Ninigrit Last Lap

This is a short follow up to the Pre Race Report:

-Was only dropped off the back of the M1/2/3 field. Took the free “get lapped and keep racing” lap, and got dropped again. Shout out to everyone that tried to help me by giving helpful nudges to stay in the pack draft- wish I could have stuck it for the day, but legs didn’t have it. Still lasted longer than I normally do for a second race of the day, so I’m calling that progress!

-Crashes in both fields, dodged the one in the M3/4 field that included Mainely_Cheekbones (#RIP), good karma for the day was yelling at Doctor_Indefatigable that everyone in the crash was fine and we should keep racing. Mainely_Cheekbones took his free lap, and finished the day 10th- way to not let the crash keep a fast racer down!

-Strava says that lap catching back on from the crash, and the last lap, were the fastest ones for the day. Crash Lap was about the twenty-nine minute mark on the second to last corner, included about fifty seconds of hard work moving back up to comfortable spot. Last lap was when I finally dropped the nerves and #sentit with proper corner railing and no brakes. Picked up a lot of spots on that last lap, came into the straightaway first- right behind the twenty riders that were already on the front and formed a small gap (#RIP) Sooo just a couple steps forward in getting this bike racing thing dialed

Paid for this image by Katie Busick, because she is Very Talented and patient with my literal tongue-in-cheek attitude and one day Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and your literal brain might implode so do your backups, people! And also consider supporting Katie by buying some of her work on her website!

Tend to spend a lot of the post-race discussion talking about How The Race Played Out- the main motivation for this post is to give something more concrete for people that ask me a lot of questions after races on What Happened (looking at you, new crit teammies and Doctor_Indefatigable). The common refrain is, “Everything was going well, until the last lap!” and then WHAMMO they go from leading the field to spat out the back and very confused

Here’s a Strava Gif of my last lap. It’s not that useful, since it didn’t win the race (yay #nihilism !), but if you’re still figuring out how to do your #LastLapFastLap, I hope it enforces the following:

-Every single warm-up and beginning laps of a criterium should be spent figuring out the best lines, A through Z, including the edge of your comfort in handling and #NoBrakesNoRules routes

-Race isn’t over until it’s over

-Don’t save moving up until the last lap! Move up within at least five minutes of the race ending!

LEVELING UP MY SOCIAL MEDIA SKILLS

Bike racing is it’s own reward- if you had fun, that’s a win! Keep reading these Analysis posts if you’re like me and enjoy fiddling with the nuances of the mental and strategy part of racing

Fun things to keep in mind when #Ninigrit comes around in two weeks

*this is also a good practice write up when I start picking apart #BikeNHMS Strava Files

Dreaming of Apples

*names purposefully changed, not to protect privacy, but because it’s these pseudonyms are much more relatable to readers than the actual names and it’s much more entertaining to me to write silly nicknames. As it is, some of the people named I don’t really know, but it’s more investing as a story that referring to everyone in some way rather than anonymously

Don’t like it? Go write your own race reports*

I dream, and re-experience those dreams frequently. Since this entry is tagged as race report(s), we’re not going to get into the potpourri of psychological nightmares I get from my non-bike life, and focus instead on how bikes haunt me

In twelve years of racing bikes, one of the biggest frustrations I’ve dealt with is never winning a race. The drive to be better than others is what gets me to train hard and race harder. Over time I’ve learned to bury that feeling under routines and mantras and good feelings and smiles and I’m now a nice pleasant fellow on and off the bike and everyone admires my metaphorical house I’ve built and nobody suspects what’s under the floorboards

The foundation is still there though. Underneath all of the nice veneer and layers. It’s stored away from view, along with other parts of my mental make-up, like how I love and hate October in New England. I get to revisit a lot of not-fun memories during this time of year, and it really puts me on edge. The whole month I’m a nervous wreck and dream of worst-case scenarios leading into the end of October races: Fruitlands Cup of Cyclocross and Orchardcross

The Old_Money_Bike_Family reached out to me to announce for their “Namur of New England event” back in August. The race forecast was showing me as one of the top finishers, but the weather forecast leading up to the event was predicting a nor’easter “rough rain storm*” for the day.

