Catch-up

So.

I've gotten behind again.

To recap the weekends:

November 22-23-Whitmore's Super Cross Cup
Day 1:
Thanks to Dylan McNicholas missing the start on Saturday (and my front row start), I managed to get out well, make the front group, and finally get off on my own and get my first win of the season! Let's just say my legs felt great that day. I rode solo (e.g. damage control mode) for what seemed like forever (with no lap cards) before the official signaled that I was done. Which was good because I lost a contact lens and I couldn't see- note the picture.

(photo from cyclingcaptured.com)

It ended up that I had a 40 second gap to second place. The key to winning? Have the main competitors not register (Jeff Bahnson), DNS (Dylan), or start in the last row (Colin).

Day 2:
Dylan made it to the start on Sunday. Also, Will Dugan rode for UVM so he could qualify for collegiate nationals. And unlike Saturday, he was there to ride on Sunday.

Just like on Saturday the split occurred somewhat early and before not too long we had a group of 5 riders (Dylan, Will, Rob Collins, Alex Crooks, and myself). I was hoping we had gotten a good jump on the last row starters but when I slid out on an off camber...sure enough there was Dylan and Will. Then they decided they had enough riding at our pedestrian pace. Will put in a few attacks that popped everyone but Dylan, myself included. I managed to claw my way back and join them again on the steep hill when I found that Will had broken his chain from the application of too many watts. So then it was down to just Dylan and me. We rode together for most of the race (Dylan would later tell me he was feeling ill) before I tried a few attacks in the last lap. After finding out that attacks were futile (if Dugan couldn't drop him, how the hell could I?), I got on his wheel and figured I'd take my chances in the sprint. That is why I put a 48T outer ring on, after all.

As we came into the final pavement section I set up on Dylan's wheel. There was a long straight drag, a gentle right hand onto some bumpy grass, and then a short pavement finish. I emphasize short, because I imagined it was longer, despite riding it so many times. Thus, I planned on coming around after the grass. Long story short- didn't work. As we came off the grass I thought I had a chance, but Dylan stood up and put in a couple good pedal strokes to shut the door. Ack. Oh well...taking Dylan to a sprint for the win is pretty good anyday...even if it was an off-day for him.

November 29-30- NOTHING!
I think I lost my chance for third place in the Verge series by not going to Baystate. Meh.

December 6-7- NBX
Day 1: Decidedly a power course. Yes.

Despite my epic fall(s) in the sand thanks to overzealous running (see Colin's end of the season recap ~3min in) I was able to recover and constantly re-attach myself to the front group either through said running or riding very hard in a straight line. The first few laps were pretty tame and there was a rather large group at the front of the race- not what I wanted. I could see no one wanted to come around Dylan, so I took the initiative and went right to the front. I'm not sure how effective the initial attack was, but I eventually got the group down to 5, then 4, and then just Dylan, James Tosca, and myself. With a podium position effectively in hand, I was willing to let them get back in front and take some rest. So I let them fight each other over the last few laps until they pulled away in the last 300m and I slotted into third. Regarding the battle for the verge podium? James "Slim" Patterson flatted earlier in the race, Colin was 5th, and Jeremy Dunn was 7th- no one was out of contention. It really would come down to the final race of the season. Pretty cool.

Day 2:
This was the polar opposite of the previous day, although the course retained (and in fact lengthened) its running sections. It also snowed 2" overnight. When you take out practically all the power sections and replace them with tight turns covered in mud/snow it wasn't shaping up to be great for me. Colin expressed that he was worried about my MAD running skills. I didn't tell him that I was worried about his riding skills.

Right out of the start I got swarmed and slid back in the field. So it didn't help that the attacks started early (from what I heard). Then I couldn't clip into my pedals for half a lap. I was instantly out of contention for the battle for the win between Patterson, Tosca, and Dylan, but everyone who really mattered was still in relative sight. Colin was in a two man group 50m ahead, and I was constantly yo-yo'ing with Jeremy, Cary, and a few others. If I could beat Jeremy and remain within a couple places of Colin (if he doesn't podium), then I could maybe get third for the series. Unfortunately this race was a series of one mistake after another.

