Race At the Lake 2 - 2004

April 23, 2004

So after last weekend, I decided to play the week a little smarter. I planned on taking Friday off, and racing the short RATL race on Saturday instead of doing the long training ride on Saturday with guys that were not racing on Sunday.

RATL is put on by the Summit FreeWheelers club. They've got a pretty big presence at about every event I've been at. The cool thing about this race is they split the fields nicely. Cat 5/Citizen/Juniors, Women, Cat 4, cat 2/3, masters. So theoretically you really are racing with your peers.

The course is really short 1.2 miles. The Cat 5 race does 12 miles (10 laps), Cat 4 does 18 in 15 laps. There is a slight rise at the 7:00 position, it flattens out again near the lot at 6:00, the rises again near 5:00. You descend from 4:00 into the left turn heading into the start finish mark. Overall the course is really flat, but you could still feel people moving backwards over the 2 rises.

15 counter clockwise laps... on a really short course. Westlake is about 2 miles, which I guess is just long enough, but this course I almost felt dizzy from spinning around this so much.

Prep

The weather was nice, sunny and around 55-60 degrees. I arrived at 8:00 for a 9:40 start. The Cat 5 races starts at 8:30, so I wanted a little time to take some laps and see whe the course looked like. Phil Manning was there for the 5 race, so he took me around and indicated the "be careful" points.

The organization of the race is pretty good. I watched the 5's roll of, then about 3 minutes later, the women rolled off for their race. I watched a lap or two, then started heading out for some warm ups.

On the way out I ran into Dan Guggenheim from Chaos. I figured it would be cool to roll around with him. He also had Steve Previs there. Still only 2 guys on his team, so they were a little short handed. Dan asked if I would work with them... this being my first exclusive 4 race, I said I'd see what I could do. Wow, I'm an honorary team member! or at least recruited to see if I can bury myself.

We warmed up on the roads a bit, and got back in time to catch the Cat 5 chase group come in. I think 2 guys got off the front and a big group came in for third. I'm not sure, but I think the women had passed the 5's somewhere... Cat 3/4 women, so no real lose of pride.

While waiting to get on the course, we stopped and chatted with one of the 5's that went down. A little craziness with holding lines, and a few guys hit the pavement.

By the time we lined up, I was pretty warm, so I dropped all my warmers. Base layer, jersey and shorts. I think the temp was about 60 at the start of the 4 race. A little cool, but I'm sure I'll be plenty warm after the first lap.

The Race - Round and Round the mulberry bush...

A few words from the official at the start. Some complaints from last week on squirrelly riding... I thought I would be away from a lot that in the 4's... I guess not, something else to watch out for.

I did recognize some of the guys from the Covered Bridge races, and last years Westlake race. Some of them have been racing in the A group, but getting dropped. I'm not sure that's a good idea, since then they are not really working once they are away from the pack (personal opinion). Something to think about before trying to jump up.

... And away we go.

Not a super exciting race. My plan was to sit in and see if I could do anything on the primes and at the finish. I felt pretty good, but the pace was pretty high. Round and round. There was some squirrellyness, guys were twitchy in the pack, and it would ripple around.

The primes were pretty frequent, but I couldn't get into a decent position. As I'd move up on the hill, hold ok on the decent, and then get swarmed through the turns before the line. So I was pretty much sitting around 10th wheel through the primes, and in the front 20 or so for most of the race.

Phil hung around and watched the 4's race. It was pretty funny. Every time I went around, he'd be hollering "Come on John, let's go!" After about the fifth or sixth time, one of the guys says to me "Yeah, come on John!"

Dan was doing lots of work at the front, which kind of surprised me. He didn't seem to jump into any of the prime laps, so I wasn't sure of his motives. Steve did hop into one prime that I was close to the front on, but pulled out of his pedal....

One guy (unattached, unless he just wasn't wearing team kit) went off the front with about 5 to go... and opened a pretty big gap. Being the responsibility of the teams to bring him back, I just sat in and watched. We picked him up with 1 to go...

Going up the rises the last time the pace was really ramping up. I lost a few places, probably sitting around 30th. When a bit in front of me a couple guys banged bikes. No one went down, but there was the requisite screaming and a little slow down.

