TCC Mansfield video

I doubled up at Mansfield, so I'll use that as my excuse for the slow start...

Also, skip forward to 1:20 or so to see where we actually start racing.

Lastly, I didn't have enough battery life left to catch the whole lap. I missed two of the more enjoyable sections, the slightly off camber spiral turns and the uphill/downhill collarbone section that Colin Murphy has vivid and painful memories of.

your loss

Last year I was a fool and sat in hours upon hours of traffic to race for 40 minutes at Granogue instead of driving 1.25 hours to the Thread City Cyclist's Mansfield Hollow CX race. This year I smartened up and stayed closer to home. This race is so much fun, and the promoters really enjoy hosting the event. I hopefully have some barcam footage still to come but in the meantime, here are some links to pictures and my lap info from Strava.


Not only is this race deceptively close to Boston, but you can eat your entry fee's worth of baked goods and wash it down with apple cider. And if you happen to be anywhere near the front at the end of the race, they pay very well, and give great merchandise prizes too. Heck, they hooked up DFL in the 1,2,3 race with a $30 multi tool. So next year, when you're sitting around listening to horrible music and not talking to all the unfriendly MAC people you don't know, you can remember that you could have been hanging out with #NECX and enjoying yourself in Mansfield Hollow. Maybe next year.

Single Speed World Championships of the World!

Waaay back in August, when the temperature was still above 70 degrees at all times, I went over to Ireland to race SSWC 2011.  Joining me for the race was Thom Parsons, Gerry Finnegan, and Rob Ide.  Of course my bike didn't make the connecting flight so I spent the first 30 hours trying to get updates of its whereabouts and having to stay close to the house. 

When it did arrive, the frame was sticking out of the cardboard box though nothing was missing or damaged

(note to self, look for packing material more than 6 hours before your flight).

I reassembled the bike on Friday night (yes, awesome way to spend my night in Dublin) so we'd be ready to go on Saturday morning.  Although I had free lodging with Gerry's family in Dublin, it was at least 2.5 hours away from the race sight.  We set out in two cars with bikes in the trunks and made it to the registration table about 10 minutes after they had closed.  Luckily this is SSWC, not a Verge race, so they were more than happy to re-open and get us squared away.  It also only took about 30 seconds per person because they don't have lengthy waivers and licenses.

Since it was SSWC, 90% of participants had a costume or bizarre attire of some sort and probably 50% were already drinking. 

We scrambled to change into cycling attire (we were all lame and without costumes) and get our race gear together in the 15 minutes before the procession out of town to the trail head.

Everyone left town together and we were escorted by local police some 6 or 7 miles to the trails.  It's comical enough to ride an mtb on the road, but to see a group of 500+ on single speeds with trail gearing was even better.  Beers were passed around, costumes got stuck in the spokes, and janky single speed conversions were failing left and right...and we hadn't even made it to staging yet!

Once at staging, we were told to leave our bikes and go over to the music/food/beer tents that they'd set up.  This gave people more time to drink beer and dance it up while the organizers disorganized all of our bikes.  An eternity later, we lined up under one of those inflatable arch things and were sent running up the hill to where our bikes had been left.  Slightly anaerobic from running, we all scrambled to find where they'd hid our bikes.  White bikes were all piled on top of each other (there were A LOT of white bikes).  Some were hung from trees, some were moved all the way from the front to the back, and some, like mine, were barely moved at all.  Despite my bike barely being moved, I still spent a ton of time looking for it because I expected it to have been moved.  Finally found it and set out on the two lap, roughly 20 mile course, behind at least half of the field.

We started with a long-ish fire road climb where those with janky single speeds that made it through the road ride began shooting parts into the air as their riders tried to grind the 34x15 up the hill.  Seriously, so many broken chains in the first .5 miles.  When I finally came to the single track, I had to dismount and wait as we funneled into the trail.  Not fun!  The single track though, was fun, and whenever possible I'd pass a rider or two and then try to pass a dozen on the next double track.  It went like that for the whole first lap until early into the second lap when I was finally clear of traffic for a bit.  Not much they could have done, but it did make for a less than stellar first half and reminded me how important it is to start well (and find your bike) if you want to take an event seriously.  Also, next year my bike will be neon pink so I can't miss it!

Anyway, the course was pretty fun, and it was impressively dry given that it's in Ireland where it is rainy and crappy 364 days of the year.  The winner was a local who apparently is in charge of mountain biking in Ireland and may well have built the trails.  Hey, I didn't want the tattoo anyway.  I did get a heinous neon orange shirt and stupid looking mismatched socks with leprechauns (seriously guys, save your money and give me a free beer or two instead) which were both used to clean my muddy bike before packing for the return.

