Pack Fodder

Greetings Readers!

I found this one on OregonVelo. No, I’m not trying to pass a kidney stone, that’s the face of the pain cave trying to pedal through za mud.

Funny huh?

Cheers!

Greetings Readers!  

After having been sidelined the last two races in a row trying to kick the crud I was less than optimistic about my return to racing. Although I’m feeling better, I’ve been off the bike for weeks and my fitness is squat. While driving to the venue, my wife looked at me and said: “just have fun, this is what you love you do” Ok, easier said than done. I’m no where near where I was physically at the start of the season, and I don’t know if I told you but I hate to suck.

To make matters worse Dev was racing the Master’s B and issued a challenge to me to race with him, there was no way I was going up to the B’s. Not yet anyway. I’m glad I didn’t as judging by my time of 50:11, I would have finished damn near last in the B’s, which would have ruined my fragile psyche. I needed to make the front half of the race today to feel good about my season. I got to the course early enough to preride and to my disappointment this venue tailored right to my weaknesses. Totally flat, lots of super fast flat sections where guys like Speedy and my friend Ken could use there power. Plus, we had to go through this horse arena. It was super deep with mud (horse crap) and I didn’t see anyone able to ride it. “Crap, lots of running too” I thought to myself, as that’s my other weakness, I’m just not a good runner. My courses are tight and technical, muddy and challenging. That’s where I do well. Can’t match the fast guys with powa yo’. As Dev would say; “I need mo Powa”

So with the new lottery, 47 guys got called up. I was lucky and my third digit was 7. I was the first wave after the call ups, so there was only around 55 guys in front of me. Could have been much worse. I was relaxed and calm at the start, telling myself to just have fun and enjoy racing the course, let go of your ambition Jim….. The gun went off and I just stayed on the gas and tried not to lose any ground, we had a nasty pile up and some poor guy went down, hard. By the time the 1^st lap was coming to a close and we were heading into the arena I told myself that I was going to attempt to ride it. What do I got to lose? It’d sure beat running. Lots of guys tried, but for the 4 laps I went through that arena with all the guys around me: No One was able to ride it, Except for me. (pat myself on the back here) Oh most tried, but halfway through there was the section that was dried clay like deep mud & poop which broke every one and forced them to run. I too would stumble there, on the 2^nd lap and have to run. I did ride it though, for 3 of the 4 laps.

So this would be my calling card, I wasn’t going to place well, but I would conquer the mud pit in the arena and ride where most guys couldn’t. At least in my class anyway, I know the Elite’s went thru it like it was nuthin’. There was a set of bleachers and the crowd would erupt each time I made it past the breakpoint, screaming “Ride it! Ride it!” which would fuel my desire even more to get out of the arena rubber side down.

I had a ball as that was a challenge indeed. I felt like a damn warrior each time I made it out of the arena with my feet still clipped in and pedaling. That was fun!

By the time the race was over I lost around 20 spots, unable to hang on the fast flat sections were guys went by me for most the race. In the end, I finished 74^th out of 147. I just missed the front half of the race by 1%. I did however; beat Hinkley for the 1^st time. Jim has whupped my butt for two seasons…..

All in all is was a great day of racing and I got to hang around and watch Dev in the B’s plus a few other races with great sunny weather. I had fun: and isn’t that what cross is supposed to be? Fun?  

Relaxed and contemplating at the start.

Were off!

the mound of stall clean up….

A couple pics of my pal Speedy (in the blue jersey) running the slop in the arena

Jammed up and avoiding a big hole concealed buy the mud, I managed to save it and stay upright

I’ve righted the ship and I’m determined to ride on..

on the other side of the arena, still pedaling!

Through the barns..

Running the barriers..

Speedy and I, tellin each other how it went down…

My Bike.

Cheers!

Greetings Readers!

I found this one from OrVelo, and since I’ve gotten so much response about my socks…….

Those little red spots are skull and crossbones. Too bad my socks got more attention than my racing did…….. But whatever, Tonkin I’m not.

Cheers!

