Lion's Den Cross

I was back out on the 'cross bike today at United Cycle's Lion's Den Cross. The weather was completely different to my last race as it snowed early in the morning. My new wheels had arrived earlier in the week and I was watching the weather as I thought about which tires I would use on them. A Facebook posting claiming that the hill would be taken out if it was wet made me decide on my Michelin Mud 2s. Well, the Mud 2 isn't a true mud tire and the hill was left in the course, despite how wet it was.

The Sport race was actually the second one as they decided to schedule the Experts first. When my race started, the Experts had cleared the racing line but there was still snow on the course. The sun came out before my race started and all the snow would be gone by the end. The mud would definitely not be dried by the end.

This year's race was run in the opposite direction of the previous few years. This meant the spiral came early in the lap and I had to climb the steep side of the hill. On the first lap, the spiral backed the field up quite a bit as the switch from a right turn to left was quite tight this year. For the hill, I was glad for the spikes in my shoes so I could run up. On my third lap, I tried to climb it on my bike but I couldn't recover from a rear wheel slip about 3/4 of the way up. For the descents, I ran down the first little bit and mounted my bike on a little flat area. Most riders around me did the same thing. The whole way down was very, very slippery. The whole course was quite slippery and I lost count of the number of little slips and skids I had. Luckily, I didn't have any crashes.

I completed five laps in 42:21 for 10.1 km. The course was quite twisty and it seems my GPS might have missed about 400 m. I had an average speed of just 14.3 km/h with a maximum of 28.1 km/h. My average speed definitely took a hit from all the running up and down hills. I had an average heart rate of 152 bpm and a maximum of 187 bpm. The average is actually a little low as my GPS didn't record correctly for the first lap. My last four laps averaged 164 bpm each lap. I think I rode a little too relaxed and could definitely have had a higher heart rate. I sat behind one or two slower riders for much of the first lap and gave riders a lot of room to lap me on my last lap so I was giving up time in both of those situations. The only person I was really racing dropped out early on the third lap with a mechanical problem so I was on my own for most of my race.

The only other things to mention was that the new wheels felt very nice. It's a bit difficult to compare them with my old ones after one race, especially since I also changed my tires and this was my first wet race of the year. Also, it was good Marg wasn't around. Today's barriers seemed really high and I've had a few talks over the years about barrier heights with Marg. I agree that those of us with short legs are unfairly punished on really high barriers.

Red Cross

Today's race was the Red Cross. It was nearly the same as yesterday's course but run in reverse. This direction actually flowed a little better and I enjoyed it more. I also ate a little better in the morning and was feeling good for the start of the race. The pack seemed smaller today and strung out fairly quickly so there wasn't as much chaos in the first few corners. That being said, one Redbike rider decided to dismount for the difficult downhill hairpin and, when two riders in front of me had difficulty with the corner, he still wanted to push past us all and I got a good whack from his bike as he carried it by me. It didn't gain him much of an advantage and he slowed considerably toward the end of his second lap at which point I was able to make an easy pass.

Unfortunately, the end of my second lap was also the end of my race. The tough little hills cause tightness in my back and I was also experiencing a lot of pain in my left hip and leg.

I completed just 5 km in 21 minutes for an average speed of 14.4 km/h and a maximum of 24.7 km/h. My two laps were consistent at 10:22 and 10:28 plus a little lead up at the beginning. I averaged just 165 bpm with a maximum of 178 bpm. That's a little low but the first lap usually appears low as it takes a minute or two to get my heart rate up on the start.

Jim Horner GP

Today was the Jim Horner cyclocross race. It was your typical Alberta 'cross race where the designer found a hill, in this case the termination of Mill Creek Ravine, and made the riders to go up and down as many times as possible. The designer was also in love with hairpin turns, some of which were situated on the sides of the hills to add extra toughness. While I'm normally better at short, sprinter's climbs than those typically around me during a race, I counted nine climbs of various lengths around the course. As you can see from my GPS data, it was a very stop/start kind of race for me due to the hairpins and climbs. My forearms were actually very sore in the afternoon due to all the hard braking which was required around the course.

