Crossed Off My Bucket List

Last year, Jen and I rode our bikes down to Vanier Park in Vancouver to watch a cyclocross race. Cyclocross (CX) is a form of bicycle racing that take place in the autumn and winter, and consists of many laps of a short course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills, and obstacles. This sometimes requires the rider to quickly dismount and carry their bike while navigating the obstruction before remounting.

It was a ton of fun to watch and of course I wanted to try it. Over the summer I got a really good deal on a gravel/CX bike. Shout out to Cycle Therapy.

After a few fun trail rides and a few CX clinics, I was ready to give it a shot. The CX race at Vanier Park is a great race for beginners, so I signed up. A few days before the race, I received word that the race was cancelled (for reasons I won't get into here).

So, I signed up for the next available race in Aldergrove. Turns out I signed up for one of the toughest CX courses in the lower mainland.


Jen and I picked up Stuart early and the 3 of us made our way to Aldergrove. Since I was racing Novice, my race was first. It was good because the course would not be as torn up, but I would have liked to have watched how other raced navigated it beforehand.

I got my registration stickers and Stuart helped me put them in the right spots.

Then we went for a practice lap.

After the practice lap, I did not want to race. That course was TOUGH. It was hard enough with me out there on my own. How would I do with 50+ other riders out there with me!? I was seriously contemplating not racing.

Stuart and Jen talked me down. It was going to happen. It would only be 30 minutes. I could suffer through 30 minutes.

The warm up lap took me about 16 minutes to to do. This included some rest time. I figured I could do a lap in less than 15 minutes, giving me 2 laps total within the race time. That was my goal. 2 laps.

Soon it was time to line up. As I positioned myself in the back, a Coach Powell teammate of mine, Diana, came by and gave me some encouragement just before the start.

I chatted with other riders, who encouraged me and gave me some tips. One of them told me, "It will suck and you will hate it. But on your drive home, you will planning your next one."

We will see.

The start of the race was a long straight away past the timing and team tents. Even though I started in the back, there were bikes all around me. I focused on what was in front of me and kept pedaling.

After the long straight away was a series of 3 switch backs. During the practice lap, I managed to navigate 2 of them by focusing on specific markers on the course. The 'look where you want to go-not where you are" tip I was given at one of the clinics. The third switchback was on a very steep downhill. During the practice lap, I decided to jump off and run it.

As we turned into the first switchback, I glanced over my shoulder to see behind me. I was last. I had a feeling that would happen. I didn't let it get to me and focused on my goal of 2 laps.

I navigated the first switchback successfully, and was making the turn into the second. Suddenly, someone crashed and a pile-up formed. I unclipped my inside leg, and did a kind of 'skateboard kick' to get around the pile up. Then, just like in the practice lap, I jumped off my bike to take the third switchback. I was happy to see that I was not the only one who did this.

Photo courtesy of Jeannine Avelino/Vancouver Cyclocross Photos

After the switchbacks was a long, flat section. I used this section to calm down and prepare myself for the hill section.

Photo courtesy of Jeannine Avelino/Vancouver Cyclocross Photos

At the hill, you had to ride up the outside, then down, turn right, turn left 3 times, then climb again. This was one of the sections that wiped me out in the practice lap. 

When I got to the bottom of the hill, I tried to cycle up it. Very soon I was off my bike. It was steep and the grass was wet. I was told that in a CX race, if it was faster to get off your bike, then you should. So I jumped off my bike, shouldered it, and made my way up the hill.

I jumped on the bike, rode the downhill sections, jumped off the bike, and started to climb again.

At the top of the first section, I saw Jeanine from Vancouver Cyclocross Photos. I figured I should pose for a good picture now while my brain and body still functioned.

Photo courtesy of Jeannine Avelino/Vancouver Cyclocross Photos

Photo courtesy of Jeannine Avelino/Vancouver Cyclocross Photos

Jen, Stuart, and Diana were at the top cheering and giving out hand-ups. Hand-ups are when spectators hold out food or small drinks to the racers. However, they tend to be pretty unorthodox. They can range from candy such as twizzlers, to sushi, jello shots, or even beer. Stuart is hands down the king of hand-ups. This race he had some 3 year old Vermouth.

Photo courtesy of Jeannine Avelino/Vancouver Cyclocross Photos

I opted not to take any hand-ups and jumped on my bike for the decent.

