Showing posts with label CX. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CX. Show all posts
Friday, September 11, 2015
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
CX Crusades Bend
If you happen to be a cyclocross junkie, then this recent weekend in Bend might just have been nirvana for you. The Cross Crusades series stopped in Bend this weekend for 2 days of racing and big FUN. Saturday's events included a 'regular' cross race and the evening's races included the costumed Clydesdale's event which was hysterical!
Saturday night was just about people watching and letting the beer flow freely while watching the Clydesdale fiesta'd costumes roll through on the CX course. This was all followed up by the warehouse party in the Deschutes Brewery.
Sunday's events included a costume version of Saturday's race which was big fun. I decided to go as Officer Dangle from Reno 911 while the missus went as the Sock Monkey. Miss Sock Monkey managed to win her category for 'best costume' but paid the price for it while she rode as the wool costume created a little mini sauna as she rode.
details on the race(s) to follow...for the time being, here are some phone camera pix of the costumes in action:
Friday, October 26, 2012
Friday, October 5, 2012
CX Thrilla' Race #4
The Thrilla' cross series wrapped up the 4th and final week of racing last night and as per the usual fun and games, it did not disappoint. The course changed a little bit in a couple of spots but was mostly the same. The minor changes made for a couple of soft turns where you had to pick a good line and keep moving.
The temps had cooled off since the last race a week ago but the dust conditions were still mighty! As the race kicked off, so did the dust cloud during the first lap. Our group was the second group to start (staggered by about 30 seconds) so we got to inhale the moondust cloud that the first group kicked up. Once we got through the first lap, things started to thin out and people got spread out enough so that the dust cloud lightened.
This was my 4th race doing cyclocross so there is still a learning curve from the riding and racing perspective. I have never been much of a racer other than signing up for enduro events which are more about survival than 'racing'. That being said there are always moments of elevated heart rate during those, but not nearly like going full anaerobic right out of the gates like cross!
After the first lap, I tried to push hard and tried to keep the end in sight by riding somewhat conservatively to avoid any mishaps. As usual, my heart rate was in the red for most of the ride and my lungs were grasping for air once I crossed the finish line. Heart rate chart below - the race started at around the 30 min market where the HR jacks up to the 160's.
Once I finished I was coasting through the paved area and noticed that the missus was sitting in the grass on the side of the road. Her face was lit up like a red tomato from all the hard work (she too signed up for the funnegigans). She informed me that she flatted on her 2nd lap and had to bail! She was leading her category until that point so she was understandably bummed.
We stuck around and watched the big boys/gals race afterwords and it was fun to see how the folk with technique cruise through barriers and make it seem effortless.
All in all, it was a great experience. I was able to win the last 3 races in the series in the 40+ beginner category so it probably means stepping up to the B's in order get spanked by them. Webcyclery handed out Thrilla' hats to the overall series winners and I proudly wore my hat for 4 weeks of hoovering up moondust...shhh, just don't tell anyone I stole it off a jr. rider....just kidding...maybe....
The temps had cooled off since the last race a week ago but the dust conditions were still mighty! As the race kicked off, so did the dust cloud during the first lap. Our group was the second group to start (staggered by about 30 seconds) so we got to inhale the moondust cloud that the first group kicked up. Once we got through the first lap, things started to thin out and people got spread out enough so that the dust cloud lightened.
This was my 4th race doing cyclocross so there is still a learning curve from the riding and racing perspective. I have never been much of a racer other than signing up for enduro events which are more about survival than 'racing'. That being said there are always moments of elevated heart rate during those, but not nearly like going full anaerobic right out of the gates like cross!
After the first lap, I tried to push hard and tried to keep the end in sight by riding somewhat conservatively to avoid any mishaps. As usual, my heart rate was in the red for most of the ride and my lungs were grasping for air once I crossed the finish line. Heart rate chart below - the race started at around the 30 min market where the HR jacks up to the 160's.
