That's it, this blog is getting moved to wordpress, the road ends here, but I'll continue posting at:
http://martenbeels.wordpress.com/
http://martenbeels.wordpress.com/
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Monday, November 12, 2012
Crossasaurus Awesome 2012
I had been looking forward to this race, I always have a good time here and it's consistently been a season highlight.
The race predictor had me at 14/23, but I could see from the parking lot that there were quite a few fast day-of registrants, and we'd have a bigger field then that. Anything in the top 50% was going to be a good result for me.
Tire choice was an enigma, I brought along my pair of Triggers (filetreads) which I had just glued up because the day was turning out to be sunny and dry. I had never ridden them before and was very curious to see how they felt. I did some pre-riding to check out the cornering traction. Some parts of the course had some tight twisty stuff, and while the ground was wet, it was quite tacky, and not so slippery. The off-camber part just after the dirt mound was the most difficult, and lots of guys on all kinds of tires were sliding out there. I didn't feel any worse off with the filetreads, plus they felt quite fast on the rest of the course. The earth was soft enough that it seemed to cake up in any deep tread pattern, but the file treads had the added bonus of flinging off any and all mud instantly, they weren't loading up at all.
But just because I've never raced with them, I decided to error on the side of caution and ran a Tracer in front, and the Trigger in the rear. It seemed to be the perfect combination, with about 23-24 psi in the front, and 27 in the rear (could have probably gone a bit lower once again). I had excellent cornering traction, but best of all it floated over the soft, tacky earth and rolled fast.
Speed was the name of the game here.
Since last year, my Crossresults score (231) at Crossasaurus had been an outlier, a good 50 points better then where I usually ride (280). It was my best cross result score by a large margin, I think that in the past this less-technical course suited my lack of bike handling skills. However, the Philly Ciclismo bunch had added a few more technical features so I would need to up my game to get a good finish here.
I managed to get a call up for the last front row spot, which would turn out to be a very good thing. Early in the first lap we hit the steep dirt mound which was very rideable, but in the congestion of the start, some feet dabbed, and bikes collided, and I had to dismount to do the top tube shuffle over the top. Our bunch was splitting up, and I heard no end of expletives right behind me. For many of the fast guys who didn't get a start near the front, their race now had some significant gaps which would be hard to recover from on a fast, open course.
Alas, even some of the open, straight sections were too technical for me, as I took out no less then three sections of course stakes and tape. Plus, I plowed into a park sign right after the sand pit, fortunately it was a lot less solid then it looked. After the first lap, things settled down, and I needed to back off, pull myself together, and start getting control of my bike.
I settled in behind Minturn, and made a few attempts to pass, but he was too fast on the straight sections, and I couldn't get a clean enough line to pass on the turns. I also tried to get by him while running over the log, but he closed off that option. Finally, with about 2 to go, Cole caught up to us, and that helped shake up the stale mate. He squeezed by me on a turn, and then shortly after, shot right past Minturn. The smart move would have been for me to follow, and I could hear Ryan encouraging me to do so from the sidelines, but Cole was too quick, and I missed my chance. Finally, on the straight section before the log, I took my opportunity and sprinted by. I kept the pace up, but when I looked back, he wasn't chasing, so I could ride the finishing lap without taking extra risks.
Sometimes the luck in cross doesn't go your way, sometimes it does. My fortune was the misfortune of others caught up in the start, and with Gerald's mechanical, I managed to grab the last money spot. Unfortunately, I had no idea (oblivious as usual) and missed the podium shot this year.
The single speed race a totally different affair then the 1/2/3, it was fun to just cruise around the course, soak up the heckles, and even get a delicious donut out of the experience.
Another great event, nay "experience" from the Philly Ciclismo crew.
The race predictor had me at 14/23, but I could see from the parking lot that there were quite a few fast day-of registrants, and we'd have a bigger field then that. Anything in the top 50% was going to be a good result for me.
Tire choice was an enigma, I brought along my pair of Triggers (filetreads) which I had just glued up because the day was turning out to be sunny and dry. I had never ridden them before and was very curious to see how they felt. I did some pre-riding to check out the cornering traction. Some parts of the course had some tight twisty stuff, and while the ground was wet, it was quite tacky, and not so slippery. The off-camber part just after the dirt mound was the most difficult, and lots of guys on all kinds of tires were sliding out there. I didn't feel any worse off with the filetreads, plus they felt quite fast on the rest of the course. The earth was soft enough that it seemed to cake up in any deep tread pattern, but the file treads had the added bonus of flinging off any and all mud instantly, they weren't loading up at all.
But just because I've never raced with them, I decided to error on the side of caution and ran a Tracer in front, and the Trigger in the rear. It seemed to be the perfect combination, with about 23-24 psi in the front, and 27 in the rear (could have probably gone a bit lower once again). I had excellent cornering traction, but best of all it floated over the soft, tacky earth and rolled fast.
Speed was the name of the game here.
Since last year, my Crossresults score (231) at Crossasaurus had been an outlier, a good 50 points better then where I usually ride (280). It was my best cross result score by a large margin, I think that in the past this less-technical course suited my lack of bike handling skills. However, the Philly Ciclismo bunch had added a few more technical features so I would need to up my game to get a good finish here.
I managed to get a call up for the last front row spot, which would turn out to be a very good thing. Early in the first lap we hit the steep dirt mound which was very rideable, but in the congestion of the start, some feet dabbed, and bikes collided, and I had to dismount to do the top tube shuffle over the top. Our bunch was splitting up, and I heard no end of expletives right behind me. For many of the fast guys who didn't get a start near the front, their race now had some significant gaps which would be hard to recover from on a fast, open course.
Alas, even some of the open, straight sections were too technical for me, as I took out no less then three sections of course stakes and tape. Plus, I plowed into a park sign right after the sand pit, fortunately it was a lot less solid then it looked. After the first lap, things settled down, and I needed to back off, pull myself together, and start getting control of my bike.
I settled in behind Minturn, and made a few attempts to pass, but he was too fast on the straight sections, and I couldn't get a clean enough line to pass on the turns. I also tried to get by him while running over the log, but he closed off that option. Finally, with about 2 to go, Cole caught up to us, and that helped shake up the stale mate. He squeezed by me on a turn, and then shortly after, shot right past Minturn. The smart move would have been for me to follow, and I could hear Ryan encouraging me to do so from the sidelines, but Cole was too quick, and I missed my chance. Finally, on the straight section before the log, I took my opportunity and sprinted by. I kept the pace up, but when I looked back, he wasn't chasing, so I could ride the finishing lap without taking extra risks.
Sometimes the luck in cross doesn't go your way, sometimes it does. My fortune was the misfortune of others caught up in the start, and with Gerald's mechanical, I managed to grab the last money spot. Unfortunately, I had no idea (oblivious as usual) and missed the podium shot this year.
The single speed race a totally different affair then the 1/2/3, it was fun to just cruise around the course, soak up the heckles, and even get a delicious donut out of the experience.
Another great event, nay "experience" from the Philly Ciclismo crew.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Stoudts Cyclocross 2012
For their first event, I'd say they're doing it right. Good venue, good atmosphere, and a fun course with lots of variety. The weather was frickin' freezing, but fortunately not as bad as some races last year (cough cough HPCX). Good thing to, because that muddy run up would have frozen toes and feet very quickly.
Considering the muddy sections, I was planning on running my Captain CX until a last minute conversation with Roland, and 2 quick laps on the course. While there were some muddy sections, most of the course was fast and relatively solid. I took a gamble and went with the Tracers which turned out work extremely well. I'm slowly gaining confidence on their ability to handle some slippery stuff, and for the majority of the course, those tubulars just felt much faster. The mud was no problem, as the hill was a run up, and the deep stuff was very short.
Right off the start, I was riding in a decent position, until a gust of wind blew the course tape over and snagged my right shift lever. It yanked my bars over and with my bike getting jerked around, there was a lot of swearing coming from behind me. I then backed off, and started moving backwards in the opening lap. Finally, I got myself together, and worked on trying to catch the riders ahead of me. For most of the race I had someone in sight, and was closing in on the Bicycle Therapy duo of Michael and Dan, but came up just a few seconds short in the end. Joe had a good race, finishing 8th, and I rolled through in 12th.
The single speed race came right after, and I had just enough time to swap numbers (thanks Ryan), swap bikes, and start to freeze before we finally rolled off. Strange things were happening during the race, stakes moving out into the muddy lines, and the course mysteriously got to be about 2 feet wide in the "designated heckling area" despite their very vocal claims that everything was exactly the same.
I tried following Geronimo who was taking it easy after his 1/2/3 Elite win, trying to figure out how he is so fast. There is no trick, he is just plain fast. He carries more speed through the corners, accelerates harder, and has a significantly higher top end. Wow.
Considering the muddy sections, I was planning on running my Captain CX until a last minute conversation with Roland, and 2 quick laps on the course. While there were some muddy sections, most of the course was fast and relatively solid. I took a gamble and went with the Tracers which turned out work extremely well. I'm slowly gaining confidence on their ability to handle some slippery stuff, and for the majority of the course, those tubulars just felt much faster. The mud was no problem, as the hill was a run up, and the deep stuff was very short.
Right off the start, I was riding in a decent position, until a gust of wind blew the course tape over and snagged my right shift lever. It yanked my bars over and with my bike getting jerked around, there was a lot of swearing coming from behind me. I then backed off, and started moving backwards in the opening lap. Finally, I got myself together, and worked on trying to catch the riders ahead of me. For most of the race I had someone in sight, and was closing in on the Bicycle Therapy duo of Michael and Dan, but came up just a few seconds short in the end. Joe had a good race, finishing 8th, and I rolled through in 12th.
I tried following Geronimo who was taking it easy after his 1/2/3 Elite win, trying to figure out how he is so fast. There is no trick, he is just plain fast. He carries more speed through the corners, accelerates harder, and has a significantly higher top end. Wow.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
HPCX 2012
The course was fun, although I was rimming out really hard on the root sections, those continue to be my nemesis. A couple of times I hit so hard I was sure that I'd flat, or crack the rim. That's really something to work on. For a while I followed Dag, until he accelerated away too fast for me to follow. After the first lap, I never saw the leaders, and came in 8th / 63, same as last year, and just one spot ahead of the race predictor. Eric broke a cable, or I'm sure he would have been up there as well.
