2019 Pumpkin and Queens CX

I could not end my first cyclocross season after just one race. I had to do at least one more. So naturally, I signed up for 2.

Aldergrove was hell, but once it was over, it felt like such an accomplishment. Pumpkin CX was supposed to be less hilly, but more technical. More technical is fine. It's no fun without a little challenge.

Pumpkin CX is known for people dressing up. It was a late decision to race in a costume. I had stumbled upon a good costume the night before.

We arrived early for registration and to get a practice lap in. I could tell immediately that this race would be more fun. I finished my practice lap in about 9:40 and set a goal of 3 laps.

As before, I set myself up in the back. Everyone was checking out all the costumes and joking around before the race started.

Then we were off. The start of the race gave us just enough room to get up to speed before we took a right turn and hit the barriers. It was crowded chaos.

The barriers were right next to all the team tents and several teams were doing hand ups. I grabbed a twizzler from someone as I went over the barriers.

This turned out to be a mistake. The next part of the course was a series of tight turns through a wooded area. At this point in the race it was still very crowded and my heart rate was starting to climb. I bit off a piece of the twizzler, spat it out, and handed the other half to Jen.

It was still very crowded through the tight corners and trees. I ended up running most of it just to avoid crashing.

The turns opened up a bit before the course took us out onto a road. I hammered it on this section. I even managed to pass a few people. And by people I mean children.

The long paved section turned into a gravel trail and then into a series of switchbacks.

I did pretty good on the switchbacks. I kept a good line and managed to ride all the way through.


The course did a short but steep downhill into a muddy section. I was surprised by how well I did through the mud. I managed to keep good speed and control.

The short steep climb out was one of many short punchy climbs of the race. But it the only one I could ride all the way up.

Next was a long muddy section. I did my best to stay on the grass. The 2 main things I learned about cyclocross are: If it's faster to run, then run and that grass is grip.

Photo courtesy of Jeannine Avelino/Vancouver Cyclocross Photos

I then ran up a small hill before remounting onto a gravel path. The gravel path took a 180 degree left turn and onto an off camber before heading back onto another gravel path.

The course then turned off to the left and down a fun little hill and into a sand pit. Once again, I was surprised at how I handled the sand pit.

After the sand, I ran up another hill, remounted, rode another off camber, and almost made it up the next little climb.

Then it was down a small hill, 180 degree left, small climb, 90 degree right, then to another barrier. It was tricky for me to dismount as I was going pretty fast on the approach. I'm sure I could have timed it better.

I remounted and rode past the timing tent to start lap 2.

I was dead last, but having so much fun. When you are in last place, you pretty much have the course to yourself until you are lapped.

With the twisty section past the first barriers more open, I was able to ride through the turns easier. There were still a few sections I ran, but ultimately felt good about it.

Back on the road section I picked a harder gear and powered through. I once again successfully navigated the switchbacks, mud pits, and sand pit. I still had to run up most of the punchy climbs though.

At the last barrier before the end of lap 2, I came in too fast and could not get my left foot clipped out. I almost crashed but managed to save it.

Lap 3 went much like lap 2. Some of the sharp turns started to get more muddy and torn up. This made it difficult to navigate as I sank in the mud while trying to turn. This was also were I got lapped by the race leaders.

Photo courtesy of Jeannine Avelino/Vancouver Cyclocross Photos

I rode by the timing tent expecting them to end mt race, but there was no signal to stop.

Lap 4 went pretty much like lap 3 minus the near crash.

Photo courtesy of JWPhotoworks

I rode by the tent and was signaled to stop. I met my goal of 3 laps and them some! I felt so good. This was way more fun than Aldergrove.

Photo courtesy of Jeannine Avelino/Vancouver Cyclocross Photos

I definitely could have pushed harder, but I wanted to have fun at this race.

I did have some take-aways from this race. First, I need to get better at off road climbing. I was told I need to get a larger cassette to help with gearing on the hills. I may also switch my pedals from eggbeater to something with more of a platform. This way, if I cannot clip in right away, I can more easily pedal.

All in all an amazing day.

Lap 1  8:26.447
Lap 2  7:58.418
Lap 3  7:57.572
Lap 4  8:03.727
Total   32:26.164

59 out of 63.  The only people I beat were under the age of 12.


One week later I was back at it with the Queens Cross race.

This race had a bit of everything and after Aldergrove and Pumpkin, I felt like I knew what I was doing. Or at least I could fake it.

I got there early for registration. Jen was not feeling well and was not with me. Luckily a friend was there who helped me with my number pins.

At 8:30 the course opened up for practice laps. I took one practice lap and decided not to do anymore. I wanted to conserve energy for the race. I took my arm and leg warmers off and hydrated. The lap took me about 14 minutes, so my goal was 2 laps.

Soon it was time to line up. As always the line up was full of guys joking around. Everyone was in good spirits and ready to race.

I was messing with some settings on my watch and did not realize the start was so close. I almost botched my start.

