Wheeling CX 2024

Welcome to Wheeling.  The annual "freeze your butt off or get really muddy or both race".

Heritage Park is the regular venue for the Wheeling race and this year we avoided both the deep freeze and the mud.  It was in the high 40's for the start of the 55+ race which last week I raced with nothing but a jersey and bibs.  For this race I added a windproof baselayer as the wind was a bit sharp.  In fact, I bought this baselayer specifically because of this race.

TL:DR 55+ finished 10th/39; SingleSpeed finished 24th/41

The course here is more or less the same each year but to jazz it up a little they created a couple A-B lines.  The A line is usually shorter but more challenging and the B line is longer but easier.

In my 2 pre-ride laps I tried them all out and settled on the A line for both.

The first A-B section had 2 off camber lines.  The A line had a couple railroad ties most people ran but had a direct exit.  The B line kept your speed up until the end where there were 2 turns where all speed was scrubbed and where some had to dismount.

On the first lap Chris Brown entered the section after me and took the B line.  Below (left) he dismounted and still has another turn while I've already exited the feature.

The second A-B feature was a no-brainer.  The A line was much shorter and had a little ramp with a drop at the top of a rise.  The B line was simple but long.  You could get air on the ramp if you dared but I would just push the bars down as I went over to keep it smooth.

                       (This looks flat but is probably a 2-3 meter drop to the bottom of the hill)

Pre-Race staging has me in the front row but a Day Of registration by the eventual winner pushed me back into row 2.  I still need to improve my immediate starts but after 10 seconds I was moving up and slotted into a good top 10 position before the tight turns.  George and Bob along with Mark also were racing with me.  And Tommy Will was in the 45+ until the sole of his shoe fell off (ask him for the pic).  Bob's son John raced in the 35+ race and actually won the cat 4/5 subgroup (12th overall).

The stake monster caught out someone in front of me on the first set of corners and I moved up a place but a minute later I gave up 3 spots by taking an uphill 180 waaaaay too wide.  My excellent cornering skills I've developed this season all left me at Wheeling (along with too much braking which isn't good).  That being said as we left the south section (farther from the start/finish) of the course the 55+ group caught up to a good chunk of the back end of the 35+ group.  Unfortunately, it was right as we got to a quadruple off camber u-turn section where it got all backed up.  And those that were able to start the section before some of the 35+ guys had a big advantage at the exit.  Catching them at only 6.5 minutes into the race was far too early.

15-20 guys all jammed together

Once we hit the North section the barriers were the next obstacle.  Everyone I saw ran them although my courageous inside voice tells me I could have hopped them.  The rest of the first lap and beginning of the second lap was status quo except for making sure I got by the 35+ dregs.

Chris Fabri sighting (#10) and he drifts backwards during his "warmup" 35+ race.

I was sandwiched by a couple of PSIMET guys, both of whom I use as barometers for my own racing.  Then, I slipped in a turn and unclipped which allowed Chris Brown to get by me.  I never stopped rolling but since it was up a small rise I lost momentum.  I kept with the low pressure I used the week before (22 psi front, 23 rear) but I think the rear should have been a little lower (I changed to 22 for the SingleSpeed race).

Even though the 2nd lap was my fastest things began to stretch out.  And on a paved path on the 3rd lap (which should be a strength of mine) I was passed by a couple more guys.  One of them over cooked a turn and went down in front of me and slowed me down enough for Fabri to get past (Grrr).

My 3rd lap was pretty slow and my 4th lap was only a little better.  Midway thru the 4th lap Steve Feehrey moved from a few seconds behind me to right on my wheel.  Attached to me to the point where he didn't show on the GoPro even in the u-turns.

The last you'll see of Steve

The only people in front of me the rest of the race were 35+ racers or lapped 55+ racers so there was no one to chase.  Now, with Steve right behind me, my focus turned to staying in front of him and distancing him if possible.  With my heart rate pegged (I averaged 166 bpm) I had a hard time thinking about the course and where I could make a difference.  If you remember last week I knew I could create a gap on the uphills in the woods.  But there wasn't anywhere on this course where I thought I could make a difference - at least my brain couldn't soak up enough oxygen to figure it out.  My best play would be to jump the barriers but I wasn't willing to risk that on the last lap.

Just before the penultimate time across the Start/Finish I bumped into Chris again...

