The cyclocross season is underway (sort of) here in Missouri and this past weekend kicked it off with arguably the best race all year, Hermann night cross. The plan for this year's event was a two day affair with the traditional night race Saturday night and a day race the following Sunday. I had started my cross preparation a few weeks earlier than last year to avoid the physical agony I experienced in 2009 and to satiate my legs that have been under raced all year. I showed up not knowing how it would go, but had felt pretty good at cross practice the preceding Tuesday so I was ready to have a good time.
We lined up for a pavement drag race, somewhat uncommon around here, with close to thirty cat 3's. The siren blared as we took off down the road and into a stretch of carving chicanes before a 180 that led to a few long grassy drags before the infamous stair climb. I started reasonably well, around 8th wheel heading into the grass. A few bobbles by some riders in front of me put me into the top six and I started to reassess my goal of a top ten into a top five. After the stair climb and sand pit, I worked my way to fifth and eventually fought my way around to fourth. I was hanging on to Scooter, waiting for the other shoe to drop and my legs to give in, but I continued to feel good. As a gap opened a bit to second wheel, I pulled through and closed it before setting off in pursuit of Schilling, who had gapped the field, through the start finish of the third lap. We climbed the stairs together and I thought it best to take my own line through the sand which put me in front. There were numerous twists and turns after the sand which I could take a clean line through, eventually providing me with a reasonable gap at lap's end. I was a little skeptical about being in front for the remaining five laps, but I felt better than I had in years and just decided to go for it and see where it ended up. I buried myself on the long straightaways to keep the gap in place, confident that the twisting second half would play to my advantage. The gap grew throughout the rest of the race and I took my first win since 2008. It was all a bit surreal as it happened and I felt as if in a bit of a trance. The course flowed perfectly and I was having an immensely good time on the cross bike again. The support from friends was amazing and I don't think I've enjoyed a race so much in quite a while.
Unfortunately, some torrential storms and subsequent flash floods cancelled day two and ruined the park in the process. It's a shame as the Hermann races are top notch and neither the promoter or those camping deserved that kind of end to the weekend. Hopefully, repairs can be made and we'll be back opening our 2011 account at the same venue.
As for me, I am more excited to race this season than I have been in a long time. Much as I complained about it at the time, I think a lack of MTB season is going to work out well. I am making plans to go to Louisville USGP and Nationals and I have upgraded my license to a Category 2. It feels exceptional to have worked hard enough to have earned that and I really can't wait to see where the season takes me. Here it comes...
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Single Speed Midwest World of All Time and Beyond
Success! I completed a mountain bike race for the first time since March! Actually the last two weekends have provided some positive good time competition, one of them went well (and was fun) and the other one was just fun. Let's start with the one that went well.
The New Belgium Urban Assault Ride rolled through town for the second successive year to increased participation and searing heat. Christopher and I had been plotting our domination for 12 full months after he and Margo rocked last year's co-ed class and Lizz and I placed fifth in the same category. We had a strategy, the taper was applied and the pre-race nutrition of fermented juniper and fizzy quinine water was guzzled by the gallon (thanks Dave and Casey!) We showed up bleary eyed but ready for the start, having scored a perfect D+ on our super secret front row earning quiz. The LeMans start was furious and before we knew it, we were knocking down bowling pins at REI, completing brain bending puzzles at Mesa, staddling each other sweatily at Big Shark and drilling paceline style down Delmar for stair sprints up the City Museum. The mayhem ended with a swim at the Holiday Inn and saw us crossing the inflatable obstacled finish line in a dominating display of Urban superiority. The Ranger flowed freely and there was much rejoicing of a lifetime dream finally realized. Lizz and Margo took third in the women's category and we all had something to celebrate. Maybe a little too much, but that Ranger is super tasty.
