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

OVCX-Cap City Cross-Ohio State Cross Championships - Lane Road Park - Upper Arlington, Ohio

It's over, I made it. My season is over. thank you thank you thank you.
What a race today - with a bit of a schedule delay, our race went off about 40 minutes late.
....finally a week or so later - Thanksgiving got in the way.
The big kahuna, all the marbles, my eggs in one basket, the final countdown, the last straw, the swiss army knife of races. Or just the last cyclocross race of the season, just the Ohio State Cyclocross Championships is all! What a day it turned out to be. The sun came out and the temperature actually went somewhere, besides down. After some forethought, I decided that it might help matters if I warmed up on the trainer at home, a grand advantage when the racecourse is only 20 min by car from my house. This was a good thing, but with a second family Thanksgiving on the same day, we rushed to make it out of the house by our projected 9:30 a.m. time. We wanted to be there early enough to see Tim and some other folks roll out for the men’s C/CAT 4 races. We arrive, and find a great parking spot on a side street just a stones throw from registration and a construction port-o-john in someone’s side yard. Sweet. Park – jog over to registration – wait 3 min –sign my name - get my race number – [wow, Race Promoter, Andy Johnson’s dad and wife are super efficient registration table people] then I run back to the car, number in tow. With the sun out, I can race with much less layers originally thought I would wear. This is good; overheating is bad during a race. I can bundle up, layer, then drop a pile of stuff at the start line. I now have plenty of time, to get some embrocation going, pin up the race number chat with a few folks by and in the car (with the heater blasting) and get my race face put together. While chatting with socialite, Mr. Gamm, I volunteer Jen to hit the wheel pit with my spare Mavic SL/Challenge Griffo’s and get on the bike for some spinning around to see how the legs feel. I wanted to roll around the grass boundary of the course and see how the grass looked for race day. One-day prior, I managed a pre-ride of the course on Saturday and check in with the race designers/organizers to see how things were playing out. Forward back to Race day; conditions look faster, the grass matted down and lines picked out by many other sets of tires. Hindsight, I believe I made a good choice going with the Planet X carbon wheels and my more narrow tubie tires, for the most part – more on this later. While I am out riding about, I see the current racers finish and squeak out on the course to check things out. There are two dicey spots on the backside of the hill, on the Lane Road side, that will need some body English, the right line, and possibly a sit and spin situation. One is a hard right turn off the bike path, the other is an off camber turn to the right that guided you into a pine tree if you picked the safer line. There were quite a few of the family watching Tim and I race. My parents, my in-laws, and Tim’s wife-Julie’s parents. It was great having them there for support for sure. I took some time during my warm up to hang out, chat, and feel the warmth. While hanging out, I hear the announcement they are running 45 minutes behind schedule for the Men’s B/CAT 3 race – WTF? Awww Come on. Now all my morning planning, EPO – my doping schedule is all off track – crap. Really – this is somewhat of an inconvenience, but not earth shattering – to self, “remember cross is fun, you are here for fun”. I calm down, calm my parents down, my wife does damage control and shuffles the group of family over to the coffee, dognut, tea tent, and I head back to the car for some heat and more socializing. Time flies and I am at the start line waiting for the sandbaggers to be ‘called up’ to the front row. Layne, Mike Riley, Mason, sandbagger 1, 2 and the maybe 3rd line up. I make my move and get a second row spot. We receive our regular USA Cycling Instruction from Mr. USA Cycling Guy and get a 1-minute warning. The one-minute flies while there is some joking around about putting some of these sandbaggers into the tape or a tree - It is game time. Tweeeeeet – the whistle is blown and we are off like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I get a great spot down the field of dreams sitting about top 12 over the big hill finish. Wow, good stuff, I try to rest, recover and relax, we make a few hard switchback turns and wind around. I am still sitting in top 12 or so….the group is starting to get away, fast, I see Joe Hall, Layne, Mason, Chewning and a few other familiar Team kits around me. I am not doing too badly – we wind around the backside of the baseball diamond fence and head south towards the tennis courts. We twist around and head back south – fly along the tennis courts and make a crazy slick left turn into the pine trees, make a quick tight single-trackish left then right, some grass then back out on the blacktop bike path that surrounds the entire Lane Road park. We follow the path north, hit the grass, fade downhill to the left, hit more blacktop, miss some low branches and slow-up for an off camber section into the grass – I am sitting in a great spot, guys are really pushing from behind and I am forced to take the inside line that was slick, frozen and barren – DOWN I go. Crap, that really hurt. I get up run up the hill as three- four people pass me. We go around a pine tree down a short steep hill, a hard 180 at the bottom, I shift my right lever which is now pushed way way in, and get out of the saddle to spin up, another 180 to the right and down to another 180 into a single barrier. Dang it- my hand is killing me. We head south again and away from my fall point then back towards the hill, where we serpentine around on the Lane Road side of the course that is getting direct sun and melting some very cold water out of the ground. We start at the bottom of the hill wind up it with some 180 degree switchbacks and manage to work towards a tough off camber section that peaks at the top, guys are behind me pushing – I get stuck where I didn’t want to be and crap Down I go again and now my hip, left thumb and index finger are throbbing like a Fred Flintstone cartoon thumb. I sail down the hill and head towards the 180 degree turn near our start line and go to it all over again, trying to regain my losses during my two crashes. I can see Joe Hall, Layne and Dave Groen all not too far ahead. At one point, maybe with thee laps to go I pass Joe Hall on the bike path, he looks popped, but then a lap later he comes flying by me like his ass was on fire. I can see Dave G in the short distance and try to ride as relentless as possible to close down the gap in the twisty bits – where I know he doesn’t do well. Ben Bonney is nowhere to be seen, I hear Mason’s name and a few other leader names being yelled out along the course and finally hear someone say, “Last Lap” as I roll over the hill for the last time. I give it everything I have, knowing this is the big one, the last time I can hurt myself like this for 2008, I catch I think a lapped rider on the last corner and hit as hard as I can across the field start area and up to the crest of the hill for the finish. I thought I might have been top 15. Nope. I managed a 17th place out of 41 guys. Not bad. I’ll take it. It was great to have family and cross friends supporting me out there on such a cold day.

