Bellevue GP of Cyclocross a.k.a. The End of My Season

Well that's it. My bike racing season is, as the Aussies say, done and dusted. The Bellevue GP of Cyclocross finished out my season as well as the 2015 season of Nebraska 'cross races. There are a few more races in Iowa and whatnot, but I won't be able to race any of those.

Mark Savery designed another killer course this year. It used pretty much all of the features of last year's course, but with plenty of tweaks to keep it fresh. The course was as fun as it was hard! We had gotten a good amount of rain earlier in the week and then we had alight dusting of snow the night before the race. Despite the moisture, the ground didn't quite turn into the muddy soup we were expecting of it. I was relieved to see that because I have no experience racing in those conditions and wasn't quite sure how to prepare for a mudfest.

Even though the weather didn't throw us the curve ball we were expecting, we still managed to get a surprise on the morning of the race when Rachel's mom, who had been planning on watching our kids for the day, called her to tell her that she was sick and couldn't take the kids after all. After some thought, we decided that we'd just go ahead and bring them to the race in spite of the fact that it would mean that they would miss their naps. It was kind of a crazy idea, but I don't think Rachel relished the idea of staying home with the kids while I went and played bikes by myself.

So, all five of us loaded up in the minivan and headed down to Swanson Park in Bellevue. That van is seriously great for days like that. I had my bike, a couple extra wheels, a trainer, a cooler with food and beverages, and a bag full of race clothes. Rachel also had her own various items as well as the kids' diaper bag and a bunch of extra clothes for them. When we got there, I pulled the car seats out of the back and put the back seats down, making an ideal place to change clothes and to put a couple kid-sized chairs for the older two to sit in while Rachel played some DVDs for them on the van's DVD player. No joke, minivans rock!

I got a few laps in for a quick pre-ride, chatted with a few people, watched some racing, and then set up the trainer and got down to warming up. My warm-up was the beginning of a few mistakes I made that day. A golden rule of racing is that you never try anything new on race day. For some reason that never crossed my mind insofar as warming up goes. I had decided to try a different warm-up routine that I found on Adam Myerson's website. It looked good and I have been looking for different ways to warm up since I definitely need a good warm-up for races like crits and 'cross races.

My second mistake followed soon after when I forgot to take into account how my heart rate reacts to cold weather. My warm up routine called for certain times in different heart rate zones and because I forgot about the fact that my heart rate tends to be lower in cold weather, I ended up doing more work on the trainer than I expected. Looking back at my Garmin file, I can see that my wheel speed on the trainer was a couple mph higher than it normally is for the given heart rate. I'm not sure how much of an effect that had on my race, but I'm sure spending 5 minutes over threshold instead of at threshold probably wasn't ideal! Yet another great reason that a power meter would be a wise investment.

Front row, baby!

I got the fourth call up so I was on the front row, which is always good! The cat 4/5 field was yet again the largest field of the day at over 25 guys, and trying to fight through that kind of traffic always has the potential to kill your race. I didn't get my best start and Patrick Abendroth and Dave Cleasby shot off the line ahead of me, but Patrick ended up slipping off his pedal and veering a bit to the left when he did, so it was probably good that my start wasn't as good as I wanted since it meant I wasn't right next to him when that happened.

By the time we made the sweeping left u-turn at the end of the start/finish stretch, I had slotted into second wheel behind Cleasby and Patrick was right behind me with Adam Little behind him. Within the first lap, it was down to pretty much Cleasby, Adam, and I as far as I could tell. We were going pretty much flat out and it hurt. It hurt real bad, in that good 'crossy kind of way. At some point (in the second lap, I think) Adam got a bit of a gap on us and as I closed it down, he started to slow up a bit. I was so winded from our fast and furious start that I decided to just sit on his wheel rather than ride past him. I figured I could recover and let him take the pace making. Not too long after that, Cleasby rode past us both. I didn't follow. I figured Adam would stick his wheel and I could just stay with them both.

Turns out Adam was probably hurting as badly as I was and Dave had something extra in the tank so he started riding away from us. This was despite the fact that we were certainly not holding anything back now. It was slowly becoming a race for second even though I don't think either one of us were ready to believe that quite yet. Still, it turned out to be the case. Dave just had more gas in the tank, I guess. He's got quite the engine, that's for sure!