Then a short break before the UCI Elite race. My only plan was to get some good training in, and try to not get lapped for as long as possible. Race predictor had me at 39/44, but that wasn't happening. After the first lap I could feel that I was really still struggling, and so just tried to ride smoothly. Coming up on 1 to go, the three leaders came through, so I pulled over and let them by. They were flying. I don't mind getting lapped by a guy from Rabobank....
The tires worked out really well, I kept finding that the Tracers had more traction then I expected from them, and was able to corner faster as the day went on, even though it was getting wetter. I think I had 23-24psi in the front, and 25.5 in the back. That seemed just about right.
Now to prepare for the rain.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
West Chester Cross
The crossresults race predictor had me at 13th, so my goal was set to try and beat that result. It couldn't have been a better day with temperatures in the 60s, sun and low humidity, I was looking forward to this race. I also had finally sorted out all my tubular issues, so today might actually be the first race that I'd finish with both my front and rear tubulars intact. I still decided to play it slightly conservative and run a bit higher pressure, 27.5 psi in the rear, 26 in the front.
We had a small group at the starting grid, so a front row start wasn't critical, I just wanted to not make the same mistake that I did at TownHall and implode after the first lap. There were some fast guys on the line, and Geronimo lined up with literally less then 30 seconds to go, adding to the list.
I played the start about right, going hard, but staying within myself. Geronimo pulled some fantastic stunt on the first lap, somersaulting over his bike after hitting a rut wrong, and sending his bike over the tape and into the field. Without breaking stride, he tumbled off the course, rolled to his feet, recovered his bike from the field, launched a flying remount, and rolled back up underneath the course tape and picking up right where he left off.
After the first lap, a lead group of 7-8 formed, and I was dangling a few seconds back. I spent a lap trying to chase, but I was losing time, and I decided that I was better off just trying to stay smooth. I was ahead of a BikeReg guy, and Gerald until I swiped some course tape and took myself out.
I caught back up BikeReg, but Gerald started pouring it on after an uncharacteristically slow start from him, and he was gone. I passed the BikeReg guy, but Wyatt Stoup was coming up fast. I started looking back, and seeing the gap dwindle. Finally, on the last section of the final lap, he passed me and my final attempts at a sprint weren't nearly enough.
The course was a lot of fun, good use of the available elevation, and the laps (despite being longer then average) went very quickly. Managed to beat my prediction (barely) and the tubulars survived intact. I could have gone down a few psi in pressure, but success.
We had a small group at the starting grid, so a front row start wasn't critical, I just wanted to not make the same mistake that I did at TownHall and implode after the first lap. There were some fast guys on the line, and Geronimo lined up with literally less then 30 seconds to go, adding to the list.
I played the start about right, going hard, but staying within myself. Geronimo pulled some fantastic stunt on the first lap, somersaulting over his bike after hitting a rut wrong, and sending his bike over the tape and into the field. Without breaking stride, he tumbled off the course, rolled to his feet, recovered his bike from the field, launched a flying remount, and rolled back up underneath the course tape and picking up right where he left off.
After the first lap, a lead group of 7-8 formed, and I was dangling a few seconds back. I spent a lap trying to chase, but I was losing time, and I decided that I was better off just trying to stay smooth. I was ahead of a BikeReg guy, and Gerald until I swiped some course tape and took myself out.
I caught back up BikeReg, but Gerald started pouring it on after an uncharacteristically slow start from him, and he was gone. I passed the BikeReg guy, but Wyatt Stoup was coming up fast. I started looking back, and seeing the gap dwindle. Finally, on the last section of the final lap, he passed me and my final attempts at a sprint weren't nearly enough.
The course was a lot of fun, good use of the available elevation, and the laps (despite being longer then average) went very quickly. Managed to beat my prediction (barely) and the tubulars survived intact. I could have gone down a few psi in pressure, but success.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Repairing a tubular
After flatting two tubulars in two weekends, I was not keen on just tossing out those expensive tires. Fortunately the mysterious slow leak from Charm City sealed up nicely with some Hutchinson Fast'Air. However, the pinch flat at Nittany was not successful.
At first it seemed to be holding air, but I could hear a faint hissing, and soon enough the bulge started spewing out sealant.
Perfect opportunity to try a proper tubular repair. I consulted the usual experts like Sheldon Brown and Leonard Zinn and felt like it was definitely worth a shot.
Peeling off the base tape wasn't easy, a lot of prying and pulling exposed the seam beneath.
I cut enough stitches to open the casing and pull out the latex tube. It was surrounded by a very smooth and slippery silk lining.
The hole was huge, no way any sealant was going to clog that up.
A regular butyl patch from my patchkit.
Sewing the casing back together. A thimble was very necessary.
For glueing the base tape back down, I needed a way of clamping it tightly, without getting stuck to the glue. This reverse wrap and pinch worked well, pressing the base tape tightly up against the casing.
All back together. The base tape is slightly crooked right at the repair, but it is holding air, and feels solid so far. Maybe it'll become my FSX tire, or SS use, or both.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Tubeless for Cyclocross (it's getting better)
Last year I ran a tubeless set of wheels, Mavic Aksiums with Specialized Captain CX tires. It worked pretty well, was an improvement over clinchers, but I still burped air a few times, and was no comparison to my tubulars.
This year I've got the Easton EA90 RT with a wider external rim width of 22mm, and a "proprietary rim design". In training, I dropped the pressure down to see how low it would go, and was consistently hitting the rim without burping air, but the real test is a race situation when you're pushing the cornering limits harder.
First the Captain CX: these tires are like claws. During the muddy TownHall race, I never felt like I ran out of cornering traction (just cornering skills). I rode the steep hill every lap (including the SS race) and I think that is largely due to the excellent traction from these tires. I did crash a few times in the 1/2/3, but the problem was my handling, the tires had so much grip, they were pulling the casing away from the rim bed before slipping out.
I noticed this grass in the wheel after the race, but I didn't notice the collection of rocks stuck in there until a few days later when I was cleaning the bike.
Although I didn't check the tire pressure, it feels the same, and I don't see any evidence of losing sealant.
I'm also running Stan's cyclocross rim strips (along with his sealant) and that combination seems to be solid. I'll have good confidence with these on the muddy and slippery days.
This year I've got the Easton EA90 RT with a wider external rim width of 22mm, and a "proprietary rim design". In training, I dropped the pressure down to see how low it would go, and was consistently hitting the rim without burping air, but the real test is a race situation when you're pushing the cornering limits harder.
First the Captain CX: these tires are like claws. During the muddy TownHall race, I never felt like I ran out of cornering traction (just cornering skills). I rode the steep hill every lap (including the SS race) and I think that is largely due to the excellent traction from these tires. I did crash a few times in the 1/2/3, but the problem was my handling, the tires had so much grip, they were pulling the casing away from the rim bed before slipping out.
I noticed this grass in the wheel after the race, but I didn't notice the collection of rocks stuck in there until a few days later when I was cleaning the bike.
Although I didn't check the tire pressure, it feels the same, and I don't see any evidence of losing sealant.
I'm also running Stan's cyclocross rim strips (along with his sealant) and that combination seems to be solid. I'll have good confidence with these on the muddy and slippery days.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
TownHall cross 2012
After pre-riding the course on Friday, I thought maybe it might get somewhat faster and easier on Saturday after a few races. While the hill did get packed down and faster, the rest of the course just seemed to get slower. The mud and grass was soft enough to sink way in, but firm enough to really grab your wheels. What a slog-fest. This year, I think that the hill was actually one of the easier parts of the course.
I spent the morning helping with registration, but did stick my neck out long enough to watch the start of the Cat 4 race. I wanted to see 100 guy funnel into the hill. It actually went better then I expected, with some congestion, but not too bad from a spectator's perspective.
The upside of my front row start in the 1/2/3 was a clear shot at the hill, the down shot was I completely blew my plan to not blow up in the first lap. I had great spot going up the first time, but then quickly realized on the way down that was overcooked, and needed to back way off, especially for surviving the 60 minutes. Then I crashed 3 times in the first lap, really putting me back. All through the second lap my chain was jumping all over my cassette, I couldn't tell if it was just mud, a bent hanger from my crashes, or something else. I tweaked my barrel adjuster a few turns, and finally got it to run smooth. By now, I was two laps in, back at the rear of the race, and deep in the red zone.
I focused on just riding smoothly and efficiently, and managed to catch a few guys and make up a few places, definitely riding better towards the end of the race. Coming around the back section, after the gravel, and before the stream crossing, I was weaving through the section of course that loops back on itself. Who ever was in front of me, caught some course tape on their bike, and took it with them on the next loop. So when I came into that part of the course, I encountered a tightly stretched section of course tape, sweeping across towards me at twice my speed, as he was now going the opposite direction. I tried to duck, but it caught me right across the neck and clotheslined me right to the ground. I managed to pull myself out of this mess, but the intrepid rider continued on, pulling out half the course tape for this section. I finally got past him after the stream crossing where the tape had wrapped several thick layers around his rear axle.
Then, a quick few minutes to zip tie my shift levers, swap numbers, and jump into the single speed race. Once again, I took off at the start, and found myself riding second wheel behind Yozell for a while. He was apparently taking it easy, but still I couldn't stay with him. Lost one spot to fatigue, and then it seemed like I had a gigantic gap to third, and figured that I could ride a safe race in for the last podium spot. However, fourth place was catching up fast, and I was running out of time and legs. Coming down the short hill after the pavement by the pits, I wiped out HARD, tumbling head over handlebars, ass over teakettle, and found my bike tangled up in the tape, with the bars skewed about 30 degrees to the left. At this point, he got by me, and I struggled to follow him, while slightly stunned, with bent glasses, a crooked helmet, and a bars pointing the wrong way. He was too quick, and so I rolled through in fourth.
Still, that was a lot of fun.
Start of the women's races:
Slogging:
I spent the morning helping with registration, but did stick my neck out long enough to watch the start of the Cat 4 race. I wanted to see 100 guy funnel into the hill. It actually went better then I expected, with some congestion, but not too bad from a spectator's perspective.
