Happy New Year

Hey all, winter has finally arrived and I'm ready for it to be over. I'm finding myself still motivated to ride but that may change with the appearance of the white stuff. The past few weeks have been busy with family activities and work around the house. I feel like I've gotten a lot of things done and I've tried to be helpful and focused on the kids when I have their attention. I've also been taking this time to re-energize myself for the new year.

I did manage to find some videos of my cyclocross victory this past year. They're fun to watch, at least for me. Make sure you turn down the volume, it was windy that day and its obvious in the video.

Lap 1: this is taken after almost a complete lap, Todd was leading the group and I was right there. Check out my remount, it's perfect! I didn't even look down, just boom and I'm peddling away. A good sign for that day.

Cross at the Rver_ SM35+4 end of Lap 1 from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

Lap 2: This is shortly after I attacked (there are some riders warming up before I came through). I thought the guy just behind me would catch me for a couple of laps but then he was gone. I think he finished 5 or 6th, allowing me to ride off to victory.

Cross at the river - SM35+ cat 4 end of Lap 2 from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

I'll be looking to identify my 2011 goals in the coming weeks, the races I'd like to target and the training I'll do to reach them. I'll put them up here.

Red Rocks

One more nice day for the year. Almost everyone was out for the "company" ski day. I got out for a couple of hours too. Red Rock has been repaved! Nice
It felt fantastic to get in a ride.

What a Ride!

North Cheyenne Canyon Park. It's been a few years since I've been here but I've been riding this park for the past 15 years.
Fantastic memories and a terrific day! Amazing! I loved every minute of it!

Gymnastics Meet

Kailee at the big, end of season, show!

Post-Cyclocross Depression

I came across a blog post from an obviously better writer than myself that I wanted to share. In it, she has an excellent description of why people show up to race their bicycles week in and week out, in this case cyclocross.

While I've never tried to put into words the serenity you get from a 45 minute race of pain and suffering, in the mud and cold. I believe this post is an excellent start. It's the complete emptying of your mind to abosolute focus on the all out task at hand.

-"It’s not that I miss the mud or the bike washing or the post-race track hack. I don’t miss the cost of replacing equipment or the pre-race warmups or the 39-degrees-and-raining start lines."
-"It’s the vortex that I miss."

-"The 45 minutes of unrelenting focus. A tiny slice of time in which I am reduced to crude physiology – violent circulation of blood, desperate dissemination of oxygen to muscles, a brain attempting to override and nullify notifications about widespread pain and suffering. This isn’t happening. it says I don’t believe you. [Shutup, legs!]"

-"It’s not a suspension of reality or an escape – it’s an intensification of everything that is inside."

Have a read.

Thinking About 2011

Now that the Colorado State Cyclocross Championship races are over, that pretty much ends my 2010 racing year. I know there are a few more races the ACA is pushing in January but I’m not sure I’ll make it. It’s hard to hold that high end fitness through the holidays. It will likely be a day of the race decision and if it’s wet and below freezing, I’m out, I really don’t have the clothing for that. I wouldn’t mind racing at the two remaining Colorado Cyclocross Cup races for points for next year. But that will depend on the outcome of the ACA annual meeting this Sunday. This season, the previous year’s points (2009) were good for the races in September and early October. But now the ACA is looking to have every race worth some points. If the points from the January races won’t carry over to next year then they’re not worth anything to me, since I upgraded mid season and I’m not worried about any kind of overall placing. So I might as well spend my time on other priorities. I have some jobs I need to get done around the house and it’s a good time to get them done.

I’ve been thinking about the types of rides and races I want to do next year as well as changes in my training strategy. One of the areas I think I’ll spend a little more time is racing the mountain bike. I’ve done some of the Winter Park series the past couple of years. I even did the entire series two years ago and a couple of races this past year. It’s never been a priority and I’ve never done that well. This year I’d like to improve my performance. I’ll still plan to do some road races but I’d like to see if I can improve my mountain biking. It goes without saying that the ultimate goal for 2011 will be cyclocross, I would very much like to see if I can grab some of those points to get a better starting position, then we’ll see if I can at least see the front of the Cat 3 race.

As for my 2011 training changes, I think I’ll get a little help. I’m not going to have any more time to train compared to last year but I want to make sure I maximize that time. There were too many times this past year that I spent wondering and worrying about if I was doing the right training. In the end I managed to have a killer cyclocross season but I think the earlier season could have been better. So for this next year I’m going to try having a coach help me out. I currently have everything lined up and I’ll let you know how things go. So far there’s not much going on but we have time.

Thanks for reading.

SM 3 CO CX Championship

After a whirl wind of activity at the house to get everyone out the door Sunday morning I left a little later than I wanted for the final day of racing at the Colorado Cyclocross Championship. I arrived with just enough time to get ready and get in a few laps before the course was closed and the racing began. I road two laps at a pretty slow pace, I didn’t race for a couple of hours and I didn’t need to start warming up yet. I just wanted to remember the course and get the legs moving. Everything was exactly the same as the day before. If anything it was burned in better, making it even faster. I knew how I was going to ride it, this time I was hoping the body would feel a little better.

We set up the team tent near the start and I watched the SM 4 race and cheered for my teammates. I got everything setup and basically just tried to stay warm. Sunday was much more festive around the tent. A number of the cat 4 racers stayed around after the race, the single speeders were in full force and there was a much better vibe compared to Saturday. A couple of non-racing team members showed up just to “check it out.” After the cat 4 race I hopped on the trainer and started getting warmed up and focusing on the race to come.

I’ve raced with the 3’s a couple of times but hadn’t earned any call up points so I had to start at the back of the pack. Again, I found myself in the last row. Even a few of the racers that had upgraded with me this year had managed to get some points and were called up. This time there were only 58 racers. The whistle went off and I was ready for the first laps silliness. This race however was different, when I saw a gap I could move up into it. I was able to find a number of gaps and I kept moving up.

