I wasn't planning on racing cross this year, as my post-road season taper started earlier than normal. The Summer of Skinnyphat has been a good one!!!! But I got fat, grew a beard and the race was 5 minutes from my house so it was a perfect storm. The only thing missing was I don't own a flannel shirt. So be it, I joined the crew at Quad CX for the Cat 4 40+. Yes fine call me a sandbagger, yada yada yada, but in case you were wondering I've only done 11 CX races across 6 years. The good news is the point system for lining up the racers is horribly flawed and I always get on the front row. Then I get a good start, turn my bike better than 99% of the people, finish top 10 and the cycle continues. Its brilliant actually.
The regular Cat 4 40+ started 1 minute after the "future" 40+s. I didn't really give that any thought until about 1 minute into the race, and after getting my normal 2nd place hole-shot behind Pink Mullet guy I was already hitting SLOW Cat 4 traffic before we even got to the log. Is that possible? There was tons of traffic for the entire race, I probably passed 45 dudes (a couple more than once). {Note to the unnamed MRC guy who compares times across races and makes generalizations at who is faster to bolster his own ego, the Cat 4 traffic easily cost us 40+s a minute or probably 2} At one point, I politely notified a fat dude I was passing on the left, so he rode me into the tape. I then decided to dive bomb the next downhill off camber corner to get by him, but I washed out into the tape. My bike got tangled, I yanked the bars with 1 hand and the bike ripped half the course off. I decided to keep running until it detached itself, which was like 20 feet later. The good news is my bike swung out in front of every one so no one could pass me. I call this a Pro Move, but apparently it was met with disdain by other racers.
Anyway back to the race. Juan Lopera from 545 had passed me on the fireroad-of-death and I was in 3rd but then surprisingly caught Pink Mullet guy, who then promptly crashed and I'm back into 2nd with some cushion. Early in the 4th lap I noticed Heath from 545 on my tail, and since he was ahead of me in the predictor I needed to beat him for extra points. He sat on my wheel for the entire rest of the race, a fine strategy. I knew he would pounce near the end of the race. I thought Juan was WAY gone so I had already given up the W. Last lap Health made his attack and passed me on the fireroad and at one point there were 4 Cat 4's between us but I crushed myself in the left slower gravel lane and caught him. I figured I had a chance to re-pass in the turny section and i was right. Literally the last 180 lefthander around the tree he crashed and had a hissy fit. I took off knowing 2nd was in the bag. I ran the last barriers and low and behold Juan is right in front of me on the sidehill section fumbling around the last right hand turn. I go wide for the last gasp pass but he just clips back in and we're sprinting for the W but I had been out of matches for the last 20 minutes and I had no chance.
Fun race but my lack of race fitness and horrible beard had me deep in the pain cave (ok the beard wasn't a factor). Nice work by all the MRC folks, thanks to the guys for setting up the tent and for Briana's wife for bringing recovery cucumbers.
QUAD CX 2018
Re: QUAD CX 2018
congrats again on the 2nd place and to Brian for the podium in his race!
I did the under 40 cat 4. Quad CX was my first ever race last year, I didn't finish it because I'm a crappy mechanic and the crankarm on my bodged univega cross bike came off in the sandpit. So I came back this year with better fitness and a new bike. Well, crappy mechanic strikes again because somehow the bolts were just loose enough on my stem from having flipped it awhile back to have my bars go askew. Ended up losing some time and placement on the first lap by the first pit area. Got them straightened out but they went out of alignment again later, causing me to get caught up in the tape on the finish straight and get a nasty scratch on my finger (I will now be looking for full finger gloves lol). I think ultimately cost me about a minute total.
As for the good, was able to keep myself in the game and get back a few spots along the way. My last lap was actually my fastest, so no fading (and I probably left too much on the table). Ultimately was 29/45, would love to shave down some minutes and be more in the middle of the crowd, I was probably good for 25th spot with a little more luck and skill, something to aspire to!
