Post 'em if you got 'em.

Morgan

Today wasn't a great race for me. Got there kinda late, rode 1/2 a lap warmup. Got to the cluster of 35+ B riders near the start early enough, but missed the front of the swarm to the start line. Thought I'd get a call-up because of a 4th place in the first race of the series, but missed the 2nd race and no call-up, so started from the back. Charged on the 1st and 2nd laps and managed to move up maybe 15 places, but on this course starting position was destiny, to some extent. Think I ended up 10th or 11th. Course was really technical, required a lot of skills, of which I do not have many. I sorta knew the course from doing some of the DFL races there, but it did not share much of their layouts. It was asphalt (with a rim-hitting gully) to grass to two barriers to a significant run-up to flat singletrack to a tricky corner to climbing singletrack to a bumpy descent to a loamy run-up to a big log barrier to more loam that you could ride or run, to a rooty singletrack descent to a tricky right turn to some really bumpy traverse to a crash-prone wet left-turn to asphalt descent requiring significant braking to a tricky off-camber right-turn to a bumpy singletrack climb to a bumpy singletrack descent to a u-turn to a 90-deg right to ashpalt to a 90 right on asphalt to a 90 left on asphalt with a wet metal plate to grass to three barricades to a very slow, difficult series of 180- and 270- and 365-degree "wrap-arounds" around trees to more grass to a 180 back to the asphalt start/finish straight. (with that rim-hitting gully again)

Here's a motionbased.com record for the course. Notice how the barometric pressure changed, making the elevation profile appear to sink over time.

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitation/email/accept.mb?senderPk.pkValue=53872&unitSystemPkValue=2&episodePk.pkValue=1598396

My race was mundane. I managed to make up some spots as we charged to the barricades and the first run-up, and spent the first two laps moving up. I also dropped my chain right in front of outofthesaddle, slowing him down. Sorry Sean. I was really not smooth on this course, and felt frustrated that I couldn't just ride hard and do well. One really weird problem for me is that my size 48 feet overlap my front wheel by 1.5", and in the wrap-arounds in the trees I kept hitting them. I felt so lame in that section. I couldn't get a rhythm and by lap 3 of five I was pretty much at an equilibrium, duking it out with about three guys. I think I finished 11th or so. It was not a great race for me. I came home feeling kinda depressed, because I didn't finish feeling empty or even real tired, just... held back. My starting position sucked and that's totally fix-able, so I screwed up there too. I did three hard days this week, so I wasn't fresh for today's race, but I would have liked to have done better.

I came to the race solo, my wife was going to join me later with the kids but decided not to, so I didn't bring my usual camera. No pics to offer today. Left before I saw much more racing, but did get a chance to socialize after my race, which is a big part of cyclocross for me.

Tom Simpson put on yet another well-run race, his races are excellent and I would have liked to have watched the A's do his course.

This was my first race since my broken fork. Replacement (spare) Redline fork seems OK so far, but so did the last one. Canvassed a few people for opinions, including Paul Sadoff. (while racing) Paul builds Rock Lobsters. He asked about my fork as I approached him in my race and I told him I got a spare. As I was speeding out of earshot I asked what kind I should get and I'm pretty sure he shouted "metal!"

We'll see... That Alpha Q sure seems nice and stout.

Gripped, hope you don't mind me starting this thread.

Morgan

Just completed another fun filled NE Verge Series weekend with the Verge #3 Chainbiter in Farmington, CT and Verge #4 Cyclo-Smart in Northampton, MA.

VERGE #3: Chainbiter 8.0 UCI Cyclo-Cross
Course: This was a difficult course in Farmington, CT with just about everything that you could possibly think of, hills to climb, fast descents, killer sand pits, run-ups, off camber riding, fast pavement, slow gravel, fast grass and of course barriers. The start was an uphill start on pavement which went for a good ways and took a hard 180 over a curb throwing you onto the grass, once you exit out of the woods you find yourself in the first sand pit, not that deep but still persistent, immediately after this you get to grind your way up a short/steep climb and make your way around the pits. Once past the pits you make your way up this slow ascent over pine needles and leaves and head onto the grass for a quick off chamber that quickly turns into a fast descent and then stretches across the field in a loop, on the end of the loops is a small hill that is no problem to get up with enough speed and you work your way down into the gravel around the tennis courts and up the run-up, a short run up but very steep. As soon as you remount you get onto pavement for some quick sprinting until you reach the second sandpit, the deeper and more difficult one. If you manage to make it out of this pit you jump over a few curbs and come down into the pavement once and make your way up the hill for another lap. Average lap time was 10-11 minutes.

Race Report: I could tell this wasn't going to be a very good day from the start, woke up at 3:30AM to pick up a teammate and make the 2 1/2 hour drive down to Farmington for a 9AM race start in the Men C field. We got to the race and it was very cold out, about 28F, luckily thanks to the difficulty of the course I had no problems warming up. Registration didn't open till 7:30 which gave me a 40 min warm-up and enough time to get ready for the start. My first impressions of the course was that it wasn't going to be that bad however it was a different situation once the race began, had an ideal starting position up at the front but missed the hole shot and went around the first corner in about 6th, going through the first sand pit and hill and lost a few spots but not too bad, I was able to maintain my position through most of the first lap until we got to the second sand pit and was forced to go over my handlebars as the guy in front of me crashed. I made up my spots quickly but was suffering, I lost most of my valuable spots in the sand pits and the hills, had no issues with the run-up as usual. Long story short I felt like crap and from what I've been told I looked like it as well. I ended up placing with a not so good score of 40/75.

VERGE #4: Cycle-Smart UCI Cyclo-Cross
Course: This course was located at Look Park in Northampton, MA and was as fun as a course could possibly get. It had hardly any hill climbing which I was THRILLED about but had a sandpit (not as long as yesterday's) and 2 good size run-ups which I was very happy about since I LOVE run-ups for some insane reason. It also had a fast pace downhill, barriers and some train tracks to jump over along with some nice long short grassed straight-a-ways. Starts off on pavement to organize things out as you get into the first corner and it transitions into dirt, a few fast corners comes up and you find yourself going down the first descent (smaller) and over your first set of train tracks which you could catch some air on. After the train tracks you have a chance in the grass to make up some spots before you hit the 90 degree turn and over another set of tracks. You then get out into the field with a ways to go until you hit the sandpit which was immediately after a 180, I found this easier to run instead of ride since you had no momentum going into it. Once you get out of the sand you pass the pits and come out into pavement before you hit the BIG run-up as you head into the woods. You then go into a few switchbacks, go back down into the field for a quick turn over another set of tracks and into the second run-up. It was difficult to ride up it but WAS possible with enough speed, later in the day once it was packed down a bit more almost everyone was riding up it but most of the riders in my field (C Men) ran it. Once you get over this and head back into the woods you go through a series of switchbacks, hit the barriers, and then shoot yourself down a paved path onto the road and past the finishing line for another lap. This was a very fast course with as much fun as a racer could ask for. Thumbs up!

Race Report: I didn't have to pick my teammate up today so I didn't have to leave the house until about 5AM to make my 2hr commute. Just a heads up, ignore MapQuest!!! It suggested that I took I-495 to Rt-2 to get on I-91...bad idea!!! Rt-2 sucks, I was either stuck in single lane traffic going through hick towns or getting stuck in construction roads calling for slower speeds. This turned my drive into an extra 30mins. Instead take I-495 to I-90 to I-91, much faster, save about 45mins from the time it took me to get down there. I reached the gate to the park and ended up paying $5.00 for parking, the $4.00 parking charge was expected, not $5.00, big whoop-he!! I had no issues with this and paid without saying anything, the line was held up though because everyone in front of me was complaining!! Give me a break! I think they should just include parking fees in BikeReg registration so I don't have to go to an ATM, but no biggy. Anyways, once again it was very cold, a little colder than yesterday but not too bad. I did a few laps on the course, a few with Zank as well, knew from the start this course was going to be fun. I was hoping that yesterday's race opened me up a bit for today and it turns out it did. Felt much better today and was top 5 for the first lap with a start in the front row. I managed to miss all the racers crashing on the tracks and around the first corner and felt pretty strong. Zank was right up front in 2nd and was looking really strong. Second lap I was still top 10 and still feeling strong, and the end of the 3rd lap I hit the ground hard going around the corner of the steep descent. I got up, threw my chain back on and got back on my bike but by then a ton of riders already went by me. I tried to make my spots back up but quickly realized that I hit my hip and lower back pretty hard when I went down and had difficulty getting back into my rythem. So I tried to push through the pain, keep my spot and make some back but it wasn't easy. I lost contact with main group that I had been with and was no pretty much on my own. On the finish I managed to give it EVERYTHING I had and sprint by a racer in my category right at the finish line which I was thrilled about. I ended up placing 26/79 which isn't too bad but was shooting for closer to top 15. Either way I had a TON of fun on this course, will definitely be racing this next year, and not only felt much better than yesterday but placed quite a bit better as well. So...I just need to learn how to go around corners without crashing I should be good to go. Great job to Zank who placed 8th!!

Got a few pics on my blog as well.

same 2 as drlski - see his post for course descriptions - except i was also racing collegiate-ly

chainbiter - ok start position, about 5th row. couldnt get into the pedals and was prbly in the 30's at the first turn. i enjoyed the course becase it was challenging, but not enjoyable. completed lap 1 without much fanfare, pickup a few spots here, loose them later. etc.lap 2, coming through the barriers, i somehow managed a flat on my front tire. long run to pit # 1, where i got a neutral front wheel. i was dfl coming out of the pit, but wanted to finish, rode hard to pass one guy so i wouldnt be dfl, and then saved my legs and worked on form for the last 2 laps (we were lapped while i was in the pits). it wasnt so much fun, but whatever. at that point i thought that cross just hated me. a former teammate of mine who rides elite for velo bella also flatted and ran nearly a mile to finish dfl....and my other teammate also took dfl in womens b.....great day for us huh?

edit - ill add in i stuck around for the elite races - mcormick is a really really strong rider even though he took 2nd. learned alot just from watching that race. really cool to watch them power through the sand and also up the runup that i hadn't even considered attempting to ride.

northampton - wasnt feeling so great, and my legs were pretty tired from my whopping 2 laps the day before. i got a terrible start (7th row or so) as i had pre-reg'd at the last minute. was able to get into my pedals quickly and prbly took 20 spots going into the first turn, putting me in the 50's. i felt kind of blah, got bumped around in the first few grassy switchbacks, but avoided the crashes and someone told the guy in front of me we were about 35. at that point i knew there were 4 collegiate guys ahead of me and i decided to try and mix things up. i rode hard, nothing super special, and caught up to the collegiate guy right ahead of me (unh rider). i sat on his wheel for a lap before he crashed. then he caught back on, i towed him for a bit before riding away from him. i was all alone following a faceplant coming out the barriers on the 2nd to last lap, and took those first corners really hard/fast. i was amazed how fast i could take them and be fine, easily 2-3X as fast as the pack was taking them. i really learned something about cornering. the last lap my legs were starting to feel terrible, and i watched 4 guys pass me as i couldnt get into the pedals after the first runup, and another 7 or so on the second runup (Again pedals). i caught that small group, one of whom was a collegiate jersey. i ended up taking 2nd in that 7 or so way sprint, beating the collegaite guy a few meters from the line. overall i was 31st, not bad considering my start and many mistakes. prelimarily i think i was 3rd for collegiate guys....which ill take. it was nice to fininsh a race with no major mishaps. my teammate also beat a few people, so she wasnt dfl.

i had a ton of fun post race, chillin with the unh team, making fools of ourselves and screaming loudly. if you heard that, im sry. we were the guys screaming "go big" or "do a backflip" at the traintracks at northampton, or general shouts at chainbiter.

zanc, i think i saw you a few times. were you talking to pierre sort of after the b mens race? if you dont know a pierre nevermind, but if so then i was a random guy in blue sweatshirt and khaki's talking to callie (one of pierre's friends), if you know her. also i think i was staged behind you in the mess that was staging the first day. im not stalking you ( i swear ) , i just saw a dude in a Z sweatshirt and also with a zanc bike. in c's

see y'all at unh hopefully.

