Like always, I've waited forever to post my weekend wrap-up. In fact, I've almost finished packing for my NEXT race, before blogging about my last one.
Basically, I took a few weekends off. Got sick. Trained a lot. Went out of town with my girlfriend. Got pumped to race again.
Saturday- State Cyclo-Cross Championships, Greenville, SC
Unfortunately, the week before the race was the busiest week I think we've ever had at work. I was resting on the bike, but working my ass off at work. I was tired, sore, and missing out on riding time by staying late in the afternoons. My back is still pretty sore from unloading boxes.
Same course as the last races in Greenville. A few changes. Instead of the straight ride into the run-up, there was a pretty awesome drop, u-turn back uphill, u-turn back downhill, u-turn into the run-up. That's a lot of hyphens! This section was rather tricky-- for me at least.
Got off to a pretty lame start. We went down a long gravel road into the first set of barriers and then a u-turn (hyphen!) onto a golf cart path that was too fast to spin my 40x12. I just didn't hit the line hard enough, and run into some trouble when someone crossed my front wheel as I was dismounting.
Tracked my way back up through the pack. Leveled off somewhere in the 10-7 position. Passed one guy that I raced really close with back in October and told him we belonged at the front. He passed me later.
Raced most of the day with a giant snot and/or drool bubble on my face. A few people had some bad luck. Plenty of flats today. Ended up 6th. One spot out of the money- shit!
Sunday-North Carolina Cyclo-Cross Series, Charlotte, NC
Huge turnout for this one! 60 Cat. 4s lined up at the start. Started the day with a broken spoke on my rear tubular wheel. Looked like I was running the Grifo XS file treads on the back. It made things a little bit slick.
Got off to a much better start. Somewhere in the top 10. The leaders had already gotten away. I could still see them, but I wasn't putting much hope into bringing them back.
On the secondish lap I botched a dismount. I think the all of the sand from this weekend was interfering with my pedal. I stayed up, but kind of laid the bike down on its left side. As I was running up the hill, my bike felt really heavy. The rear brake had gotten jammed under the back wheel. I lost roughly ten spots fixing it and getting going again.
Nothing exciting after that. I felt awesome riding the sand-- I usually can't do that. The Grifo XS wasn't the greatest for getting through the sand and on the last lap I just didn't have enough momentum to get through it and kind of tumbled down.
Finished 20th. A dude from Duke crashed in front of me twice on the last lap. This was pretty irritating since I was just hitting that "ALRIGHT LAST LAPPPPP LET'S FUCKING DO THIS" energy surge I get sometimes. I probably could have gotten away with a top 15. I definitely think I could have gotten away with a top 10 if I didn't do things like fall over or kill my bike.
Literally just registered for the North Carolina Grand Prix. I really enjoyed this race last year. I told myself earlier that two top tens this weekend would be enough for me to want to upgrade. Maybe just one top ten and a top five at the Georgia race on 11/28. However, coach said something about fighting for podiums, and other people upgrading too quickly. Makes a lot of sense, and I wish I didn't agree-but I do. I don't understand how my goal to upgrade keeps getting delayed--being slow probably has something to do with it-- I'm just ready to get out of the 4's.
Alright--bed-time. Departing for Hendersonville tomorrow.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Greenville Spinners' Cyclo-Cross Weekend
Returning to the promised land. The plot of grass, hills and sand that was formerly the Mill Stone Golf Village is where I raced my first real 'cross race last season, and the site of last year's state championships. This course is tough. I liked it a lot better than last year though. I'm blaming that on increased fitness... thanks Andy!
The course this year was more compact. The golf cart paths were pretty much avoided as transition areas and only half of the available space was used. I liked that much more than last years course, which kind of felt like two courses connected by the cart paths and parking lot. It was bumpy and twisty. Capped off by two sections of sand, a long grassy climb and a short, steep paved climb 200m before the finish.
Day 1:
Picked my old man up from his apartment and dragged him along with me to Greenville. Made our way out nice and early. The B race was starting at 10, so the course was completely open from the time we got there until the start of the race. Got registered, chose my tires (Grifo 32 front/Grifo XS rear), spray glued my number on, peeled it off and glued it on the right side, and then took off for one final lap.
Maybe ten minutes before the race I took off for a lap with Andy Baker. I wanted to see how the fast guys were going to ride the course and see what kind of advice he could provide. He made a comment about me being too fast to ride the B race, I told him to wait and see.
About halfway around the course, they started calling riders to the line. So I cut across the course to get back over to staging and lined up on the second row to listen to our pre-race speech. Do people really not know all of this stuff?
Got off to a strong start. Found myself in the front group of four. Ran both sand sections and found it to be just as fast and easier than trying to ride it. Murdered the barriers (they were so fast!) and ran the grassy hill, I also think this was just as fast to run, maybe that was just me.
On the second lap my group was starting to get a bit spread out, but everyone was still pretty much in contact with each other. I still had visions of a strong finish-- top five, maybe a podium, but that all went to shit pretty quickly.
On one of the off-cambers after the first sand pit my front wheel bounced up and turned hard to the right. I hit the ground primarily on my right shoulder and face. When I got up to start moving again, my rear wheel wasn't turning. The brake cable popped out of the cable stop on the top of the frame. For whatever reason in my panic on the side of the course, I couldn't get it back in to save my life. I basically went from 4th to 12th in one corner.
When I finally got back up I tried to ride hard, but my heart just wasn't in it anymore. I got caught and passed by two guys, finished as hard as I could (mostly because of my dad yelling on the sideline) and went back to the van. I was frustrated, felt like I had good legs today and I lost it in a stupid crash. That's not fast.
14th today. Bummed.
Day 2: Feel free to take a break here. Come back and read the rest tomorrow. Or get a coffee or something... I'm long-winded.
Same exact course with one addition: a barrier at the base of the grassy hill. I was so pumped about it that I was telling everyone I saw how cool it was and thanking every volunteer I saw.
I made my mind up on I-385 that I needed to take some air out of my tires today. 38 in the front and 40 in the back yesterday seemed pretty standard, but I was going to push it today. Ran 35 front and rear (both Grifo 32 tubulars). I thought it would give me some more traction in the off cambers and hopefully smooth the course out a little bit. I was nervous about my amateur gluing but there was only one way to find out how strong it was...
I know it was only 3-5 psi, but it made all of the difference, I swear.
I finished my pre-race routine a little bit earlier than normal today. That gave me time to sit at the van and get juiced up and sort of focus a little bit. I sat in a puddle of spray adhesive, but other than that it was good. When I went to line up 5 minutes before the start, the entire group was there... FUCK!
I squeezed in on the far right, on the second row. I didn't have high hopes of the guy in front of me killing the start, so I figured I was going to have to be an asshole. I got more than I gave though and got pinched off on the outside. Finally pushed my way into the single file line of riders, probably in 10th-12th place. Small groups were starting to form about 1/3 of the way through the first lap. I figured I had surrendered another day to a mediocre result all because of a shit start. Again, I was frustrated.
I started passing people as safely and quickly as I could. I didn't want to kill anyone this early in the race. I was slowing down to get through a turn or an obstacle, and then standing and going around people when it straightened out. Two or three dudes through the barriers, two or three through the first sand, a ton of dudes in the long sand section.
After the long sand section, I came up on a group of fiveish guys. My buddy Pat from Cycle-Center was in it. I was giving him shit about botching a remount after the sand, but my goal was to get up to him and hopefully the two of us could drag each other up to the next group of people. I got around his group, but I didn't see him with me. Oh well.