As we hit the second rise, I was behind Brett Davis from Snake Bite. I thought he'd be a fine wheel to move me into a bit of position... my mistake as he stalled in the hill. I waited a bit to long to come around, and ended up a little off the back of the field. I used my awesome descending skills to chase back on... and looked back to see no one, literally.

I made it back before the right turn and picked up a few places before the final, but I ended up 25th out of 33.... shoot.

Post

I did a cool down and caught up with Dan, who got second. I also found out from another guy that the guy who went in the break was a state time trial champ. 1 lap short. He was so far out, they didn't realize he took the last prime.

I felt pretty good... not front of the race good, but I hung in for the whole race. I think I could have done better if I would have chosen a better wheel on the last rise. Dan came in 2nd, and had a max speed of 32mph. I was back of the pack, but had a max of 37.5, which I must have hit chasing back on the decent before the final. Average was 24.5 (or so) and my AHRM was 168! Evidently my LT is pretty high compared to my MAX (182).

The finish and primes were handled pretty well. They had a video camera on a scaffold. They'd switch it on to catch the line. They had spotters to catch the money numbers, but they'll review the tape and post results really far down the field. http://www.summitfreewheelers.org/ratl_frame.html. I should be listed in week 2 sometime soon.

http://www.scottthor.comThis guy posts some really good race diaries. He's a cat 3 and here is his view of the big boys racing.. Poke around his blog.. it's got some really interesting stuff.

Team Akron Covered Bridge Race 2 - 2004

April 18, 2004

This was the third race of the four race Team Akron Covered Bridge series. I had done the first race and the second race was canceled despite the organizers claim that it would go come "Rain, Shine or snow". I guess icy roads weren't in the disclaimer. By noon the race would have been fine, but at 9:30 there would have been carnage.

This week the weather finally broke. So I was looking forward to racing without warmers... hurray! Friday it was 75 and sunny with a bit of wind, Saturday morning it was 60 when I left the house... so I was really looking forward to Sunday.

Let's call this mistake number 0. On Saturday, I called for an earlier start time... 7:30. The weather is nice, so lets get going earlier I thought. I ended up with 56 miles. I wasn't overly concerned, as I am trying to train for 2 day events. So I need to get out on both Saturday and Sunday. I tried to play conservatively, and regularly sat in the group as apposed to driving... as I usually do. I also let one of the guys go on the hills... and just climbed at my own pace without pushing into the red.

Prep

I decided to get to the start early, so I could get a good warmup in. Not like the first race... I was hoping to avoid the panic when the race was quick from the gun. So I arrived about 8:10, and did a warmup lap. I then toddled around until sign-in... eating, spinning around the lot, chatting... then hopped in line as soon as they opened. I was the second B racer to signup...so I had enough time to warmup some more.

There must have been a frog or toad migration sometime recently. After passing the finish there were about 100 squashed frogs on the road. There just isn't that much traffic on that road... pretty wild.

Turns out there was an MS walk-a-thon through the CRVNRA this morning. So the organizers decided to delay the start by 20 minutes to allow the bulk of the walkers to get through. They also gave the A race a good 5+ minute lead to give the police at the towpath crossing a break between the fields.

Just as I had hoped, it was almost hot. No warmers, and no base layer, as it was about 75 at the start.

Looking around, the field was smaller than the first race. About 50 riders, with Orville, MVR, SnakeBite, Summit Freewheelers and PDQ well represented.Cleveland Chaos had 1, Dan Guggenheim, who I followed around in the first race. He was talking to Mahul about some plan of his at the start.... a little collaboration, maybe? Pyro had 3-4, and Stark Velo had 2. Then there were a bunch of unattached riders. With all the team strength (strong teams), I'm really concerned about team tactics....

The Race

Off we go... the pace seemed much more reasonable then last time. I was able to stay reasonably close to the front. So I didn't have the same panic as last time. I felt good going through the hills and descents, so I was looking forward to a decent day. Goal of a top 5.... or better. I've got the miles, probably more than most of these guys, I should be fine. (Insert arrogance factor #2 here)

As we come around past the parking lot for the first time (approaching the end of lap 1), a rather large group rolls off the front. I'm looking at the group from the second or third row. This isn't a prime lap, but it looks like a big group. I see Chaos, 3-4 MVR's, 1 SnakeBite and a few others... SnakeBite has 4 guys on the front soft pedaling... and I get nervous. One of the guys says "___ is up there, so it looks good". They've got one guy in a group of 10+ going into the START of a prime lap, and they say it looks good?

