MFG Cyclocross Woodland Park

Well, it's been a long time since I posted anything here. But today I have a great reason to be back. The boys and I raced at Woodland Park and had a blast. Jake finished 2 laps (after a crash on lap 2 - but he was fine). Zach finished 3 laps and battled against another kid (Thomas) for the last 1/4 lap. It was awesome! Thomas' dad and I were loving it. Was pretty cool to see Tyler Farrar show up and race in the Cat 1/2 race as well.

Post-race bike photos

I forgot to post these last night. We have a really cool Macro lens that I don't take advantage of nearly enough.





Sharon snapped this one from the car as we left. I love the look of a course set with pumpkins.

What is Cyclocross?

For those of you out there that read posts about cyclocross and wonder what all the fuss is about, here are some videos that I found that will help illustrate what it is and why it is so addictive, while at the same time making you want to vomit.

Here is a definition of cyclocross that I used in an old post last year:

It's the least understood but most emphatically enjoyed faction of cycling. It's mud-bogging, sand-squirming, barrier-hopping, wet-grass-slipping, steep-pitch-scrambling fun.

It will make you want to puke. It will make you want to fall over. It will make you feel alive, and once your heart rate comes down, you'll want to do it again.

It's called Cyclocross, and it's like no other cycling discipline (but somewhat like all of them).

On to the videos.
Right-click and open this in a new window:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJkzC1JFrkw

Right-click and open this in a new window:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UTsv53qDTQ

This one is a little bit long and silly, but it starts to hit on why it is so addictive:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_W8AsilPMM

Here is one taken at a local race in Seattle last season. I was racing that day, but I don't think you see me in the video.

Seattle Cyclocross - South Seatac from Jeff Evans on Vimeo.

Fun (but Rough) Weekend of Cyclocross

This weekend, we were very fortunate to have 2 races. On Tuesday, we found out the the idiotic City of Seattle revoked the permit for MFG to host the Saturday race at Lincoln Park. I'm not going to go off on a tirade here. Maybe I'll write up more details later. The important news is that, incredibly, MFG was able to find a new venue and pull off the race anyway.

Saturday I arrived early to Evergreen H.S./Lakewood Park for the "relocated" MFG Race #5. I got in plenty of warm-up and was at the headed to stage for the start with plenty of time to make sure I got a good starting position. That's about where the good news ends. As I finished up my last lap around the track, I felt my rear tire getting low. Not a good time for a flat. They were just starting the staging for my race. I had no time to get over to the pit area and grab my back-up wheel. Luckily, I was right next to the Cucina Fresca tent. My friend Brad rides for the Cucina Fresca team and I thought maybe someone there could help. Cole was there. I had not met him before, but he was really helpful. In seconds, he had the valve core out of my tubular tire and was pouring Stans sealant in. I was not confident that the Stans could seal it up immediately and handle a race, but at least it got me going. I made it to the start and still had a great position, right behind the front row.

I got a good start and was part of the front pack of riders. After heading down the straightaway of the track, the course hopped up over a low curb and onto to short section of pavement turning to the right before we hit the grass. I had pre-rode several times and was prepared for the turn. I started into the turn, and suddenly the rider in front of me came off his line and moved to the left. With no chance for any reaction, his rear wheel came across and hit my front. BAM! I was on the ground with riders toppling over me. OUCH. Quickly back up. Pain, but nothing too bad. Grab the bike. Handlebars are pointed off at a 45 degree angle. Jump to the front of the bike and pinch the wheel between my legs and try to hammer the bars back to straight. They are not budging. Ride to the pits, get a multi-tool and loosen my stem to adjust the bars. Tighten the bolts and get moving.

I am dead last in my start and the next group (age 45+) is already passing me. I push as hard as I can to try to catch back up to the back of my group. I'm actually going pretty well and getting past a lot of the 45+ field. I try to pass on a descent and go down in the mud at the bottom. No injuries, but frustrating as hell. Back on the bike, trying to make up more ground. About a half a lap later, my rear tire is going flat. AAARRRGGHHH! What else can go wrong!?

Nice to have tubulars. Certainly can't go fast, but at least I was able to ride the flat to the pits. More time lost changing my rear wheel. Now I am a lap down and just riding out of pride. For the first time this season, I did not finish on the same lap as the leaders. Stuck around to see some friends start their race, but then headed home to nurse my wounds.

