Sterling

It seems like I just got to the States to do some cross racing, but in fact my time here has come to an end. I finished up with a weekend of racing in Sterling, part of the Verge Cyclocross Series. As usual there were races on Saturday and Sunday, and for the first of the two we were greeted with warm weather, but also about 70km/h winds! At first I thought this would play out to my advantage, being a road guy, but then I remembered how much these guys train for cross, and also recalled the last interval I have done, a very long time ago! Hmm, maybe this will be a tough day after all I thought! Anyway, all I could do was get a good start and then suffer as much as I could possibly stand, and before I would know it, the race would be over, right? Well, the plan was playing out fairly well from the start. I was in the last row starting, but had a really good run-up on the first lap and moved up from about 12th to 3rd position, with 2nd just in front and 1st pretty much gone. I knew I could close the gap to 2nd and gave it everything I had to do so. Pretty quickly I reeled him in, but then realized I had also towed a group of about 6 riders up to him in all the wind. That wasn't so smart, but I also thought if I kept the pace high I could crack the rest of the group. I accelerated hard out of the next corner and got a little gap. I thought for sure this would be the end of them, but after a while of us all hammering away, they worked together to reel me back in. Instantly came the counter attack, and at that point I had no response. Basically the wheels fell off my truck and I just started going backwards quick! I guess with such little intensity in training you can't expect to be able to have an answer to so many attacks, but that's life, you can't be super fit 12 months of the year! At this point I knew I was in trouble and focused on just recovering and then setting into a pace that might catch up to some of the riders. After a while that did happen, and I was bringing some of them back into catchable range. After a very hard effort I did finally catch two other guys, but one of them stuck with me and got a small gap on me with about 500 meters to go. I was catching him once I got onto the finishing stretch of pavement, but with only 200m and a strong tailwind I couldn't quite come around him. So that put me in 7th place, probably just inside the upper half of the field. I was fairly pleased with how the day went, if nothing else for the great workout I got.

The next day was nice again, and this time not such high winds, a welcome change for me! Again, from the start there was one rider away, and then a large group of 7 or 8 chasing. I was feeling good in this group for a few laps, and although I was hurting I just tried to convince myself that everyone else was too. About half way through the race is when the attacks started though. I had answers to the early accelerations, but eventually the effort from this made me tired enough to make mistakes on the technical sections, which caused gaps to form, and the guys not making mistakes just rode away. The sight of someone getting away from you is a very bitter thing to swallow, it kills you to know that he's getting away and there's nothing you can do about it, but it's a sight that everyone sees and gladly one that I get the chance to give out at other times in the season, so that makes it a bit easier. Anyway, after the gaps were formed I was able to stay right where I was compared to the others, I just don't have the ability to go that little bit deeper when it's crunch time at this point in the season. The good news about that is that the training I've been doing is paying off. Putting in long hours on the bike isn't so great for hammering away at 430 watts for 5 minutes, but it is good for being able to hold a somewhat easier pace for a longer time, which is clearly what's happening to me in these races, and also in recent power tests that I've done. The result for Sunday was the exact same as the day before, 7th, but this time I was a fair bit closer to the bulk of the riders due to the fact that I never really blew up quite as hard, I just didn't have the acceleration to stick with the others. So, again, happy with the day, I had a good time and got in a great workout, and really, that was the whole reason for me coming to the US for cross in the first place. So now I'm on my way home to finish up the season with the Halifax cross race next weekend. Last year this was a very epic race, so hopefully it won't disappoint this year, I'm sure it will be a good time!

