So today I went for a rather long and hot bike ride. As I turned off the pavement onto my dirt road for the final 20 minutes of climbing and sweating and heat my eye caught an old school A&W Root Beer can. The heat, dust, and my own very strong desire for something cold and wet at that very moment triggered the memory of Summers working on the farm when my cousin and I would drink a flat of cheap grocery store-brand soda a day between us. Grandma and Orville (her husband who, for all intents and purposes was the closest I had for a Grandfather) would buy flats of 24 of all the flavors they could find and those were the most syrupy sweet oddball things you could think of. But we didn't care since they were cold and sweet and had just the right mixes of sugar and caffeine to keep us working in the Colorado sun all day doing whatever.
If we were working around the house servicing vehicles, buildings, fences or animals we'd find any excuse to go "up to the house" and, as unspoken teenage bonds work, we'd come back out with a soda for each other. We thought we were so clever. My Uncle, ever the hardass, never gave it much attention (unless he he happened to need us right at the moment we were up in the house slacking off) but sweet old Orville knew. Every once in awhile he'd just sort of randomly show up at the side of a field and patiently wait while I lumbered across in a tractor towards his truck. As I'd get nearer, he'd wave an arm up in the air and I knew that meant to stop. I'd jump down and hustle over and he'd let me know he was just over here checking cows and he had a cold Cherry Pop Pineapple Zingo, "If ya wan' it." I've always felt that being married to sweet old giant of a man was the best way for my Grandma to live the last years of her life.
And then this triggered the 1984 Olympics. I was in Colorado that summer and very very clearly remember being "up to the house" and catching my Grandma in the kitchen (probably sewing a huge hole back together in someone's overalls or jeans or working herself into a sweat working out a gigantic grease stain in somebody's junk work clothes or putting enough food together to try to feed a large man and two bottomless-pit teenage boy stomachs...) with the TV on in the background. At first I lingered since the house was cool and my uncle's eye was afar but then I became very fascinated watching a focus piece about Davis Phinney. And the thing that just clicked with me was a longish shot of Davis riding his bike through the Colorado Mountains with these huge expanses of views below him and that Colorado sky above. The romance of it clicked with me and I thought, "Yeah. That looks like a good day."
It took six years for me to finally act on that thought. But I was right.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Catching up for my bestest fan...
So it turns out that I DON'T write anything at all if I don't at the least post race weblahgers. And here's a dirty little secret. I don't write for other people. It's true, like that dude staring at his reflection in the pond and frozen in place, I actually crack myself up and enjoy reading much of my own dribble. Pathetic, but that means I've made a big gap in time now that I can't come back later and look through and be amused by. BTW, that previous sentence should go in the stupendously poorly thought out sentence hall of shame.
So...
Laguna Del Sol Cyclocross: With my cyclocross bike busted I did this one on my mountain bike and that meant a slow ride and a crappy result. My legs just weren't into it either. The hilight of the race was being able to jump the barriers without dismounting. This raised a pleasing crowd response each time. The best heckle of the year came after one of these barrier hops, "Dude! You just made the cover of AARP!" Ah cyclocross. Sometimes all it takes is bringing your sense of humor and one wise-ass comment to erase the sting of a shitty result.
Early Bird Road Race out of Patterson: This early season race is a must for me since it's on my local roads. The pace on the way out to the climb was frustratingly slow since a team that had something like a quarter of the pack decided to block the front and plug along at 15 mph without sending riders off or letting anyone else go either. That sucked. But the climb broke it all to heck (as usual). I survived the climb better than most years, kept my head on the descent and regrouped with one other fellow all the way back to the finish line where he tried to cat and mouse with me. I said screw this and just sprinted from 400 meters out (which really really hurt, btw) and he didn't have the gas. Ended up 5th out of 24. I was really pleased with this result but either this race gets less respect than Rodney Dangerfield or no one cares and the result slipped completely under the radar (and realizing how much that hurt made me feel like Sally Fields in reverse). Oh well.
CCCX #1 Fort Ord: Just went out and did this one without really modifying my training week so showed up a bit sluggish. Had a pretty undramatic race and finished 13th.
