Memorial Weekend Cookout Ride

Great ride today everyone!

Some Pics from Last Week...

Thanks to Double Hop and Seaside Cycles!

Weeping Willow Race Report

You think you're getting a full race report here, but a-ha, you're NOT. Instead, you're getting a photo that I borrowed from Seaside Cycle's FB photo page and a link to the coolest bike clothing company out there, Twin Six. Trust me, I'm sort of like a doctor's helper, and I promise, the click won't hurt a bit. Click here, and do it now!

I'm awake now!

Wow. One would not expect to jump so fully into such silliness as racing a fully rigid singlespeed 29" wheeled clown bike, a week after building it, and hey! Why not race Elite too. Are you fucking kidding?

Weeping Willow!

I need some time to gather my thoughts about the Weeping Willow race, but in summary--what a great event! It was so much fun to blast around on that course and to hang out with so many good friends. So while I'm primarily focused on replenishing my barley and hops stores, I'd like to send out some HUGE "thank you"s…

Bear with me while I learn iMovie...

Kingdom Trails

Short HP Video

Good Weekend.

A couple of good mountain bike rides, a good get together with friends, and great weather... Yeah, this weekend had all that. And, we also got our new team jerseys--so now we'll be rockin' in style! Thanks to Jamie for the first self portrait in the new threads...

Anyway, I got out to Bradley Palmer/Willowdale on Saturday with Jean and Rick, and Harold Parker on Sunday with Todd, Ron, Leslie and Bob followed by a road ride in Salem and Beverly again with the beautiful Jean. That works for me!

Don't forget--we've got a field trip planned for May 14th & 15th--May 14th we'll be rockin' the deals at the Pearl Izumi outlet in North Conway, NH, and on the 15th (Sunday), we'll be riding and grinnin' at Kingdom Trails, in East Burke, VT. Are you in? Let me know.

Oh, and congrats to Glenn for his 3rd place in the Beverly TT.

Stay tuned for some video from Harold Parker...

Singlespeed-A-Palooza

This past weekend I tried my legs out on the Singlespeed-A-Palooza Race in New Windsor, NY. Yup, a single speed only race with 250 one gear, mostly rigid racers ready to tear up the 25.5 mile course. We showed up the day before to pre-ride the course and found it fast, fun and swoopy...just what a single speed course should be. Too bad the rain came in over night and turned the surface into a thick greasy mud! Thankfully, I played it conservative and changed my gear ratio from 32:17 to 32:18 to fight through the muddy mess. Anyway, here is the play by play:

When we woke up on race day it was steady rain and in the 40's. UGH. With faint determination we made it to the race and were ready to go for the 9:00 start time. 8 Minutes after the Expert/Pros took to the course, I was off! Rosy, a cool girl we met on the pre-ride, had the hole shot and took the lead (or so I thought...more later.) She was riding a 2:1 gear ratio which gave her great advantage on flat terrain, but eventually caught up to her on the muddy climbs. After a few encouraging words, she let me take the lead (or so I thought) and I managed to get into a groove in spite of the slick course. With dirt in my belly and mud in my eyes, I finished the first 12.75 mile loop feeling pretty good.

Starting my second loop I could feel a "fullness" in my legs on the climbs. Uh Oh...the cramp monsters! I stopped, stretched, downed a TON of fluids and ate two GU's. Unfortunately I think it was a bit too late. For the remainder of the race I had to take a couple of quick stretching breaks to keep the monsters at bay, but at least they stayed at bay! Anyway, I came up to a girl along the second loop and thought, "Hmmm...am I catching an expert here or was there someone I didn't see?" Turns out she was an expert and let me know that I was actually in second place and the first place sport was WAY out ahead. Wow, that sucks. Oh, well...onward! I caught a second girl fairly quickly and thought that maybe, just maybe this was the sport girl, but it was another expert having a bad day with crashes. Pretty soon after, with more dirt in my belly and mud in my eyes, I was done! Second Place Sport Woman!

I'm still baffled that I missed seeing the first sport girl take off, but it isn't all that unusual for me to be oblivious to my surroundings. She was probably with us ladies at the line-up the whole time and I just didn't see/talk to her. But a mystery remains for me because Rob is sure he passed her early in the first loop. I have to admit that the start was confusing because we were told via email to start with the Sport North men, but there was a small sign at the starting line-up that actually put us behind them.

