Marty's 2 Day CX Race Report

This past weekend was going to be a nice hellish battle with the conditions I thought. With all the torrential rain pouring down I was excited with the mud battle that would ensue on Saturday and Sunday. Much to my dismay, there was no mud on the course. Well nothing of note really. A few slick corners aren't enough to really help the handlers out there so I was a little disappointed. The course was still very hard with a steep runup and lots more elevation than we've seen this season. So with that in mind I set myself up to do the best I could with the roadie course. Well the best I could considering I had some bad GI issues the night before and the Wed prior I really hurt my ankle during cross practice. Me foot unclipped in the middle of a hard pedal stroke and I proceeded to gouge the skin off of the bone on the inside of my ankle with the crank arm. So much so that if it were the slightest bit deeper I probably would have been in the ER getting stitches. The crank arm then dug into my calf creating some really nice colors due to bruising. So given all that happened prior to this weekend, I was happy just to be riding my bike.

Saturday's race went off hot as I got a call-up in the front row and tried to do the best I could with that. I had been getting poor starts all year so far and this was a bit nicer. That was until we hit the first barriers a few hundred feet after the start and when remounting my pedal wouldn't clip in and I almost repeated how I hurt my ankle in practice. 2 or 3 guys shot by and I had to regain position. The race was steady and fast but around another turn the pedal popped out and a few snuck by again. I chased really hard and got through a few but I never really found the groove of this course. It was good but the runup was so tiring that it really gassed me for the rest of the lap and I had a hard time recovering to punch it hard again. So I was in 10th in no mans land but had a few just ahead that I couldn't close the gap to. I tried but it just wasn't happening. Then on the 2nd to last lap I see Dave Wilson closing from behind. Oh man I wasn't feeling that great and now I had to fend him off. So I put the pedals down for that lap and he closed a bit more. I only had one more lap to keep that gap. It was probably only 5 secs or so. I told myself that on the last climb I would put it ALL down and try to open the gap and keep 10th place. I buried myself and went HARD. It worked. I looked back just before the finish line to see my effort had paid off and I kept my 10th place. I had no idea that Freddy was just ahead and finished 11 seconds ahead of me.

10th was a great finish. I know that had I not had the problems I did before the race and the pedal issues during I could have done a little better but I was satisfied. Pulling off 10th place in that really strong group of 24 was not that shabby.

For Sunday's race I did some late night surgery on my pedal to make sure it would not happen again. It worked. I had a solid start and kept the pace high throughout the race. Since the race was run backwards and there was no runup this time I found the groove much better. I was constantly attacking and riding well. At some point I was in 11th and saw a few fading in the middle laps and put the power down to get away from them. Later on I sat in 9th and saw a train of 3 behind me and wanted to make sure they didn't get close. Plus Tommy and Andrew were just ahead so if they made a mistake I wanted to be right there. I put all I could down and I couldn't close the gap to those ahead enough. I was too patient earlier on or I should have been right with Tommy and Andrew at this point. I did in fact open the gap to those behind me though which kept me satisfied. Sunday's race was a 9th place of 24 again. A much better race for me overall as I found the groove but had the heavy legs from Saturday. Really I'm pretty satisfied with how things went this past weekend. Next up, 6 races in 6 weeks. Time to finish up strong and then the end is in sight!

Cooper River CX Report

Cooper River CX was a bit of a hike...about 1hr 45 mins but they made a great course out of a small piece of real estate. Fun, twisty, and DRY! Well dry was good for the day but I like the races a bit more muddy. It was a good race but still some frustrating parts. Call up...none. Got shafted and dumped in the back of the pack. Off the line I was probably 50th or so of 60 riders. I was in row 7 and not too happy about it. To top it off in the first corner someone blows through/gets wrapped in teh tape and it's on my side and I have to stop and get around the mess. Now I really was in the back of the bus. I can't think that there were many riders behind me if at all at this point. Great...now I'd have to fight all of the way through this mess. I did.

I kept it smooth and steady for the entire race. Lap by lap I picked off more and more riders and waited for the tight stuff to be smooth and attack coming out of it. The wide open sections were the worst. High hp was needed and it just hurt. I did well but not moving up as quickly as I would have liked. I was in 30th or so and I saw my teammates up ahead so my goal was to get to them. I worked and through the next few laps I got to Brian and Tommy was just ahead. Brian pulled me a bit and told me to go so I did trying to bridge up to Tommy. At this point though I got in a battle with a group of 4 guys and I spent a lot of my energy shaking these guys and less chasing Tommy.

I shed two of the riders and one stuck with me for the final two laps. I tried a couple hard lines and hard accelerations but he was right there. We hit the road and I waited for the sprint. It came hard on my left. I reacted but too late and when I did react all my legs wanted to do was cramp. I guess that was a good sign that I left it all out there. I finished in 24th place of 60 or so riders. The results say 46 riders were there but that's BS. There were WAAAAAY more racers out there. A decent result and a fun day.

Thanks to C. Perkins for the awesome shots!!!

