17 The Hard Way

 

“What’s the difference between a golf course and a cow pasture?  Six months…evidently.”

                                                                                    -David Queen

 

Never has this one suffered so much for so little.  Seattle area cyclocross racers ventured out to the Snoqualmie Valley to compete in the SCX race at the now defunct Tall Chief Golf Course.  I expected mushy conditions as the old golf course sits atop spongy bottomland, but I didn’t expect the grassy, clay-like crud that locked up nearly every moving part of my bicycle.

 

We Cat 4 Masters only had to endure three laps, thank God, no way could I have made four without stopping to clear out the brakes and drivetrain.  The mud was especially sticky, but I think it was the freshly mown grass that really gave the concoction its wheel stopping power.

Normally my modus operandi when it comes to mud and sand is to ride as much as possible, not that pushing the pedals is necessarily always faster than running, but I do think that it leaves me less wasted when I finally exit the beach/bog.  My trusty new Challenge Limus tires helped me to crank through nearly every mud section, but I was definitely slower than the runners and I think pushing through the mud added to the amount of tire stopping goo that I managed to pick up.  In hindsight I should have swallowed my pride, ignored all the spectators egging me on to continue riding and shouldered my bike at the start of the mud sections.

I’m a bit disappointed with seventh place but I’m confident in saying that’s as good as I could have done.  I gave it everything that I had – and came up short.

More thoughts on the race can be found at: www.bikehugger.com
Look for Peter's photos at: http://woodinvillebicycle.smugmug.com/SmugPreview
 

Dead End

Sam and I went down to McCall Hall last night to watch the new movie chronicling the life of skier/BASE jumper Shane McConkey.  The movie is aptly named McConkey.  First of all I was shocked to see that the hall was packed to the rafters for what I would consider a fairly obscure movie.  Secondly I wasn't prepared for the rave-like scene, I guess I'm an old fogey.

Whenever the subject of extreme skiing comes up I can't help but think back to the old Burt Reynolds/Jan Michael Vincent movie Hooper wherein Burt is celebrating his world record jump from a helicopter when he looks up to see JMV leaping from a helicopter even higher: you're only as good as your last trick.  Pushing your limits for personal reasons is cool, pushing your limits for money usually ends up with someone pushing your casket.

McConkey was jumping off of insanely low objects and pulling releasing the chute lower and lower, he was on a road, and that road led to a dead end, literally.  The guy had a lust for life was inspiring, but I'll take a pass on the low pulls.

Churning

Matt and Chad churning up the sand at the MFG Silver Lake cyclocross race this past weekend.

 The sand was loose and deep, but ridable. Here Paul shows the proper high speed float technique

Cyclocross races typically start with a straight all out sprint, the guy who leads going into the first technical section is said to have gotten the "hole shot."  Here Mark and Matt battle for the hole shot.

Dennis Crane of DBC photo got some good images, I like this shot as I don't have my typical "I'm in excruciating pain" grimace.

Rain Rain

Winter has arrived here in the great Northwest, and with the rains comes cyclocross mud.  I can't imagine what casual visitors to Sammamish State Park yesterday thought of a bunch of nuts riding through a mile long mud bog, but for those of us that were shoe deep, it was just another day of cyclocross.

The Sammamish course was flat and fast with plenty of opportunities to pass slower riders.  In other words, it was a no excuses kind of race: if you had the lungs and the legs you could definitely finish well.  As for myself I finished up 10th, not bad but I'd like to be up a little higher.  The truth is that I was beaten fair and square by nine other riders who are just stronger than I am - at the moment.  Time to work a little harder.

Smiling Faces

Why are these guys smiling?

a. They just finished a cross race
b. They all have a beer in their hands
c. They're watching J-Pow duke it out with Ryan TreeFarm
d. All of the above

Just like I tell my daughter: if you have an "all of the above option" it's probably the right answer.

Starcrossed Lover

Saturday was the big event on the local cyclocross calendar – Starcrossed.  I was out at Marymore Park in Redmond from 1:00 till 9:30 and loved every minute of it.  Cyclocross

Sophia asked "why does your face look like that

racers are a bit eccentric, I think most of them walk Clark Kent style through life – normal by all outwards appearances- but get ‘em at a race and the horn-rimmed glasses come off.  There is no shortage of personality at a cross race.

I raced in the Masters 40+ event and was placed in the back row – the field was 80 and I was the tail gunner.  I must confess to being a bit disappointed as I finished 8^th last weekend and thought that maybe I’d get a descent call-up.  No such luck, I don’t know how they organized the start line, perhaps it was just a blind drawing.  Anyway it be what it be and I leaned over to the guy next to me and said “well my expectations have just been lowered.”

The Starcrossed course had plenty of passing opportunities, but there just isn’t any substitute for a good starting position.  If you are able to pass 80 riders in a cross race you’d better be considering an upgrade, lest ye be called a sandbagger.

Teammates in the beer garden

The course was fast and flat, it was really fun and instead of fading I seemed to get stronger as the race went on.  I got on the wheel of my teammate Dan L and refused to let go.  Dan is a lot faster on the road than I am, so I was happy to be glued to his wheel.  I’m starting to feel a lot better about cross and am a little disappointed to be missing the first race in the SCX series this weekend, but I’ll be doing other fun things (more on that later).

Watching the pros was a real kick, Jeremy Powers and Ryan Trebon were insanely fast.  I simply can’t believe the speed at which those guys get around that course.  One thing I noticed was that they push much bigger gears than I’m able to turn; especially in the corners where I typically gear way down.  By holding onto that bigger gear they’re able to rocket out of the turns whereas I slowly ease back up to speed.  That is a leg strength, which is something that I can work on.

Ryan Trebon's Cannondale - he's 6'6"

Bike Hugger Review

Byron at Bike Hugger posted a sweet review of the G1 Pant the other day.  I get a true rush whenever I read a positive blog post or get a positive review from a customer.  Greenlite ain't gonna make me a rich man; I ain't doing it for the money.  I instead started Greenlite to make a difference.  To encourage everyday cycling and to show that high end clothing can made in the U.S.  I deeply appreciate every kind word and positive vibe.