I finally came up on a group of two guys. I stuck with them for a majority of the race. We were 3rd-5th on the course. I had successfully ridden from my modest start, to the position where I felt like I should have been. At one point in the race, I thought that my 5th place finish was secure. We weren't catching the two guys up the road, and I thought we had put everyone else away. I rode the third lap like it was the second to last, setting up for a strong last lap. The only problem with that strategy was that at the end of the 3rd lap, the sign said 2 to go, not 1. The leaders were smashing the field so thoroughly that we did a complete lap more than we did yesterday... damn.
On the fourth lap, my group splintered. The Greenville Spinners rider was riding the first sand pit every lap, and he gapped the other rider and myself. I then further fell off of the second guy in our group. Out of nowhere comes a Les Amis rider. So now, I have to ride an extra lap, my group has exploded, and someone caught us? Things were starting to get a bit hairy.
Les Amis (his name is Daniel Jones if you're into that sort of thing) and I went at each other for a little while. He might have been a hair faster than I was, but I think I was more skilled? Or something... I don't know. He would pass me in one section, I would get him back on the next. He got around me on one of the longer, flatter sections and I just wanted to get on his wheel but that didn't happen. I was now in 6th.
In true deja vu fashion, out of fucking nowhere comes PAT! I thought he was long gone after seeing him on that first lap. It turns out that he dropped his chain and lost a ton of ground. Dude powered his way through the course and caught back up to me. So last lap, I had Pat on my wheel, one rider in front of me. My goal today was top five, I had a fight on my hands.
Pat was encouraging me to catch the rider in front of us (mostly by saying things like "just one half lap until beer"). I was willing to do the work to get him and take my chances bringing Pat to the line. The three of us came to the run up together. I got around the first rider coming up the hill. Pat got around me on the top. I immediately jumped in behind him. After the run up, there was a long downhill paved section, sweeping right hand turn then a harder right hand turn going to that last steep hill. Pat HAMMERED this section, and when I got to the bottom of the hill, he was at the top. Maybe I could have caught him at the line, but I doubt it. So my plan backfired, Pat beat me to the line. At least I still got beer. 6th place.
I was happy today. Really happy. Even though I got a bad start, I was able to power my way through the course and get right back where I needed to be. I started in the top five yesterday and finished 14th. I started 14th today, and finished 6th. Go figure. I didn't go down today, but I still tore up my knuckle from hitting debris on the side of the course. Tape to tape, baby!
I was smooth and fast. Maybe I could have come out of the corners harder, maybe I could have started faster. Whatever. It was a pretty good day.
No races until the state champs on November 13th. Same course. I'll be ready for it.
The course this year was more compact. The golf cart paths were pretty much avoided as transition areas and only half of the available space was used. I liked that much more than last years course, which kind of felt like two courses connected by the cart paths and parking lot. It was bumpy and twisty. Capped off by two sections of sand, a long grassy climb and a short, steep paved climb 200m before the finish.
Day 1:
Picked my old man up from his apartment and dragged him along with me to Greenville. Made our way out nice and early. The B race was starting at 10, so the course was completely open from the time we got there until the start of the race. Got registered, chose my tires (Grifo 32 front/Grifo XS rear), spray glued my number on, peeled it off and glued it on the right side, and then took off for one final lap.
Maybe ten minutes before the race I took off for a lap with Andy Baker. I wanted to see how the fast guys were going to ride the course and see what kind of advice he could provide. He made a comment about me being too fast to ride the B race, I told him to wait and see.
About halfway around the course, they started calling riders to the line. So I cut across the course to get back over to staging and lined up on the second row to listen to our pre-race speech. Do people really not know all of this stuff?
Got off to a strong start. Found myself in the front group of four. Ran both sand sections and found it to be just as fast and easier than trying to ride it. Murdered the barriers (they were so fast!) and ran the grassy hill, I also think this was just as fast to run, maybe that was just me.
On the second lap my group was starting to get a bit spread out, but everyone was still pretty much in contact with each other. I still had visions of a strong finish-- top five, maybe a podium, but that all went to shit pretty quickly.
On one of the off-cambers after the first sand pit my front wheel bounced up and turned hard to the right. I hit the ground primarily on my right shoulder and face. When I got up to start moving again, my rear wheel wasn't turning. The brake cable popped out of the cable stop on the top of the frame. For whatever reason in my panic on the side of the course, I couldn't get it back in to save my life. I basically went from 4th to 12th in one corner.
When I finally got back up I tried to ride hard, but my heart just wasn't in it anymore. I got caught and passed by two guys, finished as hard as I could (mostly because of my dad yelling on the sideline) and went back to the van. I was frustrated, felt like I had good legs today and I lost it in a stupid crash. That's not fast.
14th today. Bummed.
Day 2: Feel free to take a break here. Come back and read the rest tomorrow. Or get a coffee or something... I'm long-winded.
Same exact course with one addition: a barrier at the base of the grassy hill. I was so pumped about it that I was telling everyone I saw how cool it was and thanking every volunteer I saw.
I made my mind up on I-385 that I needed to take some air out of my tires today. 38 in the front and 40 in the back yesterday seemed pretty standard, but I was going to push it today. Ran 35 front and rear (both Grifo 32 tubulars). I thought it would give me some more traction in the off cambers and hopefully smooth the course out a little bit. I was nervous about my amateur gluing but there was only one way to find out how strong it was...
I know it was only 3-5 psi, but it made all of the difference, I swear.
I finished my pre-race routine a little bit earlier than normal today. That gave me time to sit at the van and get juiced up and sort of focus a little bit. I sat in a puddle of spray adhesive, but other than that it was good. When I went to line up 5 minutes before the start, the entire group was there... FUCK!
I squeezed in on the far right, on the second row. I didn't have high hopes of the guy in front of me killing the start, so I figured I was going to have to be an asshole. I got more than I gave though and got pinched off on the outside. Finally pushed my way into the single file line of riders, probably in 10th-12th place. Small groups were starting to form about 1/3 of the way through the first lap. I figured I had surrendered another day to a mediocre result all because of a shit start. Again, I was frustrated.
I started passing people as safely and quickly as I could. I didn't want to kill anyone this early in the race. I was slowing down to get through a turn or an obstacle, and then standing and going around people when it straightened out. Two or three dudes through the barriers, two or three through the first sand, a ton of dudes in the long sand section.
After the long sand section, I came up on a group of fiveish guys. My buddy Pat from Cycle-Center was in it. I was giving him shit about botching a remount after the sand, but my goal was to get up to him and hopefully the two of us could drag each other up to the next group of people. I got around his group, but I didn't see him with me. Oh well.
I finally came up on a group of two guys. I stuck with them for a majority of the race. We were 3rd-5th on the course. I had successfully ridden from my modest start, to the position where I felt like I should have been. At one point in the race, I thought that my 5th place finish was secure. We weren't catching the two guys up the road, and I thought we had put everyone else away. I rode the third lap like it was the second to last, setting up for a strong last lap. The only problem with that strategy was that at the end of the 3rd lap, the sign said 2 to go, not 1. The leaders were smashing the field so thoroughly that we did a complete lap more than we did yesterday... damn.
On the fourth lap, my group splintered. The Greenville Spinners rider was riding the first sand pit every lap, and he gapped the other rider and myself. I then further fell off of the second guy in our group. Out of nowhere comes a Les Amis rider. So now, I have to ride an extra lap, my group has exploded, and someone caught us? Things were starting to get a bit hairy.
