Dirty Deeds CX Prologue

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.

New Blog, now with umlauts!

Well it's not so much a new blog as it is a new location.  I've shifted over to blogger so you can see what I'm up to with the widgets over on the right (wordpress was hating fun), plus, it's not like I updated the old blog that much when I wasn't travelling.

I've got a little bit going on in the next few months: cyclocross season, a trip to the US and of course le Tour, so stay tuned

Summer Racing Update (The B-Grade Part)

One of my core reasons for getting back on top of the old blog is to keep you all updated on my racing progress.  In years gone by there hasn’t been much to keep anyone updated about, for the most part I’ve nearly always been pack fodder for whatever grade of racing I’m in, but this season something has clicked.  I’ve dropped 8 or 9 kg, my threshold power has gone up, my resulting power to weight ratio is better than ever, and most importantly, I’ve been getting results on the road.

 

Since work commitments restrict my road racing campaign year in year out, my focus has always been the criterium season (focus might be the wrong word, because until this season, I wouldn’t say I focused on any one aspect of racing, I just rode my bike).  In September of 2009 I bought myself a power meter to train with, which at least bought a bit of meaning to the riding I was doing, but it’s taken a good 12 months to reap the benefits.  In July of 2010 I also built a pretty kick ass crit bike, so when the summer criterium season began, I was all out of excuses, and it was time to start getting a return on my investments.

 

I started the season with a “training” ride in A grade down at St Kilda since inclement weather had delayed the start to the Footscray CC season.  My plan was only to enter B grade, but since I’d only finished work at 4am the previous morning, along with some prodding from some of the Footscray boys, I slept in for another hour and went around in A grade instead.  To my surprise, I survived for more than half the race, which I was pretty happy with since I deliberately sat on the back so as not to get in anybodies way, and there are often some seriously heavy hitters that get around down there on a Sunday morning.

 

From that I took a good deal of confidence in to the first Footscray CC B grade race, which I won pretty convincingly, even if I do say so myself.  I had a plan to follow one of the older sprinters wheels in the later part of the race, since they always seem to find a way through traffic, so when I found Colin Morris’s wheel, I stuck to it like glue, but he decided to have a crack with 2 laps to go, so where he went, I went.  On the bell lap, the 2 of us got a bit tangled with the A grade finish and I lost a bit of momentum as a result.  The way I saw it, I had to give it everything there and then, and when I went, Colin couldn’t come too and I soloed to the finish 100m clear of the chasing bunch.

 

The second race was very nearly a carbon copy of the first.  With a couple of laps to go I found Colin’s wheel, and was set to go until someone else decided they wanted Colin’s wheel as well.  Shoulders, then elbows were exchanged before I clipped the wheel in front and hit the deck, taking a good sized chunk out of my left knee, and a few other riders with me.   The grazed knee didn’t hold me back for too long, but it did take a few weeks to get some confidence back, but when it did, I found myself to be a marked rider, and wasn’t given much leeway by the B grade bunch, which was frustrating to say the least.

[caption id="attachment_116" align="alignleft" width="223" caption="This is what the knee looked like AFTER I'd cleaned it up (and after I'd ridden for an hour home from the race)"][/caption]

 

The first week of December bought the Tour Of Bright, which again, I was talked into by some of the Footscray CC boys (I’m looking at you Treloar), but my racing preparation had been hampered somewhat by my crash and the rubbish weather Melbourne experienced during November, particularly on Thursday nights and Saturday mornings which washed out races.  The last crit before Bright looked like being rained out too, but through some kind of luck we got a start, and with half an hour constituting a race, and dark clouds looming, I attacked from the get go to ensure I got a workout in.  I got tangled with A grade for a few laps until the B grade bunch got going and bought me back, and an break of 3 went up the road not long after.  With rain looking imminent, and having recovered from my first effort, I bridged across to the leaders and we were never caught.  I picked the wrong line down the straight for the sprint and my back wheel got airborne 3 times which spoiled my chance for the win, but I wound up with a well deserved 2^nd.

 

The Tour of Bright deserves a post of it’s own, but that’s probably not gonna happen.  To summarise, it was my first open road race, the first stage race I’d competed in for 3 years and the first road race I’d entered in more than 6 months.  It was far and away the largest bunch I’d ever ridden in (over 110 starters), and there was over 3000 meters of vertical ascent over the 2 road stages.  Just finishing was my goal, finishing in the top half of the field I felt was some kind of achievement.