No matter! I came home with a new Thompson stem, cool trophy, t-shirt, water bottle, and a belly full of hot dogs, beer and dirt! Good times!

Random Road Ride Rambling

On a typical day, I *try* my best to be ready to ride at the designated time, I prefer to stop infrequently and above all, I try not to be an anchor.

Today was not a typical day.

First, I think someone slipped me a ruffie or something because I was woken up by the doorbell when Jamie and Glen were at my house at 10:00am. WTF? I haven't slept that late since I've done overnight shifts. Crap. My "give me 15 minutes" turned in to about 30 minutes as I fed myself and the dogs (no coffee for me!), walked the dogs quickly to allow them to relieve themselves, suited up, prepared a couple of water bottles and finally strapped on my fanny-pack. Yeah, I'm rockin' a fanny-pack. What do you want to say about it? Here's the deal, ever since last year's "photo a day" project, I feel naked if I leave my camera at home. So again, yeah, I'm rollin' with a fanny pack. Deal with it.

Anyway, we rolled out of the driveway and headed toward Gloucester. As I'm primarily a mountain biker, and essentially a singlespeeder at that, I'm not well versed in road etiquette. I could be described as a squirrel. Glen and Jamie taught me the meaning of the "flapping chicken wing," and how NOT to attack hills, and passed on some other pearls of wisdom. 

As if my 30 minute delay at the onset of our ride wasn't bad enough, I also flatted. My tube change was pretty fast, but then Jamie noticed that my tire wasn't seated properly and the bead was popping out. I was able to deflate, re-seat, and re-inflate fairly quickly, but I was feeling like the black cloud on this ride. Oh, and I was sucking wind, but that's beside the point. 

Glen also flatted, but his tube change was done in the blink of an eye. Jamie used that opportunity to promote the fine bicycle products offered by KHS. We were back on the road fairly quickly and after a total of about 20 miles, I was back home. Jamie & Glen headed back to Salem, no doubt talking about New Mexico races from 5yrs ago...

When all was said and done, my "recovery ride" had me peaking with power at more than 1000 watts at one point, with plenty of surges over 600 watts. D'oh. I can recover for the next 7 days at work!

We've got cards...

You'll be getting some to pass out... Spread the love!

2010 Tour of the Battenkill

Falling off the trainer and flatting - nice start to the season!

Battenkill is a river; 'Batten' was some sort of name from the past. 'Kill' is what the race did to me! Actually, 'Kill' means a river or stream, among other things. Inane name trivia aside, the race tours through absolutely incredible countryside making one big 62 mile loop that criss-crosses the Battenkill a number of times.

Launching out of Cambridge, NY with 95 of my closest CAT3 road racing buddies - the sound of tires on pavement, the buzz of 8 dozen freewheels, and the bright sun were all welcome sounds and sights. This race is nuts as it covers a lot of ground on dirt roads - making it very similar to traditional European "Spring Classics". Thank god it was not cold or rainy - but cool and sunny. The first 10 miles were typically twitchy - but not too demanding. When we veered off the safety of the first big smooth highway stretch down a narrow country road to dive bomb an even narrower covered bridge - all hell broke loose.

As we funneled through the dark bumpy bridge, it was like a rifle shot coming out the other side - except we had to make a hard right turn. Accelerations abounded - but still no definitive attacks. We were on dirt soon, and it got a little more wily at that point. The challenge was always in the transitions; turns, dirt-to-pavement, pavement-to-dirt, pavement-to-dirt-on-screaming-descent-to-hard-left, and so on. After 45-50 minutes of twitchy mid-pack braking, stuttering, accelerating, braking - I got tired of it and wove my way over to the right side of the road - aka "the gutter" - along a mild dirt road climb, and started accelerating towards the front. As we took a sharp right turn down this same dirt road, I was in good position as a powerful surge started building at the front. Good timing for me!

BAM!!!

Hit one of the thousands of dirt road potholes that are part of the race, but hit it really hard. Everything seemed fine - water bottles in place, helmet still on, stem not snapped off... so I started pushing the pace. Being near the front (top 10-15 racers) of such a huge field is intimidating on the one hand, but thrilling and energizing on the other. As we hit the next stretch of stair stepping paved hills - I settled into a good groove and felt strong. The main peloton started re-forming but was now much less twitchy.