...He is smart enough to get out of the way and also to not disrupt Steve.  In the back of my head of course I wished he'd cut him off and create a gap but that's not how we roll.

Also, in my befuddled brain, I had to try and figure out where Steve would try to pass me and be ready for it.  Again, I couldn't do it.  So I just kept pushing.  Anytime there was a corner I tried to push hard out of it to create a gap he would have to use effort to close.  But during the corners or places where I felt he couldn't get past I let off the gas a little.  I realized I wasn't going to shake him and I needed to preserve at least a little energy for the end.  For the last lap and a half we played this game and either I was cutting the corners so well he couldn't get by or he was as cooked as I was.

Finally, we were back into the North section and into the barriers.  He is really fast running the barriers so I was a bit worried (He cruised past me at Campton).  This may have contributed to a near fall as I dismounted.  In the video right before the barriers you can hear a big oof as my left foot unclipped earlier than I wanted and my foot slid off and landed on the ground.  Luckily, I saved it and kept going.  

Steve finally tried to make his move a couple turns after the barriers.  Below you can see I am set up on the outside of a left turn.  I could see under my left arm that he was trying to cut under me so I knew I had to make it sharp.

I didn't shove him into the stake but he definitely had to slow down which gave me an extra gap.  You can hear me huff and puff a little more right after the corner.

There was still a minute left in the race and a handful of turns so I had to keep pushing.  The finish straight is really short but there is a long winding curve before it.  I made sure to cut all the corners tight and got into the drops.  

I took off the power meter last week to save weight but I'm sure I was pushing a bajillion watts as I sprinted it out and stayed ahead of Steve for 10th place.  The last 2 minutes of the race I averaged 175 bpm.  The race withing the race is what's great about cross.

I was also 3rd in the Cat 4/5 sub group.

Photo by George

Quickly, for the SingleSpeed I chose a larger gear than I though prudent for the uphill turns so that I could pedal harder everywhere else.  The first 2 laps I was slowly tracking people down (except for the part where I lost concentration and ran right into a stake).

Boy meets Stake

Turns out my brain was pretty gone fore the second race and everything got sloppy.  This is the only point in the 4 laps that I really messed up (and I passed the 2 guys who got by me here) but I noticed serious zoning out moments.

The last 2 laps I was pretty much on my own.  No one to chase (45 seconds in front of me) and no one chasing me (a minute and a half behind).  So I just cruised the rest of the way.  I still averaged a 163 bpm with 164 bpm in the second half of the race.  

Bob stuck around and took a few pics and there was even a cameo by Paul Connelly with the family to watch.

Photo Big Ring Bob

Photo Big Ring Bob

Next week is at the Quarry at the Forge in Lemont.  Stop by and check it out.

Videos:

55+ First Lap: https://youtu.be/eYIkvceZ0YQ?si=6zoB2bUACiDx5OJX

55+ Full Race: https://youtu.be/jOcM9V9bp64?si=LgosLw0HIZUcVAZ6

Single Speed First Lap: https://youtu.be/9nE_QB2NF-I?si=vyWeAdAaOWQe3TVk

Groundhog CX 2024

This was a double weekend up in Woodstock, IL (Where the town square scenes of the movie Groundhog Day were filmed).  Both days were part of the overall CCC series and of course another chance at just having fun.  This year they added a beer garden and the food truck they brought in again was really good (Perk and Pickle).

It is quite the drive up to Woodstock and there is the usual drop off in turnout, but there were still over 350 race entries for each day.

Groundhog CX holds the label as the CCC race with the most climbing.  No mountains of course but real punchiness and a woods section that takes some power to get up at race speed.  It isn't enough to make you change your gearing like for the Mineral Point trip but the effort is different.  Especially for those doing the single speed race - any gear you pick won't be optimal for half the course.

I smiled as I wrote the above because last week I DID change up my gearing; just not because of the course.  I decided to shed some weight by taking off the 2x setup and going 1x.  After all was said and done the bike was almost a pound lighter.  I have yet to use the big ring in a race (and didn't plan to).  I shunned the power meter too as it isn't helpful at all during the race and only marginally at best after (Don't tell that to Fabri).  If I had skipped the chain keeper too it might have been the full pound.  I opted for a 40 tooth chainring and went from an 11-36 in back to an 11-33.  I'll revert back once CX season is over and it's time for gravel.

