Wisconsin State Championships CX

 Double Feature(s)

With the CCC season over too early one must sometimes cross rival's borders in search of that racing fix.

Saturday brought us to Waterloo, Wisconsin, home of Trek bicycle company and this year's state cyclocross championships.

The literal backyard of Trek is a permanent cyclocross course.  In October it hosted the 1st World Cup of the season with all but a few of the European and American pros.  

With a little less palmares than the pros and more prep needed for Nationals in Wheaton in a couple weeks Fran, George, and myself made the trek (see what I did there?) up north for Saturday's racing.  

As mentioned in my Kringle Kross entry the WICX series does things a little different than the CCC.  That includes separating the old farts by category and also running some of the races shorter.  Our race is normally 40 minutes which really is enough for one day when done all at once.  But, at only 30 minutes and a much longer drive, to make it worth it we decided to double up.  

The first of the double feature was the 50+ cat 4/5 race at 9am.  Then, after an hour of rest we got some more popcorn for the elite 4/5 race at 10:30. (Actually, instead of popcorn I used the advice of Peter on nutrition.  One caffeine gel immediately after the first race and a regular gel 15 minute before the second).

BikeReg has a cool feature where it "predicts" the results based purely on accrued points.  The first race had me at 9th which means a second row start and a good shot to stay out of the chaos behind.  The second race had me at 33rd out of 70 something (This race included all the young guns).

Perhaps the coolest part of the day was that I was lining up for the first time with Fran and George.  Our categories don't usually line up and I roll off the start line an hour after them.  So, directly on my right was Fran with George close by.  Fist bumps were passed around acknowledging the moment.

It was cold out (37ish) but it was dry which is waaay more important.  In fact the course was bone dry.  Had it been wet this course would have been much slower and 10x harder.  The course is built on a hill and there are plenty of elevation changes.  Off camber wet turns are what destroy derailleur hangers as well as hopes and dreams.

Being dry this was a good course for me.  Lots of pedaling sections and turns that you could take with some speed without fear (my mortal enemy on the cross course).  

I had a good/not great start and gained a couple spots quickly.  This course started with a long parking lot section before hitting the grass which also went straight for a bit.  I made sure my starting gear was 1-2 gears harder than if we had started on grass because I knew we'd have more speed and while it took me 2 tries to clip in I was right there.

A couple races ago I switched to my mud tires because I was sliding around way too much.  I switched back due to the dryness but also because there is a rock step on this course.  My intermediate tires also have Cush Core (foam insert) inside for added protection and thinking of trying to ride that wall like the pros I was more comfortable with the switch.

Above is the feature I mentioned.  To give it some reference I left in the friendly spectator.  It is probably 1.5-2 feet tall.  This course has a ton of cool features that make it both fun and challenging.  My hope was to ride up the right side using a slight crack between rocks to roll up like the pros.  But the line we had leading up to it was different and made you go straight to it and not on an angle like I expected.

Even with my Cush Core I didn't have the confidence (see above mention of fear) to try it.  People did ride it.  In fact, George rode it every time.  I was able to run if fairly quickly but because you are still going up when you remount all momentum is lost and if you are riding you can pass people.

Right before the rock wall there were a couple logs on a slight uphill.  There was a ridable line on the left.  During pre-ride I was there with Fran doing it over and over to make sure we could do it in the race. (If you can't do it 10 times out of 10 in pre-ride don't try it in the race).

I'm happy to report that of my 8 trips ups these logs (4 each race) I either rode it clean or just put one foot down every time except the first lap of the second race where the guy before me got stuck.  Then I got stuck behind him and 3-4 people passed me by running it.  UGH!  Evidently his fancy skinsuit doesn't help with his skills.

>> Funny aside, a fan was fixing that stake on the left that someone had knocked down but was standing in my line while doing it.  I had to yell at him while pedaling (and out of breath) to MOVE! <<

If I continue to go backwards on the course there was a flyover.  The later races (higher categories) actually got to go over 2 flyovers and sometimes the World Cup has 3.  

