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| 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.
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| The left side of the course-hill |
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| B4 the roads got ugly |
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| about when the roads got ugly... |
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| Jacob V's winning SS |
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| Broken post = sad Amanda |
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| It's finally cross season. |
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| 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.
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:: 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.
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| C.Freter + bike |
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| My bike was worse |
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| 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
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| 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.
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 
