Monday, November 24, 2014
Splittie - First turns - Tumalo
rallied to get out and get a few turns in...decent coverage, great snow...good to be out...
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Cross Crusades Halloween Cross
After being stuck at the back of the pack for the start on Saturday, I was anxious to get a better starting position on Sunday thinking they would just reverse the order on Sunday. My group was the 2nd to last to go but somehow we got placed in third position for the start on Sunday. So much for my theory of reversing position! It meant it would be a mid-pack start after all the call ups were done. It was still a much better position than the prior day so thumbs up!
The vast majority of riders were in costume and it was pretty cool to see the creativity of the field. Some people wore minimal costumes in order to be able to throw down on the bike. My costume of choice...Elvis!
Elvis was in da' house...or more accurately in the field. I can only hope that people did not see me as 'fat Elvis' - doh!
The race went OK. The course was awesome but there was the usual bottlenecking during the first lap until the pack had a chance to thin out. There were a couple of minor changes to the course on Saturday with the most interesting one being an alternate route on one of the tight corners where you could dismount and take a slight short cut over a couch....yes, a couch! The couch was set up on an uphill so it was difficult to get over as it was big and bulky, and soft. The first few laps over it were OK, but as the legs got tired, it was more difficult to be aggressive while trying to wrestle the couch.
The weather was awesome, the course was great, and the riding was more fun than the prior day mostly because I was in a part of the pack that had spread out a little and was able to push it a little harder.
I am still befuddled by the Cross Crusades starting order and results but considering I was not where close to getting a result, it is all good! I look forward to more befuddlement next year!
The vast majority of riders were in costume and it was pretty cool to see the creativity of the field. Some people wore minimal costumes in order to be able to throw down on the bike. My costume of choice...Elvis!
Elvis was in da' house...or more accurately in the field. I can only hope that people did not see me as 'fat Elvis' - doh!
The race went OK. The course was awesome but there was the usual bottlenecking during the first lap until the pack had a chance to thin out. There were a couple of minor changes to the course on Saturday with the most interesting one being an alternate route on one of the tight corners where you could dismount and take a slight short cut over a couch....yes, a couch! The couch was set up on an uphill so it was difficult to get over as it was big and bulky, and soft. The first few laps over it were OK, but as the legs got tired, it was more difficult to be aggressive while trying to wrestle the couch.
The weather was awesome, the course was great, and the riding was more fun than the prior day mostly because I was in a part of the pack that had spread out a little and was able to push it a little harder.
I am still befuddled by the Cross Crusades starting order and results but considering I was not where close to getting a result, it is all good! I look forward to more befuddlement next year!
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Cross Crusades Deschutes Saturday
The CrossCrusades rolled into town this past weekend and it got many of the usual suspects out to ride the cyclocross races on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was the more 'serious' race day since Sunday is known as Halloween Cross where everyone is encourage to wear a costume or you will suffer the consequences of heckling and harassment if you choose not to.
For some reason, the Cross Crusades and I have not seen eye to eye. My luck has been poor in starting position and it seems like I spend the whole race trying to catch up to everyone who started in front of me. This year was no different. I was in the 2nd to last group on Saturday (starting position is based on a random order of your last digit on your #). The last group gets a coupon for a free 6 pack of beer...the 2nd to last group gets a crappy start position and....no beer...weahhhh
As usual, the course did not disappoint. It was relatively fast, without a ton of obstacles or sandy pits to have to hike through. There were a few bottlenecks. Everything was rideable but unfortunately the bottlenecks forced you off your bike as people were not riding through some of the more technical sections...which meant if they were not riding, you were hosed. Such is the benefit of starting at the tail end of the race where you are at the mercy of those who got better starting spots. C'est la vie. It was still a great course and a good day. I was able to pass a few people but clearly was not able to make up the ground lost before the race even started thanks to the starting position.
I figured the crappy starting order should bode well for next day as theoretically, if they reversed the order for Sunday, I would be in the 2nd group towards the front.
The race itself was good. I never felt like I could really open up though as there were tons of people and it made it challenging to pass. I need to learn how to get more aggressive on some of the passing lanes but it is all part of the management of the race as there is obviously a ton for me to learn!
Some pix thanks to Kurt!
For some reason, the Cross Crusades and I have not seen eye to eye. My luck has been poor in starting position and it seems like I spend the whole race trying to catch up to everyone who started in front of me. This year was no different. I was in the 2nd to last group on Saturday (starting position is based on a random order of your last digit on your #). The last group gets a coupon for a free 6 pack of beer...the 2nd to last group gets a crappy start position and....no beer...weahhhh
As usual, the course did not disappoint. It was relatively fast, without a ton of obstacles or sandy pits to have to hike through. There were a few bottlenecks. Everything was rideable but unfortunately the bottlenecks forced you off your bike as people were not riding through some of the more technical sections...which meant if they were not riding, you were hosed. Such is the benefit of starting at the tail end of the race where you are at the mercy of those who got better starting spots. C'est la vie. It was still a great course and a good day. I was able to pass a few people but clearly was not able to make up the ground lost before the race even started thanks to the starting position.
I figured the crappy starting order should bode well for next day as theoretically, if they reversed the order for Sunday, I would be in the 2nd group towards the front.
The race itself was good. I never felt like I could really open up though as there were tons of people and it made it challenging to pass. I need to learn how to get more aggressive on some of the passing lanes but it is all part of the management of the race as there is obviously a ton for me to learn!
Some pix thanks to Kurt!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)