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Kisscross Cannonsburg Ski Area – Cyclocross is back

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So the day finally came that I have been anticipating since, a monster of a sandy hill and a tight 180 turn in a sandpit. I was competing in both the C and B categories tonight. My aim was to do well in C’s and use the B race to fine tune my ‘cross legs for the rest of the season. The hole shot is critical in ‘cross and I only managed to place fifth of sixth rounding hill at the first turn. I was on the inside and the rider in front of my went straight over his bars blocking the whole inside line bringing me to a complete stop. By the time I recovered I was down in about twelfth place. Thoughts of victory were gone in that first turn. When we hit the creek crossing for the first time the field bottlenecked and I ended up, no exaggeration, waiting my turn as riders crossed three abreast. After that, much of the race was a blur. It took a few laps before I found my rhythm. The creek crossing was a focal point for the crowd and a herd of screaming cowbell toting ‘cross fans made for a gladiatorial atmosphere. After thirty lung scorching minutes it was over, all too soon.

Results weren’t available on the night as the new electronic scoring system was bedding in but I found out later that I had managed a respectable 2nd place in the 35+ category. Can’t be disappointed with that at the first race of the season.

After a quick bike clean up and check over I was back at the start line less than thirty minutes later for the 45 minute B race. I took a steadier approach and felt fully in control as I picked off riders lap by lap. I purposefully started at the back and worked my way up about fifteen places during the race as I gained in confidence and commitment. By the end of the B race the creek crossing was a total leap of faith as the lights failed to illuminate the entry bank. Both legs were submerged half way to your knees in mud as you jumped in. Perfect. The hurdles area was also in complete darkness by the later laps with lights shining in your eyes as you tried to line up for them. Again this just added to the challenge.

Post race a crowd of wet, sweaty, muddy racers dissected the race over a beer while the A racers showed us how it was done. Did I mention that I love the fall for a reason?

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Seahorse Triathlon – Swim, bike, run and relaxing fun

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It was finally time for triathlon season to start and shake off the rust of the winter. I’m taking a lower key approach to racing triathlons this year and my late decision to sign up for the Seahorse triathlon reflects that different mindset. Even with the late sign up, there was still time for the weather forecast to change from 80’s to mid-90’s, I had to be prepared for a hot one. There was great representation from the team at the race with the relay team, RJ and myself plus more non competing others giving us all great support – thanks Micheal and great photos – thanks Stephanie.

A quick warm up swim revealed I was feeling relaxed and ready to go. The water was pleasant without being too warm at 72F so I went with the full wetsuit. I stayed relaxed and focussed despite someone who was trying to draft me constantly grabbing my feet through the whole swim. Other than my drafting partner the water wasn’t too crowded and I was able to get around the two laps efficiently which was my main aim. I clocked a steady 30:57 for the 1500m. I had a hiccup in the first transition when my wetsuit decided to adhere to my right ankle. Doesn’t matter how many times you rehearse, these things happen. I must have lost close to a minute by the time I had untangled myself.

The bike course was smooth and fast with just one longer incline and a short section of rough pavement that had to be negotiated on each of the two laps. Dan riding his relay leg blew past me at about 10K giving encouragement as he went. I settled in and rode a fairly conservative leg averaging 21.2mph for the 40K. My second transition thankfully went exactly to plan and I was in and out in 41 seconds.

The run was interesting, a mix of pavement, grass and wooded trails. I felt like I was running one of the faster Dances With Dirt legs for a while. The run course was another two lap affair made up of multiple intertwining loops. I’m sure I saw RJ eight times out on the course! I started out at 7:30 pace and was able to maintain for the first few miles. The humidity started to build and eventually my legs that had felt strong to that point faded in the last ten minutes. My family came out to cheer me on at the finish which always makes for a great ending to any race.

My finish time of 2:36:50 was in the ballpark of what I was expecting from myself today. It was respectable enough and would even have won my age group last year. Unfortunately there were a lot of faster people out there today and I was only 6th in age group and 37th out of 101 overall but no complaints. All in all I came away satisfied with my performance, shook off the rust for a new season and have a good marker for races to come this year. Now it’s time to really go to work.

See Dan’s post below for photos.

– Neil Jenney

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Cone-Azalia Classic – “No pain, no gain?” More like, “No gain, all pain!”

