Vet Cross

Huge thank you to Roger Harrison to put a climbing course together... I was feeling rather discouraged after getting my arse handed to me out at the flats of Boulevard Cup...

Once I grabbed one of my wife's old coats (there was a discount for donating a coat) I took off to Leavenworth and found myself in the middle of rural Kansas,  my Google navigator could not pick up the address for some reason..

Once I finally made it there to a less than usual attendance I went out to check the course... This was one hilly SOB! A big grin on the inside instantly grew (read my last race report, you will understand).. This was going to hurt!

As I was getting ready I noticed only like 5 open racers were racing, our race had only 15 or so...
Some of the usual faces and some new ones...

After last weekend I decided against my strict fly til you die philosophy. When you have some endurance to fly for more than a lap it worked out pretty well. But when you don't have the endurance, apparently that philosophy does not pan out...

The start took us on a long paved section and I decided to keep my heart rate under 175, for once... I settled in about 8 or so back by the time we took a hard right onto the grass... Once we took another hard right to head up a slight incline I noticed I was climbing a bit better than these fellas... Sooooooo, 2 min after the start my game plan went right out the window! Lets try and go fast! Relatively speaking that is...

Passed a couple of dudes and settled in about 5th heading into the hilly part of the course...Once we got there the entire group started to spread out a bit... **Spoiler alert** Bob C. and Chamois Butt'r (don't know who he was) took off the lead and held it to the end.. Anyway, now that's out of the way..

The real racing was about 4 or 5 of us trading spots chasing.. The race was only 30 min, 5 laps.... The first two laps held a decent group of us together, about 5 or 6... After the second lap me and two other dudes were in a battle for 3rd.. Each lap I would out climb them on the hills, then they would hit the pavement and get a gap on me.. Go figure...

Down to one lap to go I am sitting 5th and 3rd and 4th took off once again on the pavement, I dug just deep enough to keep them within reach once we hit the grass... Got on 4th dudes wheel in the first grass section and on to the hills... I attacked on the first climb and dropped one of them. I had to keep digging to close the gap on the 3 dude... We hit the last climb and I was thinking of passing but decided, well, that would be stupid,  I did not want to pull him to the finish... That and my legs were on fire....

Hit the top of the hill on his wheel and stuck to it no matter how bad it hurt.... All be damned were going to have a little sprint finish... I tried the inside and he closed it off, took the outside and ended up out sprinting for 3rd by a wheels length... Damn that was fun!

Last time I was in Leavenworth I was out sprinted for 3rd, feels a little better on this end of it...

Just by my nature I want to pick apart the race and wonder how I would have ended up if my usual nemisises were there. The hell with it, that last lap was bad ass closing the gap on those two dudes, I will take it....

RESULTS

PICS

Thanks Roger for putting on a mans race!!!!!

Boulevard Cup of Broken Dreams

Flat power cross venues absolutely destroy me! What can I say, I actually had ambitions in the 3/4's of top 5, would have settled for top 10... Well, a (kinda)sprint finish for a whopping 20th was not exactly how it all was going to go down in my mind... Hell, I even told SC (who is racing damn good by the way) before the race that he was not getting by me today... Let me tell you, the saying that you have to race to get in race shape is absolutely spot on...

As I was getting my arse handed to me, at least it was a hell of a good event.....

Felt pretty good to start with, the race was very flat, which I knew would not suit me very well, but I have not raced in a couple weeks and felt fresh.. The field was deeeep, like racing cat 4 again... 45 total riders.. I lined up way early, like 15 min and was still second row!

We were off and I got in about 5th wheel off the pavement. We hit a small switchback and bam, number 2 dude hit the deck and we were left waiting.... I got around that mess sooner than some others and was sitting 3 going through the rest of the first lap...

First lap done and I had done the flyin part, now it was time to get on with the dyin... Went from 3 to 6 just like that...6th to 8th, again just like that... Dude this SUCKS!!

Looking back on it, I think it would be reasonable to think I could have held on for a little, placed anywhere between the 8-13 range...

Could have is the key word there! Coming through the barriers on lap 3 or 4 I took a nose dive. Flat on my face, I am diving into home plate, my bike is catapulted in the air... Holy crap, I have never done that before... Well, thank goodness that the barriers where right next to the beer tent and some bleachers so that everyone watching could witness me in all my glory...

As I shamefully get up and get on my bike I have to get off again and get my chain back on track. At this point like 5-8 dudes go by me which is completely demoralizing.. Once I get going again the official wind was completely out of the sails... I was well out of where I wanted to be...

Well, instead of being completely discouraged, I decided that I might as well have some fun with this. My only goal from this moment forward was to ride the run up... There was one off camber/routey/hilly technical section that I wish there was more of. On it there was a steep down, 180 turn and then run up that was kind of rideable, but not really.. It certainly was not quicker to ride it, but I really did not care at this point..
Next lap made it to the top and had to put a foot down... Next lap, found myself sideways halfway up.. Next lap, foot down again, but I think I have it... Told my 2 supporters that next lap I am climbing it... Next lap, got it! Last lap, even better... Hells to the yes! I might have sucked a racing today, but I rode that damn run up a couple times...

There was only one other "technical" section of the race. A small sand pit... I like the ones you can ride through, not those 50 yard sand volleyball courts they sometimes run you through... Some folks were having one hell of a time getting though this. I did not think it was that difficult as long as you don't have a dude in front of you bailing off his bike...

When I say that some dudes were having a tough time with this section, this morning I have seen the proof.. Instant Classics!!!!!

Basically I found I have more than enough technical skills for cross, its the damn engine I need to work on..

But hey, I may have sucked a big one today, but Boulevard was there to make everything okay...

"Ahh, beer, the cause and solution to all life's problems" ~ Homer

RESULTS HERE...