Post 'em if you got 'em!

I tried my 1st SS cross race today. Foul weather (rain) and what, I expected it to be a technical course, it seemed like a good idea. We arrived to find out the course had more pavement than any cross race I've ever seen. I managed to hang with the lead crew the 1st lap but was vastly outgunned and couldn't maintain.

Great fun though. Not sure I've ever worked as hard. Also not sure I'll try it again on a SS any time in the near future :)

-Couch

I tried my 1st SS cross race today. Foul weather (rain) and what, I expected it to be a technical course, it seemed like a good idea. We arrived to find out the course had more pavement than any cross race I've ever seen. I managed to hang with the lead crew the 1st lap but was vastly outgunned and couldn't maintain.

Great fun though. Not sure I've ever worked as hard. Also not sure I'll try it again on a SS any time in the near future :)

-Couch
I usually race SS will be tomorrow and I find it usually better, especially if conditions are bad, but a mostly pavement race probably isn't best on a SS unless you and both strong and remember to gear up.
I had one race in snow on my geared cross bike last year and after dropping the chain once and having a hard time shifting with frozen hands I was wishing for the SS durring the race, but most of the time I prefer to not to have to think about gearing and the SS class is dang competitive and fast, the usual reliability is a plus. I just don't think that the SS holds me back, much if at all, though I am back on a FW this year cause after 2 seasons trying fixed I did notice that the fixed gear did hold me back some, even once I felt pretty good at mounting a remounting etc.
I say try it again you should start to like it, when you pick a good muddy hard course, or with snow. Good luck.

Ever have one of those races? Yeah...I had one today.

DCCX.

http://www.ytmag.com/store/parts/pics/wm_310949.jpg

Wow- I really had a bad weekend. I completely popped in both races. More here- http://rsdmag.com/post/Lessons-in-suffering.aspx
Nittany Cross pics here -
http://picasaweb.google.com/rsdmag/NittanyCross07

since we are all talking about how bad our races went, I may as well chime in. I felt good and had high expectations for the M35 Open. My last two races were smaller M35 Open and I did decent, relative to the competition.

So I packed up the kid and drove 3.5 hours/ 225 miles to Canton freaking Mass. Kid was unusually difficult to deal with, should have taken that as an omen. The course did not lend itself to a play/bike/spectate area for him, either. So I dealt with that, then lined up kinda cold in the back. Race had a bums rush start/line up. First race this year with the free for all line up (for me). So I lined up in back.

I usually start pretty well, and figured the crowd would help slow me down as I was not warmed up properly. Got away clean, moved up nicely, off the pavement, into the woods on double track, into a gravel road downhill. Oh, LARGE rock in the middle of the road (basketball size).

Someone had the misfortune to eat the rock as we flew down the hill 4 wide. That shot him right across my front wheel. Could not go right (into said rock), could not go left into the woods, so I straight up t-boned him at speed. That was fun. Then our bike pile got run into of course.

Got my shifters straight, wheels seemed ok. Now I am gassed from moving up agressively, and now I am DFL. Actually, the other guy was DFL but he passed me later.

So I got on and did what I could, which seemed to be very little. Then I realized my rear brake spring had popped out and there was no tension on one arm, so the other arm was pulling it into the wheel. It had rubbed hard enough to melt off a big chunk of pad! Super. Also was unable to shift for some reason. Well, it moved but i could not get it readjusted. Brand spanking new rear der. too. Drop out got creamed.

I had to disconnect it and run no rear brake. That did not work super well on the numerous fast twisties so I took it to the pits. That was 3 laps to get figured out. Three LONG laps. I was going to drop out but I have never dropped out of a cross race so I rode to the pits instead. Mechanic rebuilt my rear brake just as John Bold came thru all by himself as usual. So I figured I had a couple minutes till the next group came. I was right.

I just got the rig back together when 2-5 comes thru. I cheer for Curtis Boivin, and let the 3rd group go thru and hop back in for a final lap (may as well, I am all dressed up). Legs still felt good and I ripped around for a lap and brought it in.

Normally I am pretty low stress about racing but for some reason this sequence of events really got to me and I was all pissy with the kid in front of God and everyone, went straight to the car *****ing and moaning, got all loaded up, had my 6 year old parrotting my bad attitude, and stormed off for my 3.5 hrs 225 mile ride home. I think I was at the venue under 2 hrs. Super. Pretty much should have stayed home and done chores.

On the bright side, BIG sale at the NH Liquor Store. I loaded up.

106085

1st lap:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2114/1793572449_b7ced16e9a.jpg

That guy on the right rode me into the ground for almost the entire race. I finally got back on his wheel halfway through the final lap, chased his ass through the sand and up the god-awful jungle cross run-up, then up and down the final straights. He cased a barrier right near the end and I made a mad dash for the line. That 40 minutes of hell netted me a whopping 5th out of 7 (with one dnf).

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2212/1794527002_95b6778a23.jpg

Small victories, but I'll take'em.

PS. Yes, I'm a rookie and I'm slow and I suck but damnit I love this sport.

The course is one of my favorites despite a fair amount of climbing. The start/finish is on uphill pavement. The first turn is left down the paved hill to a twisty section in dirt and grass. A short jaunt down the pavement leads to uphill dirt and then around the mini-golf course. The next few turns are very loose, and they come out on a gravel road. The famous "Beach Run" is next. It is difficult to ride because of the depth of the sand and squirrely lines that get formed during the race. After passing the bathhouse, the barriers await after a right hand turn. The gravel uphill leads back to the start/finish.

