In Reply To:
There's a cyclocross series 2.5 miles from my house - first race is Saturday. I should really get a cross bike...
Yes, Katy and I were at that race. We'll be there this Saturday. Will you, Dave, Bret and Jason be there? And the kids???
Here's my race report from last Saturday:
I wanted to try a cross race last year and got a bike (Redline Conquest Pro) and did two clinics, then my mom had surgery and passed away and fall/winter plans were thrown into disarray. So this year I decided I really had to get out there and try a race.
I did a clinic a couple of weeks ago and had fun, but it was hard! I can get off the bike ok, but getting back on at a run, well, not so good, so I was a little nervous about the race. So Friday night at dinner I talked Katy into going too. I'd sent her the link with the info and said she could ride her mt. bike and that we'd be racing the other beginners and she agreed to do it. (Full suspension mt. bike even!) So I picked her up Saturday morning and we drove out to Livermore. We'd left really early since they'd closed the Bay Bridge the entire weekend to replace a huge piece of it, so we didn't how how long it would take to get there with the extra driving and possible traffic, so we left plenty of time. Good thing. We get to Livermore and pull into Starbucks and I'm looking at her bike and I say, "Why is your chain laying on the bed of my truck?" Her chain had snapped and fallen off somewhere between SF and Livermore! Well hell. She said it was a good thing she'd brought her running shoes since she was likely SOL. They moved the Livermore Cyclery shop and I didn't know where the new location was (which they'd probably not have been open that early anyway), so we drove to where the race was and parked and got chatting with the guy and the gal next to us and the guy has a chain tool and knew how to use it! Katy is back in business (though at the time I don't think she would have been too bummed if she hadn't gotten to race. Little did she know!)
We got registered and rode one lap of the course--mostly flat on dirt and wood chip on the back side*, then over a double barrier, then up a little hill, then around and back down and immediate turn around and back up the little hill with a barrier at the top. Another down and around, then through the cattle pens (the course is at the rodeo grounds) and when you come out of the cattle pens, you hit the sandy dirt--unrideable mostly. Back on the bike and you are on grass (which was wet from watering) and up a hill with some mud. Then it was a right curve and down along in front of the grandstands and off and you had to shoulder your bike and run up the stairs in the grandstands! Along the top of the grandstands, then down this huge hill (dirt) and at the bottom was a 90 degree turn, then back onto the dirt/wood chip to do it all again. The start was along the back on the asphalt, then you turned in and went over a single barrier and that dropped you onto the backside*.
* This was nice and flat but it was down and back and down and back and down and back with about 6-8 hairpin turns that they had delineators and tape up that you had to go through.
So to recap, 2 single barriers (one at the start that you went over once; one on the hill) and 1 double barrier and one stair climb where you had to shoulder the bike. Plus the sandy dirt area that most couldn't ride through.
They were running late to start, but they finally called the juniors, women and men's Cs and we all lined up. They sent the juniors and women off first and our race was 30 minutes. They started the men C's off about 3 minutes after us. We took off on the asphalt and there were 8 women Cs and 2 Masters women (I think). The juniors and a couple of the gals sprinted off like bullets and then the rest of us were a bit behind. I was able to stay towards the front of this second group until we all got strung out. The first barrier came and I was off and over it and got back on (just slow, not at a run). I picked up speed on the flats on the dirt/wood chips (helps to have been riding a lot of wood chips in the Presidio!), but I lost time going through the hairpin turns.
The second set of barriers came (the double) and that was a little harder (let's just say I didn't look like Sven Nys). Up the little hill, no problem, down and around and back up the hill and off and over the barrier. OK, that was not bad getting off, just not fast going OVER the barrier. I held off the first of the men Cs to about this point, so I was happy about that.
Through the cattle pens and off before the sandy dirt. I'd tried to ride though it on the practice lap, but decided it would be faster to get off and shoulder the bike. It was, but it also jacked up the heart rate more. The first or second time through the sandy dirt, the guy right in front of me came off the bike too late and face planted right in the dirt. Luckily, I was already off the bike so I could just run around him. Lucky for him it was soft dirt. Back on the bike on the grass (need to work on speed here) and up the muddy hill, then down to the stadium steps. Seriously high heart rate! Running up was more of a speed walk than a run, but I got to the top and down the big dirt hill. (Need to do more off road riding to work on bike handling in the dirt). Then, it was back to the backside and do it again. I got through the course a second and third time and when I came through the uphill barrier (which was near the finish) they were ringing the bell and I went by and they said "one more lap". Nuts! That means I have to do the stadium stairs AGAIN! On the backside on the third time through I'd passed two gals and I really wanted to keep ahead of them. I had no idea where anyone else really was. I'd seen Katy behind me and the two gals from the Velo Girls race team were ahead of me I was sure, but everyone else, I didn't know. So I just rode hard the entire time.
When we came through the double barrier the last time, you turned right to go up the hill and then came all the way back and I could see where the other gal closest to me was and I hammered the rest of the way to the finish line. Man, I was tired, but recovered pretty quick. Mostly just totally parched due to the 80-90F temps (it was 98F there for a high) and the dust.
I ended up doing 4 laps, which is 2 more than I thought I'd get in. Katy did 3 laps which is more than she thought she could do. We talked to a couple people I knew and then checked the results and I couldn't believe I was 3rd!!!!!!!!! (out of 8 gals). We got to stand on an actual podium and everything and got a medal. There are 8 races in the series, so I'm going to try to make as many as I can (like all of them if possible!) What a total blast. And Katy---the first words out of her mouth were, "That was SO fun!" She needs a used cross bike now!
clm
Nashville, TN
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