MFG Cyclocross 2013 #2 - Lake Sammamish

This past weekend was not only super rainy, but it was also the weekend of MFG Cyclocross #2 at Lake Sammamish park in Issaquah. After feeling great last weekend at SCX #1, I was excited to hit the course and go for a great finish. I had a solid week of riding, so I felt like the fitness was there and ready. The rain made for treacherous muddy conditions, especially as the morning racers had nicely churned everything up into a soggy, slippery mess.
I warmed up happily utilizing my tent as the rain continued to fall. Everything was feeling great as we lined up. I again was lined up 3rd row as I haven't placed well in the series yet this year. I made sure to start near the side so that as we got going I could shoot up the outside. At the whistle, as I expected the group pulled toward the middle of the road. I moved up along the right shoulder and as we hit the first corner I was happily in the top half of the group. We cycled through the first few winding and bumpy corners before hitting the very slick rear section of off-camber corners. We hit the beach and I was still in a good spot and managed to squeeze up a little more as we ran through the sand. Quickly getting back on the bike, I cut through the trees and we shot back into the front of the course.
The first corners of the front section were deep, thick mud. I rode through the deep corners and hit the barriers still on the tail of the leaders. So far so good!

We got going again through the faster sections and into some really slick mud corners. I was hustling to stay on the wheels until disaster! A rider managed to plow right into my front wheel sending me into the tape and while I managed to stay upright, the hit was enough to pop the wheel out of the dropouts, meaning there was no immediate running. I managed to pop the brake and reset the wheel, but I definitely lost some good ground here.
I got rushing off again ASAP and it felt good to start passing other riders from my field right away. I started getting into a groove and slowly making up places for the next few laps, enjoying my lack of mechanicals even though I did manage to slide around a bit (too much air pressure!)
As race leader Steve Fisher flew past me, I jumped on his wheel and managed to get a great view on a very fast line through the first few corners of the course until he managed to pull away. As I hit the sand for the last lap I was passed by the only other rider to lap me, Russell Stevenson. I was on his tail for the next few corners, again getting a good view of a faster line.
We hit another tricky section and little bobble due to carelessness caused me some trouble as two riders who had been hanging on my wheel managed to squeeze past. I tried to chase them back down, but fatigue was definitely beginning to show. I got onto their wheels at the barriers only to loose them again. I caught them again in a few corners, and as we hit the pavement I jumped on the gas trying to get back in front, however I just missed them at the line, finishing 1 second back.
I ended up finishing a solid 25th out of the starting field of 36. A solid result, although again I feel like I could have been better if I had avoided some little blunders.
Next weekend is the double-header out in Bellingham, so I am ready to bring the speed and go for some solid results. Check back soon to see how things go.
Keep on riding friends.

Seattle CX 2013 #1 - McCollum Park

This past Sunday was the first race of the Seattle CX series for the year, and to make things interesting they used a brand new course. The weather was cloudy but dry for most of the day but the rain rolled in around noon, just as I was getting to the venue. The course was a mix of fast grass sections with some tricky off-camber sections and tied together with a run through the BMX park and on the opposite side of the course was a brief trip through the woods. A very large course, but with lots of fun little sections that kept you going full-steam and paying full attention to the course. The rain added an additional element by turning much of the course into deeper mud or slick grass.
While warming up and riding around the course in the rain, the layout was definitely going to keep your focus and use your handling skills. Shortly before the start of the Elite race though, the rain stopped and the ground started drying a little. This made for tacky, thick mud and would cause some trouble.

 During the call-ups I ended up in the 3rd row of the 29 starters, so not that great, but I did set myself up behind Zack McDonald who is consistently fast. My plan paid off and I had a great start, hitting the first corner roughly around 10th. I was able to grab the wheels in front of me and hang with the lead group through the next few corners and into the BMX park. We then flew into the twisting off-camber back section and then dropped onto the asphalt and headed back toward the front of the course. I remained in great position as we entered the single-track forest and back onto the grass fields.

At this point I knew I was in great position and continued to work to stick onto the wheel in front of me, holding to a top spot. We hit the barriers and then swung back onto the front stretch to start the second lap. I managed to move up as a rider started to fade, however some other riders were still neck-to-neck with me, so there was no letting up.

