Last Cross Race of 2010 - Cap City Cross - Lobdell Reserve, Newark Ohio

Snomageddon 2010.
This is what happens when you run a race in Ohio in December.
I thought I would post up quite a few photos for the last race post of 2010.

I figured since I was way out of the standings for Cap City I would bump up and see how I measure against the fast guys and register for the Elite (A, CAT 1/2/3) race. A good thought from my warm couch, I suppose, initially.

Huge huge turnout for the races at noon and at 1p.m. My team got call ups for the entire front row of the B race, which was awesome! Ohio ortho slaying dragons from the front!
What was it like racing on this course and all the snow? It was hard, which I didn't realize till I got out there for myself to race for an hour. I was watching my team mates and my buddy Tom get tired as their 45 min race wore on...Tom was looking slower and slower over the barriers, I was screaming at him from across the field - telling him to go faster and get the lead out. About 15 minutes into my race I wanted to take back my harassing words to Tom, realizing I signed up for 60 minutes in the torture chamber with this race and race course.

Who would ever think that an extra 15 minutes is that much harder. Well, aside from the fact the course was just hurt locker city, the snow, muck and tire sucking ground, just made the race that much harder. It was cold and I had a hard time getting warm. Generally, if the temps are below 35/40, it takes me a good 45 min to get warmed up, I might have rode around for 15 just trying to stay warm. Not enough.
Hindsight, it was fun lining up with the big boys and trying to stay with them for the first lap at least.

My respect doubled for my good friends that do the A races. Not only for their speed, but for their ability to just go so hard for a full hour. Yes, they've been doing this hour all year at every cross race, but still - props to the Proppe and Billiter, Spencer and my other buddies killing it in the A's this year.
Even dry, which I have never raced at this place when it's been dry, I hate this course. Sorry Kyle and Andy. It's just not my favorite, but you must race against your weakness's to get better, so there I was.

I watched all the speedy elite guys ride right away from me in the first lap, as I thought about Glen's comments while I was at the start line. He said, "wow, I'll be interested to see how you stack up", my reply, "yeah me too". Even the BWE said after my race, "wow, you looked really slow in the first few laps" ok thanks for the support :) wife. I did go slow for the first few laps, while I found the lines and tried to stay upright, get comfortable with

pushing the bike sideways while pedaling, running up that dam hill a million times. I sprayed my pedals and the bottoms of my shoes with pledge furniture polish, since I was out of spam at home. It helped for about 2/3 laps then I was back to banging my shoes on my pedals at the top of the run up every lap for way way too long. In the last few laps, it became a battle of getting clipped in with Spencer and I, not fitness, not skill. Egg beaters were the

pedal of the day in these conditions for sure. I know the spd or atac was not it! Spencer and I battled hard the last few laps to give each other a run and see who could dig the deepest and win. Spencer seemed to have more issues with his pedals than I was and somewhere along the last painful moments I past him and beat him. He's a tough competitor for sure and a great guy.

Jen and I put up the most badass tent ever to provide, needed propane fueled heat, hot chocolate and a place to stay warm, before the race, during and after. It worked out pretty well. Everyone was laughing at us while we set up our house, but then as each lap progressed during my race I saw more and more people staying warm in our tent. Cookies all around were a big hit.

Me lining up with the big boys.

Get Ready....

We're off...

Jon Dy, Garth, Proppe, Herman and Matt Weeks? - mason all make this start look super easy.

James B runs away from me like I am using an assisted walker, rather than a cross bike. He was at the top of the run up before I even got to the bottom.

There he goes....

Spencer and I battle it out, the last few laps.

me planning my "attack" yeah right.

James = Style Council Member

Greg Flecher - a beast on wheels and general unassuming fast guy.

Jon D showing us he's really fast.

BWE loves to make signs and be creative. She's the best cheerleader.

Jon's bike after. Frozen stuff.

This was my bike in the basement days after the race. It had to thaw out and took hours, before this goo dropped off.
I Think it took me a few hours using hot water, dish soap and other cleaning stuff to get the bike clean.

The final race of 2010, ends in a muddy, mucky mess. Thank you everyone for a great year.

OVCX #14 and #15 - Indianapolis, Indiana (Ft. Harrison and Brookside)

Saturday - (not shown with Snow)

It's the end of the cyclocross season- finally. These two races marked the end of my 2010 season. 