CC09, I wish I knew that was you. Pierre is my boy, and Callie, well, I get giggly just talking to her. Like middle school kind of giggly. Yeah, I know I'm married, but she is such a cool little racer. Rebecca thinks she's cute too. :D

DRLski, I had a great time hanging out with you this weekend. Nice work in your races!

So I was pretty happy with things this weekend. Farmington was a suffer fest for me, and I was on damage control the last two laps. I had a nice front row spot, but missed the holeshot. Came off the pavement at the 180 corner about 6th wheel. Went into the sand and a few people got hung up, so I moved up a few places there. I hammered up the climb and thought I was going to be sick. But I took 3rd wheel for the remainder of the lap. A couple of guys joined us on lap 2 of 4. The lead guy rode off of our group at that point. The 3 others went really hard up the hill and I lost the wheel. I rolled through in 5th on the second lap, but then I started really feeling the hill. I lost a bunch more places by the finish to end up 10th. I was happy with my effort and my start though.

Northampton is such a fun course. Super fast with one tough run up, one ride/run up, a good sand pit and a nice set of fast hurdles. Again, I had a nice front row spot but I missed the holeshot again. I was third wheel headed onto the lower field and then the guy in second slid out in a fast corner. Sweet. So I jumped on the leader and we cruised along for a pretty quick lap. On the second lap, I went as hard as I could on the run up and someone on the side of the course said we had daylight. I led through the top part of the course and then on the little chute headed back onto the lower field. Damnit, dropped my chian. I hopped on the back of the second group. So now there was a lone leader and our group of 5. I rolled through with this group with 3 to go. Then I broke cardinal rule #23. I should have been leading through the corners. Instead I was last wheel. The rubber band kept stretching on every turn until I couldn't get back on. I went as hard as I could on the second to last lap and almost caught them but just couldn't close the gap. I paid the price and kind of blew up. One guy passed me and then Oscar caught and dropped me. Oscar caught me on the last lap the day before too. So I ended up 8th.

Lessons learned.
A front row spot is great.
Lead the group that you are in. That way the elastic wo't stretch in every corner.

Next week are two smaller races (UNH and Putney). Good races to practice more tactics.

Thanks for reading!

zank - how do you know them? callie was a teammate of mine last year (shes awesome), and she introduced me to pierre, and he doesn't really know who i am, we've met a few times and he went to my school before my time so every so often he sees my jersey and says hi.

congrats on the results as well.

Pierre (PVB) is my teammate. Callie I met through Pierre. Come join us on HUP. DRLski won't because he doesn't like our kit. He would rather have that yellow BOB jersey.

Pierre (PVB) is my teammate. Callie I met through Pierre. Come join us on HUP. DRLski won't because he doesn't like our kit. He would rather have that yellow BOB jersey.

Actually the BOB jersey is ugly too :P I'll probably be joining HUP for '07 cross season, Zack said they have no clothing left so I won't be doing it this year.

No DFL's. But d%mned close. I did my 1st elite masters race after doing 4 c races. I figured, what the hell, I'll get beat by guys my own age:rolleyes:. Race Pace in Sykesville, MD. Fast course, apparantly a bit longer and harder than last year's. I have no referance since I never did it before. The 35+ 45+ Masters field was the biggest of then day; 41 riders in all. Mostly grass, some asphalt paths. The start was fairly narrow and I was off the back initially since, well, there was no room to pass. Up a short incline and then a shot down a short hill and a 90 degree right turn. A goood line and you could carry some speed. Straight across the side of a hill and then a sharp left/right downhill and up an off camber climb into several off camber 180 turns. I did OK in these and then a right turn onto an asphalt path where you could really get speed up to a grassy S turn and down across another asphant path/ grass long sweeper to a 180 turn and a sharp right to *1* barrier, up a short runup and immediately a sharp left (no chance to do a real good remount) down a dip and another long right turn into the toughest area of the course; a left turn down a steep hill sweeping right/left up a steep climb; rideable but tough. 180 right turn around a tree, back down that hill a short flat stretch and up another steep incline; rideable but if you stood (like me) on the climb, you could loose traction and fall over (at least it was grass!). Up a gradual climb and down a right sweeper to the start/finish. I passed a couple of guys midway through the race and we worked together for a while. I gradually fell off the back and then kept the same gap. That extra time (Masters length compared to C length) did me in. Technically I'm doing "OK". Just gotta be able to keep up my effort for longer. 40th out of 41. Oh well, there's always next week....those old guys are fast! Another 1st; getting lapped. Had to happen eventually.:mad:

Actually the BOB jersey is ugly too :P I'll probably be joining HUP for '07 cross season, Zack said they have no clothing left so I won't be doing it this year.

Nice dude! We need to grow the ranks. We are a little thin this year. I would like to see 15-20 Huppers out in New England in 07. As long as you worship Belgian bike racers, you are cool with us!

Nice dude! We need to grow the ranks. We are a little thin this year. I would like to see 15-20 Huppers out in New England in 07. As long as you worship Belgian bike racers, you are cool with us!

Boo yea!!

does hup have college kids on the team? i sort of know pierre, and emily....

hell yeah. But the question is, do you worship Belgian bike racers?

well lets see.....i wish i was bart wellens, he just has a cool name. nick nuyens seems like a good dude. you gotta love boonen. nys and vervecken, 'nuff said. i have a small shrine built to axel in my dorm room (not really, but, well, dont look at that poster over there).

does that count?

edit, in the itnerest of not taking over the thread, ill pm you)

hell yeah. But the question is, do you worship Belgian bike racers?

Alright, alright enough of the Hup lovefest. Get a room you three. This is a race report thread, so...

Missed Farmington for a wedding, so Noho only for me. Babysitting problems limited my warm up to a sprint from the car to the staging area, and while I thought my super early registration for the 35+ A field would have gotten me close to the front row, I was 30 riders back after the call ups. I got a decent start considering my placing, and took a pine tree branch in the face around the first corner for riding up the side of the pack.

I think only two riders passed me in the first two laps, and I was getting by a good number of people early on, so maybe I was top 20 through 2.5 laps. I found the sand pit easiest to ride, but was concerned what it was doing to my drive train, although I kept on riding it. I also rode the second hill every time, that seemed much faster than running it. As I was not even close to contending with the leaders, I was looking around to see who I was riding with and I seemed to be ahead of a few guys that I'm normally behind, so that was good. I hit the deck twice: once behind as a guy who lost it in one of the greasy/grassy corners and once when I tipped over in the sand pit. Each time I lost 5-10 places or so. Towards the end, I settled into a group of 4-5 riders but was dangling at the back too long to even think about getting around any of them. Finished 43/88, about 2 minutes behind the leader.

Things I learned: like Zank, stay at the front of the group you are with (unless it is super a super windy, roadie course like Canton), and Mackenzie Dickey would have been top 10 easliy in our race. She can fly.

Gripped, hope you don't mind me starting this thread.

Morgan, thanks for starting the thread. I wasn't on the ball this week. I had my first cross racing DNF today. Went through my race bike and pit bike. I bent the rim on the pit bike and have a pretty big hole in my Tufo tubie. I'll try super glue and Stans before throwing it in the trash.

Report to come later ...

USGPs in Colorado---
I'll be breif,

Saturday:
-120 cat 4 men!
Katie Compton is a monster!
Trebon is from another planet!

Sunday:
136 cat 4 men! I finally crashed, it was pretty cool.
Compton and Bissette, Lynne kept it interesting.
Wick-nasty is cool! Trebon did an amazing race, 3 bike changes stoped on the 3rd change to fix his handlebars HIMSELF cuz his carbon cockpit was messed up(duh!), then almost got back to the lead group. Wells did all the work. Powers bunny hop the un-hopable bariers. Most exciting race I have ever seen!

I'm with surfamtn....

Saturday's USGP course was probably the best cross course CO has ever seen. Cat 4 field was HUGE. 120 with a cap at 125. Tough going the first couple of laps. But it sorted it self out.

Sunday's course was harder. All grass with 2 sand pits, one double barrier set and one uphill grind. Field limit was to be 125 but 136 or 146 ,depending on who you talked to, showed up. Got caught up in a crash with some dude that had never raced before. Chased and chased to get back to the group that I was with, but to no avail. Got taken out in the big sand pit on 2 occasions. Mass confusion on who they were pulling and who kept racing.

Now time to train and keep racing and focusing on State Championship in another month. In the mean time, 6 more races before that.

Ryan Trebon is my new hero. He kinda looked like Michael Rasmussen changing bikes 3 times but came back to make a 4 up sprint with TJ, Wicks and Todd Wells. He looks unbeatable for the championship.

Katie Compton "Crushed" the field again today. Won on Saturday by almost a minute and won today by about the same margin.

USGPs in Colorado---

Sunday:
136 cat 4 men! I finally crashed, it was pretty cool.


sufamtn -

I'm assuming you raced Cat 4. For others wondering, in Colorado, Cat 4 is the slowest category you can enter. I'm wondering if you were like the many of us that were pulled from the course without even getting lapped. The lap times were pretty long, I'm assuming 9+ minutes since the race was only 5 laps. While I was on lap 2 I heard the announcer say they were already pulling riders. I briefly thought, "what the fuh? Some guys only got to do one lap?" I'm finishing up lap 3 and I'm in a group with two other riders and the ref gives us the throat cutting sign and pulls us off and everyone behind us. It was several minutes before the leaders came through and I would have put good money down that they would not have caught my group on lap 4 meaning we would not have been lapped. I'm guessing they were trying to save time by clearing the course because our race would have ran to about 55+ minutes to clear the course. They could have yanked us on lap 4 if that was the case. I paid to race, not to do a few warm up laps. You had to line up 20 minutes before the start to get a descent position. It was painful watching the race you should be in and the announcer saying over half the racers had been pullled.