Fast forward to the following weekend and the Midwest Single Speed Championship. Race summary- I got to my bike quick, did a graceful remount directly onto my top tube (probably need to work that out before cross), rode in fourth for a lap, then fifth, then began crashing a lot. I stopped for a beer after lap 2 and chatted with Dan and Christopher before deciding to finish lap 3 to say I had avoided another DNF. I had a blast and don't care at all where I placed, which was probably poorly considering all the face time I gave the ground and various trees. Maybe I should have ridden Blue Steel a bit more before racing through some tight and twisties, cause it surprisingly rode nothing like my Epic. Go figure. Again, the beer flowed afterward although I kept it in check with a two hour drive ahead of me. DB removed the failures from his new big wheeler (what is the world coming to?), put on a funny outfit, smoke showed everyone else and had many beers after. Riding bikes for fun is fun and I'm glad to see that sentiment shared by good friends. Lets keep this action rolling and remember why we do this in the first place as the months of skinsuits and embrocation come a callin'.
The New Belgium Urban Assault Ride rolled through town for the second successive year to increased participation and searing heat. Christopher and I had been plotting our domination for 12 full months after he and Margo rocked last year's co-ed class and Lizz and I placed fifth in the same category. We had a strategy, the taper was applied and the pre-race nutrition of fermented juniper and fizzy quinine water was guzzled by the gallon (thanks Dave and Casey!) We showed up bleary eyed but ready for the start, having scored a perfect D+ on our super secret front row earning quiz. The LeMans start was furious and before we knew it, we were knocking down bowling pins at REI, completing brain bending puzzles at Mesa, staddling each other sweatily at Big Shark and drilling paceline style down Delmar for stair sprints up the City Museum. The mayhem ended with a swim at the Holiday Inn and saw us crossing the inflatable obstacled finish line in a dominating display of Urban superiority. The Ranger flowed freely and there was much rejoicing of a lifetime dream finally realized. Lizz and Margo took third in the women's category and we all had something to celebrate. Maybe a little too much, but that Ranger is super tasty.
Fast forward to the following weekend and the Midwest Single Speed Championship. Race summary- I got to my bike quick, did a graceful remount directly onto my top tube (probably need to work that out before cross), rode in fourth for a lap, then fifth, then began crashing a lot. I stopped for a beer after lap 2 and chatted with Dan and Christopher before deciding to finish lap 3 to say I had avoided another DNF. I had a blast and don't care at all where I placed, which was probably poorly considering all the face time I gave the ground and various trees. Maybe I should have ridden Blue Steel a bit more before racing through some tight and twisties, cause it surprisingly rode nothing like my Epic. Go figure. Again, the beer flowed afterward although I kept it in check with a two hour drive ahead of me. DB removed the failures from his new big wheeler (what is the world coming to?), put on a funny outfit, smoke showed everyone else and had many beers after. Riding bikes for fun is fun and I'm glad to see that sentiment shared by good friends. Lets keep this action rolling and remember why we do this in the first place as the months of skinsuits and embrocation come a callin'.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Fizzle
So, the 2010 mountain bike season is largely over and it seems as if I didn't really participate after all. It's a bit strange, as I had put a good amount of effort into my preparation for it over the winter and spring. However, race after race, something occurred to lead to a string of unrealized expectations. I think I had some good fitness in May and was excited to build it into a solid season, but it never got going. Certainly not the biggest deal, but a bit disconcerting mentally. Here's a quick rundown of planned races and the results.
-St Joe. I did the marathon class for training. It was mid March and the race was a total mud pit or "wet but not muddy" depending on interpretation. I did three laps many minutes faster than 2008 and thought that it made for a good training ride. I was placed fifth. Good start, I thought at the time.
-White Lightning XC. Waves of torrential storms led me and my road tripping companions to decide to bag the potential for another weekend of mud bogging.
-Rhett's Run. Five inches of rain in the week before the race led to the worst conditions I have ever ridden in. I was in fifth when I flatted and realized I had left my CO2 inflator on my geared bike. DNF,
-MFXC Non-Race. Had a blast, felt great and won. This bodes well for all the races I'm about to do, I thought.
