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.
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| it's not supposed to look like this |
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:
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| "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.
Win, lose or draw, you are generally cranky.
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