Saturday morning was cold. So was the entire day for that matter. I'm not even sure that it ever made it above 30°F. The sun was bright, which added some sense of warmth at times, but the wind was blowing a lot, thus adding quite a chill. This would be the first really cold 'cross race of the season. The cold tends to be extra painful, since by the end races at these temperatures I usually can't feel my toes to well. Thank goodness they're only 45 minutes.
The Cheshire race is considered my 'home' race since it is only a short drive from my residence. Because it is so close and because my race as well as Taylor's and Jake's race were late enough in the day we decided to throw a tailgate party, hoping to snare some of friends into coming and cheering for us. With the added lure of food and booze a few were willing to brave the cold day and cheer. A BIGGEST THANK YOU to each of them!
I arrived at the park to see Matt from the Devil's Gear Bike Shop already there. We set up our little tailgate area and soon I was off taking some photos with my new camera. I got a look at a few sections of the course before heading back to the tent to greet the arriving friends. We ended up with quite a crowd around our tent.
Just before I raced, Taylor and Jake went out on course for their race. I was able to shout and watch them come around while warming up on the trainer. Both had a great race. Then I headed for the start. I was good and warm but I found myself in a second row starting position. The start didn't go too well either, somehow I was near the back of the pack after the first turn. Not only that everyone seemed to be pulling away. I had nothing, the legs couldn't turn the gear I needed to push over. (I had realized the night before why I'd felt so slow lately, I've only been putting a quarter of my regular time on the bike over the last month and a half; at best.)
Needless to say, I had no chance of keeping up. I watched most of the field just pull away from me and there was nothing I could do. At this point I was a bit disappointed in myself, all my friends had braved the cold and I was going to be doing my best not to be DFL, instead of doing my best for a top 5 or better. I figured I might as well try to please the crowd and have some fun. On what is probably the longest run up of the New England circuit, almost everyone was running. The log at the bottom and the log half way up made for a difficult ride. Plus there were numerous roots strewn about the lower half. I saw maybe 3 guys ride the hill earlier in the morning. For the first few laps I got over the first log and about half way to the second log, losing traction in some loose dirt on the right side or getting hung up in the roots on the left. The crowd of people that had gathered there loved my attempts though. They would scream like crazy as I made my attempt to ride up the hill.
Finally on the last two laps I made it to the second log of the hill. On my first attempt over it I just didn't have enough speed to get the whole bike over. On the final lap I managed to get the bike over the log, but didn't have enough momentum to keep the bike moving. The crowd seemed to love it though.
My friends were all over the course. There was hardly a spot where there weren't screaming at me. That alone made this race about the most fun I've ever had with a race. I was way off the back just trying not to be last, but I was having quite a bit of fun with all the screaming and shouting. At one point I rolled towards the edge of the course as Mike was running beside me yelling, I gave him I nice push in the shoulder just to play back a little. At another point, after I'd failed to ride 'the hill,' I pumped my fist in the air while running the rest of the way up through the crowd.
All in all, not a bad day. My results were far less than stellar, but introducing a new group of people to Cyclocross was great. Watch for next year, the tailgate is likely to be back.
Many thanks to Lee who shot some video for me. Some of the videos he got are posted on my Vimeo page. Some of the shots I got with the new camera and some of the shots Kevin took with it while I was racing can be found on my Picasa page.
My friend Adam was there taking photos as well. His shots can be seen at this page.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Cyclocross 101: class 10, review and wrap up
We've come through a lot of information on cyclocross, and there is really a lot more to be had. However, at this time it would likely be best to go out and experience a cyclocross race. The written word can only provide so much about the overall experience that can be had at a race.
The basics have been covered here. The start, the obstacles, the competition, the bell lap. Essentially the race is about going as fast as you can, while pacing yourself just enough to last the set time period without imploding. A little knowledge from various cycling disciplines is quite helpful. Bike handling skills from mountain biking and power and strategy from road cycling, cyclocross encompasses it all.