Shortly thereafter, I felt like I was slowing down... and sure enough my rear tire was slowly deflating. Ugh. Gently weaving my way to the right shoulder and back, ALL the way to the back, I waited for the wheel car to roll up. After an agonizing minute or two - I was back on the road but could not even see the back of our field! Not panicking - and realizing I may be doing a 2 hour time trial - I started riding as hard as I could without totally blowing up. Digging, digging, digging - hoping to see SOMEONE to work with, I realized I was burning through all my matches awfully quick. I eased up a bit - but then caught a glimpse of a guy in orange with the same bib number series I had - so he was also a CAT3 chump off the back and out in no mans land. I turned up the gas a bit - but every time the road went up, I ceased closing the gap and was over-revving.

This went on until I caught him - but was now cooked. Fried. Well-done. Tenderized. Oh! Just in time for the 40+ Masters Peloton to start creeping up on us... their lead car came up and said they were on our tails - and I noted I'd be sure to let them pass cleanly and not interfere (hoping to tag onto the back of THEIR group!) with them.

And so it went - riding at the back of this group - then losing contact, then picking up the odd assortment of blown racers like myself; the co-flatters and otherwise despondent and thrashed peers. Eventually I found 2-3 guys on the Colavita Team to rejoin, and we rode together for a while... Laurent had serious calf cramping issues, Todd was hanging tough - and I helped his skinny ass out in the long rolling open highway sections that had a relentless cross/head wind. When the hills kicked up again, Todd pedaled away and Laurent seemed to have disappeared.

After some screaming descents and more climbs - the mother of all ass-kicker climbs was upon me. Stage Hill Road is a mean old gal - but was at least smooth. A few weeks ago they had just re-graded it and there was loose gravel everywhere. Now it was just long and steep and cruel - but not so hard to not fall over.

Made it up to the top with just enough gas in the tank to pedal the last 6-7 km to the finish. As I was spinning these last km's - the CAT4 lead group of 10 guys or so went by and made me feel like I was going backwards. By the time I finished the race I had the full on cold clammy shakes and my stomach was queasy. Found my team mates and heard one fellow had clinched a top-ten finish, another stayed strong in the peloton, and the rest of us suffered our own personal hells.

It took longer to "race" the course this past weekend than it did to "ride" the course a few weeks ago... which means there is only one way to go - to the bar!

From NY Post

Olde Salem Green 5K

Today was the first day of spring and the first race of the year. I met Rick and Megan at the Olde Salem Green 5K cross country race, and as you can see from the elevation profile, they pack some ups and downs in that short race. It's a fun course, and the spongy, muddy grass was an extra bonus.

There were even some dudes out there running barefoot. I hear that that is supposed to be better for you, but for now, I'll keep my Brooks.

Anyway, I have to give "mad props" to Rick, as he was clearly representing the Racer-X t-shirt. I tried to be prepared, so I washed mine the night before, but I neglected to take to the next phase, which is the drying...

Race results? Yep...
http://www.coolrunning.com/results/10/ma/Mar21_8thAnn_set1.shtml



GPS Data? Sure...
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/27671803


Let the racing begin!

Spring Ride--Bradley Palmer & Willowdale

So, a few of us ventured out to Bradley Palmer & Willowdale for a ride. The VAST MAJORITY of the trails were in great shape, which was what I told by my eye-witness reporter, Mr. Flawless. There were, however, some sections which were wet, and by wet, I mean rivers. We made it through one such river crossing (twice) without a problem, but there was another, MUCH longer, section--maybe 50-60 meters, that I alone tried to cross. The water was DEEP, and COLD, and I got probably 85% of the way across before the soft bottom finally sucked me to a stop. The water was over the bottoms of my shorts. Zoiks! Jean, Tim and Rick wisely went around.

My epiphany came when I was contemplating the ease of post-muddy ride maintenance with a fully rigid singlespeed, but that was short lived as I then remembered that I'd have Jean's bike to clean AND we had let Rick borrow one of our bikes... Sunday was a day of cleaning and lubing.

Anyway, if you click on the slideshow above, you can link to the photos directly.

GDWSO2010

Jean and I took the bikes up to Willowdale, and, well, to say that there was some wind damage and some trees down would be, in my opinion, THE understatement of 2010.