I have to say I really didn't like the course during the pre-ride but, during the first two laps, I was able to make some of the first half of the course flow a little better so I enjoyed things a little more at that point. As usual, the first technical section became a gong show at the back of the pack as some riders ahead of me fell on one of the few open corners, which was also on a sidehill. Someone broke the tape at that point and a few riders went outside one pole, avoiding both the crashes and the lowest part of the corner. The crashes bunched a number of riders back up so the next two hairpins were also very slow. The only other bit of interest to my race was the longest steep climb on the course. It was on a narrow trail surrounded by high grass. On my first two laps, I was behind the same rider who dismounted and ran up. I feel I could have run up faster than him but I didn't feel like getting off the trail so I was actually able to catch my breath a little. I had no one in front of me on my third lap so I decided to ride the hill. I was able to do it but I almost stalled at the top. I'm considering either a smaller chainring up front or a larger cog on my cassette as these short, steep climbs seem very typical in my races and a slightly easier gear would help.

I ended up doing four laps, for 10.1 km, in 44:46. That put my average speed at one of my slowest for a cyclocross race at just 13.5 km/h with a maximum of 25.3 km/h. There was a little run-up to the start and then my lap times were 10:42, 10:55, 11:24, and 11:25. I really felt fatigued after my second lap and really wanted to be pulled because I was a lap down after just three laps but, at that point, I was still on the lead lap. I averaged 171 bpm with a maximum of 180 bpm so I was on the limit of my anaerobic threshold pretty much the whole race. All the short climbs mean there's never a choice of how to pace yourself through the race.

I have an equipment update. Once again, I really felt like my rear wheel has lots of internal friction. It seems that even my old commuter rolls better than my cyclocross bike. So, on the advice of a teammate, I was back on the Williams Cycling website and saw that they do have some alloy clincher 'cross wheels. I have a pair on order and I really hope they're here before the Lion's Den 'Cross on 20 Oct. At this point, I'm leaning towards switching my cassette over to the new wheels and continuing not to have a second set of wheels in the pit.

Tuesday Cross 3

Tuesday night's cyclocross race featured a course which, I think, should suit me a little better. It was very flat with lots of difficult turns. Some turns got a little easier as the night wore on as leaves were cleared from the racing line. I'm not a good climber and I tend to go through corners faster than those around me so it should have been a good race for me.

After last week's fiasco through the first few turns, I had considered trying to be in front for the first corner but this course had a few gentle corners before the sharper turns. I did move up after the start but I was still stuck behind some riders who were slow through the corners. Lots of corners with short straights meant it was difficult to get past riders. I really tried to sprint out of corners when I thought I could overtake someone in front of me who was a little slower. Single barriers in two different spots helped me quite a bit. I'm normally faster than those around me when it comes to getting off and on my bike and I received some pointers from Aaron Schoolar the night before.

My lap times turned out to be very different from my expectation. Traffic usually slows down my first lap and my second lap was affected by pulling off to the side right in front of one of the most difficult corners to let the leaders of the A group go through. It ended up costing me quite a bit as two or three riders in my group had just been passed and I couldn't jump back on the track right in front so I lost a few positions. In retrospect, I shouldn't be such a nice guy. I actually pulled off to the side again on that second lap. I think I was pushing the limit of low air pressure in my tires and my rear actually felt like it was going flat. It seemed okay when I stopped so I ended up completing the race. The stops were fast enough that my GPS didn't end up recording any rest time. I thought I might have been pushing a little too hard for my fitness level on the first two laps but, if I did end up backing off, I must have picked up speed through the corners as my third and fourth laps were, by far, my fastest. My heart rate was about the same for all four laps so there isn't much proof that I backed off.

In total, I covered 7.2 km in 24:49 for an average speed of 17.4 km/h and a maximum of 30.2 km/h. The maximum came right at the finish line as I thought I had someone right behind me through the last corner and I didn't want to give up one more position at the end. I had an average heart rate of 168 bpm with a maximum of 179 bpm. My lap times were 6:15, 6:24, 6:07, and 6:02.

