MICHIGAN DOUBLE CROSS-2 Waterford Hills Track Waterford, MI 9/20/2009
Nope. Not the R.E.M. song. Nor the fruity orange flavored refreshment. The “Orange Crush” is Michigan’s first ‘cross flyover, and made its debut at the first race of the season at Waterford Hills race track.
The race track was originally developed in 1958, and had events an event called a gymkana. What's a gymkhana? Each driver gets 3 start/stop events and 3 timed laps. In the start/stop events, they raced from point A to point B (marked with a chalk line). For every foot they stopped away from that chalk line, 1 second was added to their time. Some how, it sounds a lot like a cyclocross race: sprint, brake; sprint, brake; etcetera.
The words of Michael Stipe - “Follow me, don't follow me” – was kind of how the race should start: get into the first group, and hold on for as long as I can. But unfortunately, I found myself a little buried in the pack on the first lap and saw the need to sprint through the sand pit to gain a few places on a turn with in the sand. While this was a successful tactic, in retrospect, this wasn’t my best idea early in a race, as my heart rate was high from the start of the race, and then shot up into the stratosphere with a sprint. It took me a while to catch my breath. I was fortunate to maintain my position, seventh, yet lost contact with the front group.
Then, the “Orange Crush”. First you get to go under the fly over, which for me, being tall, was always a concern – I thought I was going to hit my head, though the clearance was quite satisfactory. Then the climb. The steps were high, in comparison to a normal stair case, which, again being tall was probably an advantage. But being isolated without racers close by, in front or behind, this perceived advantage was never actually put into practice.
This particular Sunday was mid-seventies, warm, and very little humidity. This combined with a dusty race course made for a very uncomfortable event. Crusty, dusty lips prevailed, which translated into dry mouth and unbeatable thirst. Quite frankly, it sucked. I wanted to reach down and grab a water bottle from my frame, but of course, this is ‘cross, no bottle existed.
I managed to hold on to seventh on the day, the remaining laps chugged along with little excitement. Upon reflection, I found myself disappointed with my start, and getting held up in traffic early on. I certainly learned that I shouldn’t commit myself to a full out sprint early on the first lap, save that for a little later when things have settled down a bit. I’ve got to work on those starts, I can’t lose that front group in the first minute of the race. My lap times were consistent, no big drop off, which shows my fitness is there.
The Orange Crush soda ad says “so why don't you grab a Crush and make some history?” I think in this case, the “Crush” grabbed me, ate me up, and spat me out. Oh well, there will be other races.
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