Canton Cup CX

No pretty pictures from this one. Maybe something will turn up. Canton is sort of the hometown cx race for me, being only six miles or so from home, and less than two from work. I like this race, but maybe I've looked at it with rose-colored glasses because it's close to home. Or maybe now that I've had a chance to get used to the structure and organization of the big races (I've done five doubles already this season!), the missing attention to detail at races like this one is starting to bug me. Don't get me wrong, I still like its long, fast course with lots of pavement, but for $30 (x 400 riders) I think a timing service for full results, proper staging, and MUCH better course security are warranted. Maybe next year.

This event also sports a 3/4 Master 45+ instead of the standard 1-4. Kind of weird. But good for me, I guess. The race predictor had me 16th for this one. I thought I could do better, especially since I actually rode my bike twice this week. To further my cause, I broke my rule about never working on my cx bike. Deciding that having brakes that could actually slow me down might somehow help me ride around the course faster, at 8 PM Friday night I commenced to install new Swiss Stop pads in my aging Froglegs. The rears went OK, but since I'm a perfectionist (just because I hate working on bikes doesn't mean I'm a half ass), and my kitchen lacks a bench grinder, hand-filing the cable housings and all that (like drinking a Corsendonk) pushed it out to around 10 pm by the time I started working on the fronts.

This proved to be a pain in the ass, and the alloy pad holder on one side just wouldn't adjust and stay put. So I went to take it apart, and SNAP. The P.O.S. was all seized, and now it's busted. Fuckin' aye. Up to the bike room, rummaging through the junk bins eventually yields a pair of LX MTB cantis, the low profile kind. Well they have to work. I know they are not good with drop bar levers, so I set them up with the pads WAAAAAYYYYY out, and low and behold, they seem to be OK. Maybe that would have been my photo. I finished everything up about 12:40. Fuck.

Saturday I got to the race at 0900, getting on the course before the first event. Part two of my plan was committing to run a file tread on the front. I've been training on it all week (a pure file, no side knobs) and had confidence. With all the pavement here, and the tight sidewalk, I felt giving something up on the grass would be more than offset by gains on the pavement. Of course, I did not have one glued up for the rear. This year's layout was faster and bumpier than in the past, but there were no deal breakers as far as changing my tire plan. I rode as fast as I could around the corners, testing them by pulling the foot out Tim Johnson style. BTW, I realize riding no gloves is all the rage this year, with the Nine Ball Diaries surely being responsible for this, no matter what anyone tells you. Well, I consider gloves important safety equipment, and I wear them all the time. Long fingers and short sleeves. Sue me. Putting the foot out though, watch Tim, he does that all the time too. So screw you.

I tried a Michelin Jet on the rear, but it was underinflated and I was sliding all over the place. For the race, I compromised and put my aging red "slicker than owl shit" Tufo on the back. My logic was that it's sort of like a file tread, not as knobby as my Fango anyway. And I'm not an embro guy either, having made it 25 years without using ANY lotions, oils, butt lube creams, etc, but I won a bottle of Freddy's Choice warming oil at the Rehoboth TT, and I've been slapping some of that shit on my legs for good luck. Hasn't hurt yet. And so ends my intensive prep for this race. I got all of two minutes on the trainer before realizing it was 10:45 and I'd better go hang out next to the starting line and prepare for the rumble/clusterphuck. But I ended up second row anyway. Whatever.

On the whistle I got out pretty decently. Maybe I'm racing in a slower crowd or something, but my starts seem to have improved. At least I'm getting close enough to the front that there's some room to move. This being a 3/4 race, with no 4 only masters category on top, probably had something to do with that. I went into the woods in around 10th. Even more encouraging, it was a very tight line and the leader was just ten bike lengths ahead. This is something I'm not used to. But it would not last.