-Lost Valley Luau. Race promotion made participation impossible. DNS
-Brommelsieck. Flatted in the first five minutes hanging on the back of the lead group. Lost five minutes immediately, chased through the sport field and blew on the fourth lap. DNF
-Sac River. Lack of racing led me to feel that 8 hours in the car was not time well spent after not completing a race in three months.
-Show Me State Games. Rainout, cancelled.
-Spanish Lake. Promoter bailed and told no one. Cancelled.
-Dirt Crit Final. Mysterious cancellation.
So there it is. Who cares really? There are certainly worse things in life and I had a great time riding my bike for fun the entire time. I had a number of great rides throughout the year, including possibly the most beautiful ride of my life in Reno. Good times to be sure. I was successful in finishing the Midwest SIngle Speed Championship today aboard my new steed, Blue Steel, but that report will come after I have managed to find the pictures of me yardsaling on the interwebs tomorrow. Fun times, the only real reason to ride a bike anyway.
So, cross starts in three weeks and I think I might get to do a full season of that. The CX rig is getting a makeover and there is some potentially exciting stuff on the horizon, including a return to part time studies at Meremac. Life is pretty sweet and I don't need an number on my bike to prove it.
-St Joe. I did the marathon class for training. It was mid March and the race was a total mud pit or "wet but not muddy" depending on interpretation. I did three laps many minutes faster than 2008 and thought that it made for a good training ride. I was placed fifth. Good start, I thought at the time.
-White Lightning XC. Waves of torrential storms led me and my road tripping companions to decide to bag the potential for another weekend of mud bogging.
-Rhett's Run. Five inches of rain in the week before the race led to the worst conditions I have ever ridden in. I was in fifth when I flatted and realized I had left my CO2 inflator on my geared bike. DNF,
-MFXC Non-Race. Had a blast, felt great and won. This bodes well for all the races I'm about to do, I thought.
-Lost Valley Luau. Race promotion made participation impossible. DNS
-Brommelsieck. Flatted in the first five minutes hanging on the back of the lead group. Lost five minutes immediately, chased through the sport field and blew on the fourth lap. DNF
-Sac River. Lack of racing led me to feel that 8 hours in the car was not time well spent after not completing a race in three months.
-Show Me State Games. Rainout, cancelled.
-Spanish Lake. Promoter bailed and told no one. Cancelled.
-Dirt Crit Final. Mysterious cancellation.
So there it is. Who cares really? There are certainly worse things in life and I had a great time riding my bike for fun the entire time. I had a number of great rides throughout the year, including possibly the most beautiful ride of my life in Reno. Good times to be sure. I was successful in finishing the Midwest SIngle Speed Championship today aboard my new steed, Blue Steel, but that report will come after I have managed to find the pictures of me yardsaling on the interwebs tomorrow. Fun times, the only real reason to ride a bike anyway.
So, cross starts in three weeks and I think I might get to do a full season of that. The CX rig is getting a makeover and there is some potentially exciting stuff on the horizon, including a return to part time studies at Meremac. Life is pretty sweet and I don't need an number on my bike to prove it.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
2010 MTB season
Despite talk of things getting going and motivation and whatnot, a series of rainouts, Saturday races and ill timed flats have led to the most sparse season of racing in years. Cross is now on the horizon, but with any luck, I'll get to do this a few more times before the skinny knobbies come out to play...
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Lately
I have not been terribly dilligent in my updates this year. Not a lot of racing so far and a mind blowing level of business at work have left me with only the moptivation to ride and little to record the details for the few readers that I may have. Regardless, May began the slow movement towards a MTB season and as such, I will share what has been going on lately.
