I lined up in the M35+1/2/3 race with 40-ish other guys. After last week's beat down, I took a rest week and was hoping for better feelings in my legs today. It seemed to work. I was in the second row, went hard off the whistle and continued to go hard even after people were searching for wheels to follow...and was rewarded by being 6th off the pavement. I gave up a few spots quickly, but was within sight of the Mark McCormack, Jonny Bold Group for the first lap and a half. I raced with a few guys and gave up a few spots, but mostly felt very good. I could see Mark Gonsalus (Fuji) a few spots in front and Peter Sullivan (Svelte) was behind me. Not bad.
We got the 2 to go lap card TWICE. That totally sucked. Peter had just passed and gapped me when we got "2" the second time, but I had been riding hard thinking that I'd get the bell...so I was pretty spent. He continued to ride away from me and I started racing with some BikeReg guy. Before the log...I hear a big "BANG" in the woods. 5 seconds later, I see Peter laying on the ground tangled up in his bike. I yelled: "Peter! Are you okay?" nothing. Over the log. "Peter! ARE YOU OK?" Nothing. BikeReg guy and I both come to a complete stop on the path, feet down. "PETER! Are you OK?" Nothing. He's trying to untangle himself, but appears ineffective. "I guess not", says BikeReg. "Let's get help". We took off down the path and I yelled at the first spectator that I see (about 30 seconds later by the short barriers) to get a help back to the log. Apparently he did. We raced on, and I yelled at the officials at the finish line that Peter needed help. But Cort Cramer was right there and asked me if Peter was OK. So apparently word had gotten back via the first guy I yelled at and people were mobilized to help him. Good. I'm now hoping that I didn't over-react and that they wouldn't find him cuz he's back on his bike and racing...probably about to catch me again.
But it's the bell lap; so it's game on Wayne. I'm racing BikeReg, but slipping off his wheel. We get to the log and Peter's not there. Cool. I guess he's ok. 100m down the cart path, though, I see him sitting on the ground surrounded by officials and teammates. He kinda looks like he's surrounded by cops, being arrested. Crap. That's bad. I raced on and finished 11th. I cooled down on the course and got back to Peter before he was loaded into the ambulance. He didn't look good.
The highs: I raced strong and finished well. I jumped the log and the short barriers all 5 laps, except for on lap 3 when I jumped the first short barrier but went straight into a nearby bush. Also, my legs felt good. Very happy with 11th.
The lows: Peter must have tried to jump the log, crashed, landed on his head, and got a concussion. He was apparently disoriented and started walking down the path/course before help arrived. He ended up leaving in an ambulance, still disoriented and confused. I feet like a total schmuck for not abandoning my race and helping him when I had the chance. In an instant...I made the wrong choice. It just didn't occur to me that he was THAT hurt. I should have made sure though and sent someone else for help. My bad.
Canton Cup
-
onegeardoug
- Chasseur
- Posts: 973
- Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2008 7:01 am
- Location: Marlboro, MA
Re: Canton Cup
After Doug’s post about Peter, it is hard to post this. I have kept telling my wife how “safe” CX was. I hope he is OK.
Was in the Open Cat 4 with a bunch of other MRC guys including Todd, Scott, Abel, Nate, etc. There were 140ish people in the field, so the biggest field I had been in. In summary, I raced well, crossed the line completely spent, finished 22nd, and am happy with my race especially given what happened.
The story inside the story: They told us it would be a 3 lap race. I got a great start and was in the top 15 wheels off the pavement. I clipped someone’s rear wheel in turns before the first set of barriers and went down. A guy went down right on top of me/my bike. Got up quickly but my bike had some issues… my cantilever was totally bent inward and my front wheel was really warped. Lots of people passing. For a brief second I wasn’t sure I could ride on, but I jumped on and saw that by my bike was rideable. For the rest of the first lap, I was really red-lining it and passing people to try to get back closer to the front. In particular, there were a couple of guys in front of me in costume. I decided I HAD to beat them. I reached the end of the first lap having passed them and still pushing hard.