We had good representation at Groundhog:  Me, George, and Bob in Tower blue.  Plus Mark Misicko, Chris Fabri, and Nick Diedrich as our tangential team.

On Saturday I raced the 55+ and on Sunday I did the 55+ and the Single Speed.  I had hoped to do Single Speed on Saturday too but my legs weren't very good during the 55+ so I bagged it.

TLDR:  Sat: 55+ 13/25; Sun: 55+ 8/30, SS 22/33

Saturday was dry and 43 degrees.  Nice enough to shed the arm and leg warmers but kept the base layer.  George and I did practice on Thursday and my legs felt horrible but the Friday openers had the legs coming around.  I was hoping to keep the good legs but they didn't fully come around.

I want to spend more time on the Sunday racing so I'll give a briefer recap of Saturday.  I had a relative good start but gave up positions on the first lap with a slide out in a corner.  After catching back up to a group of 5 someone in front of me went down in a corner on the second lap and then gaps got created.  I spent the rest of the race mostly by myself.  I finished 13th out of 25 with most of the people in front of me who usually do and the same for the people behind me.

Photo: @esharhaddon

Sat 55+ First Lap: https://youtu.be/n-bdYvQXqog?si=GdN_4fUhqxAER37k

             Full Race: https://youtu.be/2IRsYhPHSlg?si=-QIHn2HCJUySFa5s

Saturday night brought some rain and questions on the course conditions.  It was also 10 degrees warmer so I didn't even wear the base layer this time.  The course was in reverse Sunday so the lines burned in from Saturday may not be the exact lines we wanted on Sunday.  Pre ride showed that the course held up pretty well but still required a lowering of the tire pressure.  My gauge is acting up so I was going by feel (squish).  I probably ended up lowering the pressure 3-4 times by the time the 55+ race started.  Right at the start line I compared my tires to Martin Tepoele's (Wolfpack) and dropped it again.  I think I tend to run too high a pressure and I might have actually gotten to where I normally should be.  I only hit the rim once which is usually a good sign.

I had a second row start again and managed to be 7th at the hole shot.  The catch phrase in CX is Green is Good, Green is Grip.  So my plan was to take the corners wider to avoid the muddier lines and stay on the grass and keep my speed up.  The legs were feeling better but I wanted to stay within myself and not blow up.  So by the time we hit the woods the lead group had a gap on me.  

Photo: @esharhaddon

I know who has been finishing ahead of me and those are my targets.  Jason White is one of them and he passed me in the woods.  I kept near him throughout the first lap but he kept easing away from me.  Chris Brown is another.  He passed me on an uphill corner near the end of the first lap (7:44) .  He and I would then have a race-long battle.  Chris doesn't usually have fast starts but is really consistent with his lap times and doesn't have that 3rd or 4th lap fade that I am known for.  He also is about 70 points better than me on Cross Results.  Going into lap 2 I made an effort to keep his wheel.  Just sticking there all race would be an accomplishment for me.  I actually said to myself "I'm on Chris Brown's wheel"!

I have more straight line speed than he does and if you can pass someone in CX you should so I found an opportunity and did it (9:30).  But Chris is a real racer and he knew it was important to get into the woods first where it is harder to pass so he made another move (10:18).  This actually benefited me later in the race because I learned going up the hill that I was climbing faster than him (let that sink in people).

When racers are in front of you, you need to learn from what they are doing good or bad.  I also learned from him to go wide in the last corner before the finish line.  I had been cutting it sharper but then needing to brake and was losing speed.

At 12:34 I passed him again on a straightaway.  At 13:09 you can see a 35+ racer go down taking a tight line in a corner.  My wider grassier line was good.  I wasn't too far back of Jason White here but it didn't get any closer.

Chris passed me back on the same corner he did on the first lap (15:21).  I really needed to cut that uphill corner better.  For the first half of lap 3 I just sat on his wheel.  After the woods we hit a paved bike path and I pushed past him (20:00).   I was able to close the small gap in the woods and that gave me confidence.  In the following u-turns you can't see Chris in the video because he is right on my wheel.  We kept passing the back end of the 35+ field and when I was coming up to them I was hoping they wouldn't slow me down.  Then after passing them I was hoping they would slow Chris down.  LOL

Chris had had enough of my wheel at the beginning of lap 4 and passed again (24:16).  But guess what, we hit the outbound straightaway and I passed at 25:10.  As we entered the woods I watched all my corners.  I went wide where I thought he might pass and was tight on others.  