TBF MTB Challenge (#2?): During warmup knew I had spectacular legs for the day and was very excited to unleash them. But got greedy on the start, hooked my bars into a tree and went down. By the time I remounted, jumped off and got my chain back on and got going again I was DFL in the field. Spent the entire race passing passing passing and ended up 6th of 30some riders. Was dissappointed since the start messed up what would have been a good race but happy to recover that many places.
CCCX #4(?) Toro Park: I've been working hard on climbing lately but didn't really treat this as a race worth preparing for. So the legs were up to the multiple climbs but more at a plodding pace. The first couple of laps the descent didn't go so well and I lost alot of time on the front markers. Ended up 13th of 20 or so and quite dissatisfied with that result.
But that's racing. You can't always have good results or you're sandbagging and not challenging yourself. And sometimes I wonder if the literally hundreds of ass kickings I've received over 13 seasons of racing in 21 years have just taken my competitive fire away. Yet there I am training, motivating and entering all over again. It's a funny hobby. But I frickin' love it.
So...
Laguna Del Sol Cyclocross: With my cyclocross bike busted I did this one on my mountain bike and that meant a slow ride and a crappy result. My legs just weren't into it either. The hilight of the race was being able to jump the barriers without dismounting. This raised a pleasing crowd response each time. The best heckle of the year came after one of these barrier hops, "Dude! You just made the cover of AARP!" Ah cyclocross. Sometimes all it takes is bringing your sense of humor and one wise-ass comment to erase the sting of a shitty result.
Early Bird Road Race out of Patterson: This early season race is a must for me since it's on my local roads. The pace on the way out to the climb was frustratingly slow since a team that had something like a quarter of the pack decided to block the front and plug along at 15 mph without sending riders off or letting anyone else go either. That sucked. But the climb broke it all to heck (as usual). I survived the climb better than most years, kept my head on the descent and regrouped with one other fellow all the way back to the finish line where he tried to cat and mouse with me. I said screw this and just sprinted from 400 meters out (which really really hurt, btw) and he didn't have the gas. Ended up 5th out of 24. I was really pleased with this result but either this race gets less respect than Rodney Dangerfield or no one cares and the result slipped completely under the radar (and realizing how much that hurt made me feel like Sally Fields in reverse). Oh well.
CCCX #1 Fort Ord: Just went out and did this one without really modifying my training week so showed up a bit sluggish. Had a pretty undramatic race and finished 13th.
TBF MTB Challenge (#2?): During warmup knew I had spectacular legs for the day and was very excited to unleash them. But got greedy on the start, hooked my bars into a tree and went down. By the time I remounted, jumped off and got my chain back on and got going again I was DFL in the field. Spent the entire race passing passing passing and ended up 6th of 30some riders. Was dissappointed since the start messed up what would have been a good race but happy to recover that many places.
CCCX #4(?) Toro Park: I've been working hard on climbing lately but didn't really treat this as a race worth preparing for. So the legs were up to the multiple climbs but more at a plodding pace. The first couple of laps the descent didn't go so well and I lost alot of time on the front markers. Ended up 13th of 20 or so and quite dissatisfied with that result.
But that's racing. You can't always have good results or you're sandbagging and not challenging yourself. And sometimes I wonder if the literally hundreds of ass kickings I've received over 13 seasons of racing in 21 years have just taken my competitive fire away. Yet there I am training, motivating and entering all over again. It's a funny hobby. But I frickin' love it.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Good Life
After 70 miles and four hard hours in the saddle I stumble in the door. I immediately put a pan on the stove with a pat of butter in it. In the pan go four eggs from our chickens (I like having chickens very much). A muffin goes into the toaster and I grab my new favorite thing, the Oster hand mixermadoodle! I put a banana, a handfull of blueberries, another handfull of blackberries, a few ounces of orange juice and four or five big soup spoonfulls of vanilla yogurt in the mixer cup, jar whateveritis. I blend it up then mix in two spoonfulls of peanutbutter in there. The eggs are done and go onto the muffins with plenty of salt. Then I sit down and eat the whole mess and enjoy the smoothie. Normally this should leave me bloated and full but it goes down and the satisfied belly and endorphins mix and I wonder why the heck I'm writing this instead of lying down for a quick nap.
