I raced the season's last 'cross race in Elkridge Maryland yesterday on a day that featured classic cyclocross conditions, like those B/W pictures in Winning Bicycle Racing Illustrated that I first came across when I got into this silly sport 20 some years ago. This is my third year doing cyclocross, but really the first year where I did more than two races.
Some of the people who stumble upon this may have already read some of my postings about previous races on our shop ride listserve, but I do this purely to create a narrative for myself and, revisionist historian that I am, convince myself that it's all worth it in the end (which it is, regardless of my own bombast, otherwise I simply wouldn't do it anymore).
So here's my recap (BORING ALERT for those not interested in the minutiae of bicycle racing):
Rockburn Cyclocross (12/9)
Last race of the season. It was cold, wet, muddy, foggy, and all things cyclocross. A great course with 2 sets of barriers, a sand pit, and many off camber turns in the mud. No severe run-ups, in fact, no run ups at all. One particular section on the back half was quite devious: coming out of the woods there was a short climb through a meadow area which transitioned to one barrier on a slight upgrade, continuing with a longer hill with a gravel bed kicker at the end made this particular section particularly brutal, and each lap this part just got harder.
So I started at the back end of the ~50 rider field. The prologue loop was pretty wicked and quite different than in past races, as it was more technical than usual and a bit sketchy. I held my position and started passing some people and soon got into the rhythm of the race, but it taxed me quick and I muddled through the middle two laps with a small gruppetto as the entire race strung out, changing positions often and soon there were only 2 of us, trading pulls. By the second to last lap I pulled ahead of my comrade Bill from Potomac Velo, knowing he would stick to my wheel and try to pip me at the line, which he did. 37th place was OK by me, as I was happy to a) finish and b) not get lapped. Howard was there, giving me some much needed support.
What was cool was that while it was rainy and cold, I was pretty warm and not too gloomy, as often happens when it's cold out. The muscle I pulled at Reston last week in m
y rib cage was acting up, but that made no difference in the overall outcome. Major points to Jim, the Unholy Roleur, who finished the race on his new single speed 29er. The hot chili at the end was excellent, and the overall vibe was, once again, very cool. The course had to be one of the best ones ever, too. A certain Turk I know would've enjoyed this thing, but he was sitting at home crying with his broken rear brake......
y rib cage was acting up, but that made no difference in the overall outcome. Major points to Jim, the Unholy Roleur, who finished the race on his new single speed 29er. The hot chili at the end was excellent, and the overall vibe was, once again, very cool. The course had to be one of the best ones ever, too. A certain Turk I know would've enjoyed this thing, but he was sitting at home crying with his broken rear brake......Capital Cross Classic - Reston (12/3)
It was cold, hard, and a total blast. It was great to have great support from Kathy (and her Kids), Kay, Howard, John M, Pam, and Andrea. Certainly kept me rolling to a respectable finish, especially since my last two outings were not, shall we say, optimum. Jackson did well once again, earning a third place in his class. Kemal, despite mechanical problems, finished within seconds of me, as I dieseled to 65th place through the course that was much improved from years past (though could've used another set of barriers). The hot chocolate (with real whipped cream) and cookies were bonus as we watched Jeff A. in his race.
This was the one that started me off on this whole cyclocross thang 3 years ago. I saw one race and caught the bug.
This was the one that started me off on this whole cyclocross thang 3 years ago. I saw one race and caught the bug.
Tacchino (11/4)
Worst race of the year for me. Didn't get a chance to pre-ride the course, and just didn't get comfortable. A very fast course and well-designed, though--Squadra Coppi did it right. Kemal's got a better post on this one here.
DCCX (9/28)
Finally, a cyclocross race in DC. This race had everything one could ask for. Lots o' beer, old friends reuniting, endless loops around a circuitous course of memories, gasping for breath as you negotiated the memories of old friendships, leaping the barriers of relationships gone awry.....
Sorry, I'm in the wrong room.