I did the under 40 cat 4. Quad CX was my first ever race last year, I didn't finish it because I'm a crappy mechanic and the crankarm on my bodged univega cross bike came off in the sandpit. So I came back this year with better fitness and a new bike. Well, crappy mechanic strikes again because somehow the bolts were just loose enough on my stem from having flipped it awhile back to have my bars go askew. Ended up losing some time and placement on the first lap by the first pit area. Got them straightened out but they went out of alignment again later, causing me to get caught up in the tape on the finish straight and get a nasty scratch on my finger (I will now be looking for full finger gloves lol). I think ultimately cost me about a minute total.
As for the good, was able to keep myself in the game and get back a few spots along the way. My last lap was actually my fastest, so no fading (and I probably left too much on the table). Ultimately was 29/45, would love to shave down some minutes and be more in the middle of the crowd, I was probably good for 25th spot with a little more luck and skill, something to aspire to!
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michaelcole
- Tête de la course
- Posts: 1888
- Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2007 3:08 pm
- Location: Hopkinton. Hanging out with my boys.
Re: QUAD CX 2018
Hey, I gave facebook props to both you and Mark for going that fast in a 4 race where I figured there'd be lots of "corner carnage", so that comment better not be directed my way. I know I'm old and slow.
Nice job out there.
Re: QUAD CX 2018
Ha ha no I wasn't referring to you. Unnamed knows who he is thomichaelcole wrote: ↑Mon Sep 10, 2018 10:58 amHey, I gave facebook props to both you and Mark for going that fast in a 4 race where I figured there'd be lots of "corner carnage", so that comment better not be directed my way. I know I'm old and slow.
Nice job out there.
Re: QUAD CX 2018
I raced the Masters 40+ Race with Ian and Pare. I continued my usual routine from last year, arrive early, course inspection, trainer warm up, the whole deal. The course inspection proved to be super helpful as my decision of hop the barriers or run the barriers was clearly defined. I Hopped them about 5 times and on the 6th time I proceeded to flip spectacularly over the bars in front of everyone including Rick Tobin who was on the Mic and provided some much deserved heckling. So I didn't hop the barriers during the race but I did hop the much less impressive log.
Race predictor had me at 9th but thanks to the absence of Vinnie Bolt I started on the front row. I get a good start and sit in third after the first hairpin behind Dave Hillebrand and Todd Bowdin (you might have heard of them). This is a good place to be but surely I won't be here long. The pace is steady as we make our way through the first turns, and the woods and I'm still in third. This is expected since I can usually manage a couple laps before I really start to fade. As soon as we hit the appropriately named "fire-road of death" Hillebrand pins it and I feel like I'm in the last lap of a crit race holding on for my life. HR is 185 as expected, and somehow I manage to hang on with Miles and Garth close behind. Lap 2 Hillebrand and Bowdin trade places for 1st and 2nd a couple times, I'm super stoked to be in third so I sit in (IE maintain max HR and hope not to die). At the start of lap 3 it seems the 5 of us have a little bit of a gap on the rest of the field. Early into lap 3 Miles goes down and Hillebrand, Bowdin and myself build about a 10 second gap and keep it for the rest of the race.
Bowdin and Hillebrand continue to trade the lead and I sit in hoping they maintain a pace that keeps Miles from catching back on. Luckily we do, the two guys with me seem to have some experience with this, I'm still in disbelief that I haven't been dropped yet and I'm actually "racing" these guys. They get ahead of me a bit at times but I reel them back in through the woods and hang on on the fireroad of death. I tried to take the lead on the last lap right before "Cratty Corner" but Hillebrand was not having it. Hillebrand sprinted for the win, Bowdin second and me rounding out the podium of a legit Masters field a few seconds later. What a great start to the season.
Note: Cucumbers were from Deltabrian's wife.
