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Boston Road Club Cyclocross Race - Shedd Park, Lowell MA - 18 November 2012 |
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Jeff's race video - lap 1 Fast forward a month or two and I found myself in the back row of the Citizen/Cat 4 field of the Boston Road Club Cyclocross Race at Shedd Park in Lowell. I flipped my bike-mounted video camera to record, the whistle blew, and we were off. Mind you, I started in the back row by choice. For a reason unknown to me, I'd been assigned number 604.  Numbers 600-609 were entitled to the front row, a space typically reserved for talented riders of at least some racing accomplishment*. Not wanting to foul any of the contenders, I ignored my pre-start call to the front, and waited while the next 8 groupings went forward as well. I settled in with the 690-699 grouping in a field that numbered 95. *[added 11/19] I'm informed by a rider with some inside scoop that the Cat 4 class was supposed to be assigned numbers beginning in the 610-619 decile. Registration was higher than expected, so they "rolled over" to use 600-609. They neglected to tell the start organizer this, however, so the rollover group was mistakenly called first. I didn't fall for the trick, though, and started in the back where I belonged.When I had checked the forecast a few days earlier, 7am's 28 degrees promised to leap to 37 by the 9am start on a sunny, windless Sunday morning. The weather didn't disappoint. Having arrived a bit before 7:30am, I had time to take a reconnoiter lap of the course, register, and spin for 25 minutes to warm up.  The practice lap closely matched a video from the same race two years ago that had I found online a day or two before the race--it definitely helped having a sense of the course before the race started. It also didn't hurt that 545 Velo and fellow MacGregor rider Brad W. dispensed this wisdom: "Start fast. Then keep going fast. Finally, finish fast."  As we took the first turn for a circuit of the running track that prefaced the hole shot right turn toward Climb 1, the morning's earlier frost had melted into the key ingredient for a light mud.  Exiting the track toward--but still connected to--the back of the field, I crested Climb 1, ...  We circumnavigated the "upper plateau" before entering a back-and-forth hairpin characterized mostly by loose dirt. Having been gapped a bit, I caught back up at the resulting logjam and successfully made it to the bottom, passing a handful of riders along the way. What my mountain bike lost in straightline speed, it made up for at least a bit with turning stability on the descents.  Climb 3 was steeper than 2, which in turn had been steeper than 1.  Lap 2 of the course finished uneventfully. I knew the race was set for 40 minutes, but I didn't really appreciate how long it would feel. I opted to take the climbs (1 mounted, 2 and 3 on foot) relatively easy to keep some energy in the tank. After crossing the start-finish line again, I began lap 3 of what I thought might be 4. Just after the descent following Climb 3, I saw/heard/felt one of the leaders coming up fast. I slid to the left to let him pass, then made chase, experiencing for at least a few seconds what it must be like to be chasing the leader for real. Back on the sidewalk, I pulled aside to let another half-dozen or so of the leaders pass, then did the same just before popping back out onto the track. Prior to the start, one of the organizers had spelled out the rules--if you've been lapped, you finish on the same lap as the leaders. When they passed me, they were on their 4th and final lap, so the 3rd became my final lap. Not that I would have been able to keep from being lapped, but my race ended with energy in reserve--energy that I could have put to better use on the course ... perhaps even finishing a position or two higher.   In the end, 88 of the 95 starters finished (the rest felled by mechanical problems or perhaps injuries--I didn't hear about any of the latter, but did on several occasions find myself passing would-be riders carrying their bikes). I finished 85th (but perhaps 3rd of 5 or so mountain bikes). The winner, Brad Smith, finished his 4 laps in 34:00. (Brad W. finished a minute back in 12th.) The 82nd place rider was the last on the lead lap--he finished just over ten minutes back at 44:08. Full results are here. Next up: Sterling Sat Nov 24. I'll still be on close to 30 pounds of Specialized Hardrock. But I'm one race closer to N+1. To complete the experience, my post-race routine featured a stop just down the road in Tewksbury at Vic's Waffle House. Highly recommended.  Masters 35+  545 Velo rider  Specialized Hardrock  Wheels  |