Lake Geneva Cx

I knew Sunday would be long a day. Getting up at 5:55am to be in Brookfield in order to give the message at 3 services usually crushes me by itself on a Sunday, but I wanted to try and get out to the cx race that afternoon even if I would be beat to start. I got to the venue in time to ride the course once between races. It was a great course with transitions all over; sand, grass, gravel. mud, dirt, pavement, a run up, a flyover, and a nice long uphill section.

Photo courtesy of Kate

Figuring out the pressure was a guessing game, especially only getting one look at the course. I ended up a little too low and was squiblly in the transitions.

At the start Maciej did exactly what I thought he would do and what he said he wasn't going to do, he shot off like a bullet. Angry Andy got in front of him. I hopped on 3rd wheel and stayed there until Jeff made a strong move and shot to the front. From there the chase began. It wasn't long and we passed Angry.

I gave chase for a while, but I couldn't close the gap to Maciej. Eventually, Andy H.went around me and I had a hard time following him in the uphill sections. He is riding really well. And that is kind of where it stayed for me the rest of the race. I worked my way through the p,1,2's and created a gap to the guy behind me. 

From now on I am going to act as though every person I see on the course is in my race. I got a little complacent this time and finished with more in the tank. This is cx, that shouldn't happen!

Photo courtesy of Kate

I was sure I finished 4th. The first results had me in 4th, then they posted new results right before the awards and suddenly I was 5th. I asked the guy when he passed me and he didn't seem to remember. I asked the official what happened and she showed me the lap sheet and the guy passing me halfway through the race. I wasn't going to argue about it and let it go. Then I check the official results online today and I am back in 4th. Not sure what happened there.

Sheboygan CX: Bumpity Bump Bump

The WI cyclocross season kicked of on Saturday in Sheboygan. It was fantastic to see everyone together again. The course left a little to be desired as most of it was back to back straightaways and 180 degree turns. It has been a dry summer and the grassy field reflected that in the bumpiest, most jarring, cx course I have ever ridden. The highlight of the course was the 50 meter sand downhill followed by the 50 meter sand uphill.

According the numbers we had about 30 guys start the 35+ 1,2,3, although the results only show a little over 20. Still, it was a good sized field for this earlier in the season. I snuck in at the end of the first row for the start.

I had a good start and was third wheel. Mike H. was on the front pushing what could be called a very leisurely cx pace. About 3 minutes in Joe said he was on my wheel. I reply with cool and start looking for a place to pick up the pace. Before I can do it though, Joe jumps, so I jump, not quite bridging the gap  to him yet. And another guy hops on my wheel.

We get to the sand and this is where it all falls apart for me. I had ridden the sand fine in practice, but I don't know if I was pushing it too hard or what but I drove my front wheel into the sand and ended up laying the bike down and dropping my chain. I had my head down fumbling with my chain, got it back on and then started the chase. I thought I was in third at this point. Joe and the eventual winner of the race had a good gap and I could see them working together. I knew catching them wasn't going to happen by myself in the wind, so I started defending third.

Defense wasn't going so well though. I couldn't unclip into the barriers one time and did a sweet barrel roll over the first one (very entertaining for the crowd). I slipped out in a corner trying to make up time and dropped the chain again (I think I solved that problem now) and then, the next time through the sand I drove my front tire deep again had a sweet endo. The worst part is that my shifters got buried in the sand and after coming out my rear was no longer shifting into harder gears anymore.

I spent almost a full lap trying to work the sand out, but ended up just switching to my big ring and leaving it there. After two and a half laps I started to ride like a person who has done this before, and I finally started to think in the sand and lean back on the bike, then getting through became no problem. I was riding better but my body had taken a beating already and my legs were letting me know about it. Yet, I was still in third, or so I thought.

After the race I found out that I was in fourth. I never saw third pass me, but I did see him for most of the race. He was just up the course from me, but I thought he was in the p,1,2 field as I was making my way into it. I never thought I needed to catch him.

I ended up fourth after having a pretty cruddy first 20 minutes and not knowing that I should have been chasing down a guy in front of me. I'd say that is pretty good start to the season. I definetly got the bug to race all I can again.

A little drag, maybe?

This year I have ridden differently then I have before. I put in a lot of base miles and did very little intensity besides a few endurance mountain bike races and on a Tuesday night ride that no longer exists and has no name. If that ride did exist, I would have made it to about half of them this year.

I also started using power because I got a crazy deal on a Powertap and I already had a Garmin. Training with power has been very helpful, thus far, I think. All of this to hopefully have a great cx season where I can improve every race until our little girl comes along.

