stuck behind 2 other riders thinking: c’mon grandma, let’s go! I even passed a guy on the whoop-de-doo taking the high side!


I finished 14th of 26, beating PRO road racer Alex (Team Type 1) and PRO Barry Wicks. To be fair to Barry, his bike did most of the beating. But lest you think it’s Kona’s fault, my Kona didn’t drop any chains. Woot.


Epilogue:

The last two Sundays of racing were awesome. The events are extremely enjoyable (both the races and the people) and they were great workouts. If I can just figure out how to push through the back pain some more I might be able to hold position better (is the answer to buy a Stevens carbon frameset? Lol). Currently I’m nursing my war wounds, but I hope to get back out there asap. I can’t wait to get to the next CX race.

Special thanks go to Nick Dornick who continues to lend me his front EA70X tubular with Grifo. It is perfect bro! Thanks also to my wife for letting me play bikes!


Hup Hup!