Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Wrapping up the cross season

I didn't go out the way I had wanted with my first season of Cyclocross, but I am super stoked with how the season went as a whole.  I progressed pretty solidly throughout the season learning and building on my mistakes from racing every weekend, and had hoped for some good results, and a possible win, during the last two races.  Unfortunately, I learned I still have a lot more to learn.  I wasn't in the best riding form from a crash just a week before the second to last race at Irvine lake.  I fell on my left side and ended up shifting my sacrum and freezing up my right leg pretty good.  Quick accelerations or getting on and off the bike were no bueno, which thats pretty much what Cross is all about!

Enough excuses, the Irvine Lake race course was super fun, it had a nice little climb, and a few straightaways.  Adding in a rainstorm literally 5 minutes before our race started, made for some 'true' cross conditions in Socal.  Multi-time National CX champ Ryan Trebon was down training in the area and decided to race with everyone, and it quickly became a race for second.  I was leading the chase group after a lap or two when the course all of a sudden switched to a drivers course.  I got unexpectedly dropped on my side in a super slick left hand turn.  Unfortunately my shoe came unbuckled when this happened and I lost the chase group and rode the rest of the race by myself.  After experiencing some shifting problems, a flat, and having file tread tires on my 'B" bike I rolled through in 6th.

Just starting to get muddy...
The last race of the season was up in Nortwest LA at Pierce College.  I went into this race sitting in third overall for the series.  This season finale race offered 1.5x the points which meant I had the ability to drop all the way down to fifth or sixth depending on the outcome of this one race.

The course really suited me well with three solid climbs and some longer straightaways.  But for some reason when the whistle blew I just didn't have any pop in my step, and after having multiple people make errors ahead of me costing valuable time and positions, I was pretty stoked to roll through within the allotted distance from the riders that were breathing down my neck for third overall in the series.

I had no plans or goals racing cross this year and was mostly just using it for training, at first.  But I have 'applied the embro' and fully have the CX bug.  Every time Im out riding and I see a little park, or field or some trails I quickly put together a cross course in my mind.  I now want to use mountain bike racing as training for next cross season.  I want to go race in the freezing cold and sloppy mud, and barely be able to finish then lie to everyone and tell them I had fun doing it.

I ended up third overall in the Elite 'A' division for SoCal prestiges' cross series.  Overalls are scored on your best 9 races out of 17, and I barely squeaked in with 9 races total!  Couldn't be more happy about my result considering its next to cross master Brent Prenzlow (2nd) and Hammerhead Brandon Gritters (1st)  I had a lot of fun racing with everyone this season, and a big thanks to Dorothy and everyone that helped organize the series.  Most importantly thanks to Ellen for having the patience with me and allowing me to go race as mush as I did.  I couldn't have completed half the races if it wasn't for Gordon and Laurel's support over at Velo Hangar, the coolest most original shop ever!  And my coach Trevor Glavin of skinfit for allowing me to find the ability to ride at this level, heres to continual success!  Bryan Hill at Rehab United for helping me walk...and struggle to walk.  John Bailey for being an awesome guy, I did my first 4 races or so on his old bike from two years ago, thanks again for helping to give me the cross bug!

Time to start getting in more hours on the mountain bike and prepare for my ass kicking this next season, its gonna be interesting, so much more to still learn!

Photo Dump from the season...