Les Amis (his name is Daniel Jones if you're into that sort of thing) and I went at each other for a little while. He might have been a hair faster than I was, but I think I was more skilled? Or something... I don't know. He would pass me in one section, I would get him back on the next. He got around me on one of the longer, flatter sections and I just wanted to get on his wheel but that didn't happen. I was now in 6th.
In true deja vu fashion, out of fucking nowhere comes PAT! I thought he was long gone after seeing him on that first lap. It turns out that he dropped his chain and lost a ton of ground. Dude powered his way through the course and caught back up to me. So last lap, I had Pat on my wheel, one rider in front of me. My goal today was top five, I had a fight on my hands.
Pat was encouraging me to catch the rider in front of us (mostly by saying things like "just one half lap until beer"). I was willing to do the work to get him and take my chances bringing Pat to the line. The three of us came to the run up together. I got around the first rider coming up the hill. Pat got around me on the top. I immediately jumped in behind him. After the run up, there was a long downhill paved section, sweeping right hand turn then a harder right hand turn going to that last steep hill. Pat HAMMERED this section, and when I got to the bottom of the hill, he was at the top. Maybe I could have caught him at the line, but I doubt it. So my plan backfired, Pat beat me to the line. At least I still got beer. 6th place.
I was happy today. Really happy. Even though I got a bad start, I was able to power my way through the course and get right back where I needed to be. I started in the top five yesterday and finished 14th. I started 14th today, and finished 6th. Go figure. I didn't go down today, but I still tore up my knuckle from hitting debris on the side of the course. Tape to tape, baby!
I was smooth and fast. Maybe I could have come out of the corners harder, maybe I could have started faster. Whatever. It was a pretty good day.
No races until the state champs on November 13th. Same course. I'll be ready for it.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Georgia 'Cross: Augusta 10/10
I'm writing this more than a few days after it happened, and with moderate amounts of beer in my belly, so take that into account as you read.
Adam says: "No jumping, Justin. Only lifting of the legs, like Edwin Moses. NO JUMPING!" And I thought I had my technique down...
AUGUSTA 'CROSS 2k10!
Let me start by saying that Saturday was a complete bust. I woke up early and made my way towards Rock Hill for another training race (on the site of the future permanent cyclo-cross course-funding was approved Monday), about 15 minutes from Rock Hill my car started shaking and my check engine light came on. After consulting my resident mechanic/step dad we decided it best to turn around and head home... I was going to be late anyway.
So Sunday I woke up, not as early, packed the borrowed van (since my car wasn't making it out of state) with beer and bikes, grabbed the Cycle-Smart bouncer and headed down to Disgusta, GA for the second race of the Georgia 'Cross Series.
This was a bit of a different experience for me in that: 1. I had a teammate here; 2. There were people to hangout with whom I actually knew. CRAZY!
In all honesty, I was kind of taking the Georgia racing scene a bit lightly. I mean, I race in the NCCX! Those guys are hard as fuck! But, Georgia racing is nothing to scoff at and the boys and girls in Augusta set up a great course and there was plenty of competition.
The course started on an uphill pavement section, turned right off of the pavement towards an awesome run up, around a baseball infield, TWO sets of barriers, back around towards the pavement. The start/finish stretch was LONG, and this would prove to be bad for me later. There were nice transitions from the grass to the pavement, including two gravel sections that made things entertaining. The course wasn't about being punchy out of the corners, but getting through the obstacle, getting back up to speed and holding it for a long time. There were tons of sections where you'd go from 20mph to a near stop to navigate a turn.
I've been told to focus on my starts lately, so today I had plans to rape, pillage and burn everything once the whistle blew. Only problem: as I was ending my last lap of warm up, everyone had already lined up. We still had plenty of time before the start-- or at least we thought we did, my C-S teammate missed the start while making a bathroom stop. I assholed my way up to the second row and when we got going, I acted like I was running from the devil. A crash in the second turn made my job a little bit easier and after the run up I was in sixth and in the second group on the course.
By this point, I had glory in my eyes, I was planning on getting around the two dudes in front of me and bridging to the front group. At which point, I would work with them for the majority of the race before gapping them and winning on the last lap. Unfortunately, I never bridged up and about halfway through lap two I was feeling the effects of my start. I probably could have warmed up better...
Coming to the second turn on lap three, I had already been gapped, and I was looking for a faster line through the pinestraw. Except that trying to avoid the big ruts of straw put me in deeper piles of straw and sent me to the ground. Shortly after this I was caught and began losing places.
The more and more tired I got, the sloppier I got. At one point on the last lap, I literally could not get out of my left pedal coming to the first set of barriers. I slowed way, way down to get through the barriers cleanly. After the first two trips up that mountain of a run up, I was getting sloppy there too. Mistiming my dismount and taking longer to remount. Funny the things you start to do when you're tired.
On the last lap, I was riding in front of two of the ACC guys. One of them got around me on the pavement and his tire blew out just after transferring to the grass. I don't know what kind of pressure you have to run to make your tire explode like this, but it happened twice today... wtf?
The second dude bitched at me once about riding my brakes. My response was to ride the rest of the lap like a total asshole. Every time I felt him start to come around me I cut him off. I would have been happy putting him into the tape. Rubbin's racin, right? Plus, if I was so slow, why didn't he get around me? I led him all the way to the pavement on the start/finish stretch. I was basically just leading him out though. I kind of saw it coming and I was hoping to get on his wheel whenever he came around me to try to sprint at the line. When he passed me though, he made it seem like I was standing still and grab his wheel I did not.
Limped across in 12th. Not a terrible day. I would have been happy with 12th at this point last year, but I came into today with plans to finish top 5 (upgrade points!!!), so after such a strong start and such high goals, 12th was kind of disappointing.
Once I got across the tape I looked for a soft patch of ground and fell over. Dry heaved a couple of times and coughed a lot... so at least I know I gave it pretty much everything I had. Got back to the car to talk shit, tell lies and hangout for the rest of the day. Had a recovery New Belgium 1554 and gave out beer hand ups (just down the course there was a group giving out donuts, awesome). I've said it before, even on a bad day 'cross is more fun than any other racing discipline.
Greenville this weekend. I hate that golf course. It's going to be a hilly grass crit with sand. I don't like any part of that at all. After that I'm staying home for three weekends to get pumped for the State Championships and the North Carolina Grand Prix. Still hoping to race the 2/3 race at NCGP, but we'll see how it goes. I may just plan on upgrading after NCGP, before the big block of winter racing in December and January.
Still nine points till CX3.
Fellow Columbia 'cross enthusiast Mark Merrills' account is found here:
http://colabike.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-leg-hurts.html
And here's a helmet cam from the first race of the day, the masters race:
http://www.vimeo.com/15757717
Adam says: "No jumping, Justin. Only lifting of the legs, like Edwin Moses. NO JUMPING!" And I thought I had my technique down...AUGUSTA 'CROSS 2k10!
Let me start by saying that Saturday was a complete bust. I woke up early and made my way towards Rock Hill for another training race (on the site of the future permanent cyclo-cross course-funding was approved Monday), about 15 minutes from Rock Hill my car started shaking and my check engine light came on. After consulting my resident mechanic/step dad we decided it best to turn around and head home... I was going to be late anyway.
So Sunday I woke up, not as early, packed the borrowed van (since my car wasn't making it out of state) with beer and bikes, grabbed the Cycle-Smart bouncer and headed down to Disgusta, GA for the second race of the Georgia 'Cross Series.
This was a bit of a different experience for me in that: 1. I had a teammate here; 2. There were people to hangout with whom I actually knew. CRAZY!
In all honesty, I was kind of taking the Georgia racing scene a bit lightly. I mean, I race in the NCCX! Those guys are hard as fuck! But, Georgia racing is nothing to scoff at and the boys and girls in Augusta set up a great course and there was plenty of competition.
