MRC CX race 10/16

[jraguin]

First to post so it has to be said: Let me first say, great race!! Venue, weather, course, reg, marshalls, etc was awesome. I did my little bit fixing tape after my race, but kudos to those who did the real work. It was a lot of fun cheering on MRC members (and spouses)!

Raced the Cat 35+ 3/4 race. Got off to a decent initial start but was very tentative. I focused too much on trying to get in the dirt single-track vs. position, and given the length of that stretch, a bunch of guys passed me. I then proceeded to be happy with my position for some reason, so later on in the first lap a few more guys passed me (including Paul D). It took me a lap to really start racing and I think near the end of the second lap I got the quote of my day from Todd Savage: “You are not breathing hard enough. Get working John!” Todd was dead on right.

On the 3rd lap I think, I really started thinking about picking up the pace. I started moving up a few places and putting gaps on the guys behind me. Hitting the flyover on the 4th lap I think, I ran up fine but then got on squirrelly and clipped my brake on the left hand railing and went down hard directly on my right shoulder. I was a bit stunned and it took me a bit to catch my bearings, make sure my bike was OK, and think about what I was going to do next. I then went on my bike but I was pedaling slowly as my shoulder was killing me. Two guys passed me right away. I was definitely deflated/discouraged and in pain. I did get around to going a bit faster so at least the gap wasn’t getting that much bigger on those two. With about ½ lap to go, I finally decided I had to push hard to the finish, and surprisingly really started to gain on a group of guys in front of me. I came up just short on two of them near the finish, only probably 30m back. I came in 16th of 68 I think.

Overall not terrible, but I left feeling like I could have raced a lot better. Now I am just praying my shoulder isn't seriously injured. I can’t see anything visible on it, but it sure kills and I can't lift my arm up to a 90 degree angle. My wife wants me to go to the hospital, but I am going to wait until tomorrow.

One note: Someone from MRC told me that the official saw / heard about my crash, and then said “That’s it, I am closing the flyover for the other races.” I don’t know if that is true, but that is a bummer if it is. I thought the flyover was fine, and it was really my own fault for hitting the railing. Honestly, I probably would have done it had there had been stairs. So sorry you missed it to all that raced after our race.

To those who make fun of my poor handling skills, I know this provides more well-deserved fodder. In my defense, I will point out that I hadn’t crashed in any race or training since the Sterling road race, although I know that won't stop anyone from piling on!!!

[onegeardoug]

They did close the flyover, but then re-opened it for the Elites and Singlespeeds.

Too tired to write a detailed race report now, so here's the Reader's Digest version. Good start. Lemans rules! Nice touch Rob. Chased Cort for the first lap, and some other guy who only wanted the $50 prime. Passed $50 prime guy; never saw him again. Caught Cort. Sucked wheel. Chased by Shawn. Passed Cort. Gapped Cort in the turns. Got caught. Gapped in the turns. Caught. Gapped with 2 to go. Hammered. Stayed away. Drilled it. WON!

[swawersik]

One note: Someone from MRC told me that the official saw / heard about my crash, and then said “That’s it, I am closing the flyover for the other races.” I don’t know if that is true, but that is a bummer if it is. I thought the flyover was fine, and it was really my own fault for hitting the railing. Honestly, I probably would have done it had there had been stairs. So sorry you missed it to all that raced after our race.

I heard further information later that the thing that sealed the deal with closing the flyover was when the official climbed up to the top to check out how slippery it was, then slipped coming down, sliding most of the way to the bottom. Having slipped a bunch of times going up during my race, I think they made the right decision. I have to hand it to the Gougens and others, though, for an impressive show of carpentry skills and ingenuity to get the Green Monster back in action for the end of the day.

My race: Started the first lap feeling flat. Between having done a bunch of set-up in the morning and having to do some last minute seat adjustment after whacking my crotch good and hard coming badly off the flyover in warm up, I didn't get in my standard warm up. Things kicked in at the start of lap 2 when I was sitting in a group of 4 going through the start/finish. I could see David Patenaude, Mike Cook, and Michael Olbrys (545) up ahead. I briefly debated whether to bridge to them (risking towing some of my group with me) or to sit in. I decided to be aggressive and bridge, and though I ended up dragging one guy along, it woke me up. I spent the next lap or so picking off riders and getting more confident, and was starting to feel good.