Photo courtesy of Chris Mallinson/cmall.photos

The course took us down a paved road then veered off to the left into a wooded section. It got super crowded. After some wide turns through the woods we came to a 180 degree turn with 2 barriers.

This got even more crowded. I rode high and unclipped right as the turn started, then cut across the inside to jump the barrier. But it was so crowded it was more of a walk.

Then we looped around the amphitheater and back into the wooded area.

We rode though all the team tents and past the hand ups. Someone was giving out shots of Fireball and I almost took it.

We looped back up around registration and into the windy, wooded section.

I had fun in this section. The turns were tight, but just wide enough for me to negotiate with some speed. I was sure to pick proper gears when the trail descended to gain extra speed.

By the time we exited this section and crossed the road, the field had spread out.

This next section was rough.

We came out of the woods, over the pavement, and then into an off camber. On this lap I took it too low and had to slow down to keep grip.

Then it was a downhill with a few switchbacks followed by a muddy section.

Halfway through this section was a ditch a little over a foot deep. As I approached, I thought about trying to ride it, but the entry was almost straight down. This picture does not show how steep it was because it was taken during the Intermediate Men's race. Enough people had ridden over it by then to flatten it out quite a bit.

Back on the muddy trail, the guy in front of me crashed. I went by him, trying to stay on the grass as much as possible. Grass is Grip.

After a few windy bits, we came out on a paved uphill.  I hammered up the hill.

At the top of the hill, the course turned left and into another deep. muddy ditch. I had seen this on a youtube video and knew that on the other side was more deep mud.

Photo courtesy of Jeannine Avelino/Vancouver Cyclocross Photos
Not me in the photo. 

I dismounted and jumped the ditch with one leap, moved to the side on the course and ran though the soggy ground. If I had tried to remount right away, I would have just gotten stuck in the mud.

Photo courtesy of Jeannine Avelino/Vancouver Cyclocross Photos

After the mud, I remounted and tried to ride. A few meters later, I got stuck in the mud on a turn. I jumped off and ran it.

Photo courtesy of Jeannine Avelino/Vancouver Cyclocross Photos
Not me in the photo

Then it was the toughest part of the course for me. A series of uphill switchbacks. I tried to ride them, but ended up running them instead.

Photo courtesy of Jeannine Avelino/Vancouver Cyclocross Photos
Not me in the photo

At the top was another off camber. The bottom was flat and I could see where other had ridden it, but I knew from my practice lap that I was too wide to ride it. I ran along the bottom with my bike about halfway up the incline.

Photo courtesy of Chris Mallinson/cmall.photo
Not me in the photo

At the end was a small hill I ran up. I then remounted before hitting another 180 degree right turn onto pavement.

I hammered it on the pavement and finished my first lap.

On lap 2, I was feeling more confident in my riding ability through the wooded area. I was taking the corners with more speed and control. I even got into a battle with a younger rider, but he passed me just as we crossed the paved road and onto the off camber.

I was sure to take the off camber high this time and it worked out well.

I negotiated the downhill switchbacks well, but had a bad dismount before the ditch.

As I continued to ride, I saw the same racer who fell on lap 1, fall in the exact spot again. I passed him and continued to the uphill paved section.

I had a great jump over the ditch and ran through the mud, which at this point was deeper and more torn up.

Photo courtesy of Jeannine Avelino/Vancouver Cyclocross Photos

I ran (as best I could) on the uphill section. Next year I will need to invest in some new gearing.

As I was being lapped, I was worried I'd block the race leaders on the last off camber. I looked over my should and saw that if I picked up the pace, I'd make out before I'd get passed.

I ran up the little hill, remounted, and hammered to what I thought was the end.

There was no stop signal.

Lap 3 was tough. I was not expecting a lap 3. I continued to push through the wooded section keeping my speed up where I could. I knew this was where I could gain some ground.

After the first ditch I saw the racer who had crashed on each lap.  I yelled up to him "Don't crash!"

10 seconds later, he crashed and I passed him.

I ran up the hills and through the off camber.  I jumped on my bike and hammered to the end of lap 3 and my race.

When I finished, I felt like I was going to vomit. I walked over a section of grass and collapsed. I laid on my back for a good 10 minutes trying to keep my heart rate and my breakfast down.

Once vertical again, I remembered that I lapped my watch on each lap. I took a look at my time and I did pretty well.

I chatted with a few of my friends before getting some warm clothes on.

I stuck around to watch some of the later races before heading home.

This race was easier than Aldergrove, but harder than Pumpkin, but I think it was my favorite. It had some really fun parts and some really challenging parts.

Lap 1  12:01.741
Lap 2  12:00.203
Lap 3  12:33:474
Total   36:35.418

I was 78th out of 81 and once again, the only people I beat were under the age of 12.

Even though I consistently come in last each race, I have a ton of fun. Yes it's hard. Yes it's brutal. But somehow, it is fun.

Thanks for taking the time to read this entry about my cyclocross suffering. I am not sure if I will do it next year as I will training for my first full Ironman! But more on that later.

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.