Sacramento Cyclocross - The Other Side Of The Tape

In my last post I mentioned that even though I was off racing my last Enduro MTB race of the season, cyclocross was where my head was at.  But really, the Sacramento Cyclocross Series has been on my mind all year.  Not to train for or race it (only if I'm lucky), but from the other side of the tape.  So here's a different kind of race report, as the event promoter and race director.

You might be thinking... "Planning all year? It's just a few bike races! String up a course and people show up right?" Not quite.  I've been around the business for a while, but never tackled the whole thing.  Without getting into all the details, here's a glimpse of what ended up taking much more of our time and energy than we expected.

• How many races? And where? 
• How do we fit our race schedule in with all the other CX races in NorCal.
• How many categories? What's the best race day schedule?
• USAC or no?
• What are the insurance requirements of each venue?
• Which venues require porta-potties? Where do we get porta-potties?!
• Who's handling EMT duties?
• This venue permit is 72 pages long...
• Why do they make it so hard to have food and alcohol at an event?!!?
• What's the jersey design for this year?
• Hmmm... two good ideas... make one a shirt!
• What timing chips are we using?
• How do we build a new website?
• How is registration going to work?
• What are we doing for marketing? Where do we get posters printed? Who's distributing them?
• Social media...
• What course material do we need? Do we have enough? (No... you never have enough!)
• This is a lot of stuff... we need to buy a trailer.
• How will we compensate core staff? Where are we getting volunteers? 
• It's June and the venue manager wants a course map...
• Trying to get Old Sac as a venue= meetings and more meetings.
• Searching out and formulating agreements with sponsors... so many emails!
• How to I make a good CX course? Details...
• Random park goer: "Why is that guy riding his bike around (seemingly) aimlessly in the grass and going half way up hills and turning around?"
• How do I make barriers?  Can they be lighter?
• No... barriers made of vinyl fencing don't hold up.
• How do I make a podium backdrop?
• Who's watching Logan while we're running the event?

There are a lot of things that were left off that list (and a LOT of prep that Jen did too), but you get the idea.  So after all the planning... the season was finally here.  With Jen handling all the timing and registration, the equipment, course, and the race functions would be my responsibility.  No matter what else we did with the series, website, sponsorship, marketing, etc... it still comes down to the fact that the course has to be good and foster good racing.  Without that, to me, there wouldn't really be any growth in the series and people wouldn't come back.  This means that every course becomes my baby... in addition to this one...

The first race at Orangevale Park was a returning venue with a course that was well received last year, but after riding around the venue and making sure I was using any unique feature it had to offer I saw some changes to be made.  Some of which involved a couple hours of raking...

With a good route mapped out I was ready to go.  And on the day before the race, with an awesome crew from Folsom Bike we eventually got it all set up.  But it took way too long and all the volunteers weren't effectively utilized.  Something I'd make sure to do on future setup days.  Huge thanks to Ron Shevock for helping me out until after dark.  And I also learned that I need to set up my start finish chute first if I want it to look nice.  We ran out of material before we got to it, and had to go back and thin out some sections.

After getting home and loading up the rest of the race day equipment, everything was full again and I was seriously concerned that we wouldn't be able to get everything home after the race!

Race day... lesson #1: Expect that at least some of your course will be destroyed overnight.  Either by humans, overly powerful sprinklers, or wind.  For this race, it was humans.  Many stakes were used as javelins, ending up in random places, and some were never found.  Great.  Some foul words were uttered as I rode around the course at 5:30am.

But with daylight came life and as the registration area and start/finish chute took shape the racers started to roll in.  There had been a lot of excitement leading up to this and I was still a little worried that people wouldn't show up.  But people kept coming and the buzz was awesome.  The first wave of the day (Men's C's) was huge!!  George asks me if I want to say something before they go off... yeah, I do, or rather I feel like I should.  But I don't know what to say so after rattling off a few logistical details, I just express my appreciation that they've come out and that I hope they love it.  And they're off!  It felt great to finally have racers on course.  And wave after wave people were stoked and loving it.  I don't think I ever stopped moving all day... repairing broken course, preparing awards and handing out podium prizes, repairing more course, making a kids course route, taking feedback from racers, resolving results disputes, thanking the sponsors that came out, oh and repairing more course :-).  I was so wrapped up in doing everything, that when I saw my mother-in-law in the reg area (she'd been taking care of Logan at our house), and then saw a stroller, with a baby in it, I had to stop and think for a second.  Wait... if she's here, and... oh that baby's mine!  I felt so bad that I had been so mentally wrapped up in everything that I hadn't even thought about our little guy at all.  But so thankful that he was being taken care of so that I didn't have to and could be in my new version of "race mode." I was excited to see him though and I walked around with him for a while and, you guessed it, repaired some course :-).