Brian A #briana
Race predictor had me at 9th but thanks to the absence of Vinnie Bolt I started on the front row. I get a good start and sit in third after the first hairpin behind Dave Hillebrand and Todd Bowdin (you might have heard of them). This is a good place to be but surely I won't be here long. The pace is steady as we make our way through the first turns, and the woods and I'm still in third. This is expected since I can usually manage a couple laps before I really start to fade. As soon as we hit the appropriately named "fire-road of death" Hillebrand pins it and I feel like I'm in the last lap of a crit race holding on for my life. HR is 185 as expected, and somehow I manage to hang on with Miles and Garth close behind. Lap 2 Hillebrand and Bowdin trade places for 1st and 2nd a couple times, I'm super stoked to be in third so I sit in (IE maintain max HR and hope not to die). At the start of lap 3 it seems the 5 of us have a little bit of a gap on the rest of the field. Early into lap 3 Miles goes down and Hillebrand, Bowdin and myself build about a 10 second gap and keep it for the rest of the race.
Bowdin and Hillebrand continue to trade the lead and I sit in hoping they maintain a pace that keeps Miles from catching back on. Luckily we do, the two guys with me seem to have some experience with this, I'm still in disbelief that I haven't been dropped yet and I'm actually "racing" these guys. They get ahead of me a bit at times but I reel them back in through the woods and hang on on the fireroad of death. I tried to take the lead on the last lap right before "Cratty Corner" but Hillebrand was not having it. Hillebrand sprinted for the win, Bowdin second and me rounding out the podium of a legit Masters field a few seconds later. What a great start to the season.
Note: Cucumbers were from Deltabrian's wife.
Brian A #briana
Brian Anderson
Re: QUAD CX 2018
Cat 5 40+
Peer pressure is usually something to avoid as it is often associated with negative consequences. Starting late last fall, all I've been hearing is "you gotta race cross, you gotta race cross." Well the timing was right with the purchase of my house, and I had a little bit of extra cash laying around. Not enough for a new road bike, but certainly enough to give CX a go. Prior to mid August, I haven't ridden anything but a BMX bike off road in 20 years. A bit of frustration and success at Greg Gunsalus's house and at Ski Ward had me pretty hooked. Kalon was my first race, and was a bit of a proving ground with a descent result.
With Quad being my second race, I felt a little more confident. This was the first to add some more technical features and challenges and a great place to put the bike handling skills to the test. I didn't arrive nearly as early as I would have liked, but I did manage to take a preview lap. Already with only one race under my belt, I knew who would be my measuring stick - Raffaele Melidone from Fritz's.
The start is pretty uneventful. I got towards the front, and the first few corners didn't really get bound up. Only when we got to the pond did it start getting slow and tight. Threw the woods I start passing people left and right. Lots of 800 numbers from the wave in front, and I was keeping track of the 700 numbers from my wave. Coming out of the woods, people were falling in the loose patch near the pit area, and a lot were having difficulty in the sand. Had someone fall right in front of me and it forced me to dismount to get past him. The barriers led right into a downhill left hander which goes right back up the hill. If you didn't get clipped and settled, you wouldn't be able to power back up the hill.
Second lap was nothing noteworthy. I felt like I was riding at a comfortable pace. Passed a lot of people, and anyone who passed me got overtaken shortly after (usually in a corner). On the third lap, almost as a repeat of Kalon, suddonly Raffaele passes me. I stick on his wheel for a while, and he is giving words of encouragement, but when we get to the hill before the woods, I wasn't able to match his pace and I start to fade.
Finishing the wooded section, I get passed by the two Ryans (Greg Ryan and Ryan Link). They were able to open gaps on me with power, but I would close the gaps in the tech sections like the sand, or loose gravelly corners. With the two Ryans still ahead in the last lap, I am trying to be mindful of my opportunities. Ryan Link gets ahead, and Greg Ryan and I are nearly side by side. We trade positions a few times in the woods and the section coming out of the woods. When we get to the barriers, I don't remember if Greg with in front of me, but I know that he was when we went around up the hill. He stumbled and I thought "this is my chance!" I get around both hills cleanly and we are approaching the finish. He is still ahead, but I am trying to maximize any momentum that I did have and I am going though the gears trying to sprint it out. Unfortunately it was too little too late. He beat me by one second, Link got me by 7 and Raffaele by 16. 13/29. What a blast. Thank goodness for peer pressure.
