Christmas Cross & the Rapha Festive 500

Summary:
Ride 60 miles from home with a tail wind & fresh legs
Race 50 mins cyclocross
Ride 60 miles back home with a head wind & tired legs

Report:
Each year, Strava issues a challenge to ride 500km in the 8 days between 24-Dec and New Year.  This year marks my 4th attempt, having completed it successfully in 2011 and 2013.  It's a great motivation to get out of the house and ride some "base miles" to offset the customary calorific intake of the holiday season.

I love riding my bike but I always prefer to have a destination and purpose to the trip instead of making an arbitrary circular route.  Participating in the Festive 500 makes me eager to find excuses for riding to destinations and Christmas Cross organized by the Kentuckiana Cyclocross series seemed like a perfect fit, a cross race about 60 miles from home with a start time of 2pm on Sunday 28 Dec.

To avoid getting a chill after the ride down and the race, I needed changes of clothes and shoes.  This was too much to fit in a back pack and riding for 7-8 hours with a weight on my back was an unpleasant prospect so I elected to use my Bob-Yak trailer.  This also meant I had the capability to hail a set of cross wheels and ride some faster rolling tires there & back.  With that, the plan was formed.

Ready for the road, trailer with cross race wheels & dry clothes

It took me 3 hours 40 mins to ride there with a tail wind & fresh legs (not a great combination, I struggled to stay warm enough).  I got to the race venue in Charlestown with time to register, change into race kit, remove the bottle cages and fit my cross wheels.

Bottle Cages off, Race wheels on...

The race was a small affair but with a high standard, people making final preparation for Nationals.  My legs were a bit shocked with the aggressive demands at the start and I found myself dead last early in the first lap.  The muddy course demanded plenty of running and as I warmed up, I started passing people again.  With one to go, I had no chance of making up another place so was happy to ride out the final lap, but the accumulated mud on my bike had other plans - my rear derailleur seized up, ripped off the mount and got stuck in the rear wheel.  I ran the final quarter lap already wondering how I was going to get home.

Rear mech damage after the race

The cyclocross community proved (again) that it is just that, a community.  I was offered various rides home, however I was still set on riding back if possible.  I managed to get a replacement mech hanger from John Gatch, got a complete tool set to use and was able to repair the damage, ready to hit the road after the podium.

Repairs complete, ready for the ride home

Podium
John Gatch (4th), Mike McShane (3rd), Andy Messer (1st), John Card, (2nd) Tim Proctor (5th)

The ride home was about 75% in the dark and the wind hadn't dropped or changed direction so it was largely a head wind.  Just short of Seymour I picked up a flat on the rear wheel.  Fortunately, I had my cross wheels on the trailer, so it was a quick change to get up and running again.  My ride home took just over 4 hours, given the head wind, tired legs and wheel change I was pretty happy.

I'm always amazed when I manage to get from A to B (and back again) simply with the power of my body.  Strava estimates I burned 5,500 kcal over the day, but I burned no gasoline!

Strava data for the day (via Garmin Edge 500):
Ride to the race
Race (finished 5th overall)
Ride home

Gravel Grovel 2014 Race Report

First Place Overall, Masters 40+ winner (3 hours 31 mins)
Strava Data via Garmin Edge

The Very Cool Stone Winner's Trophy - A bit like Paris-Roubaix!

6 Years of race entry plates & the original event poster

The Gravel Grovel is held every year the weekend after Thanksgiving in my "backyard", the Hoosier National Forest, I've participated in all 6 editions.  This year, it was also the final round of the American Ultra Cross series of 8 gravel road races which spans almost the entire year from February (Southern Cross) to November.  It was a big race for me this year, having won the event in 2013, I wanted to defend my title and there was a deeper field of local riders including Ryan Knapp as well as visitors from further afield such as Garth Prosser and Mike Simonson who race most of the Ultracross series and are all tough competitors.

I've split this report into 3 sections - a brief recap of the race as it happened to me - some data analysis comparing 2013 and 2014 - and finally some details about the bike setup I used.

Also check out Jayson O'Mahoney's Gravel Cyclist page with Race Report and Race Video

Race Summary

I wrote lots of words about the race but figured it needed to be more succinct so here's the race in 5 Tweet like phases:

• Follow Knapp - Ryan was a marked man at the start, no one wanted to work hard and everyone wanted Ryan's wheel, so the road race "dance" began.
• Where's Knapp? - Ryan cut his tire only 15 miles into the race, when we emerged from the Combs road segment, he was already heading home.
• Then there were 6 - After the new segment of the course, there were more losses, leaving only 6 in the lead group (Atwell, Simonson, Hauber, Golas, Keck, Proctor)
• The bold attack - after I effectively neutralized the Nebo single track by taking the lead & setting a steady tempo, Jonathan Atwell attacked on the Mt Baldy climb gaining about a minute - I thought this was the winning move as we struggled to pull him back.
• The final attack - to our surprise we did regroup, catching Atwell in the final trail segment.  I made an all-out effort in the 5 minute long final climb to the Fire Tower.  At the top, with 10 miles to the finish, I was on my own.  I kept the pressure on and solo'd to the finish for my second win.