They claim they were pulling riders for safety reasons, but if you survived the first two laps in that crowd, you were obviously good enough to finish the race. It was so strung out and there was plenty of room to pass. There was no singletrack. You could have passed anywhere. If I did get lapped then I would be fine since they said that ahead of time, but I did not. I'm still pissed about it. I feel I got ripped off. What a great way to turn people off of the sport.

The Cat 3 group had a similar amount of people and I hope they didn't pull that crap in their race. Punish the guys for not sandbagging and racing the 4's by pulling them out of the race would be totally uncalled for.

If the race course and watching the pro race wasn't so good, I would have felt it would have been a total waste of time.

Morgan, thanks for starting the thread. I wasn't on the ball this week. I had my first cross racing DNF today. Went through my race bike and pit bike. I bent the rim on the pit bike and have a pretty big hole in my Tufo tubie. I'll try super glue and Stans before throwing it in the trash.

Report to come later ...

Apparently the rocks at Barton took their toll on many riders today... that totally sucks to go through both rides. I managed to get in my first complete race of this season. Surgery, work travel, jet-lag all kept me from getting to several races.

To say that Barton Park was... wet and muddy... is a severe understatement. If this rain keeps up, I'll be comutting in on the arc. Was that 40 cubits or 30 cubits...

I raced the bellingham race in WA today, no Seattle series race and the Wa st championship race is way in Spokane on the far east side of the state. This race was on the Western Wa University campus. It had lots of fast grass sections, with somewhat muddy off camber sections, some gravel road or parkinglot sections and a couple of road crossings. Amazingly it didn't rain at all durring the cat 3/b race, Yesterday it was pouring in most of w washington and it was looking to be really wet SUnday, but it wasn't too bad, some mud, but not nearly as much as last week, and at least it wasn't cold and wet. I raced my first compleate race on a geared and freewheelable crossbike in at least 2 years, been racing fixed on my cross check the last 2 seasons. I also had a new 48t ring, instead of a 53, big great cross difference, and neoreto's front and rear now also, awesome. I also put a rear brake and a fw on the cross check as a b bike incase the gears got too gunked up or I wanted a change.
I had a fairly good position at the near the front, about 3rd row or so I tried my usual warmup by fire method, don't warm up too much go out hard, feel really bad for maybe the first lap or two till your warmed up, I felt really crappy those first 2 laps, and they were long laps. I was in the first 10 or so after 2 laps fell back some then was kinda by myself trying to catch a guy on a mint green kelly running a single ring, I would close in on him on the fast off camber grass sections then fall back again on the false flat gravel road leading to the steep runnup, which I wasn't running as good as usual, probably cause of the false flat before hand. Ended up finishing maybe almost a minute behind Kelly guy, Allen I think was his name. The race took me almost an hour for a "45" minute race, and I know that the leaders didn't have much more then 3 minutes on me, oh well at least I know that I can go for a full hour .
Lessons learned, maybe I should do a real warmup, and be able to take advantage of a good starting position. 2. My really nice geared curtlo cross bike that see's mostly fun road miles in the summer, actually is probably faster on most courses then a fixed cross check that probably weighs a little more, and still probably faster then the cross check with a fw and both brakes. 3. A 48t big ring is far superior to a 53t big ring on a cross course, cause of the smaller gear gap between front rings, I never used the 53t in previous cross races, I did use the 48t on the course today on the fastest section, having pauls kicks butt also. I did actually remember how to shift and coast.WOW. Also my mudd 2's probably would've been better then my wtb cross wolf tires on the slick off camber sections, cause of the more rounded profile and slightly better mud shedding ability.

sufamtn -

I'm assuming you raced Cat 4. For others wondering, in Colorado, Cat 4 is the slowest category you can enter. I'm wondering if you were like the many of us that were pulled from the course without even getting lapped. The lap times were pretty long, I'm assuming 9+ minutes since the race was only 5 laps. While I was on lap 2 I heard the announcer say they were already pulling riders. I briefly thought, "what the fuh? Some guys only got to do one lap?" I'm finishing up lap 3 and I'm in a group with two other riders and the ref gives us the throat cutting sign and pulls us off and everyone behind us. It was several minutes before the leaders came through and I would have put good money down that they would not have caught my group on lap 4 meaning we would not have been lapped. I'm guessing they were trying to save time by clearing the course because our race would have ran to about 55+ minutes to clear the course. They could have yanked us on lap 4 if that was the case. I paid to race, not to do a few warm up laps. You had to line up 20 minutes before the start to get a descent position. It was painful watching the race you should be in and the announcer saying over half the racers had been pullled.

They claim they were pulling riders for safety reasons, but if you survived the first two laps in that crowd, you were obviously good enough to finish the race. It was so strung out and there was plenty of room to pass. There was no singletrack. You could have passed anywhere. If I did get lapped then I would be fine since they said that ahead of time, but I did not. I'm still pissed about it. I feel I got ripped off. What a great way to turn people off of the sport.

The Cat 3 group had a similar amount of people and I hope they didn't pull that crap in their race. Punish the guys for not sandbagging and racing the 4's by pulling them out of the race would be totally uncalled for.

If the race course and watching the pro race wasn't so good, I would have felt it would have been a total waste of time.

They did the same thing the first day at the GP in Gloucester. They were pulling a lot of riders before they even got lapped. They pulled my wife two laps in and she went to talk to the ref. We wouldn't look at her and said those are the rules. She stayed right in his face for 4 or 5 minutes, mostly because he wouldn't look at her and she got more anoyed. He gave some "blah blah blah...I have been doing this since 1978...blah blah blah". I don't think Rebecca was the only one to say something because the next day they didn't pull anyone from the C Men/B Masters/B Womens race.

I think unless there are legitimate extenuating circumstances, they should leave everyone in the C race. How else are they going to improve? Gloucester was a long, wide course. There was no reason to remove anyone from the race as Sunday's race proved.

Chainbiter 8.0 - It was a damn cold start. Got two good warm up laps in before the start, had to wear winter gloves just to keep the hands warm. Had a great start on the first lap going into the woods bunny hopping the curb. The first sand pit was tough with so many riders slowing down all at once. Continued a good pace on the first lap but spent the rest of the laps suffering on the straights trying to make up some ground in the turns and sand, but then only to suffer on the flats once again and loose more places. Had fun on the quick downhill sections and managed the last sand pit pretty well each time. Tried to not slide back too far each lap and just managed to stay ahead of another group of fast approaching riders. The slight incline to the finish was tough but kept the pace up to maintain 46th...every pedal stroke counts....crossed the line dizzy. The race was a blast, good event set up, had a great time meeting some new CXers. Now its time to recover...

Gonsa,
I think I would feel the same way if I got pulled too. Actually I went through on 3rd lap and saw the lap counter said 2, I was like "WTF!" had to ask the Official if that was right cuz we were not doing slow laps, my wife said we were sub 7 min.

Do the math.....I think what happened is that they were behind schedule for some reason. Remember when we were in the start grid for like an hour....she said that we were gonna start befor the end of the 35s to stay on time...My guess is that they started pulling early and ended the whole race early to stay on time.

I am not sure who to talk to about it but if you are upset, speak up and be heard!!! And while you have their ear ask them to do call ups based on the earliest to register (I was the big dork that reged first and wore #400 both days.)
....and i like how you list us as "the slowest catagory you can enter" - thanks, that helped my ego a ton!

Chainbiter 8.0 - It was a damn cold start. Got two good warm up laps in before the start, had to wear winter gloves just to keep the hands warm. Had a great start on the first lap going into the woods bunny hopping the curb. The first sand pit was tough with so many riders slowing down all at once. Continued a good pace on the first lap but spent the rest of the laps suffering on the straights trying to make up some ground in the turns and sand, but then only to suffer on the flats once again and loose more places. Had fun on the quick downhill sections and managed the last sand pit pretty well each time. Tried to not slide back too far each lap and just managed to stay ahead of another group of fast approaching riders. The slight incline to the finish was tough but kept the pace up to maintain 46th...every pedal stroke counts....crossed the line dizzy. The race was a blast, good event set up, had a great time meeting some new CXers. Now its time to recover...

Chris, great ride! Are you going to Putney or UNH next weekend? I'll look for you.

The venue is a county gravel pit that’s being reclamated and will be annexed by the adjoining county park along a pristine river. The facility is a mix of gravel service roads and some bogs with rocks strewn about. It’s always been hell on equipment and I always leave my good stuff at home. In the past, the course was a mixture of long straights with multiple climbs up and down a dike. Yesterday, it was set up with lots of twisting corners and even more times up and down the embankment of the dike. There’s a V trench that was ride able, but most decided to run it. I got the impression that because of the severity of the injuries at the races lately, they took a course made very slow by the conditions and made it slower by throwing in a corner ever 40 meters. The ground there is very hard and littered with sharp rocks so maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea. I forgot to mention, it rained 3-4 inches over the last several days and the ground was quite saturated.

I actually got a call up which is a first for a Cross Crusade race. When the whistle blew I got a real clean click into the pedals and settled into second wheel. Once we hit the course I bobbled here and there and lost a few positions immediately. I ended up trying to ride things that I’d planned on running and running things I planned on riding. Although I didn’t go down, the first lap was a series of errors and I came through the finish area 7th wheel. Although I swapped positions with a few riders, I remained in that position all the way to the end. In the final 100 meters, someone passed me, but I ran by em on the run-up. Although I didn’t make it on the podium the race was all kinds of fun. I might have felt different if I had busted up some equipment. There was plenty of that going around and I’m glad I was excused from that exercise.

Nice job, Terry! What category are you racing these days?

Which UNH rider are you? I was rapping with one during the race. The UNH guy who had the branch stuck on his rear wheel during race was funny. I was yelling at him to ignore it and he yelled back "style points!" Friggin hilarious.

BTW, I ride for NHCC, you should really all consider coming over to us too. We're NH based, have cool kits, uh, but virtually no one who rides cross. We've got maybe four or five people that race with any frequency.

That's my plug at least.

See you next week at UNH and Putney.

BT
nhcyclingclub.com

Wow, what a course. I had missed Hillsborough a few weeks ago because I was attending a friends wedding, so this was my first chance to race in true cyclocross conditions.

- As Terry mentioned, we've been getting crazy amounts of rain. The course was sopping wet and super slow with muddy hairpin turns, three barriers and three run ups that couldn't be ridden (well, I didn't stick around for the A's). So I was off my bike a good half dozen times a lap. Oh, nice meeting you Terry!

