White Park
Ok, this one I didn't race, but I signed up for the "Try Cyclocross" session. I signed up through BikeReg so I'll include it. Having never ridden a real legit course, I wanted to see what I was in for the day before my first "real" race at Sucker Brook. This was cool in so many ways - one it was FREE, so it was accessible to anyone w/ a bikereg account. Two - our guide was Becca Fahringer, who is a badass elite racer. Three - I learned tons of logistic type stuffs that everyone who races probably takes for granted. The obvious stuff, you know, like:
-Start grid: What it is, where it is, and make sure you FIND IT before you go off gallivanting around the course. Make sure you are here 15 minutes before your race, because if you miss call-ups you start in the back.
-Registration: Find it and get your number. You need to show your license. Make sure you confirm which side your number should be on.
-Finish line: Another important "must find" before you go out warming up. When a race is finishing, folks will gather here to jump on the course and pre-ride when the race winner crosses the line. This ensures that you will not pass anyone still actively racing. This is also where lap cards are posted, letting you know how many laps are left to go (although throughout the season I noticed they were notoriously wrong / missing / not updated etc...so I always yelled "AM I DONE?!")
There were other not-so-obvious things I learned as well, the most important being "WASH YOUR HELMET". We were privy to Becca's story about getting ringworm from a sweaty helmet. I took that one to heart, and made sure to velcro-out and wash my helmet padding after each race from that point forward.
Us newbies stayed and watched our friends race, figuring out what was going on. Then we watched the 1/2/3 Women & Men race. Watched Becca win for women, then Dylan McNicholas who had come to our Gus' skills clinic trounce the men's field....and then play in the sprinklers to cool down.
Ah, so exhausting to watch races all day - lets all go downtown and get burritos!
Sucker Brook
Exactly 1 day after observing the races at White Park, it was time to jump into my first CX race, which also happened to be my first bike race EVER. There was a lot to take in.
Here are some things I learned:
-You can ditch waterbottles / extra layers at the start line or with teammates
-Bring your water bottle and energy gel to the line (Untapped for me EVERY 2015 RACE)
-Use a fifth safety pin to keep your number from bunching up. Pin the middle of the side closest to your armpit (thanks for that one Kathy!)
-Your heart rate is pinned literally within 10 seconds off the start line, and stays there the WHOLE RACE. No joke.
-Racing to the best of your ability is an AWESOME feeling.
-Racing is both physically AND mentally exhausting. I constantly take in the environment, obstacles and who's around me - calculating each move & which line I'm taking. Think of a gps that goes "recalculating - recalculating - recalculating".
-I tend to get tunnel vision and can't comprehend what's going on too far to my left or right, and for the most part it doesn't matter.
-I friggin' hate running through sand.
-Don't take sharp corners when turning onto pavement with aired down tires.
-Dust is harsh on your lungs and makes you really thirsty.
-This sport is ridiculously hard. But awesome.
-I can't talk while racing. Words don't come out.
-My metabolism goes into crazy time overdrive for the rest of the day. Plan to graze throughout the day. I didn't eat enough calories for dinner (believe me I THOUGHT I did) and woke up in the middle of the night with my heart pounding, starving.
Craft Gran Prix of Gloucester, Day 1
-Woah. This race is way bigger than Sucker Brook. There are tons of people here and a huge field. What have I gotten myself into?!?
-Having mechanical support and headquarters in the team tent is AWESOME. It is something I took for granted until race #3 when I didn't have a home base.
-Run-ups can be walk-ups if you turn your bike sideways and block everyone to preserve your position.
-I learned the word "chicanes", as in "SRAM chicanes". Chicanery. It's a fun word.
-This is one of those races that lots of Pros go to.
-Everyone is totally approachable in this sport. In fact, some of the pros were looking to see if folks had extra room to drive their spare bikes back to Portsmouth. What kind of weird sport is this?!?
-Never look back, especially at the finish line. Just go go go! There was a picture of me that I found where I'm looking over one shoulder at the finish line, not seeing anyone, but you can clearly see the girl fast approaching on the OTHER side where I'm not looking.
-I learned that I could fall and get up and continue on. This was HUGE for me, especially after my head injury.