I have been very sick all week and was out of work and in bed with a fever for 3 days. I only got back on the bike on Saturday, and it was a very slow, pitiful ride. I knew today's race was not going to be fast for me. I got a poor start and was nearly last off the starting line. My least favorite kind of start--uphill pavement. I caught back on going down the hill and stayed in the mix until the beach. Teresa ran away, literally, from me and Alison. I'd later learn she spent 6 years living at and running on the beach. Experience counts. After the barreirs, I had a VCD (breathing) attack and had to sit up to recover. I watched Teresa and Alison ride away frmo me up the hill. At this point, I settled in to ride my own race. I kept it steady and rode as hard as I could while coughing up my sick lungs and trying to breathe. DFL once again. Hopefully, I will not be sick for Monroe. I've been very disappointed with my last two races. Then again, what can you do when you are sick but try your best?

are you under a contract that forces you to ride whether you are sick or not? just curious.

The course is one of my favorites despite a fair amount of climbing. The start/finish is on uphill pavement. The first turn is left down the paved hill to a twisty section in dirt and grass. A short jaunt down the pavement leads to uphill dirt and then around the mini-golf course. The next few turns are very loose, and they come out on a gravel road. The famous "Beach Run" is next. It is difficult to ride because of the depth of the sand and squirrely lines that get formed during the race. After passing the bathhouse, the barriers await after a right hand turn. The gravel uphill leads back to the start/finish.

I have been very sick all week and was out of work and in bed with a fever for 3 days. I only got back on the bike on Saturday, and it was a very slow, pitiful ride. I knew today's race was not going to be fast for me. I got a poor start and was nearly last off the starting line. My least favorite kind of start--uphill pavement. I caught back on going down the hill and stayed in the mix until the beach. Teresa ran away, literally, from me and Alison. I'd later learn she spent 6 years living at and running on the beach. Experience counts. After the barreirs, I had a VCD (breathing) attack and had to sit up to recover. I watched Teresa and Alison ride away frmo me up the hill. At this point, I settled in to ride my own race. I kept it steady and rode as hard as I could while coughing up my sick lungs and trying to breathe. DFL once again. Hopefully, I will not be sick for Monroe. I've been very disappointed with my last two races. Then again, what can you do when you are sick but try your best?

Boulder CX #3 Cat 4 35+ OWWWWWWWWW my freak'n quads. More sand than I have ever tried to cycle though in my life.

Windy, sunny, cold, hot, fast, slow, and pictures of such.

Canton, MA CX Race (http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/thumbpage.aspx?e=3233560)

Doc

I have been very sick all week and was out of work and in bed with a fever for 3 days. I only got back on the bike on Saturday, and it was a very slow, pitiful ride. I knew today's race was not going to be fast for me. I got a poor start and was nearly last off the starting line. My least favorite kind of start--uphill pavement. I caught back on going down the hill and stayed in the mix until the beach. Teresa ran away, literally, from me and Alison. I'd later learn she spent 6 years living at and running on the beach. Experience counts. After the barreirs, I had a VCD (breathing) attack and had to sit up to recover. I watched Teresa and Alison ride away frmo me up the hill. At this point, I settled in to ride my own race. I kept it steady and rode as hard as I could while coughing up my sick lungs and trying to breathe. DFL once again. Hopefully, I will not be sick for Monroe. I've been very disappointed with my last two races. Then again, what can you do when you are sick but try your best?


I woke up, couldn't breathe, and decided not to race. So everyone here who had a bad race still beat me. :thumbsup:

Fort Stielacoom race SS race Tacoma WA,
I raced at the fort Stielacoom race in Tacoma today, I haven't raced their in Probably 2 years, but my memory came back especially with the usual inclusion of the Dale Knapp Knapptime runup, at least I did pretty well on the runup part.
I did one practice lap of the course, weather was pretty nice not to cold and dry and sunny. I ride to the start line to get lined up, and notice that I have a front flat from ridding my practice lap. I yell to my teammate Matt who is also racing cat 3, but geared and he goes to get a extra front wheel from Andrew on our team who had already raced in the cat 4 race. I put the wheel on and line up, I guess I missed my call up so I ended up in the second row, instead of the first row, but it's a fairly long race and lots of areas for passing on the course. I find myself further back in the pack then I am used to but I am able to make some passes, I endup doing well on the bumpy down hill before the runup- in the drops then a transition onto a short pavement section then the transition to the dirt Knapptime runup, I am able to do a hi speed dismount and shouldering of the bike pretty much every lap and run up at a pretty good speed as well, a little latter there is a fairly sketchey gravel downhill , need to choose a side cause the middle is deeper gravel then a hard left turn, taken at speed with the left foot out as the tires slide sideways some, my borrowed mavic Kryserium tubular front wheel does pretty well, I usually just run Mich. mudd clinchers on ma3 rims, decent but not a tubbie. I feel somewhat stronger with 2 to go and am able to keep my effort up, but still don't finnish as well as I would like I finish
6th my best finnish so far is two 5th places so still not that bad, and I'm pretty well in the series points for the season, I think I should finish well series wise if I just race all the races and finish decently.
I talked to teammate Matt afterwords and he says that when I caught up and passed him ( geared cat 3 had 1min headstart) he was able to stay on my draft for a while and pass probably 5 or 6 riders in the cat 3 class. His goal for a top 25 finish was almost fullfilled with a 26th place finish witch is fairly good in a competitive 45-60 racer cat 3 field when he just recently upgraded from cat 4.
I missed the Bellingham race on Sat cause I couldn't get to sleep that night, but some of the people who did race Sat were feeling it at the Sunday race. Next week is Donita farms near Auburn WA, a bumpy as heck horse farm, usually not my favorite venue for the SS, but thats the points I'm chassing.

No. :) If I have any hope at a series overall award, I need to at least finish all the races. I've had a nasty virus we've had going around Atlanta (confirmed by my doctor). Hopefully, I'll be back to 100% this coming weekend.

