So today, I raced in the Tour De Cross Race 1 2011.
It was a really fun race, and a big improvement over their races last year. More entrants, and a significantly better course. While the course was/is not my kind of course, it was an excellent 'cross course. They extended it to .9miles and reduced the number of barriers a bit.
I was still in the back half of the field, but we had a good time. More of my Journeymen team showed up as well as a few other clubs.
The other cool thing about the race is that it was the first race for my ridin' buddy Jacob. He's been riding MTB with us for a couple years now and has improved significantly in that time. He's wanted to do a race all that time, and this was his first. As the winner, Brad, stated 'he picked a damn tough race as his first bicycle race. Good job Jacob!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
My 2010 Season Summary
So 3 years ago, I wanted to get back on the bike for some fitness. I needed to lose 60lbs+ and did all of that.
Then I decided to hit a race or two last year.... Oh boy....
So here is the rundown:
Tour de Cross 1 - Third
Tour de Cross 2 - Third
Tour de Cross 3 - Fourth
Tour de Cross 4 - Fourth
Tour De Wolf - Bottom half of 150 people.....
Syllamo's Revenge - Cut at the halfway point (25 of 50miles)
Legend of Stanky Creek - 2nd in Age Group, Top 5 in Beginner
6 Hours of Herb Parsons - 8th in Team (great partner, Ken Graham)
Cyclocrunk 1 - Middle of 80 or so riders
Cyclocrunk 2 - DNF
Cyclocrunk 3 - Middle of 80 or so riders
SpookyCross 1 - 4th from last
SpookyCross 2 - 6th from last
OutDoors Inc CX Champs - 2nd in age group, 5th in Masters
Cross The Way - 5th from last
Looking back on these, there is a pattern for me. Faster smoother courses are definitely more my forte. The OICX race and Herbs were probably my best performances of the year, (along with Stanky). Those courses are generally faster and smoother though still technical. They also did not have much in the way of hills.
The courses I did really poorly on had either significant hills or a lot of extreme speed changes....
So for the MTB this year, I'm going with Disc brakes, and I've got a goal of losing more weight to help with the climbs. Those two things should be good.
2010 was an agressive year for me. Much more agressive than I anticipated, but it was fun!
15 races in 2010 - How many in 2011
Then I decided to hit a race or two last year.... Oh boy....
So here is the rundown:
Tour de Cross 1 - Third
Tour de Cross 2 - Third
Tour de Cross 3 - Fourth
Tour de Cross 4 - Fourth
Tour De Wolf - Bottom half of 150 people.....
Syllamo's Revenge - Cut at the halfway point (25 of 50miles)
Legend of Stanky Creek - 2nd in Age Group, Top 5 in Beginner
6 Hours of Herb Parsons - 8th in Team (great partner, Ken Graham)
Cyclocrunk 1 - Middle of 80 or so riders
Cyclocrunk 2 - DNF
Cyclocrunk 3 - Middle of 80 or so riders
SpookyCross 1 - 4th from last
SpookyCross 2 - 6th from last
OutDoors Inc CX Champs - 2nd in age group, 5th in Masters
Cross The Way - 5th from last
Looking back on these, there is a pattern for me. Faster smoother courses are definitely more my forte. The OICX race and Herbs were probably my best performances of the year, (along with Stanky). Those courses are generally faster and smoother though still technical. They also did not have much in the way of hills.
The courses I did really poorly on had either significant hills or a lot of extreme speed changes....
So for the MTB this year, I'm going with Disc brakes, and I've got a goal of losing more weight to help with the climbs. Those two things should be good.
2010 was an agressive year for me. Much more agressive than I anticipated, but it was fun!
15 races in 2010 - How many in 2011
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Cross The Way #4
So Amy and I headed to Nashville for the weekend. We shopped all day, ate dinner at Pucketts and saw some great live music.
The next morning, we awoke to 14 degree weather and snow blowing everywhere.
The race was in Galatin, north of Nashvegas and was out on Lock 4 state park. I raced there years ago on a mountainbike and did really well there. Unfortunately, things have changed..... LOL
The race itself was out on the peninsula which makes up Lock 4. Amazingly enough the actual peninsula is really hilly. The course itself was up and down the ridge that makes the peninsula, and had a bunch of seriously off camber hills and turns to take. Amazingly I made it through all of them even though I did not get to pre-ride the course.