-The beer tent is where you want to be after.
-There were real restrooms at this one, that I didn't even notice until the end :(
-Photographers like to come out to the races & they post links to their photos on crossresults.com!
I came back for the afternoon of Day 2 to hang in the beer tent and continue a Craft Sportswear facebook page takeover, as I'd been chosen to post pics & vid as a Craft page moderator. I remember wishing I had a better camera...and internet connection. It was still pretty cool. The beer tent was good stuff and I saw some friendly faces.
The Night Weasels Cometh
When I decided to take up this sport, a lot of it was riding on these "Weasel" races. I heard the hype, and resolved to be a part of any weasel-age I could. So, even though this was on a Wednesday night, I packed up my bike and headed down to Shrewsbury, MA.
-This race is UPHILL ON A SKI MOUNTAIN. It's a small ski mountain, yes, but skiing doesn't work without uphill and I sure did feel it.
-I suck at climbing. So. Very. Much.
-Water lines are a thing, and you don't want to hit them.
-It's hard to see far enough ahead at speed in the dark.
-Learned that Crossresults.com points determine your number and hence your start position in the grid.
-Downhills + Wet Grass = lots of slippage.
-This is not the weasel where you dress up. People take this one more seriously.
-I learned who Katerina Nash was. She was on the course in the Pro/1/2/3 race while us Cat 4s were also on the course a minute behind. She won, of course.
-One of the announcements to us expendable Cat 4s was to please get out of the way / don't knock over the pro riders who were in town between Gloucester & Providence. "We want them to come back".
-I very happily let the pro/elite racers by, and it was cool that they encouraged us to keep going as they were trouncing us.
-We had a cornering clinic at the Airfield w/ Nicole Duke literally the day before I went to this race. I learned to get out of my saddle and re-position my weight over the frame, moving the bike under me. I got some high speed practice at Night Weasels, and was thrilled that I managed to stay upright. Well, I fell once from exhaustion & lack of coordination while running my bike over an obstacle, but that was my own fault.
Minuteman Road Club CX Race
-Starting to get the hang of things now. I have a routine and I feel much more confident for the first time now that I'm sticking to plan. I know what to expect and when.
-A shopping bag of food and a cooler of food/drink is part of my normal packing routine and accompanies me to the races. I have everything I need and then some.
-I'm knowledgeable enough now to realize a team mate has his number on backwards. We stop him and fix it.
-Strange race induced memory lapses take place - making me forget, for example, that there are logs I need to dismount for, on lap 3. They were there for lap 1 & 2 as well....but I comically ran smack into them on lap 3.
-Starting to master the running / flying remount. Well, maybe not with 100 % best form but I flippin' STICK IT. I realize that this is one of my party tricks that lets me regain ground and pass other cat 4 racers. Take it where you can get it.
-Got to race on mulch for the first time. It's pretty sapping.
Casco Bay
-Holy hell, Portland is cold and windy!!!
-Stuff that I fumble through in pre-ride, like the big off-camber turn, is always rideable in the race with enough adrenaline pumping through my veins.
-Took Jordan Dube's advice on layers. I was going to head out with too much on. Glad I listened, because I ended up dressed just right.
-This was the first race that I didn't get a headache after. It all had to do with temperature. Even though it's hard to warm-up in the cold, I find my niche weather here. I can do my best in this weather, and prefer it. 45-50 degrees? I'll take it.
-Settle down, Portland. You're windy, we get it.
-There were expensive cupcakes and cheap coffee for sale. I went for the cheap coffee. It was okay. Mental note to stop at Holy Donut before next year's race.
Orchard Cross
The biggun'! I spent Saturday helping the team build the course, and generally being confused about wrapping tape around apple trees. It naturally sorted itself out. After hours of work, I had the privilege of pre-riding the course with team mates. I remember the first time we hit the cornfield, yikes! We provided recon to the tractors to go tear up that mess and whatever else we found along the way, including some holes and sharp rocks. At the end of the day, there was the most amazing pop-up pump track, and that was only PART of what we pulled off.
-On race day, there were apples abound! Someone had made a heart out of the dropped apples, and I mean, this was actually ON the course.
