My First Cross Race - Louisville

November 7, 2005

photos here were taken during a practice run around the course. I did not race with my iPod.

For my birthday this year my brother bought me a Lemond Poprad Cyclocross bike. These look like regular road bikes except with wider, knobby tires. There are some other special features like dual brake levels and different geometry, but at a quick glance they aren’t really distinguishable from regular road bikes. Since cyclocross takes place on varying terrain, including grass, bumpy dirt, gravel, and pavement, ‘cross bikes are usually made out of steel because of the softer ride. Cyclocross was started as a way for road cyclists to cross train during the fall and early winter and now that is the racing season for this sport. The courses around here are always loops and involve nearly constant up and down across all sorts of terrain and always including 12-18” high barriers that force the rider to dismount and carry his bike. Okay, that’s my complete knowledge of cyclocross and even some of that might be inaccurate.

Even before I got a ‘cross bike I wanted to try a cyclocross race. My friend Mike Record showed me the ropes many years ago. We only did it once and all of us used mountain bikes. We didn’t have any barriers, but we faked it, forcing ourselves to get off and run with the bikes at specific locations. Some people race ‘cross on mountain bikes and they aren’t a big handicap, certainly not at my level, but most who race use specific ‘cross bikes.

I say that I wanted to try a ‘cross race, but apparently that was only in theory since I had been avoiding actually entering a race. I was intimidated by my lack of mounting/dismounting practice and handling skills. I didn’t want to embarrass myself. I didn’t want to get last. I didn’t want to get lapped.

I finally decided to enter a race today, but it was in doubt right up to the time I turned over my check. I even signed up for the wrong category. They asked and I answered, “Cat. 4”, but I meant to say, “35+, Cat. 4”. I raced the 35+ Cat. 4 division anyway, since I didn’t realize my mistake until the middle of the race when I finally recognized that I had a different series of number on my back. When I finished I called out, “I’m in this race!” and then went back to confirm it with the results people. I hope they get the official results correct, but I didn’t hang around to check.

The race was at the Louisville Recreation Center, only about four miles from my house, so I biked over. It was a bit chilly so I rode over in my armies and leggies and a vest and a hat, but I didn’t race with any of it. They let you warm up on the course even with another race going on. You just had to be away when racers were coming and to get out of the way. It worked out great and I know of no one having a problem with this. The course was a loop that lasted about 6-7 minutes. We started with a fast run on a gravel and then paved bike path, up a hill to a 180-degree turn and then through a volleyball sand pit, where you had to run it if you went down the middle, but I noticed the top riders in the previous race could go along the left side for half of it, then plunge in and ride the second half. I used this technique to good effect in my race.

After the sand pit we rode along pavement for about a 100 meters before plunging down a very steep, very bumpy grass hill with two turns in it. Then we crossed a culvert (with boards laid down over it), and up a very steep hill with two barriers, so you had to run this hill. Then we went a few hundred meters on a flat, gravel bike path before plunging down an off-camber grass hill to a 120-degree turn and back up a steep grass hill (ride-able). Another hundred meters of bike path and we did a similar drop down on the left side, then back up and over the bike path to a steeper drop on the right side to a 160-degree turn to a steep hill with two barriers. Back on the bike path for another 100-meters to a 90-degree left turn where we rode along the dirt/grass for 100-meters to a very steep hill that was ride-able, but just barely. I ran this early in the race because of congestion and rode it the last 3-4 laps. It was questionable whether running it was faster than riding it. At the top of this steep hill, we went along a slight rise with two barriers before dropping steeply down a hill to a 120-degree left turn back onto the starting bike path.

All the races were run criterium-style, meaning they were designed to run a certain amount of time and after a two or three laps they’d put up the “5 laps to go” sign and you’d know exactly when the race would end.

I almost missed the start because it was on the other side of the course from the finish. I didn’t realize this until just a few minutes before the start. I was wondering why the field was so small for my race. As it turned out, we had the largest field so far that day. Fifty riders queued at the start including my friend and competitor Dan Miller of the ICCC racing team. I had one Rocky Mounts – Izze teammate, but I didn’t know him. I knew he was fast, though, as Dan told me about racing him earlier in the year.