Soon things were getting strung out, like they always do. I just focused on the racer in front of me. Close the gap, pass then focus on the next guy. I intentionally tried to not sit on any ones wheel for long. I figured I would keep this up for as long as I could. Soon I was passing familiar faces, I thought they were sticking to my wheel but it turns out that wasn’t the case. The race was hard but I my body was able to put down the power. During the last lap I began to notice that not many single speeders had come around me. I understand this is a bit of a success indicator for the 3’s, when you’re not passed by the single speeders that start 30 seconds behind us. In the final straight away Carlos, a powerful Gates Carbon Drive rider came by. By staying in front of him for so long I knew I must have had a good race.

In the end I finished 26th but having started last I felt pretty good that I passed 25+ racers. I ended up finishing right with racers that had been called up and received good starting positions. The racers that started with me were still in the back of the race. This is a race where I wish we had lap times because I bet I was competitive with at least the top 15. This felt like a great race, in the end I raced the same number of laps as the 35+ open race the day before, however I did it 2:15 faster and 3 bpm lower. Just as it has been all season, I was much better the second day. It felt great to finish on a strong note and gave me high expectations for next year.

You can see how far back I am in this first lap video

Colo state CX championships - SM3 Lap 1 early from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

Later on the fist lap, check out Brad (the guy in front of me) take it in the chops.. ouch.

Colo. State CX Championships - SM3 Late Lap 1 from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

35+ Open CO CX Championships

This past weekend was the Colorado State Cyclocross Championship Races. They had a little different format, in that not all the races were held on the same day. This provided me the opportunity to race both days. I didn’t have particularly high expectations for the races as I just upgraded and didn’t have any Colorado Cyclocross Cup points, starting positions are determined based on the number of points a racer has acquired. Since I didn’t have any points, I knew I was going to start in the back. Starting from back there, even if I had a killer race I wouldn’t see the front. It’s just the game you have to play to do well at cyclocross.

Saturday I jumped in with the SM 35+ open category. This was a first race I’ve raced with this group and I anticipated they would be flying. There were 88 starters and I was in the last row. There were some racers I knew and would be gunning for but they all started in front of me. At least I’d have a rabbit to chase. The gun went off and it was like we were shot out of a cannon. Being in the back of the pack I knew we’d get stacked up badly on the first obstacles and I wasn’t disappointed. Fortunately everyone was pretty level headed and no one, that I saw, ended up on the ground. It took a while for things to thin out enough that I could think about moving up.

The place to make up time was certainly the long flat grassy sections. A lot of the terrain ended up being like a fast grass crit. I certainly felt comfortable railing the corners but when things opened up I found myself desperate to grab a wheel, I just didn’t have the flat out power I needed. I felt pretty good the first two laps but then started getting bad sensations. I tried to push though it but it made for a hard race. The last few laps steadily improved and I was able to make up some positions but it was way too late in the race. In the end I finished 65th out of the 78 that finished. Not a great result but I was able to move up from my last place start.

The best part of the day was hanging out with the entire cyclocross team. I had the two fastest racers (Todd and Michael) in the pit for me during this race. It was helpful to have them yelling while I was trying to push through my low points during the race. We brought out the team tent and BBQ. It was a great time to hang out, eat a veggie burger and enjoy the racing. After the race I felt pretty good, really good actually. The legs were opened up and I felt energized, not sore or tired. I tried to rest and recover; Sunday I would tackle the SM 3 race. So far this year, day two has always been better.
I go by at the ten second mark

Colo. State CX Champs - SM35+ Open - Start from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

I'm almost 2 minutes back at this point

Colo. State CX Champs. - SM35+ open - Lap 1 end from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

For more on this race, check out 303Cycling.

Nearing the End

The holidays are in swing and as I predicted I’m spending more time enjoying friends and family. Thanksgiving was fantastic. I was feeling a little burned out at work and needed a break. We spent time with my parents on Thanksgiving Day and then spent the weekend in the mountains with my wife’s family. While up at a cabin over the weekend we took all the kids sledding and tubing and enjoyed some adult beverages. We all had great fun and ate way too much, my wife even made a nice vegan dish for each thanksgiving meal to help keep things under control. In the end we came home tired and refreshed.

The holiday weekend was interrupted by the news of a local cyclist, Chuck Coyle, being busted for doping. I knew of Chuck, seen him at the races and had ridden with him at the Boulder Velodrome. I didn’t know him personally but it did hit home to know someone busted for doping. His response to the charge was, in my opinion, weak but it's crazy enough to make me think you can’t make this stuff up. Either way, it’s sad. Sad he was somehow involved and sad he’s now suspended from racing, the one thing he’s done his whole life. It must be like coming home from work to tell the wife you were fired for checking porn sites at work…. performance enhancing?

The days have gotten short and finding time to ride outside during the week is almost non-existent. I’ve been on the trainer a few times and have been running, but nothing serious. Just trying to remind my body I have a few races left but my fitness is dropping off and I’m starting to look forward to a change. I’ve started thinking about goals for next year as well as looking forward to getting in some time on my other bikes. It was always my intention to have a stronger middle of the season, in an effort score well in the point’s competition as well as work on upgrading to Cat 3. Both of those were successful.

Two weeks ago I race the Alpha CX #2 and the Cyclo-X races. Both were a lot of fun. I was coming back off a business meeting at sea level the week before so things didn’t go great but it was fun. Things I’ve noticed about the 3’s, everything is more competitive. Racers have similar abilities and speeds, unlike the 4’s were some racers just get blown out quickly. I’ve actually been surprised by the skills or lack of skills some of the racers have. They are crazy fast when things open up but I am certainly hanging with them or gaining time when things are technical or require some CX finesse. I’ll have to work on my flat out speed if I ever want to become competitive with this group.

