Did you manage to ride the sand?

Mark Taylor said:

Did you manage to ride the sand?

yes! the first pit even developed a rut that made it the fastest portion of the race!

Mark Taylor said:

Well it happened again , signed up for a bloody cross race
got up and asked my self what the fuck am I doing 
Jim drove and we got there early , pinned on my number only to find out the zipper was missing, hence the blue jersey 
The hill and sand were brutal , but I saw I was riding the off camber stuff better than those around me 
great to have @Remy Forgues as a carrot ,sorry  I didn’t get to say hello After ,

great times

Hi Mark, 

Nice meeting you. Very cool race, very different from Westwood last week. I am still trying to figure out which one was my favorite. I need to practice my clipping in, there was a couple of laps when I started the hill not clipped in yet. 

@Remy Forgues were you called to doping control after the race😁

I seem to think @PatrickGrehan mentioned using OXI Clean to get the mud stains out of his kit. After a convoluted soaking process, today I picked up OXI Clean stain remover, and soaked the skin suit in it for 6 hours more (it's been soaking since Sunday afternoon in SportsSuds and White Distilled Vinegar.) I then washed the skin suit in the machine with more OXI Clean along with SportsSuds. I'm impressed. From the outside it's hard to tell it had muddy stains all over it.

Super quick HPCX report.
Might write a little more detail later

my fast and dirty Cat 5 report: 

While pre-riding the course I half lost it in the sand and caught myself but did something to my mech and realized I couldn't downshift. Some smacking and wiggling later I think it was a pinched cable and I managed to get it sorted right before they said 1 minute to go. That was fun way to start! The sandpit lap 1 was a an absolute mess. I hopped off once I saw that the speed wasn't going to be there. Running through sand, super big wooooof. Felt like I got through the rest of the course pretty well. Made up some places, rode through the sand sometimes, ran other times, got smoked by juniors. The finish was kinda confusing, some people were told to do an extra lap, some were told they were done. I think I rode the right number, but who knows? Finished 16 out of 28. Definitely room for improvement, but feel the skills coming together bit by bit, so I'm happy with the effort.

After the race, I overheard some of the juniors comparing max heart rates- heard one say he had 216 and another say 209. I chuckled and patted myself on the back for the 172 mine hit

sounds like you pulled together a hectic start to the day! 

Just in case….
Cooper River next Oct 24
Cheshire Oct 31

Race report HPCX- all in all a GOOD day! Double Podium. 3rd place overall in race and Silver in New  Jersey Cyclocross Championship!

so much hotness Jim!

Thanks!

Jim - looking sharp in that skin suit. Great work on the NJCX series

Thanks Patrick!

Always an inspiration Jim!

Thanks Jules …for the “Heh if this old slow guy can do it” compliment!😂😜

Jim Feehan said:

Thanks Jules …for the “Heh if this old slow guy can do it” compliment!😂😜

You've always been leagues ahead of me, even in my prime. It's good to have role models!

Jules- all good! Just kidding. My morose Irish sense of humor attempting self-deprecation.

Age and treachery, that’s the formula! And I don’t know about being leagues ahead of anyone. At this point it’s more about Father Time thinning the herd of competitors.

Father Time is a rat bastard and must be fought tooth & nail in every corner.

We've got a pretty good turnout for the old man races at HPCX already. 

40+: James, Remy, Thierry

50+: Eloy, Jim, Mark, JP

60+: (Jim Feehan podiumed here last year, but I don't see him registered yet.)

Cedric Forgues is in the 13-14

looking forward to racing bikes! (and could use a ride to the race)

the promotor made an error, noted today on the NJ cyclocross facebook page

masters 40+ 4/5 was accidentally removed, and James, Remy, and Thierry were bumped to 40+ 1/2/3/4. we need to edit our entries back to 40+ 4/5 if we don't want to race in one of the other masters races that include 1/2/3/4.

i'll be racing in the 40+ 4/5

ah I wondered why you guys were not racing with your friends! regardless of field, looking forward to this weekend!

Already predicting last place😢

Tacit goal forever: Do better than the prediction!!!

