Fruitlands' Cup of Cyclocross

[MarkMiller321]

The Fruitlands’ Cup of CX wasn’t originally on my race calendar. It wasn’t apart of the list that I had been thinking about all season and it certainly wasn’t on the list that I had given Mary at the outset of the season. But there is was on the chalkboard calendar in our kitchen when Mary returned from Philadelphia with her dad last weekend. Actually it was never mentioned once and I thank my lucky stars everyday for Mary. She knew that I needed to race!

Somehow the hard weeks at work continued with my staff apparently contracting the plague. My number two in command was out for a second straight week. Staffing inconsistencies are awful in my world but every day presented a chance for growth. I kept telling my kids all week that it was a good day for a good day. Not sure if I actually believed it myself but I needed that mantra to get through the week. Riding was woeful because of work and all of my rides happened at five in the morning inside on the trainer. My one workout was spectacularly bad and I really wondered what I would be able to produce in the race. I had a couple of honest and frank text talks with Cratty which were really helpful and by Friday night I had myself convinced that I was going to be at least ok in the race.

Sometimes when shit is sideways the universe has a funny way of giving you a much needed pat on the backside. I knew nothing about Fruitland’, nothing about the place, nothing about the course, zero. I had a brief text exchange with Patrick while I was having coffee Saturday morning and he let me know that it was a great course for me. Hard with lots of pedaling. Busick bolstered my confidence by saying the it would require a surplus of power. Coupled with the boost of good news that Mary and Eko would be along for the ride I was in for a good day.

Upon arrival I changed up pretty quickly and hit the course to get a better idea what I was in for. Holy cow what a crazy course! This was totally unlike anything that I have seen thus far in NECX. It was a total Euro pedal fest with oodles of climbing. Apparently the course was even harder than previous editions when it was already really hard. On my recon lap I was struggling on the small ring and was curious if I was going to be able to ride some of the features and hills on the big ring during the race.

The field was solid and there was an air of nervousness at the start. An hour of hell before us on the fiendish playground of some sadistic course designer. The only thing balancing out the hell that lay before us was the picturesque and idyllic setting.

Three two one…

Up the initial hill I was out hard and was sitting third wheel through the early down and ups. Max wattage for sure as Andy Scott threw small surgers testing the legs of the group. Through the long windy straits on the backside of the course I was making good power and totally railing some of the corners without even touching the brakes while at speed. Down the long descent and to the base of the run up I was still there. Remounting and starting the climb I immediately got hit by the man with the hammer. Somehow I was struggling to climb and getting passed left and right. Five days off the bike, trainer rides, more trainer rides, questionable form, crap. This was going to suck.

After the first lap I was in a group of four fighting for fifth with a scatter chase further behind us. I was a man with a serious problem. I was struggling and we were only eight minutes into the race. Given the exceptionally difficult nature of the course I knew that it was unlikely that anyone else would join our group. The race was in front of us and for some reason I took it upon myself to try and bring it all back together.

I’m always extra amped when Mary is at a race and feel stronger with her support. She covered the top half of the course and my official team issue MRC emotional support staff of Katie and Chris covered the bottom. I fed off their energy as I settled in on the second lap of the race. Through the finish line towing the group in fifth place the announcer remarked how awful I looked. If he only knew the extent of my suffering in that moment he would have a better appreciation for the pained scowl etched across my face. In those words though I found something. Maybe it was clarity, maybe it was an epiphany, but there is was in bold letters flashing before my eyes. My fitness may not be where it needed to be and the guys latched onto my wheel may be on better form but I had the real ace up my sleeve, suffering.

How much you can suffer has nothing to do with form or the stresses that you’re feeling in life. It’s there. It’s an ability. It’s a talent. The one thing that I was sure of was that I could suffer more than anyone in that chase group. If they were going to beat me it was going to take something from a dark place to do it. Halfway through the race it was like that thought freed me from the woes of October. Rather than being rusty and unsure I was burnished and hard, steely and my resolve to punish the wheel suckers that wouldn’t pull through.

Finally watts were pouring out of my legs and in time I had pulled the group up to the fracturing race for third and fourth place. I caught and attacked the fourth place rider on the descent and upon cresting the run up Chris and Katie shouted that third was just ahead. Looking up the climb he was there and by the time we got to the line with three to go I had reeled in third.