After all the racing was done, I couldn't believe how well the event had gone.  And was so stoked that everything we'd been working on finally took shape, and made a lot of people happy (336 racers!).

And I even managed to fit all of the course and venue equipment in the cars and trailer!  Good thing I played a lot of Tetris as a kid!

Monday... time to focus on race number two at Maidu Park the next weekend. New venue, new course.  I took some time during the week and just went out to the park and just walked around.  Reading the contours and visualizing the course and what lines would be taken at race speed.  I had a good course plan and I went around ahead of time marking where each stake would go.  With another great setup crew, this time from Roseville Cyclery, we knocked out the course before dark.  Except we ran out of course material, again.  And some thinning was required to put together the start/finish area, which we couldn't access until the soccer games were over.  I HATED the fact I had to skimp on course material! Oh well, not much I could do now.  After all the volunteers left I walked the course making minor adjustments, moving stakes just a few feet, etc.  I ended up redesigning a series of turns in the grass until they felt right and the few guys out preriding gave me good feedback on the course.  

Race morning... I'm out at 5:30am again riding the course and it's all still there! Stoked! It's gonna be a good day.

I started setting up the course that ran through the parking lot and quickly found out that I needed to block off areas due to the softball tournament and those people wanting to park in our venue.  I scrambled for some cones and also blocked off a space for the food truck which would come later.  People ended up moving some cones to park there anyway.  Ahh!  

As I'm finishing the setup of the parking lot section of the course, a park maintenance guy drives up and says he needs to get into the maintenance yard that is on the other side of my course.  Seriously? So I take the course down for him to go through.   Unfortunately he'd need to do this a few more times throughout the day, during races.  That was quite the headache to deal with and make sure he got across two way race traffic with his truck safely.  This venue certainly had some flow issues, with people having to cross the course not only to get to registration but to get to the bathrooms.  Something I had never considered.  So not only do I need to have a good course, I need to figure out where the foot traffic is coming from and where it will want to go for future races.

But the day ended up being awesome again and the racers were stoked.

And yes I did a quite a bit of course repair...

It was another day where I seemed to never stop moving and was always going a different direction.  We had one somewhat major hiccup in the timing system caused by too much draw on the batteries.  But we learned how to (hopefully) prevent it in the future and thanks to a great scribe crew (backup scoring) we had a manual record of finish order at least for the Master B's categories.  

At the end of the day... 346 racers got out on course to hammer and had a great time.  I couldn't believe how well the series was going.  And how rewarding it's been despite an incredible amount of work.  Honestly... just showing up to an event with a bike and racing seems easy in comparison!  

Two weeks later, at our third race at Lembi Park in Folsom, I would get the opportunity to do both!  This race went EXTREMELY well despite a tough course, which equals even more course repairs.  But I had bought about 175 more stakes since the beginning of the season and had a few extra on hand (I learned not to use them ALL on setup for this reason).  People were really digging the techy course I had put together (thanks to all the help from Team Revs on setup!) and there were spectators/hecklers everywhere and the vibe was awesome.  With ten minutes to go before the final race of the day (Men's A/SS A's), I found myself in the timing area having checked over, made repairs and all of the course was ready to go.  I told Jen I was thinking of jumping in the race but I didn't have my timing chip or anything set up yet.  She says, "I know someone who can make that happen you know..." So ten minutes later, after a towel change in the parking lot I roll up to the back of the Single Speed group... "So I hear there's a bike race eh?"  Lots of familiar faces welcome me back to this side of the tape.  It felt really good to get out there and actually enjoy some of the fruits of everything we've been doing.  

And yes... it was a really fun course!  But really hard too!!!  I was essentially course sweep, but I was having fun.  I even scored a dollar hand-up.  Thanks to everyone who I saw repairing the damaged course while I was out there racing.  And sorry to the guy whose foot I ran over at the top of the run-up!  

After the dust settled at Lembi and Team Revs picked up the course in record time, I got to go walk the course with Jen and show her everything she never gets to see (always stuck in the timing/reg tent).  So that was pretty cool.  And the other amazing thing... the count was 392 racers... wow.  So excited to see where this is going.