I'm trying to figure out what to do with my current cyclocross bike. I have a feeling that there's something wrong with my rear hub and it feels like it has some internal resistance. It's not an obvious problem but something that I feel is there. I'd also really like a new bike, as mine is nearly 8 years old, and I'd really like to get a new one with disk brakes. My club's bike shop doesn't have any bikes with disk brakes in stock and I don't know when they might get any. I have a friend who tweets about her great wheel sponsor but they're out of stock until 22 Oct and my season ends 11 Nov. Plus, new wheels doesn't get me a new bike with disk brakes.

Tuesday Night 'Cross 2

I did my first Tuesday Night 'Cross race today. I missed last week for some meet the teacher time. I liked the course though I found there were long, non-technical sections where I needed better fitness. There were two good sections of turns, one on the side of a hill and one while cruising down a slight downhill.

I covered 7.32 km in 27:24 for an average speed of 16 km and a maximum of 33.4 km/h. I averaged 166 bpm with a maximum of 178 bpm so I was pushing fairly hard, for me. My heart rate was a little low on the first lap because I started towards the back and the turns on the sidehill slowed down the group severely. I tried a few aggressive passes but I would get halfway beside the rider in front of me but then I would get cut off and have to get back in line. It took nearly a lap for me to get to my pace without someone going slower than me through the corners. My lap times were 7:15, 6:34, 6:42, and 6:53. My average heart rate was over 10 bpm lower on the first lap, at 157 bpm, than my other three laps which were 168 - 170 bpm. I'm thinking about starting at the front next week so I can get through the first corners at a good pace and let everyone else worry about passing me.

Hop 'n' Hurl cyclocross

Hardcore Bike hosted the Hop 'n' Hurl cyclocross race on Sunday. The course was quite a bit different than most 'cross courses with lots of pavement stretches and some single-track. There were a few corners with roots which I just couldn't get right. Still, it was a challenging course and it was good to be out racing.

I covered 10.3 km in 40:27 with one fall. I averaged 15.3 km/h with a maximum speed of 28.9 km/h. My heart rate averaged 162 bpm with a maximum of 177 bpm so I probably could have pushed a little harder throughout the race. I put in four consistent laps of about 6:40 but my lap times fell off at the end to 6:50 and 7:03 though my average heart rate was consistent over all of the laps.

School of Cross

The first true cyclocross race took place today with my own club hosting the School of Cross race. Last weekend was an enduro-cross race but I'm not counting it. In the past, I haven't liked the School of Cross course because the school grounds where it's held drop away into a ravine. This usually means long grass, very bumpy trails, and up and down a steep hill too many times. However, this year the ravine section seemed to flow better and it was a more enjoyable course for me.

I've felt my best during races where I slurped down a Clif shot a little before the start. I was eating them last week during my race and felt good and I had one left so I ate it about 20 minutes before my race started. If any of the three people who read this know where I can get Clif shots by the box, please let me know. Anyway, I was a bit surprised to feel pretty good throughout the race. My heart rate did spike each lap as I came out of the valley which meant not pushing hard on the easiest section of the course but the urge to cut the fun a lap or two short never came. It might have helped that I had two teammates nearby for the opening. I lost track of Wes behind me late in the first lap and had Bruce right behind me going into the barriers for the second time but I could hear he had some trouble on them and I noticed a good gap on him the rest of the way. After the finish, I saw that Wes dirtied both of his knees during the race and Bruce said he had problems on two occasions. I don't know Wes very well but I know Bruce is a good Cat 4 racer. He's much stronger than I am on the road but it was only his second 'cross race so it must have been my experience and maybe a little better off-road bike-handling skills that kept me in front of him.

I completed four laps in 35:39 and was one lap behind the leaders. I covered 9.2 km at an average of 15.5 km/h and a maximum of 26.1 km/h. I averaged 170 bpm, which is just two bpm below my anaerobic threshold, and had a maximum of 183 bpm. There was a 30 second run up to the start/finish line and I had laps of 8:40, 8:38, 8:54, and 8:57. I thought the first lap was slow, due to all the traffic on the first lap. I then thought I picked it up for the second lap but this doesn't appear to be the case. I was expecting my body to start telling me to stop so I backed off a little on the third lap, thinking I would have two more to do. I was a little surprised to see two laps to go as I started my fourth lap and I expected to be passed soon by the leaders so I knew I'd probably just have one lap left to do. I was pretty set in my position so I just did enough so no one would catch me.