Greetings Readers,

What a day it was today. I gave and gave and gave. I dug deep. So deep in fact that I was dizzy, light headed, nocuous, sick, and generally thought I was going to die. In fact, I was so wiped that I had to go to the car during the B/SS race and lay down. That course really beat the shit out of me. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

I kinda felt it this morning, well what I mean to say is: I didn’t feel it. My wife looked at me prior to the start and said “what’s wrong?” I looked at her and said, “I’ve no legs” meaning; they were heavy and tired and I had prerode the course and knew what was in store for me. Mostly, some very choppy meadows with no good lines and lots of speed killing holes and bumps. Hard I fought, but I could just not get anything going in those meadows. Plus, they were not only killin’ my back, but my kidneys too. My friggin kidneys hurt the rest of the day. There was a nasty climb right after the Mac’s 6 pak barriers to add to our pain.

There were positives today: no mechanicals, no flats, no crashes. I prolly had the tubbies a little too hard though, we had a lot of pavement and paved transitions, and I didn’t want to run too soft and have the tires get squirrely on me, I wanted to be able to corner on the pavement, I paid for that decision in the meadows.  That was a battle, not only with my fellow racers, or the course, but with my own head. I wanted to pack it in and was questioning why the hell I was out there. My heart won out and I kept digging, kept putting the pressure on. I didn’t realize that I wasn’t having that bad of a race; I saw the preliminaries and the video my wife shot. I thought I had stunk it up good.

We’ve this new lottery staging, and being that my last digit was 7, I had 7rows of riders in front of me, I was row 8, rows 9 and 10 behind me,  Plus the 28 guys that got called up. I had a monumental task ahead of me. I don’t know how many guys were in front of me, we had 80 something in the race so prolly 60 to 65 between me and glory. I stayed calm at the start and told myself I was gonna real some guys in and make up some ground. On that 1^st lap I was very aggressive and was fighting for lines, wrestling for position, diving to the inside of corners, I had to put the elbow out more than once, that’s racing. I think I made most of my gains on that 1^st lap as by lap 3 my kidneys and back were killin’ me.

I didn’t know who guys were, most were in costume and I was just racing guys. Had I known who they really were and how close I was to them I’d have gave even more. Some guys I know by face, some by number, some I have talked to a bit. I was in a group of guys who normally finish in the top ten. Ken Pace, who finished 8^th yesterday finished right in front me. Had I had another 100 yards I might have caught him. Ken Pace is a far faster rider than I am. Course Ken raced yesterday; maybe he was having a bad day. Hinkley was a few riders in front of me as well; I’m getting closer to Jim and one of these days…….

Preliminary results had me finishing in 43^rd, not bad given where I started. It’s no top 20, but that will be a tall order for me to fill this year given the lottery and how many guys are in front of me. I wish Devin had raced today: it would have been nice to have a teammate out there.

Not sure what my goals are for the remainder of this season? I’ve not enough ponies to make up the deficit the lottery presents me. I need a top 18 to get points and with no points, the lottery and bad starting position.  I’m in a lose/lose position. So, having said that; I’ll continue to chase the guys who are  in front of me, use them as a carrot, and continue to get race experience and savy. This was our last dry race, next weekend Barton will be rainy and challenging. Who know’s? maybe lady luck will role my way, stranger things have happened……… I’m a good bike handler, sloppy conditions don’t hinder me, they help me. Maybe the mud will present me with some options that haven’t existed so far this season.

The Course:

The start shute took us through a right hander that lead down our only descent. This was where I would real in my group after getting dropped each lap. I can bomb with the best of them yo’. Anyway 1st super choppy meadow ensues, a right hander followed by a few lefts and then a very short steep climb ensues. Gravel road heading into two barriers and onto the highway. Paved uphill road race that turned into a very steep short climb, the field got busted up on this one. We went up a paved section around a tree and headed back down towards the road again, swung left and came around to the finish line. Then more pavement and a right hander into an arena with a dirt floor. Out of the arena and into meadow, choppy suck meadow. This section took us through a little ramp and what I called the gauntlet, lots of fans screaming and watching us jump the ramp. The course curved around a building and took us down a short off camber section that started the climb up to the Mac’s 6 pak. This was a tough section as the approach to the barriers was uphill, followed by the barriers, and then more choppy suck meadow that rose steeply into a big climb. It was hard to remount with any momentum going into the climb. This blew the field. We then descended through teeth rattling meadow and went into some animal stalls, we zig zagged through several of them before heading back into the dirt floor arena, which took us out to the area we started from.