CA Enduro Series Finale - Santa Cruz Super Enduro

It's October... that strange time in California where there are still some really good MTB races around.  However... we've been racing since February and the mind and body are tired... which forces some decisions and temptations are hard to fight.  Temptations like the trails which aren't race courses or on the normal training route... they are calling because they've been neglected all year.  Or the temptation of the couch, football, beer, and spending time with family and friends.  Or there's Cyclocross... which is where my head's been at.  No, not training for it or racing but from the other side of the tape.  Jen and I are running the Sacramento Cyclocross Series this year and we've been working hard all year planning and gearing up for it... and it's finally here.  I'll write more about what it's like promoting the series in other posts, but it fits in here because the CES finals (Saturday, in Santa Cruz) were intertwined with our first CX series race (Sunday, in Orangevale).  Of course I'd try to do it all, which maybe wasn't the smartest thing but the support of family and friends made it possible.

It was a chilly Saturday morning down in the Soquel Demo Forest and racers slowly rolled in to get ready for the four stage enduro.  I was ready to go early, except I discovered my DOSS dropper post wasn't returning all the way back to the top.  I talked it over with a bike shop friend (Steven Lewis) and we figured it was just low on air.  It was, but then he put WAY too much air in which I discovered as I tried it out for the first time and it almost broke my wrist it came up so fast.  I'm glad I wasn't sitting on it!!  So we figured it'd be a good idea to take some air out and remove the eject effect.  After a quick riders meeting it was 9am and we were given the ok to start pedaling up the hill towards stage one.  This is usually where Scott Chapin and I "race" each other up the hill... which we did... but at a casually brisk pace so we could chat about our other agendas.  That being the odd mix of cross and enduro this time of year.  He was thinking that it would be possible for him to get down to Salinas and race the CCCX cross race if he finished the enduro quick enough (which he didn't, because he snagged a podium spot at the enduro).  And my goal was to "XC the enduro" and finish everything as quickly as possible so I could drive the three hours back to Sacramento and set up our cyclocross course for our race.

We made it to the top in good time and the timing crew were all set up and ready for us to start whenever.  Sweet.  So off came the arm and knee warmers and on went the goggles for the fun to begin.  Stage one was the same as last year but I still felt like I was riding blind.  I generally remembered the contours but not the details of what was around each bend.

I felt pretty smooth though but didn't take any risks.  After crossing the line I just motored on through and up the transfer climb to stage two.  Unfortunately I lost my water bottle somewhere on stage one.  Oh well.

When I got back up to the top, that timing crew was ready to rock as well (awesome!).  So I took a swig of water from one of the guys and was off hammering down the ridge trail before turning down Braille Trail.  This stage is really fun and flowy with tons of spots to jump off obstacles and pick up a bunch of speed quickly before several g-out gulleys and short climbs.

Again, I felt smooth except for one close call when a rock kicked my back end the wrong way and I shouldered a tree to stay upright.  I didn't really feel fast though as I didn't really remember every line over the many blind knolls and corners.  But I rolled through the finish and continued on and climbed up to stage three.

I got to the top at 10:30 and was on good pace to finish everything and be on the road again by noon.  And the timing crew was all in place and looked ready to go here too.  But then they told me they couldn't start anyone before 11.  "What?! It's 10:30! Damn." It didn't make any sense to me since there was no traffic on the trail from prior stages.  But thankfully one of the guys started checking the radio and he got the ok to start me at about 10:40.  Awesome! And I was off!  Stage three is one of the more technical stages and also the longest of the day.  With plenty of rooted and rocky steep sections up top, tight in the trees.  I was making my way through pretty well until I came out of a tight left and saw there was a cut off tree stump really close to the trail on exit.  I carried the lean out of the corner a little longer and cleared the stump with my front wheel, but brought the bike back up too quickly which caught my right shoe on the stump.  BOOM!!! Like I'd hit a land mine I was ejected up and over, landing about 15ft down the trail... on my back... on some roots.  Still sliding I rolled over just before the bike tumbled over me.  I was totally stunned and couldn't breathe.  I'd landed on a root right about where my left kidney is and also where my multi tool and pump were in my jersey which didn't help.  After moaning a bit and getting up slowly, I made sure all the bits were still where they should be and were operational.  My right hand took a crunch and was hurting a bit and my lower back was really in pain.  I had a headache too.  But the bike didn't have a scratch on it and I knew I needed to get moving to stay loose, so I got back on my horse and continued on.  I certainly couldn't push it and was just trying to get through the rest of the race.  I couldn't dive into the corners at all because holding myself up against the g-forces really hurt my back.  Especially on the last stage which was the new flow trail.  It was fun, and I finished, but I could hardly hold on.