I'm calling that storm a couple of weeks ago the GDWSO2010 (the Great Destructive Wind Storm Of 2010). There were some MAJOR trees down. Someone (NEMBA?) has already done a significant amount of clearing, but wow, there's more to go. Get your chainsaws ready...

On the plus side, we did find some new singletrack!

Pearl Izumi Field Trip

As I mentioned earlier, we have an opportunity to take a "team field trip" up to the Pearl Izumi outlet in North Conway, NH, and get deeper discounts on their already discounted clothing/shoes. Jean and I usually make at least one trip up there each year to load up on gear... Anyway, I'm currently looking at May 15th. Stay tuned for details!

Social-X!

Our first get together for the newly minted Racer-X group was a success in that no one was arrested, the house is still standing, and everyone got first edition Racer-X t-shirts! 

More information to follow...

Update on Race Radios

Colorado Springs, Colo. (Feb. 2, 2010) - In response to a request from the UCI that radios be banned in all national calendar races, the USCF Board of Trustees met and amended the rule regarding the use of race radios in all USA Cycling sanctioned road and track races. Radios will now be banned in all USA Cycling road and track races.

In 2010, race radios will only be allowed for use by teams and riders in UCI Category HC or Category 1 races in the U.S. per UCI regulations.

Rule 1N6 Pg. 57, which takes effect immediately, now reads:

“Riders may not use radios, telephones, or other such communication devices. No earpieces may be worn.  Audio playback devices are expressly forbidden.”

“I would like to thank the USCF Trustees for moving quickly in response to the request we received from the UCI, said Steve Johnson, CEO of USA Cycling. “Although I think the jury is still out regarding the future of radios in our sport, given the current direction being set by the UCI indicating their intent to phase out radio usage across the board, we all agreed that it was important to make this adjustment now rather than later in the season.”

Revised Plans--yet again!

Okay, this time I've got the date already set on my Google Calendar--and that's pretty significant. I'm looking at Friday, February 12th at about 7:00pm. Location is to be determined (and I'm open to suggestions).

We'll talk about bikes, jerseys, races, events, trails and we'll choose our official team song from Lady Gaga's most recent album.

Questions? Shoot me an e-mail: david(dot)racerx(at)gmail.com

See ya!

Bikes, Beer and Bold Plans for 2010--part 2!

Okay, I'm now thinking of having the get together on Sunday the 24th, potentially at Gulu-Gulu in Salem. More info to follow!

Bikes, Beer and Bold Plans for 2010!

I'm looking at the calendar and thinking that Saturday, 1/23/10, might be a good evening to get together to talk about this Racer X thing and what it means to the world we live in. Invitations will be sent out soon, but take a moment to block some time off on your calendar, probably in the evening of the 23rd, let's say 6-ish...

I started playing around with Adobe Illustrator...

Jerseys...

It's a draft, and I'm looking for comments, or help from someone more graphically inclined than myself...

http://www.velowear.com/account/SharedDesigns.aspx?DesignID=8745

Merry X-Mas!

Happy Holidays!

Ice Weasels--and the end of CX for 2009...

Yep, this past weekend was the last race of CX season for me. It was perfect 'cross race--frigid, snowy, slippery, and fun.

Before I get into the details, here are some pertinent numbers regarding the race:

• 6: the time, AM, I was up to get ready to leave.
• 9: the "real feel" temp, in Fahrenheit, according to Weather.com.
• 2: the number of bikes I brought with me.
• 2: the number of bikes I needed in the race.
• 4: the number of pedals I left home with.
  
• 3: the total number of pedals I came home with.
• 12: the "real feel" temp, in Fahrenheit, of the plastic toilet seat in the port-0-let, according to my butt cheeks.
• 95: the number of confirmed riders registered for my race category.
• 55: my starting position.
• 1: the number of laps I had done before I realized that I hadn't hit the start button on my HRM (I HATE losing that VERY important data!).
• 178: my average heart rate.
• 186: my maximum heart rate.

So, I'll start with one video and see how long it takes to cut & edit more... (I'll also see how long it takes to upload!)

Now, some details of my race day...