The running sections kept me in contact with the group (when I was on my feet), but not with Jeremy since he is apparently a very strong runner as well. The procedure was as follows:

1. ride into sandpit (usually in second wheel)
2. botch dismount, hit course tape/stake, or trip (or combination thereof)
3. get passed by Cary et al.
4. get up
5. empty mouth of sand
6. run past Cary et al.
7. lose 5m to Jeremy

With every fall JD would extend his gap on me by just a little bit- enough that I couldn't ride back on without long power sections. Jeremy was pulling away and Colin already had his gap, although it was slightly coming back. Cary reminded me to stay calm and ride smoothly, but I kept trying to power through technical sections and riding really sloppy. Not my finest day.

In the end, both Tosca and Dylan flatted which allowed Colin to pull into 2nd and Jeremy into 3rd. Of course Dylan had such a huge gap prior that he rode the entire lap on the flat and still beat me for fourth. No matter...even if I got that place I would have ended up 5th for the series. The only thing I could have done was actually beat Colin and Jeremy...which wasn't going to happen that day. In any case it doesn't matter (although the cowbell would have been nice), but it was a ton of fun racing against those guys all season. I'm sure we all cannot wait to get killed in the elite races next year.

Maybe I'll go re-read Matt Kraus' article/interview in CXmagazine to inspire me to upgrade next season...

Mercer Cup USGP

Aside from nationals, this was probably the biggest weekend of the season, at least as far as the professionals go. For us lowly amateurs, we could only bask in their awesomeness while "prepping" the course for their races.

It rained the night before, which meant mud...but there shouldn't be this much!


From the week prior, I had been dealing with sub-par shifting thanks to old shifter housing. With this fixed, I was excited with the prospect of changing gears. Unfortunately, this weekend came down to the fact that my bike never wanted to stay in ANY gear...

Day 1:
Tip #1 for having a good race- make sure you are at the start when the gun goes off!

I was busy warming up on the course when I heard "1 minute to the start of the Men's 2/3/4 race!" Unlike the Verge series, there was little to no time scheduled between races for course preview. This threw off my usual warm-up of getting onto the course when the previous race winner crosses the finish line. I frantically rode over to the starting pavement area to see the entire field gridded up and waiting for the signal to go. I stripped down to my skinsuit just to hear the whistle and watch the race go by. A spectator held up the course tape as I ducked under the joined in, already 50m behind the last rider in the field. Richard Fries instantly commented on my remarkable start, noting that I was a "podium finisher in the New England Verge series" but was dead last here.

The holeshot accordian allowed me to make contact with the field and proceed to weave through. I pulled up next to Jeremy Dunn and was only a few wheels behind Colin. I should note that most of my progess was made by running through (and over) others- not by riding. After only a few hundred meters it became apparent that you could run most of the course faster than you could ride. I began to wish I'd gone to the nordic practices and actually run in the past year.

Running was fine. Riding was not. As I tried to churn through the thick mud, my chain would slip on EVERY pedal stroke, causing more than a few disastrous unclippings. So I stopped and played with my barrel adjustors. Then I tried to ride 25m more and realized that didn't help. So I did it again. And again. Linnea can testify that I actually flipped the bike over to do this at one point. The only gear I could use was my 15 tooth. Unfortunately that was far too big a gear to turn at any section of the course, save the pavement finish. Turning a 39x24/27 was hard enough. My bike was a big muddy weight, incapable of helping me in any way. Anyone have a spare pit bike?

In any case, I slipped and ran my way around the course 4 times, for a total race time of probably 1 hour (note that the race was supposed to be 40 minutes). The top riders were turning in 14+ minutes laps, so I can only figure it was far worse for me (since I was probably almost lapped!). Either way, I didn't get placed since I missed the start. Probably good...I don't really want existing evidence of that race.