The course started on an uphill pavement section, turned right off of the pavement towards an awesome run up, around a baseball infield, TWO sets of barriers, back around towards the pavement. The start/finish stretch was LONG, and this would prove to be bad for me later. There were nice transitions from the grass to the pavement, including two gravel sections that made things entertaining. The course wasn't about being punchy out of the corners, but getting through the obstacle, getting back up to speed and holding it for a long time. There were tons of sections where you'd go from 20mph to a near stop to navigate a turn.
I've been told to focus on my starts lately, so today I had plans to rape, pillage and burn everything once the whistle blew. Only problem: as I was ending my last lap of warm up, everyone had already lined up. We still had plenty of time before the start-- or at least we thought we did, my C-S teammate missed the start while making a bathroom stop. I assholed my way up to the second row and when we got going, I acted like I was running from the devil. A crash in the second turn made my job a little bit easier and after the run up I was in sixth and in the second group on the course.
By this point, I had glory in my eyes, I was planning on getting around the two dudes in front of me and bridging to the front group. At which point, I would work with them for the majority of the race before gapping them and winning on the last lap. Unfortunately, I never bridged up and about halfway through lap two I was feeling the effects of my start. I probably could have warmed up better...
Coming to the second turn on lap three, I had already been gapped, and I was looking for a faster line through the pinestraw. Except that trying to avoid the big ruts of straw put me in deeper piles of straw and sent me to the ground. Shortly after this I was caught and began losing places.
The more and more tired I got, the sloppier I got. At one point on the last lap, I literally could not get out of my left pedal coming to the first set of barriers. I slowed way, way down to get through the barriers cleanly. After the first two trips up that mountain of a run up, I was getting sloppy there too. Mistiming my dismount and taking longer to remount. Funny the things you start to do when you're tired.
On the last lap, I was riding in front of two of the ACC guys. One of them got around me on the pavement and his tire blew out just after transferring to the grass. I don't know what kind of pressure you have to run to make your tire explode like this, but it happened twice today... wtf?
The second dude bitched at me once about riding my brakes. My response was to ride the rest of the lap like a total asshole. Every time I felt him start to come around me I cut him off. I would have been happy putting him into the tape. Rubbin's racin, right? Plus, if I was so slow, why didn't he get around me? I led him all the way to the pavement on the start/finish stretch. I was basically just leading him out though. I kind of saw it coming and I was hoping to get on his wheel whenever he came around me to try to sprint at the line. When he passed me though, he made it seem like I was standing still and grab his wheel I did not.
Limped across in 12th. Not a terrible day. I would have been happy with 12th at this point last year, but I came into today with plans to finish top 5 (upgrade points!!!), so after such a strong start and such high goals, 12th was kind of disappointing.
Once I got across the tape I looked for a soft patch of ground and fell over. Dry heaved a couple of times and coughed a lot... so at least I know I gave it pretty much everything I had. Got back to the car to talk shit, tell lies and hangout for the rest of the day. Had a recovery New Belgium 1554 and gave out beer hand ups (just down the course there was a group giving out donuts, awesome). I've said it before, even on a bad day 'cross is more fun than any other racing discipline.
Greenville this weekend. I hate that golf course. It's going to be a hilly grass crit with sand. I don't like any part of that at all. After that I'm staying home for three weekends to get pumped for the State Championships and the North Carolina Grand Prix. Still hoping to race the 2/3 race at NCGP, but we'll see how it goes. I may just plan on upgrading after NCGP, before the big block of winter racing in December and January.
Still nine points till CX3.
Fellow Columbia 'cross enthusiast Mark Merrills' account is found here:
http://colabike.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-leg-hurts.html
And here's a helmet cam from the first race of the day, the masters race:
http://www.vimeo.com/15757717
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Mud, Sweat and Gears- Kingsport, TN
It's finally arrived, cyclo-cross season.
Saturday morning I packed up my mom's minivan and we took a little family vacation up to Kingsport, TN for my first weekend of 'cross and the second weekend of Mud, Sweat and Gears.
It was kind of weird packing the bike, plus six wheels. I'm happy to say that the money I spent on a second set of 'cross tires was worth it, as I rode the Grifo XS Open Tubulars on Saturday.
The course was dry, mostly flat, and fast. The front half had some cyclo-cross elements, twisty turns up and down short hills, a single set of barriers, a fallen tree, and most importantly, the flyover of doom. The back half (after the barriers) was all about putting your head down and pedaling. The u-turn under the I-26 overpass was treacherous, but outside of that, nothing exciting.
Picking through the carnage on the first lap
Saturday morning I packed up my mom's minivan and we took a little family vacation up to Kingsport, TN for my first weekend of 'cross and the second weekend of Mud, Sweat and Gears.
It was kind of weird packing the bike, plus six wheels. I'm happy to say that the money I spent on a second set of 'cross tires was worth it, as I rode the Grifo XS Open Tubulars on Saturday.
The course was dry, mostly flat, and fast. The front half had some cyclo-cross elements, twisty turns up and down short hills, a single set of barriers, a fallen tree, and most importantly, the flyover of doom. The back half (after the barriers) was all about putting your head down and pedaling. The u-turn under the I-26 overpass was treacherous, but outside of that, nothing exciting.
Picking through the carnage on the first lapDay 1: Started on the far left, knowing that would give me the outside line heading into the first turn. Didn't have a great start and ended up somewhere around tenth?
After the u-turn at the end of the start stretch, the first technical piece we came to was the flyover. I don't know how it happened, but the shit hit the fan here. There was a pile up heading up the ramp. I dismounted rolling up to it and ran, both up and down the thing. I figured my chance at a top ten was over right there, but apparently I was still somewhere between 9th-11th, not shabby.
Rode the first lap smoothly. Made it through the twisty sections and all of the 'cross sections (the single run up, log and barriers) quite well, I'd say. Then came the half lap crit. I wasn't making any ground up here. Plus, I had already given up hope on finishing in the top ten. I was hoping for top 20 at this point, but in my head I thought that would be difficult.
The flyover was the bane of my existence today. On lap two, a rider came flying from behind me and made contact with my bars, pushing me into the rail on the top. Instead of hitting the rail and tumbling down the other side, I got off and ran down. On lap three, I lost just enough momentum on the transition to the top to have to put a foot down. On lap four, I pulled my brain out of my ass and rode the thing.
On the last lap I was riding in a group of five. I was sort of dangling off of the back coming into the barriers. I hit the barriers hard to make up the gap that way I could get around them in the flat section and try to make a race of it. I had no idea that it was a potential 14th place finish on the line, I just knew I was racing down to the last inch.
Well, hit the barriers hard I did. And the ground. I caught my foot on the first barrier and tripped. I've never tripped on a barrier. In fact, I consider myself quite skilled at 'cross specific skills. But, looks like there's a first time for everything. I wasn't far off of the back of the group after the fall, but my twisted handlebars and I just limped to the finish. 18th place in my first race of the season. Not terrible, but I thought I had more in me.
Day 2:
The flyover claims another victim
I didn't line up late today, everyone else lined up early. I was in the pits drinking some water and passing off my jacket when everyone lined up. I was on the second row today, and thought that I was just making my life harder than I should.
Course was exactly the same, EXCEPT that they moved the start line right behind the pits after the barriers. We were going to do a half lap (of the grass crit) before hitting the start/finish and doing four full laps.