The RunUp @fruitlandscupcx this Saturday #fruitlandscx #perfectstormcx #waterfeature https://t.co/e8u1lZSQqg

— Gary David (@gcdavid) October 25, 2018

*Father_BikeMas was lecturing me while drinking that calling storms a “nor’easter” is preposterous, and everyone else calls rain “rain” and worse rain “rain.” I countered nor’easter is a great designation for when a storm is particularly bad, because not all weather is considered safe to head out in. High winds and cold rain is not exactly safe for people to go outside in, especially if you’re just wearing spandex and lining up to race hard on bikes. Nevermind also working the event as an announcer and trying to win said event. “Rain storm” doesn’t do the set up justice

Honestly, if they asked me closer to the event to help out I might have said no due to bad weather and worse dreams. I gave them my word months ago, so it was time to buck up and deliver. Plus, a Saturday effort is good prep a Sunday race, right?

“Courage is gritting one’s teeth; it is simply doing that and pushing ahead, paying no attention to the circumstances” –Hagakure

FRUITLANDS

Got to Fruitlands Museum early to set up speakers and announce a bit in the mic to cheer for Friendly_Young_Home-Schooled in the junior race before going to warm up for my event. Was kind of lackluster in mood for the day- maybe it was October, maybe it was the “rain storm,” maybe it’s been the news recently, maybe staring in the face of a potential win was a weird feeling that I couldn’t process. I have no doubts in my ability once race brain takes over, but freezing at that start line was one of the more anxious times I’ve had on the bike

I’m not nearly as interested in hamming it up for the photographer. Professor_Foreign is however in a better mood than me. Photo by Deepbrook

Gun goes and one racer takes a flyer first lap: 8:25, literally the fastest time for the day. Nobody was really sure if he could hold the lead or would fade off, and I’ve got enough issues to worry about Professor_Foreign lurking by me. Both of us were very familiar with each other, and wanted to other keep the other close. On a good day I can out-work out-sprint out-handle Professor_Foreign, but today was a “rainy” October day and the race brain was having a hard time kicking in. Fruitlands has a hard course, and the course was rapidly deteriorating. I don’t feel that I can fully drop Professor_Foreign, and any time he’d pull ahead he’d make a technical error I could pull ahead on. The rest of the field is far away from us, so we both settle in to a medium rhythm, watching each other and for the leader would fade or hold. We both wanted a win, and know that the most important point of the race to be in front is towards the end- no point in redlining if the leader could maintain his position

Lap three of four, Small_And_Irish bridges up just as the leader fades back to us and Professor_Foreign surges. I was leading the two of us for most of the race, and he could watch me where I was weak and couldn’t respond. On the technical downhills he rushes to put himself first into the corner and make his way down. Been too close to crashing on this section, the standings have reshuffled so I can still get a podium spot- no point in risk chasing second if I make a technical error to drop to fourth. The former leader was clearly wiped, so it was a simple matter of resting easy on the downhills before attacking hard into the long uphill finish

Riding the last downhill upright, right about when I realized I finally had it. Photo by Elizabeth Clark

I’m third behind Professor_Foreign and winner Small_And_Irish. Got an air high-five from the Race Officials as I crossed the line- they’ve watched me race my entire career as I’ve crashed and danced my way across the finish line. Yes, never before won a race award, but once got a crowd prize once for “Best Dancer.” I don’t know if it was October or the weather, but I probably liked my fake award more than standing in the freezing rain to accept a real award

Requisite Finish Camera Shot! Photo by John Frey

I’m not bashing on Fruitlands at all- really looking forward to coming back. Frankly speaking, the course suits me, but working an event and racing in the “rain” affected me more than I cared to admit. I’m acknowledging that I couldn’t shake my bad mood to enjoy the race and the podium experience and OK this “rain storm” was so bad it cut the power to our event and Fruitlands Museum and the elite field lap times literally doubled because it was so muddy YES THE WEATHER IS A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR

To give you an idea of much the conditions deteriorated @fruitlandscupcx the 4/5 lap time was 8:56 and the M1/2/3 was 10:11 #noreasterCX

— John Laupheimer (@Mrfrenzy60) October 28, 2018

We’re calling it a nor’easter, Father_Bikemas. It’s officially worse than a “rain storm.” Major props to everyone who raced Fruitlands’18

ORCHARDCROSS

We’re coming off a good-result-bad-mood-worst-weather Saturday leading into Sunday. Yay good prep!