Unfortunately toward the end, I was really draggin.... Wrong dinner the night before, tired and too doggone cold!!! Top that off with the fact that it was not my kind of course, and it made for a rough race. At the end, I noticed that my rear wheel was really dragging. It was completely clogged with frozen mud and leaves and the rear wheel was not really turning at all.
I had a great time and will go do this race again, but I'll be better prepared next time too!!!
The next morning, we awoke to 14 degree weather and snow blowing everywhere.
The race was in Galatin, north of Nashvegas and was out on Lock 4 state park. I raced there years ago on a mountainbike and did really well there. Unfortunately, things have changed..... LOL
The race itself was out on the peninsula which makes up Lock 4. Amazingly enough the actual peninsula is really hilly. The course itself was up and down the ridge that makes the peninsula, and had a bunch of seriously off camber hills and turns to take. Amazingly I made it through all of them even though I did not get to pre-ride the course.
Unfortunately toward the end, I was really draggin.... Wrong dinner the night before, tired and too doggone cold!!! Top that off with the fact that it was not my kind of course, and it made for a rough race. At the end, I noticed that my rear wheel was really dragging. It was completely clogged with frozen mud and leaves and the rear wheel was not really turning at all.
I had a great time and will go do this race again, but I'll be better prepared next time too!!!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Outdoors Inc Cyclocross Championships 2010
Another race I look forward to every year. I did this race for the first time probably 16+yrs ago.
So this year, I was excited, but not sure how I'd fare. I showed up this morning and proceded to do a couple warm up laps to feel out the course. Fast as usual for this event. The course was/is on Mud Island and sits right on the Mississippi riverfront. There was one hill which I was able to ride up, but most people were running it. After that, there was a stair runup, a set of two standard barriers on a short hill, and 3 large river driftwood logs on the main straightaway to cut the speed down a bit.
When I went to register, I started to register CX4 as I had earlier this year. The registration people asked if I'd rather ride in Masters Men 35+? I told them I was not old enough for Masters and they quickly set me straight that I was...... great, I'm officially getting old per USAC. So Masters it was. The other bonus was that prizes went fairly deep in Masters.
Lining up on the start line, I recognized all but one of the Masters racers. We hit the course and I actually got a pretty good start. CX4, all Masters and SS started together as part of the B race. Big crowd, but most of the CX4's pulled away pretty quickly. I continued on and had the lead in Masters for approx half a lap. Then the unknown person pulled ahead followed by a guy who beat me here last year.
After that, I held my position and actually started to pull back a number of the CX4's. My dismounts and runs were really going well and I was flying through the barriers faster than I thought I could. I even rode the steep hill on the last lap that everyone else (mostly) was running.
I ended up 3rd in Masters 35+, and beat all but one of the Masters 45+ guys, as well as maybe 1/4th of the CX4 field. To top all of that, Boomer only lapped me once..... (he lapped me 3 times 3 years ago!!)
Was a really fun race and I look forward to next year.
Next on the calendar is the Lock4 Cross-The-Way race in December. I don't think I can make it to the Jonesboro race the last weekend in November.
So this year, I was excited, but not sure how I'd fare. I showed up this morning and proceded to do a couple warm up laps to feel out the course. Fast as usual for this event. The course was/is on Mud Island and sits right on the Mississippi riverfront. There was one hill which I was able to ride up, but most people were running it. After that, there was a stair runup, a set of two standard barriers on a short hill, and 3 large river driftwood logs on the main straightaway to cut the speed down a bit.
When I went to register, I started to register CX4 as I had earlier this year. The registration people asked if I'd rather ride in Masters Men 35+? I told them I was not old enough for Masters and they quickly set me straight that I was...... great, I'm officially getting old per USAC. So Masters it was. The other bonus was that prizes went fairly deep in Masters.
Lining up on the start line, I recognized all but one of the Masters racers. We hit the course and I actually got a pretty good start. CX4, all Masters and SS started together as part of the B race. Big crowd, but most of the CX4's pulled away pretty quickly. I continued on and had the lead in Masters for approx half a lap. Then the unknown person pulled ahead followed by a guy who beat me here last year.
After that, I held my position and actually started to pull back a number of the CX4's. My dismounts and runs were really going well and I was flying through the barriers faster than I thought I could. I even rode the steep hill on the last lap that everyone else (mostly) was running.