Down the sidewalk and over the barriers, so far so good. Into the twisties I was still on John Grenier's (Fuji) wheel, but then on the second 180, about halfway through, I dug in the left pedal and immediately ate shit. Luckily Chip and the other two guys close behind me went around rather than over me. I got up quickly, with only the three of them getting by, but I'd jambed my thumb really bad in the fall (but didn't break it, thank you full gloves). And of course crashing and scrambling up generally pushes one closer to his limits. I did not get back to the line of riders in time to draft on the running track, or the autobahn straight that comes later. Actually I don't think I got a second of draft off of anyone after the first half lap.

So this would not be the race of my life. The laps were fairly long, so we expected to do only four, and that was how it worked out. I worked back up to Chip and company on the pavement, but then the Paul Weiss (Portland Velo) caught me from behind. The next three laps would end up being a battle between me and him, as gaps opened in front and behind us. Tom Stevens told Paul from the sidelines he was 13th, which made me 14th. I tried hard to drop him on the second lap, but he was firm, and he passed me going through the short barriers. On the third lap I just stayed behind him as best I could, trying not to make any mistakes. I was kind of torn about chasing after the next guy (Doug Aspinall (Joes) I think, and focusing on beating Paul. I chose the latter, staying back until the end of the sidewalk section, then attacking up the little rise into the short barriers. Getting through there well, I charged around the gravel corral, but in the twisties he was coming back. I did NOT want to tow him around the track, so I attacked HARD on the short bumpy straight into the hairpin that led back toward the runup. I held several bike lengths lead and nailed the clip in and screwed down the track before he got a chance to catch the draft. Aspinall looked like he was coming back to me but on the homestretch he disappeared and even got scored ahead of Geoff McIntosh, so maybe he caught him. Anyway, I got 13th.

Afterward I cooled down and watched the 35+, and Mary came by with her two new puppies to spectate, but I was still on the trainer and never got a chance to chat. My man Dee from way back also came to spectate, as well as Il Brucie, and we took time to heckle the twin towers Gewilli and Trackrich mercilessly before high-tailing to Napper Tandy's for some post-race nourishment. Thanks for reading.

Downeast CX Day 2

Chasing Hamel into the barriers. Full left unclipped step-through and downtube grab for high uphill barriers. And no, I never practice.

Before I completely forget. After missing my callup on Saturday, I made sure that didn't happen. By Sunday I'd slipped far enough in Verge points to only be third row, but there was an empty slot in row two that I helped myself to. Only problem was that I'd only been around this layout twice, and there were a few spots I wasn't comfortable with. Well, not exactly the only problem. On the whistle I thought I was racing well, but so was everyone else, or so it seemed. My slide backward started early, like 1/4 of a lap in. The little off camber after the woods (not the big one with the barriers) gave me some trouble. Then I'd been warned about a slick spot over by the pumpkin barn, but I wasn't sure exactly where it was supposed to be, so I was too cautious over there too.

On the pavement I was OK again. Wayne Cunningham (Wheelworks) was not having a great day either and I ended up chasing him. Then on the third of five (or six?) laps, for the first time this year I was caught by the 55+ leaders, Timmy Groesbeck (CCB) and Ed Hamel (Joes Garage?), who had started 1:00 behind us. I let them through right away, figuring they'd pull me up to Wayne. But they seemed to slow down. I sat there and recovered, but then it was like "hey, he's getting away!" I had no choice but to ride around them and start chasing. They did not seem to mind, but I did not want to interfere with there race either. Having just had a half lap of recovery, I reeled Wayne in and passed him. But, as could be predicted, when I took a secret outside line along the tape in the twisties (there was tight grass there, and slick mud on the inside) he tried to come back around, and dumped it. The two 55+ did not get caught up in it though, and the three of us rode away. After one hard pull up the pavement and beside the cow barn, I waved them through again.



Here the Cronoman battles the ever present Cunningham on Saturday.


On the last lap I had five to ten seconds on Wayne. No 45+ were in sight ahead, I don't think. But Hamel tripped on the logs and fell. Tim rode away. I just followed, but Wayne pressed hard in the final half lap. So I rode safely until the asphalt and then lit it up, finishing up about 3:50 behind the 45+ winner, in 27th once again. We stuck around for all the later races too. You've seen some of the pics already. Thanks for reading.



