All work and no play makes me a piss-poor cyclocross racer.
So I was a bit preoccupied with two full-day job interviews this past week, and hadn't had a shred of physical activity since a 20-minute jog Monday morning. Saturday afternoon, I finally changed out of the PJ's and went cruising along the creek trail for an hour...not very intense.
This morning, I get to Fort Ord for CCCX #5 with enough time to register and do a practice lap. About halfway through, I dismount to look back at a rough patch and see what's to be done--and my heart feels like it's going at 200 bpm. And I feel a bit nauseous. Yeah, body wasn't ready for any exertion.
I go off with the Men's B start at 10am. Within 20 seconds, I'm dropped by everybody by 50 yards. Things compress once we got offroad and I catch up, but by then the 35+ B wave is barking up my backside. Shortly thereafter my front wheel starts ticking; I stop and check and it's nothing; but now the 35+ B's are passing me, it's singletrack, uphill, and sandy, and there's no way I can jump back in without being a complete ass.
I never really got any faster from there, though I did spend a couple laps providing the leader of the 55+ wave with a nice draft. The sand was challenging in many corners, providing something of a California equivalent to the mud up in Portland today...but let's not try to match their rain and snow.
With no power in me, doing the singlespeed race was going to be a waste of time. I ate the sandwiches I had packed, volunteered to do some handups for xbunny, and decided to practice using my newer camera some during the Elite Men's race (a Rock Lobster festival, with the top 'Berries being out of town). The following is my first attempt at combining new camera, new computer, and Youtube, for anyone who missed today's CCCX race or just wants to relive some memories.
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6 comments:
That was very nicely done. Now I know that cyclocross is just as crazy as I imagined it to be. This from someone who spent 9+ hours today in a barn that (1) was full of barking dogs and (2) maintained a constant temperature of -2 degrees. The things we do for fun.
PS: Did you get a job?
hey Russell,
huge thanks for taking care of the Xbun today!!!!!
dp: barn? cold? yeah, eye of the beholder 'n' all that.
Both companies said they'll be making decisions by Xmas. I dunno, is it a bad sign if they don't make an offer before you leave?
pab: anytime. And I think she had fun, despite being forced to do all five laps 'cuz she didn't get lapped by Stella. Have a good ride?
anyone: see if you can get the blogroll on OV's website to work--it ain't working for me.
The part where I'm moving out of the way of the fast guys..... yeah, that about summed up my day :-)
Nice camera work!
Sand dunes + $1000 drivetrain = madness!
On reflection I guess the singlespeed bikes at least have uncomplicated drivetrains.
Nice vid. I couldn't decide if the course was more punishing for the people or the bikes.
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