About Upgrading for CX

“I meant to ask you about this Tuesday, were you happy with your decision to upgrade? Will you be racing Bs from now on?

Especially in light of your recent Cat 1 upgrade on the mtb.”

 

Short version: Yes, 100% happy. It’s where I belong

Long version:
The reason I stayed in the C’s was because I felt like I could compete at the front of the race. I also knew it was my last chance to do so. Kind of like a going away party. I wanted to see if I could actually win one of those races. I now realize I can’t. I’m either not fast enough and/or lady luck is not on my side. 16 C races is enough. 10 was enough.

Eric O and a lot of other people mentioned upgrading sooner to me, and I kind of regret I didn’t do it sooner. Sure I had a great time. Met a lot of cool people. The B category is where many of us really do belong.

:Insert Eric’s graph about the front of the C race in the B race here:

After enough C races under your belt and racing at the front of the class, it becomes a little out of hand. Who am I really beating? I for one don’t really train or do anything really structured, but lining up against people that are just grabbing beers and rolling around the course for fun don’t make me feel so good about myself when I count them as 1 of the people I beat. The C race is suppose to be the Cat 3 of cyclocross; but it really isn’t due to people like me racing in it. It’s probably turning off people to the sport.

I could have kept racing the C’s with the rest of the people who do. I never really got called out or was expected to move up to the B’s by anyone except my homies. I didn’t have the points or the results to garnish that attention. I’m not any better than then top 25 finishers in the C’s (see latest finishes in C races)

The thing I loved about the upgrade was how fast the field got its act together. Since you did Bubble, when we got off the pavement to the uphill grass section, we were all single file. There was no sketchy wheel. You had a sense of trust of the people around you. You almost knew that no one was going to send you into the tape.

You could also claim all the other generic reasons on why the B race is better; Longer race, faster field, etc. IIRC The C race at Bubble was 27 minutes. I think it would be hard for anyone to win a C race now. As I type this I feel like this is all just generic reasons, I’ll try and stop that.

My 18th place finish had me out racing for 51 minutes. I was also surprised on the speed of the field. I figured I would get blown out of the water, but I wasn’t. It’s like I was accepted into the community. Sure, the front of the race is on another level, as they are ready for the A race, but the rest of the people are just like me, and specifically you; the rest of the front of the C race. They just stepped up to the plate and took their beatings. They are also on a faster track to get faster by racing faster people.

I witnessed this in moving up to Cat 1 for mountain biking.

I technically was allowed/suppose to upgrade to Cat 1, so I did. I realized it was a long time before I could ever find the front of a race again. I was, and am still okay with that. I took my beatings like a man in the Open fields.

I realized that if I stayed racing Cat 2, it would give me a false sense of awesomeness and a false sense of suckiness to the people who just upgraded to Cat 2. The people at the top of all of the classes need to move up so the rest of the people racing can grow.

I don’t want to judge myself on a “fair” playing field. I want to judge myself against the toughest people, within reason. I’m not signing up for a pro race. I’m sure I could have raced Cat 2 19-29 and it would have been fun. For me, trying to chase guys like Paul, Dillon, Adam, Andrew, Dan, it’s insane. I have a lot of respect for those guys that race in my class in the H2H race and they kind of push you to ride faster. Seeing how far behind them I am makes me have a goal. Chasing people in the Open DH events; Same thing. I placed 45th of 66th at SSaP. That sounds like shit, but I couldn’t have been happier with that result.

After ever race last year, I left with a “Hey, what about the guys in the Cat 1 SS class? Could I have beaten them?” Those questions started coming up in the C races too. I didn’t realize how many people I see on a regular basis that race in the B’s. Some people I actually compete with at Ottos (Big Sean) and people that have completely annihilated me in mountain bike races (See all the names I listed above) don’t race in the C’s. It felt wrong.

It was fun racing 125 people and being 10th in the C’s. I enjoyed the mayhem of the starts and the craziness of being 10th-15th row in a field of 30 rows. Passing 50 people in 100 yards at Charm City was awesome.

I also don’t really have a short term goal in my cycling stuff. My long term goal is to be someone like Mitch and just rip on the bike. I want to get better overall. Patting myself on the back in a class I don’t really belong in just doesn’t do it for me. I outgrew my goals in Cat 2, and now in the C race. It’s like a false sense of victory. Note, My mindset may not be the greatest for everyone. I also don’t want to put people down that race in the C race or the Cat 2 race. This is just my mindset. It works for me, but it works for me at the ripe age of 26. Maybe I’m still being a punk ass kid. I think that is why upgrading and racing in the big boy B’s excites me. Let’s be honest, we all belong in that class. I hope that one day I could be at the front of the B race and dreaming of moving up into the A’s.

Wow, I didn’t think I wrote that much. I also hope I didn’t create a shitstorm.