Before we completely wrap up this course there is one brief topic left. That is being a fan at a race. There are a couple of items essential to being a really good 'cross fan. First, a good beer and some frites with mayo (fries to Americans) will keep your belly happy and your soul warm. Second, warm up your voice and scream at your favorite racer each time they come around the course. At most races in America there aren't enough fans to fully line all parts of the course, so you can likely even run around a few places and catch the rider a few times per lap to scream at them even more. The final essential element is a cow bell. As the saying goes, more cowbell! An air horn would be a suitable substitute in most cases.
So this concludes Cyclocross 101. If you would like to go back and review each class just follow the links below. It's been fun!
Class 1, The Overview
Class 2, The Competition
Class 3, The Race Format
Class 4, The Barriers
Class 5, More On Barriers
Class 6, An in Depth Look at Barriers
Class 7, An in Depth Look at Run Ups
Class 8, An in Depth Look at Sand Pits
Class 9, The Start
Class 10, Review and Wrap Up
The basics have been covered here. The start, the obstacles, the competition, the bell lap. Essentially the race is about going as fast as you can, while pacing yourself just enough to last the set time period without imploding. A little knowledge from various cycling disciplines is quite helpful. Bike handling skills from mountain biking and power and strategy from road cycling, cyclocross encompasses it all.
Before we completely wrap up this course there is one brief topic left. That is being a fan at a race. There are a couple of items essential to being a really good 'cross fan. First, a good beer and some frites with mayo (fries to Americans) will keep your belly happy and your soul warm. Second, warm up your voice and scream at your favorite racer each time they come around the course. At most races in America there aren't enough fans to fully line all parts of the course, so you can likely even run around a few places and catch the rider a few times per lap to scream at them even more. The final essential element is a cow bell. As the saying goes, more cowbell! An air horn would be a suitable substitute in most cases.
So this concludes Cyclocross 101. If you would like to go back and review each class just follow the links below. It's been fun!
Class 1, The Overview
Class 2, The Competition
Class 3, The Race Format
Class 4, The Barriers
Class 5, More On Barriers
Class 6, An in Depth Look at Barriers
Class 7, An in Depth Look at Run Ups
Class 8, An in Depth Look at Sand Pits
Class 9, The Start
Class 10, Review and Wrap Up
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
How Disappointing...
Well, it's official, I checked crossresults.com and my finish in Northampton was my worst result in a cyclocross race, ever. That is if you look at the percentage of the field that beat me. 77.5 % Of the field beat me. The closest result to that was the first 'cross race I ever competed in, Gloucester, day 1, 2007, where 72.1% of the field beat me. You can look at my race history and analysis if you like.
On the upside, my halloween costume was great this year. Of course it was at its best because of a group effort. Pacman!!
Pacman and Ghosts from Scott Frison on Vimeo.
On the upside, my halloween costume was great this year. Of course it was at its best because of a group effort. Pacman!!
Pacman and Ghosts from Scott Frison on Vimeo.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Double race report
I have to jump back to October 26 and Beer Cross 1 to begin this race report. Jake and I headed for Dayville, CT early in the morning. Jake rode the early Cat 4 race while I jumped around the course taking videos and shouting updates to him. He finished a solid 2nd place with about a 25 second advantage over 3rd. A little later he joined me in the Cat 2/3/4 race. This race started well with all the prospects of a return to the form I enjoyed in Baltimore. I took the whole shot on the start and through the tight, technical course I actually built a small lead. With ¾ mile left in the lap I had a small gap over 2nd and we enjoyed a comfortable, though small gap over the rest of the field. Soon enough I was in 2nd place and 1 lap further I was fading hard, too hard for that early in the race. Slowly I drifted back in the ranks and then Jake caught me, and briefly dropped me. I managed to catch back when his legs started to cramp on him. I then found myself in a battle with another guy with one lap to go. I made a move with a half lap remaining and opened a gap, then dropped my chain. Despite a quick recovery by shifting it back into place my rival caught back up as we headed down the stretch for the run up. He tried to pass, but knowing that I could pull away coming down the single-track hill after run up I gave everything I had to be in front at the run up. Sure enough I opened a gap on him down the hill and easily rode in to hold 10th place of 20.