The upside of my front row start in the 1/2/3 was a clear shot at the hill, the down shot was I completely blew my plan to not blow up in the first lap. I had great spot going up the first time, but then quickly realized on the way down that was overcooked, and needed to back way off, especially for surviving the 60 minutes. Then I crashed 3 times in the first lap, really putting me back. All through the second lap my chain was jumping all over my cassette, I couldn't tell if it was just mud, a bent hanger from my crashes, or something else. I tweaked my barrel adjuster a few turns, and finally got it to run smooth. By now, I was two laps in, back at the rear of the race, and deep in the red zone.
I focused on just riding smoothly and efficiently, and managed to catch a few guys and make up a few places, definitely riding better towards the end of the race. Coming around the back section, after the gravel, and before the stream crossing, I was weaving through the section of course that loops back on itself. Who ever was in front of me, caught some course tape on their bike, and took it with them on the next loop. So when I came into that part of the course, I encountered a tightly stretched section of course tape, sweeping across towards me at twice my speed, as he was now going the opposite direction. I tried to duck, but it caught me right across the neck and clotheslined me right to the ground. I managed to pull myself out of this mess, but the intrepid rider continued on, pulling out half the course tape for this section. I finally got past him after the stream crossing where the tape had wrapped several thick layers around his rear axle.
Then, a quick few minutes to zip tie my shift levers, swap numbers, and jump into the single speed race. Once again, I took off at the start, and found myself riding second wheel behind Yozell for a while. He was apparently taking it easy, but still I couldn't stay with him. Lost one spot to fatigue, and then it seemed like I had a gigantic gap to third, and figured that I could ride a safe race in for the last podium spot. However, fourth place was catching up fast, and I was running out of time and legs. Coming down the short hill after the pavement by the pits, I wiped out HARD, tumbling head over handlebars, ass over teakettle, and found my bike tangled up in the tape, with the bars skewed about 30 degrees to the left. At this point, he got by me, and I struggled to follow him, while slightly stunned, with bent glasses, a crooked helmet, and a bars pointing the wrong way. He was too quick, and so I rolled through in fourth.
Still, that was a lot of fun.
Start of the women's races:
Friday, October 5, 2012
TownHall Cyclocross 2012 Preparation
It took us most of the day, but the course is now all marked, staked, and taped, ready to for racing. Fortunately all the rains stopped and we had great weather today. Even a bit warm, hopefully it helps dry out the course. The combination of tall grass, and soggy ground made for a very slow course today, but I get it will get faster as the day goes on (and muddier).
The turnout is expected to be about double from last year, with almost 400 pre-reg! Wow. This makes parking a challenge, and I'm very curious to see 100 cyclists try to get up the hill on the first lap. I'm expecting nothing short of chaos. We widened the start section as much as we could, and moved it further down the hill, but there will still be some bottle-necking going into the switchbacks.
Ok, cross-results has me at 9th place in the 1/2/3 race, I'm expecting a good battle between Mike Yozell and Gerald Adasavage for the win. I want to see Jack Drummond go top 10 in the Masters 35+.
The start is going to be critical, hint: take the left line all the way up to the hill.
The turnout is expected to be about double from last year, with almost 400 pre-reg! Wow. This makes parking a challenge, and I'm very curious to see 100 cyclists try to get up the hill on the first lap. I'm expecting nothing short of chaos. We widened the start section as much as we could, and moved it further down the hill, but there will still be some bottle-necking going into the switchbacks.
Ok, cross-results has me at 9th place in the 1/2/3 race, I'm expecting a good battle between Mike Yozell and Gerald Adasavage for the win. I want to see Jack Drummond go top 10 in the Masters 35+.
The start is going to be critical, hint: take the left line all the way up to the hill.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Look forward to the past
According to National Geographic, we lose 1 language every 14 days. We've already lost many thousands of languages, and will continue to lose many thousands more. In this particular issue, the article was highlighting some of the less common languages, threatened with extinction as their native population either dies out, or gets assimilated into a larger, modern culture. It may seem like nothing besides a few words gets lost when a language dies, but I was really convinced by this article that we actually lose quite a lot more. Our language is very closely connected to our culture. The way that we describe the world affects our perspective of the world.
Here is on example; in the Tuvan language, one says: look backwards to the future, and the past is ahead. That is totally counter to our usage of language and notions of progress where the future is what lies ahead, and the past is gone behind us. I find it a very interesting perspective to think about, we can "see" the past, it has happened, but the future is unknown, like what lies behind you.
Where our language of "progress to the future" seems to imply that time and world are stationary, and we are creators of our own destiny, plowing our way forwards through life like explorers hacking through a jungle with a machete, the Tuvan perspective is completely 180 degrees turned around. Time passes by, and what we see ahead of us, is the past that has already gone by. The future is unknown.
I think that is a valuable perspective, regardless of which way seems "right" and which one seems "wrong", it is worth thinking about how our language shapes our perspectives.
Here is on example; in the Tuvan language, one says: look backwards to the future, and the past is ahead. That is totally counter to our usage of language and notions of progress where the future is what lies ahead, and the past is gone behind us. I find it a very interesting perspective to think about, we can "see" the past, it has happened, but the future is unknown, like what lies behind you.
Where our language of "progress to the future" seems to imply that time and world are stationary, and we are creators of our own destiny, plowing our way forwards through life like explorers hacking through a jungle with a machete, the Tuvan perspective is completely 180 degrees turned around. Time passes by, and what we see ahead of us, is the past that has already gone by. The future is unknown.
I think that is a valuable perspective, regardless of which way seems "right" and which one seems "wrong", it is worth thinking about how our language shapes our perspectives.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
WhirlyBird cross 2012
There are always wrecks, crashes, scuffs, dings, wipe-outs, blunders, and dropped-chains at 'cross races, but wow, it sure seemed like WhirlyBird had more then its fair share last weekend.
The big change was a new venue, and I really liked the course. Fast, with "flow", some terrain variations, and it was lots of fun. Definitely an improvement from the previous few years.
Greg missed his call up, but still managed a top 25 finish, and Jeff was close behind. Right from the start, there was a significant crash in the prologue of the Masters 35+ race, taking down a few riders in the high speed turn before the pavement.
My 2/3/4 race started off well. I was second row on the starting grid, and the guy in front of me missed his clip-in, but I managed to scoot around him into the void in front and into fourth wheel. All was smooth until I hit the first set of barriers on the first lap, either I clipped my wheel on the first barrier, or just plain tripped over it, but I piled head first into the second barrier. I lost some time and momentum there.
Then, on the run-up after the second set of barriers I dropped my chain, and had a hard time getting it back on the chainrings (3 min). You can see the camera man go by in this video (#314 in yellow):
Then, coming up the paved incline to the stadium, I heard a terrific crash and looked back just in time to see someone that had piled into the chain link fence flying head first over his bars. Ouch, that one probably hurt.
I managed to make up a few spots and caught up to a group of 6-7 who were riding together. My chance to pass came when someone in front of the group took the downhill too fast and clipped the pipe marking the cross walk. (Same thing that happens to the camera man above. ) That was a tricky turn.
I ended up running my Tracer tubular in back (thankfully the Hutchinson Fast'Air sealed it up), and my Captain CX tubeless in front. It actually felt like a fast combination, with great cornering.
Finished 8th, so was four spots down on the cross-results.com prediction, but I had a second chance in the Elite race.
In the starting grid, someone looked around and counted, turns out that there were only 26 starters, a small field, and because they were paying 25 deep, one person here wasn't going home with a check. Ok, there is my goal....
Right off the grid, Mike F pops a spoke, and that takes him out, now there are only 25 in the running. The 60 minutes of racing were far less eventful then the 2/3/4 race, it was also a smoother effort then then spurts I was putting in trying to move up and pass people.
For a while I was behind a guy who was running too low pressure in his tubulars, at each turn his rear was rolling over and washing out with a bRaapP, it looked hard to control. At one point I got by Willem who I expected to be faster then myself, we've been fairly closely matched in previous races. For a while, I was focused on staying ahead of him, until I decided that it was better to chase something ahead, then run from something behind me. I was trading spots with a Skylands/Sussex Bike rider for a while, until I cracked and he got a pretty good lead. I could just barely see Patrick Bradley a couple of times, but we were very spread out. In the last lap, I was torn between just riding my spot, I was safe where I was, or trying to catch the Skylands/Sussex bike guy who was a few seconds ahead. With a few extra efforts, I got really close on the final lap, but couldn't quite catch him before the finish.
Ended up 17th, just beating the race predictor by one spot, no doubt thanks to Mike's broken spoke.
Next up, our very own Town Hall Cross.
The big change was a new venue, and I really liked the course. Fast, with "flow", some terrain variations, and it was lots of fun. Definitely an improvement from the previous few years.
Greg missed his call up, but still managed a top 25 finish, and Jeff was close behind. Right from the start, there was a significant crash in the prologue of the Masters 35+ race, taking down a few riders in the high speed turn before the pavement.
My 2/3/4 race started off well. I was second row on the starting grid, and the guy in front of me missed his clip-in, but I managed to scoot around him into the void in front and into fourth wheel. All was smooth until I hit the first set of barriers on the first lap, either I clipped my wheel on the first barrier, or just plain tripped over it, but I piled head first into the second barrier. I lost some time and momentum there.
Then, on the run-up after the second set of barriers I dropped my chain, and had a hard time getting it back on the chainrings (3 min). You can see the camera man go by in this video (#314 in yellow):
Then, coming up the paved incline to the stadium, I heard a terrific crash and looked back just in time to see someone that had piled into the chain link fence flying head first over his bars. Ouch, that one probably hurt.
I managed to make up a few spots and caught up to a group of 6-7 who were riding together. My chance to pass came when someone in front of the group took the downhill too fast and clipped the pipe marking the cross walk. (Same thing that happens to the camera man above. ) That was a tricky turn.
I ended up running my Tracer tubular in back (thankfully the Hutchinson Fast'Air sealed it up), and my Captain CX tubeless in front. It actually felt like a fast combination, with great cornering.
Finished 8th, so was four spots down on the cross-results.com prediction, but I had a second chance in the Elite race.
In the starting grid, someone looked around and counted, turns out that there were only 26 starters, a small field, and because they were paying 25 deep, one person here wasn't going home with a check. Ok, there is my goal....
Right off the grid, Mike F pops a spoke, and that takes him out, now there are only 25 in the running. The 60 minutes of racing were far less eventful then the 2/3/4 race, it was also a smoother effort then then spurts I was putting in trying to move up and pass people.