Robbie Nash didn’t want to get caught but he did. On the treacherous down and up he attacked the group. I instantly covered the move and a gap appeared. My wheelsucking companions were dispatched and it quickly became a two man race for the last step on the podium. The the remainder of that lap bombs were dropped. Attacks were made, counters happened and more bombs were dropped. On the climb coming in to two to go a gap started to form. The gears continued to get more polished the more I suffered. I drove the hell out of my bike with two to go and did everything in my power to increase the gap.

Through the bell I could taste the podium. Actually I think I was tasting the lining of my stomach as my body started to give me messages that the end was quickly approaching one way or another. On the back side of the course by the pits I had been making absurd power all day. As I came into that stretch I muttered to myself, “END THIS SHIT NOW!’ I got down on the drops and went into a full sprint. Somehow with some clairvoyant insight I felt Robbie’s spirit break and I was free to fly. Up the run one last time and back onto the bike, somehow the suffering taking on a sweetness as I passed Chris and Katie one last time. Chris and I slapped hands as I passed and I took on the task of the final climb. Mary and Eko had come down the hill to see the finish which gave me the extra boost I needed the final meters.

Through the line I was a dry heaving sweaty mess. Cross brain was in full force and I struggled to make intelligible sentences with subjects and verbs. My communication was in groans and consisted of one word utterances like hard, hurt, and bad. After a few minutes I managed to get everything back under control as the gang joined me. Eko and Mary were first with Mary saying that the race looked like the most miserable thing ever. Chris and Katie were quick to join and as always were the most positive and supportive people on the planet. Due to a wedding that was already setting up the podium happened almost instantly.

In my younger days as a runner I would have been pissed with third place but mature thirty-seven year old Mark was pretty psyched. I needed that race in so many ways. I needed to cross that suffering line and go to that place that I can frequent on the fringe of my body's capabilities. I needed to put the stress and disappointment of October my rearview mirror. Most of all I think that I needed to be happy about riding my bike.

Following the race I did my first ever interview for Dirt Wire TV which was actually a wicked random side goal that I had for the season so that added to the stoke of the day. Thank you everyone for the continued support! MRC is a special group!

Mark

[JeremyC]

So it was an easy race? Seriously congrats. Not an ideal run up to your best race of the year.

[Deltabrian]

Great result and race! Fruitland IMO is one of the best courses in the NE.

[rraymond]

Congrats Mark! I definitely enjoyed the course and appreciated the support of Katie, Chris and others by cheering/yelling at me. Grassy hill climbs are fun

[cbusick]

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Guess which race was Fruitlands, which was Orchard?

I wasn't going to race Fruitlands because the fun/suffering ratio is fairly low.
But then they put together a photo gallery with blown up prints from Katie, Russ and Meg.
I had to go check that out and it would be stupid to just go there and not race.
I was happy they didn't go all the way up to the stone wall on top of the hill this year, but they made up for it by dipping
a little lower so we could enjoy a nice run up.

The race predictor had me in the mid 20's for the 40+ race, so I was just hoping to crack the top 20.
I really hate climbing that hill, but I seem to do well through the muddy/rutty turns at the top and then driving the long power/turn/power/turn/power/turn on the way down. After a couple laps Katie and her mom told me I was in 15th. I didn't
really trust them though, but Brian and Jimmy confirmed on the top of the mud climb. On the next lap I had moved up into 12th right behind Nate.
Pare was at the bottom of the run up and yelled "You do know that's Nate don't you?" I replied "Yes, but we are about to go uphill so..." and Nate put a gap back into me on the climb, but I quickly caught and passed him again on the way down since he was taking the sweeping grass ripping turns like it was his first time on a CX bike. (later I found out he was having trouble getting back into the game after a crash on the previous lap) Now I was in 11th and I started hunting down Ian from Fritz bicycle. I passed him going down, and moved into 10th, then he passed me going up (damn skinny guys), then I passed him going down. Then Nate passed both of us and unfortunately had relearned how to corner on the downhills ruining my chance at 10th.

Last lap I had a gap on Ian at the run up and then just had to climb that #%!%$#! hill one more time for 11th. I knew he'd be coming since he put time into me every lap on that climb, but I didn't want to look back. At the stone wall Jimmy yelled "Don't let him catch you!" So I "sprinted" at what felt like 1200W but the garmin says was only 500. Still it was enough to hold him off.

That's two years in a row I've had my best result of the years at Fruitlands. This is discouraging because it means I probably have to go back next year.