It was an uneventful drive to Wrentham... Somewhere along the way, I hooked in to a paceline of other racers from my neck of the woods (Chris, Dan, Stu, et al). Yeah, I know, I should have car-pooled, but I had a tight timeline and essentially boogied right after the race. Anyway, we hit the iced over parking lot, walked over to the freezing shed to pick up race numbers, and all went back to our respective cars to be warm for just a little bit longer.

After figuring out what would be an appropriate amount of layers, it was time for a pre-ride. The course was twisty and turny with either snow--just deep enough to put you off track, ice, or rough frozen ground. Yeah!

I put my Motobecane in the pit and made my way around to the start.

The start was interesting, and by "interesting," I mean "narrow," allowing only about 5 riders per row, and we were staged by starting number. I was in something like the 10th row back. Far enough back so that when the starting whistle was whistled, I was standing still for about 10 seconds. D'oh!

Anyway, we took off at a gentlemanly pace, rounding turns with breath held in anticipation of washing out with both wheels. Fortunately, that didn't happen to me, but I saw MANY riders hit the deck.

The first lap was spent trying to pick my way further towards the front, and also trying to figure out what that terrible creaking sound was coming from my cranks or pedals. Anytime I put in a hard effort, it sounded like my bike was going to break.

Eventually, it did break, or at least the pedal did. And while that, in and of itself doesn't sound fortunate, the timing was. When my wouldn't foot connect, I looked down and saw nothing but pedal spindle. Then, I looked up and saw the entrance to the pit area. Sweet! I swept in, spent a few seconds trying to check the bottom of my shoe to see if the pedal body was stuck to the cleat (it wasn't), and hopped on my pit bike. I was back in the race!

After that, it was just a matter of trying to pass riders when I could, trying to stay upright, and looking for ice weasels.

Before I knew it, the bell lap was at hand, and it was time for one last push to the finish. All in all, it was a good time. I wish I could have stuck around to check out the other races, but I had time to grab a few quick pics and then I was on my way back home.

According to the friendly folks at Crossresults.com, my effort earned me a 36th or so out of 87...

And so ends the 2009 cyclocross season, but NOT the biking season. I'll be on the trails by Tuesday!

BayState Bonanza!

Well, it was another weekend of cyclocross... that means another weekend of fun and of sucking.

I think that racing is super fun, but it would probably be a whole lot more fun if I could just get a little more "oomph," a little more Eye of the Tiger..

I've got a plan to do just that, but that's for NEXT season...

Focusing on this season, this past weekend's BayState 'cross race (full name: BayState Cyclocross, Round 12 of the Verge New England Cyclocross Championship Series, UCI Cat 2, Presented by Spin Arts/Stevens Cycles, Gear Works Cyclery, and The Mid State Cycling Club) was another opportunity for me to push the limits of human athleticism. Instead, I found myself pushing my bike up a sloppy, muddy hill. But, I'm getting ahead of myself (something many of the people I raced against also did... get ahead of me... that's almost a pun).

I was originally signed up to race both Saturday and Sunday-an ambitious agenda, my wife thought. She's right, Anyway, due to a confluence of factors, not the least of which was the torrential downpour I heard as my alarm went off dark and early on Saturday morning, I skipped out on Day 1. Ironically, by the time I did roll out of bed, the skies had cleared and I heard that the start of my race was bone dry. D'oh. That's okay. I had a little more time to get my stuff together for Sunday's race (Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!), so I was able to get to bed at a decent time and hopefully be well rested.

Sunday morning came early (as almost all of my mornings do), and G-Roll (AKA G-Money, AKA G-Rad, AKA Glen) arrived at my front door so we could carpool to the race. We had our directions spot-on this time and didn't waste any time on any wild goose chases. In fact, thanks to Glen's driving tip, by taking a few extra turns-we shaved about 10 minutes off the drive time. Bizarre!

Glen's race was much later in the day, so he had plenty of time to chill. I, on the other hand, had to sign-in, get my number, and take a quick warm-up spin. I don't typically warm up before a race, and I think that's going to change...Anyway, this time around, I did a half-lap of the course and found my way to the BACK of the staging area.

My primary goal with any race start is to avoid any crashes or mishaps, and I was able to do that once again. The course started on a fast crushed stone track... we went around about 1/2 of the track then made a tight hairpin turn onto the grass. From there, it was a typical 'cross course, with plenty of tight turns, grassy straight-aways, a couple of run-ups. One of the "run ups" was sort of a "slog-up" as it was a slick, slippery, muddy hill. SOME riders were able to ride up, but most did not.

