I'm feeling fine today... could use a little back rub though.\

I finished 35th out of 67 finishers. not too shabby. The guys I was competing with in the C's last year are finishing 23-26 is so I need to basically jump one group forward on the course to get back to where I was last year. exciting!

Hey Perlberg and Ragot...what race category did you compete in?

Ragot did the Elites, I did the B's.

So, in reality, I had one of my worst possible days leading into the race, one of those everything that could go wrong would mornings. Then despite that I had one of my best races EVER. Too bad on paper I got a last place anyway. Details below (in 2 parts because I am too longwinded for a single post apparently)

Alice was in between rotations this weekend, so I took Friday off, we had a nice weekend together, and the plan was to a) move her to her new hospital in NJ (next rotation is in New Brunswick) and b) go race Whirlybird. Even though it was B in the order – I had signed up for Whirly about 6 weeks ago (or so I thought).

The plan was 4am awake, 430 out the door, 440 rolling, ~540 get id card\keys\claim bed in Alice’s new place at the hospital \ 6:15 back on the road \ 7:15 or 7:30 arrive at CX race. She HAD to do this first thing Sunday , her last hospital\housing assignment was bad since she got there after the other girls.

We got up on time but weren’t rolling until 5:05. Ok, 25 min delay, not horrible. The hospital stuff then takes longer than expected, and the GPS predicts 8:10 arrival at Whirybird. Now I am slightly worried but not over the edge. Get to whirly at ~8:20, get directed to the overflow lot, which is full, get redirected to the next overflow lot. Get changed real quick, sun screened, etc, grab the bike and head over to reg. Didn’t realize reg closed at 8:30, otherwise I would have gone there first. Anyways, I get there at exactly 8:30 and they are closed. I ask if I can get my # anyway - I am kind of shocked they won’t give it to me. Some who’s on first style back and forth ensues, I thought they were getting me to pre-reg and I don’t get why. So the guy gets an OK to let me sign in (after I get a nasty grrr from one of the staff), but then I am not in the book. Now I am really worried. They offer me the chance to race if I have $40 cash, and I paid it, didn’t care if I had to double pay, driving there to not race would be silly.

8:40, pinned up and ready to roll, barely have time to get a half a lap in and get to the line, all worked up because a) what happened to my # b) no proper warmup\course inspection time and c) now I am going to be lined up dead last. Everyone has a 800 series #, and I am 927 ! I moan about it to Jeff W briefly, then meet a bunch of UPenn dudes lined up in front of me, ends up one of them is Kissena member in disguise Lenny Kippler.

The gun goes off, and for a moment its like the start of a freight train, the front of the race is moving, and the back hasn’t moved yet. For a while I am trying to make sure I am always tight to the back, and there is not space to pass. I get space to pass and I get into a rhythm of passing folks. We are starting to string out , but I never have to make a dramatic bridge, mostly small gaps. Going around a tree, this one guy falls and he + bike block ~90% width of the trail, I bang right and just barely pass him. The one thing about starting dead last, I ended up passing only, and not getting passed, and my fire is lit to make up spots, so this paints a different mental game then midpack starts…or starting in line 1 like I did in Nittany, and then having strong riders pass.

See Part II

PART II


Eventually I figure I have passed 15-20 folks, and I settle into a spot where I have some weaker legs/stronger skills guys behind me, and we yo-yo where I build a gap , then I don’t take something quite as fast and I hear them approach, but then I build the gap again. Towards the end of the race, I think I do lose a spot or two in the mud+offcamber that leads back to the start line. The leader laps me at the downhill into the woods, and maybe 1 more guy there, and 2 or 3 by the cinnabon and then that’s really it. So I am top of the lapped riders group. I see Jim Nelson and Rich after, and they tell me neither one of them lapped me, so this is a good sign based on last year’s performances.

Some confusion about locating Alice ensues, we get a group photo, I find Alice, clean the bike, take a shower, check the unofficial results. Top of the lapped riders, 92 of not sure how many finishers, but there are a bunch of DNFs and a bunch more ???s. I race back to my car to grab my phone and take a picture/count the DNFs/lapped riders/etc. When I get back, the official results are up. I moved from 92 to 104.