Once I finished I was coasting through the paved area and noticed that the missus was sitting in the grass on the side of the road. Her face was lit up like a red tomato from all the hard work (she too signed up for the funnegigans). She informed me that she flatted on her 2nd lap and had to bail! She was leading her category until that point so she was understandably bummed.
We stuck around and watched the big boys/gals race afterwords and it was fun to see how the folk with technique cruise through barriers and make it seem effortless.
All in all, it was a great experience. I was able to win the last 3 races in the series in the 40+ beginner category so it probably means stepping up to the B's in order get spanked by them. Webcyclery handed out Thrilla' hats to the overall series winners and I proudly wore my hat for 4 weeks of hoovering up moondust...shhh, just don't tell anyone I stole it off a jr. rider....just kidding...maybe....
Friday, September 28, 2012
CX Thrilla' Race #3
Thursday evening rolled around quickly this week and it was a quick reminder of being 1 day closer to the weekend, but also of race #3 of the cyclocross Thrilla' series. I was hoping that since we had some precip last weekend, the course would be packed down a little better and there would be less moondust in the air to clog up the lungs.
As it turned out, the moondust was as bad as ever and the first lap was particularly heinous as the stampede of riders from the group ahead of us kicked up a serious moondust cloud. Midway into my first lap I could feel my mouth drying up like a prune. It was nasty...I tried to alternate breathing through my nose & mouth until the heart rate kicked up enough to force the gasping through the biggest hole to take air in....After that it was all over and the moondust inhaling began in earnest! I tried to salivate to create some moisture in the mouth but then gave up as that just made for a moondust mud flavor.
As we went through the first 1/2 lap, things started to clear up a wee bit (relatively speaking). It was another fun race of red-lining the heart rate for about 30 minutes and trying to hold on until the finish. The HR stayed in the 160's again throughout the race and also visited into the 170's for moments. Chart below shows the HR consistently in the 160's for the entire race (middle section of the graph).
The legs felt tired all week and the moondust imbibement from the prior week's Thrilla' race still seemed to linger. The lungs and legs were tight so it was bound to be an internal dialogue battle royale of sucking it up (literally) and trying to work out the lead (as in anchors) in the legs.
I had a couple of snafu's while trying to mount and could not figure out if that was from being tired and making mistakes or from watching some 'how to cyclocross' vids that planted the seed of a different technique mounting/dismounting. It was probably a combination of both....nothing like learning on the fly, eh? The new techniques (more like proper) were quickly discarded as I was botching them up and only causing myself strife...so back to the inefficient and naive riding it was...I managed to finish without too much further turmoil and there is 1 more race to go next week.
I have thrilla' lung this morning and am trying to work out all the moondust....with a little luck we will get some precip to pack that course down a little more.
Props to Webcyclery who have done a bang up job of providing a great opportunity to learn about this new sport.
As it turned out, the moondust was as bad as ever and the first lap was particularly heinous as the stampede of riders from the group ahead of us kicked up a serious moondust cloud. Midway into my first lap I could feel my mouth drying up like a prune. It was nasty...I tried to alternate breathing through my nose & mouth until the heart rate kicked up enough to force the gasping through the biggest hole to take air in....After that it was all over and the moondust inhaling began in earnest! I tried to salivate to create some moisture in the mouth but then gave up as that just made for a moondust mud flavor.
As we went through the first 1/2 lap, things started to clear up a wee bit (relatively speaking). It was another fun race of red-lining the heart rate for about 30 minutes and trying to hold on until the finish. The HR stayed in the 160's again throughout the race and also visited into the 170's for moments. Chart below shows the HR consistently in the 160's for the entire race (middle section of the graph).
The legs felt tired all week and the moondust imbibement from the prior week's Thrilla' race still seemed to linger. The lungs and legs were tight so it was bound to be an internal dialogue battle royale of sucking it up (literally) and trying to work out the lead (as in anchors) in the legs.
I had a couple of snafu's while trying to mount and could not figure out if that was from being tired and making mistakes or from watching some 'how to cyclocross' vids that planted the seed of a different technique mounting/dismounting. It was probably a combination of both....nothing like learning on the fly, eh? The new techniques (more like proper) were quickly discarded as I was botching them up and only causing myself strife...so back to the inefficient and naive riding it was...I managed to finish without too much further turmoil and there is 1 more race to go next week.