At 28:25 you get a glimpse of Chris Fabri as he eases his way through the 35+ as his warmup for the 45+ which is next.

Then comes the real drama of the race.  At 30:50 I hit too much brake and the back wheel slides out and I have to unclip.  I am up quickly but Chris keeps his speed and gets past me even making a comment as he passes (very cordial).  But he overcooks a turn 2 corners later and runs into the tape.  I make the pass and that turns our to be the final pass of the race.  By the time we hit the finish line to begin the last lap I only had 1 second on him.  But over the course of the last lap I put 8 seconds into him.  My last lap was the fastest of all 5 laps.  I didn't look back and just kept pushing.  I gained my time in the straightaways and in the woods.  I kept smart in the turns.

I finished 8th out of 30 which is by far my best finish.  My first top ten!  And being able to hang with Chris and even beat him was huge for me.  There were a couple other guys behind me who are really good too.

Photo: @esharhaddon

Sun 55+ First Lap: https://youtu.be/A_H-fd82W40?si=pYYA_iP3qgW69axs

              Full Race: https://youtu.be/7YIdUumhevM?si=EBfaq4RdBbq0-I6C

The Single Speed race was a matter of gearing.  I picked the 24 tooth cog which was horrible for the start and not good for the straights but really good for the uphills.  Might have been able to go with the 21.  I finished 22nd out of 33 but still had good legs and am happy with my finish.

    Single Speed First Lap: https://youtu.be/kC3Z1uR_cyM?si=ikXERJAn_VClmPs0

Both races garnered me my best Cross Results points of the season (the same for each race which is a weird coincidence).  The 55+ race also had me on the 2nd step of the podium for the Cat 4/5's.  Bob and George were also on their respective 65+ podiums.  It was a good day for Tower Blue!

Campton CX 2024

Campton was a data free day... but it wasn't planned that way.

Forgot to pack the GoPro so there is no video.

And during pre-ride I attempted to jump the barriers.  When I didn't quite make the second barrier my Garmin mount snapped as I didn't land rubber side down.  The new kit doesn't have a zip pocket so I didn't want to risk the Garmin popping out of a back pocket.

(My Garmin mount finds the misspelling ironic)

I was actually proud that I tried to hop the barriers.  Too many times I have chickened out even in practice.  These were probably 2x6 boards so not too tall.  My ego wants to think they were 2x8's but I'm trying to be honest with myself.  I made the first jump fine and the front wheel made the second jump but the back wheel didn't and down I went.  But, it was pre-ride and since the bike was fine all was good.  I'm used to running the barriers.

(Chris on the left, then Steve, Jason, and Mark)

Campton is the annual Halloween race and while I didn't dress up others do.  The guy with the full pumpkin head worried me a bit because there was no way he could see anything.

I did the 55+ race and the single speed race.  George did just the 55+ race as he wasn't feeling tip top and Tommy Will came out for the 45+ race.  Bob was in Michigan for Ice Man.  Mark Misicko raced with me and Chris Fabri did the 45+.

TLDR:  55+: 12/33, SS: 22/39

Tire Pressure: 22/25

The really good news was that it didn't rain.  At least not for our early races.  All week we were planning for it and thankfully we avoided it.  It was a bit windy which we could deal with but add rain to that and.... I don't like to think about it.

In the 55+ I started 2nd row again and again didn't get a good start.  I tried to clip into the pedal but didn't get in right away.  That said I wasn't in bad position it just wasn't good.  The course was reversed this year and we entered the woods right away which is concerning because the last time I did this direction the group was much larger and I was literally standing in a group waiting to get into the single track.  Being a smaller group and being near the front it didn't get congested and I made it into the woods ok.  There is a slight rise throughout the section and there are railroad ties every so often to help with erosion.  The first handful you need to pull up the front wheel and also the back wheel to get over.  The last handful it is just the front wheel and the back wheel can roll over them.  But, either section slows you down a bit and takes effort.  There is always mud in the middle of the woods but it was pretty good this year and not a game changer.