For a while I was behind a guy who was running too low pressure in his tubulars, at each turn his rear was rolling over and washing out with a bRaapP, it looked hard to control. At one point I got by Willem who I expected to be faster then myself, we've been fairly closely matched in previous races. For a while, I was focused on staying ahead of him, until I decided that it was better to chase something ahead, then run from something behind me. I was trading spots with a Skylands/Sussex Bike rider for a while, until I cracked and he got a pretty good lead. I could just barely see Patrick Bradley a couple of times, but we were very spread out. In the last lap, I was torn between just riding my spot, I was safe where I was, or trying to catch the Skylands/Sussex bike guy who was a few seconds ahead. With a few extra efforts, I got really close on the final lap, but couldn't quite catch him before the finish.
Ended up 17th, just beating the race predictor by one spot, no doubt thanks to Mike's broken spoke.
Next up, our very own Town Hall Cross.
Friday, September 28, 2012
WhirlyBird predictor
Ok, after flatting two tubulars in two weekends of racing, I'm ready to put the mechanicals behind me. To double my odds of finishing this time, I've signed up for both the B and A race. My plan is to put it all out there for the B race, and see whatever is left in the A race.
Race predictor has me at 4th in the B race, behind Ribbens, Dag Anderson, and Gallagher. Jerry, the current MAC leader is ranked in 8th, but after his great results at Charm City, I expect he'll do better then that. There are 92 starters, and I'll probably be 2nd or 3rd row after missing both days of Charm City, this should be a good race.
For the Elite Men, I'm predicted down in 18th, but I'm expecting a bunch more day-of registrations, so the goal is a top 25 after having done the B race already. They're paying 25 deep, so that's something to shoot for. Festa, Green, Heydenael, Lebair, McGrath are all right there in 15-20, so I'll definitely have a tough group to try and hang with.
Of course, the mud could change everything.....
Race predictor has me at 4th in the B race, behind Ribbens, Dag Anderson, and Gallagher. Jerry, the current MAC leader is ranked in 8th, but after his great results at Charm City, I expect he'll do better then that. There are 92 starters, and I'll probably be 2nd or 3rd row after missing both days of Charm City, this should be a good race.
For the Elite Men, I'm predicted down in 18th, but I'm expecting a bunch more day-of registrations, so the goal is a top 25 after having done the B race already. They're paying 25 deep, so that's something to shoot for. Festa, Green, Heydenael, Lebair, McGrath are all right there in 15-20, so I'll definitely have a tough group to try and hang with.
Of course, the mud could change everything.....
Monday, September 24, 2012
Charm City Day 1 UCI Elite
Whew, ouch. It was a perfect day down in Baltimore, the course was fast and flowy, my tires (Specialized Tracers) were hooking up well on the warm-up laps, and I was excited to line up for the UCI Elite event. The start was fast, and my plan was to not blow up too early in an hour long race, but lap times were down in the 6 minute range, so it was going to be a race against the 80% rule.
(Thanks to Dennisbike.com there is photographic evidence I at least started this thing...)
The first lap was going well, there were a few guys I had raced with before and I wanted to try and stick with them for as long as possible. Coming down the off-camber left turn after the run-up, I felt a strange ripping feel from my rear tire, like burping a tubeless, but it didn't make sense with my tubulars. Slowly, it felt like I was losing air until I was squat on my rims before the S/F straight.
Argh, didn't even make it a lap. I gingerly rode it over to the pits, and Joe loaned me his bike so I could at least keep going. The seat was far too low, but at least I was sort of moving again. Less then 20 minutes in, and 3 laps of racing and I was officially pulled. Now I really want to try another.
Still, counting the DNFs, only 2 spots down from where the race predictor had me. Next time....
Masters 35+ photos:
The first lap was going well, there were a few guys I had raced with before and I wanted to try and stick with them for as long as possible. Coming down the off-camber left turn after the run-up, I felt a strange ripping feel from my rear tire, like burping a tubeless, but it didn't make sense with my tubulars. Slowly, it felt like I was losing air until I was squat on my rims before the S/F straight.
Argh, didn't even make it a lap. I gingerly rode it over to the pits, and Joe loaned me his bike so I could at least keep going. The seat was far too low, but at least I was sort of moving again. Less then 20 minutes in, and 3 laps of racing and I was officially pulled. Now I really want to try another.
Still, counting the DNFs, only 2 spots down from where the race predictor had me. Next time....
Masters 35+ photos:
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Charm City Predictor
So the (in)famous crossresults race predictor has me at 34/44 in the UCI Elite race today. Goal today: beat the prediction, don't get lapped before 30 min, and survive the Festa - Rugg sandwich.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Nittany Lion Cross 2012, cat 2/3/4
Yikes, reading my post from Friday, I sound a bit nervous about the Nittany weekend. Too many unknowns, and I'm terrible with just having to wait. Will my janked-up bike make it? What about my legs? Have I completely forgotten how to get over barriers? Plus, knowing that I'd most likely get a front row call up means that I had my best opportunity yet for a good MAC finish, and I don't get front row call-ups too often.
Saturday I couldn't eat much in the morning, and went into the race without eating a whole lot. Waiting at the start was torture, but finally the light turned green, and I clicked into race mode. I got a good clip-in and start, and was riding somewhere in the top 6-7, so far so good. The front row start is so much easier, just a criminal advantage. No traffic, clean lines, and smooth racing.
Somewhere in the first few turns I heard a pile up behind, but didn't look back until later. Sure enough, there was a very large gap, indicating that some crash held up a bunch of people. At one point, it looked like 4th place was losing ground to the leaders, so I went around him and focused on slowly trying to catch them.
The back woods section with the roots was my nemesis, I could move up on the back part of the course, but immediately lost ground again trying to navigate the roots. I don't remember when, but while trying to gently hop over one set of roots, I smashed down my front wheel right into the next set. There was a bad sounding crack, and quickly my front tubular started going soft. Crap. I rode the flat around to the pits, losing a couple spots, and was ready to pack it in when I noticed the SRAM neutral wheels. OK, lets try this again. Now I had a lot of ground to make up. Ended up 27th, just 2 spots out of the points. There is always the next day....
Sunday went much better, same front row start, although this time we had a long, straight, slightly down hill section to a fast right hand sweeper. The pace was really high, and even just a few minutes into the race I noticed that the entire field was way strung out into a long line. Starting from the back must have been a huge disadvantage.
The course was really fast, I decided to run slightly higher pressure today, 31 in the front, 34.5 psi in the back. I would have liked to be a few ticks lower, but I didn't want to risk another pinch flat. Thanks to Roland for loaning me his front wheel. The Tracer tires worked great, super fast with good grip, although I bet file treads would have been IDEAL for day.
I realized after a lap that the top 3 were riding away, and I wasn't going to be able to stay with them, so I focused on riding smoothly and efficiently. I got by a few spots when they washed out in the dirt, and I could see Jerry Troiano from Rutgers only a few seconds ahead. By the time we saw 2 laps to go, I had a good lead on whoever was behind me, and decided to try and take some risks to catch him. It was working, with 1 to go, I was within a few seconds, but got pushed it too far on the turn at the top of the hill before the finish, washed out, and dropped my chain. By the time I was going again, Hunter had almost caught me, and was riding a few second behind me now. Jerry was gone. I rode smooth, backed off into the headwind to see if Hunter would take the lead, but he backed off even more. Ok, I'm fine with a sprint, lets wait for the finish. Coming down the hill I clicked the chain down my cassette and sprinted to beat him to the line.
I'm definitely happy with my best MAC finish yet, and having no mechanicals. Although the flat on Saturday was disappointing, I left with more confidence that I could ride with the front of the MAC B field, a good result, and a good start to the season.
Saturday I couldn't eat much in the morning, and went into the race without eating a whole lot. Waiting at the start was torture, but finally the light turned green, and I clicked into race mode. I got a good clip-in and start, and was riding somewhere in the top 6-7, so far so good. The front row start is so much easier, just a criminal advantage. No traffic, clean lines, and smooth racing.
Somewhere in the first few turns I heard a pile up behind, but didn't look back until later. Sure enough, there was a very large gap, indicating that some crash held up a bunch of people. At one point, it looked like 4th place was losing ground to the leaders, so I went around him and focused on slowly trying to catch them.
The back woods section with the roots was my nemesis, I could move up on the back part of the course, but immediately lost ground again trying to navigate the roots. I don't remember when, but while trying to gently hop over one set of roots, I smashed down my front wheel right into the next set. There was a bad sounding crack, and quickly my front tubular started going soft. Crap. I rode the flat around to the pits, losing a couple spots, and was ready to pack it in when I noticed the SRAM neutral wheels. OK, lets try this again. Now I had a lot of ground to make up. Ended up 27th, just 2 spots out of the points. There is always the next day....
Sunday went much better, same front row start, although this time we had a long, straight, slightly down hill section to a fast right hand sweeper. The pace was really high, and even just a few minutes into the race I noticed that the entire field was way strung out into a long line. Starting from the back must have been a huge disadvantage.
The course was really fast, I decided to run slightly higher pressure today, 31 in the front, 34.5 psi in the back. I would have liked to be a few ticks lower, but I didn't want to risk another pinch flat. Thanks to Roland for loaning me his front wheel. The Tracer tires worked great, super fast with good grip, although I bet file treads would have been IDEAL for day.
I realized after a lap that the top 3 were riding away, and I wasn't going to be able to stay with them, so I focused on riding smoothly and efficiently. I got by a few spots when they washed out in the dirt, and I could see Jerry Troiano from Rutgers only a few seconds ahead. By the time we saw 2 laps to go, I had a good lead on whoever was behind me, and decided to try and take some risks to catch him. It was working, with 1 to go, I was within a few seconds, but got pushed it too far on the turn at the top of the hill before the finish, washed out, and dropped my chain. By the time I was going again, Hunter had almost caught me, and was riding a few second behind me now. Jerry was gone. I rode smooth, backed off into the headwind to see if Hunter would take the lead, but he backed off even more. Ok, I'm fine with a sprint, lets wait for the finish. Coming down the hill I clicked the chain down my cassette and sprinted to beat him to the line.
