The Swamp Day 2

4:30 came early on Sunday.  The first thing I did was take a peek at the radar.  It looked like an amoeba was trying to eat Gainesville.  I was already awake so I figured what the heck and loaded up.

I met Tim and Ric at Higher ground and we piled in Ric's rather musty smelling truck for the 2 hour ride back down to Alachua.  The cruise control was broken so we spent some time at 85 and some at 70.  We didn't hit any rain until we reached our exit.

We set up my tent under dripping live oaks but the heavy rain had stopped.  The course was in surprisingly good shape considering the rain.  No mud at all.  I went out to warm up for my 10:00 race and just couldn't seem to get going.  I felt tired from yesterday, combine that with the gray, cool, wet day and I just wanted to go get a cup of coffee.  I pulled into the queue with the rest of the old guys and waited for the starting whistle.

This is actually from Saturday but I look so awesome I had to post it.

As soon as we started I got pushed into the ribbon by some guy in the 45+ class.  I came out of the first turn and into the barriers almost at the back of pack.  I managed to pick off a few as we made the first climb and descended down to the small barriers we were hopping over.  I had two riders right in front of me so I backed off a little to give them some room.  These barriers were spaced just far enough apart so it was hard to get a pedal stroke between them so I was using momentum to hop through them.  My two competitors were apparently using a different technique as I almost had to stop when they both floundered after crossing the first one.  I admit I uttered a bad word, cleared the second one, stood on the pedals, and put that silliness behind me.  That's what I get for starting in the back.

If you look closely you can see the unhappiness on my face.

I ran the sand on the first lap but rode it every other one.  The rain had packed it and there was a line even I could ride.  First and second were aways in front of me, fourth was pretty far back, I was in that no man's land where I was hard to get motivated to push ahead, and there wasn't much pressure from behind.  I had caught Dan (who was in second) Saturday on the last lap so I had some hope he might fade but he never did.  I ended up third.  Not as much fun as the day before but I can't complain.

I ran old school BC kit, thinking it was going to be muddy.  I just couldn't face more pictures in my 4 year old HG kit.

The After Party

We opened our cold recovery drinks and settled down to heckle the rest of the crew.  Major fun was had.  No food truck ever arrived (as was advertised) so we hit Moe's on the way home.  I devoured a burrito and fought to stay awake as the CO2 level rose in the back seat.  Apparently the air management system in Ric's truck only works all the way on or all the way off.

I was the only one willing to brave the Higher Ground Christmas party after we unloaded.  So many people I didn't know.  I had a few beers, the temperature was steadily dropping, I was exhausted, so I headed for the house.

Curled up on the couch in front of the fire after a bowl of chili I was content.  It had been a big day, I was sorry it was over.  I think bike racing is fun, so is all the other stuff that goes along with it.

 

 

 

 

Anyhoo, to the 5 of you who read this, thanks.  Have a good Christmas and New Year.  I'll see ya on the next page.

Swampcross

Saturday

Warm, windy, with a chance of showers, a new location for the event, 8 riders entered in the 55+ class, and The Kid wanted to go.  I was looking forward to the race. 

The Kid and I found the race site easily enough but had trouble finding where they wanted us to park.  The start/finish was a bit of a hike from the parking lot and the promoter got a little ill at me when I commented on how confusing it was.  Tim and Ric had headed down in Tim's truck since Tim needed to get back early.  Plus Graham and a friend of his showed up to provide comic relief, not to mention some extra talent.

You can't see it in the picture but he has a stick with GU on it as a hand up.

 

The course was, well, unimaginative.  Not very many turns, and most of it out in an open field.  They had dumped a couple of loads of sand in a section that was on the complete other side of the course from the pit area.  Only about half the venue was visible from where we were sitting.  Once I got over my disappointment in the layout I settled in for a good hour warm up before my 12:00 race.

I barely made it back in time for the start.  We had a big group of 24 all starting together (35+, 45+, 55+) which made for an interesting first couple of turns before things got sorted out on the first long climb.  Yea, believe it or not they found some elevation in Alachua Florida.  Combine that with deep grass and it made for some leg burning laps.

I had just been passed by fourth place rider Ted right before we hit the sand for the first time.  I was planning to run it no matter what so that made it easy to avoid the pile Ted made when another rider fell in from of him causing Ted to auger in.  That put me back in fourth with third 25 seconds ahead and Ted 15 seconds back.  I slowly started catching third, but Ted was creeping up on me.  By the last lap I was on third's wheel (Dan) and Ted was on mine.  I was gassed and couldn't do anything when Ted went around both of us on the inside, putting me in fifth.