A lot of people were climbing up to stage three as I finished up the final stage and I was still making good time.  The climb out of the canyon back to the car seemed endless and hurt... man did it hurt.  I packed up and was on the road before noon.  Awesome!  I got back and was able to help set up the course for our cross race which turned out to be really successful.  I'm really glad I had the support system to make getting down to Santa Cruz and racing the enduro possible.  I really wanted to finish out the series like I'd planned to at the beginning of the year.  With the crash in Santa Cruz and my course mix-up at Mammoth a few weeks prior, my results weren't were I'd hoped they'd be but I still managed to place 10th overall for the series.  I'm even more stoked for my teammate Ryan who captured the overall win for the series! The Tallboy LTc rocks!

Changing It Up - Pavement Racing

Last weekend was the Auburn Omnium which consisted of a circuit race on Saturday and a criterium on Sunday.  Don't ask me what the difference is between the two, I couldn't tell ya.  But since we were out there timing the events with TimeYourRace I figured I'd give racing the skinny tires a try.

The last (and only!) road race I entered was five or six years ago.  Since USAC won't transfer any of my MTB rankings over to road categories, I'm still just a Cat 5.  I just never got into it because if I didn't have a MTB race to attend, going for a long training ride on the dirt always seemed better than paying for a short road race.  Anyways... we had help in Jen's parent's and our friend Kris Morin to fill in for me watching Logan and helping run the event, so I suited up in fluorescent yellow and got to the line.

The course was about a mile and a half with two good climbs.  I jumped right to the front from the start and pulled the group around for a couple laps.  Then dropped the hammer for a few minutes to break away.

Since this was a "rest week" for me with about half the volume and no intensity, it was nice to test out the legs a little.  

But going hard enough to stay away from the group for the rest of the race was going to be too much too soon, I eased up to get caught and would wait for the last lap.  Funny thing is... I never once saw the lap cards where they were positioned, and nobody rang the bell for us to signify the final lap, I didn't get my opportunity to give that final push.  We were supposed to race for 30 minutes and I was watching the clock on my Garmin, so as we went up the final climb at just over 27 minutes, I was sitting up and happy to get pulled up to the leader about 30 yards ahead but a guy who seemed to be working really hard and I couldn't figure out why.  Until we rolled across the line and the USAC officials said we're done.  So I finished 3rd. I asked if they rang a bell for us and nobody seemed to know what I was talking about.  Hmmm... Oh well, it's a two day event, and I learned a couple things.  Back to work...

Day two was the Auburn Downtown Crit.  The course was awesome with a long start/finish straightaway and up a short climb to the top of the hill.  A u-turn under the railroad tracks and then a gradual climb on the back stretch to an old pot-holed bridge over those same railroad tracks.  Then a fun descent where you pick up speed quickly three 90 degree corners... left, then right, then another right before back to the finish stretch in downtown.  

When the gun went off I was at the front again but realized I probably should have had more than just a bucket of coffee and a banana for breakfast!  Oh well.

I pulled the group on the back stretch at about 23mph before one of the host shop (Victory Velo) riders went to the front for the first downhill.  He took the corners well and then I was back at the front on the start climb for another lap.  We did this dance for a few laps before someone else decided to lead on the back stretch at 19mph.  I sat in and attacked before the bridge, and hammered the downhill.  I wasn't too comfortable with the oil stains on the pavement on entry to each corner, but the bike always felt solid.  A little gap formed when I did that but I figured that mixing it up was kind of fun instead of trying to ride by myself which I do all the time.  I just wish there was a bigger group since there was only three of us at the front.  

I made sure to ignore my Garmin clock and pay attention to the lap cards for this race and when the final lap came I went to the front.  We slowly made the turn to the back stretch and I was wondering if someone might jump early.  Nope.  Half way there I picked up the pace and listened for any shifting behind me.  I hammered over the bridge and down the hill, carrying good speed through the first left.  I could see a lapped rider ahead just entering the next turn and I hoped he wouldn't be in the way.  By the last corner I was starting to stretch a small gap but I had to let up for that lapped rider, catching him right before the apex of the turn.  I waited to see his exit route and decided that since there was enough room, I could carry the most speed on the outside to go around.  That also gave me the opportunity to look back and see where the other guys were.  They went to the inside and were already sprinting so I set my sights on the finish line as well and made it there first.  Cool!