I'm definitely happy with my best MAC finish yet, and having no mechanicals. Although the flat on Saturday was disappointing, I left with more confidence that I could ride with the front of the MAC B field, a good result, and a good start to the season.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Eve of Cross! Expectations....
It's finally here, cyclocross season! I feel like I've been waiting for this since cross ended in January. After a good season in 2011, I've been highly motivated to come into 2012 with guns blazin' and top form. I expected to organize my year around training and gearing up for cross, and especially Nittany. However, like most things cycling, not all goes to plan. Sometimes the results are better then expected, sometimes less so.
After getting my Cat 3 road upgrade last August, I had no specific goals for the road season this year, just race, learn by experience, try different tactics, and see if I could make things happen. I was done with all the "sit-in and wait for the sprint" days. And the summer went well, much better then I had thought possible, culminating with a Cat 2 upgrade even. It was a blast, so many great moments. Without expectations I was free to just race, and it turned out far better then I could have possibly expected.
However, all my best intentions for cyclocross this year have just come up short of bearing actual fruit. Yesterday was my first time on my cross bike, and first ride in two weeks. My list of excuses runs long, maybe I needed a break after a long and hard road season, I'm just finishing up a 3-week long course of antibiotics (ugh....), my cross frame was/is bent (I'm chomping at the bit to order the replacement, but still no stock available!!), school work has taken a priority, and on and on, but now now my expectations this upcoming cross season are crumbling.
But I'm beginning to see them dissolving into something better. As a complement to a very expectation oriented grad school program, cycling has been at its best when the experience trumps the outcome. Like the story that Steve tells in this post about Dave Weins turning back in the middle of a race to pick up a stick, "He was into it for the life experiences and not for the results. He wanted that stick to remember."
I'm going to take this season to make sure that I keep that perspective. Try different races, build up a single-speed, and see what happens. My plans to make a run for the MAC series has been derailed after pre-reg for Charm City (125 people already??!??!) filled up more then a week in advance, but maybe I can take that as a cue to try another race (Elites???).
Deep breath, clear out expectations.... ahh.....
Alright, race predictor has me at 7th out of 123 on day 1, and 6th out of 102 on Sunday. Plus, I think that I'll have a front row start from last years results. Seeing who else is in there, I'm not sure if top 10 is feasible, but I'd really like to get a top 25 for MAC points. This is going to be fun.....
After getting my Cat 3 road upgrade last August, I had no specific goals for the road season this year, just race, learn by experience, try different tactics, and see if I could make things happen. I was done with all the "sit-in and wait for the sprint" days. And the summer went well, much better then I had thought possible, culminating with a Cat 2 upgrade even. It was a blast, so many great moments. Without expectations I was free to just race, and it turned out far better then I could have possibly expected.
However, all my best intentions for cyclocross this year have just come up short of bearing actual fruit. Yesterday was my first time on my cross bike, and first ride in two weeks. My list of excuses runs long, maybe I needed a break after a long and hard road season, I'm just finishing up a 3-week long course of antibiotics (ugh....), my cross frame was/is bent (I'm chomping at the bit to order the replacement, but still no stock available!!), school work has taken a priority, and on and on, but now now my expectations this upcoming cross season are crumbling.
But I'm beginning to see them dissolving into something better. As a complement to a very expectation oriented grad school program, cycling has been at its best when the experience trumps the outcome. Like the story that Steve tells in this post about Dave Weins turning back in the middle of a race to pick up a stick, "He was into it for the life experiences and not for the results. He wanted that stick to remember."
I'm going to take this season to make sure that I keep that perspective. Try different races, build up a single-speed, and see what happens. My plans to make a run for the MAC series has been derailed after pre-reg for Charm City (125 people already??!??!) filled up more then a week in advance, but maybe I can take that as a cue to try another race (Elites???).
Deep breath, clear out expectations.... ahh.....
Alright, race predictor has me at 7th out of 123 on day 1, and 6th out of 102 on Sunday. Plus, I think that I'll have a front row start from last years results. Seeing who else is in there, I'm not sure if top 10 is feasible, but I'd really like to get a top 25 for MAC points. This is going to be fun.....
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
JBN Criterium 2012
After the storm last night, I was hoping that the 90-100 degree heat wave would subside. No such luck, another day of racing in the high 90s. At least our power had been restored, and our water remained on. We had set out all my bottles full of water, because the last time we lost power, the water soon followed.
The 2/3 race was hot, fast, and hard. Many attacks, I got away with two other guys for a few laps, but we didn't go far, and it didn't last. I sat in for a bit, while Jeff went off in a small group. Riders kept continually bridging up, until the "break" was as big as the "field". Soon it all merged together.
I spent the last lap just trying to stay near the front, I came around the last turn in a decent spot, and heard a nasty wreck somewhere towards the back, ouch. I didn't have a whole lot left after attacking and sitting out in a small break, but managed to sprint somewhere into the top 10.
After placing the U23 riders separately, I just managed to snag the last money spot, in number 7.
The 2/3 race was hot, fast, and hard. Many attacks, I got away with two other guys for a few laps, but we didn't go far, and it didn't last. I sat in for a bit, while Jeff went off in a small group. Riders kept continually bridging up, until the "break" was as big as the "field". Soon it all merged together.
I spent the last lap just trying to stay near the front, I came around the last turn in a decent spot, and heard a nasty wreck somewhere towards the back, ouch. I didn't have a whole lot left after attacking and sitting out in a small break, but managed to sprint somewhere into the top 10.
After placing the U23 riders separately, I just managed to snag the last money spot, in number 7.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Kennet Square Criterium
After a good week of racing so far, I was looking forward to a Friday evening criterium. However, I wasn't sure if the racing miles would take their toll, leaving me with tired legs, or the intensity would turn out to be a good tune-up. The Wednesday RR was grueling, but the Thursday Night crits went well, ending up only 1 point behind the winner. Now, Friday, I'd find out.
We had 40 laps on a tight four corner course, with a moderate change in elevation. I took a few laps around, and turns 3 & 4 looked potentially gnarly. After a fast downhill section on the back straight, there were two tight 90 degree left hand turns, with some rough pavement, tall curbs, manhole covers, and general road defects. Just after turn 4, the finishing straight turned into an uphill drag.
The effect of this was vicious at the back of the pack. The field would unavoidably bunch up and slow down through the turns, then coming through turn 4 required sprinting up the hill to close gaps. NOT easy or fun at the rear. After a few laps of that, I decided to do something else and moved up to the front. With 35 to go, I made a moderate attack up the S/F straight, and rolled off solo. I was hoping that at least one or two others would go with me, but this course had a lot of breakaway potential. Alas, I was on my own.
Over the next 25 laps, I rode tempo, keeping a steady effort on the back stretch, and up the hill, but carrying more speed through turns 3&4, and into the hill. On this course, I think that it was probably more efficient being out on my own, instead of in the field.
I got to a maximum gap of 25 seconds, before getting caught with 10 laps to go. I sat in for a bit, but quickly got back to the front and worked on staying in the top 5-6 position.
I was second wheel with 2 to go, in a pretty good position, when I ended up on the front for the bell lap. That was perfect, and I gladly took the front position. On the downhill backstretch, I was getting good communication from whoever was on my wheel, and kept the tempo just right to keep anyone from coming around. After 25 laps on my own, I knew the perfect line through both turns, accelerated around the final high speed turn, and then launched my sprint wide open from the very bottom of the final straight. I didn't look back until I crossed the line, very happy to take another win for the week.
The crowds were into it, more live bands, and lots of great eating options right there in central Kennett Square. Becca and I found a good Asian restaurant, and I ordered an awesome Sushi & Sashimi platter, with a refreshing mango drink. It tasted great.
Thanks to Carolyn Worthington for the photos.
We had 40 laps on a tight four corner course, with a moderate change in elevation. I took a few laps around, and turns 3 & 4 looked potentially gnarly. After a fast downhill section on the back straight, there were two tight 90 degree left hand turns, with some rough pavement, tall curbs, manhole covers, and general road defects. Just after turn 4, the finishing straight turned into an uphill drag.
The effect of this was vicious at the back of the pack. The field would unavoidably bunch up and slow down through the turns, then coming through turn 4 required sprinting up the hill to close gaps. NOT easy or fun at the rear. After a few laps of that, I decided to do something else and moved up to the front. With 35 to go, I made a moderate attack up the S/F straight, and rolled off solo. I was hoping that at least one or two others would go with me, but this course had a lot of breakaway potential. Alas, I was on my own.
Over the next 25 laps, I rode tempo, keeping a steady effort on the back stretch, and up the hill, but carrying more speed through turns 3&4, and into the hill. On this course, I think that it was probably more efficient being out on my own, instead of in the field.
I got to a maximum gap of 25 seconds, before getting caught with 10 laps to go. I sat in for a bit, but quickly got back to the front and worked on staying in the top 5-6 position.
I was second wheel with 2 to go, in a pretty good position, when I ended up on the front for the bell lap. That was perfect, and I gladly took the front position. On the downhill backstretch, I was getting good communication from whoever was on my wheel, and kept the tempo just right to keep anyone from coming around. After 25 laps on my own, I knew the perfect line through both turns, accelerated around the final high speed turn, and then launched my sprint wide open from the very bottom of the final straight. I didn't look back until I crossed the line, very happy to take another win for the week.
The crowds were into it, more live bands, and lots of great eating options right there in central Kennett Square. Becca and I found a good Asian restaurant, and I ordered an awesome Sushi & Sashimi platter, with a refreshing mango drink. It tasted great.
Chesco RR (States)
Wednesday morning I headed down into Chester County again for the road race of the Chesco GrandPrix, just in time to see the end of Sabina's race, congrats to her for medaling on such a tough day.
The pavement was so hot, that the tar patches were swallowing up cyclists and officials like dinosaurs in the tar pits. Seriously, one official was stuck to the road, and several bike tires had large sections of PA-82 stuck to them.
Thanks to Carolyn Worthington for the photos.
Pic of the final from Julie Elliot.
The pavement was so hot, that the tar patches were swallowing up cyclists and officials like dinosaurs in the tar pits. Seriously, one official was stuck to the road, and several bike tires had large sections of PA-82 stuck to them.
The Victory
brewing beer tap truck was there again, but whew, it was too hot to
think about beer. We had some 50 riders start in the 66 mile Cat 3 event,
and only 30 finished. The Pro/1/2 had even worse attrition, over 92
miles of racing!