Over the next 2 laps, I was holding on for dear life. I oscillated between totally red-lined and just under red-lined. I notice the guys in front of me were pulling away and the groups behind me were catching up. Near the end of the second lap Michael Weiler passed me. I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t gaining and people were catching me, but just figured I had gone too hard the first lap and had tapped out my legs. I ended up holding everyone off for the most part, and was only caught by 4-6 people I think.
Right after I crossed the line I looked at my bike more closely. My front wheel was so warped from the wreck that my wheel was rubbing really hard against my brake pads on every revolution. I feel good that I left everything out there on the course and did the best I could. I saw Michael finished 12th and a Bikes Not Bombs guy finished 9th and I was ahead of those guys at end of my first lap and most of the 2nd... what might have been? But I guess that is ‘cross’ and stuff happens.
Thanks for the cheering MRC fans, including Doug who I heard clearly. Kudos Doug, great race against that kind of competition. Loved the course. Will definitely do next year.
John
PS. My front wheel was totaled from the wreck. It is so bent that it is not fixable. I have to get a brand new rim/wheel.
Was in the Open Cat 4 with a bunch of other MRC guys including Todd, Scott, Abel, Nate, etc. There were 140ish people in the field, so the biggest field I had been in. In summary, I raced well, crossed the line completely spent, finished 22nd, and am happy with my race especially given what happened.
The story inside the story: They told us it would be a 3 lap race. I got a great start and was in the top 15 wheels off the pavement. I clipped someone’s rear wheel in turns before the first set of barriers and went down. A guy went down right on top of me/my bike. Got up quickly but my bike had some issues… my cantilever was totally bent inward and my front wheel was really warped. Lots of people passing. For a brief second I wasn’t sure I could ride on, but I jumped on and saw that by my bike was rideable. For the rest of the first lap, I was really red-lining it and passing people to try to get back closer to the front. In particular, there were a couple of guys in front of me in costume. I decided I HAD to beat them. I reached the end of the first lap having passed them and still pushing hard.
Over the next 2 laps, I was holding on for dear life. I oscillated between totally red-lined and just under red-lined. I notice the guys in front of me were pulling away and the groups behind me were catching up. Near the end of the second lap Michael Weiler passed me. I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t gaining and people were catching me, but just figured I had gone too hard the first lap and had tapped out my legs. I ended up holding everyone off for the most part, and was only caught by 4-6 people I think.
Right after I crossed the line I looked at my bike more closely. My front wheel was so warped from the wreck that my wheel was rubbing really hard against my brake pads on every revolution. I feel good that I left everything out there on the course and did the best I could. I saw Michael finished 12th and a Bikes Not Bombs guy finished 9th and I was ahead of those guys at end of my first lap and most of the 2nd... what might have been? But I guess that is ‘cross’ and stuff happens.
Thanks for the cheering MRC fans, including Doug who I heard clearly. Kudos Doug, great race against that kind of competition. Loved the course. Will definitely do next year.
John
PS. My front wheel was totaled from the wreck. It is so bent that it is not fixable. I have to get a brand new rim/wheel.
Last edited by jraguin on Thu Nov 04, 2010 1:38 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Re: Canton Cup
I finished a race with air in my tires (the ones I started with) and I didn't get lapped... it was a good day 
Took a super conservative approach to the start of the 3/4 race because it was a pretty big field and with the luck I've had I wanted nothing to do with a mix of overzealous 3's and 4's who had already raced once going into the first turn (or the second turn with the rock right in the middle of it). I basically worked on picking off the next group up the course continually and it pretty much worked. I knew I did everything I could because I came off the barriers for the final time in a group of 5 and when I tried to stand up and sprint up the paved hill all I could do was sit back down and pedal it out. I only got one of those guys and I think he botched the remount and got gapped before we hit the pavement.
Good to see so many folks out today. This was my first race ever years ago (on my old Trek 820 MTB because it's all I had) so I'll always have a soft spot. They've definitely worked to improve it over the years.