We powered through the course again without incident, however just before the final corners, disaster struck. The thick mud had started coating my chain and it was enough to pop the chain of the chainring when I shifted down into the low gears to handle the tight corners. I jumped off to get the chain reset, but quickly lost 5-6 spots to the riders who were on my tail. I finally got going and started racing away, actually making up one of the spots again during the early section of the lap. I continued through the course and then coming into the same corner I dropped the chain again! Again riders went past and now I was getting quite frustrated, however I now figured out that the drop was only happening when I was in the lowest 2 gears. I continued racing along and trying to claw back my lost spots.

Through the next 4 laps, I only dropped the chain one more time as I accidently shifted into the low gear, but got back going much quicker now that I knew what was going on. During my final drop I ended up behind Zack who had now lapped me. I got a nice few corners on his wheel to see his lines before being back in my race to make up positions.

 As I rolled across the finish line, I still felt great, ready for more laps. I ended up 25th, so far back, but not last. I was 9 minutes behind Zack, but was only lapped by the two leaders who are both Pros, so not terrible. I only wish I was able to use up some of the energy in holding onto a great spot further up the field, but at least I know that the mechanical was caused simply by the lack of a chain catcher on my bike. A cheap and easy fix, and then it will be back to me to make the race work. Time to get ready for Lake Sammamish next weekend, since I know I can do well there.

Starcrossed 2013

Starcrossed 2013. Boom, done.
Starcrossed is the biggest cyclocross race out here in Washington, if for nothing else than the UCI Pro race at the end of the day. In addition to this, the course is usually very well laid out, the racing runs in the afternoon/evening, and the fields tend to be full of some of the best racers in the region.
As they were running the UCI Pros in the race, the organizers split the field into a 2/3 field and the Pro/1s, making for very tough races for both groups.

 Coming off the BRUTAL race last week at Finn Hill, I was ready to do well. I had amped up my training program, and also made sure my body was ready for running at redline for an hour, that way I didn't run out of power like last race.

After getting warmed up and ready to race, I found out that I would be getting a front-line start! That should make a good difference, since there were 62 racers in my field, coupled with the single-speed racers that started in front of us (81 racers in that field!). There were going to be a TON of people on the course, so getting through the crowd early would help a lot.

The start was called and I managed a decent start, but entered the corner about 9th, so I still have work to do on my starts and make sure I get closer to the hole-shot. We were on the tails of the single-speed race almost immediately and I started cutting around the riders right away and worked along the outside of the course and into the infield of the velodrome.
After working through the infield and along the bank of the velodrome, we raced across the barriers in front of the beer garden and then out along the outside of the velodrome again before racing out into the pavement and then swinging back toward the start line.

Since we were racing with the Cat 3 field, the race was only 45 minutes instead of the hour we would usually be racing, and the time was slowly cranking by as we made the laps of the course. I continued to make headway through the singlespeeds but was slowly losing ground to other Cat 2s. The racing was still very close as we got into the final laps, and I found myself in a battle with Tyson, a racer I fought with last year before he upgraded. I hung onto his heels for the rest of the race, finally finishing in 18th place.

Not the finish I was hoping for with a front-row start, but not terrible considering the riders I was competing against. And the finishing was super close - I did finish 2 minutes back from the leader, but most of the riders were less than 45 seconds ahead. Big improvement compared to last week, and I am very happy to say that I finished in front of most of the racers I competed with every week last year. Now it is time to get ready for the rest of the season and make some forward progress.

After my race, I cleaned up and then watched the Pro ladies race while I ate dinner. The ladies race had a great group of racers, but once Gabbie Durrin got on front, she ended up pulling away from the rest of the field for the remainder of the race. She held this lead for the rest of the race and easily took the win in the end.
The Pro men offered a little more suspense, although again the field was stacked with talent. From the gun, the big names were up front - Trebon, Powers, Page, Berden, along with many other potent racers.

For the next few laps, racers were switching off the lead, pulling the others along and keeping the race super fast. As the race progressed, the lead group was formed of Powers, Trebon, Page, and Berden. They had grabbed a small advantage and run with it, and slowly stretched the lead as well. Finally, Page and Berden fell off the pace and Powers and Trebon continued to trade attacks and distance themselves from the field. Powers managed to lead the last lap and actually started to pull a small gap on Trebon as they headed into the infield. Trebon laid down the power and caught Powers' heels, but then lost it again and was unable to hang as Powers launched his final sprint and beat Trebon by multiple bike lengths. Not a bad way to start out the year, and I am sure the Rapha team is pleased to take both races here.