- I stuck to the C's as this is my first season. Somewhow we did 5 laps. Every other heat with the exception of the Men's A's did only 4 laps. That's good, we need the practice. The A's did 9 laps though due to a timing mistake. Yikes!

- Day before the race I made my first ccx purchase since the beat up bike last summer - some Mud 2's. They saved me, I know with the Speedmaxes I would have been slower on some corners and unable to ride a couple hills including the short right hand off camber that most people ran. My tire pressure was just downright lucky. Despite the mud there were some sharp rocks (visible and hidden in puddles) that I know I bottomed out on a few times but never pinched.

- Half hour before the start and the line was mobbed. Couldn't stand the thought of waiting in the rain getting cold, especially since I would have already been at the back. Went for a warm up and returned three minutes before the start. Dead last off the line. Just kept cranking and passing folks when they went down or struggled on the hills. Clawed my way back up to 10th out of fifty something.

- The giant puddle, some ten meters long and half a meter deep, was just amazing. It actually washed much of the mud off each time around. Of course it just resoaked my chamis adding what seemed like an additional ten pounds to my crotch :)

- It's the little battles. Caught the rider ahead of me just before the top of the last run up on the last lap, and instead of remounting I sprinted past him, barely.

- The course, the crowd, the and the organizers are amazing. Felt like a four year old kid playing in the mud. Giddy.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

The venue is a county gravel pit that’s being reclamated and will be annexed by the adjoining county park along a pristine river. The facility is a mix of gravel service roads and some bogs with rocks strewn about. It’s always been hell on equipment and I always leave my good stuff at home.

Since I got the upgrade to 35+ A's, I'd been racing with a "just happy to be here" headspace and I wanted that to change. Barton is generally one of my favorite courses because lots of people hate it. It gives me a bit of a psychological edge. Going in my strategy was to get a good start and then settle in a reel in whoever I could.

As kajukembo mentioned, the course was wet and muddy. The mud was a silty variety and the Tufo Flexus hooked up quite well. I got there early enough to cheer on kajukembo and the eventual 35+ B race winner Dave Johnson who is a co-worker (and Ken Benderly's brother). The constant rain was a demotivator for getting out on the bike to warm up. Just before the women's race, I suited up and went out on my pre-ride. There was nothing too hairy -- a couple intimidating downhills and the dreaded V-slot. I rode the slot and felt pretty good about the course.

I continued to warm up while the women raced and my legs felt better than I expected. When I checked the line to see if anyone was staging, I got a surprise to see that *everyone* had staged for the A's and 35+ A's. So much for the good start. I lined up on the last row (of three). They called up the series leaders and I scrambled for a better spot when everyone else filled in behind. I was far left but still three rows back. They sent off the A's and a minute or so later we got the whistle. I immediately went in the grass beside the road and started making up spots. By the time we were on the gravel, I was sitting about 10th wheel.

The course seemed much soupier since my preride but nothing serious. I held my position for about a half lap then started trading places with some guys for a bit. Riding the V-slot really helped to keep some of the guys ahead in sight. Before long, I lost a couple spots for good but there were still guys just up the road I felt like I might make a move on in the later laps. I kept the rubber side down and rode lots of stuff. I was strong on the dismounts and made up time on folks on foot (and I'm kind of hefty too).

One of the natural barriers was a line of rocks about 16-20 inches high across the course. The left side was clearly marked out of bounds -- until our race. The cones had been knocked over and no one had replaced them. That made the left side hoppable. The problem was that there was a very *sharp* rock on the far side of the pile. I nicked it with my rear on lap three and put a hole in my tire. The tire went flat slowly enough that I was able to gingerly pedal to the pit not too far away.

A bike exchange later I was off having only lost a place and a bit of time on the guys I could still see in front of me. The next lap through the pile, I ran it -- much slower than the hop but definitely safer. Then on lap 5, I was on the heels of a guy ripe to get dropped and the A leader was coming around behind me. I figured, "Oh, I can hop that thing," but I was sloppy and brought my rear wheel down on the sharp rock hard enough to ding my rim and cut a big honking hole in my rear Flexus.

Race over. My teammate, Bill, came by me a few seconds later and I told him I was out of bikes. I walked the short distance to the pit to pick up my other bike and I saw Bill walking toward me. It took me a moment to realize it was him since I expected him to still be out there riding. He had flatted just after me and he, too, was out of bikes.

It turns out that the A race ended up being about an hour and 20 minutes (8 laps for guys like me) so I picked the right race to DNF. :rolleyes: Actually, I was reeling in guys when I flatted and felt pretty good. I was sitting 14th when I flatted and I was about to put the hammer on the guy in 13th. I don't think I could have pulled off a top ten though. Still, I had a strong effort and I hope I can have a couple of strong efforts with no equipment problems in a few out of my next (and final) three races.

- The giant puddle, some ten meters long and half a meter deep, was just amazing. It actually washed much of the mud off each time around. Of course it just resoaked my chamis adding what seemed like an additional ten pounds to my crotch :)

Dude, that was cool and refreshing! Every time I went through it I felt like I was ready to get on the pedals again.

Chainbiter/Noho Weekend...

Well, I woke up deathly ill on Thursday with a head cold. I slept 20 out of 24 hours that day and awoke feeling pretty damn good. The problem was that the head cold had become a chest cold. Oh yum, chest congestion.

In spite of that fact, I still wanted to race the Chainbiter/Noho weekend. I accepted the fact that racing sick would not lend itself to a spectacular top-10 finish and that a top-15 would be pretty darned good. So up to New England we drove. Amazingly, I got a pretty good start at Chainbiter. But then I started feeling bad. Two laps in, I wanted to die... and quit... though I'm not sure which one I wanted to do more. I lost a bunch of places. I got a second wind and gained a few back. Then I rode into the tape in the sand on the last lap and lost a spot. Oh well. 13th place for being sick with a chest cold really isn't that bad. I really love the course, though... except the curb hopping, because I suck at that.

Northampton started with another good start. I have no idea how I managed to get my starts down, but I'm glad I did. I'm no longer sucking it up AS BAD after a start. I might lose a few spots, but at least I don't get shot out the back anymore. I was doing pretty well and racing in the top ten, tearing through the finishing straight, into the gravel and the downhill on the second lap and it happened. Probably the most spectacular crash of the entire race, but I can't be sure because I was in it so I didn't have that great of a view. I came into the ramps over the train tracks with a little TOO much speed, apparently didn't shift my weight back far enough and landed on my front wheel at what I'm guessing was enough of an angle to throw the bike to the left and me under and between it to the right. I saw my handlebars and distinctly remember looking at my front wheel, then I smacked down to the ground on my back and neck. I was laying there, looking up at the sky with my right arm tangled in my bars, my right leg between the front wheel and the frame, my left leg over the top tube and stuck under the nose of my saddle. And I was wriggling like a worm trying to extricate myself from this mess. Someone said, "Are you okay?" And I said, "I don't know." Someone untangled me from my bike and took it off me. Hands helped me up. A rider went by. My legs were working. I whirled around and tried to locate my bike. Some guy was holding it, taking it over the course tape. I screamed at him, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GIMME MY BIKE!" He held it out, either stunned or embarassed, and I tore it out of his hands, jumped back on and sprinted off. On subsequent laps I was sure to scrub off enough speed not to bite it on the ramps, but the divot in the grass that my crash created was a constant reminder lap after lap. My knee was killing me, but my bike was working fine. I could feel every bump in each of my newly forming bruises. I fought back to 13th, but lost it on the last lap. I was cracking hard and Marianne got a second wind, so I ended up 14th. We all had a good laugh about the crash after the race. I went back to the car to lick (and clean) my wounds. It was then that I realized that scrubbing at my knee wasn't getting the "dirt" off of it. In fact, the dirt was blood underneath the skin forming a wonderful black and purple bruise already. I am sore as hell today, can barely turn my neck and I have bruises all over my calves. My right knee is swollen so badly it's grotesque, and I have bruises up and down my right tricep. I have really got to stop crashing. I might actually do well if I could stay upright on two wheels for an entire race.

Which UNH rider are you? I was rapping with one during the race. The UNH guy who had the branch stuck on his rear wheel during race was funny. I was yelling at him to ignore it and he yelled back "style points!" Friggin hilarious.

i actaully ride for Colby, but I was hanging out w/ UNH and also raced C's. the kid with the stick in his wheel was jeff, hes a good kid. really funny.

Vonteity...you have the worst luck with crashes. I thought that was you I saw riding, you must like racing in NE or something, i always see you at the races up here but it must be at least a few hour drive?

P.S. Do you still have a blog? I used to link to it but it's no longer there.

Vonteity...you have the worst luck with crashes. I thought that was you I saw riding, you must like racing in NE or something, i always see you at the races up here but it must be at least a few hour drive?

P.S. Do you still have a blog? I used to link to it but it's no longer there.

I prefer to race in NE... stiffer competition, tougher courses, a wider array of conditions. All of which will make me a better rider when I can figure out how not to crash. It's a long drive, but it's no big thing. I wouldn't drive all the way up for one race, but two races makes it worth it. No more blog, sorry.

CC09: Gotta ask what pedals are you using? Sounds like more practice in them or some worn cleats?

venue: "the racing was fast and furious on the technically demanding 3K loop course in Lambert Wilson Park that required impressive cycling fitness, outstanding bike handling ability and the acrobatic skills of a Cirque de Soliel performer to do really well."
costs: $30 (CAN) entry fee.
freebies: chamois butter, elite warming gel, the june 2006 issue of Pedal magazine, enervit gel and drink
weather: temperatures above freezing, calm, overcast.
results: 12th out of 20 finishers in the master 40-49 male race. about 15 minutes behind the fastest overall finisher.
numbers:
laps: 5
average lap time: 10min11sec
average wattage: 196
peak wattage: 660
avg. speed: 17.3 km/hr (a little slower than last year)
peak velocity: 38.4 km/hr
finishing time: 51min 6sec (official)
avg cadence 53 rpm
calories spent on the bike: 602
avg heart rate: 158 beats per minute
maximum hr: 174 bpm
rider weight: 80 kg
body fat: 14.2%
BMI: 23.9 kg/m2
other stuff: the elite riders rode 7 eight minute laps. no tim johnson or lyne bessette this year. those new redlines look pretty sweet.

I prefer to race in NE... stiffer competition, tougher courses, a wider array of conditions. All of which will make me a better rider when I can figure out how not to crash. It's a long drive, but it's no big thing. I wouldn't drive all the way up for one race, but two races makes it worth it. No more blog, sorry.

He had the good sense to yell AAHHHHH! (seriously) as he endo'd. I was about 30 M in front of him with no one else around when it happened. I literally laughed out loud as I looked back to see him mid air making that sound.

I guess that that track crossing was a little more dangerous than it looked for some.