-Apples. I friggin' LOVE apples. Crisp, juicy, refreshing apples. Straight from the tree. Mel and I snagged an apple each post course tear down - and it may have been the best apple of life.
-My race went pretty well. It was my 5th best overall for the year for crossresults points to determine my line up. The rain held off, but I had clear lenses just in case. It was awesome to see (well, hear, really) so many friends on the sidelines cheering for us.
Rounding the corner behind the apple tree leading into the last set of barriers (near the beer tent) I skidded out on the last lap taking the corner too hot. My leg came out and somehow I found myself hopping on one leg as my bike went in the other direction, but I never fell. I still can't entirely figure out what happened.
-PUMP TRACK!!!! Hoooly crap this was SO GOOD. I got some air, unintentionally. AMAZING. It was only a few inches but it felt like I was flying.
-The costume race was a blast! I was an alligator, had to pin up my tail so it wouldn't get caught in the chain. I pulled off one running remount after the last set of barriers. I knew it was a huge risk with the inseam of my costume, but figured at that point I was done racing so it didn't matter so much if I ate it. Lucky for me, I stuck it.
-Having signed up for the Cycle Smart International pre-ride with Adam Myerson at the next race in Northampton - I was entertained to see him in the costume race Not knowing anything else about this guy, it certainly made an impression on me. This is a dude who not only rides well, but has the proper level of seriousness to race with a jack-o-lantern on his head. That thing must have been at least 10-15 pounds!
-There was a heavy Gus' team presence in the beer tent. We cheered on everyone heartily. And by everyone, I mean EVERYONE. Give us a few beer tickets and some cowbells....it doesn't take much. "YEAH ORANGE GUY, COME ON ORANGE GUY!!!!". I remember being in the beer tent during the last race, and getting to see Dylan actually stop and do a push up to raucous applause because he was so far in the lead.
-Figuratively EVERYONE I know showed up for course tear down. I had volunteered last year and had such a blast - honestly that was one of the experiences that stuck with me and convinced me that these were the type of people I needed to hang out with. We tour down the course and had an awesome little after-party. I left with a Pedros mini-pit kit. I was psyched because I LOVE a clean bike.
-I used a butter knife after this race to get the mud & grass out of my cassette. Said butter knife is now a part of my mini-pit kit.
-Cider donuts. Need I say more?
Cycle Smart International Day 1
Okay, before day 1 lets talk about the afternoon/night before, because there's important stuff to cover here. I learned a lot from the pre-ride with Adam Myerson with a few team mates.
But, even before that, lets talk pie. I was driving in, and went by a PIE BAR. Yes, the Florence Pie Bar. Stopping dead in my tracks, I found a place to ditch my car and treated myself to pie. A piece of quiche followed by a slice of brown butter pumpkin pie. I was in heaven by myself in this little hole in the wall place. Wash it down with a coffee. Now, go find my team mates and pre-ride in an hour. I knew it was not the most intelligent food choice right before riding my bike, but guys....it was a PIE BAR. I had no choice, really.
Pre-ride! Dirtwire was filming and that was cool, because I got to see myself and team mates in the clips afterwards. I remember Adam taking us through three key sections and walking us through the lines. Then afterwards, we got to ride those sections and get advice on how to ride them better, then do it again. This was a pretty unique offering and SO valuable. I upped my sand technique for sure. Instead of just hearing "don't fight it", which isn't entirely helpful, I learned to ride the tops instead of on my hoods, and kind of unweight or lift up slightly. It worked, whatever I did. Haven't looked back since.
That night, we went out to an awesome dinner & then we went to get our numbers at Northampton Coffee, and they were screen printed on cloth!!! Most legit numbers ever. My favorite to date.
On the way back we stumbled upon a candy shop and could not stop ourselves. I grabbed some Jordan almonds, and we stared in amusement at the giant cannoli full of little cannolis that you could custom order...it was like a cannoli-copia.
Bet, Mel, Kathy and I stayed in a hotel in downtown Northampton, and the Katz were right down the road from the course. It was super fun to stay over and I'm making a plan to do both days of this race next year!
