Catch up - Gun Club (OVCX) October 9, 2011

 Pics First - write up at the bottom.

The days before the race, lots of chatter about the photo to the left. Team Hungry Cycling team (race sponsor) and Promoter Gatch pulled a fast one on the interwebs, putting stakes and tape up this crazy steep hill. It was all fake and we never had to run/ride up the thing. Hilarious non the less.

The Start line of 64 dudes crammed in there

Duane and I battle it out

I finally get to pass James Turner - he's fast...smell food

Tall barriers for this guy's short legs

my look-back finish

Metz, is killing it this year. Just got the upgrade too.

Team Mate Doug C riding super strong

 

 

After review of data from our race chips, I raced faster at the beginning, then steady, then fastest on the last lap, this is good. Especially from where I started among the 64 dudes. My split-time was the same as the winner of this race, so my turbo is there, I just faded in the first few laps, compared to their jet engines or wasn’t going hard enough. Good grief, what a bunch of weekends. I was getting pretty tired there for a few days.

 

 Split     Place   Lap1    Place  Lap2   Place  Lap3   Place Lap4   Total Time 

 0:59     26     8:53        21  8:47 21      8:54 19    8:44 36:18  

 

I fought off getting shot at the Gun Club for an 8th place in a huge group of over  60 dudes over 35 years old and up. I think a third row placement and got a decent start into the first turn ahead of the giant pile-up. Later looking at the photos, the person that caused it ended up at the bottom. I was fully gassed by the time we came around and into the double sandpit. This is slightly downhill, so getting in the drops right out of the double track sandy turn is key and not grabbing someone’s wheel, since you have no idea if they can ride a good line or not and might lead you into the tape or a stake. 

I really have enjoyed racing at the Gun Club for years, however, I am not a huge fan of adding mountain bike type obstacles into a cross course. Don’t get me wrong, I love a great wind-y, twisty, tree filled, go round and round, get you dizzy course that requires lots of power out of each corner, with some long grass or short pave’/gravel between, but running a cross race into a creek is not really my idea of cross. It's just my opinion really. Without this section I think there has always been plenty at this venue to keep us all busy and drooling.

Good guy and cool dudes, Duane Walker and Jeff Schoeny beat me at Gun Club. Duane had a great race and certainly had a solid performance. Jeff is just fast, he’s got a great run and  is like a steam ship, steady as she goes. I tried like hell to keep up and stick to Matt Stierwalt’s “Rogue” wheel. My superglue was out of date and didn’t work, his mountain bike skills and fitness were a few notch's above mine for sure.

Soapbox:  I don’t like driving to Cincy, paying 25/30 dollars to race a CAT 3 race and only getting to race for 36 minutes. Really? I am not sure why we’re getting robbed here out of the full 45 minutes. I am paying the same amount of money the Elite Masters are paying, the same amount all others are paying, but not seeing the full race time. #weaksauce. Yeah yeah - you can say, well, just move up to Elite’s then and kwityourbitchen. I say naaa, make it Like a boss, we all race 45 minutes. Cleveland and Cap City all give the CAT 3’s and up their full fair shake at 45 min and a full hour of racing. Just sayin’ Ok I am finished with that.

Another thought, I’d say with the growing fields of this series, ovcx has outgrown this super cool venue. The course can only be set up to be so wide and with masters fields this big and CAT 3 open fields growing - it might be time for a new gun club course for 2012?

Spencer (Jeni's) in the double sandpit