Overall, I had fun.  We didn't get to immerse ourselves in the usual silliness of the event because we were staying far away and because we had to rush back to Dublin afterwards so I can't comment on who won the partying (though I know Thom won the pre-party). 

Next year is in South Africa which definitely is not going to happen for me.  It's ok because I think singlespeedapalooza and Dark Horse 40 are probably better anyway.

I didn't take many pictures, but there are some good ones here: http://acunamatadaar.blogspot.com/2011/08/sswc-2011-ireland.html

too much of a good thing

(Maybe should have published this on Tuesday when I wrote it.  Seems less interesting now in light of the UCI/USAC fiasco going on)

We got what we asked for in New England.  Lots and lots and lots of cx racing.  So much racing that people are burnt out.  Did we bring it on ourselves?  15 UCI events in New England, as many as 40 races, including a new phenomenon in New England, the midweek night race!  We talk cx 7 days a week on twitter, facebook, the blogs, and via email.  All the talk, all the action, all the options seems to have worn us down more than ever before.

Some people race a bunch during the summer, entering cx season after a brief break, or maybe without one at all.  It's not surprising to see these people pulling the plug early on cx.  But I am surprised at the die hards who've hung up the tubulars early or even reduced their racing schedule from years past.  I suspect the total number of registrants this season was higher than previous years but it also seems the total number of races was greater.

We got what we asked for, but now racers are dialing it back, being more selective in when and where we spend our racing dollars.  Big events that shelled out big dollars didn't draw enough to break even while smaller events had their greatest numbers to date (I think).  What's the formula for success?  Is it historic performance? location? timing? cost?

What needs to change, what needs to give in 2011 to sustain 40+ events?  Nationals will be in January so people are calling for a longer racing season to support those who plan on attending.  Given the current registration numbers for an event in mid December, it will be interesting to see how New England (and other regions) copes with stretching the race season through the holidays into the new year.  Will the number of races in August decrease as events push back into late December and January or will the experiment of holding nationals in January leave most racers with a 3-4 week gap in their race schedule leading up to the main event?  Will the overall attendance of Nationals drop due to the timing?

I don't know the answers.  I do know I love gluing the tubulars, pinning on a number (not shoulder numbers, those are fucking pain in the ass), and putting myself deep into the red as often as I can with 15 or 150 other racers.  Come winter time, after 20 cx races though, I love the mountain bike, long base mile rides, and not loading a bunch of gear in the car to spend an entire day for 45 minutes of racing.

2010 cyclocross race review: Cheshire CX

Stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/57672676
         http://connect.garmin.com/activity/57672679

Score: A-

Pros:
- fun course, great use of available terrain
- challenging elevation changes
- sand pit, muddy bridge crossing, hard climb, hill people
- twisty but fast singletrack, old school feeling
- single speed race adds a second option (as long as you are not also racing cat 4 at the same time)
- fair entry fee: $25 plus $10 for second race
- enthusiastic promoters and announcers
- good spectator course with fanatical fans
- sponsor support helps provide nice prizes

- kids race
- free and inexpensive food available on-site

Cons:
- a bit far for a day trip from Boston and further northeast in New England, but well worth it for anyone in CT, RI and western MA (I-91) residents
- no neutral support, though I saw very few people having mechanical issues
- if you lose control in many of the corners, you will hit an immovable object (baseball backstops, trees, corner of a shed, etc)
- the park is not entirely closed to others so there were a few instances of dog walkers or hikers on the singletrack

I'm hoping more people make the trip to this one next year.

2010 cyclocross race review: Granogue Day 1 and 2

Day 1
Day 2

Stats: Day 1: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/53732685
Stats: Day 2: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/53732677

Score: B+ (would be an A if the race was closer)

Pros:
- Fantastic courses in a scenic, private estate
- Wicked off camber turns and challenging course design without being ridiculous
- Fun to race against a whole new group of people
- Fun to cheer for the few other New Englanders in attendance
- Fair price: $30
- All attendees got a reusable Granogue bag
- Some seriously fun swooping turns that felt better and better with each lap

Cons:
- Horrible drive from Boston: Hartford, New Haven, Stamford, New York, Philly, ugh
- Local accommodations are not great if you're traveling from far away and want to be social at night (I was lucky enough to stay only 3 miles away with friend of friend)
- Charged for parking ($3)
- Staged racers by series standings (fair) then by registration order (crossresults.com anyone?)
- On-site PA was horrible, causing many many people to miss the staging
- Registration people mixed up my number causing me to stage in the last row instead of mid field (100+, it makes a difference)
- This place would be horrible in the rain/wet due to the amount of off camber
- The MAC seems to be dominated by 3 or 4 teams yet the teams did not have cohesive social gatherings. Quite a shame given what we accomplish socially in New England at our events and look at the huge start/finish area, perfect for tent space!

