Half full or half empty?

The results for Palmer were finally posted, and they were very interesting on a number of levels:

Masters 35+ (cross Cat 1-4)PLACE   BIB  FIRST         LAST NAME        TEAM1       379  John          Foley            MTBMIND.COM2       367  Mark          Gunsalvs         Bikebarn Racing.com3       370  Jeff          Molongoski       Joe's Garage4       375  Brant         Hornberger       Fitchburg Cycle Club5       380  Michael       Patrick          Gary Fisher/Subaru/GU/Kenda6       366  Ian           Modestow         Joe's garage7       355  Matt          Domnarski        Horst-Benidorm-PRC8       372  Wade          Summers          Horst-Benidorm-PRC9       353  Gary          David            Minuteman Road Club10      354  Dominique     Desmonts         Tokeneke Road Club11      364  Jack          Madden           The Hub12      373  Mike          Spangenberg      Cyclonauts13      374  Christopher   Evans            NCC14      368  Joe           Rodrigues        Cyclonauts15      365  Patrick       Brandon16      371  John          Slyer

So, I either had a Top Ten finish in a Masters 35+ race (not too bad), or I was more than half-way down the results (uh oh). Got me to thinking about how we measure “success” or what we look for when we tally up the ledger sheet at the end of the race day.

I am currently involved in a research project looking at performance metrics for companies engaged in medical transcription. In a data-driven world, there are any number of measures that we can construct and contrive in an attempt to portray “what happened”. Behind the veneer of any “objective measure” is a subject judgment that is made regarding what goes in and what stays out. When we think about “success” or “failure”, we likewise enter into the same exercise. Is the glass half full or half empty?

Our humble MRC club is trying an experiment in our Wrentham CX race start staging using Colin R’s crossresults.com as a way to line up. That should be interesting. I do not know the methodology Colin uses, I’m sure it is “sound” in a relative way and makes “sense” on some level. Kudos to Rob Bauer for trying to find an “equitable” way to line up the races. Given that the fields are not likely to rival the 80+ fields at a Verge race, the methodology probably won’t matter too much in the end, but it will be an interesting experiment. But, again, it is just one measure among many that could be used.

I find it interesting how we become fixated on certain measures of success that are somehow meant to convey “success” or “failure” across experiences that are relatively individual. Was Palmer a success (Top 10) or a failure (bottom half)? These measures place me relative to other people who were there at the same time as me in the same race. However, were we in the “same” race? It was my third race of the weekend, I am lousy at technical stuff, my cleats were shedding dirt less well than others (making it more difficult to reclip), I had different people to pass at different moments, I had no team mates to ride with in my sub-group, etc., etc., etc. How are these variables factored into the ultimate equation of success and failure? Are these “factors” or “excuses”? How does a factor (something that has legitimate impact) became an excuse (something that has a diminished legitimacy)?

I was reading the blog of Christine Vardaros regarding her exploits in Europe, and the travails of Jonathan Page in regards to his team’s “disappointment” with his “results.” Christine just did a couple of races after experiencing two concussions. A factor or an excuse? Jonathan has been sick, as well as had some “bad luck” (factor or excuse?). I would say legitimate factors for sure, but how easy would it be to turn these things into excuses?

Even though we are racing at different levels, with different stakes, and in different geographies, we are all going through the same calculus of the end-of-the-day ledger sheet regarding success or failure, factor or excuse. But then we should also remember the ultimate equation: A day on a bike > a day not on a bike. When put in this perspective, having the chance to fail on a bike is better than not having that chance at all. I hate to say “We’re all winners” because that always sounds hollow when I hear it at a race. Or, to paraphrase George Orwell, “We’re all winners, some are just more winners than others.” In a sense, though, maybe that is the most accurate way to look at it.

Was Palmer a success or a fail? Top 10 versus bottom half? The answer is: Yes.

Wrentham and Shot Clocks

Only a few days till Wrentham MRC CX. Fun course with cold temperatures. Sign up while the signing is good.