Town Hall CX Report

Driving out to Eastern PA I wasn't sure what to expect for this race. I heard about some hill and knew that earlier in the week it monsooned so it could be quite nasty on the course. As I got there it was obvious the hill that they were talking about. Not super steep but long enough to be painful and switchbacked enough to keep you dizzy while attacking it.

The race went off and it did so without my legs. I put the first couple pedal strokes down and there wasn't much there. I was a little tentative since the last time I did a CX race I was on the pavement in the first 50 feet so maybe that was part of it. Anyway it starts right into the dreaded hill so I just stay steady and try to pick off racers when I could. The climbing was steady and the downhill was sketchy but I made up my time in the mud and the greasy corners. I was able to find lines that others couldn't work and ride past many lap after lap. I got into the flowing knowing this and about 3 laps in my legs started to come around.

By this point I was probably in 10th or 11th of 25 and saw a couple riders not too far in front of me. So I kept it steady and worked my strengths. Uphill was good, downhill was good, but through the mud I attacked and worked my edges and the lines that were hooking up. It worked. I picked off one rider each of the last couple of laps and somehow worked my way up through a few guys I've never beaten before. That made my ride feel really good. I was happy with how I did and really had a solid race.

I finished 8th of 25 and was happy to do that well given that I was just coming off of the Vermont 50 the week prior which really kicked my butt. I was extremely happy as well that both of my tires stayed on this week. No bike changes were necessary but my front tire was deflating on me. So that needs attention. Hopefully I can build on this and keep the momentum going into a great cross season.

Thanks to C. Perkins for the awesome shots!!!

VT50 Recap

Man this is a hard race. Over 9k of climbing in 50 miles and you feel every pedal stroke on this sucker. Good thing for lights on the first 30 mins. Man it's dark and the group is going REALLY hard. W/out lights would be tough. I sat in 7th place for the first hour or so and then a couple got through me and dangled in front of me for a LONG time. About 2.5 hours in 2 more got by as my legs were checking out for the day. I kept on it but just didn't have a ton of juice. There's a lot of short steep ups in this race that really give your legs a beating. I was happy to keep a steady pace and checkout the beautiful scenery. A few more got through in the last 10 miles or so but I just kept on putting the pedals down hard and driving forward. I tried to jump on their wheels and use them for motivation but no such luck. I was able to hold a decent pace just not as high as the others.

I crossed the line in 4:45 in 14th place overall and 6th place in my age group. I'm pretty satisfied for how flat my legs felt on the second half. Great race and SOOOOOO much climbing. It's basically one really hard set of hill repeats for the entire 50 miles. I can't believe some of the stuff I rode up but I rode it all. The 5 hour ride home was a little tough but it's good to be home.

Westwood Velo CX Report

This was an absolute shit show. The further I get away from this race the more comical it becomes and I can't believe how bad it was.

From the gun I line up second row behind Dag and know he sets a good pace so I should have a solid start. The horn blows and we all go out hot. For some reason Dag slips back and our wheels overlap and not in a good way. I have to put a foot down hard and someone smashes into me from the left. The result was me tubling on the ground only 50 feet into the race. Great.

I picked up my battered bike and fixed the hoods. Both were bent inward. After I got them straightened out I had to straighten my bars as they were knocked crooked and I couldn't race like that. Then once that was done I had to put my chain back on. Yes really. So with all of this I had a minute plus gap to cover right from the start. I refused to get frustrated and stayed composed and just rode.

Lap by lap I passed one, then another, then another. I was doing good but taking my time to get through the field. With 25+ riders it would take a bit and I'd have to plan my moves carefully. I rode steady and soon found myself 4 laps or so in sitting in 11th position. I was riding very well and I had some good motivation and my sights set on those other riders close ahead.

Well it wasn't to be. On lap 5 I came through one of the mud pits and caught something sharp as it sliced my tubular open and wouldn't seal. Later I found that it was a 3/8" slice that was too big to seal. So I rode the flat carefully to the pit and swapped bikes. I lost a position in the change and rode hard to get it back. So during the next lap I just get the position back and start charging hard to get the gap opened to go after those ahead. Well after 1/2 a lap and the gap opening I start to hear a noise with each revolution of the rear wheel. I tap my brakes behind me to fix the calipers as I figured I'd hit them and they were just rubbing the wheel...nope. The tire was actually coming off the rim. Around the next turn the tube blows out and unseats the tire and tube. Really? Are you serious???

Yup. I was now almost to the finish for the bell lap and I had no bike to ride that actually worked and I wasn't even near the pit anyway. A DNF never entered my mind. I did look around the course for a sec to see if the leader was near to sit up and let him pass so I could finish quicker but he was nowhere in sight. The choice was clear. I wrapped the tube and tire on my chest and ran the lap and a 1/4 to get to the finish line. It was rough and hard but I wouldn't give up. I actually rode a lot of the grass with no tire as it kinda worked but every time I got to the gravel or pavement I picked it up and ran. Yea it was that kind of day.

In the end I got to the finish with my bike on my shoulder and the applause of the C race that was starting after mine. It was hard and very unlucky but I wouldn't give up. One way or another I was going to finish this damn race. Like I said laughable. The official results said 24 of 24 but I think there was at least one that had a mechanical and DNF'd so either way it was a victory. How bad can a race go? It can go this badly! Hopefully all of my mechanicals for the season are done with.