I have thrilla' lung this morning and am trying to work out all the moondust....with a little luck we will get some precip to pack that course down a little more.
Props to Webcyclery who have done a bang up job of providing a great opportunity to learn about this new sport.
Friday, September 21, 2012
CX Thrilla' Race #2
Thurday evening rolled around quickly this week and quickly enough it was time to start thinking of the Webcyclery Cyclocross Thrilla' hosted each Thursday for 4 weeks. Last night's race was the 2nd is a series of 4, so it was time to wrap the head around pinning the heart rate for a while.
These first 2 races of the series made up the full extent of my CX experience...my first time out on a cross bike was race #1 and so it was only natural that my 2nd time out on the cross bike was for race #2. Since we have received no rain over the past week, the course was only bound to be dryer, and moon-dustier. It did not disappoint in the moon-dust department.
The other novelty for the week was that the wifer decided to join the CX misfits and give it a go. She did great! Her chain fell off on her last lap and it was enough to slow her down a bit in her first cross race.
Race #2 was similar to the prior week in so much as my heart rate quickly bumped up into the red zone and stayed there for most of the race. I managed to snag pole position during the first lap of the race and then tried to hold on until the finish. The 2 or 3 times I was able to look at my heart rate, it was in the mid 160's and again visited the low 170's! The middle section below is the race where the HR is consistently above 160:
This spiky anaerobic stuff is my nemesis...I am used to the long marathon rides that prep me for the long 10+ hour days in the saddle....this is my weakness and despite it being good for me, it does not mean I have to like it...but in a twisted way, I do...crikey
These first 2 races of the series made up the full extent of my CX experience...my first time out on a cross bike was race #1 and so it was only natural that my 2nd time out on the cross bike was for race #2. Since we have received no rain over the past week, the course was only bound to be dryer, and moon-dustier. It did not disappoint in the moon-dust department.
The other novelty for the week was that the wifer decided to join the CX misfits and give it a go. She did great! Her chain fell off on her last lap and it was enough to slow her down a bit in her first cross race.
Race #2 was similar to the prior week in so much as my heart rate quickly bumped up into the red zone and stayed there for most of the race. I managed to snag pole position during the first lap of the race and then tried to hold on until the finish. The 2 or 3 times I was able to look at my heart rate, it was in the mid 160's and again visited the low 170's! The middle section below is the race where the HR is consistently above 160:
This spiky anaerobic stuff is my nemesis...I am used to the long marathon rides that prep me for the long 10+ hour days in the saddle....this is my weakness and despite it being good for me, it does not mean I have to like it...but in a twisted way, I do...crikey
The course was similar to the prior week's mayhem with a couple of slight modifications that made for a spicier course. There were a couple of sharper/looser turns that required a little more man-handling...or rather one of the turns man-handled me on lap #2 which was just long enough to set me on my arse.
The good: I was able to hold hold onto the pole position I moved up to during the 1st lap just long enough to eek out 1st place and get a 6 pack of beer as a prize for my efforts...ding ding ding ding, I likey! I rode the 40+ Beginner category again and it was tons O' fun. My heart rate got jacked up again....Ride it like you stole it!
The bad: Moondust lung...hacking up dirt for the remainder of the evening is not my preferred way to spend the evening. CX is hard work! Going into my heart rate red zone is enough to make a guy want to barf. It took me about 10 minutes to re-gain my lungs after the finish. At one point I almost felt like I was going to hurl.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Cross Thrilla'
The first bike to get replaced after the garage theft debacle was the cross bike. As it just so happened, Webcyclery was having a sale on 2012 models to make room for their 2013 inventory. I just happened to hit their sale on the first day (by pure dumb luck) of the sale last Thursday.
I had done a little research and was particularly interested in the Scott bikes as they seemed to provide a good bang for your buck. Considering that cycloscross is a totally new sport for me, I was putty in their hands such that my opinions could be easily sculpted by those in the know.