I definitely had a fun time trying something different, playing strategy games and mixing it up with guys.  Maybe I'll do a few more... but now back to the dirt...

Sea Otter Classic Wrap Up

Before we had our son Logan, Jen made a little list of things she'd like to do soon after he was born.  It starts off small and simple, with things like "go for a walk" with no real criteria so that if a long recovery was needed after delivery it could still be something easily checked off so she could feel like she was accomplishing something.  The list also had "go to Sea Otter" on it.  Before he was born, we were trying to keep expectations low but we were really hoping we'd be able to integrate him into our racing and events life early, but Sea Otter still seemed daunting.  Thankfully Jen and Logan recovered well and even though he was only a little over three weeks old by the time the 'Otter rolled around, it would be his fourth MTB race.  So he was ready... was I?  Training for me has been a little "off" with the new addition to the team so I'd be relying more on my base and the two Prairie City Race Series "tune up" races leading up to SOC.  I won both of the PCRS races which felt good but a 5th at the Napa Valley Dirt Classic the week before didn't leave me feeling so great about my fitness.

When we rolled down to Monterey Thursday night, we met up with Marshall who had brought down the rush order kits that Capo got to us in time for the weekend.  After seeing them and trying them on, I wasn't sure how well they were going to go over, but we were sure going to stand out!

Short track was Friday morning and I got a nice long warm up in.  The course was similar to last years but a little longer with a few more features.  The infield section had a tunnel and flyover and then went out onto the track with a few more turns in the sand.  It was actually kind of fun!  Except for that nasty gravel section of course.

I got a decent starting spot on the line, about four rows back and on the inside of the first turn which I thought would be good.  It was not.  I got pinched off there and was very quickly shuffled back.  Then in the next corner, last years big "choke point," I was on the outside and the same thing happened again.  The guys in the middle shot through first before I had room from the outside.  Essentially I was caught in an eddy.  Who knew you had to study up on fluid dynamics before racing short track!?  Anyways, my main goal was to stay out of trouble which I managed to do in the next few corners and I was able to pedal through the gravel pit, sweet (remember, we're into checking easy stuff off the list!).  The infield section had some sharp corners and big dirt mounds to go over and on each one there was a bottleneck as you can see in the aerial video (start at 3:45 for the men's start):

At least I'm easy to spot in the new colors!  I settled into the field after the first lap sorted out and began my moving up.  With the field so strung out I knew I wouldn't get far but I managed to pick off a few and had some fun in between the pain.

I finished 41st out of about 65 guys and set off for my XC course pre-ride.  When I got back to the expo, I found Marshall (he was SO hard to spot!) and found out he'd finished 10th in the Enduro! Sweet!!

The XC start got moved up from 1:30pm to 11am which was nice and meant we might not have as much wind to battle out on the ridge tops.  Sporting our "flo-yellow" I lined up with Ryan and nearly 100 other guys for the start of our 35 mile race.  We started out on the track as normal but I was surprised to find that we pulled off earlier than normal and went out to a road outside the track before finally climbing up to the dirt.  The pace was intense but my legs felt more fatigued than they should have been by that point.  So my strategy early on would be to maximize my passing opportunities on the downhills and techy sections while trying not to blow up on the climbs.  Then just hope my legs would come around later in the race.  I passed a load of guys on the first few big descents and managed to hold my position on the few climbs along the ridge.  We got to the bottom where we normally turn into fun singletrack but instead made a sharper turn down a short double track with a couple off camber rollers.  I had scouted this out in my prelap and my assumption was correct that everyone would be in the clearer high line but the lower line was the place to be and I motored by some more.  Until one guy forgot how to corner and drifted out into me, his inside leg sticking straight out for counter balance, and he almost pushed us both off the edge.  Thankfully I was able to brake and let him cross in front of me and recover before we made it down to the road.  Yes... road, quite a lot of it in the first part of this course.  I topped out my 39 tooth gear and found a drafting partner before it leveled out and we entered the first singletrack climb.  Here we had to stop, literally.  It's the inevitable pro conga line at Sea Otter that always happens and this year I just didn't have the stuff to get in front of it in time.  Oh well.  We moseyed up the climb at a fairly moderate pace but it still seemed tough for my legs.  "When are they going to come around?!" I thought.  When we got towards the top it opened up and I made my way around the few holding us up, but my legs still felt flat.  As Ryan passed me cresting the ridge I felt something in my helmet, then "AAHHHH!!! Something's stinging me!!!"  I didn't know what it was but I hoped it wasn't going to give me a reaction, which I'd had before during a hard ride that left me slightly incapacitated for a bit.  The stinging finally stopped and thankfully I didn't feel any shock coming on so I pressed on, remembering how my brother had joked about our new kits attracting insects.  Ryan had a little gap on me as we rode down the next road (yep) downhill and he was able to pedal away with his bigger 42 tooth gearing.  But a little drafting help came and I caught back up by the time we started climbing again.

