Winchester Apple Cross 2014 -- the best course in the Mid Atlantic

Jake had a senior trip to ..... Washington DC on Friday and Saturday (they had dinner at Whitlows, hahahaha; the highlight was when they saw the pedal pub).  So, I grabbed him from the group Saturday afternoon.

Sunday morning we packed up and drove out to Winchester.  I love that course.  It's really well done.  Jon Hicks knows how to make turns and use the terrain.  (It doesn't hurt that it suits my power profile).

But there was discord.  Jake has been sick all week, coughing like a seal with pneumonia.  So, on Friday his coach emailed him to make clear that Jake should/would not race on Sunday.  It would just put him in a deeper health hole.  So, here's the photo of Jake when he got the news:

So this blog post is about Soigneur Dad as racer!

I had been feverishly gluing tires all week, so I had my Zipp 303 w/ Challenge Fango back in the front.  I had a new Chicane on a rear, but decided to go with a Grifo for traction riding up the wall.  I did 1.5 laps pre-ride.  Legs didn't feel great after a bit of a rest week (I hate rest weeks).  I was getting ready to get on the trainer to warm up, but instead thought I'd spend some precious time in the "facilities."  Oy.  So, limited warm up.

Although I've been top 10 here in the past (last year 7th I think), with current strength/fitness (or lack thereof) I figured a top 15 would be a decent goal.  I also made a conscious decision to hold back at the start.  After a scary crash in the start where I barely avoided hitting Bill Wheeler (he's fine)

Photo by the talented Doug Graham (I'm the one aimed directly at Bill on the ground)

  I let the front 10 go and sat behind Bill Lueke (NCVC) for a bit w/ Mark Stahl behind me.  I got around Bill in some technical bits in the woods and me and Mark had some fun.

Thanks again to Doug Graham (me and Mark)

I had gapped Mark at one point, but he came back on the start/finish road.  I used roadie mode and forced him to come around and pull then I went around hard past the pits.  In a humorous moment on lap 2 Mark fell over half way up the wall in front of me, forcing me to get off and run, then on the next lap, I was in front and in the exact same spot I pulled my foot out of my pedal forcing him to run.  We laughed.

With 2 laps to go, heading toward the wall, Cory of Sportif had crashed ahead of us and was laying there kinda tangled up.  Mark asked if he was ok and he said yes, but damn if Mark isn't a great guy so he stopped.  I felt guilty at that point but kept going (yes, I'm a horrible person).  From there it really was all out for me for the last lap to make sure Mark and others didn't catch me from behind.  Turns out I was 14th (Mark was 15th).  Usually I catch and pass Scott Stahl on the last lap of Winchester.  Not this year but he was 13th in front of me (he usually is way in front of me; he really should thrive on that course; it's a mystery why he struggles and I thrive).

Last I saw him Dan Klaussen was rolling away in the lead 10, so I was supprised when I saw him at 26th in the results.  Turns out he had rolled a tire (I don't remember passing him).

Dan shows rubbin is racin

Lots of fun today.  Great seeing old Friends.  Thanks to Doug Graham for holding my keys and all the great photos.  Good to see him again.

Eric Blomquist got me with a fish eye lens - cross beard is grey

 Got a new Winchester Apple Cross hat, this year in red

I only look mildly maniacal when I smile

Hope that I can convince Liam to come out to a race, and maybe even Loren.

Next weekend Jake & I will make our first ever trip up to the end of "Holy Week" -- Providence!

Cyclocross returns with a bang - Charm City CX 2014

Well. Yeah. Where to start.

There are people who do cyclocross for "fun." It's a lark, they wear funny socks or costumes and are more in it for the beer.  That's fine, but as Adam Myerson once said, it's also a race and it's ok to take it seriously.  That's me.  I take cross seriously.  I care about it. I want to do well.  I measure myself on how I ride and how I perform.  If I don't do well, I'm cranky.


But, we've had a lot going on in our lives here at Team Thompson & Son Racing.  Liam has retired or is taking a sabbatical (he won't let me sell his bike).  Jake has suffered various set-backs that have led to a frustrating year and him not being where he wants to be or can be.  Just 2 weeks ago he hurt his achilles running, so had to soft pedal for a week or 10 days.  Oh, and I didn't train and frequently failed to ride my bike at all for the first 7 months of the year.  So, I've got that going for me.  (but I do have a case before the Supreme Court -- T-Mobile v. City of Roswell -- Oral argument November 10th).