This weekend is the Colorado CX Championships. I’m going to race the 35+ open on Saturday and SM 3 on Sunday. My goal is to enjoy this last major weekend of racing. The weather is looking dry and nice, too bad since I never did have a muddy race this year. Going forward, I’m not sure I’ll hit the three remaining races it will be a day of or day before decision.

Thanks for reading

Welcome Old Man Winter

Well friends, the weather has made its change. It went from mid-70 highs to just above freezing with some snow thrown in for good measure. In combination with the weather, the daylight savings time change makes it cold and dark when I'm not at work. This is the inevitable change that signifies the end of most of my outdoor activities.

The change feels like a bigger bummer than normal, I was having a lot of fun riding outside and keeping the fitness up. On the bright side, it should make the upcoming cyclocross races more interesting. I enjoy racing when it's cooler out but below freezing is cold. Upper 30's low 40's is my goldilocks zone for cyclocross. Wet and mud are fine, even preferred but racing in the wet in the low 30's quickly becomes uncomfortable and not as exciting. Honestly, we only have a few races each year in these conditions so I really don't have the cold weather clothing I need.

Now I've been reduced to riding on the trainer which will be tricky this year. I have many excuses but since my sister is currently living in my basement/pain cave, 'scheduling' is a bit of an issue. My workouts also never seem to be as hard on the trainer compared to outdoors anyway. That's something I should work on.

My thoughts are starting to drift to the holidays and next seasons racing. I'm a little surprised and sad how quickly my motivation appears to be fading. Of coarse my fitness appears to be doing the same thing.

I wanted to share a short video of some "Wednesday Worlds" rides that take place during cyclocross season. This one is in Boulder but I've been having a lot of fun riding with a group in Denver. These are the kinds of things I'll miss now that it's dark when I'm not at work.

Wednesday Morning, Boulder from jamie kripke on Vimeo.

School Yard Cross

This was going to be my first attempt at a Cat 3 race. I was looking forward to the race. I didn't do too badly the week prior. I believe, however, the outcome to this race began a few days prior to the race. Last week I was at a Wednesday evening worlds ride, which has been a lot of fun. We were doing about 30 minute "hot" laps. I was feeling strong at the beginning of the efforts but quickly tailing off, the legs were tired and sore (after the hard racing last weekend I wasn't surprised). Hey, it's just practice so I sat up and took it easy working on skills and flow in the corners. I took Thursday off and had a one hour mountain bike ride on Friday to open things up. This has been the basic schedule for most of the season.

Now fast forward to my race. The Cat 3 race is much later in the day compared to what I'm used to. The late race was actually a help for the family, I got some work done around the house, hung out with the kids and had fun. We got out to the race early so the kids could play at the beach and I could get warmed up. The weather was crazy warm, 70's in November. The dust was so thick and there was no wind (a rarity for the afternoon at the res). Warming up I knew the legs were not 100% but I was excited to get my first Cat 3 race on.

The ACA did their call up then called racers up by their registration order. I had a second row start behind my friend Peter who had upgraded earlier this season. The start was pretty good. I wasn't super aggressive as I wanted to see how this group raced, nothing to sketchy but everyone was certainly stronger. I stayed in the mix through out the first lap and a half. There were a lot of corners and some nice sand to keep you on your toes.

After those first laps I might as well thrown out a boat anchor. My back started hurting for the first time all season. I simply couldn't put any power to the peddles. The wind stopped and before long the dust was so thick it was hard to breath, I felt like I had a mud pie in my mouth. I was determine to do as well as I could. So I muscled on purely on will power.

When the race was done I was physically wrecked. My placement wasn't terrible but I knew I could do much better. I went out to a nice dinner with the family and began to wonder what I was going to do to salvage my fitness. I down loaded my heart rate file from the race and it told the story. First 10 minutes I had my typical race output but things dropped off as the back and muscle pain limited my output. Not good.

All in all I'm calling it a success, it may not sound like it based on the description above but I got in the race, completed the race and more importantly I didn't break anything (it's been a problem for some upgraded racers lately). I'm looking forward to the next one.

Photos from the race are from Jim Heuck SixDegreestoSlush

Update:
Crossresults.com says this was one of my worst results all season. No kidding.

Skills

Yesterday I took my just turned 3 year old, that took his training wheels off 3 weeks ago, to the Schoolyard CX at the Boulder Res. He road the practice loop multiple times and had a great time.

Today he surprised me with this!!

I didn't show him how to do it, he was just watching at the race. That's a perfect remount!

I'm blown away.

Going Out on TOP

Guess what came in the email last night.

Upgrade in CX
From: Yvonne van Gent (ACA)


To: Brian
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brian
You have been doing really well in the SM 35,4 and have 19 pts. I realize I can't force you to upgrade till you reach 20, but think it would show better sportmanship to your peers if you upgraded now.

Let me know your thoughts.

Yvonne

Here are my thoughts:

I only need one more point (before I was forced) to upgrade. I currently have the highest number of upgrade points of all Cat 4 racers. I am currently the number one ranked racer in the SM 35+/4 (the biggest racing category each week) according to the Colorado Cross Cup Competition.
My results have helped put my team well into the lead in the Colorado Cross Cup Team Competition.


Originally my plan was to pickup my last upgrade point this weekend. But this weekends races aren't Cross Cup races so I wasn't going to increase my lead there. I could skip racing for a few weeks to get to the next points race but .... I want to race and that doesn't feel right.