Random thought: Shot clocks at the check out registers in stores. 35 seconds to complete your transaction, ask your questions, use your coupons, swipe your credit card, whatever. If you can’t complete the transaction in that time, you turn the cash register over to the next person in line. Might have to have a longer shot clock in grocery stores. I’m still working out the details.

Sterling and Palmer Double

For the sake of expedience, let’s combine two race reports into one:

PARKING:
STERLING:
PALMER:
This is where parking becomes a relative thing based on the number of racers. But, the measure involves: 1) Are there enough spots; 2) Is it conveniently located to the course; 3) Are you going to lose an axle getting there.

Both races do very well. Palmer is very straight forward with parking right next to the course. There wasn’t a lot of it, but then again a lot wasn’t needed. At Sterling, you actually have options (in front of the school, behind the school, to the side of the school). Requires a little forethought and planning. But, options can be good.

REGISTRATION
STERLING:
PALMER:
I was a little worried about Sterling, since last year we were funneled into this little hallway with people waaay out the door. Also, we got the email that Reg wouldn’t open until 7:45. But, no worries. We had the wide alcove and the school was opened earlier than that. The people knew what they were doing, and things progressed pretty smoothly.

It is always interesting when you arrive to a race, and the registration people are getting instructions on how to do registration. I arrived at 7:30, with the first race at 9:00, and registration wasn’t going yet. I always think that 1:15 minimum before the first race and registration should be open. It was close, but again, because of the small numbers things went pretty quickly. You couldn’t ride your bike to the registration because you had to walk down stairs, so minus one cowbell.

BATHROOMS
STERLING:
PALMER:
Indoor bathrooms are always a bonus. Both races had them. I didn’t see any PoJ’s though. At Sterling, that’s a little rough because the school is a bit away from the meat of the course. Since there are plenty of spectators, it would be great to have at least one or two closer to the Start/Finish line. At Palmer, there were only the bathrooms in the school as well, but plenty of woods to dive into in case of an emergency.

COURSE
STERLING:
PALMER:
An absolute study in contrasts. Fast and open. Technical and tight. New school and olde skool. Take your pick. Both courses were a lot of fun (and moderately frozen). Doing them back to back makes for an interesting weekend.

Palmer had those crazy run-ups. Very similar to Mansfield Hollow. Lots of roots (watch that tire pressure). Rocky downhills. Triple barriers (screw you, UCI). Plywood scrap bridge over a stream. Sterling had the hairpin uphill and downhill, the newly dubbed Subway and Mind the Gap barriers, the horse jump. Either way you go, you can’t lose.

LINEUP
STERLING:
PALMER:
Big fumble for Sterling. Since when do we line up the faster group behind the slower group? So there we were, the Cat 3/4 Masters stacked behind the Cat 4 field. Huh? Mr. Stevens didn’t seem very pleased with that development, but it was too late. We were already placed. Being a Verge race, this stuff should be automatic. Created an interesting obstacle course throughout the race with Cat 4 back-o-the-packers going down like dominoes.

Palmer was cool, but it is hard to screw up a line-up when 30 people are involved. Just lineup and go! It was interesting to lineup on a slight off-camber, though.

PITS
STERLING:
PALMER:
Sterling gets the edge for the double pits, where Palmer only had one. I guess another bike shop was supposed to be at Palmer. I don’t know. But, it wouldn’t have been too tough to set up another pit someplace so people could stash their tires in one location and use the neutral support in another. I saw one guy run an entire lap because he had a mechanical right after the pit. Props to him, but an avoidable casualty.

POST-RACE REFRESHMENTS
STERLING:
PALMER:
Nothing at Sterling that I could see. But, MRC brought some beverages and I had a banana in my cooler. Palmer had a food truck behind the school. And they gave away free Endurolyte pills at registration. Yeah for free stuff. I think they also had Hammer Gel samples. Enough to get you guy in a pinch.