I’m sure there were racers who liked this course, I wasn’t one of them. I’m not however going to beat myself up over my placing. Lots of guys struggled today and I hung with a group of riders much faster than me. Given where I was staged it could have been much worse.

At least I didn’t have this guys day: Doh!

The steep short climb right after the highway.

coming around the barn…

another barn….

Top of the suck meadow…

Coming down….

The gauntlet…

Cheers!

Greetings Readers!

Results are up and it would appear that the preliminary results were accurate (at least in my case) 48^th out of 126 riders. 38 percentile.

I did however make up some ground and I beat a few guys who got called up to the top 28 at the start. One guy sticks out in my mind: an Organic Athlete rider that fought me like a true warrior the whole race. Respect to you dude.

He started in the 2^nd row, and I in the 4^th. I’ve read other blogs (including Devin’s) and the memory retention is amazing. Hell I can’t recall a race like that. Most of the race is a blur for me, a few things stand out, but most of it is intense focus and survival mode. Anyway, I watched the film and this rider really battled with me and we see sawed back and forth the whole race, finally on the last lap I took him at the top of the climb and absolutely blurred my vision on the descent. I didn’t see him again, I think he finished 52^nd.

So, I did have a positive today. I battled a faster, younger rider, and I beat him fair and square with a 2 row disadvantage. I believe I beat a few other guys who got called up also after reviewing the film. Unfortunately, about 12 guys who started behind me, beat me. So there’s that. L

I had me a good race, and I HURT today more than I ever have after a cross race. We really had some climbs yesterday and the legs are sore as hell!

Damn I love Cross……..

Cheers!

Greetings Readers,

Today was Rainier, a new venue last year (which I missed) and a new one for me this year. I tried to be prepared, and brought my two bikes, and three sets of wheels. What I didn’t bring was a double chainring, ugh.

I was trying to get myself organized when I heard the announcer say “this is the most elevation gain of any Crusade race we’ve had” Uh, what? “what chu talkin’ bout Willis?”

Think Hornings Hideout, with way more climbing and one really tough quad breaker that went from the bottom to the top of the course. I tried to stay calm, and rode around trying to get a good look at the course. Our races are so close together that if you don’t get there early before the beginners race it’s hard to pre ride. Anyway, the course was dry and grassy, with a really bumpy back section that was mixed with a barrier and a bridge, this was my slowest area of the course. The Mac’s 6 pack was back with lots of grassy corners and a serious downhill section where I’m sure we were doing 30mph. There was some nice singletrack and it really was a fun course, despite the nasty elevation gain. There were a lot of sections with really tight grassy corners where it was damn fun to race while carrying some speed. I had fun nippin’ guys on the inside of those tight corners. Guys on SingleSpeeds earned it today for sure. Props to them, those guys were Killin’ it.

We’ve a new system for starts: I let Brad Ross explain it:

OK here’s the scoop.  After much tribulation, we have decided what we’re gonna do about staging each race.  I’m not not even sure if I understand how it will work, but here we go.

First, there will be a random number drawing from 0-9 first thing in th morning.  That draw will be posted at registration.  The last digit in your race number will correlate to the number draw.  For example, if the first number that gets pulled is 7 and your race number is 547 then you will be in the first group to be called up.

Second, the start chute will be closed off.  It will not do you any good to get there 1/2 hour before your race starts, you won’t be able to line up.

Third, 10 minutes before your race is scheduled to start, I will call to the line all riders who currently have points in the series (about 25 people).  After that, I will call the numbers up in order of the mornings random draw.

One consolation for the group that gets the last draw is that will be the weeks beer number.  The least we can do.

It’ll probably be a bit confusing this first week, but that’s how we’re gonna do it.  Any complaints can be directed to your new vice president whoever he/she may be.  Stop with the smack, I grew up in Alaska.