It wasn't a race where anyone
could make anything happen, the race just "happened" and we went along
with it, powerless against the oppressive heat and course. There were several
break attempts, but nobody could stay
away. With about 20 miles left to go, we had a good group rotating to
chase one of those doomed breaks, when about 9 of us found ourselves off
the front. It wasn't so much that we rode away, but rather the rest of
the field was probably too exhausted to close any gaps. Mainly, me and
a QCW guy did most of the work, everyone else had excuses "I'm totally
cramped up", "I've got nothing left". He attacked once really hard on a
hill, and I just managed to follow him. We came into the last km with
about 4-5 of us left in the lead group. There are two "stair step"
climbs in the last km, he attacked hard on the first one, and a Pawling
Cycle guy went also, it was too much too soon, so I just rode tempo up
the first one. They had a big gap, and I figured I was doomed to 3rd
place again, but between the hills, I accelerated, and waited until the
second hill to launch hard, I carried my speed up and over, and passed
the
two leaders who were completely cooked, and managed to take the win.
The final break.
Thanks to Carolyn Worthington for the photos.
Pic of the final from Julie Elliot.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Coatesville Classic
I missed the first 3 events of the Chesco GrandPrix, but wanted to at least make it a few of the races, sounded like a fun series. There was a live band, Victory brewing had a big tent
setup with a kitchen and lots of beer, and the announcer sounded like
the same guy from Beacon cross, animated and funny. There was a good crowd of spectators lined around the course, adding a lot of energy to the atmosphere and another element to the race.
I wasn't feeling super fresh after a good ride with the Cutter's crew on Saturday (still can't believe watching John Gabor big-ring up Haupts Bridge). I lined up at the back of the Cat 3 field, and thought that this might turn into a training ride. Right from the go, guys were attacking and it was 7-8 laps of mostly strung out single file. The course was fun, 6 corners with some quick turns, and one very long straight, but still mostly open and smooth. Some small elevation changes, and the accordion effect at the back of the field was pretty bad, going through the tight turns. No attacks were sticking though, everything was coming back, and I was planning on taking my chances in a field sprint.
However, after two guys attacked really hard in succession and were pulled back, I felt a lull in the field with 10 to go, and made a moderate attack up the start-finish straight. I guess the guys that had been doing all the chasing were tired, because they just let me roll away. I was waffling between committing all out 100%, and just sitting up because I didn't want to try and solo to the end.
I wasn't feeling super fresh after a good ride with the Cutter's crew on Saturday (still can't believe watching John Gabor big-ring up Haupts Bridge). I lined up at the back of the Cat 3 field, and thought that this might turn into a training ride. Right from the go, guys were attacking and it was 7-8 laps of mostly strung out single file. The course was fun, 6 corners with some quick turns, and one very long straight, but still mostly open and smooth. Some small elevation changes, and the accordion effect at the back of the field was pretty bad, going through the tight turns. No attacks were sticking though, everything was coming back, and I was planning on taking my chances in a field sprint.
However, after two guys attacked really hard in succession and were pulled back, I felt a lull in the field with 10 to go, and made a moderate attack up the start-finish straight. I guess the guys that had been doing all the chasing were tired, because they just let me roll away. I was waffling between committing all out 100%, and just sitting up because I didn't want to try and solo to the end.
I ended up doing something in
the middle, just riding
tempo, dangling in front of the field at about 10 seconds, then 17
seconds, then I got a time check from "Lamprey Systems" to "second
place" and heard the announcer talking about NC State, at which point I
knew David M. was bridging up, he lapped the field on Saturday, we
lapped the field together at Wrightsville, so I was glad to hear he was
coming. He had a much harder time getting away from the field, as he
was a marked man, and no one wanted to let him go, or else everyone
wanted to go with him. I soft pedaled for a bit, and he finally joined
up with me. We immediately started rotating smoothly, but soon after 2
other guys joined up.
We were close enough to the field that guys could make the bridge. But
then three of us really committed 100% (at least I was at my limit), we
dropped the fourth, and then the time gaps started going up again.
The spectators were really a good motivation, and the announcer was
giving us time checks.
We came around the final turn with me at third
wheel, I tried to time my jump just right, got by second place, but was
losing steam and he pipped me at the line despite my desperate attempt at a bike throw. The
field had ramped it up, and came through just a few seconds later.
Thanks to Carolyn Worthington for the photos.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Emrick Blvd Cat 2/3
I had heard that last year, a break stayed away in this race. Plus, I was coming off two good crits where the break lapped the field, so I had expectations that a break was the way to go again. After convincing my teammates Bernie and Jeff that a break was the way to go, it proved not to be the case.
We took turns attacking a bunch, and following moves, but everything came back. With 10 to go, I got in a small move that grew to 6-7, but just dangled in front of the field. We were getting hung out to dry. Finally they closed in on the last lap, David M. made one final huge effort, but got caught on the last turn.
In hindsight, it is pretty clear that a break would have a hard time on this course, it is WIDE open, and very fast. Anyway, it was good racing, and fun trying.
We took turns attacking a bunch, and following moves, but everything came back. With 10 to go, I got in a small move that grew to 6-7, but just dangled in front of the field. We were getting hung out to dry. Finally they closed in on the last lap, David M. made one final huge effort, but got caught on the last turn.
In hindsight, it is pretty clear that a break would have a hard time on this course, it is WIDE open, and very fast. Anyway, it was good racing, and fun trying.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Wrightsville Criterium, Cat 3
I hadn't planned on doing this race, but at the last minute signed up and I'm glad I did. I believe it was the first year for this race in Wrightsville, and I hope it isn't the last. A fun course, good location, and a generous payout make this one that I'll be marking my calendar for next year.
I met Brandon before the race, and we briefly talked strategy. One of his teammates was itching to try and get away, and Brandon sounded like he was going to sit in, help out a teammate, or go for a chance of his own if it came up. Jokingly, he asked me if I was going to lap the field again this week, I think my dismissive response was something like "yeah right..."
As usual, I staged at the very back of the field, with about 30 starters, it wasn't a huge group. There were plenty of early attacks, and the pace was high right off the start. After turn 2, the course had a long fast downhill section, followed by two 90 degree right turns in quick succession on a fairly steep, short incline. The accordion whiplash at the back of the field was really bad, you'd lose most of your speed from the descent while navigating the two turns, and then have to try and accelerate up the steep section, and that effort was quickly sapping my legs.
I decided that I had to try and get up towards the front, because I was dying back there. It took a couple of laps, but I finally got there. I took a few hard turns at the front, and tried to follow some moves, but everyone was still too animated and nothing was getting away. On one lap, I came through turn 2 on the inside, and somehow got pinched off in the exit of the turn, I may have been trying to squeeze through a tight line, but ended up tangling bars and went off to the right smack into the side of a big black SUV parked along the grass. There was quite a good "BANG" and I bounced off, managed to regain control, went through an evergreen tree (spruce?), narrowly squeezed through some ornamental lawn rocks, and just jumped back on course before the next row of hedges. I lost a lot of spots, and field was half way down the hill by now. I quickly checked with the other riders, and we all seemed to be ok, so I jumped on full chase mode.
Fortunately, the accordion squish saved me, and I managed to latch back on during the exit of turn 4, right on the hill part. The battle to get away was still full on, and in another lap or two, I shaved down my rear derailleur cinch bolt and right pedal on the high curb inside turn 4. It was tight....
At one point I found myself up at the front with Gale, who was really working to make the race, we sort of countered each others attacks, and managed to get the right combination of gap and speed to put some small distance on the field. David from NC State was right there also, and we quickly went into full on escape mode. Gale was in full on animal mode, and about dropped me a couple of times, but we were working very well together, and on each lap, took the same section of course which allowed for very smooth, predictable rotations and we kept the pace high. Plus, we could just rail the turns 3 and 4, which was a huge advantage as we were carrying far more speed into the short hill.
I think we started the race with the lap counter showing 35, and when we finally had our breakaway established, there were 18 laps showing. It felt like a long way to hold a breakaway, but at the pace we were going, I was more worried about just following Gale and David's wheels. David seemed to be the strongest, he was pulling the entire start/finish straight, into the wind, and slightly up hill. We deferred the primes to him, and just kept the pace smooth.
Eventually, we saw the tail end of the field wrapping around the turns ahead of us, and I knew we were going to lap the field. I made a plea for a little respite in the pace, and they relented, slightly, but not much. Finally, with about 5 to go, we integrated into the back of the group. Gale made his intentions clear, he wanted to go right on through and out the other end again. That was not much of an option for me. He developed from animal mode, into full on beast mode, and proceeded to attack and lead the field for much of the remaining race. David hung back slightly, and I tried to stay on his wheel. Coming into the final lap, I was losing the battle of positioning again, and finally just sat back, to watch David and Gale take 1-2 in the field sprint. That was not something I could have contested, and was happy with 3rd.
If you missed Wrightsville this year, definitely check it out next year, it's a good location, and a fast, fun, and challenging four corner crit. Not your ordinary industrial park course, for sure.
I met Brandon before the race, and we briefly talked strategy. One of his teammates was itching to try and get away, and Brandon sounded like he was going to sit in, help out a teammate, or go for a chance of his own if it came up. Jokingly, he asked me if I was going to lap the field again this week, I think my dismissive response was something like "yeah right..."
As usual, I staged at the very back of the field, with about 30 starters, it wasn't a huge group. There were plenty of early attacks, and the pace was high right off the start. After turn 2, the course had a long fast downhill section, followed by two 90 degree right turns in quick succession on a fairly steep, short incline. The accordion whiplash at the back of the field was really bad, you'd lose most of your speed from the descent while navigating the two turns, and then have to try and accelerate up the steep section, and that effort was quickly sapping my legs.
I decided that I had to try and get up towards the front, because I was dying back there. It took a couple of laps, but I finally got there. I took a few hard turns at the front, and tried to follow some moves, but everyone was still too animated and nothing was getting away. On one lap, I came through turn 2 on the inside, and somehow got pinched off in the exit of the turn, I may have been trying to squeeze through a tight line, but ended up tangling bars and went off to the right smack into the side of a big black SUV parked along the grass. There was quite a good "BANG" and I bounced off, managed to regain control, went through an evergreen tree (spruce?), narrowly squeezed through some ornamental lawn rocks, and just jumped back on course before the next row of hedges. I lost a lot of spots, and field was half way down the hill by now. I quickly checked with the other riders, and we all seemed to be ok, so I jumped on full chase mode.