Day 2:

I took my bike to the SRAM mechanics after the race on Saturday to find out that my derailleur hanger was significantly bent. After riding around on the road a little, it seemed that my situation was resolved. Or not.

I actually made it to the start on Sunday and rode to the first mud section in a pretty decent position. Then I realized the same thing was happening with my rear cluster. Every pedal stroke felt like my chain was breaking. So I ran a little (ok, a lot). Then I tried to ride down the false flat and someone ran by me. Then I gave up. I didn't feel like fighting my bike for another 40 minutes. So that was it for the weekend.

As it turns out, I didn't consider the fact that my cassette is probably 3 years old, and my chain barely a month. I guess that could explain why it was slipping...

Richard Fries put it in perspective when he saw me walking around during my race- "Everyone has a shitty weekend- forget about it, and come back next week."

Here's a picture of local pro/hero Dan Timmerman on the first day. If these guys won't ride this stuff, what hope do the mere mortals have?

Revelations...

As I was adding up expenses for reimbursement forms, I realized I've spent close to 10% of my annual earnings on travel, lodging, and registration fees on this past cyclocross season. Perhaps this is made more significant because my TA stipend isn't exactly lucrative, but it really puts things in perspective...

Are there studies on what percentage of income drug abusers spend to support their habit? I would guess it's more than 10%, but I feel like a similar figure could really drive my point home.

Mercer Cup and Southampton reports soon.

The weekend of Nov 8-9

Ok, so I fell behind again. Time to catch up.

Beacon Cross:

Long story short- tire pressure.

Most of the course was packed sand, so I pumped my tires up pretty hard (~55psi) for speed. Bad idea. As we started the race, rain was coming down pretty hard and it greased up the corners pretty good. I went down 3-4 times and broke all my rhythm. I did manage to destroy people in the 80m beach run and the "ampitheater of pain", though. The downside of this race was that it destroyed my drivetrain with sand. My cable housing was so caked with mud and sand that I could barely shift for much of the race. I ended up with a 9th place, far removed from the winners. Just a bad day...I couldn't make myself go. Let's forget that race ever happened...

HPCX:

This course was more to my liking, unlike Saturday. I used to think I was at least somewhat competent in sand, but Beacon cross definitely made me doubt my abilities. On Sunday, we were back to a more typical grass circuit. Add in the rain from the previous day/night and we had a bit of mud to deal with. Unfortunately I was still hung up on my crappy technical riding from the previous day, and I wondered if my finish would suffer again. I probably did 3-4 preview laps, and studied some of the technical turns and uphills pretty thoroughly. I guess I'd find out how my mudding skills are.

Naturally I missed the call-up because I was riding, but I slotted myself into the third row, on the outside. Hopefully no one hated me too much for that. In my defense, they staged very early. I heard, "ten minutes to start" and everyone was already set in the grid.

I had a decent start and made my way into the first group, which unfortuntaely was already gapped by Jeff Bahnson, the ridiculous 15 year old who has won every MAC B race this year. The first uphill separated people out a bit, and I moved my way up, slotting into the top 5. As we got into some of the more technical sections on top of the course, I began to realize that I was apparently the superior technical rider (wait...what?). Over the next half lap, I put myself into the gap between Jeff and the chase group of probably 5 riders. For some reason I was very worried about this group of 5, probably because I still cannot process the fact that we are not on the road and group dynamics aren't necessarily (read: rarely) advantageous in cross. So I rode faster.

Over the next couple laps, I began to make ground on Jeff. I noticed that he slipped on a few of the uphills, and I was able to ride them relatively clean. Despite my best efforts to clean/lube the cable housing I still had crappy shifting, so I had to grind my bike up every rise, hoping that it would slip into a more reasonable gear in the process. This was hurting a lot, but I still had a lot of energy to spare. Unbelievable what a difference a day makes.