RACE DAY!!!
-This was one of my favorite courses of the year. The pre-ride and instruction the night before, along with just a straight up fun course, really made for a good day. This result ended up being my 4th best race of the season.
-I think the salmon I ate the night before served as some sort of power food. I really felt good for this race.
-I remounted my rear wheel after one of the run ups. Ouch! Also I think this was the race where Bet ended up with blood on her white bike frame. It was pretty wicked looking. There are pictures somewhere...
-The end of this race will stick with me as one of the most memorable parts of the whole season. As Bet was passing me on one of the last turns leading up to the straightaway / finish line, she yelled "get on my wheel!" which I GLADLY did. I blocked another girl and hung on to Bet's wheel, then we sprint finished against each other, neck and neck! Mel captured the moment in an amazing photo. Bet took the win, then we reveled in how awesome that moment was!
-Sara took me home to feed me after our race, and then we smuggled beer in our backpacks and biked back to watch the races from the sand pit and the pro-only section from the woods.
-In the kids race, we watched Jonah Katz actually spin his pedal straight off the bike, get pit-crewed by dad, then go on to finish his laps! It was awesome, that kid has some determination!
-I'm sad to say I didn't stick around for day 2, but Sara Katz was on the podium in 1st place and texted us a picture of her big win. I was so bummed to miss it - I will stay the whole weekend next year for sure!
Monstah Cross
-This was a race that promised sillyness in that it encouraged costumes. Bet, Kathy & I showed up with silly hats, but we were in the minority.
-It was REALLY windy. Like, even windier than Portland! Or at least AS windy as Portland.
-There was little technical content on this course. It was mostly just a grass crit with some barriers and WIND.
-Did I mention it was windy?
-I didn't do so well on this course. The lack of technical features meant I was at a disadvantage.
-Still got some cool pics from the day. Nothing like looking at your shadow and seeing an alligator silhouette.
Shedd Park
-It was freezing in the morning! During pre-ride, the grass was glistening with frost.
-Two big hills on this one. The first was always rideable for me, and the second kicked too steep by 1/3 of the way up. Figured out in the pre-ride I was faster dismounting at the bottom and running it.
-I had a great start, and narrowly avoided a pileup crash on the first corner coming off the cinder track. I remember fishtailing wildly for a few seconds but regaining control and pushing past the mess to give myself a decent position. I did well in this race, my second best finish of the 11 races I did this season.
-I was drafting someone quite close through puddles on the cinder track, which was reflected in awesome pictures of my face afterwards. I had cinder track EVERYWHERE, including spots on my teeth. I was like a mud leopard!
-This was another one of my favorite races of the season. A must-do for next year. Close by and a little of everything as far as terrain goes.
NECX BAR Finals
-Wait....finals? Yeah this one stands for "New England Cyclocross Best All-around Rider" . Technically that should make it "NECX BAAR" but I'll let it slide.
-Apparently there were a bunch of races in this series. So if you did some or all of them, you placed in somewhere within this double-secret contest. Go figure!
-This was a fun course. Wasn't expecting too much from previous years reviews, but it was decent! I would come back and do this one again.
-We had an impromptu team tent here. It was nice to have team headquarters.
-I felt ill at the start, luckily my race wasn't until 12:50 and my stomach sorted itself out. Lesson learned, stick to routine race food. Oatmeal with an egg in it, some almonds, maple syrup, cinnamon, shredded unsweetened coconut etc etc.
-Got my third best finish of the year on this one. Not bad....
The Ice Weasels Cometh
I can't believe I saved this one til the end to write about. This was the most insane race. Hands down the most fun, everything it was hyped up to be and more.
Bet, Kathy and I stayed in a hotel the night before. Such a great idea!! There was a hot tub and a restaurant with awesome food attached to the hotel. A must do again for next year.
-The course was STUPID FUN!!! Best course of the year, hands down.
-Costumes! People having FUN and not taking this too seriously.
-HAND UPS! It's hard to drink when your heart is pounding. I need more practice for sure.
-Donut hand ups!!!! Candy canes, cupcake bites, dog kisses, high fives, flamingo pulls, basically if you can dream it, it was there.