You can watch the BehindTheBarriers episode here. Special thanks to Woodinville Bicycles again for the great pictures from the event, and to MadFiber for the wheels, which continue to work admirably in the cross racing conditions this year.
Next Stop - Seattle CX #1

MFG 2013 #1 - Big Finn Hill Park

Well, it is officially Cross season now! This past weekend was the 1st event of the MFG Cyclocross series out here in Washington, and despite the rain the past week, the event was dry and hot like usual. This year I am racing in the 1/2 field, so not only are the races longer, but also against a harder field.
As mentioned in my previous post, I am primarily racing a new bike this year - a Baron Nightingale CX. This event helped show me how good this machine will be for racing this year, however the race also showed me I have a lot of work to do this year!

I had a terrible start (mostly my fault for doing a practice lap) and ended up in the last row. We started with a rush and I managed to climb up a few spots as we moved into the field and started through the corners on the field. I jumped through the corners and made up spots as much as possible.
As we hit the bottleneck single-track section, I dismounted and managed to squeeze past a few more riders who were stuck dealing with the traffic.

Rushing through the course, I definitely started to feel the results of the heat and the work. As we made it to the lap count-down (about 30 minutes into the race), I was definitely slowing down. Luckily, most of the other riders were starting to run out of steam too. I was slowly making up ground as possible, but was very thankful for the final lap.

Putting everything I had left into the pedals, I raced through the last lap and managed to squeeze past one more rider before hitting the finish line.

Still ended up being further back than I wanted, finishing 31st of the 40 starters.
Time to re-focus, build up, and hit Starcrossed next weekend with full force!

Cross Rigs 2013/2014

The first real race of the Washington calendar is this weekend, and in preparation, I have finished up my new race steed, along with making sure that the trusty IF is ready for competition again, should the need arise.

A quick refresh of the IF for the interested:
1997/8 Independent Fabrication Planet-X Steel
IF Steel Cross Fork
SRAM Rival Shifters and Deraillieurs
TRP Euro-X Mag brakes
Fully Sealed cables
SRAM Red Cranks
Shimano XT Pedals
Thompson Elite Seatpost
Fizik Arione VS saddle
Ritchey WCS Stem
FSA Wing bars
Thorne Chainrings
2x10 Drivetrain

A fast and capable machine that served quite nicely through the 2012/13 season, and ready for racing even in the fastest crowds.

But, in the effort to be even faster through the races this year in the 1/2 field, I will be campaigning my new race machine:

2010 Baron Nightingale CX
Ritchey WCS Carbon Fork
SRAM Red/Force/Rival Blend
TRP Euro-X Carbon Brakes
Fully Sealed cables
FSA K-Force Light Cranks
Shimano M540 Pedals
Thompson Masterpiece Seatpost
Fizik Arione Saddle
3T ARX Stem
3T Ergonova bars
1x10 Drivetrain
Mad Fiber tubular wheels

As the continuation of my review work for Mad Fiber, I will be racing primarily on these wheels for the season and should have a depth of experience to share by the end of the season.

Stay tuned for the race report from the MFG Cyclocross race at Big Finn Hill park this Sunday, Sept. 8th.

Cross Whip Preview

Almost Cyclocross season, so it is time to get my new machine finished and ready to tear it up. I will continue to run the Independent Fabrication machine, although it may end up being more of the "B" bike this year depending on the course. The "A" bike will be the sweet Baron Nightingale I picked up last year, which I have been slowly building up for the last few months.

Quick little preview of this new race machine. It should be a blast due to the lightweight steel frame, carbon fork, and I am pretty excited to race a full season on these Mad Fiber wheels to finish my in-depth review.
Full build report for both bikes will be coming up soon!

Long ride and long necks

I ended up going for a great training ride the other day, one of those days on the bike that start out simple enough and suddenly you are 4 hours in and still have at least an hour left to get home. Nothing but sunny sky and asphalt to deal with, long rides have always been a great way to clear my mind and find new routes. I planned to head out to a small loop that I used to ride and then connect it back to some of the newer routes that the team uses frequently.
While out in the roads around Duvall, I found a Alpaca farm and stopped to have a bite and check out these long-necked beasts.

About an hour later, while heading toward Sammamish and a nice climb, I ran into a separate Llama farm. Funny that these farms were on the same fun ride.

In the end, I got a great few hours on the bike, good base miles ahead of 'Cross season, which is just around the corner.