The flyover itself wasn't particularly challenging but it is important to be in a low enough gear to power up it and then get back into a big enough gear for the speed you'll carry on the way down.  Really it is just fun.

Rearward with the time machine there is a hump right before the flyover.  On my pre-ride I carried some good speed towards the hump and almost did an endo.  The backside is almost straight down and if you have too much speed and don't get your butt hanging off the back of your saddle mountain bike style then you are in serious trouble.

On the first lap of the second race (with all the young yahoos) George went over the hump 3 abreast.  Bumping elbows - scary shit.

It is difficult to describe what an off camber is like.  This picture below has the camera vertical.  As you can see the grass I'm on is slanted left and the guy on the other side of the turn is at about 45 degrees going up.

This part was fun also but if it had been wet would have been treacherous.

>> Gratuitous cyclocross fun picture.  Where else do you see a ramp with a huge cheeseburger to jump over?  You'll see another picture of that cheeseburger below unfortunately.  <<

On the backside of the course you slalom through some woods and encounter a small rock wall.  In this case we were going down so it was just a matter of pulling up the front wheel and letting the back wheel roll over it.

The rocks were up to a foot high but if you have any experience at Palos they are fine.

The one incident I did have was on the last lap of the second race.  With no space on the left because if the cheeseburger jump some yahoo decided to pass on the right when there just wasn't enough space.  

The eagle eyed among you might notice the irony that he has the exact same bike as me.

I hit the ground and other than a cut on my right leg all appears to be ok.  And have no fear, thanks to the GoPro and some internet sleuthing I tracked his a$$ down and expressed my displeasure politely (After all, it is cyclocross and rubbing is racing).

Closing in on the finish line I had two different race experiences.  

The first race had the 50+ Cat 1/2/3's about 30 seconds in front of us so throughout the race we were catching the back half of that race.  As I finished the S curves and hit the final straight my weak cornering abilities didn't allow me to catch one of the 1/2/3's in the sprint but was able to throw my bike past a lapped rider at the line.  

The second race had me coming into the S curves leading a group of 4-5.  Nothing is more motivating than heavy breathing cat 4/5's in lycra on your tail.  This time I was able to carve the corners enough to hit the straight with enough of a gap that I didn't need to sprint - just keep pressure on the pedals.

Because cyclocross races are all over the course due to the differing abilities and sometimes multiple fields on course at the same time it is hard to know exactly where you finished (especially for a mid-packer like me).  Since I was "predicted" 9th I was really hoping to at worst keep that placement or at best move up 1 or 2.  Almost every race this year I've outdone my prediction.  Honestly, I felt like 7th or 8th was where I ended up.

The one great thing about the CCC is that we use One2Go timing and results are almost instant (plus lap times).  But in Wisc things are manual and much slower.  It was worth the wait in the first race as I pulled off a 6th place (out of 38).  Super exciting for me!  My highest placement ever.  I'm starting to like the 4/5's being scored separately LOL.  In the second race I was 37th out of 77 - not too bad for the second race of the day and losing 4 places due to the crash.  (We waited an hour for the results and they didn't appear so we took off).

Fran and George have their own stories to tell with 60+ podiums.  Those guys are studs.

Perhaps showing our age we didn't get any pictures of us as a group.  Maybe next week at Region Riot.

If you've gotten this far in the post I thank you for letting me ramble.  It was a fun day and very rewarding.  

Wheeling CX

 The Pre-Ride

Wheeling is usually later in the year when it is colder and is always slick.  So, when there was midweek rain and projected 30 degree temps it felt just like old times.

Come race day it was actually 37 and the course was nice and grassy >> Green is good, green is grip.  I got my normal 2 pre-ride laps in and the course was good.  I wouldn't say I felt confident because this course always has my number.  But the amount of grass (as opposed to mud covered grass or just plain mud) was promising.  

In the normal CCC series of races my race (45+) is the second race of the day.  So my pre-ride is always on the pristine course before Bob and company rip it up.  What the course is going to look like after 50-100 guys dig their nobbys in with anger is anyone's guess.

