Amesbury Cross Race Report 9/30

Pro1/2/3:
15th/41

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF TEAMMATE PAUL WEISS PHOTO/VIDEO

Driving to the race, I knew something didn’t feel right. I had been in Boston hanging out with my mom as she endured major surgery on her spine. All went well, but she was not having a good day today as I headed north to return home and to work. I was feeling guilty for leaving and I wasn’t on the road for more than a mile when I just about t-boned some idiot switching 3 lanes at once to make a turn. From then on, my head just wasn’t screwed on right. I had another car honk at me for some reason later on, and I was just battling to stay out of peoples’ way!
Since I drive right by Amesbury, MA, I figured I’d endure a little pain myself and hit up the race on the way. I just didn’t think I’d have to sustain injury as a form of sympathy pain! I arrived in time to do a couple of practice laps in between races and really had no idea how things were going to play out. The course was a new one and wound its way through a park. It was a rough one though as there were tons of large pine tree roots making for a bumpy and challenging ride on the straights and the turns. There was an old stone stairwell after a steep descent and sharp turn that was rideable, but it would take a concentrated effort to make it.

Ride or run, you choose:

There were a few grass sections to put the hammer down, but they weren’t quite long enough to really make a big difference. Then there was a tough tiered section along some tennis courts that had us ride 2 step-ups along the fence, then down, then up at 90 degrees a real steep one that was just over a bike length and about 50 degrees up. My pre-ride went well since I didn’t crash! I spun the trainer for the next 20mins, then lined up.
I was lucky enough to be on the 2nd row on the outside which was the exact line I wanted. For some reason everyone was stacked to my left which proved their undoing as there was a slight pileup soon after the start which I managed to avoid thanks to my line.

B-men start:

I had no idea what position I was in. I set my mind to focus on not getting passed and try to pick off folks ahead of me. There was some give and take for the first couple of laps and I was feeling pretty good. The roots were a concern every lap. I was surely bottoming out my tire to tube to rim, but thankfully never pinch-flatted. I rode the stairwell about half the time, and made the short steep step up with only a dab on the first lap due to traffic. I thought everything was going to go well as things spread out nicely and I was settling into my own pace, until a Celtic rider in front of me decided I did need to t-bone someone today. He had gotten hung up some course marking on a fast section and proceeded to start running right across the course in my line, I yelled heads up twice, but he never looked back. I ended up slamming into his rear wheel as he forced me to the edge of the course, I had nowhere to go. As fate would have it, he soon pulled over due to some issue with his bike so he got what he deserved. I lost 2 places I had just earned due to the pileup so I wasn’t too happy.

Teammate Morgan McLeod getting dirty:

I trudged on and eventually regained the spots I lost. Matt O’Keefe came up on me at the halfway mark and I made it my goal to keep him in sight knowing he would be moving along at a decent clip. He was super fast over the barriers, this is probably an area I should be working on. With 4 to go, things were pretty stagnant. Matt was unreachable, but not getting away and there were 2 guys about 10 and 20 bike lengths away from me. This was close enough to feel pressured by them so I was riding a little bit above my comfort zone both handling and effort-wise. As a result I lost it once on a turn with 2 to go, but didn’t lose the spot. The worst was yet to come. On the final lap, I abandoned my usual line on the steep descent heading to the stairs and washed out the wheels. It’s always difficult to get the foot closest to the ground unclipped so now the gap was gone.

Superman!:

I charged up the climb and stayed away, but it was very close now, 2 bike lengths away. I hammered the open grass sections and felt pretty good, opening up a 5 bike length gap, but not enough to feel comfortable as I feared my closest competitor was conserving for a sprint. I probably went too hard through the open sections because when it came time for the last steep step up, I was gassed.

Successfully negotiating step-up early in the race:

As fate would have it, I got just to the top of the ridge, but stalled and balanced precariously on the ridge. To my right was safety, to my left was the 5’ drop. Guess which way I leaned? Of course I looked to my left to find a place to put my foot down and discovered nothing. I should have thrown my weight right and I would have been fine. Instead, I slowly started tipping over (my palms are sweating just remembering this!). the last thing I noticed was a course marking stake and then I shut my eyes and tumbled over in a heap. Of course, my adrenalin was way high so I felt no pain, other than panic to get up and back on the bike. In the time I spent in limbo at the top and gathering up myself after the fall, I lost the 2 spots and limped my way to the finish which was a mere 50 yards away. Once I crossed the line, my senses came back to me and I simply felt like an ass! I am racing in the Pro division, and going on a crash-fest like that is just unacceptable. I also started feeling the result of the impact: the stake left its mark on my chest; something dug a gouge into my right shin;

Pre-shower (not by Paul Weiss BTW!):

Post-shower (WTF?!):

I split the skin on my elbow; and there were a few impact points on my left leg. I humbly grabbed my pit wheels and snuck away. After a quick cool down on the trainer and everyone had left, I peeked at the results just so I would know the bad news. Of course I was pleased with a top-15 result, and the difference between the 12th I was in before the wreck and 15th I finished was negligible (they paid-10). But, the damage was done to my body, bike, and pride. I have to find the balance between going all out and staying in control if I’m going to enjoy ‘cross. I recall crashing last year in a foolish attempt to gain 1 position in a zone definitely designed for passing. So you heard it here first. I vow to push the envelope where it’s safe and smart, and be patient through the technical sections. It’s stupid to lose 10 seconds in a wipeout and waste tons of energy trying to catch up compared to riding within my window of ability vs. effort.
Next up is the back to back events here in Maine where I plan to put my new strategy into practice.