Life is but a vapor... That's what the pastor said two weeks ago at the funeral of one of my daughters best friends. The quote is from the bible, paraphrasing: "life is but a vapor that appears but for a moment and then is gone" Nicole was only twenty three when she took her own life. I didn't know her well but it has affected me deeply. She was young, and pretty, but life was just to much for her, she couldn't cope. The last time I saw her was at the Chattanooga cross race. She had my big cow bell and was running along beside me yelling and screaming, having a good time. You never know the inner turmoil someone is dealing with, from their outward appearance. I feel bad for her family and friends, and hope that in time they can come to terms.
If I've taken any thing from her death it is, life is way to short and we need to love now, do now, and be thankful for every breath we take, every day that we wake up. Each time I get on my bike I'm thankful to get to do it again, no matter how bad it hurts. I know this post isn't about CX or bike racing, but I feel like I should honor her in some way. This for you Nicole Renee Johnson where ever you may be.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Winter Cyclocross Part 3
I think I'm starting to loose motivation for cx at last, with only one race left, small turnout and no big events to look forward to. It's kind of aggravating since I don't do the mountain bike and I don't care much for road racing, that leaves the cycling side of me a little listless. Which leads to weight gain. Last year after the last cross race in February I gained 8lbs before I finally started riding long rides on weekends to shed it. At 46 soon to be 47 it doesn't come off quick. I've tried to do better this year and with a TT the first week of March maybe I can get motivated for that.
Knoxicross #3 was a grind. Held at Melton Hill Park which is way out in the boonies ( don't ever want to hear about Steele Creek being out of the way again ) and is surrounded by a lake with very hilly terrain. When I got there I new it wouldn't be my day. I was tired, and my legs were fatigued and sore from running the previous few days. The course was 90% grass, thick power sapping grass, and half the course had long open uphill sections which were exposed to the wind.
The start was no fun, going uphill, on grass, into the wind, I felt as if someone was pushing
against my shoulders (the picture at below showing the spare tubular, and man boobs illustrates the other problem) and as we turned right at the top of the hill a rider caught a pedal and kicked his back wheel over in front of me. I shot to the outside of the turn almost stopping. At that point a gap opened up and there was no way I was closing to the guys I usually race with. The only saving grace was the more technical side near the lake I was able to slowly pull people back each lap on that section. I have never been so glad for a race to be over as I was that one.
The last race will be at Melton Hill again with the infamous "Hill of Death". THe HOD is a long dirt path that goes uphill at about a 20% grade for around 70'. That's why I started running again. Last year all I could do was shuffle up while getting caught at the top by a women on a MTB with a cog on the back the size of a dinner plate. Oh well one to go and then what?
Knoxicross #3 was a grind. Held at Melton Hill Park which is way out in the boonies ( don't ever want to hear about Steele Creek being out of the way again ) and is surrounded by a lake with very hilly terrain. When I got there I new it wouldn't be my day. I was tired, and my legs were fatigued and sore from running the previous few days. The course was 90% grass, thick power sapping grass, and half the course had long open uphill sections which were exposed to the wind.
The start was no fun, going uphill, on grass, into the wind, I felt as if someone was pushing
against my shoulders (the picture at below showing the spare tubular, and man boobs illustrates the other problem) and as we turned right at the top of the hill a rider caught a pedal and kicked his back wheel over in front of me. I shot to the outside of the turn almost stopping. At that point a gap opened up and there was no way I was closing to the guys I usually race with. The only saving grace was the more technical side near the lake I was able to slowly pull people back each lap on that section. I have never been so glad for a race to be over as I was that one.The last race will be at Melton Hill again with the infamous "Hill of Death". THe HOD is a long dirt path that goes uphill at about a 20% grade for around 70'. That's why I started running again. Last year all I could do was shuffle up while getting caught at the top by a women on a MTB with a cog on the back the size of a dinner plate. Oh well one to go and then what?
Friday, February 1, 2008
Winter Cyclocross Part 2
After the State race I decided to race in NC rather than go all the
way to Columbia Tn. Had everything packed and ready to head to Hobby Park in Wintson-Salem, when my friend Mike called to tell me that the race had been canceled. What? Who cancels a cross race because of the weather! Turns out it was the park, not the organizers. Great, should have went to Columbia and raced in the arctic conditions there.