Lead Group on Trail 21

Data Analysis

The table shows the race broken down into 15 segments (not actual Strava segments) and a comparison of my times in the 2013 and 2014 editions of the race.  The final column is the difference in time (in seconds) - red means I was slower this year than last, green means faster than 2013.

• Despite what felt to me like anxiety in the bunch about finding & holding Ryan Knapp's wheel and the surge / coast effect, we were actually faster through segment 2 to the top of the fire tower after the "neutralized" start.
• Segment 3 was definitely slower with soft ground making for harder work and a larger bunch definitely meant there were times when we all sat up (last year, Andy Messer was just drilling it all the way to Combs).
• Through Combs we were significantly faster, I think I lost time time in 2013 with a couple of force dismounts as riders ahead of me stopped.  This year I was closer to the front & had no issues.
• Section 5 is where the two courses are different - so comparison isn't valid
• Over Nebo trail (segment 6) I'm amazed at how consistent the time is, within 5 secs.  This was a hard tempo pace, not all-out, it's not a place to win the race (with nearly 40 miles still to go) but it was important to ensure that the lead group of 6 stayed away from any chasers.
• The faster gravel & pavement section 7 from the top of Nebo to the start of the Mt Baldy climb is very exposed and we had a head wind this year.  Mike Simonson was pushing the effort the year, but we were still slower than 2013, my guess is that the wind was the main factor.
• The next section (8) covers two sustained gravel climbs.  The first (Mt Baldy) is where Jonathan Atwell attacked the group & went clear.  We tried to counter on the short pavement section between the climbs but he stayed away.  The attack & chase made us faster than the race in 2013 when we largely stayed together (no serious attacks).
• The same is true for the next section - on the pavement, Mike Simonson, Nathan Keck and I worked pretty well in rotation trying to close the gap on Atwell.  This increased the speed over 2013.
• Trail 21 (segment 10) was much harder going than last year - soft ground made the climbs much harder work, last year there was still some frozen sections.  We dropped a lot of time here, half a minute in only a 5 minute segment.
• Segment 11 was also different between the 2013 and 2014 races - the same roads, but direction was reversed.  I personlly think that the Polk Patch road ascent in this years route is harder than the climb towards Hickory ridge that we took last year - however the time was faster in 2014 so maybe it's just perception on my part.
• Segment 12 - Trail 20 - the final section of trail had us visibly catching Atwell.  Simonson kept the pressure on and we closed the gap before emerging on to Fire Tower road.  This trail is mostly wooded, not exposed like Trail 21 so the ground condition was better and having a rabbit to chase down I'm sure influenced our time which was faster than 2013.
• Climb to the Fire Tower - this is where I attacked in both years, the actual climb only takes about 5 minutes, this segment includes some rolling terrain before the real climb.  The road was softer than in 2013 making it slower going, but I was also more fatigued.  We'd all worked hard in the group trying to catch Atwell and I could feel the efforts in my legs when I decided to attack.  Last year, I felt confident I would ride away from the group, this year I really didn't know - I was all-in and if anyone stuck with me to the top, I knew I would not be able to counter.  The ground condition & fatigue all show in the 70 secs (nearly 9%) slower time this year.
• From the top of the Fire Tower climb to the finish is about 10 miles (Segment 14).  This is split between 5 miles of rolling loose gravel roads that sap your strength and morale and then 5 miles of fast hard pack mostly downhill to the finish.  I think that the road was in about the same condition as last year, but I was still slower by 45 secs through this segment - with a clear lead, I wanted to stay out of sight of chasers, so tried to sustain as much power as possible but I was definitely not as strong over this section as I was last year.

Bike set-up

Trek Boone

Shimano Di2 10 speed

Shimano Ultegra tubeless wheels

Bontrager CX0 34mm tires (tubeless with Stans) @ 45 psi

34 / 46 chain rings

11-28 Cassette

I only realized after the race that I had short changed myself on gearing.  Last year I rode a 38/46 (non-compact) chainring but used a SRAM WiFli rear mech with a 12-32 cassette.  My lowest gear in 2013 was 38/32 = 1.19; whereas this year I rode 34/28 = 1.21.  It's not even 2% different and to be honest, climbing Combs and Nebo were both OK with this gearing, I don't think I'd try to change it for anything lower.

Corporate Challenge 2014 - Bike & Run Race Report

The Indiana Sports Corporation organizes a Corporate Challenge each year where companies compete in a wide variety of events ranging from traditional sporting challenges through "school sports day" type events (tug of war etc) to traditional Indiana past times (corn hole etc).  Each event is a team effort being scored in a similar way to Cross Country racing based on individual finishing ranks.  I haven't been able to participate in previous years due to other racing commitments including the Mill Race Marathon last year.  2014 was different, and I was asked to represent Cummins in both the cycling (time trial) and running (10k).

Bike - Time Trial - P2 overall - 13:46 - Strava Data Link via Gamin FR910XT

The cycling event was hosted at the Major Taylor Velodrome in Indianapolis on Saturday 20 October 2014.  It was a 6.2 mile time trial with many of the roads being familiar from the Tri-Indy course.  For the team scoring, the best 5 times including one female athlete counted and we had exactly that, 4 men (Glen Alden, Spencer Dell, Josh Knight, Tim Proctor) and 1 woman (Melissa Morelli).  