The pre-ride is your real chance to test out the features and redo features that could cause you trouble.  You want to see how fast you can take the off camber turns without falling or whether you can ride an uphill.  Wheeling always has a short downhill U turn that is tricky to get back up.  Bob and I both did it a couple times to make sure which line we could take to ride both up and down which we did.

Unfortunately, the course didn't hold up as well as I wanted it to after the first race.  It wasn't the complete mud bath that this course has been in the past but rain and sleet came down.  I try to get  pictures and video of the guys while they race but on this day I sat in my warm car and watched the rain pelt the windshield.  The radar gave me hope that it would stop by my race (which it did) but Bob and George and Mark weren't so lucky - George's fingers could barely brake.

The first lap or two of my race then become re-testing grounds.  What has changed and what is ridable?  The U turn?  The only person I saw riding it had a mountain bike (of course I'm riding in the middling group so it's very possible the leaders rode it).  There was no longer grass on the uphill portion.

There is a long straight off camber of the west side of the course with a couple lines you can take.  The lower line is a bit more flat but it is muddy.  The upper line is more canted but a bit more grass.  I took the lower line the first lap but then followed another rider and stayed on the upper line after that.  The reason?  Slightly above the higher line there was grass >> Green is good, green is grip.  Even though it wasn't as flat as the lower line there was much better grip and I could put down a little more power and try to make up ground.  I actually clipped a post on one lap because the line was so close to the tape.

I did end up sliding out once because I chickened out in a corner and hit my brakes (I hear you cringe - DON'T HIT THE BRAKES).  I also had someone in front of me put a foot down in another corner and landed on a course stake but I don't count that as a true fall.  I probably shouldn't have been following so close but there were 4 or 5 of us bunched up and I was protecting my position.

Out of the 45 starters I finished 25th (the 4th Cat 4 to cross the line so not too bad).  Usually, they only pull riders once they are lapped by the leaders.  That didn't happen to me but they cut everyone after position 20 one lap early - I wasn't complaining mind you.  I didn't have the pleasure of sprinting at the line as I couldn't close on the guy in front of me.

Donnelly BOS tubeless mud tires were inflated to 26 front and 28 rear.  Heart rate averaged 166 with a max of 180.  The max seems like a weird spike compared to the rest of the graph unless it was when I fell.

All of the CCC races are done.  There is the Wisc state championships we are talking about going to this weekend at Trek HQ, plus Region Riot in Crown Point.  Then, all that's left is the National Championships in Wheaton.  So excited about Nats!

copyright Big Ring

Groundhog CX

They filmed the movie Groundhog Day in Woodstock, IL so that is where this race gets its name.

We had a smaller crew than usual with Bob (and sons) and Bryan (and son) up at Iceman this weekend.  Fran, George and I along with Mark in his Intent kit made the trek to Woodstock.  

Since there is no CCC (Chicago Cyclocross Cup) this year and the races are all on their own the PSIMET team decided to shake it up a little.  So, instead of the bulk 55+ and 45+ races that we do they created sub-categories of each.  There was a 55+ cat 1/2/3 race and then starting 30 seconds later the 55+ cat 4/5.  The same for me in the 45+.  As someone who finishes mid pack at best it was kind of exciting.  A chance to find a higher number... maybe even single digits (foreshadowing).  

The course this year was fast as it has been dry.  It has a number of technical features including off camber u-turns, barriers, and some climbing in the woods.  None of it was too complicated but stringing it all together made for a good course.

For some extra racing I went to Waukesha, WI on Saturday and did a couple races.  The Wisc CX series splits the categories regularly like we did on Sunday.  I started with the 50+ cat 4/5 and then did the open 4/5 an hour later.  I had a good finish in the first one (12/46) and an ok finish in the second one (34/75).  I wasn't sure how racing on Saturday was going to affect my legs on Sunday but it turned out pretty good.