January 26-27:
Chattanooga had a great venue, fast, flat course with lots of turns, and
once again a lot of mud. The ride/run up on the back of the course was very slippery but ridable thanks to the tubies. I had another good race. Hoping to move up in the points I raced hard and moved into second position ahead of Tom Gee, whom I have never finshed ahead of. I noticed that he was having trouble in the muddy turn before the barriers and run up, so I raced into the turn ahead of him and got a gap by the time we reached the top of the ride run up. With no lap count going through the finish I thought we were further into the race when I made the move. Turns out we had 4 laps to go and I had burned a lot of cake pulling away from Tom. As I started to fade he caught me on the last lap. He passed me just before the finish and I had nothing to answer with. Still, finishing third moved me up in the points series.
Knoxicross #2
was held at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville.
This park is very similar in terrain as Winged Deer In JC, but has a lot more trees. This was a power course, and Steve Rider who has been helping with course design did a great job on this course. From the gun there was no let up in the pace and no place to recover. A lot of people wore down qucikly. I was suprised when I caught and passed Tom and thought he would come back to me. Each time down the long bumpy hill on the back of the course I would pedal till I spun out, shift to the little ring, brake hard and pick my way through the muddy "U" turn at the bottom. Each time down the hill I would pull a little further ahead. Ended up second on the day.
Knoxicross is becoming a great series, John Baker and his volunteers have made it better each year. Looking forward to the last two races of the year at Melton Hill Park and the "Wall of Death". Hate to see CX season in TN end. The day after the last race will be like the day after Christmas when you were a kid.
way to Columbia Tn. Had everything packed and ready to head to Hobby Park in Wintson-Salem, when my friend Mike called to tell me that the race had been canceled. What? Who cancels a cross race because of the weather! Turns out it was the park, not the organizers. Great, should have went to Columbia and raced in the arctic conditions there.
January 26-27:
Chattanooga had a great venue, fast, flat course with lots of turns, and
once again a lot of mud. The ride/run up on the back of the course was very slippery but ridable thanks to the tubies. I had another good race. Hoping to move up in the points I raced hard and moved into second position ahead of Tom Gee, whom I have never finshed ahead of. I noticed that he was having trouble in the muddy turn before the barriers and run up, so I raced into the turn ahead of him and got a gap by the time we reached the top of the ride run up. With no lap count going through the finish I thought we were further into the race when I made the move. Turns out we had 4 laps to go and I had burned a lot of cake pulling away from Tom. As I started to fade he caught me on the last lap. He passed me just before the finish and I had nothing to answer with. Still, finishing third moved me up in the points series.Knoxicross #2
was held at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville.
This park is very similar in terrain as Winged Deer In JC, but has a lot more trees. This was a power course, and Steve Rider who has been helping with course design did a great job on this course. From the gun there was no let up in the pace and no place to recover. A lot of people wore down qucikly. I was suprised when I caught and passed Tom and thought he would come back to me. Each time down the long bumpy hill on the back of the course I would pedal till I spun out, shift to the little ring, brake hard and pick my way through the muddy "U" turn at the bottom. Each time down the hill I would pull a little further ahead. Ended up second on the day.Knoxicross is becoming a great series, John Baker and his volunteers have made it better each year. Looking forward to the last two races of the year at Melton Hill Park and the "Wall of Death". Hate to see CX season in TN end. The day after the last race will be like the day after Christmas when you were a kid.
Winter Cyclocross Part 1
I've always wanted to try tubular tires on my CX bike since I've heard how great they are in all conditions, but couldn't really afford them. My friend Mike Seek got wind of it and helped my out by giving me a Campy wheel set with Vittoria CX tires glued to the rims. He built the back wheel himself with a hub donated from another friend Paul Hayes. I really appreciate it, and they really do make a difference.
Salisbury was my first race in a month and I was wondering about form, so I decided to go down for the CX 4 race. Got there late, didn't get to pre ride the course, and since it was my first race on tubies I took it easy the first two laps. Ended up 17 out of 35. I was sold on the tubies after the race and it looks like the clinchers will be sitting in the pits from now on.
January 12-13:Knoxicross #1 was the following Saturday in Knoxville. The course was a favourite of mine since I won there last year. Not so this year. I raced masters 45+ ended up fifth, but I could feel the form coming back. Great course that really suited me with all the turns and flat power sections. Plus, it was good to see my buddy Dwight from Asheville at the race.
Sunday was the big race of the winter season. The first ever Tennessee State Cyclocross Championship, which was sponsored by my club. The course was probably the most demanding, technical, and long course I've ever ridden. The course had everything, pavement, mud, sand, grass, three dismounts and did I say mud. One section was a long stretch of course wide mud leading down into a flat, it looked like the videos you see of the muddy Euro races. It was a blast, and the low pressure in the tubies made a difference.