Overall, the course was fast and fun. Unfortunately, I was neither. Oh, who am I kidding? Of course I was fun! It's the "fast" I've got to work on. Although, depending on how you look at the results, I didn't do that poorly. I did CRUSH five other racers. And, in my class, I was the top finisher from Massachusetts' "North Shore" region. It also appears that of all the men's classes, I was the highest placed racer with a hyphenated last name. I can only imagine that the sponsorship offers will be rolling in any minute now...

Thanks to Glen for documenting my efforts photographically. I look fast, don't I?

After my race, it was time to hang out and watch Glen get ready for his race. I ran up and down the course shooting my trusty Canon G10 and I'll be posting a little slide show once I sort through the pics and eliminate the crap...

With this race done, it appears that there is only one more race on the calendar for this season that I can get to-the Ice Weasel! See ya in Wrentham!

Plymouth Festival of CX - my P.O.V.

3+ hours from start of warm up to completion of 2nd race (in a row)? Must be nuts - or looking to make a full blown training adventure out of one day of 'cross racing! The ever patient and gracious Dave agreed to come out to Marblehead and pick me up - then truck us and our gear down to Plymouth for a day of racing. As a CAT3 - we race late in the day. As a CAT4 - Dave races early. What to do in between? Race together, of course! So I signed up not only for the CAT3 race, but for the Masters 35+ (M35+) version too. The promoter was VERY cool in giving a discount on additional races - making them only $10 a pop. TWO was plenty, I knew - and was not at all tempted by the 'A' Race after thew CAT3 one!

XC Style Section near end of lap(s):



Anyhow - driving south made it clear that it'd be a gray - albeit mild - day. Rain, drizzle, fog, clouds. Temps in the high 50's kept it comfortable. Only problem we had was arriving on time (just) to Plymouth North HS - as there was no event to be found. Hmmm. After the 3rd check of the flyer, I noticed day 2 said 'SOUTH' High School.... whoops! Once we were headed the right way, we knew Dave would have little time to prep and get to his race start!

His race took off - well, some of them, Dave included did, as the rest were either in, or stuck behind a nasty pile up off the line. He seemed to settle in and rode well. I bopped around the course yelling and snapping my lame photos - and took notes on different lines. When he was done, I started suiting up, and easing into a SLOW warm up for the 12PM M35+ race start. I felt strangely good - a bad sign when I'd not ridden much, as it means I'm more than 'recovered', but likely stale. No worries, as that is why we're here - to race into shape, of course!

I pre-ride one lap of the course and find one HELLACIOUS muddy climb to a bog-like traverse at the top of said climb. The high line sucks, the center is sticky, gloopy, awful stuff - but the 'lower line' - basically through some bushes and weeds - is ride-able. It's a long course - with 8 to 9 minute laps likely. The other techy section is a fun sandy climb up a small ridge. I make it fine, but know in the heat of a race, and with traffic - it may not go so well.

As 12 noon approaches, I head over to staging. Dave *ahems* me as I weave my way, instinctively - to a start position at the front. I move back, as this is my 'warm up' race and I had insisted I would take it easy. So I back it on up. We get ready, get set - and GO! Nice to just ride at a race start - even though we accelerate fast. Aside from the first lap and associated traffic, I ride all the sections on all subsequent laps. I'm pretty sure I was last - or near last, as when I rolled through for my bell lap - I heard the finish over the PA a minute later.

Allez!!!


Damn. At the end of the last lap I realize that even "taking it easy" for 45 minutes is no way to warm-up, as I'm pretty worked already - and my bike is thrashed! With 10 minutes before the CAT3 race start, I rinse off the big chunks, drizzle heavy-duty motor oil like lube on my chain, and head back to staging. No surprise everyone else is fresh and clean! As I walk up, folks back away ever so slightly.

I punch it as best I can, but have a harder time clipping in than usual due to residual gunk in show/pedal from the last race - but get 'er going anyhow. By the end of the start area straight away, I'm already in pain! I do not contest too many spots as we turn abruptly onto singletrack (!) and know it'll be a dogfight here.

Oof...