It wasn't exactly wet out today, but the early morning dew and two previous morning races rutted up the course a little bit. Instead of fast twisties, they were slick(ish) twisties today. Grifo 32 tubulars today, in case you were wondering. You weren't.
Started off about 9th. I didn't want to completely smash the start since there wasn't any decisive feature until the flyover. I was in the front group and apparently the guys behind me were forcing an early selection. I heard a cacophony of brakes, bikes and course tape about 30 seconds in. Glad to hear that behind me for once.
We got to the flyover, no problem today. We got to the first section of twisties (technical term) and, OH ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! The dude in front of me took a foot out at the top of every hill to make the turn. What a momentum killer. This created a bit of a gap from the leaders of the lead group. Coming around to ride under the flyover, the same dude went down, pretty much cutting off the whole course. I was irritated.
I smashed everything after this happened. Ended up about 7th and rode around with one other dude for the majority of the race. On the last lap he brake checked me going into one of the turns to head up a hill. After slowing down like that, I was in the totally wrong gear to make it up the hill, he simply hammered away. I was dangling off of his wheel when some sneaky junior just blew by me and bridged up to him. My original riding partner gapped me more by bunny hopping the downed tree, and the junior continued his crusade on everyone who could buy alcohol. Those guys rode away from me, and I just looked over my shoulder to see if anyone was coming behind me.
Finished 9th. I'm happy with a top ten. However, I think that I had the legs to finish better, but I made the decision not to do that by lining up on the second row.
I felt faster today. I was super smooth in the corners, but as the race went on my remounts felt a little sloppy. It didn't help that everytime I put my bike down, it was bouncing all over the place. Since it was such a fast course I was trying to stay hidden a little bit more today and not do so much work. However, if I would have tried a little bit harder to get pass the guy I was riding with, I may have finished 7th, or better even. If it means anything, we did a half a lap more than yesterday, but my heart rate monitor said the race was two minutes shorter. Fast.
The way my schedule looks right now, I don't know if I should still be planning to upgrade before November. I only have three races left in October, then three weekends off before the state championships. I don't know if having states as my first CX3 race is a good idea, but we'll figure it out. Just nine points to go...
I didn't crash, but I'm still bleeding. What's the deal?
After the u-turn at the end of the start stretch, the first technical piece we came to was the flyover. I don't know how it happened, but the shit hit the fan here. There was a pile up heading up the ramp. I dismounted rolling up to it and ran, both up and down the thing. I figured my chance at a top ten was over right there, but apparently I was still somewhere between 9th-11th, not shabby.
Rode the first lap smoothly. Made it through the twisty sections and all of the 'cross sections (the single run up, log and barriers) quite well, I'd say. Then came the half lap crit. I wasn't making any ground up here. Plus, I had already given up hope on finishing in the top ten. I was hoping for top 20 at this point, but in my head I thought that would be difficult.
The flyover was the bane of my existence today. On lap two, a rider came flying from behind me and made contact with my bars, pushing me into the rail on the top. Instead of hitting the rail and tumbling down the other side, I got off and ran down. On lap three, I lost just enough momentum on the transition to the top to have to put a foot down. On lap four, I pulled my brain out of my ass and rode the thing.
On the last lap I was riding in a group of five. I was sort of dangling off of the back coming into the barriers. I hit the barriers hard to make up the gap that way I could get around them in the flat section and try to make a race of it. I had no idea that it was a potential 14th place finish on the line, I just knew I was racing down to the last inch.
Well, hit the barriers hard I did. And the ground. I caught my foot on the first barrier and tripped. I've never tripped on a barrier. In fact, I consider myself quite skilled at 'cross specific skills. But, looks like there's a first time for everything. I wasn't far off of the back of the group after the fall, but my twisted handlebars and I just limped to the finish. 18th place in my first race of the season. Not terrible, but I thought I had more in me.
Day 2:
The flyover claims another victimI didn't line up late today, everyone else lined up early. I was in the pits drinking some water and passing off my jacket when everyone lined up. I was on the second row today, and thought that I was just making my life harder than I should.
Course was exactly the same, EXCEPT that they moved the start line right behind the pits after the barriers. We were going to do a half lap (of the grass crit) before hitting the start/finish and doing four full laps.
It wasn't exactly wet out today, but the early morning dew and two previous morning races rutted up the course a little bit. Instead of fast twisties, they were slick(ish) twisties today. Grifo 32 tubulars today, in case you were wondering. You weren't.
Started off about 9th. I didn't want to completely smash the start since there wasn't any decisive feature until the flyover. I was in the front group and apparently the guys behind me were forcing an early selection. I heard a cacophony of brakes, bikes and course tape about 30 seconds in. Glad to hear that behind me for once.
We got to the flyover, no problem today. We got to the first section of twisties (technical term) and, OH ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! The dude in front of me took a foot out at the top of every hill to make the turn. What a momentum killer. This created a bit of a gap from the leaders of the lead group. Coming around to ride under the flyover, the same dude went down, pretty much cutting off the whole course. I was irritated.
I smashed everything after this happened. Ended up about 7th and rode around with one other dude for the majority of the race. On the last lap he brake checked me going into one of the turns to head up a hill. After slowing down like that, I was in the totally wrong gear to make it up the hill, he simply hammered away. I was dangling off of his wheel when some sneaky junior just blew by me and bridged up to him. My original riding partner gapped me more by bunny hopping the downed tree, and the junior continued his crusade on everyone who could buy alcohol. Those guys rode away from me, and I just looked over my shoulder to see if anyone was coming behind me.
Finished 9th. I'm happy with a top ten. However, I think that I had the legs to finish better, but I made the decision not to do that by lining up on the second row.
I felt faster today. I was super smooth in the corners, but as the race went on my remounts felt a little sloppy. It didn't help that everytime I put my bike down, it was bouncing all over the place. Since it was such a fast course I was trying to stay hidden a little bit more today and not do so much work. However, if I would have tried a little bit harder to get pass the guy I was riding with, I may have finished 7th, or better even. If it means anything, we did a half a lap more than yesterday, but my heart rate monitor said the race was two minutes shorter. Fast.
The way my schedule looks right now, I don't know if I should still be planning to upgrade before November. I only have three races left in October, then three weekends off before the state championships. I don't know if having states as my first CX3 race is a good idea, but we'll figure it out. Just nine points to go...
I didn't crash, but I'm still bleeding. What's the deal?Sunday, September 26, 2010
Blog dump/Road season wrap up.
I've been content with not updating this thing, mainly because I have nothing interesting to write about. So here's what's been happening
Old Salem Crit-Winston Salem, NC
Ah, a race I had to actually travel for. This is an oddly familiar feeling. Course was roughly one half mile, half of which was uphill, located right in the middle of Old Salem. Lots of colonial period buildings and exhibits set up, so it was a pretty interesting environment.
The course was a pretty rough surface, crazy climb in the front straight away, less crazy climb between turns 1&2 and a super tight 3 three after the long downhill.
I was nervous about bombing that hill at 30mph and let my anxiety take me out of the race. I was hammering up the hill to make up time I lost in the corner, and each lap just kept sliding farther and farther back. I got dropped about 10 minutes in and lost in a sprint for 10th. Thus, ending my streak of not embarrassing results.
SC State Road Race Championships-Greenville, SC
I knew that this race was going to be tough for me, but I couldn't help but be excited for my state championships. I've only completed one road race this year and that was in March. The last road race I did in really hilly terrain, I pulled out of about 17 miles in. I went into the race feeling exceptional, but I tried to keep expectations low.