I didn't stick around for your race. I hope you continue to race in NE. Maybe some day I'll introduce myself.

BT
Team NHCC

I heard that they stuck the A's with double the laps of fun... lucky you!

Barton ended up being my first race of the season. Due to surgeries, I have not been able (nor allowed) to run all year long. I paid for that dearly with all those fun run-ups. That used to be one of my strengths... doh!

I rode SS this year, and just got caught by the lead B riders on their last lap, so mine was a very short race. Probably just as well.

Gore-tex socks work great until you get water over the cufs, then you end up with water that does not want to go anywhere... but it was warm... lol

I had to laugh at one guy on a MTB right before the start. He had new tires on (big ass tires. something I'd use for DH, not XC) running 60 PSI and what looked to be something in the range of a 34x16 (or 18) gearing. He must have been spinning at somewhere around 110-120 RPM at the start. I suggested a higher gear next time as I went past him, but at least he'd be able to go up most of the short hills with that gear... lol

He had the good sense to yell AAHHHHH! (seriously) as he endo'd. I was about 30 M in front of him with no one else around when it happened. I literally laughed out loud as I looked back to see him mid air making that sound.

I guess that that track crossing was a little more dangerous than it looked for some.

I didn't stick around for your race. I hope you continue to race in NE. Maybe some day I'll introduce myself.

BT
Team NHCC

I don't know what I yelled in mid-air, but I hope it wasn't a string of cuss words. :aureola:

The track crossing wasn't that bad, I just never expected to get so much air off of it. In subsequent laps I was careful to shift my weight rearward so as not to have a repeat. I won't be back in NE for the race on Thanksgiving weekend, but maybe for the double race weekend in December.

I don't know what I yelled in mid-air, but I hope it wasn't a string of cuss words. :aureola:

The track crossing wasn't that bad, I just never expected to get so much air off of it. In subsequent laps I was careful to shift my weight rearward so as not to have a repeat. I won't be back in NE for the race on Thanksgiving weekend, but maybe for the double race weekend in December.

That was you?! I was spectating right there from the train tracks when you lost it. Yours was BY FAR the most spectacular crash of the day, although I can't speak to any that may have occurred in the 35+ as that was my race. You didn't yell much of anything while going down and it didn't look like you had much chance of saving it either.

The position you ended up in looked waaaay painful and deserves further clarification for the readership. When you came to a stop, you were on your backside off to the right of the bike with the tires on the ground close to your rump and the controls sort of towards the left but off the ground. The top of the bike was suspended and leaning away from you, simultaneously held down from weight of your leg and held off the ground by the fact that that same leg wasn't ready to come out of its socket. Ouch.

I was equally entertained and amazed that you were still able to ride when you yelled at that guy. He was a UNH rider and laughed afterwards but clearly felt bad about it. I have to give him a bit of a pass on that one though, he probably thought as I did that anyone that went down that hard would be done.

Great job getting back in there and riding strong after that wreck. You were riding really well. Hope you heal soon!

With the Seattle Series in an off week and our States over in Spokane I decided to support the Western Wash. cycling team and venture the 90 miles north for their maiden race on the campus grounds. I feared the worst with the terential rain we had on Saturday but Sunday was dry and quite warm.

The course was a mix of some fast grass sections with some tricky areas that would get worse as the day progressed due to the wetness of the grass, some hard pack gravel that had a couple false flats that sapped your legs, a steep runup, some barriers and a very creative ride through a piece of art on the grass. I decided to run the Mud2's again and it was a wise choice.

About 25 riders were in the Cat 3 (B's) race and I managed to get a second row spot, I got a decent start and after about a minute was sitting in 4th place. I managed to pass a couple guys on a grassy rise because they slid out and I managed to keep it upright. I was sitting in 2nd place for the first half of the race with a couple guys breathing down my neck pretty hard. I was good through the tricky stuff and the short, steep rises but I was lacking on the false flats where guys gained some time on me and frankly I wasn't feeling strong today. I was passed on the last two laps by possibly 4 or 5 guys that I couldn't reel back in. No results yet but I'd guess around 7th and was glad to support a new race and series.

Some other interesting items about the course was we were reliant on students marshalling a road to stop cars and let them through during the race. I kept wondering how hungover they were and if they were paying attention. We also raced around a Football (soccer) match that was going on and the ball would sometimes veer onto the course.

As this was a new race for a new series the organizers still need to iron out a couple things, one being lap numbers. The 45 minute race ended up being 60 minutes but hey its good exercise. As luck would have it it started raining as soon as the last race finished and it hasn't stopped since. This weekend is going to be sloppy for sure!

I know this course has a reputation as being hard on equipment and thus is not a "favorite" but like another poster said I saw this as an advantage. The course layout was the best I've seen in four years racing and played to my skills which are more running less flat, big gear stuff.

I actually sat on a trainer this week to get some time in. I've never been a fan of stationary trainers. I prefer to ride in all types of weather. But the rain was torrential this week and I didn't have a fendered winter bike set-up yet. Sunday I did my warm-up for the first time on the trainer and felt it made a real difference in the outcome of my race. I got a good look at the course as part of my warm-up and figured there were no real surprises; similar to years past with a few new twists.

The organizers actually did a call-up for the first time this year. After the call-up the rest of us mortals filled in. I sat about third row I think. At the start I bungled my clip in for about twenty yards then settled in to what seemed like a relatively sane pace heading to the first of many hair-pin turns.

At two laps in I felt good and recovered well after each (and there were many) run-ups. About this time a rider came out of nowhere breathing down my neck which made me start to wonder if I was really feeling as well as I thought. He kept with me move to move and when he came around I was relieved to see he was the junior leader (they start thirty seconds after us) When the second junior rider caught me I stayed with him for awhile which felt good.

The run-ups were steep but short and by lap 4 my form was ebbing yet I still had power which was comforting. After catching a rider on the long straight away I sat on the wheel of another entering the first hair-pin. This guy seemed very strong with a typical powerful, roadie build. I followed for about half a lap trying to gauge how he was feeling. At the top of a short, slippery but rideable hill I was gasping and couldn't close the small opening where he took advantage. Soon I saw my chance at a slightly off camber, very muddy hill leading to an immediate sharp right. I had trouble deciding what to do on this sharp right all race. Only once did I manage to get to the grassy edge and find traction. This time same thing: lose momentum forced to jump off and run. But I was still ahead of the guy and over the concrete barrier I punched it. I kept the power on and really flew up the second to last run-up.

At the finish my teamates and buddies were heckling me that he was right on my wheel, which I later learned was not true, but still kept me going hot!. I got 22nd out of 55 . Good race.

That was you?! I was spectating right there from the train tracks when you lost it. Yours was BY FAR the most spectacular crash of the day, although I can't speak to any that may have occurred in the 35+ as that was my race. You didn't yell much of anything while going down and it didn't look like you had much chance of saving it either.

The position you ended up in looked waaaay painful and deserves further clarification for the readership. When you came to a stop, you were on your backside off to the right of the bike with the tires on the ground close to your rump and the controls sort of towards the left but off the ground. The top of the bike was suspended and leaning away from you, simultaneously held down from weight of your leg and held off the ground by the fact that that same leg wasn't ready to come out of its socket. Ouch.

I was equally entertained and amazed that you were still able to ride when you yelled at that guy. He was a UNH rider and laughed afterwards but clearly felt bad about it. I have to give him a bit of a pass on that one though, he probably thought as I did that anyone that went down that hard would be done.

Great job getting back in there and riding strong after that wreck. You were riding really well.

Haha... yeah, I apologized to him on his blog for yelling at him. Someone sent me the link this morning. I felt really bad about it, but after I realized nothing was broken or torn I began wildly looking around for my bike and I see it being carried off the course. All I could think of was that I needed to get back on my bike RIGHT THEN, so I yelled... really loud.

I'm just as surprised that I was able to finish and that I'm not more hurt than I am. There's some swelling as I mentioned, but it seems to all be soft tissue damage. I lucked out with no breaks, torn ligaments, etc. Just some really, really nasty bruises.

I know someone had to have videotaped the whole episode. It will probably end up on youtube. I would love to see the crash!

CC09: Gotta ask what pedals are you using? Sounds like more practice in them or some worn cleats?

spd's. it may be practice, as i had always ridden keo's and still just cant get it down, even with about 100 or so mounts/dismounts a week for the last 3 weeks now (since i started riding).

actaully, one of my teammates is having her mom send her a pair of time atac's from a few years back she won in a race but never mounted because she had multiple bikes and didnt want to buy more pedals. so hopefully ill have them for this weekend, or def. by next weekend. if i still cant get into those i'll know its me, not the pedal.

You'll like the ATACs they seem to be the best thing next to Crank Bros eggbeaters. I use the C Bros candy's but now have a used pair of eggbeaters to try out next week. Hope it continues to muck up!!

You'll like the ATACs they seem to be the best thing next to Crank Bros eggbeaters. I use the C Bros candy's but now have a used pair of eggbeaters to try out next week. Hope it continues to muck up!!

yea, if i dont like the atac's i may sell them and buy the eggbeaters (the are like 40 bucks online)? and since the teammate that is giving them to me also happens to be my gf, i dont think she will mind since ive basically given her a ton of crap at this point.

I know someone had to have videotaped the whole episode. It will probably end up on youtube. I would love to see the crash!

I think we would all like to see any video or stills of this crash, including the tangled Von/bike aftermath.

I'm jealous. All I managed to do was fall over at the top of climb when my rear tire spun out from underneath me. No blood, guts, or gore. I'll try harder next time:yesnod:

Did both the GP races in the 3's over the weekend. Really good racing out there! Saturday, they really should have staged the 3s' and 4's in the cage at the north end. We hit the single track way to thick of a group. Ridable trail turned into a leisure walk as we watched the race dissapear ahead. A combo of starting in the back of the group and never finding my top end landed me in 30th. If there were another lap i'd have gained at least 5 positions. Oh well, lesson - line up super early for the big events.

Sunday. Lined up 20 min before the damm start and still ended up 3rd row. Eh, no problem... lots of wide uphill pavement to string it out. Started out nice but a few guys had issues ahead and one made a great save and held it upright. The grass sections were bouncy. If you ran high pressure because of the extensive pavement, the grass made you pay. A few really tight turns in the course that I wish i had less pressure for. There was very little spot for rest on the course. Did a good job keeping myself out of the redzone. The sand pit was tough. You could ride the first section no problem but it got deep. The pros men rode the whole thing, some of the women did too... but the women that did seamed to lose positions as it sucked the juice out of em. After fighting the sand a few laps i stuck with running the whole thing. Every lap I gained ground doing that. When others dismounted the sand killed their momentem. That made the diffrence. The runup was great with exception to the first lap that make a parking lot out of it's entrance. I did a pretty good job limiting my remount hop. Paid a little as this weekend was my first try at new shoes and pedals. Doubt it set me back much though... Had a few of my boulder friends out cheering me on. That always helps. Plus they had my cowbell! Managed to pick off one at the base of the pavement toward the finish and another shortly before the line. 21st palce. Not my best of the year but about normal considering the field size...