I ate, I drank, but the legs were still not coming around and Ryan slowly began to pull away from me.  With our new colors so bright, I always knew where he was even though he was across a canyon.  I came through the start/finish a little over an hour and a significantly slower pace than I'd hoped for.

I was loosing my optimism that the legs would come around in the second lap as it seemed no matter what I did helped.  I just felt like I was running on 'E'.  My heart rate was dropping and so was my positioning.  By the half way point of the lap I was in "just finish" mode and pretty frustrated.  There didn't seem to be anything I could do.  I was even passed on the ridge road by a guy hauling some camera gear back.  Pretty demoralizing!  I got a little boost of energy in the last mile or so, like a horse sprinting back to the barn, and made a couple passes to end up finishing 66th.

Man was I happy to be done.  It'll be one of those races I'll just clear from my mind and move on.  I think I needed more calories the day before and/or before the race because I powered down lunch like it was nothing.  Oh well, at least we looked good!

Then it was back to work, heading out again on course to help out one of my local high school racers with her pre-ride and give her some tips before her first Sea Otter XC.

Riding with Sam and coaching her made me feel better, but nothing beat holding my little guy after a long day.

2014 Kickstart!

I spent the last week of 2013 and the beginning of 2014 recovering from a spectacular crash on Christmas eve where I clipped a tree branch with my handle bar at over 21mph and smacked the ground hard.

I hit the branch on the left and ended up just past the trees to the right.

It left me with 15 stitches above the eye and a left knee about three times its normal size.  I was able to lightly ride out the swelling but it still didn't feel right and would easily swell back up.  An MRI revealed a severe bone bruise on my femur at the knee, as well as a bruised patella, tibia, and strained IT band and popliteal tendons.  Thankfully the MRI confirmed there was no ligament damage and I could resume riding without further damage.  All I'd have to do was not fall on it!

So why not race?!  The TBF MTB Kickstart is always a good opener for the year and a good shock to the system.  Conditions were a bit odd, July dry dirt with January cold.  I'd have to be careful in the slick corners and not take any risks, but I was looking forward to mixing it up as best I could.  I had no expectations after some very inconsistent riding over the past month. I donned my CA State Champ jersey (with my regular jersey underneath... it was 32 degrees!), because it's not every year you get to wear one of those, and toed the line with the usual local speedsters and some seriously fast high school racers who've been training hard for their fast approaching season.

We set off at a decent pace for the start loop and see-sawed a bit until I settled into the 3rd spot on the first climb.  I was enjoying watching the two characters in front of me... Ron Shevock leading but nearly sliding out in every corner due to a very worn out back tire and Tofor Lewis taking some skillful "fun" lines through the singletrack.  I could tell that 16 year old Tofor had some spunk and would likely be the one to beat.  Half way through the first lap I passed for the lead and Tofor pulled in behind.

I was racing my Tallboy not just because it's a fast bike for this course but because it would put less strain on my knee vs. the Highball.  Tofor was strong on the climbs, so I set out to push the pace where the Tallboy excelled and dial it back where I didn't feel as strong.  I stayed out front with three chasers close all the way through the second lap as we battled through lapped traffic.

And on the first climb of the last lap, Tofor attacked for the lead and never looked back.  I couldn't match his acceleration and after getting stuck behind a lapped rider for a bit, I couldn't see him by the top.  My race would be for 2nd with Andrew Taylor.  I stretched out a small gap through the corners but he was able to reel me back in at the last corner with enough left to take me by a wheel in a sprint finish.  I've never been a good sprinter, but apparently I'm a really good lead-out man!

