https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dvDyX_nppI
First, a reminder/lesson to share: take a good look at the race date before/during/after registering. If not for a late-week newsletter, I would have packed up my bike, kissed the fam goodbye/good luck, and shown up at Bear Mtn a full 25 hrs before the start of the Masters Race. Plenty of time to re-weld a cracked frame or re-lace some tubulars, sure, but a little TOO early for most folk. As it was, I re-reg'd for the Beginner race so the Thanksgiving turkey cooking wouldn't get short-changed. Priorities.
The extra day also inspired the kids to take part in their first kids bike race, which started right after the Beginners race. After signing in, I ran into Blair P and asked how the course looked. His look back said more than words, so I tried to shimmy off any worries, clipped in, and ....stopped at the crest of a nearly-vertical muddy hill. "Nope, I think I'll walk this one". I clipped in again, pedalled thru the first few turns and abruptly slipped, spun, and dislocated my left shoulder on an off-camber, downhill turn. The arm popped back in, so off I went again - only to watch someone ride into one of the course markers (a golf club stuck in the ground) and break a spoke. So, 5 minutes into my warmup and I'm already thinking it would have been safer and healthier to spend the day eating under-cooked turkey.
After a 1.5 lap warmup (and another walk down Nope Hill and another crash on the downhill, off-camber corner), I got to the starting line. Call-ups are done based on previous placings, so I was in the back with some other folks. Brian E and Blair P were nearby. We agreed on two goals: (1) finish with no broken arms so we could double-fist turkey legs later, and (2) finish with no broken bikes that would otherwise turn a $15 race into a $1500 race.
The horn sounded and off we went. Roland's video doesn't quite show the variety of terrain or steepness of hills. The course had about 5 dismounts (maybe 2-3 if you had stronger legs & better skill) - 4 muddy hills and 1 set of barriers. Terrain varied from hard-pack dirt to mud to sandy-mud to spongy grass to slick-as-snot grass (which was reserved for those off-camber bits, wouldn't you know). Within a few moments, racer started bebopping against each other, dismounting, and trying to get up the course.
The first lap was a blur of squealing brakes, skids, wobbles, wipeouts, "Excuse me's" and "Sorry's" (this IS Canadian cyclocross, after all!). Coming up on steep muddy hill, I forgot it was coming up and followed the wheel in front - hands off the brakes and weight back, let the bike do its thing and it was a nice, non-event! Also managed to not dislocate my shoulder again as I adjusted my weight going around the corners a little better. Still, it would be nice to have practiced on the muddy corners some more - I could see how some better skill and practice can help you gain loads of time.
Being my 2nd CX race ever, I was still pleasantly surprised how friendly people were. Its not like crits I've been in where everyone is yelling at each other to hold their line - at least in our race, it was expected that you were going to go somewhere you didn't want to go, regardless of what your brain or handlebars were doing and everyone would have to deal with that. Or Triathlons where the swim is a point-to-point water polo game without a ball. Granted, everyone was working hard but it didn't stop many comments like "Good save!" when someone stopped a skid, "Good job!" when passing someone, or "Thanks" when someone kept the door open on a tight turn.
Also out in force were the TS youth team. Their practice and efforts was pretty noticeable - mounts and dismounts were poetry in motion. When I would gain on one and we reached a more technical spot, or a re-mount spot, they shot off like a rabbit on Red Bull. Well done to them and the coaching staff!
As one of the few riders who admits to enjoying running, I loved the course - the hilly runups gave me a chance to pass a few fellows (and gave them the opportunity to watch how NOT to get back on a bike). But by lap 4, my arms were not loving them - I found hoisting the bike over the shoulder was the best overall for me, but it weighed more and more each lap.
After the race, I had time to gulp some air and water and head back down to join the kiddo's for their half-lap. Mercifully, it was run backwards thru the easiest section but it was still pretty challenging! Our kids had plenty of opportunity to push and pull their bikes up the same muddy corners I had wobbled thru. At the end, everyone was cheering the kids in and they all received little goody bags.
Afterwards, I was feeling like I had taken the corners on rails, blazed over the barriers like Sven Nys, bounded up the hills like a puma... Alas, Louise's pictures and videos and the results sheet paint a VERY different picture of truth, but it was still a load of fun, no arms or bikes were broken, kids had fun, and Louise earned dibs on the next race
Greg