Glen Alden; Melissa Morelli; Josh Knight; Spencer Dell; Tim Proctor

The team had been selected by captain, Andy Messer who wasn't able to compete this year, based on a qualification event in Columbus a few weeks prior.  The Cummins team has won the Time Trial event in numerous  years passed, so the pressure was on but we were confident of having some of the fastest riders in the field.

Given such a short distance, it's actually hard to judge the effort required - quite a lot more than "threshold" but too much and it's easy to blow-up before the finish.  Warming up thoroughly and effectively would also be key to come out of the start able to push hard immediately.  Glen and I rode a few laps of the Marion College Cyclocross course which is a permanent feature in the grounds of the velodrome at this time of year, it was good to ride instead of just sitting on a trainer, but the course demanded a lot of short sharp bursts which aren't what's needed on a time trial effort - so after getting the blood flowing, it was back to the pop-up and on the trainer for a methodical warm up.

Warming up? More info...

Warming up before the race

My problem for this race was knowing what the target race effort ought to be - 10 miles is about the shortest race I've ever competed in regularly and clearly I would need to be going harder than that with an expected time of under 14 mins.  I think I went a bit too hard on the trainer and didn't allow enough time between finishing my warm up and going to the start because as soon as I set off I could feel the fatigue in my legs - it was going to be a long & painful 14 minutes of racing!

Every time I felt myself settling into a rhythm, I stood up & sprinted for a short burst to up the speed and effort.  I stood up & sprinted out of each corner, I tried to stay one gear higher than I felt comfortable, forcing the cadence to keep the speed high.  I passed the 1 mile to go sign and my vision was slightly blurred, always a sign that things are on the edge, the thought of one more mile was a bit of a blow psychologically, but I knew there was a downhill run in to the finish, I found some additional effort to find the velodrome in sight below me.  I managed a small bit of recovery on the hill and then was able to sprint after the turn into the parking lot for the finish line.

Spencer rolled in just a few seconds after me with Glen close behind.  Josh and Melissa had opted for earlier start times so we didn't know how any of us had done until we regrouped back at the pop-up.  Personal timing only told us it was really close between Spencer, Josh and me so after getting changed, we headed over to the official timing stand for the results.

The team had a great result - we took 2nd, 3rd and 4th overall (Tim, Josh (by only 0.2 secs), Spencer); Glen got 12th overall and Melissa was 9th placed woman.  Despite not getting the overall victory, the points we secured gave Cummins a comfortable win in the Time Trial and the overall lead in the Championship going into the running & other events the next weekend...

Official results for the bike

Run - 10k - P4 overall - 34:54 (PR) - Strava Data via Garmin FR910XT

One week after the bike events, the Corporate Challenge moved to the iconic setting of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 10k and 5k run, 5k walk and other events such as tug of war, basketball shoot out etc.

I was running in the first event, the 10k race, which started at 8am.  This meant an early start from Columbus to get there in time for a warm up run, collect my shirt and bib and be ready for the start - however, the organizers had underestimated the number of participants, or perhaps their enthusiasm to arrive early, so as I turned onto Georgetown a couple of miles from the designated parking lot, I hit a traffic line that was nearly stationary and panic started to mount!

I changed into my new racing flats whilst sitting in the traffic and resolved that my warm up would be the run from the car to the Cummins tent to pick up my shirt & bib number!  So much for the calculated & methodical warm up routine, sometimes you just have to go with what you've got!

Having looked at the results from last years event, I knew it was a fast field at the front, and I felt a bit self conscious lining up on the front row alongside some obviously serious runners - so it was a surprise to find myself in a completely uncontested 3rd place as the race got underway.  The two leaders went through the first mile in close to 5 mins dead, my first mile was 5:26 which I knew was too hot to sustain for the full duration of the race.  I was convinced there were other people who should be running similar times to me so I resolved to slow down a bit, catch my breath and then use the motivation of running with others to force the pace in the later stages of the race.  This seemed to work pretty well.  Just as we came to mile 2 (5:46), I was caught - I thought there would be a bunch but it turned out to be just 2 other competitors so I latched on to them at what felt like a manageable pace with plenty of space between us back to 6th place it seemed that this was the race for 3rd, 4th and 5th.

From mile 2 to mile 4 we were running on the main speedway track - it's a huge and imposing venue that seems to take forever to run around!  During the drag along the back straightaway, our group of 3 was reduced to 2.  I started to worry about holding on to the 3rd place battle but as we turned off the main race track to the infield course I was able to find a bit more drive out of each of the corners and close up the gap, eventually taking 3rd place just before the 5 mile mark.  The final mile was a miserable winding labyrinth through the garage complex before we emerged at the 6 mile marker with only one turn remaining to the finish.  After pushing hard in the 5th mile and maintaining a surge after each of the many, many corners, I just didn't have a sprint left for the line so my partner for most of the race was able to ease away from me in the final minute and cross the line 4 secs ahead of me.