Like Saddlebred, I was sick most of the week, although not bed-ridden. A cold was (and still is, a bit) bothering me all week. I got some easy spins in earlier ion the week and a decent mid-intensity ride in on thurs. Didn't get in my normal pre-race ride in on sat, so my prospects at DCCX were not good...
I kept hearing them talk about the "techniocal section" over the PA, bt as I did my warmup lap, I was looking for it. Never found it. 'Twas a fast race.
I got a good 2nd row start and proceeded to drop like an ugly baby. My legs were like "WTF??" until about 1/2 way thru the 2nd lap. It was a combined masters field so there were elites mixed in with us B's. I was hoping not to get lapped by too many. As it turned out, I just got caught on the last section of the course by Randall Root and another rider. All things considered, I'm not too disappointed in the results. Thanks to von for the encouragement at the $%^&** uphill barriers, and Thor, one of these days I'll come by YOU and knock ya into teh weeds, bro:p

big turnout for around here. 103 competitors. that may be the record field for a 'cross event in western new york. the race is part of the CNY cyclocross series. the competition seems to be heating up a little. race fee was $15 and you didn't need to have a license. hammer nutrition supplied gel and drinks.
a real riders course was provided by our buddy andy and his friends. killer conditions. literally. heavy mud in spots. some people weren't ready and the first time we went through the woods, it looked like biker pinball. it was hailing at the start. or maybe that was sleet? then it switched to rain, clouds and wind. might have been a little sun peaking out towards the end. temperatures were in the high forties. there was repeated bumping of elbows for the first lap or two. may be related to the malaise that everyone seems to be talking about. the race took place at a ymca daycamp. made for a great venue . completely enclosed and including the usual 'cross features such as woods, hills, bridges, downhills, etc. even a little bit of cyclocross friendly single track. but with the added bonuses of a visit to a storybook village in the woods, a trip through an archery range and rides around all kinds of climbing equipment which, unfortunately, weren't included in the race. eugene christophe must be spinning in his grave.
the race was won by matthew dickinson who's number 111 on the rankings at crossresults.com. #123 was there as well among others.

had to ride "naked" as the battery for the transmitter of my heart rate monitor died before the start of the race and the nearest walgreen's was in rochester. it worked out okay. i experienced a little bit of fade during the race but was able to recover.
i raced in the "open men" category. there were 53 starters and 49 finishers. my numbers say that i rode 6 laps and that the top 5 or so racers rode seven laps. unoffical results that i saw posted after the race said that the leaders did 6 laps. i'm gonna use my numbers because i don't think that the that laps were 4km long.
according to my measurements each lap was 3.36km long. my finishing time was 63min41sec with an average speed of 19km/h. the third place finisher lapped me at the start of his final lap. that would mean his speed was 22.8km/h or thereabouts. presumably 1st and 2nd place were a little faster than that. average cadence was 68 rpm. max speed was 35.59.

Mark - I am shocked! That was my 'friendly' elbow.

results posted - http://www.dcmtb.com/blog/archives/221

My race - so-so. I started with stomach problems which sorted themselves out on lap 2. The rest of the race I developed a pounding headache. The course was fun and I spent a lot of time dodging roots and/or trying to pick new lines in the corners. Finished 23rd of 45 in the combined Masters field.

Thor

on the blog. dayville and canton. 4th and 9th respectively. sat I had no drive, sunday I was riding hard and flying and giving it my all. great weekend, lots of fun, good people, and some good racing.

Let's just say that after the race I was looking for people to buy my 'cross bikes.

Yeah. It was bad.

Chainbiter and CSI loom on the horizon. We'll see if I can get back to where I was a few weeks ago.

Notice the:p at the end of the post?:D One of these days I may be able to keep up with you. It was a fun course. I'll definately do it again, hopefully I won't be sick.

BTW-nice result, considering you were apparantly sick, too. 37th for me out of 45...

Cross Crusade race #4
October 28, 2007
Astoria, Oregon
35+ A category

The weather was sunny and mild and lots of people turned out in costume. As usual, the Halloween race feature lots of raucous behavior, wild costumes, and beer handups. It also included a lap of silence for Brett Jarolimek at noon. I tried to make it to Astoria in time to ride the lap but bad directions put me fifteen minutes late. I was in time to watch but not to ride. It was a fine tribute and Jon Maus has a nice piece (http://bikeportland.org/2007/10/29/crusaders-remember-brett-with-silence-spirit-and-a-good-party/) over on bikeportland.org (http://bikeportland.org/).

The venue was the Clatsop County Fairgrounds in Astoria, OR. My "Up to speed (http://hoyerfamily.com/cyclocross/?p=223)" post was timely since the course favored riders who could get up to speed quickly out of the transitions. There were ten 180s, the bulk of which were contained in a section of the course that wound through four side-by-side animal barns. There were a couple of hills, some pavement, some gravel, some soft soil, some grass, lots of turns, and very little mud. The course also weaved through the indoor show ring which had one good line through the soft sandy dirt. There was but a single dismount per lap and it was through the six pack barriers up a short incline that dumped onto the finishing pavement. The question was whether to immediately mount and slog it up the hill or continue running up to the pavement. I tried it both ways and decided I liked the immediate remount best.

The start was sketchy. We had 50 yards (maybe) of pavement then a wide 180 lefty on grass and into the show barn. There were callups for the As and the 35+As as well. They didn't call up our field until after the As were on their way and then the chief judge didn't send us off until a minute after we completed the callups. I expected the As to start riding into us in no time but only five A racers lapped me.

