Not the way I wanted it to end...

My last cyclocross race of the season.  So far, it had been kind of lack luster and I just decided that this whole season was going to be one giant learning experience. Cue the Michigan State Cyclocross Championship.

This was it, the one last hurrah - now, I had no delusions of winning the State Championship or anything but I wanted to put in a decent effort, cheer on my mates and have a few barley pops with my friends at the after party. None of this was meant to be.

Let's start at the beginning. It was cold... High 20s and I got to the venue really early. So early, I was actually able to get two warm up laps before the first race started.  I completed my warm up triumvirate with one more lap before my race.

I lined up in the second row behind a pretty fast guy so I figured I would get a decent start. And... We were off. A Christmas miracle! The moment I placed my right foot on the pedal it clipped right in!  I was sitting nicely in the top ten as we entered the first turn. After a little meandering, we found ourselves coming up to the biggest obstacle of the coarse; a muddy, severely off-camber section that was impossible to maintain traction on. As we came to it, I figured it would result in quite the bottle-neck (and it did) so I got off and ran the entire thing! I passed at least 3 guys. I remounted and continued on. That's when disaster struck. 

A short descent - nothing tricky and BAM!!! I'm on the ground. Everything kinda went in slow motion as I landed on the ground and saw my bike in the air coming towards me. I rolled out of the way just in time and heard the squealing of brakes and a couple obscenities as the racers behind me tried to avoid my one-man pile-up... I got up, dusted myself off and took inventory. Bike's ok, my hand hurts a bit but I seem fine, I remounted and I couldn't grip my handle bars.... My right hand, no matter how hard I tried, couldn't wrap around my bar or my brake hood. I figured my thumb was broken. My race was done... 5 minutes in and I'm DNF'ing. Sucks.

After visiting the doctor, it seems it's not broken just a bad sprain and some possible ligament damage. I will need to see a specialist to find out...

Not the way I wanted to end my 'cross season - that's for sure.

Reality Check

My first cyclocross race of the season, the Michigan Double Cross Race 1, is officially in the record books.

Now I know where I stand, a stake has been struck into the hard, dry, Michigan ground. Now I have a point of reference from which to measure my progress.

Leading up to that first race, it's funny because there are all these expectations, preconceived notions and questions of how I would perform. How would I measure up now that I've moved up to the "B" group? Well, now all that has been answered. No more hiding behind a facade of 60 mile road rides, it's laid bare for all to see.

Maybe that's what cyclocross is about. Whether your state, national or world champion, there's no hiding. There's no team to tow you around the course, and, come the last lap, cut you loose to crush your competition There's no 100-man peloton to provide shelter.

Cyclocross is solitary, it's painful, and it's beautiful. There's a camaraderie despite the solitude, that exists in knowing that each and every racer out there is hurting too (some just go a hell of a lot faster amidst their suffering).

I consider racing "play by plays" a little stale. Is anyone really interested in hearing the minutia of every grueling minute of my race?? I've done them in the past and I kinda regret it. I'll keep that commentary to myself. Suffice to say, I was a bit underwhelmed with my performance, however, my expectations may have been too high. I felt smooth on the barriers, had big issues with the flyover, did ok cornering and felt ok power wise. I finished around 18th place (actually it was 19th place). I say "around" because I'm not positive since I didn't stick around to find out. I kept post-race lolly-gagging to a minimum since I had my family with me and I promised them a nice lunch afterward for serving as my cheering section.

FYI -My daughter (she's two) rang her first cowbell today. Yup, I'm a proud papa!

Got another race tomorrow and I can't wait. Oh yeah - congrats to fellow Rhino Mark for a strong showing in the B race - 5th place! I'll give a shout out to Jan and Steve too, you guys finished strong. Way to go!

Back From the Clinic

Nope, I'm not talking about where you go when you have The Clap, I'm talking about a cyclocross clinic. And what a doosy it was...

First off, there was this thing:


This is "The Orange Crush" and it's a bitch. If there was ever something that made you realize that you take too long to clip in, this is it. You've got roughly 6 feet up there before plummeting down the ramp...

Here are some of my thoughts, recollections and observations from the clinic:

• Water is good, drink lots of it.
• the sun is hot.
• When you are being lapped by a really fast, elite level rider, they make very little noise.
• I'm damn glad my bike has an aluminum steerer. There were a couple of my transitions coming off the ramp of "The Orange Crush" where, if my steerer had been carbon, I think it would have snapped and my face would have gotten intimate with the grassy substrate.
• I love to hit myself in the head with my saddle when shouldering the bike. In fact, it's my favorite thing to do.
• For those of us who are less than stellar bike-handlers, some sections are just easier to run
• I hate running.
• Barriers are fun.
• I jump WAAYY too high on my remount - if not remedied, this may, one day, give me what I like to refer to as "the poor-man's vasectomy".
• When I'm truly suffering (as I was during the last 3-4 laps of the 40 minute practice race), well wishes and words of encouragement only serve to further demoralize me.
• Tuberculosis originated at a cyclocross race during the 1600's.
• I love Challenge Fango tires.
• I want a new bike.
• I have what's know as "Monkey Arms".
• PB&J is not a good pre-race food.
• Fig Newtons are amazing.
• After a long day of riding, I crave sweets and baked goods like a son-of-a-bitch (such as chocolate chip cookies and carrot cake).
• I hate cyclocross.
  
• I like things that make me suffer.
• I love cyclocross.

Thanks to Kinetic Systems Bicycles, Tailwind Enterprises and The Flying Rhinos Cycling Club for a great time!