This was probably the best race I've ever had even though I didn't win (didn't expect to). I at least wanted to medal. Since it was a TCRC event the TCRC officiating team was there with honorary member Vicki Lyons from Boone, and as part of my duties I was also officiating. After the CX 4 race I went to post results and stopped to answer questions and lost track of time. My race was the next race. Standing at the Finish line putting my helmet on thinking I need to get to the start, I looked down the road and saw the field racing toward me! Oh shizzle! I missed the start. When the last rider went through I jumped in behind, and when I topped the hill I saw Jeremy Chandler exiting the woods. Wait, he's a three, and I'm in the wrong race. Riding back the down the field parraleling the course I tried to get to the start before the masters came through. To late. They went flying by, so I waited again. After the last women (they were in the same race ) went through and got back on the course at the bottom of the hill again. I was so angry I started thrashing my bike up the hill and through the first technical section with no one in site. Chasing hard for the first two laps (10 min laps) I finally caught the back of the race. I raced past riders mud flying, sliding through turns finally riding past Greg Casteel. Realizing that I had third position, I extended the gap, but got too exited on the fast decent on the backside of the course and crashed hard. When I remounted and looked back Greg had closed half the gap. Powering the bike with everything I had I pulled a little further away. Coming to the end of the final lap I could hear people yelling for me and Greg. Approaching the sand pit I new I should get off and run since I struggled through
the last time, but at the last moment I decided to ride it. About half way through the front wheel augured in and through me over the handlebars landing me in the sand on the wrong side of the bike. By the time I got up and got back to the Banchee, Greg blew by me. I didn't have anything left and the gap woudn't close. Greg beat me to the line by 30 feet. I was pretty po'ed because I had raced so hard from beyond last place and screwed up on the last lap by crashing twice. Riding down to the bike wash trying to tell myself, "just be glad you can do this, a lot of people can't even ride a bike let alone race" it was still hard to swallow. When I returned to the finish area to resume officiating. I found out that I had actually been racing for second not third, so I actually ended up medaling. I was very happy and proud of that achievement. State CX photos can be found here Sidetracked Magazine
The rest of the TCRC CX team did really well medaling in all categories but two and Mike Seek took home the Single Speed Championship Jersey. What a great club, and team. Dan Werle did an excellent job designing a Championship course.
Salisbury was my first race in a month and I was wondering about form, so I decided to go down for the CX 4 race. Got there late, didn't get to pre ride the course, and since it was my first race on tubies I took it easy the first two laps. Ended up 17 out of 35. I was sold on the tubies after the race and it looks like the clinchers will be sitting in the pits from now on.
January 12-13:Knoxicross #1 was the following Saturday in Knoxville. The course was a favourite of mine since I won there last year. Not so this year. I raced masters 45+ ended up fifth, but I could feel the form coming back. Great course that really suited me with all the turns and flat power sections. Plus, it was good to see my buddy Dwight from Asheville at the race.Sunday was the big race of the winter season. The first ever Tennessee State Cyclocross Championship, which was sponsored by my club. The course was probably the most demanding, technical, and long course I've ever ridden. The course had everything, pavement, mud, sand, grass, three dismounts and did I say mud. One section was a long stretch of course wide mud leading down into a flat, it looked like the videos you see of the muddy Euro races. It was a blast, and the low pressure in the tubies made a difference.