Back to the start -- I wanted to get a good start but wasn't aggressive enough in the scrum rushing to line up behind the callups and ended up in the second and a half row (good as third row). I tried to stay ride hard at the start but the first turn meant that some gaps crushed down in a hurry. I was happy that everyone stayed rubber side down. Through the first few laps I picked off a handful of guys but found a place around fifteenth that I couldn't seem to get out of.

I stayed sharp through the middle laps and moved up to as high as 11th, passing John Wilson, Ed French, and John Bravard (really fast guy) who had some mechanical difficulty. Eventually, I lost the battle with Ed French and John Bravard found his groove and flew by me and I sat in 13th. Ed and Dave Diviney were just up the road, perhaps 10-15 seconds, and tantalizingly close. John Wilson was just behind, hanging too close for comfort. At some point, I heard four to go. Somewhere on that lap I figured "Well, I've had a pretty good race. Time to call it a day." I can't say how long it took to banish that thought from my brain but I know that I wasn't giving 100% for a little while. Eventually I managed to get it back together.

Coming into the bell, I was looking to protect my position since I had some time on John W. and couldn't see anyone behind him. About halfway into the lap when I was at the bottom of the "big" hill, I saw Dave Diviney and Ed French at the top. I figured I might as well give it a go and see if I could chase them down. With perhaps a minute to go, I was close enough to Dave that I knew that I had a shot to get him. I was right on his wheel going into the barriers and coming out of them we were almost abreast. He had the inside line and I was making very slow headway. We ran, neck and neck, all the way to the finish where he beat me by perhaps a wheel.

It's pretty rare that I'm racing head to head with someone right to the line and that effort left me in a spot I haven't frequently visited. It was all I could do to stand and take in air. I congratulated Dave on the effort but I couldn't talk to him because it was all I could do to just lean on my bike.

I took 13th out of 36 finishers and I wasn't too far out of the top ten. I think if I can figure out my breathing thing I have a shot to crack it.

Let's just say that after the race I was looking for people to buy my 'cross bikes.

Yeah. It was bad.

Chainbiter and CSI loom on the horizon. We'll see if I can get back to where I was a few weeks ago.

do you still go to rutgers/will you be wearing that kit at chainbiter? / if so what race are you in?

Boulder CX #3 @ Boulder Res. SM3

3rd row start with us about 15 in each row.
both the left and right sides (i'm in the center) get better starts then we did so i get pushed back a bit. Recover a good bunch of positions before the first turn but am sitting around 30th at best. we do a 180 and head back. Get trapped by the tape on the left (good line) as others are making a pass on the right. Damn, lost another 5 or 6 positions.

I should have known better and used this spot to move up, rather then get used like i did.
(note for next week as it's the site of saturday's redline cup)

Gain a few spots but they are tough to come by in the techinical areas. Feel like i've got steam but nowhere to use it. we hit the soft sand decent toward the beach and the guys ahead of me are feathering their brakes in it. :mad2:

we hit the sand run and it's tough and long. 100' + and a bit uphill. Ran it. U-turn at the top back into similar sand but as we're going down you can ride it. No 'line' per se just keep the pedals turning over and you're all good. This takes us back to the beach at the waters' edge. I made up a lot of ground here every lap. But on the first lap the leaders were already way ahead :mad:

midway through the race i really start feeling good. I was making up ground like mad passing and dropping without much second thought.

Never heard the bell. The finish came way too soon. I had gas left for a couple more laps. Next week they have us 3s scheduled for 60 min. (normaly 45) Very disspointed with my 18th place finish.

next week, better warmup ride the day before and better warmup that day. With the extra 15min, hopefully i can get back to where i know i can be.

Here's my race report (http://teamoakland.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=2007#2007) from my team's web site:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2076/1797504124_8b5a16ad16.jpg

Sunday's course at Soquel High School was perfect, an ideal blend that tested technical skills and legs and lungs. I liked it so much I raced it twice. The course featured grass, off-camber loose dirt and rocks, deep wood chips with uphill and downhill turns, hard corners in peanut butter mud, a grassy "spiral of death", some steep ups and downs, one dusty run-up, long gravel stretches, a couple long asphalt stretches, a gully, and tons of people cheering my name. It was awesome. The people at these races are the best.

In my first race I was 2nd row, but two people bobbled at the start and in avoiding crashes I found myself about 30 back. Grr.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2210/1797507038_5725d6787c.jpg

Chased up through the field and got to about eighth, right behind Frank (see last week's report) when, descending a steep downhill to the ball field my front tire rolled off the rim, caught in the fork and over I went! Ten or twenty people passed me while I muscled the 40psi tire back on the rim, then gently road the rest of the course to the team tent on the start / finish. I dodged a few people, removed my gps, grabbed my single speed bike, but my jacket was wrapped up in it and it took a few seconds to get it ready and clip the gps in. I hopped on it and instantly remembered the tires had bled down overnight to 20psi or so. It felt like I was riding two marshmallows. A lap later Lauren saw me - way back - and said "What happened?" I shouted "Put your front wheel on my bike and pump it up to 40!" I heard someone shout "42!" Haha. The next time through the start / finish I saw Lauren holding my blue bike and Michael Hernandez gesturing for me to roll him my single speed all pro-like and saying something about "professional". I smiled as I ghosted the bike to him and grabbed the blue bike. I didn't switch the gps this time. It felt good to have gears again but I was so far back and I knew I had an hour-long ss race coming up later that day, so I raced the rest of it conservatively, passing some people but not killing myself.