Took a super conservative approach to the start of the 3/4 race because it was a pretty big field and with the luck I've had I wanted nothing to do with a mix of overzealous 3's and 4's who had already raced once going into the first turn (or the second turn with the rock right in the middle of it). I basically worked on picking off the next group up the course continually and it pretty much worked. I knew I did everything I could because I came off the barriers for the final time in a group of 5 and when I tried to stand up and sprint up the paved hill all I could do was sit back down and pedal it out. I only got one of those guys and I think he botched the remount and got gapped before we hit the pavement.
Good to see so many folks out today. This was my first race ever years ago (on my old Trek 820 MTB because it's all I had) so I'll always have a soft spot. They've definitely worked to improve it over the years.
Cheer of the 2008 season: "Don't suck!"
http://idonotplayhoops.blogspot.com
http://idonotplayhoops.blogspot.com
Re: Canton Cup
I started and finished this race pissed off; pissed off at myself, pissed at the way the start was organized, pissed at how my legs felt, but after a good night's sleep I think I have a little much-needed perspective. And a not-so-much-needed sore body.
It was my first time at Canton and my first race since Providence and I could tell warming up that I was riding like it. After running them a couple time I decided to try bunny hopping the short barriers, and promptly faceplanted. The guy behind me said he had done the same thing the last time through and we agreed we'd be running them. We also agreed that it was the longest cyclocross lap of all time. And in my head I thought, "you should have just stayed in bed today, grumpy."
So my ego was already bruised and my bad wrist was bothering me after the stupid crash as we stood around at he start freezing our asses off. As the women finish, 150 guys "line up" in a big mess with no rows to speak of, and handlebars and wheels all tangled. Wonderful. We got off safely, but slowly. I mentally noted that standing around freezing basically erased any warmup I had done as my legs were like lead. I settled in and rode my own race for the first lap - namely, a slower one that I felt like I should have been and apparently a slower one than a lot of the guys who started behind me. I kept clipping my shoes or back wheel on the big barriers - both sets of them. The "UCI Regulation 40 cm" markings all over them were clearly some kind of Halloween trick because these friggin' things were huge. And the number of ugly crashes we witnessed on them later in the day proved to me that it wasn't just my heavy legs that caused my trouble.
Anyway, going into the 3rd and final lap I had settled into an ok place, well behind the people I thought I should be racing with, but ahead of a group of 6 or so guys. We had traded places the whole race and I knew that I could hold them off if I could ride smart around the turns and not make any mistake....BOOM. I go down around a simple grass 180 and have shooting pain up through my left shoulder. After a few dazed seconds I determine that nothing is broken or dislocated and I ought to get up and get back on my bike. There goes those 6 guys, and then some. I get up, hammer my shifters back to a somewhat normal position, and finish the race with my tail between my legs.
I swore to the other MRC guys at the finish that I wouldn't be back if they don't sort out that cat 4 start, but that was just the adrenaline talking, I think. As always, watching the other races shook me out of the funk the race had put me in and cheered me up. Hopefully I can wake up my tired legs this week and get back to feeling good at NoHo next weekend.
What is it about cylocross that you can have a day like mine and wake up in the morning already looking forward to the next race? Whatever it is I am thankful for it.
It was my first time at Canton and my first race since Providence and I could tell warming up that I was riding like it. After running them a couple time I decided to try bunny hopping the short barriers, and promptly faceplanted. The guy behind me said he had done the same thing the last time through and we agreed we'd be running them. We also agreed that it was the longest cyclocross lap of all time. And in my head I thought, "you should have just stayed in bed today, grumpy."
So my ego was already bruised and my bad wrist was bothering me after the stupid crash as we stood around at he start freezing our asses off. As the women finish, 150 guys "line up" in a big mess with no rows to speak of, and handlebars and wheels all tangled. Wonderful. We got off safely, but slowly. I mentally noted that standing around freezing basically erased any warmup I had done as my legs were like lead. I settled in and rode my own race for the first lap - namely, a slower one that I felt like I should have been and apparently a slower one than a lot of the guys who started behind me. I kept clipping my shoes or back wheel on the big barriers - both sets of them. The "UCI Regulation 40 cm" markings all over them were clearly some kind of Halloween trick because these friggin' things were huge. And the number of ugly crashes we witnessed on them later in the day proved to me that it wasn't just my heavy legs that caused my trouble.