I ended up 3rd in Masters 35+, and beat all but one of the Masters 45+ guys, as well as maybe 1/4th of the CX4 field. To top all of that, Boomer only lapped me once..... (he lapped me 3 times 3 years ago!!)
Was a really fun race and I look forward to next year.
Next on the calendar is the Lock4 Cross-The-Way race in December. I don't think I can make it to the Jonesboro race the last weekend in November.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Spooky Cross 2010
This race was/is a great addition to the Mid-South cyclocross racing scene.
It took place in the Shelby Farms Ampitheather. The venue is a natural ampitheater in the nation's largest urban park. The course had a brutal runup through the ampitheater, followed by a nice singletrack ride, a gravel road, a paved path, and finally into a taped off grass field with some painful climbing involved.
That grassy area with the climbing is definitely not my kind of course... LOL
Day one opened with warm breezes and a hard packed course. No mud to be seen anywhere. I arrived early and pre-rode the course a few times. Very easy to figure out once on it. The organizers made a few areas even a bit more clear after I gave them some feedback.
The CX4 race was grouped in with the Masters, SS and Women riders. Made for a big group! One heckuva mass start.
The race progressed, and I slowly fell back from the field. I just was not feeling it in the legs. They were stiff and had no snap. Thats pretty much how the race finished for me.
The big positive for this race was that my wife and daughter were there. This is the first race my little girl has seen me in, and having her there with my wife clanging away with the cowbells I bought them made it an awesome day!
Day two started very cold. Mid-40's were the name of the game, and the course was the same with only a few of the barriers moved for variety. Something was definitely clicking more precisely, as I was really getting my dismounts under control and getting some pretty good speed on the runs.
In the end, I finished pretty much the same Sunday as Saturday. I did feel a lot better though!
I already look forward to this race next year. I know it will be a good time again. Kudos to the organizers - they did a really good job!
It took place in the Shelby Farms Ampitheather. The venue is a natural ampitheater in the nation's largest urban park. The course had a brutal runup through the ampitheater, followed by a nice singletrack ride, a gravel road, a paved path, and finally into a taped off grass field with some painful climbing involved.
That grassy area with the climbing is definitely not my kind of course... LOL
Day one opened with warm breezes and a hard packed course. No mud to be seen anywhere. I arrived early and pre-rode the course a few times. Very easy to figure out once on it. The organizers made a few areas even a bit more clear after I gave them some feedback.
The CX4 race was grouped in with the Masters, SS and Women riders. Made for a big group! One heckuva mass start.
The race progressed, and I slowly fell back from the field. I just was not feeling it in the legs. They were stiff and had no snap. Thats pretty much how the race finished for me.
The big positive for this race was that my wife and daughter were there. This is the first race my little girl has seen me in, and having her there with my wife clanging away with the cowbells I bought them made it an awesome day!
Day two started very cold. Mid-40's were the name of the game, and the course was the same with only a few of the barriers moved for variety. Something was definitely clicking more precisely, as I was really getting my dismounts under control and getting some pretty good speed on the runs.
In the end, I finished pretty much the same Sunday as Saturday. I did feel a lot better though!
I already look forward to this race next year. I know it will be a good time again. Kudos to the organizers - they did a really good job!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Cyclocrunk 2010 #3 - Mud
Tuesday, rain fell in Memphis like it had not done in 3-4 months. That guaranteed a muddy and wet race for Tuesday night.
I ate mud hard in the first 180 turn corner when I washed my front wheel. That let a bunch of people past me that I really would have liked to stay with. After getting up, straightening my bars and putting the chain back on, I got moving again.
By the end of the race, I was getting pretty drained but I had reeled in a few people that I had hoped to.
I crossed the line dizzy from the effort and absolutely covered in mud. It was a great night!!!!
A huge thanks to Joel, Robert and Mike for putting on a great series. I look forward to this every year, and it lived up to expectations this year like the rest.
I ate mud hard in the first 180 turn corner when I washed my front wheel. That let a bunch of people past me that I really would have liked to stay with. After getting up, straightening my bars and putting the chain back on, I got moving again.
By the end of the race, I was getting pretty drained but I had reeled in a few people that I had hoped to.
I crossed the line dizzy from the effort and absolutely covered in mud. It was a great night!!!!
A huge thanks to Joel, Robert and Mike for putting on a great series. I look forward to this every year, and it lived up to expectations this year like the rest.
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