Robin is an Adam fan, so she was really glad we stuck around to see the old guy spank the kids and get his first ever UCI CX win. And he's sportin' the Verge balls and schlong contrast stitching too, just like the new BOB kits.

Peoples

Robin and the Fortinis.



Solobreak, with Paul Weiss on this side of the camera for a change. He kicked my ass both days (for a change!) too.



JRA Brian, aka Evil McKneivel, and Robin.



The Cronoman and the lovely Ms. Hansen are hat models.



Pineland and Solo at sunset.

Downeast CX Day 1

There's no substitute for cubic inches. Your hero opens up the throttle to put some distance between himself, Derek, and Chip.

Since I didn't do so well, this might start off as a different sort of race report. If you were there, you might be bored. This is for those who missed it. Downeast was awesome. All the amenities of a Verge series race, but with only about half the people, in a huge and relaxing farm setting. The course was fantastic. Just about every surface you could imagine was included: heavy farm grass, groomed lawn grass, tacky mud, slippery mud, gravel, hardpack, pavement, concrete, and even little bits of sand and cow shit. I thought it was pretty Euro, especially the pasture and the 300+ meter paved incline that's missing from so many of our races. And there was some elevation change, but all of it was swoopy up and down for that roller coaster/berm-shot feel. On the Friday pre-ride, before the grass had been broken in, the course seemed sure to be heavy and slow, but after a few thousand laps of tamping, I ended up doing both days entirely in my 46T big chainring.



The weather was awesome on day 1, crisp and clear.



Me and Derek Griggs (KHS) seem to find each other every race this year. He told me I'm his top Crossresults nemesis.



Robin got another chance to race East-coast CX, doing the double in the 3/4 women. Big fields and cooler temps were a welcome change! Photo by Don McEwan

So like I mentioned yesterday, I started near the back. On the pavement I thought I did OK, but then at the first little roller coaster dip someone from ECV had a foot down for some reason and I got pinched. Then on the loose gravel behind the fire truck garage there was a sprawling crash, pretty much blocking the course. Great start. Not. Chip was right in front of me, but he moved up smartly for four or five spots while I got frustrated for most of first lap. This was my first race with not just one, but two Challenge Fangos gifted to me by Soups. They were better than my old tires, but my real problem is my bike doesn't fit me so well. The combination of short, 42 cm chainstays, HUGE setback, 15 mm too-long-for-me top tube and generous fork rake leave me with way too much rear weight bias. I've got the saddle almost slam-forward, and a 100mm stem, so my pedaling position is pretty close to my road bikes, but with no weight on the front wheel I just can't turn this thing on gravel or slippery stuff. At least that's my story. I've been chasing a new bike for a while now, but that's another frustrating tale, and it looks like I'll be on this sled for a bit more yet. I know, excuses...

On the pavement, as we see up top, I moved up. I may be a little (cough) heavy right now, and losing fitness, but I still found a turn of speed when I needed one. Eventually I settled in to a race-long battle with Derek, who just wouldn't go away. I'm not sure if we reeled in many riders or not, as sometimes it's difficult to tell who is a 55+ being lapped and who is just coming back in the 45+. In the end I crossed in 27th (I think 45 starters), a full 4:00 down on the winner. Not what I'd hoped for, but I honestly felt good the entire race, no dead laps, and I was digging for speed on all the power sections beginning to end. This was a real sprint workout for me. The only rest sections were in the tight turns, and the rest was out of the saddle, don't let up stuff. That's all I got today, enjoy the pictures, thanks for reading.

You write the caption

???

Solo and the announcer profilin' at, where else, the start/finish.

So it began

Pro tip: It's not a good sign when you're back there with the guys wearing full leggings and off-the-rack bike shop jackets.

We've got lots of media from the past weekend's racing, but not a lot of time today, so I'm going to feed this to you in byte-sized pieces. Saturday, my two lonely Verge Series points should have had me starting in the second row, but once again I wandered off to irrigate the pasture and missed my callup. Back of the group for you! Too bad, as we'd gone up on Friday and ridden six laps of the course, plus I got in two more the morning of the race. Of course on Sunday, I did start second row, but had only been around the new layout twice, and did not exactly have it dialed... But that's a story for later. Thanks for reading.