Finally, with about 3 laps to go, I made contact with Jeff. He was consistently dismounting on this turning uphill section, and I was able to ride it everytime. I'm almost sure it was faster to run that small portion, but when I factored in the energy consumption and the remount time (not to mention the fact my shoes have no traction or spikes), I think I made the right decision. I caught him just after this section, on the final uphill grind before the course descended to the snaking loops below. Rather than wait like I should have, I went right by him. Probably a bad idea. In retrospect, I think he was waiting for me and saving his energy.

I led on the downhill before he probably saw my weakness and came around before the slower, more technical areas ahead. I was slightly gapped, but generally in contact. I knew I was in trouble though. Gah. Nevertheless, I couldn't let the fans down, and I tried to stay up with him.

[Editor's note: People all over the course were zealously cheering for me. I guess Jeff's relatively uncontested win streak has made them hungry for an upset...I was temporarily the great hope...then failed miserably.]

I fought to close/maintain the gap over the next couple of laps before he decided to destroy me in the final lap. I think he put 25 seconds into me over the last time around. In defense of my failure, once he was clear I began to shut it down and focus on staying upright and not losing my 2nd place to a stupid crash or mechanical. I also got mud in my eye. In the end, he won by 30 seconds, but the gap from me to third place was 1:13, so I'd say I definitely had a good performance. I can feel my form coming along and I'm really happy with this race...totally makes my weekend worthwhile after Beacon. Hopefully I can keep it up!

I also won a thing of Heed (subtle melon?) and a $55 Easton carbon fiber bottle cage. I'm thinking of mounting it in my car as a cup holder, because it would look absolutely ridiculous on my dented Specialized road bike. Maybe it will be useful if I go all weight weenie/carbon fiber on the road next year (ugh, road biking...).

Cycle-Smart Day 2

Thanks to the DNF Saturday, I was rested and out for redemption on Sunday. I had slipped a few places in the Verge standings, but was still able to start on the front row, in 6th I believe. I even had ample course preview, since we got to Look Park at 7:45am to deliver Jake and watch the cat4 race. (Note: the cat4 race was easily the most entertaining race of the day...well worth getting up for).

I got a chance to pre-ride the sandpit a bunch and was confident with my ability to clean it. That is, until I began to ride it in traffic and found that it's difficult to ride through when someone crashes in your line. I then decided I would run it for at least the first few laps. The ride-up was easy enough, save for the fact that my 39x19 gear kept skipping violently, and I would inevitably choose that gear most of the trips up. Luckily SRAM makes a good chain (rather, contracts a good chain manufacturer) and it didn't break.

Temperatures were a little cooler, and I went with a very un-pro look, wearing both arm and leg warmers. Totally unnecessary, especially from a pseudo/former ski racer. But maybe my unassuming appearance would work in my favor?

Ok, so the race.

I had a decent enough start and did a little pack slide into the first ten or so positions, as usual. Still in the hunt, but without the responsibility of setting the pace. Not that I could have anyway...by the time I was through the first right-hand turn, I hear Richard Fries announcing that James "Slim" Patterson is "attacking the downhill/tracks!" By the time we hit the field, he and Colin had an outrageous gap to the rest of the field. I figured they would have to come back at some point, so I tagged onto the back of the chase.

I sat there for probably a couple laps, pretty comfortable with the pace. Patterson was still ahead, but Colin had begun to lose his gap to us. All the other big names were in the group, so I was pretty content with the situation. Well, somewhat.

The group seemed a little too content with the riders ahead, especially when Dylan McNicholas from NorEast jumped clear. Patterson wasn't coming back, and Colin was maintaining a fair amount of space to us. As we came to the back pavement section, I pulled alongside of the paceline and came to the front. I half suspected Hunter Pronovost was soft pedaling, waiting for someone to pull through, but apparently that was not the case. I gapped the group pretty quickly and began to make my move up to Colin. Toby Wells joined me on this.

