WhirlyBird Cross - Race Report
Master 35+ multisport race.
Every time I took my rain cape off, it started to pour, so of course when I got my call to the line and removed my cape it began to pour. With nary a word, the official started us on our mad sprint up the road to the first turn. I was in the wrong gear, and it took a second to get the cranks turning, I was in the middle of the scrum when; Screech, crunch, crash from behind me, I put my head down and sprinted away from the mayhem. I was feeling strong and moving up one rider at a time, I finished the first lap in about 8th place and saw Kelly Cline in front of me and went chasing. I caught him at the 2 trees zig zag just after the start and took the inside line. As I stood to power past, my bike went sideways and I heard the BURP!!! Stan’s Juice and air had been expelled, but just how much? I hopped back on, hoping there was enough left to keep riding, but alas, I was completely flat. Now what. I has almost a full lap to go to the pit, so not being too bright, or really stubborn,(you decide) I picked up my now untrusty steed and started the long run to the pit. (2:04 - 2:15 of video)It did not take long for the entire field to pass me, including the 45+ and 55+ fields. I am not sure, but I was close to the last guy in the race, when I got to my pit bike.
Now what to do? Let’s turn this into a workout and see how many people we can chase down before the race ends. So off I go, throwing the bike into turns with reckless abandon, trying new things on the barrier dismounts, and generally having a good time.
Into the last lap and I am chasing another rider, trying to find the best place to pass, when he hits the ground. I use the opportunity and push hard thru the back by the playground, out onto the gravel road and I felt a hard hit in the back, but kept the gas on . As I was rolling into the mulchy downhill, the back tube was flat. “Darn you all to heck!” I said, then shouldered my now untrusty 2nd steed and off I went on my 2nd x-country run of the day. This time, with no prospect of a nice rolling bike in the pit, I settled into a comfortable pace and just ticked off the miles, just me and my bike, out for a run. Everyone I passed back after the first flat came back past me and I was the last rider to finish without being lapped. No DNF for this psycho.
Several things I learned today.
Sidi shoes are great for riding and not bad for short runs, but when you have to run the entire cross course almost 2 times, they start to show a bit of weakness.
Tubeless or tubes, it doesn’t matter, flats happen! (sew-ups aren’t immune either)
A bad day of cross racing is bound to happen, make the best of it, and smile, wave to the crowd and by all means have fun!
I had a great time, enjoyed the company of some great people and am home with a fun story to tell. Sounds like a successful day of racing to me. Oh, and I got my run in for the week.
Thanks for reading.
P.S. The GPS mounted to my first bike showed my running pace at 7:35/mile for the first run, no data after I dropped my bike in the pit, so i guess all the running does help my cross racing.