 

Weather again meant there was very little racing between the Tour of Bright and the Footscray CC Christmas classic, even then the Christmas Classic itself was rescheduled after the original date was rained out.  I hadn’t tried anything in the previous race since I had targeted the Christmas Classic and didn’t want to wind up in A grade ahead of it (sandbagger), and I had some mates already up the road, but I knew my form was good leading in to the race, and I intended on making it my last B grade race regardless of the result.

 

I had a very clear plan of launching an early attack just to see who in the bunch was going to react, followed by a more venomous attack at around the 30 minute mark that was going to break the back of the bunch.  As it happened, I never had to fire the first shot, as there was no shortage of attacks in the opening laps, but what was obvious was that the international rider, Meng, was the strongest in the bunch and was willing to chase anything and everything down.  The constant attacks and ensuing chases were taking their toll on the bunch, and even after only 5 or 10 minutes, the bunch was being strung out and riders were dropping wheels right left and centre.  It was obvious to me that the shelter of the middle of the bunch wasn’t the place to be with all the loose riding going on, so I moved up and couldn’t help myself when attacks went, following the breaks or jumping across the gaps as they appeared.  With Meng being hell bent on bringing back the breaks, I knew many of the attacks weren’t going to stick, but when Meng attacked himself, I had no option but to go with him.  Meng and I spent the remaining 40 minutes of the race off the front, building a half lap gap to the chasing peleton.  I gifted the race to Meng, since he was clearly the stronger of the two of us, and he had done the lion’s share of the work to build our breakaway, and even though I hadn’t left B grade on top, I was happy enough with the 2^nd step of the podium and the fashion in which I earned it.

 

Welcome Back

Having not touched this blog for quite some time, I figured now was as good a time as any to get it going again.  I’m not really one for new years resolutions, but I have kind of resolved to try and stay up to date with the blog in 2011 (once a week can’t be all that hard).  There will be a flurry of activity to begin with, but hopefully I can settle in to some sort of routine as the summer wears on.

 

Yosemite, Part 1

It's about time I issued an update to let everyone know that I've returned from Yosemite alive and well, which considering the recent conditions in the Sierra Nevada, that was no mean feat.  Normally by this time of the year close to all of the park is accessible and most of it's facilities are open, but owing to a very heavy winter snowpack, and unseasonably late winter storms and snowfalls, much of the park, particularly the high country, is still covered in snow.

My original plan was to hike around 55km (and up about 2000m) round trip to Tuolumne Meadows from Yosemite Valley, but since the road to Tuolomne Meadows hadn't been officially opened when I was supposed to leave (it had been plowed, but they were worried warmer weather would cause the 8 foot high walls of snow at the side of the roads collapse as they melted), I had to change my plans, and instead took out a wilderness permit to hike to Merced Lake, which would be between 35 and 40 km round trip, so I also decided to shorten my trip in to the wilderness and spend a few more days in the Valley.  As it happens, that was the first of many good decisions I made for the week, they may not have all been for the right reasons, but I stand by all of my decisions.

My first day of hiking took me along the Merced river and up the Mist trail, past Vernall and Nevada falls, then through Little Yosemite Valley.  My wilderness permit dictated I couldn't spend the night in the established campground in Little Yosemite Valley, so I trudged on with my 40kg pack, and made a decision that I wasn't going to hike any further than I had to with such a load on my back, and I made camp at the first spot my permit allowed, at Moraine Dome.



Without going in to a lot of detail, camping out in the wilderness solo for the first time is quite an experience.  In one 16 hour period I think I learned more about myself than in the past 16 years, and the following day I decided not to press on further to Merced Lake, but to retreat back to the campground at Little Yosemite Valley.  I may have made that decision based on not being all that comfortable being alone in the wilderness, or maybe it was my legs aching from hauling my pack up nearly 1000 metres in elevation in addition to the 12km distance I travelled the day before, but as I said earlier, regardless of my reasoning, it was the right decision, since the Merced river, which the trail I was to take follows, was rising by the hour as warmer temperatures started to melt snow at an accelerated rate.  In some areas of the trail that I had only hiked a day earlier, there was up to a foot of water where it had previously been dry.  Had I stuck with the plan B of hiking to Merced Lake, there would certainly be deep water to navigate, and fast streams to negotiate, not to mention that although Merced Lake is a lot closer than Tuolumne Meadows, it too is also above the snow line.  There's a good  chance that if I ever made it to Merced Lake, I may still be there.

