Cross the Way #3 Race Report

Epic.

I don't know what conditions are usually like in the notoriously muddy Northwest, but I'm pretty sure if things were like this every weekend, I'd be a little less enthusiastic about racing cyclocross. Yesterday afternoon it started raining and didn't quit until early this morning. It rained hard. The course was through goat fields and involved some serious sustained climbing that would have been brutal on a dry day. Today, with my gearing, it was more than I could handle. I ran about a sixth of a mile every lap. Whenever I wiped mud off my face, it tasted like goat shit. It was awesome.  And terrible.

Fortunately, my costume rocked and only restricted my breathing when I was riding really hard which was only for a couple laps, which was also super awesome.  My wife gave me the halo her friends left in our honeymoon suite (which she proceeded to wear for three days after the wedding; love that woman) and I zip-tied it onto the helmet.  I found in warm-up that it provided a little wind resistance but I was feeling fast so I let it ride.  I coupled that with a ballerina type outfit my niece used to wear when she was 6. In order to put it on I had to involve my wife in a dramatically orchestrated dance/procedure in which I would put my arms through the arms then raise them above my head while she tugged it down over my head.  It was really tight.  It hurt to breath.  We had to cut it off at the end of the day...

So we kicked it off at 12:45, 9 of us in the 1/2 category. A lot of the same cast of characters: Brent, Tanner, Nagoshiner, Ryan and Matt. Troy was also there. Troy's fast as hell. I harbored no illusions about beating Troy.

Today, I did something I never do, which was sit in at the start. I learned last week that it doesn't do a whole lot of good to freak out at the start, which is what I generally do, then I get tired and I fade and want to drop out, which is lame. You can see my halo toward the back. I was relaxing.

I was in 8th, I think, when we hit the mud, but things quickly sorted out and I found myself riding fourth behind Troy, the eventual winner and Tanner. We hit the long climb on the backside of the course and I jumped off the bike and ran. I was right behind Tanner, he was riding but I passed him by the top of the hill (this thing seriously took like a minute and a half to run up) and hopped back on and sped away. I briefly caught up with Troy at the beginning of the first lap and rode Troy's wheel for awhile but he shed me on the run-up. He's really strong. He won the Masters race last weekend in Louisville. I will say he made fun of me for riding a single speed before the race so I took it upon myself to at least stick with him for a little while. He gave me some props after the race (and after he beat me by a third of a lap), so he's forgiven.  I will beat him.

After they rode away from me I realized that I was pretty much riding alone; the leaders were gone and fourth place was out of site. The slog had begun.

                                       No, I do not want a beer, yet.

I was finding some parts of the course really difficult with my gearing, other sections felt great. Here's Brent in his getup demonstrating how brutal the conditions were:

I ended up running both the climbs on the backside so I was on and off my bike 5 times a lap. Finally got my beer at the end and landed my first podium of the season. Matt nailed 4th in his first race as a 2.  Kick ass.  He looks tired.  He told me he's going to party tonight and blow off tomorrow.  I respect that.

Only 4 of us finished on the lead lap, three guys dropped out, it was that kind of day. Sun came out before it went down so I've got high hopes it'll dry out a little tonight. If not, I'll be hurting, bad.  It was muddy.  When I got home I realized there were no spaces between my chainlinks.  Like I said, I don't know how muddy it is up in the Pacific Northwest, but we had some mud today.  The Mud before the barriers:

My bike:

Cool how it blends in, eh?

                         Here I am unhooking Brent's bra, brah.

See how much better things are with pictures? Yeah...

Oh, how about a video? You like videos? Here's Thad running up the Run up of Death. It was a little like a kick in the balls every lap. I'd chide Thad about his futuristic reverse carrying technique but he eventually won and I want him to think I'm "cool" and invite me on the super sweet single speed epic rides I'm not cool enough to go on so I'll just say, "Check out the futuristic technique by Thad, wish I'd thought of that!"



Well, I think I outdid myself on this one. Don't get used to it.

Might ad I just found out it's Daylight Savings Time. I don't like Daylight Savings. It's bullshit. Especially in Nashville. It'll get dark here at like 5pm now. Tonight is the only night it's a positive, so I'm going to stay up an hour later, eat a little more food then sleep an extra hour. After that, I'm pissed. 4:15 sunset sucks. Daylight Savings is an outdated idea, I'm over it, I hate it, it makes no damn sense.

Thom P wrote this compelling piece about racing a Single Speed cross bike. It's entertaining though I disagree with his over-gearing philosophy (I don't know how you could have turned a 42X16 today, but I'm not a "regional demi-pro," just a musician who likes to pretend he's a professional). Still, if you want to know how it works racing a single speed against the geared buffoons, this is and interesting piece. He's also making some very single speed faces on here so it's worth the read.

I see...

It's come to my attention that I don't like blogs without pictures.  My blog doesn't have many pictures.  I don't like my blog.  I'm taking my wife with me to the cross races today.  She knows how to use a camera.  Here's the proof:

My expression says:

1. I'm a happy little girl.
2. I'm shocked we got that thing over my head.
3. How the hell are we going to get it off?
4. I'm going to post this on my blog immediately!
5. Maybe I should stop her from taking this picture.
6. All of the above.