Overall, this had been a exceptional season for me. I've won a CX race (not everyone gets to do that before they upgrade), I've received the first call up in front of 100+ racers for my first place in the CO CX Cup. I've been on the front. I've also debated about upgrading previously, prior to being forced to upgrade. I mean, what's the goal of a Cat 4 racer? To improve, become faster and upgrade out of the beginner group.

So, I'm going to upgrade. I'll move up the the Cat 3's mid season and be stuck back of the pack. My results are going to suck... just like they did when I started CX racing. But I'm sure I'll improve with time.


I'll tell you how it goes. Thanks for Reading.

Boulder Cup

This was a new venue this year, at the Flat Irons Mall. It was held in this retention pond/park between the mall parking lot and highway 36 going between Boulder and Denver. It's actually a very interesting and resourceful use of the land. There is a sidewalk that goes through the 'park' but there really isn't anything there. The DBC Events crew did a fantastic job putting this one together. There was a video that went on the web to describe the coarse, I like that there was a video but it really did a poor job getting across what the race would be like. People said it would be a dirt crit road race. I can assure you, it was a lot more difficult than people anticipated.

We took over a quarter of the Mall's parking lot for the race. It would start and circle around then drop onto the grass hill. There were a lot of steep off camber grass sections and difficult climbs. There were also two steep run ups to keep people at their limit.

I arrived early to pre-ride the coarse before the racing began. There was nothing overly technical but it was long and with the elevation change it was going to be hard. After a the warm-up I took a brake to get everything else ready for the race day. When the women's races started I followed with another warm-up lap. The condition of the grass was already changing. The grass and chunks of grass were getting ripped out of the ground. Now tires were riding on ripped out loose grass, especially in the places were racers had to turn or brake, these were becoming extremely slippery. A steep descending switch back section on the grass hill was already starting to become technically challenging.

I arrived for our call ups about 10-12 minutes before our race time. The race officials however were late. Our start time came and went. I was starting to get physically cold waiting to go. They finally showed up and I received the first call up due to my points in the Colorado Cross Cup competition. We got all lined up and they quickly got us started. I had my worse start this year. I was cold and I missed my pedal 3-4 times. I went from front row to around 20th. I was behind Brian G., which is actually a good place for a draft. Anyway, I had my work cut out for me if I wanted to salvage a good finish.

I steadily worked my way up the field passing on the climbs and on the run ups. During the first lap I somehow managed to drop my chain twice. Once I got it back on while peddling and the second time I had to stop and put it back on. I never had a clear idea of my placing so I just kept fighting to get to the front. Lap after lap I tried to pick the fastest lines, stay off the brakes and find the rhythm of the coarse. I passed two more guys on the final lap, one within 100 meters of the finish. I ended up 5th. I really wanted to get on that podium but considering the couple of mishaps I had and the terrible start, 5th was an exceptional result.

See more details about the race on 303cycling.com

Not many photos of the early race except the start.

Proof of the technical/slippery descent, this is Todd eating it his first Cat 3 race in the off camber switch back descent of death. (I heard stories of more than one person getting hurt on this tricky section)
All in all I really liked this race. It was well run, well marked and a coarse people will be talking about for a while, good or bad. I hope they do it again next year as it was certainly better than the old Harlow Platte Park Coarse!

CO CX Classic

This was an exciting weekend, perhaps the biggest for Colorado Cyclocross. Dare I say bigger than States, perhaps for some. This is when the big boys and girls come to Colorado to rip it up in Boulder (and Bloomfield this year). Saturday was held at a traditional Boulder location, the Boulder Reservoir. Personally I like the location but it always seems to be used a little too often. Hell, there's another race there this next Saturday, 7 days from the last one; come on Boulder aren't there other locations? I'm looking forward to the Valmont Bike Park.

Anyway, after my teammate Todd upgraded I had the first call up and was lining up on the front with the cut throat competition. Well not exactly, a lot of them have become good friends. I actually look forward to a few minutes of conversation before the race gets underway, but when the whistle blows you'll find no solace.

For this race I had a great start. I ripped out of the starting blocks into second place and streaked down the road. We had a barrier section close to the start and I didn't want to get hung up in the traffic. We were flying through the opening lap and into the first set of sharp loose turns when one other rider passed me. I didn't recognize him so I let them go and got into my own groove.

The first sand cleared some people out, I love the photos below. If your going to race at the beach you'd better have the power and skill to pull it off.




Sand, long straight sections and areas for running. It was a hard race and I was at my limit for most of it.



Towards the end I could see my friend Brian from Blue Sky closing the gap. I tried everything and thought I had a big enough lead. Unfortunately I didn't and was caught going into the final lap. Unable to hold his wheel I thought I'd catch him in he sand. Sadly I let my self get distracted by a lapped rider and I let my front wheel dig in, sucking my power away. I had to run the entire sand section causing me to loose time.

In the end I had a great result, 4th out of about 100 racers. But it was the first place off the podium. It was hard to watch the podium presentation but I was glad for my friend that made it to second. Perhaps tomorrow would be a better day, as it has been so often this year.

Keeping the Flame Lit

After missing a racing weekend due to work and family time rebalance. Oh and can I just say my wife rocked the Denver Marathon. She set a personal best marathon time despite being sick all week. So I missed the Estes Park race so I could support the wife so she could enjoy and recover from her event. We all had a lot of fun.

I hadn’t been on my Ridley (cross bike) in two weeks until I raced the Blue Sky Cup at Xilinx on Saturday. I was pretty nervous going into this race, more so than I have been at previous races. I think winning the Cross at the Rock race messed with my head; I’d won, now I was pressuring myself to do well. The last time I raced Xilinx I did well but crashed twice, this was my rematch. The coarse was a classic Xilinx coarse, the usual west hill, the same obstacles in the woods and some flat open field. The SM35+/4 field was maxed out, fortunately with my win at the first Colorado Cyclocross Cup (CCC) race I was in forth place and had a front row call up. The start didn’t go that well, the race took off but I managed to stay in the top 10. The pain of the effort was certainly high. A few people dropped off the pace but I wasn’t closing any gaps. I really had issues getting thorough all the corners; the lack of time on the bike was slowing me down. In the end I finished in 7th place. I did get the maximum number of Colorado Cross Cup points without getting any upgrade points. A good result and good for the team.