After that it was pretty non-stop at our team tent. Jon flatted in his race, he got Lauren's front wheel. (the same one I'd raced on) George flatted in his race, he got Lauren's front wheel. Lauren was warming up and told me "If he flats that front wheel you're in big trouble." She was on her pink clincher front wheel. My kids did the kiddie cross race and she took pictures while I did the cheering.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2153/1796680977_8a089fd811.jpg

Lulu and Sam have been getting over head colds and Lulu had a huge sneeze and needed emergency tissues after she finished her race and got her goodie bag. The day was like that. And then they needed sodas and muffins from the Velo Bella food tent, and they played gameboy and played with the other kids and took off roaming around the campus and I think Lulu took a nap in the sun.

Lauren did the costume race as Princess Leia.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2015/1797541508_781f115e7c.jpg

George finished sans front flat and I swapped her wheel in. Meanwhile I'm entertaining two kids who aren't feeling so hot and sorta trying to get ready for my SS race.

Lulu needed to do one more bathroom trip with me before my race, so I head across the HS campus with her to the bathrooms, and on the way back I see some older kids riding a bike and a skateboard. The bike looks just like my son Sam's. I look at the pedals - same Shimano platform / clipless pedals. It's got the same compass / bell on the handlebar. I say "Is that your bike?" and he says "Yeah." "When did you get it?" No answer. "That's my son's bike, can I have it back?" He just handed it to me. They weren't kids from the cx race, as far as I could tell. I'd never seen them before. I think they were just local kids and they picked up Sam's bike and took it. I don't know if we would have ever seen it again if I hadn't retrieved it. It's a nice bike, a 26" Specialized Rockhopper we just got him this summer.

I get back and Lauren tells me they're staging the A / SS race. I put some air in my SS tires quick, hook up the GPS and head over. I'd never done a SS cross race before, never raced cross for an hour, never raced with the A's, and this was only my second double-race day ever. I was intimidated, and started way at the back. Stella Carey had just won the women's A race, and she hopped on a single speed and lined up for the SS start. She is tough! At the start I was DFL, not wanting to get in anyone's way and just not sure about the race. I followed Stella for a lap. She has a very nice draft. :) I felt better and moved up during the race, passing six or seven people. I almost caught my friend Erik Thunstrom, but I just couldn't manage it. I started my GPS a half lap into the race and at the finish I saw 1:02, that's the longest cross race I've ever done.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2420/1796424230_8868191af6.jpg
Photo by Jesse Mayberry

It felt like I was strapped to the suffering machine the whole time, but so many people were cheering for me it buoyed me up, and my son Sam was giving me bottle feeds. He's never done that before, and it also made me feel good. The single speed cross bike was good. It's an old Landshark cx frame with a 1" headset, steel fork and dropped top tube. It has really pretty curvy seat and chain stays and it's fillet-brazed. I built it with an ENO rear hub, H1 front hub, 40x17 gearing and burly CXP30 tubular rims sporting Vittoria 34mm cross knobbie tires. The gearing and the bike were good, especially since I finished building it the day before. Only mess-up was the front QR coming loose mid-race. After a few laps of a rattling front hub I stopped and re-clamped it. Next time I'll catch you Erik!

This morning I pulled the Grifo tires off and - even though I applied four coats to the new rims and two coats to the new tires (following Greg Reain's method (http://crazyfast.blogspot.com/2005/10/sticky-fingers.html)) I can see that only the edges were bonded, leaving shiny, brown dried glue down the center of the rim bed. I will build up more glue in the rim bed and re-glue them. They felt good when I did race them, and the DT 240 / Sapim / Mavic wheels were light!

Lauren got a nail through her rear Flexus tire and there were lots of flats on my team. Looks like our best result was Fred Martin with a 5th in the men's C race.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2397/1797513384_c8ca5f8dc2.jpg

A few people had top tens, (Brian Birch 8th M45+ B, Dave Libby 10th M45+ A, Mel Schultz 8th Women B) but I know some were disappointed with their races. We had a great time. After the race we drank some beers, shared some beers, shared some stories, slowly cleaned up and put away the team tent and packed up, then had a family dinner at my kids' favorite place in SC, the Santa Cruz Diner.

This morning I rode a few blocks on my bike and my legs are shattered. Looking forward to McLaren next weekend just the same.

Here are two somewhat-complete motionbased records, results, pictures and Lauren's race report:

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/4324281
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/4324282
http://www.velobella.org/results_surf_city_2007.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/71073602@N00/sets/72157602779766667/
http://lhaughey.blogspot.com/2007/10/rabbit-hole.html

Morgan

Just read the blog-nice job!

do you still go to rutgers/will you be wearing that kit at chainbiter? / if so what race are you in?

I'm doing the 2/3 race...yep still at Rutgers.

See you there, man.

since we are all talking about how bad our races went, I may as well chime in. I felt good and had high expectations for the M35 Open. My last two races were smaller M35 Open and I did decent, relative to the competition ...


Oh man, I feel for you. I was there too. The start lineup was crazy! Then as if being in the back wasn't bad enough, I got stuck behind some guy who couldn't get into his pedal and decided to swerve around a bunch looking for the connection of cleat to pedal.

Get past that and onto the dirt still 3/4 of the way back in the pack, I know the rock is coming so call out 'watch out for the rock' and 3 seconds later Carl slams into it. Bodies flying, twisted metal. I had the forethought to stay to the extreme right and got by OK. From there it was play catch-up. What this course exposes are just how many really fast guys have no bike handling skills at all.

Oh well, managed to pick my way back through a bunch and finished solidly in the midriff.

-Couch

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2114/1793572449_b7ced16e9a.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2212/1794527002_95b6778a23.jpg


Those two pictures do a great job of telling the story!

Morgan

So I lined up right in front of Morgan. Since I know he's faster than me, I tried to figure out a way to swap places without losing up both the spot. Couldn't do it, so instead I spent the first third of a lap waiting for him to come around me. Everybody else was doing it, it seemed like, I don;t know why how shouldn't!