Also, there will be two start chutes.  We will line up one category next to the other.  i.e. Single speed/B.

Onto a new topic.  The Rainier H.S. booster club is going to charge $5 per vehicle parking.  This $ goes directly to scholarships and doesn’t have anything to do with the permit fee the Cross Crusade pays to Rainier School Dist.  Cmon, quit bitching, it’s less than a tube.

Last piece of business.  Rainier H.S. is as you might expect, a no alcohol venue.  For this reason, I won’t be bringing last weeks prizelist.  I will be bringing ALL of the beer to Astoria for the Halloween weekend.  Sorry.

After a public urination scandal at Villebois last weekend, Team Beer has rented their own personal porta potty.  Pretty good idea actually.  They will probably except bribes.

I want to extend a huge thanks to Guy Smith for all the work he has put in to making this race happen.  Rainier is probably one of the best cross courses any of us will ever race on.  Oh by the way, for all y’all that have been complaining about too few barriers, the McTarnahans Six Pack will be back this weekend.

Brad Ross

Race Director

Being that I missed Alpenrose and only managed 30^th last week I have no points. There would be no call up for me. I was suspect to the lottery. Keep in mind that I’m Fodder, a fringe rider, usually I’ll drop somewhere around a dozen spots from where I start from, which means that If I don’t get up front I’ve not much chance at getting a good placing. I’d like to GAIN a dozen spots each week from where I start, but whatever. I’d also like a top ten, but again, whatever. What can I say; the top 20 guys are usually faster than me. I can have a good race and break the top 20, but I’m not gonna do it starting 35 guys down. I crossed my fingers and walked up to registration. This was a hilly bugger, not my strength by any means and I was gonna push a 42tooth chainring the whole way. If the lottery frowns on me I could have a really tough day, I could easily see myself ending up at the back of the race. With the new lottery system I think I can say goodbye to a top 20 finish for a goal this year. Why? We had 28 guys with points in the series today. So 28 guys were called up, then the lottery went off and by some cross grace my last digit was called 1^st. There would only be around 35 guys ahead of me at the start. Could have been much worse. Next week, I may be at the back. Were talkin’ about a field size of 130 guys people. I wish I could say that I’ll just have to dig deeper and bring in some points, but the truth is: I gave my freakin’ all today out there, which is a trademark for me, I give. I could not even stand much less walk for at least a good 10 mins after the finish. So, it’s not like I can just give more to crack that top 20.

I’ve not been however: my usual stressed out self at the starts lately, I’m liking that. I’m calm and confident that I’m gonna give, regardless of the adversary. There’s lots of fringe riders just like me that are gonna have to deal with the same lottery so shut up and just give Jim.  Get some cheese out if your gonna whine. Show up and give’r yo’.

All n all, it was a good race:

·         I didn’t crash, always a good thing.

·         I didn’t have any mechanicals

·         I didn’t flat

·         I gave it all I had and then some.

So, I had me a good race. J And I feel good about it despite my 48^th preliminary placing. Which is around the top 38% of the field. Not my hopeful top 25% but hey, did I say the course was hilly?

Chaos at the start…

For once, I had my tubbie pressure dialed, I was railing the corners today…..

Mac’s 6 pak was back….

There was gobs of this today: standing, out of the saddle, Climbing.

Runnin’ after the barrier and bridge, we had to run aways as it was too bumpy to remount here

The Start of a very long climb…..

I’ll check the results tomorrow to see where I actually placed. Till then..

Cheers!

Greetings Readers!

So’s I had to post again, I’ve had some really good vibes after yesterday’s sufferfest. I finished in 29th place, not great, but in the top 19% of the field. We had 150 riders in the Master’s C yesterday. I’m trying to not get too caught up in a good day of racing, as next week could turn spoiler and I’ll be in a less desirable position. I’ve had to somewhat let go of the rollercoaster of emotions I ride during cross season, getting really down and beating myself up over a bad placing or riding a high after a good one.
 
