Double uP! October 30, 2007
Well, Last weekend Found me racing the bike again both days. Saturday, though, I switched it up a bit and raced at the alley-cat Bobby N. and others put on here in Providence. Despite the rain, or actually, because of the rain it was strangely warm out and I was glad I raced in shorts. The format was super fun; it was kind of an out -and-back type of race, or what transportation planners might call a “hub and spokes model”; who could resist the play on words? I had a great time riding with Adam St., Brian C., and Marty GH. Alley-cats to me are fun and not so much the competitive times, so I set a goal to be the first one to a specific point and got it. Maybe it’s me getting older or something, but I ride pretty cautiously in these things now-a-days. I don’t see the need to drill it through red lights, stop signs, and what treacherous situations that might arise for a pair of socks and bragging rights. Much like a prime in a cat. 4 crit, it just isn’t worth the effort. Hannah had a smart plan and won the women’s division and second overall. Everyone did a fantastic job on setting this event up and super props for making a race fun for anyone on a bike to enjoy and rack up points. Photos here.
Sunday saw me and Hannah on the commuter rail to Canton MA. for the Canton Cup ‘cross race. Hannah was feeling pretty ambiguous about racing it but followed through great. I was pretty pumped about the race, though still unable to get my game face on for real. See, last year I did this race. It was the first time I ventured out of the 2,3 races and into the elites. Incidentally, for those of you that don’t know me and my ‘cross racing history, last year was my first year racing cyclocross. I had put in a decent season up to Canton ‘06 so I figured I should get a little taste of what a local Elite race was like. I felt good about my finish that day, rolling in at 25th or 26th.
This season thus far, though, every indication I have tells me that I’m riding twice a well as I was last year. As there is no physical way I can prove this, I figured if I could at least halve my previous result at Canton, I was more or less right. The start of the race was decent, I was being pulled up the hill at a pretty good clip. This was one race where I did not really want the hole shot, since the first couple hundred yards held a quick hill to climb. Soon enough we were on the dirt and going into the field. A lot of unnecessary braking was going on in the corners, but I found a few places to get through. I ended up in a pretty good group for most of the rest of the race. For a while I was on Frank Mc Cormack’s wheel and watched him use up a couple of people at the front of our group and after they died off, take off. With three to go, I was with Brendan from ME, Adam Sulls, and a Bikeman guy. we worked pretty good together, but Brendan had a teammate one position up from our group, so was more than content sitting in. When we got two to go, I realized I didn’t want to be in an uphill sprint with three other folks, and got a gap after the first barriers and gassed it, opening up a small gap. I used the advantage of going through the turns alone well and still had my gap at the short barriers, which I rode. Every time. But then, heading up to the back section before the run up we were all together again. I sat in with them again through the last lap, but I was feeling pretty gassed. The last set of barriers found me on Brendan’s wheel, and third wheel over-all, but my attack drew a little more out of me for me to make a decent bid for our sprint. I ended up eleventh. To be honest, once someone had given us our placements as we passed them on the course somewhere, I knew I had my goal for the day surpassed. I did go on the attack a little, but Not in that desperate, driving way. A goal is a goal, so much the better for being able to put in a good effort this weekend. Thanks to the Cambridge Bike team for their unwavering support.
I was ambivalent, not ambiguous.