The first part of the course was climby and had a hard headwind. The middle section was smooth rolling. The ass end had some nasty climbs. My goal was to move to the front and backslide on the climbs. I didn't put myself in position on one of the last climbs on the lap and lost contact. Couldn't catch back up on the uphill start/finish straight away and then took the right turn into the wind, alone. Rode another lap to try to catch some other guys who had been dropped and chase together, but there was nobody. This one hurt a little.
USMC Mud Run-Columbia, SC
I haven't run without a bike on my shoulder since June. And I'm not very good at running to start off with. So here I was at a 4.5 mile off road, muddy obstacle course/running event. It hurt. I had a hard time with a good many of the upper body intensive obstacles... I'm a scrawny dude. I'm all kinds of sore and scraped up and trying to figure out if this was actually a good idea.
Vista Grand Prix-Columbia, SC
Previously I was hoping to do well at my home town race. I've done races around Columbia, but this was my first real race here. The weather was cool and rainy and I was excited. Too bad I woke up feeling like someone filled my legs with concrete.
I did my first high intensity effort during my warm up and knew I just didn't have it today. The cool rainy morning had turned into a humid misty afternoon by this point and I was sweating buckets on my trainer. I was hoping to just survive, or at least go out in a blaze of glory going after a prime or something... no such luck.
I didn't get off to a great start, but it wasn't terrible. I know now that I should have been farther up, but I didn't wanted to start burning matches at the beginning of the race knowing I didn't have that many.
A rider in front of me went down in the second corner. I watched him slide across the concrete sidewalk crumpled up and cringing and found a spot to get through. Slowing down to get around him and not crush anyone still on there bikes left me off of the back of the field. It was me and probably three other dudes. The rider right in front of me went down in corner three. I set up for the turn wider than he did and had to slow down to avoid him as he slid directly into my line and into the wooden barrier. I was now farther off of the back, screaming and cursing.
Stood and started hammering out of turn three and up the hill on the front stretch. I could see the pack but just couldn't ever catch them. It went on like this for about 10-15 minutes. Standing and hammering on the long stretches and trying to breathe on the short stretches. There was no one to chase with. I came up on one guy and we worked together for a lap, but he couldn't keep up. After a while I was going slower and slower at the top of the hill and into turn one. I couldn't keep up the pace I was riding and got caught by the pace car. I quietly exited the front stretch after getting lapped still cursing and mumbling about how crashing over one of the guys would have been a better option. At least then I would have gotten a free lap.
I'm disappointed with the way racing has gone the past few weeks. It's sent me spiraling into a bit of an existential crisis regarding my ability as a bike racer. There's always room on the bench at the softball league, but if you can't cut it in bike racing, there isn't any place for you to go. It's frustrating putting all of that work and suffering into something and not getting anything back out of it. I'm going into the 'cross season next weekend with a different attitude though. I think I'm better suited for cyclo-cross. And at least out there if you suck you can still have a lot of fun.
'Cross should be a different story. I think that's where my talents lie. I think it's going to be a good fall.
Old Salem Crit-Winston Salem, NC
Ah, a race I had to actually travel for. This is an oddly familiar feeling. Course was roughly one half mile, half of which was uphill, located right in the middle of Old Salem. Lots of colonial period buildings and exhibits set up, so it was a pretty interesting environment.
The course was a pretty rough surface, crazy climb in the front straight away, less crazy climb between turns 1&2 and a super tight 3 three after the long downhill.
I was nervous about bombing that hill at 30mph and let my anxiety take me out of the race. I was hammering up the hill to make up time I lost in the corner, and each lap just kept sliding farther and farther back. I got dropped about 10 minutes in and lost in a sprint for 10th. Thus, ending my streak of not embarrassing results.
SC State Road Race Championships-Greenville, SC
I knew that this race was going to be tough for me, but I couldn't help but be excited for my state championships. I've only completed one road race this year and that was in March. The last road race I did in really hilly terrain, I pulled out of about 17 miles in. I went into the race feeling exceptional, but I tried to keep expectations low.
The first part of the course was climby and had a hard headwind. The middle section was smooth rolling. The ass end had some nasty climbs. My goal was to move to the front and backslide on the climbs. I didn't put myself in position on one of the last climbs on the lap and lost contact. Couldn't catch back up on the uphill start/finish straight away and then took the right turn into the wind, alone. Rode another lap to try to catch some other guys who had been dropped and chase together, but there was nobody. This one hurt a little.
USMC Mud Run-Columbia, SC
I haven't run without a bike on my shoulder since June. And I'm not very good at running to start off with. So here I was at a 4.5 mile off road, muddy obstacle course/running event. It hurt. I had a hard time with a good many of the upper body intensive obstacles... I'm a scrawny dude. I'm all kinds of sore and scraped up and trying to figure out if this was actually a good idea.
Vista Grand Prix-Columbia, SC
Previously I was hoping to do well at my home town race. I've done races around Columbia, but this was my first real race here. The weather was cool and rainy and I was excited. Too bad I woke up feeling like someone filled my legs with concrete.
I did my first high intensity effort during my warm up and knew I just didn't have it today. The cool rainy morning had turned into a humid misty afternoon by this point and I was sweating buckets on my trainer. I was hoping to just survive, or at least go out in a blaze of glory going after a prime or something... no such luck.
I didn't get off to a great start, but it wasn't terrible. I know now that I should have been farther up, but I didn't wanted to start burning matches at the beginning of the race knowing I didn't have that many.
A rider in front of me went down in the second corner. I watched him slide across the concrete sidewalk crumpled up and cringing and found a spot to get through. Slowing down to get around him and not crush anyone still on there bikes left me off of the back of the field. It was me and probably three other dudes. The rider right in front of me went down in corner three. I set up for the turn wider than he did and had to slow down to avoid him as he slid directly into my line and into the wooden barrier. I was now farther off of the back, screaming and cursing.
Stood and started hammering out of turn three and up the hill on the front stretch. I could see the pack but just couldn't ever catch them. It went on like this for about 10-15 minutes. Standing and hammering on the long stretches and trying to breathe on the short stretches. There was no one to chase with. I came up on one guy and we worked together for a lap, but he couldn't keep up. After a while I was going slower and slower at the top of the hill and into turn one. I couldn't keep up the pace I was riding and got caught by the pace car. I quietly exited the front stretch after getting lapped still cursing and mumbling about how crashing over one of the guys would have been a better option. At least then I would have gotten a free lap.
I'm disappointed with the way racing has gone the past few weeks. It's sent me spiraling into a bit of an existential crisis regarding my ability as a bike racer. There's always room on the bench at the softball league, but if you can't cut it in bike racing, there isn't any place for you to go. It's frustrating putting all of that work and suffering into something and not getting anything back out of it. I'm going into the 'cross season next weekend with a different attitude though. I think I'm better suited for cyclo-cross. And at least out there if you suck you can still have a lot of fun.
'Cross should be a different story. I think that's where my talents lie. I think it's going to be a good fall.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Greenville/Travelers Rest Training Race
This is a cyclo-cross blog, let's talk cyclo-cross racing.
First things first: My soundtrack for the travel, suffering, heartbreak and successes of this season well be The Pogue's Muirshin Durkin
On to the bike racing:
Today I took off an hour early from work (crazy idea since I only work 15-19 hours a week) to head up to Travelers Rest, SC for the first of a series of training races they're hosting. The race/practice was announced super late, but I'm into supporting the growth of 'cross in this state, and it was cheaper than going to Fletcher, NC as planned.