Kirkland CX Report

I had to be in the Adirondacks for this weekend helping close down my family's summer house so why not use it as an excuse to find a cross race to do. Kirkland CX was the answer. I rolled into the town park and noticed some nice elevation change to start. A bit more than most other CX courses I've done. I thought that was great as I can usually power up those hills pretty nicely. I did a preride lap and warmed up well and switching from endurance to CX I had very little to expect but hopefully just a solid performance.

We took off from the line pretty hot and I quickly assumed the 6th position. I was close to 5th place and hung tight to plan my pass. Around the first lap I took it cautious and rode a solid pace. I hit the feared runup well and cruised through the sandpit so I thought it would be a good day. As I approached the line for lap 1 I attacked and passed 5th place and kept on the gas hoping it would stick. It did. I then focused on 4th place. Dangling just ahead for the entire race. One lap I would close the next lap the gap opened. Rinse and repeat. I just couldn't get the gas to get close enough to make a move and that's how it stayed for the whole race.

Looking back at results I rode very solidly as all laps were within 10 seconds of each other which I'm very happy about. So I cruised across the line not too far behind 4th - 34 seconds - and took the 5th spot of 11. I was very happy as it seemed to be a solid field and I put down a great effort. Hopefully it's a sign of a good CX season to come.

Shenandoah Mountain 100 Recap

Since I was accused of falling off of the face of the earth last night...I thought I should go ahead and update some of my race info. :-)

The SM100 was a great time and such a cool venue as usual. This was my 4th time doing the race and it's just such an enjoyable time that it keeps me coming back for more. As of late though I wish it were earlier in the season so I could really hit it hard as I feel burnt by the time this race comes around. Either way it was good for another attempt.

On my preride my legs felt flat so I knew it might be a bad day on race day. Well the horn goes off the next morning and I roll with the lead group until the first few hills and let them go. I'm not sure if it was the lack of warmup or the flat legs but I just didn't think it would pay to dig that hard at that moment so I letup and just rode a steady pace. That was probably a good strategy as it would keep me fresher for the miles to come.

Up the first climb and into the first singletrack in the top 30 or so all was going well until I hear the hissing of my back tire that just got sliced open on a greasy rock. Great. I spun it to get the stans to seal but no luck. I ripped it apart, put some duct tape on the hole from the inside and threw a tube in all while watching probably 100+ racers pass me by. That was the depressing part.

So after the tire was all aired up I jumped in the line of riders and took off...well not really. It was the conga line from hell. Everyone being slow and cautious and not knowing how to ride up a hill. Every time the terrain pitched up everyone got off and walked. Really??? So I got pissy and called out and rode up through what I could to try and gain some positions. It was a lot of hurry up and wait. There were just no good spots to pass that many people so I had to pick them off one at a time. Even on the downhills everyone was sitting in line and grabbing their brakes. Again...really?

Out to the next fire road - I jumped on the gas and rode pretty angrily. Knowing the leaders were MILES ahead was not a kind thought. All I wanted to do was catch and pass anyone in sight. I did pretty well and passed probably 50+ on this road section and headed into the next climb. Again only to sit in line and wait to pass or walk as I couldn't get through. Totally frustrating. On the next fireroad I got a bunch more and then just settled in as the crowds were dwindling down. I was getting closer to where I belonged but still at a huge disadvantage. I had to save some juice for what lie ahead since I was putting down a big effort to make up lost ground.

The next few hills went well but I just knew I was far behind the race. The hill after aid 3 usually kills me and I rode it pretty well. Still in traffic I kept on and rode the best I could. Then into the soul crusher I had all kinds of thoughts back to last year when I could barely pedal in granny gear. It was not going to happen this year. I put down a good pace and tried to make up some more spots on this climb which I did and topped it pretty well looking forward to the finish.

Then with a little bit of motivation, the weather sucked the life out of it. It had been raining a good part of the morning and now getting to the 16 meadows(or whatever it is) the trail just turned awful. It was just mudpuddles and sloppy trails as far as the eye could see. I was really trying to make up time and this was not going to help. It was miserable. At this point I gave up hope a little as it was just so hard with everything happening at once. Crappy legs - flat tire setback - and now the rain to make everything even worse. It was not going to be a PR or a great day overall but at least I'd get to the finish.

So after rolling through the slop for a long time I finally hit the last few uneventful sections and made my way back to the campground. As I was on one of the last hills I heard my garmin beep as the 9 hour mark hit. Then I just totally soft pedaled in frustration. I had the worst ride of my life last year and rode a 9:23 and now this year with some bad weather and some setbacks I'd be very close to that. It just wasn't worth pushing any harder. I was burntout. The motivation was gone and I was happy to have my mountain bike season over. At that point I just wanted to hang up the fat tires for good for 2012.

I rolled across the line at 9:13 yipee in 40th place. Disgusted and tired I was elated for it to be over. 40th really wasn't bad considering where I'd spent most of the day but I just knew that I had so much more in me and if luck went the right way the day would have been much better. That's why there's always next year I guess...