Woke up sore Sunday morning, but at least there was the extra hour of sleep ;-) I had the night before to race, and I stuck with it. We managed to get the kids up and out and didn't even leave too late. Sunday's race was number 5 in the Seattle series. It was at Maris Farms, a family farm with petting zoo, corn maze, pumpkin patch, etc. Figured it would be a fun venue for the kids. As we drove up, it was really cool to see the course - set with pumpkins, instead of yellow tape.

I was riding on my wheel with tubes and Hutchinson Bulldog tires. I was actually happy about that, because the one thing I didn't mention about Saturday's race was how miserable my Vittoria tires were in the mud. I splurged on my tubular wheels and didn't know what tires I wanted. I got lots of recommendations for Tufos that cost like $150 per tire. I decided to get some cheap Vittorias to get started with until I figured out what good tires I wanted to invest in. Big mistake.

Most of the course at Maris Farms was muddy. For the most part it was the more "mashed potato" consistency, and not the "slippery snot" type (except in the corn). The Bulldogs didn't really help much, because my tires got so clogged with mud that it was just mud on mud. In case you haven't ridden a bike in these conditions, that is not a good thing. Mud on mud trying to go uphill is like ice skating on butter knives.

Call it being fat and out of shape, recovering from a cold, tired and bruised from Saturday...what ever you want. I was slow on Sunday. Then I got even slower. I got to the top of one of the run-ups, and put my bike on the ground. It didn't roll. my rear tire was locked and dragging on the ground. I tried to free it, but the rear brakes were completely clogged with mud and grass. I gave up and shouldered my bike and resigned myself to running out the rest of the race. After a few minutes, I realized that I was going to drop dead trying to run the course. I stopped and went back to work on the rear brakes. After a couple minutes, I finally got the wheel spinning.

I started riding again, but there was no race left in me. I was tired, bummed, and ready to be done. Shortly after I crossed the finish line and headed out for another alp, I heard them announcing the leaders crossing the line with one lap to go. I knew that if they caught me, I would not finish on the same lap...again. I was proud of the fact that until the day before, I had been finishing pretty well in the races and always on the same lap. But for the first time, the really bad thoughts crept into my head. Wouldn't it be nice if they catch me, so that I can be done? I tried to push them out of my head, but I think it was too late. Sharon and Zach got a video of me right at this moment. You can hear them announcing the leaders coming through with one lap to go. It is pretty clear from the video that there is not much wind in my sails. Oh well, there's always next week.

I just dropped off my wheels at uBRDO to have some Challenge Fangos glued up. Word on the street is that they are the best mud tire that crosses over to dry conditions. For someone like me that only has one set of wheels, this is the ideal set-up for Northwest cyclocross, because we get a lot of mud. But as the first few races of season proved, we get our share of "California-cyclocross" conditions as well. My wheel will be ready Wednesday, and I'm looking forward to a better race out at Sprinker Park (where the infamous "Chicken-legs" and "Where's the Beef?" pictures were taken).



Here are pics and video from Maris Farms:


I can't remember, but I'm sure that's Joe yelling something horrible to motivate me

Even on a tough day, here's proof that I do actually pass people out there


The next one in the series didn't come out, but I got past a couple more on that descent.

Video:

This Week's Forecast - Milestones with a Sprinkling of Reality Check

The past week included a few milestones in my marathon training. I ran 20 miles for the first time. That is the longest I will run before the marathon. I also ran my standard Green Lake Outer Loop (3.2 miles) at an avg pace of 7:34/mile, which has been a goal for a while (not 7:34 exactly - I was shooting for 7:30, but it's close enough for me). And finally, I managed to run better than my target pace for the marathon on a "distance" run. I call "distance" anything that is noticeably longer than the usual 3-5 miles that I run and can easily maintain a fast pace on. Tonight I ran 6.2 miles (with some hills) at an avg pace of 8:43/mile.

The reality check part is that the avg pace for the 20-miler was 10:30. Now I don't try to push the pace on a day where I am running further than I have ever run, so I didn't expect a fast pace. On a day like that, the only goal is to complete the distance that I set out to run. Considering the weather and the fact that Sharon and I were running together, it is pretty amazing that we did complete it.