After a crazy fast start, Colin seemed to be looking for a little respite and I went by with Toby fairly quickly. Up and around the top half of the course, it was just the two of us, and Patterson was not too far ahead. I pulled on the pavement section, eager to close the gap on sections where technical ability was of no consequence. Clearly, I'm not going to close Patterson down in the techie sections. As a matter of fact, Toby was not too happy with me leading after we turned off the pavement. As I slowed to avoid running over an injured Jordan, I was told to go faster or get out of the way, haha.

We rode down to the lower part of the course, and dismounted to run the sand. A bobble on the previous lap further convinced me that running was the better option for me. I guess Toby fell here, and I was by myself, quickly closing down on Patterson.

I can't remember exactly where I made contact, but when I got there, I found James had broken his front lever/shifter. I guess that's how I caught up. I know what it's like to not have a front brake, except for the fact that I DNF'd when mine broke! He's good enough that he doesn't need it.

So that's how it went for the rest of the race. Dylan was fairly out of sight...and not just because I lost a contact lens with 3 laps to go...he was goooooone. It came down to settling for second place. I did my best to make the turns with limited vision, and made my bike wide enough to keep Patterson behind me. I think he paid a little for the early efforts (and his self claimed lack of riding) because he didn't even attempt to come around for the technical stuff, where I was assuredly slowing him down. Where I could, I put some more power in, hoping to finally shake him...which I did as we began the final lap. All I had to do now was stay upright...

As we came down to the lower field, I had a 4 second gap as I hit the turnaround/track crossing near the parking lot. While I crested the tracks, my front wheel crossed up a bit and came down sideways on the far side. I went down in a heap, bending my shifter inwards as usual. This was not the time for this, and I said that to the people nearby as I got up and jammed my brifter back into place. Naturally Slim caught up and passed me here. So much for my earlier efforts...

Since he was pretty burnt at this point, it didn't take too long to get back up to him and make the pass. As I came by, he pretty much said, "Go ahead, my legs are done." After all there was a substantial chase behind and we didn't want to get pulled in by such a large group so close to the finish. I took up the responsibility of driving the train again.

Now, while I was having a pretty solid race...others were not doing so well. Jordan fell and separated his shoulder on the first right hand turn, and they were finally bringing the ambulance in...unfortunately they drove the ambulance right in front of us on the back half of the course! This required some evasive action, and I hoped I wouldn't end up inside said vehicle trying to get around. Luckily the driver saw us and stopped backing up into our path. Thanks guys.

In any case, I used the next few power sections to open up another small gap which I would keep to the finish, floundering technical skills notwithstanding. No sprint loss this year! I checked over my shoulder on the final stretch and saw I could safely cruise in for my top finish of the year. Still no win, but 2nd in a Verge B race is probably more than I would have guessed at the beginning of the year. The points from this also mean I can probably still get a call-up for NBX, since I will be skipping Baystate and forfeiting any points there (noooooo).

Cycle-Smart Day 1

Thanks to the bureaucracy of Cornell and Ithaca canceling the Ithacross event, the weekend of October 25/26 saw no racing. I decided against a race in Rochester in lieu of training and chainsaw operation at Swan's. This meant a few good workouts during the last couple weeks...we'll see how this whole "planned training" goes.

Saturday's Cycle-Smart race featured the same course as last year where I finished 3rd in the cat4's, losing the sprint for 2nd to Tyler Sage. This year was my chance with the killer B's. I was not looking forward to that first right hand turn onto the gravel with 100+ riders behind, but I was looking forward to a good result, given my improving form of two weeks prior. Maybe I could move up into 2nd place in the Verge standings...

I staged with the usual suspects at the front, eager to botch my clip-in and lose my great starting position...

Within the first 20m I had slid a few places back, but I was still in the top 10 as we flew into the first right-hander and into the first turns down to the railroad tracks. Colin was on the front setting a pretty ridiculous pace. I managed to find my way safely over the first section of tracks and sprinted down the straight to make up a place or two before the sharp turn over the second track section. Remember...everything in moderation.