Anyway, going into the 3rd and final lap I had settled into an ok place, well behind the people I thought I should be racing with, but ahead of a group of 6 or so guys. We had traded places the whole race and I knew that I could hold them off if I could ride smart around the turns and not make any mistake....BOOM. I go down around a simple grass 180 and have shooting pain up through my left shoulder. After a few dazed seconds I determine that nothing is broken or dislocated and I ought to get up and get back on my bike. There goes those 6 guys, and then some. I get up, hammer my shifters back to a somewhat normal position, and finish the race with my tail between my legs.
I swore to the other MRC guys at the finish that I wouldn't be back if they don't sort out that cat 4 start, but that was just the adrenaline talking, I think. As always, watching the other races shook me out of the funk the race had put me in and cheered me up. Hopefully I can wake up my tired legs this week and get back to feeling good at NoHo next weekend.
What is it about cylocross that you can have a day like mine and wake up in the morning already looking forward to the next race? Whatever it is I am thankful for it.
Re: Canton Cup
Sully update.
First off big thanks to Doug for shouting out that he was down. You did the right thing. Don't worry about not abandoning your race. I think most folks would completely understand that when your in the throes of competition rational judgment is not high on the priority list.
Secondly, and most importantly, Peter is doing fine. Last I heard is is up and about and not feeling too badly. He did indeed stack it up on the log barrier when he tried to bunny hop it.
REALLY scary finding him wandering down the course, not knowing what planet he was on.
I'm sure he will be back at it soon!
First off big thanks to Doug for shouting out that he was down. You did the right thing. Don't worry about not abandoning your race. I think most folks would completely understand that when your in the throes of competition rational judgment is not high on the priority list.
Secondly, and most importantly, Peter is doing fine. Last I heard is is up and about and not feeling too badly. He did indeed stack it up on the log barrier when he tried to bunny hop it.
REALLY scary finding him wandering down the course, not knowing what planet he was on.
I'm sure he will be back at it soon!
Re: Canton Cup
This was Peter's pre race twitter:
"Looking forward to hopefully not do what I seemingly do best tomorrow....Canton Cup 2010"
so here's a vid of his last crash:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTQMc-c- ... r_embedded
"Looking forward to hopefully not do what I seemingly do best tomorrow....Canton Cup 2010"
so here's a vid of his last crash:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTQMc-c- ... r_embedded
Re: Canton Cup
Where's the video of Cort on that bull? That's funny stuff. Glad Sully's OK.
I haven't written a race report in awhile, so I attempt to now. I never have expectations for Canton as it's a pretty wide open course that's pretty much a grass crit with easy, flowy turns, and the track with a soul-sucking headwind. I hate that oval on the track. It was assuaged this year by a nice beer feed during my second race that seemed to energize my legs to the finish line, but quickly gave me a splitting headache.
Not sure why I decided to do two races, I think it had something to do with David Deitch, but I'm not entirely sure. I awoke this morning sorer than I've ever been from riding a bike. I think it has to do with the bumpy nature of the course? I don't know, but I've never had sore abs, glutes, and lower back. Did I spend yesterday skiiing moguls? I was asleep last night by something like 9:30 -- which is unheard of for the night owl in me.
Still, despite a ho-hum course, it's fun racing with everyone, and the fact that it's so close to home makes it convenient. I look forward to racing more 3s races next year as the late start will bring a whole new level of sleeping in!
The 4s race highlights:
With fields as large as Canton, it's always fun to have someone constantly to race against. Some people worry about their finishing positions, but I'm not really sure why? For example, the difference between Weiler's 12th place finish and my 37th place finish was only 30 seconds (official, but was more like a minute). And Sweeny finished at the front of the train I was barely connected two for 22nd. Lots of racers mean not many gaps and means someone to constantly race with. I though Scott had a pretty nice race. He could have very easily ended up in the 30s, but once he took control of the train, no one could pass or attack him (from my vantage point anyway).