I think the group is too big, and stands a chance of going away... I jumped around the left side of the block right after a Summit rider jumped around the right... mistake number 2. Mistake 3 was I dangled shortly behind this guy through the whole bridge move. I should have gotten together with him and saved us both some energy. It was a fun bridge, and we caught the lead in no time. We connected right as we went up the hill right past the line. There was a huge gap, and I thought for sure this was the group to be in. The bad news was my HRM said 179 in the effort. My max is 182... how much is that going to hurt later?

Second lap was a prime. I was in the front group and was able to sit in and recover from the bridge. The gap was good... until we hit Riverview then the wind came into play. As we rolled around for the second lap the main group re-attached... one major effort totally wasted.

For the prime a group of 5 or so went off the front... I was feeling it, so I was about mid-pack+. I watched them go. As we came by the line, they rang the bell for another prime.... average sped was 24.5 or so. Then the pack got hungry, and the pace picked up.

I'm sure they were trying to pick up the 4 leaders. But they just stayed about a quarter to half mile ahead. I was starting to feel it. As we came around past Oak Hill, a gap started to open in front of me, and I was having trouble closing it. The StarkVelo guy came around me... and then it got worse. Note that I'm not the only one with significant space...

As we head toward Riverview the gap starts to increase... 10ft... 20ft. I'm working like crazy to close, bit it's not budging. At one point, I've somehow ended up in a pace line... there is a guy pulling, another guy in green, and me with more behind. The first guy pulls off, and the guy in green sits up! Ahhh... as I come around, I tell him to push as he gets to the front and pull off if he has nothing. I hope I didn't come off as a total jerk, but that move sucked for me.

As I pushed, I gap that group and I've got another Summit guy on my wheel... but I'm doing all the work. Finally I flick him to the front and ask for some help... he says he doesn't have much left... to which I reply "Neither do I, which is why I need some help. We start to work together... and he does a huge pull to the railroad tracks, were we just re-attach at the corner. Then we're both working to stay on as they accelerate off the corner and they gap us again. So we're back to chasing... we work together more... but now it's pretty obvious they are leaving us behind, and we're stuck in the middle of nowhere. Up the road (into the wind) I see the group of 4 then main group of 20 or so. Then there's us, and behind us, another big chase group. I asked the guy if we should wait, but I don't think we will ever catch back onto the main group, wait or not.

As the rear group catches us, I hear Phil calling the group to work together... again... just like last year at the fall challenge. I fall into the line around 6th or 7th wheel... behind the guy in the green again. We start to work, and he does it again... this time I think we hit a hill when he stalled, so I didn't say much. Yeah, I'm a jerk. I think Phil was mostly trying to breath, as I'm chatting the group on... hey, I paid for this entertainment.

Past the line, start lap 4... my average has dropped to 23+. We regrouped, and got the line going again. After my pull, I dropped back, and found we had a group of 5... with another big gap behind. Phil, an Orville, a Honey Stinger, a PDQ and me. Then we get into a nice rhythm. The PDQ guy is dying... so I tell him to take short ones, or even pass if he has to. Everyone else seems to be doing their share nicely. The main group is out of site, but I figure it's a training ride now.

We do pretty well around the fourth lap. On Riverview we picked up a PYRO guy to make it 6. We started to see gaps opening in the line though. As we'd drop back if there was a gap, we'd just fill it, giving the guy behind a break. Then it seemed like Phil, Orville and I were the only ones on the front... as we made the turn onto IRA, we saw another small group up ahead. Orville had just pulled, and I was starting. Phil said something about catching the next group... it didn't look to me like our group was going to last, as we were all over the place. But I said OK, and started pulling. Through the line... and then it was just me and Orville.