On the comments above regarding pulling lapped riders... it is done for several reasons... not sure why 'safety' is one. Passing happends all the time no more dangerous for laped riders as it is passing someone who popped. But for score keeping, laped riders are a nightmare. Also the last thing you need if you're driving off the front is a lapped rider blocking. If there is a string of 5 or 6 riders a lapped rider can be used to block if the leader passes right before a tough passing section. (such as the off camber turns before the pavement)

But really, it comes dowo to officals trying to get the best results with so many racers on course.

Sheri, Beth, Dean, and others, :thumbsup:
And of course a big thanks to Chris. Quality event with the best spectating vantage points around. You could see 80% of the race from quite a few locations!

Oh, even saw Andy Hampsten out there banging his big ol' Tour de Suisse bell! Why isn't this guy racing masters? He still looks fit as a fiddle!

On my blog.

Great course at an aptly named "Leisure Complex" outside of Toronto. I did the Elite race after a night of family camping. Good technical course, rode pretty well, no crashes, just a little slow. Moved up a little during the second half of the race, felt pretty decent after a slow start to the season with lots of injuries and setbacks, so 15th. or whatever it was was a good show for old me. Behold the dork king:

1) Determined look after riding the v-slot and about to run-up the dike.

2) Through the gravel piles

3) Over the concrete barrier (not UCI regularion height, BTW)

I'm jealous. All I managed to do was fall over at the top of climb when my rear tire spun out from underneath me. No blood, guts, or gore. I'll try harder next time:yesnod:

Ya'll are gonna think I'm a sick puppy for documenting these bruises, but I am absolutely amazed by them. Keep in mind this is just the beginning of Day 2. They're gonna get real purty... Enjoy! :D

all i have to say is D*MN! thats gotta hurt!

I did the C race with many of the people on this thread. I had a fantastic race. I was the guy in the CBRC kit.

I started off in the front row and was second to the hole. Once on the grass section i immediately powered by the guy in first and turned it on a bit. It opened a small gap that was closed quickly by Zank, i think. We had a decent sized group that all stayed together through the frist lap. I tried to accelerate every chance i got but couldn't do much. I didn't have the juice to do it. I was still leading it when we reached the lower grassy section and then i slid out on one of the corners. I went down but not hard. I got back up and turned on the afterburners to catch back on to a group of about 4. It cooked me a bit to catch back on. I think the guy that won it got away while i was chasing back on after my crash. I caught the group, rested for a second and then got on the front to try and pull the leader back. I urgered others to help but no would or could help. I even asked one guy if the person off the front was his teammate or something because everytime he went to the front he would sit up. I moved to the front again and dragged everyone around. With about 1.5 laps to go i bobbled it a bit on a corner and two Pig Iron guys got away on the steep descent. I thought i could pull it back but the guy from Tufts wouldn't do any work with me. So the two Pig Iron guys drilled it until the end to stay away for 2nd and 3rd. I finally dropped the Tufts guy and took 4th place by myself.

I wasn't really sure what to do when no one wanted to chase the leader. I thought we could catch him if we worked it but no one seemed interested. But, everytime i moved off the front the pace would slow and noticed others were beginning to catch up to us from behind so i would move to the front and lift the pace. I figured it was better to duke it out with 4-5 guys than with 15.

Overall, it was fun. That was my first big cross race.

I have a bunch of photos. I think i have several of you Zank. If you don't mind i will post them.

I did the C race with many of the people on this thread. I had a fantastic race. I was the guy in the CBRC kit.

I started off in the front row and was second to the hole. Once on the grass section i immediately powered by the guy in first and turned it on a bit. It opened a small gap that was closed quickly by Zank, i think. We had a decent sized group that all stayed together through the frist lap. I tried to accelerate every chance i got but couldn't do much. I didn't have the juice to do it. I was still leading it when we reached the lower grassy section and then i slid out on one of the corners. I went down but not hard. I got back up and turned on the afterburners to catch back on to a group of about 4. It cooked me a bit to catch back on. I think the guy that won it got away while i was chasing back on after my crash. I caught the group, rested for a second and then got on the front to try and pull the leader back. I urgered others to help but no would or could help. I even asked one guy if the person off the front was his teammate or something because everytime he went to the front he would sit up. I moved to the front again and dragged everyone around. With about 1.5 laps to go i bobbled it a bit on a corner and two Pig Iron guys got away on the steep descent. I thought i could pull it back but the guy from Tufts wouldn't do any work with me. So the two Pig Iron guys drilled it until the end to stay away for 2nd and 3rd. I finally dropped the Tufts guy and took 4th place by myself.

I wasn't really sure what to do when no one wanted to chase the leader. I thought we could catch him if we worked it but no one seemed interested. But, everytime i moved off the front the pace would slow and noticed others were beginning to catch up to us from behind so i would move to the front and lift the pace. I figured it was better to duke it out with 4-5 guys than with 15.

Overall, it was fun. That was my first big cross race.

I have a bunch of photos. I think i have several of you Zank. If you don't mind i will post them.

where you posting them?

Sweet! Maybe we'll just call you "Tyler". BTW-if I came home looking like that my wife would have a cow.....knowing me, it's only a matter of time.

I was just going to post a few of them on here.

What does your kit look like? I will look through my photos and see if i can find any of you.

his is yellow mostly
zanc is hup (sky blue sort of)
im dark blue colby (prbly well behind you) and i know alot of unh guys
any photos of that latter group post as well, id appreciate it

I was just going to post a few of them on here.

What does your kit look like? I will look through my photos and see if i can find any of you.

yellow and red BOB kit. Was right behind Zank (a guy or two back) for the first two laps

Ya'll are gonna think I'm a sick puppy for documenting these bruises, but I am absolutely amazed by them. Keep in mind this is just the beginning of Day 2. They're gonna get real purty... Enjoy! :D
You Rock.

I finally dropped the Tufts guy and took 4th place by myself.

I have a bunch of photos. I think i have several of you Zank. If you don't mind i will post them.

Nice work for your first cross race! You'll be rocking it this weekend.

Post away!

Those are special. Your user gallery looks like csi work on a domestic assault case. I like the new subtitle as well ;)

Rough day for me. I dropped down to the B's since there wasn't a master's field, and the A race started to late for the home. Then I got shellaced by people I thought I should have been racing against.

Then I developed my "Racing Description Scale"
How do I define a good day in cyclocross? You certainly can't go by how you feel. The adage is "It doesn't get any easier as you progress through the ranks, you still suffer the same, you just go faster doing it." So... what's a good day?

1. Extraordinary/Fantastic day! - If I win... it's only happened once... and my legs felt no different than any other week, so this is not a thoroughly tested data point.
2. Really good day - If I finish in front of people that I think should beat me, even if it's cause they were hung over, or had a "bad day".
3. Good day - If I finish in front of people that I think that I'm supposed to be competitive with.
4. OK day - If I finish where I expected, well it could be an OK day, or a bad day.... depending on my perception on my ability to have done better.
5. Bad day - Anything else.

So on this scale, I had a bad day. Oh well, there's always another race next weekend. Maybe I should train a little more.

More details on my blog.
http://ehrlinger.blogspot.com/2006/11/orrville-cyclocross-2-2006.html

I was a Cat 4 who got yanked (not far in front of gonsa I'd think). I guess I was one of the people who snuck in over the rider cap (was the cap 80, 100, 120, who knows?). If there was a hard cap then they should not have registered us. I walked in, filled out the waiver and handed it to the lady working the forms. I simply asked if there was space in Cat 4 and she said yes and took my money.

I don't have a problem with being pulled after getting lapped, if that's the ruling. But we were pulled at least a lap before we'd /maybe/ get lapped. Who's to say that we'd even be lapped? As far as safety, I think that's a bunch of bull. That course had lots of spots to make passes and I feel that passing slower riders is part of the game. If you're a better technical rider, you could even use a pass like that to your advantage. Afterall, it's Cat 4, you are /going/ to hit slower riders. There is no lower class in Colorado and if you want to try out racing CX, that's where you're going to start. If you want to be sure that everyone is faster, bump yourself up to Cat 3. At least you'd be relatively sure that there's aren't going to be any of those pesky beginners to hold you back.

It might have helped to have two groups, like 70 open Cat 4 and 70 Cat 4 35+. The 3 laps I got to do were good. I got to the start line late and ended up in the middle. The start and first 1/2 of the lap were crazy. I went down in a corner and ended up knocking my bars out of alignment by about 20 degrees. I rode for a while like that, but it got to be too distracting, so going through the big sand pit I got off and started running. When I shouldered my bike, I held the wheel and cranked the bars back as straight as I could eye-ball it. At the end of the sand when I got back on the bike, they seemed straight enough and with it my handled much improved. The rest of my 2-1/2 laps were pretty much uneventful. I didn't lose nor gain much after that, but did start feeling a little stronger. The course was really well laid out I thought, very fun. I was in a group of about 6 or so riders that were all about equal, I'd pass and someone would catch me. Then I'd reel them back in, it was fun. Just because we were 1/2 a lap behind the front didn't seem to mean it was any less of a race to us.

I was a Cat 4 who got yanked.

That is f'ing BS. You pay to race and they yank lap riders? from a "c" race beginner race? Utterly pathetic. How can folks progress without actually finishing races?

Post 'em if you got 'em.

Late report, but I didn't see anyone else posting for Sacto so . . . Great race this Saturday at Granite Bay Beach. Course featured a little bit of everything -- sand, barriers, singletrack. Fast course, good weather and great race organization.

Full report with a lot of pictures here:
http://norcalcx.blogspot.com/2006/11/sac-cx-7-granite-bay.html

/k

That is f'ing BS. You pay to race and they yank lap riders? from a "c" race beginner race? Utterly pathetic. How can folks progress without actually finishing races?

Training is how you progress. Racing is how you test your training. Riders get pulled all the time in a crit. Why is it so earthshattering if they do it on another small course?
Try officiating an event with 60 racers and keep track of lapped riders. Then perhaps you might have half the understanding of what officals are working with when they deal with 120 bodies scattered on a course.

Training is how you progress. Racing is how you test your training. Riders get pulled all the time in a crit. Why is it so earthshattering if they do it on another small course?Adequate preparation is how you manage large fields. Officiating large fields is how you test the the adequacy of your preparation. Races are hectic. What is so earthshattering about having to work for the money you took from the racers you registered?

Adequate preparation is how you manage large fields. Officiating large fields is how you test the the adequacy of your preparation. Races are hectic. What is so earthshattering about having to work for the money you took from the racers you registered?

