Welcome to the Killer B's...

Day 1 - in the belly of the beast...

So this is a bit late in coming but I really needed to let my first races of the season percolate before giving them their due. Also, I was hoping to include some pics courtesy of the local photogs.

To recap, last weekend was the Michigan Double Cross, a two day cyclocross extravaganza put on by Tailwind, Kinetic Systems and the Flying Rhinos Cycling Club. The course was set up at Waterford Hills Raceway and came complete with the usual suspects; undulations, two sets of barriers, 180 degree turns, sand, and bumpy terra firma. Oh, and let's not forget the "Orange Crush" - a flyover of monstrous proportions - huge, steep steps going up, a very short bridge section and a steep ramp going back down. The Orange Crush was my nemesis both days...

Day 1 - Here I am going down the ramp - looking like a pro. Good thing it's not a video, otherwise you would see how slow I really was...

First impression of the weekend: it was really refreshing to do some 'cross racing after a summer of road racing. It's such a different world. Fun seems to be a bigger priority in cyclocross. Don't get me wrong, cyclocross racing is an absolute bitch while you're out there, but in an odd way, it's fun at the same time. Maybe because the folks who race cyclocross don't take themselves as seriously... All I know is, I heard lots of folks throwing around the word "fun" at the weekend races. You rarely ever (never?) hear the term "fun" used in any context at a road race. Weird.

After chewing and digesting my races over the weekend, here's my thoughts and observations:

• Racing in B is definitely tougher. 45+ minutes takes its toll.
  
• I felt much better on Sunday than I did on Saturday, although my results didn't really show it (19th on Saturday, 17th on Sunday)
• It was much easier for me to ride the sand on Sunday

• Barrier work was decent - still jumping a bit high but at least it seemed smooth.

• Need to work on my starts - getting good placement in that first turn is crucial.
  
• My wife and little girl came out both days - it was great to have my own cheering section! Thanks to all the other Rhinos who offered encouragements, I heard 'em!
• One other funny thing - every time my daughter hears a cowbell, she yells "Go Daddy!" - she's awesome!
  

Next up for me is a night race in Monroe, Michigan. Last year, I didn't do too shabby there so we'll see how it goes!

Thanks to Andrea Tucker, Hans Nyberg and Bruce LeBlanc for the photos!

The First Race of the Season

My first race was on Saturday. It was a training series that my club puts on at an auto racing track. It's a nice race to get your feet wet since the pavement is in pretty good shape, there aren't any sharp turns and if you get dropped or lapped, your car isn't that far away. They divide the race into A, B, and C categories. I chose to race in the B category.

Having raced MTB, 'cross and road, I'd have to say that road racing still comes out on top as the most intense. Cyclocross is a harder effort, but the high speeds and rider proximity of road racing make for one helluva' adrenaline loaded experience. Maybe downhill racing could beat it but I don't have the nerve for that.

Lining up for the race, I was quickly met with some of the, how shall I say, less favorable personalities of the sport... One gentleman looked my bike up and down and, with out so much as a "hello" or "hey", proceeded to comment on the relatively high cost of my bike compared to his and his teamate's. Let's get something straight. My bike is a Look 285, and it's about 8 years old. A lot of the parts and components on the bike have been discontinued and have been out of production for at least 4 years. So it by no means is something that should induce envy of any sort. Maybe it's because these gentlemen were MTBer's (a fact made obvious by the goatees and Time ATAC's they were rockin'...) and maybe in mountain bike racing the most expensive bike usually wins. Their compulsion to comment was influenced by the threat of the perceived value of my bike. Whatever the case may be, it's personalities like those two that lend credence to negative stereotypes...

Once we started, all that BS was forgotten. Nothing to think about except the race at hand. All in all, the race was pretty uneventful. It's was a really fast pace (ave speed around 25-30 mph) I sat in the peloton most of the time with a couple of short attacks off the front (short because I couldn't sustain them, it's still too early for me). It was fun just the same. One of my teammates took third, and I finished with the bunch somewhere in the top 20. As for the two that were scoping out my rig at the start, I beat one of them and finished a couple bike lengths behind the other - so maybe they had a right to feel threatened!