As we caught the guys ahead, I realized they were A racers.... dropped, caught and paced by the B's... Orville, me and 3 A's, worked a little together, not much, as they didn't think they should help us, though they did sit on as we pulled through. I lost contact once, and rejoined on Riverview. Then Orville and I left them behind. As we turned onto IRA, Orville rode away from me... and I could do nothing. No bragging rights today.

Post

From the Snake Bite website, it looks like their tatics paid off taking first and third.

Average speed around 23.5MPH. Mike and Todd made it into a break which Ed and I blocked for, forcing what was left of the main pack to work very hard to reel them back in.

We were all back together for the last lap when Mike jumped hard right before the school. Mike jumped so hard and fast that the sprinters who were left in the main group had to spend themselves to stay on his wheel. It proved to be too much for everyone except John Lorson of Orrville who finished second behind Mike. Patrick managed to hang on 'till the end for third.

My final average was 22.7, so I was about 2 minutes behind the finish. Completely anti-climactic, with lots of "should have"s. I shouldn't have bridged. I should have let SnakeBite do their thing, knowing that the field would not let a group that big go for the prime let alone the entire race. I should have taken Friday off for recovery... I don't think Saturday made a difference if I would have rested on Friday. I do have this graph that does indicate a little miscalculation on my part. Probably not a good idea to do a big training week right before a race... especially that big. But the weather was nice, and I was having fun... so... it's all education.

The graph does include the 50+ miles I did in total on Sunday. 14.5 easy warmup with a few efforts, 26.5 racing and a couple of cool down laps. Still I had already had one of the biggest weeks of the year before I started the race.

The other interesting thing is the HRM graph. I spent the entire race in zone 4, with the exception of my forays into zone 5, which where numerous enough.

The graph is just a huge plateau. Up to 160ish, flat line fluctuations with a few big jumps, then it drops as I crossed the line at the end (1:10). The 179 peak is right at the end of the first lap. The 175 is probably the big hill right after the second lap finish. I only remembered to hit the lap button at the beginning of the race, the end of lap 2, and the end of the race...

The remainder of the graph is my cool down. They look much more typical of my HRM charts during the week, though I didn't put any hard efforts into the cool down. My race average HR was 163, MAX 179. The min, once we really got started was 150. My guess is I've only done these types of efforts while racing. I sure haven't done them in training since the beginning of the year when I started using the HRM.

My buddy who took the photo's (thanks Rick) was at the lot when people were coming back in. He talked to a few guys that were surprised at the pace this early in the season. I don't know, but I think the first race was faster at the start. I don't know about the whole race as I was off the back for the second half. I guess I'll have to take another data point next weekend.

Team Akron Covered Bridge Race 1 - 2004

March 28, 2004

This was the first race of the four race Team Akron Covered Bridge series. Covered bridge because the tightest turn is at a covered bridge, not because the race crosses a bridge. This is a crit race with some rolling hills in it. It started near Hale Farm near Peninsula.

The race consisted of 5 laps of about 5.5 miles, with some technical turns on one decent. Including one that was about 150* near the covered bridge. The course was made more technical by the pot holes. There was a prime at the end of lap 2. The weather was beautiful. I was able to just ride with arm and knee warmers, and I was ready to shed them at the end of the 3rd lap.

Prep

As the first race of the year approaches, I decide it's time to do the bike overhaul. The weekend before the race, I tore everything down, and did the FrameSaver treatment. I had some DA 9 speed levers and a new cassette, so when I re-cabled, I did the upgrade to 9 speed. I got the bike back together on Thursday, with the intent on riding it Friday and Saturday to shake out the mechanicals before race day. Rain and a hard Thursday killed the Friday ride, so Saturday morning I did the test ride on wet roads. As I was getting ready to go I noticed my left pedal was extremely stiff. Poking it a bit, I found the bearings were shot... better to find it before I went out than have something bad happen on the road. Saturday I rode mountain pedals. Saturday afternoon I purchased a set of Speedplay pedals.

Bottom line... I was pretty much riding a new bike for the race. Speedplay pedals have a ton of float. Much more than I had before with my SPD pedals. But, first race of the year, it can only get better from here.