The King of Style

Lots of cool shit happened this weekend, but finally meeting up with The King of Style has to be some of the coolest. Ted and his bro were spotted spectating at Downeast CX on Sunday. In case you missed it, Mr. King signed with Liquigas earlier this month, Pro Tour baby, and there was much rejoicing. Thanks for the photos Ted!

Douching it up in Dot

Post race festivities with Les, Angel, and some poor girl unfortunate enough to be in our vicinity when the camera came out.



These are for Jonny, because he disses running so much.

No cross for me this weekend. Three reasons: I had stuff to do, I needed a break, and I'm not a muddah. And it was time for the Boston Firefighters 10k on Sunday. Last year my mate Les, an almost-retired firefighter from Chelmsford turned me on to this race and the magnificent after party. Florian Hall, headquarters of the BFD Local 718 is home to many great running races, but this one is the best of the best. Lots of races give you a free "beer" afterward (usually a cup of Coors Light...) but how many have you two-fisting Sam's Octoberfest for three hours after crossing the line? This one does. And we did. As you can see, the band has gone home, the parking lot is emptying, and we're...

Oh yeah, the race. This is a super flat and super fast 10k out and back, straight up Morrisey Boulevard, around UMass, and back. Around 800 runners turned out, many of them firefighters, but with both the pub series final and the Bay State marathon going on the same day, not a ton of serious club runners come out for this one. Which is fine with me. I've been running at least twice a week, but my fitness has been in a steep decline of late, for various reasons. Darkness, burnout, non-athletic activities... you know how it is. And nearly all my running has been on the steep, rocky trails of the Blue Hills this year, not exactly speedwork. I've only run one race this fall, the Walpole 10k where I opened the season with a 41:05. Now last year, on zero training, I put in a 42 something at Walpole yet roared back for a 38:49 at the BFD10k, in the pouring rain. So I really had no idea how this would turn out. My plan was to go out at 6:25-6:30 and see what happens.

I did not get in a great warmup, and my second PB&J of the morning was probably one too many. Not only that, but since it was 38 degrees when I got up, I expected chilly weather and only brought a long sleeve jersey to run it. Well it warmed up a lot by 10, but at least the wind was coming off the water pretty good. After meeting Les, I cued up near the front and off we went. I had almost twenty runners in front of me, and it felt pretty easy, but then I noticed Brendan Lynch (HFC) was leading, but really not very far ahead. This indicated I may be running too fast, so I slowed a little. After a half mile things opened up, but my HR was still only 140, so I held my pace. The first mile came up in around six flat. Hmmm. maybe too fast. Feeling OK, I did not slow down much, and before long my HR was 150. Then 154 as mile two passed in 6:14. Now I was worried. If my HR got to 157, I slowed a bit. Some of the other runners had faded and now things were spread out. Entering the UMass campus, I found myself in a three way battle with the lead woman and the lone wheelchair racer.

On one side of the school there was no wind and it got warm. The loop is totally flat. The third mile was 6:22 and now we were going straight into the wind. The wheelchair dude was bumming at this point. I drafted off anyone I could, but back on the boulevard mile four had taken 6:28. This was still keeping the HR at 157 or less, but now with two miles to go I figured I could run it up a bit more. Mile five was 6:21. It's all flat, so not much to talk about here. One dude did come from behind and pass me. By staying on him a bit I dropped the wheelchair and the lead woman. But then I got dropped. Too bad, as he reeled in at least one more guy. My HR was 160+ now, and I was doing my best to find some turnover. I've had a nasty blister on one foot all season too, and now it was hurting. They had a mile six marker and that came in 6:22 as well, then I think I fell apart a bit in the final .217. Crossed the line with an official time of 39:14, so 25 seconds slower than last year, 11th overall. I think this works out to a 6:20 pace.

