The last time I did a cyclocross race was in the late 90s – I don’t even remember exactly when or even where (Devens?). Back then, my steel ‘cross frame wasn’t quite as old school as it is today, and it certainly ran a lot more smoothly a decade ago. It turns out that damp cellars are not exactly the best places to store bicycles of any kind, let alone those made from steel. The years took their toll on my ‘cross bike, and I spent a frantic Friday night trying to get it in shape for Saturday’s race. I knew my fitness would be tested, but I didn’t want equipment to be an issue.
I fiddled with the brakes so the levers wouldn’t bottom out on the handlebars, tried to get the front derailleur to budge, and noted that the rear derailleur cable housing was frayed and simply compressed trying to shift into a lower gear. My old mtb pedals were shot, so all I had was a set of single sided road SPDs. So much for eliminating equipment issues…. I wasn’t too worried about this, though – I wasn’t out to win or prove anything; I knew that spending the last few months running and not biking would be the bigger factor in how well I did. I just didn’t want to get lapped.
The Baystate Cyclocross in Sterling, MA was, from what I had heard, a really great course, and would be a suitable event for my somewhat less than dramatic reentry to the cyclocross scene. Unlike running events, where the masters are 40+, cyclocross masters start at 35+, and I was slated to run in the second race of the day in the masters 35+/45+ category 3/4.
I showed up early enough to catch the beginning of the first race to see how it was run, and to see what the first lap might be like once I was running. The conditions didn’t look too bad to me – a heavy frost coated the ground, and was only slowly being worn away by the riders warming up on the course. It seemed mud would not be much of a factor. The cat 4 racers lined up in rows of 10, preparing for two laps around the frozen dirt track before heading off on to the rest of the course.
I went back to my car to get ready, noting that the unofficial transportation vehicle of choice for cyclocross must be the Honda Element, judging by the sheer number of them in the lots around the school. I got dressed, realizing I had only forgotten to bring a few warm items, but as it turned out I didn’t really need them. After riding around a bit to warm up, I headed over to the course to see how the race was unfolding and was able to get about half a lap of course inspection in before they started lining us up.
The 55+ masters were to start just a few minutes ahead of us, and so we lined up behind them just off of the dirt track. About 50 yards into their race, there was a nasty crash requiring several ambulances and adding a significant delay to our start. (We later heard the announcer inform the crowd that the injured rider was ok, but would be spending the night at the hospital for observation).
Master bike mechanic Dan Coady took the time to swap out the cable housing for my rear derailleur – something I never would have considered doing at the start line of any race. I am very glad for it though, since it certainly had a positive impact on my race, considering how much time I spent hunting for the right gear. (Ken WPS helped out too – go team WLB!)
Registering that morning got me number 95 – starting 9 rows from the front. This was not going to be easy. Because of the late start, we just did one lap instead of two around the dirt track before heading off on to the course. By this time the top inch of the frozen dirt track had thawed to a soupy mud that was filled with ruts on the south side of the track. My master plan of moving up to a better position before we hit the first run-up was slowly falling apart.
Not having done any kind of bike race at all in over a year meant that my already weak bike handling skills were also a bit rusty. I just sat at the back of the pack trying to keep the shiny side up, which really isn’t that big of a deal in a crit or a road race, but in ‘cross the back of the pack is exactly where you don’t want to be.
The first run-up was short, and a short flat run led us over to the second, much longer and steeper run-up, but there was not much point in trying to ride this. We were packed in pretty tight and basically just waiting in line to get to the second run-up. Someone made a crack about it being a nice day for a stroll. I thought it a very strange case of hurry up and wait. Unfortunately due to my pace, it was the last time I would experience traffic holding me up.
I finally got to the top, hopped on and rode over to the big downhill section, which was quite steep at the top, and nice and wide at the bottom. This turned right into a very large “natural” hurdle, though hurdle is not quite the right word. It was more of a retaining wall about three to four feet high made out of timber. Turning left after that we went through a series of esses which were still in the shade and there was a fair amount of frost still on the grass.
