Whirlybird CX - Forum Archive

Oct 13, 2013 at 12:03 AM

Shit Eric, you were looking strong when the old guy car had to leave. Sorry to hear about the downhill slide the day took.

My ribs still HURT like hell so I didn't race today but did head down for some spectating. Best ride of the day went to Stokes for an impressive 4th place.

Ate a BBQ sandwich in the grass, headed back to Brooklyn, took a nap, and then headed to Dinosaur for more BBQ. And some pints of All Day IPA. Burp.

Unknown

Oct 13, 2013 at 12:38 AM

What a great course...still dizzy from the cin-a-bon of deeth.....I was top 20 most of the day, but started to tire a bit on the last lap...35th in a field of 120 with you young whipper-snappers....I'll take it. Sheesh Eric, sorry I missed that, post -race Hypoxia sucks,

Jules

Oct 13, 2013 at 01:49 AM

Ok, full report follows. @Eric sounds like you carried a black cat under a ladder or something...

File under "lessons learned" and "sundry results"...

Last year I detonated a cluster bomb of power onto this course and averaged almost 300 watts for the whole race and only managed 11th on a dry, fast course.

This year I worked as hard (in terms of heart rate & perceived exertion) had much less power in the engine but earned a significantly better result - 5th place, only 6 seconds down from the podium...

Let me begin at the beginning... I picked Jeff up long before dawn; so early in fact that even the donut shops weren't open - we drove in through the night talking about bikes, life and whatnot while watching the blazing lights from the new jersey refinery (which one?) drift by in their familiar Bladerunner-esque manner.

We searched in vain for donuts and were forced into an under-provisioned Starbucks for sustenance where we ran into First-name Nelson and scored muffins and an egg thing to fuel the coming festivities.

Eventually the sun rose, and the coffee took hold; Jeff switched on the CX playlist of James Brown and more James Brown and the speedometer crept upwards.

"Livin' in America...!"

Fuck yeah, we were gonna get our Cross on.

Arrive, pin up and scout the course:

As Myles would say, "le sigh."

Tires made the difference for me today, and constitute the biggest lesson learned... the night before the race I checked the weather and saw a forecast for rain after a very wet week.

Remembering that this course is in a basin of sorts I imagined it would stay wet, and be muddy... which meant a wheel change. I spent too much time swapping brake pads, fiddling with a 1mm allen wrench and then loosening my cables to accommodate a slightly wider rim...

All that effort worked against me as I discovered to my horror that wet, and mud covered with a layer of long, thing grass is a terrain for fast tires, not mud tires with their penetrating spikes.

I was, as they like to say, fcuked. (Due to the brake pad/width compatibility issues I hadn't brought my fast wheel/tires.)

So be it. We lined up - front row for Patrick and me - and I got off to a decent start when the whistle went. I did't quite get my foot in as fast as I wanted... but because the call-ups are by order of reg, and the front of the field isn't filled with the fastest guys, I didn't have any trouble getting into second wheel as we exited the pavement. ("No trouble" meant six seconds at 900+ vs closer to 20 seconds at that effort for Providence.)

The first place guy looked big but my experience told me that whoever won that hole shot probably didn't also have the engine to do well today. It's a course with nowhere to rest, and my pre-race assessment had been that matches burnt would cost you dearly because there was nowhere to recover. My plan was to ride threshold and count on people's engines blowing about two-thirds of the way through. Very prophetic, although I hadn't planned on mine being one of the ones to blow... but more on that later.

On the first uphill I took the "big" hole shot guy to the woodshed and dumped him like an empty gel wrapper. I snuck around the off camber right-hander and pegged the dial to 10/10 on the "what can I do for 40 minutes" scale...

Before long I had a nice gap and the announcer was commenting on how "Kissena is opening up a gap to the chasers." Unlike last year when got the hole shot and promptly overcooked every corner I met, this year I rolled well, but it wasn't enough.

One lap in I was caught and passed on a flat, straight section; either my engine wasn't at its usual, or my wheels were too tacky, or the other guy was just too damn strong... but he rode away from me like it was no big thing. I kept the pressure on and could see Patrick gaining a bit on me; at the "Cinnabon of Deth" (a peculiar feature on the course where one corkscrews into an ever tightening circle going clockwise, then after a 180 degree pivot you magically find yourself corkscrewing back out going counter clockwise) I hollered at him to "get up here"!

Soon thereafter I heard that familiar knock, knock, knocking on my door... The Man with the Hammer was here and he wanted to talk to me about something.

I could feel my pop leaving my legs and the inevitable slide began in earnest. With two to go I was chasing third place, and with one to go I was chasing fourth...