As we started up the last climb before the downhill to the finish section I decided I was going to go for it.  I got out of the saddle, pegged my heart rate monitor in zone 6.1, and managed to gap Dan by 16 seconds at the finish.  Eight seconds behind Ted in third.

I was elated to get fourth.  Not so much with my position but with the fact that it had been a race for the whole 54 minutes we were out there.  I would have ended up second in the 45+ so that confirmed the talent level in the old man's class.  Yea it was a roadie course, I like to think it would have been different had we been racing together at Tallahassee.  I still had a great time despite all my bitching about the layout.

The Kid raced the Cat 4, running third till near the end before getting beat by a guy on a mountain bike.  There must have been 25 people in his class.  He was pumped to be able to race in a group that big.

The forecast for Sunday was heavy rain and colder.  We ran into a flood of biblical proportions on the way home Saturday.

I set my alarm for 4:30 am and went to bed not really knowing if we were going to race the next day or not.

To be continued tomorrow.  As if you care.

Cross X 2

Photo Lil Ball professional photography

I don't even know where to begin.  How about Friday evening when we were putting up stakes and banners trying to beat the dark?  Yea, there wasn't anything but paint on the ground to mark the course when we got there that afternoon.  A small crew of us managed to put up 1.2 miles of stakes and ribbon, plus build and install the barriers.  Then, Saturday morning, Tim was still putting the final touches on the course when I got there.  But like these things usually do everything worked out.  The course was amazing!

Well, most of it was amazing.  The only sketchy part was the paved section through the vendor area.  The heavy dew/fog, combined with a pavement sealer, plus tree cover, made it like ice during our 10 am race.  There was much carnage. 

I, however, avoided that mayhem, thanks to Tim's advice to just recover through there.  My strategy of keeping an even tempo and not blowing up in the beginning, plus the aforementioned care on the pavement, rewarded me with a victory in the 55 plus class.  Don't think my victory was in any way tainted by the fact that both my competitors spent time sliding along the pavement.  Hey, a wins a win.

 

 

Another Lil Ball photo.  I just wish he wouldn't throw leaves on me.

The Kid had a great race, riding my bike, and won the 15-18 class.  He spent the evening on the computer looking at cross bikes.

The Course

The venue was in an undeveloped office complex on the east side of Tallahassee.  The start was uphill on the pavement, climbed to the top of the hill, then made a left onto the grass.  That's where the fun started.  The banners weaved in and out under a grove of live oaks, going down hill, only to make a 180 and go back up, till finally turning at the bottom and climbing alllllllll the way back to the top where the barriers were.  By the time I got to the barrier run I was in the red zone.  Then it headed back downhill under more trees, zigging and zagging it's way to a section that ran off camber on a steep slope, then down to the bottom of a hill that some walked up.  It was a grunt in granny/granny to make it to the top.  Then came the famous slick pavement through the vendors eventually turning back onto the start straight.  The finish was located almost at the top of the hill.  Sadistic. 

Sunday, We Do It Again

I hoped for a bigger turnout but it was not to be.  The two gentlemen who crashed the day before didn't return, which left only three in my class.  Fortunately I got to race with some guys in the 45 plus class so I had some carrots to chase.  I won 55 plus again so my prediction of domination proved correct.

The Kid decided to race Cat 4 so he could get done earlier.  The rider that had given him fits in 15-18 the day before (Red Eye Coffee Racing RECR) was racing that class also.  Off the start the two of them were together in about 4th and 5th.  After the first lap they were off the front with The Kid in the lead and RECR on his wheel.  They stayed like that the whole 30 minutes, eventually finishing in a sprint to the line.  The Kid won by half a wheel.  The expression on his face when he rolled back up to the tent is why we go racing.

The After Party

We had the loudest corner.  Fueled by Fat Tire and good friends the heckling was as much fun as the race.  I understand why they say Cross is the fastest growing racing discipline in cycling.  What I don't understand is why the local turnout was so low.  I know it hurts to race it, but only for an hour or less.  And yes, it's a little expensive when you add in the cost of a license, but the bang for the buck is there.

 

Anyhoo, we're going to Gainesville next weekend to do it again.  The local CX scene down there is the biggest in the state so we're looking forward to a good race.