Apparently Applecrest is one of the oldest orchards in New England. Super pretty all on its own, it’s extra special to bike racers when the Seacoast musters up to put on, “the largest grassroots race in New England.”

How special, you say? Every year they get an excavator to build a pump track and a banked berm. It’s absolutely unprofessional but everyone loves it. This year it’s placed next to the beer tent and they also throw in a hay maze because bike racing is ridiculous so why not add to it?

Last year I sold my previous cyclocross bike to teammate Comrade_Skimeister, who then took a thrilling photo finish sprint to the line for the win. Orchardcross 2017 was also my best result for the year, 11th, so this race has its own kind of special to me. Race forecast putting me again in a top spot, and after yesterday I really wanted a good race with a good head. Tried to be extra-attentive to all of my pre-race preparations: don’t need to list them here, all that matters is I was feeling good and ready to get a podium spot

OK, there’s one pre-race preparation worth mentioning: “The Teammate Prep Talk”

Teammate Comrade_Sprint_Snark was being a bit moody before our race. His daughter was born the past February, a new job and first house had cut into his time to enjoy bike time, and despite doing well last year he was already consigning himself to “just surviving” today’s race

Me: Hey, you gotta fight. Don’t knock your effort before you even get to race. You don’t know how everyone is feeling, and you can’t control that. You CAN decide how much this means to you, so fight! You’re already lined up,  so make it count!

In the starting grid Comrade_Sprint_Snark lines up behind me, along with Comrade_Temple_Dirt. I’m front row, along with Professor_Foreign and Maverick_Triathlete. If anyone’s on edge, it’s Maverick_Triathlete. He’s been a tri-geek for years, and this was his first year stepping away from swimming and running to focus on just bikes. Super strong aerobic ability, but he’s slow to earn his handling ability and racing smarts. Results during road season mostly elluded him, but for cyclocross he started to put it together and get results. Everyone now knows Maverick_Triathlete, and he’s lined up at his hometown race expected to win. Orchardcross has very varied terrain conditions and a master course designer knows how to create technical challenges- all of his weaknesses. Nothing is more humbling than having all the fitness ability be stymied by a couple of greasy turns

Did I mention yesterday’s “rain storm” noreaster made the top soil soft and everyone in the front row really wanted a podium spot?

Whistle goes and it’s a ‘clean’ start- we’re first race of the day, the race surface isn’t too ripped and everyone’s bikes are mud/grass free. It’s a long beginning power section before the first turns and the REALLY muddy sections come up: we’re taking peanut butter consistency with literal cornstalks poking through to trip up wheels. Professor_Foreign and Maverick_Triathlete make major technical errors as two tall riders put in a big gear and grind through the mud. Putting in a big gear can be a dangerous strategy- you get the torque to keep wheel traction to the ground and can push through rough conditions. Too hard of a gear, the race surface can rip apart and you’re destroying your muscular endurance going nowhere. Still feeling yesterday’s effort, so I put in an easier gear and trust picking best lines to get through to lead the first chase group

In the grass turns and tree rows I can feel Maverick_Triathlete’s frustration behind me: he’s the fittest rider in our field and all year he’s been denied results because someone smarter than him puts in best effort at the right time. I can hear Maverick_Triathlete making bike-crash noises behind me:I lose count, but afterwards he said he had ten just in the first lap. That’s bike racing, fitness can’t always win it, and technical errors can definitely ruin it. There are a couple of fit riders in our group that are sprinting the straightaways but braking on the corners: we’re all starting to swear under our breath as the leaders get further away

We all finish the first lap and Maverick_Triathlete goes full Highway To The Danger Zone Mode on the power section. Nobody in the chase wants to try matching that, so we all settle in and catch him struggling through the first turns. First Second and Third are off in the distance, still grinding in-

“Big gear works great, Ben!”

A NEW CHALLENGER APPROACHES! IT’S COMRADE_SPRINT_SNARK IN THE CHASE! Photo by Angelica Dixon

I start and look back, a major lapse in nerves in bike racing. It’s Comrade_Sprint_Snark. He’s bought a house and raising a kid and he’s having the race of his life, making the chase group in one of the largest grassroot races in New England. And he’s got the gall to be chatty about it while we can barely breathe 

Can’t help but laugh. I’m behind a #wattengine that’s riding the chase group ragged, I’m so tired of dealing with bad October memories but I’ve got a teammate and the last podium spot in sights so how bad can it be?

