Verge 11+12 at Sterling

[TimY]

Verge 11 & 12 CX at Sterling, Mass.

Sat:
It poured all day and night Friday. Saturday was clear and windy. There were 45mph gusts! The course was not muddy, though. The grass was soft and soggy, which combined with the wind made for a power-robbing course.

I started in the 3rd row of the Cat3s with my call-up. We started with a lap on a cinder running track, then onto the grass. Next up was a steep run-up, then down and around to a horse jump (about 2.5 feet up!). After that, lots of twisties and up-downs in the grass, with a short section of headwind pavement. The wind was so rough that drafting was important. There was one set of barriers. The laps took a little over 8 mins.

I haven't been on the CX bike for 3 weeks. I got an OK start and just tried to hang in. The starts are pretty crazy when there are 80 or more guys sprinting and taking the narrow turns. I settled into my groove and picked off a few riders as we ticked off the laps. At one point whilst riding through the turn at the end of the track a wind gust caught me and nearly, violently, took me to the ground. That snapped me awake! Near the end, i felt that a group was approaching me. On the bell lap i tried to accelerate when i could to create a gap. After we turned onto the track to prepare for the finish, two guys came around me a little before the line. I was/had been on the rivet for a bit and couldn't close them down. Oh well... 20th place. Not too bad for my 2nd to last race.

Last race is tomorrow, same venue, different course.


Day 2 of the Verge series at Sterling, Mass.

Sun:
Sunny, nice, not windy. Temps in upper 40s-low 50s.
Course was considerably different today. Without the gusty winds of Saturday, there were sections where you could actually pedal hard and go fast! Highlights include: a 180 deg turn off the cinder track; fast double barriers after coasting down, then up by a baseball field; wooden "stairs" set into a small rise; plenty of twisties in the grass; a grassy climb turning to slick, muddy grass at the top; two sections with some rooty singletrack.

I got a great start from the 2nd row, within the top 10 at the first 180 turn. After that, i was ridden into a course tape stick by a Corner Cycles guy (who did a Belgian move by moving his bike into where my bike was and taking out my line). I lost lots of momentum as i braked and just avoided taking out the stick and lots of course tape. Ugh, oh well. At least i was still close'ish to the front. I tried to not lose many spots otherwise, trying to pick people off ahead. I ran well up at the top of the big (muddy) climb after, usually, passing people while riding the lower portion (gotta take advantage of those climbs!). Lots of people were having mechanical issues (dropped chains) today with the bumpy sections. Surprisingly, i felt pretty good a few times during the race. I was able to attack my "group" a coupla times and try to get a gap. Once it actually worked... (low cadence/big gear on the bumpy grass after the 180 section... hadta distance myself from the French guy who came around me at the finish yesterday
Today was a fun end to the cyclocross season for me. Just before the final section on the track (finish line) a guy passed me. I couldn't catch him at the line but i did sprint (better than yesterday) to ensure nobody came around me from behind. 21st today. Not too bad for an old guy racing guys half his age and twice as strong. And i have to remember that i did a "double" upgrade this year, moving from the Masters Cat 3/4 race (which is now gone) to the open Cat 3s (which actually has quite a few (road) Cat 2s in it; they downgraded to cross Cat 3 because they did not want to race in the Elite Pro/1/2 race).
In the end, i generally finished in the top 1/4 to 1/3 of the field. This seems to be my "speed" and i was in this "group" whether i had a good or poor start. My best weekend was at Providence, RI races where i was just outside the top 10 (Sat) and top 15 (Sun) when i had major drivetrain mechanicals that dropped me out of the points.

OK... rest up? I'll try to hold on to some fitness before the snow descends and i break out the skate skis (so they can continue their quest to kill me .

Thanks for reading, ty

"You never have the wind with you - either it is against you or you're having a good day." ~Daniel Behrman, The Man Who Loved Bicycles