Happy Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving day and I'm blogging from my InLaw's house. Thinking about racing. I can't/won't be driving up to Nevada to visit my parents tomorrow/this weekend, because the Chemo has my dad's white blood cell count too low for company and the risk of a complicating cold or something. And the weather's dicey too. So we'll stick around. I'm glad to miss the driving but sad to miss my parents.

On the upside, I can whimsically hop into the CCCX #4 race. I'm not sure how I'll feel. Last week after Surf City #3 I did everything wrong in terms of post-race recovery, although I did skip the SFGP to the disappointment of Paul Sadoff and a few other CX friends, but that might have been smart. I've ridden a bit, moderately on Tuesday and moderately again yesterday (from LG to Belmont) and I feel okay. Not great, but okay. It's always so hard to tell, and my internal form/fitness compass is notoriously inaccurate, so who knows.

What I DO know is this. It's Thanksgiving weekend and therefore probably not the biggest weekend for CX racing in the Central Coast series, especially after the demanding double GP weekend prior. And it looks like Samples is the dominant force at CCCX, the series doesn't seem to draw many other high caliber riders. So a top 3 finish is a very real possibility for me. I'm strong, and by Sunday I'll be well rested and motivated, and besides that, it's really just a training race anyway. The real action comes on the following weekend at the Pilarcitos SuperPrestige series finals, Dec 3-4.

But if Sunday and CCCX goes well, I might just win a medal (sweet!) and get enough points to have a go at the rest of the season. We'll see...

Surf City Finals! No room for error...

Wow, this is a big one too. After wrapping up Sacramento, my next big goal was to hold onto my 3rd overall at Surf City. It's close. I have four points over 4th place Jordi Cortes, and 8 points over some other guy from Easton/Specialized, who missed the first race but placed 2nd in round 2. I've done the math, and Jordi must put at least four riders beteween he and I, or finish on the podium. The Easton Specialized guy has to do even better than that.

Of course I'm freaking out about this one. But I figure I'm relatively safe, Jordi has only beat me once, at Surf City #1 when I tossed my chain on the last lap. And that was 4th to my 6th. In our head-to-head matches I've always come out on top. Granite Point in Sac, I won and he got 8th after leading early in the first lap, before I took over. Surf City 2, I kindly passed him and that was that. No, I'm pretty sure I have him under control, and 3rd in the series is all but guaranteed.

Then, everything goes all wrong. First, this is a GP race, so it's a huge field full of random riders, including a few A's. But I get a callup, so I'm not too worried. Further complicating matters is the fact that we really can't pre-ride the course. That's a factor...part of my normal pre-race routine is doing anywhere from 4-6 laps for both technical practice and for warmup purposes. Not today. Although I guess it didn't help much at Surf City 2, when I rode through the course tape. Anyway...

My coach fortified my confidence, telling me that I'm ready, I'm strong and I have to believe, which I did. We also decided that I shouldn't make a big jump right at the start, but instead should hold back and attack later. Good idea in theory, but this was the wrong race for that. At the start, it was nothing but elbows, bar knocking and general pandimonium. Normally I'd quickly go to the front and avoid most of this, but today I found myself in the middle of it all, and crazy bastards started passing me, running me into the course tape, cutting me off and generally sending me backwards. Jordi, on the other hand, was pedaling off into the distance.

A couple times I'd try to pass one of the A's riders I know, like Mansur Nurralah or Isaias Job. I'd say "inside" but instead of making room they'd just squeeze me out. It sucked and it led to more lost places. So early in the first lap I found myself somewhere in the top 20 with Jordi in the top 3. I blew it. 3rd overall was lost.

Then I crashed on the day's trickiest off-camber corner. Not sure if someone drifted into me, or if I caught a pedal, or just slipped out, but whatever, when I got up my bars needed straightening, my brake hood was bent inward and I'd scored some good road rash, impressive since it was dirt that I crashed on. We were close to the pits (and my spare bike) but not that close, so I opted to ride a lap and get my spare bike next time around, if it was necessary. Turns out I decided to live with the inward bent brake lever for the duration of the race.

Now, from here, I have to say I'm proud of myself. I kept the pace up, even though I was both mentally and physically cooked from the awful first two laps and the fact that Jordi was up the road. But I knew it was important to keep going. Anything could still happnen. And despite the fact that the rest of the race didn't go great for me, I kept ahead of Granshaw, and late in the race, God Be Praised, I see Jordi up the road.

On the last lap, three riders catch me and sit in. The pressure is on...if they get around me, it'll be close...all Jordi has to do is pass another rider, or another rider can pass me, and it's all over. So I have to keep these guys at bay. One gets around me before the final run up. That's okay...it's just one and I may get him at the top anyway. Then my chain drops on the dismount. I put my bike down and pedal with my hand as I run up. The chain is back on at the top! Punch it, nearly catch that one guy at the line, and Jordi beats me by two placings...not enough.

3rd Overall. Nice sack of prizes. I get to stand on a podium with Samples, Mau, and Jordi. I remember to rear my Rock Lobster vest.

Bad ride, bad day, but still a good finish.

A weekend of no racing. Finally!

I'm not sure, but I think there was a weekend with no races here. And I did...nothing...and it felt great. Who knows if I should have done a bit more with the bike those days. Probably. But mentally the break was good.

Next on the menu is Sacramento Series Finals. I'm nervous but confident for this one. I compulsively review the points, and it looks like only Dan Dixon is really a threat to my overall win. Still, I dream of crushing the whole field. It's not likely but not impossible.

The course is Negro Bar. Good course with stairs and stuff. Different route than I did earlier in the year. I warm up, but I feel sluggish. And I don't like the course much...it has some very risky sections and I'm just not in the mood for it I guess. I warm up with Ryan Fowler and he's nearly dropping me on the tricky parts. But I'm strong, right?