The course was favorable. Started downhill, transitioned from a sweeping left hand turn to a drop off of a curb. A few yards after dropping onto the pavement you had to hop the other curb to get back to the grass. A nice smooth S curve that went from an uphill to a long off camber. The turn after the off camber had a fence on the inside, roots going into it and rocks coming out, it was super tight and an issue for me all night. A long thick grassy section to a U-turn, to the barriers to the start finish. WHOO, just going through it made me tired again.
The laps were short, maybe 5 minutes. Which meant a lot of repetition of the hopping, climbing, bumps and barriers. Which is cool, it is a training race after all.
Small turn out, but a great crowd... make sense? The environment was hospitable, welcoming and overall easy going. Beers before the race (New Belgium Hoptober)? Prizes and primes at a training race? I approve.
The first race, the B Race, was set to be 20 minutes+2 laps. It had a Le Mans start. I was confused and didn't want anything to do with it. After deciding that I wasn't running to my bike, and that I didn't want to be in, or cause, a melee at the curb bunny hop, I took my time and made up ground later.
I immediately found myself in the second group. There were three of us, two former (?) road pros were up the road (grass?) ahead of us, and clearly weren't being brought back.
The race was hard, I liked the group I was with. They were good and challenged me, really made me work for the race. Which is exactly what I wanted. We went after each other a good bit and I remembered how hard cyclo-cross was. My arms were sore. That's not supposed to happen on a bike ride.
Anyway, coming to the last lap I was gapped just a little bit. Going into the pavement/bunny hop section I botched a shift, botched the bunny hop and lost the group. They were still within sight and I thought I could bring them back, but I just didn't have it in me.
The second race had a traditional start. I was about mid pack and again settled into the second, although smaller, group and started to work. I didn't feel like I was going to explode, and that was killer. The U turn at the end of the thick grass section made hell for me. And the "fence corner," the tight one with the roots and rocks, wasn't much easier. I was on the tape there pretty much every lap and had to absolutely step on it to get back up to speed. But, all things considered, that felt much better this year than it did last year.
Somehow or another my little group of two ended up on the front of the race. One of the fast guys, Andy, had a pedal issue. The other fast guy went to his car to get a tool. I guess that makes more sense than us catching and passing them. So, there was a SRAM hat on the line for a prime. I turned myself inside out and got a little bit of room. About half way around the lap I had to choke down my own vomit... twice. Won the hat, pulled out of the race. It was a training race, and my second of the night, so I wasn't that upset about not finishing.
Sooooo... My second race start wasn't horrible. I would have liked to have gotten the hole shot, or been closer to it, but I was only 5th or 6th on the start and once I got the diesel warmed up, I was exactly where I wanted to be. Plus, the downhill start going into the pavement section wasn't exactly the most welcoming thing. There were a few sections where I felt like the most amazing thing to ever throw a leg over a bike. There were a few sections where I felt retarded. Mostly the previously mentioned fence corner and grassy U-turn. Either way, I felt quick and smooth for most of the course.
I think a different course may have suited me better. More running, some wetness and some cold. But it was a good experience, and I still feel really good about where I stand going into the season in 3.5 weeks.
I hope I can make more of these races. It's hard to justify driving two hours and taking off work for a training race. But I'm excited to see what kind of craziness they can come up with, with other course layouts and bigger crowds. This has potential to be huge, and word on the street is there's a 'real' race coming in October. Plus, racing under the lights in November? I'm giddy with excitement.
First things first: My soundtrack for the travel, suffering, heartbreak and successes of this season well be The Pogue's Muirshin Durkin
On to the bike racing:
Today I took off an hour early from work (crazy idea since I only work 15-19 hours a week) to head up to Travelers Rest, SC for the first of a series of training races they're hosting. The race/practice was announced super late, but I'm into supporting the growth of 'cross in this state, and it was cheaper than going to Fletcher, NC as planned.
The course was favorable. Started downhill, transitioned from a sweeping left hand turn to a drop off of a curb. A few yards after dropping onto the pavement you had to hop the other curb to get back to the grass. A nice smooth S curve that went from an uphill to a long off camber. The turn after the off camber had a fence on the inside, roots going into it and rocks coming out, it was super tight and an issue for me all night. A long thick grassy section to a U-turn, to the barriers to the start finish. WHOO, just going through it made me tired again.
The laps were short, maybe 5 minutes. Which meant a lot of repetition of the hopping, climbing, bumps and barriers. Which is cool, it is a training race after all.
Small turn out, but a great crowd... make sense? The environment was hospitable, welcoming and overall easy going. Beers before the race (New Belgium Hoptober)? Prizes and primes at a training race? I approve.
The first race, the B Race, was set to be 20 minutes+2 laps. It had a Le Mans start. I was confused and didn't want anything to do with it. After deciding that I wasn't running to my bike, and that I didn't want to be in, or cause, a melee at the curb bunny hop, I took my time and made up ground later.
I immediately found myself in the second group. There were three of us, two former (?) road pros were up the road (grass?) ahead of us, and clearly weren't being brought back.
The race was hard, I liked the group I was with. They were good and challenged me, really made me work for the race. Which is exactly what I wanted. We went after each other a good bit and I remembered how hard cyclo-cross was. My arms were sore. That's not supposed to happen on a bike ride.
Anyway, coming to the last lap I was gapped just a little bit. Going into the pavement/bunny hop section I botched a shift, botched the bunny hop and lost the group. They were still within sight and I thought I could bring them back, but I just didn't have it in me.
The second race had a traditional start. I was about mid pack and again settled into the second, although smaller, group and started to work. I didn't feel like I was going to explode, and that was killer. The U turn at the end of the thick grass section made hell for me. And the "fence corner," the tight one with the roots and rocks, wasn't much easier. I was on the tape there pretty much every lap and had to absolutely step on it to get back up to speed. But, all things considered, that felt much better this year than it did last year.
Somehow or another my little group of two ended up on the front of the race. One of the fast guys, Andy, had a pedal issue. The other fast guy went to his car to get a tool. I guess that makes more sense than us catching and passing them. So, there was a SRAM hat on the line for a prime. I turned myself inside out and got a little bit of room. About half way around the lap I had to choke down my own vomit... twice. Won the hat, pulled out of the race. It was a training race, and my second of the night, so I wasn't that upset about not finishing.
Sooooo... My second race start wasn't horrible. I would have liked to have gotten the hole shot, or been closer to it, but I was only 5th or 6th on the start and once I got the diesel warmed up, I was exactly where I wanted to be. Plus, the downhill start going into the pavement section wasn't exactly the most welcoming thing. There were a few sections where I felt like the most amazing thing to ever throw a leg over a bike. There were a few sections where I felt retarded. Mostly the previously mentioned fence corner and grassy U-turn. Either way, I felt quick and smooth for most of the course.
I think a different course may have suited me better. More running, some wetness and some cold. But it was a good experience, and I still feel really good about where I stand going into the season in 3.5 weeks.
I hope I can make more of these races. It's hard to justify driving two hours and taking off work for a training race. But I'm excited to see what kind of craziness they can come up with, with other course layouts and bigger crowds. This has potential to be huge, and word on the street is there's a 'real' race coming in October. Plus, racing under the lights in November? I'm giddy with excitement.
Monday, September 6, 2010
"Tour de la France" Crit
I was happy to find out, shortly before shipping off for the race, that there is in fact a town in my home state called La France. Last year, Anderson was the destination of a charity ride that started in La France, thus the name. This year Anderson added a downtown crit to the festivities.
The course wasn't too technical, but it had its challenges. Front and back stretches were super long, a slight kicker-hill coming out of turn one, a downhill heading into a steeper, longer hill on the back stretch, and the straight away between turns 3 and 4 was a single lane street, so it made things a little bit more narrow. Not that that mattered with my group.