On the first lap I found myself behind Chris Brown.  That's a good place to be as he regularly gets top tens even though he is 65+.  But he was leaving a gap in front of him and I didn't want to get too far behind the others.  So I passed him and actually put 4 seconds into him after 1 lap.  I was excited.  I still didn't think I was placed very well so kept pushing.

The grip on the course was really good even in the up/down section by the baseball field.  There was a left hand turn transition from grass to gravel that gave me trouble in the single speed race but I'll get to that.  In this race it was tricky but didn't effect anything.  

There were 2 sets of barriers on course.  The first were just 2x4's (best guess) and I had no trouble hopping those.  Right after those there is a hill and then a slow drag which took it out of you.  That all leads into a second woods section which is short but has a couple whoops and a bunch of roots (which they spray painted for safety I assume - although it gave it a cool Halloween glow).  Right after that section came the 2nd set of barriers and then a slight downhill gravel path to the finish line.

I was strong on the first 2 laps and now I was now 6 seconds ahead of Chris.  I didn't know it but I was in 8th or 9th place now.  Halfway thru the 3rd lap I made it thru the up/down section I dread in 8th and about to turn onto a power straight leading to the first set of barriers.  In my head I said to myself (I actually thought this) it was time to put down some power.  I wasn't quite off the mild off camber yet and my rear wheel slipped out and I went down.  2 people passed me but I was able to get up fairly quickly.

The timing on my laps 3 and 4 went back to my normal this week where I have a lull.  I still was in the pack of 5 but chasing and losing places.  I took back places on the straights where I can power past.  One in particular I passed Chris but then made the mistake of going wide into a 180 turn and Chris got me right back and passed underneath me.

(Photo credits: Mary Lillie Imaging)

Most people were running the 2nd barriers but one who wasn't was Rob Capps.  He was jumping and I knew that was a problem for me.  Even Steve Feehrey, while running, was much quicker than me.  

Going into the last lap the 5 of us were spread out by only 10 seconds.  Me being the 4th in the group.  Places were being exchanged and lap times were dropping quickly.  I jumped the short barriers and then got out of the saddle on the uphill and sprinted.  I had Rob behind me with a gap but wasn't able to catch the other guys.

I'm not sure if it was before the race or during but the thought crossed my brain that if the end was tight maybe I'd try and hop the barriers crash be damned to save time.  But now that I had put in my effort I had enough room so Rob couldn't pass me at the barriers... or so I thought.  I ran, I jumped, I remounted, and he passed me like I was standing still.  Ugh!

Like I said at the beginning I didn't think I was placed very well so after getting bested by all 4 in my group I was a little unhappy.  But, finishing 12th, my best result of the season, I have to be excited.  It was a heckuva battle and I'm getting better (maybe?!).  

Lap times

7:16 (usually the first lap is longer but because of the staging/course design it was a bit shorter)

7:35 

7:47 (crash lap)

7:42  (Tired lap)

7:33 (Last lap should always be your fastest)

Single Speed

I sat in the car for the hour in between races trying to get warm.  Getting out of the car was not fun but at least the temps had risen from 50 to 57 for the second race.  As you heat up quickly in cross I went without arm or legwarmers for both races.  I missed my 3rd row callup trying to ride around the park and get warm and ended up in the 4th row.

I had a better start here but because of the hills I picked the 19 cog in back so didn't have any real punch on the flats.  There were 39 in this race so I needed to pick off people as best I could.  My times were a bit slower than the first race but my times were more consistent.  There were also more people who weren't jumping the first barriers and I was able to gain time there.  I was geared perfectly for the uphills and that's where I tried to make up time (Pause for laughter).

My one issue was that transition from grass to gravel where I over cooked the turn a bit and ended up in the tape.  A combination of loose gravel and fuzzy brain.  I had to stop and pull the bike out of the tape and was passed by 1 or 2 people.  By the end of the race I had passed them back and kept even power throughout the race. The other SS race I finished 25th/39 so 22nd/39 was an improvement.  While doing well is always a goal the SS race is more about just getting race time on course to help dial in the skills.

Lap Times

7:48 (More traffic from more riders ahead of me made this a slower lap)

7:41 

7:58 (hoping this is the tape lap)

7:45 

7:51

Next weekend is a double race weekend.  Both in Woodstock for Groundhog Cross.