My time of 34:54 was about 30 secs faster than I had hoped for and given the winding, technical course, I was really pleased to set a new PR.

Everyone in the Cummins team (5 places scored including at least 1 female) improved their times from last year and we were able to contribute to yet another overall Cummins victory in the Corporate Challenge.

My race splits worked out like this:

Mile 1 - 5:26 (too fast!)

Mile 2 - 5:46 (waiting for someone to catch me)

Mile 3 - 5:41 (running as 3rd, 4th, 5th)

Mile 4 - 5:34 (stretching it out, dropping 5th place)

Mile 5 - 5:35

Mile 6 - 5:35 (the twisty nature means the time doesn't do justice to the effort involved!)

0.2 Mile - 5:26 (push for the finish line!)

Overall - 5:37/mile

Official results for the run

Cross is here - OVCX Race 1 - Brookside - 14 Sept 2014 - Race Report

Elite Men - 11th place overall; 4th place Masters 35+ - Strava Data via Garmin Edge

In the Pain Cave... Photo Credit - Kent Baumgardt

The first race of the OVCX championship is always a big event, there were over 500 people racing bikes in one or more categories throughout the day.  The first race location rotates between the regular venues and this year, Brookside hosted the start of the season.  The warm weather and sunshine was a strange experience as traditionally this event has been towards the end of the season and last year fell in mid-December as the finale.  Gone were the snow and icy mud, multiple layers, embrocation cream and danger of frost bite, exchanged for a dusty dry course and the need for sun screen!  The Brookside steps, a broken, uneven climb remained as the one constant, menacing reminder of past encounters.

The Brookside Steps - Photo Credit - Kent Baungardt

There was a good representation from the Bicycle Station team and as I arrived, with Jake and Amanda Virostko, team mates Jeff Fetterer and Dylan Wick were already on the course in the Cat 3 race.  I was able to pre-ride a lap with Jake between races and then watch the 50+ and Elite Junior field, had another ride around the course before warming up properly on the trainer whilst the Women's 1/2/3 race took place.

Calm Before the Storm - Photo Credit - Kent Baungardt

The Elite Men's race had a strong field and as I lined up on the 2nd row of the grid behind Spencer Petrov, I knew that it would be a good day if I broke into the top 10 after 60 minutes of racing.

The start was a brutally long pavement sprint up an increasing gradient and as usual it was explosive right from the whistle.  My improved starting for this year definitely helped, but I still found myself being swamped as the field galloped away from the start.  With the long grade taxing everyones legs I managed to regain quite a few places before we jumped onto the grass and headed to the first off camber right hand bend.  About a third of the way into the first lap, a spectator yelled out that the group I was with was "top 15".  It was a relief to know I wasn't further down the field and I could still see most of the lead group as we completed the first lap and in particular a group of 4 riders about 10 secs ahead of me included Eric Anderson, Rob Kendall and Freddy Rose - all racers that normally beat me so I knew if I could stay in sight of them I would be at least be pleased with my performance.

At 60 minutes, the race has the chance to develop some real phases of action, as opposed to being just a mad dash.  For me this race was in 3 parts, at first, I was shocked at the pace, and effort required to stay with the people around me.  This lasted about 3 of the 10 laps making me wonder how I was ever going to last the rest of the time.

Phase 1 - Wondering how I'm going to hold on for 60 mins - Photo Credit - Kent Baungardt

The second phase was marked by people around me and ahead of me who had gone out too hard starting to fade and drop back, my pace didn't change much but I started to feel more in control of things and started to believe I could hold the effort through the end of the race.  It's around this time that they start counting down laps - whilst cyclocross is a time limit race, after the first laps are complete, the officials assess the pace of the leader & determine the number of laps to complete the race at or around the target duration.  When you're already feeling exhausted, it's psychologically tough to see "5 to go" and this is definitely a factor in people starting to crash.  Rob Kendal had a really bad lap (with "5 to go") and he dropped off the Anderson / Rose group, I caught & passed him.  Normally in a race like this, that's it - you fade and there's no coming back so I was pretty amazed to find Rob coming back by me a lap later and then start to ride back up to the group ahead.

This marked the start of the 3rd & final phase of the race for me - I tried as hard as I could to go with Rob and whilst I didn't "stick on his wheel" he did help me pull up to the group of Rose, Anderson and Kendall.  This final part was really about believing I could chase and race with this group of riders that I've previously considered "untouchables" - out of my league.  It became clear that Eric Anderson was fading as Freddy and Rob kept the pressure on with 2 to go.  I was riding on my own but catching up, the frequent switchbacks providing excellent visual cues to judge the time gap.

With 1 to go, it's all or nothing, time to ramp up the effort for the final lap.  I caught & passed Eric Anderson (first time ever in a cross race) about a third of the way into the final lap and had my eyes on Freddy Rose, continuing to close the gap.  Through a slow technical section before the high speed finish to the lap I got off line lapping a slower rider and that opened up the gap too much, Freddy made a very clean and fast run through the barriers for the final time and whilst I made a ceremonial sprint on the pavement section, he was too far ahead to think about catching before the line.