The final three minutes were brutal - something like 330 watts average and more than 900 twice - coming out of the Cinnabon of DETH a large chase group (including Patrick, I think) had caught me and I was holding off a fierce charge from someone to my right. All along the last grassy straightaways his front wheel was surging up to, and past my feet, I was pedaling squares, tugging fruitlessly on my brake hoods and gasping for air like my lungs were ragged paper bags... in the corners I leaned, DID NOT BRAKE, and then smashed the pedals as hard as I could (I'd like to say I "exploded" out of the corners but the truth is I was cracked and hanging on for dear life... ) Finally the last grassy straightaway, up the steep hill (I was the empty gel wrapper this time...) Down around the tricky right hander, I tore myself to shreds and held him off by half a second for fifth place.

I was a measly three seconds down on fourth, and just six or so seconds down on third.

While I'm very happy with the race, and my fitness (my HR dropped over fifty BPM in the two minutes after the finish) I am kicking myself for not finding more time to sleep this past week or two and of course, for the tire selection.

Still, as lessons go, I'd much rather learn here than at a bigger, less forgiving race.

Post race festivities were great - we had something like fifteen Kissenas there racing & cheering. I got to see the field with Harry "Honeybadger" and John "Wrongway" and Stokes - all of whom crushed it in high style.

My best heckles of the day were:

For John, "Come ON John!!! No arms, NO ARMS!!! Like a Kiwi John, No AAAAARRRRMSSS!!!!"

For Harry, "Honey Bageeeeeeeeeeeeeer!!!!" (with voice cracking at the end)

For Stokes, "Come ON Dave!!! Get him! Git him! Use your SCIENCE Dave, use your SCIENCE!!!"

Finally, John summed it all up with a magnificent quote in his inimitable south-of-the-equator-accent, "Bit of a Pie-en (pain) tunnel isn't it?"

Sure is John, sure is...

Jules

Oct 13, 2013 at 02:21 AM

One last thing (before I post the "good" album) we probably need a thread of epic barrier photos.

We used to call him Johnny "Wrongway" because of the musical career, Velodrome thing... however this one might be a contender...

Whirlybird62013.jpg

JohnMalcolmson

Oct 13, 2013 at 02:48 AM

I will write a report tomorrow on the day's adventures, but I just have to say Jules that's some impressive Photoshopping.

Jules

Oct 13, 2013 at 02:53 AM

This one is my favorite

Whirlybird2013.jpg

Marc Bertucco

Oct 13, 2013 at 11:01 AM

Jules said:

One last thing (before I post the "good" album) we probably need a thread of epic barrier photos.
We used to call him Johnny "Wrongway" because of the musical career, Velodrome thing... however this one might be a contender...

Do I earn extra team "Mentor points" for seeing this smoothness in person, then on the next lap screaming, "Pick up your bike by the TOP TUBE!!!" #NothingtoseehereMovealongJustdoingmyjobfolks

Unknown

Oct 13, 2013 at 12:27 PM

hey jeff, could you please post that pic from after the race yesterday? thanx

Jules

Oct 13, 2013 at 04:16 PM

I'm not going to post this to the Flickr site because that seems offside, but this was a common scene after the race...

Whirlybird62013-3.jpg

Jules

Oct 13, 2013 at 04:38 PM

Photos here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/92879490@N04/sets/72157636506568766/

JohnMalcolmson

Oct 13, 2013 at 06:58 PM

Great photos Jules! I feel bad we didn't capture you, Patrick and Bertucco tearing it up out there.

RR:

Started 89/90 with the 1-4's 45+ (I know, but think all sinew Chris Horner type masters dudes).

First time on a CX bike off-road, but I had this "bitch'n Camaro" red Fuji demo with disc brakes and managed to squeeze in a pre-race "hot lap". So I felt OK.

Goal was to get through the race without without muddy face-plant and maybe figure out those silly horse jumps. After watching Jules's prologue I had visions of punching it up the inside to, like, fourth or fifth position by turn 1. Reality check: the guy in front of me stalls, I barge and end up riding into the center of an unholy hairpin mosh pit — guys dismounting, running around in circles, elbows, crashes type stuff. Surprisingly it didn't last long, and I did get to move up a few spots… only to see that by this time the leaders were already hosing down their bikes and eating brisket. I can hear you all saying now: "welcome to CX Malcolmson".

After that initial effort I realized that I had gone into the orange a bit and I should really not be staying on 400 watts for 10 minutes. I tried following guys, thinking that I'd learn how to pick the sweet lines, but it seemed that — just like me — guys would be great at one section, then completely suck at the next. I also attempted to draft with little effect. I realized at this point it was just going to be a tunnel of pain punctuated by: team-mate heckling; losing all my gains with my lousy Grand National jumps; lower back pain (where were the Alieve hand ups?); passing and being repassed, and the most awesome fun slaloming around this pile of sticks, mud and tape.