May started with a trip to my favorite race, Rhett's Run in Columbia, MO. Typically a phenomenal course with flowing singletrack, steep grunts and some quality features, the course is mmy most loved of the year. This year, however, five inches of rain had descended on Missouri in the preceding weeks, making for the worst conditions I have ever put a knobby into. Talk of the course "draining well" and being "all rock" were quite obvious ploys to drum up attendance for an event that should have certainly been cancelled. I decided not to give Plastic Fantastic a raping on the day and rode the El Mariachi. In SS mode, it was the perfect bike and had me in 5th place for half the race. I even had a good start with the 34-22, something I truly was not expecting. Unfortunately, a lapse in concentration led me to leave my CO2 cannister on the Epic, meaning that when I flatted, I had no way of inflating the tube I remembered. Game over. I shouldn't have gone, it was a truly wasted day and the trail will take a long time to recover from the forced submission it received that day. I will never again listen to reports of amazing trail conditions when common sense dictates otherwise. I allowed my overwhelming desire to race to cloud my judgement, lesson learned.
The following week, Team Seagal hosted a non-race on the Middle fork section of the Ozark trail. Many discount the non-race for its lack of USAcycling points, entry fees and prize money, but any event that requires a group of riders to try and ride a course faster than one another for a trophy is a race in my book and so I went hoping to see where I'm at at this point. We had a lemans start and I got into the woods about sixth or so. My plan for the day was to stay steady, not go too deep at any point and turn the pedals as smoothly as possible for the 36.5 miles of riding in store for me. As we snaked through the beautiful and perfect Ozark singletrack, more and more riders gapped off the back of the line until I found myself alone in pursuit of second and third about 7 miles in. I passed second place at about mile 8 and slowly reeled first place a short while later. I didn't want to make any efforts to pass or attack and stayed about 5-10 seconds off the wheels for a few miles. I knew there was a major gravel climb toward the end of the course and I planned to try something there if we were still together. I also noted that the rider was relying on bottles and I had a 100oz bladder so I knew he would have to stop at some point, where I would not. He stopped at the first water station at mile 16.5 and I pressed on, trying to put some space between us on the first gravel road. Back onto the singletrack, I had a gap and tried to stay steady for the remaining 20 miles. I was loving every minute of the trail and the bike was performing flawlessly, never making me get out of the 42. A steep, muddy climb 3/4 of the way through the second set of singletrack made me go deeper than I wanted and I knew I would pay for that effort. After a brief trip through an overgrown brush tunnel, I was back on gravel for the next 10 miles. An impromptu sprint competition with a snarling Jack Russell burned another match and I knew it was time to keep it steady with fuel coming in for the major climb ahead. I foolishly thought the climb was near the end of the course and as I cramped my way up a mile long wall of leg breaking gravel, I told myself it was almost over.
It wasn't. 5 more miles of grinding false flat gravel put me back onto the final 3 miles of singletrack. I had a gap, but I had no idea how much despite at least one hundred looks over my shoulder on the gravel. Every muscle in my legs were cramping and I had to stop for a second to get it together.
Chastising myself for weakness, I got back on and plugged away trying to keep the pedals going and yelling at myself not to lose it in the last 2 miles. When I crossed the line in first at 3:24:09, I was absolutely shattered.
Less than a minute later, second place rolled across the line. Despite the non-sanctioned nature of the race, I was extremely proud of my efforts and felt very satisfied with the day. I won the coolest trophy I have ever received and won the most amazing course I have ever raced in Missouri. An amazing day all around and well earned PBR's at the finish were a welcome refreshment.
Now into to June, I am ready to get the ball rolling for real. This year's schedule is peppered with Saturday races, meaning I won't get to do another MTB race until the thee 20th. Unfortunately, I am promoting said race, so it's hard to have any real expectations, but the races come thick and fast afterwards so there is much to be excited about. Hopefully, the fitness stays around or improves and I can have a satisfying run at some XC events before CX starts up in the fall. It seems like it has taken forever, but the ball appears to finally be rolling.