John Bryan State Park – OVCX #9/CAPCITYCROSS #7

JOHN BRYAN STATE PARK – OVCX #9/CAPCITYCROSS #7

Wow, what a race, what a course, what F-U-N.
I wrote after my tubie flat (glass on the course) at the Gun Club and my overall disappointment and moment of being pissed - cross is supposed to be fun and this race certainly renewed my view of what cross fun means.
I decree this course was of my top 3 favorites for 2008. Lots of flow like a great mountain bike trail or car racecourse without a ton of climbing. Although, my Polar file showed about 795 feet of climbing, it sure didn’t seem like that much, compared to the UCI Harbin race. I think John Bryan provided steady not steep climbing and not all at once, wall type climbing, which Harbin is known.
We had 40 Men line up for the CAT 3 race and I was on the second row behind Mr. Sandbagger, along with the other 08’ season sandbaggers who were sitting front row.
There has been some chatter about this – this week – I might have helped stir the pot some – me oh no - the issue for me is, yes I am sure you would like to win the overall award for the CAT for the Season, but you know, if you have won more than 3 races or been in the top 3 of 3 races or ok let’s say 6, then dam it, you should fricking CAT up, I am sorry. Let someone else win. It is not going to be me – YET. I am close, but not quite top 5 material in the B’s yet. But these guys, just week in and week out slaughter the rest of us some weeks by minutes, not 30 or 45 seconds, minutes. That is silly and why I am calling these fuckers out. Blah blah, it’s their first season of winning, blah blah train harder and we should all quit our bitching – well, CAT up and race with those that you should be – this one guy – he slams us in this race, then goes out into the A race, and sits 8/9th over almost the entire race, sitting on a CAT 1 wheel most of the race, then blows up and finishes like top 14 or something – I can’t think of a better way to bitch slap everyone in the B race.
Looking at the photos, you can see a bunch of us in laughing and heckling “some people” about sandbagging. That moment was almost as fun as the race itself.
The course started with a slight uphill with a sweeping narrowing turn to the right then a sweeping turn to the left. We wrapped around the field near the finish start area and went around a few trees into the first set of barriers – the field was getting strung out at this point. After the wooden barriers we went up towards Gazebo land hit some pavement then a hard hard fake you out right turn almost straight into a tree then a hard left a the tree into the first sand pit. I thought this one was the toughest obstacle of the day, since I had to place to really put in a serious acceleration to get through it. I ended up running it after the first lap attempt and just glided my bike on top of the sand, without actually picking it up, which was an interesting mid race experience and seemed to work well in this race.
Other highlights were, what I call the Gazebo section, where we came into a large grass area on the right outside, then circled inside center and then back out, genius design, I could pedal through the entire thing with my high bottom Bracket, thank you Ridley. I was putting time on guys here every one of the 7 laps, by just maintaining pedal strokes. I might have been smiling every-time in this section.
After the first sand, we went across the park road into a nice right then left turn onto a grass section that was very fast into a sweeping wide right turn around a tree. Back around a tree to the left and another uphill to the left. This section was a big deal breaker if you could maintain speed and pedal through and around these trees. I managed to just stand up, get in the drops and go hard, in a hard gear. At the top of the small rise, I would settle in and spin to recover a bit on this somewhat downhill grass/dirt section in the woods, behind where our car was parked. We then headed back across the park road, turning hard right and lining up for a good sprint across the other side of the sand pit.