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So my decision to race Cone-Azalia had me in Milan, MI on a sunny but windy Sunday morning. For the uninitiated Cone-Azalia is a part rough pavement, part dirt road, all wind exposed box of madness. The weather was overcast as I left Battle Creek, but as I passed Jackson a dark curtain pulled back to reveal a beautiful spring day. On arrival I found out Google’s GPS was not having a good day. Ironically there were four bike laden cars that all arrived at the same old industrial building. I led the convoy into a gas station to get directions and we were soon at registration.

A shorter than I would have liked warm up followed. The wind was high and the course exposed. All my pre-race intel told me the first of the three ten mile laps were typically frantic. There were over three hundred participants this year, a record for the race. We would be starting at two minute intervals by category. The start was fast, I found my place riding fourth or fifth wheel and was able to hold station for the first two laps. The race is known for is flats and true to form, a couple of riders flatted in the group not long after we hit the dirt for the first time.

The first lap was unrelentingly fast with no opportunity whatsoever to recuperate. Thankfully we had a couple of minutes to relax a little before turning back onto the dirt and crosswinds at the beginning of the second lap. As soon as we crossed the railway tracks and hit the dirt the first real attacks came. They were chased down quickly and status quo resumed. More attacks followed, most coming in the corners as we switched from pavement to dirt and back. No one could get away though, and approximately one third of the field took the bell together.

As we made the first turn onto the gravel on the third lap I made a mistake and lost my place at the front of the group, unfortunately this was right as a flurry of hard attacks came. I dug deep and held on. I was afraid the group would split so had to take some wind to get back near the front. I knew that I had to recover as much as possible but at this point it wasn’t going to happen. The attacks kept coming and after another turn I found myself 25 yards off the back of the group. Now it was a pure TT. I got stuck in no man’s land just off the back of the group for the next couple of miles. The two guys on my wheel were unwilling (although I’d like to think they were unable) to come around and help. Eventually we rounded to last corner to the finish stretch. It was mile and a half run directly into a headwind. I never let up but the lead group finally slipped away. My consolation prize was winning a token sprint against those finishing with me.

I was tired but happy with my performance as I always am when I give everything I have in a race. It was great experience for me. There was talk of a big crash somewhere on the course but thankfully I didn’t see it. The racing was pretty hair-raising in places so I wasn’t surprised. When I left the provisional results weren’t posted and are still not up online. I’m hoping I was in the 10-15th place range but it was all about experience and effort for me today.

Neil Jenney

 

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Barry-Roubaix – Everything that’s good about racing a bike

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After a week of summer weather in March, the filthier the conditions, the better!

It was less than an hour’s drive with the race day nerves jangling. After parking in the middle of a swamp and a quick gear check, the biggest headache was gambling on how much to wear. The weather was undecided and of course it had look good with the new TAR/WSI Internet kit. We headed to the road to warm up and check out conditions. A short run on the first gravel section confirmed that my tire pressures were good and I was grinning from ear to ear with anticipation before we made it back to the start.

I was in the third wave and got surprised by the 25+ mph pace during the neutralized roll out. Things were a little crazy and elbows were even flying up at the front of the pack. I backed off as there was plenty of time left to get aggressive with my riding. I settled in for a two hour effort. Things were fairly routine and a lot of fun but I was getting hot on the hills. Had I worn too much? I wasn’t taking on enough fluid either and as a result calf cramps hit at 15 miles. I stripped the arm warmers, committed to my bottles and tagged on to the end of a train where I could recover for a few miles.

I felt myself coming back and chased down one of my buddies on the course who had been disappearing down the road. I was now taking my turn pulling and gaining strength. And then it happened. I hit the new sandy section. I was riding the cross bike and it was a mountain biker’s paradise. It was brutal at that late stage in the race. I found myself alongside one of my new teammates questioning whether we were technically still racing as there was no one in sight pedalling a bike and no way past the bodies in front of us without taking crazy risks. As soon as I could remount I threw myself across the bike and put on my trail riding head. It was Custeresque in nature and there were plenty of the mud and puddles I was hoping for at the outset. Finally it was over and the course was back to the B-R we know and love.

I rose out of the saddle on the final climb and found my quads in knots. Even so, hitting the pavement with about six miles to go it was time to empty the tank. I threw down the hammer and hooked up with a couple of like minded souls who were ready and willing to work plus a couple that weren’t. To their credit they did have the good grace to thank me after we’d finished. I put my head down and (yes I’m really saying this) took a trip to my hurt box.

I can never complain when I left it all on the course. Today I did that and finished with a smile and a huge buzz from the whirlwind finish. A podium was not on the cards this time, I finished 57th of 129 in my category. My measure of success was that it was nearly a full 20 minutes before I started thinking about how I could be faster next year…

~Neil Jenney