In the past, I’ve done better racing the second day (Sunday) of the weekend, this weekend was the Boulder Racing Series #3 at the Louisville Rec Center and its "Bowl of Death". Somehow I’ve never done this race before so it was a new venue to me. Basically it’s a giant bowl were we raced the bottom, sides, rim, the backside volleyball sand pit, one steep rideable hill and two tough run-ups. The start didn’t go a lot better but I was able to quickly move to the front. I saw my teammate Todd and a Rio Grande rider with a gap. I decided to sit back and make others close the gap, if they did, I could attack. I was in fourth, sitting on my friend Wes's wheel for a couple of laps while Todd was in the lead. Soon a Boulder Cycle Sport rider came by and I jumped on his wheel. We road up to the Rio Grande rider and then I got dropped. The Rio Grande guy and I rode together for the rest of the race, he would open up gaps in the sharp corners and I would bridge back up on the long flat stretches. The Boulder Cycle Sport racer went on to catch Todd and win, I never got ahead of the Rio Grande racer and finished in 4th.

So the weekend was a success. I picked up 3 more upgrade points and a bunch of CCC points. With Todd finishing 4th on Saturday we have a big lead in the team competition and Todd is now 1st and I’m 2nd in the CCC rider competition. Sadly Todd has to upgrade, so we shared some good beer and I’ll look forward to racing with him again soon. Depending on how this coming weekend's races go, I could be joining him next week.
Todd with the Hole Shot with me in tow.

Lap one with me sitting on Wes's wheel

Two big run-ups made the legs tired.


Deepest sand we've had so far.


The weather was great!

Other links about these races
303cycling Saturdays Race, Sundays Race
Mountain Moon Photography

Cool Photos

Beautiful team photo in front of Echo Lake. Very nice

Proof I've been flying, tongue and all!

Freedom!

Look ma, no training wheels! Nate and his buddy Aidan shed their training wheels on the same day. Pretty good for a couple of 3 year olds.

To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade?

Well, I stated it earlier this year, one of my goals this year was do have a good enough cyclocross season that I could upgrade. Unlike the road races, if I upgraded at cyclocross at least the race times remain the same so hopefully the training hours aren’t required to increase significantly.

Anyway, upgrade points are assigned on a scale based on your finishing position and the number of racers in the race. Best case for points awards is 1-6 (7, 5 ,4 ,3 ,2 ,1) get upgrade points only if 50 or more racers are present. If there are fewer racers then there are fewer points and fewer places get those points.

According to the American Cycling Association (ACA) the governing body for these races, to upgrade from a category 4 racer (beginner) at least 7 points are required in a 12 month period. If a racer acquires 20 points the ACA automatically upgrades them. What typically happens, at least in the SM4/35+ group, is the racers ride it out until the ACA sends them a letter to let them know it’s time. Who’s to blame them, (the rules are published) the next category up will be fast and you’ll be back of the pack. Sadly, I’ve seen a lot of racers get upgraded only to do a race or two then their gone. Why not enjoy wining now!

Now I find myself with a decision to make, do I ride it out or pull the trigger? I have a 5th place finish from last year that gave me 2 points (but those expire at the end of October). I got another 2 points for a 5th at the GMSV race. Picked up another 2 this past Saturday for the 5th at Interlocken. With the win (some people get upgraded without a win) at Cross at the river I only got 5 points (less than 50 racers). So, I’m up to 9 for this season and 11 if you count last year. Of coarse I should have another 5 points for a second at alpha cross but the mechanical on the last lap gave those away. So now I’m beginning to believe I could legitimacy be ready to race in a new category.

If I’d had the points before the Colorado CX Cup started I might have upgraded but now I can continue to win points (big points) for the team and upgrade when the letter comes from the ACA. So, I think I’ll get in a few more races with the 4’s then I’ll be back of the pack in a new category.

It’s not sandbagging if it’s allowed by the rules, right? Kind of feels like it is if I was on the flip side of the coin.

Cross at the River

As an opener to the Colorado CX Cup, Cross at the River was held next to the Arkansas River in Buena Vista, CO. I figured the fact that it was the first points race would get people to make the ridiculous 2.5 hour drive from Denver (I do respect that some people drive that far to race in Denver every weekend but ….). Anyway, there wasn’t any were near the numbers as in Boulder the day before. The regulars and guys looking to do well in the CX cup competition were there. I believe we ended up about 43 strong, almost twice as large as last year. The coarse was very similar to last year except we had a nice little breeze/wind. We would be racing down the hill with a tale wind and back up into the wind.

When they were calling people up to the starting line I figured I’d be within the top five but they kept calling names. So I rushed up the judge to see what was going on and he said I wasn’t on the list. I told him who I was and then we notice I had an out of order race number. Apparently the race volunteers put me in a different race category when I registered. The judge recognized my name and let me jump in for the second to last front starting position. I was on the wrong side of the field for the opening right-hander but at least I didn’t have to worry about someone in front of me bobbling the start.

The whistle blew and we were off. Not one of my best starts as a few of the guys quickly jumped off the front. I settled in and tried to keep a good position during that first lap. We were all together until the beginning of the second lap when the guy in front of me started to open a pretty big gap. I had a teammate (Todd) up front so I didn’t want to chase them down until the gap was a little bigger. I let the gap open a little more then bridged up. The front was down to three of us, Todd on the front, a second guy not pulling through and me. I looked back and we had a gap but it appeared they were coming. Without much though I figured if I attacked Todd could sit on this guys wheel and he would have to do some chasing. I rolled the dice on the second lap and went for it.