I was not as wrecked as normal post-race, so maybe I didn't try hard enough, or maybe I just metered my energy better and did not have to die a thousands deaths the entire second half like I usually do. Les came in at 46 something I think; he only got beat by one woman with a baby jogger. She was no match for him at he beer truck though. His buddy Angel from the New Bedford FD (kneeling in front, top pic) kicked my ass with a 38:30 but since the firefighters get their own awards, I still got 3rd in the 40-49. Thanks for reading.

Providence and Gloucester

Gewilli and Solo going by the pit on lap two. I will write this up later. Photo courtesy of JLS

Well I guess I never even wrote up Gloucester. Here is the reader's digest version: Day 1, downhill start, 5th row middle on the grid, got to the right edge of the pavement, taking the inside high line onto the off-camber dirt. Well, apparently someone else had an idea of inside that was more inside than mine, and I got cleaned out as he squeezed by. Getting your bars walloped from behind just as you hit sloping gravel at speed buys you a quick ticket to the ground. Lucky for me none of the 40 guys bearing down from arears ran me over too badly, and I even got up and remounted before they all passed. But so much for a good start. I don't recall too many other details, other than making decent forward progress for a while and then tangling with my teammate the Cronoman, who races me harder than anyone else. That was dirt trip number two if you're keeping score. At the end I got caught by a back-from-an-earlier-tangle-with-somebody Helicopter Matt D. Going for the big ring after the last chicane I could not get the chain to jump up, so instead I executed plan B and paddled the rear changer to the 12. And of course the front then decided to go up to the 46. At the time I did not realize what had happened, and the gear was so big it felt like the rear wheel had popped out and was rubbing the chainstays. I could barely turn it and in the last hairpin on to the pavement I'm thinking "how did that happen with vertical dropouts?" which of course it did not, but that's the sort of thing that goes through my mind during moments like this. So I got nowhere near Matt in the sprint, and ended up 29th on the day, which really wasn't bad for two crashes and a 78 rider starting field. I was 4:10 down on the winner though, nothing to be proud of. Spent the rest of the day drinking beer with Timmy, Crono, some other mates, and of course Paul Nixon. Guess I remembered more than I thought. It's coming back to me now. At Gloucester, the beer tent (which was more of a corral to contain the area where beer sales were licensed for the day) is situated in such a way that all you could see was the run-up. If they really want more people to hang around, they should a) make it much bigger, and b) put it over on the edge of the hill where you can see everything, and c) put a big screen in there. Or something like that.

Day 2 at Gloucester at least we started uphill. I should have been in the third row, but they announced "six minutes to staging" and I went to do one little sprint and came back to find five rows already staged. It was a total shit show; they may as well have just done the traditional rush to the line. On the gun I just rolled up the inside, then did the "second sprint" to move up a few places entering the grass. In the video you can see I come through 41st, so not a horrible start by my standards. I thought I had a good ride, but I don't remember much at all at this point. In the end I was again 29th, after a mad sprint finish against Bill Thompson (Keltic) which I proudly took from the front by delaying as long as possible and then matching his jump, almost like I knew what I was doing. Same result by placing, but this time only 3:12 back from winner, which is more like it.

I did not race at Night Weasels. But just in case I did, for Providence I registered for the 35+ on Saturday, and the 45+ on Sunday. My logic was after a rough week at work and a late Wednesday of Weaseling, the extra hour on Saturday morning would come in handy. Plus the 35+ has the course all to themselves, so it's a more legit race, not to mention having Gewilli and Shah-Bow for company. In the end, I barely recognized anyone on the start list for the Weasel, and it was cold and rainy Wednesday night. I even got as far as working from the Framingham office in order to be closer to the event. At 5 pm however, sitting in my car in the parking garage, staring at the gas guage on "E" and thinking about driving home at midnight with a muddy bike and clothes, the Should I stay or should I go decision was to just drive home. Night Weasels was by young people for young people, and I'm old people. It was the correct decision...