I wound up 11th overall (just as I thought, tough to break into the top 10) but with some encouraging signs from my performance. It was also great to get the first race over - I know that my preparation hadn't been ideal and the fact had been weighing on my mind.  Racing for 60 minutes with some of the best riders in the mid West is a pretty daunting proposition but with the race done, it's somewhat off the pedestal I had built for it - sure it's hard, but I can do it and be happy with the results.  This is the start of "racing to get stronger" for me, I need to build up the volume and intensity of my training during the week and make a conscious plan for some peak in performance vs just training through the whole season.

Here are my race diary notes:

OVCX#1 - Brookside - 14-Sept-2014 dry, rain on Thursday - muddy in a couple of places - tacky, not slippy

A bike - Boone

Tufo Flexus Primus 30psi F&R - glued 12-Sept 2014 (new glue after Lionheart CX)
Last years wheels
PDM-540 pedals worked well
Really powerful brakes - some pulsing from glue on the rim?
Di2 worked well

Saddle is a bit bent after crash at Lionheart CX

 

B bike - Crockett
Tufo dry plus 30psi F&R - glued 06-Sept-2014
New China wheels
Left pedal better - cleaned & lubed since last race
Brakes not great - didn't ride, can't comment if there is any improvement but no changes made since last week

Pre-ride - rode 1 lap at 12:45; rode 2 laps at 1:45; half a lap at 2:45; Race start 3:00pm

Race - grid 13th - middle of 2nd row - behind Dillman (I think) - 60 min race

Start - quite good - but still felt like I got swamped in the initial dash from the line.  Managed to pass significant people on the way up the paved hill (long, long drag to the grass).

First couple of laps two people came past me, could still see the Knapp group ahead and Kendall / Rose / Anderson stayed within sight (10-15 secs ahead)

Middle of the race, felt OK - people started coming back to me - the Kendall / Rose / Anderson group stayed in sight - race data showed I was matching them lap for lap.

Kendall had a bad lap & I passed him, but he recovered & bridged back up to Rose / Anderson

Anderson started to fade & dropped off the group, I took time on him with 1 to go & passed on the final lap

Psychological barrier of racing with & passing Anderson, like Messer last year.

Felt good, final lap was faster than average lap time.

Got baulked by Cat 3 lapped rider on the last turn before the fast run to the barriers.  May have been able to catch Freddy Rose if that hadn't happened.

Cross is Coming... Lionheart CX Race Report

It's the night before the first Cross race in the OVCX championship and I know I've not prepared the way I had planned.  A sinus infection, antibiotics and a hectic work & social schedule combined to limit the time I have spent on the bike ahead of the first race.

However, not deterred by this and in a vain attempt to over compensate, I had a two race Sunday last weekend.  In the morning, I joined Quaff ON! team mates Jane Moisica and Danny Fisher at Tri32 Indy, an Olympic distance triathlon, where we had been challenged by two teams representing Tatum's Bags of Fun.  In the afternoon I took part in Lionheart CX, a non-OVCX cross race organized as a fundraiser for the Lionheart youth development program in Cincinnati.

Lionheart CX - Men's cat 1/2/3 Race - p20 overall; p9 35+ masters - Strava Data (partial)

This was a pre-season Cyclocross race and a great chance to refresh in my mind everything about racing and to check out my new Trek Boone cross bike in a real race ahead of the OVCX championship.

We drove to Cincinnati as a family and I was dropped off at the race venue, Kings CX, with my two bikes and race kit whilst they all went to Ikea - on the drive over, I realized I hadn't picked up my helmet so the first job after registration was to find someone that could lend me one for my race... not an auspicious start.  Fortunately, the friendly faces of Ty and Lilly Peck were there and Lilly loaned me her helmet so I was good to race!

Last season a consistent weakness was my starts and I'd been practicing them at home - I checked out the start and found a similar stretch of grass and made a couple of practice runs, after the Time Trial in the morning, my legs definitely felt heavy but I was pleased that I still felt pretty strong.

I was staged 7th on the front row of 9 racers with a total field of about 40, at the whistle I buried it with my head down and was surprised to see only one person ahead of me, Spencer Petrov who is really in a class of his own.  This was shortly followed by arriving at the first corner a lot faster than any of my practice laps, my bike handling skills got an abrupt wake up as Spencer proceeded to ride away from the rest of us.

Over the first lap, 2 or 3 people came past me including John Gatch who had only just finished racing the Masters race - this was a bit of a relief as I could follow some lines from more experienced racers.  I settled into about 5th place feeling pretty comfortable with the effort to hold this position, but as we entered a right hand bend on the 3rd lap I found myself suddenly on the floor rolling with my bike bouncing beside me, I had no idea what had happened.  When I got back to my feet, the wheels on my bike wouldn't rotate and I realized that both front and rear tires had rolled off the rim, since it wouldn't roll I had to shoulder it for the long run to the pits for my spare bike.  We hadn't long passed the pits so I had just about a half a lap, 0.7 miles, to run with my bike, people continually passing me - most offered some encouragement for my predicament.  When I reached the pit, Ty Peck already had my spare bike (Trek Crocket)  ready for a fast hand over and I was able to quickly jump on and start chasing back into the race.  There was no way I was going to make it to the front again, so this was now a hard training effort - I rode the sand pit every lap although it was faster to run it.  As a new rider became visible ahead of me, I focused on chasing them down & passing as quickly as I could.