It's a good life. I wish I could share this feeling with everyone.
In other news I'm behind on a couple of race reports but really I'm becoming as disinterested as everyone else. In the end you just have to race for yourself. A few people may care but mostly everyone is so self-involved with their own racing that they forget to even ask how your race went so I certainly can't expect anyone to read race reports with anything other than a passing glance. And I'm certainly not going to be casting any great impressions with my own mediocrity. So I'll do race reports when something strikes me but I'm going to try to liberate myself from this strange compulsion to report on every silly race.
The good thing, however, about race reports is that at least I write something. I'm sure nothing will come of it but I'm going to try to get back to just writing random shit. No one will read that either so that's fine. I just need to do something with words.
It's a good life. I wish I could share this feeling with everyone.
In other news I'm behind on a couple of race reports but really I'm becoming as disinterested as everyone else. In the end you just have to race for yourself. A few people may care but mostly everyone is so self-involved with their own racing that they forget to even ask how your race went so I certainly can't expect anyone to read race reports with anything other than a passing glance. And I'm certainly not going to be casting any great impressions with my own mediocrity. So I'll do race reports when something strikes me but I'm going to try to liberate myself from this strange compulsion to report on every silly race.
The good thing, however, about race reports is that at least I write something. I'm sure nothing will come of it but I'm going to try to get back to just writing random shit. No one will read that either so that's fine. I just need to do something with words.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
CCCX at Toro Park: Dec 4, 2011
I may as well finish getting caught up here...
Although I was only racing the 35+ B's and not eligible for a district championship I was still psyched for this race since it represented the peak of my 13 week late season block of training. One thing I decided to work hard on halfway through this season is being less emotional in my racing. From what I've read there's the concept of being a "tilt" player in poker. Emotions get the best of a person -who knows better- leading to lapses in strategy and smart tactics. Result? Loserville.
When I found out about this concept it made me realize I end up racing on tilt all too often. It can be a comment from a competitor, a perception that the race is not fair (external locus of control anyone???) or that your competitors "must be sandbagging" or are riding unsafely. The result is stupid racing, lack of concentration, ridiculous behavior.
So I studied a little and it really helped to re-learn the definition of mental toughness. But mostly I just resolved to be more of a rock during races and not let the emotions tilt me. How have I done? I can say I've improved but I still could be a little more calculating and race smarter. San Ardo is a good example of needing to continue improving (though I still say riding for 60 miles just to sprint is LAME). But the last two cyclocross races were really good examples of how I've developed some ability to brush off either bad luck (two bad crashes in the space of about 40 seconds) or loudmouthed competitors. I think I still have to concentrate and remind myself but I like this taste of an improved mental game.
I didn't expect to have to apply it 100% at CCCX, however.
On three warmup laps I really enjoyed the course. There were many whoops in and around a dry creek bed, some light single track, a "barrier" that I easily hopped 100% of the time and another "barrier" that was very fast (it helps that I'm a dork who thinks it's funny to dismount and leap over 3 foot diameter trees regularly). And there was a rather long runup. My running legs are really good this year so that made me happy.
After an okay (not great, still need to be more aggressive) start I was running somewhere between 7th and 10th wheel. I was following another rider who was faster than me in the open but slower in the technical stuff so we had a good race going and passed a few guys together. On the long section before the runup he got away a bit and I was behind another rider when we hit the sand at the bottom of the hill on the second lap. The guy ahead went down! (note to that guy, shift your weight BACK) I mostly avoided him but the sand grabbed my wheels. I stepped over the handlebars just fine but my bike augured into the sand.