Anyway, great course, definitely the most technical of the Norcal courses so far. There was one hairpin turn down a little embankment that I had a huge amount of problems with, for some reason. The second lap, I had the front tire slide a little. The third lap, the back went a touch. On the fourth lap, first the front went, then when I got it under control, the back went. On the next lap, needless to say, both wheels went at the same time and I bit it.

After what seemed like 4 laps I came around tot he start/finish, expecting to see 2 to go. The card said 4 to go! Holy crap!

At this point, I'd pretty much gotten to the point where I was riding around alone, passing a guy every lap or so. With 2 to go, I heard a guy come up behind me and assumed it was the front of the 45+ pack, who started a minute back of us. It was, but a guy in my field was riding his train. I wasn't gonna let that guy get away from me, so I upped the jets to catch the guy. I finally got by him with less than a lap to go, and concentrated on keeping him behind me. Eventually, I could see one more guy in our field up ahead, and figured I could chase him down.

As I got to the top of the rough downhill bit that turns into an off-camber uphill, there was a woman warming up in front of me. She heard me coming and stopped at the top of the hill, but I didn't get quite the angle that I had been taking, and went down hard, halfway down the hill. When I stopped skidding, I jumped up and tried to get going.' Unfortunately, I had some trouble getting the chain on (sorry to anyone who I inconvenienced standing there like an idiot at the bottom of the hill futzing with my chain). Once I did I had to run the bike up the next little bit of uphill anyway, and ended up losing about 45 seconds altogether, not to mention a lot of skin.

The guy I was chasing, as well as the guy I had put behind me, were both long gone, but I was able to catch back up to one guy (who'd passed me while I was messing around with my bike) as I limped in the last quarter lap.

I ended up 15th out of 35, which, all things considered, isn't bad. I am not looking forward to the healing process, though. Incidentally, they accidentally ran us for 50 instead of 40 minutes. Which explains why the race seemed even longer than usual.

I'm doing the 2/3 race...yep still at Rutgers.

See you there, man.

see ya there. I'll be bringing sexyback with the colby argyle. and my terrible pre-reg spots....should be fun, hopefully there will be a few collegiate guys.

see ya there. I'll be bringing sexyback with the colby argyle. and my terrible pre-reg spots....should be fun, hopefully there will be a few collegiate guys.

Nice.

It looks like MIT is bringing a posse. We're bringing 5 guys... the collegiate series is rocking this year, if I do say so myself (I'm running it)

Good start, but 2 crashes (well, one run-in with a tree on a tight right turn,and then an unfortunate attempt to ride the little barriers) left me dangling off the lead group, never to make contact again as I had no one to draft off in the wind. Ended up 13th out of 66. My legs are good, but my decision-making needs some work.

*from the blog*

The Canton Cup. Part of the VERGE series? Nope. How 'bout USGP? Naw. As big as Gloucester? Not by a long shot. Steeped in history like Putney? Not even close.

Canton isn't alot of things, but the one thing it may be is the best cross race in New England.

Excellent parcours, well organized, timely results, attentive organizer, good food, great tee shirts, and it all takes place in a central location at the peak of the foliage on a lakeside venue with clean rest rooms and hot showers.

What could make Canton better? Only two things I can think of, both of which are possible: it needs a long sand pit and they should hold a 2 lap race during the break before the elites go off with haloween costumes required. Here's my race recap.

Here's the line up, and PVB & RS appear to have gotten the shaft, three rows back. MZ, JJ, KA & I are all on row 1 or 1.5. KA clearly had the best slot, dead front center. The whistle and clipping in doesn't happen for me until 10 pedal strokes or so. Somehow I'm top 10 despite that. No doubt KA is top 2 or 3, but I can't see him. Off the pvmt and into the woods and I make up a few spots. The pace is fast, but not killer, and by the first barriers I'm 4th. Auwerbach is off the front a bit as we settle in to chase on the asphalt path. I'm second at the track and feeling relaxed and fresh. The leader is stretching his advantage and I'm cool with that, things are coming relatively easily. I see the crew back just a few seconds, sitting around 10th place. Each lap I get maybe a second on them... not much. One spill and it's grouppo compacto.

So after two laps this bike barn rider who won both B races at Gloucester comes through at the pit barriers and I've got a clump of mud keeping my cleat from making sweet music with my pedal. A Cambridge Bike rider and single speeder TP from IBC ride by as well. A NAV rider is there but stays behind me. By the fields I'm back on terms, and the four of us ride off in persuit of Auwerbach and Bike Barn guy. We share the load for a lap, but at two to go the Cambridge rider drops a chain on the first barrers. TP takes us to the path with some strong pace setting, and we reward that with a bit of rest through a fast stretch that just has to be killer with one gear. The NAV rider is hopping the short barriers easily but i'm runnin'... not going to try that now, with a potential podium spot on the line. He's getting an advantage in that section though, so I keep that in mind. He also seems super strong in the power sections, but seems to over cook it in the grassy turns and is a bit brake happy on the descent before the run up. I log it all.

The pace on the track at two to go is just a bit to much for TP and his single speed, he's two or three seconds behind and getting no advantage of a draft. He and the Cambridge rider settle together as I do with the NAV fellow. Up ahead, Bike Barn has caught Auwerbach and is riding away from him with ease. I see MZ and occasioanlly spot JJ, but KA is gone. At the bell NAV and I discuss things, and agree to work together to hold our spots wover TP & Cambridge bike. I lead through the field, he takes the path, back to me behind the horses and up the run up, and he takes the track.

