Monson Cyclo-Hike

[swawersik]

After last weekend's super-sweet cross camp (BTW - Todd, I started writing up a summary, but it got hijacked by computer difficulties. It's coming, though) I was totally psyched to try out my new cross skills. The original description of this new course in Monson sounded like a good course to do this: "a mix of double track and grassy fields, with a challenging run-up."

I wish I'd seen the last minute update on Bikereg.com, which let everyone know that the early fields would be delayed by 30 minutes because there was a cross country race on the course. Oh well, extra time to check out the course. Except that the course couldn't be fully set up until the last minute because of the runners. No worries, except that the updated bikereg listing now described "A fast course with a mix of hard packed double track, pavement and a challenging run up. Due to a few sections, we recomend a wider tire and durable wheelset - similar to what you'd race Palmer on." Hmmm....

Paul D., Rich P. and I went through several cycles of noodling around trying to find the course for a while, finding some trails that seemed really ugly, thinking "this can't be right," and going back to the start to ask for clarification. Eventually, we figured out what we were faced with: A sketchy downhill start, comprised of a section just long enough to get your speed up before you hit the 180 degree left turn, then another longer flat/downhill section into a 100 degree right, then a ramp to get over the curb. Except the ramp is wide enough for exactly one rider at a time and you're hitting either it or the curb at a wacky angle. Mental note: this does not look safe.

Next comes a nice section of grassy downhill turns, followed by an uphill return. The grass here is lumpy, so it favored my big-guy power riding. Then up a short hill and over a curb and onto pavement. Nice long power pavement section into a series of steepish paved switchbacks, then onto singletrack for a fast turny descent, short uphill, then two really steep sections that were initially pretty rocky, but some of the riders pulled up some of the rocks during the pre-ride to make it safer. Then came a short wooded power section into... WTF!!! Here started a half-mile section up a steep, rocky washed out trail. You could ride short sections, but it was essentially a run-up from hell. And finally, a power section on a flat, grassy playing field, cross the finish and repeat 6 times.

At the start, Paul and I both lined up on the left, which was dumb because we both got pinched in the first turn. From there, I decided there was no way I was going to have a clear line at the ramp, so I backed off and essentially got the reverse holeshot. Except for the three guys who ate it trying to hop the curb.

I made up a bunch of places in the grass and pavement power sections, watched a kid from Geekhouse fail spectacularly on the rocky downhill section, and hit the runup. Or walkup, as we really couldn't go very fast. I patiently followed the slowly ascending line, until I remembered that this was a race and started pushing past people. Made up more places on the grass section and was sitting pretty decently considering my reverse holeshot at the start.

Mike Weiler (riding his first cross race, and doing a damn fine job of it) and I traded pulls on the second lap, with him gapping me considerably on the runup, but me coming back on the grassy sections. On the third lap, I hit the curb coming out of the first field very badly, catching a sharp edge with my front tire. Brand new tubular. Done. Blown out at the valve.

Couldn't steer with a flat tire, so I ran. For three quarters of a lap, I shouldered my bike and ran. My customary line of drool was down to my knees by the time I hit the pit. Got a new tire, which was pumped up rock hard. I should have stopped to let out some air, but by this point my mental capacity was sliding. My riding skills went to hell - I managed to put myself into a chain link fence while remounting, I failed to unclip my left foot cleanly going into the barriers and took myself down, I missed big ring to small ring transitions all over the place. But I finished. Only one lap down on the leaders. And I wasn't even DFL.

My season can only improve from here.

[Rob]

Good write up!

[onegeardoug]

This was basically a mountain bike race, with a bit of grass and a set of barriers. The descent was gnarley on a CX bike and the run-up was brutal. The start on the pavement, with the 180 and the curb, was plain foolishness.

I got a good start in the M35+ and was 7th after the run up into the grass. 6th place made a pass around 5th by the fence, and I wanted to go with him, so I bushwhacked on the left, caught a tree branch with may bars and went down in a heap. Up again, got my chain on, but then discovered that I could pull my front brake lever all the way to the bars but nothing was happening. (Turns out the cable got pulled through one of the dozens of hex screws on TRP brakes.) I rode the rest of the race with no front brakes. That made the descent very challenging as I skidded down the hill and tried to maintain control.

I hated every trip up the run-up, mostly because the second, third and fourth tiers were ridable...if you were willing to go completely into the pain-cave. I wrecked myself to finish 5th, but got scored as 6th. I mentioned it to the guy at the table, but it wasn't worth disputing.

I fixed my brakes, pulled off the first number and chugged as much water as I could before the 3/4 start. They said "go" way before I was ready. I made it about 1/4 the way around the first lap before I mentally checked out. By the time, I hit the bottom of the descent, I was just riding along. I walked up the hill, cut across the baseball diamond and got the hell off the bike. Enough. I don't know that I'll go back for that one. If I do, I won't be attempting another double.

[taudep]

Sounds brutal. Sounds like it made Junglecross seem like Gloucester's grass crit in comparison.

[RPerson]

In retrospect I really hated the course, but I didn't have that much loathing for it while I was there. Maybe it was because I typically gain time on runups and this was one of the longest you'll ever do. I started over-cautiously because the hole shot was to go over a curb that was about 6" high and they had one 3' wide off-angle ramp to get over it. I wanted nothing with bunny hopping in a crowd so I was DFL into there. I figured I'd just make up time on the runup, but never got the chance. Down the first little sketchy hill just before the really sketchy hill Doug mentioned I cut it a little too hard at the bottom and I think I cut a rut or root and BANG... suddenly I'm on the ground. I must have folded my clincher and the tube completely asploded... it was pretty impressive actually, it blew hard enough that the rips were about 3" long and there was a piece of tube missing. Anyways, thus began about 1/2 mile of running with my bike to the 1 pit back at the start/finish. I grabbed a wheel just to get some exercise since I had driven an hour to get there. I might have beaten somebody with worse luck than me who DNF'd. They have to make significant course changes for me to go back to this one.