Orchard CX

[swawersik]

The course was a bit different than previous years, as the orchard put up a new building right where the old barriers used to be, and they took out the long, flat, "spread 'em out for the start of the race" section that used to occupy part of the parking area (I think to increase the amount of parking). The orchard sections were much the same, with so many turns between apple tree rows that it was easy to lose track of where you were. The chain of run ups (two sure disomounts, with one that could be ridden if you had a clear shot at it) were also there, with a little gravel pile added for good measure. The best new feature was a huge dirt pile (fill from the new building's foundation?) that had been turned into a BMX'y double berm, which recieved rave reviews from my son (yeah, he raced, more on that in a minute).

I raced the 1/2/3 40+ against pretty much a "Murderer's Row" at the front of the race (both McCormacks, Kevin Hines, Paul Richard, et al.). The race predictor had me third from last, and I had no illusions that this was going to be anything but hard. The start was particularly un-fun in the back, as the course really didn't have enough width to spread people out before you hit the narrow sections. So once we got to the second turn, the bodies compacted and in quick succession I managed to bang my front wheel into someone's back wheel, hit a stake, and get whacked in the chest by a tree branch. But I stayed on my bike. Then someone missed the rut going into the berms, forcing the back 10 guys (me) to dismount and run around. I clawed back on on the power section through the creepy corn field, but was caught behind a Blue Steel guy who was not fast through the turny sections (even by my standards). With not enough space on any of the turns to try to pass, I watched the next four guys ride away before I managed to finally get around. From there, it was no-man's land until the 50+ leaders came through (which is hardly motivating), and then the end. 29th/51, but 8-10 of those guys I was in front of were DNFs.

But I still won yesterday, as my son Eli did his first race on the big course. He's been asking to race, but he's only 8 (racing age is 9, he'd be quick to tell you), and I thought the cub juniors cut-off was 10. But since I've noticed several races (including ours) putting the minimum racing age at 9, I asked him if he wanted to try one and recieved an unequivocal "yes!" So he lined up on his 30-ish pound mountain bike with 20" inch wheels and did two laps as the smallest kid in the race. The run-ups were the worst for him, as his bike weights about half as much as he does, but he did not quit, finishing "not-DFL," which was his goal (he thinks it means dead freakin' last). Afterwards, he was so tired he was nearly in tears and spent the next two hours curled up in the car, first staring into space, then playing on his iPad. Honestly, I felt like a horrible parent until he told me that even though it was the hardest thing he'd ever done, he loved it and wanted to do it again. But not until he gets a better bike. A bike racer is born.

Anybody have a kids CX bike with 24" wheels they're looking to sell?

[pcollins]

Started 3rd row, average start with some contact with other riders at the bottleneck. I was in a group with Gould, Sweeney and Reuter for a while, then I passed them through the finish line power section… but around a half lap later I crashed while trying to negotiate passing a woman on a slippery grass corner. (I don’t like when two fields are raced simultaneously, especially when they are racing for a different number of laps. I saw a guy hit a woman while exiting a corner at twice her speed which caused her to crash hard.) On the same lap I crashed on the pump track because I couldn’t clip in in time, so in one lap I went from 12th-ish to 20th-ish. I passed some people and just held off Rowell sprinting for the finish. I felt surprisingly good considering I did Canton the day before. The course was really fun and had some unique technical stuff I’ve never done before. The atmosphere was very festive, and the weather was perfect.

Elite race 16th/41

[jraguin]

On the bike, talk to Pare. He has my son's former bike as a trial.

[Smudger]

Stefan great result with Eli

Patrick very impressive