With three to go I hear, off in the distance a voice behind me: "go John-John", slowly but surely getting closer (and with increasing encouragement). It's Harry, eventually passing me with a couple of other guys, "let's work together!". I repass, is that working together? Then while in the eye of the Cinnabon I spy Stokes slowly reeling me in. That kind of energized me a bit and we're into the bell. Hold position and then drop it on the last bloody corner, but very happy to be over the finish line. Guy I passed, is immediately on his knees vomiting, that's kind of what CX does to you.

Thanks to Jim and David for all the newby assists and the ride and the Cliff Bar of savior.

Jules

Oct 13, 2013 at 07:48 PM

John Malcolmson said:

I (...) end up riding into the center of an unholy hairpin mosh pit — guys dismounting, running around in circles, elbows, crashes type stuff.

Yeah, that about sums it up

I have some photo evidence of John's evolution-of-skills for the dismount; first time though it's the two legged simultaneous unclip and, er, "lefthanded" carrying technique... by the end he's doing a Myerson-esque dismount and (thanks to Marc's heckle) actually carrying the bike over the barriers by the top tube. Pretty impressive learning curve if you ask me.

Great to see the Legend himself finally get some mud on his feet!

Joaquin

Oct 13, 2013 at 09:13 PM

The story of my race was also one of misfortune. I started in 30th position in the B's, and managed to maintain that and even move up a few in the first lap. So far so good. Engine was feeling primed and I was pretty confident that I had enough form to pick off a substantial (20?) number of guys in front of me throughout the rest of the race. Would have been happy with a top 15. Then, rolling into the slight uphill barrier, my left pedal got jammed with mud and wouldn't let me release at the last minute. I rammed right into the barrier as I struggled to dismount and turned into a tangle of tape and bike on the left side of the course. Damn. I was discombobulated through the mud as a result, and Mark tells me I lost about 25 places all told. As soon as the shock subsided I hit the afterburners (SMASH!!) and proceeded to get all 25 of those spots back by the end. Finished 29th, and just barely missed out on 28th in a very close sprint. I've got some pretty good cuts and bruises on my legs from that crash, but happy that the form seems to be there. BTW - the Fangos seemed to work well for me in this mish-mash of mud and wet grass.

Brendan Rigby

Oct 13, 2013 at 09:14 PM

cross looks so fun. i need to try it.

mperlberg

Oct 13, 2013 at 10:01 PM

Instead of a blow-by-blow I'll provide a few highlights that might help others as they prepare for cross.

#1 Pre-riding matters. I'm usually stronger, but not the most skillful in cross races. I got to the race nice and early since I spent the night in Philly and got in a lot of pre-riding. I was absolutely acing parts of the course that others were struggling on.

#2 Start position matters: I was seeded 63rd, cross results predicted 20th place finish.. That blows. I set my sights on a top 30 finish to scores some mac points. As I got called up for 7th or 8th row, I noticed that even though they said 8 riders wide, the row in front of me only had 7 riders. I asked if I could squeeze in. The riders obliged. Then, I realized the next row only had 7 riders. I asked again, and squeezed in another row forward, right behind Joaquin and Patrick.

#3 The hole-shot means a lot, but not everything. I was stuck behind 30 riders and made up essentially no ground during the hole-shot, but kept my cool and picked riders off one at a time as others tried to catch their breath.

#4 Sometimes, running is faster. I passed people in the muddy section every time, or was able to close down gaps that otherwise might have been too hard to close.

#5 Keep trying to move up. It's easy to mentally resign yourself to fight for a position that you are in, and not look up the road. I was totally in the red in 23rd place and figured that is where I would stay all race. I recovered, and attack and moved up a group. And then again. And then again.

#6 Don't get cocky. Once I caught the riders in 11th and 12th, I was feeling confident. I went to the front and kept the gas on but couldn't shake them nor could I make up any ground on 10th place. At some point, you gotta let others do the work - those guys shook me with 1 to go and I was able to hang on for 13th.

#6 You gotta be fit. This shit is hard. I averaged a HR of 193 BPM for 49:07 of racing. Ouch!

Joaquin

Oct 13, 2013 at 10:10 PM

@mperlberg, I completely agree with all, but especially number 5. There were several times yesterday when I would kill myself to bridge to the next group on the course, start to settle in, then realize that I needed to dump those guys if I wanted to make any more progress. I would do that, and before I knew it I was at the back of the next group on the course. Wash, rinse, repeat.

JohnMalcolmson

Oct 13, 2013 at 11:09 PM

If I started 89, finished 41 — will that help me in next race for call up?

Also, pro techniques for getting mud out of cleat? I had about a 3rd of a lap where I couldn't clip in, just kept mashing foot down on pedal hoping it would clear.

