Author: Dwaine Trummert
Cyclocross is a mixture of chilly fall
weather, bicycle racing, mud, and sometimes beer. Seattle Cyclocross's first
event at Tall Chief Golf Course also included a new ingredient. Grass. Not the
kind of grass making up the well kept lawn in the neighbor's front yard.
Instead the course was littered with long, stringy, and surprisingly tenacious
grass clippings. These grass clippings became the theme of the day for many
racers.
As is becoming normal for me, I arrived
early to have time to 'get right' with the event. I walked some of the course,
bugged the folks working the pre-registration booth before it was open, set
tire pressures at 28 front and 30 rear, and got myself suited up in plenty of
time to get a few warm up laps under my belt.
Tall Chief Golf Course has been unused
for a few years which is probably why a bunch of bicycle racers were allowed
entry. As I took my first warm up lap it immediately became apparent that this
(cyclocross) course was like nothing I'd seen before. The first third traversed
a hillside. The ground was soft without standing water and quite bumpy in
places. This upper third also contained an exciting descent featuring a
slightly tricky left hand turn at the bottom and and a short climb up what once
a gravel path. Then it transitioned to a flat series of straights and turns
where a lawn mower (probably industrial strength) had been used to carve a
course out of the tall grass. This section, being flat, was still slow due to
the grass and even softer soil.
By the time I reached this middle
section during my first lap I realized the importance of these grass clippings.
These grass clippings were finding their way around the wheels and clogging up
the areas between the brakes and tires. At first they were easy to clear. As
the course became muddier they started to show just how much trouble they would
become. I could always tell when they were packing in as I could hear them
rubbing against the sidewalls of my tires.
The third section of the course was
tough. It started with a fifty foot section of marsh that was quickly turning
into a mud pit. Then three short slippery climbs that traversed the hillside
that looked over the bottom third of the course. Then two more shorter sections
of flat mud pit. This really got the heart rate up right before a set of
barriers and up the paved road to the finish line. This last third of the
course was a real test.
After my warm up laps I was pretty
happy with my tire pressures (not ever having run pressures this low) but was
not happy with how much friction was being created by the grass clippings. Lots
of grass and mud was wrapped up into the brakes and bottom bracket and rear
cassette and derailleur jockey pulleys and pedal spindles. Just about any part
that was spinning became a nest of mud and grass. These areas were cleared and
then it was off for the start area.
My good result at McCullugh park earned
me a call up for this race and I would get a chance to start on the front row.
On my right was Rick Birdsey. After he introduced himself as 'Birdsey' we
chatted about the previous race at McCullogh Park and relived my 'lead them
through the woods' strategy and his 'power past for the win' finish. On my left
I met Damon Gjording and further down the line I saw the distinctive helmet of
Matthew Sweet who also finished in the lead group at McCullugh Park.
During our wait for the start we
chatted with the USA Cycling official, were reminded of the beer garden, and
then were informed that Hammer Nutrition was sponsoring today's event and that
the top 3 finishers should pick up a prize bag after the race. Neat.
Off the start and for the first one and
two thirds laps the pace was reasonable and the leaders were tightly bunched. I
pushed up to second and then just followed Damon who was setting a strong yet
sustainable pace. Damon rode smooth and his conservative style led me to
believe he was just waiting until the end before dropping the hammer. Whenever
I got a chance to look over my shoulder I saw a fair number of riders hanging
on with the lead group. And I felt that I could hang on until the finish - then
the wheels fell off. For me. Not the
bike.
Two thirds of the way through that
second lap the course beat me to a pulp. The mud sections were getting
difficult to ride. Some riders were dismounting and running through all of
them. Some riders were powering through. I made a couple poor run vs ride
choices and lost three positions in short order. That had me starting the third
and final lap in fifth position, no longer in the lead group, and really
gasping for air.
Having not completely blown up but not
being far from it I made the choice to slow to a pace I knew I could sustain to
the finish. That first third of the course turned out to be a good place to
recover and I found myself on Damon's wheel as we started the flat middle
third. He bobbled in a corner and I dropped him to fifth. With 2/3 of a lap to
go. (This detail becomes interesting later on...).
My pacing was perfect. I was hurting
good and keeping the pedals turning. By the end of the middle section I had
every so slowly reeled in Birdsey. The final third of the course was now lined
with spectators and I heard shouts of 'Go Birdsey, Go Birdsey, Go!' at each
turn. As I tried to stay with him up and down the short climbs I also heard
'Keep at it number 424'. (I thought to myself "I have a fan!! A fan that
doesn't know my name?") I stayed on Birdsey's wheel until the final two
mud pits. I gave it a little bit extra, got lucky on my choice of lines, and
put twenty feet between us. We were both hurting and I gave it everything I had
over the next thirty or forty seconds to get to the finish five seconds ahead
of Birdsey and on the podium in third.
My finish celebration consisted of
coasting fifty feet past the finish line, stepping off my bike, rolling onto
the ground, and wheezing. This area was soon full of other racers (most of whom
stayed on their feet) who celebrated similarly. When I could talk again I
congratulated Birdsey on a job well done and we talked about how treacherous
those mud pits had become. Lots of riders were commiserating about the
mud/grass and then Damon showed us his derailleur. It was labelled 'Ultegra'.
And it was attached only by the derailleur cable.
On my slow mosey to my vehicle I
continued to witness acts of bicycle cruelty. Wheels and brakes packed with
sticky mud/grass, clipless pedals that didn't clip, chains that just skated
over the teeth of their seized jockey pulleys. And at least one broken
derailleur hanger...
After getting myself sorted I wandered
around and shot some photos. Cyclocross is a family friendly event with lots of
spouses and kids in attendance. Many of those same spouses and kids take to the
racing too. I tried to get some photos that reflect the atmosphere and scene of
these Cyclocross events. And I just enjoyed my time watching the racing and
chatting with other racers.
During this time I caught up with
Matthew. He had a good race and finished ahead of Kristofer Koehn (who I didn't
get to chat with) for the win. Our chat was cut short as he needed to cheer his
girlfriend on during her race.
When I picked up my prize bag I found
'CX' socks, a George Hincapie DVD, and a big jug of Hammer Nutrition's
Strawberry 'Recoverite' powder. Thank you Hammer.
Eventually I caught up with Damon whom
I had followed for the first half of the race. We chatted for a good while and
he told me has a background racing mountain bikes and that, like me, he is
relatively new to Cyclocross. We shared that we are both driven to race (which
I admitted is one of my character flaws). We also chatted a little bit about training.
Training for racing the bike. And in the past when he was doing some running. I
complimented him on his smoothness and told him that from my saddle he looked
poised to take the win. His response was that he didn't feel he could sustain
the necessary power level for the entire race and that maybe he might let
someone else set the pace next time. He said when I went past him on that last
lap he felt like he was fading and he was pleased to hang onto fifth. Fifth? I asked him about the broken derailleur.
"Yeah, I just ran the bike in for the last half lap."
Let's put that in perspective. He felt
burnt up. I slipped past. Then his derailleur broke off and he ran the bike the
rest of the way. Without
losing any positions. Amazing!!
It was a great day. The course was crazy tough. The folks
I met were great. I got to ride my bike.
What else could you ask for on an
overcast October Sunday?
Oh, did I mention the beer garden was free? See you at
the next event.
Dwaine
