If you follow me on twitter or are friends with me on facebook, then you probably already know how my first foray in to cyclocross went last week. As you can see from the photo above, it wasn't exactly a graceful debut, but I can safely say that was the low point of the night for me (although for some people, it may have been a highlight), and it got a lot better from there.
Based on how much mud I was covered in after the warm up, I either spent more time out on the course than most others, or I was riding the course harder than everyone else (or at least the muddy sections). Everything I have ever read about riding through mud or sand or even over cobbles suggested that if I could keep my cadence up then I was far more likely to keep it upright, so I took that approach to the warm up and had no troubles with the mud pit, the gigantic cesspool between turn 3 and 4 of the velodrome, and the sand trap the organisers had so thoughtfully placed at about the middle of the circuit. The mud and puddle initially didn't require much in the way of taking a specific line through the obstacle since the whole course was getting cut up, and in relation to the sand trap, the mud at least wasn't that deep (although the puddle certainly got deeper, and definitely got muddier).
My plan of attack for the sand trap was to pick a rut already made through the sand, carry as much speed as I could in to it, keep my weight off the handlebars and legs spinning. It worked great during the warm up, and I'm glad I saw a video online earlier in the day with the tip about staying light on the bars because the only time I ever felt sketchy through the sand was when I had my weight forward, so it was a bit of a mental challenge to constantly correct that. When it came time for the first race however, the sand trap got raked over and all the ruts that had appeared during the warmup disappeared for the race, which in itself might not have been a big issue, however the man raking the pit had taken it upon himself to rake obstacles INTO the obstacle, in the form of 3 taller mounds the width of the track, I also got to the sand trap in second position not far off the lead, so the combination of the extra obstacles and the lack of ruts to aim at (and maybe a bit too much weight forward) lead to the exact moment you can see above.
While it didn't end my race, it ended any hop I had of a high finish. It must have taken me a minute or 2 just to figure out why my front wheel no longer wanted to turn (right shifter was pointing the wrong direction pulling my front brake tight), so once I'd performed a bit of "percussive maintenance" I was up and going again, albeit in dead last and probably 30 seconds or more off 2nd last. With a clear track in front of and behind me I had nothing to lose so I went at it like practise, only I went harder on the velodrome than I had during practise (I had been using the concrete to recover from the efforts through the mud and over hurdles). Before too long I started to pick off other riders, particularly through the mud, sand and over the hurdles,and after the 5 laps I reckon I finished respectably in the middle of the pack.
My crash and subsequent strong finish left me with a bit of a tricky predicament for the second race, which was a handicap based loosely on the honour system and finishing position in the first race. Now with my crash in the first race I reckon I finished around 13th or 14th of 23 riders, but the way I was catching and passing other riders I reckon I was good for top 5 had I not wound up rubber side skyward. Since there wasn't much on offer for the win, there wasn't much point to sandbagging it and taking off early based on my finish in the previous race, so I left around 7th or 8th last.
The first time through the sand trap I decided to run through it rather than hope there was adequate ruts caused by the first half of the field (and old mate with the rake was up to his old tricks again). Maybe it was because I didn't crash, but it felt every bit as fast as riding through it (maybe my dismounts/remounts are sweet, but maybe I'm kidding myself). Again, I spent most of the race picking up slower riders, and it wasn't until the bell lap that anybody actually passed me. That could've been because there were some legitimately quick riders in the race, but I'd certainly eased up a bit on the velodrome after seeing 2 riders ahead of me slip on the now very slick and muddy concrete almost in unison. I finished up around 5th, which as I'd imagined after the first race, was probably indicative of where I belonged.
All told, it was a great nights racing. I'm pretty sure I've never raced in front of that many people, and the atmosphere was fantastic! If I rocked up to a criterium in a skinsuit and crashed on the first lap I don't think I'd be able to show my face again, but in cyclocross it's just part of racing and keeping the crowd entertained. Congratulations to all those who took part, and in particular the organisers, who in a few years from now we can all credit with introducing Cyclocross to the Australian cycling scene.
More info on the Dirty Deeds series can be found here http://dirtydeedscx.blogspot.com/ The next race is at Darebin Parklands on June 19th.
