Cross Closure

Last weekend ended one of my favorite cross seasons so far.  I can't quite put my finger on why.  I didn't have the greatest season on paper; my results were solidly in the lower 50%, and often in the bottom 25%.  I didn't win, place, or show at any races.  I didn't travel to exotic places, or participate in the biggest races.  I didn't get faster, but I didn't get slower.  I guess that's the key then.  I didn't get slower.  Stasis.  Usually that's a bad thing.  I'm pretty ok with it this year though.  I've felt like I've gotten faster at the races simply by driving my bike better.  I know I'm a pretty good bike handler on bikes with wide bars and flat tires, but in years past I've never felt comfortable on my cross bike.  It never quite drove right.  I think that this year I got it down.  Since I supremely suck at running, I made a point to ride everything I could this year.  Unfortunately the beginning of the season provided a lot of opportunities for running.  The season got better, though, and being able to ride over stuff was just more... fun.  And fun is what cyclocross is all about.  I enjoy stuffing myself into a skinsuit, pinning a number on, and lining up in the back of a group of like minded guys every weekend.  It's fun.

Great teammates definitely help though.  Lauri, Auer, Diane, Ben, and Fatmarc put on a great race last weekend.  As did Andy Taus and his crew.  Those races were two of the best courses I've yet ridden.  The perfect compromise between a boring grass crit and a mountain bike race tough enough to make all the roadies run home crying...

Pricey is trying to eat all the bugs.

I always gotta beat that guy.

The best part about this season has been, as I've said a few times already, the people.  Ending the year on a high note certainly didn't hurt though.

Tried to stick the inside pass here...

Surfing the sand

Looking forward to what 2012 will bring.  Even more than that, I'm looking forward to the week of vacation I'm taking between Christmas and New Years.  A week of riding in upstate New York is just what I need right now.

Top two pics from the incomparable Dennis, bottom to pics from the incomparable Ms. Geology.

Subie: A Retrospective

A few weeks ago my good old Subie died.

Subie and I soon after I got her.  Hibernia Short Track.  2007

She was a 1999.  Blew a head gasket on I-581 in Harrisburg.  Common problem with that year.

The accident.  I-81 southwest of Harrisburg.  Summer 2008.

It saddens me greatly to have to get rid of this car.

Leaving Damascus, VA with Ms. Geology, July 2011

It's like losing an old friend.

Camping with Subie at the Mohican 100, June 2011.

A friend that, oddly enough, will be missed.

Last known picture of Subie in her element.  SVBC Mountain Bike Festival, October 2011.

The final resting place of Subie, November 2011.

Subie v2.0 has arrived, but still does not feel the same.

2004 Subie... semi-props if you know where this was taken. November 2011.

I've done a few MABRA cross races in the last few weeks, both in the Elite field.  Hour long races suck muchly, but racing in a field of 25 and starting at the back is much better than racing in a field of 125 and starting at the back.  Got lapped with one to go at Schooley Mill, and pulled myself before I got lapped at Rockburn.  The Rockburn day was not a total loss as I enjoyed some pump track sessions and a good old XC ride (on a 26er HT with flat pedals) before the race...

... Hey that's probably why I was so slow...

With three races left, I'm staring at the end of 'cross season now.  While I didn't do a ton of racing, and I didn't do a ton (read: any) training, I am happy with it nonetheless.  I had fun, I worked hard when I could, and I enjoyed the company of friends.  That's what cross season is really about.

Return to Sender

Spent last weekend out in Carlisle.  A friend of our was having her bridal shower, so while Ms. Geology went to that, I spent Saturday afternoon doing very adult things with the groom-to-be and his father.  Adult things consisted of discussing/arguing about the difference between conservative and liberal politics, discussing negligence laws, talking about cookies, and watching Harry Potter 7 (part 1).  All of those are clearly adult things.  We spent that night getting reacquainted with the G-man, and I spent the night wondering why only one of the bartenders there can make a whiskey sour that is WHISKEY sour as opposed to whiskey SOUR.  For the record, that bartender was not on that night.  Much fun was had.