2010 Cyclocross race review: Providence Day 1

Stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/53732694

Score: B+

Pros:
- great course, using the available terrain perfectly
- good venue for spectating
- fun infield area with vendors and side show to entertain spectators
- getting to ride the 2005-2006 cx national championship course
- reasonably close to Boston, Hartford, New Haven
- course would be fun in the dry or the wet

Cons:
- staging a non Verge series event by Verge series points hardly seems fair (lazy maybe?)
- no neutral support
- conflicting info about parking and reserved area for teams
- poor signage in the park to direct people to the course (not an issue if you've been before)
- took a long time to get results posted for participants
- a lot of people suffered flats from glass and broken pavement on the course (lack of neutral support was salt in the wound for some)
- would be nice if this race re-entered a major UCI series (Verge, USGP, NACT) to draw more top caliber riders or stopped trying to be a UCI (more expensive) event and focused on the expo and amateur riders

2010 cyclocross race review: Grand Prix of Gloucester Day 2

Stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51686098

Score: A-

Pros:
- Day 2 was back to the uphill start
- Day 2 was reminiscent of Gloucester courses from years past: fast, open, and fun
- The seawall runup (I like it, others hate it)
- It's Gloucester, it's the biggest race in New England. Great turnout, great vendors, electric environment
- Big fields means racing some of the best in your category
- The venue has plenty to entertain (or overwhelm) the non-racers
- Course was well marshaled by friendly volunteers
- The pre-ride opportunities were plenty
- Day 2's course was not quite as long as day 1 which meant one extra lap for all (most?) fields
- I knew about the gigantic bag of Haribo gummy bears at the Pedros lounge at the beginning of the day
- Gigantic "sample" of Bob's Red Mill oatmeal
- "Tent row" along the start/finish stretch

Cons:
- Why exactly did they not make use of the sandbox? We rode right around it!!!
- Pricey entry, though you get more for your money than you do at the typical Verge event (same prices)
- I had to split immediately after my race (not the promoters fault, though I did beat the traffic)
- I got beat by Chandler Delink

2010 cyclocross race review: Grand Prix of Gloucester Day 1

Grand Prix of Gloucester in Gloucester, MA October 2nd


Stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51686110

Score: B+

Pros:
- It's Gloucester, it's the biggest race in New England. Great turnout, great vendors, electric environment
- Big fields means racing some of the best in your category
- The venue has plenty to entertain (or overwhelm) the non-racers
- Course was well marshaled by friendly volunteers
- The pre-ride opportunities were plenty
- Long course gives slower riders a better chance of not getting lapped/pulled
- The course incorporated every technical element from years past, minus the sea wall run up

Cons:
- The course incorporated every technical element from years past, minus the sea wall run up
- Downhill start into a technical off camber dirt section or into a 90 degree left turn (for the UCI races)? Um, no thank you
- The course was wide spread and it seemed harder than usual to "learn it" and remember where you were
- The long course would have been really long if weather was bad. I prefer more laps on a shorter course but I understand the need for a long course with such big fields
- Not as spectator friendly of a layout as years past, though still above average
- Pricey entry, though you get more for your money than you do at the typical Verge event (same prices)
- I didn't find the gigantic bag of Haribo gummy bears at the Pedros lounge until the end of the day

Lots of people out there on both days. What did you think? Highlights and low lights.