OVERALL
STERLING:
PALMER:
Minor stuff aside, who can argue with two nice (if not cold) days at the end of November to do a cross race. I would strongly recommend this double next year just to experience both sides of the cross spectrum. Large very intimate. Grass versus roots. New and old. It is an interesting way to see where we are, and where we were. Everyone can then argue which is better. To me, they’re both pretty good.

Glad that’s over

Three races in four days. Not exactly a stage race, but tiring nonetheless. But what fun we had.

To imagine Palmer CX, take Sterling and do the exact opposite. A small intimate affair on a lot of single track with roots, step run-ups, technical riding. Even Mr. Paul Curley was riding without his disc wheel in the back. It was like Bizaro-world.

I saw this course on the pre-ride and thought “What in the hell am I doing here?” Technical riding is not my thing, and this was definitely not my thing. But, you should never judge a course on the pre-ride, and a course has a much different feel “at speed” than just riding around. It is amazing how speed can transform a course. Not that I have a lot of speed, but you get the point.

I was wondering at the start of the day how long it would take for someone to utter the words “old school” or “before the UCI” or some such derivative. I heard it first right before the Cat 4 race at 9:00. “This is what all the courses used to be like before the UCI turned cross into grass crits.” Bing, bing, bing. We have a winner!

I was glad I got there at 7:30am, even though my race wasn’t until 10:00am. I was able to go around 4 times, each time picking up the pace a little bit. There were definitely harder and easier lines, and trying to discern which way to go.

You have to love low key races. Not that people don’t race as hard, but it is a totally different vibe. You have about 30 guys toeing the line, all kind of laughing and hanging out (at least until the official say 30 seconds).

Got a moderately decent start and hit the single track. There was no crowd to speak of. We disappeared into the woods, only to miraculously reappear at the end of the lap. That’s okay because there wasn’t a lot of time for distractions. I was riding fairly well considering I suck at single track. I have been doing a lot of rides with other guys on the area trails, and that definitely helped. Had to ride light over the roots, balance through the corners, let the bike run downhill, sit back when climbing, etc.

There was one section where you rode down a steep grade into a 90 left which then became a steep run-up. I rode it a few times during the race, but opted to dismount at the top, run down, and run up. It wasn’t a bad strategy. I didn’t lose much time, and actually passed a few people who had to slow way down to dismount and then run-up. I had the advantage of cutting inside of them. It is important to know your limitations.

Oh yeah, can’t forget the triple barriers, the river crossing over the palette “bridge”, and the run-up from hell. This was like a 20 foot wall. By the last couple of laps, it was as if we were summiting some 8000m peak, one foot in front of the other, eyes cast downward. The people yelling encouragement didn’t help either. One of my teammates was screaming to go faster. I almost hit him. But I was too tired.

There have only been two races this year where I was thankful for the race to end: Mansfield and Palmer. Both will absolutely kick your butt. The total body-wrenching pain is quite different from other anaerobic crit-type courses. Everything hurts. But, strange thing is that we call this fun!

Oh, and I finished 9th in the Masters 35+ 1/2/3 race. Basically I am very happy with that result. I got everything I could out of that course, and I left not bleed and not crashing (it wasn’t for lack of trying). I got to race some guys hard, and experience a type of ride you really don’t see all that much anymore. And the sad thing is that if you look at the New England Bikereg Cyclocross race section, we are down to one page. Three weeks left kids. Then what?

Could’ve been much worse

That about sums things up for today. Could’ve been better, but could’ve been much worse.

Butt cold of course. About 20F when I arrived at 7:00am for the Bay State CX in Sterling, MA. Holy crap. The ground was frozen solid. Not much wind, but enough to make you want to take up bowling or something warm. At least the sun was out, with the tease of warming up. It did get warmer, probably up to 25F. The warm-up was more to see the course than to actually stay warm. As soon as you stopped, the warming effect was lost. Good thing the Super Strength Greyhound Juice was in effect. Kept the legs moderately toasty while surveying what Tom Stevens had in store.