Thursday I even found time to ride my road bike for 45 minutes, my first ride since Sunday. Friday was another busy day at work (new chain of command), but I forced myself onto the trainer for the first time this fall for "openers" which meant a little pedaling just to prevent rigor-mortis. Saturday I had some errands to run, which I did on the way to the race. Pressed for time, I checked out a lap of the course wearing a helmet and street clothes. Then the 45+ went off, leaving Timmy's trainer vacant, so I got kitted and warmed up, a little anyway. Somehow I got to start in the second row, right next to Markie Mac. My plan was to give it a try, but slide back to where I belonged early on, as the 35+ are much faster than the 45+ (even though the two out of the top three guys are over 45). Sure enough, by the time we hit the second turn, the only one behind me was Gewilli, and I think he passed me too. I was really trying to just follow Chabot, as he's pretty smooth and fast, but weak enough that I should be able to use the straights to close any gaps.

Some riders started falling by the wayside with bike issues early on. They should try my strategy of hardly ever letting tools and bikes get near each other. Up on the nasty top part of the course, Gewilli had the back wheel of his bike flopping back and forth like the tail of a beached mermaid. Mofo is not easy to follow. He got away by a few spots, but once we got back to the pavement, completing lap one, Shah-Bow had a line of about six guys behind him. As if he has a motor. Sensing the urgency of the situation, Willi blasted up the side to the aid of his team mate and hit the front. It was kind of touching and impressive in an elementary school play kind of way, seeing the kids work together in their little matching suits. But now I had six bodies between me and the only two guys I cared about racing against, so I was forced to leave the comfort of the pack and mover around everyone to get behind them before the grass. Which I did, and I think the pic above was snapped shortly after that. Not sure where Shah-Bow is, but I'm thinking he moved back in front. It was right after this that I made the "he's like a Subaru Justy" comment. That came to mind because it's a 3 cylinder, and he wasn't exactly hauling, but perhaps Fiat X1/9 would be more like it, good handling, no motor. Mostly I was just trying to heckle them in a calm voice to demonstrate contrast from Willi's gasping for air.

I believe we completed another lap without anyone really challenging our train. Then at the start of lap 3, Matt M came by us, apparently coming back from a tire issue. Knowing he was younger/stronger/faster than the clowns I was with, I jumped on his wheel, hoping for a tow to the promised land. We got through the 180 by the pits smooth and faster than I usually go, which of course took us to the next turn, a high-speed 45 degree off-camber left-hander around a tree, much faster than I was planning on taking it. Matt used up ALL the course, bobbling a bit on the exit as he flirted with the tape. Well, I was not so fortunate, and basically careened out wide, taking a stake with the front wheel just as it was sliding out from under me. Relatively heavy impact, but it was soft ground and I held the bars all the way down (that is how you keep your clavicle from getting busted). With Chabot on my wheel, I immediately went fetal and waited for the aftershock, but he did not hit me that hard. He was able to get up and take off fairly quickly. I lay there stunned for a second before getting to my feet and rolling away. Being pretty close to my limit just before the crash, I was now totally blown from the impact. And I had to stop and straighten my shifter, which Jerry must have landed on or something. Giving desperate chase, I was way into the red and tripped on the stairs, dropping the chain of the bike in the process. Everything going from bad to worse. It took a clumsy and slow half a lap for me to regain my composure, eventually passing a rider or two and getting maybe 15 seconds behind Gewilli. I got to two to go and heard them saying the leader had 1 to go while I was riding up the hill behind the pavilion. Taking a last minute run at Willi on the final lap was on my mind, even though it was a longshot. But then they pulled us entering the final straight! Huh? I was like WTF Kinnen, we're not lapped, and she says "80% rule." Well I'll be damned. To the uninitiated, this is a rule where if you're 80% of the leader's lap time behind, you're all done, even if you're not actually lapped yet. This was the first time I'd seen it used in an amateur event. Never had taken the time to understand it before, as it only applied to the pro race. So I looked it up, finding it contains an exception for when the leader is on his/her final lap, which in this case they were. So it would seem the rule was mis-applied in our case, as we were taking the bell at the point we got pulled from the race. The next time the leader crossed (about a minute later) his race was OVER AND WON, meaning of course we were not in any danger of being lapped, which is the reason for the last lap exception. Hopefully the officials learned something from our protest and see it our way in the future... At any rate, I still got in 45 minutes and five laps, which is all I would have got in the 45+ race had I done that, so with a race on Sunday coming up, I took this in stride. We stayed in the park and drank beer while watching the other races all afternoon. A true ritual.

