I Decided

Happy New Year!

I decided that next year this time I want my New Year's Eve view to resemble something closer to this:

Time to start planning. And that's not all I have planned!

Dates With States

Okay, so I really only have one date with States, but the plural sounded better. Regardless, that date is this Saturday. It's on a course I've enjoyed before but from what I understand there will be some fun, new twists to make it interesting. Thinking about States got me realizing I never did a post from last year's race. Last year's race was what I call the 99% factor. In cross I think it's impossible to have a 100% perfect race. I don't care who you are. So the best you can hope for is 99%. From there it comes down to when and where that 1% decides to rear its ugly head that can decide your race. I knew I had a fair chance to win based on how I was riding leading up to the race. I had a good warm-up and had a plan going into the race. You could tell everyone was anxious based on warm-ups and pre-race chatter alone. Once we hit the starting line I planned on taking the hole shot and setting the pace for a lap before giving it up. Instead, I was about 7th into the hole shot but was riding 3rd or 4th wheel halfway through the first lap. That's when Erik came through, which I expected. When he went, I hit the gas and went with him, and Dan hit the gas and went with me. From there it was the three of us off the front. I was riding smart and was comfortable the whole time. With two to go the strategic race was coming down to tactics. I was in the lead and heard Adam yell that Travis was charging hard, which was the understatement of the day. He was killing himself working his way up to us and it wasn't too long before he was right there, and just as quickly he was gone. I found myself thinking my race for first just went to a race for second. And then his 1% hit and he had to pull over with less than one to do a little dry-heaving. Without that, the race was his. Once again, Dan, Erik and I were together and I knew I needed to hit the gas and take control at some point. That point came on a back straight away. Erik later told me he was planning a similar attack but fortunately for me I hit it first. Dan followed and we were able to gap Erik.

I wanted to lead all the way in, but Dan came back around me on a grass section, but I was right on his wheel and was thinking ahead to a final sprint. With 200 meters to go we had to ride on an off camber section before doing a 180 or sorts, and firing back on pavement to the finish line. With Dan riding a little lower on the off camber section, I saw an opening. Having passed him here a couple times previously, I made a split second decision and went for it so I could lead into the final turn and hit the pavement first. As I was going I was feeling good and then...........well, I don't really know what happened. We were both riding aggressively and the bikes were bouncing a little bit. What happened was my 1% hit me at a terrible time. Our bikes bumped enough that his back wheel hit my front wheel and in that battle the front wheel always loses. I went from thinking about sprinting for first place to finding myself on the ground debating if I should put my bike over my shoulder and run or put the chain back on and ride. As I was putting the chain back on, Erik rode through. Travis started coming up too but I was able to hold him off to get 3rd place.

I was definitely happy with 3rd place since I never thought I'd be able to get that in a Colorado cycling race of any kind. But I was equally pissed that I didn't get first. I wanted it and had a fair shot with 200 meters to go. In retrospect, maybe I shouldn't have gone for the pass and let him lead me out instead. I replayed that last 200 meters in my mind about a thousand times after the race, but have taken solace in knowing I was racing aggressively and going for the win. I'd rather race for a chance to win and get third than just play it safe and be content with third.

Lost And Found

It took all season to arrive but finally, in the last few weeks I've been able to find some fitness. Some other small changes have helped me race better too, like getting the tire pressure right for starters. And I also changed my pre-race music from Kanye to Nirvana. I'm sure that was a big one. Regardless, it's been nice to be in the race again, fight for wheels, hold position, make strong passes, and ride with the groups and guys I feel like I should be with. That doesn't mean perfect races and podiums, and it'll be a long time before I see a podium, so being competitive in the race within the race is what makes it fun. The irony is that the race I re-discovered my fitness is one I almost didn't race. It's a tough course with a power section of uphill grass and a ton of steps. I remembered feeling awful on the same course last year and had a bad attitude going in. But when I was going, I caught myself catching people and riding strong which was only fuel to keep going. To be fair, I lost a sprint against a guy I'd been battling with and I had some good dry heaves afterwards because of the effort, but it was a big confidence boost that got me looking forward to the next day.

The next day brought 75 degrees and a fun course that suited me pretty well. Like the day before, I was able to keep moving up in the field and ride strong. I think I finished 8th that day. To be fair there were 16 people that started but that's a minor detail.

In true CO fashion, the weather changed from gorgeous one weekend to snow the next. When we lined up in Louisville it was 23 degrees and still snowing from the night before. The start was chaos and there was limited room to pass on the whole course. Areas we normally ride had to be run, the sidewalks were ice and just for some added fun, all the lines we were riding started to change as the race went on. I went down hard a couple times but I knew everyone else would too, and the key was staying within yourself, knowing where you can hit the gas, and where to just stay upright. In the end it was a lot of fun and I didn't feel the cold at all once the race was on. Apparently my toes and fingers didn't feel the same way since the second we stopped, they were pretty much frozen solid.

This last weekend was another slippery snowfest. With the lessons learned from the last one, I kept reminding myself at the start to stay calm and capitalize on other people's mistakes. Well, once the race began, it was like the entire right side never went. Fortunately I was on the left and was able to sneak up into one of my best positions off the line all year. The run ups on this course were crazy hard with limited traction, and the descents were basically ice luges where you aimed your bike in the right direction and slid down until you caught traction. Looking through the race pics and hearing stores, there were a lot of crashes. I was one of them, but it didn't cost me big. Instead, I was racing with a lot of confidence and feeling good. I had a mid-pack finish, which is a great improvement from where I started the year. Now it's rest up and get ready for the State Championships on Saturday. It's too bad that the season will end once my fitness finally showed up, but my body is barely hanging on at this point and will definitely welcome some rest.