Many of the old features with some new features. All in all, fun stuff. The run-up (frozen), the horse jump (frozen), the newly dubbed Subway and “Mind the Gap” barriers, and gravely tight turns. Plus, a few new items to break up the long straights, and a start on the track.

The first bit of contention started with the Verge staging guy lined up the 3/4s behind the 4s. Bad move. The race director came up to him and said that he had it wrong, that of course you put the faster guys in front of the slower guys. But, we were already staged, which meant a lot of traffic.

I had my usual so-so start. Some guy was leaning on me, and I wanted to flick him into the tape. But, not a good idea at the start. Made it around the track safe enough and into the downhill-run-up combo. I saw a pile up happening, so I figured to dismount early and run past people. As soon as I started down the short hill, my feet flew from under me on the froze ground. I slid down the hill, and so did other people behind me. I fell pretty hard on my right side, mostly back, and it is pretty sore right now.

After that debacle, I started to try to move through the crowd, which was not easy. It was as if there was someone in the trees with a gun the way people were going down around me. The course wasn’t very technical, but icy and lots of inexperienced riders to go through. By this time I had no idea where I was in my race because we were all mixed together.

The next bit of excitement happened on a hairpin downhill by the pits. Guy in front of me goes down, and I have no where to go but over his bike. This was where riding over roots and such came in very handy, as I was able to ride directly over his bike very cleanly. However, by the time I was over his bike, I was in the trees, which presented a problem. After extracting myself from the trees, I was back on the course and able to find some room to groove.

Into the last lap, I heard a couple of clubmates who weren’t racing yelling that the “leaders” were right in front of me. I didn’t quite believe that, but figured I was in a decent position so I had better keep the gas on. I was able to catch a few more people, including a teammate on the last lap toward the end. Generally, I was powering past people on the straight sections pretty easily. I was almost able to catch the guy that was next, but ran out of real estate.

I looked at my watch and saw that I only raced for about 36:30 out of a 40 minute race. That was a major drag, as one more lap and I could have made up some more ground. What made it more depressing was that I was 4th in the 3/4 35+, missing the podium by one. I know that one more lap and I would have had 3rd. Tends to be a common feature of races now that I get short-changed on time.

All in all, it could have been a lot worse. I’m a bit disappointed for missing the podium. Second week in a row that I finished one spot “out of the money”. But, I’m happy I was able to pull through so many people during the race. Gives me some confidence going forward.

Positives: Not giving up when things got sucky. Racing more aggressive. Riding over someone’s bike.

Negatives: Lousy start. Not knowing how to ice skate. Still need to work on turns.

Two races in three days. One more to go!

Pedifile (sic)

There is a gymnastics facility in Stow that was in the news recently. I guess there is an accusation of an instructor there raping former students of his while they were students of his. This was supposed to have happened at other facilities, I think. I don’t know the details. Anyway, all I do know is that driving home there were four news vans parked at the Stow House of Pizza ready to beam to their satellites from on location.

I drive by the sign for the facility and someone has sprayed “Pedifile” on the sign. Great, something to take down my property values. Thanks a lot! Plus, if you are going to deface private property, at least have the common courtesy to consult a dictionary first so that you don’t make yourself look like a bigger yahoo than you already do by spray painting on a sign. What a nimrod. But, I guess people that would spray point on a sign would be those who do not own a dictionary or any reading material beyond The Star or something.

In other news, did a 5k today, the Stow Gobbler 5k. First in a long time. I haven’t been running at all since the bad toe incident. I wanted to go 18:00 and damned if I didn’t go 18:00. Nothing stellar. Just enough to get a workout. Finished 6th overall and 2nd in my age group. Given the long weekend of racing that I have to deal with, I didn’t want any heroics. Mission accomplished.

1st Stow Gobbler 5k

Out of 5

PARKING:
This was held at Bose in Stow, so plenty of parking to go around. Plus, being a small race, no problems at all.

REGISTRATION:
I should have pre-reg’d, but planned on doing a different race. Sick daughter=closer to home. Anyway, relatively smooth. But, here’s a pointer: put the blank reg for on a separate table so that people can fill them out before standing in line. They did have a course map, which is a plus.