More tire Trouble

So today I was racing the pro race in Easthampton. The course was a bit weird, there were a lot of road sections but at the same time it was pretty technical. I had a really bad start today, I pulled out of my pedal right off the gun, so I had some work to do. I think I was sitting about 15th after the first half lap. This is a really frustrating position to be in, because it isn't that hard physically, I know I'm capable of being with the guys in the lead, but it's so hard to get through everyone to get up there! Then, naturally the gaps start to open up and soon you find yourself with a whole bunch of catching up to do. Anyway, there's my rant, but either way that was where I was and it was time to go! I was hammering away, trying to make up the time. I think slowly I was clawing the gap down and feeling pretty good about how I was riding. I was taking a few risks though and that cost me pretty big in the end. I was going through a paved corner and my front tire (running clinchers today) folded under itself and the wheel washed out. I went down, and the tire went flat, so that meant a bit more running for me. After getting that changed the leaders were not loooong gone, but I still thought I needed to work hard to catch whoever I could and if nothing else, for the workout. I put my head down and suffered for the rest of the race, catching 5 guys or so, but still rolling in way back. A bit of a bummer for this weekend, but the positive is that I'm feeling strong. I know I really need to work on finding my pedals for the start and getting in them right, so that's the plan for this week. Hopefully next week will go better and I can finish this trip up on a positive note!

Lowell cyclocross race

So today was a local cross race in a place called Lowell. It was a super nice day and thankfully dry, so I was pretty happy going into it! This wasn't all that big of a race, I think there were maybe a little over 10 juniors on the line, but the course was fun, and it was a great day, so I was still excited! I got a decent start, not great, but okay, and after about a half lap there was a lead group of 3, me with two other guys who I didn't know. It seemed as though these guys were working harder than me, so I was pretty content, I thought it would be good to be a bit patient and let them burn their matches for a little bit, but unfortunately I had some mechanical issues. The first thing that went wrong was my freehub body seemed to be a bit stiff because every time I would coast the rear derailleur would pull up and my chain would fall off. Anyway, that wasn't all that big of a deal, but it certainly wasn't great. Then, just after going through the pit there was a fast hairpin turn that we were flying through. This time I guess I took it a bit fast though, as my rear tubular went flying off. Hmm, this is a bit of a bigger problem! So, I put it back on and continued to ride, but it came off a couple more times before I got back to the pit to change a wheel. This lost me a lot of time, and a few places too. At this point I was sitting in 5th, and had quite a gap to make up. I just tried to get angry and put that into the pedals, which I think I did quite effectively. I was flying around the course now, and taking some serious time out of the two sitting in 3rd and 4th, but unfortunately I fell a bit short. I think with another lap I might have gotten them, but it's hard to say. Anyway, despite the mechanical issues, I was feeling good and still got a great workout it, so it was pretty successful. Tomorrow there's another race where I think I'm racing the Pro 1/2 race, hopefully all goes well! Stay tuned for a report on that!

Mercer's Cup Cross

So last night we got back from New Jersey which played host to the 2009 USGP/UCI Mercer's Cup. This race was a double header with races on both Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately, on Friday NJ got about 5" of rain, causing the course to be more like a massive mud bog than any field it may have once been. Either way, we got up really early on Saturday and set off on the 4 hour drive to make my start at 11:30. The atmosphere at these races is pretty cool. There are thousands of cross racers and fans, with huge teams' trailers set ups and some very cool bikes too. The announcers are super enthusiastic and it is just basically everything fun about cyclocross.

Now to the races... I'm not going to lie, Saturday's race was basically the slowest I've ever gone on a bike. Things started going wrong right from the first meter of the race. As soon as the whistle blew I was simply not moving fast enough. The leaders instantly opened up a gap, and I was getting passed by pretty much everyone. In fact, I think I was sitting dead last after the first 500m. I guess I just wasn't really ready for the start that I have been informed is completely standard for cross. I'm not quite sure why, I mean I know from watching the races in europe that it's crazy fast right from the start, but it's different when you're actually doing it. We're talking an absolutely all out sprint from the gun! So, I kept trying to move my way up through the field, but every time I would get some rhythm going I would slide in the mud, or just have my wheels spin without me going anywhere. I simply couldn't make my bike move in the thick bog. As the race went on my bike got heavier and heavier with all the mud building up, and unfortunately I didn't have a pit bike to swap out every half lap. By the end of the race I pretty much couldn't even lift the thing over the barriers. At this point I was felt like I was pushing 400 watts to go about 5km/h. I was pretty miserable and just wanted to be finished. Finally the checkered flag went down and I could go find a hole to crawl into. I ended up finishing 15th, a pretty horrible result considering there was only about 20 people in the race, if that. Obviously I was not happy, and really quite embarrased about the whole thing. So, eventually the day was over and we got back to the hotel, me with a lot on my mind. I was trying to convince myself that the next day would be better, but I wasn't optimistic at all.