In the end I finished 20th overall and 9th in the 40+ Masters category which was still satisfying since I'd been almost dead last after the tires came off.

After the race I was grateful for the advice of John Gatch, long time cyclocrosser who recommends re-gluing tires each season - the tires that failed were glued last year and when I looked at the rims it was clear that a season of cross with repeated cleaning & cold weather had made the glue brittle where it failed.

It was good to have tested everything about racing cross before the championship races started I'd learned the following:

• Remember your helmet!
• Check out the first corners at full-on race speed
• Re-glue tires before the season starts

Here's my race diary notes from the event:

Lionheart CX - Sun 07-Sept-2014 - dry hard pack, dusty, some wind

A bike - Boone
Tufo Flexus Primus 25psi F&R - glued Sept 2013
Last years wheels
PDM-540 pedals worked well
Really powerful brakes
Di2 worked well

B bike - Crockett
Tufo dry plus 30psi F&R - glued 06-Sept-2014
New China wheels
Left pedal hard to enter
Brakes not great

Race - Call up #7 - front row (grid x 9)

Forgot helmet, Lilly loaned me gets. Ty Peck, Lilly and her mum helped me out with somewhere to hang out whilst Clare went to Ikea.
Great start 2nd behind Spencer Petrov
Dropped to 5th by time I wrecked - Petrov - ?? - Freddie Rose - John Gatch
Wind picked up from the camels towards the club house
Wrecked 2.5 laps
Rode 4 laps on B bike
Garmin didn't work all the time
LH pedal on B bike needs to be loser

Cross is Coming.... Tri 32 Indy Race Report

It's the night before the first Cross race in the OVCX championship and I know I've not prepared the way I had planned.  A sinus infection, antibiotics and a hectic work & social schedule combined to limit the time I have spent on the bike ahead of the first race.

However, not deterred by this and in a vain attempt to over compensate, I had a two race Sunday last weekend.  In the morning, I joined Quaff ON! team mates Jane Moisica and Danny Fisher at Tri32 Indy, an Olympic distance triathlon, where we had been challenged by two teams representing Tatum's Bags of Fun.  In the afternoon I took part in Lionheart CX, a non-OVCX cross race organized as a fundraiser for the Lionheart youth development program in Cincinnati.

Tri32 Indy - Bike section 40km 1:03:33 (2nd fastest time) - Strava Data

It was a perfect morning for racing, after a hot week the forecast was for highs in the mid 70's and as Danny and I arrived at Eagle Creek Reservoir it was a cool 52.  Team Triathlons are, strangely, lonely affairs, after we checked-in, Jane got ready for her swim, Danny went on a warm up run and I set up my bike trainer to warm up each of us doing our own thing in preparation for our part in the race.

My race started when Jane ran up the hill from the lake - she'd done a great job setting 9th fastest time overall for the swim, 3rd of the relay teams to hand over. The bike course looked quite complicated on the maps with two pivot points and lots of turns, however, because the relay team start had been staggered by 3 mins, there were other bikes out ahead of me which I could follow - this was especially useful as the course marking wasn't great in places and we were racing into a rising sun at times making visibility a challenge.  After a drop down to the Eagle Creek Reservoir dam and a climb back up the other side, the course was very flat and fast.  I quickly settled into my rhythm and started passing people, chasing down the first of the two team competitors within the first 5 miles.  I caught the remaining team just before the first pivot at 11 miles into the 25 mile course - so now we were in the lead.  With Danny's running yet to come I knew there was no need to build a huge buffer, but racing is racing and so far it was feeling good!  I do enjoy courses with turn around points because you can see exactly where you are relative to the leaders - I was 5th bike at this point and everyone ahead of me had started the race 3 minutes before Jane's swim.

By the time we reached the 2nd pivot, I was 4th and close to the 3rd placed rider.  With a small increase in effort I passed him then settled back down to my pace - after a couple of miles he passed me back.  It was clear we were evenly matched and in a non drafting race, it's really hard to ride so close to another competitor.  I was also aware that we had a big lead in the team race and racing with other people in the solo event was going to impact the results - a bit of drafting and a rabbit to chase makes a huge difference.  Since I had another race in the afternoon, this seemed like a good time to back off & consolidate the team lead instead of racing hard and interfering with the solo race - it's clear from the Strava data at about 18 miles I dropped the effort level with a corresponding drop in heart rate.

I rolled into transition 4th on the road and handed over to Danny - the overall leader in the solo race was several minutes ahead of us and I wondered if Danny would catch him in the 10km run.  In the end the gap was just too big, Danny ran a superb 31:49 and we finished 2nd overall despite the 3 minute offset at the start - our overall time of 2:01:23 was the fastest race time of the day.