-MASSIVE crowd with a keg cheering in the woods. What a blast.
-Fireworks (fountains) in the log on the backside of the course.
-SILLY HATS
-A marching band!
-Food trucks!! Ice cream, coffee, grilled cheese, TACOS!!!
-Fat bike race!
This race was everything I'd hoped and dreamed it would be, plus so much more. So, so much more. I want to ride this one again and again and again.
The only downside here was that Alex wrecked his collarbone and we spent some time in the Providence Hospital. But, in the grand scheme of things, it could have been much worse.
I also left my Untapped Maple water bottle at the start line, abandoned in RI, never to be seen again. I'll miss you, water bottle.
Until next year....
-Start grid: What it is, where it is, and make sure you FIND IT before you go off gallivanting around the course. Make sure you are here 15 minutes before your race, because if you miss call-ups you start in the back.
-Registration: Find it and get your number. You need to show your license. Make sure you confirm which side your number should be on.
-Finish line: Another important "must find" before you go out warming up. When a race is finishing, folks will gather here to jump on the course and pre-ride when the race winner crosses the line. This ensures that you will not pass anyone still actively racing. This is also where lap cards are posted, letting you know how many laps are left to go (although throughout the season I noticed they were notoriously wrong / missing / not updated etc...so I always yelled "AM I DONE?!")
There were other not-so-obvious things I learned as well, the most important being "WASH YOUR HELMET". We were privy to Becca's story about getting ringworm from a sweaty helmet. I took that one to heart, and made sure to velcro-out and wash my helmet padding after each race from that point forward.
Us newbies stayed and watched our friends race, figuring out what was going on. Then we watched the 1/2/3 Women & Men race. Watched Becca win for women, then Dylan McNicholas who had come to our Gus' skills clinic trounce the men's field....and then play in the sprinklers to cool down.
Ah, so exhausting to watch races all day - lets all go downtown and get burritos!
Sucker Brook
Exactly 1 day after observing the races at White Park, it was time to jump into my first CX race, which also happened to be my first bike race EVER. There was a lot to take in.
Here are some things I learned:
-You can ditch waterbottles / extra layers at the start line or with teammates
-Bring your water bottle and energy gel to the line (Untapped for me EVERY 2015 RACE)
-Use a fifth safety pin to keep your number from bunching up. Pin the middle of the side closest to your armpit (thanks for that one Kathy!)
-Your heart rate is pinned literally within 10 seconds off the start line, and stays there the WHOLE RACE. No joke.
-Racing to the best of your ability is an AWESOME feeling.
-Racing is both physically AND mentally exhausting. I constantly take in the environment, obstacles and who's around me - calculating each move & which line I'm taking. Think of a gps that goes "recalculating - recalculating - recalculating".
-I tend to get tunnel vision and can't comprehend what's going on too far to my left or right, and for the most part it doesn't matter.
-I friggin' hate running through sand.
-Don't take sharp corners when turning onto pavement with aired down tires.
-Dust is harsh on your lungs and makes you really thirsty.
-This sport is ridiculously hard. But awesome.
-I can't talk while racing. Words don't come out.
-My metabolism goes into crazy time overdrive for the rest of the day. Plan to graze throughout the day. I didn't eat enough calories for dinner (believe me I THOUGHT I did) and woke up in the middle of the night with my heart pounding, starving.
Craft Gran Prix of Gloucester, Day 1
-Woah. This race is way bigger than Sucker Brook. There are tons of people here and a huge field. What have I gotten myself into?!?
-Having mechanical support and headquarters in the team tent is AWESOME. It is something I took for granted until race #3 when I didn't have a home base.
-Run-ups can be walk-ups if you turn your bike sideways and block everyone to preserve your position.
-I learned the word "chicanes", as in "SRAM chicanes". Chicanery. It's a fun word.
-This is one of those races that lots of Pros go to.
-Everyone is totally approachable in this sport. In fact, some of the pros were looking to see if folks had extra room to drive their spare bikes back to Portsmouth. What kind of weird sport is this?!?
