A blog for and by a group of certifiable and committed cyclists (aka, Cyclopaths) from the Puyallup, Tacoma, and Seattle area. Follow The Puyallup Cyclopaths' adventures as they ride in the mountains of the Northwest and beyond.
By Thursday of Reno CX Nationals week I was accustomed to a
routine. Sleep a little long, walk from my hotel to the TA travel center
for mediocre coffee, and then slowly pack my bike and gear for another
day of racing at Rancho San Rafael Park.
To prevent my nerves from getting the better of me I jotted down a
time line of tasks between arrival and race start. I’ve done these lists
in the past and they help me remember what to do and when to do it as
the clock winds down to race time and my anxiety winds up.
In today’s post I’ll fill in a few details regarding ranking
points and describe how I spent the Wednesday rest day. This post will
be short so I can resume writing about the main event.
Ranking points
The previous post mentioned USA cycling ranking points. Continue reading
My first Cyclocross Nationals is in the bag. My experience in
Reno was an overwhelming success and I’ll be sharing what was seen, the
events that unfolded, and what was learned over a few posts starting
today. Reno’s Rancho San Rafael Park held host to the 2017 USA Cycling
Cyclocross Nationals. The course designers utilized …
My cyclocross racing season is still in motion. The end of the
Cross Revolution series usually signals the beginning of rest season.
But, as of today, just one more event separates my legs from some well
deserved rest. Let me elaborate.
Cyclocross Nationals, which comes to town in December of 2019, uses a
ranking system to determine call up order. Acquiring ranking points
requires competing in USA Cycling sanctioned events. This year I
extended my season to include four sanctioned events in the timespan of
just fifteen days.
December 3rd 2017 – Fort Steilacoom Park
Fort Steilacoom Park _did_ have a short but seriously deep mud section.
Going into this event I was optimistic. The course designers cut a
new longer run up, a treacherous descent, and rerouted the previous run
up as a short-n-steep descent. My course preview proved these sections
were tough but certainly within my wheelhouse. The remainder of the
course used familiar sections of the park.
This was my first USA Cycling sanctioned event and I started near the
back of a 25 rider field. The more difficult descent came just two
minutes into the first lap and it was in my best interest to avoid
traffic on that first go down. I worked really hard for two minutes and
cleaned the descent clear of traffic and in fourth position. At this
point my plan was to settle to my own pace for the remaining 43 minutes
of racing.
The very next corner was a simple right hander that required no
special attention. I let my mind wander, washed the front tire, and hit
the deck hard. I was able to quickly scramble back onto my bike and then
take inventory of my situation as I continued to pedal.
This
descent started off camber and then transitioned to a steep left
hander. Running wide guaranteed meeting a small tree or two.
Blood ran from my elbow but not in enough quantity to reach my hand. I
felt contusions on my forearm, rib cage, and hip. I was still
functional and pedaled on.
After about one full lap I had collected myself and had dropped to
about tenth. But I wasn’t racing at my full potential and slowly slid
backwards to finish, without further drama, in 12th.
This
is a proper run up. Long enough. Soft soil. After remounted racers got
to climb some more. If you didn’t see max heart rate you might be blind.
December 10th 2017 – Kayak Point Golf Course
No, we did not race on the golf course proper. Instead the race
course utilized the perimeter of the driving range, a few unpaved
maintenance paths, and some of the paved golf cart paths. Yes, there
were a couple descents, a little mud, etc. But those features all paled
when measured against the long, steep, paved climb.
After previewing the course my hopes were not high. That paved climb
was tough even at preview pace. My goal was to finish in one piece.
The start went well enough and, when we dropped down the first
descent I found myself immediately near the front. The second descent of
lap one found me at the front as we hit the paved climb. That climb
hurt me more than the others. I lost positions. My 38/28 gearing wasn’t
even close to low enough and I was forced out of the saddle for most of
the climb.
Lap after lap I’d gain time on the two descents only to give up even
more time on the paved climb. I finished 6th out of 15. This turned out
to be a much better result than I anticipated.
Plenty
steep. Some roots. And a FAT tree at the bottom of this descent. This
is the run up turned short-n-steep descent at Fort Steilacoom Park.
December 16th and 17th – Fort Nugent Park
This double header weekend just outside Oak Harbor included the WSBA
(Washington State Bicycle Association) CX Championship on Sunday. This
may be a championship in name only but it did bring in a few more riders
from a wider geographic area. It also presented an opportunity for me
and my family to turn a cyclocross weekend into a family road trip and
our vintage travel trailer was enlisted as our base camp.
