Jingle Cross in Iowa City has become a tradition for me since I went for the first time in 2008. Typically it signifies the end of my bike racing season and is a great race to cap things off with. It's been getting bigger every year and is one of the biggest CX races in the Midwest.
Still, I wasn't sure I wanted to go this year. After having a god-awful season on the CX bike I finally started to feel good about it at the GP Zac Daab race last week. A part of me wanted to end the season on a high note and take that stored-up enthusiasm into next year. Racing again at Jingle might mean something could re-dampen that enthusiasm and krush my konfidence.
Turns out that something is known as Mt. Krumpit.
I determined that not racing Jingle Cross would be lame. If my confidence was back up, why not take that into Jingle and kill it? Prove that things are on the up, and pile on more enthusiasm for the future. Besides, there was nothing better to do and I simply don't know what to do but race CX bikes on Thanksgiving weekend. So I went.
Rather than race Friday in the dark ("under the lights" - so they say) I decided to simply practice on the course whilst others were warming up. This gave me about 40 minutes of solid riding and allowed me to get in the way of the pros and pretend I was like them. My jacket even matched my bibs and I had a water bottle in my middle back pocket and my collar zipped up high.
Riding the course Friday, I felt unusually good. The course was dry but grippy; lots of turns and not very "heavy.," just ins and outs and punchy with some technical stuff thrown in. I'm starting to believe that these are perfect course ingredients for me. I also figured I was good and fresh from not riding my bike since the GP Zac Daab. Double-edged sword, that one.
Saturday morning my legs felt dead. "Tapering" taken too far. The steady rain turned my dream course into a slop fest. They added about 100 feet of extra length to the Mt. Krumpit klimb. The descent was outrageous, but it's like that every year so it was no surprise. We all ride the same course.
Off the start line, I careened through the field into the first corner when my brakes basically didn't hook up for a few seconds. The first mud race of the year never goes well. My tires were made for all (meaning some, mostly dry)-conditions. Not a deal breaker though, just keep seated and power through. Over the fly-over and up to the hill. Holy kow, Mt. Krumpit slammed the door on me like nothing ever has in a bike race before. Spirit broken, I plodded my way around, lamenting my water-filled shoes and dreading the long lines at the bike wash. My supposed propensity for mud races vanished 5 minutes into the first lap.
Sunday went a little better. Less persons showed up but the start was similar, only the mud had thickened up and mated with loose grass clippings to make that lethal peanut-butter/seaweed glop. This day, I was prepared for the run up Mt. Krumpit and so embraced it, doing the stutter steps that make me look like I'm running but in reality not moving a whole lot faster than someone essentially walking, but it's a distinction with a difference. If you walk, you gave up. If you appear to be running, you are running, even attacking. A lesson I learned a while ago but always forget until I'm staring up Mt. Krumpit each Saturday after Thanksgiving.
I beat a few more people on Sunday and generally felt better, as I usually do. Still, I raced terribly and was back to frustrated status. I can come up with excuses and theories all day (see above) but in the end I performed below my expectations; not just at Jingle but all year. It's unfortunate, but I had fun at many of the races and wouldn't have it any other way. Bike racing is hard and gets harder when you upgrade.
It's hard to believe the season is over. I have a lot of motivation going into the winter, and a lot of lessons learned. I'll do a season wrap-up soon; it will be good to take a step back and look at how the year unfolded.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
A Kit Sandwich: Bringing Back the Fun
I haven't updated this space in a while. This was both deliberate and circumstantial; I wanted to place less emphasis on pretend race results, but maybe that's because those results were inconsequential and/or the races were boring. For the last month or so I've been racing with an open mind and not blogging about everything.
I've been focusing on the State Championships and the GP Zac Daab, the race following States at the same venue the next day. The fact that these are the last MN races on the calendar is the biggest reason I focus on them. I need all the time I can get to get into shape. They are also great events with great turnout and atmosphere. They also tend to attract the best kind of weather, known as "real CX weather."
This season was very dry and mostly mild. This can mean me not doing well in races since there is nothing to slow the fast guys down. They jaunt merrily off the front with their "road fitness" and crabon bikes while I flounder at the back mumbling about "grass crits." Last year's State weekend was officially almost epic (nothing is ever truly epic), so on the morning of 2010 GP Zac Daab I woke up ready to destroy the field with my bike turning skills, which I sort of did except for one guy. I remember that race fondly because up to that day I didn't consider myself a "mudder" but proved I could handle it. I've since embraced that mentality so I was excited when snow was forecast for this weekend.
Unfortunately, it's my destiny to suck at the actual state championship race. I started poorly and finished that way, but managed to beat more people than usual so that's alright. It was sleeting and snowing ice balls and was windy. The course was fast and frozen so it wasn't tricky to ride. Moving on to Sunday...