In a moment of polite raceriness we inquired about each others health, post crash all while getting up and getting moving. I ran the hill, popped onto the bike (I haven't mentioned this yet but my remounts have been outstanding -for me- this year with very few stutter steps glitching things up) and hit the downhill. "Hmm, I can't shift." Kick, hop, tug on der. cable. "Hmm, I can't shift." I spun out the 42-29 I was stuck in but was quickly passed but 4 or 5 riders. I hopped off and tried to see what was binding but couldn't find it. So I hopped on again and continued the kicking and hopping and the tugging with no result other than managing to get a shift to a 42-27.
By the time I stopped for a third time with no real result I was passed by pretty much the entire field and was really cursing my bad luck. I finished the lap and dug into the third. I decided to just spin whatever random gear I had and just get the best race workout possible. After half a lap or so I started passing guys from my race. So then I decided to keep racing and just do the best I could and, lo and behold, I caught a few more guys. By the last lap my chain had slipped into a 42-25 gear and that was good enough to feel kind of up to speed. I kept digging in and enjoyed the same legs and focus as the Folsom race. I caught three more guys from my race on that lap and, in a moment of poetic justice that I couldn't invent, caught the guy that crashed me out on the last turn before the straightaway. I spun my cranks and held him off.
I felt a little lame sprinting for a backmarker place but I was in competitor mode (a victory by itself given the rotten luck).
I ended up 11th of 20. It's rare to feel that satisfied finishing in the bottom half of a field but I did. Yes, I was super-bummed to have great legs and have the bike be the deciding factor for my placing but on the other hand, I was able to stay off tilt and just find my focus and keep racing. Maybe old dogs can learn new tricks afterall.
PS The sand destroyed my brifter. Now I don't have a working cyclocross bike. I may call it good and end the CX season there. But I seem to still have decent fitness so I may do one more race and just use my mountain bike (boo! hiss! uncool!).
The end. Hehe.
Although I was only racing the 35+ B's and not eligible for a district championship I was still psyched for this race since it represented the peak of my 13 week late season block of training. One thing I decided to work hard on halfway through this season is being less emotional in my racing. From what I've read there's the concept of being a "tilt" player in poker. Emotions get the best of a person -who knows better- leading to lapses in strategy and smart tactics. Result? Loserville.
When I found out about this concept it made me realize I end up racing on tilt all too often. It can be a comment from a competitor, a perception that the race is not fair (external locus of control anyone???) or that your competitors "must be sandbagging" or are riding unsafely. The result is stupid racing, lack of concentration, ridiculous behavior.
So I studied a little and it really helped to re-learn the definition of mental toughness. But mostly I just resolved to be more of a rock during races and not let the emotions tilt me. How have I done? I can say I've improved but I still could be a little more calculating and race smarter. San Ardo is a good example of needing to continue improving (though I still say riding for 60 miles just to sprint is LAME). But the last two cyclocross races were really good examples of how I've developed some ability to brush off either bad luck (two bad crashes in the space of about 40 seconds) or loudmouthed competitors. I think I still have to concentrate and remind myself but I like this taste of an improved mental game.
I didn't expect to have to apply it 100% at CCCX, however.
 |
| Sometimes CX means racing against guys who had to borrow their sister's skinsuit for the day... |
After an okay (not great, still need to be more aggressive) start I was running somewhere between 7th and 10th wheel. I was following another rider who was faster than me in the open but slower in the technical stuff so we had a good race going and passed a few guys together. On the long section before the runup he got away a bit and I was behind another rider when we hit the sand at the bottom of the hill on the second lap. The guy ahead went down! (note to that guy, shift your weight BACK) I mostly avoided him but the sand grabbed my wheels. I stepped over the handlebars just fine but my bike augured into the sand.
 |
| Top of the runup. |
By the time I stopped for a third time with no real result I was passed by pretty much the entire field and was really cursing my bad luck. I finished the lap and dug into the third. I decided to just spin whatever random gear I had and just get the best race workout possible. After half a lap or so I started passing guys from my race. So then I decided to keep racing and just do the best I could and, lo and behold, I caught a few more guys. By the last lap my chain had slipped into a 42-25 gear and that was good enough to feel kind of up to speed. I kept digging in and enjoyed the same legs and focus as the Folsom race. I caught three more guys from my race on that lap and, in a moment of poetic justice that I couldn't invent, caught the guy that crashed me out on the last turn before the straightaway. I spun my cranks and held him off.