Flashback to 2006. I was in a chase group of four fighting for 2nd place. On the final lap I put in a massive effort coming off the track that created enough of a gap to hold on to that placing even though there was still 700 meters of racing to go. A well timed and executed move atmo. So here we are in 2007, fresh off the track and a bit of rest and I make the same move. Old dog, same trick. I sense the gap, but the NAV rider hangs strong. Perhaps had there been others around for him to worry about he would have given up 3rd to take his best shot at 4th. This wasn't the case, and over the barriers he was three bikes back. Up the hill and with a glance I see he isn't going to make the catch. I look up to finish the sprint and he sails by and pips me at the line by a half a bike. A great effort. We talk during a cool down and he is a really nice kid. His lady friend is jacked that he got 3rd, and I'm honestly happy for him as well.

JJ took 9th... he's really riding well. Zank was 8th and just behind CM, which had him excited until afterwards CM confessed that he "sucked" at cross. KA suffered a puncture, ran the Canton 5k and pulled out after realizing he didn't come to the event to run the 3 miles course. RS and PVB were lower in the placings, not sure what was up with those guys. Halloween parties perhaps?

Side note: The zank is finally dialed. No more slipping post, and the new bars are glorious. The cables have all stretched and it purrs like a kitten. This bike is everything I've thought a race rig could be and a whole lot more. It carves the turns, pops the sprints, slurps up the bumps, and completely dissappears beneath me in the process. I want another one. Maybe two or three. Would four more be unreasonable? People: get one before he quits making them.

I was not sick, I just suck. My back gave out about 3 laps in, which is right about when I went right off the back. It was more fun cheering for you guys with my loud @ss cowbell that it was racing, that's fer shure!

I had high hopes for this race. I have been doing pretty well this year and was 4th out of 10 in my last Women's Cat. 4 race last week. I was hoping to be 5th and get a measley point towards upgrading to Cat. 3. I started off not as good as I have been this year but ended up in the top three after the first tight turn. Unfortunately, those girls were faster than me and I quickly ended up in 6th and could never catch up to 4th & 5th. At the last lap, I was coming close to 5th during the barriers and turns but then there would be a straight flat section and she would slip away again. So, I ended up 6th which keeps me at 5th in the series. I was disappointed but I'll get to do a practice race tomorrow so hopefully that will cheer me up. This weekend I'm planning on racing both days for the first time. My goal is to do the Chicago race on Saturday and go to Milwaukee on Sunday where I'm hoping to do the Women's 4 and then the Masters 30+ if I don't die after the first race.

106201So there I was lined up for my race. Normal nerves, got there late so had to line up at the back. So I checked my equipment; tassles: check, horn: check, bunny ears: fluff 'em up a bit, check, tiara: oh no, 30 seconds to start. off with the helmet, find the small button, there,now its blinking, back on with the helmet. I'd forgotten my wings in the truck but I'd arranged with my son to roll through the pits after the first lap and put them on real quick. 5 seconds to start and my son runs up with my wings. Ya, do it now, it'll save time in the long run. So the packs rolling away, but the wings are going on with help from my son. I'm off, only lost about 20 seconds or so. I figured the wings would create drag in the straights so I was counting on downforce in the corners to compensate. The course was great. No dust! For Norcal this year thats saying something. It was tough to pass the first half of the course, but I didn't want to be rude, what with the good vibe of the race and all, so I waited for the run-ups and straights to really put myself in the hurt locker. I'm not as strong as a lot of these guys but it was the only place for a clean pass so I went way into the red and then got through the corners a little quicker to make it stick. So on it went, passing when I could. My internal Suffer-O-Meter was really looking for the one lap to go sign coming through start finish and I was pretty disappointed when I didn't get it. The extra lap makes sense now. So I eased up a little so I wouldn't cave before the finish and tried not to blow and/or crash out. I got second, which was awesome, although I almost got protested because of my wings. Thanks Matt. We had to bail early to check out of the campground by noon so we missed costume race. My son, all of 10, suffered throught the Junior B race and got 3rd (only lapped once) and some nice schwag. The picture tells the story as they say.
Gaping mouth, out of oxygen, that was the race. But fun! Thanks Sabine. We're planning on staying over till Monday next year so we can do it right.

Oh man, I feel for you. I was there too. The start lineup was crazy! Then as if being in the back wasn't bad enough, I got stuck behind some guy who couldn't get into his pedal and decided to swerve around a bunch looking for the connection of cleat to pedal.

Get past that and onto the dirt still 3/4 of the way back in the pack, I know the rock is coming so call out 'watch out for the rock' and 3 seconds later Carl slams into it. Bodies flying, twisted metal. I had the forethought to stay to the extreme right and got by OK. From there it was play catch-up. What this course exposes are just how many really fast guys have no bike handling skills at all.

Oh well, managed to pick my way back through a bunch and finished solidly in the midriff.

-Couch

i hear you yell. That is when i saw carl flying at me. i was way left (passing) but did not know the rock was there. I never ride the middle of the pack anyway. I was pretty happy working the sides moving up.

Was it you who yelled at me to keep riding when you passed me later on in the race as I doddled around with one brake?

I had the same thought RE speed verses skills. I felt waaay more secure in the much larger M35+ 3/4 fields I have been in all year. Must be a better balance of skills verses speeds. I actually get the odd impression that the top 1/3 of the M 3/4 field have more cross experience then the back 1/3 of the M123. They just are not cat 2's on the road.

Gewilli has a nice thread going on his blog about categories. I was not thrilled with the open race when there was a 45/55 3/4 field. Seems to me the 45's are as fast as the 35's in NE. They are always in the top 10 in the "open" 3/4 fields.

To add insult to injury, I stopped at the finish and told diane i was lapped while in the pit. In fact, they had scored me correctly all along, and the put me a 2nd lap down since i told them i got lapped in the pit. So i was listed DFL. Kind of funny as it matters ZERO, but in the context of my mental mood, it was sort of morbidly funny to me. Ugh.

