DC Cyclocross Race

I guess it's a bad habit of mine to start things late. I forgot until Saturday evening that my bike was still set up for mountain biking and would need some wrenching to be ready for the 'cross race Sunday. Unfortunately I didn't get home from Bill and Kim's until close to 12:30 am, and I thought it best to get some rest rather than try working on the bike while already half asleep. I got up when the alarm went off at 7:30 am, which as it turns out wasn't quite early enough. Took a hot shower, threw my stuff together, and was rolling by 8:10. It's a long drive to the middle of DC, and I pulled into a parking spot in the race venue at 9:25. Quickly taking the bike off the rack and throwing my shoes on, I raced up to the registration tent to pick up my number. Mike Klasmeier was there, trying to tell me I didn't need to change anything on the bike. Riiiight. I basically told him he was nuts and raced back to the car to get to work. 9:40 am, and my class (men's C) started at 10. My heart was working now -- if I executed the gear swap perfectly I figured I could just make it.

Okay, first things first, swap out the rear wheel for the one with the 'cross tire and 21 tooth cog on it. Second, replace the 32 tooth chainring with the 42 tooth. Excellent, I didn't lose any of the chainring bolts! Next, the longer chain. Things are looking good. Loosen the bolts for adjusting the eccentric bottom bracket and get the chain tensioned just right. Only one thing left to do. Swap out the tire and tube on the front to the Michelin Mud2. Oh, and air up both tires. With those two things accomplished I took a look at my watch. 9:55! F@$!, I still had to get my number on! That took about two minutes, including shedding my wool top because I could tell by the way I was already heating up that it would be too warm for racing. So, in jersey and tights I rode as quickly as I could toward the start... wherever that was. Even though I helped lay out the course the day before, no one had mentioned where we would be starting. This was cutting it too close, and I had to make a stop at a porta john on the way there, because there was no way I would make it through a 40 minute race with an overfull bladder. Ahhh... that's better.... What's all that yelling and hoopla? Finished with the porta john I picked up my trusty yellow Gunnar singlespeed, and watched with some chagrin as the tail end of 70 riders turned off the road onto the first dirt climb.

Laughing, already enjoying this, I started that same climb 10 or 15 seconds behind the last rider and with zero momentum. But this was the beginner/casual/learning class, and though I have only been on the bike a handful of times since the hundred mile race in early August and this was only my second ever cyclocross race, I still had a lot of dirt experience on the majority of these guys. It wasn't long before I was passing the true beginners, those who probably have never even been in a race, or never trained specifically for racing. The course was a great deal of fun, with it's up and down nature and all the turns in some sections. I was more comfortable carrying speed through them than most, and it was a blast to catch and then pass people going into a turn. But my legs were feeling pretty leaden after just the first lap, and I was fervently wishing for some of that stamina back that has been slowly draining away over the last few months. With my one gear I was losing some time to the riders using geared cyclocross bikes (almost all of them) on the long back section. Not so much on the slight rise, but on the gravel decline before getting back onto dirt. But I have to say I had as much fun on the last lap as I did on the first. I caught up to young Jake -- doing amazingly well in his first C race -- on the next to last lap. Hopefully I provided some encouragement to him to dig down and keep up the pace. He stayed with me for a while, and even passed me back up when we got to the straighter back section, but near the beginning of the last lap I gritted my teeth and pulled out a burst just before a turn that hurt like hell but sent me past him and 2 other guys. He must have stayed close behind though, because he finished the race in the next place after me. Kudos to him! I just have to encourage him to ride his singlespeed more. :) I ended up in 37th place, having passed 32 riders, not quite half of that huge field.

So, I found a way to make Sunday a rather exciting, and extremely fun, day. Next Sunday I suppose I should have my act together and start closer to the front and see how I do. If I'm able to train better next year than I was able to this one, I'll either race with the masters 35+, or with the killer B's. I wonder which would be more fun? Because that's what these cyclocross races are all about to me, having fun. It's the end of the year, the mountain biking season is all done, and the desire to train for 8 or more hours a week is long passed. The only thing left to do is enjoy myself and gain some weight. I'm not even sure I'll bother buying a 'cross bike (singlespeed to be sure) for next year. Maybe I'll just use my mountain bike again like I'm doing this year. It'll handicap me compared to everyone else, but what the hell, I love riding my Gunnar!

My First Cyclocross Race

I wouldn't say I got up early for my very first cyclocross race (Ed Sander Cyclocross, Lily Pons Water Gardens, Adamstown, MD, Sep 30 2007) , but I did manage to get there in time to check in, get my number, get into my shoes, and make it to the start line. In the rear of the men's cat 4 (c) (the newbie category), looking at the backs of about 70 other guys it turned out. The whistle went off and the mass finally moved forward after several seconds. Suddenly we were racing! Damn, this was fun stuff! I was able to move past a lot of people in the first half mile by being a little aggressive and knowing when to hit the gas to make the pass. I noticed right away that most of these guys bled off a lot of speed going through the turns. Definitely not mountain bikers. I was able to make a lot of passes by going much faster through the turns, either waiting behind a wheel and diving to the inside as someone took it wide, or taking an outside line and then making sure not to give the guy going inside too much room to straighten out the turn, forcing them to let up to make it around. The competitiveness of the race was exhilarating!

On my second of four laps I went through a very gravelly sharp turn a little too aggressively and slid out, in the same place I watched 20 or 30 other guys slide out in the later races. I really didn't feel like sliding in gravel, so I came down (gently!) on my hands and only briefly touched down on my right hip. It was only a second before I was picking the bike back up and getting ready to mount... and then I noticed the chain had dropped off. As I was riding singlespeed, This Was Not Supposed To Happen, in addition to being a real pain in the arse. I lost probably 10 or 15 positions while I worked on getting the chain back on (my punishment for putting a ramped and pinned chainring on a singlespeed), then I was back in the game. For the final two and half laps I worked on gaining back positions I'd already taken and trying to conserve energy for the steeps on the back half of the course -- not really a great cyclocross strategy, but I'm definitely at the bottom of the cyclocross learning curve, minus bike handling skills.

Finally the race was over. My legs didn't have much left for the steeps, but my energy systems were really just getting to the point of max output and I was feeling pretty darned good at the finish, which is not how it's supposed to be. Hmmm... I need to work on that. I placed 32nd out of 83 starters -- not too bad considering I started in the back, it was my first race, and I had the mechanical. I managed to bruise the inside of my left calf pretty good somehow, but got through my first 'cross race pretty much unscathed. What I need to do now is work on my mounts, and make the bike more reliable. For the bike I ordered a 42 tooth rampless, pinless Salsa chainring and a new chain. I'll also be putting v-brakes on the front and using a lighter tire next time. Hopefully I'll still be able to stop without disc brakes when things get wet. Mentally, I need to discard notions of conserving energy and just go as hard as I can all the time -- it's only 40 minutes after all.

It's fair to say I'm hooked. :) Now I know what all of the excitement is about when 'cross season approaches. Perhaps next year I'll build up a decent singlespeed 'cross bike, but for now I'm very comfortable with the converted mountain bike, heavy as it is. See you at the races!