BATHROOMS:
I didn’t have to use them. But, there were four PoJs, which was plenty for this crowd. Plus, some private nooks and crannies in the surrounding area to go in a pinch. Being a very local race, everyone could go before leaving for the race.

COURSE:
Road races, especially 5ks, are relatively simple affairs, and thus should be hard to screw up. Only a few essential elements are need:

1. Is it accurate in terms of distance
2. Are the miles marked and accurate
3. Is it “fair” or “honest”, which means is it anything but flat. For a course to be fair or honest, it has to have some rolling hills.

The course fit the bill on all counts. My Garmin had 3.12 at the end (we’ll give them the .02 for me not cutting the tangents enough. Miles 1 and 2 were marked and seemed to be relatively accurate. I didn’t see Mile 3, so that could be added. The course rolled a little, which broke it up. Relatively straight forward without too many turns. The course was open to traffic, but the time of day and holiday meant there wasn’t much traffic to be had. Overall, the course was nice for a holiday run.

There was also one water stop, but who cares in a 5k in November. One potential deduction for plastic water cup. DO NOT USE PLASTIC CUPS FOR A ROAD RACE!!! USE THE KIND THAT YOU CAN SQUEEZE WITHOUT HAVING THEM BREAK!!!!

POST-RACE REFRESHMENTS:
Bagels, bananas, granola bars, water, etc. They tried to do the right thing by having coffee, but it was Dunkin Donuts coffee, and who likes that swill anyway?

AWARDS:
This is where a lot of races drop the ball. Because there were walkers on the 5k course, we had to wait until EVERYONE was done. Took forever. Mostly everyone left. I stuck around because I give my daughter medals from races. Gotta get things rolling faster after a race. At least they broke up the age groups in 10yr increments and didn’t double dip.

OVERALL:
This race was conceived by two brothers who goto Nashoba Valley HS. They are part of the XC team that took 3rd at States. Proceeds goto a good cause, and they showed a lot of initiative in putting this thing together. Good for them!! You really can’t complain about anything. They got twice the people that they expected, and that a lot of bodies doing something healthy. Nice job.

Product Review – Shave Deluxe

Alright guys. You know how you hate razor burn, bumps, and stubble that comes from a not-so-satisfying shave. No matter the type of blade or gel or foam, we just can’t get that smooth feel. And, we haven’t quite crossed that bridge to waxing. So, what is a guy to do?

Enter Shave Deluxe. a new product that claims to “dramatically reduces razor drag allowing the razor to glide over your skin. At the same time it moisturizes and conditions the skin.”

I became aware of this product through Bicycling Magazine and a review of the product in the Lab Rat section. There, it received 4 1/2 rats (out of 5 rats) and glowing reviews from the testers. So I decided to give it a try.

When I received it, I thought I had been had. No way this little bottle was going to work. Plus, the instructions say to use only about 5 drops of the product per “area”. I defined an “area” from my foot to my knee, and another area from my knee to none-of-your-business. So ten drops per leg. Rub it in your hands, on your leg, and let the magic begin.

It was strange at first to use because there is no lather to guide your shave. Kind of like losing your place when reading. But, I persisted. The results? I have to say fantastic. It delivers everything that it offers. No burn, bumps, stubble, and a nice close shave. The only downside is that it can gunk up the razor a bit (being made of oils), so you need to clean the blade often. Other than that, it works really well. If you don’t believe me, check out my legs at the next race.

The other positives are that it is a “100% natural blend of essential and base oils with a hint of menthol. Nothing artificial.” Plus, no animal testing.

So, get some and try it out. I’m working on getting samples for all registrants at the MRC Wrentham Cross Race.

RATING (out of 5 )

BRC/Land Rover Shedd Park CX in Lowell

Out of 5

PARKING:
Here, there, and everywhere. Seems to be enough parking, but all over the place. Up top, on the bottom, and various other locations. Not bad, but not as convenient as other places. Hopefully the road gets done in time for the race next year so you don’t need a Land Rover to navigate through the pot holes.