This was the weekend of our 20th college reunion at William and Mary. Couldn't convince the family to make it back to DC for the race on Sunday morning, and even if I had I would have surely lost my breakfast somewhere on that course. I had bigger fish to fry that weekend. Next year, though.
DCCX (9/28)
Finally, a cyclocross race in DC. This race had everything one could ask for. Lots o' beer, old friends reuniting, endless loops around a circuitous course of memories, gasping for breath as you negotiated the memories of old friendships, leaping the barriers of relationships gone awry.....
Sorry, I'm in the wrong room.
This was the weekend of our 20th college reunion at William and Mary. Couldn't convince the family to make it back to DC for the race on Sunday morning, and even if I had I would have surely lost my breakfast somewhere on that course. I had bigger fish to fry that weekend. Next year, though.
Ed Sander (9/30)
What a beautiful day for a ride, race, what have you. I chose to spend the morning out at Lilypons Water Gardens in Buckeystown. I happened to have my cyclocross bike and associated gear with me. What a coincidence! NCVC was sponsoring the Ed Sander cyclocross race. I gladly joined in the fun. Unfortunately a certain Mr. K. Tuncer was not able to make it out today.
Actually, I had signed up for the 35/45 class earlier this week as the Cat 4 was closed out (this cyclocross stuff has become quite popular). Since I didn't want to blow any more of the day than necessary, I was able to switch into the Cat 4 race without paying extra (thanks NCVC) to ensure getting home an hour earlier. Balancing this racing stuff with the rest of life can be dicey. If I had known that when all these other "people" weren't in my house with me, I would've raced a lot more (though not necessarily any better than now...).
On to the ponderous narrative, which I will attempt to complete as one (1) run on sentence, replete (though not necessarily limited to) such devices as commas, semicolons, ands, as well as's, furthermores and such that make our lingo so rich and satisfying:
The prologue loop sorted out many riders early, as I started far back and made up many placings, despite a crash that we had to avoid within the first 500 meters after which we got on the course, went over the first set of barriers and negotiated the actual lily ponds, which, if the reader uses their collective imagination, is set up like rice paddies with berms between the water features that we traversed in single file, making 6-8 90 degree turns to get to the back side of the ponds. over a small hill, and back behind the start finish area where we transitioned to gravel singletrack on our way to the even more technical side of the course, where gravel singletrack became a grassy trail through a stand of trees, only to reveal a steep run-up which immediately 180'd into a drop-down (my eyes were bigger than saucers on that one) and into a series of steep switchbacks up a hill to the top of the "party zone" where Joe Jefferson was encamped, doling out zingers and other commentary about all of us fools who were about to negotiate some tricky woop-de-dos on our way to a long off-camber section that led to to a gravel pit that I negotiated the dismount, run through and remount quite expertly if I don't say so myself (ask the spectators there, who cheered on "Bicycle Place Great Job!"), giving me the incentive to power through the straightaway before the start finish line, then the course continued to the point that we entered after the prologue loop, at which point I had moved up to the top 25 or so and was feeling pretty good, until the corner between the ponds and gravel track reared its ugly head as I oversteered it and stacked it hard on my left side, forcing me to lose some placings as I remounted and hooked up with a grupetto that I had passed earlier leading to yet another tempo effort around through the party zone, where one of the guys in our group completely lost it on the "drop-in" and took out the course marking tape and poles as he tumbled down the short but steep slope, and as he was trying to remount ON THE HILL WHILE LOSING HIS PERSONAL BATTLE WITH GRAVITY AGAIN he nearly took me out as I dropped in and got past that mess, during which I was able to power up the hill past the announcer Joe J., who commented on my skill through that section in a way that made me roll past some other people with vigor as well as Jeff A's cheers for me as he was warming up in his trainer as we passed in front of him in the off camber section toward the gravel pit and then it all started to come apart in that I renegotiated the dismount in such a way that all of the good juju from the previous lap decided to make a hasty exit as I clumsily barreled through the gravel in such a way that I was sure I heard laughter as it was probably of the "at me" type instead of the more genteel "with me", since I probably looked like that character from the album cover of Guns 'n Roses Appetite for Destruction, you know, the skeleton with arms and legs akimbo though I managed to stay upright