My most significant mistakes came during this portion of the race. During my pre-ride laps I had always remounted my bike right after running up the stairs even though there was a bit of a hill yet to come. It had never been a problem. But during the race, I had more gear heading into the stairs so I was over-geared most of the time when I tried to remount. Plus, since my heart rate was pegged, my remounts were not nearly as smooth. These things combined meant that I would lose my momentum there and Adam would put a gap on me by simply running all the way to the top of the hill before getting back on his bike. He is way too strong to chase back over and over again and finally, in the last lap, I botched the remount so badly I had to get back off and run again. That was pretty much lights out for the rest of my race. I rode as hard as I could, and I think I may have even pulled him back a little bit, but it was too much to do yet again, and Adam rode across the line about 7 seconds ahead of me.

I don't know why I never changed what I was doing on that run-up. I guess when you're sitting at redline, it's hard to make rational decisions. I know that if I hadn't kept making the same mistake over and over the race could have had a different outcome. Oh well. That's racing. I was really hoping to take a win this season, but it just wasn't to be. I was, and still am, disappointed in my performance. I think the hardest part is knowing I won't have a chance to try again for another whole year. Regardless of my disappointment, I still had a hoot. 'Cross is just the best, no matter where you end up!

 These pictures are such a good example of how your form can go to pot over the course of a race! Haha
Photo credit: Leman Northway

After finishing, I found Rachel, and she had that look of, "the kids are melting down, and we need to go... soon!" Unfortunately, I still had to stick around for podiums. I was at least able to take our youngest from Rachel to give her back a break and the other two quickly found some great entertainment in the form of Ryan Feagan and his microphone. The bike scene is really full of great people here in Omaha. It was so good to know that if we arein this kind of position again, we know that people like Eric O'Brien and Ryan Feagan and the like are there to help out.I don't think they even knew they were helping.They were just having fun with the kids, which is help aplenty!

Jensie really likes his naps. The podium was a good of a place as any, he figured!

Anyway, my second place netted me two more upgrade points, giving me a grand total of 9 points for the year. One short of the 10 that USAC requires for a 4 to 3 upgrade. I went ahead and requested my upgrade anyway and it was approved super quickly! So, next year I will be racing as a cat 3. I'm looking forward to the challenge and it will be nice to not feel like I have to podium to have done a good race. I also look forward to an extra 15 minutes of racing, as odd as that may sound. When your race is only 30 minutes, there is no resting at all. No strategy either. Just go as hard as you can and hope it's hard enough. Maybe it's the same in a 45 minute race, I don't know. But I look forward to finding out!

Almost Had Him

The fun just never ends with cyclocross. Well, I guess it ends in a couple weeks for me, but you get what I'm saying, no? Star City CX hosted their annual race at Pioneer's Park this last weekend. It was my first visit to the course which includes the locally famous Hooligan Hill. It did not disappoint. The course was super fun and had a god mix of power sections and twisty stuff for me. Plus, there was a good long section of pavement that made the roadie in me sit up and take notice.

Front row start = ideal. Photo credit: Matt Pearson

My podium finishes at the Flatwater CX weekend earned me a front row start. Unfortunately for me, Andrew Casburn's finishes at the same races had also earned him a front row start and from the whistle he set about putting his stamp on our race. Andrew took the holeshot and I slotted in behind him. My cornering was sloppy even for me in the first lap and Andrew slowly rode away from me. Meanwhile, I could sense Adam Little working at trying to get around me, so I worked at defending my line and continuing to shut the door on him in each corner. Maybe if we were team mates, Adam... hint hint.

Prior to the race, I had decided that I would not attempt to ride Hooligan Hill. In two previous attempt during my practice laps, I had both ridden it successfully and I had lost traction and stalled out. I figured I'd be better off playing it safe and running it. I still think that was the right decision for me, however, Adam was riding the hill each time and he was riding it faster than I could run it and so he made his pass on the hill and went onto the pavement in a small group.

It's funny how quickly your memory fades after a race, but I'm pretty sure it was Adam, Patrick Abendroth, and me in that group. I had planned on sitting in if we ever hit the pavement in a group since I figured others would be sufficiently motivated to pull us through the section, but when the situation presented itself, I found it too difficult to sit in patiently. I was afraid, as I coasted and used my brakes to keep from moving ahead of Adam and Patrick, that our group would grow from behind. So, I attacked. I got a pretty good gap too if I recall it right. But we all came back together in the twisty stuff.