It was a great race out on the trails and I'm really happy that 1) I'm able to do it at all, and 2) I performed as well as I did!  Congrats to the young racers out there working hard... looks like I'll be hitting them up to tag along on training rides to push my fitness!

Baptism by Cross

I gave cyclocross a serious try back in 2009.  Coming of an awesome MTB season including an XC National Championship and Downieville All Mountain victory for Cat 1, I was feeling good and was figuring out I was fairly good at racing bikes.  So I immersed myself in cross... I bought a geared CX bike and entered the elite categories to promptly have my arse handed to me repeatedly.  I was taking it way too seriously, putting the same pressure on myself as I did during the previous MTB season and not having fun.  After that winter I sold that cross bike and decided that I wouldn't race cross anymore because I need an off season.  That was a good decision, leading to much needed recovery for my body, some fun vacations, completed house projects.

But this year I got the itch again.  Probably because I've had a better, more relaxed attitude towards racing in general that didn't leave me so wiped by October.  But I told myself that this still needed to be an off season, but possibly with some fun shenanigans on a technologically archaic bike.  My cyclocross savior would come in the form of a single speed, and my baptism would be at the first Sacramento Cyclocross Series race in Vacaville.  Fittingly... it was pouring rain...

That's me... D...F...L... and I was fine with it!  I hadn't raced a cross bike in just under four years and riding in serious muck was something I never really do either.  I was seriously feeling "reborn."  My first few laps were spent feeling like I was learning how to ride a bike again.  Slipping, sliding, and skating around turns.  It was cold and wet, which I normally hate, but I was having a blast.  Pedaling where I could... and accepting the fact that I could only go so fast because of the gearing and trying to lay off the brakes.  After a few laps I learned that those skinny tires can grip and you can lean the bike over more than you think.

I ended up getting the hang of it and picking off some of the field and finished 4th.  While surprised at the result, I didn't care much about it.  I was doing it for the fun and smiles... which were plenty!

After a nice vacation and a couple weeks off the bike (all bikes), it was time to take up my cross again.  This time at Lange Twins Winery for Sac CX #4.  With no expectations, I lined up with the Single Speed A's again under beautiful blue skies.  I'm about to race... and the typical anxieties that run through a racers brain just weren't there.  Did my bike have the right gearing for the course?  I don't know, and I don't care.  Did I eat the right food the two nights before??  Most likely not, but pumpkin ice cream is tasty and while egg nog ice cream isn't great on it's own, adding a little dark rum makes it better.  It's just for fun, and just to mix it up a little because riding and racing bikes is awesome.  I was also happy that after a couple weeks of vacation I fit into my new SacCX kit which I helped design.  I was lined up next to Ron Shevock who currently leads the series on a Felt carbon cx bike with disc brakes (he ended up winning this race too).  I have to say I'm a little jealous of the discs... old canti's hardly deserve to be called brakes by comparison.  Anyways... it was go time and we headed out into the course.  I tried to stay with Ron and the front guys, but I had no misconceptions about how out of shape I'd be or that the effort wasn't going to hurt.

I fell to the back, but not off the back at least.  The nice thing about single speed racing is that nobody you're racing with can pull away too quickly.  But that also means that if you drop back for whatever reason you can't really catch up.  Like when your front wheel skewer comes loose because you're screwing around jumping off stuff on an already bumpy course.

Makes me really appreciate the thru-axel's on my MTB's.  I heard and felt rattling for about a lap, and figured it was just aluminum frame noise or something.  Then I looked down and saw the skewer lever pointing forward... and I NEVER leave it that way.  Briefly the thought of just continuing on went through my head, but then I remembered the time the front wheel came off my POS commuter bike in college.  That eject did not feel good... so after climbing the stair section of the course I stopped to tighten that puppy up.  I pedaled hard, drifted some corners and passed a few guys back so I could stay on the lead lap.  I see-sawed with one other SS'er on the final lap but he had a bigger gear, the finish stretch was pavement, and there was nothing I could do.  Oh well, I finished 6th.  I had fun, rode as fast as my gearing would allow, opened up the legs which felt good (I hit some surprising heart rate numbers too!), and the gaggle of course hecklers on the hairpin turns gave my kit good reviews.  Only sucky part was a painful cross blister from the rough course.

I guess I will have to do a little more work to this bike than just lubing the chain.  Time for new bar tape!

Ride on!