I felt a little lame sprinting for a backmarker place but I was in competitor mode (a victory by itself given the rotten luck).
I ended up 11th of 20. It's rare to feel that satisfied finishing in the bottom half of a field but I did. Yes, I was super-bummed to have great legs and have the bike be the deciding factor for my placing but on the other hand, I was able to stay off tilt and just find my focus and keep racing. Maybe old dogs can learn new tricks afterall.
PS The sand destroyed my brifter. Now I don't have a working cyclocross bike. I may call it good and end the CX season there. But I seem to still have decent fitness so I may do one more race and just use my mountain bike (boo! hiss! uncool!).
 | |
| All these pictures come courtesy of the great Stephen Woo http://www.flickr.com/photos/swoo/. |
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Folsom Cyclocross: Nov 13, 2011
Almost caught up!
Note: This was already posted in the VSRT forum but I have a compulsive need to be thorough and put everything in the right place.
With only two races so far this 'cross season under my belt (one mediocre mid-field result plus one dnf due to a flat) I headed up to Folsom early Sunday morning looking forward to the rare opportunity to get away for a Sunday race. I was also looking forward to letting the excellent training legs I've been enjoying lately rev out in a race. I even got that pre-race adreneline feeling that only really comes when I anticipate a good race. I also knew I was sandbagging a little bit. This was an actual USAC race so they had racing by categories. Though I've been racing at the "B" level (think Cat 3/4) this was a Cat 4 35+ race and we raced with the E4's all starting together.
I arrived plenty early enough to get five practice laps in. First off the course was a pure joy to ride. My nemesis in 'cross races are those annoying 180 degree turns that promoters use to stretch out small spaces. This course only had one! The course began on a flat-out rolling
section with a cute little bridge in there that needed only the shortest
bunny hop to get over without ruining a wheel. This led into a mix of
sidewalk, lawn and gravel that had a u-turn in it. After that was a fun
double-track section with a steep but fast climb then a descent into a
sharp curve before another longer short but steep climb. Then there was
another very fast rolling section leading into one barrier at the
bottom of a hill that seemed to seperate the field between gettin'-it
and not-gettin'-it. Luckily I found myself able to run fast enough to
remount smoothly and ride the hill, placing me in the former category.
Another very fast descent with a brake-free (slight pucker factor here)
corner at the bottom lead into a medium length climb that really stung
the legs. An annoyingly off camber but wide 180 degree turn was
followed by the only set of double barriers. Then a bridge, another
double track descent, a short climb into a climbing 180 degree turn then
a short section and then a narrow sidewalk next to a fence came before
the third and final dismount of the lap to get up a steep-but-short run
up. I found this runup to really suit me and I cleared it in only about
ten steps each lap and my cheap-o shoes dug in and worked great each
lap. After that it was hop-back-on and wide open across the
start/finish for another lap.
I was chatting with a guy setting up the course (turns out I was skipping an entire section of the course on my warmups!) and ended up showing up to the start a little late so I didn't have time to ditch my snazzy new Voler leg warmers that I won last Summer. That wasn't a big deal since the temps were still in the lower 60's. Off we went! I started pretty far back in the field but with the wide open section was able to dig in a bit and move up move up move up. I was a little concerned how hard I was pushing but I've vowed to stop these lazy starts that have become habitual. By the time we hit the first technical section I was seventh wheel and we had a nice train going. But, oops! A couple guys stacked it and there was some rearranging. When the smoke cleared, two guys were riding away, two more were behind them and I was with two guys chasing. During that rest of that first lap I really felt I was feeling good and when my partners took their turns at the front, I was cruising too easy.