into the Lily pond section, barreling through to make sure that I could finish in the top 47 or so where, unbeknownst to me, a small rivet or divot or obstruction in the grass awaited my approach, clearly chuckling to itself as it grasped my front wheel and before I knew it I was splattered on the ground on my right side this time with a broken shifter and a series of riders passing me on all sides asking me if I was OK but clearly not staying long enough to hear my answer so I realized that I had to keep forging on around again when suddenly, at the start finish of the following lap the official had started to pull us stragglers out for "safety" reasons as I have demonstrated that it was probably for my own good at this point as in order to even things out as I was due for a face plant and then some sort of ignominious ending where I would land on my tush, thereby ensuring that all four quadrants of my person would be duly covered with the various flora and fauna of the beautiful Lilypons Water Gardens in southern Frederick County, the site at which the winner of last week's C race won this one too so I think he needs to move up lest he develop the loathesome reputation of being a sandbagger, thereby enabling me to achieve 1 higher placing (like 46th), which is 43 places behind my other friend Steve who finished 3rd after starting with me, no doubt avoiding the same accidents that befell me and cranking a steady tempo throughout, despite battling closely with the other BP rep Todd who broke his cleat, went to his car DURING THE RACE, and put on another shoe in order to finish somewhere in the pack (no longer 4th behind Steve) but with the single distinction of being the only rider in any of the races (as far as I know) to finish with mismatched shoes, a cardinal sin that I'm sure our own Mr. L. Sigelman would, as an esteemed USCF official, be sure to flag as grounds for disqualification.
I saw Jeff A. start in the 35/45 race, and he seemed to be holding his own as I drove off into the late morning sun to greet the "people" back at my house. As soon as I got home they decided to go to their friends' houses, and then Karen went shopping, so that's when I realized I had a little bit of time to write this down.
All in all, a blast once again, despite the less than stellar result. I realized that the first year on a new course is quite intimidating, and then the next year it seems easier, so the more I can race at different courses the better the following years will be.
Actually, I had signed up for the 35/45 class earlier this week as the Cat 4 was closed out (this cyclocross stuff has become quite popular). Since I didn't want to blow any more of the day than necessary, I was able to switch into the Cat 4 race without paying extra (thanks NCVC) to ensure getting home an hour earlier. Balancing this racing stuff with the rest of life can be dicey. If I had known that when all these other "people" weren't in my house with me, I would've raced a lot more (though not necessarily any better than now...).
On to the ponderous narrative, which I will attempt to complete as one (1) run on sentence, replete (though not necessarily limited to) such devices as commas, semicolons, ands, as well as's, furthermores and such that make our lingo so rich and satisfying:
The prologue loop sorted out many riders early, as I started far back and made up many placings, despite a crash that we had to avoid within the first 500 meters after which we got on the course, went over the first set of barriers and negotiated the actual lily ponds, which, if the reader uses their collective imagination, is set up like rice paddies with berms between the water features that we traversed in single file, making 6-8 90 degree turns to get to the back side of the ponds. over a small hill, and back behind the start finish area where we transitioned to gravel singletrack on our way to the even more technical side of the course, where gravel singletrack became a grassy trail through a stand of trees, only to reveal a steep run-up which immediately 180'd into a drop-down (my eyes were bigger than saucers on that one) and into a series of steep switchbacks up a hill to the top of the "party zone" where Joe Jefferson was encamped, doling out zingers and other commentary about all of us fools who were about to negotiate some tricky woop-de-dos on our way to a long off-camber section that led to to a gravel pit that I negotiated the dismount, run through and remount quite expertly if I don't say so myself (ask the spectators there, who cheered on "Bicycle Place Great Job!"), giving me the incentive to power through the straightaway before the start finish line, then the course continued to the point that we entered after the prologue loop, at which point I had moved up to the top 25 or so and was feeling pretty good, until the corner between the ponds and gravel track reared its ugly head as I oversteered it and stacked it hard on my left side, forcing me to lose some placings as I remounted and hooked up with a grupetto that I had passed earlier leading to yet another