After a short cool down jog with Danny, we had to pack up and head back to Columbus so that I could gather my Cyclocross gear, and my family, for the trip to Cincinatti and race number 2 for the day.  This meant we couldn't stick around for the results and awards, but Jane was there to pick up the hardware!

This was a fun event - doing only 1 leg of a triathlon always makes me feel a but inadequate when others are doing the whole thing, but we played to our strengths as Team Quaff ON! and the friendly rivalry with the Tatum's Bags of Fun teams made the event even more fun.  Hopefully we can grow the number of teams for next year....

DINO Mountain Bike Race - Versailles State Park - Race Report

12th overall (Pro / C1); 6th in wave (C1); 2nd 40-49 Age Group - Results
Strava Data

My 3rd weekend of mountain bike racing in 3 weeks was another in the DINO race series.  We love Versailles State Park and made a weekend of the race - it was great that many friends were able to join us and we made some new friends whilst we were there.
I just realized that I don't have any pictures from the weekend so this will be a boring text only write-up.

Lap 1
After two weeks of racing leading up to this, I was feeling more confident on my mountain bike and I have ridden the trails before.  The race starts with a long dash on grass and then heads up hill on single track - I was determined to make a good start and use my advantage of climbing speed early in the race.  This worked out for me, hitting the trail in 4th wheel, the front 3 riders quickly separated from me but I was opening up a real gap behind which I held for nearly all of the first lap despite being aware of riders in the woods behind me getting closer in the twisty technical sections that I always struggle with.  I was just starting to feel confident when a momentary lapse in concentration had me hit a tree with my right shoulder and I was on the ground with the bike on top of me.  I really had made a gap, it was some time before the next rider came past me as I tried to unclip from my pedals and find my glasses in the undergrowth!

Lap 2
I chased hard keeping the one rider who had passed me in sight as we grabbed fresh bottles, started the 2nd lap and climbed again.  I closed the gap down but couldn't pass so I took a bit of recovery - this is when I discovered I picked up the wrong bottle and had only water, not energy drink.  After the climb I lost ground and let another two riders pass me, then Denny, a team-mate from The Bicycle Station caught up to me and I let him pass but was determined to stick on his wheel.  Denny is an awesome trail rider and I found myself carrying speed through turns as I followed his lines.  We caught the group of 3 riders who had passed me since the race start just as we hit another rough, steep climb.  Denny went for the pass and I followed him, we really put the pressure on and sticking to his lines I was able to carry the same speed all the way to the end of the lap, pushing hard to try and open up an advantage over the 3 riders we now had behind us.  The lap ends with a split on a gravel road - left to start the last lap, right to the finish - as I hit the gravel I lost the front end of the bike & went down hard on my left side.  This time it really hurt and knocked the wind out of me for a moment.  Two of the three riders came though as I ran & jumped back on the bike (cyclocross coming to good use!).  Still a bit winded, hurting from the wreck I dumped my bottle but failed to grab the replacement as we started the climb on lap 3.

Lap 3
No water, I downed my energy gel which stuck to the roof of my mouth like glue.  I was able to catch up to the two riders ahead of me on the climb but Denny was long gone.  I managed to pass both the other riders before the top of the climb but knew that in the technical section which followed I stood no chance of closing on Denny so I had consolidation on my mind when I wrecked for a 3rd time - lost the front wheel on a root and hit my left side hard again.  By this time, the lack of water and repeated bashing had taken it's toll on my body and I was starting to feel really weak.  Two riders caught up to me & I let them passing, thinking that if I could stick with them I may be able to recover ground on the last climb section & hold position to the finish.  When the climb came, instead of picking up places, there was nothing left and I lost ground - I really did have to consolidate then, I could hear riders behind me in the woods, surely they would catch & pass me as well before the finish.  I found some strength and picked up the pace just enough to stay out of sight finishing the race in just over 2 hours.

As the Adrenalin subsided I realized just how much my arm & leg were hurting - my left glove was full of blood from a large gash in my arm caused by the gravel fall at the end of Lap 2.  After some painful scrubbing in the bathrooms to get the dirt out of it, one of my fellow racers who's a nurse patched me up with butterflies & a large dressing.  Bruised, bloodied and aching I headed back to the campground to pack up the trailer & head home.

This was definitely the most competitive I'd raced, and yet the most frustrating as well - following faster riders makes me painfully aware of how much trail skill I lack.

Things to do better next time:
Don't pick up the wrong water bottle
Carry a spare bottle in case the hand-off goes wrong
Don't fall off my bike

Catching up on Race Reports - Tri State 6 hour race - East Fork Country Park

4th place Men Solo category - 6 laps in 5:13:57
Strava Data

The Podium
Ceremonies moved into a shelter as a massive thunder storm hit the park!

I've fallen behind on race reports, I've had thoughts about this race for the past 3 weeks but haven't written them down.

As part of my plan to build some good bike miles and gain experience / confidence in bike handling ahead of the cyclocross season, I entered a round of the Tri-State 6 hour series.  My schedule with family & other racing prevented me from making a consistent attempt at this series but the format was really appealing to me and the East Fork race fell on a free weekend between DINO races.  The race was superbly organized and the whole crowd of racers & supporters had a real community feel about it - people helping each other out, no egos, just a lot of fun - this is definitely a race series I'll consider next year.  Kent Baumgardt was there taking pictures as well which means everyone in the race gets great photos to share on facebook and in blogs, kudos to Kent for his relentless support of cycling events in the region.

