Rockburn Cross

Well, just a brief report today.  Not much to report.  I got crashed out 45 seconds into my race when a couple guys went down in front of me then what seemed like half the field plowed into/onto me.  I didn't think it was a well designed "prologue" and start.  I could post a picture of the tire track rash on my left hip.  By the time I got up and was able to turn my crank again, I was minutes behind last and my rear wheel was badly out of true.  I chased up to those in dead last, but when I switched to my Fuji pit bike, I was rudely reminded that I don't pay any attention to it...the brake pads are shot, so I had no ability to go from fast downhill into the sharp turns (grabbed rear brake and there was nothing; I thought I'd forgotten to re-attach the cable after switching wheels--not).  Well, by then, I just gave up and decided to do the Elite Masters race for training and humiliation.  I did.  Nothing special.  Being last to register, I was lined up at the back and didn't get far forward from there.  Another crappy start, stuck in traffic as the field had to go into a narrow shoot after only about 100 yards.  It was a decent 47 minute workout though.  I was more beat up last night when I went to bed than I had realized (and am finding new bruises today).

Here is a pic of me 30 seconds before the big crash (after being driven into the tape); I was still in decent position (the winner was behind me in the next picture) from FatGuyRacer

I'm still in a pretty crappy mood about the whole thing.  My equipment is giving me a hard time.  Middle of last week I got one new Challenge Fango mud tire on the new front tubular wheel I ordered (in July), but then it refused to hold air over night.  Then on Thursday, I had a complete failure when trying to get the tire on the rear wheel, and had to pull it off rather than leave it half-on-half-off, thus destroying the 2 days worth of gluing.  Yesterday, during the elite race I was hearing something horrible from my trusty rear Ksyrium wheel on the fast downhill road section, which I suspect was my freehub body; it was ok if I kept pedalling, but I'll have to get it checked.  I have raced several seasons of cross on it, so....  On the damaged rear Helium wheel, the shop was able to pretty much true it, but they said it wasn't perfect and the tension on the spokes is off so it's not long for the world.  Loren should not read this next sentence: I have already been thinking that next year I'll need to get a new cross bike; after 2 seasons, the Redline is already pretty beat up, and while I have one set of new tubular cross wheels, I'm otherwise relying on 5+ year old Kysrium clinchers that have got to be nearing their life expectancy.  I'm thinking a Rock Lobster and Ksyrium Tubular wheels (although, I either have to master this tubular mounting thing or work out a deal with Greg at Contes to borrow his stronger mechanic hands for mounting)

Jake's race wasn't his best.  He got a crappy start (he needs to be much more aggressive about the first minute or 5 of the race); then his cleat on his left shoe came loose so that he was having a hard time clipping in and out (it could have been very very bad actually).  There was also confusion about when the juniors had finished their "2" laps, so Jake sprinted only to have to get directed back on course for another lap.  He was 7th.

[[Late note: I thought by not posting on Sunday, Mike May at GamJams wouldn't find this, oh well, he's too crafty]]

Comments

[Jim]

Hey, don't be down on yourself. You manned up, raced the elites and represented pretty well, all things considered. You were movin', Scott. Part of the whole racing deal is to be able to take a kick in the teeth and move beyond it. You did it yesterday, so don't return to the scene of the crime now and linger on the disappointment.

Besides, you're gettin' a Rock Lobster...

[Scott]

Thanks; I think I was moving fairly well during the Elite race, although I probably lost some time overall by being stuck behind or not aggressively passing the guy I was with, Keith Rohr, I think I was faster through the turns but wasn't properly positioning myself to go through the woods in front of him (he never shifted out of the big ring in front, which I think was a mistake that ultimately had him crack); I did nearly catch up to Eric Leaver on the last lap. But otherwise, the motivation/push to go fast isn't quite the same as when you're fighting for a top 10.

Plus, I'm finding some new bruises today that were not noticed yesterday during the rush of battle.

[ryan]

Sorry to hear things went south early for you Scott. A lot of people would have headed for the car after that, so take pride in the fact that you ordered up a second helping by starting at the back of the Elites.

-R

[Dave Tambeaux]

Scott:

Did you get wiped out by the guy who over cooked the turn in the switchbacks adjacent to the food trucks etc? He came through the tape and took out two people directly in front of me, hitting them head on. I only avoided the crash as they soaked up all of his momentum, and I not exactly deftly changed my line ever so slightly. Yes probably not the best place to try to spread the group out a little. I feel fortunate and upset at seeing people being taken out before they even got started. I hope you have much better luck in your next race.

Dave

[fatmarc]

I thought the start was 100x better than last year, I really like that course. You did man up, sometimes weird/bad things happen in cross races. No one race will define you, unless you win nats, otherwise remember it's the sum of the entire season that will be the story to tell... you're in 6th overall in the 35+ 3/4... that's not too shabby...

respect
fatmarc

[Sven]

I thought the prologue was good, though when some cat loses it and goes through the tape into oncoming riders it can spoil your race quickly. Bummer. Maybe that guy didn't pre-ride. My rule of thumb is to ride it like you stole it for the start to avoid any clogging, carnage, or cats that forget how to ride a bike. Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy And try not to blow up! ;-)

[Scott]

Wow, first, thanks for all the kind comments
Second, yes, their start last year was probably worse, but I liked it because I was third, following.....Vettori and Nystrom.
Third, getting upset when things don't go the way I want is a long-time part of who I am, and on some level, it makes me really good at my job and also makes me fairly intense about things I focus on. The question is whether I can eliminate these various aches that have popped up from the crash (odd bruise on my left arm up by shoulder; sore lower back from where people landed on me) and be 100% for Charlottesville. If I can be good, I hope to have another good race. Otherwise, I'll have to make sure Ken designs the Tacchino course to suit my specific strengths and abilities -- what are those by the way ;-)

Dave, no, I was on the top side of that nightmare, about 3-4 people behind the guy that went through the tape into oncoming traffic; those 3-4 went down and I went into them, fairly upright, but then was slammed from behind like a multi-car pile up on the freeway

[Keith Rohr]

Scott, that odd bruise on your left arm might be from me wacking you in the sandpit. If you recall, I bumped you with my bike as we made a sharp left. I'm pretty sure I apologized :-)
That strange noise you hear in your rear Ksyrium might be coming from the freewheel mechanism. I had this aweful noise in mine last year and it was cured by removing the cog/freewheel and putting mineral oil on the small parts/springs that push in - the noise hasn't returned.
Regarding being "stuck behind me" - ah man, now my feelings are hurt - I thought we were working together fairly well, but I cracked on the last lap. I had way too much left in me after that race. I need to push it a bit more. I still had fun riding/racing with you. BTW, I was on a road bike with Roubaix road tires - much faster than my Poprad - crazy, but still fun. I loved that fast descent.
See you at Tacchino - can you describe the course?
Regards,
Keith Rohr