It’s right about here when my bad mood snaps and so does the best of my legs. Maverick_Triathlete gets his head on straight and gets a steady rhythm riding. Comrade_Sprint_Snark comes around and stays on his wheel: in this technical riding section of cornstalks and mud I can’t respond. One of the top three riders had a major crash and gets going just in time to join our chase. During all of this and the chaos I can see we’re a group of seven chasing two and two. Professor_Foreign has managed to hang on, and there’s also Madman_Vermont in our group- he races well in road but never seen him do cyclocross. The three of us look freshest, so we rally and gun it into the tree rows

Running the stairs. Still my strongest skill, still drives me nuts I look best off the bike as opposed to being on it. Photo by Angelica Dixon

Halfway through the race and we’re all beat. By the time we start our third lap the course has been ripped apart and line choices really do matter. We keep getting caught by solo riders who ride themselves inside out only to crash off their bike, forcing us to make a snap reflexive move around them. The former leader that fell back does this a couple of times before he pulls away for good while we drop a few more riders from the chase. Professor_Foreign eventually fades as he takes easier lines at slower speeds. I’m railing the mud turns at high speed with Madman_Vermont breathing down my neck. There are a couple of times the course doubles back enough to see Maverick_Triathlete and Comrade_Sprint_Snark- it’s fun for me to cheer for both of them, but they’re chasing podiums spots that we want and the nerves start to set in. I can feel it, can also feel it from Madman_Vermont behind me and I start riding myself blind* trying to finesse my way through the grease turns

Easily my favorite race picture, leading Madman_Vermont out of a grease turn. Really shows what we were dealing with, and two racers in synchronized fight. Photo by Angelica Dixon

*two expressions here. One is to work so hard you start to black out, the other being you can’t see and have to trust instinctive handling to ride. You can see in the picture above that I’m overheating the point my glasses start fogging up and later have to toss them to a spectator

So far I’ve managed to not make a technical error all weekend in racing. First one however comes in the grass chicanes where I take a turn too fast and wipe out. Madman_Vermont crashes into me. He’s an absolute gentleman, apologizing for nothing and letting me get up and go. The crash snaps my rhythm, and soon after he pulls away for a proper last fast lap. I’m shook at this point, and Professor_Foreign catches back on. I give him a cheer and at slow speed through a turn I hit a course stake to crash

Not shown: Madman_Vermont liking my post-race comment and indignation that my eleven gears were not enough to beat his ONE. Proof that smart pedaling mattes more than gearing. Good man, but screw singlespeed

And that’s the race. At this point it’s half a lap to go and we’ve put a full minute on the rest of the field. As I get up I can see Small_And_Irish far behind me. He’s not close to worry and the edge needed to fight has been dulled by forty minutes of hard racing- it’s finally a moment where I can ease up and still maintain position for eighth overall. Our group was so fast we lapped over ten riders (disclaimer: this is still the beginner/intermediate race category) Madman_Vermont got fifth on one gear (still salty) Comrade_Sprint_Snark faded from fourth to sixth, Professor_Foreign was lucky seventh

And Maverick_Triathlete? Does the hero ride of the day to win the Tenth annual Orchardcross in front of his hometown and girlfriend, all before he has to go back to work and fly planes for the naval base

Here Katie catches me in the last technical section last lap, smiling through the frustration. Photo by Katie Busick

Got to talk to Sarcastic_Sprinter after he won his Category 3/4 Race. Said it was a major relief for him to finally get the win, after so many years chasing it. I can definitely understand that feeling: I congratulate him, don’t ask him what his years of dreaming of Orchardcross have been like, and go back to celebrating in the beer tent with Comrade_Sprint_Snark, Comrade_Temple_Dirt and Bike_Dad. On Comrade_Temple_Dirt’s urging we stick around to help break down the course and join in on the volunteers dinner for a great exhausting day

Absolutely gutted that I got my first podium and I couldn’t enjoy it, then had a great race and no podium to show for it. Still, it’s better to line up and try rather than sit out and wonder. I’m cleaning my bike forever, potentially heading into the off-season, but I got one special treat from all of this work:

New Race Category means new training montage to new best results!

Many thanks to Fruitlands and Orchardcross for letting us dress up as professional bike racers for Halloween. I’ve got dreams, and now new ones for a new race category. Maybe I’ll find more podiums there