I had an overall season goal to stand top 5 in the OVCX series overall CAT 3 35+results.
These were my last opportunities to give it my all and go for broke at both races. It was snowing all the way over to the first race of the weekend at Ft. Harrison. I wasn't quite sure I was going to make it there safe, 70 East was a major health hazard in some places and quite slippery. I was thinking, watching some guy in a truck almost take it to the concrete wall, wow, I could be in an accident on my way to a 45 min bike race, damage my car, break my hitch rack, destroy my bike, cost myself huge headaches for just trying to race my bike.....I got off the gas pedal and slowed down. Not worth it - I will arrive in one piece and live to ride another day. After a call into Little Caesar, I figure out how to get to the park and learn at the 'gate' I must pay more money to enter and race, $5.00. 

The left side of the course-hill

B4 the roads got ugly

about when the roads got ugly...

Jacob V's winning SS

Broken post = sad Amanda

It's finally cross season.

Team Shamrock-locally built frames

 :: FORT HARRISON (St. Mary's) ::
Forced to park, I hop out, find registration, sign in, break staples and head back to the warm car to change clothes and get a warm-up. It's cold and snowing, still. Did I mention cold, about 25 or so. I was hoping to wear shorts, and go with some embro, but after changing clothes, I decide I am not interested in bare legs today, determine it's about racing well. I head out to try to warm up, get some time on the course and see what this course has to say. It said; no major speeds required-except the repeated sprint through the start/finish pavement, it was about skills, mad/crazy/get sum skills, it was about staying up right, going hard, pushing limits in and out of every turn, running fast up the hillside and up the hill near the top of the playground slide. It was about finding the fastest lines where the ground and grass is frozen to stay up and keep pedaling. There was a short section into the woods, where the flat trail had become peanut butter slop, where I was putting in large gaps and catching those ahead. I managed not to fall once, pedal my ass off and have a great result. I almost caught Andrew from 7hills, but he had a good gap on me from the first few laps. I ended up with my best finish of the OVCX series in 5th place.
------------------------------------

:: BROOKSIDE ::

Having never been to either of these races I was cautioned by coach to take a trainer and stay close to the park. What did I forget? Yes the trainer. After breakfast, Little Caesar and I bail out of the nice-friendly Hampton Inn and head off to the "ghetto" Brookside course. On the drive to the course, I see, boarded up homes, old giant warehouse's, lots of empty property and nothing really super scary enough to make me reach for the auto door locks.

We drive into the park and race location into some pylons, I manuver my vehicle through them and park 10 steps to the start line, help Little Caesar to park his truck and set up his tent.

We check out the layout, watch the CAT 4's for a bit and run up the steps to sign in, grab numbers. I buy two can's some some locally made Embrocation and head back to the car.

C.Freter + bike

My bike was worse

added weight

Did I mention it was colder than the day prior? I mean F'ING cold, certainly the coldest race for 2010. I get into the car to change into my kit and put the carbon tubie wheels on and get to scouting out the course, socialize, see who showed and watch some racing. The gang is all here, Collier, Gers, Biven, Sherman, Stierwalt, Walker, Mirus and Andrew. This course requires fitness, mad skills, risk taking and the ability to take a giant set of steps crazy fast. These steps run up the left side of this old building, have a landing midway, curve to the right and in some places are crumbling away into nothing. I pretty much ran these things in double time as fast as I could each lap, there is no way I could have even run them any faster without a bike, I think. The course suited my skills and fitness, there was two road-pavement sections both were uphill around to the backside of the old school building. My tires were lower than Saturday on purpose, but we spent a ton of time riding frozen icy off camber sections of trail and some seriously snotty mud sections, requiring riding just on the edge of crazy to keep the bike upright and maintain momentum. There was a section of pine trees and needles that allowed for some recovery before going into a crazy off camber downhill section, just before the stair run. Riding up the road to the left side of the old school, took us around some slick twisty stuff and down a sweeping off camber left turn, where in the first few laps I had to hang my leg out to maintain some sense of balance. I would say this place suited my skills. I had some good-luck when Mirus and 

Sunday - (not shown with Snow

Andrew(7hills) both went down with (I think) two laps to go on an off camber section that was just before a little hill. I put in a hard attack once I got around them, even though they were both sprinting to stay with me after going down. It appeared Mirus went down and Andrew had no where to go and went down as well. This moved me up two places in my finish for a 6th Place. I was super happy with my finish, almost catching Josh Biven. I wasn't too far from Sherman, either, whom had one of his best days of the year on the bike at Ft. Harrison-Saturday. I have had a blast racing with Gers, Biven an Collier this year, they are good people, great racers and have kept me motivated all season.