Sunday I was in the 45+ where I belonged, which meant getting there a little earlier. The layout was another familiar Roger Williams Park course, with some sketchy narrow sections fenced off to facilitate using as much of the park as possible. Again I got to start in the second row, as my lonely two Verge series points earned me a call up. This time I was behind Carl Reglar (Danbury Audi). On the whistle he missed his pedal, but I managed to get to the left (inside) and make a fair sprint to the grass. After two turns and I'm looking around and the guys I'm with are all the people who've been finishing minutes ahead of me all year, so I guess this was a good start. Probably my best ever. Into the chicane I'm clusterphucking the inside line around the fencing and this dude from Beacon Cross takes exception, body checking me into the fence. Whatever, as I'm pulling a dick move, but if I don't do it someone else will. So on the next fence pole, I do it again, and this time the guy gets really pissed, slam-chopping me again. Kind of silly as I think it cost him time, so I guess he wanted to make a statement. Turns out he was the guy who won the 45+ race on Saturday. He rode off and I never saw him again. But I must have had a really great start to be up that far!

The turn where I bailed on Saturday was also part of the course on Sunday. During warmup, I'd had Saturday's 35+ winner, 51 year old national champ and ex-ISDT pro Kevin Hines give me a riding lesson. Thank you Kevin, this was a big help, and I got through there clean as a whistle every lap. I found myself in a train with Brian McGinnis (JRA), Dave Belknap (Cycle Lodge) and a few others. Like I said, guys who have been ten spots ahead of me all year. I struggled with the lines in a few sections but for the most part it was the same as last year so it was not too bad. I stayed with these guys for two laps. It looked like we were going to do six. One by one these guys trickled by me, and then going up the pavilion slog I got gapped off. Seems maybe my Saturday recovery strategy of nothing but beer between my pre-race meal and 6 pm fish tacos was catching up to me. Classic middle of the race bad patch, and the group rode away. Bob Bisson (Gearworks) and a few other guys came by from behind too. Prior to the slide, someone had said I was 18th. With about two to go I got a bit of a second wind, and by now I had the course figured out better. Soups was still in sight in front of me, but I had Keith Button and Andy Durham (both CCB) breathing down my neck. I realized that downshifting more was better, as I couldn't muscle the climbs as easily as on the first lap or two. With one to go my goal was to hold off Keith, so I started really sprinting out of every corner, then recovering going in to avoid mistakes. This worked out well, as did my 36x27 on the steep ride up, and I held him off, finishing 19th, just 3:01 down. I guess several guys ahead of me had issues and dropped out. My mate Billy C had crashed heavily behind me somewhere, cracking a rib or two. Wonder if it was the same one he broke when I fell on him in May 2009? Heal up dude.

After a cooldown ride we focused on draining the cooler. We had a number of special guests stop by our campsite. I promised someone, whose name I don't recall, that I would pimp Phit Pills on the blog, so there you go. Today I got to ride my road bike. And Gewilli gave me some sauce to eat, maybe tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

Gloucester Tease

No time for a meaningful post, so I may just trickle out some great images from the weekend to try to tell the story with pictures for now. Here is your hero on the finish hill, day 2, courtesy of Nick at bicykel.com Thanks for viewing..



The pavilion turn, day 1.Courtesy of Nick at bicykel.com.



Battling Wayne C, early day 2.Courtesy of Nick at bicykel.com .



Day 1, hurdle pain, eagle face.Courtesy of Nick at bicykel.com.



Chicane action, unclipping, day 1.Courtesy of Nick at bicykel.com.



Hurdles, day 2.Courtesy of Nick at bicykel.com.



Hurdles, day 1.Courtesy of Nick at bicykel.com.



Off-camber concentration, day 2.Courtesy of Nick at bicykel.com.