Cross at the river - 35+ cat 4 Lap 1 from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

At the top of the second lap, we had a tail when and I race down the hill. There were a couple of racers just behind me. Heading back up into the wind I sore they were going to catch me. I was already thinking, when they catch me I’ll pull off the front and try to keep them in the wind. But they never caught up, for whatever reason they couldn’t close the, what seamed like a little gap. For the next two laps I felt like they were breathing down my neck but never closed the gap. After two laps off the front I saw the three more laps to go sign and was worried a “late bloomer” would catch me. I just wanted to get out of sight of that lead chase group so they’d forget about me and start racing each other for second. I kept up the pace as high as I could. Soon it seamed the gap was getting bigger to the racers behind me. I just kept focusing on the obstacles within 3 feet of my wheel, riding them clean, no mistakes. By the last lap no one was behind me, not even warming up! Could I make it? I kept the pressure on and raced to the finish, my first cyclocross win!! I stopped after the finished to see how everyone else finished; I was about 30 seconds ahead of the second and third place finishers. I was so excited!

In the end Todd finished 9th and they guy he was with when I attacked was in 5th or 6th. So it ended up being a great time to attack. I think the wind really helped. You see, going into the wind everyone has about the same wind cross section. The bigger guys that typically have to put out more power then have an advantage over smaller guys that can't put out that power. Raw power and not your power to weight ratio were in play that day. The chasers trying to bridge up to me had to put out more power than me. Fortunately no one with that much more power was there.

Interlocken – Boulder Racing #2

This was my third time racing this coarse. It’s just a few minutes North of my house so it’s as close to home as a race is going to be. We get a chance to race on one of those rare surfaces in the fall in Colorado, green grass. It would be easy if it was just grass but I swear they must have doubled the watering schedule leading up to the race. The ground was nice and soft and quickly turned to a soft muddy mush making the race a power sucking slog fest. During my warm-up, even the 35 open race looked slow, we were going to be crawling.

I raced Xilinx solely because I knew (as they published on the race flyer) that call-ups for Interlocken would be based on Xilinx results. So I blew myself out cutting though the crowds at Xilinx just so I’d have a good start position and a shot at Interlocken. It paid off in a big way, front row call up! In front of 120 racers! That’s about 30 more racers than the biggest race I’ve been in before. I don’t care how fast you are, you start in the back of that bad boy and you’ll never see the front. If your racing to win, your race would be over the second the whistle blew.

We started right into the “bowl of pain”. A barrier followed by a steep climb with a cut across some off camber mud then a right dropping down into volleyball court sand. We made an immediate u-turn back into the other side of the volleyball sand then back up the muddy hill. Another muddy off camber cut and your out with a short break on some pavement before dropping down for a muddy grass climb up the back side of the course.

A group of four jumped off the front and we let them go. I was pretty sure they’d come back. Two of them came back quick. We bridged up but I couldn’t quite hold the pace and road the majority of the race in 4th hoping the conditions would eventually slow them down. Sadly that didn’t happen. The course was so full of people, racers getting lapped, ladies and 45+ guys warming up. I couldn’t tell what was going on in our race; it was a little out of control. I knew who was in front of me but had no idea what was happening behind, so I set out to make sure no one passed me. I was successful until near the end when one guy came flying by. Sure enough he was in our group and I finished up in 5th. A great result in a boulder race with 120 guys vying for the prize (If your racing for a prize in this group your crazy!)

Check out the video of our first lap thorough the "bowl of pain".

Boulder CX Series #2 - SM35+ cat 4 - Start from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

For more good links, see 303cycling

Next race, the first Colorado CX Cup points race.

Frisco Racing Weekend

This past weekend I spent it up racing in Frisco, CO. This is the third year I've done those races. I stayed up in the mountains making the weekend a total immersion in cyclocross racing. Actually being able to stay at the race instead of racing home to get other needed items completed. Now I'm just behind in all the things I needed to do.

Both races had great turn out. I was a little worried people would skip them since they weren't CO CX Cup points races. Even the fast guys were out to wrap up those final upgrade points before moving into their new categories for the rest of the season. I was hoping to snatch up a few points myself.

I had good results, finishing 9th in the first race despite being surprised at the start. We started on a fairly long hill, too long to sprint anyway. I figured the racers wouldn't kill it on the first run up the hill because they would be blown at the top. I was wrong, the start was way fast and I dropped back a number of places. But sure enough, I caught and passed most of the sprinters on the second trip up the hill.

Here's a video of the start at the top of the hill.

Frisco CX #1 - SM35+ Cat 4 Start from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

The second race I wasn't surprised by the start and I went hard. Mostly I didn't want to get hung up on the first lap in the tricky sections. I was in second and third most of the race. My legs however, were really tired and I started to fade. I had a group of three pass me and I just couldn't latch on. I finished a very respectable 7th.

Here is a video from a guy in my race with a camera on his handle bars. Gives you some idea of the coarse. You can see me up in front at some parts of the movie.


It looks like 4-5 of the guys that finished in front of me will be upgrading before next weekend. So, that should be a good thing in the coming races. We'll see! After thee straight weeks of doubling up races on the weekends, I'm starting to feel tired. We'll see if I can get a little recovery this week before doubling up again next weekend.

"I am no longer Specialized"

Some would say cyclocross is hard on your equipment but in all fairness I have to tell you this happened while riding with my 3 year old in front of the house. I was soft peddling out the garage when suddenly the back wheel was rubbing on the brakes. I thought the quick release had just slipped. Nope, the Specialized hub cracked from a spoke hole on the drive side splitting all the way to the middle of the hub. I don't think I'll be truing this baby back up, she's done! Catastrophically

Really glad I wasn't racing these bad boys at the time.