I need to stay even keel and let the chips fall where they may. Cross gives and Cross takes away, all you can do it put your best effort out on the course on any given Sunday. That’s all Cross can ask of you: Show up and give’r.
I usually don’t have a problem giving; it’s the placing that gets me down. No more. I’m going to do as I did yesterday, give and give some more. I’ll have good races and bad ones. I still need to give regardless. I have to remind myself constantly, I’m pack fodder, there is no podium glory for me. I’ll never taste a win, and prolly as my competition gets stronger and I go up in class, never taste a top ten either. Check the pain cave on the link below, I gave all over the course.
 
http://photos.oregonvelo.com/p/cc080203/cc0802mjb0055442
 
 
I think what really made my day was having people there that I’m getting to know, and enjoying rooting for, and racing against, my soon to be teammates. On the line I tried to think of something positive to offer Devin, but I’m a mess at the start line. His blog is HERE. That is the toughest part of the day, waiting for the gun to go off. I’m a kaleidoscope of emotions while stewing at the start. Even though Dev and I wanted to beat each other, we also were rooting for each other. I offered up some yells of encouragement to my soon to be teammate (who gave me all I could handle yesterday) as we both were chasing Hinkley. I was lucky to get Dev yesterday, somehow I don’t think that will be the norm.
 
As soon as I got to the venue and registered, I thought of Speedy, and wanted to see him and give him some cheering. Speedy has a big motor and once cross skills are developed Marcelo will do some real damage. I unfortunately didn’t get to see Marca race, but the thought of sharing cross with teammates opened up a whole new dynamic for me. I was thinking of my soon to be teammates and that was a positive distraction from my stewing over my own race. Marca too, once cross skills develop will do some damage. Hell, Marcelo and Marca are killin’ it already consistently finishing in the top ten in the beginners class. I saw three of my friends give yesterday and each of them is full of upside. I’m thrilled to have them and to get to watch them kick ass in cross.
 
Next year will be even better, we’ll all share the same kit and we’ll have another season of cross under our belts with more experience and even higher goals and aspirations.
 
A few people have commented about the pic of Jim, Devin, and I after our race, totally destroyed. I don’t know why we do it to ourselves but the people who race cross get it.
It’s like the line in Pure Sweet Hell:
“People who don’t do it, don’t quite understand it.
People who do, know, intrinsically, as soon as you try it you are hooked on it.
Once you race cross, it is hard not to.”
 
That’s why we all cheer so hard for each other, cuz we know, how deep the pain cave goes, and just how hard it is.

Greetings Readers!

So I haven’t posted in a few weeks, well, cuz if you read my last post I was sick before, during, and even worse after Barlow. I spent the whole week off the bike after Barlow trying to get healthy enough to go at Alpenrose. Saturday, I rode out to Alpenrose with my pal Tim to preregister and ride the course. It was all I could do to get out of the meadow, I had my answer. There was no way I was gonna be able to race on Sunday.

I drove out anyways and stood on the runup just outside the Velodrome and watched my peers give’r. It was so solitary, erie, lonely. I didn’t like it, it’s great to watch the other races IF you’ve raced yourself. Not so much if you’ve not raced at all. I really missed being part of the action.

I watched Devin have one of those frustrating races that we’ve all had. Devin would redeem himself today.

I managed a few commutes this week, and took Friday off to enjoy some pizza and beers with the family. Yesterday I went out for a road ride to spin out the legs, just rode, and didn’t burn any matches. Some serious words of wisdom have been hanging in my head over the last few weeks from my pal Ken, I’ve a new perspective on cross, and it showed for me today. Amazingly, I slept last night, unworried about todays race. Thanks Ken.

Crazy venue today, looked like a new home subdivision in construction. I actually liked the course today. I staged early, none of that crap at the back. I was in third row, just behind my pal Devin who was in the second row. The 1^st few laps are always a blur, and after awhile I’m wondering where we are in the race, as I wasn’t sure how much more we had to go. No matter Jim, just give. And so I did, I actually felt like I was going faster on the last two laps than the two preceding them.

The Best part of the race today? I had people to race with. Normally I’m off the back of the lead group, or, in the front of the chase group, or, even worse in no mands land somewhere inbetween racing by myself. Today, I put a bullseye on Jim Hinkley and Devin and even though I yoyo’d off the back of those two; I kept them in sight and really battled with those two guys till the end. The three of us finished together at the end.