Fortunately, the accordion squish saved me, and I managed to latch back on during the exit of turn 4, right on the hill part. The battle to get away was still full on, and in another lap or two, I shaved down my rear derailleur cinch bolt and right pedal on the high curb inside turn 4. It was tight....
At one point I found myself up at the front with Gale, who was really working to make the race, we sort of countered each others attacks, and managed to get the right combination of gap and speed to put some small distance on the field. David from NC State was right there also, and we quickly went into full on escape mode. Gale was in full on animal mode, and about dropped me a couple of times, but we were working very well together, and on each lap, took the same section of course which allowed for very smooth, predictable rotations and we kept the pace high. Plus, we could just rail the turns 3 and 4, which was a huge advantage as we were carrying far more speed into the short hill.
I think we started the race with the lap counter showing 35, and when we finally had our breakaway established, there were 18 laps showing. It felt like a long way to hold a breakaway, but at the pace we were going, I was more worried about just following Gale and David's wheels. David seemed to be the strongest, he was pulling the entire start/finish straight, into the wind, and slightly up hill. We deferred the primes to him, and just kept the pace smooth.
Eventually, we saw the tail end of the field wrapping around the turns ahead of us, and I knew we were going to lap the field. I made a plea for a little respite in the pace, and they relented, slightly, but not much. Finally, with about 5 to go, we integrated into the back of the group. Gale made his intentions clear, he wanted to go right on through and out the other end again. That was not much of an option for me. He developed from animal mode, into full on beast mode, and proceeded to attack and lead the field for much of the remaining race. David hung back slightly, and I tried to stay on his wheel. Coming into the final lap, I was losing the battle of positioning again, and finally just sat back, to watch David and Gale take 1-2 in the field sprint. That was not something I could have contested, and was happy with 3rd.
If you missed Wrightsville this year, definitely check it out next year, it's a good location, and a fast, fun, and challenging four corner crit. Not your ordinary industrial park course, for sure.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
New Bethlehem Criterium 2012
Back in 2008, this was my first bike race, ever. I had no idea what I was doing. I showed up with "commuter" shoes, my number pinned on completely incorrectly, and a baggy Troegs jersey that was probably 2 sizes too large. I entered the Cat 5 race, and got dropped somewhere around 14 out of 18 laps. But I was hooked.
I've since done the race twice as a 4, and after getting my cat 3 upgrade last summer, signed up for the 2/3 race this year. The pre-reg list was pretty short, but fortunately more guys showed up on race day, and it looked like we'd have around 30 in the field.
Right from the gun, a ProAir HFA guy went hard, and strung the field out, but soon pulled off. From then on in, the next 10 laps consisted of a series of attacks and counter-attacks. The usual spot was right on turn 3, with slight incline. Two guys dangled off the front for a couple of laps, but they eventually came back. Shortly after that, another two went off the front, but seemed to sit up. Coming into the incline at turn 3, I found myself near the front, and not wanting to just pull the field along, decided to put in a harder effort. I got up to the group of two, and put in a hard pull to get some separation. It didn't take long before we assembled a nice group of 5, and really started hammering. Our time checks went up quickly, 10, 15, 25, 40.... and we were gone.
I felt like 2-3 of us were doing the bulk of the work, and one guy was skipping quite a few pulls. In hindsight, we were going much harder then we really needed to, just to stay away from a field that had apparently just completely and collectively sat up. I didn't expect to get away so easily, and probably did much more pulling then turned out to be necessary. I still expected some chasing from the field, or at least some chase groups to form, but that was not to be the case.
Somewhere around lap 22, the back of the field became visible wrapping around the turns in front of us. Uh oh. Part of me didn't want to end up lapping them, knowing that it would turn into a group sprint, but now they were in sight and it was going to happen. The allure of having a field to sit in on was tempting. With about 5 to go, we caught them.
Coming up behind the back of the field, we were definitely rolling along much faster then them, I briefly thought about just trying to go right by, but another breakmate alerted his teammates to the fact that we were coming in, and "pick up the pace!"
Now the race changed completely, we went from a smoothly rotating group of 5, to a surging field, anticipating the final sprint. Not good for me, plus my calf then started cramping up, and I needed some on-bike contortions to stretch it out, and get it functioning again. I kept trying to keep tabs on where the other guys in the break went, but I kept losing track of them. Tri-State Amoroso seemed to be trying to organize, and help David move up. Without teammates, I kept trying to follow the right wheels, but was losing a battle of positioning. The final lap turned into a hard and fast sprint, with a basically fresh field sprinting for the last 2 money spots, and me losing ground on the other guys from the break.
In hindsight, I definitely did too much work in the break, and it played out against me. I think that had I known how easily the field let us go, I should have either soft pedaled more, or attacked early out of the break, and try to whittle the group down. My legs felt fantastic, and I would have definitely had better chances on my own, or in a group of 2, then duking it out in a field sprint. Well, it was fun lapping the field, that chance doesn't present itself too often in a criterium.
Next up, Emrick Blvd.
I've since done the race twice as a 4, and after getting my cat 3 upgrade last summer, signed up for the 2/3 race this year. The pre-reg list was pretty short, but fortunately more guys showed up on race day, and it looked like we'd have around 30 in the field.
Right from the gun, a ProAir HFA guy went hard, and strung the field out, but soon pulled off. From then on in, the next 10 laps consisted of a series of attacks and counter-attacks. The usual spot was right on turn 3, with slight incline. Two guys dangled off the front for a couple of laps, but they eventually came back. Shortly after that, another two went off the front, but seemed to sit up. Coming into the incline at turn 3, I found myself near the front, and not wanting to just pull the field along, decided to put in a harder effort. I got up to the group of two, and put in a hard pull to get some separation. It didn't take long before we assembled a nice group of 5, and really started hammering. Our time checks went up quickly, 10, 15, 25, 40.... and we were gone.
I felt like 2-3 of us were doing the bulk of the work, and one guy was skipping quite a few pulls. In hindsight, we were going much harder then we really needed to, just to stay away from a field that had apparently just completely and collectively sat up. I didn't expect to get away so easily, and probably did much more pulling then turned out to be necessary. I still expected some chasing from the field, or at least some chase groups to form, but that was not to be the case.
Somewhere around lap 22, the back of the field became visible wrapping around the turns in front of us. Uh oh. Part of me didn't want to end up lapping them, knowing that it would turn into a group sprint, but now they were in sight and it was going to happen. The allure of having a field to sit in on was tempting. With about 5 to go, we caught them.
Coming up behind the back of the field, we were definitely rolling along much faster then them, I briefly thought about just trying to go right by, but another breakmate alerted his teammates to the fact that we were coming in, and "pick up the pace!"
Now the race changed completely, we went from a smoothly rotating group of 5, to a surging field, anticipating the final sprint. Not good for me, plus my calf then started cramping up, and I needed some on-bike contortions to stretch it out, and get it functioning again. I kept trying to keep tabs on where the other guys in the break went, but I kept losing track of them. Tri-State Amoroso seemed to be trying to organize, and help David move up. Without teammates, I kept trying to follow the right wheels, but was losing a battle of positioning. The final lap turned into a hard and fast sprint, with a basically fresh field sprinting for the last 2 money spots, and me losing ground on the other guys from the break.
In hindsight, I definitely did too much work in the break, and it played out against me. I think that had I known how easily the field let us go, I should have either soft pedaled more, or attacked early out of the break, and try to whittle the group down. My legs felt fantastic, and I would have definitely had better chances on my own, or in a group of 2, then duking it out in a field sprint. Well, it was fun lapping the field, that chance doesn't present itself too often in a criterium.
Next up, Emrick Blvd.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Tarmac tire clearance
Mostly in the vein of playing around, and "why not?", combined with a stellar deal on some German tires, I decided to get some fat clinchers. If you've ever wondered how much tire clearance a 2012 Tarmac SL3 actually has, and how big some of these tires actually are, he ya go.
All the following were brand new tires, mounted on Easton EA90SL clinchers with a 20mm external rim width (15mm internal). I measured the width at several points around the tire with a set of calipers, the width varied between 0.10 and 0.30 mm, probably related to imperfect rubber, and the fact that I just unfolded them from their packaging.
My calipers maxed out at about 27 mm, so the 28mm is an estimate, but they appeared to be very close to the advertised 28mm.
I can't say I noticed any speed differences, just probably too small and too hard to tell, but the 28mm tire sure was fun. Besides being comfortable, the biggest improvement seemed to be in fast twisty descents, with poor pavement. With a 28mm in the rear, and a 25mm tire in the front, the bike just hugged the road better, and I felt much more confident at higher speeds. Where the skinnier tires got skittish, the 28mm held firm. It felt more like "carving" down the mountain.
As for tire clearance, there are still a couple of mm of room, the tightest place is around the chain stays, but that no issues there. I only tried the 28mm in the back, not in the front.
Fat tires are fun, give them a try.
All the following were brand new tires, mounted on Easton EA90SL clinchers with a 20mm external rim width (15mm internal). I measured the width at several points around the tire with a set of calipers, the width varied between 0.10 and 0.30 mm, probably related to imperfect rubber, and the fact that I just unfolded them from their packaging.
| Tire | Advertised Width | Measured Width |
| Specialized Turbo Comp | 23 mm | 23.8 mm |
| Continental GP 4000s | 23 mm | 23.8 mm |
| Continental GP 4000s | 25 mm | 25.4 mm |
| Schwalbe ZX | 25 mm | 24.3 mm |
| Schwalbe ZX | 28 mm | ~28 mm |
My calipers maxed out at about 27 mm, so the 28mm is an estimate, but they appeared to be very close to the advertised 28mm.
I can't say I noticed any speed differences, just probably too small and too hard to tell, but the 28mm tire sure was fun. Besides being comfortable, the biggest improvement seemed to be in fast twisty descents, with poor pavement. With a 28mm in the rear, and a 25mm tire in the front, the bike just hugged the road better, and I felt much more confident at higher speeds. Where the skinnier tires got skittish, the 28mm held firm. It felt more like "carving" down the mountain.
