Shawnee Rescue Radcross 2
20 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Bicycle, Cyclocross, Racing
Last weekend, I skipped both races (HPT Grand Prix and Veterans Cross) thanks to a terrible head cold. This was one of those pleasant, face-pounding colds that absolutely saps any will or desire to ride a bike. By mid day on Sunday the cold had subsided a bit so I decided to drag out the Oetzi for a litte rumble in the jungle. It took a while to blow everything out, but eventually the cold subsided a bit and I was able to enjoy the ride.
Flash forward to this weekend. The cold lingers but I simply couldn’t let another week go by without racing. I got in two half-hearted workouts during the week and was reminded during both of them that I wasn’t right. Suiting up on Saturday for I an easy openers workout was a struggle. In addition to the cold, the weather was beating me down pretty good. “Do I really want to ride in 30+ MPH winds???” Nope. So I checked Facebook and saw that Pych, Tye and several others were meeting at Landahl. There it is! I quickly dressed, loaded the bike, and made it to the Argo trail head just in time to join them.
Since I was racing the next day, I didn’t need a hard ride. Thankfully, despite being with a group of really fast riders, the pace was perfect. And, just like last weekend, it took only 5 minutes of riding to blow out the cold. I felt great motoring along. After 40 minutes of riding though, a stick flipped up into my chain and snapped my rear derailleur hanger. That resulted in a 15-minute hike to the car. That’s important to today’s race because 1) equipment failure and 2) the walk caused nasty, painful blisters on both heels. Oh yeah, and mountain biking before a cross race probably wasn’t a good idea.
My quads were on fire during warm ups today. There’s nothing as concerning in bike racing as fighting leg pain before the race even starts. Needless to say, my head wasn’t in the right place either. I hit it hard two more times trying to flush the pain and then rolled to the line with very little expectations.
Just like the first Radcross, I got the hole shot and led most of the first lap. Two guys came around me going up the little hill on the back side (did I mention my legs were on fire?), but I was able to take back first when one of them washed in the corner before the barriers. We blasted up the hill and back on to the grass, then just as I started in to the first 90-degree turn, I squeezed the front brake and SNAP, the cable broke. I bobbled when the bike didn’t do what I wanted, which let the other two pass me. Then, on the next hard corner, I realized just how important the front brake really is. I had no corning control. It wasn’t long before guys started zipping by me. I had pretty good power but I couldn’t carry any speed into the corners.
Surprisingly, and perhaps unfortunately, my legs finally came under me during the third lap. But, the extra power was pretty much wasted since I couldn’t corner very well. When the race finished, I had slid from the top 3 to 9th place.
On the positive side, after racing for 8 laps with only the back brake, I became pretty proficient at maneuvering the bike through corners. I wasn’t fast by any stretch, but I gained a little more confidence and ability. I was also able to ride the sand on 8 of 10 laps.
Up next, back to Raytown BMX for Boss Cross 4 and the state races. Hup! Hup!
Boss Cross 3
31 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in Cyclocross, Racing
Wee-haw! Now that’s cross racing. My results (9/21) don’t really show how much fun I had at Boss Cross III. The course was a great mix of flowing lines, straight aways on rough, grassy/dusty ground, and a short section on the BMX track. Dropping off the high berm to the 3 jump sections took me right back to the old days–Redline PL and the Cathedral City BMX track. A tabletop crossed my mind for a fleeting second, but then I was jerked back to reality when I dropped off the track on the loose dirt corner. In the end, the rough sections were a bit much and eventually wore out my back.
During warm ups I knew this race would be challenging. I still haven’t figured out how to get power to the ground when it’s really rough. And, this course had plenty of roughness. There was only one challenging section. Just before the BMX track the course dropped down into a small ravine and then quickly turned back up to a steep bump with a log laying across the top. It was pretty easy to ride over the log; the tight 180-degree turn on loose gravel just beyond it was the real problem. I tried several times during warm ups but never figured out the timing. I finally gave up and decided to run the entire section. After that, it was pretty much all power. Oh yeah, that and bouncing and bounding and bumping and thumping.