REGISTRATION:
Minor grumblings among the attendees when at 7:30 things were not in swing yet. I was in the Masters 35+ so I just walked up. But, the lines for the Cat 4 were looong. And last year we got Slick Willy Lube at registration. Where was the Slick Willy Lube?

UPDATE: One of the RDs emailed me about the challenges of getting over 70 men going for the first race. Point taken! It is interesting to see how the first race of the day dwarfs many of the later races. While the Cat 4s typically go off first, does it make sense to put them second given their large size? Of course, getting 70+ people off the course and hopefully partially out of the parking lot eases potential parking issues. As others have pointed out, having 70+ people wait for their race creates a crowd to watch the other races. Something to ponder.

And I am told that Slick Willy Lube was not a title sponsor this year. Bummer. Make sure to pick up your Slick Willy Lube elsewhere.

BATHROOMS:
Things seemed to be under control in the urination and defecation department. One PoJ in the lower parking lot. Don’t know if there were any up top. Plus indoor bathrooms, which is always a plus. No woods, though. Limits your options in a pinch.

COURSE:
This was the star of the show. Major renovations to the park meant that the course from last year could not be repeated on the top section. The changes were pretty nice. The long ride up was removed for an off camber downhill into a 90 degree turn steep uphill. Some rode and some ran. This is what we like to see: decisions being made in the race regarding what to do. The construction up top meant there was a loose bumpy section into last year’s corkscrew switchbacks. Plenty of speed and risks to be taken here.

The track was interesting as well. As Gewilli pointed out in his blog, it was not mud in the proper CX sense in that it was deep and traction wasn’t a problem. But, it was slippery and wet and, well, muddy. Decisions here regarding what line to take as well. I like races where you have different line options and aren’t locked into the same thing all the way around.

Plus, extra special bonus points for cleaning the course before the race. On my pre-warmup walk around the course, you could see little bits of glass. Talking to the race organizers, they said that they had to take away a lot of glass the day before. So, while we can tear up a course, we also perform a valuable public service!

One minor issue with the relatively quick 180 degree turn up a hill and around a tree at the start of the race. Major carnage. Don’t know how you get around this other than moving the start even further back on the track to give some more time for things to spread out a little more.

LINEUP:
No real problems in the 35+ race, but discussions with the Cat 4 guys indicates a general lack of awareness regarding where the start was actually going to be. That’s a bit of a problem. No call ups or anything: Just Show and Go. We were lined up about 20 across the front that funneled into a narrow track section. Not too bad. But, please have some kind of indication regarding where the start is going to be so that people know well ahead of time. Maybe a sign that says “Start”.

PITS:
Two pits: one up top and one at the bottom. Extra special bonus points for the guys from Wheelworks for having a supported pit. But, the other pit is a bit out of the way for everyone that is not parked up top. Decision time: where do you put your tires? Do you feel lucky, punk?

POST-RACE REFRESHMENTS:
I didn’t see any. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Sifr. Nuthn. There was a liquor store across the street, but they didn’t open till 12:00.

Minus points for the MRC crew for not coordinating who was going to bring the recovery beverages. The MRC conversation: “I thought you were going to bring it.” “I brought it last time.” “What about so-and-so?” “He didn’t bring anything either.” “Who brought drinks?” Apparently no one.

UPDATE: Add for having free pizza and chili that I missed because I had to get home. Anytime anything is free, especially food, extra special bonus points. Next time I’ll bring the kids to have fun at that awesome playground.

OVERALL:
No matter the drawbacks, it was a fun day. A near-by venue and a challenging course with a little of everything. Good times and good people. Always a high point on the cross calendar. A lot of hard work goes into putting these things on, so kudos to the BRC crew for doing a nice job!

The musical selection was a little suspect through. Hillbilly into Alternative into International music. The mix from hell.

UPDATE: One things I should add is whether a course is family friendly. I would say this course is family friendly given the playground that is there. The kids can have fun pretty much in the middle of the course. That, and the proximity to Boston, makes it a nice choice to bring the kiddies.