Peer pressure is usually something to avoid as it is often associated with negative consequences. Starting late last fall, all I've been hearing is "you gotta race cross, you gotta race cross." Well the timing was right with the purchase of my house, and I had a little bit of extra cash laying around. Not enough for a new road bike, but certainly enough to give CX a go. Prior to mid August, I haven't ridden anything but a BMX bike off road in 20 years. A bit of frustration and success at Greg Gunsalus's house and at Ski Ward had me pretty hooked. Kalon was my first race, and was a bit of a proving ground with a descent result.
With Quad being my second race, I felt a little more confident. This was the first to add some more technical features and challenges and a great place to put the bike handling skills to the test. I didn't arrive nearly as early as I would have liked, but I did manage to take a preview lap. Already with only one race under my belt, I knew who would be my measuring stick - Raffaele Melidone from Fritz's.
The start is pretty uneventful. I got towards the front, and the first few corners didn't really get bound up. Only when we got to the pond did it start getting slow and tight. Threw the woods I start passing people left and right. Lots of 800 numbers from the wave in front, and I was keeping track of the 700 numbers from my wave. Coming out of the woods, people were falling in the loose patch near the pit area, and a lot were having difficulty in the sand. Had someone fall right in front of me and it forced me to dismount to get past him. The barriers led right into a downhill left hander which goes right back up the hill. If you didn't get clipped and settled, you wouldn't be able to power back up the hill.
Second lap was nothing noteworthy. I felt like I was riding at a comfortable pace. Passed a lot of people, and anyone who passed me got overtaken shortly after (usually in a corner). On the third lap, almost as a repeat of Kalon, suddonly Raffaele passes me. I stick on his wheel for a while, and he is giving words of encouragement, but when we get to the hill before the woods, I wasn't able to match his pace and I start to fade.
Finishing the wooded section, I get passed by the two Ryans (Greg Ryan and Ryan Link). They were able to open gaps on me with power, but I would close the gaps in the tech sections like the sand, or loose gravelly corners. With the two Ryans still ahead in the last lap, I am trying to be mindful of my opportunities. Ryan Link gets ahead, and Greg Ryan and I are nearly side by side. We trade positions a few times in the woods and the section coming out of the woods. When we get to the barriers, I don't remember if Greg with in front of me, but I know that he was when we went around up the hill. He stumbled and I thought "this is my chance!" I get around both hills cleanly and we are approaching the finish. He is still ahead, but I am trying to maximize any momentum that I did have and I am going though the gears trying to sprint it out. Unfortunately it was too little too late. He beat me by one second, Link got me by 7 and Raffaele by 16. 13/29. What a blast. Thank goodness for peer pressure.
Re: QUAD CX 2018
Nice job fellas, strong showing from MRC...2 stand outs for me of which only one has been addressed by Skinnyphat;
1) Yes - it is quite brilliant how Cratty is able to just show up once in a while and dominate. I first witnessed this phenomenon last year at Boss Cross, thought it was a fluke but apparently it's a craft he's perfected!
2) How is it that I'm in the same race as Briana but when I pass the finish line he's already on his trainer cooling down without any evidence exhaustion?!
Think I was the only fool to try and double up at this race. I'd wanted the Cat 4 40+ to be the earlier one but the organizers disagreed! So, I finished the Masters and then searched for an excuse not to enter the second race...as luck would have it my back was aching and had all the hallmarks of last years KMC tweak (when I missed a few weeks of riding afterwards) so I did the walk of shame to the reg and gave my number up. It shows great maturity to listen to one's body!!
My first experience in the Masters field. Definitely not as strung out as the 4/5's and if you make a mistake you get punished, or at least I did! I was able to use the orange painted rock (i.e. ramp) in the wooded section to measure how much gas I had left each lap...1st lap I probably popped a decent foot of air then progressively got lower until the bell lap where I basically rolled over it with a groan!
Fun course though, like Mark B said in the tent, the complete opposite of Kalon the week before!
1) Yes - it is quite brilliant how Cratty is able to just show up once in a while and dominate. I first witnessed this phenomenon last year at Boss Cross, thought it was a fluke but apparently it's a craft he's perfected!