The next morning, I had sort of planned on hitting up the MBM ride out of big flat (after a bunch of other plans fell through).  The 9 AM start to that deterred me, and I choose sleeping in and waffles at the hotel.  I headed down to Michaux for a solo ride, and ended up riding for a little bit with some dudes.  Don't remember who they were.  I took us 1:10 to get from the Furnace Stacks to the top of Bunker Hill (at Michaux Road).  Let me spell that out for you: one hour and ten minutes.  After clearing a good bit of the deadfall off Creek Trail (whatever we could get by hand, for we had no tools), we hit Bunker Hill and began to do the same thing.  After we crested that first little rise (having already cleared one section of deadfall) we were greeted by what more deadfall than I have ever seen on a trail.  It looked like someone had run along side of the trail with a chainsaw and cut all the trees down.  We walked from there until the gate and the hard road, which had been cleared by the power company or something.  After the short ride to Michaux Road, I split off from the dudes, abandoning my plan to head out to Tumbling Run via Creek Trails both because I didn't have time for that loop and because I thought that the top of the ridge would be more clear of deadfall (stuff should fall away from the top right?).  I headed straight uphill for the new ridge stuff.

Forgive the cell phone pictures.

Still can't get this one.

Classic PA chunkiness.

An autumnal moonscape.

Shortly after that, on the hard switchback on Traverse, I did something stupid and crashed.  Not in the typical Zach crash spot (in the switchback, trying to take the not-over-the-rock line), but right before it.  The leaves defeated me and I ended up on my back with legs up in the air, still attached to a bike that was standing on its front wheel with its back wheel up in the air against a tree.  I must have wrenched my shoulder, because it hurt.  I bailed down Cold Spring, rode back to the car and called it a semi-successful day.  Riding like this needs to exist where I live...

Two days later, I was back in Carlisle for this:

I guess I'm legit now...

Apparently I gave a really good talk, and lead a really good discussing about what is being done to improve Bay health in general.  Honestly, I was surprised, as I though my talk to be horribly dull.  It felt good to be in the presence of academic minds again; a refreshing reminder that I do know what I'm doing, and I am mostly intelligent.  Unfortunately, the professor I had most wanted to see is on sabbatical this year and did not feel the need to come.  I don't blame him since he lives almost three hours away.  Fortunately, an old professor of mine, someone who I admire and respect greatly happened to be visiting from the school she now teaches at.  That was a great surprise.  I hope she had some good discussions about diabase.  I do love me some diabase.

Damn renovations happening after I graduated!  Soooo much space now...

I wish I had this rock prep lab when I was in college.  

Just remember, here at C3-Athletes Serving Athletes presented by Twenty20 Cycling, we care...

Love.

This Race Made Possible in Part by Tom Mackay

HPCX.  I almost wasn't going to race this weekend.  Saturday night Ms. Geology helped throw an engagement party for a friend of ours that I had to attend, which meant no Beacon Cross for me.  Unfortunate; it looks like I missed a true hard man's 'cross race.

HPCX was good though.  I figured, I race at 3:45PM, why not go?  I knew I was in for a muddy mess, which suits me fine.  Tom Mackay, the gracious man that he is, offered to let me use the wheels off his pit bike for my race, after Fatmarc returned from his race and declared the Fangos a complete failure for the conditions out on the course.  Quite frankly, that both saved and destroyed my race.  In the time it took me to get his wheels on my bike, I managed to miss the start by about 15 seconds.  But the tires gave me enough amazing grip to work up through the pack rather quickly.  Except when running was involved, because I suck at running.  Unfortunately, my late start meant that I got 80% rule'd and pulled even before the leader lapped me.  Like well before.  I stood around at the finish line for at least a minute before he finished.  They've never done this before in a MAC B race that I have raced.  People will start to get pissy if the officials start doing this for the B race because the only reason I can think that they are doing it is that they want to get home earlier.  I find that unacceptable, but I'm just one of the fifty or so mid-pack B races so what do I matter?  Anyway, end rant.

