I'll keep this post pretty simple. I was sick all week with the flu - still not feeling 100% today. So even though I registered to race at Granogue, I didn't feel well enough to do so. Soent the entire day photographing what I'll call the EPIC race of the year. This is cross at it's best.
All Granogue race photos can be found here!
I also wanted to try something a bit different on the slide show I usually run of my favorite race images of the day. Muddy cross looks just so great in B&W, so I did all my favorites in B&W fading into the color verson. Hope you enjoy!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
...and the crossing continues.....Hillbilly Hustle V.4
Looking at my schedule for the past weekend I hadn't planned on racing any cross - had a soccer game to coach Sunday afternoon and just didn't see any races closeby that worked for me. Then early last week I came across the Hillbilly Hustle about an hour away in NJ. Must of missed this posting earlier in the season. Looking at BikeReg and saw the prereg was pretty low so I passed on prereg.
Woke up on Sunday to a beautiful sunny day - great day for a cross race. Get to the venue and see Teammate Dennis Smith as well as the FSVS Trio. Get out to ride one lap of the course. Pancake flat, some nice technical sections and a few too many (for me) longer flat sections. Get to the line up with 31 racers in the Masters 44-54 group. The nice thing about smaller races is there are really no bad spots lining up. I started out in the 2nd row which has been my best starting position yet this year!..yea, there were only 3 rows :)
Get a decent start so I thought...looking at some race photos, over the 1st set of barriers which were about 1/4 way thru the lap I was in around 17-19th place - not as good as I thought. Over the course of the race as usual I was good thru the technical sections and only lost positions in a few of the longer flat section where the ground/grass was a bit loomy - just couldn't keep my speed up thru these sections - mental note to work harder in these section at my next race. Around Lap #3 I make my pass by Dennis Smith - I can't tell if this is where Dennis cracks a bit or I get my 2nd wind. All three races this year I swear I make my pass by Dennis on about the 3rd lap. Almost immediately after passing over the 2nd set of barriers I remount, head into a small wooded section at the end of the lap and take a large stick into my front wheel - Damn! Had to stop and after a few frantic pulls was able to get it out, but in doing so I lost all the postions I just gained. Back on and thru the Start/Finish - made a mental note not to panic and shortly get myself back up to the back of the group I was riding with. We actually had a nice race going on with our group. Myself, Dennis Smith, Dave Troop & Mike Czupryna from FSVS as well as a few other riders riding off of the main front group. By now I have all my lines dialed in and am feeling pretty comfortable - back is a bit sore, but ok. Finishing off th 2nd to last lap I'm riding on FSVS Dave's wheel over the sand pile of doom and thru the turns into the set of barriers. I call an inside line around a 180 left on FSVS Dave and decided to bail on it as I was afraid I was going to force him outside and to probably stall a bit. Then there was an immediate 180 right Dave went out way wide left almost into the tape so I did take the inside line - Not sure the race ediquite on these situations (maybe I should ask), but if it was any other team I would have forced myself on that first inside line and taken the corner - no second guessing ..... is it all fair in love an war or play nice with your DCCoD friends?
Over the barriers and I'm sitting right on Daves wheel - throw him a comment to get going. I think at that point he may have waive me on, not sure, but I went. Did something I usually don't do and made an actual attack off the front of our group. Yea, those are two things that usually don't go together all that often, me racing and the word attack - I'm more of a one speed type racer and get to the finish thru attrition and steady work. So thru the start/finish on my last lap and I'm laying down a quasi attack. I actually get a decent gap on the group looking back and not seeing anyone closing. Tough thing was I was riding in the middle of no mans land - off the front of a grop behind me and not seeing anyone to chase in front. I made it about 1/2 way thru the lap before I see FSVS Dave and a guy from Liberty Cycle slowly cosing in. Not sure if I was fading faster or they were riding just stronger - probably a combination of both. Both catch me and pass with about a 1/4 of the lp remaining and leave me for dead. Just didn't have it to try and catch back up. I finished off the lap just keeping FVSV Mike off my wheel.
Ended up finising 11th/31. Looking at the resuls after the race I could have kicked myself. I guess when I was in my quasi attack and not seeing anyone to chase, they were there...just must have been hiding out of site as 7th place was just 19 seconds ahead.
Fun day racing cross in New Jersey
Michael
Woke up on Sunday to a beautiful sunny day - great day for a cross race. Get to the venue and see Teammate Dennis Smith as well as the FSVS Trio. Get out to ride one lap of the course. Pancake flat, some nice technical sections and a few too many (for me) longer flat sections. Get to the line up with 31 racers in the Masters 44-54 group. The nice thing about smaller races is there are really no bad spots lining up. I started out in the 2nd row which has been my best starting position yet this year!..yea, there were only 3 rows :)
Get a decent start so I thought...looking at some race photos, over the 1st set of barriers which were about 1/4 way thru the lap I was in around 17-19th place - not as good as I thought. Over the course of the race as usual I was good thru the technical sections and only lost positions in a few of the longer flat section where the ground/grass was a bit loomy - just couldn't keep my speed up thru these sections - mental note to work harder in these section at my next race. Around Lap #3 I make my pass by Dennis Smith - I can't tell if this is where Dennis cracks a bit or I get my 2nd wind. All three races this year I swear I make my pass by Dennis on about the 3rd lap. Almost immediately after passing over the 2nd set of barriers I remount, head into a small wooded section at the end of the lap and take a large stick into my front wheel - Damn! Had to stop and after a few frantic pulls was able to get it out, but in doing so I lost all the postions I just gained. Back on and thru the Start/Finish - made a mental note not to panic and shortly get myself back up to the back of the group I was riding with. We actually had a nice race going on with our group. Myself, Dennis Smith, Dave Troop & Mike Czupryna from FSVS as well as a few other riders riding off of the main front group. By now I have all my lines dialed in and am feeling pretty comfortable - back is a bit sore, but ok. Finishing off th 2nd to last lap I'm riding on FSVS Dave's wheel over the sand pile of doom and thru the turns into the set of barriers. I call an inside line around a 180 left on FSVS Dave and decided to bail on it as I was afraid I was going to force him outside and to probably stall a bit. Then there was an immediate 180 right Dave went out way wide left almost into the tape so I did take the inside line - Not sure the race ediquite on these situations (maybe I should ask), but if it was any other team I would have forced myself on that first inside line and taken the corner - no second guessing ..... is it all fair in love an war or play nice with your DCCoD friends?
Over the barriers and I'm sitting right on Daves wheel - throw him a comment to get going. I think at that point he may have waive me on, not sure, but I went. Did something I usually don't do and made an actual attack off the front of our group. Yea, those are two things that usually don't go together all that often, me racing and the word attack - I'm more of a one speed type racer and get to the finish thru attrition and steady work. So thru the start/finish on my last lap and I'm laying down a quasi attack. I actually get a decent gap on the group looking back and not seeing anyone closing. Tough thing was I was riding in the middle of no mans land - off the front of a grop behind me and not seeing anyone to chase in front. I made it about 1/2 way thru the lap before I see FSVS Dave and a guy from Liberty Cycle slowly cosing in. Not sure if I was fading faster or they were riding just stronger - probably a combination of both. Both catch me and pass with about a 1/4 of the lp remaining and leave me for dead. Just didn't have it to try and catch back up. I finished off the lap just keeping FVSV Mike off my wheel.
Ended up finising 11th/31. Looking at the resuls after the race I could have kicked myself. I guess when I was in my quasi attack and not seeing anyone to chase, they were there...just must have been hiding out of site as 7th place was just 19 seconds ahead.
Fun day racing cross in New Jersey
Michael
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