The Race

So the race started wicked fast. There were about 60 riders in the B race (cat 4-5). I was nervous because I was pretty far back, and it looked like the front was forever far away. I was afraid something would go up the road, and I'd never see the front again. It took about the first full lap for me to settle down and start to move to a better (more comfortable) position. Besides the squirrelly riders... crazy stuff the first race of the season. Turns out I had lots of riding buddies in the group, one guy just told me relax and work my way up slowly... so that's what I was working on doing. I was also closing any gaps that opened within a couple of guys in front of me. I was really nervous about getting gapped that early.

Knowing people at the race was really helpful. Though there were a lot of people to watch. One of the guys I ride with in the Shaker group, Dan, won the Westlake points series last year. Super nice guy, and has a wicked sprint. Plus he just knows how to position himself well. So he was the main guy I tried to shadow... when I could find him. I was watching other people I knew also, but I knew Dan's potential to win, so I figured his wheel could be helpful.

Bell at the end of the first lap indicating the prime, so I want to use the lap to see if I can get into position for a shot at something. Plus I was really afraid that a group would go off the prime lap. It's a favorite trick at the Westlake crits. At the last turn I started to move up on the outside of the road. It was pretty cool, sitting at about 20 when they front started to wind up. I probably ended up about 20th on the prime also... From then on I just worked on staying out of the wind, and near the front. I probably did good to stay in the top 20 or so, since I wasn't as worried about someone letting a gap go.. and then having to close it up.

The really good news for me was Dan took 2nd on the prime. That just told me his condition was good, so I should be close to him for the finish.

It was pretty uneventful for me after the prime. At the end of the third lap, one guy at the front came out of his pedal going over the hills. I guess he hit a hole wrong. He managed to stay up, but bumped another guy off the road. I don't think anyone went down. Just a nasty bang, some yelling, and a huge adrenalin rush for about half the group.

As we came in for the final, I kept my eye on Dan. Always looking for his seat stays.

The group wound up at the school parking lot about 1K out. Pretty far from the finish, but it managed to string it out a little. I ended up on the outside of the road near the shoulder. At one point the group started coming over almost pinching me off the road. I was hollering to the guy squeezing me, and eventually he eased back over. He apologized as I went by, saying he was being pressed also. No harm, no foul in my book. Just some minor scares on the ditch side of the road, though I'm more comfortable coming up there than thinking about crossing the yellow.

At about 500 meters the group over took a couple of slow riders puttering along the edge of the road. I think the final group was between 30 and 50 riders (OK now I hear it was 25), so it was across most of the road. I was coming up from that edge still also, but managed OK. May have given them a good scare though.

At about 100 meters, I started to count my position... I was still picking up places, but I wanted to know where I was. I ended up about 8th, which I'm really happy with. My goal for the day was a top 10, but that before I knew there would be so many riders there.

Post

The only regret I've got is I spent too much time counting where I was. I should have put my head down and gone all out... but I didn't even realize I was doing it until I crossed the line. I don't think I could have picked off first, but I may have gotten another pace or two. Oh well, they're all learning experiences.

Dan ended up winning the race, so I did pick a good wheel to follow, another Shaker riding buddy came in at 12th.

Here's an interesting observation... I have no idea how the group was going behind me. There could have been 2 or 200 riders back there, but I was always only concerned about the guys in front, or right beside me. I have no idea if the group split, or if people were just shed off as the race went on. I also have no real idea how big the main group was at the finish.

After the race Dan, Scott, Brett Davis, another guy I don't know and myself pacelined back to the finish to catch the A sprint. A group of 6-8 broke from the group before the final lap and held off the field by more than a minute (maybe 2 minutes) at the finish.

I forgot to bring my hrm transmitter. So I am without HRM data... I'm really disappointed in that. It would be nice to know what I finished at, if I had more in the tank that I didn't use. It sure felt like it. I also would be interested in lap times and general race pace output. Maybe next time.

I did another lap after the A's finish and toodled around a bit. I had about 27.5 miles for the race. After adding the 11 miles of extra laps, I had an average of 20.8. I've heard the race average was about 23.7.

Serendipity moment of the day came during the fourth lap on the Riverview stretch. At some point in the second lap of the A race, this M&M rider popped off. We picked him up before the prime, and I felt like he was blocking me in until I got around him when we wound out the sprint. We made it through the hills and as we made the turn on the backside, I see him left of center, as someone calls out "Your pedal is off!". I looked down as the guy puts the pedal back on his spindle (it was still attached to his shoe). He was riding the same Ritchey Pro Logic Road pedals that I had just replaced. It made me very glad I was riding Speedplays at the moment. Even if I was upset about having to spend the money on Saturday.