The course then wound through a small grove of trees and zigzagged back up to the main area of the fields. I was able to pick up the pace bit here and pass a few people before we hit the pavement. This led us around the school to an off-camber hairpin that I had a bit of trouble navigating successfully while maintaining any speed. The run back to the central area from here was very bumpy, and after two laps my palms were cursing the abuse.
I couldn’t seem to get enough speed to carry me very far up the next hill. It seemed to be rideable, but I always had to run up it. At the top was another hairpin turn leading back down the hill, where the transition from hill to flat was, I thought, quite harsh and was probably my least favorite part of the course.
This led us around the outside of the track, back to the central area where we went down, up, down, up along the slope south of the baseball field. In the middle of this were the only set of hurdles on the course, and I didn’t really have much trouble with them, though they seemed quite high. They were far enough in front of the run-up that followed it that one could remount and ride up it. I always ran it and, at least in the back of the masters category 3/4 field where we don’t posses the smoothness of the 1/2/3s, this was the faster way to do it. I was able to pass one or two people here.
After this there was a big out-and-back loop (with a hairpin) around the baseball field that was actually pretty smooth and I was able to keep a good pace. I managed to pass a few more people here. The way back was always slow for me and I’m not exactly sure why. It was bumpy, but I don’t feel that should have slowed me down so much. This led back on to the slick mud track to complete the lap.
Overall I really liked the course. My dismounts are okay, but my ‘cross mounts are terrible, so I’m glad I didn’t have to show everyone how not to do it too many times. I’m not a very big fan of the sand pits that I’ve seen and heard about in ‘cross races. They just look more annoying than fun or challenging, and I was very glad to see that there wasn’t one at Sterling, though the muddy track seemed to be a fairly comparable substitute.
My biggest problem came on the back side of the course in the esses where the shade was protecting the frozen ground. On the second lap my rear wheel lost traction going through the last right turn. It was one of those crashes that happens so fast that you’re already on the ground before you realize that you lost it. I landed squarely on my right side, which hurt a bit. After the race, as I was loading everything into the trunk of my car, I realized it was more than just a bump. By the next day I was convinced I had cracked a rib – I couldn’t breathe, laugh, cough, turn, sit up, lay down, etc. The doctor says it’s just a muscle spasm, but what does he know? This thing *&^$*% hurts.
In the end the time sheets listed me as 79th out of 84, with 99 starters. I’m not so sure there were 99 starters, but it sure didn’t feel like there were only 5 people behind me. I wasn’t last, and I didn’t get lapped, so given my equipment and fitness, I guess I really can’t complain. I did learn a lot for next time:
- First and foremost – single sided pedals don’t cut it in cyclocross. I feel like I spent a good ¼ of the course looking for the right side to clip in to. I’ve ordered a pair of Crankbrothers Candy C pedals for next week, and I can’t wait.
- My 12-30 cogset is spaced way to far apart for my liking. Too many times I needed a gear in between the two that were available to me.
- Register early to get a decent spot.
- Hand protection – my hands were so beat up by the end I found myself riding on the tops when I should have been on the hoods. I never wear gloves when I ride, so the thin, unpadded, non-cycling gloves which would have been fine for a nice Sunday ride did nothing for me as my bike bounced over the frozen ground. Reducing the tire pressure a bit would have helped as well – something I’ll pay attention to in the future even though my 23s feel a bit thin to be playing with the pressure.
- Fatter tires would really have been a quite welcome improvement, not just for smoothing out the bumps, but to improve traction and control.
- I want my excuse to be, “I suck”, not “my bike sucks” – it’s far more frustrating to deal with equipment trouble that it is to say, “Well, I guess I wasn’t quite ready for this.” If I don’t have a new bike next year, I’ll certainly have this one running in much better shape.
- Mud is always a factor in cyclocross.
- Bike races suck compared to running races when it comes to the shirts, food and beer you get (included in the price of admission!) after just about any running race. But you don’t come to eat, you come to race, right?
I learned a lot, and I’m ready for more – next up is day 2 (only) of the NBX G.P. of Cross / Verge New England Championship in Warwick, RI. I can’t wait....
