Tuesday night cyclocross #3

This week's Tuesday cyclocross race was back at Gold Bar Park. As much as the first course at Gold Bar played to my only strength, this one showed more of my weaknesses. The climbs were sprinters' climbs so I didn't suffer too much from an extended effort but I knew I would lose time on the long, grassy straights. I was behind one woman on the first and second laps who I would catch on the few sets of corners and on some of the little climbs but she was able to pull away on the straights. Shantel pointed out Lori-Ann Muenzer for me before the race and, for the second week in a row, I completed my first lap right behind her before she started to fade. The barriers were on a hill just after the start/finish line and I got over them faster than Lori-Ann and I didn't see her again until the end of the race. I introduced myself after the race and she's a very nice, very approachable person. Like a true track cyclist, she encouraged me to convert my commuter to a fixed-gear and come out for track next year. I was able to ride all of the climbs, though I ran up the climb after the barriers, but I had a little trouble with my back tire slipping on the last climb and I felt I was very close to sliding out on a few corners. I've been commuting on pavement on my 'cross bike using my Nokian tires tires almost the entire summer and the centre of the tires seem quite worn which would explain the trouble on climbs but not the corners. These are the tires which came with my bike but I've never really liked them for racing so my plan became to just use them as a commuter tire. I've just put on a pair of Michelin Mud 2 tires for this Saturday's School of Cross. I'm planning on leaving these on my bike for the rest of the 'cross season. I have a pair of Michelin Country Rock tires coming for my mountain bike, which is supposed to be my commuter bike but I had so many flats this Spring every time I put slicks on it I switched to my 'cross bike. I ended my night in 22nd spot out of 34 racers in my group. Two places worse than last week with six more riders. I completed 8.7 km in 26:35 for an average speed of 19.6 km/h and a top speed of 38.5 km/h. I averaged 169 bpm with a maximum heart rate of 182 bpm. I again had consistent lap times. Officially they were 6:33, 6:31, 6:34 and 6:44. I knew the little climbs and long straights were taking their toll on me. I also lost a little incentive to push hard as I finished 20 seconds behind the woman in front of me and 20 seconds in front of the man behind me. Although, my heart rate averaged 174 bpm on both of the final two laps.