James Reeder said:

the promotor made an error, noted today on the NJ cyclocross facebook page

masters 40+ 4/5 was accidentally removed, and James, Remy, and Thierry were bumped to 40+ 1/2/3/4. we need to edit our entries back to 40+ 4/5 if we don't want to race in one of the other masters races that include 1/2/3/4.

i'll be racing in the 40+ 4/5

I'll stay with the 40+ since it's an earlier race and that a lot of the team is in that slot. Cedric is racing early also I don't want to long of a day. 

mugwump said:

We've got a pretty good turnout for the old man races at HPCX already. 


looking forward to racing bikes! (and could use a ride to the race)

JP I can give you a ride but definitely on the early side. I'd like to be there at 8am for Cedric's. I can pick you up around 7 am?  

Remy Forgues said:

mugwump said:

We've got a pretty good turnout for the old man races at HPCX already. 


looking forward to racing bikes! (and could use a ride to the race)

JP I can give you a ride but definitely on the early side. I'd like to be there at 8am for Cedric's. I can pick you up around 7 am?  

@Remy Forgues Thanks.  I'll take the ride.  

Quick HPCX Report.

• Tons of kissenistas signed up for the 40/50/60 11:30 am crew. 
• Fields start a minute apart
• 28~30 ish riders in the 50+ race -- Thomas, JP, Mark, Jim, Bertucco, Ashpholm, Barry Jones, etc...
• I guess I have some NJCX points because I am given a front row start, Ashpholm has a 3rd row start... 
• HPCX sandpits are my nemesis 
• sand pit 1 is a real challenge -- I can 50~75% ish and then have to dismount, and that's the basic plan, pit 2 is kinda wet, so super rideable
• Good start, eventually settle kinda 8~10 position, I can see Thom chasing in a group of 3 or 4 a few seconds behind, he is smart and on wheels
• We get to some woody turns, and I tell myself I am good in the technical shit, go catch the guy ahead, and swiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing, slip and I'm on the ground...
• this has now become a 2022 tradition, slip and crash so Thomas can close the chase
• Thom says something encouraging as his group flies by, I feel I am going well, so whatever chase is now on me
• I joke as I pass my friend Jeffrey Taras (he started in the 40+) "just needed a quick nap" -- I am not sure he realizes is me
• Thomas tho seems to be getting away
• I hit sandpit 1 a lap or two later
• A rut sends my bars directly to the wooden stakes
• Bike is mega tangled, hammerhead mount has clearly broken, luckily, it is tethered to the bars,
• It is amazing how chaotic these moments can be, I am trying to move fast, but my head is telling me "no, dude, this is a puzzle, take a moment or is gonna be worse"
• i am not sure, but frankly don't think I actually hit the ground/sand. The bike got the blunt of it, and it is not looking good
• 25 years later I am running out of sandpit 1
• Shifting seems all over the place, but able to ride over sandpit 2
• HPCX sandpits forever my nemesis
• try to put the hammerhead back in the mount, but no dice
• while still riding cx turns, manage to untether it and put it in my skinsuit pocket -- YAY SKINSUIT POCKETS!
• this portion of the course is uphill ish, so only notice as I try to resettle and the course turns downhill ish:
• Only the 3 easiest gears work
• FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU**********
• I wanna keep going but no dice, not gonna work
• look down derailleur is bent... shifter is not even clicking... ugh
• BIG TIME BUMMER: DNF
• As the actual race ends, I am full sadness as all the kissenistas gather past the line, sharing stories. I am an outcast already dressed and eating hotdogs.

In other news: @James Reeder had a REALLY REALLY good race later in the afternoon. Look forward to his report.

Not to spoil a surprise, but...
My friend Debbie snapped this.

sorry for leaving the helmet on - did NOT want my head uncovered because I'm vain, and they didn't give enough time to run to the car for a cap...


My race - I was the first to be called up in the 40+ 4/5 field. That was pretty sweet, but it was a field of 10, with regular cat 5s starting a minute behind so no danger of a big pileup 1st time through the sand. My starts are pretty good at the moment and I got the holeshot plus a gap, so now I'm leading the race before we hit the sand. 

Increased the gap blasting through the sand so just kept it going, sprinting out of every corner until the Belgian steps. Ran those, and didn't let up, trying to keep in front of the juniors that would be coming through sooner or later. They didn't catch me until after the 2nd time through the sand. I focused on sitting on their wheels to catch my breath, being smooth and keeping on the pedals. 3rd time through the sand a junior went down in front of me so had to jump off. 

Tried to sit in the juniors wheels when I could to recover. I was beginning to fade with two laps to go (of 5), though my last two laps times were identical, and managed to keep it mistake free to the end. 

Held out for the win with a 6 second margin. 

(I really loved the sand feature!)