Running with the big dogs

Due to the timing of the races, I opted to do the Masters 35+ (1-4) race at Lowell. I started this season as a 4, upgraded to 3, and now I am racing against guys who really know how to race. Uh oh.

The course was really nice and fun. I’ll post more at gdracereport.blogspot.com. But overall there was a little of everything. The bottom half was just like last year, with single track through the woods. Same barriers. But the top half was completely different due to the recent improvements made to the park (which is a very nice park!).

Race started on the cinder track at turn 3. When I arrived at 7:00am, it was frozen solid and fast. By 10:00am, it was soup. Thick cinder soup. With mud puddles. At the starting line, I was wedged in between cyber-luminaries Gewilli and CTodd. I’ve raced against both before, so that provided some comfort when looking at some of the other powerhouses in the race. On the front line, we were pretty widely strung out and had to funnel into a narrow track. By starts are usually lousy, but couldn’t be today.

Bang! Of we go, sliding through the soup. I was about 10-15th wheel approaching a quick uphill 180 degree turn around a tree into the first barriers. Of course, some guy wipes out, blocking the whole field. While straddling my bike, I shimmy through the carnage to keep going. That loses me some time, but I don’t have great expectations today anyway.

The addition of a steep hill that you enter through a 90 degree turn was a nice touch. The designers said they hoped this would be a runup, but it was definitely rideable. However, not when it is clogged with people. So, I enter the hill trying to ride it, see there is not way, and jump off, pumping up the hill with my bike. Thank you toe spikes.

There is nothing better in cross than getting into the rhythm of the course. As you go on in the race, you start to remember what is coming, know what gearing to use, and find lines that work (all in a course that is constantly changing due to other riders and wear). I was able to find a nice rhythm here. While some people were passing me, I was passing a lot of people as well. Other guys from MRC were cheering like crazy, so I figured I must be doing okay.

Two laps to go I am able to reach another group. It was very strange to be hanging with people that I had watched when I started racing when I thought “I’ll never be able to hang with them.” I found myself on a very familiar solid disk wheel, thinking “Holy Sh*t, that’s Paul Curley.” For those not in the know, Paul has been National Champ in various age categories many times, and continues to put people into difficulty on the course. To be on his wheel was just WEIRD.

When I bell lap hit, I was shocked because time was flying by. I had not been checking the lap cards because the track was so soupy it required pretty constant concentration. I was tail end of a pack of about 6 guys. Going into the final steep hill, I wanted to be closer to the front. I shot around most of them to get second wheel and hit the hill hard, able to ride up it with another guy from NEBC-CycleLoft. I knew I thought I could outsprint him on the track, so I was satisfied to sit on his wheel through the single track, just trying to avoid mistakes.

Once we hit the single track, it was big chainring time. People had been riding the extreme outside line because it was dry. I had been riding a middle inside line. We were hammering next to each other pretty good. I was trying like crazy to keep my line because the momentum caused by our speed and lack of traction caused me to start to drift to the outside. I was able to nip him at the very end.

I ended up with 6th place overall, which was HUGE for me. Slight bummer in that I finished one spot out of the money (would have won $10 for 5th). But, not complaints here. Everyone on the team was pretty impressed with the performance, which was nice to hear. I was impressed to. Fellow MRC’er John Smith said to me once, “You’re never happy after a race.” That is generally true. I’ll typically find something to obsess on after a race that casts a pallor over the experience (John, being from Scotland, said that would make me a good Scotsman). This time, I’m pretty happy.

Positives: Running with the big dogs and not getting bit.

Negatives: My uniform is a disaster.

Things done well: Putting together things I’ve learned and been working on. Learning as the race went on. Start was smoother than previous ones.

Things that need improvement: Still everything. A little slow going into the barriers. Need to get in and out of the corners better. Was behind Wayne from NEBC-Cycleloft for a little bit, and he was great at it. Small things make for big separations in this group.