[cbusick]

Hahahahah, added in Night Weasels to the comparison

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[pace21]

There’s nothing funny about that

[cbusick]

Sorry, more like a maniacal laugh than one of amusement or joy

[MarkMiller321]

Chris,

That's super interesting with the line graph data especially with Weasels added. So many people think that race is absurdly tough given that it is on a ski hill. I would implore them to race the course that we rode this past weekend! What a kick in the backside.

See you there next year!

Mark

[cbusick]

It just shows that we need to go HIGHER at night weasels

[pace21]

Fruitlands was much steeper than NW too. I was in my 40/32 and might have used a lower gear if it were there. A 40/28 (the low gear I’ve used for the past 10 years) would have been terrible.

[PJ McQuade]

Nice Mark! Maybe the accidental time off your bike was needed R & R to come back stronger. There's no rhyme or reason to this stuff sometimes. The ones you think are your top races are often the low points and vice versa. I guess the answer is to race a lot, if you can. You probably didn't go into this one with high hopes? Maybe the answer is less pressure. OK, armchair sports psychology session over

[MarkMiller321]

Thanks DR. PJ. Ha!

[pcollins]

Stellar job Mark!! I knew you'd do well on that sufferfest of a course.
I loved the DirtWire interview!

[peterkuhn]

Great writeups guys, first time I've read the term "cross brain".

This race was for State Champs, so I was super stoked to contest the title of MA State Champion Of Slow(er) Men who Suffer In Grassy Fields. I've never ridden Fruitlands before and only knew that it was the place with the great view when you're riding around Harvard, and therefore had a big hill. I was really hoping that they made great use of that hill, not because I'm a great climber, but because it would be "fun". And they did!! Dreams really do come true.

The course starts uphill, kinking through some flatter mushy meadows with sharp and and downs before emerging into a broad, dry, very bumpy field. You gradually descend through corners between a few long pulls in this field, then the course gets a little wetter and steeper and dumps you down a muddy turning drop to the bottom. That's when you get to slog up a steep and slippery run-up, re-mount, and grind up a climb that continues at various gradients all the way to the finish.

It was a beautiful fall morning when I and my cohort of shrink-wrapped brethren lined up for the men's 4/5. I had a great spot on the front row from which to throw 'bows on the holeshot with my 28" bars that my fellow racers know and love. Being on a 30-something-lb mountain bike I was pretty sure I was going to get dusted hard on the long uphill, would try to hold position on the flats, and make sure I wasn't behind anybody on the descents.

I got the holeshot on account of everyone else being slow to clip in, I guess. A group of some dudes emerged on the first lap, and there was a GLV rider right on me, so I made sure to stay up front until things headed downhill. I had a pretty good line down the hill, but to my surprise the GLV guy stayed directly behind me the whole time, hung even on the run-up, then proceeded to spit me off his wheel like a morning loogie on the climb. That first group was all spaced out by the top of the climb, but it looked like GLV was going to run away with it, so I settled in and kept grinding for 2nd.

But partway through the second lap I noticed he wasn't getting any farther away. And on the 2nd climb up, same thing. Somewhere in there he low-sided on one of the fast bumpy field corners, and suddenly we were right back together. This time, he didn't stay with me through the downhill, and to my amazement I stayed away on the climb, so the race for first was back on.

From here this report gets a bit boring, because leading a race is pretty much just riding a bike around real hard by yourself and balancing the panic of being caught against your heart's tachycardia fantasies. I saw my lead grow to a comfortable level, took fewer risks on corners, and tried to maximize my advantages. I was way too far in the red to recognize anyone that was cheering, but they were, and thanks. I rolled over the line with a 20 second lead, winning my first cross race ever and putting myself within a few points of the mandatory upgrade to 3.

Post-race: It turns out there is no MA State Champion Of Slow(er) Men who Suffer In Grassy Fields, you had to be in a faster cat to win a title. I got a pumpkin crumb cake instead. As discussed with Chris and Katie, the only thing to do is make my own medal, and wear it everywhere.

Cat 3 may be the time to ditch the Canfield and get a proper cross bike, so let me know if you're selling.

[pace21]

Unfortunately you’re way too tall for my 54cm.

I’ve often fantasized about riding a rigid 29er with 1.5 tires just for the fun factor on some of the more “feature rich” courses. It looks like a hoot.

[BikeRider]

Congrats Mark and Peter. Great writeups as well.