Oct 02, 2014 at 12:13 AM
Holy Mother of mud and grass soaked pandemonium.
That is all... For now.
That is all... For now.
Night Weasels Cometh
Oct 02, 2014 at 02:59 AM
And to all a good night
Oct 03, 2014 at 03:07 AM
Wait, I just noticed...you did 2 races at Weasels? And you're racing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday? Yowzers!
Oct 03, 2014 at 03:45 AM
No, I reg'd for the P123 then switched to the Cat 3 which started earlier. CXResults has me as a DNF for the second race which is weird and annoying. Will post my race report after it's edited... video too but that has too wait for... wait for it... BROOKLYN.Marc Bertucco said:
Wait, I just noticed...you did 2 races at Weasels? And you're racing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday? Yowzers!
Oct 04, 2014 at 01:38 AM
Night Weasels Cometh 2014
Midway between Gloucester and Providence there lies a little known race called "The Night Weasels Cometh." Discovering this late, as in, mere days before the race, I was forced to register for the only field available: the Pro123. Now I'm not adverse to getting my ass handed to me but the 8:30pm start time was translating in our heads to a 9:30 finish, 10pm departure and a midnight arrival in Keene, NH where we were going to spend the next day.
After some frenzied iPhone internetting we discovered that due to the rain (lots of it) there were likely to be a lot of no-shows in the earlier 6:30pm Cat 3 race, so we got the RV as close to warp speed as we could and made it to the race site - a ski hill - by about 5:45.
I did a superman change in the back of the van, swapped out my file treads for some mud tires and dashed off to the registration desk to try and get waitlisted into the 6:30 race. After some further frenzied number pinning and course inquiry ("how long are the laps?"), I dashed out for a highly abbreviated warmup and course recon in the fading light and the driving rain.
One of the off camber descents was particularly nasty because if you took the fastest outside line (sometimes with a foot out) you would quickly find yourself front heavy - weighted forward, with only one foot clipped in just as a series of muddy divots appeared - a surefire recipe for endo-ing disaster.
Midway between Gloucester and Providence there lies a little known race called "The Night Weasels Cometh." Discovering this late, as in, mere days before the race, I was forced to register for the only field available: the Pro123. Now I'm not adverse to getting my ass handed to me but the 8:30pm start time was translating in our heads to a 9:30 finish, 10pm departure and a midnight arrival in Keene, NH where we were going to spend the next day.
After some frenzied iPhone internetting we discovered that due to the rain (lots of it) there were likely to be a lot of no-shows in the earlier 6:30pm Cat 3 race, so we got the RV as close to warp speed as we could and made it to the race site - a ski hill - by about 5:45.
I did a superman change in the back of the van, swapped out my file treads for some mud tires and dashed off to the registration desk to try and get waitlisted into the 6:30 race. After some further frenzied number pinning and course inquiry ("how long are the laps?"), I dashed out for a highly abbreviated warmup and course recon in the fading light and the driving rain.
Holy.Mother.of.Hills. I've read that Night Weasels is basically a glorified hill climb but that's selling it short. Each lap started with about 20 meters of climbing (that's about seven stories) in about 300 meters of path. Picture a hill climb, where you do 180 degree off camber switchbacks UP the hill, followed by merciless high speed off camber 180 degree sweepers descending... in the mud, at night, in the rain.
One recon lap done, I lined up second row from the back of... (checks CrossResults) ...eighty or so guys. The whistle blew and we were off. While the light held (and it didn't for long) I did my best to get around the slower guys every chance I could. However, those chances were few and far between, and mostly just the three obstacles: barriers, a log, and some ridable stairs - and the one slightly straight stretch.
Each and every turn going up was a 180 degree uphill off camber nightmare that would be the crux of any other race. Stalling and stopping was a genuine risk for each of them - and many riders did. I think there were about four or five of the off-camber sweeping descents that would "make the race" at other venues.
One of the off camber descents was particularly nasty because if you took the fastest outside line (sometimes with a foot out) you would quickly find yourself front heavy - weighted forward, with only one foot clipped in just as a series of muddy divots appeared - a surefire recipe for endo-ing disaster.
Somehow I managed to stay upright, keep my body low and turn better than I had in previous races but by the time the announcer said "two to go" I was knackered. My back was aching from all the high-torque in-the-saddle efforts and all of my competitive juices had been wrung from me like so much grey dishwater from a rag.
Oh, I almost forgot the best part: coaches instructions for the day "no intensity today."
Sorry Max!
Oct 06, 2014 at 07:20 PM
Video of the first 30 minutes or so before my GoPro battery died.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvqIHojIQ30&feature=youtu.be