I had a great time, and I might even race a MABRA race in a few weekends.

Final thought... I wonder how many people are considering upgrading and racing the Elite race just so they don't have to wait until 3:45 to race?  I know I am...

A Good Fall

[Insert obligatory appology for not posting for over a month]

Charm City.  Whirlybird.  Granogue.  All cross races near and dear to my heart.

C3CX Day 1- Enjoying me some Planter action before my bike fell apart.

C3CX Day 2- Bike was a bit long in the TT, but drove pretty well. Blue geometry > Van Dessel geometry?

Granogue Day 1- A little help from my friends.

Granogue CX Day 2- Those three behind me... that's the end of the race...

I need to become smarter at racing these courses.  I tend to have too much fun on the first day, burning more matches than I hold trying to ride run-ups, and in general finish as high as I can.  The thing is, I like having good rides on these courses.  It's all too easy to destroy myself and still have a day of racing left.  I managed to do ok with this at Charm City, but most of that probably had to do with the fact that I had a catastrophic crankset failure on lap three on Saturday.  Sunday I raced a teammates bike, and had a pretty darn good day.  It's great to be a part of that event.

Whirlybird was good too.  And muddy.

Granogue was a lot of fun, as always.  It's, again, great to be a part of this event, if only a small part.  Everyone chips in to make it happen.  Saturday's race was great.  Started 108th, finished 58.  One of these days I'd love a good start position.  I would hope I could make it at least into the top 20 of a cross race like I did two years ago at HPCX.  Enough complaining...  raced hard enough on Saturday that I got lapped and pulled on Sunday.  Only at Granogue...

In between some cross racing I got a few weekends off.  I decided to head down to the Shenandoah Valley Mountain Bike Festival in Stokesville, VA for some singletrack riding.  I definitely got my fill.  Narrowback night ride on Friday night, 54 mile Fatty ride featuring the Dowell's Draft, Road Hollow, and Braley's Hollow descents, and the 1.5 hr Hankey Mountain climb, the Confederate Breastworks climb, and the Bridge Hollow climb.  I hurted on that ride.  But getting to rally down Dowell's, Road, and Braley's was fantastic.  Road Hollow is the only one I hadn't ridden yet.  It was frighteningly skinny, off camber, rocky, swoopy sidehill singletrack.  Amazing.  Sunday I participated in the JV Squad and Friends Lookout Mountain ride.  Best singletrack I have ever ridden, hands down.  Following Sue Haywood down from the top of Lookout didn't hurt either.  The lower lookout also had the best view ever; a full display of fall in the Virginia Mountains.  Now with pictures.

The reward for a 1.5 hr plus climb... This and the Dowell's Draft descent.

Rollin...

The group I pretty much spent the day with.

Overlook at the Confederate Breastworks.

Wonder what's to the right?

Tired and happy after rallying down Braley's.  Only 14 or 15 miles to go!  Plus the bottom half of Hankey!

Lookout Mountain singletrack... primo.

JV Squad and friends.

Lower Lookout Mountain overlook, after a killer descent.  Words can't describe how amazing the VA backcountry is.  Many more trips will be in order.

Hopefully I'll be back in the 'cross scene for HPCX next weekend, but only if I can carpool with someone...

There also may be a Michaux trip in my future...

And so it begins...

I will admit straightaway: I had almost forgotten why I love cross.  About a month ago, it was just seeming like another thing I was going to be spending money on in order to switch my Van Dessel from road to cross mode.  Nittany reminded me why I love cross.  It was muddy, something we haven't seen for a solid year.