All of the lapped riders are ahead of me, including someone -2 down. I am still -1 down. Only two folks are ??? now, and 2 DNFs. So 108 total riders. It feels like some people dropped off the list. I figure I got relegated or something based on the reg issue. I checked bikereg and my gmail and I was never registered..(no idea what happened there, maybe I didn’t click submit??). I don’t think to question my place (am I going to complain about not being 92nd ??) – and am HUNGRY. We hit the road and go find a place for lunch.

Now I realize 92 of 108 is 85%, and 104 is 96% . Holy crap, I went from finishing dead last normally, to passing 15% of the field. I guess it’s a “pr” in my head, too bad its not on paper.

Having had a bad mental setup for the race, no course inspection time, no warmout, etc, I expected the worst, and did great (for me). Maybe I should start dead last more often.

I’ve lost the weight, now it’s time for more regular weekday workouts and skills practice. Let’s see what I can do with this season – I am having good “race within a race” type of situations, now I want to actually kick it up a drop more. Having a lot of fun (I had fun last year, this is better) .
On the domestic front, got grumpy with Alice, then got bonus points for apologizing. Also for some reason kept calling her my GF instead of my fiancé in conversation with Jeff - don’t know where that came from. Then I got THANKED for letting her spend the day with me(thanked !). She was shy though, didn’t want to say anything to the other Kissena guys when she was looking for me. I told her to talk to anyone\everyone at a cx race next time, especially Kissenas. So guys, next time you see a lost girl wearing a Kissena hat, it may be my fiancé, say hello and I will probably get some more bonus points.

I am registered for Hillybilly Hustle next weekend, planning on getting there around 1pm for the C race at 3. If anyone wants a ride let me know.

For all cross fans, you may have to travel a bit further than Kentucky to see Sven in 2013.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/louisville-in-danger-of-losing-2013-cross-worlds

Whirly Bird has its own thread!

OK, we badgered Malcomson into the 45+ race.
Who's going to kidnap Ryan and his new shoes?

dstokes said:

OK, we badgered Malcomson into the 45+ race.
Who's going to kidnap Ryan and his new shoes?

I think that might be a little premature. I won't have the shoes for a few days and I still need to buy pedals and cleats. And of course ride the cross bike and practice mount/dismount at least, like, once before I race.

Here's a hot tip for those of you Cat 4s going OCD over the crossresults.com predictions for this weekend's races. After you see where they predict you to finish, check out where/WHEN you registered on bikereg.com for the race, relative to dudes they predict to finish around you. So for example, Jules is predicted to lose the win to a dude who a) only has one race in his legs this year and b) is going to be buried 110-ish guys back from Jules' front row start.

So I'm not worried about Dan Turner. Not one bit. And those "Laughing Dog" dudes...they look like they could be legit threats for the win...if they didn't wait until the end of September to register for this race!

Chris Pino though? He's only 60 guys back...a missed clip in and a strong start by him and he could be breathing down someone's neck. And Bryan Carbone? He's DEFINITELY going to be trouble. Coming off of 1st and 2nd at Independence, 7th at Charm City...and he registered nice and early.

The bigger your field, the more this technique should calm or raise your levels of anxiety.

I guess this is a silver lining of doing staging by order of registration!

Is this really the Whirlybird course? I remember it being more...interesting?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STLgBi4PZ4k

Check that though...it appears that a) we're going to have rain and b) WhirlyBird is in a different location this year.

So, if I felt like subjecting myself to some torture this weekend, which would be kinder to me: the 35+ or the 2/3/4 field?

The cat 2/3/4 field will be "easier." Depending on the length of the course, the top handful of riders in the Master's 35+ might lap you.

@Marc - the video seems to leave out a couple of sections - most notably that annoying S-turn down hill section at the foot of the bleachers. (Maybe the videographer didn't want us to see him spill out once again or couldn't find techno music that matched walking down the hill like a grandpa.). But "sigh" it is hard to come back to races that are not nearly as interesting as Providence. 