Amen, brother! The Cross Crusade handles between 600-800 racers per event in 12 categories over six races and scores every single racer without pulling anyone. Everyone gets to race the full time. All this for $20 per race and the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association annual license fee of $20.

Yeah, we've got it good out here ...

Adequate preparation is how you manage large fields. Officiating large fields is how you test the the adequacy of your preparation. Races are hectic. What is so earthshattering about having to work for the money you took from the racers you registered?

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Let's face it, these races are not for UCI points or thousands of dollars in sponsor deals. They are for fun and ameteur competition. Pulling riders is contradictory to those ends. You wanna yank lap riders from the Pro 1/2's? Go ahead. But all that will do is clog the 3/4's with sandbaggers, and down the line.

While I'm no 20 year road racer veteran, my experience of racing has been, and will always be:

1) It never gets easier and there's only one winner
2) There's always bad luck and good luck, and its requisite tactical explanation
3) There's always sandbaggers who don't belong
4) Have fun anyway


#4 is the hardest to swallow; especially when you are disappointed with your performance.

Adequate preparation is how you manage large fields. Officiating large fields is how you test the the adequacy of your preparation. Races are hectic. What is so earthshattering about having to work for the money you took from the racers you registered?

Perhaps you aren't aware of it but the officals have nothing to do with the race promoter. The promoter doesn't decide who gets pulled or not. Officials do.

Right, of course. So if the officials show up and the field is bigger than they are comfortable with, the appropriate remedy is to screw the racers instead of taking up the issue with the promoters?

I have a hard time believing that in a C race, riders would rather see prompt, accurate results than see everyone get to finish.

Right, of course. So if the officials show up and the field is bigger than they are comfortable with, the appropriate remedy is to screw the racers instead of taking up the issue with the promoters?

I have a hard time believing that in a C race, riders would rather see prompt, accurate results than see everyone get to finish.

Perhaps that is the case for riders in their first few races. But try selling that to someone who is trying to upgrade. I can see that valid for juniors but we're talking adults. Everyone doesn't need a ribbon.

Perhaps that is the case for riders in their first few races. But try selling that to someone who is trying to upgrade. I can see that valid for juniors but we're talking adults. Everyone doesn't need a ribbon.

Check out these results ... almost 800 racers in 16 categories spread over 6 races in the mud. Every racer placed. No one pulled.

http://www.obra.org/results/2006/cyclocross/cross_crusade_10_15.html

I know that the guys racing C's who aren't anywhere near the front really appreciate getting placed. Hmmm. Maybe that's part of the reason we get 700 or so racers per event.

Wow you guys are gettin all worked up.....
The USGP on sunday was running behind shedule. Not sure why, not sure if there is any "good" reason to run late, but I would bet that it had something to do with pulling riders. The whole cat 4 race only went 35 min (instead of 45) and I am sure that the scoring was hectic, there are lots of holes in the placings that they did score, ie: numbered placings with ??? in the place of names. Tells me that the officials, whom I have much respect for, where overwhelmed for some reason.
I for one was happpy to have such a top noch event right up the street from my house, I was the first to register, and I will be the first to register next year. The promotor (Chris Grelish) did a great job, this event was SO MUCH bigger than the cat 4 race. Having said that, I would have been upset to race 2 laps before being pulled. Like I said in another post, this instance is isolaeted and more importantly over.....If you are still steaming about it (again with good reason) get ahold of the right people and be part of the solution.

Promoters and officials are not getting rich off of this, cut them a little slack.

I am a USCF official. I have officiated cross races with over 160 riders in ONE Race. All those that think the officials should be able to keep track of folks and everyone should be able to finish and not get pulled should try officiating before they open their mouths.

Officials are there for several reasons:

Insure that the racers follow the governing bodies officials rules (USCF, UCI)
Insure rider safety
Insure fair competition


With those items comes a responsiblity to make sure that those riders that have a legitimate chance of winning or placing can race to these goals without the potential for non-contention riders interfering with the outcome. By interfereing I meaning getting in the way, taking a contention rider down in a crash, slowing the lead rider down or get in his or her line which may allow chasing riders to capture him/her, etc. As the number of riders on a preset course becomes large and the field is spread all over the course, the need for policing is justified.

No official wants to pull riders and in smaller races/fields, it isn't usually done, but when USCF or UCI points are up for grabs and the fields are large, this becomes almost a necessity.

Also, keeping track of lapped riders is a pain, especially when its cold and in the beginner races. Many riders put their numbers on wrong, their too crinkled to read as they fly by, cover them with jackets or vests, etc., thus making it difficult to see and count. Also, if a riders is lapped just before or after the finish, knowing what lap they are are one is hard. You have to write down each number on each lap and compare it with the order from the last lap. If your running a big field, you may have a 203 and a103, so if you don't catch the hundreds digit, your SOL until they come around again. Then, if there are multiple fields in the same race, you have to keep track of say the women versus say the juniors and score them separately

Finally, folks drop out if the get a mechnical get tired, etc. You never know what happened to them and constantly look for them amongst the throngs of riders that come through.

Pulling riders in bigger races also reduces the potential for race result challenges. A few times I was lapped just before the winner crosses the line and then I would be scored second or third. Then there would be a protest and the official would be trying to sort something out instead of focusing on the next race. I know that some instances can not be avoided, but minimizing this some is desirable. Also, waiting for lapped riders to finish, some times 10 minutes down, when trying to ready for the next race on a tight schedule day is not practical.

Doc.

I definitely understand/agree with what Doc is saying as well as the other riders, personally I think it all comes down to the riders, I think if you're racing and you're in a top 5-10 finish then you should be trying to upgrade yourself and let others have a chance and this will also balance the fields out. I can't stand sandbaggers, I know a lot of people think that it's a good thing to be on the podium and such a few times so they can "learn how to win" but are they really riding to their potential? Heck, we had a rider in a race this past weekend that had a gap the entire race and won, not only this but he placed 4th, 3rd, 2nd, and now 1st in the past 4 races he's done and he still wants to race Men C, I don't understand this, you are not riding to your potential this way...you can't improve. As soon as I get my first top 5 (maybe top 10) finish I'll be looking to upgrade to the Killer B's. Until then there's still room for improvement.

My opinion is at a large event there is a big difference between top 10 and top 5. And there is a big difference between top 5 and a win. One of my mentors told me a good rule of thumb is upgrade after 5 top 5s, 3 top 3s or a win, whichever comes first.

That's all well and good from an officiating perspective, and if making life neat and tidy for officials were the point of racing that would be fine. But the bottom line from my perspective is that begginer races are there for riders to gain experience, and yanking slower riders so that faster riders don't have to worry about passing robs both of a learning experience. Cross seems to be a growing sport in the US, which means more beginners, larger fields (and both of these are good things) and hopefully officials who can deal.

So keeping track of lapped riders is a pain, especially when its cold? GMAFB. Its CROSS for cryin' out loud.

Well I also did the Northampton, MA Look Park race, competing in the C Men division. Started in the 5th row, and got passed a bunch. Mostly on the flats, but I gained some spots back at the run-up and the barriers. I would say I held my own through the technical parts, I just don't have the top end speed and fitness to compete w/ the guys in the power/speed sections than me </Captain Obvious>.

I crashed twice, both times on the first lap, but was back up on the bike quickly. The first crash was from another rider who cut into my front wheel on a corner. He said "Sorry dude, I got pinched", but I didn't see anyone else around :rolleyes: at least my fall took him out ;) . The second crash was over where CC09 later was standing and calling for "backflips", the railroad tracks. I couldn't make the corner after catching some air a la Cru Jones in "Rad (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091817/)" (sadly there were no hot chicks around to bike dance w/ afterwards ).

Anyway I ended up finish 53rd of 79. I was happy to finish after the debacle w/ the rear derailleur meets Caution tape debacle in Canton the previous week. I've certainly got lots of room to improve, this was my 2nd race, and actually I only started cycling this past August, so I've got realistic expectations.

I lived out in Amherst in 1996-97, so after watching the Men's B race, I headed over to The Moan and Dove (http://www.themoananddove.com/) (which was Amherst Ale Haus back then) for some belgian ale (La Moinette from Brasserie Dupont (http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/637/1713)). The Moan and Dove was only voted the #1 place to have a beer by Beeradvocate.com in 2006. They have a new place in downtown Northampton called The Dirty Truth (http://www.themoananddove.com/dirtytruth/menu_food.html) which serves "mussels and frites w/ mayo", will have to check it out after next year's race. Of course, I had to stop at my favorite burrito joint "Bueno y Sano (http://www.buenoysano.com/)" for some soft taco delight. I ordered 12, ate 4 on the ride home and saved the rest for later. So good!

I've had a great time at the cross races, and met some very cool people, and the area who have helped me out (eyeBob, Ronnie, Marc etc.) It just makes me wish that I had started sooner. I'm gonna go see some family in VT, and do the Putney race this Sunday, and maybe the UNH race on Saturday if I can get some leaves raked up. Still lots of cross left this season.


Cheers,

Tom

I am a USCF official.

First let me say thanks for stepping up and helping cyclists be able to attend lots of great races. Anyone who gives up a day or two of their weekend to help put on a bike race deserves our gratitude.

Now then, thank God I race in OBRA-land.

Cross races with at least 160 racers on the course at a time? How about 4 out of 6 races a day over a seven race schedule. That's what the Cross Crusade does. Riders pulled? Not a one. Riders placed? Every single one.

What I meant by it's a pain for the officials to keep track of riders in the cold weather was not because the officials are cold is because large percentage of the beginner riders put their number on and then put a jacket/vest over the number or put it on the wrong side, etc. Officials don't have X-ray vision.

Another point, if you think the officials are getting "paid" for officiating, let me let you in on a little secret, we are not gettting rich. For a grass roots event (<300 total riders), a typical official gets about $40/day + mileage. I have worked races form 8 AM until 4 PM for a measley $40, that less than minimum wage. I also had the pleasure of driving 1 to 2 h to get there. We do get mileage reimbursed and maybe a cold lunch and 15 minutes to eat it. All of this so that you can have the privilege of racing for 30 to 60 minutes and then go home.

We do our best to keep riders in, but when you have a Beginner field, say at Gloucester, MA that has almost 200 riders it, keeping track of everyone is sometimes problematic. However, the officials usually get it right.

So the next time your at a race, maybe say thanks to an official for basically "volunteering" their time so that you can have fun.

Doc

Got one, thanks.

And I have plenty of gratitude for the folks who have donated their time to events where I have participated, where beginners are allowed to run their race, everyone gets placed and officials, spectators and racers alike have a good time in a positive atomsphere.

If the "measly" $40 isn't enough to make it worth your while to show up early and tolerate a bunch of slow racers making your life complicated and delaying the real race, there are plenty of people all over the country who do it for less if, anything at all, and without the 'tude.