Another dose of reality came with tonight's run. I was running less than 8-minute pace for a while tonight, but still only netted out to 8:43 because of the hills, and a bit of fade at the end. I felt like I was going fast, and I was trying not to obsess about the numbers while I was running. It is just a bit disappointing when the numbers aren't what you expected. But I did run 20-miles on Friday and race my bike Sunday, so maybe I should cut myself a little slack...

I know that there will be all the other people and the adrenaline factor on race day. But...it is a big gap to fill.

Getting the first 20-miler under my belt has definitely helped. I feel much more confident about the marathon overall. I am just now finally honing in on the timing goal of under 4 hrs and realizing how hard it will be. I think I will try to push the pace a little harder on the next (and last) 20-miler. We'll see how it goes.

Ups and Downs

I never wrote anything about the Seattle Cyclocross series race #1. It was at Evergreen High School. It was a good race for me overall, but I had a horrible start. I thought that I was being really good by making it to the staging area 15 minutes before the race. I was dead last. I didn't realize how many people show up to the first race of the season and how eager everyone is. Completely different than the races later in the season. I raced well, but finished 43rd. Actually not bad considering that I was in the last row in a field of over 90 riders. For those of you challenged by math, it means I passed almost 50 people.

I missed race #2 in the series because I was down in Cannon Beach with the family.




Race #3 was this past Sunday at Silver Lake in Everett. The course was fun, but tough. I haven't felt that bad on the bike in a long time. After about 1.5 laps, I was toast. I really thought I was going to be dead last. But I guess others struggled as well, because I was somewhat surprised to see that I finished 48th out of 74 that started.

It was my first race on my new tubular wheels/tires. Not like me to go through the process of deciding to get tubulars and trying (and failing miserably) to glue them, and not write about it. I think I was embarassed about the failure. I had to bring them into the shop to have them save the day and get them mounted.

They are sweet, but I need to get used to them. I think I had a little too much air in them on Sunday. Looking forward to Steilacoom this Sunday, even though the run-up instills fear in my chicken legs.

MFG Race #3 - A Fun Race & A Good Cause

Yesterday was the Starbuck's Gran Prix, benefiting the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Last year, it was a stand-alone race, but this year it is part of the MFG series. After calling up the top 8 riders in the the class standings to the line for the race, they invited anyone who had a family member that was fighting cancer or a family member that is a cancer survivor. Let's just say that a lot of people moved toward the starting line. Thoughts of many people ran through my head, but most prominent was Becky. How bad can it hurt to push yourself to the limit on the bike for 30 minutes, compared to what others go through?

That was a rhetorical question. But, I will tell you that it does hurt quite a bit.

The race was at Lake Sammamish Park. It was a new venue for me. Not sure if the the Seattle series has been there in the past or not. A very flat, fast course. Not a great layout for me, as speed is not the strength of my cycling repertoire. What is? And it included a long stretch of deep sand beach. My plan was to cut down to the water's edge and ride in about an inch of water, where the ground is very firm and rideable. But on warm-up lap #2, they were taping off the water so that you could not ride it. I was worried that the long run through the sand carrying my bike was going to inflict serious damage. So I decided to ride the "detour", which was a thin strip of firm sand along a retaining wall further up the beach. The only problem was that it was a longer route. But I chose it because I felt that I would get through the sand in much better condition to immediately push in the upcoming flat section, and make up any ground that I lost. In hindsight, it wasn't a great choice because of issues getting stuck behind other riders and the fact that the nice firm sand got torn up pretty fast as people rode and ran through it.

I still don't know how I finished, because I had to leave to go to the airport to pick up my wife before they posted my the race results. As of this morning, they are still not posted online. But I felt that I raced hard and did push myself close to the limit. As I look back, there is always the feeling that I could have pushed just a little bit harder. Or at least I could have run the beach section, instead of trying to ride the detour. Oh well, life goes on.

Next week, I'll miss the MFG race on Saturday. Bummer, because I think I am actually doing pretty well in the overall standings. But hopefully, I will make it to the Seattle series race on Sunday, and try to redeem myself for the horrible start in the last race.

Here are some pics courtesy of Joe Martin - thanks, Joe.

I actually made it to staging on time and got a good position (2nd row, visible between front row guy in bright yellow and guy in black)

Riding a section of the beach

Chasing a wheel after the hairpin

Making up some ground on slower riders in the barriers