2010 cyclocross race review: Suckerbrook Auburn, NH

Suckerbrook in Auburn, NH September 26th
Stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/51258719

Score: B+

Pros:
- reasonable distance from Boston (60 miles)
- great turn out of New England cx faithful
- parking and spectating is easy to manage
- laid back, fun atmosphere for racers and non-racers
- the promoters LOVE promoting this race and it shows
- every year, there are enhancements to the course. they do a great job with the terrain they have
- the race is fairly priced and second races are only $10. plenty of opportunity to get your money's worth and your day's fill of cx racing
- the race is run in support of a chosen area resident who is fighting cancer. yeah, that's right, the money goes to charity, not the promoters. AWESOME!
- dick ring on the mic
- results were up, online within 24 hours

Cons:
- it was super dusty this year. that's not the race's fault, but if you are not a fan of dusty courses, you'd want to avoid Suckerbrook if it has been dry.
- pre-race staging is a free for all (like Quad Cross). it would be a HUGE improvement if the promoters used crossresults or even pre-reg order to line people up. as races grow in size every year, the "race" to the start line gets wackier and wackier
- due to a crowded schedule, pre-riding the course was not allowed between some of the races. this makes it hard for people to get familiar with the course before they race
- maybe we could see a single speed category here next year? i'd do 3 races if they add a single speed.

Suckerbrook has achieved "must do" status on many New England cx racer's calendars. Do it next year if you missed it this year.

2010 cyclocross race review: Quadcross

Here goes. I'm going to recap each cyclocross race I do this year. Simple bullet point style with pros and cons of each event. We'll see if it's possible for me to keep up with this all season.

Quadcross in Bedford, MA September 12th
Stats: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/49811103

Score: B+

Pros:
- close to Boston
- very reasonably priced ($20)
- nice, challenging course
* plenty of twisty, off camber turns to remind you that driving a cx bike should be hard
* enough pavement for the roadies and for recovery
* fairly spectator friendly
* good use of the terrain available
- indoor, clean services
- efficient registration
- laid back attitude of officials, participants, and sponsors (not a cut-throat UCI atmosphere)
- could definitely be considered the appropriate "start" of the cx season for the Boston area crowd
- lively "infield" full of spectators, sponsors, and announcers
- great turnout of Quad Cycles racers to support and participate in their event

Cons:
- staging is a free for all. It would be great/easy to make use of crossresults.com, or even online reg order. Something to avoid the 20 minute, pre-start line up
- races did not start on time (not sure if there was a good reason for this)
- apparently scoring was slow and not entirely accurate
- took a long time to get results posted online (though they were posted at the venue, so this isn't a strong reason to diss on Quadcross)
- too many fields for the number of participants (reduce the fields, combine start times, and make it easier on the scorers)
- Cat 3 race should be 45 minutes, not 40
- barriers were not "secure" (this is nit picking, I know). I saw people stumble on the barriers and knock them over. They should be more firmly mounted if possible.

If you have other observations, please add them to the comments.

it's getting serious

I try to make sure the Wednesday morning "practice" isn't too serious. The turnouts have been great and the course is exactly what I want it to be. This past week we must have had 30 people even though we start at 6:30am.

Now that it is September and people are getting out to race twice (or more) per weekend, these midweek practice sessions can be a great opportunity to really focus on specific skills. People have been asking about targeting specific skills during these sessions, and I say go for it! Need to practice your barriers? Go for it, as many times as you like. Need to practice your turning? There are a lot of varied turns in the course but there is also plenty of open space and a pile of leftover cones to set up your own practice area.

Weather permitting, this coming week I'll show up even earlier (aiming for 6am) so people can practice more than just the 6 (yes, next week is 6!) hot laps. I'm also thinking that some friendly/competitive barrel racing could be fun. Maybe a game of catch the rider in front of you.

put away your road bike damnit!

Morning CX

I like morning cx. Especially when there are more than just two of us. Eight brave souls endured the August temperatures and early wake up call to hit the new and improved Lars Anderson course.

Robert Hale outdid himself with the new additions. Many of the elements from last year are still in play but we've eliminated some of the leg bursting climbs and boring straights and replaced them with leg bursting run ups and extreme staircase dropoffs (which some folks managed just fine in road shoes).

6-7 minute laps, enough turns to keep you on your toes and greatly improve your driving skills, and a morning view that will replace your need for morning coffee (unless you are PVB who went to 7-11 for coffee before the ride...seriously).

I think we are on track for regular Wednesday morning sessions. The new course is even less dependent on cones so setup and tear down is a breeze and you all can get out there and ride without me (not that you would want to, but you could).
Time to toughen up the hands for cx season.

We had some new faces this week and I hope we have even more new faces as the fall approaches. CX!!!!

Rapha Gentleman's Race v2.0

Hup was invited for the second coming of the east coast Rapha gentleman's race. The first iteration was a challenging bonding experience in New Paltz, NY. This one was an even more challenging route starting and ending at Mohawk "Mtn" just outside Litchfield, Connecticut. A similar version of the route was ridden by the Rapha crew a few years ago. Rumor is that some of them couldn't even finish it. For some unknown reason, PVB decided to up the ante for the Gentleman's Race. The route was increased to 116 miles and it included close to 40% dirt and gravel roads including three Zoncolan-esque climbs that had to submitted in the saddle to avoid spinning out in the dirt.