The race, from start to finish, was pretty uneventful. I raced in no man’s land for several laps until I eventually bridged up the lead pack of 5. But, as soon as I caught them, I popped off the back after bobbling across the barriers. It wasn’t a bad bobble but it was enough to shake me mentally. After that the barriers seemed to grow taller and become more challenging on each subsequent lap. Despite my conscience efforts to forget about em, I let them get to me every lap. It culminated in me dropping my chain while dismount with 1 to go. That little error cost me 2 places. I finished in 9th with a sore back and a bike that needs a major tune up and tightening up.
Zach raced earlier in the day and had a great time. This was his first race of the season–probably the first time he’s ridden his bike in months because of soccer, so I told him to focus on riding his own race. He lined up with 11 other juniors, 4 of whom were over 15, and the rest were 10-14. The start left me a little worried. He was last off the line and never really “got into it.” His slow start began to pay off pretty quickly, though with him passing 2 racers on the first lap. Even though I was standing half the course away from the BMX track, I could see the smile on his face as he rolled over the jumps. I knew then that he would be alright. He picked up the pace a bit more and slowly started reeling in the other riders. From where I watched, it looked like his last lap was his fastest. For some reason, he officially placed in last place even though he finished just behind Will Marshall. Any other time I would have contested the results, but since he’s not racing on a license there was really no purpose.
Got Crossed at Cross Out Cancer
09 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in Bicycle, Cyclocross, Racing
That’s racing. Seems a very fitting start for this blog entry, because today I had a little problem that pretty much ended my race. After less than desirable results last week, I was ready to put down a hard effort today. I lined up on the second row, which wasn’t altogether bad because I was in first place after the first 100 meter. I held the holeshot through the first corner and then sat up to let the riders back come around and set tempo. With it being a hot and windy day, the last thing I wanted to do was cook myself on the earlier laps! The 4 of us looped around the twisted up course for two laps and then all hell broke loose.
A rider bridged up to us and quickly came around me. I sat on his wheel for several turns until I realized that a gap was opening. So, I started to move back around him. Only problem is I moved at the wrong time–I started around him just before a turn. My thinking was outside line, swing wide and then hammer it. I yelled out that I was coming but he jumped for the same line. We came together briefly, which caused him to unclip. When he did, he stuck his left foot into my front spokes. Ouch! I didn’t go down or break any spokes, but he had to stop and eventually dropped out (sorry again!).
I settled back into racing but didn’t feel right. My effort and heart rate seemed way too high for the output. I looked down and saw that the front tire was wobbling and rubbing on the brakes. I watched it wobble for a few rotations and then decided to ride on it. When I crossed the barriers the next time, I realized it was worse than it looked because the front tire stopped spinning as soon as it came off the ground. I rolled through the next section and then jumped off to release the front brake.
“Oh yeah!” I was running Bert’s 23mm wheels! The brakes were too tight to release even though I loosened them when I put on the wheels. I struggled with it a few more seconds and then gave up and jumped back on. And I went backwards from there, finishing in 14th place. The power required to push through the grass, wind, and bent front wheel was just too much.
So, big shout out to Bert for letting me tear up your sweet wheel, and a big apology to the rider that went down!
Boss Cross 2 Race Report – 2011 Season Opener
02 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in Bicycle, Cyclocross, Racing
…and it wasn’t the opener I wanted. It seems the start was about the best part of my race today. I rolled off the gravel section and on to the grass in 10th place, which was fine as long as I could see the leaders. We twisted through the first section as a group, but things quickly came undone when 4 guys fell on the steep, loose-dirt run up just before the sand pit. I screeched to a halt and watch the 3 leaders ride away. The stop wasn’t too long, but it was long enough for the 3 up front to open an impossible gap. I started chasing but never really made up any ground. Then, on the 3rd lap, I stepped awkwardly into the sand pit and immediately felt a searing pain in my lower back. I was able to keep going but two laps later I hobbled along with no power or speed. I cruised half-assed for the next 5 laps and called it a day, finishing 13th out of 31.
There’s always next weekend!