Dan won the last ‘cross race he entered and he planned on winning this one, so he was queued right at the front. Dave ?, the prolific race announcer who also worked the Tour of Georgia this year, was on hand to call this race. This guy is outstanding. He makes every racer think they are at the world championships. He hypes each race and does exciting commentary non-stop throughout the race. He mentioned during the race before mine that “You can’t win a ‘cross race in the first two laps, but you can definitely lose it. You have to be in position to be in position to be in position.”

The hole shot at the start of the race is key if you want to be in contention. This being my first race, I was not planning on being in contention and I lacked confidence in my skills and didn’t want to split the field with a crash of mine. I started way back, in about 40th position. With fifty racers on a bike path, things were a bit crazy for the first lap until things got spread out and by then Dan was off the front and just killing it. He’d go on to win it, tape to tape.

I pulled my sand pit trick and passed a few people but lost a position going down the steep, very bumpy hill. A practice run down this hill had me ditching my water bottle since there was no way it would stay put. I did the race without a bottle and I suspect most racers do the same. There are two opportunities to drink on the course, when you’re on the bike path, and other than that you need to be hanging on to your bars with both hands.

Each lap, I moved up through the field, passing people usually at the top of the steep hills which required running. They’d be gassed from the effort and I’d hop on my bike and put some distance on them on the flat bike path section. I’d always work for a cushion before hitting the difficult off-camber stuff so that I wouldn’t be tempted to push too hard and crash.

The field quickly strung out and small groups were formed. Passing wasn’t as difficult as you’d think. Certainly there were spots where you couldn’t pass, but these were the exception. On the grassy areas, you could easily pass, though it meant taking a bumpier line. All the barrier sections were very wide – three racers could easily take them at the same time. Besides the top of the steep barrier hills, my favorite place to pass was on the uphill paved bike path section. Each lap I’d pass at least a couple riders here, at least until we got within four laps to go and I had found my niche.

I had ridden the sand clean and had lots of momentum going into the finish line with four laps to go. I passed three riders here and hit the top of the steep, bumpy hill just in front of them and doing a ton. I didn’t want to lost my position and took this hill too fast. I couldn’t make the turn at the bottom and went wide, off the course a bit. I was bumping along so badly that I bounced my chain right off the bike. I’d learn after the race that everyone uses something called a “third hand” on his bike. This prevents the chain from dropping off. I need to get one of those before the next race.

I got passed by the three riders when I went wide and one of them called to me as he went by, “You’re crazy!” He had a smile on his face and I didn’t screw him up in any way, so I don’t think he was pissed at me, but was laughing at me bouncing down the hill out of control. Two more riders passed me at the top of the barrier hill, as I put my chain back on.

The rest of the race I tried to move up, but only passed a couple of riders. I was at my limit and couldn’t go any faster. I ran up against the racer in front of me a couple of times, but could never must the severe effort needed to make the pass. I finished a minute or two behind the winner, Dan, and in 10th place. I really had no idea what place I was in and pleasantly surprised to see that I had moved up so far. Of course, I also did the calculations on the people that passed me when I screwed up down the hill and figured I might have finished 5th or 6th without that mistake. Oh well. My teammate finished in 3rd place.

My friend Jon Baker was 3rd in the professional race later that day. A former pro mountain biker won the race. I was surprised to see a photo of Andy Hampsten in the paper the next morning. He entered the pro race on a mountain bike and finished 16th.

I really enjoyed this race and accomplished what I came out to do, which was to gain some experience and confidence. I have lots of room for improvement, but a top ten finish in my first race was a good initial step. With some training (I hadn’t ridden but a few times in the last few months) and a more aggressive attitude, I see no reason why I couldn’t be challenging for a win next year. I plan to do the next ‘cross race on November 19th as well, hopefully moving up to a higher finish.