Admittedly, on the second of 5 laps Sunday I was worried about having to keep going but the legs woke up.  Some of it was adrenaline I'm sure.  The pain may also have been numbed from the work on Saturday.  But what was really cool - and really the fun in cyclocross - is that I found myself in a group of guys.  We weren't leading the race but we were all challenging each other.  A guy from The Pony Shop was in front of me and he usually beats me.  I pushed to keep up.  My goal in the race the week before was to keep up with him but he sailed away from me.  This time I found some strength and passed him on the bike path right after the woods climbs.  2 laps to go and he passed me back.  On the bike path I found my way past him again, this time for good.  Seeing him 5-10 seconds back really put some wind in my sails.  

Next, I found myself with a guy on a mountain bike from the cat 1/2/3 group.  On the last lap he blew past me on the last woods climb using a match.  My CX bike had a little better rolling resistance than his MTB so by the end of the bike path and up the next grassy rise I caught back up to him.  We flowed along the rest of the course until the barriers.  In the straight right before the barriers I pushed it and moved in front of him.  As I hopped off and cleared both barriers he flew past me again.  It was like I was standing still.  There was one more U turn and then a downhill sprint to the finish.

Before we hit the straight I was already in the drops and clicking up the gears.  I have confidence in my sprint and that my bike would sprint better than his.  I hit a whopping 24.7 miles an hour (LOL) but I beat him.  Since he was in a different category we weren't really racing against each other but it was really fun.  (I lost a sprint in the second race Saturday but it was still a blast).

I ended up 9th out of 30.  My first top ten and I am excited.  I fully understand that if it was a normal race with the cat 1/2/3 guys I'd have finished around 30th but that feeling of your first single digit result still gets the blood flowing.

Fran got his second podium in a row for the 65+ group even though he was grumpy about his performance and George was on the wide angle podium in 4th (55+).  

Wheeling is next and with the rain expected Thursday and 30 degree temps it is promising to be slick as usual.  Until then...

First Lap video:  https://youtu.be/2tJB_7TL0Q0

Campton Hills CX

 This should be a short one as I didn't fall and didn't have any real power.

Campton Hills is the usual Halloween race.  Many people dress up on the sidelines and especially on the bike.  Most of the costumes are in the later races but even in the 45+ race there was a guy in a full bunny suit.  There was an appearance by the Allez Omi Opi fan as well.

It had rained a bunch during the week but the course turned out to not be too bad.  Us old farts go early in the morning so there is dew even if there isn't rain as the temps drop.  I put on mud tires considering last week fall fest and that seemed to help.  I also finally warrantied some really old Reynolds wheels and got a deal on some ATR 700's.  23mm internal width which should also be good for gravel tires (Rough Road anyone?).

The night before the race we went to a birthday party and while I went to bed later than I should have I think it was the patio party chill that zapped my legs.  I could feel it in warm up and especially at the start.

The start itself went well.  I picked a left side lane because there was a right bend initially and didn't want to get pinched.  I clipped in right away and made good progress but by the time we got to the first u-turn/pinch point I could tell the legs had no pop.

I held fairly steady and only people with lower numbers were passing me (lower meaning started ahead of me - I was 5th row).  2 guys crashed on the first barriers (which were low by barrier standards).  The only real technical part of the course was an off camber u-turn uphill.  I put a foot down 4 of the 5 laps not losing too much time and botched the other time completely.  

I said I was gonna keep this shorter so I'll just say I kept fairly steady the whole race and finished 33rd out of 53.  My best placement at this race in previous years was 40th (also my previous high water mark in general).  The bummer is that if I had the same legs as the Glenwood race I would have been probably a minute faster and moved up a few places.  This was a course for power.

Bryan C was also out there with me in the 45+.  Mark M., Fran, George and Bob did the 55+ right before us where Fran was on the 2nd step in the 65+.  I caught some of the last two laps and George and Bob had a nice battle going on.  

Nationals is the week of Dec 7th.  Hope to see some of you out there.

Race video:  https://youtu.be/z-p2XFz2Gpg