As we came to the turn, the riders ahead stacked up in typical fashion and I was not quick enough on the brakes to avoid plowing into them. Great. I went into someone's back wheel, but was going too fast to avoid losing it and hitting the grass. Normally, given the relative speed of the riders around me, this wouldn't be a big deal. Pick up your bike and carry on. Not so.

As I stood up and pushed my bike to remount, my rear wheel popped up, indicative of a locked front wheel. Apparently my pre-race brake adjustment allowed my pad to slip below the brake track, which is unusually thin on my front wheel (lower weight?). This required a couple curses and some quick muscling to get the brake back to normal. 50 places lost, I got back into the mix. But now I was stuck midpack, as the Verge leaders pulled further away. Nooooooooooooooooo!

I frantically made back a few positions just in time to get horribly backed up at the run-up (read: wasted energy). Bottlenecks are no joke. I came to a complete stop for over 10 seconds before I began my slow trudge up the slope. At least everyone back there was pretty cool and laid back. I wasn't exactly happy with the situation, but I didn't succumb to yelling in vain like a Long Island driver in an LIE traffic jam. Mountain scaled, I remounted and continued the good fight.

As I came around the rooty turns at the top of the course, lightning struck twice as my pad went completely into my wheel as I came out of the turn. The spokes completely sheared off my right brake pad. I signaled my pull-off and finally ended my disaster of a race. Given the current situation, the heavy traffic, and the lack of a front brake, I decided to save it for tomorrow.

As "luck" would have it, a few of the other Verge contenders had their fair share of mishaps between flatted wheels and broken shifters, so my losses were somewhat limited, and I would start on the front row the next day as well. Nothing like a mechanical and only a half-lap of crappy racing to make you look forward to tomorrow.

Wissahickon Cross

From two weeks ago...

Ok, so the previous day was not too hot. Crashes and general mayhem are not the prescription for a good race...just a fun one. I had a similar terrible position to start Wissahickon, but the long power sections and course knowledge from last year would suit me well for passing. Here we go.

I got clipped in and sprang up the left side of the pack, barreling over rocks and large bumps (arguably the worst possible line), probably making my way into the first 50 riders by the time we started the first series of switchbacks down to the field below. This time I managed to successfully navigate my way through the chaos and into some small groups at the first third of the race. Unfortunately, the race leaders were already in the sand pit at this point...at least 45 seconds ahead. Damn.

As I came through the barriers the first time around, I overheard that I was somewhere around 25th place. At this point things were pretty strung out, so I figured I could settle in and pick up positions one by one over the course of the next 37-40 minutes. And so it went.

A few laps later I found myself in the top 10. Then I was alerted to the fact that the rider ahead had the 5th place position. I quickly bridged up and sat on, getting some valuable rest. I'm honestly not sure how I picked up so many positions so quickly. I could see the 4th place rider in the pinwheel/spiral of death before the barriers, but those are impossible to judge gaps from, so I was realistic about my odds of making the catch. I put in a few digs, but couldn't shake the (former) 5th placed guy over the second to last lap. As we came through for the final time around, I took the lead into the turns below. Still couldn't lose him, even after a really strong ride through the sand. I finally let him by, going wide into a turn to open the door. Assuming I didn't screw anything up (all too possible), I presumed I had a good chance in the final sprint uphill. I setup on his wheel, keeping a careful eye backwards, as Jeremy Dunn was starting to close in the final lap. Fourth place was just out of contention, and the top 3 had gotten such a huge early gap that they were hopelessly far ahead. Damn your front row starts, MAC regulars.

As we came into the final turn, I could tell that this guy was either a match sprinter or had nothing at all. He was either waiting for my kick to start his, or he had burned too many matches before. With 100m to go, I came around pretty easily and slotted into 5th place. Sweet. If I can sneak my way forward in a few more races, I can hopefully get enough MAC points to score a call-up for the USGP in a couple weeks.