Eric Oishi:

And my explanation of the chart I sent to a few folks back in August:

Cat 4/C is weird because it’s a catch basin for all new racers which includes superfast MTB or Roadies and total noobs to bike racing with no fitness. Huge range in abilities. You always have a few outliers on the fast end who start racing cross and win a few races then cat up to B’s and possibly win there too. Winning any race, even in the 4’s is really hard and requires a little good luck.

If you are top 10-15 in C’s then you will do better than fine in B’s–probably mid-pack or better. If you don’t want to upgrade because you want to stand on a podium or win a series that’s understandable. I’ve been guilty of that. But It’s my opinion that you’ll get better faster racing B’s. The quality of racing is better and you’ll be pushed harder and you’ll probably do better than you think you will.

 

Agreed, pointy end is fun. I also agree that this is for fun. I enjoyed the pointy end for a long time now with CX. I’m a big believer/pusher in the term “Fun” and my cycling. I could be the president. I don’t want it to become a job or dread having to do something I enjoy. I’m sure this hurts me sometimes, as I should push myself more and ride more if I want to improve, but I’m on a slow track to get better. I’m cool with it.

I also became a firm believer that you can only do so much to prepare yourself for upgrading. In the end, you can do all the miles and all the work to think you are prepared, but you just need to do it. It will still hurt just as bad.

Don’t get it twisted, the B race was not “fun”, and neither was any of the mountain bike races I did this year. I was in pain. You can say I wasn’t prepared or I wasn’t good enough, either or. The B race was challenging and on a field I think I should be judged on. That alone made it fun. My legs/body/brain didn’t find it fun I feel that getting shelled now will only make me better in the future. For me, avoiding the faster race is only delaying the inevitable. I didn’t want to be a C or race Cat 2 for another year, so why wait any longer? Get it in while you can!

I was extremely caught off guard by how fast the Cat 1 races were. I always rode at a certain pace through technical stuff, leaned so far, or only turned so fast. I could ride my mountain bike for 25 miles, but at 11MPH, at Fair Hill it’s a completely different ballgame. I couldn’t BELIEVE how fast some of these people were riding stuff. I only got better at trying to push the envelope, 150% more than I thought I was suppose to. I felt the Mooch Madness race it all clicked for me, pace wise.

CX example:
Here is me chasing the Boss boys at Whirlybird in the C’s, look at my facial expression:
Hmmm, I wonder what we will be getting at Friendly’s after this, I really like burgers but maybe I will get a chicken sandwich instead

B race the last Sunday

Wishing I was on a beach catching rays. This is stupid.

I hope you get to experience the SuperCross race this year. I think it will be eye opening to you in terms of what you expected. You will do better than you think and you will surprise yourself.

HPCX and Hurricane

HPCX

• I blew my front row start by missing my pedal. First row to third row and seconds.
• I didn’t crash
• Great photo of me and Adam HERE
• I sprinted for 15th to beat my buddy Zach. He passed me on the last lap and I was able to nab him at the line. He has a sick beard.

I don’t remember much of this now that it was so long ago. Maybe it just feels long ago. I just remember the winds being crazy, and happy that Lou did his first CX race. I remember that this was going to be my last C race. I told myself that if I couldn’t do well in this race, I’ll never win a C race.

The Storm

• Sucked.
• Very stressful preparing for the flooding that didn’t come. You are damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
• My bike riding took a back seat to helping family and neighbors alike.
• My work flooded for non-hurricane reasons (don’t want to get too descriptive)
• This caused me to have to drive to Cherry Hill (1:30 each way) to “work”.
• This stressed me out.

I did have this crank radio and this awesome LED lantern. Our entertainment for the week.

The power came back on, the roads opened back up, but the desire to ride disappeared. I didn’t feel burnt out or sick of riding, I just seemed to care lessa bout it at this point. I started to notice other things that seemed to be more important maybe? I have no idea. All I wanted to do was sleep.

Things started to fall back into place, Work was back at work, the commute was back to normal without detours, and things started to flow. I knew that they rescheduled the Bubblecross to the next weekend, but had no desire to even attempt it. I rode 3 times in the last 2 weeks, no way I could even try and race. I talked to a couple of peoples and they said the same thing. I set an alarm the hour before pre-reg closed, and I would figure it out when the horn sounds.

That Friday Mandi and I head to California Pizza Kitchen at Bridgewater Mall. Apparently they have awesome salads. Don’t take my word for it. As we wait for our table to be called we shoot the shit about getting murried and shit and all of the sudden, I see this tall, majestic man open the double doors to enter the mall. It was Big Dog Sean.

He comes over and is excited about the race on Sunday. I told him I wasn’t going to do it, haven’t ridden, the whole 9. He said no one else has ridden either. At this point I said “F it, I’ll sign up.”

Our table is called and Sean heads on into do some shopping.