I suspect the official was not saying that the slower riders were making his life difficult, but rather the doofus brains who put their numbers on the wrong side every freaking week, fold their numbers, argue about every little thing when registering and complain about the course, prize list, etc. Want to explain the rules on the starting line? The same people are the ones jabbering in the back of the pack during pre race instructions, dropping out without telling anyone, leaving without checking results and contacting the promoter three days later to ask for a results change or a mailed prize.

I love having new riders in races and would make every effort to never pull a rider, but our races are small. I understand where the offical is coming from also, $40 to listen to the same tedious minority of selfish people complaining every weekend would get old by this point in the season.

In any event, as a promoter, if you leave your race scoring duties to the officials, you just may be sorry. I'd wager that the Oregon races mentioned above are scored by people who are associated with the race promotion team and have the duty to score, not officiate.

I raced well, the course was technical enough that I could actually excel (compared to the grass crits that keep popping up). All natural barriers were a very cool addition to the course along with some short blazing fast road sections. I finished 32 of 44 in the 3/4's which is my best finish this season. I felt consistently strong throughout the entire race and started picking up places the last 3 laps.

Officiating is generally fun and I enjoy it. As you summised, I don't do it for the money, but for the love an promotion of the sport. My response to PeanutButterBreadth was merely to point out that officiating is harder than it looks sometimes and although pulling riders is a thing we do not like or often do, it is a necessity in some instances.

Here in the Northeast the officials both officiate and score riders. Sometimes the races are 15 minutes apart. Example the Masters could go off at 10 AM and race for 45 minutes and the next race goes off at 11:00 AM. If we allow riders to do at least the 45 minutes (not pulling), theoretically a lagging rider could be starting another lap as the lead rider is approaching the finishing line at 45 minutes. If the lap is long, they (the lagging rider) could be finishing 8 minutes or so down. So the race is "officially" ending at 53 minutes (last rider). The officials then have to compile the results, review them, get them to be posted, and then stage and start the next race to remain on time. We encourage the promoters to have at least 20 minutes before the end/start of sequential races, but they often don't. Once the results are posted, there is a 15 minute protest time. Any scoring issues must be dealt with promptly, often during the next race while you are trying to score..

Since we are typically not well staffed, sometimes one offical/scorer is trying to keep track of a hundred riders, while the other official deals with scoring or rules issues from the previous race. Officals also are responsible for overseeing Registration. Although they not need be actually present at the table, and licensing or rules issues that come up need to be dealt with immediately..

I also promote a cross race in the fall AND a training criterium series every Sunday from March to September, so I am very involved in racing and promoting the sport. We average over 100 riders every Sunday and encourage new riders with clinics and free coaching each weekend

Maybe the races elsewhere are done differently. Just relaying my experiences.

Doc

First let me say thanks for stepping up and helping cyclists be able to attend lots of great races. Anyone who gives up a day or two of their weekend to help put on a bike race deserves our gratitude.

Now then, thank God I race in OBRA-land.

Cross races with at least 160 racers on the course at a time? How about 4 out of 6 races a day over a seven race schedule. That's what the Cross Crusade does. Riders pulled? Not a one. Riders placed? Every single one.

Wow I didn't know this discussion was still going. The bottom line here is pulling that large amount of riders was a complete surprise to those of us that normally race in the area. It was worse for us that were not lapped.

I am certainly not bashing the officials and I did not argue with them. Someone made the decision to register that large amount of racers which I am sure the officials had no part of. Yanking almost half the field was uncalled for and I feel sorry for anyone that was competing in their first race.

It's not a good thing for the sport in our area. There really is not a "beginner" class here. The top 4's are very fast and are far from beginners. I feel sorry for beginner women. Aside from the first Boulder race this year, I have not seen any Cat 4 women scored and I am not sure any entered. Several of my friends have said they would love to try a race but if I'm struggling to hold on to back half of the "slow" race, they don't want any part of it.

There is noticeably less cross races in the Denver/Boulder area this year. The ones that are left seem more crowded than normal. Someone should tell Dubba not to bother posting "how to" videos on velonews.com because beginners are not welcome here.

I agree with this. My wife did exactly one bike race in her life, a criterium where she had to race with the cat 5 men and got pulled after a few laps. I doubt she would ever want to race again in a bike race because of the experience. After 25 years of racing, I have been pulled my share of times and just kind of shrug it off, but to a new rider it's pretty devistating. I'd personally rather see the top 5 get a placing and the rest not get scored but allowed to complete the event as opposed to pulled to place more riders, especially in the lower categories. For those many of those people, when they go into work the next morning, the fac that they completed a bike race, no matter the place, will be the greatest pride of the weekend. Why deny a new rider the pride of the accomplishment? On the other side, since it is a race about participation, not all riders may get a placeing at all events, but maybe that's life.

I agree completely with jroden and others about beginner races should be there to encourage and not intimidate. I also have a hard time, as a racer, of folks that sandbag beginner races. Totally uncool in my book. If you're constantly doing well in the lower cats, upgrade.

The idea of picking the top 5 or top 10 in a beginner race and then letting the others race without pulling is a very good idea and I as an official would welcome that. The only thing that I see that could be a problem with that is that a lot of folks want to know how they did. You would be amazed how many folks argue over they that came in 31st instead of 32nd. Go stand around any results posting after any race. Rider A "How'd you do?", Rider B " 57th, got a good start but blew in the first lap. You?" Rider A, "30th. I was tired after yesterday's race, but got a second wind in the last two laps".

Like I said, I also help promote and officiate a summer criterium series, where no one is pulled. No matter how many times I instruct the riders that we only pick the top 5 for placing and that if you are more than 15 riders back on the finishing sprint, you are probably not going to get in the top 5, I am shocked if the whole field isn't maxed out in the sprint. We also say that this is a training race, and that sprinting for 30th place is not advised and can cause accidents. But my/our experience is that it doesn't matter.

Doc

There is noticeably less cross races in the Denver/Boulder area this year. The ones that are left seem more crowded than normal. Someone should tell Dubba not to bother posting "how to" videos on velonews.com because beginners are not welcome here.


??? there is two races every weekend from the last week of Sept to Dec, except Veloswap, Thanksgiving, and State Champs weekends, when there is only one on those weekends. What races are gone since last year?

I have done 6 races this season, and this "issue" that this tread keep whineing about, only happened at the 2 biggest races of the season! Where were you guys in Frisco when we had 34 in the 4s or better yet, at the 1st Arapahoe Ridge when it was wet and muddy (rare in CO) and there was like 40 4s.

There are lots of racers in Colorado. There is not enough day light to have all the catagories we already have, then add Beginer Senior men, Bginner men30+, Beginner men 35+, Beginer men senior clydesdale, Beginer me 35+ (insert your qualifier) blah blah blah.

The idea of picking the top 5 or top 10 in a beginner race and then letting the others race without pulling is a very good idea and I as an official would welcome that.

+1

Beginner cross fields here in NE mean 55+, B women & 4's generally are in the same field. I'm not an official but have assisted at our team's cross race in scoring and it gets tough, and those were pretty small fields. The crusade seems to have it figured out but until they export that system universally (which I suspect has to do with an abundance of officials/volunteers and a superior coordination between races), I say let everyone who paid the entry fee ride the entire race in every field. If the officiating resources are scarce and you can have either guaranteed accurate placing at the risk of being pulled or your full time on the course, which would you take if you were a mid-pack rider? It is the mid pack riders that keep this grassroots sport alive, they pay out and rarely take anything back. Alienate them on a large enough scale and race entry revenues go right into the crapper.

The only reason a rider should be pulled in my mind is for safety reasons & is only justified in some crits & long course road races. In cross, leaders should have to deal with lapped traffic, that's part of the deal of being relatively fast compared to your group. It's part of what the challenge fast riders must learn to deal with, a built in process that assures the best succeed.

??? there is two races every weekend from the last week of Sept to Dec, except Veloswap, Thanksgiving, and State Champs weekends, when there is only one on those weekends. What races are gone since last year?.

Most noticeable gone from last year is the Schwab Boss of Cross series.

???
I have done 6 races this season, and this "issue" that this tread keep whineing about, only happened at the 2 biggest races of the season! Where were you guys in Frisco when we had 34 in the 4s or better yet, at the 1st Arapahoe Ridge when it was wet and muddy (rare in CO) and there was like 40 4s.

Arapahoe Ridge like most races had two Cat 4 races with a seperate one for 35+ 4s. Last weekend all us 4's were lumped into one race.

I was very happy to see a pro race again in Boulder. The one at Valmont Park in '98 was classic. It would be great to see the cross scene in Colorado grow to the level it is in the Northwest and Northeast. Then it would not be so unusual to be a regular stop on the tour. Maybe some people don't want that but we certainly have enough cyclists to do it.

So you loose the Boss of cross series for the DBC Events races plus USGP......fair trade!

The "other races" with a 35+ cat 4 did not have a separate Junior catagory that was part of the USGP. Again a day is only so long and only so many catagories can be run. I, for one, would rather see the best juniors in the nation have a place to showcase what they can do, is another fair trade of combining 35+ with straight 4s.

Everybody wants the USGPs toreturn to Colorado, if the trade off is 136 guys in the 4s then thats the way it goes. Cut Chris Grelish some slack! If you don't like it, choose other races to do and come out to support the Elites and drink your belgian er' Boulder Beer.

Hey Zank and DrLski,

Shoot me a PM with your emails and i will send you some photos. I have a couple of shots of both of you. Once you get them you can post them. I would rather not post pictures of other riders on here. But, if you want to post pictures of yourselves feel free to once you get them.

Sorry Colby. I don't have any shots of you or the UNH team.

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/thumbpage.aspx?e=2325295. I found some of UNH and Colby riders.

Doc

... I also dropped my chain right in front of outofthesaddle, slowing him down. Sorry Sean. ...Morgan

I'm a little late on the response. I bust got back into the office after a week of business travel (no saddle time at all since Sun - damn!)

No worries Morgan - As you know, I've had more than my share of chain drops. Tough course. The elevation change really got to me. I was in survival mode pretty quickly. I was hanging on and trying to not to crash on any of the downhill sections. I'm hoping for for some good mud this weekend at Watsonville.

doc and henrad.....thanks a ton

Adequate preparation is how you manage large fields. Officiating large fields is how you test the the adequacy of your preparation. Races are hectic. What is so earthshattering about having to work for the money you took from the racers you registered?
That was my point. Sure, there could be a limit to how many racer you can manage and so you probably should cap registration at that number. Just to reinforce that they were not organized, of the 89 finishers (out of around 140 starters) they didn't even have names for all the people who /did/ get to finish.

Results (under Senior Men Cat 4, see the many '??" pages 11-14):
http://www.dbcevents.com/NOV5_RESULTS.pdf