So now I'm down a set of wheels. I think I'll look from some tubular replacements for cyclocross. I wanted to go that way eventually, this just accelerates things a little.

Race Video

I knew I'd find one. This is the fast corner, lap one, I eat it 44 seconds in. This is were I lost the skin on my left knee. It's a little far away to see clearly. The two guys in front of me are clearly not stopped but I was not right on them during the descent. I was coming up fast. Sorry to they guy that was right behind me, thanks for not running me over.

Boulder CX Series #1 - SM35+ Cat 4 Lap 1 from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

Look at all those people in front of me and who pass me. Can't believe I made it back up to 11th.

Update 9.30.10:
Found another video of my second crash site and me, but earlier in the race. At 0:57 you can see me successfully ride the downed tree. Now imagine a few laps later not being so successful and I went over the bars.

Bouder CX series # 1 - SM35+ cat 4 Lap 2 from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

Ohh What Could Have Been: Sunday's Race Report

Sunday was Alpha CX #1. After Saturday's crashes and big efforts I wasn't sure what to expect. My arm, shoulder and hand was sore from landing on it after going over the bars and my left knee was pretty skinned up. I bandaged up the knee, pulled on the big girl panties and decided to go racing.

If Saturday's Boulder race was rough, Alpha cross was out of control. Half of it was smooth shallow sand and the other half was mind pounding grass clumps surrounded by sand. I really wish I had brought the mountain bike. This wasn't a course were you could just power your way around, if you did it would eat you up. It would require you to ride your ride, at your pace, under control and with some technical finesse.

The field was about half the size of Saturdays race and I got a call up (based on last years results), putting me in the front row. I had a good start and slotted in behind my friend Wes, who won the hole shot as well as Saturday's race. Things were quickly getting strung out on the upper soft sand. We dropped off the dirt onto a paved section and upon re-entering the dirt Wes had a terrible crash. Right at the transition from the pavement to dirt he spilled it out, body flying right and bike going left taking up the entire coarse. You could hear the tubular blowing out during the crash. Everyone was in full flight coming down a paved hill right behind him. Fortunately he wasn't hurt and quickly pulled himself and the bike out of the way. Thankfully everyone avoided stacking up and over him.

A racer pulled through and I took up second spot again. Once he started to fade I went by to head out on my own. I could feel Saturday's effort in the legs but now that I could pick my own lines, I went for it. After about a lap I was caught and passed, then about a half lap later I was caught again. I kept driving. The next group wasn't getting any closer and I had a good lead. At the bottom of the coarse there was a soft 180 turn around and during a couple passes through that section the front tire burped some air. The third and second to last lap the front tire was getting obviously low and more difficult to control. By now I was running the corners and difficult obstacles just to baby the front tire. I didn't think I had time to grab a pit wheel and it had held up for 2 laps, so I took the risk to hold on. With about 2/3 of a lap left the tire completely failed and when flat, I was just beyond the last pit. My gamble didn't pay off. So I picked up the bike to run, I was still going to finish. During the run in, my 3 year old son yelled from the jump castle as I ran by "Dad, what are you doing?" I just kept running.

I wasn't aware until the end but the lead rider had rolled his front tubular and quit the race with about two to go. So I was in second place on the final lap. My teammate Todd was racing well and was in the pack just behind me. He went on to take second place. I ran in to finish and ended up 25th even after running ~2/3 of a lap carrying the bike. 25th, that's how far ahead I was. In the end, the race had 51 starters and only 43 finishers.

Next time the old CX pit bike will be available. A quick, easy switch could have saved the day. The spare wheels I had just keep you from ending your day early. A CO2 inflator may have also helped but it would have take almost as long as a wheel change.

There's never a perfect CX race. Better luck next time. Thanks for reading.

Great Legs, No Results: Saturdays Race Report

Saturday was the Boulder Racing CX Series kick off. They always have a pretty nice race setup. The races are well attended, there's music, announcers and extras. Saturday was at Xilinx in Longmont, a Colorado CX standard. For this first race, the director was doing call ups based on last years Boulder Racing Series points and some how I missed all their races last year. So, no call up for me. But I still wanted to race, to see if I could still move up from behind.

The coarse was a little over the top. Rough, narrow and too many wheel eating ditches. You had to be fast but patient and smart. I got a 5 or 6th row start (mid pack out of 98!! Starters). There were way too many racers clogging the road to move up quickly and the first pass through the narrow trees at the top of the coarse was mayhem. Once through that section I started to move up a bunch of places on the road at the top of the course. Once the decent, the fastest part of the course, coming back to the front side of the Xilinx campus there's a little off camber section at the bottom. The two guys in front of me total wimped out and slammed on the brakes. I had two choices, hit them HARD or try to drop down the off camber and see if I could ride around. I tried the later only to have my wheel wash out sending me ground hard. It was fast and I went all the way down to my head, knocking one of my helmet "rockloc" straps out of the helmet. Once I figured out were I was and got my stuff back together got got back to work, my helmet was flopping all over the place on the rough trails.

The next few laps I was killing it. I couldn't believe how quickly I passed some people. The race was shattered and I was moving up fast. The body was in go mode. On what turned out to be the last lap (I didn't know it them because the announcer sucked [who was that clown, playing 80's music during call ups, couldn't hear a thing] and their bell must have been broken) I caught the lead chase group. They were racing for 4th. I couldn't believe I had chased back from mid pack to the front. At the top in the trees I decided I would try and get over the downed tree by riding it, it worked when I practice road the coarse. If it worked I would be in front of the lead of the group and could attack on the pavement just out of the trees. Sadly for me I when over the bars straight onto my hands for my second huge wreck of the day. This one took a little wind out of my wings.