On lap 3 or 4, I went down on the off camber at the bottom of the steep ride up and had to run it, losing a few spots. This rattled me, and I proceeded to drive like a drunken chimpanzee heading into the wood chips (which I hated every time through). David Patenaude was behind me and had seen enough: he came around me yelling at me to "drive that thing." This was the dope slap I needed, and I managed to calm down and steer better. From there, I just tried to keep David, Olbrys, and Parke Rhoads in my sights. I stayed close, but never managed to pass, ending up 24th/64. For a day when I never felt fully "on," I'll take it.

Nice job everyone who helped put on the race. Sorry I had to bail a unexpectedly early to deliver my son's soccer cleats, which accidentally ended up in my car. On the plus side, I got to watch him play his best game ever.

[rusto]

Men's 45+.

Best part of the race was seeing Jorge in the field!

My usual story: great start, passing a bunch of people going to the top of the hill on the first lap. Position bleed the rest of the way. Steady loss of power. Getting passed by the 55+ crew.

Last lap, spectacular crash when I came onto the straight leading to the last set of barriers. I hooked my left brake lever in the tape and kept going, assuming the tape would break. Instead it acted as a BRAKE. Must have been 10mil tape, cuz it WOULD NOT LET GO and yanked my bike back and out from under me.

I sailed on in the air for a while before landing on my right side, the rain-softened ground kept me from getting hurt. Still, I was tired and the ground wasn't very cold. I considered just lying there for a while, maybe taking a nap - but somebody shouted at me and I snapped out of it, losing one more place in the process and finished, beating the race predictor by one place: I came in 5th from last instead of 4th.

Extra sting on the day: Todd Savage, who followed me across the finish, told me he hadn't been on a bike since QuadCross. Made me reconsider the whole concept of training.

Here's my photos (35+ Men, Cat 4/Juniors and Women's 1/2/3 and 4): http://www.russcam.com/cycling/111016_mrc_cross/ and on Facebook, for your tagging pleasure, a subset: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 431&type=3

[JeremyC]

Hammered. Stayed away. Drilled it. WON!

OGD, This is the best race report I've seen. Not only did you win but you did it in 100 words or less. Congrats. BTW you beat Tim Mitchell, a Cat 1 bad-ass on the road.

[artbaril]

@johnraguin
I was with the official when he was making the decision. I saw your crash, but he didn't. Stefan is correct. About 1 of every 9 or 10 racers slipped and fell on his way up the f/o. That and the official's slip-and-fall sealed the deal.

As far as a race report. Really glad that the flyover was put back in to play. I like it. However, I was the last finisher of the guys that didn't get lapped which means I was the last man across the line. If the race had been 1 lap longer Doug would have caught me. There's not much more that needs to be said.

[rusto]

I witnessed the official falling down the up ramp of the flyover: he slid, feet-first all the way from the top to the bottom on his side, hitting every 1x3 cleat along the way. Somehow, he was able to laugh it off.

I don't blame him for pulling it from the course the way it was at that time.

[jraguin]

@Doug: Big chapeau to you! You are a beast in the Single Speed series and on a cross bike overall.

@others: I am glad that I was not the coup-de-grace on the flyover and it was because the official did his own wipeout. And I am glad to hear they brought it back later in the day.

One more kudos to all those guys who "manned up" and raced the Masters 45+ or Open Cat 1/2/3. They deserve kudos for racing up with the big boys. I just upgraded to the 3s so now I am in for more big boy races and getting pummeled.
@Matt: See... you did not get lapped!

[atomkin]

I was pretty excited about the Le Mans start for the SS race, I only wish that it was a longer run. I was able to get onto my bike in about 4th place, but then bobbled the uphill chicane, and lost a lot of places in the scrum. I got bogged down a little going through the wood chips as we hit the back of the women's field. I slipped twice, falling pretty hard going up the flyover in the second lap, letting Mike Zanc get by. I seemed to bleed 2 places each lap, but I was able to pull back 3 places with a well timed attack in the finish straight, and up the hill. My attack held, and I was also able to keep ahead of Hopengarten in the last lap, who had been picking off the guys behind me. I finished 16th, which wasn't too bad considering the field, but well below my hoped for top ten. Results aside, I've really been enjoying these open SS races, they are a blast.

[artbaril]

Last lap, spectacular crash when I came onto the straight leading to the last set of barriers. I hooked my left brake lever in the tape and kept going, assuming the tape would break. Instead it acted as a BRAKE. Must have been 10mil tape, cuz it WOULD NOT LET GO and yanked my bike back and out from under me.

