my weekly race log

idgi - does pulled have a different meaning in cx or something?

i'm using it to mean that the ref tells you to get off the course as a lapped rider, it's pretty common slang ime, but ? yeah, i don't mean like drafting if that's what you're thinking.

they don't always pull lapped riders, so perhaps i could finish a lap or two down- but they can if they feel there's liable to be interference.

first race back, turkey cross, formatted like a training race, a/b/c. i did b's, started at the back really easy, pretty much stayed right there afaict, probly passed 4 or 5 along the way. i've never enjoyed a first lap so much, everyone was all "after you," "no, i'm good you go," "ok, thanks," "yeah right on."

my gorilla tubeless set up worked very well, no burps. i ran a lot of pressure because i still don't totally trust it, probly 37 front 39 rear. i can say this, 39 rear tubeless is like 35 or 36 with regular tubed clinchers, the tire is way more supple. i was surprised how much more.

raced the boulder cx cat 35+. 9 deg F at start, but warmed up to 8 deg by the finish. it was dicey as fuck: off-camber ruts, frozen beach sand chicanes, and compacted parking lot ice. i finished...last! but i finished. not too bummed, after i went down suddenly (and hard) about 1/3 off the way through, it was just skills practice, with later interruptions by riders from an earlier start lapping me. i've not been lapped since about 1995, so i'd forgotten- once that starts, it's just endless pull-overs to stay out of the way. ran tubeless at 34/32 ish, would have been much better lower i think.

Sounds horrible, tbh. I would hate to be cycling, never mind off road racing, in those temperatures.

fun, but i think i got last again >:| when i arrived it was mid 20s, but bright sun with rapid warming. the race course went from sticky hard ice to slick wet ice as we went along, so of course i crashed again in one of the chicanes. i tried a little harder at the start, so i wasn't all the way at the back, and was mostly able to hold that spot, til i went down. need to ice my left knee and hip now.

Thinking of doing this in september:

http://www.digdeepsports.com/coloradodirt.html
http://www.digdeepsports.com/coloradodirt/registrationinfo.html
http://www.digdeepsports.com/coloradodirt/racecourse.html

if gentlemantises are in the hood, interested, and wish to join, i may try to cobble together 6. The wildcard is weather- fraser, co in september could be a high of 65 degrees. or a whiteout. and man, that route is NOWHERE at 9000-10,500 ft elevation.

I pinned on a number and raced for the first time since my heart attack (sept 11, 2013) in a road race down in Baja California, Mexico. The course was 2 laps of a fantastic route that started and finished in the wine-growing hills inland of Ensenada. I signed up on a whim after a couple who my Fiancee and I ride with (and who are 10 years younger than us!) mentioned they were doing it. There was a masters field (40+) that I qualified for, but I raced "segundo fuerza" (roughly equivalent to USA Cat 3/4) because it did two laps, and the masters only did one. My fiancee and her friend raced the elite women's field, and my buddy raced in the Pro/Elite men's field. The course started off with rollers and a long descent toward the coast. A break of 3 went away from the gun, and I moved up easily through the field and led the peloton over the last big-ring rise before the descent. At the bottom of the descent, a guy carried some momentum and looked like he was attempting to bridge to the leaders so I grabbed his wheel along with another dude, and the three of us made it up to the front three in about a minute of chasing. The third guy we brought with us was a teammate of a guy in the break, so I took real short pulls and made sure to let the two know we expected them to work harder. We got about a minute up on the main field by the time we hit the climb. I hung in with them well for about 8 minutes, but hit my limit and had to let them roll away. About a minute later the peloton blew by me like I was sitting still. By the top of the climb they were long out of view. I used a couple of cars (the course was open to traffic) to draft up to a group of stragglers (which felt pro as hell) but by the time we crossed the line to start the second lap we had no hope. I pulled out so I could give bottles to the women (who started behind me) and to my friend (who started before me, but would be doing 3 laps). Fiancee's friend finished 4th in the women, and her husband finished 7th in the Elite field, which contained the National Champion of Mexico and some local pros.

That course is completely gorgeous and a great race course, the organization was top notch, the riders fast and friendly, and the vibe was very familial in general. Also it started in front of a winery housed in a Bond Villain lair. It felt so great to pedal hard in a group again. Next time I'll probably race Master's, but I'll definately be back.

https://app.strava.com/activities/272708627

https://instagram.com/p/0jeA4FuyUV/?taken-by=tylertfb

Nice! I never really thought about what considerations racing in Mexico would entail before- traffic safety, licensing, insurance, general logistics. Any worries or is it NBD?

Not really a race but I signed up for http://www.toddandnedfondo.com/index.php in Durango in Sept. It's been a long time since I rode down there. Need to blow cobwebs off mtb and start riding it regularly.

Totally envious over here, sounds totally exhilarating. Nice job on the break.

Traffic was really a non-issue. Most of the route was on roads that serviced remote farm areas, and being a Sunday monring, it was dead out there. The parts that were on larger roads were also lightly traffiked (again, sunday morning), and there were many vehicles related to the race (mostly relatives going around to vantage points to take pictures of their racers) and as such were going plenty slow. This is how I as able to draft cars, one was some kind of offical vehicle, and the other two were going to feed zones to hand up bottles or something. I can't remember any cars actually passing the field at all. At the start/finish line there was an ambulance, and another was circling the field, and there were posted police at the main corners. My mom's side of the family owns a pair of houses on the beach down there, about a 20 minute drive from the race start, so I went down the day before and spent the night, which made getting there a breeze. My friend who races the elite field has a Mexican racing license, which is awesome. It is nicely laminated and has his photo and a watermark on it. Way better than the USA cycling license! For the rest of the fields, it seems like it's self-selected, especially if you're a gringo. I just walked up and registered and they really deriuidn't ask me anything. The racing fee (which was 200 pesos, about $13!!!!) came with some kind of accident insurance coverage, but I didn't look that closely.

All in all it was a very friendly, family vibe. Kind of reminds me of the vibe at the Velodrome, where it is very competitive, but everybody knows each other, so there is a high level of mutual respect and camaraderie. This race was #3 out of a yearly series of six races on the same course. They also have a criterium series around the new convention center in Rosarito Beach, and a couple of crits in downtown Tijuana that I plan on hitting up. A fantastic scene, overall.

What's the normal situation in the USA with road racing then? In Britain (unless it's a really major event) you're on the open road, usually on a circuit somewhere between 5 and 15 miles. The roads aren't closed to traffic, but there are marshalls (or police, in some areas) who can hold up the traffic for a minute or so as you approach junctions. So you always have to worry about oncoming traffic.

Doing this "race" this weekend, Tecate to Ensenada (Baja California, MX). It's probably going to be hot as hell at the beginning.

http://www.bajabikerace.com/