-Never look back, especially at the finish line. Just go go go! There was a picture of me that I found where I'm looking over one shoulder at the finish line, not seeing anyone, but you can clearly see the girl fast approaching on the OTHER side where I'm not looking.
-I learned that I could fall and get up and continue on. This was HUGE for me, especially after my head injury.
-The beer tent is where you want to be after.
-There were real restrooms at this one, that I didn't even notice until the end :(
-Photographers like to come out to the races & they post links to their photos on crossresults.com!
I came back for the afternoon of Day 2 to hang in the beer tent and continue a Craft Sportswear facebook page takeover, as I'd been chosen to post pics & vid as a Craft page moderator. I remember wishing I had a better camera...and internet connection. It was still pretty cool. The beer tent was good stuff and I saw some friendly faces.
The Night Weasels Cometh
When I decided to take up this sport, a lot of it was riding on these "Weasel" races. I heard the hype, and resolved to be a part of any weasel-age I could. So, even though this was on a Wednesday night, I packed up my bike and headed down to Shrewsbury, MA.
-This race is UPHILL ON A SKI MOUNTAIN. It's a small ski mountain, yes, but skiing doesn't work without uphill and I sure did feel it.
-I suck at climbing. So. Very. Much.
-Water lines are a thing, and you don't want to hit them.
-It's hard to see far enough ahead at speed in the dark.
-Learned that Crossresults.com points determine your number and hence your start position in the grid.
-Downhills + Wet Grass = lots of slippage.
-This is not the weasel where you dress up. People take this one more seriously.
-I learned who Katerina Nash was. She was on the course in the Pro/1/2/3 race while us Cat 4s were also on the course a minute behind. She won, of course.
-One of the announcements to us expendable Cat 4s was to please get out of the way / don't knock over the pro riders who were in town between Gloucester & Providence. "We want them to come back".
-I very happily let the pro/elite racers by, and it was cool that they encouraged us to keep going as they were trouncing us.
Minuteman Road Club CX Race
-Starting to get the hang of things now. I have a routine and I feel much more confident for the first time now that I'm sticking to plan. I know what to expect and when.
-A shopping bag of food and a cooler of food/drink is part of my normal packing routine and accompanies me to the races. I have everything I need and then some.
-I'm knowledgeable enough now to realize a team mate has his number on backwards. We stop him and fix it.
-Strange race induced memory lapses take place - making me forget, for example, that there are logs I need to dismount for, on lap 3. They were there for lap 1 & 2 as well....but I comically ran smack into them on lap 3.
-Starting to master the running / flying remount. Well, maybe not with 100 % best form but I flippin' STICK IT. I realize that this is one of my party tricks that lets me regain ground and pass other cat 4 racers. Take it where you can get it.
-Got to race on mulch for the first time. It's pretty sapping.
Casco Bay
-Holy hell, Portland is cold and windy!!!
-Stuff that I fumble through in pre-ride, like the big off-camber turn, is always rideable in the race with enough adrenaline pumping through my veins.
-Took Jordan Dube's advice on layers. I was going to head out with too much on. Glad I listened, because I ended up dressed just right.
-This was the first race that I didn't get a headache after. It all had to do with temperature. Even though it's hard to warm-up in the cold, I find my niche weather here. I can do my best in this weather, and prefer it. 45-50 degrees? I'll take it.
-Settle down, Portland. You're windy, we get it.
-There were expensive cupcakes and cheap coffee for sale. I went for the cheap coffee. It was okay. Mental note to stop at Holy Donut before next year's race.
Orchard Cross
The biggun'! I spent Saturday helping the team build the course, and generally being confused about wrapping tape around apple trees. It naturally sorted itself out. After hours of work, I had the privilege of pre-riding the course with team mates. I remember the first time we hit the cornfield, yikes! We provided recon to the tractors to go tear up that mess and whatever else we found along the way, including some holes and sharp rocks. At the end of the day, there was the most amazing pop-up pump track, and that was only PART of what we pulled off.
-On race day, there were apples abound! Someone had made a heart out of the dropped apples, and I mean, this was actually ON the course.
-Apples. I friggin' LOVE apples. Crisp, juicy, refreshing apples. Straight from the tree. Mel and I snagged an apple each post course tear down - and it may have been the best apple of life.