2) How is it that I'm in the same race as Briana but when I pass the finish line he's already on his trainer cooling down without any evidence exhaustion?!
Think I was the only fool to try and double up at this race. I'd wanted the Cat 4 40+ to be the earlier one but the organizers disagreed! So, I finished the Masters and then searched for an excuse not to enter the second race...as luck would have it my back was aching and had all the hallmarks of last years KMC tweak (when I missed a few weeks of riding afterwards) so I did the walk of shame to the reg and gave my number up. It shows great maturity to listen to one's body!!
My first experience in the Masters field. Definitely not as strung out as the 4/5's and if you make a mistake you get punished, or at least I did! I was able to use the orange painted rock (i.e. ramp) in the wooded section to measure how much gas I had left each lap...1st lap I probably popped a decent foot of air then progressively got lower until the bell lap where I basically rolled over it with a groan!
Fun course though, like Mark B said in the tent, the complete opposite of Kalon the week before!
Re: QUAD CX 2018
I remembered this race from 2017 as being rather non technical, so I signed up on a whim last week thinking that it would be a good way to ease into cross season. Either my memory is garbage (highly likely) or this year was far more technical than last year. I told myself that this was just a warm up and I wasn't taking it seriously, so I showed up only with enough time to pin on my number, pre ride the course for one lap, and start. Also, I somehow didn't think to wear/bring socks, so if it hadn't been for Bradford Smith I would have been racing in ankle high wool like Rees. Gross. Thankfully he bailed me out, and I was able to cover up my triathlon roots. Until the start when I couldn't clip in. Not only could I not clip in, but my gearing choice at the line was atrocious, so I lost about 20 spots immediately. There goes my front row advantage! Three seconds into the race and my 'can't-clip-in-getting-passed' rage erased any thought of not 'taking it easy'. As if my psychotic competitive nature would ever let that happen.
First lap I forgot about a turn and crashed into the tape, not only taking down the tape but also snapping the post holding the tape up. Oops. A couple of laps later I see a friend standing at a corner at the end of a straight, so I pass a rider in the straight, and yell out "ROADIE WATTS!" for a laugh. Except the joke's on me and I immediately crashed, and amended my prior yelling with a shout of "ROADIE SKILLS!". The race progressed with me passing people on straights, and holding people up in technical sections/corners. In the off camber downhill section after the barriers Patrick from B2C2 kept yelling at me to take the outside line. I took this advice for the last two laps, and because of race brain and taking a different line than I had planned I forgot to shift down. Both times. On the penultimate lap I was able to muscle my way up the hill, but couldn't manage it on the last lap so I was forced to dismount and run. Que heckling references to my foot race at GMSR last weekend.
I heard a rider coming up behind me in the finishing straight, so I sprinted enough to hold him off. I held on for 6th, but unfortunately that nets me two upgrade points. Dear god I hope I don't have to upgrade to a three this season, that would be a disaster sandwich.
First lap I forgot about a turn and crashed into the tape, not only taking down the tape but also snapping the post holding the tape up. Oops. A couple of laps later I see a friend standing at a corner at the end of a straight, so I pass a rider in the straight, and yell out "ROADIE WATTS!" for a laugh. Except the joke's on me and I immediately crashed, and amended my prior yelling with a shout of "ROADIE SKILLS!". The race progressed with me passing people on straights, and holding people up in technical sections/corners. In the off camber downhill section after the barriers Patrick from B2C2 kept yelling at me to take the outside line. I took this advice for the last two laps, and because of race brain and taking a different line than I had planned I forgot to shift down. Both times. On the penultimate lap I was able to muscle my way up the hill, but couldn't manage it on the last lap so I was forced to dismount and run. Que heckling references to my foot race at GMSR last weekend.
I heard a rider coming up behind me in the finishing straight, so I sprinted enough to hold him off. I held on for 6th, but unfortunately that nets me two upgrade points. Dear god I hope I don't have to upgrade to a three this season, that would be a disaster sandwich.