tempo effort around through the party zone, where one of the guys in our group completely lost it on the "drop-in" and took out the course marking tape and poles as he tumbled down the short but steep slope, and as he was trying to remount ON THE HILL WHILE LOSING HIS PERSONAL BATTLE WITH GRAVITY AGAIN he nearly took me out as I dropped in and got past that mess, during which I was able to power up the hill past the announcer Joe J., who commented on my skill through that section in a way that made me roll past some other people with vigor as well as Jeff A's cheers for me as he was warming up in his trainer as we passed in front of him in the off camber section toward the gravel pit and then it all started to come apart in that I renegotiated the dismount in such a way that all of the good juju from the previous lap decided to make a hasty exit as I clumsily barreled through the gravel in such a way that I was sure I heard laughter as it was probably of the "at me" type instead of the more genteel "with me", since I probably looked like that character from the album cover of Guns 'n Roses Appetite for Destruction, you know, the skeleton with arms and legs akimbo though I managed to stay upright into the Lily pond section, barreling through to make sure that I could finish in the top 47 or so where, unbeknownst to me, a small rivet or divot or obstruction in the grass awaited my approach, clearly chuckling to itself as it grasped my front wheel and before I knew it I was splattered on the ground on my right side this time with a broken shifter and a series of riders passing me on all sides asking me if I was OK but clearly not staying long enough to hear my answer so I realized that I had to keep forging on around again when suddenly, at the start finish of the following lap the official had started to pull us stragglers out for "safety" reasons as I have demonstrated that it was probably for my own good at this point as in order to even things out as I was due for a face plant and then some sort of ignominious ending where I would land on my tush, thereby ensuring that all four quadrants of my person would be duly covered with the various flora and fauna of the beautiful Lilypons Water Gardens in southern Frederick County, the site at which the winner of last week's C race won this one too so I think he needs to move up lest he develop the loathesome reputation of being a sandbagger, thereby enabling me to achieve 1 higher placing (like 46th), which is 43 places behind my other friend Steve who finished 3rd after starting with me, no doubt avoiding the same accidents that befell me and cranking a steady tempo throughout, despite battling closely with the other BP rep Todd who broke his cleat, went to his car DURING THE RACE, and put on another shoe in order to finish somewhere in the pack (no longer 4th behind Steve) but with the single distinction of being the only rider in any of the races (as far as I know) to finish with mismatched shoes, a cardinal sin that I'm sure our own Mr. L. Sigelman would, as an esteemed USCF official, be sure to flag as grounds for disqualification.
I saw Jeff A. start in the 35/45 race, and he seemed to be holding his own as I drove off into the late morning sun to greet the "people" back at my house. As soon as I got home they decided to go to their friends' houses, and then Karen went shopping, so that's when I realized I had a little bit of time to write this down.
All in all, a blast once again, despite the less than stellar result. I realized that the first year on a new course is quite intimidating, and then the next year it seems easier, so the more I can race at different courses the better the following years will be.
Charm City (9/23)
First race of the season. Druid Hill Park in Baltimore. At the line, they announced that the field grew to 100 (Kemal did get the last spot) and they were going to pay 12 deep rather than 5. Not that it mattered, ultimately, as I am certain that I finished in the top 100, and they only posted the top 20. Kemal & I snuck a look over the results man's laptop and saw his placing at 22, so I figured I was anywhere from 10 to 50 places behind him--hard to tell, as the field strung out during the middle of the first lap and it's hard to gauge position when there really is no pack--just little gruppettos that tell mini-stories of battling one's self and silent companions...
Which is ultimately the charm of Charm City, and, for that matter, cyclocross, which is an effort that trumps most of the racing that we are used to, and despite the omnipresent pain and fatigue, the sheer joy of riding a bike on grass/dirt/sand/hardpack/asphalt and over barriers (real and artificial) with cowbells clanging and people encouraging everyone over said obstacles, on a course that doubles, triples, and quadruples back on itself so that spectators get a truly enjoyable experience (as opposed to road racing and the occasional industrial park crit, where people who watch you really have to love you to spend that much time being bored)--I just realized that this is a long run-on sentence.