As for tire clearance, there are still a couple of mm of room, the tightest place is around the chain stays, but that no issues there. I only tried the 28mm in the back, not in the front.
Fat tires are fun, give them a try.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Battenkill 2012 Cat 3
These organizers are running a racket, over 2,800 riders at $80 pre-reg, and $100 late, but the event keeps getting bigger each year! I know some who would like to do this race, but refuse to pay that much for a 1-day event. Well, this is my third year, because they have an awesome race, and dammit, they know it.
This year, Jeff and I signed up for the Cat 3 field, and it's been providing training motivation since last fall. It's not just a race I wanted to complete, but a race I wanted to do well in. There is no way to fake it on this course, you can't hide in the pack, and draft your way through the hills and the dirt. With memories of Meetinghouse road, I've been doing intervals and hill repeats almost every Tuesday since February.
On paper, the course doesn't look so bad, just in terms of numbers. Almost 4,000 feet climbing, over 62 miles, and 10 dirt sections. Nothing totally unreasonable. Already this year I've done longer racers, and courses with more climbing. But it isn't the climbing that gets you, or the distance, or the dirt, but the combination of all three that together to take you to the limit. One of those races that is really decided by the legs.
The past two years, I did the Masters 30+, and it was hard racing the entire way, I finished completely drained, with nothing left, so I was curious to see what the Cat 3s would be like. I rolled up to the staging area a little later then I would have liked, but still enough time to get a good spot towards the front. As other Cat 3 Yellow riders filled in, I realized that my shifting was totally wonky, I had just changed the cassette, and the indexing was so far off, I couldn't shift into my 11. Not a big deal, tweak the barrel adjuster, but crap, it is bottomed out. Quick! To the saddle bag for my multi-tool. [I have no qualms about racing with a saddle bag here, it's a lot more convenient, no matter how un-pro it is]. Loosen, re-adjust, and re-attach the cable, with some more twiddling, and I've got my gears back. It wasn't perfect, but it would do. Just in time, the starter was making his announcements, and giving us the count down. Totally my fault, I really should have checked something as basic as that before race day.
Anyway, we rolled out uneventfully, and settled in. After the neutral start, I scooted up forward to be near the front, and we sailed smoothly through turn #1, and the covered bridge. No issues at all. So far the pace was much more subdued then the Masters field. The miles ticked away, and I began to wonder if we'd end up with a large group at the finish. (In hindsight, that was a silly thought, there was still plenty of racing left.) Others may have started to sense the group was a little too relaxed, and one guy launched a solo attack on a long, flat section of paved road. One guy to my left commented: "It's so dumb, it just might work..." Soon, others bridged up in singles and pairs to form a pretty good looking break. I noticed some other strong riders who I had picked out ahead of time (road-results stalking) move up to the front with some discussion. It didn't take much before we hit the next dirt climb, and the entire break got swept back up into the field.
From there on, the field seemed content to hit the sections, one after another without any big attacks. Climb, dirt, climb, dirt, dirt. I only looked back once, and was surprised to see the field still mostly intact, it didn't look much smaller then when we started. But there was enough to focus on ahead of me, the new dirt section was gnarly. Weeks of dry weather left a combination of really soft dust and loose rocks that required some concentration to ride through. I saw at least one guy ride straight off the road, into the ditch. In the group, the pace was fast, and you couldn't really pick your own line, instead I felt like I was constantly drifting, trying not to tangle with anyone else. Rocks were pinging out of wheels, ricocheting off spokes, one pegged me in the jaw, and another left a good bruise on my right shin. The dust really started to get thick in places, so that visibility was somewhat limited. But it was hard to look around, my attention was riveted to the wheels in front, and to either side of me.
At one point, Jeff flatted, I looked around, and he was no longer in the field. He was in killer shape, and I'm sure definitely would have been a factor in the finale.
When I hit the climb at the second feedzone, I realized that I was really starting to hurt, the pace that had felt mellow before began to feel like enough that I was going to struggle to just hang on. The hills and miles were taking their toll.
Meetinghouse Rd. is where all pretending and coasting in the pack ends. Now, I was at my total limit, trying not to fall off the back end. By the time we made it over the 3rd roller, the remnants of the Cat 3 field were scattered all over. I looked up, and saw maybe a dozen or so riders in front of me, 6 or so coalesced in to a group and took off, knowing they could lock up the top spots. I got into a larger group, and only barely managed to hang on. I took a few rotations to keep the line moving, but had to be very judicious in my efforts, as I was straddling that fine line between barely hanging on, and exploding spectacularly.
With much relief, I made it over Stage Rd with the little group, and hung on through the last section. I had a vague thought that we might be sprinting for a top 10 spot, so I was prepared to lay it all out for the sprint. I didn't have much left, and rolled through somewhere in the middle of our group. Turns out, we were sprinting for 10th place, and that put me at 16th. A top 10 would have been fantastic, but I'm happy with that.
Yeah, I really want to go back next year again.
Obligatory wheels/tires comment: My Easton road tubeless wheels still haven't arrived, so I ran the Hutchinson Intensives with tubes. They're extremely tough tires, and make a good option for Battenkill, I think. They may be slightly slower, but nobody wants to flat out.
Thanks to KSJPhotos for the pictures.
An excellent post about the Cat 3 pink field, by B2C2.
This year, Jeff and I signed up for the Cat 3 field, and it's been providing training motivation since last fall. It's not just a race I wanted to complete, but a race I wanted to do well in. There is no way to fake it on this course, you can't hide in the pack, and draft your way through the hills and the dirt. With memories of Meetinghouse road, I've been doing intervals and hill repeats almost every Tuesday since February.
On paper, the course doesn't look so bad, just in terms of numbers. Almost 4,000 feet climbing, over 62 miles, and 10 dirt sections. Nothing totally unreasonable. Already this year I've done longer racers, and courses with more climbing. But it isn't the climbing that gets you, or the distance, or the dirt, but the combination of all three that together to take you to the limit. One of those races that is really decided by the legs.
The past two years, I did the Masters 30+, and it was hard racing the entire way, I finished completely drained, with nothing left, so I was curious to see what the Cat 3s would be like. I rolled up to the staging area a little later then I would have liked, but still enough time to get a good spot towards the front. As other Cat 3 Yellow riders filled in, I realized that my shifting was totally wonky, I had just changed the cassette, and the indexing was so far off, I couldn't shift into my 11. Not a big deal, tweak the barrel adjuster, but crap, it is bottomed out. Quick! To the saddle bag for my multi-tool. [I have no qualms about racing with a saddle bag here, it's a lot more convenient, no matter how un-pro it is]. Loosen, re-adjust, and re-attach the cable, with some more twiddling, and I've got my gears back. It wasn't perfect, but it would do. Just in time, the starter was making his announcements, and giving us the count down. Totally my fault, I really should have checked something as basic as that before race day.
Anyway, we rolled out uneventfully, and settled in. After the neutral start, I scooted up forward to be near the front, and we sailed smoothly through turn #1, and the covered bridge. No issues at all. So far the pace was much more subdued then the Masters field. The miles ticked away, and I began to wonder if we'd end up with a large group at the finish. (In hindsight, that was a silly thought, there was still plenty of racing left.) Others may have started to sense the group was a little too relaxed, and one guy launched a solo attack on a long, flat section of paved road. One guy to my left commented: "It's so dumb, it just might work..." Soon, others bridged up in singles and pairs to form a pretty good looking break. I noticed some other strong riders who I had picked out ahead of time (road-results stalking) move up to the front with some discussion. It didn't take much before we hit the next dirt climb, and the entire break got swept back up into the field.
From there on, the field seemed content to hit the sections, one after another without any big attacks. Climb, dirt, climb, dirt, dirt. I only looked back once, and was surprised to see the field still mostly intact, it didn't look much smaller then when we started. But there was enough to focus on ahead of me, the new dirt section was gnarly. Weeks of dry weather left a combination of really soft dust and loose rocks that required some concentration to ride through. I saw at least one guy ride straight off the road, into the ditch. In the group, the pace was fast, and you couldn't really pick your own line, instead I felt like I was constantly drifting, trying not to tangle with anyone else. Rocks were pinging out of wheels, ricocheting off spokes, one pegged me in the jaw, and another left a good bruise on my right shin. The dust really started to get thick in places, so that visibility was somewhat limited. But it was hard to look around, my attention was riveted to the wheels in front, and to either side of me.
At one point, Jeff flatted, I looked around, and he was no longer in the field. He was in killer shape, and I'm sure definitely would have been a factor in the finale.
When I hit the climb at the second feedzone, I realized that I was really starting to hurt, the pace that had felt mellow before began to feel like enough that I was going to struggle to just hang on. The hills and miles were taking their toll.
Meetinghouse Rd. is where all pretending and coasting in the pack ends. Now, I was at my total limit, trying not to fall off the back end. By the time we made it over the 3rd roller, the remnants of the Cat 3 field were scattered all over. I looked up, and saw maybe a dozen or so riders in front of me, 6 or so coalesced in to a group and took off, knowing they could lock up the top spots. I got into a larger group, and only barely managed to hang on. I took a few rotations to keep the line moving, but had to be very judicious in my efforts, as I was straddling that fine line between barely hanging on, and exploding spectacularly.
With much relief, I made it over Stage Rd with the little group, and hung on through the last section. I had a vague thought that we might be sprinting for a top 10 spot, so I was prepared to lay it all out for the sprint. I didn't have much left, and rolled through somewhere in the middle of our group. Turns out, we were sprinting for 10th place, and that put me at 16th. A top 10 would have been fantastic, but I'm happy with that.
Yeah, I really want to go back next year again.
Obligatory wheels/tires comment: My Easton road tubeless wheels still haven't arrived, so I ran the Hutchinson Intensives with tubes. They're extremely tough tires, and make a good option for Battenkill, I think. They may be slightly slower, but nobody wants to flat out.
Thanks to KSJPhotos for the pictures.
An excellent post about the Cat 3 pink field, by B2C2.
Thursday Crits
I've been looking forward to these since the end of cyclocross season. It's good to be racing again. The great weather brought out 70 racers on the opening day. Too many for me to be able to be very competitive, but last week went well. Thanks to David DiFrancesco for the photo.
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