The first lap is full of the usual traffic since I'm not out near the front - so we plug away and get around to the start of the second lap and the real race settles in. Over the next 20 minutes I start feeling better, and pass the random guy here and there - especially when it gets steep, technical, or over at the barriers - where I seem to be making VERY good time dismounting, doing the 'cross boogie - and re-mounting. This is new, and perhaps due to actually practicing it a few times recently. I'm still taking up duties as a rear-guard, but not DFL. I think. I hope!


On the 2nd to last lap, however, I crack harder than I have in a long time - and like I never have in a (short) CX race. Granted I was in past 3 hours at this point (since start of warm-up), when I stood up to grind up the steep parts, my right quad sent a white-hot blazing jolt of pain up my body. Well, that'll teach me to stand up! I sit and hammer the rest of the race - losing 2-3 spots due to inability to stand, and general bonked/cramped state. I did clean the two hard steep (sandy and muddy) spots while seated - as I was terrified to get off and try and "run" with my bike, knowing I'd collapse on that right leg.

Scramble up that last climb onto pavement, and head for Miller Time.

Plymouth Festival of Cyclocross

There comes a time in a race when you know you're pushing as hard as you can. Your heart rate is at the max, you're legs are pumping, and you can't hear over the rush of blood pounding through your ears. You take a moment to look behind you, and see... no one. At this point, you can glean one of two things. Either you've made a break that no one can match, you're in front and your gap is growing. or, in my case, you know that you're probably in DFL.

I wish I could blame my bike-but it was working fairly well. I wish I could blame the course, but it was fast and fun (an no one else seemed to be hindered). I wish I could blame the big crash at the start line, but fortunately, I was in front of that mess, implying that I got a great start (which I did). Nay, blame lies sadly in one spot-that's right, the Spanish Inquisition.

Okay, here's how things went down. I picked up my buddy Glen at about 7:00am and made the hour or so drive to Plymouth, MA. In case you didn't know, Plymouth has TWO high schools, so if you plug Plymouth High School into GoogleMaps, you've got a 50/50 shot of getting the right one. As usual, the odds were against me and we arrived at the high school without a single course marker, port-o-let, or person. Incidentally, as this weekend was a two-day race in Plymouth, the race promoters used the north high school for day one and the south high school on day two (which would have been apparent to me if I had read the flyer). You can imagine our confusion at seeing clear signs of a recent race (tire tracks in the mud), but not another soul.

Anyway, after some BlackBerry and iPhone maneuvering, we found the correct location. The delay did however give me a simple answer to the question of "should I pre-ride the course?" We got there in just enough time for me to pin my number on, sign my one-day license and find the staging area. I muscled my ironic flat bar 'cross bike to the start line and within a few minutes, the start whistle had been whistled.

After a few hard pedal strokes I heard the unmistakable sound of knobby tires meeting knobby tires, followed by some crashing. Fortunately, this occurred behind me. Unfortunately, everyone that was held up with that calamity seemed pass me not too much later. I felt great heading into the woods on the singletrack, but as soon as we hit the huge field of grass, I felt like I was riding on two flat tires.

The remainder of the race was mostly unremarkable. I kept up the effort, and pretty much settled in to my approximately 30th place spot. I made sure I didn't lose any spots, but I couldn't seem to bridge up any further... until the final climb up to the finish.

I came up behind another rider that seemed to feel about as fresh as I did (not). I hung in behind him down a slick, off-camber, wet, grassy downhill and put the hammer down on the last climb. I passed him, but then exploded. And I do mean exploded. I honestly don't know what happened. Did my chain skip or slip? Did my back wheel spin out? Did someone shoot me from a grassy knoll? I don't know. But what I do know is that I was suddenly falling face first into a large rock. I was able to keep my pretty face from making contact, but I was totally off my bike, and oddly enough, out of one of my shoes. Needless to say, that guy passed me. With the reflexes of a ninja, I jumped back on my bike and finished the race doing a one-legged sprint to the line. Check out GPS data from the course here.

And while I didn't have to wait around for a medal, I did wait around to put another effort out on the course. I raced again at noon (this time with my buddy Glen), both in the Master 35+. I over estimated my athletic prowess as I was caught by the leaders by the third or fourth lap. I decided to drop out, get cleaned up, and take some pics of Glen's race.

All in all, the day was a good beating. That cheeseburger on the way home and the beer later that night tasted so good though! Next up, Sterling, MA, Thanksgiving weekend!