I tried to chase back those places and if I'd had one more lap I may have gotten them but it wasn't to be. So I finished 11th despite the poor starting location. I felt great, the legs were strong and I dished out some pain. Sadly a lot of that pain was on myself. In the end, I just lost some skin, bruised my hands, arms and shoulders. I would race again Sunday but feel like I got hit by a truck.
There were a lot of cameras at this race. I'm sure someone got the shot of my crashes. If I find them I'll post an update. Someday I may find myself of sports bloopers or funniest videos.

What gets you ready to toe the line?

I'm guessing it has something to do with my fist exposure to cyclocross, when we lived in Portland, Oregon.

I just feel like it should be cold, dark and rainy. If the weather is going to suck, you might as well have fun!

The atmophere and energy at those races is awesome.

Cyclocross - Starcrossed 2010 from Geoff Agnew on Vimeo.

2nd Race of the Weekend GMSV CX #1

Sunday morning I was hopeful for a cool morning and it was cool early but it warmed quickly. By the time the race rolled around it was just hot. The Golden track isn't may favorite, in the past it's been so rough it'll rattle out your molars. After a few years of use and a lot of work by GMSV, it's getting better.


So hear we are, fourth CX on the ACA calender and their making call ups based on 2009 BCR results. So I'm back on the front row. I actually feel the new CX cup system is really lame, are they really going to make call ups through out September based on last years results? Even if you do well this year you get no love at the next race. If you ask me, its just stupid! They should have the first race a points race to get things set up for this year. Then have more races in October so that people that want to start later in the season still have a shot at the call up points.

The Sunday race for the SM35+/4 was huge. There were 96 racers! This photo shows how important it is to have a good starting position. Click on it and have a closer look, I'm on the left in full sprint for the start, back a few rows the guys are still standing around waiting for their chance to ride. Proof positive it's better to be at the front of a starting CX race.


Here is a movie of everyone diving into the first single track. I'm in about 5th place.

GMSV Cyclocross # 1 - SM 35+ Cat 4 Lap 1 from Dale Riley on Vimeo.

Throughout the race I tried to race a little more aggressive, chasing people down. The lead 5 to 6 guys got way off the front. Looking back there were very few people close behind us. There were actually some pretty big gaps between the lead riders.

The coarse had a gnarly steep little climb.


Barriers


Fun little hills
In the end, I finished fifth and totally surprised with my results for the weekend! It's a good sign for the coming Cyclocross Season.

Photo Credit: Mountain Moon Photography

GMSV CX #1

Kailee gave me my reward.

The dots are fireworks! Nice:)

Race # 1 PPV CX #1

Well, my first cyclocross race of the year is in the books. I went back to Colorado Springs for a rematch. Last year I finished 21st, this year I was up to 7th of 40 starters. My legs felt pretty good and I had a decent start. I was perhaps overly patient and too conservative but it worked this time. I'll have to be more aggressive as my legs come around.

Interesting note, the SM35+/4 had 40 starters. The SM4 group had 10 and at least one of them can race in the SM35+/4 group. Were are all the young dudes?

The movie is from Josh, racing in the smaller SM4 group. It gives you an idea of what the race coarse was. I'll put pictures up as and if I find them.

Update:
I found some good photos of this race so I thought I would put them up. There were all taken by Mountain Moon Photography. She is so nice out on the race coarse and I love the pictures. Go find yourself in her race photos.

The start, I was front row middle.


Didn't want the hole shot (I've blown up doing that), I tried to ride within myself.



Todd was flying caught and passed me near the end.


Get off the couch and up that hill slacker!

Amatuer Racers are Doping

Ever wonder how that dude got so fast? Have you ever thought about it? I bet it's less expensive than a new $5,000 race bike or sweet carbon wheels. Is the local race something you would dope over?

I guess for some people it is. Velonews reports that Johnathan Chodroff (currently a Pro for Jelly Belly) took a two year ban from cycling for EPO doping in 2007 when he was a Cat 3 racer!

Wow, for some reason that blows me away. I know I'm not genetically gifted with speed (thanks anyway Mom and Dad) but getting faster isn't worth cheating.

Dopers Suck

The Event Horizon

I'm standing on the cusp of the beginning of cyclocross season. This weekend will mark my entry into the fall racing season. My plan is to head down to the Colorado Springs race on Saturday. I've raced the Springs race a number of times, it was also the first race of the year last year. My plan, relax and be patient! In years past my first race has always ended up with some preventable issue. Last year I was too excited, shifted too late into an obstacle and dropped the chain on the first lap. Had to stop and fix it, causing me to loose a lot of places. Later in the year I found I was more successful when I was a little more 'patient', especially on that first lap.

This year I'd like to start out were I left of. Keep the patience and add flow. Conserve my momentum, minimize non-essential efforts, stay off the brakes and not fight the coarse. I've had high hopes for this season but as I've looked back through my training files and power readings, I'm not sure I'm any stronger than last year. I'm a little sad about that but hey, I had fun last year!

Tonight I'm off to fine tune some equipment choices for the coming races and make sure the bike is ready to go. Wish me luck, I'll see you at the races.

Tuff Fall

Road up to Loveland today. Great ride!
There's a new fire up North. Just north and maybe a little west of Carter Lake. When I passed Jeffco airport there were slurry bomber planes parked waiting for the Boulder fire. By the time I got to Loveland I could see three of the firefighting planes circling the smoke plume. Black smoke would billow up, a slurry bomber would drop in and the column would turn white.
Some rain would be nice to help the foothills fire condition!

Hello Fall

Lunch time skills at the park and it's 55F. Nice! Working on my flow and remembering the feel of this beautiful lady.