This was a real hit-and-miss weekend of riding.

The usual four musketeers met in Columbia on Friday, the day after Christmas. The goal was a basic 2-hour ride. Simple enough. We headed up the D Rd into the Bluffs and I was feeling okey-dokey and cruising along. We rolled along the flat section before the Kasteelberg when the front tire began hissing. It was a slowish leak and I rolled another few hundred feet before the bike finally that sad, squishy feeling.

No big deal. Put in a new tube, inflated the tire and listened as the new tube began hissing too. I thought maybe it was just the valve. Unscrew, screw, hisssss, unscrew, screw, hissss.

Dammit!

Put in tube #2 and off we go. We rode up the Kasteelberg and I sat comfortably on Patrice's wheel. We went around a couple turns and now my rear wheel was soft.

Put in tube #3 and off we go... again. We finished off the hill, crossed Rte 3, rode past Meer Gilmore and toward the old white farmhouse. At that point the F word could be heard several times floating through the chilled southern IL air.

Four frickin' flats in a span of MAYBE three miles. This time I actually had a couple thorns still stuck in the tire. At this point, we decided it would be best to just had back since I had already gone through both Patrice's and my supply of tubes.

Saturday was wet and ugly but I stayed warm and dry inside. I'm still in a bit of a down period after the cross season and have no guilt about missing a weekend ride.

Sunday was just Giuseppe and I riding from Meramec. He wanted and couple hours and that was fine by me since it would be just short of three hours for me when the commute is added in.

We had no plan and rode where the wind took us. Giuseppe was feeling a little cooked so we skipped Jeffco and went down Big Bend. At the last minute we bypassed Forest and went up the the hills on Big Bend to Meramec Station. My rear shifter continues to act up so I was going to stay the entire ride in either the 53x16 or 39x16. I set a comfortable cadence in the big ring and felt good. We wandered along Vance and over Ries. We turned north up toward Manchester where crossed paths with Nelson who was out for a short spin.

We went up Kehrs Mill and into the Hinni subdivision. Giuseppe knocked a couple times and Aaron finally answered. Surprisingly, he was coaxed into about an hour ride. We went east on Clayton. I hadn't been on Clayton for a while and it was nice. Much different than the last time I was on it. Nelson turned off and we went down Schoettler. It's been at least 10 years since I had been on Schoettler and I completely forgot what the road was like. The final hill came and I decided to give the big ring a shot. I powered right up the hill. The legs were a little wobbly at the top but I'm really satisfied with the way I'm riding. The return trip on Conway was equally good too as I pulled the others most of the way back and handling the rollers comfortably.

CX Nats - Friday

Friday was a rest day for the most part. Cory had decided on Thursday, that she was going to do the Masters race so we headed over to the races for some afternoon spectating. The unexpected light rain and snow on Thursday night softened the ground a little but not enough to make the ground as sloppy as midday Thursday.


There was not much rooting interest in the 40+ races except for Becky and Alane from VeloForce and Catherine Walberg from KC. Becky had a strong start and finished a respectable 11th in her age group.

The 30+ races were about cheering for Cory as long as she would last and snapping some photos. She had a decent start and was looking strong but by the end of the lap she had given all that she had and pulled out with breathing problems. The rest of time was spent cheering on Mo Bruno-Roy. I'm a sexist pig for doing it, but I can't help but cheer for the women I find attractive. Mo always seems to have this serene look on her face that only shows the effort by her eyelids closing about halfway. The fact that she is fast as heck is cool, too. Anyway, Mo kicked some serious arse and made me happy.

Friday night we went to a party/get-together at the Trek store. Miracle of miracles, we did not get lost along the way. I'm not a big fan of going to gatherings where I know no one but there was a raffle where I scored a SRAM Red T-shirt and had a free beer or two. That is better than sitting in a hotel room, I guess.

CX Nationals wrap-up

Last year's trip to Nationals was cut short because of threatening weather. This year I took an extra day off on Monday to allow for a better chance of seeing the Pro's on Sunday in case the weather was questionable again. As a whole, the conditions for all four days turned out to be good. A little dirty, but good.

Jay and I left at noon on Wednesday so that we could pre-ride the course in advance of Thursday's races. We missed our exit off I-70 in KC and took an unexpected excursion through the north side of town. After some twists and turns, we managed to locate a road that was on our not-so-detailed map and proceeded on to the park.

There were quite a few others at the park checking the course out, too. We were not allowed to ride the course because of the small snowstorm a couple days earlier had not fully melted and organizers did not want the course getting any more torn up than it would during the four days of racing. The first thing that we noticed when we arrived was the elevation change. The course was built on a hillside and looked to be tougher than last year.


We walked around the course and got a general feel for it while looking for potential difficulties.

Thursday
Jay's race was at 11am so we arrived early for the 8am open course time to actually ride the course. Temperatures were still hovering around freezing and the ground was very firm.

Three hours of riding and racing with big fields took its toll on the ground. By 11 o'clock, the small racing lines in the morning had become slippery, sloppy mud from one side of the course to the other in many places, particularly on the mostly downhill second half of the course that was littered with plenty of off camber turns. A couple laps left your bike with a coating of grass and mud.