Great race today,

·         I didn’t crash

·         I didn’t have any mechanicals or dropped chains

·         My tubbies held air and I didn’t have to go the last two laps on the rims

·         I had a good attitude and focused on racing.

·         Although I wasn’t 100%, I wasn’t plagued down with the cold

I don’t know where I finished today, and I don’t really need to know. I was right behind Jim Hinkley who has chewed me up for two seasons. So to be right on his tail at the end was a huge deal for me. I’m so happy with how the race went for me today, polar opposite over the last two. I had fun out there today.

The three of us: Hinkley, Devin kneeling, and myself hanging over the bike right after the finish line. All three of us gave big time today.

I was focused today, aggressive body language and stickin’ the turns

The barrier in front of the runup….

right behind Devin on the downhill.

Crazy downhill, with lots of deep ruts and very sharp bumps.

finally, crossing the finish line.

My soon to be teammate Devin was strong today, nuthin’ but upside for you pal. I see Devin racing the Master’s B next year. Speedy was plagued with the bug I had at Barlow, Marcelo was hurtin’ today for sure. Way to give anyway Speedy. Way to Give.

Cheers!

Greetings Readers!

It was not to be my day today, one thing after another building against me like a snowball rolling downhill gaining momentum and volume. I was not my usual stressed self today and was looking so forward to racing a real cx race with the dirt crits behind me. I was excited, tired from no sleep, but enthusiastic all the same. Hood River is a fun course, and today’s course was even better than last year. I was actually smiling about racing today.

I pumped up my tires this morning before I loaded the car and we drove to Hood River. I was worried when we got to the venue and it was already low on air. I pumped it up again and went out to preride the course. Exciting fun course, but there lies a problem with lots of single track, no room to pass and bottle necks. The runups looked fun and challenging all at the same time, there was very little room for error however as a few bridges and some dropoffs could spell trouble for some.

Not sure what happened as we started to move toward the start line to stage, and as soon as the C’s last place rider came through we cramed into a very tight space. I got a very crappy position 3 rows back, I was screwed. Shortly after the sprint at the start there was a tight 180 turn, and that spelled a bottle neck. Soon after the 180 we went through the grass field and had another 180 into an off camber section.

I got a bad start, and was bottled up at the 1st turn, we spread out a little afterwards and I made some ground but by the 2nd 180 into the off camber I was bottled again. Shit, I’m jammed up and the leaders are halfway through the singletrack right now I thought. I was right too. There was 20 riders ahead of me and we were barely through a quarter of the 1st lap. The insuing singletrack bottled me up some more and I tried in vain to find an opening. By the time we were at the runup, which was single file all the way I had to stop running as the guy in front me was whacking me in the head with his rear wheel. I mean I’ve been called a wheel sucker before but this was too much. By the time I hit the start/finish area at the end of the 1st lap my race was over, the leaders are having clear sailing and the gap to me was getting bigger by the minute, I was in the 2nd half of the field.

I kept the pressure on as hell, I’m out here so give right? I took a tight left hander on the inside trying to pass and went down. I only lost a few spots but I noticed something wrong, my front tire was getting soft and I was bottoming out more frequently. I kept racing and came through the start finish area with 3 laps to go. I rode the last 3 laps with basically a flat on my front tire, it wasn’t totally flat but I’d be surprised if I had 15psi in it. I couldn’t corner at all and had to be very careful through the singletrack sections, I just tried to hang on and finish the race, out of options. Every time I tried to lean the bike over it felt like I was going to roll the tubbie off the rim and I was riding on the rim . This was not how I wanted to start my season. That’s racing, you don’t get to write the script, you just give and do what you can do. Right? There are 50 things that can go wrong in a cross race, you just hope to keep them to a minimum.

I’ve a bit of a sick stomach over it tonight as I just hate to suck, or finish in the back half of the race, and today I did. I couldn’t help my tire, nor my start position, but I’m going to have to get more agressive at the starts. If your not at the front of the race, you’ll never see the front of the race again.