The crew below lined up along with 15 other teams to tackle the monster. We started at 9:45, 15 minutes behind the first wave and 45 minutes ahead of the last wave.

The other team that started with us was the Eastmans. Honestly, they were a very unintimidating looking bunch of 40-50+ year old guys that appeared to be ill equipped for the gravel that we were promised. We rolled together for the first 5 miles or so and then they slowly rolled away. Mur was pretty sure we'd see them by mile 80 totally cooked.

Shortly after the Eastmans rolled away, we started catching some of the squads that started ahead of us. We saw the IF crew, the Seven crew, the Bilenky crew on their tandems, and the Geekhouse guys (in skinsuits!). The terrain was mostly rolling western Connecticut hills. The course was well marked and it quickly became clear that we could expect to always turn onto or follow the dirt roads we saw. The miles ticked away, Mur made sure we ate and then it happened. Our first flat tire. Mike B had a slow leak up front after a gravel road. Too many cooks in the kitchen led to a 7 minute tube change and all the teams we'd passed rolled past.

We got going again and picked up a few of the squads as we started to hit the real hills. Our spirits were high and we ticking away the miles again, even pace lining when the terrain allowed for it. We screamed into the first rest stop at mile 30 still comfortable in second place. We made it a quick stop, topped off water, signed in, and jetted off just in time to see the "Pedro's" team accompanied by an unidentifiable squad pulling into the same stop. They'd started about 15 minutes behind us and loaded with some extremely strong last minute additions, we were fully expecting them to overtake us.

Impressively, we held them off for another 10 or so miles until we once again hit some hills. We rolled together into the first really steep gravel road climb where they pulled away, not to be seen again.
After Pedro's powered through, we didn't see another team for 30 or more miles. We settled into our own groove, ate more clif bars, swallowed more magic endurolyte pills, and joked away the miles.
Then we hit THE climb. I don't even know if the road has a name but it certainly had an attitude. It was one car wide and was more like a forest service road than an actual route. The dirt road started pitching up around mile 60. We had varying climbing abilities in the crew so everyone just sought their happy pace and chipped away one pedal stroke at a time. As we continued up, the dirt turned to gravel and at points, it even turned to rocks. It was nearly impossible to stand as the pitch ranged from 10-20% over what seemed like 10 miles (though it was probably only 3 or 4). We started to descend as a group and were passed by two more teams but both of them were missing members so they were technically dsq. As an aside, who sets out for a team race and leaves their teammate behind (alone) at mile 65 of 116? That's not very "teamly" if you ask me.


The descent was fun. It was mostly smooth dirt and then turned to paved road. We had a warning on the cue sheet that there were some tight switchback turns along the route but it wasn't until I was nailing the brakes, extending the leg moto style and praying not to hit the camera man in the apex of the first turn that I remembered about these. That was a close call. I definitely thought I was going to nail the Honda Pilot parked in the corner (hopefully there is some video of my horrendous descending skills).
The next rest stop was advertised around mile 65 (or so I thought). I really should have paid more attention at the captain's meeting. We were still descending in the woods at mile 65 and most of us were out of water, thinking we were close. We found an angel on the route at mile 68. A bewildered woman out gardening agreed to serve us ice cold water from her garden hose. It was the most delicious water I've had in a long time.

We came up on the actual rest stop at mile 71. We topped off with water, signed in, and exited ahead of the three teams that had passed us since our last ascent. The checkpoint folks promised only a small climb still ahead but our cue sheet seemed to imply otherwise. I wasn't in a mood to challenge them so we rolled off expecting that the worst was behind us. We rolled for about 3 miles on a gentle uphill as the faster teams once again passed us.
There was definitely more than just a little climb left. Holy crap! We took the right turn onto the dirt road and started the climb. I could see an endless uphill slope that eventually turned to the left. Expecting that the climb was .5-1 mile long, I settled into a reasonable pace with my head down. The dirt was reasonably hard so occasional standing efforts were ok. I just tried to forget about the never ending hill and focus one pedal stroke at a time. As I turned left, I could see the hill continue back to the right, then again to the left. I started catching some of the Embro guys as everyone just tried to settle into their own rhythm to get over the hill. The switchbacks got steeper and looser until finally the tree cover started to open up and I had a confident sense that I was near the top. One final crest to the exposed summit looking over a swap and some far off mountains.

