tired

Tired or sleepy. Last night after work I met up with a friend and did some cyclocross training on the lake front. Picture a bunch of squiggly lines looping around these trees, and that will be the course they follow. Thats not flat grass either, its a nice slope to the freeway... It was fun! It was raining! It had just started raining when I left work at 6, and we started training at 8:30 or so. I didn't get home until 10. More again tomorrow.

The joy I get from busting my ass at the CX race makes it hard not to start looking for a cx bike. But I already have two bikes that work great for what they're designed for... although neither were designed for this! I know I'd be faster with gears, but I'd feel like a cheater on a big mountain bike with suspension and gears... Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

No race this weekend, but there is a bike swop and hop. I'm kind of curious to check that out, I've got a few odds and ends I wouldn't mind doing away with to clear up some pantry space. There is also a CX clinic at the hop, but I think I've been riding on and off road long enough that I wouldn't be able to justify the sign up fee. I'm sure I'd learn a thing or two, but not enough. I already consider this season a success with my 19th place finish 2 weeks ago. Matching or beating that finish is just icing on the cake.

Always pushing

46th out of about 70. Not as fab as last week, but I was racing a stronger class. I decided to try out the 4A's instead of 4B's. There wont be a race this weekend, so I've got two weeks to recover and strength happens when you recover!

The course this week was long, or rather it felt long. Over 4 miles in about 30 minutes, over grass, some downhill paved section and some mulch that almost took me down on the last lap (felt great to recover though). It felt like only half of it was flat. Everything else was climbing with a quick drop into more climbs. With one crazy short and steep hill that started the day too slick to ride, and ended up being quite rideable. The pic above is either my first or second lap, I rode up it on the 3rd. The hill is immediately after a sharp right hand turn, so momentum was an issue.



I'm definitely feeling the burn today. Im training tomorrow with the group I hang out with and I'm contemplating weight training, or running more (which is good for bone strength too). Some good pics here More good pics if you search flickr for "bartlett" and sort by date (most recent) or chicrosscup.

Also here is a nice (bumpy) video from the last race. A different category than me, these guys are faster.

Some good pictures

I think I'm on to something with pushing the bike rather than hucking it over my shoulder.

19th place

Placed 19th this weekend, in a field of about 80. Going to see how far I can push this single speed thing.

They call it 30 minutes of hell. For the most part, the grass and dirt was very sticky thanks to it being dry but having rained through the week but this rider wasn't so lucky on this tricky turn (but he placed 11th I think)

going http://www.flickr.com/photos/ewwhite/4024238025/in/set-72157622615307664
going http://www.flickr.com/photos/ewwhite/4024992804/in/set-72157622615307664/
GONE http://www.flickr.com/photos/ewwhite/4024993594/in/set-72157622615307664/
but he got right back up and finished 11th
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ewwhite/4024239243/in/set-72157622615307664/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ewwhite/4024239349/in/set-72157622615307664/

Between The Bars

This is constantly stuck in my head. It's an old song by one of my favorite artists, Elliot Smith. It has a different meaning to me since my mom died. Although it tends to have a different meaning every year, like most music.

--
drink up, baby, stay up all night
with the things you could do, you won't but you might
the potential you'll be, that you'll never see
the promises you'll only make

drink up with me now and forget all about the pressure of days
do what I say and I'll make you okay and drive them away
the images stuck in your head

people you've been before that you don't want around anymore
that push and shove and won't bend to your will
I'll keep them still

drink up, baby, look at the stars
I'll kiss you again between the bars where I'm seeing you
there with your hands in the air, waiting to finally be caught

drink up one more time and I'll make you mine
keep you apart deep in my heart separate from the rest
where I like you the best and keep the things you forgot

the people you've been before that you don't want around anymore
that push and shove and won't bend to your will
I'll keep them still
--

This is still a great short.

I'm in there somewhere...

Race 2 went much better. I placed 36th. Just 6 positions away from winning a point.

A very fun course. Mostly flat, but real flat. Not the kind of flat that looks flat, but is really uphill. Lots of zigging and switch backs. This time I replaced my rear mountain bike tire with a narrower cyclocross tire that I can ride on with a higher PSI. The tread on the tire is also shallower. The idea is to decrease rolling resistance while not compromising grip in the corners.


Unfortunately I started this race rather far in the back of the pack. There is a straight away at the start so every one up front sprints, but us in the back have to wait, and hope there aren't any crashes. Then by the first, second and third corner, things really grind down. But if you're clever and confident you can over take people if there is room. There was room after a few corners and so I did over take quite a few people. Its very difficult not to give it your all and burn everything you've got because you're so excited and there really isn't any sense of urgency or speed in this giant monster.

"Pace yourself" "breathe" "breathe" "you're doing great" "you can pass this guy, then hang on to that guy" "why are you going so slow? Let me by!"

Through several zig-zag like corners I was holding someones wheel, but because of the nature of riding in a group, the caboose (me) ends up having to slow down much more than the guy up front. And then work even harder coming out of the corner to catch up. Quite a few times I came very close to rubbing my front wheel on the rear wheel ahead of me. Not a big deal since I'm the one likely to be messed up by it, all his weight is on the rear wheel, its not going anywhere. But in the steeper climbs, I was actually finding myself being held back by people climbing too slowly.

Climbing too slowly on a single speed is really inconvenient. Momentum is everything. Having to slow down in the middle of the climb is much more difficult when you can't change gears!

I think so far my favorite part about the actual race is the off camber turns. Lots of people were washing out on the grass, but I felt like I was firmly planted and ripping it up.

36th place. I think I can do 29th or better.

It's tuesday and my lower back is still very sore. I can only assume its from riding so hard so soon on a new bike. My body wasn't used to the position. Although when I'm on the bike, I don't hurt.

Payday is not until Thursday, so I haven't been able to register for this Sunday's race. Hoping its not filled up by then.

Next year, maybe I'll buy a cyclocross bike. Until then I really enjoy what I've got. I'm glad I jumped into this sport, it'll help me stay fit in winter, and I'll make some new friends.

Lets race

Yesterday I did my first cyclocross race, on my new singlespeed mountain bike. Cyclocross is basically mountain bike racing with road bikes that have better brakes and knobby tires, on grass and mud with obstacles to jump over (on foot). Short and fast, about 30-60 minutes per race. I am happy to say I finished. But I don't know where I placed in the beginners class. I hope to race again next week. Me entering the frame. I'm also happy to say I wasn't passed by superman.

Somethings I learned from the race (or things I already knew in theory but not in practice):

- Warming up is paramount. My friend John, who won the next category up, was on rollers for over an hour warming up.

- Really, really, really don't give it full gas on the first lap. This is probably a good time to use a heart rate monitor. I didn't feel like I was going 150%, but I must have been because I wasn't even done with the lap and I was feeling toasted. Even though I pre-road the course and was able to see where the steep sections and recovery sections were, it didn't matter, my chest and legs were killing me.

- Knobby mountain tires are not as fast as cross tires. But they grip great. I never felt like I was going to slide out even on the sharpest off-camber switchbacks.

- Its really hard to acknowledge people yelling your name (but it feels great) when you're concentrating on those off camber turns. But its always worth responding to "do a wheelie" with a wheelie.

- Riding singlespeed helps the sting when being passed by someone on a 9 or 10 speed.

Looking forward to racing again next week!