So at the start of the second lap I decided to bridge across or die trying. I was doing really well until that first technical section. I hopped off the curb then over another curb turned across a sidewalk and entered a gravel section as soon as I cleared the apex I put the pedal to the floor and next thing I knew I was getting up off the ground and remounting as the two guys from earlier were passing. I latched back onto them but realized that, "Snap! That hurt!" We rolled up to the bottom of the turn before the steep climb and suddenly the side of my face was plowing through the dirt and I felt that sick feeling of the momentum of my body pushing against my neck trying to use my head as a tipping point. I bounced then grabbed the bike and was a bit slower remounting and getting going both due to the ringing in my ears and for being at the bottom of a hill. By the time I got my butt up the hill, fixed by brake lever and was rolling again I had lost three of four more positions. I used the next section to try to calm down, figure out if I was concussed and just find my rhythm again.
After remounting on the uphill after the barrier I knew I was going to be okay and just got back to business. Luckily that was the end of mishaps for the day. The course continued to agree with me and the good sensations in the legs (
) continued so I was able to reel in, work with and pass riders over the next several laps.
Going into the last lap I saw one of the guys from the original triplet of chasers off in the distance. On the fast charging section I thought, "Hey, I've got matches to burn! This is awesome!" It seemed far-fetched to close the distance but I turned it up to eleven and, when he bobbled the uphill remount I suddenly was three inches off his rear wheel. I waited until the longest climb of the race and jumped as hard as I could. I never looked back and just rode the rest of the lap as hard as I could. In the final 30 seconds I started to feel like I was going to throw up and no finish line was ever so sweet to cross!
I finally assessed the damage during a cooldown lap and a BS session with Ray and Jenni Fortner where I found my left hip with a pancake-sized rash (shorts torn), my left elbow already swelling up, both knees bloodied (my brand new race-won Voler leg warmers were both torn!!!
) and my left ankle and right knee both not bending pain-free and feeling tweeked.
But you know what? I don't care! It was worth it!
I simply can't emphasize enough just how much damn fun cyclocross can be when you've got good fitness and the course agrees with you.
PS Was 3rd of 20 and took home a nice pair of socks and some food.
Note: This was already posted in the VSRT forum but I have a compulsive need to be thorough and put everything in the right place.
With only two races so far this 'cross season under my belt (one mediocre mid-field result plus one dnf due to a flat) I headed up to Folsom early Sunday morning looking forward to the rare opportunity to get away for a Sunday race. I was also looking forward to letting the excellent training legs I've been enjoying lately rev out in a race. I even got that pre-race adreneline feeling that only really comes when I anticipate a good race. I also knew I was sandbagging a little bit. This was an actual USAC race so they had racing by categories. Though I've been racing at the "B" level (think Cat 3/4) this was a Cat 4 35+ race and we raced with the E4's all starting together.
I arrived plenty early enough to get five practice laps in. First off the course was a pure joy to ride. My nemesis in 'cross races are those annoying 180 degree turns that promoters use to stretch out small spaces. This course only had one!
I was chatting with a guy setting up the course (turns out I was skipping an entire section of the course on my warmups!) and ended up showing up to the start a little late so I didn't have time to ditch my snazzy new Voler leg warmers that I won last Summer. That wasn't a big deal since the temps were still in the lower 60's. Off we went! I started pretty far back in the field but with the wide open section was able to dig in a bit and move up move up move up. I was a little concerned how hard I was pushing but I've vowed to stop these lazy starts that have become habitual. By the time we hit the first technical section I was seventh wheel and we had a nice train going. But, oops! A couple guys stacked it and there was some rearranging. When the smoke cleared, two guys were riding away, two more were behind them and I was with two guys chasing. During that rest of that first lap I really felt I was feeling good and when my partners took their turns at the front, I was cruising too easy.
So at the start of the second lap I decided to bridge across or die trying. I was doing really well until that first technical section. I hopped off the curb then over another curb turned across a sidewalk and entered a gravel section as soon as I cleared the apex I put the pedal to the floor and next thing I knew I was getting up off the ground and remounting as the two guys from earlier were passing. I latched back onto them but realized that, "Snap! That hurt!" We rolled up to the bottom of the turn before the steep climb and suddenly the side of my face was plowing through the dirt and I felt that sick feeling of the momentum of my body pushing against my neck trying to use my head as a tipping point. I bounced then grabbed the bike and was a bit slower remounting and getting going both due to the ringing in my ears and for being at the bottom of a hill. By the time I got my butt up the hill, fixed by brake lever and was rolling again I had lost three of four more positions. I used the next section to try to calm down, figure out if I was concussed and just find my rhythm again.