I lined up with a group of category 5 racers not much bigger than my last race. Only 10 this time. It astonishes me how small these crowds have been lately, more on that later.
I didn't get off to a very good start and found myself fighting to close a gap... again. I started this thing way too nonchalantly. I thought that whoever went out that hard was bound to come back, that I was the big man on campus and that I knew exactly how to handle this thing. It was a long race, right? There's no sense in starting that hard!
So coming back around at the end of lap 1, I heard Chad Andrews saying that there was already a gap on the front. Not on my watch!!! I was in my drops and chasing those guys down as soon as I heard that. No luck.
I had a small group of four to work with. The two other guys in the race were long gone by this point. I tried to work with these guys, take even pulls and keep the pace high enough to bring the others back. There's a lack of understanding that working as a group is better than blowing yourself up trying to do it all on your own. Not that I'm an expert on bike racing or anything.
So, the leader of my little band of misfits was brake happy, slowed down too much for the corners, but rode good lines. We had one guy who loved to cross wheels, and I knew he was going down eventually. I wasn't to sad to see him standing on the sidelines just a few laps later.
As it got down to it later, I realized that the 3 or 4 of us were racing for 5th now. It was just a matter of survival at this point. After 20-25ish minutes it was just two of us. Me and the guy I met from Athens. We chatted a little bit just kind of rode together until the laps started counting down.
I wasn't sure what protocol was at this point in the race. Clearly we were on our own. Pretty much just working together to get to the line. I took my last pull on the third to last lap. We came to one to go together, all the way to the hill on the backstretch. I came around him at the bottom of the hill and pushed a little bit harder than normal. Had a gap in turn 3, carried it through turn 4 until my front tire started to slide out on a crosswalk. Luckily, I race 'cross. Stood the bike up straight and stepped on the gas. I looked behind me to see I had a gap coming out of the turn and hit even harder, all the way to the line. I came across first after the "break away." So a top five is good, but getting dropped makes it bittersweet. It was the exact attack I planned on making on the last lap, I just thought I was going to do it for a podium.
So, I was talking to Adam about my race while he was preparing for his (TMK had a great weekend, by the way!). He seemed pretty shocked at how small my race was, saying that New England Cat 5 races fill up, and that organizers usually run two races for the Cat 5's. I'd be happy with 20-25 person races. But showing up with half that seems pretty ridiculous. I know I've done larger races (39 in Walterboro, 43 in Charleston), and I'm quite happy with that.
One problem I know has to be race conflicts. Both this race and Cheraw had conflicts within at least an hour's driving distance. I'm hoping that it's either this, or a lot of people are wrapping up for the year. The 4's looked to get a decent turn out-20 or 30. Made me start wondering if I was ready for an upgrade. It is kind of embarrassing racing the 5's... if that makes sense. I know I don't have a good record in 4/5 races, but back then I wasn't training with Cycle-Smart.
I know that if there aren't more people in Winston-Salem this Saturday, the State Champs on the 18th are going to be a shock to the system.
Downtown Anderson was an interesting place. I like being in these small South Carolina towns, but I don't think I'd ever want to live in one. I also don't think I'd ever visit Anderson for anything other than a bike race, but I appreciate its existence. The Fox was the English style pub I checked out, but I'm beer fasting right now and the menu wasn't exactly crawling with vegetarian options. Kind of upset I didn't get to eat local (I opted instead for Moe's, which was awful). I just wasn't in the mood for a salad on bread.
Fletcher, NC training 'cross race on Wednesday, I plan on leading tip to tail. Then the Old Salem Criterium up in Winston Saturday. Looks like another 5am wake up for a 5:30 departure. I have high hopes for my final tune up before the state championships.
The course wasn't too technical, but it had its challenges. Front and back stretches were super long, a slight kicker-hill coming out of turn one, a downhill heading into a steeper, longer hill on the back stretch, and the straight away between turns 3 and 4 was a single lane street, so it made things a little bit more narrow. Not that that mattered with my group.
I lined up with a group of category 5 racers not much bigger than my last race. Only 10 this time. It astonishes me how small these crowds have been lately, more on that later.
I didn't get off to a very good start and found myself fighting to close a gap... again. I started this thing way too nonchalantly. I thought that whoever went out that hard was bound to come back, that I was the big man on campus and that I knew exactly how to handle this thing. It was a long race, right? There's no sense in starting that hard!
So coming back around at the end of lap 1, I heard Chad Andrews saying that there was already a gap on the front. Not on my watch!!! I was in my drops and chasing those guys down as soon as I heard that. No luck.
I had a small group of four to work with. The two other guys in the race were long gone by this point. I tried to work with these guys, take even pulls and keep the pace high enough to bring the others back. There's a lack of understanding that working as a group is better than blowing yourself up trying to do it all on your own. Not that I'm an expert on bike racing or anything.
So, the leader of my little band of misfits was brake happy, slowed down too much for the corners, but rode good lines. We had one guy who loved to cross wheels, and I knew he was going down eventually. I wasn't to sad to see him standing on the sidelines just a few laps later.
As it got down to it later, I realized that the 3 or 4 of us were racing for 5th now. It was just a matter of survival at this point. After 20-25ish minutes it was just two of us. Me and the guy I met from Athens. We chatted a little bit just kind of rode together until the laps started counting down.
I wasn't sure what protocol was at this point in the race. Clearly we were on our own. Pretty much just working together to get to the line. I took my last pull on the third to last lap. We came to one to go together, all the way to the hill on the backstretch. I came around him at the bottom of the hill and pushed a little bit harder than normal. Had a gap in turn 3, carried it through turn 4 until my front tire started to slide out on a crosswalk. Luckily, I race 'cross. Stood the bike up straight and stepped on the gas. I looked behind me to see I had a gap coming out of the turn and hit even harder, all the way to the line. I came across first after the "break away." So a top five is good, but getting dropped makes it bittersweet. It was the exact attack I planned on making on the last lap, I just thought I was going to do it for a podium.
So, I was talking to Adam about my race while he was preparing for his (TMK had a great weekend, by the way!). He seemed pretty shocked at how small my race was, saying that New England Cat 5 races fill up, and that organizers usually run two races for the Cat 5's. I'd be happy with 20-25 person races. But showing up with half that seems pretty ridiculous. I know I've done larger races (39 in Walterboro, 43 in Charleston), and I'm quite happy with that.
One problem I know has to be race conflicts. Both this race and Cheraw had conflicts within at least an hour's driving distance. I'm hoping that it's either this, or a lot of people are wrapping up for the year. The 4's looked to get a decent turn out-20 or 30. Made me start wondering if I was ready for an upgrade. It is kind of embarrassing racing the 5's... if that makes sense. I know I don't have a good record in 4/5 races, but back then I wasn't training with Cycle-Smart.
I know that if there aren't more people in Winston-Salem this Saturday, the State Champs on the 18th are going to be a shock to the system.
Downtown Anderson was an interesting place. I like being in these small South Carolina towns, but I don't think I'd ever want to live in one. I also don't think I'd ever visit Anderson for anything other than a bike race, but I appreciate its existence. The Fox was the English style pub I checked out, but I'm beer fasting right now and the menu wasn't exactly crawling with vegetarian options. Kind of upset I didn't get to eat local (I opted instead for Moe's, which was awful). I just wasn't in the mood for a salad on bread.
Fletcher, NC training 'cross race on Wednesday, I plan on leading tip to tail. Then the Old Salem Criterium up in Winston Saturday. Looks like another 5am wake up for a 5:30 departure. I have high hopes for my final tune up before the state championships.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)