This is just one part of my costume for today's race. I clearly have no shame. I also didn't spend a dime on my costume. When I was in second grade, my mom dressed me up as a girl for Halloween. When I was in third grade, my mom dressed me up as a girl for Halloween. When I was in fourth grade... you get the point. My mom wanted a girl. I was a boy. I had to play both sides a little to keep ma happy so I've got some experience dressed as the opposite sex. I only require semi-regular therapy.

Quandary

If I put one of these on my credit card, will my wife kill me? Will I be able to keep up with the roadies on the semi-group rides? Am I about to find out? Stay Tuned.

Fixie Crisis

Started checking out production fixies today, mostly out of curiosity, not because I could afford one. Really it was Bike Snob NYC's interview of the dude at Felt that got the gears turning. By the way, if you want to read a real cycling blog, read Bike Snob. It came to my attention that a lot of the bikes I was drawn to were similar aesthetically to my SingleCross (which inexplicably has been discontinued) and it got me to thinking. By the time I ended up back at home I'd decided that it probably made more sense for me to drop a 16t cog or freewheel on the other side of my practice wheelset, swap over the 42t chainring that came stock on the bike and put a set of cheap road tires on it and see how it felt. It occurred to me that it probably makes more sense for me to ride my racing bike anyway since some cheap ass conversion would probably have whacked out geometry and not feel a thing like the race bike, thus defeating the purpose almost entirely. I'll also still have brakes, which will be sweet. Also, I really like my bike, it's very comfortable and I already own it, which is a big advantage over any other bike,.

I'm hoping the decreased resistance of the road tires will help me out because I'll be going from a 58 to 70 gear inches. All the bikes I was looking at rocked a 42x16 as standard gearing, which means the hills will suck but the flats will be heaven. That also puts me just one tooth off from my 'cross gearing of 39x18 so the chain will work and the wheelbase won't change much. I'll probably still have to adjust the brake when I switch back and forth and if I want a pit wheelset I'll have to change the tires back every weekend (hastle?) but I'm excited about the prospect of hauling some serious ass instead of just spinning wildly.

Out of curiosity, I priced out a tubular race wheelset so I could avoid the tire change and rock some tubbies at the races but even with budget parts (Surly hubs, DT butted spokes, Mavic Reflex rims and Grifo Tires I'd be in over $450 plus a bunch of my labor. That'll have to wait for next year. Right now the priority is getting a faster road-type bike for the least amount of money and putting $40 worth of rubber and a $10 16t cog (maybe freewheel...) on the race bike makes a hell of a lot more sense. Why didn't I think of that before...

On a more ride related note. Ran over some slugs today out on the Metro Center Greenway. I know this because their gooey remnants dried to my frame and were uncomfortable to look at. Hoping to find a rideable route connecting all or most of Nashville's greenways and related roads (like Percy Warner Park). A nice big fat loop with a coffee stop 2/3rds of the way through and a beer stop at the end would be ideal. If I new the roads of Nashville better I'd probably already have a plan...

Someone Else's Handywork

Last night I played a show with my wife at the Belcourt Theater opening up for Sara Watkins.  My wife killed it, she's so good.  Also found a fourth for the weekly social ride, which is sweet (three's akward).

I have no new content, but I found some good stuff.  Here's a handlebar cam video taken by Kirt of Downeast Cross Day 2.  Anyone who's curious what cross really looks like, this is a good representation.  I'm on the lookout for the helmet cam footage someone in our USGP race shot.  I bet that's awesome.

Downeast Cross 2009, Day Two from Kirt on Vimeo.

Yesterday I stayed off the bike. Today I will crush my hungover legs. Percy Warner then some intervals around the dry version of my practice course. It's been raining and I already did one massive muddy cleanup on the bike this week so I'll skip the permanent muddy sections and throw in some grassy uphills in preparation for some deep grass this weekend.

I did manage to find this great highlights video of the Elite race last Sunday. Course had dried up considerably when they hit it but this vid shows a lot of the great sections of the Louisville course.

Cycling Videos on CyclingDirt

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Nice day for a ride

Left the house at 9:30 this morning.  Weather was nice enough I didn't need the tights, which was sad because they're my trademark, but great because it was that warm and getting warmer.  The tights were still mangy from yesterday, but I would have used them anyway since I love the purple swatch and 15 years is not enough....

Rode over to East Nasty and picked up my man JDar then headed out the greenway.  Conversation is infinitely better on the bike and JDar is finally getting comfortable around my riding.  I think the squeaky muddy bike, the vintage tights and random diversions into the grass, over jumps and through weeds made him nervous; he would always drop back when another rider came our way but I've seasoned him a little.  Today, riders or runners or whatever would come from the other direction and we'd actually maintain formation, riding side-by-side on our half of the path.  This is a serious improvement as it creates no disruption in our conversation and the last thing a good conversation needs is a disruption.  I think I still make JDar nervous but he knows I won't take him out.  Or maybe he thinks as highly of the conversation as I do and is unwilling to disrupt our flow.