After remounting on the uphill after the barrier I knew I was going to be okay and just got back to business. Luckily that was the end of mishaps for the day. The course continued to agree with me and the good sensations in the legs (
) continued so I was able to reel in, work with and pass riders over the next several laps. Going into the last lap I saw one of the guys from the original triplet of chasers off in the distance. On the fast charging section I thought, "Hey, I've got matches to burn! This is awesome!" It seemed far-fetched to close the distance but I turned it up to eleven and, when he bobbled the uphill remount I suddenly was three inches off his rear wheel. I waited until the longest climb of the race and jumped as hard as I could. I never looked back and just rode the rest of the lap as hard as I could. In the final 30 seconds I started to feel like I was going to throw up and no finish line was ever so sweet to cross!
I finally assessed the damage during a cooldown lap and a BS session with Ray and Jenni Fortner where I found my left hip with a pancake-sized rash (shorts torn), my left elbow already swelling up, both knees bloodied (my brand new race-won Voler leg warmers were both torn!!!
) and my left ankle and right knee both not bending pain-free and feeling tweeked. But you know what? I don't care! It was worth it!
I simply can't emphasize enough just how much damn fun cyclocross can be when you've got good fitness and the course agrees with you.
PS Was 3rd of 20 and took home a nice pair of socks and some food.
Sacramento Cyclocross Series @ Lembi Park Nov. 5, 2011
I did this race last year and didn't have a very good time between my own lack of fitness, poor setup (overinflated tires) and a run in with an asshole roadie. This year I toed the line with a large sense of confidence with really good fitness, tires at about 35 frnt and 45 rear and a good attitude to not let anyone else's mouth get into my head.
I had a mediocre start and immediately got caught behind a starting line crash (again!). I really have to work harder on being more aggressive on both the starting grid and the actual start.
A couple minutes into it I was trying to move up through the 180 turns and half a wheel in front of a guy and, as is standard protocol for the guy ahead, took the optimal line without cutting him off. He immediately whined something like, "you're just not gonna give me room are you?" I just replied, "I'm just racing, buddy." and continued on. He quickly burned out and disappeared and I mentally patted myself on the back for ignoring it and moving on with my race instead of getting wrapped up in stupidity.
I felt pretty good and had an okay first lap catching a couple guys and keeping tabs on the front runners and making room on the wide open sections and limiting my losses on the 180's and making room on some of the curb hops and the short runup. But this course doesn't really have very technical challenges so you just gotta GO.
The second lap was going well and I was picking up steam when I felt the rear end squish out in a tight corner. I did a quick rear wheel bounce and confirmed that I was flatting out the rear. A few minutes later I was done since I had nothing in the pits. As I rolled to the start/finish and let them know I was out I thought back and was pretty sure a hard hit on a tree root had caused a pinch flat. So much for the proper tire pressure...
It was nice to have an actual spectator for a change! Teammate Zaf was in town and had dropped in to see what the whole cyclocross thing looked like. After dropping out and getting changed we hung out, watched cheered on our teammate Jim Lund to a 3rd place finish (on a headcold) and spectated at the sandpit where the guys who know how to relax and shift their weight get separated from the guys who, um, go over their handlebars.
I was frustrated with the DNF but that's racing. I kind of wish I'd brought my mountain bike and put it in the pits but it just seems so overly self-important to put a pit bike in for a B race... I guess I should get over getting over myself...
I had a mediocre start and immediately got caught behind a starting line crash (again!). I really have to work harder on being more aggressive on both the starting grid and the actual start.
A couple minutes into it I was trying to move up through the 180 turns and half a wheel in front of a guy and, as is standard protocol for the guy ahead, took the optimal line without cutting him off. He immediately whined something like, "you're just not gonna give me room are you?" I just replied, "I'm just racing, buddy." and continued on. He quickly burned out and disappeared and I mentally patted myself on the back for ignoring it and moving on with my race instead of getting wrapped up in stupidity.