BA Cyclocross 7 - 2003

The 2003 Bike Authority Cyclocross Series

December 7th, 2003

Finally, something that resembles classic cyclocross weather. We got a couple of inches of snow on Friday night, and a bit more on Saturday night. So race day is 32, and cloudy, with about 6-8 inches at the course.

This should be interesting. I've been perusing the cyclocross board on roadbikereview.com for snow riding tips. Standard advice seems to be run the same pressure as you would for mud. The course won't stay snowy long, and then we will be mud riding again.

I got the replacement 48/38 FSA crank early in the week and installed it. I did a commute and a couple of trainer sessions with it, so I'm comfortable with the front shifting... not that I've shifted the front in any race so far... but it's nice to be comfortable.

The Course

We're at Boughton Farm again this weekend. As expected, we're running the course backwards again. Only with the snow they've shortened it up... and removed all the barriers. (the 6th race)

The main difference this weekend, is we are not circling the cabbage field. Instead, they route us through the woods over the logs in the same direction we crossed them before. Then we head to a long gravel/dirt/mud road back to the start/finish area.

So how do they handle snow on a cross race? I've seen video of the World Cross Championships, and they are not riding through fresh powder.

The farmer was a bit "helpful" by dragging the bucket of a front end loader along the gravel/dirt/mud road on Saturday night... which made it more dirt/mud than anything else. For the rest of the course field sections, they drove a tractor over the snow. So there were 2 tracks we could follow. The fun part was picking a passing lane. Plow through the powder... pass on the less used track, then plow back through to the traveled track.

The wooded sections were left to be packed as we progressed through the race... you can't fit anything wider than a bike through most of those sections.

On points, I'm currently in 5th place. I need to make up about 50 points to get into 4th (the race winner only gets 30, and it works down from there). I'm also 13 points clear of the 6th place rider, so as long as I finish, I should be OK. I'm gunning for another top 5, just because I think that's where I should be.

The fun part is the 2nd, 3rd and 4th places. They are all separated by 9 points. The guy in 4th missed 1 race, but has been winning recently. Phil Hines, the guy in 2nd place has had a hard time when the course gets technical, so there should be fireworks at the top today. I won't fight any of these guys for points if it comes down to a sprint.... but I'm not going to give them any gifts either.

The Pre-Race

I arrived at about 10:10. I left early so I'd have plenty of time to pre-ride and figure out how to handle the snow. I'm glad I did... it also gave me time to figure out what to wear.

Typical winter riding... take every piece of technical clothing you own, put it all on, then shed until you get to a comfortable temperature.

So... 32 degrees. I start with a standard base layer, my long sleeve base, a PI Kodiak jersey and my wind vest. I wore my heaviest tights, and a pair smartwool liners under smartwool socks. I also tried medium weight shoe covers. These aren't the booties, but a neoprene/fleece wind type cover. I have the PI pittard gloves, these aren't super heavy, but have been comfortable for those under 40 rides. for the pre-ride I also wore a fleece ski hat.

On the first pre-ride, it's pretty obvious that this is going to be a handling race. The snow that's hard packed is not exactly smooth... so the back end of the bike gets thrown around a quite bit. It's lots of fun on the off-camber stuff, especially when the back end is thrown down the hill.

The log crossings seem to be OK, so I'm planning on riding them more today than last time. Besides, I'd rather not get my feet too wet. So I'm concentrating on practicing the crossings to get them smooth.

After one lap, it's pretty obvious I'm over dressed, everything was pretty sweaty. The shoe covers may work fine for the road, but they aren't going to work on the trails. I saw one guy cut holes in the bottom of a pair of rubbers, just enough to keep the shoes dry.

I ended up riding 4 or 5 laps at different speeds. I found handling over the rough snow to be better at faster pace. The bike seemed to float more... once again moment is your friend. I was really glad I did as many pre-laps as I did. It helped to plan passing lane and strategy, to know how to brake (early), and how to accelerate. It also gave me practice on the logs... which was really helpful.