Silver lining? Anyone, anyone? Buehler?

Silver lining? Anyone, anyone? Buehler?

The silver lining is that you raced cross, which even on a bad day is twice as good as whatever else people do on weekends.

The silver lining is that you raced cross, which even on a bad day is twice as good as whatever else people do on weekends.

normally yes, but given the travel involved, and the list of honey do's that have been piling up pre "snow" here in Vermont, which is like next week, I am not even sure about that!

I have been blissfully ignoring any and all weekend projects and just racing my bike. That will come back to bite me in December.

Anyway, done bagging on Canton. The course actually looked like a blast to "race" on!

Silver Lining - focused my attention on what I need to do better/take more seriously to ensure that the time I am investing in racing is optimized. I should have been there much earlier to ensure a good warm up and kid hand off, for example. Guess I got complacent. Had I been more prepped, I am sure I could have come back from the crash and gotten back into the race. I checked out mentally as soon as it happened.

J

45+ masters
1st place
The video looking back first lap
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7qRRzZGtEg

I went ot the venue the day before and got in an hours ride to learn the course which really helped in the fast technical sections.

Race day, batroom several trips, get dressed, hit the inhaler a couple times, Gu 30 min before, pre-loaded with Race Day Boost for 4 days prior. Warmed up on course, lined up, rode in 5th-6th spot for 3/4 lap, went to front and pulled away, 3 laps from finish, fell down on sandy beach, lost time, 2 laps from finish fall down sandy beach lose more tiime, get caught and passed on the last lap and immeadiately repass and take win.

... I had the same thought RE speed verses skills. I felt waaay more secure in the much larger M35+ 3/4 fields I have been in all year. Must be a better balance of skills verses speeds. I actually get the odd impression that the top 1/3 of the M 3/4 field have more cross experience then the back 1/3 of the M123. They just are not cat 2's on the road.

Gewilli has a nice thread going on his blog about categories. I was not thrilled with the open race when there was a 45/55 3/4 field. Seems to me the 45's are as fast as the 35's in NE. They are always in the top 10 in the "open" 3/4 fields. ...


I'd agree that there are some 1/2/3 masters w/ poor skills but most of the issues I saw were real strong rad races I know who have no technical skills and are new to cross.

My wife (who also races cross) got in on Gewilli's thread. Both her and I are of the though that its better to race above your fitness level and struggle than below and thrive. I personally really like getting to line up with some of the fastest guys in NE, even if thats the last I see of them :)

-Couch

Posted a report of my first outing over at my usual haunt, mtbr.com - here's the link to the report:

Wildflower NMCX #4 (http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=352414)

I raced the Nationals course Sunday. Nice fast course. I raced 4's we only did 3 laps. Hard road hill climb start and finish. Be careful in the corners they are fast but you can't take them as fast as you'd like. I wiped out twice! Oh, there's also a killer run-up, switch back type of thing that repeats itself immediately.

I got a bad start, third row. Slackers in the font didn't take off fast enough and I was stuck in traffic the whole race. Oh, and the course was narrow. I hope they widen it for Nat's. If not, get out in front and stay there or else you'll finish 20th like I did.

I raced the 2/3 race at Canton Cup. I didn't warm up enough. Felt terrible for the first 2 laps. Started feeling better on the 3rd lap and passed a few people, then did this coming through the barriers.
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/6073/img0296ob1.jpg
It was in the barriers just before the pits and I grabbed a wheel, and chased but at this point my mind wasn't in the game. Oh well. This gets chalked up as an off weekend.

Started front row, couldn't clip in well (didn't realize that toe spikes made it a little more difficult to get in) and watched 25 guys shoot by me. Held my place for about 1.5 laps. A guy goes down in front of me on the single track before the running/walking path section, so down I go.....10 more guys pass me. I get up, pissed. I tag onto the group and weave our way through the running trail. BTW, I overcooked one corner on every lap through that section. Always the same corner, the first of two right handers. Luckily, there were just minimal weeds to go through and I came out safe every time. What's funny was, after the crash I pass a guy taking the left onto that section. I tell him not to follow me because I'm going to blast through and probably over-cook it. I do so, and he yells up "I guess you weren't kidding!" Hilarious.

Back to the pissed part. I crank out the last two laps, catching and passing probably 10 guys. I finish 31 out of 97. I'll take it. For the first time this year, my lower back didn't prevent me from going hard. I probably went faster the last lap than I did the 2nd or 3rd.

A few weeks off, then Plymouth, MA and Putney.

BT

True - especially shopping for a new washing machine/dryer! ;-)

Thought for sure it was going to be an off weekend... and I had a bad short warmup and I was super nervous. Then, at the starting line, my wife, baby, friend from out of town, niece, nephew, two brothers, and two sisters in laws appeared out of nowhere at the starting line (surprise!). I was pretty stoked, the competition was hung over from partying, and the course turned out to be pretty flat. I raced noticeably faster than I have for the last few weeks and strangely started passing people as the race went on and on.

"Holy Cow, I just passed a guy who got called up in the top 15!... there goes another, and another! There goes Spiderman, there goes Kermit The Frog, There goes Underwear Man. I'm rockin!"

By the end I worked my way up and finished in 8th place, far surpassing my expectations for the entire season. Woo hoo!

So now what do I shoot for this weekend?

here are a few pics of my race. I didn't have a costume, except that I ditched my team uniform and wore my first ever racing jersey which has "Sponsored By Sarah" written on the back by my wife.

I'm sure you will notice me stuck behind Thong Man. I HAD to pass him, because the view from back there was not plesant.