The course opened up again at noon and I took the opportunity to see just how much different the course had become before my race at 3pm. The course was twice as hard. The sun was out, though, and I was hoping it would help dry the course a little.

My hopes did not come true. The ground was only slightly drier and the biggest difference was that the "good" line through a couple of the off camber downhills had changed from the outside of the turn to the inside where only about half the riders could stay on their bike earlier in the day.










Three o'clock came and I was staged in 52nd position about 120 riders.


My race was uneventful. The legs did not feel great but I held my own and passed some riders and got passed by about the same amount.





The downhill turns were my downfall. I managed to get through the turns without taking a swim in the mud but had a terrible time getting traction on the little uphills exiting the turns.





I stayed on the lead lap and finished 60th. Very average.

One thing about cycling for us mere mortals is that it keeps you humble. At least it should keep you humble. If you have acquired the big head, you are a fool. Even the best of the best lose as much as they win.

This fall, I have been reasonably satisfied with my 'cross season. Satisfied, but not gloating over my typical 10-14 place in the B race. Even if I had foolishly gotten the big head, this Sunday would have brought be down to earth.

Because Sunday was the State Championship, our typical A, B, C races were out the window and we and we had to race our CX category. When online registration opened way back when I must have had a little bit of the big head and decided to race the 3's instead of the Masters. It turns out that many people who usually raced the A race happen to be categorized as a 3 in cross.

The whistle blew for our race and I quickly drifted to last place. I so wish I could regularly get a good start instead of having to make a charge through the field. Nonetheless, that's where I found myself. There was no passing these guys, though. I was able to put Mike behind me after a half lap. Slowly, I reeled in Fuhrmann and passed him but he jumped on my wheel and caught his breath before he slowly pulled away from me in the last lap and a half.

There was a Mesa rider that I passed in the last few hundred meters to make my performance looked only mildly awful. I'm not sure whether he just completely blew up or had some bike issues. He offered no resistance to my passing. The bike seemed okay, though.

In summary, I learned that I am a long way from being in the A races and will keep eating my humble pie.

Today, I head out to KC with Jay to race at CX Nationals on Thursday and Saturday and watch the rest of the weekend. Wisely, I am sticking with racing against the old guys. This weekend is just for fun and provides no pressure. I just want to go and do as well as I can in some big fields.

I would officially like to report a theft.  What a surprise that the dirty, stinkin' thieves would be from New York.

Back on Oct 26th, I wrote about the Spanish Lake CX race and the circular maze that was the main feature of the course.  I wrote the following about that part of the course, "I suppose there was a certain degree of technique needed on the giant cinnamon bun of death..."

Lo and behold, barely more than a month later, Velonews reported on the Staten Island Cyclocross this way,
 
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Posted Dec. 1, 2008
New York City is the proud home of the House that Ruth Built, The World's Most Famous Arena, and a legendary marathon that concludes with a final sprint into Central Park. To that world-class sports heritage you can add one more landmark:
The Cinnabon of Despair.
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The Cinnabon of Despair???  The Cinnabon of Despair!!! 
 
Well, isn't that special?  I wonder where they got the idea for THAT name?  The only reason I didn't use the Cinnabon name was for trademark reasons.  What is this world coming to when disrespectful young toughs can go around cavalierly naming portions of cyclocross courses after delicious lovin' from the oven and think that the news won't get back to the rightful owner.  Think of your own damn cooking references!

Feel free to use the Struedel of Hate or the Stollen of Broken Hearts.  Just keep your hands off my cycling baked goods, New York! 

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We have been blessed with rather good rather this cross season.  The last couple weeks has seen a downturn, though.  First, it was mid-30's cold at Bubba in the Dark.  This week was the mid-30's cold with soft and/or muddy ground.  With some luck, it appears that we might pull out of the downward spiral in Hermann this weekend.  The ground may not be bone dry but high temperatures in the low 40's are fine with me.
 
Last year, we finished the year in steadily worsening conditions.  Unger Park was cold and rainy.  Hermann was a little colder and just as sloppy.  Then Nationals was equally cold (but sunny) with ice and mud.  Please, not again.

The challenge of racing in the awful conditions can be fun.  The worst part, though, is getting ready for the race.  I end up bringing a wardrobe to a race that would make a movie star jealous.  I try and bring what I think will be needed and then add a little extra just in case conditions change or are worse than I anticipated.  Let me think about this past week's race. 

Cycling Shoes
A couple pair of socks
Helmet, of course. 
Cycling cap for warmth under the helmet. 
A balaclava in case the cap isn't warm enough. 
Leg warmers.
Gloves
Glove liners, if needed
Skinsuit
Three jerseys
UnderArmour coldgear base
A piece of plastic for under jersey rain protection, if needed.
and...
Glasses

That just about covers it (or me)

Then there is the bonus fun of cleaning the mud and grass off the bike after a race like this past weekend.  What's not to love?

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