The Killer B's highlights:
The start and the crowd for the first lap was pretty wild. What amazed me was the people's wheels I latched on way back where I was riding. They could ride. No mistakes, taking optimal lines in the corners. Usually, I'm riding into the back of people in the twisty stuff. In the 3s, I didn't have this problem. Since I raced earlier in the day, my legs were toast for the first two laps, but then they warmed up and felt pretty good for the last two. At one point the rider behind me was telling me how to catch the group in front. So, I took his advice and closed a nice 100 yards over a long effort. When I finally made contact, I had dropped the rider behind. Guess that teaches him to tell me I'm not going fast enough? Abel had a solid race in the Bs and once we started, I didn't see him the rest of the time. I remember this because I took advantage of him dropping his chain in the 4 race and made my move.
My highlight of the day is doing as many laps in my two races as the elites in their one race. Did I mention how sore I am?
Some other highlights, watching Justin L ride his bike up the runup, and seeing Nate M. nearly clear it too was quite impressive.
Look forward to NOHO next weekend, racing both days, and I'm hoping to be peaking from all the fitness I'm building up!
I haven't written a race report in awhile, so I attempt to now. I never have expectations for Canton as it's a pretty wide open course that's pretty much a grass crit with easy, flowy turns, and the track with a soul-sucking headwind. I hate that oval on the track. It was assuaged this year by a nice beer feed during my second race that seemed to energize my legs to the finish line, but quickly gave me a splitting headache.
Not sure why I decided to do two races, I think it had something to do with David Deitch, but I'm not entirely sure. I awoke this morning sorer than I've ever been from riding a bike. I think it has to do with the bumpy nature of the course? I don't know, but I've never had sore abs, glutes, and lower back. Did I spend yesterday skiiing moguls? I was asleep last night by something like 9:30 -- which is unheard of for the night owl in me.
Still, despite a ho-hum course, it's fun racing with everyone, and the fact that it's so close to home makes it convenient. I look forward to racing more 3s races next year as the late start will bring a whole new level of sleeping in!
The 4s race highlights:
With fields as large as Canton, it's always fun to have someone constantly to race against. Some people worry about their finishing positions, but I'm not really sure why? For example, the difference between Weiler's 12th place finish and my 37th place finish was only 30 seconds (official, but was more like a minute). And Sweeny finished at the front of the train I was barely connected two for 22nd. Lots of racers mean not many gaps and means someone to constantly race with. I though Scott had a pretty nice race. He could have very easily ended up in the 30s, but once he took control of the train, no one could pass or attack him (from my vantage point anyway).
The Killer B's highlights:
The start and the crowd for the first lap was pretty wild. What amazed me was the people's wheels I latched on way back where I was riding. They could ride. No mistakes, taking optimal lines in the corners. Usually, I'm riding into the back of people in the twisty stuff. In the 3s, I didn't have this problem. Since I raced earlier in the day, my legs were toast for the first two laps, but then they warmed up and felt pretty good for the last two. At one point the rider behind me was telling me how to catch the group in front. So, I took his advice and closed a nice 100 yards over a long effort. When I finally made contact, I had dropped the rider behind. Guess that teaches him to tell me I'm not going fast enough? Abel had a solid race in the Bs and once we started, I didn't see him the rest of the time. I remember this because I took advantage of him dropping his chain in the 4 race and made my move.
My highlight of the day is doing as many laps in my two races as the elites in their one race. Did I mention how sore I am?
Some other highlights, watching Justin L ride his bike up the runup, and seeing Nate M. nearly clear it too was quite impressive.
Look forward to NOHO next weekend, racing both days, and I'm hoping to be peaking from all the fitness I'm building up!
I'm 20PoundSkull at cyclowhat.com.
-
Cort Cramer
- Peloton
- Posts: 425
- Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2007 11:27 am
- Location: Ashland, MA
- Contact:
Re: Canton Cup
Doug - thanks again for alerting us, and congrats on your race. Sully lives to ride another day - I would just recommend staying IN FRONT of him, rather than to his side or behind... 
