I was really looking forward to this one, as it's a really fun course, probably rewards mountain bikers a bit more than roadies, and I was hoping to put my recent mountain biking experience to work. Instead, we were treated to a new course, with lots of grass, plenty of twists and turns, and 4 trips next to various outhouses. Oh, and free beer!
My big story from the race is busting my rear derailleur in pre-ride, just before the start. As in, 15 minutes before the start! Sucky... still not sure how such a small stick can do so much damage, but I pretty much tore it right off my bike. While this was bad, I was able to see how much help a girl can get at a cross race, which was cool to be on the receiving end of. I was able to borrow a bike from Pappy, which sort of fit, while someone else talked to the organizer about delaying the start by a few minutes. What followed was a real Nascar-style pit change: 4 people, all taking part in swapping pedals and wheels, adjusting brakes, and otherwise getting things ready to go. I had people helping me whom, honestly, I don't even know (but thank you!!!!). At one point, I was standing over the frame, someone was tightening the bolt on the seat, and a third person was cleaning the wheels with a brush. I've never felt so pro!
I had a really terrible start, and did the entire race in the little ring, something I haven't done in about 2 years. Let's just say that a 5o-tooth ring is not ideal cross gearing for me! Throw that in with a frame that fits a bit too short, and some poor shifting because I nearly destroyed my rear wheel in the derailleur debacle... not my finest showing. I eked out 4th, but was not feeling very strong by the end. I was, however, lucky just to race!
Since we were heading straight to Kingston for racing on Sunday, I needed a new rear derailleur, stat. One of the other racers called the local shop, and they were expecting me, so I got awesome service, and a chance to check out Impala bikes. The guys there were super nice and helpful, and got me set up quick. Love it.
No data to compare against the season goals, since results were a bit of a shitstorm.
Kingston (8)
Next day was Kingston, where we followed the Ottawa Cross set-up - only two starts, and elite women racing with the elite men and M1s. For a full 60 minutes! It was a really fun course - great technical features, and some killer power sections. Overall, really good, though really tough, and a great all-round course. I settled into a rhythm pretty early on, and though I was struggling in the power sections, I was able to ride the technical parts pretty cleanly - with many thanks to a tutorial on the "sunbathing ridges" from Ms. P. I had a back and forth battle for a while with some guy on a Kona Dew - I actually had no interest in battling him in the standing, and was just trying to get a bigger gap on the next woman back, but he was not about to go down without a fight! In the end, he won it, but I still kept my gap, so I wasn't too heartbroken when the duel finished up and he pulled ahead. The Ottawa women cleaned up at that race, sweeping the podium, and with one of them finishing on the lead lap as the elite men. Though the hour nearly killed me, I was happy to finish up in 5th.
- 10% finish: No - one lap back, about 9min.
- consistent lap times: Yes - within 25 seconds.
Kelso 1 (9)
Kelso Day 1 was the first part of the Speed River Halloween cross stage race. I had pulled together some yellow and black cycling clothing, purchased some wings at Walmart about 10min before closing the night before, and had a bumblebee thing going on.
The race itself, though it started fairly well, was terrible. I wasn't feeling all that great, and didn't feel like I had any power on the bike. Which sucked, since there was a lot of mud and a massive hill, and I was not able to keep up the initial pace. I slowly drifted backwards, losing time in both of those sections. The mud was so bad, and resulting in massive clogs of leaves and sticks on the frame, I had to stop at one point to clear the chain stays in order to get the wheel moving again.
During the men's race, I went back to the muddy section to see what lines the fast boys were taking... and they were running almost the whole section.
Lesson learned: you don't have to ride everything, you just need to get through it as quickly and efficiently as possible.
- 10% finish: Yes - 3'48" back.
- consistent lap times: No - my first two laps were fast, but I was about 45" slower on the last three (though they were consistently slow!)
Kelso 2 (10)
Day two went quite a bit better for me - I finished on the podium (though I missed the podium presentation because I was still getting changed), and I felt like I had decent legs. I love Day 2 legs... they always seem to be better. The course seemed to suit my riding better, and it was much drier. The hardest part was the beach section, followed by a leg-sucking off-camber uphill, followed by a run-up/hike that completely killed your legs. There's a pavement downhill heading to the beach, and in my warmup, I hit it with so much speed, I didn't think I was going to make the corner at the bottom - I just went straight through it onto the grass, and scared the shit out of myself in the process!
While I rode strong and was consistent, I was unable to stay in the lead group, and spent most of the race in no-man's land, riding alone in third. It was good to focus on small things throughout the race - trying to clean the sand, accelerating out of corners, and trying to catch the M2 men who started 30s ahead.
- 10% finish: Yes - 1'11" back
- consistent lap times: Yes - within 25" again.
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