I woke up this morning to 13°F and about 1-2" of powdery snow. No wind or clouds, however, so really it wasn't bad. Still, a challenging race to prepare for. I arrived at the venue and went for a preride. It was chilly but the course was great; lots of packed snow and a few slippery off-cambers. It was not muddy at all but the sun was starting to melt some snow so it was a bit wet here and there.
I had a decent start to the race for once. I think I was top ten going into the actual course after the prologue. I was pretty happy with this and it was almost like old times. Naturally, people starting passing me, and soon my ridiculously-strong teammate Martin came ridin' on by all casual-like. Then my other teammate and mustachioed strongman Ryan rode by. For most of the year these guys are destroying me, but today I was uplifted by the conditions and stuck with them. For his part, Martin had already raced and was tired so was not up front as he usually is.
For the next few laps the three of us rode as a group, trading pulls on the front when the leader seemed to slow down. We got a lot of comments from spectators and the announcer, my favorite being "We've got a kit sandwhich going: the new LGR kit sandwhiched by two old kits." Martin and I were wearing the red and black kits while Ryan had the new purple kit.
On the last lap, Martin and Ryan seemed to fade a bit so I decided to keep pushing forward and trying to catch more people. I was feeling pretty strong, and was loving the conditions. It wasn't really challenging out there, but the snow kept you honest. In the sand pit before the finish line I passed one more guy and rolled in for 15th, close to cracking the top half.
This is not where I figured I'd be at this point but it's good to get that reality check. Physically I am stronger than I was last year (or ever for that matter) but it's not enough. That is comforting in many ways. If it was easy it wouldn't be any fun.
Today's race was the first time I've had fun in a CX race all year. The conditions, racing hard with awesome teammates, and embracing the race for the first time in a long time made the day for me.
I've been focusing on the State Championships and the GP Zac Daab, the race following States at the same venue the next day. The fact that these are the last MN races on the calendar is the biggest reason I focus on them. I need all the time I can get to get into shape. They are also great events with great turnout and atmosphere. They also tend to attract the best kind of weather, known as "real CX weather."
This season was very dry and mostly mild. This can mean me not doing well in races since there is nothing to slow the fast guys down. They jaunt merrily off the front with their "road fitness" and crabon bikes while I flounder at the back mumbling about "grass crits." Last year's State weekend was officially almost epic (nothing is ever truly epic), so on the morning of 2010 GP Zac Daab I woke up ready to destroy the field with my bike turning skills, which I sort of did except for one guy. I remember that race fondly because up to that day I didn't consider myself a "mudder" but proved I could handle it. I've since embraced that mentality so I was excited when snow was forecast for this weekend.
Unfortunately, it's my destiny to suck at the actual state championship race. I started poorly and finished that way, but managed to beat more people than usual so that's alright. It was sleeting and snowing ice balls and was windy. The course was fast and frozen so it wasn't tricky to ride. Moving on to Sunday...
I woke up this morning to 13°F and about 1-2" of powdery snow. No wind or clouds, however, so really it wasn't bad. Still, a challenging race to prepare for. I arrived at the venue and went for a preride. It was chilly but the course was great; lots of packed snow and a few slippery off-cambers. It was not muddy at all but the sun was starting to melt some snow so it was a bit wet here and there.
I had a decent start to the race for once. I think I was top ten going into the actual course after the prologue. I was pretty happy with this and it was almost like old times. Naturally, people starting passing me, and soon my ridiculously-strong teammate Martin came ridin' on by all casual-like. Then my other teammate and mustachioed strongman Ryan rode by. For most of the year these guys are destroying me, but today I was uplifted by the conditions and stuck with them. For his part, Martin had already raced and was tired so was not up front as he usually is.
For the next few laps the three of us rode as a group, trading pulls on the front when the leader seemed to slow down. We got a lot of comments from spectators and the announcer, my favorite being "We've got a kit sandwhich going: the new LGR kit sandwhiched by two old kits." Martin and I were wearing the red and black kits while Ryan had the new purple kit.
On the last lap, Martin and Ryan seemed to fade a bit so I decided to keep pushing forward and trying to catch more people. I was feeling pretty strong, and was loving the conditions. It wasn't really challenging out there, but the snow kept you honest. In the sand pit before the finish line I passed one more guy and rolled in for 15th, close to cracking the top half.
This is not where I figured I'd be at this point but it's good to get that reality check. Physically I am stronger than I was last year (or ever for that matter) but it's not enough. That is comforting in many ways. If it was easy it wouldn't be any fun.
Today's race was the first time I've had fun in a CX race all year. The conditions, racing hard with awesome teammates, and embracing the race for the first time in a long time made the day for me.
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