I’ve got a week to get a new tubular glued on and be ready for Barlow, hopefully I’ll have a better race. I think I finished somewhere around 25th place. I’m not sure how many riders we had, maybe 45.

I only have a few pics for you, hey I’m riding not playin’ photograher. You’ll notice there’s not a lot of guys around me in some pics, that’s bad, alone off the back with lots of space between me the leaders, and the very back of the race.

2nd wheel here, just crossed a bridge and heading for a runup….

near the top of the runup

heading into the sand around a barn, I went down right here earlier in the race.

heading into the start finish area.

Tonight I’ll stew in it and be pissed, tomorrow I’ll let it go and focus on next Sunday.

Cheers!

Greetings Readers!

Today was the last race in the Dirt Crit series at Krugers. The warmup for cross was to come to a close today after the end of my race. Mom finished the entire series and got some valuable race experiance going into next weekends Race in Hood River where we’ll put on our cyclocross numbers for the 1st time, and use them for the rest of the season. 

Mom, learning to get out of the saddle after every turn.

I was my usual stressed out self, not sure why, as I don’t remember stressing so much last season. Maybe it’s the stiffer competition, or the pressure to preform for the peeps who live vicariously through me (friends and family) But I’ve sure carried around some stress and pressure this year already and cross hasn’t even started yet. I ran into my pal Speedy (standing with his daughter) who pulled down a bronze and got on the podium in his race, way to go Speedy!

Speedy was checking in on my stess level and made me relax a little. I staged in the 2nd row, chosing for some reason to not go like hell at the start. I don’t know if it’s a confidence thing, or what, but the time before the race is really hard for me. Once the gun goes off, I’m racing and there’s no more nerves, just my heart in my throat and give’r till it’s over.

The Master C is a heated competition, on three seperate occasions I was in an elbow lock with another racer. At the gun, about 30 yards into the race a guy crossed my wheel and almost took me down. I saw it and made a quick adjustment and stayed upright. Before we got to the 1st turn a racer almost put me into the trees, I said something and he backed off just a bit. Yo’ we haven’t even made the 1st turn bro, we’ve seven laps to go, it’s not worth stacking it up now. Another time I was at the back end of the course and a racer came up on my left, we were approaching a right hander and he surprised me, we locked elbows neither willing to give. He said something to me, startling me more than anything and I was just trying to keep from going down. On the penultimate lap, I was drafting a rider just off his right side when he flatted, I yelled on your right and almost went into the bushes as he was rolling on his rim while drifting right into me. It was a tough day out there today, I gave, but I think I could have went a little harder. I sure could have used a better start. I just didn’t have the attack the start mentality today. I’m not going to beat myself up over it as you can’t have your best race every race. The 1st race I had it both physically and mentally but suffered a mechanical at the end. The second race I had it mentally, but not physically. Today I had it physically, but not mentally. Getting the two together without a mechanical will get me some results.

I made my attacks on two parts of the course, on the long gravel straight and coming out of the corn field. The single speed paid dividends today as I dropped the gears on the gravel and spun like I had no gears and no choice. I went buy 5 riders on the second lap on that gravel section alone.

I approached the start finish area and got my old arsk out of the saddle and hammered each lap, building momentum for the approching blueberry field and then the gravel straight.

As always racing is an exercise in mental toughness, it’s much easier to mail it in rather than to kill yourself. My goal is always to finish on the lead lap, I’ve done that so fat this year. Most of the race was a blur, hammer on the gravel and towards the start finish area and try to hang on for dear life the rest of the time. This last pic shows the pain cave, I’m sufferin’ folks.

I finished in 17th, I feel much better tonight physically than I did this time last week and I’ve gained some valuable confidence. I belong in the front half of the race, and with some luck the top 25% of the field. I just need to learn to not stress and relax a little more, and I think with more confidence I will. As we approach the Crusades the competion will get stiffer, and the size of the field will double. I best be ready, both physically, and mentally. There will be no room for error, hesitation, or laspes of concentration. It will take my best race to pull a top 20 out of a Crusade race. That, would make my season folks.

Cheers!