At the bottom of the hill, was a steep drop off into a sandpit. In the sandpit, the course took a 90 degree left turn.

During the practice lap, several racers attempted this several times to get it right. I did not want to waste time here. I wanted a clear mental picture of the whole course. So I did what I did during the practice lap, I jumped off my bike right before the sand and ran down it. Once out of the sand, I jumped back on and rode.

After the sand pit was some challenging terrain and a few more switch backs. Then an uphill I did not have the speed or energy to take.

There was a small downhill, an uphill, and then the barrier. I rode down the hill, walked up the hill and over the barrier, then jumped back on.

We rode a nice flat section along the start area before getting to bomb down a nice steep section. This gave me just enough momentum to get up a short steep climb with a 180 degree turn at the top. Then it was a windy downhill while avoiding a mud puddle on a 90 degree turn at the bottom.

The course was now sloping down to the right at a 45 degree angle. And to make it even more challenging, a section of it was sand! The rider in front of me crashed here, but I managed to maneuver around.

Then there was another massive, grassy hill. I walked up the hill, trying to keep some semblance of a pace.

After this hill, was a nice gravel section. This section had some punchy hills, but it was easy to navigate and I had lots of traction. I followed the strategy I set during the practice lap. I would do what I could on the course and use this section to recover. I picked a good steady pace and stuck with it.

After a nice long downhill and some flats, I was back at the start for the second lap.

Much of the second lap was the same as the first, only much, much harder.

For most of the second lap, a young man and I were battling it out. I was would pass him, then he would pass me.

As we approached the hill section, I could hear the young man's dad yelling, "He is a slow climber! Get him on the hill!"

As we got to the hill, we both dismounted and walked.  As he passed me I said, "Your dad is right.  I suck at hills. Go get it!"

 

Photo courtesy of Jeannine Avelino/Vancouver Cyclocross Photos

After riding down and then having to climb back up again, Jen saw me and could tell I was toast.

I saw Stuart and pretended to get a hand-up, only to then tell him exactly how I felt.

As stated in my last post, I got him into triathlon and he got me into CX. At this poin0,t I realized that it may not have been a fair trade.

I rode down the hill, ran through the sand pit, and continued on much the same as the first lap.

Once I was passed the barrier, I looked at the time. I had 8 minutes to make 2 laps in under 30 minutes. I got this.

It was at this point I started to be lapped by the front of the race. I felt bad, but not because I was being lapped. I knew that would happen. I felt bad because I thought I was getting in the way of the race leaders.

They were all super nice though. They let me know when they were coming up and cheered me on as they went by. I guess if they are always in the front, they are used to lapping slower riders. They probably went into their race knowing they would lap someone just like I knew I would be lapped.

I rode conservatively but with purpose all the way to the last big hill. I walked up it with a bit more urgency this time. So much urgency in fact, that I almost threw up a few times.

Once at the top, I jumped on my bike and HAMMERED. I was so close to being done and this section was easy for me to navigate at speed.

I was laser focused. I was not aware of anything but my breathing, my heart rate, and the trail in front of me.

I powered through the last climb and bombed down the hill to the finish. No one passed me on this section. I felt good. Well... better.

I assumed the finish was the same place as the start, but it was actually a bit further up. It would have only been a few extra seconds so it didn't bother me.

I joined the group who lapped me and everyone was super supportive. A few recognized me from the start and asked how it was.

"Awful. It was awful. Never again."

I waited for the young man to finish and gave him a fist bump, thanking him for such a good battle.

I met up with Jen, got some coffee, and changed clothes. Then I watched/cheered as Stuart raced and then did the same for Diana.

As I watched and cheered, I reflected my race. It was my first CX race and it was on a very difficult course. I had hit my goal and despite the sheer exhaustion, had some fun.

For the record, I was not dead last.

Placed: 63/70 in Novice (Men)   

Lap	Lap Time	Race Time
1	14:42.437	14:42.437
2	14:45.101	29:27.537

Sure enough, on the drive home, I began to think about which CX race I would do next.


Thanks for taking the time to read about my trial by fire introduction to cyclocross. It was brutal, and it did hurt, but to have hit my goal in such a demanding sport more than made up for the pain.

Be on the look out for a couple more of these before the year is over.