The next day, Saturday we check out the canal path. We checked out the path a couple days after the storm and it was a mess. They sent a little bulldozer down that way and cleared all the trees finally. Left some crappy grooves in the soil. Before you could ride your road bike on this, but not this time. Felt like riding on grass, bunch of ruined sections, etc. Mehh. They will fix it.

Okay, Sunday, BubbleCross. I signed up for the B’s, last race of the day. I show up early and cheer on my buddies and scout out the course a bunch. Roll around in circles in the parking lot with the Chris Esnes and shoot the shit. He’s getting murried too.

I have no sense of pressure this time around. I actually found myself smack in the middle of the pack, all 30 of us. I was happy to recognize some faces (Dillon, The Seans, Paul) and meet some new ones who were very nice and talkative. It felt like this was the C race, and not a race that people are really focused on. Everyone was looking forward to a good time.

The race goes off and I have a bad wheel to follow. The race is slowly going around me and I need to get out from behind this dude. I jump around and find myself rocketing up this hill. The first hill hurt, really bad. I know I have a nice relief down back to the start, and leave what I have out on the table for the first lap. I was able to ride the sand, but with someone in front of me on the first lap, it wasn’t as fast as I have done it in the warm up laps. Meh. Couple of other people struggle on the last 50 feet of the sand, which was easily the deepest section before the double-track Allamuchy type climb.

The first lap I come around and someone says I’m in 10th?

No way. I also feel that this won’t last. Paul goes by and gives me some props on leading him around the first lap. He rockets up the first hill and leaves me for dead. A couple of other people pass me that obviously had bad starts. Like I was standing still. On the second lap, a group of three forms up the hill and twists back down. The lead guy loses his front tire and eats it hard. Later we find out he broke his collarbone. Ouch.

Lap 2 through the Sand I think. or 3.

I pass Dillon before the S/F techy section with a flat. He was earlier hating on my tubulars. Tough break. Big Sean comes around on the 2nd/3rd lap with a couple of others. I’m able to stay 2-3 seconds behind Sean, but can never really clean the gap.

On the third lap I try and use the small ring to spin through the sand. It sounded like a good idea at the time. Bad idea. I almost lose my balance and would have been forced to run the uphill. Noted.

The correct gear for the sand. Just had to hump your way through it.

I hear Dillon again. He makes me laugh and says “I’m gonna getcha!” Later I realize he flats again. Time for some tubbies son!

I head through the sand on the 4th lap and the hill climb begins to hurt, extremely bad. I’m starting to enter uncharted territory in my CX endurance, but this isn’t right. I can feel the sand rubbing my brakes and I try and remove the sand. It takes a good minute to realize I have bent my wheel, bad. Rubbing the frame bad. I should just quit, but I don’t.

I probably should have. I’m passed by a couple of people as well as CXDHSean before the sketchy 180 off camber turn. I keep trying to hammer down, but the resistance is killing me. I feel like I’m topping out at a speed that is turtle like.

The last lap comes around and up the hill again. I almost stall out this time. It’s easier to muscle through knowing I don’t have to do it again. At this point I just feel like I’m riding, but I’m emptying the tank. The sandy beach as well as Team Kenneth Lundgren were great all race at heckling and making me feel like a celebrity through this section. Missed the money on the first lap. Ken told me he ran out. I have a sad look on my face that Mandi picked up on and she knew something wasn’t right.

I get to the crappy part of the sand and I can’t make it. 30% my legs, 70% the bike. Crap. I really wanted to ride this every time. I run up and Mrs. Cantor and another guy cheer me on. This blows.

After the nice sweet recovery downhill, William Romollino passes me and tries to cheer me on. I give up the line and let him go. I figure no one else is around, This is where I will finish. Wrong.

This happened to be the most exciting part of the race. If you are still interested at this point anyway.

I hear Mandi and EricO tell me that someone is closing in on me, and I need to keep my spot. Seriously? Arg. I buckle down and ride the good line. At one point Breogan (thanks result sheet) gets around me and I think I’m screwed. Actually I don’t remember if he passes me or not, Or tries to make a pass.

I’m able to keep the best line and make the passing difficult. Up the slight rooty/rocky uphill and I can hear him on my tail. I rest for 3-4 seconds as we turn onto the final gravel sprint. I’m sure faking my sprint here would be useless; this isn’t the freaking C’s. I push that wheel into my frame, and the gears make me move, move fast. I hear my whole crew at the finish line (where our tent was set up) going wild. This helps me stay up and hammer out the last few seconds. I don’t get passed and finish in 18th out of 30 starters.

What an experience. Great course and even GREATER pictures by the Oishis, who captured this event perfect. The chat after with everyone who raced was great. I couldn’t have asked for a better performance from myself and better, friendlier competition.

I later see that I lost a spoke, bent my rear wheel, and slashed my sidewall on my rear wheel. Front was unscathed Eric, no worries

So thats that. Sorry for so much text.