By not doing much intensity I feel as though I am unsure of where I am shape-wise. I can ride forever comfortably, but I don't feel like I have any pop yet. Last night, I rode with a bunch of oddly dressed fellows for 40 miles. As we rolled out, I noticed that my rear wheel was a bit squishy, I am guessing it was in the 80psi range. It made for a cushy feel on my 28mm tires. Well, when the bell rang, the intensity picked up and I stopped thinking about my tires and starting thinking about the pain.

I had a hard time pulling through consistently and spent more time than normal sucking the draft. I had to keep reminding myself that these guys are almost done with their race season and mine is just beginning. By the end, I was happy to stay with the group and not get dropped on the hills.

This morning I plugged in the Garmin and checked out the data. From the bell ring to the end (an hour and twenty four minutes) my average power was 308 and the normalized power was 354. I'm a big guy, so my wattage is always skewed a bit higher, but seriously, talk about resistance training! That sort of wattage shouldn't have had me just holding on, I should have been pulling through constantly and pushing the pace.

Maybe my legs are better right now than I thought. The season starts in a week so I'll find out soon!

Wausau 24 2012

This year of racing I have been more laid back than ever before. I have put very little effort into preparing for races and have seen them as chances to have fun and build fitness for cx. The funny part is that this has been my best season of racing yet. Along with Scott I won two duo long WEMS mtb races, I won a solo 6 hour mtb race, and took third in a 60 mile mtb race. Whatever it is that I have been doing, or not doing, seems to be working, so I stayed on the same track for the Wausau 24 race.

One of the things that I have been doing right is riding with strong teammates and Wausau 24 was no exception. Matt G., Anna and Sanjay G. and I lined up for the 24 hour coed race. I think we all knew we had a chance of doing well, but once Anna came through on her first lap with a time that was faster than a lot of the guys out there we knew we had a chance to win.

Matt and Sanjay were crushing laps like the elite riders they are and Anna kept turning in really fast times. I maxed out my ss and turned in decent times. By 12 hours in we had a 15 minute lead on second place in our category and we found ourselves in first place overall! Then the night laps hit and endurance really became a factor. We faltered slightly on a few laps and opened the door to second place in our field and were bumped to third overall (that was inevitable though).

Thankfully, even though my gear was maxed out in the daylight, at night that same gear gave me some fast laps. My night laps were only 2-3 minutes slower than my day laps. Plus, even though Sanjay thought he couldn't give any more for the laps he went out on, he kept crushing his night laps.

We found ourselves in first place by about 15-20 minutes with 3 laps left. Anna was willing to do a 7th lap but we worked out a deal where she would clean up the camp if I doubled up at the end and did 8 laps instead. I was feeling pretty good the whole race and never cramped or got tight legs so I knew I could double up.

We had discussed my stopping after our 27th lap if the lead was large enough, but that morning it rained a little and the previously loose and dusty trails were now riding great. I could finally kind of corner. I was going out for an 8th lap either way.

I came through on my 7th lap and Mike and Matt said we were in first by 17 minutes. I thought they said 7 minutes, so instead of taking a somewhat leisurely 8th lap I did what I could to keep the pace up, always assuming that second place was catching me. I came through on our 28th lap in 24:28:42. We won our category by about 13 minutes and we took 3rd overall! You can get to all the results here.

It was a great way to end my mtb race season (besides the Bl@ster). It was a ton of fun to hang out with everyone for the weekend and to get to know people better. Our team was in agreement that we would leave the 24 hour game on top. Next year I think I want to go back for the weekend, but do a 12 or 6 hour instead. I am still dealing with the sleep deprivation. I think it would have been easier to ride 8 laps straight instead of spreading them out over 24 hours and getting about an hour and a half of sleep in that same amount of time.

Next up, cx starts in September!

John Muir WEMS

John Muir is always a lot of fun because so many people I love hanging out with seem to show up. It was another hot one Saturday. I was happy to be transitioning out of the long solo races to do some team races. Hot laps on a day like Saturday sounded much better then a heated death slog. Scott and I teamed up for the 75 mile duo, which was in reality well over 80 miles.

We found out when we got there that they shortened the lap from 13ish miles to 7.5ish (more like over 8) miles. Instead of switching off every lap Scott and I decided to double them up. It worked well and we were both pretty consistent with our times. We switched roles from Levis where Scott was crushing laps and I was just getting them done, this time I was crushing the laps. 2:1 was a great gear until the last lap and getting up the hills fast was a bit of a task. Luckily, Mike C. chased me around on my last lap (even though he was taking the day off) and kept my pace up.

We almost did the 80+ miles in under 6 hours. When I crossed the line it said 4:05 which gave us a time of 6 hours and five minutes. We were moving pretty good and got another win! It has been a great year so far!

Next up, Wausau24 with a 4 person coed team.