Nutrition Plan for 6 hours - SkratchLabs, UGo Bars and Quaff ON!

After my nutrition failure at the Muscatatuck race the previous weekend, I was determined to drink a bottle on every lap and to eat during the race.  This might sound basic, but most of my endurance riding experience is on the road when it's easy to sit up for a moment, drink, reach round to your jersey pockets and get food.  On a mountain bike in the forest, it's a completely different story, finding time to grab anything is a challenge.  I was also determined to use real food as much as possible because 6 hours worth of gels and blocks was something I simply couldn't face.  I'm a big fan of SkratchLabs and the Feedzone Portables principles of making real food for exercise, but gels are really easy to access and I took a leaf from my triathlon racing by taping 6 gels to my top tube which meant no reaching behind to find food on the trail.

At the end of each lap we passed through the "pit" area to pick up a fresh bottle and more food.  After this there was a section on paved roads to connect back up with the trail system in the park, making it the perfect opportunity to eat.  I had a mixture of PB&J sandwiches cut into bit sizes with no crust and bananas cut in half, as well as some UGo salty bars to help stave off cramps.  All this was willingly passed up to me as I rode through by Joanna Matuszak who was there supporting the eventual winner, Tomas Golas.

The lap followed twisty single track around the park.  There were lots of roots, some challenging obstacles and beautiful scenery - however the start was about a 3/4 mile dash uphill on pavement.  Determined to be more aggressive on the start, I went into the first section of single track 4th wheel.  It was immediately apparent there were plenty of people with better trail skills behind me, there were also a lot of people in the team relay race who were on a one lap mission instead of a steady 6 hour effort.  I gradually let the faster riders pass and the pack quickly thinned out over the first lap.  It then became a question of mentally staying on top of the level of effort (not trying too hard); finding time to eat and trying to remember where I was on the lap & what came next.

For most of the race, I was riding solo occasionally either passing or being passed by riders in the team relay race.  It was only on the last lap that I started to see some of the solo race plates ahead of me and I was excited to push on in an attempt to pass a few people & make up places in the race - I was pretty tired at this point and it didn't dawn on me until after the finish that these were actually people a lap down, so it wasn't for position anyway!  In the moment, though, it gave me something to aim for and push through the final lap fatigue.

The race is organized to finish at exactly 6 hours, any distance completed after that time isn't counted, so results are based on the time each rider completed their last full lap.  On my 6th lap, I crossed the line after 5 hours 14 minutes - my lap times had consistently been in the 50-53 minute range so there was no way that I could complete a 7th lap in the remaining time - I rolled to a halt and opened a beer!

I was happy to finish 4th overall in the Male Solo race - looking at the results afterwards, it's amazing how small differences add up - I could have made that 7th lap if I'd averaged 1 minute less per lap, on a 50 minute lap, that is a pretty small margin and I could have likely made that difference by just pushing harder on the pavement section at the start of each lap, but then I wouldn't have eaten as effectively which would have influenced my performance later in the race.  All the analysis in the world can't change what happened and in the end it comes down to going as hard as you feel you can over the time - I did that, I was pleased with my preparation and nutrition through the race so there's no regrets.

Here are some of Kent's great pictures from the race:

The end of the pavement dash at the start of the race

Picking my way down the trail

Dodging the trees

Here is the preparation notes I made before the race:

Kit

- Spare wheels

- 3 x spare tubes 29er

- CO2

- Track pump

- Chain lube

- Spare chain

- Spare brake pads

- Tool box

- Check saddle bag tool kit - chain tool, wrenches etc

- Duct tape

- Insulation tape

- Chamois cream

- Umbrella shade & pegs

- Cooler

- Sun screen

Clothing

- Bibs & jersey (2014 strip)

- Spare bibs & jersey (2013 strip)

- Helmet - Bontrager

- Spare helmet - Giro

- Full finger gloves

- Spare full finger gloves

- Spare short finger gloves

- Spare socks

- Under helmet hat (light weight)

- 2 x clear glasses

- Sun glasses

- Towel

Nutrition

> Assume 1 x 20oz bottle per hour plus 1 on drive to event plus 1 pre race plus 1 spare = 9 total

- Water - 2 x gallons spring water

- Skratch Labs powder - make up all bottles pre-race - need to get 4 additional Bicycle Station bottles

- Small (16 oz) bottle on 2nd cage tied in as back-up in case I lose the main bottle

- 4 x back-up Gatorade 20oz bottles

- Smoothie for pre-start

- PB&J - Assume 1 per lap (5) half sandwiches

- Trail mix (salty)

- Salty chips - 2 packets

- Gels - 6 taped to top tube (3 caffine, 3 not caffine)

- Shot bloks - two packets (carry in jersey pocket)

- Bananas x 4 - cut in half for easy access

- Beer - 2 x Quaff ON! growler with Hare Trigger

- Ice for cooler