We had two standard, wooden barriers, the standard OVCX series, double sand pits, and two large, large logs with quite a bit of running between them. We then hit the outside of this grass section against the tree line and went into a long semi flat to light downhill and into the woods onto single-track. Once on the dirt, the first sweep turn to the left, required picking the right line and having the right position on your bike otherwise, you would end up hitting sticks and trees on the outside line of the single track. A slight bit to the right and then long sweeper dip to the left and then out of the woods and back out on the grass. Some twisty stuff and back into the woods on onto the dusty single-track.

I ended up Top 15 with Ben B and the BioWheels guy just in front of me, I mean just and Layne was on my ass chasing me down like a rooster in a hen house. Ben said he was watching me like a hawk and working really crazy hard to keep me away from him. That's good stuff. A great day on the bike. A few of us went into Yellow Springs for some food and heat. Good times, good day.

OVCX-Gun Club Cross- Miamiville (Cincinnati) Ohio-11/2/2008

As I type, Barack Obama is now our newly elected President of these United States.
Yes Yes Yes. George Bush YOU are fired! GET Out of town! Palin, you can go home now.

On another note...
With only a few more races to go in the OVCX, my fitness and form is finally coming around. This picture certainly shows how great I felt. I was 12th at the start into the pits here and moved up to 10th and was chasing 9th on the last lap. I know I could have gotten that guy in front of me, he wasn't that far ahead and I was gaining on him in the twisty bits - fast. I suppose it was my time, but it certainly wasn't my fault there was broken GLASS on the course. WTF I say. With a half a lap to go, I roll through the glass, pucker up, and think for the last time, I hope I don't get a flat through here I hope I don't get a flat through here, and what do you know, last lap, chasing down 9th, the best result, best legs all season, best feeling, and POP, pfffffffffftttt, my 10th goes to 12th just past the sand pit and me running as fast as I can to the wheel pit. I get past the sand, through some more twists, now I am 14th, into the pits, 19th now....crap, crap crap. I get my rear wheel on, adreniline is pumping now, I am pissed! I chase down the two last guys to pass me and I make haste to get anyone else I can see. I went as hard as I could and even hoped I would throw up, just to get back those hard earned places, but I only managed a 17th place. I suppose not terrible considering the flat, running far to the pits, but I didn't throw a temper tantrum or throw my bike at least :) - I went out on the road to "cool off" so I wouldn't say anything I would regret.
I did get some nice compliments, after the race, from fellow racers about my fitness for the day, when calmed me down and made me feel better, it's only a bike race and it's fun, right? Right.
This course though is to my strengths for sure. It's like a small Lake Hope State Park Mountain bike trail. Flowy, fun, hilly, and hurtfull in sections. There was a fast section just after the double set of barriers down a small hill and up into the double track in the woods, with a double track fading left turn and over all the glass and back out to the Finish area < then into the sandpit with a 180 degree turn into the other half of the sand pit. Certainly one of my favorite courses this year, it's just too bad i got a flat. The tubie on the Planet X rim is finished, a big slice from the giant piece of glass. I was supprised I could still ride the rim with the tire glued on...now I just need to get a new tubie and maintain this fitness, before the State Championship in a few weeks.
This weekend is OVCX - John Bryan State Park, another one of my favorites and a place I have always done well. TJ said they mixed things up some this year, so I am excited to see what is in store.
She took some great shots but I liked this one of me spinning up some sand.
Top Pic taken by Jeffrey Jakucyk