On to day two. I don't know what happened over night, but I woke up with a completely new frame of mind. Today I was just going to take the things I learned yesterday and make sure I do at least a little better than my debut. That was the goal, to simply improve. Again though, things didn't start so well. We didn't get to the race until about 20 minutes before the start, and number pick up ended about an hour before. Since I was so late my name was last on the list for call up, putting me in the very last row. The good news for this race was that I had a bike in the pit this time, so thanks very much to Nate Morse for lending me his bike! Despite the setback with callup, I still had my mind set on a much better race, so when the whistle went this time I was off like a bat out of hell! By the end of the 500m road section I was already sitting in 5th. This time I was much more aggressive in the corners and took a lot of chances. After about a lap I was sitting in 3rd, with 4th place just a little bit back, and 2nd just a little bit in front. 1st place was absolutely gone though! So at this point everything in my body was just begging for me to ease up, and part of me wishes I was sitting in dead last again, but I was so happy to be in the race. After about a lap Eckman, who was in 4th had caught up with me and we were riding together trying to catch up to 2nd place, but also thinking about 5th place who was coming up hard. We rode well together, which is good because we are going to be teammates next year, but this year is a different story. We attacked each other many times and basically just tried to put each other through as much hell as we could. On the last lap I opted not to change bikes going through the pit, while he went for the new bike. I attacked hard through that section and opened a small gap. The cards were out now and there was no option for anything else, it was time to hammer! I poured everything I had into the pedals and managed to hold him off for 3rd place, coming close to 2nd, but not at the same time I wasn't a whole lot of a threat to him. Crossing the line was a beautiful feeling, knowing it was finally over, and I was really happy with the ride I had! So, somehow on back to back days I had two completely different results, but I guess it goes to show how if you can figure out how to get your head straight after a setback, then things can completely turn themselves around. I think this gave me a bit of confidence and hopefully now I can step my game up even more for the next weekend's race. Stay tuned for a report on that!

Cyclocross 2009

Wow, it's been forever since I have written anything in my blog, but I guess in a way that's good because it means I have been busy riding my bike and working on school! Right now I'm sitting in an old, rickety bus going from Bangor to Boston, and I'm using this as a fine excuse to start procrastinating with homework! So, since mid October there have been cyclocross races going on everyweekend in New Brunswick, as many of you know. I've been using them as a way to get some great intensity into my training and working on my technical skills, and thankfully results have been following suit. Most races have been highly competitive, with strong fields and high numbers for an NB race, which is really great to see! I've been feeling strong and every week my fitness seems to be improving.

Aside from cross I've been getting some long, epic rides in on Saturdays and trying to squeeze in as much time after school as I can. One particularly epic ride was two Saturdays ago. Planning to do a 4 hour ride I set out towards turtle creek, over Caledonia Mountain, into Riverside Albert, into Hillsborough and then take back roads to Riverview, which I figured would give me about 120-130km. It was a pretty nice day when I started, fairly warm with a bit of rain. As I continued on, the rain picked up, but it was staying pretty warm. However, going over Caledonia Mt. was a different story all together! First of all I was noticing snow on the ground at the base of the mountain, and after only a few minutes of climbing the temperature had plummeted, the rain now turning to snow. By the time I got to the top I was into a full on blizzard! It felt like the middle of February, but I just tried to convince myself I was doing some epic stage of the Giro, and that this would toughen me up. I froze pretty much solid going down the other side, then had to hammer my way through a wicked headwind to get home, finally able to collapse in a wet heap of exhaustion as I got in the door. It's rides like these that you promise yourself you will never do again as long as you live, but of course the next opportunity you get your back in the saddle, suffering just as much.

So, like I said, right now I'm on a bus heading back to Toby's place for three weekends of cross racing, before getting home for the Nova Scotia cross provincials which will mark the end of the season. My first race here is a US Grand Prix/UCI race which is a double header on Saturday/Sunday. Not really sure what to expect, but hopefully all will go well and I'll survive to post a blog entry! Stay tuned for a race report from the weekend and thanks for reading!