At the top we regrouped again. I had time to look at the profile in more detail and it was clear that the worst of the climbing was behind us but despite a lot of descending to come in the next 30+ miles, we definitely still had a few short steep efforts before the finish.

With all six teammates in tow, we set off down a gravely descent that was not nearly as steep as the ascent had been. We got the paceline going and ticked away the next 20+ miles with relative ease, even catching some teams while they addressed mechanical issues.

Then, flat #2 hit us. Chip was off the bike, changing his front flat in no time. Letting him work on it himself, he was back up and running in less than 2 minutes. PRO. On we went until around mile 95 we spotted a random bate and tackle shop with sodas and water for sale. We refueled, unloaded our bladders, and got back to the task at hand.

Before the finishing hills, we were routed onto a dirt road along the Housatonic River. There were a lot of people fishing and a lot of railroad crossings but very few cars. We took up the whole road, just trying to keep the pace above 16 mph and get to the finish line. Despite the shattered feeling in my arms and neck, that stretch was among my favorite parts. I felt like I could ride for hours as my Zank just floated over the rough surface. Truly magical, in the zone type of moment.

When we got back on paved roads we were around mile 105 I think. That's when we hit the appropriately named Everest Hill. Thanks PVB. What we really wanted after 8 hours and 9000 ft of climbing was another .5 miles and 400 ft. At least it was paved though.

After we climbed Everest, the rest was easy cruising. We saw Mohawk Mtn about 1.5 miles before the turn back to the finish but that 1.5 miles didn't matter. We survived. We finished in good spirits, with only 2 flat tires, and no in-fighting.

We were recorded as the 7th team back but 3 of those teams - Pedros, Adler, and BH/Louis Garneau had dropped riders along the way so they were dsq. Officially 4th place. Not bad for a bunch of riders focused on the feel good side of bicycle racing. Hats off to the Eastmans for never being caught and taking the victory. I hope I still have that kind of stamina in 15 more years. Well ridden!

The post ride bbq was a perfect end to the day. Hot dogs, salty chips, and beer. And of course, time to retell the stories with others and watch as the salt-crusted teams continued to trickle in.

"racing"

Next up on the schedule:


Planning on 115 miles of suffering with 5 of my closest teammates. We'll be starting in the middle of the pack with 4 teams ahead of us and 5 or six really fast ones behind us. We're just gonna hold on and have fun with the suffering that Rapha has in store for us.

There won't be quite as much dirt as the Rhonde but still enough to keep things interesting. Tires will be a little bigger volume than usual and cassettes will be larger than usual. No need for cx equipment though.

I should have some good pictures and stories to share next week.

Don't hate the player, hate the game

I went out to Sterling for the road race on Saturday with no real ambitions. I race one or two road events each year to keep myself honest. I mostly avoid road racing because the Cat 4 field is sketchy, too serious (we're amateurs guys, lighten up) and I just don't get enough of a thrill out of it to do it every weekend.

I heard good things about the Sterling course and I realized riding back home from the race would make for a pretty good day in the saddle. I lined up a ride out to the start with recently minted Cat 3, Greg Whitney (who finished 9th in his first ever Cat 3 race!). Friend, and fellow long ride enthusiast Murat Tasan agreed to meet me in Sterling and ride back. The table was set for a good day. Then I woke up and saw the Doppler. Oh well.

The Cat 4 race lived up to my expectations. One guy rode off the front, the rest of the group was practicing their sprinting and random brake checking, and in general, no one seemed interested in organizing to catch the lone leader. After learning the course on the first lap, I moved towards the front for the second lap. I think I remember the race winner taking off as we rolled up the rain soaked Rt 12 on lap 2 but I'm not entirely sure. On lap 3 I tried to bridge forward in the same spot because I thought I could see him up the road and because the rest of the field was doing a whole lot of nothing. I wasted myself for half a mile, had a 15 or 20 second gap but was not making progress, nor could I see anyone that looked like the leader. Maybe it was a mirage or a 35+ straggler. I sat up and came back to the field figuring we had 2 more to go. On the back stretch of the 4th lap, I decided to mount another effort, hoping to get people motivated in riding hard along with me. Just as I led the way off the front with 7 others, the 45+ pace car was trying to neutralize us so the 45+ field could come through. I was already hammering out of the saddle and the pace car made no clear indication of what it wanted other than stopping in front of our field. No hand gestures, no yelling, no horns. So I kept riding, waiting for someone to tell me not to. So did the other 7 people that came with me.

