L84dinr
11-23-2005, 09:53 AM
Been hemming and hawing on whether to post...
Well I participated in my first ‘cross race. I say participated cause I sure wasn’t racing! I started the race on my C’dale cross bike with Vittoria Utmost sew-ups. My race wheels, with Michelin Jets with road tubes weren’t going to cut the mustard. I blew a tube, split the seam actually, the night before the race; so I figured I’d be better off racing the vittorias rather than take a chance on blowing another tube. (I have since replaced the road tubes with wider tubes, which won’t be stressed/stretched as bad as the road tubes). The utmosts worked OK on most sections, however there was a short steep uphill over a levee where the rear tire would spin under-load. I fell twice on the hill, back wheel spinning out. Dadgummit! Also, I haven’t had a stitch in my side since high school track days. The stitch started around the second lap and lasted till around the bell lap. I kept thinking "just ride thru it it’ll be gone pretty quick", man was I wrong. The legs were OK… Just couldn’t get enough oxygen! The eggbeaters are going to take a lot of getting used too. I spent a lot of time looking at my pedals after transitions. The chain fell off once, luckily I was able to spin it back on, the dog fang thing worked OK for once, it at least kept the chain from falling off to the BB. But all of the little mistakes and tribulations still don’t add up to the lack of engine!
The course was a great course. There was a road section; one jumped curbs to get to and from the CX course. Just a little bit of single track, (prolly about 35-40 feet). There was a double barrier in one spot about 12-15 feet; and a single barrier at the bottom of the levee. The levee came into play as it was crossed during the race twice each lap. After coming down the levee there was a right turn to a quick left into a sand pit… about 10-15 feet in length, which most portaged their bikes thru. It’s been very dry in these parts lately so the course was loose dirt and dry grass, which was very slippery in some of the corners. A few times the trees looked VERY BIG :>)
All in all a good time and I enjoyed the experience. I learned some things; one, I need a smaller bike! Also I need to ride a whole lot more!!! Nothing makes up for lack of training!
BTW, for the record, I finished last; lapped by the first five or six places… bummer. Didn’t really think I’d finish so far back, big bummer.
I love to compete, and competition… But man I really wonder sometimes. Oh well I am not going to quit riding/racing… But sometimes I think, man it would sure be nice to just quit all the work and get fat dumb and happy.
No more whining.
Back to the grind.
Sorry for the length, and Thanks for reading, rtp
Well I participated in my first ‘cross race. I say participated cause I sure wasn’t racing! I started the race on my C’dale cross bike with Vittoria Utmost sew-ups. My race wheels, with Michelin Jets with road tubes weren’t going to cut the mustard. I blew a tube, split the seam actually, the night before the race; so I figured I’d be better off racing the vittorias rather than take a chance on blowing another tube. (I have since replaced the road tubes with wider tubes, which won’t be stressed/stretched as bad as the road tubes). The utmosts worked OK on most sections, however there was a short steep uphill over a levee where the rear tire would spin under-load. I fell twice on the hill, back wheel spinning out. Dadgummit! Also, I haven’t had a stitch in my side since high school track days. The stitch started around the second lap and lasted till around the bell lap. I kept thinking "just ride thru it it’ll be gone pretty quick", man was I wrong. The legs were OK… Just couldn’t get enough oxygen! The eggbeaters are going to take a lot of getting used too. I spent a lot of time looking at my pedals after transitions. The chain fell off once, luckily I was able to spin it back on, the dog fang thing worked OK for once, it at least kept the chain from falling off to the BB. But all of the little mistakes and tribulations still don’t add up to the lack of engine!
The course was a great course. There was a road section; one jumped curbs to get to and from the CX course. Just a little bit of single track, (prolly about 35-40 feet). There was a double barrier in one spot about 12-15 feet; and a single barrier at the bottom of the levee. The levee came into play as it was crossed during the race twice each lap. After coming down the levee there was a right turn to a quick left into a sand pit… about 10-15 feet in length, which most portaged their bikes thru. It’s been very dry in these parts lately so the course was loose dirt and dry grass, which was very slippery in some of the corners. A few times the trees looked VERY BIG :>)
All in all a good time and I enjoyed the experience. I learned some things; one, I need a smaller bike! Also I need to ride a whole lot more!!! Nothing makes up for lack of training!
BTW, for the record, I finished last; lapped by the first five or six places… bummer. Didn’t really think I’d finish so far back, big bummer.
I love to compete, and competition… But man I really wonder sometimes. Oh well I am not going to quit riding/racing… But sometimes I think, man it would sure be nice to just quit all the work and get fat dumb and happy.
No more whining.
Back to the grind.
Sorry for the length, and Thanks for reading, rtp