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Team Bikeman -
Race Reports
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Written by Matt Hersey
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Wednesday, 31 October 2007 |
Travis Cycle City of Champions Cyclocross Race
Brockton, MA
October 27, 2007
“You never know unless you go”. That has always been my mantra when traveling to fun events – and it usually pays off. Pouring rain? Cold temps? High winds? Let’s go. Maybe it will be better by the time we arrive. If I hadn’t pre-registered for this race, I probably would have skipped it. But instead, I broke out all of my wool cycle clothing and toughed it out.
When I arrived, I was sort of surprised at the low turnout. There were only 12 guys in the 35+ masters race with me. And the cross race on the next day was only about 20 minutes drive – over in Canton. Where were all of the hardcore “racing cross all weekend with my buddies” kind of racers?
The course was decent. It started on a mile long straight piece of paved road through the woods, and did a 90 degree turn into the first single barrier – a non-UCI stack of old logs. Then it followed an old cracked sidewalk/narrow bike path through the woods and dumped out on some double-track that went around a small pond. There were some sketchy small barriers where the small pond was dammed up – you had to run across a wet, wooden bridge. Then a bunch of turning and braking in a big field with lots of course tape. Then back on the mile long pavement section.
This was a fast, roadie crit! Being in a paceline was essential. The only technical aspects of this course were the wet roots and rocks.
So, it stopped raining by the time I pinned my number on, and soon I was sweating in my wool shorts. I managed to avoid the first lap crashes, watched 6 fast roadies pull away at the front, and settled into a good working pace with a friend from Maine – Paul Weiss. Paul and I traded turns at the front and worked well together. Pushing that big ring gave me a crazy-good workout.
I’m not even sure where I placed – somewhere close to the back. But I was glad I forced myself to go.
As always, thanks to our team sponsors: Slick Willy – the chain lube really made a difference today. Lazer helmets – ya huh. Salsa cycles – I’m still loving the Las Cruces. SRAM – your chains are the only I’ve used for the last 5 years.
Brockton was Saturday; I’ll let someone else do a write-up on the bigger, better Sunday race.
Matt |