My road bike is a size 53cm frame and so the plan was to stay more or less in the same vicinity relative to size. They had a Scott Team bike in a size 52cm that I took out for a spin in the parking lot and it seemed to handle well and fit me. After some BS'ing, I decided to pull the trigger and walk out of the store with a new bike, but not before they talked me into signing up for their Cross Thrilla' series.
They put on a 4 race series in Bend that started last Thursday and runs every Thursday for 4 weeks...fast forward to the late afternoon and I found myself signing up for a OBRA license and getting ready to ride in the first wave of races as part of the Mens 40+ 'C' category. The 'C' stands for newbie, rookie, greenhorn, first timer, the list goes on.....
There is nothing like toeing in for a race after having just purchased the bike! I did get to ride it a little bit prior to the race as my warmup entailed riding from the house to the course and then doing a quickie preview lap of the course. The mystery of how the bike (and operator) would handle was still looming. The practice lap went somewhat uneventfully although there was a huge difference in handling in the dirt (relative to the mountain bike).
Before I knew it, the race started and there I was inhaling buckets of moon-dust as the riders in front of me kicked up dirt and dust into the air. Since this was all a novelty, the plan was to just ride and see how it all unfolded. The first lap was somewhat uneventful and so we built from there. By lap 2, the handling started to feel mo' betta' and it was time to push the bike and body a little harder. By lap 3 the heart rate was pinned and it was a matter of just trying to hang in until the finish.
Observations:
I had done a little research and was particularly interested in the Scott bikes as they seemed to provide a good bang for your buck. Considering that cycloscross is a totally new sport for me, I was putty in their hands such that my opinions could be easily sculpted by those in the know.
My road bike is a size 53cm frame and so the plan was to stay more or less in the same vicinity relative to size. They had a Scott Team bike in a size 52cm that I took out for a spin in the parking lot and it seemed to handle well and fit me. After some BS'ing, I decided to pull the trigger and walk out of the store with a new bike, but not before they talked me into signing up for their Cross Thrilla' series.
They put on a 4 race series in Bend that started last Thursday and runs every Thursday for 4 weeks...fast forward to the late afternoon and I found myself signing up for a OBRA license and getting ready to ride in the first wave of races as part of the Mens 40+ 'C' category. The 'C' stands for newbie, rookie, greenhorn, first timer, the list goes on.....
There is nothing like toeing in for a race after having just purchased the bike! I did get to ride it a little bit prior to the race as my warmup entailed riding from the house to the course and then doing a quickie preview lap of the course. The mystery of how the bike (and operator) would handle was still looming. The practice lap went somewhat uneventfully although there was a huge difference in handling in the dirt (relative to the mountain bike).
Before I knew it, the race started and there I was inhaling buckets of moon-dust as the riders in front of me kicked up dirt and dust into the air. Since this was all a novelty, the plan was to just ride and see how it all unfolded. The first lap was somewhat uneventful and so we built from there. By lap 2, the handling started to feel mo' betta' and it was time to push the bike and body a little harder. By lap 3 the heart rate was pinned and it was a matter of just trying to hang in until the finish.
Observations:
- My usual 'red line' HR is in the 160's.....The race jacked it up to a high of 173! I stayed in the 160's for a majority of the 28+ minutes of ride time. Either I had grossly under-estimated my red-line, or the race just kicked my butt....probably a little bit of both!
- My mtb handling skills came in handy when coming around/through soft sand and 'tech' terrain. I use the term 'tech' rather generously as there really was not much tekkie to deal with at all.
- Sitting behind riders and 'Hoover'ing Bend moon-dust into the lungs for 30 minutes will make a guy cough up lung cheese for the remainder of the night...yum!
- Cross is FUN, Cross is HARD...I can see it might develop into a love/hate thingie
- Getting off your bike and running over obstacles with your bike jump starts your HR!
- 'ain't nuthin' like a good cross race to make you feel a wee bit more local
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