I digress. Kemal and I got there with plenty of time to sign in and ride a couple of laps of the course. Some significant changes this year, as they moved the starting line to a "prologue loop" situation so as to reduce the amount of bottlenecking and mayhem as the pack were to move off of the road on to the off camber portion of the course just before the sand pits. This loop was a good thing, as it strung out the pack nicely and gave everyone a feel for the group before entering the actual course. Kemal & I sat in the top 20 during the fast prologue loop to get on the course, and then everything got jammed up at the first technical off camber 180 around a tree, a place of much misery and cursing. Kemal did the right thing by dismounting, and I rode through slowly, letting everything sort itself out and pushing my way through as required. Didn't lose any placings, as far as I could tell, and watched the long string behind me as we would double back on ourselves through the back end of the course. By that point Kemal pulled away for good, only to see him occasionally when the course switched back (which it did, many times).
Making our way to the first run-up, we encountered a series of evil little switchbacks (3 in a row) which sorted out the groups further--hops over the barriers and a smooth remount at the top of the hill enabled an opportunity to rest briefly as we barreled down toward the front end of the course. Ever vigilant, the race organizers inserted little hard turns to break up many of what we perceived to be longer stretches to rest/gain spots.
Front side of the course featured the requisite railroad tie barriers, artificial barriers, and the start finish stretch. This led to the off camber section and the sand pits, which by the 4th (or was it 6th?) lap were quite arduous. I tried riding through the sand pits during the warmup laps, but ended up running them during the race. Running through sand ain't fun. Mounts and dismounts at the other barriers were smooth, with only one potential biff, but I righted myself rather quickly and kept on rollin'.
It was dusty as hell, my mouth/throat were dry (I'm still hacking now), and my heart rate averaged 179 for 56 minutes, so I was pegged on the rivet for almost an hour. As each lap finished I tired more, and it became a grind to get to the finish, which I eventually did. I sucked down 2 liters of water at the end, after congratulating Steve Wahl from AVC on his second place finish (first CC race ever, but he's been holding his own against Cat 3's and good Cat 4's on the road since starting the season as a Cat 5 - this guy is a BEAST on the MTB circuit as well as crits of late). He would have won if the the dude who won was in the B race (I think he's Cat 3 on the road). Even though I didn't get any swag, I shelled out 5 clams for a sweet Charm City Cyclocross pint glass. Our own Todd Gue, the 3rd BPVC jersey in the race, placed 17th. He's typically a MTB racer, but I've seen him at a crit or two.
While watching the 35+ men's race, we listened as the entertaining Phil Liggett of our district, Joe J., kept a running commentary (goodness me!). When he referenced Ravens and Steelers fans, I pointed out my 'Skins cap, which he publicly rejected. So that's how my race went, just like the 'Skins/Giants game: started out well, fizzled in the end due to lousy (self) coaching. At least I don't have to deal with a Napoleonic owner and the denizens of screamers on SportsHate 980.
In the end, a great day and a great race for the the third time I've done this course, and believe you me it won't be the last.
Summary:
So that's it in a nutshell--5 races, 3 finishes, 2 DNF's, and 1 college reunion. If I were totally aggro and hardcore this would be considered an abject failure, waste of a season. And don't even get me started about the cyclocross. But I'm not the former or the latter, and it was cool. A little perspective here: I get my kicks from racing my bike on grass, dirt, and everything in between with several hundred others who dig the same scene. What's not to like?
Summary:
So that's it in a nutshell--5 races, 3 finishes, 2 DNF's, and 1 college reunion. If I were totally aggro and hardcore this would be considered an abject failure, waste of a season. And don't even get me started about the cyclocross. But I'm not the former or the latter, and it was cool. A little perspective here: I get my kicks from racing my bike on grass, dirt, and everything in between with several hundred others who dig the same scene. What's not to like?
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