Every rider faced the choice of riding one or both days. Every two
day rider faced the dilemma of trying to save energy during Saturday’s
event to be used for Sunday’s event. I hoped to swim opposite the
current by burning all available matches during Saturday’s non
championship race which might sabotage my chances on Sunday.
Fort Nugent Park is nearly flat. There course included a little bit
of everything. It didn’t favor my technical riding style. The ground was
wet but no rain was falling and the course didn’t look to turn too
sloppy.
Just ten riders lined up for Saturday’s start. It was not my
intention to charge towards the front but the inside line was wide open
going into the first corner and I slid into third.
Over the next 45 minutes I put in a solid ride avoiding major
mistakes and making just a couple tiny ones. The riders around me seemed
to be stronger than the week before and there were few technical
sections where I might shine. I finished 6th of 10. The gap between the
winner and me was just under two minutes as is usual. But the strength
of this field meant that a two minute gap put me behind mid pack.
Saturday night was spent refueling, hanging out in our tiny travel
trailer at Deception Pass State Park, and listening to the rain showers
come and go.
On Sunday morning the rain stopped but the damage was already done.
The promoter reversed the course direction. The additional rain along
with a second day of racing changed the character of the course. A
nearly unrideable mud section evolved. The three off camber sections
became slick and much tougher to ride. In short, the course came to me a
bit. Too bad I brought rubber legs.
The field grew to 18 riders and, as I was to find out shortly, it
didn’t grow by adding weak riders. Right from the whistle my lesson
started. Riders on both sides bounced me around for the length of the
start straight. My first corner technique was ugly. Foot down and
dabbing to get around the corner stake while most riders rode the
faster, but clogged, racing line. I was mid pack and surrounded by
really strong riders.
I immediately set my focus on a proper 45 minute pace and staying
clean amongst the traffic. By the end of the first lap I had dropped
many positions and had found my pace. I focused on hitting my marks in
the technical sections.
The course was changing quickly as each passing tire chewed up the
course. Most riders where altering their lines lap to lap to avoid the
increasing number of tricky sections. I also started to gain time on a
few riders.
Looks like it’s time for some bottom bracket maintenance
First up was a singlespeed racer who had finished well the day
before. He picked perfect lines and I resolved to stay on his wheel.
After a lap or two he bobbled, I slid past, and didn’t see him again.
Second was a local rider named Jeff. Jeff had soundly beat me on
Saturday. I was surprised to catch him and as we raced we were slowly
closing on a rider ahead. Again, I resolved to stay on this wheel.
Surprisingly, after following for half a lap, he waved the white flag
and motioned me to pass.
Once clear I put in a little extra to close the small gap to Rodney, a
rider from Bend, Oregon. We traded positions a few times. He bested me
on the off camber a couple times. Three corners from the finish I sailed
my bike through a slick corner, erased any gap, but could not close the
deal. Rodney kept 10th position.
After four races in fifteen days I was spent. My legs were barely
adequate for walking at slow pace. It felt like everything I owned was
caked in mud. It seemed a natural point in time to end my racing season.
I didn’t. Over the next day or two I resolved to racing one more event.
January 9th to 14th brings the 2017/2018 season Cyclocross Nationals to
Reno Nevada.
That decision set the stage for where I am today.
The Present
Unlike Nationals in December 2019 I won’t be in top form for this
event. I don’t expect a good finish result. I’ll be attending this event
to gain a few more ranking points, get an insight to the way a
Nationals level event is run, and see firsthand what it’s like to rub
bars with 149 other racers. Let’s call this a test race for when the
show comes to town in 2019.
In Reno, on Sunday January 14th, the best men and women cyclocross
racers in the country will race for top honors. It will be a spectacular
event. Don’t look for me on the course.
Amateur ‘Masters’ riders race earlier in the week and are broken down
(pun intended) by age category. On Tuesday I’ll race a ‘preview’ race
of just thirty minutes. My final race of the year will be on Thursday
where I’ll race for the Masters Men 45-49 championship.
Between now and January 14th I’ve got some work to do. After January
14th I’m looking forward to a glass or red wine, some rest, and writing a
bit about my adventure.
Evidence of bicycle racing gone awry and how the racer in questions feels about it
(The content and images in this blog are syndicated from trummert.com)