May started with a trip to my favorite race, Rhett's Run in Columbia, MO. Typically a phenomenal course with flowing singletrack, steep grunts and some quality features, the course is mmy most loved of the year. This year, however, five inches of rain had descended on Missouri in the preceding weeks, making for the worst conditions I have ever put a knobby into. Talk of the course "draining well" and being "all rock" were quite obvious ploys to drum up attendance for an event that should have certainly been cancelled. I decided not to give Plastic Fantastic a raping on the day and rode the El Mariachi. In SS mode, it was the perfect bike and had me in 5th place for half the race. I even had a good start with the 34-22, something I truly was not expecting. Unfortunately, a lapse in concentration led me to leave my CO2 cannister on the Epic, meaning that when I flatted, I had no way of inflating the tube I remembered. Game over. I shouldn't have gone, it was a truly wasted day and the trail will take a long time to recover from the forced submission it received that day. I will never again listen to reports of amazing trail conditions when common sense dictates otherwise. I allowed my overwhelming desire to race to cloud my judgement, lesson learned.
The following week, Team Seagal hosted a non-race on the Middle fork section of the Ozark trail. Many discount the non-race for its lack of USAcycling points, entry fees and prize money, but any event that requires a group of riders to try and ride a course faster than one another for a trophy is a race in my book and so I went hoping to see where I'm at at this point. We had a lemans start and I got into the woods about sixth or so. My plan for the day was to stay steady, not go too deep at any point and turn the pedals as smoothly as possible for the 36.5 miles of riding in store for me. As we snaked through the beautiful and perfect Ozark singletrack, more and more riders gapped off the back of the line until I found myself alone in pursuit of second and third about 7 miles in. I passed second place at about mile 8 and slowly reeled first place a short while later. I didn't want to make any efforts to pass or attack and stayed about 5-10 seconds off the wheels for a few miles. I knew there was a major gravel climb toward the end of the course and I planned to try something there if we were still together. I also noted that the rider was relying on bottles and I had a 100oz bladder so I knew he would have to stop at some point, where I would not. He stopped at the first water station at mile 16.5 and I pressed on, trying to put some space between us on the first gravel road. Back onto the singletrack, I had a gap and tried to stay steady for the remaining 20 miles. I was loving every minute of the trail and the bike was performing flawlessly, never making me get out of the 42. A steep, muddy climb 3/4 of the way through the second set of singletrack made me go deeper than I wanted and I knew I would pay for that effort. After a brief trip through an overgrown brush tunnel, I was back on gravel for the next 10 miles. An impromptu sprint competition with a snarling Jack Russell burned another match and I knew it was time to keep it steady with fuel coming in for the major climb ahead. I foolishly thought the climb was near the end of the course and as I cramped my way up a mile long wall of leg breaking gravel, I told myself it was almost over.
It wasn't. 5 more miles of grinding false flat gravel put me back onto the final 3 miles of singletrack. I had a gap, but I had no idea how much despite at least one hundred looks over my shoulder on the gravel. Every muscle in my legs were cramping and I had to stop for a second to get it together.
Chastising myself for weakness, I got back on and plugged away trying to keep the pedals going and yelling at myself not to lose it in the last 2 miles. When I crossed the line in first at 3:24:09, I was absolutely shattered.Less than a minute later, second place rolled across the line. Despite the non-sanctioned nature of the race, I was extremely proud of my efforts and felt very satisfied with the day. I won the coolest trophy I have ever received and won the most amazing course I have ever raced in Missouri. An amazing day all around and well earned PBR's at the finish were a welcome refreshment.
Now into to June, I am ready to get the ball rolling for real. This year's schedule is peppered with Saturday races, meaning I won't get to do another MTB race until the thee 20th. Unfortunately, I am promoting said race, so it's hard to have any real expectations, but the races come thick and fast afterwards so there is much to be excited about. Hopefully, the fitness stays around or improves and I can have a satisfying run at some XC events before CX starts up in the fall. It seems like it has taken forever, but the ball appears to finally be rolling.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Hermann and Kentucky
A number of factors have conspired to derail my planned start to the 2010 racing season. First among them being a profound lack of self confidence leading me to skip the Hermann road race in favor of more mountain bike training and the second being the first wave of thunderstorms to eliminate racing at Kentucky Lake. Maybe I'll race in May, or not... at least there's the Tuesday nights. I could make a whole season out of that, but it might be a bit redundant. Sigh....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)