All Hallow's Eve Cyclocross

We (myself and the family) made the drive to Winston over the weekend to race the All Hallows Eve race presented by Mock Orange Bikes. It was pretty cold when we arrived but warmed up nicely by the start of the 10 O'Clock race. I did my usual warm up, and got the to start early and positioned myself in the middle on the left side. The whistle blew and we took off, we all sprinted up a paved road and then some switch backs where I was either in the weeds or the tape on every turn. Then it really bottled up and had to dab a foot. Once again the best thing about racing CX is even if you are in the back there are still people to race. This race was no different, myself a 2 others guys were changing places on the first 2 laps. I'd get a lead then they would catch me on the 1 long climb.

The end of the second lap I noticed I was pulling a guy around the course, and was taking some very bad lines through the turns. As we approached the end of the lap he was behind me as we started down a short downhill with a hard right hand turn with a climb after the turn. I set myself for the turn, hit the apex and turned on the jets. I stood up and powered my way up the hill. I kept on the power, and was all by myself for the entire last lap. Approaching the finish line some of the leaders were passing me. The last turn into the finish and someone behind me yells "Left". Thinking it was another leader and not wanting to get in the way of the leaders I moved over. As he passed me at the finish Line I realized it was the guy I had been racing the entire race. I was disappointed that he passed me at the finish- That won't happen again!



The last lap approaching the finish- you can see the guy that passed me at the finish in the background.

I loved the course- some sections were a little rough but the fast, flat and smooth sections made up for it. My favorite part was a section around the soccer fields- you entered the field on a downhill with 2 18" jumps, and the field was flat, hard, and short grass. I could fly on this surface, and the corners held up well. I also loved all of the off-camber turns. As we headed back to Charlotte I couldn't wait until the next race in Boone. See you there.

Hey, at least I didn't throw up.

My first Cross race of the season was this weekend. I'm not where I had wanted to be at this time of the year but, I have improved from last year. Here's how the race went:

I spent the week leading up to the race watching the weather closely to see if I needed to put on the mud tires or keep the Racing Ralphs. I went to help Luna Cycles/ Fiets Maan racing to help set up the course up Friday. The course was dry even though it rained Thursday- I decided against switching tires and stick with what I had. The morning of the race was cool and damp/ a slight drizzle but no mud.  I went to get my number and the guy apologized and said "this is no reflection on you as a person". I looked at it and read 666! I'm not a superstitious person and thought BEAST MODE! I did my warm up laps, then saw some friends and talked with them for awhile and then headed to the start line. I lined up right in the middle of the pack. I looked down at my heart rate and it showed zone 2. I tried to clam down as we waited for the start but as soon as the starter called "TWO MINUTES" my heart rate jumped to all most zone 3. The whistle blew and we all took off, about 100 feet into the race and at full speed the mountain bike in front of me started skidding the rear tire- his chain was throw into the rear wheel spokes. I hit the brakes and then went around him, I stayed with the pack until the finish line climb. I was pretty focused so I don't remember a lot of details. I do remember racing a few guys, back and forth changing positions.

On the 2nd lap I was following a guy around the course but didn't have a great place to pass. We rode through the bottom of the course near the start line, up the small hill, he went wide and I cut inside. We were side by side on the short descent. I pedaled hard to the run up, took the inside line and ran as hard as I could. Got back on the Van Dessel and pushed as hard as I could, I was trying to get as far away as possible so he wouldn't want to chase me down. In my opinion this was the hardest part of the course- most of the elevation changed happened in between the run-up and finish line. The rest of the race I was pretty much by myself the rest of the race until the finish when the race winners passed me cutting my race 1 lap short. I was glad it was over.

Last year the finish is where I started dry heaving in between gasping for breath. It was so embarrassing, the finish is right next to the sand where everyone sits and watches the race..... by race I mean CARNAGE that happens in the sand. But that didn't happen this year. I didn't win but I felt better than last year. I did better than last year, I wasn't pushing to stay out of DFL. Training hasn't gone great, lots of excuses! But the race was just enough of a butt kicking with the right amount of success to keep me motivated. I'm looking forward racing next weekend in Winston-Salem. #Knuckles&Elbows!

 

By the way, the team (Kevin and myself) did great this weekend, lots of compliments on the jerseys, and we had fun! Looking forward to have the other guys with us soon.