Last edited by twetmore on Mon Sep 10, 2018 2:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Tucker Wetmore
Re: QUAD CX 2018
Wooo doggie! That was a dry one! Didn't do Quad last year so I was curious to see what they've done with the course. Apparently they figured a way to add 300 more turns that previous years. Ugh, wonderful. Thankfully I did a number of pre-race laps to scope out where I can use my strengths, going in a straight (ish) line really hard for short periods of time. So the fire road, a spot in the woods before exiting, and the start/finish line are going to have to be my power spots and try to pass as many people as I could or latch onto dudes hitting clean lines in the tech sections. Oh, and don't die in the loose spots containing bricks. No really, I pulled out two bricks during a pre-ride.
Start 1min after the Cat 4 open race: 2nd row... ok dude in front of me don't botch this up.
Whistle blows and he's in the pedals and we're off clean and hammering. Into the first 180° before the pond and I dive bomb the corner coming out clean, no clue how that worked, but I'll take it! Getting to the log behind the start/finish line we're already seeing the tail of the Cat 4 race. Note to promoters, two min between categories racing together if you are staggering starts. Into the woods, trying to pass dudes where I can and not killing myself in the corners. Oh, here's the first road, hammer time! We come up on other Cat 4 open dudes and this is where Cratty and company open up time on us. Through the sand pits (wooo file treads!) and into the front side where I would lose a few seconds here and there but gain back at the barriers.
Lap 2: Coming through start / finish line more hammer time and guys are catching their breath... excuse me coming through. More Cat 4 back packers, coming around the pond I polity let the dude know I'm going to pass on his left after the tree, he decides to race me to the corner. "Bro, I'm not in your race, just trying to get around" his response.... "I'M RACING EVERYONE ON COURSE". Uh OK dude, mind the tape and have a good race. The 40+ dudes I'm with, Horst and KIT, are literally laughing out loud at our conversation. Into the woods, out of the woods and back on the Fire Road where our trio make up lots of ground. To the front side and I hear "Hey Seven, lets do this". Jon Pohl is with us now and driving through the loose stuff way better than I can, have at it bro lead me through.
Lap 3 & 4: more of the same hit the long section hard and let the other guys lead me through the tech. Somewhere in here we let Jon get away from us to stay away for 6th place. We come up on Delta Brian (thanks to Mrs. Delta Brian for the post race recovery cukes!) somewhere on lap 4 and he's laying down power on the fire road. Roadie skillzzzzzz!
Bell Lap: This last lap was my undoing.... my guys were in and out of the corners a lot cleaner than I and they opened up a gap of around 5 seconds and there just wasn't enough power sections for me to claw them back. Finished 9th, happy I beat the race predictor!
Congrats to Cratty and BrianA for getting on the podium! MRC raced well in all categories yesterday!!
Start 1min after the Cat 4 open race: 2nd row... ok dude in front of me don't botch this up.
Whistle blows and he's in the pedals and we're off clean and hammering. Into the first 180° before the pond and I dive bomb the corner coming out clean, no clue how that worked, but I'll take it! Getting to the log behind the start/finish line we're already seeing the tail of the Cat 4 race. Note to promoters, two min between categories racing together if you are staggering starts. Into the woods, trying to pass dudes where I can and not killing myself in the corners. Oh, here's the first road, hammer time! We come up on other Cat 4 open dudes and this is where Cratty and company open up time on us. Through the sand pits (wooo file treads!) and into the front side where I would lose a few seconds here and there but gain back at the barriers.
Lap 2: Coming through start / finish line more hammer time and guys are catching their breath... excuse me coming through. More Cat 4 back packers, coming around the pond I polity let the dude know I'm going to pass on his left after the tree, he decides to race me to the corner. "Bro, I'm not in your race, just trying to get around" his response.... "I'M RACING EVERYONE ON COURSE". Uh OK dude, mind the tape and have a good race. The 40+ dudes I'm with, Horst and KIT, are literally laughing out loud at our conversation. Into the woods, out of the woods and back on the Fire Road where our trio make up lots of ground. To the front side and I hear "Hey Seven, lets do this". Jon Pohl is with us now and driving through the loose stuff way better than I can, have at it bro lead me through.
