OVCX Race #1 – Loveland, Ohio – September 14, 2008
My first official cross race of the season, I had a few pre-race goals, I wanted to meet:
1. Get good position on the start line.
2. Work for top 20 into the first turn (nothing too crazy).
3. Work on skills, technique, barriers (dismount-mount).
4. Run lower tire pressure.
5. Ride a steady pace & output.
6. Draft on paved sections.
7. Save energy on the pave’ for grassy hill climb.
8. Ride up the grassy hill climb.
9. Not let Kerry N. beat me.
10. And Finish top 15.
Yes, these seem specific for one little race, but, with no goals, week-to-week, month-to-month, progress stands still, which equals no change. Change is good. Change your thinking – Change your performance.
Jen, Joe H and I loaded up the car Sunday morning with a rash crap, spare cross wheels, the pop up tent, one trainer and Jen’s Cowbells, water, food and chamois butter. We arrived in plenty of time even though Joe’s dash-talking Garmin got us ‘lost’ downtown Loveland and tried to route us onto the bike-path in the middle of town.
We outsmarted the talking box and found the park.
The temperature and wind would be a factor since it was bloody friggin hot and Hurricane IKE was going to be blowing in – so to speak. The humidity was about 90% and the old mercury said 92 degrees. During warm up my HR was up about 5 beats, which meant during the race it would most likely sit about 10 beats higher.
After a good 40 minute warm up, some grass riding, some road, some on the nearby bike path, with a few minutes before noon, time to roll to the start. During warm-up, Joe and I rode by some of Team Hungry and I got a “your going down” from Kerry. Joe thought it was a ballsy, statement, but I knew Kerry was kidding a little bit. I saw some familiar faces that had moved up from the top of the“C’s” from 2007, Chris Sloan, Kerry – his team mate M. Chewning and a few others. No sign of the Darkhorse blokes though. The showing of Columbus Cross racers was thin, very thin. I think we saw about 6 others we recognized from Cow town. Our guess, they blew their chunks the day prior at the first Cap City Race and couldn’t handle a double weekend of racing, gas prices, food prices or they went to Brandon’s wedding party and were too hung-over to go race.
At the start line, fresh racers filled the entire front row, no worries, not my business today to go hard the first lap. I took a good center second row spot. Said and done, I think we had 55 men in the “B” field. It was crazy looking around, seeing all the bikes, gear, and nervous racers ready for the first one of the year. I saw quite a few dudes with new bikes, new wheels, and new parts. Lots of tubies, lots of carbon wheels and more than 20 or so racers with bottles in the backs of their jersey’s. Good thing, Joe and I begged (ahead of time) Jen to hand-up water bottles to us. She had a full gallon of water available and a few pre-filled bottles. I was just hoping, she could manage to hang on to the tent, her table of fresh-for-sale cowbells and hand up water.
We were off – lots of guys struggling to get clipped into their pedals, lots of elbows and asses flying to beat each other to the first turn. I manage to get good position about 18th or so into the first turn, remind myself of my goals for the day and settle in for a 45 min pain drain. Everyone is single file into the second turn and hard switch back, which set us up to a hard sweeping left right before the first set of double barriers. After the barriers, click click – go the gears > we are all off like rockets on one of the fastest sections of the course, into a sweeping left turn then a hard right into the grass and over the sewer grate along the road. Riding on the tops of my bars and relaxing the upper body from the exit of the barriers worked the best. We serpentined along the road, behind the parked cars and headed to the twisty bits in the 8-foot tall pine trees near the entrance to the park. This was a great section, rolling right off of the pave’ onto a sweeping left up around a tree and down to the left, where it was important to go down wide to the right along the tape to hold your speed up the little hill for the sharp left and hard right against the last pine tree. Once getting around the tree, we cranked it back up a few gears down an off camber section and back onto the blacktop and out onto the right side of the road entrance of the park then a hard left up hill and into the wind.
more later....
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