I saw two more of those "bar catches tape" crashes during the day and they were both really ugly. I'm sure those and yours weren't the only ones. Wind and strong tape is a bad combination.

[scottc]

Met some folks in the morning while helping with course setup and getting the parking lot in order. I then road around helping fix tape where it was needed. After a few hours of debate, I decided to turn in my free ticket to race for volunteering card and participate in the 1/2/3 event. Turns out, I had the correct attitude going into the race, which was to start in the back of the field, have fun and don't worry about the result. First lap went well and I had a 3 to 4 man race going at the back of the pack, but as the race wore on, the 4 year hiatus from any type of activity coupled with life rotting away in a cubical showed by a large discrepancy in base fitness compared to the rest of the field, and I found myself racing alone. On lap 3 or 4, I came into contact with a few others guys prior to getting lapped. Once that happened, I knew there would be more. Each time someone passed, I'd try to stay with them as long as possible, which was maybe 5 pedal strokes. I finished last, 1 lap down... but hey, it was a great course, fun crowd, and good to know that I shouldn't spend any money on race entrance fees.

Kudos to Rob and MRC for organizing a stellar event!

[irusk]

Congrats to Doug and all the others that were able to pull off great races yesterday. My only goal was to not get lapped and not lay down my new Zanc, which has been 2 1/2 years in the making. Mission accomplished.

I think this guy was so busy admiring the paint job he forgot to keep pedaling.

[Doran Abel]

Thanks to everyone for a good race and good venue. Wish I could have stayed around for the other races, helped out more, and had my son race the cub juniors as planned - but we had a basketball tourney conflict.

My cat 3/4 35+ race: started 56th - started slow (because I am slow) - rode laps 3 & 4 much better - did some passing at the rear of the field - had a nice duel with an (older, like me) NEBC rider - had the motor on the flats, but lost out to NEBC in the technical sections - finished 48th - didn't crash, but the tape/handlebar catch almost happened to me too (like Rusto) - cleaned my bike the same day.

[Gumbo]

So my race prep started last Saturday as I was cleaning my bike (and tuning with my feeble but expanding mechanical skills). I found out that my rear hub was hard to even move by hand so I dismantled it and found that the sealed bearing in the freehub was shot, probably from Night Weasels. Being afternoon already I decided to swing by the relatively new bike shop in Hudson and see if I could get it replaced on my way to pick up my daughter. When I got there the woman in the shop was pumping up some guys tire on a recreational bike who she told that it had to be 125 psi minimum - needless to say I had no luck with the bearing. Then it started to pour and I had left my bike dismantled in the driveway - oh well. When I got home I decided to continue my hack mechanic work and soaked the bearing in various toxic solvents and got it to move again - so I regreased and put the wheel back together.

Race day was beautiful and I got there about 8 a.m., registered with a very efficient MRC crew and rode a lap. The course layout was great although I did not know how the climb up the flyover would go at speed. My start was good and I was more aggressive about moving up some places but of course we all clogged in the first tight switchbacks so I dismounted but there was a big dude right in front of me who tried to ride through. After a turn he realized he had to get off and stepped on or hooked my bike somehow and sent me down onto it. My right shin became intimate with what were probably a few chainring teeth and gave me a nice bloody X tattoo. Got up and then steadily lost places through the race. I felt pretty good but was not hanging with anybody. Had the obligatory slip down on one trip over the flyover and I also slid through and busted some tape going through the mud under the flyover. At the end I stayed with and then beat the rider who was in front of me so that felt good.

I finished in the back of the pack and unfortunately had to split right away. It was a perfect day for hanging out at the races but it was not to be. The venue was excellent yet again and everyone seemed to be having a great time and the operation was very smooth. Good job Rob and everyone else from MRC who helped out! When I cleaned my bike that night I found out I had a broken spoke on my rear wheel and on each revolution my wheel was hitting my brake, don't know how much that slowed my race down but it certainly did not help. Six races so far and I have managed to finish each one - I hope to do several more. My commute was the bulk of my training but now with decreased daylight and rain etc. I am not doing that so I need to change up my routine. Shortly I am heading out with lights to mountain bike in the STF.

Sorry I could not help with this race but family obligations came first - I am aiming to come out Sunday a.m. to help with the restoration effort.