Lap 3 & 4: more of the same hit the long section hard and let the other guys lead me through the tech. Somewhere in here we let Jon get away from us to stay away for 6th place. We come up on Delta Brian (thanks to Mrs. Delta Brian for the post race recovery cukes!) somewhere on lap 4 and he's laying down power on the fire road. Roadie skillzzzzzz!
Bell Lap: This last lap was my undoing.... my guys were in and out of the corners a lot cleaner than I and they opened up a gap of around 5 seconds and there just wasn't enough power sections for me to claw them back. Finished 9th, happy I beat the race predictor!
Congrats to Cratty and BrianA for getting on the podium! MRC raced well in all categories yesterday!!
Re: QUAD CX 2018
After being sick for Kalon (I threw up in the Rt 111/Rt2 Dunkin parking lot on my way to the race and kept it going all Labor Day weekend), I was excited and nervous for Quad. It was my first cross race since 2015 and my first race this year. My warmup went well, third row start, feeling good.
Cat 5 Under 40
Great start and then one of the racers almost fell into the pond at that turn. It turned an already bottlenecked cluster into a bigger mess. The guys behind me pushed me into the racer in front of me. My front tire went right into his foot/pedal. Flat tire.
I finished the first lap but when the 40+ group caught me I was gassed/annoyed/bummed and just in the way. I ducked under the tape and shamefully sat in my car for a bit. I had a good lap though, felt comfortable even with a front tire I thought would peel away from the wheel (which it thankfully didn't).
I was signed up for the SS race as well but plans changed for a family members birthday party. Sad.
Cat 5 Under 40
Great start and then one of the racers almost fell into the pond at that turn. It turned an already bottlenecked cluster into a bigger mess. The guys behind me pushed me into the racer in front of me. My front tire went right into his foot/pedal. Flat tire.
I finished the first lap but when the 40+ group caught me I was gassed/annoyed/bummed and just in the way. I ducked under the tape and shamefully sat in my car for a bit. I had a good lap though, felt comfortable even with a front tire I thought would peel away from the wheel (which it thankfully didn't).
I was signed up for the SS race as well but plans changed for a family members birthday party. Sad.
Re: QUAD CX 2018
Not me.
However I Crashed pretty badly. Gave the spectators a good show. that is for sure. Everybody was like "UHHHHH. that probably hurt". and I was like no shit.
I crashed very stupidly. I said that because nobody was behind me, nobody in front me. just me against against the wind full of dirt. I was going super hard, giving it all I had. But then I found myself in this section struggling to keep my balance. it was a section with very lose dirt. Next thing I know I am on the ground. Got up immediately with so much pain that I can even describe it. don't even hesitate, just got up, fixed the chain, and on the bike again. Embarrassed for crashing this way, but with the wiliness to keep the suffering going in order to keep that fun that comes with racing CX going. it's like you don't like it, but then at the end you like it.
I manage to finish the race with all kinds of mechanical. I couldn't shift gears after the crash, my rear tire was low on PSI. But Then at the end I told my wife and kids, I had fun today. I meant that.
However I Crashed pretty badly. Gave the spectators a good show. that is for sure. Everybody was like "UHHHHH. that probably hurt". and I was like no shit.
I crashed very stupidly. I said that because nobody was behind me, nobody in front me. just me against against the wind full of dirt. I was going super hard, giving it all I had. But then I found myself in this section struggling to keep my balance. it was a section with very lose dirt. Next thing I know I am on the ground. Got up immediately with so much pain that I can even describe it. don't even hesitate, just got up, fixed the chain, and on the bike again. Embarrassed for crashing this way, but with the wiliness to keep the suffering going in order to keep that fun that comes with racing CX going. it's like you don't like it, but then at the end you like it.
I manage to finish the race with all kinds of mechanical. I couldn't shift gears after the crash, my rear tire was low on PSI. But Then at the end I told my wife and kids, I had fun today. I meant that.
-Emmanuel Loaiza
https://twitter.com/ecloaiza
https://twitter.com/ecloaiza