Kelly Creek.

I had completely expected the race to be wet and muddy, and after waking up Sunday morning it was really no surprise when it was raining. I’d got lucky on Saturday…and basically avoided all rain on my team ride, so a little today wasn’t a big deal… I just hoped it wouldn’t be too much mud, and heavy wet grass to negotiate. As I arrived at Kelly Creek it was a nice surprise to learn that not only wasn’t it raining, it had held of all day so far…it was actually kind of warm..(once you got going). I arrived a bit late but was able to pre-ride the course once before the 1:30 race. It was a good course… a bit bumpy maybe… but plenty of room to pass and not too technical… the racers would make it hard.. not the terrain… just how I like it.

I felt a lot better then last week, maybe it was because I skipped the weights and trainer ride on Thursday, due to the power outage..or maybe I just took it easer during my Saturday ride… It’s always a struggle to balance training for the next road season and racing cross. This year I have tried to cut down on the hours during the week, and stick to a shorter 60 mile loop on Saturday…. Hopefully it will work…and for some of the later races I might cut the Saturday ride to an hour or something.

I actually thought I had a pretty good position during the line up… but as we took of, someone bobbled right in front of me, causing me to miss my pedal, once I got clipped in, I was getting swarmed from all sides…and as we turned around the fence pole 200m later I was just about right at the back…only a few 45+ where behind me… I accelerated up on the side and managed to pass a few. When things settled down a bit (after the first lap panic)… I was probably already at least 20sec back. As I rounded the fence pole, I could see a group of 5-6 riders just cresting the little steep hill ahead, so close but still so far away. After a few laps I noticed that I was closing in on the riders ahead, as each lap the gap would be a little less…maybe not to the top 2-3 guys though… they were definitely going faster. I think maybe I was able to slow down less than a lot of guys up there.. but it’s funny how fatigue goes in waves…you can be feeling great one lap, pass a rider, to just stumble the next and just barley hold them of, if you just went a bit too hard, and then suddenly feel good and open the gap again...
I was hoping too make it into the top ten, but I think I wast just too far back at the start. The last lap and a half I was only a few seconds behind what turned out to me 10th… but just could not close it down… I tried to pick it up on the fast sections…but he matched me… I knew I had to get around him before the last twisty section to have a chance… but no…
If you cross the line are not completely wasted or winning you didn’t go hard enough..
This was definitely an improvement… hopefully I can do even better next week…maybe even get a good start.

Evergreen

Last weeks cross race at Evergreen high school


The weather was perfect... my starting position not too bad... my position after 1/2 lap not so good to say the least. The rusty cross handling skills...eh..need improvement...I need to stop turning like a roadie.

I had a good time though...painful to say the least... this week I will try to take it a bit easier on the weights..and see if my legs feel better...
I suspect the weather will be a bit different on Sunday... more like a northwest cross race you would expect.

October Ride....

Not too bad for a ride in October... so if I had to
complain it was the fact that it was a bit windy...

I was down in California for a few days (watching track nationals) and managed to go
for a few rides around Pales Verdes.

Can you say Mud...

If you were at the cross race Sunday in Snohomish… you know what I mean.



I lined up for my first cross race of the season, and my first race since I cracked a rib or two a few weeks ago…(they have healed pretty good… sneezing is no longer something I fear, and I have no problem going full speed…they still ache when I start breathing to fast… but you can’t sit around forever)


Last year this course was a mud fest… even though it rained all night and all day…there was no way it could be as bad as last year…right!… well it was… On the plus side it wasn’t as cold as last year, and there was no snow.

After a test lap, I had to change my cassette, it had been working ok on the trainer, the middle gears would slip when cranking down, luckily I actually had some spare wheels and took it’s cassette…but now all I had was a 23… and with all this mud I might need something lighter to avoid bogging down at 50rpm.

The field size wasn’t huge… but there were still plenty die hards, and some even looked excited to get to ride around in the mud..

The start was crazy as normal…everyone going for the hole shot, I took it a bit easy…figuring that it might be best to stay back a bit, and avoid the crashes,, and then pick off as many riders as possible during the next few laps. The first part of my plan worked…the second part.passing…a bit harder…

After 3 laps my legs were getting tired, I really needed something smaller then the 23…going up though the trees, it was thick and sticky, but surprisingly all ridable. As long as you keep your momentum going you could ride 95% of the course, only the barriers and step muddy hill required dismounting.

I wasn’t overly excited with my performance, but I finished 14th I think, didn’t crash once (so my ribs are still ok) and considering this was my first cross race in a while…on a technical course, not too shabby..

I will miss next weeks cross race, since I will be in LA… but Evergreen the following week should be good.... lets hope for a less muddy day though.