Joaquin

Oct 13, 2013 at 11:22 PM

John, sometime whacking your foot against the side of the pedal while coasting will knock things loose. And yes, that placing should help your crossresults points score. Welcome to a new way to obsess about data, my friend. Not sure about MAC series points, but that will only matter if you race HPCX.

jim_nelson

Oct 13, 2013 at 11:38 PM

John

http://www.crossresults.com/

Say bye bye to productivity. You're welcome.

Joaquin

Oct 13, 2013 at 11:40 PM

For sake of clarity, your crossresults score often determines your place on the starting grid. The lower your score, the better.

Marc Bertucco

Oct 14, 2013 at 02:19 AM

Joaquin said:

For sake of clarity, your crossresults score often determines your place on the starting grid. The lower your score, the better.

And for even more clarity...the only place that crossresults.com rankings/scores can reliably be counted on for call-ups is the Verge/Shimano series of races where it is written thusly into the series rules. Our own Supercross last year used them as well.

New Jersey/PA races are all over the map on call-ups. The New Jersey Cup series races, have their own rankings. MAC series races have their own rankings as well. Others do "order of registration"--especially for Cat 4/5 races which generally do not get scored for a series. Others vaguely state, "promoter discretion." And many do a combination of all of these. It's kind of a mess, IMO.

BUT, this is worth noting, the smaller the field, the less important the call up actually is. Today I did a race with 41 guys, started dead last (day of event registration will guarantee you a back row starting position), but I can't honestly blame my 25th place finish on my starting position. I was right there as the race rubberband was starting to stretch. And since I'm old and crusty, I snapped away early.

Once you start creeping above 50 or so riders, and/or if the starting shoot is really tight and short (like the Uncle Sam CX race in upstate NY, for example), then you've got things to worry about if you care about your finish.

Jules

Oct 14, 2013 at 02:21 AM

Speaking of which, how does Copper river get results to CR before Whirlybird?

Marc Bertucco

Oct 14, 2013 at 02:40 AM

Jules said:

Speaking of which, how does Copper river get results to CR before Whirlybird?

I know, right? I'll be mildly surprised if Whirlybird results get posted before Wednesday. Fortunately, I'm working tomorrow and since it's Monday, it's going to be a busy day in the ER, and that means I won't be able to sneak into the break-room to check obsessively. Of course, there's always my lunch break...

mperlberg

Oct 14, 2013 at 03:12 AM

I count enough points for someone to become a cat 3 crosser!!!

JohnMalcolmson

Oct 14, 2013 at 03:46 AM

http://www.usacycling.org/results/?permit=2013-2785

mperlberg

Oct 14, 2013 at 01:00 PM

Marc Bertucco said:

Jules said:

Speaking of which, how does Copper river get results to CR before Whirlybird?

I know, right? I'll be mildly surprised if Whirlybird results get posted before Wednesday. Fortunately, I'm working tomorrow and since it's Monday, it's going to be a busy day in the ER, and that means I won't be able to sneak into the break-room to check obsessively. Of course, there's always my lunch break...

Why? It seems like they had their shit together race day and it's already on USAC...

jim_nelson

Oct 14, 2013 at 01:13 PM

Marc, regarding call-ups, David and I were talking on Saturday about how it used to be just a scrum to the line. But that was also in the day of max 40 guys in a field (at least at any of the races I did).

David reminded me that long ago the starting technique would involve a running race to get to your bike which was lying on the ground.

Things have evolved.

dstokes

Oct 14, 2013 at 02:41 PM

Le Mans start

Marc Bertucco

Oct 14, 2013 at 04:33 PM

mperlberg said:

Marc Bertucco said:

Jules said:

Speaking of which, how does Copper river get results to CR before Whirlybird?
I know, right? I'll be mildly surprised if Whirlybird results get posted before Wednesday. Fortunately, I'm working tomorrow and since it's Monday, it's going to be a busy day in the ER, and that means I won't be able to sneak into the break-room to check obsessively. Of course, there's always my lunch break...
Why? It seems like they had their shit together race day and it's already on USAC...

Yeah, let me retract my mild snark on that last comment. Sorry Whirlybirders. I'm just grumpy because I have to go to work instead of playing with my son today.

Marc Bertucco

Oct 14, 2013 at 04:38 PM

jim_nelson said:

Marc, regarding call-ups, David and I were talking on Saturday about how it used to be just a scrum to the line. But that was also in the day of max 40 guys in a field (at least at any of the races I did).
David reminded me that long ago the starting technique would involve a running race to get to your bike which was lying on the ground.

Things have evolved.

I was chatting a bike with Jim F. at Cooper River and he said he's been racing cross for over 20 years! I bet he's done many of those LeMans' style starts. And he confirms that the growth in the sport just the last 5 years has been huge. It's crazy to imagine a time when we weren't setting our alarms to register the minute a race opens up, etc.!