-My race went pretty well. It was my 5th best overall for the year for crossresults points to determine my line up. The rain held off, but I had clear lenses just in case. It was awesome to see (well, hear, really) so many friends on the sidelines cheering for us.
Rounding the corner behind the apple tree leading into the last set of barriers (near the beer tent) I skidded out on the last lap taking the corner too hot. My leg came out and somehow I found myself hopping on one leg as my bike went in the other direction, but I never fell. I still can't entirely figure out what happened.
-PUMP TRACK!!!! Hoooly crap this was SO GOOD. I got some air, unintentionally. AMAZING. It was only a few inches but it felt like I was flying.
-The costume race was a blast! I was an alligator, had to pin up my tail so it wouldn't get caught in the chain. I pulled off one running remount after the last set of barriers. I knew it was a huge risk with the inseam of my costume, but figured at that point I was done racing so it didn't matter so much if I ate it. Lucky for me, I stuck it.
-Having signed up for the Cycle Smart International pre-ride with Adam Myerson at the next race in Northampton - I was entertained to see him in the costume race Not knowing anything else about this guy, it certainly made an impression on me. This is a dude who not only rides well, but has the proper level of seriousness to race with a jack-o-lantern on his head. That thing must have been at least 10-15 pounds!
-There was a heavy Gus' team presence in the beer tent. We cheered on everyone heartily. And by everyone, I mean EVERYONE. Give us a few beer tickets and some cowbells....it doesn't take much. "YEAH ORANGE GUY, COME ON ORANGE GUY!!!!". I remember being in the beer tent during the last race, and getting to see Dylan actually stop and do a push up to raucous applause because he was so far in the lead.
-Figuratively EVERYONE I know showed up for course tear down. I had volunteered last year and had such a blast - honestly that was one of the experiences that stuck with me and convinced me that these were the type of people I needed to hang out with. We tour down the course and had an awesome little after-party. I left with a Pedros mini-pit kit. I was psyched because I LOVE a clean bike.
-I used a butter knife after this race to get the mud & grass out of my cassette. Said butter knife is now a part of my mini-pit kit.
-Cider donuts. Need I say more?
Cycle Smart International Day 1
Okay, before day 1 lets talk about the afternoon/night before, because there's important stuff to cover here. I learned a lot from the pre-ride with Adam Myerson with a few team mates.
But, even before that, lets talk pie. I was driving in, and went by a PIE BAR. Yes, the Florence Pie Bar. Stopping dead in my tracks, I found a place to ditch my car and treated myself to pie. A piece of quiche followed by a slice of brown butter pumpkin pie. I was in heaven by myself in this little hole in the wall place. Wash it down with a coffee. Now, go find my team mates and pre-ride in an hour. I knew it was not the most intelligent food choice right before riding my bike, but guys....it was a PIE BAR. I had no choice, really.
That night, we went out to an awesome dinner & then we went to get our numbers at Northampton Coffee, and they were screen printed on cloth!!! Most legit numbers ever. My favorite to date.
On the way back we stumbled upon a candy shop and could not stop ourselves. I grabbed some Jordan almonds, and we stared in amusement at the giant cannoli full of little cannolis that you could custom order...it was like a cannoli-copia.
Bet, Mel, Kathy and I stayed in a hotel in downtown Northampton, and the Katz were right down the road from the course. It was super fun to stay over and I'm making a plan to do both days of this race next year!
RACE DAY!!!
-This was one of my favorite courses of the year. The pre-ride and instruction the night before, along with just a straight up fun course, really made for a good day. This result ended up being my 4th best race of the season.
-I think the salmon I ate the night before served as some sort of power food. I really felt good for this race.
-I remounted my rear wheel after one of the run ups. Ouch! Also I think this was the race where Bet ended up with blood on her white bike frame. It was pretty wicked looking. There are pictures somewhere...
-The end of this race will stick with me as one of the most memorable parts of the whole season. As Bet was passing me on one of the last turns leading up to the straightaway / finish line, she yelled "get on my wheel!" which I GLADLY did. I blocked another girl and hung on to Bet's wheel, then we sprint finished against each other, neck and neck! Mel captured the moment in an amazing photo. Bet took the win, then we reveled in how awesome that moment was!