Then came Halloween weekend, November, and the Cycle-Smart International in Northampton, Mass. Two nights of less than adequate sleep, on top of waning fitness bit me good. Taylor and I left the Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot at 6:12 am to catch his 8:30 am race. I ran around the course and shouted at him cheering him on to a strong ride.
Starting at nearly the back of the field I had my work cut out. The Cat 2/3 field is so aggressive, picking my way through the field would be tough, but I figured technical course full of turns would play to my advantage. Following Taylor’s advice I shot up the right side on the start, as everyone drifted left to make the hard right turn a hole opened up for me and I shot a few spots before grabbing the brakes hard for the turn. Going through the turn my handle bars were pressed hard against another guys, neither of us had any room to give. Coming out and getting up to speed I had to lock up the brakes as two guys in front of me did the same to avoid a crash. I was trying to get spots through the next few turns and coming out of one 180 degree left turn I was very close to the outside tape when I felt a lot of pressure pushing my rear wheel to the left. I fought against the pressure, and after what seemed like a very long time the pressure was gone and I heard someone hit the deck behind me. The guy’s front wheel had been leaning into my rear wheel and he finally lost his balance, going down and taking some others with him I noticed when looking back. The next lap, at one of the railroad track crossing, there were two guys right in front of me, the first tried to jump over the tracks, only to crash on landing. The second guy grabbed his brakes hard and was headed of the handlebars last I noticed, as I grabbed the brakes hard myself. I managed to escape without crashing. The rest of the race went something like this; I battled for positions, but slowly fell back places as my legs just couldn’t turn the gear I wanted them to. At the end I was totally spent and exhausted. I finished a measly 62nd of 81 finishers and 91 starters.
I also managed to forget the memory card for my camera, so the large number of videos I’d planned to capture, well they don’t exist. I did, however, grab a few videos of Jake during Beer Cross. Head over to my Vimeo page to find them.
Then came Halloween weekend, November, and the Cycle-Smart International in Northampton, Mass. Two nights of less than adequate sleep, on top of waning fitness bit me good. Taylor and I left the Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot at 6:12 am to catch his 8:30 am race. I ran around the course and shouted at him cheering him on to a strong ride.
Starting at nearly the back of the field I had my work cut out. The Cat 2/3 field is so aggressive, picking my way through the field would be tough, but I figured technical course full of turns would play to my advantage. Following Taylor’s advice I shot up the right side on the start, as everyone drifted left to make the hard right turn a hole opened up for me and I shot a few spots before grabbing the brakes hard for the turn. Going through the turn my handle bars were pressed hard against another guys, neither of us had any room to give. Coming out and getting up to speed I had to lock up the brakes as two guys in front of me did the same to avoid a crash. I was trying to get spots through the next few turns and coming out of one 180 degree left turn I was very close to the outside tape when I felt a lot of pressure pushing my rear wheel to the left. I fought against the pressure, and after what seemed like a very long time the pressure was gone and I heard someone hit the deck behind me. The guy’s front wheel had been leaning into my rear wheel and he finally lost his balance, going down and taking some others with him I noticed when looking back. The next lap, at one of the railroad track crossing, there were two guys right in front of me, the first tried to jump over the tracks, only to crash on landing. The second guy grabbed his brakes hard and was headed of the handlebars last I noticed, as I grabbed the brakes hard myself. I managed to escape without crashing. The rest of the race went something like this; I battled for positions, but slowly fell back places as my legs just couldn’t turn the gear I wanted them to. At the end I was totally spent and exhausted. I finished a measly 62nd of 81 finishers and 91 starters.
I also managed to forget the memory card for my camera, so the large number of videos I’d planned to capture, well they don’t exist. I did, however, grab a few videos of Jake during Beer Cross. Head over to my Vimeo page to find them.
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