Friday was a day of consolidation as I made the comparatively short and flat hike back to the Little Yosemite Valley campground.  While I had gone off in to the wilderness to find solitude, it was kind of nice to see a few people again to regain some feeling of safety in numbers.  Other than the rising water on the trail, it was a fairly uneventful day.  The short hike gave my legs a chance to recover for my hike to Half Dome on Saturday, but that can wait for part 2.

Quick Update

Hello boys and girls. My apologies for the lack of updates in the past week but the honest truth is I haven't done much that I'd consider interesting to a lot of people, and when I have done something fun and interesting, it comes at the expense of writing a blog. I will also apologize in advance, since come tomorrow (or later today actually) I'll be heading off to Yosemite, so I won't have any form of communications for the next week to 10 days.

To briefly sum up my activities since my last update nearly a week ago, I have :

• Racked up close to 500 k's on the bike


• Visited the Oakley factory (kind of underwhelming even for a fanboi like me, and I didn't spend any money in case anyone was wondering)


• Been back to Newport Beach and found the famous frozen banana stand (again, underwhelming, but I don't know if it was bad chocolate or a bad banana)


• Visited Trestles, another of Southern California's famous surf breaks (and like the banana stand, it took me 2 100km round trip rides to find it)


• Hung out at the Hermosa Beach Fiesta, where somebody who shall remain nameless may have had a bit too much to drink, and someone else wound up with one of the more peculiar tan lines I think I've seen (neither of which could have been me, since I don't drink and my tan lines, while stark and distinctive, I do not consider to be out of the ordinary)


• Had lunch with John, Brad and Eryka on the Oceanside Pier


• Saw a tarantula and rattlesnake out on the road and got photos of neither (the tarantula was scurrying away, but the rattlesnake wasn't going anywhere, it wasn't in the most photogenic state either if you catch my drift)


• Watched unknown hours of what will henceforth be known as train wreck TV, so bad you don't want to look, but so tragic you can't look away (Real Housewives of New Jersey anyone? It's only a matter of time before somebody gets whacked for real on that show)

Like I said earlier, there will be no new updates for a week or so while I'm hiking in Yosemite, but i'll be endeavoring to do things the Ye Olde way with a paper and pencil, which at some point I'll transcribe back into electronic form for your consumption, just don't expect it to happen before I return home on the 14th of June (but I'll do my best to get some photos up before I get back on an aeroplane).

The O.C.

It's been a few days since my last update, so I figure I ought to fill people in on what I've been up to the last few days. I suppose the biggest thing to happen since Saturday was relocating down to Orange County and staying at Brad and Eryka's place in Ladera Ranch. I had earlier planned to stay in LA until Monday and try to catch the final stage of the Tour of California, but with the finale starting and ending in the San Fernando Valley, I pyked and headed down to the OC instead to watch Brad play in the SCAFL Grand Final. In case you're wondering (and most of you probably are), that's the Southern California Australian Football League, which consists of 4 teams that play what could best be described as a condensed version of Aussie Rules, played on a smaller field (which is just whatever is available I guess) and only 9 players a side to keep the game flowing. The league also fields a full 18 man squad in the national tournament, but on Sunday it was the OC Jets taking on the Beachside Sharks for Southern California bragging rights. In blustery conditions, it was the Sharks who won the day with the last kick of the game, leaving Brad's Jets to rue their poor return in front of goal having kicked 13 behinds and only 4 goals.

My mission for Monday was to get back on the bike since I hadn't ridden since Wednesday's climb up Sierra Grade. This gave me an opportunity to explore my new surroundings, and ride some more of the Pacific Coast Highway that I didn't ride on my trip in 2007. The destination I set for myself was Newport Beach, and in particular Balboa Island, which is famous for frozen bananas and The Wedge.



I never did find a chocolate covered frozen banana, leaving me to believe that maybe the banana stand got cancelled along side Arrested Development, which didn't make much sense to me since there's always money in the banana stand. Eryka has assured me though with or without an actual banana stand, frozen bananas are available on Balboa Island, I just wasn't looking in the right spot, so I'll have another crack later in the week. I did manage to find The Wedge, which was working enough to give me an idea of how gnarly that wave can get with a decent swell.