Re: Canton Cup
First off, I'm happy to hear that Sully is doing ok. It always freaks me out when I see an ambulance taking someone away from a race.
Last year, the Canton Cup was the very first bike race that I had ever entered. David Deitch, had convinced me to try it on my mountain bike, and to dress up in costume. I was fine with the costume, because I just wanted to have fun, but freaked out when all the costumed people got call ups to the front row. I was just worried about being the in the way of people who knew what they were doing. I finshed that race 105/110, and vowed that I would do better next year. This year, David again inspired me to do both the Cat 4, and 3/4 races.
Cat 4 highlights: So one year later, I was back in costume for the Cat 4 race, this time hoping that I would get a call up. Sadly no call up, just the Canton mad scramble line up. I wasn't too concerned though, since I was planning on having fun in costume, and making the video game jumping noises at barriers. I still managed to have a decent start, finding a seam in the pack as we charged up the hill, and came into the doubletrack in the 30's. I picked up some more spots as we moved through the field and woods, and by the end of the first lap was in the low 20's. I rode clean in the second lap, except for some guy who tried to come around me and buzzed my rear wheel in the field, before launching himself off into the grass. By the third lap, the combination of my fading skills, very tall barriers, and wearing jeans caught up with me. I banged my bike off the barriers in the back field, and dropped my chain, losing about 15 spots as I struggled to get it back on. I also managed to almost kill myself again on the last set of barriers, catching my foot on the first barrier, bouncing my bike off the ground and spinning 360 degrees before stumbling over the second. I ended up 41/131.
Cat 3/4: My goal was to not be DFL in my first 3/4 race. I "lined up" feeling pretty tired, next to David Patnaude, and Rich Person. Todd, Nate, and Dave D were right behind us. Had an okay start, and rode with Dave P through most of the first lap. We were forced to dismount at the ride up before the short barriers, by the rider in front of us who obviously never ridden in dirt before. After a bit of swearing, I ran past the guy who didn't understand how traction works, and never saw him again. I did my best to find wheels, and work my way up, but eventually was stuck with a group of riders who were making no effort to close with the group ahead of us. After being frustrated, I finally decided to try and pull through in the field, and was able to put some time into them on the road near the water. I spent most of my last lap riding by myself, which was miserable out on the track. In the end, I finished 65/108 which I am happy with. It confirms my theory that I should be able to be mid pack fill should I decide to upgrade at some point.
Last year, the Canton Cup was the very first bike race that I had ever entered. David Deitch, had convinced me to try it on my mountain bike, and to dress up in costume. I was fine with the costume, because I just wanted to have fun, but freaked out when all the costumed people got call ups to the front row. I was just worried about being the in the way of people who knew what they were doing. I finshed that race 105/110, and vowed that I would do better next year. This year, David again inspired me to do both the Cat 4, and 3/4 races.
Cat 4 highlights: So one year later, I was back in costume for the Cat 4 race, this time hoping that I would get a call up. Sadly no call up, just the Canton mad scramble line up. I wasn't too concerned though, since I was planning on having fun in costume, and making the video game jumping noises at barriers. I still managed to have a decent start, finding a seam in the pack as we charged up the hill, and came into the doubletrack in the 30's. I picked up some more spots as we moved through the field and woods, and by the end of the first lap was in the low 20's. I rode clean in the second lap, except for some guy who tried to come around me and buzzed my rear wheel in the field, before launching himself off into the grass. By the third lap, the combination of my fading skills, very tall barriers, and wearing jeans caught up with me. I banged my bike off the barriers in the back field, and dropped my chain, losing about 15 spots as I struggled to get it back on. I also managed to almost kill myself again on the last set of barriers, catching my foot on the first barrier, bouncing my bike off the ground and spinning 360 degrees before stumbling over the second. I ended up 41/131.