I again made sure to drink a lot before the start. This time I tried to be finished with everything except water by 11:30 for the 12:00 start.

I did the last pre-ride lap with Phil Hines. We were talking about tire pressure for this and I suggest the lowest we could go... my tires are rated 35-80, so I stayed right at 40. Phil followed my suggestion and was much more comfortable than with the higher pressure he did his first laps at. It was pretty obvious that I had an advantage on him with handling... if my fitness held out. I've beaten him twice before but he had mechanical issues on one day, and crashed pretty hard on the second.

Brett Davis showed up again, his third race of this series... I told him to go home, cause he was messing up my chances for a top 5 finish. He asked if it made a difference to my placing, and then asked why I did so poorly at race 6. Nice to know someone else is as addicted to the results site as I am.

I read somewhere that it's a good idea to change after pre-riding. That way you start the race dry, and don't run the risk of getting chilled after your warm up. I brought enough clothes so I had the option. Since I was sweating so much, I wanted something lighter anyway. So I went with the next jersey down my warm scale. The PI Kodiak light. I also change my base layers and socks. I had thought about wearing a headband to keep my ears warm, but every time I've tried to wear it, I've ended up taking it off. So I decided to just go bareheaded under my helmet. My head was a little cold at the start... but once I got moving I was comfortable throughout the race.

With the weather, we weren't expecting many people to show up. I knew the top 6 overall would be there. But I was expecting a field of maybe 10 to 12. Well, I was wrong. Last race of the season brought a lot of people out. There were 22 starters with 2 women in the B race.

I figured today would be carnage at the starting turns as everyone got used to racing on snow. The idea again was go hard at the start and try to be in the top 5 through the first set of turns. Then I could afford to settle in and start working the race as best I could until the last 2 laps when I hoped to pick up the pace enough to gain a few more places.

The Race

There was a bit of confusion at the start. They like to start the race with a reasonably long straight to spread the field before the first turn or obstacle. The problem here was the long straight was a bit chewed up by the front-end loader. So the start was about 100-150 feet and then we hit the turns around the greenhouse.

I ended up lining up near the front of pack. Since we were on the course, we couldn't really spread out, so it was about 3 across. I was somewhere near the third row.

As we start off, everyone seemed to make it through the first two turns fine. I'm sitting about 7th as we hit the third turn taking us to the first long straight across the open field. We're still pretty bunched up and Phil is on my wheel as I slow for the turn. As I start to accelerate out, I hear someone say "slowing. rider down!". After I get to cruising speed, I look back and I have a gap on the rest of the group. I'm wondering if Phil was the guy that went down. Of course the first 6 riders are opening a gap on me also... but I'm riding comfortably and seem to be safely into the spread out part of the race.

As I make the turn, I see that Phil is 50 meters back, and then there is another gap...

Of the 6 riders in front of me, I know one of the guys goes out hard at the beginning of the race, and blows up. 3 other riders are in the top 4 on points, and then Bret is up there... so I figure I'll only see those 4 again if someone is having a bad day. Phil is behind me, so I'm looking comfortably at 6th or 7th depending on Phil catching me... with 1 unknown up ahead.

Making my way though, I'm doing OK at holding Phil off. He may be gaining a little, but not very quickly. As we head into the wooded section with the log crossings, I slow to make the turn before hopping the the first log. I make the first one fine, and accelerate to the second, as I hit the log, my front wheel slides out, and I'm down. Again I'm reminded that you need to make these every time, or you'll loose all the time you've gained in riding them. I get back up fine, but spend a bit of time getting out of Phil's way, as he passes me. We both hop on the bike at about the same time, and we off again.

Actually, this isn't a bad place for me. As we make our way along the gravel/dirt/mud road, I let Phil set the pace, and I just sit on. I'm not going to let him gap me, and I can benefit from the draft. We cross the start/finish together and I follow him across the field. I can see the guy that blows up is just ahead of us, so I figure we're doing OK. The only thing that I'm at all afraid of is that he is on Phil's team. So they may try something team like tactical.

As we cross the field, I come around Phil right before the turn. He's really tentative on the turns, so I figure I'll either pull, or leave him somewhere. I hope for the later. Next time through the logs, I run them with Phil on my heels. Right after the logs, we catch his team mate.