Like I said, memories fade. I remember chasing Adam, but this photo shows that it was Hunter Peterson at one point instead. Focusing on holding a wheel will do that, I guess! Photo credit: Matt Pearson

We'd continue this pattern for a few laps and eventually, I was able to shake Adam and Patrick. I think it was the continued attacks on the road, but I'm not entirely sure. Still, by the beginning of the last lap, I had enough of a gap to believe that as long as I didn't totally pile it up, I had a solid 2nd place pretty well wrapped up.

Of course this whole time Andrew had been working his way up to what was something like a 50 second lead, I believe. I couldn't see him and didn't figure I was going to. I was getting a bit tired and my cornering was getting lazier and lazier. But then some where nearing Hooligan Hill, I thought I could see Andrew and he was a lot closer than he should have been considering his lead! As I got to Hooligan Hill, people were literally screaming in my ear, "HE DROPPED HIS CHAIN!! HE DROPPED HIS CHAIN!!"

This was it. This was my shot at winning this race. Andrew had been clearly stronger but a mechanical had brought him back into reach. I ran to the top of the hill and jumped onto my saddle and hit my pedals in just the right way to make them spin backwards. DAMNIT!! At this point the spectators are screaming and I'm screaming words that would make Darrell Webb DQ me if he had heard them.

I got clipped back in and rode out of my skin to get to the road section and put the hammer down as hard as I could. And it was working. I was reeling Andrew in, and quickly. He must have been pretty tired after dropping his chain. The pavement section was broken up with a little out and back on a mini-peninsula of sorts. I was just rounding the turn in that section when Andrew was getting back on the road. When I hit the pavement, I sprinted for the line with all I had, but there just wasn't enough road left to get back up to speed and catch him.

So, I ended up in second place and I was not at all unhappy with it. Andrew went on to upgrade and place 4th in the cat 3 race the next day, so I don't feel bad at all about losing to him on Saturday.

Racing is even better when your better half can come enjoy it with you! Photo credit: Matt Pearson

Next up are the State Championships on November 21st. With both Cole Limpach and Andrew Casburn in the 3s now, the win is looking even more possible for me. It will be far from easy though. I'll still have Adam to contend with, who has beaten me pretty handily a couple times already this year, and I have a feeling David Cleasby will be gunning for it too. Here's hoping I can bring a gold medal home!!

Racing, friends, and beer. It doesn't get much better! Photo credit: Emily Hoesly

Cunningham Cross Report

Soup anyone?

Last weekend was my first cross race of the season, Cunningham Cross. I can't tell you how much I enjoy everything about cyclocross. The racing is intense and difficult and the environment is fun and friendly.

If you want to do well at a 'cross race, you have to have more in your bag of tricks than simple raw power, though that helps a lot. You have to handle your bike well, read an ever-changing course, and getting off and on your bike smoothly is a required skill you don't find anywhere else in the cycling world. I can't imagine there will ever be a day where I won't have some aspect of 'cross that could be improved upon.

After the race, it doesn't matter where you ended up placing so much, because now you get to trade stories about your race experiences with your competitors and there's always beer to be enjoyed and more racing to watch (unless you're a cat 1/2 whch won't be me for quite a while). And yet, even though it doesn't really matter where you placed, you (or is it just me?) always have that itch to do better next race, or to best that one competitor who keeps outpacing you (I'm looking at you David Cleasby!).

Cleasby and I crossing the ditch.

Since this race was my team's race to put on, my wife and I got there pretty early that morning and had been out at the course the night before helping to set up the course and helping to drain some cans of their beer. Being there early and the beers I drank the night prior probably wasn't the best race prep I could have done, but hey, it's 'cross! Rachel was put to work right away getting racers signed in and I somehow had the (mis)fortune of manning the microphone for the first half of the day. I've always had respect for the job Ryan Feagan does when announcing and this experience only reinforced that respect!

About two hours before my race, I ditched the microphone and got kitted up in our new team jersey and started getting warmed up. I'm not the type of rider who can go super hard off the line without a good warm-up. So, I did my best to get a few really good 30 second to 1 minutes all out efforts in during my warm-up. My legs seemed to be okayish, though it's hard to tell when you're riding on 33mm knobby tires with not much air in them. Everything feels harder than it should on pavement. I'm sure the beer the previous evening had no influence on that...

Everything is more dramatic in black and white!

With a few minutes to spare, I got one more lap of the course in (except the muddy section) and rode up to the start where just about everyone was already lined up. I wasn't really worried about getting there early since there are usually call-ups anyways. I don't know if they did call-ups before I got there or if they didn't do them at all at this race, cause I never heard them. I knew I should have shown up to the line earlier. Maybe I could have weaseled my way into the front row. Live and learn I guess.