OVCX#11/Cap City Cross-11/14/2010- Infirmary Mound - Granville, Ohio

Lap 2

"sprint" finish, James T wheel on right ahead of me

One of my favorite races in my area. A short 45 minute drive. It happens to be one of the few courses that you can really open up the throttle and give your 11/12 tooth gears a workout. Where you can test your ability to just stay on the gas at a much much higher rate of speed than most any other course, other thank Kings CX. This place requires the ability to take risks, sit in the saddle, put power down, sprint out of every corner and go fast really fast. Oh, that's every cross race, ha.
Well, I do think this course lends itself to a different kind of rider and fitness. Some said a "roadie" course, I am not so sure about that, but it was a more open course that certainly requires a different type of fitness.
It's a long lap, it's all uphill from the single-track section in the woods with a steep hill, that required some to dismount, but I rode it every lap. All the way to the top of the pond lip and another false flat up into the woods. So almost 50% of the

John, Andy J. Spencer, me

lap, you are going up and up. Once at the top, there is a hard right, downhill into some washout (fall line), then a series of up and down slalom sections on the side of the lake hill. These things could be ridden at a high rate of speed in the drops, if you were smooth and picked the right line in and out of them. The last up, brought us back towards the start area a bit and past and around the wheel pit. There was another super speedy section of wide double track with horse shit in one of the corners, across the road and down into some sandy stuff, across a

Matt S. and take in air & recover

bridge then into the single-track woods. I am not sure there was too much technical 'cross' skill required at this course, other than the ability to ride what is there at a high rate of speed and take risks in and out of the technical bits that are included. I did ok, at this place and nudged out Bo Sherman in a sprint for 9th Place, but couldn't pull back James Turner. He was within 10/15 seconds for much of the race, I just couldn't real him back. It took me a long time to get my mojo workin' and by the time the legs felt fast, I couldn't close the gap. Mirus beat me by quite a bit this race, he came by me like I was at my first race at some point. Looking at the BWE photos, I looked pretty sad going over the barriers for the first few laps, the low back issue not completely healed.
A weird vibe at this combined Cap City Cross race and OVCX series race. Not sure the vibe and feel of these two race series are on the same planet.

The Ohio Ortho team had a huge turnout and some great results. In the Open 3 Race (B's for Cap City). Sholl, Joel, Ryan, Kurtis, Pete and Joe all battled it out with some fast guys from the OVCX series. Doug C and I were the only ones in the 3/35+ group. Josie Stubenrach got a nice 5th place in her race. Daisuke, Brian and Kristian all battled it out in the CAT 4's for good placings in a larger field than usual from the Cap city races. Kelly Clem took a solid 16th place in front of Kristian and behind Brian and Daisuke. Jon Dy pulled out an awesome 9th place in the Elite race just behind Josh Prater and Gamm. Way to go Team!

Cap CIty Race #6 / Smith Farms - 12/5/09

Smith Farms Highlight
I walked away with my first Ohio Top 3 Podium finish, with a 3rd place. Happy day. This venue was on part of the Central Ohio Parks, Three Creeks. It was a great venue and had some nice features for a cross race. There is much more here to use I think but the area around the barn and storage area served us well, with some really nice terain. I had a decent start sitting with the front of the fast guy ten "B" field.
Course: Our start was a drag race to a wide sweeping left onto a getting narrow bridge and then a hard left up left to an off camber hill. There was a nice dip on the inside of the off camber section, which proved to be not the line to take even though it appeared to be the fastest line, it wasn't - tricky. Once up the little hill, we were on an old double-track tractor road for a short bit, then a hard left onto the pavement, where you could have rolled a tire. Off the pavement and back onto the grass with one of my favorite spiral cross designs of the year. (I can do really well in this type of stuff, looking around and through these type of cross things, where others sometimes can't look ahead of their front tire) After the spiral we headed over to the main road near the course and had a barrier with a super steep run up and then a quick steep downhill. We had a short recovery section downhill still parallel to the road then into some off camber turns up and down a hills side near our parking. There was also a really cool dip with an uphill into a right turn with a tight sweep around the barn in the photo. Sitting in the line of fast 10, I knew if I could just hang on to the group, someone might make a mistake or slowdown, sure enough I hung on, slowly warmed up and started to feel really great. My legs had tons of power and gas and I was running the double barriers and single up hill barriers really well. I picked off Larry P, when he went down in a slipery corner and went from 8th to 6th when a few others cracked with 3 laps to go. Tim, Glen, Michael O. and local B racer and ("i haven't been riding, really") sandbagger Brandon all were remaining in front of me. I chased and chased Tim till I finally got him on the tractor road, Glen was just in front of him with 1 lap to go.
I could tell I was gaining on Glen, I just kept pushing and pushing. Once I passed him, Tim came back around on Glen's wheel and they both worked to try to close the gap to me, but I managed to hold them off in the last of the twisty bits before the finish line.