Still on the prowl for the elusive conversion bike.  Saw a road bike for sale today that I really wanted but the budget is set and the gear will be fixed.  Again, if anyone sees a 58-60cm bike with vertical dropouts, I'll pay a $5 finders fee.

Planning to fix the camera but until then it's only text.  I recommend bike snob in the meantime.  He's profound...

Tomorrow is a much needed day off.  Looks like it'll be warm enough for my costume on Saturday which is good for me but bad for everyone who lays eyes on me...

Here's more pictures of me with my tongue out.  I used to get a lot of shit from my friends when I was a kid for balling up my tongue like that whenever I made any type of effort.  Clearly I haven't changed a bit and still have no sense of style.  Thanks to Danielle Mahan for shooting some great photos.

USGP Louisville

Nothing can prepare you for the speed of the best. I had no idea how fast a bike could be ridden before today. Now I know. It's seriously fucking fast. Absurdly fast. Couldn't believe it. Tim Johnson won, he was flying. Love that guy. He went off the front on the second lap I think and never looked back. I think he won by 40 seconds, which is like a damn eternity. I took one picture...



















 The course had dried up a bunch by the time the Pros hit it. It was super fast and tacky with a great line; I was really jealous. When we raced it wasn't nearly as fast but it was a lot sloppier which really hooked me up in the end.

I was only able to register on Tuesday of this week and since staging is based on registration, I lined up on the 10th row in 95th place. I'd never raced against 110 individuals before, and I didn't have a chance to pre-ride the course so the first lap was an adventure. I started right behind Matt who'd given me some really good advice; relax, don't try too hard, let things shake themselves out. Fantastic advice, really. Whistle blew, pack surged and down the opening straight I got lucky and things opened up in front of me. I was doing a lot of talking, trying to keep everyone calm, filling every gap that opened up in front of me. I think I was in the top 50 by the time we hit the first mud section. There were a few guys trying to force the issue; yelling, jumping on and off their bikes, swearing.  There's a photo series of it here.  I took it upon myself to ask them to shut the fuck up and chill out. I think everyone sees the leaders riding away and they freak but you've got to stay relaxed, stay upright, be patient and people will make mistakes, move out of the way, move backward and things sort themselves out.

So people were freaking and this kid was running, trying to pass people and he stuffed his pedal right into my front wheel. Miracle my spoke didn't break. I had to tell him to mellow out then I took it upon myself to ride him into the course barriers. I'm generally really peaceful, I have no vengeful motives when I race, but if you act like an asshole and almost end my race being an impatient selfish dick, then I'm going to take your line and hand your ass to you. I weigh 185, you're not going to push me around and I will not tolerate inappropriate behavior.

I got him out of my way and stayed relaxed but kept the speed up through the barriers. The first lap I was checking out the course, taking advantage of mistakes, (and there were a ton of mistakes; must have been a bunch of roadies...) and basically putting riders behind me. A few guys came by me obviously aiming for the front of the race and I was happy for them; being fast is fun. Otherwise, I just put people behind me. Guys were falling down a lot; it was really slippery, but there were some really good fast lines developing and the sun was coming out. I stayed on it, steadily putting riders behind me. It's a long course and I thought we'd do 5 laps. I was right. Toward the end of the second lap a spectator cheering on a friend told him he was top 25. Top 25? I don't really remember passing that many people, I must have gotten a lot of them in the first 2 minutes.

Tongue Biter

With less than 2 laps I caught my friend Brent who placed 20th on Saturday. I patted him on the back and told him to come with me but he was on the rivet. I knew I was doing well, there weren't a lot of riders ahead of me but I kept pulling them in. I was closing in on a group of 5 when my time ran out. I probably could have done another half lap, but all of a sudden, as quickly as it began, I was done. Tanner was at the finish line waiting. Soon after the whole crew rolled in; Brent, Matt, Nagoshiner, Nate. We got a photo taken then rolled to my car for beers and water, took showers and hung out, shwilling beers and watching races. Great day for Team Biker's Choice (and Nashville in general, Brent can't help that he's on the wrong team, just like I can't help that my jersey says Mapei and I don't even know what that is).

               Matt, Tanner, Brent and Me.  Skinny guys make me look fat?

I ended up 19th, right behind Tanner who started 40 spots and 5 rows ahead of me.  Made up 71 places through 5 laps.  I'd say that's pretty damn good. SS race went with us, I was passed by a couple of those hammerheads but as far as I could tell there weren't any other Single Speed riders in the 2/3 race. A source of pride for me, as I'm sure you can tell. Next weekend is the local Halloween Race as part of the Cross The Way Series. I'm probably going to ride too much this week and come into it tired but I don't get to ride enough as it is so I'll have to risk it.

Looking for a old road bike I can convert into a Fixie. If anyone's got the line on a 58-60cm old style verticle dropout bike, let me know. I need something for the road and I'm not about to start shifting...