Two Days of Drooling like a St. Bernard – OVCX Kings CX

This past weekend was the beginning of our regional three-state Cyclocross race series. It was a two-day event between downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and the Kings Island amusement park at an old retired city golf course in Mason, Ohio. Day one, Saturday, was not a race for points in the OVCX series, but a “warm-up day” and a 10-dollar race on the course property. Sunday was OVCX.com actual points race and the first of the series for Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.

I raced both days and had a blast. Certainly, Saturday had more of a fun factor, with less of the big guns (sometimes known as sandbaggers) in my CAT 3 race and a few more smiles and a little less game face. The course Saturday, I think suited me a little better, not because it was dry, I think just because of the course routing.

I tend to roll really well through the twisty bits, short punchy climbs, and technical sections. My sense of what a technical area certainly differs than what most ‘roadie’s racing cross consider technical. I am a mountain biker I think first, a cyclocrosser second and a roadie third.

Day 1 – Sept 19

Saturday was a beautiful and stunning day on a dry-dusty racecourse. I arrived, got my number from the big white barn (registration) and headed back to the car for the kit and a wheel change. Decided to run my tubie 34’s today. It was a good choice, including my tire pressure. I was second row at the call-ups had a decent start among the 40 other racers in the CAT 3 field. This field included the 35+ and the 45+. I did have a bit of an issue clipping in (problem was somewhere between the bike and saddle) and sprinted one leg down the long runway to almost the first left turn without having both feet clipped. The first left was a little dodgy, lots of elbows, asses and guys bitching about their line, hey um dude, this is cross, find your own space around that tree. Settling in, with a group close to the front, I found a rhythm and tried to keep it steady. There were a set of double-barriers, one solo barrier at the bottom of a hill run-up and then three tree logs (middle one the tallest) and one small sand pit to get through. I only had issues with the double barriers, they seemed much taller than the 14 and 3/4 regulation height, but I never busted out a tape, so I have no idea, maybe my legs are shrinking in my old age. I worked on trying a few different tactics over the barriers, short steps, long steps, giant strides and handling the bike on the run ups. I figured today was a good day to try a few things, as long as it did not slow me down. I managed to nail the sand pit every time, after the second lap, I found a great line and could keep my speed up in and out of it. There was a big lip/ridge on the way out of the pit, then a hard left around a tree. We also had a little ‘single-track’ in the back part of the course, which seemed to be much faster for me on Saturday than Sunday. No problems with this either day though. Funny, I was one of the few guys going wide right in the grass, off the ‘path’ and getting a way faster line into the dirt woods section. More of that mountain bike stuff, coming through, I suppose. I was battling to find some sections where I could jump hard and put some distance on anyone behind me. I found a couple of places, and put in a few digs here and there. I had one hiccup on Saturday, rolling it across the logs, when my non-drive pedal hit my back, I put the bike down after the logs looked down and my chain was off: actually stuck down around the bottom bracket and below my Jump-stop required some work to get it out of there. Jen got pics of my mistake. I can fix that issue by removing a few more chain links. No worries. I managed to keep Steven G. from Bio Wheels in my sights and another usual fast guy near Steven, but couldn’t close it down before the finish lap. I got 9^th on the day and will take that as a good measure of early season (dry-course) success.

Day 2 – Sept 20

I wake up to a text from LP, inquiring if I was still going racing when rain was on its way. RAIN? I sloth upright and get to the computer and look at the radar, yes, wow, big giant green blob headed right for our cross race. It is cross season. I am going to race. I pick up LP and we head out of Cbus and hit the sprinkles about 10 miles from the race site. Good thing I planned and listened to my wife about bringing my pop up tent. It came in very handy at the back of the car. If I had been smarter, I would have brought the trainer and warmed up more under the dryness of the tent. Next time. I Kit up, move the race number to the other side and leave the tubie carbon’s in the car for this day. Clinchers were the ticket. It was sprinkling hard and soft, I get out to test the tires/pressure and see what they did to the course from Saturday. They turned it around and moved the barriers at the bottom of the camel hump hill. Owwee, those hurt.

I get over to the start, loose the rain jacket and the bottle, and wait for the call up. I am just a bit further back, but some guy offers up some space one row further from where I was – niceness at the start line – gotta love it. We get the whistle and we are off. Again, some pedal issues, ok my fault, getting clipped in but I continue to hammer it into the first left corner around a tree and get the inside line, guys are pushing-shoving and bitchin’ about lines and people not handling their bikes. We get to the next turn and the heard is spreading out. We head up towards the first set of double barriers around a tight right tree and then left tree and down the short section we go - the front 10 of the group is gone daddy gone already. We are killing it, I am not relaxed at all, and my HR is through the roof. Glen G. comes by me right before the camel hill up-an-over and says "come on, get on my wheel", I went till we got in and out of the woods and couldn't keep up the effort. Glen and the front 15 were just out of reach. By the third lap, I am finally starting to feel good and getting my mojo workin’. The mud is working for me and my mountain bike skills for sure. Some are having trouble in four sections, the “M” on the side of the camel hump hill, a section just after the woods – where the line to the outside was faster, a off camber slick as snot section along the chain fence, and a hard right / then a left down into a tough little off camber hill – just before the three tree barriers. I managed to clear these pretty well each time, finding the right gear, line, and body English. There was a section around the inside of the lake/pond where I could take the grass and stay off the gravel which seemed much faster. The sand trap/pit was not an issue by the second lap with all the rain. It was smashed down and easy to navigate after dropping off the lip.

Dave G. did pass me on the last lap. I put in a serious digger on the next to last lap to gap him and Steven G. that were gaining fast. It wasn’t timed so well as Dave G. came by me in the last lap, just two tree turns before the finish, he even announced his pass and I had nothing in the tank to counter. He said after the race, it was helpful to him having my friends yelling at me, since he always knew where I was. I think this was the first time I ever beat Steven G. in a cross race.

Fun is the word that comes to mind for this race. Racing and cross are supposed to be fun right?

I struggled a bit, to feel good overall, have the consistent power to stay moving, get over the tallish barriers, and not blow up.

I managed to finish in 18^th on Sunday.

According to the posted results after my race Sunday, I was 9^th overall for the weekend of racing.

- - Next up – Alum Creek – Cap City Cross