I just wrote a big old race report, and then accidentally hit "back" and it all got deleted.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! Die browser!

the race went well, though! fun fun fun!

I got 2nd in the D's (out of maybe 10-15?) and couldn't race the C's because of work. I'll be back for more!

here are some pics:

lining up at the start with my Zoolander face. I use it to intimidate and inspire fear. The guy next to me (looking down) was breathing down my neck the whole race. THAT inspired fear in ME.

http://www.monovich.com/sef/images/DSCN4068.jpg

and they are off! this is the first run-up. this is actually the women/juniors/and masters, who started 2 min. in front of us. Because of this logjam, I went from near last to first by stealthily running around the people as the piled up in the entrance to this at the bottom. woo woooo!

http://www.monovich.com/sef/images/DSCN4070.jpg

This part of the course had lots of sand and singletrack. I'd say the course was 20% sandy and 60% singletrack. good stuff. fun.

http://www.monovich.com/sef/images/DSCN4079.jpg

here I am running up that same runup on lap 2. I was leading at this point, but got passed by the eventual winner a few laps later.

http://www.monovich.com/sef/images/DSCN4081.jpg

I felt more and more like crap the longer the race went on. going out fast is tough! I'm not used to it, but luckily I warmed up okay.

http://www.monovich.com/sef/images/DSCN4086.jpg

mmmm... dismount into very sandy off-camber 180 degree turn at the bottom of a hill.

http://www.monovich.com/sef/images/DSCN4090.jpg

this was an URBAN cyclocross. the next runup here was STEEP.

http://www.monovich.com/sef/images/DSCN4099.jpg

http://www.monovich.com/sef/images/DSCN4100.jpg

wifes make great spectators. they are a built-in audience and bottle holders. my wife is Kool and Fit.

http://www.monovich.com/sef/images/DSCN4105.jpg

here is that same sandy 180, but I was too tired to dismount, so I went around, which was slower.

http://www.monovich.com/sef/images/DSCN4120.jpg

The man in the beard behind me was nice enough to chase me down after I failed to stop racing when I crossed the finish line because I didn't know the race was over. I was SO happy it was over. CX = 35 minutes of exhaustion.

http://aerodrome.com/sef/images/DSCN4129.jpg

So that's about it for now. The race was great, the course was very fun, and a little hard (2 sandy run-ups, 3 barriers/dismounts. I tried to go hard at the beginning because that is what I read here. It worked well and got me out of the traffic, and probably resulted in me getting 2nd, and not 3rd (3rd was closing on me the whole race).

So big thanks to everyone here! Next time I'll race Cs and get destroyed, I'm sure.

also, I met atpjunkie (matt) and he was very helpful with some tips, so thanks Matt! Hope you did well in your race.

-Steve

Nice report, thanks. Looking at that course makes me realize just how different racing is in the NW. I suppose there is a good possibility you'll race all season and never encounter mud? I've already races three times and two of them were muddy courses.

BTW, we have the exact same bike and wheels, is that a 2001? Nice bike, I'm happy with mine.

Let me know if you come oop north.

Great pics, nice report! Was that race in southern california? Just looked familiar.

Nice race report.

Welcome to the cult.

last year in socal we had heaps of mud. all depends on the winter rains and jet stream. this day got hot. Race was at Entradero Park in Torrance. Steve did well on maiden voyage, but running that hair pin was faster. Steve, the aussie guy that beat you was mid pack (out of 42 in the C's, I think Frank dnf'd, I had 3 crashes, tripped on a iceplant root on that run up (had to stop 2x once for a pile up at the start of that sandy climb and once for a guy who dropped a chain infront of me) still wound up around 9th is my guess. if I can have a catastophe free day I may crack into the points.

Congrats on your first race!

Yeah, I got a rear flat and no spares in the pit. That will teach me to keep some wheels around. Funny thing is I flatted my front right before the race. So now I have two Tufo's with flats. Tried the sealant and it worked for the rear but the front did not seal. I would like to go tubulars next time but until then i might just stick to the clinchers. Put an order in for some Clements might give that a shot for next race.

Cool meeting Atpjunkie there!

Frank

especially at Brad's races. In put this offer out to Steve as well. I have some barely used Prestige Tub clinchers I'll part with cheaply if ya need them. they are just gathering dust now that I'm a glue huffer.

lining up at the start with my Zoolander face. I use it to intimidate and inspire fear. The guy next to me (looking down) was breathing down my neck the whole race. THAT inspired fear in ME.


Hey, that's me in the back in the Monex kit. I'm second from last going up the run up :)

It was a fun race. This CX racing is a lot tougher than I thought.