The Pain Train - two days of UCI cyclocross in Ohio

OVCX - Java Johnny's/Lionhearts International Cyclocross (UCI C2) October 11, 2008

Saturday, was more fun than Sunday. I would say an 8 out of 10 on the fun scale. It certainly hurt much worse, I thought I was going to pass out after my race. I got beat by my arch nemesis (now friend) Ben B. He was rolling really well. One Highlight - my wife yelled "last lap", I listened - I laid it down for most of that lap, only to find out it wasn't the last lap. That hurt. The bike was great and the new Griffo tires are the bomb. They stick like glue and roll like butter. They do make a difference and they are just clinchers. Plus they look cool. Lots of guys racing. Lots of fast guys racing. I had a high heart rate max of 190. Wow, it does go that high and I didn't die.

BioWheels/United Dairy Farmers Harbin Park International” (UCI C1) - October 12, 2008

Sunday - more owee - about a 6 on the fun scale, but way way more guys racing in the 3 field. My HR max and average were down from Saturday and the legs felt pretty strong. I just didn't have the gas and mental anger in the pedals, like I did Saturday. I think about 65 or so lined up. I was further back in the starting line up than Saturday - oddly enough I think I finished where I started. I did pass some guys, but just didn't get out of the gate very well, got bogged down in the first turn, when I should have been on the outside of that instead, guys were all over the brakes (not supposed to use brakes in cross) which caused a little mess in the first corner, then the shit was strung out and no place to pass till the hill climb through the actual finish line. I did "beat" my arch nemesis, Ben, but it really doesn't count, since he bailed after lap 2.

Some lessons to learn from over the weekend: 1. ride aggressive for good starting position. It's all about elbows and body leans - hold my ground - don't find gaps > make them. 2. Pick my line for the first corners to avoid dumb guys on their brakes. 3. Work for good position at the start, but don't go full out - then work to not let anyone pass. 4. Arrive at race early enough to ride at least one full lap. 5. If your wife is yelling last lap, don't listen - listen for the damn bell. 6. when the temperature is 80 degrees, carry a bottle for the first few laps and drink from it - then dump it. 7. Power pedal through the sand - every time - no letting off - no soft pedaling - I will be confident everytime through that stupid crap. 8. Don't let anyone cut me off in turns - ohhhh I hate that - since I handle my bike pretty dang well. 9. Don't sit on anyone unless they are overtaking other riders - it will slow me down. 10. Race and ride like there are no more races.

I'll add to this as I have time - been a busy week, still playing catch up at home with being gone on our little beach vacation in North Myrtle, SC and then being gone all weekend racing. Someone please come run the vacuum and dust. If only I had a monkey in the basement that knew how to clean. A cat wouldn't work, they don't do anything.

Cyclocross BLING

Ohhhhhh
I love lightweight parts.
Can't wait to see how this looks on my cross bike soon. I will be taking that giant 52 tooth outside chain ring off and running just a 39 this year. Basically a 1 x 9 set up.
I hope to obtain/have two DA cassettes to use as well for various races this season. A 12-25 and a 12-27 should cover me for any hill climbing or terrain at the Cap City Cross Series and OVCX. These are just as light as the DA 7800 10 speed cranks and I won't have to take my cranks off my road bike now, which is what I was planning on doing. Now, if I could just find a 9 speed right DA shifter, and get a dream set of DT 240 hubs and DT rims build for cross, I would be set. Hey - let me dream a little dream right?