It was good.  Very good to be back in the cross ring.  I definitely came into it without any practice since I hung up my skinsuit last year, so I think I was a little rusty on my "cross skills." The good old Holeshot was definitely up to the task, as I think I've finally found a build that is both low maintenance, and light weight enough.  The only thing I could see changing are the wheels, but who has money for a fancy new pair of carbon hoops anymore right?  Lord knows I don't...

I think I enjoyed Sunday's course more than Saturday's, even though I failed to successfully ride the run-up/log combo during the race (rode it twice during practice).  I am happy with this, even though I was riding very slow.  I definitely don't have the top end speed I had at the end of last cross season.  Hopefully I'll be racing myself into that kind of fitness this year since I'm probably not going to be sticking to any kind of formal training program.  Just cross practice once a week (work permitting) and whatever other rides I can fit in during the rest of the week.  Work schedule is definitely picking up more as we are getting near to the end of the year as out timetable for submitting out yearly monitoring reports has been moved up to the end of October.  All the sudden, the end of the year is in October now.  Whouda thought that...

Fifty Seven Percent

Yesterday I finished 57% of the Shenandoah 100.  If you do your math, that's 57 miles, which put me right at Aid #4, conveniently staffed by my parents and Miss Geology.  That's the second NUE race I've DNF'ed this year.  The first one I was instantly ok with.  Not much I can do to fix a broken freehub in the field.  This one I was a little less ok with.  I'm still mulling over my decision to pull out at Aid #4.  I know it was the right choice, but it's still a tough decision to make.  It's not like I was cramping, or bonking, or having bike issues.  I was just moving really slowly.  I rolled into Aid #4 (remember, that's mile 57) at around 2:00 PM, 7.5 hours after the start.  I thought about it, and at the pace I was going (climbing specifically) it would have been another 5 hrs until I finished, if not more, due to late-race fatigue.  I know it's kind of a lame excuse, but that finish would have put me two hours behind my PR, and an hour behind my finish time from the first time I did the race.  I wasn't mentally ready for a 13 - 14 hour day, as I had been thinking I would be coming in under 10 hours.  It just wasn't happening.  I made it through the first climb of the day ok, spending a good bit of time climbing with Buck until he had to do his singlespeed thing on the steep parts and I elected to gear down.  I made it a good bit of the way up the singletrack climb (Lynn Trail????), which was nice, but I may have burned one two many matches there, as a lot of people walk it since it's so steep and so early in the race.  Coming down Wolf's Ridge, I crashed again.  No tire issues, no injuries like last year, and only one bike part failure!  I must have hit a soft, sandy patch because before I could actually do anything I went from railing a corner to rolling on the ground.  I got up, with no injuries whatsoever, and jumped back on my bike, pedaled once and realized that something was wrong.  My derailleur was no longer attached to my bike.  Oops.  I will give a +1 to the X12-style derailleur hangers, where the hanger itself is not meant to fail.  Instead the bolt that attaches the hanger to the frame is supposed to fail, which it did, saving my derailleur and my frame from damage.  I re-installed the derailleur with a new bolt and went on my way.  Shifting was in no way effected, which is the way I like it.

Got to Aid #2, and made the decision to roll through without stopping.  I still had food, and I still had drink.  I ended up off the bike early going up Hankey Mountain, so I should have probably stopped and ate some free food.  Anyway... Dowell's Draft was awesome, the folks at Aid #3 were mostly awesome.  The next climb sucked balls, although I did run into a few of my fellow Darksiders as I was walking up the singletrack.  They were walking down.  Definitely the last people I expected to see in the GW all the way down in Virginny.  Braley Pond kicked ass, and that was pretty much my race.  I rode back to the campground with a group of people who had the same idea that I did.

Oh well...

In older news, I had my best race ever at the Wilderness 101 a month ago.  Set a new PR of 9:10.  Very happy, even though I didn't break nine hours as I had hoped.

Now is time to forget how to ride for a day on end, and remember how to ride so hard that I want to throw up after 45 minutes.  This will be new, as I don't think I've done a race shorter than 4 hours since, oh, APRIL!!!