I felt pretty good and had an okay first lap catching a couple guys and keeping tabs on the front runners and making room on the wide open sections and limiting my losses on the 180's and making room on some of the curb hops and the short runup. But this course doesn't really have very technical challenges so you just gotta GO.
The second lap was going well and I was picking up steam when I felt the rear end squish out in a tight corner. I did a quick rear wheel bounce and confirmed that I was flatting out the rear. A few minutes later I was done since I had nothing in the pits. As I rolled to the start/finish and let them know I was out I thought back and was pretty sure a hard hit on a tree root had caused a pinch flat. So much for the proper tire pressure...
It was nice to have an actual spectator for a change! Teammate Zaf was in town and had dropped in to see what the whole cyclocross thing looked like. After dropping out and getting changed we hung out, watched cheered on our teammate Jim Lund to a 3rd place finish (on a headcold) and spectated at the sandpit where the guys who know how to relax and shift their weight get separated from the guys who, um, go over their handlebars.
I was frustrated with the DNF but that's racing. I kind of wish I'd brought my mountain bike and put it in the pits but it just seems so overly self-important to put a pit bike in for a B race... I guess I should get over getting over myself...
Monday, December 5, 2011
CCCX: Manzanita Park Oct. 16, 2011
Catching up... I did my fourth cx race of this season yesterday so I'm going to try to catch up here a bit in the coming days...
This was a pretty fun course except for the many many tight 180 degree hairpins. I crashed on one in practice and then followed that up with pretty much having no rhythm on them for the rest of the race.
There was a crash right at the start and I got backed up behind it and, as a result, was either the very last rider through the first corner or the guy in front of the last. Besides tight 180 degree hairpins my biggest problem in cross races is being aggressive and pushy enough to get a good position on the starting grid.
Half of the course was pretty wide open and I was happy to find myself pretty strong and able to pass and gap riders on these sections. Then I pretty much just held my own on the turns and put the pedal to the metal whenever the course opened up again. As a result I was happy to go from dead last at the start to 16th by the end. I was using this race as a tune up so that was okay but I couldn't help thinking that a good start and my improved fitness over last year would have put me farther up than mid-pack. The main take away from this race was that, though I had definitely revved my motor decently I generally need to dig harder and make myself hurt a bit more in cyclocross racing to get better results. I was really just kind of cruising.
But I had a good time and saw alot of racing buddies that I've seen recently or not so recently and some people I hadn't seen in about nine years. The bike racing community is such a good one and it's fun like family when you can catchup or just touch base.
Oh and I didn't pop my stitches so that was a bonus.
This was a pretty fun course except for the many many tight 180 degree hairpins. I crashed on one in practice and then followed that up with pretty much having no rhythm on them for the rest of the race.
There was a crash right at the start and I got backed up behind it and, as a result, was either the very last rider through the first corner or the guy in front of the last. Besides tight 180 degree hairpins my biggest problem in cross races is being aggressive and pushy enough to get a good position on the starting grid.
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| Attempting to give the English archer's salute to Steve Woo. At least it made him laugh. |
Half of the course was pretty wide open and I was happy to find myself pretty strong and able to pass and gap riders on these sections. Then I pretty much just held my own on the turns and put the pedal to the metal whenever the course opened up again. As a result I was happy to go from dead last at the start to 16th by the end. I was using this race as a tune up so that was okay but I couldn't help thinking that a good start and my improved fitness over last year would have put me farther up than mid-pack. The main take away from this race was that, though I had definitely revved my motor decently I generally need to dig harder and make myself hurt a bit more in cyclocross racing to get better results. I was really just kind of cruising.
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| I think I can legitimately "steal" this photo since it was hilighted on the CCCX page... |
But I had a good time and saw alot of racing buddies that I've seen recently or not so recently and some people I hadn't seen in about nine years. The bike racing community is such a good one and it's fun like family when you can catchup or just touch base.
Oh and I didn't pop my stitches so that was a bonus.
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