Cross race numero dos

After the help of some friends I go the Fondriest back into cross mode for another race this morning (Sunday, 11/30). I was a bit nervous because I didn't really know what to expect and figured if my mechanic skills held up, I wouldn't really have any excuses for turning in a poor result.

This course was a lot faster and a lot more technical than the last one. There were a few sand pits that made for some interesting bike handling to get through. One set of barriers that were immediately followed by a step hill so you had to run up. More than one set of turns that were at least 120 degrees, some of them following downhill sections that were really fast and then required a lot of braking and diving into the turn. Oh yeah, and it was pretty hilly in general.

I started closer to the front this time and sprinted like crazy just like everyone else when the gun went off. This strategy in most racing would be really stupid except in cross it's absolutely essential because it's so hard to pass people, especially slow ones later in the race. The first couple turns turned into cluster fucks and somehow I picked a magical line through the people, roots and sand passing about 12. I held this place until a turn that I didn't take correctly the entire day and while being lucky enough to keep myself upright was passed back by about 3 people. One of those was a friend of mine and so I decided to ride in this little mini group for a while to try and figure out how the course was going to ride at race pace. (I also thought we were closer to the front than we were. But, I didn't discover this until the results sheet was printed much later.)

This strategy was working out ok. On the third lap I decided I wanted to try and make a move up and I took a 90 degree right hand turn too fast. The course is usually marked by police barrier tape and so on a few occasions taking turns I'll find myself with the tape on my hip until I get all the way around. This never causes any problems and so when my left shifter was touching the tape in this particular turn I didn't think much about it. What I didn't realize was that my shifter had actually gone under the tape and as I rounded out the turn the tape decided it had stretched enough. The bike went was jerked back and I kept going. I want to think that it looked awesome for the people standing around watching at this point. And there were a lot. It all happened so fast and since I landed in pretty soft grass and mud that it didn't hurt and my first reaction was to get back on the bike so not to lose my place in this group. The bike had slightly different ideas and as I un-sucked the chain just a bit and spun the cranks to make sure it was sound, about 5 guys passed me.

I ended up passing most of them back but it takes so long to have stretches long enough that I never did quite make it back to the group I was with earlier. All in all I had a pretty good race. It was definitely fun and I hope that I can continue to get better at it. I feel like I have the fitness, but these races just don't work like racing on the road. The cornering is totally different as the speeds change so much going in and coming back out of the turns. But, since that power aspect of road racing is something I struggle with, maybe these races will help to boost that a bit.

A few random observations from the day:

- I found that'd I'd pass someone on the outside just before going into a corner. These people would not slow up and give me the line, they'd simply take the corner really hot (fast on the inside) and almost t-bone me at the apex of the corner. I'm not sure if this is the correct way to corner in cross, but it's certainly a good strategy for scaring the shit out of me and making me wait to pass everyone well before any corners.

- Jumping off your bike, hoping the barriers and jumping back on should be graceful. It is not graceful when I do it. I think I only got it right once.

- Whenever you approach the barriers with people around, it's best to assume they are all going to do something really stupid that will include all of the following: change lines to get in your way, hit their bike on the barrier and then drop it in front of you, jump back on their bike only to lose control and swerve in front of you, or anything else that makes the already taxing effort of getting over the barriers every more difficult.

- People who aren't fit enough to run up the "run ups" late in the race never move out of the good line. They also don't appreciate my yelling at them to move.

Next week I'm racing again. Apparently that course is pretty crazy and if it's wet it starts to look like the finish of that video I posted a few weeks back. Should be awesome!