Decided this week(my second week back on a bike after 6 months) that it would be fun to try a cyclocross race. So my friend Tony and I drove over to Santa Cruz and signed up to destroy ourselves for an hour or so, just for the hell of it.
I entered singlespeed, which happened to be a 60 minute race(vs. 30 or 45 minutes) and went off with Elit men......
....apperently us sunglespeeders are supposed to be good. Tony entered the B men and got to off around 10am. I got to wait around until 2pm to ride, but by that time I had a good idea of what to expect on the course(smelly mud) and was itching to ride. The weather was great, about 65 or 70 and we even had some girls in bikinis hanging out(I love girls that ride!), racing and watching.
So we line up and I've got five other people in my group, all several years older, four guys and a girl. All of them look fast. Normally I have gotten butterflies at races, but I didn't have that happen. I think I was more worried about being able to clip in than anything else. I'd had issues remounting the bike at slow speed(first time ever was that day) and making the clip-in, full speed was going to be scary!
So the race starts(elite men go off about 30 seconds before us) and I'm dropped to just about the back. The girl in the group is next to or slightly ahead of me coming into the first barrier and I completely screw up my exit. Ended up skidding at the barrier, barely getting over and almost tripping on the second. The good news is I made the remount and didn't smash anything(the secret is kicking the feet forward and landing on your butt), bad news is I am officially in last place. I stick in this position for most of the first lap, gaining some time in the off-camber turns and downhills, but losing a fair amount in the running sections. After lap one I'm no longer in last, the girl took a spill in the horse crap mud section(race goes by the horse stable and spots are axle deep in manure smelling mud). She has some catching up to do and the 3rd and 4th guys are actually in sight. I even made it over the barriers cleanly!
2nd, 3rd, and 4th laps go fairly well(though I spend about a quarter of each lap struggling to clip-in), but I got dropped by 3rd and 4th and I'm not neck and neck with the girl, battling for 5th place. Unfortunately I slip up in the manure section and lose some valuable time trying to regain my line. By the end of the 4th lap I'm hurting a lot and the girl is pulling ahead. We jostle back and forth in positioning on the downhills and tech sections, but on the flats and uphills she puts the hurt on me. I'm spinning out and not gaining any ground.
The 5th lap is my bell lap and it goes about as well as can be expected. I almost fall on one of the remounts. Attempting to jump onto the bike while in shoe deep mud kills any momentum I have and only by dabbing and pedaling hard am I able to get out of it. Running up the stair sections kills and at the top I get passed by the first elite man. Last lap.....number 6. I get lapped by three or four more elites and slip at the muddy remount again. Still it's my last lap and I almost have a second wind. On one of the downhills I promise myself that I won't get lapped by any singlespeeders. On the straightaways I see the girl and I seem to be gaining time(couldn't see her on the last lap). I'm sprinting, close to puking when I see her cross the finish line a way ahead of me. No one is near passing me and I'm tempted to slow down, but decide against it. I dismount at the barriers and am flying over the finish line without bothering to clip in. A high five from the girl I'd been chasing and a quick chat with other racers before limping off to find water and food.
So I race some CX. I got last by quite a bit, but it was fun and I hadn't been expecting to do well anyhow. I did finish stronger than I thought I would and I'm hoping to be in better shape for it next year. CX hurts though! I don't think I've ever worked that hard in a race and I was stoked to feel that much pain(I'm wierd, ok?)! I highly suggest it though, some of the guys are scary fit and will tear the legs off of you. Most of all though it feels great to romp in the mud for a bit(though the horse manure spot was a bit disgusting).
The Ito
Pics below.
I entered singlespeed, which happened to be a 60 minute race(vs. 30 or 45 minutes) and went off with Elit men......
....apperently us sunglespeeders are supposed to be good. Tony entered the B men and got to off around 10am. I got to wait around until 2pm to ride, but by that time I had a good idea of what to expect on the course(smelly mud) and was itching to ride. The weather was great, about 65 or 70 and we even had some girls in bikinis hanging out(I love girls that ride!), racing and watching. So we line up and I've got five other people in my group, all several years older, four guys and a girl. All of them look fast. Normally I have gotten butterflies at races, but I didn't have that happen. I think I was more worried about being able to clip in than anything else. I'd had issues remounting the bike at slow speed(first time ever was that day) and making the clip-in, full speed was going to be scary!
So the race starts(elite men go off about 30 seconds before us) and I'm dropped to just about the back. The girl in the group is next to or slightly ahead of me coming into the first barrier and I completely screw up my exit. Ended up skidding at the barrier, barely getting over and almost tripping on the second. The good news is I made the remount and didn't smash anything(the secret is kicking the feet forward and landing on your butt), bad news is I am officially in last place. I stick in this position for most of the first lap, gaining some time in the off-camber turns and downhills, but losing a fair amount in the running sections. After lap one I'm no longer in last, the girl took a spill in the horse crap mud section(race goes by the horse stable and spots are axle deep in manure smelling mud). She has some catching up to do and the 3rd and 4th guys are actually in sight. I even made it over the barriers cleanly!
2nd, 3rd, and 4th laps go fairly well(though I spend about a quarter of each lap struggling to clip-in), but I got dropped by 3rd and 4th and I'm not neck and neck with the girl, battling for 5th place. Unfortunately I slip up in the manure section and lose some valuable time trying to regain my line. By the end of the 4th lap I'm hurting a lot and the girl is pulling ahead. We jostle back and forth in positioning on the downhills and tech sections, but on the flats and uphills she puts the hurt on me. I'm spinning out and not gaining any ground.
The 5th lap is my bell lap and it goes about as well as can be expected. I almost fall on one of the remounts. Attempting to jump onto the bike while in shoe deep mud kills any momentum I have and only by dabbing and pedaling hard am I able to get out of it. Running up the stair sections kills and at the top I get passed by the first elite man. Last lap.....number 6. I get lapped by three or four more elites and slip at the muddy remount again. Still it's my last lap and I almost have a second wind. On one of the downhills I promise myself that I won't get lapped by any singlespeeders. On the straightaways I see the girl and I seem to be gaining time(couldn't see her on the last lap). I'm sprinting, close to puking when I see her cross the finish line a way ahead of me. No one is near passing me and I'm tempted to slow down, but decide against it. I dismount at the barriers and am flying over the finish line without bothering to clip in. A high five from the girl I'd been chasing and a quick chat with other racers before limping off to find water and food.
So I race some CX. I got last by quite a bit, but it was fun and I hadn't been expecting to do well anyhow. I did finish stronger than I thought I would and I'm hoping to be in better shape for it next year. CX hurts though! I don't think I've ever worked that hard in a race and I was stoked to feel that much pain(I'm wierd, ok?)! I highly suggest it though, some of the guys are scary fit and will tear the legs off of you. Most of all though it feels great to romp in the mud for a bit(though the horse manure spot was a bit disgusting).
The Ito
Pics below.