So through the start/finish again. Three laps down and there are three of us in line, Phil's team mate, me and then Phil. Someone makes a comment about pace lining in 'cross... I figure hey, at least I've changed leaders! And we're moving up.

Around the field again, as we get to the turn, there are some slight gaps between us. As we go through the off camber stuff, the front guy rides completely off the course, up the hill! I take this opportunity to attack these guys, since we're in the most difficult control section.

OK, I'm in sixth place, not bad... now don't let anyone pass me, and start looking ahead to see if I can catch anyone. As the race progresses, some sections of the course are starting to get muddy. Before each of the 2 wooded sections on the back straight are these short climbs. They aren't steep but they are getting chewed up and a muddy. I'm still in the 27 on both of them... thank you for my 38 chain ring! Just past the first wooded section is a really choppy field section. It's pretty hard packed snow that bounces the bike all over the place. The gravel/dirt/mud road just turns into mud patches. Every time through the logs, we get bogged down in the mud, hit the road, then accelerate as we come to the muddiest sections to try to float through.

I'm watching the clock at every pass of the start/finish line. I'm somewhere close to 6.5 to 7 minutes laps, so I start to count them down. 34 minutes.... 3 laps to go. I can hear Phil and his team mate talking/shouting somewhere behind me, so I know I don't have a gigantic gap. I'm also passing a lot of the C racers and slower B racers. I end up riding the logs on each pass except for on that I passed a C racer as he was crossing the first log. I'm still not sure what method is faster. At least riding, my feet stay out of the snow.

The good news is I keep seeing Bill Marut, the guy in first on points, up ahead of me. That means I may be able to get a place or two before the end. I don't expect to catch him, but if I can see him, there may be leaders between us.

40 minutes... 2 laps to go. And they're ringing the bell! What? They say last lap as I pull through. I have enough time to ask "For B's?" and to hear the reply ..."Yes". OK, 1 lap to go... time to get to work. Around the field again, I'm reeling in another guy. I catch him on the off camber stuff, and ask if he's on the first lap or not. He says he is, and asks me where I am. So we're racing!

He stays in front through the first wood section... and I try to make a move on the outside before we enter the second section. I got a good jump, but couldn't make it in before he caught me on the inside of the turn. As we come out, I turn to the inside of him, and jump past. We head into the logs and I had a pretty good gap, so I just rode them... I didn't even think about running it. Through the mud bog, and hammer the straight. I had the advantage of a lapped rider running into the finish also, so I just tried to catch him. I didn't quite make it, but I held off the guys behind me.

Finish

Phil ended up 7th. The 4th place guy won, and 3rd place took third, so the 3,4 and 5 places turned completely upside down. The difference between 2nd and 3rd place was 1 point.

Post

So... 5th place finish... right on my goal. Which was nice. I finished solid in 5th on points... a testament to consistently showing up. I'm pleased with the season. I've learned a lot about cyclocross and about racing in general. Prep, warm-ups and strategy. I'm hoping the cyclocross racing will do what they say... improve racing ability... plus it was just plain fun.

Next year I hope to bolster my series by consistently placing also. The big question then is do I race A's and stay mid pack or race B's and go for the wins. The guy that won the points thinks that the first 5 places should move up (including me)... with a few of the less consistent riders, like Brett Davis. I like the idea of winning something, but I would not be ashamed of shooting for the top 5 in the A race. We'll see how I'm riding come next September.

...and Brett came in second place again. He was mixing it up for the win, and lost it in the last straight. He ended up in 7th on points and only showed up for 3 races. Then he raced with the A's, which I was thinking of doing also, but I had to make a dinner date. He finished 10th out of 10 but wasn't far off the pace. Not bad considering he had already done the B race hard. I think I might have been a bit further down.

Pics

There are pics of the A race at Team Lake Effect. It looks like it got warmer, since all the snow is gone from the course. The A race was also a bit slower than normal. My extrapolated time would have put me in 5th for that race. I figure the mud slowed them down a lot.

... until next year! Though I did hear that Vultures Knob has a cross series planned... I wonder how they'll layout the course. That might be fun!