And cyclocross is not a sport that lets you ignore your equipment.  But our bikes basically sat untouched since the last muddy race in December 2013.  So, on Thursday Jake rolled a tubular in practice and we realized that we only had 1 pair of tubular wheels that weren't for super muddy conditions.  So, first a super big thanks to Scott Paisley of Blue Wheel Bikes in Charlottesville.  He's a friend and a great guy and he loaned me a pair of Ksyrium tubulars for Jake to race on.  Without them we'd have been in trouble.  As it was, he and I would "share" a pair of mud wheels in the pit in the case of emergency.

Saturday Jake and I drove up to Baltimore.  They have significantly changed the course.  I prefer the old version but maybe I'm just cranky.  It was a tough course with lots of climbing, sand, and stairs that are way too high for short people like me.

Oh, so, for a while my left pedal has been making noise and I knew I needed to rebuild it.  It's easy, I've done it before; Takes 15 minutes.  During warm up I said to Jake "this pedal sounds like it's going to explode" <that's called "foreshadowing">.

I lined up in the middle of 100 45+ racers (and good lord why do all these young guys have to now be 45+?).  I got a decent start and shot into the top 30 at least.  But, about 15 minutes into the race, I blew up and started going backwards.  BUT then my pedal blew up.  It had stripped itself and was now sliding off the spindle.  I could ride but had to focus on keeping my foot pushed inward to keep in on.  The biggest problem was when I turned and went to put my weight and lateral pressure on it, it would slide off.  I tried a neutral bike but literally crashed because the flat pedals left my feet slipping off.  it was terrible, so I took my bike back (neutral mechanic was like "but the pedal is completely off" -- me "it's better than this").  So I finished, getting lapped by the winner just before the finish line so I was down a lap and 69th.

it's not supposed to look like this

Look closely at this photo of me riding the sand and you can see it sliding off


Jake also had a hard time.  Someone hit him from behind the first time up the stairs and it unbuckled his shoe.  I gather he practically pulled his foot out of it and had to spend time trying to re-buckle etc.  Oh and we couldn't get his headset tight enough and it was creaking and making other nasty noises.
But he looked great in his new Air Attack helmet



This what happens when you don't get your shit together.

We hung out a bit with Tanner and his parents and Liam Panero and his mom, and had burritos.  It was of course always good to see people again. 

So, Sunday we try again.  I took the pedals off Liam's bike (I know I'm going to get a call mid-week that for the first time in 9 months Liam wants to ride his bike and "where are his pedals").

They reversed the course.  I felt ok in warm up. But now my rear Ksyrium was making noise.  I figured that would blow up today (it didn't).

The start was a mess.  Within 45 seconds They took us into a 190 degree off camber turn that was only 6 feet wide.  Now, I'm good at chaos, so I saw the clog starting and got off my bike and ran through the mess, passing probably 15 people.  Unfortunately, I blew up again (god it was hot and dusty) This time the blow-up came about 25-30 minutes into the race.  And the last 2 laps I had to "run" the second half of the sand because it was too dry and deep and my legs were shot (and by run I mean shuffle like an old man). I lost 10-15 spots in the last 3 laps (most all at once when a big group caught me and I died).  I was 50th.  Ugh.

Jake was racing in the elite junior race at the same time as me (starting 1 minute behind).  He passed me early.  But apparently the heat got him too.

[[updated: Gentry Jefferson got some cool shots of Jake on Sunday:

"Get out of my way old men"

 

But we hung out a bit again which was nice.  I wish I had more time to talk to all the guys I haven't seen in a year.

So, next steps: rush buy 2 sets of tubular wheels and hope we can glue them before Winchester or at least Providence.  Buy new pedals for me. Re-build Jake's.  Probably new bottom bracket for my bike.  Oh, and we will be "making the trainings," as the Belgians say.  (insert picture of trainer in front of brick wall in the dark).

It will get better, but I'm frustrated with myself for letting it get this bad.  The first cyclocross race is always a brutal slap in the face, punch to the gut, kick in the balls -- all at the same time. This weekend didn't disappoint.

Fun stuff coming up.  Next weekend is Winchester, which I LOVE.  And then the next week Jake and I are going to Providence.  It's a monument of American Cyclocross.  It should be super fun, even if neither of us will likely be at our peak yet.  But later we'll go to Cincinnati (you've been warned Peebles family), and of course everyone should go register for the Tacchino.

Hope you enjoy these little things.  Sorry for the lack of photos.