case of the hefty hooker
You gotta feel sorry for the bike…
CX 2007 #6 - State Championships
34/95 in the B1 race, 23 for the Cat 4 field
This was my first race in 3 weeks, and my first after a bout of pneumonia. I felt well-recovered, but a little unsure of how i’d feel, having ridden only once in that 3 weeks, and not at all hard. As it turns out, i was fine. My lungs weren’t any worse afterward than any other average ‘cross race; ie., not happy, but not on fire like when i got sick.
There were a couple of interesting changeups for this race. First and biggest was the re-arrangement of race waves. I’ve been doing 30-minute C races, but this time the C race was only the cat 4 women and juniors. I was in the B1 race, 35 minutes, with only cat 4 men and singlespeeders. This was interesting because i was riding with a few cat 4s who have been doing mostly B races. Between the extra competition and being a little cautious pacing myself, i finished lower than usual as of late, but i’m still happy with it. A nice side benefit was being able to cheer for people i’d otherwise be racing against.
The second difference was the course itself, which was a lot different than the last couple of years. The hilltop usually used for the big finish line was consumed by giant dirt piles, so course wound around the park very differently; twistier and more technical, and without some of the sheer pain (hill climb) and fitness (1 less straightaway) sections from previous versions. This was probably good for me overall, given my condition going into the race.
I got a respectable start, in the mid-20s as we came around the loops for the finish line. I lost a couple of places most laps on the long runup, but otherwise held steady through the typical reshuffling through the first 2 laps. The next pass of the finish line showed 4 to go, which is my longest cx race of the year for me by lap count, but i was able to pace it ok. By the last 2 laps i found myself leapfrogging with 2 other riders and getting increasingly annoyed with their hesitation and sloppy technique around barriers and a couple of the course sections. Not that i’m a prime example of buttery smoothness, but i was almost taken out a couple of times when i was trying to pass. I can’t complain too much as they obviously had a fitness edge, re-passing me on the straights. I finally had enough though and caught them both for good 1/2-way through the bell lap and getting almost within grasp of the next group.
I was really impressed by the strength and speed of the SS racers this time out. There were 11 of them ahead of me, 3 in the top 5 for the race. I don’t know if they’re just that good, or if the course was particularly well-suited to it, but i think i gotta try me some of the singlespeed racing action.
I didn’t get to hang out for the festivities because my girls were along to cheer and play, but it was a lot of fun to have them to a race. Thanks to my fellow rodents for the support and another really fun ‘cross season.
all hail the Z-pack
Well, i’ve been back on my feet for a week or so now, just not writing much. I was bed-bound and fevered for 2.5 days after the last race, but the antibiotics kicked in pretty fast, and i was back up to the level of snotty head cold by last Thursday.
The antibiotic i got was Azithromycin, aka (to those in the industry) as the z-pack. My fevered reaction at the time was “last time i needed antibiotics, i got Arithromycin. If they’re up to Azithromycin already, we’re in deep shit with the ‘mycins.” That gets a laugh from medical people every time. Go on, try it out.
For those (like me) missing out on the ‘cross action, a nice little tidbit via pinchie:
Now THAT’S a real cyclocross course. I love the guys who go “over the balustrade”.
I’ll be back for state championships in another week and 1/2, well-rested. And well, really well-rested. I’ve ridden about 16 miles total since my last race, and not exactly training miles at that. No, wait, I’m not resting… i’m in hard taper.