This was probably the best race I've ever had even though I didn't win (didn't expect to). I at least wanted to medal. Since it was a TCRC event the TCRC officiating team was there with honorary member Vicki Lyons from Boone, and as part of my duties I was also officiating. After the CX 4 race I went to post results and stopped to answer questions and lost track of time. My race was the next race. Standing at the Finish line putting my helmet on thinking I need to get to the start, I looked down the road and saw the field racing toward me! Oh shizzle! I missed the start. When the last rider went through I jumped in behind, and when I topped the hill I saw Jeremy Chandler exiting the woods. Wait, he's a three, and I'm in the wrong race. Riding back the down the field parraleling the course I tried to get to the start before the masters came through. To late. They went flying by, so I waited again. After the last women (they were in the same race ) went through and got back on the course at the bottom of the hill again. I was so angry I started thrashing my bike up the hill and through the first technical section with no one in site. Chasing hard for the first two laps (10 min laps) I finally caught the back of the race. I raced past riders mud flying, sliding through turns finally riding past Greg Casteel. Realizing that I had third position, I extended the gap, but got too exited on the fast decent on the backside of the course and crashed hard. When I remounted and looked back Greg had closed half the gap. Powering the bike with everything I had I pulled a little further away. Coming to the end of the final lap I could hear people yelling for me and Greg. Approaching the sand pit I new I should get off and run since I struggled through
the last time, but at the last moment I decided to ride it. About half way through the front wheel augured in and through me over the handlebars landing me in the sand on the wrong side of the bike. By the time I got up and got back to the Banchee, Greg blew by me. I didn't have anything left and the gap woudn't close. Greg beat me to the line by 30 feet. I was pretty po'ed because I had raced so hard from beyond last place and screwed up on the last lap by crashing twice. Riding down to the bike wash trying to tell myself, "just be glad you can do this, a lot of people can't even ride a bike let alone race" it was still hard to swallow. When I returned to the finish area to resume officiating. I found out that I had actually been racing for second not third, so I actually ended up medaling. I was very happy and proud of that achievement. State CX photos can be found here Sidetracked Magazine The rest of the TCRC CX team did really well medaling in all categories but two and Mike Seek took home the Single Speed Championship Jersey. What a great club, and team. Dan Werle did an excellent job designing a Championship course.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy New Year! Thank Goodness
Seems like forever since my last cross race of 2007up at Hawksnest. I'm really looking forward to this weekend in Salisbury, NC and the beginning of the Wintercup series, really can't wait to see how bad I suck. I've gained 4 pounds over the holidays, and haven't stuck to training like I should. Lots of racing left in the 2007/2008 season though, in NC and TN. So, maybe by the end of January I'll be back in form (or at least what passes for form for me).
I'd really like to do well at the TN CX Championship race on January 13, but I'm to far gone. The course sounds awesome though it will be fun. Spring will be here before you know it and no more cross till October. Guess I'll have to live off TT's till Cross season 2008/2009 rolls around again. More MSG for me!
Friday, December 21, 2007
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Whew!
Well, it's over for another year. MSG had a banner year with the largest turnout in the three year history of the event. I don't mind saying I'm very tired. It caught up with me in the final race Saturday. I had a great start and was running fourth or fifth when on the second lap, after the run up, I started to fade. Ended up seventh and was about to be caught by Darryl and Bill, and had it not been for more experience at remounting the bike and clipping in quickly I would have been ninth.The end of the series is always bittersweet. I'm glad that the pressure's off and that the work is done, but at the same time it's sad that it's over and the camaraderie that has developed over the past three months is at an end until next year. A lot of folks that come out and race I don't see all year until cross season starts again. The good thing is I can concentrate on racing in January and February and not worry about getting things done each week for the series.
The series final had to be the best one yet. Ironically I was joking with one of our local sponsors last week and he jokingly said "all we need is some rain, mud and cold temperatures" the forecast on Thursday of that week for Saturday was sunny and 60. Boy,I'm gonna become a weatherman since it's the only job I know of
where you get paid to be wrong 95% of the time. Of course I was glad they were wrong since I like racing in the mud. Finally some semi Belgian conditions. As the day progressed the misty rain kept falling and the ground got muddier. Mud+Cross rider = crashes. Lot's of folks were eatin' mud pies as it got slicker. It was great.The most fun of the day was during the Single Speed race. At the start we surprised the SS crew with a short cut option. The only drawback was, you had to eat a Debbie Cake before taking the cut which cut about 20 seconds of the lap. First lap, Andy Applegate came running over the barriers and grabbed an oatmeal cake. Almost every lap riders took the short cut, and It wasn't long until everyone figured out that it was the Swiss Roll that you wanted since it was small and soft and it went down fast. Each lap, at the beginning of the barrier section the call went out "swiss cake, swisss caaaake!!! No one threw up but there were some jittery Single Speeders at the cookout.
The cook out was huge with over 100 people. Hot dogs and Hamburgers were flying around
Meredith Pavilion. We had a raffle blowout too, with about 20 items, including a Reynolds carbon fork and the grand prize a Complete Redline Conquest bike. It really was a big year and just writing this I'm forgetting all the work and looking forward to the good times next year. I really appreciate all the herculean efforts put in by all the volunteers and my co organizer Eric, I couldn't have done it without you. Thanks to all the folks who came from all over to race. Hope to see you all at MSG 2008.PS: To see more cool CX pics click here and go to Bart Nave Photography.
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