Oops, we're either DSQ or 2-9. We all agreed we might as well ride until we're told otherwise so we kept moving at a decent pace. On Rt 12, the pace car came back to us. We asked continually if we needed to stop, if we would be DSQ, or what. The race referee couldn't seem to tell us what to do so we kept riding.

Yada yada, we got short changed a lap, were told we were finishing one lap early about 300 meters out, sprinted into the back of the 45+ field, and listened to a bunch of people complain about shoulda coulda woulda.

After the racing I met up with Mur for the ride back into Boston. Both of us were thoroughly soaked by the hail storm that had rolled through. For me it was on lap 2 of the race. For Mur, I believe it was somewhere beyond Concord. We left Sterling about 1:15 and set our sites on Boston. We picked up the Climb to the Clouds route and were making good time.

We found Bob from Cohasett in Berlin. He decided to ride the Climb to the Clouds route, starting in Concord with a friend, two CO2 cartridges and at least 3 tubes. He was sitting on the side of the road with a rear flat and no more CO2 left. We did our mitzvah and invited him to ride back into Concord with us. Bob is a 55+ year old triathlete who's done at least a few ironman events. He hung with us and then flatted again about 15 miles later. I guess he never got the piece of glass out of his Michelin Pro Race3 tire because it was another slow leak.

All total, we spent probably 45 minutes helping Bob with his flat tires. We rolled with him to Concord before parting ways under dark skies but on dry roads. Mur and I stopped to grab a quick snack and walked out of the convenience store to the beginnings of a rain shower. We eyed the commuter rail and while we tucked under the overhang, finishing snacks, we watched the rain shower turn into another deluge.

Our options were to get soaked again for the last 20 miles or wait 1.5 hours for the next train. When the rain let up enough for us to see (but still get soaked) we chose option 1. As we rolled up Comm Ave, the blue sky peaked out and the busy, noisy streets of Boston welcomed us home.

Mur got 105 for the day and I ended up with 95. Soaking wet, covered in road debris, but satisfied. Here are some things I realized along the way.

1. It often sucks to race/ride with 90 strangers in the pouring rain on unfamiliar roads.

2. If you don't want to get neutralized, ride faster. Seriously, this was the second cat 4 race in a row that I've been a part of that has been totally disrupted by the neutralizing of our field. It worked out in my benefit this time but it is still lame to have that impact the results (it's also demoralizing to get caught by the old guys who still had two laps to go).

3. Being a race official is a thankless, shitty job. It's also critical for the existence of these events. If they weren't there, we wouldn't be racing. You can respectfully disagree and talk with any of them. They are rational human beings that listen to reason but that also make mistakes like any of us. Yelling and screaming the loudest will not make you right.

4. CO2 cartridges are not intended for a rainy century ride.

5. It defeats the purpose to carry more spare tubes than CO2.

6. Riding in the rain with your friend is more fun than racing in the rain with 90 strangers.

Next up, the Gentlemanly Adventure, v2 in northwestern CT. It promises to be another looong day in the saddle.

the mud is not even dry yet

That's it. The races are over and the cx bike will shortly get rebuilt with fenders, bottle cages, and some meaty winter tires. Sure, there is still Ice Weasels but that's more of a party with a side order of cx racing. Some fools are off to nationals but my budget, time, and interest do not allow for the long trip to cold, snowy, Bend, OR.

I can't help already looking forward to next season. Will I run the same gearing? Will I pick up some different tire options? Which 19 year old will win the series title?

Also on my mind are opportunities for improvement to the cx scene. This article on velosnooze.com is actually rather interesting. The title sponsor and race organizers of the biggest mtb series in America are thumbing their noses at USA Cycling and the UCI. Instead of spending extra money to achieve UCI accreditation, they are re-investing that money for the benefit of their sponsors and participants:

"The whole concept of the US Cup is to subsidize promoters with assistance in marketing, prizes and funding to help bring their event and the sport of mountain biking to a higher level in the U.S.,” said Kady.

“We do this by adding value to their event in the form of venue and course development, rider swag bags, event T-Shirts, number plates, onsite support and additional marketing,” said Kady. “I feel it makes sense for us at this time, to take the money we would spend hosting and subsidizing UCI events, and put it back into the races, riders and venues.”

Although 10-20 elite riders might suffer from the decrease in UCI events on the American mtb calendar, the goal of the promoters is to add benefits for the hundreds of other participants.