-Sara took me home to feed me after our race, and then we smuggled beer in our backpacks and biked back to watch the races from the sand pit and the pro-only section from the woods.
-In the kids race, we watched Jonah Katz actually spin his pedal straight off the bike, get pit-crewed by dad, then go on to finish his laps! It was awesome, that kid has some determination!
-I'm sad to say I didn't stick around for day 2, but Sara Katz was on the podium in 1st place and texted us a picture of her big win. I was so bummed to miss it - I will stay the whole weekend next year for sure!
Monstah Cross
-This was a race that promised sillyness in that it encouraged costumes. Bet, Kathy & I showed up with silly hats, but we were in the minority.
-It was REALLY windy. Like, even windier than Portland! Or at least AS windy as Portland.
-There was little technical content on this course. It was mostly just a grass crit with some barriers and WIND.
-Did I mention it was windy?
-I didn't do so well on this course. The lack of technical features meant I was at a disadvantage.
-Still got some cool pics from the day. Nothing like looking at your shadow and seeing an alligator silhouette.
Shedd Park
-It was freezing in the morning! During pre-ride, the grass was glistening with frost.
-Two big hills on this one. The first was always rideable for me, and the second kicked too steep by 1/3 of the way up. Figured out in the pre-ride I was faster dismounting at the bottom and running it.
-I had a great start, and narrowly avoided a pileup crash on the first corner coming off the cinder track. I remember fishtailing wildly for a few seconds but regaining control and pushing past the mess to give myself a decent position. I did well in this race, my second best finish of the 11 races I did this season.
-I was drafting someone quite close through puddles on the cinder track, which was reflected in awesome pictures of my face afterwards. I had cinder track EVERYWHERE, including spots on my teeth. I was like a mud leopard!
-This was another one of my favorite races of the season. A must-do for next year. Close by and a little of everything as far as terrain goes.
NECX BAR Finals
-Wait....finals? Yeah this one stands for "New England Cyclocross Best All-around Rider" . Technically that should make it "NECX BAAR" but I'll let it slide.
-Apparently there were a bunch of races in this series. So if you did some or all of them, you placed in somewhere within this double-secret contest. Go figure!
-This was a fun course. Wasn't expecting too much from previous years reviews, but it was decent! I would come back and do this one again.
-We had an impromptu team tent here. It was nice to have team headquarters.
-I felt ill at the start, luckily my race wasn't until 12:50 and my stomach sorted itself out. Lesson learned, stick to routine race food. Oatmeal with an egg in it, some almonds, maple syrup, cinnamon, shredded unsweetened coconut etc etc.
-Got my third best finish of the year on this one. Not bad....
The Ice Weasels Cometh
I can't believe I saved this one til the end to write about. This was the most insane race. Hands down the most fun, everything it was hyped up to be and more.
Bet, Kathy and I stayed in a hotel the night before. Such a great idea!! There was a hot tub and a restaurant with awesome food attached to the hotel. A must do again for next year.
-The course was STUPID FUN!!! Best course of the year, hands down.
-Costumes! People having FUN and not taking this too seriously.
-HAND UPS! It's hard to drink when your heart is pounding. I need more practice for sure.
-Donut hand ups!!!! Candy canes, cupcake bites, dog kisses, high fives, flamingo pulls, basically if you can dream it, it was there.
-MASSIVE crowd with a keg cheering in the woods. What a blast.
-Fireworks (fountains) in the log on the backside of the course.
-SILLY HATS
-A marching band!
-Food trucks!! Ice cream, coffee, grilled cheese, TACOS!!!
-Fat bike race!
This race was everything I'd hoped and dreamed it would be, plus so much more. So, so much more. I want to ride this one again and again and again.
The only downside here was that Alex wrecked his collarbone and we spent some time in the Providence Hospital. But, in the grand scheme of things, it could have been much worse.
I also left my Untapped Maple water bottle at the start line, abandoned in RI, never to be seen again. I'll miss you, water bottle.
Until next year....
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