Cat 3/4: My goal was to not be DFL in my first 3/4 race. I "lined up" feeling pretty tired, next to David Patnaude, and Rich Person. Todd, Nate, and Dave D were right behind us. Had an okay start, and rode with Dave P through most of the first lap. We were forced to dismount at the ride up before the short barriers, by the rider in front of us who obviously never ridden in dirt before. After a bit of swearing, I ran past the guy who didn't understand how traction works, and never saw him again. I did my best to find wheels, and work my way up, but eventually was stuck with a group of riders who were making no effort to close with the group ahead of us. After being frustrated, I finally decided to try and pull through in the field, and was able to put some time into them on the road near the water. I spent most of my last lap riding by myself, which was miserable out on the track. In the end, I finished 65/108 which I am happy with. It confirms my theory that I should be able to be mid pack fill should I decide to upgrade at some point.
Last edited by atomkin on Sun Oct 31, 2010 9:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Canton Cup
The 4 race: Lined up on my tried and true single speed warhorse. As I was wearing white cartoon gloves, suspenders, and a fake mustache, I took it easy and used the race as a warm up at tempo. Made sure to get rad over the log and the half-barriers. Finished somewhere at the back.
3/4: Lined up near the back, right behind Abel and some rich guy....*ahem*, Rich Person. As we started to roll, I got pulled into Rich's planet-like gravitational field. Since his bars end right where mine begin, I ended up dangling from his bike for a few seconds, then bouncing off of another guy to my left. Party foul. Sorry fellas.
Traffic was heavy through the first lap, so I got stuck in second gear trying to make passes without crashing everyone around me. I saw the traffic jam up the short dirt climb and dismounted. I figured that my best tactic here would be to fix bayonets and charge over the top. Using my shouldered bike as a weapon, I carved my way through the scrum and picked up a dozen spots. For the rest of the race, I chased wheels and made passes. Finally found my way up to Todd and worked with him until his gut full of chili and high life got the upper hand. I managed to catch Dan "Threshcam" Barrett on the middle of the last lap and stuck to his wheel while he tried to shake me. It went like this:
Dan: looks back, stands on the pedals to get away
Me: stays on wheel
Dan: looks back, looks annoyed
Me: smug grin
This repeated about 5x until a sketchy CCB'er chopped Dan's wheel for the 900th time on the last corner before the run up. YARD SALE!
At the top of the run, I saw Pat Flaherty rounding the track ahead of me and I hit the nitrous. I chased him around the track, through the barriers, and up to the finish line, but he still had two lengths on me at the line. 81/108 at my first B race.
3/4: Lined up near the back, right behind Abel and some rich guy....*ahem*, Rich Person. As we started to roll, I got pulled into Rich's planet-like gravitational field. Since his bars end right where mine begin, I ended up dangling from his bike for a few seconds, then bouncing off of another guy to my left. Party foul. Sorry fellas.
Traffic was heavy through the first lap, so I got stuck in second gear trying to make passes without crashing everyone around me. I saw the traffic jam up the short dirt climb and dismounted. I figured that my best tactic here would be to fix bayonets and charge over the top. Using my shouldered bike as a weapon, I carved my way through the scrum and picked up a dozen spots. For the rest of the race, I chased wheels and made passes. Finally found my way up to Todd and worked with him until his gut full of chili and high life got the upper hand. I managed to catch Dan "Threshcam" Barrett on the middle of the last lap and stuck to his wheel while he tried to shake me. It went like this:
Dan: looks back, stands on the pedals to get away
Me: stays on wheel
Dan: looks back, looks annoyed
Me: smug grin
This repeated about 5x until a sketchy CCB'er chopped Dan's wheel for the 900th time on the last corner before the run up. YARD SALE!
At the top of the run, I saw Pat Flaherty rounding the track ahead of me and I hit the nitrous. I chased him around the track, through the barriers, and up to the finish line, but he still had two lengths on me at the line. 81/108 at my first B race.
Re: Canton Cup
LMAO!ddeitch wrote:I figured that my best tactic here would be to fix bayonets and charge over the top. Using my shouldered bike as a weapon, I carved my way through the scrum and picked up a dozen spots.