It only took about a third of a lap for the consequences of my poor starting position to rear their ugly heads. There was a nasty set of twisties that you could really only take in single file. As you might imagine (click here if you want to actually see it) it didn't take long for everything to jam up in there with at least two guys falling down ahead of me in line. By the time I got through the twisties, the leaders were way up the road and that was really all she wrote as far as my attempt at getting on the podium.

The ground here was so bumpy!

The race was far from over though. David Cleasby and a couple other guys and I were still together and it sounded from whoever was announcing that we were racing for fourth place. At some point in the second lap, Dave started pulling away from me on the bumpy power sections and the mud and I wasn't able to use the technical section to bring him back enough anymore so it ended up coming down to me and another racer (Alex Stephens) from the Midwest Cycling Club. We battled back and forth for most of the last two laps. He seemed to be slightly stronger on the flat sections and much faster running through the mud, but I was better in the corners and climbed the big climb faster.

Splish splash!

Like I said, Alex was faster than I was running through the muddy section. On our last time through the mud he passed me but then gave me the perfect opportunity to put to use some cornering tactics I learned at Mark Savery's cross clinic a few weeks ago. At the end of the muddy stretch, there was a left hand 180° turn. As we remounted our bikes, Alex continued on the path he was on meaning he started his turn from a pretty tight position. I saw this coming and proceeded to swing wide and apex my turn a little later so I could cut inside him when he had to exit the turn wide. It was beautiful and I think I deserve a gold star from Savery next time I see him!

I held Alex off through the barriers and down the path and then hammered it up the climb knowing he had been riding that a bit slower than I had been. Sure enough, I was able to get a pretty good gap which gave me some breathing room through the last bit of technical corners and into the final flat section. I could tell he was gaining back on me here, but it is really hard to pass in those final few corners and so he had to try and out-sprint me coming out of the final corner. I clicked it up a couple of gears before the last corner and sprinted as hard as I could. He came around me somewhere around the line. It was basically a photo-finish and neither of us could tell who had crossed the line first.

Everyone's bikes were a mess by the end of the day. The mud wasn't so bad to clean, but the grass clung to everything!

It was really good to be able to have some good head-to-head competition for those last couple laps. In previous races, by the last lap, I've been pretty much by myself. Having someone pushing you and forcing you to be aware of tactics in the midst of the tunnel-vision of a 'cross race made the race come even more alive for me. Very cool.

When the results sheet came back it showed that I had just barely edged out Alex for 5th place. I was something like 3 hundredths of a second ahead of him. It had to have come down to who had their timing chip on their forward ankle at the finish. What a great race! Next time I hope I will have a better starting position and then have a better chance of vying for a podium spot. These juniors coming up through the ranks are making it really hard though! lol I seriously told my wife that my new season goal is to beat Cole Limpach at least once, and that will be a challenge!

After I got changed out of my muddy kit, I got some of my stuff packed away and grabbed a few delicious beers courtesy of Brickway Brewery & Distillery and went to watch and cheer on the P/1/2 riders with Rachel. We watched, surprised, as some guy we didn't recognize rode away from Savery (turns out this guy was on the Hincapie continental road team and spent a couple stints over in Belgium with USAC's Euro 'cross camp) and we enjoyed all the fun that is 'cross spectating. There was beer, gummy worm hand up, and a gorilla masked Emily Houtchens offering banana hand-ups. It all made for a wonderful day of racing and watching racing.

My plan for the season was to do the full Omaha Jackrabbit gravel race (125 miles of gravel) on October 17th and then switch back to 'cross mode for the Star City CX and the Bellevue GP in November for a total of three 'cross races. But after the fun of last weekend, I decided to suggest to Rachel that we load up the kids and head to Lincoln for the Friday night Flatwater race on the 16th and then head down again the next day as well, skipping out on Jackrabbit. She had so much fun at Cunningham that she didn't even hesitate to agree to that idea even though it will mean getting the kids up early from their naps and extra coordination with Grammy. I told you 'cross was fun!

I'm hoping that with two more races than I had originally planned, that I will be able to garner enough points to upgrade to cat 3 for next year. My 5th out of 23 last weekend got me 1 point which puts me 10% of the way to my upgrade. While I know cat 3 will really kick my ass, I'd rather have a 45 minute race than a 30 minute one (or 24 minutes for that matter. #thanksdarrell) since I can usually just feel myself getting into a good rhythm at around 15 minutes in.