House of Pain. that's the usual reaction. some of the newbies at our clinic always ask 'what to expect' and we always say, it'll be harder and faster than you can imagine.
until you taste it you really have no idea.
welcome, how'd ya do?

last year in socal we had heaps of mud. all depends on the winter rains and jet stream. this day got hot. Race was at Entradero Park in Torrance. Steve did well on maiden voyage, but running that hair pin was faster. Steve, the aussie guy that beat you was mid pack (out of 42 in the C's, I think Frank dnf'd, I had 3 crashes, tripped on a iceplant root on that run up (had to stop 2x once for a pile up at the start of that sandy climb and once for a guy who dropped a chain infront of me) still wound up around 9th is my guess. if I can have a catastophe free day I may crack into the points.

sorry to hear about your woes, but congrats on a good finish anyway. From what I gather, it's tough to crack into the upper ranks in any CX race (besides D maybe), so good effort!

When is your next race? this weekend in SD?

I almost had a bad crash on that back barrier with the bridge. I came it hot and tired, and rolled my foot as I put it down for the dismount. I basically tripped OVER the barrier and stumbled over the bridge. It could have been ugly if I went down into the barrier. must be careful!

Nice report, thanks. Looking at that course makes me realize just how different racing is in the NW. I suppose there is a good possibility you'll race all season and never encounter mud? I've already races three times and two of them were muddy courses.

BTW, we have the exact same bike and wheels, is that a 2001? Nice bike, I'm happy with mine.

Let me know if you come oop north.

Yeah I think the bike is a 2001. I bought it in 2003 used when I was getting into road riding (from mt. biking) and didn't want to buy a real road bike yet, I thought at least I could use it for CX if I didn't like road. It's just been sitting for a year since I got a real road bike last year, but now I'm glad it's back in action doing what it was made to do. it's a great bike, and I love the colors, and even the wheels look cool even though I know they aren't anything special.

I actually grew up in the NW (vancouver, WA and Portland) and lived there until 2000, so I was pretty used to riding in total mud conditions, and a few of my high school friends did CX. I thought they were crazy.I was a downhill mtb. racer at the time, so I had a slightly different mindset.
I definitely want to do a REAL cx race up there some time, with mud and rain and cold temps. Still, the race this weekend was great, and I'm happy just to have somewhere to compete and have fun and some good motivation to stay in shape.

Nice race report.

Welcome to the cult.

thank! I'm definitely "in" now. Next race is in two weeks (can't burn the wife out and do one every week...)

especially at Brad's races. In put this offer out to Steve as well. I have some barely used Prestige Tub clinchers I'll part with cheaply if ya need them. they are just gathering dust now that I'm a glue huffer.

are those prestiges Tufos or some other brand? I'm pretty happy with how mine worked. I'm definitely nervous about the whole flatting thing. Do you just toss them if they flat but don't seal? at $60 a pop at my LBS, I can't afford to do that.

mine sealed up this time...

Hey, that's me in the back in the Monex kit. I'm second from last going up the run up :)

It was a fun race. This CX racing is a lot tougher than I thought.

there are some pics of you on the photographer's website. there are a couple shots of your face that look to be in total pain.

it was tough, by the end I really wanted it to be over, and was thinking how I couldn't do this all the time, but then 10 min. after the finish, I was talking about the next race I want to do. ha!

short term memory fades and you forget the pain. Prestiges are Tufos mid grade line. I think you are running T-Pros right now (more durable but less supple). yes, use sealant and it works 90% of the time. if it doesn't then yes off to the trash but it takes a pretty bad puncture to not seal. yes expensive (hurts even more when they are tubs as you have to remove and glue on a new one) but I'd sell ya my pair for the price (or less) of one at the LBS. they are red and yellow and look fugly beautiful with the celeste, have 32 Tub versions for my Bianchi for nice hard courses and run Elite 34 tubs (yellow, would have got red but bought them slightly used off a friend) otherwise. Bike 2 has 1 set of Challenge Grifos and 1 set of T-34 Tufos (this is for MTB style courses). I checked the site, I got 8th, in the pts. considering all that went wrong I'm pretty happy. If I can have a crash/mechanical free race I think top 5 may be possible.

where did you find results? They don't have points for D, but do they post resuts for D?

I guess they aren't ranking the novice D's as that class only exists in the Urban series
I'll keep looking

Steve did well on maiden voyage, but running that hair pin was faster.points.

do you mean that dismounting and running was faster, or just "running the turn" on the bike was faster?

I thought dismounting was faster, and passed a few people my dismounting, but they were going slow anyway, so I never really knew for sure.

it took more energy to dismount, then remount, then pedal 20 feet, and dismount again for the runup than it did to stay on...

I dismounted it on the first five or so laps, and then rode it towards the end. what did the A,B, and C people do?

was quicker. you could bomb the hill and use the deep sand to help brake and a nice soft dismount spot, cut the inside of the corner and pass folks riding wide and slow. I think for me at least it was less taxing on my system. a lot of guys chose that route, best to watch was Tony Smith (Mens A Winner) who rode it, inside foot out and outside foot pedaling (he rides a fixed gear so he has to pedal) so he put power all the way through the corner but was one legging it.

there are some pics of you on the photographer's website. there are a couple shots of your face that look to be in total pain.

it was tough, by the end I really wanted it to be over, and was thinking how I couldn't do this all the time, but then 10 min. after the finish, I was talking about the next race I want to do. ha!

Yep, total pain...I really could have used some water at that point.

See you at the next race.