What a disappointment.
In cyclocross, I always seem to come into the season under raced. This year is no different. Actually it's more true this year than in the past because a barely raced all year and indeed, hardly touched my bike for tree whole months. Looking back at my journals, during the months of May, June, and July, I trained less hours each month than i do on a typical rest week. No wonder I was so out of shape!!
So basically I had NO racing since April at the start of 'cross season.
Anyway, on to Sunday's race report...
Emerald City Cyclocross Series #4, Donita Farms.The warm up: I just wanna say that this no warming up on the course SUCKS!!!!!!
I
want to be fexible and adapt. I really do. I'm trying to figure out an alternate way to be ready to race. So far (and especially this past Sun) I have not started a race feeling opened up and ready to go. It's been like half way over before I feel like i'm in my go-fast gear (which is why i feel like i've gone better in the second half of the races all year).
But getting yelled at by a little league parent is too much. When the courses have NO parallel open areas to scout it out, I HAVE to get on the course just to get around. That's gay. (Disclosure: I have a problem with authority, especially indiscriminant uses of said authority. So take it with a grain of salt and remember: I'm not an angry person. Really!! You'll like me, but i hate stupidity.) Every other series in the country seems to be able to work it out, why can't we? Supposedly the NW is a "hotbed" of 'cross so why make it like we're being babysat? Punish the offenders (as i'd like to do personally) and leave everyone else out of it. Don't stoop to the lowest common denominator, it brings everyone down. Lead by a positive example, not by making more rules for people to follow. But I guess our litigious society is a bad paradigm to break from.
Anyway, I'm glad the officials (who are really nice, fair, etc.) clarified when the course openings will be from now on. So i'll try that. Sigh. Okay enough whining.
Anyway, THE RACE:
I know i'm getting into form when I can make the lead group at the start. And that's what I did on Sun. I even got the hole shot (yes, i know i said i wasn't warmed up but it's a sprint!). But I threw it away. I tried to bunny-hop the only single plank on the course. I'd done it every time cleanly in practice. No prob. But not having done any "hot laps" and in the heat of the first lap, i was going too fast and didn't get the front wheel up high enough. I did a complete somersault, jamming my front brake under the rim and twisting my stem. By the time i got going again, i was like 20th place (or WAY out of it at any rate). I never changed to my #2 bike cuz the pit was at one of the fastest parts of the course and i don't have a pit guy to hold the bike out every lap (it's usually buried way in the back with others' backup-backup sets of wheels.)
Here's that nasty single, with a demonstration of proper bunny-hopping technique:
Anyway, the next few laps was realizing how much my legs hurt from such a sudden, violent effort. Really, I lost my fight right there. But on the second or third lap, i got caught by the leap group of Masters (like seven guys). They put about a minute on me til i realized they were playing soft-cock, not attacking each other. It looked like a Sunday club ride. So gradually i tried to reel 'em back in. Two or threee laps later, I made contact. After heckling the group a bit from the back (and resting a sec), we hit a road section and the group soft pedaled and fanned out across the road.
So I attacked the group. I think it was two or three laps to go.
A couple guys came out with me and the rest were dropped or followed wheels. The guys that reacted were strong and gapped me a bit. The wheel suckers (why is it that so many Masters racers are Cat 1 wheel suckers, but when it comes time to pull through, they act like scared little girls?) acted like fags, trying to pass at bottlenecks or similar places (instead of anywhere else on the wide open, grassy course.)
By the end, things were pretty much the same. I lost the sprint for 18th or something.
Results are
here.
It really sucks to throw away such a good start, but i vow revenge at Snohomish.
Here's some more pics of Donita.
#2. King Kong and Faye Wray (requires monkey suit)
#3. Barbarella and Pygar (lots of wings for sale at costume stores these days).
My favorite is Betty. I think she has what it takes to go all the way. She's personable, creative, has skills and a positive attitude in the heat of a head to head competition.
I just finished Marilyn Manson's The Long, Hard Road Out of Hell. I actually found this book because I'd just finished another one by the book's ghost writer Neil Strauss.