As I read through the article it was easy to recognize the similarities between mtb and cx events in the USA. You've got promoters all across the country trying to provide opportunities for racers to score UCI points in hopes of boosting those riders further up the international rankings. At the same time, you've got a greater concentration of higher ranking (UCI C1 and world cup) events taking place in Europe. Although cx racers are not chasing UCI points for an Olympic spot, this statement still mirrors the challenge for American cx promoters and the select few who need those UCI points:

“The entire model is built around getting points so that riders have a stronger starting position at the Olympics,” said Tedro. “But the model is flawed, in that riders in Europe have so many more opportunities to rack up points on a weekly basis. So we end up promoting an event for the benefit of a small number of riders, who still can’t compete in terms of points with guys who can jump on a train and score 60 or a 100 points over a weekend.”

In the current model, it is nearly impossible for an American based cx rider to score the number of UCI points necessary to rank in the top 15 world wide. Eventually a rider will max out the number of UCI C2 points they can earn and there will be no more upward progress in the rankings.

So I wonder, will the American cx promoters come to the same realization? Is it still worth the financial burden to host so many UCI C2 events across this country? Promoters are investing a large portion of the money from their sponsors and participants to benefit 20-30 riders (only the top 10 riders in a UCI C2 event score UCI points). Is that the best use of those dollars? What improvements could be made to an event if the UCI money was available to be invested elsewhere? Would a series like Verge New England or the MAC diminish greatly if they were no longer C2 events?

I'd like to see North American promoters work together to organize a national calendar of UCI C1 events. There are plenty of quality promoters and venues around this country that can accommodate that. Sure, those races will be more costly, but they will also draw the best fields and provide the biggest audience for the sponsors. The 10 racers who really need/want the extra UCI points will make it to these events and as a result the spectators and participants will increase.

In the meantime, those racers who want to succeed internationally currently need to race internationally before the World Championships. Yeah, it will be expensive and time consuming but if you are among the 1% of participants that actually have the talent to race internationally, that's the sacrifice you currently need to make.

In the future, reducing the total number of UCI C2 events in this country while increasing the number of C1 events would allow North American cx racers to head to Europe with a better international ranking. It may even draw some of the top European talent to North America (in lieu of a US-based World Cup) on a more frequent basis.

There are a lot of moving parts to be coordinated, but it needs to start with American promoters and sponsors focusing their resources on the majority, those who financially support them. As Tedro says:

"the company is developing a new series designed to offer racing opportunities for both professional and amateur racers across the country, redirecting financial resources from UCI licensing requirements to 'where the money really belongs, namely the riders.'"

Let's watch and see whether Scott Tedro's move to create the US Cup Mountain Bike Racing League pays off and let's learn from it.

motivator

Damn you Nemeses! It will be 9+ long months before I get my chance to do battle with you again. Ah, but during that 9+ month wait, I can at least take some satisfaction that my Victims must also agonize over their place behind me this season.

Thank you Colin for giving me some motivation (and frustration) until the next season.

Don't you want to challenge yourself?

Looking at the pre-reg list for the Shedd Park race this Saturday is disappointing. There are waaaay too many people in the Cat 4/Citizen field. Folks, the Cat 4/Citizen race is for beginners. People without an annual license, people who make it to 4 or 5 races all year, people who have almost no training time during the week or simply do not take racing seriously.

Here is my helpful guide for the 50+ people who are probably registered in the wrong category at Shedd Park.

- If you have ever finished in the top 15% of a Verge race, you know you should not be racing in the Cat 4 field at an event that offers a 3/4 race.

- If you finish in the top 30% of a previous Cat 4/Citizens event, you know you should not be racing in the Cat 4 field.

- If you have raced in the Cat 3/4 field and not finished DFL, you know you should not be racing in the Cat 4 field.

Here is some advice for the Cat 3/4 field.

- If you finish in the top 20% of the Cat 3 Verge races, you know you should not be racing in the 3/4 field.

- If you finished on the podium of a 3/4 race with more than 30 people, you know you should not be racing in the 3/4 field again.

Guess what people? Continuing to race in your category until you win is not a valid excuse (note I said excuse, not reason). There are 80+ people in the Cat 4/Citizen field and 50+ in the Cat 3/4. If everyone one of them was waiting until they won an event to upgrade, the fields would crumble under their own size.

So I challenge you, fellow cross racers, to race up a category for the rest of the season at these non-Verge events because you all have at least two options to choose from. Make it a point to choose the faster field. You might just surprise yourself and have fun without racing for the win.