20th Annual West Hill Cyclocross Race

WARNING: this video has explicit lyrics, be sure to turn the volume down for any kids!

West Hill Cyclocross 2010 from Amber Davis on Vimeo.

Nice work team (and Lauren)!

West Hill Shop Cyclcocross Photos

Check out these photos of the race guys.....

http://www.pbase.com/piotr_bobrowicz/20th_annual_west_hill_shop_cyclocross_race

The hand-up vs. the call-up

Mid-way through the Verge series its pretty evident that I won't be getting a Verge point. I'm not sure what (or who) made me think this was a possibility. I guess the hope was that Green Mountain and Downeast would be out of the way enough that the field would be sufficiently small. Maybe if they did a race on a Tuesday in Nova Scotia I might have a chance but I have my doubts. I suppose the lesson for this year is that false optimism is no substitute for training. Anyway - as we all know, no Verge points = no call up, which puts me two rows from the back of the 140 man field at Northhampton. Not that this cannot be overcome but as we leisurely strolled up the first run-up politely chatting with each other it became evident that it wouldn't be me doing the overcoming.
So, unburdened of living up to the Call-up, or cracking the top half for that matter, I looked for motivation. The bright side of a large field is that you are at least always surrounded by someone to race. I set my sights on the group in front and tried to catch them. As we came to the bell lap it seemed that this too would elude me. Just as I was about to go into soft pedal mode I glanced ahead and caught sight of the Belgian waffle tent. There I spotted my prize, my new motivation. Beer! Thats right, the Hand-up. Taking advantage of all the extra space around me I picked a nice clean line around the last corner and manuvered toward the tent. I reached out and cleanly grabbed the plastic cup of beer. I threw the beer in the direction of my mouth and managed to get most of it in - the rest spilling down my neck and arm. Newly motivated I put in a last kick and was able to close the gap on the group I'd been chasing. I blasted through the sand and got on the wheel of the guy at the back and prepared for the sprint. As we hit the pavement I held back a belch and put everything into the pedals. Victory was mine, at least this one. The more important Victory however was finding a little fun at a Verge race. As it turns out that can be as elusive as a Verge point.
Thanks to Dave and the guys from Expo/Superior Energy for the yummy beer.

The Art of the Start

The art of the cyclocross racing start is something I have NOT mastered.

In the past 4 Verge races I've had a second row call up.  So, what, 10 riders in front of me on the line?  And a whole slew of racers behind me ready to gun me down.  (I know that's nothing compared to the 150 riders the boys had to contend with in the cat 3 race but it was more than I've ever raced with).  I've been finishing good enough to get a call-up... so you would think I'd be strong enough to keep up with my peers on the start.  Hell no...   I'm getting slaughtered...

On day 1 in Maine about halfway through the first lap I see Alix next to me "Hi Raina!".  WTF!  (Sorry Alix - no slam intended)  She was on a mtn bike!  And there were 30 riders between us on the starting line and somehow we were next to each other.  Either I was doing something really wrong or she was doing something really right.

On day 2 in Maine I was determined to have a better start.  No go.  On lap 1 my place was in the mid-20's... more than 10 places behind where I lined up on the start line.

On day 1 at Northampton I was DETERMINED to have a good start.  I powered through the first few hundred yards and felt I was holding my position starting the run-up.  Yay!!  Halfway up the hill someone hooked my rear wheel in their handlebars.  Got all turned around and by the time we were untangled and moving again we were WAY back in the pack.  Damn-it.

On day 2 at Northampton I tried again for a good start.  I can do it.  I can do it.  My pep talk to be aggressive and hold my position.   I picked a bad line (yet again) and came to a dead stop behind a few girls who got crowded into the inside post on first hard turn.  At the end of the first lap I had slid so far back in the pack Eric wouldn't even tell me what place I was in (he gave up counting).  He just kept saying "what are you doing?" "hellloooooooo.... are you racing?".  I think about halfway through the race when I was still tagging along in the same pack of riders Eric gave up any hope of me moving forward.

Soooo...  I've got lots of homework to do before next cross season.... figure out the art of the start.
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A few quick notes on the men's sunday race (Oliver was with his grandparents so I could really pay attention to what was happening).

Kudos to George for improving his race strategy over the past year... instead of starting out gangbusters and slowly sliding back the rest of the race, he's had really good starts (strong, but not getting to far into the red) and then holding steady the rest of the race or moving up.  He had a great finish passing a few riders on the last lap and then a good sprint finish to hold his position.

Kudos to Eric and John for making the most starting in the back of a field so large that if you are not in the first few rows you don't have any chance of a decent finish.

Eric decided to have fun with it anyway and give it his best shot.  On the first lap there were maybe 10 riders behind him (out of about 150) and he spent the whole race just trying to move up in the pack... picking good lines conserve energy and making some aggressive passes on the straights.  He passed about 70 people during the race to finish in the top half.  Maybe I need to take some lessons from him on how to ride aggressively on my first lap.

John also decided to have fun with it to, but in a different way.  John took a beer hand-out with a few laps to go.  And had a good finish... picking off a handful of people in the last few laps and then another rider in a sprint finish.  Hmmm... maybe there is some strategy to taking the beer handouts?

Modification of a Previous Mantra

Old Mantra: "Never brake down a hill..."

New Mantra: "Never brake down a hill, unless there is a railroad kicker at the end."

(Added 11/11/10)

You want a picture? Here you go Anonymous.

Cycle-Smart International Northampton, MA from Amber Davis on Vimeo.

I'll leave the witty blog posts up to the English major and instead share some photos I took this weekend at the Cycle-Smart International Race in Northampton, MA.

Note: I think George was too busy trying to yell directions at me on all of the more difficult sections and so did not take any photos at those times....so, while it looks like the women's 3/4 race took place entirely on a flat field, trust me we rode the same course as the men!

The true power of a blog

Oooh a Norri two-fer.

For me, blogging is more of a taking-notes-while-it-happens kind of thing. For instance, take the weekend in New Gloucester. More specifically, let's reflect on the Saturday race in which I was rockin' my 1990's era mountain bike in the midst of a Verge race. Despite a jump ahead at the start, I quickly found myself eating the dust of faster racers -- go figure... there's a reason people race cyclocross bikes. I stuck in there, however, for the experience and for the adrenaline kick of racing. I found, though, that my internal dialogue grew monotonous with the chant of "Go faster, Go faster," and ultimately became pointless. So I focused, instead, on narrating the race like I was writing a blog. MUCH more entertaining, let me tell you.

Some highlights:

- What's the most gracious way to be passed by a 12-year old?

- Brakes are for pansies.

- Braking downhill is like slapping God in the face. Take the gift and go with it.

- Topic: Tights. Pros: warm legs. Cons: hooking yourself on your saddle every dismount AND muffin top (you know what I'm talkin bout, ladies).

- I wonder if it'd be faster if I actually ran the whole course?

So next time you find yourself in the painful throes of the bottom 50%, spice up that internal chant ("Stay on that wheel. Stay on that wheel. Stay on that wheel.") with some blog-style humor. Believe me - you'll have a better outlook on your situation and ultimately more confidence for that final straight-away sprint.

GOOOO PENGUINS!!