For a while it was looking like Dan Dixon didn't show, but turns out he did. And he look strong. That's okay...I'm confident and ready to fight.

Call ups go off, and I'm 3rd for that. And we start on a long paved secion, leading into one of the sketchy corners. I sit on Jimbo's wheel and come inside on the corner, and then lay down my typcial first lap blitz. I hit the stairs with a second gap. But I fade and as the race goes on, several riders find their way past me, including Fowler. But Dan Dixon is done for, thankfully, so my job is already done, in some regards. Fowler and I would duke it out for the remainder of the race, with me reeling him in and passing him when he botched a barrier bunnyhop on the climb. He caught me later but I attacked and shook him off. I think I finished 5th, behind Steve Tam and some East Sac wheelsucker guy named Paul.

And Poof. That's me 3rd overall in Sacramento CX, and first overall at Sac CX for 30+. I get a super sweet Sacramento CX Overall Winner's Jersey. I'm very happy about this. I'm also happy to have bettered Fowler, who's a strong, skilled guy.

But I'm disappointed a little with the day's ride. I feel like I had more than I brought to the table this day, and part of it might have been the course. I hit the stairs with amazing speed and grace, but a few of the sketchy bits, I might have lost a little time. And it all adds up.

Surf City Round 2. Good news.

So, after discussing things with my coach, we decided that Sunday's race was indication that I needed a little rest. So I spent the next five days basically riding along the coast at a coffee shop pace. I must admit, I enjoyed this. I also felt a little better about stuff. In my mind, Pilarcitos Round 2 was the darkest moment of the season so far, and I'd come through far stronger than I'd expected.

For Surf City Round 2, I was a bit more optimistic but just as nervous. Between the heat and some weird eating I felt borderline nauseous during my warmup. It helped that before staging, I talked to my fellow racers, kids like Mack Chew, Nick Hanni, Pederson, and Mau, and we ALL suffer the same pre-race nerves. We all hear that little voice in our heads, whispering "why are you doing this? This sucks..." Somehow that made it easier to bear, knowing I'm not alone in that. Also making it easier was the new Rock Lobster Scandium GX2 frame in team green and my new Rock Lobster team long sleeve skin suit. I feel like a badass, even if I don't deserve to.

I get my call up, and we go off. Boom, me and Robert and Jordi and the rest of the front runners go tearing off a sketchy, sand-and-gravel stretch before hitting a short climb onto pavement winding around Soquel High School. At the top, Rob and co. seem to stall for a minute, and I drill it. I rip through the top section of the course, through the winding bits in the quad area, back to the straightaway in the expo area. Leading and feeling strong. I hop the curb into the trees and head towards the sketchy, loose and root-filled off-camber lefty down towards the tennis courts, but instead of making the right and dropping in, I go STRAIGHT INTO THE COURSE TAPE. For no good reason. And the 10 riders chasing me go right past. I unclip and place myself at the top of the section and ride down.

Just like that, I go from leading to chasing.

Fortunately I had legs, and the course, a mostly flat, wide-open but quite bumpy affair, seems to suit me. Not long and I catch the back of the group. Jordi lets me by, and then I drop him. Mack and I duke it out a bit. I'm on Dave Samples wheel when some Easton Specialized guy crashes in front of us. Dave gets by but I didn't, and the Easton guy later drops me. The race goes on. Eventually, Mack catches me with 2 to go and sits on my wheel. I attack the crap out of him, I can get a few bike lenghts on him but I can't shake him anywhere except for the bumpy sections, but he keeps coming back. I screw up and miss the line again on another technical section, but I get back on course before Mack catches me. Final lap, Mack is close enough to make it interesting, but I sprint and take 4th. My best Bay Area finish to date.

I hang out with the Lapierre guys and do feeds for my Rock Lobster teammate Ben Dodge. It's a good day.

It's been a while...lots to tell.

So, my last update was just prior to Pilarcitos Round 2. I guess I've been busy, cause a lot's happened since then and I haven't updated for a while. So here goes.

Pilarcitos Round 2 was rough. The stress of racing and the pressure of not having much form for a while was really eating at me, and on the rides leading up to this race I couldn't get my HR up beyond 169. Not a good sign at all. Before the race, I sat in my car and fought to hold in tears of frustration. My outlook for the day was not good.

While warming up, Robert Mau came flying past me, an obvious taunt. I caught him, and for maybe 30 seconds we dueled wheel to wheel before I finally passed him at the top of a barrier...disrupting him. He stopped with a smile and slapped me on the back. This sticks in my mind because because it proved to me, and maybe to Robert, that in a head-to-head battle I can hold my own even against him, which is something I've not been able to to this season so far.

I get my call-up to 5th, based on the first round finish. And Blam, we're racing. I get a mediocre start as Eric Nelson and Mau go flying off. I'm in a group of 6 chasers. Then I fall off the pace. That's pretty much where I remained for most of the race. I rode a smooth, consistent and crash-free race, I hammered the rough sections and pavement to try and make up as much time as I could. I saw Granshaw behind me and prayed I could keep him there. The sand on this course was brutal, and there was a 50-yard zig-zag section that was tough to ride or run clean...I pretty much got through however I could. On the last lap, I caught Jim McDonald, a personal triumph because so far I've only beat him at the previous Pilarcitos race. He was groaning in pain as I passed him. After the race I'd learn his calves had cramped up. Eric Nelson won, and I would finish 6th. Not as bad as I'd feared. And Granshaw, in our first race against each other, finished 16th or something.

Next update, Surf City round 2.