Stump Farm

Last Saturday was race number 2 of 4 races in 5 weeks for me. I did the 60 mile solo.

The course at Stump Farm is the polar opposite of Underdown. Underdown is almost constantly rough with 2,000 feet of climbing per 14 mile'ish lap, while Stumpfarm is smooth (except for 1.3 miles of new trail) and flowly with less than 2,000 feet of climbing for the whole 60 mile race. It was a beautiful sunny day in the mid 80's.

I knew going into the race that ss wasn't going to win. At least not me on a ss. There was far too much double track on which to lose time. After getting some recon from Scott, 2:1 was the call on gearing. So my goal was to average 13.5 mph for the race. Once again, my plan was to go out at my pace and not burn a match at the start.

Mike and Chad took off at the start and I quickly dropped back about 30 seconds off of them. However, once we got into the single track I made up some time and caught them. From there we worked together for the 1st lap. At that point I think there were 4 or 5 guys in front of us. Mike was geared so he did a lot of work on the flats for Chad and I since we were both on 2:1 ss.

Chad stopped after lap one to grab water and Mike and I kept going, however I told Chad I would see him in a bit and sure enough I did, about 1 mile into lap two. When he caught up Mike dropped off, he wasn't feeling it that day. Chad and I proceeded to work together for the next 4 laps.

And work together we did! We were slaying the single track and not doing too bad on the fire roads. We passed many a person as if they were stopped. Lap 4 was our slowest lap and it was my fault. I had a gas bubble I couldn't shake. Shortly after the start of lap 5 I finally found some relief and we picked up the pace again. We were a minute faster on lap 5 than on 4.

The last lap Chad fell off a little, I yelled back for him to get back on but he sort of dangled. I thought if I pushed the pace we would both go faster and just maybe we could catch somebody else. In the end I finished about 40 seconds ahead of Chad and in 3rd place. My final time was a 4:37:14 for about 64 miles. I averaged 14.1 mph! I also stopped for less than a minute during the whole ride compared to 20 minutes at Underdown. The two guys in front crushed it and finished about 15 minutes ahead of me. I have to say, it was great to be able to race with Chad for almost the whole race. It really made the race fly by.

Next up John Muir!

Thunderdown in the Underdown

Saturday I drove up to Underdown hoping to hit my goal of 4 laps in 6 hours. The organizers posted an elevation map of one lap and it was 13 miles with 2,000ish feet of climbing. I thought if I could average 9 miles an hour I would have time to stop and refuel every lap and still get 4 laps. It was a lofty goal, but a goal non the less.

The goal of 4 laps was shot out the window at the pre-race meeting when we were told that laps were actually 13-14 miles long. I would have been pushing it at 13 miles so a 14 mile lap met a 3 lap race. I, however, stuck to my plan and went out slow, thinking if I felt good I woul try to place well in lap 3.

Maciej was going to ride with me from the start, but he was geared and I was on a single speed, so during the roll out he took off while I was passed by most of the group going into the single track. The first mile was a little frustrating because the course was so hilly and the folks in front of me were having a hard time clearing some of the punchy rises. I ended up walking 3-4 times. Once I got clear though, I settled into my pace. Not going too hard and just getting up the long climbs, not trying to crush anything. I stopped at the aid station and loaded up on water every lap and stopped at the start/finish to reload.

My second lap was uneventful until I caught Maciej at the aid station. He wasn't feeling too well, the heat and the rough terrain were getting to him. We road together for a while. He said I was in first place, which I didn't understand since there were a couple of guys I hadn't seen yet. Turns out they accidentally cut the course (which they made up by doing the skipped section twice their third lap). After a mile or two Maciej peeled off my wheel and I was on my own again.

I took Maciej at his word, after all he would know if he was in first or not from the start, so I went into my third lap thinking I should just keep it together and ride within my comfort zone. One thing you have to understand is that this course was rough and constantly up and down, for the first 2 laps I was standing 90% of the time. By lap 3, I just couldn't stand as much any more and I stood maybe 80% of the lap. Therefore I slowed down a bit. I caught 2 people in the last 14 miles of the race, so I was by myself a long time, which also slowed me down. Until the last 20 minutes of the race, when I my co2 started to clang around funny in my seat bag and I got paranoid that someone was catching me. I hit it hard and finished pretty strong.

The laps ended up being closer to 14.5 miles, there was no way I was getting 4 done! I won the 6 hour solo with 3 laps in 5:21:02.This means I stopped and refueled for almost 20 minutes because my ride time was 5:02. That worked well with such a difficult course. I don't see the same thing working next Saturday at Stumpfarm.

Also, I have to give congratulations to Scott Marx who won the WI Single Speed Championship with a rigid fork! Ouch!