I thought it was diff't because somewhere I saw Bryn Athyn College or some sort.

But yeah, I always need to remind myself that not every weekend can be Providence. Maybe my bike won't even get stolen this weekend!

Marc Bertucco said:

I thought it was diff't because somewhere I saw Bryn Athyn College or some sort.

But yeah, I always need to remind myself that not every weekend can be Providence. Maybe my bike won't even get stolen this weekend!

Hope springs eternal... Harry got a sweet upgrade when his bike was pinched.

I am doing the 35+ anybody want to ride down with me? Either 35+ or B riders. I'll not be in a hurry to leave so will cheer for the B's.

i plan on coming as well trying to move up the back of the pack! I also destroyed my legs by going to the gym twice already this week...this is gonna be noodly 

Marc, the race was held at Bryn Athyn until last year when it was moved to Bensalem HS. So same course as last year but different course than years before that. Frankly neither was that interesting though the old college course had a couple more options for interest on the far side of the baseball fields and the reliably wet hill by the dirt road. 

Also, no Cinnabon of Death last year. I know very well I'm in the minority when I say that I missed it.

Ohhhh....okay. Gotchya. Well, when the racing is going, we should all be in too much pain to worry about the interest of the course. I'm guessing wet grass and slippery turns is going to be the challenge of tomorrow. What do folks do for tire choice/pressure for those kinds of conditions?

"Cinabon of DeTH"

Quick and vague update: Kissena was on fire again today. The results won't necessarily do justice to the amount of awesomeness going on, but it was great watching so many Kissena's shred it up. Hopefully the race day reports will start to filter in soon.

(My own race performance was ho-hum. It's disappointing to go from a year where I was legitimately on the edge of a Cat 3 upgrade, to fighting for top 20 scraps in the 4s. Today, I left it all out there, didn't run into any snow fencing, bike was not stolen and could only muster a 16th. As I said to a teammate, there's really only so much I can do right now with a 240-watt threshold. Especially on the Whirlybird course. And then later to my wife, I said, "there's no sense in complaining about it. I just have to keep up the training and trust that my legs may one day come back.")

PS. Sarah comes through with the clutch move of the day tracking down a very nearby and very good Cheese steak joint. So good, so good. I could have eaten two. But I didn't. Because I'm trying to train here.

My 13th in the B's was probably my best cross race ever, especially with a 63rd starting spot.

Many thanks for all the cheers and the position updates. It made a huge difference.

Jules got 5th and Patrick got 8th in the 4 race, which is about what one would expect from those two beasts.

(Full report must wait till after bedtime - short version for now) 

Kissena in force and great to see out there. thanks for the encouragement and support.

I had a good race, which was unexpected because I absolutely hated the Whirlybird course last year. A maze of grassy turns interrupted only by grassy power sections that left me begging for the bell lap. This year I trained (read Ragot's post in the Cyclocross thread) and last week I suffered the indignity of being timid in the sand. Well, there's no reason to be timid on the grass and an awesome posse of screaming Kissena teammates kept me motivated. The 55+ field has a different dynamic because we start 1-2 min behind the 45+ and spend most of the race picking through the back of that field. That means you have to use those slower guys to your advantage in dealing with your nearest 55+ competitors. I had a pretty good start (for me), being maybe 5th at the end of the prologue. I lost a bunch of spots during the first lap, but just kept riding my race - jumping out of turns and sprinting on the straight-a-ways. The course wasn't very technically demanding so it was pretty much about keeping your power output as high as possible for the duration of the race and using the cinnabun of DETH for a little recovery. As the race went into the 3rd lap, I found I could catch guys, pass them, and then with the jumping and sprinting, leave them behind for good. This was painful, but satisfying. Many thanks to the blue&orange fan club who caused me to hope for a top 5 finish. Considering it was a MAC series race, my eventual 4th place was probably my best result in 'cross. One spot off the podium so I'll be back at HPCX in two weeks.