Manion's Weekend

Saturday and Sunday were the first two local CX races of the year. I didn't start racing cross last year until Boss Cross 2, so this was my first experience racing out at Manion's.

Saturday
Drove up to Kansas City and got to the race around 11:00. My race wasn't until 2, but I wanted some time to hang out and relax before the race. I was really unsure about how well I would ride; I was worried since I haven't been training very hard the last month due to our move and long hours at work, but I was also cautiously optimistic since I had a full road season under my belt (which I didn't have before CX season last year).

Start of the Masters race.

Masters race again... A great day and location for a race.

By the time the 1/2 race started, the course was very dusty with loose dirt in most of the 180 degree switchback sections. The Ethos and KCCX guys were out of town for the USGP races in Madison, but there were still 17 guys in our field. I got a decent start and settled in around 7th or 8th place behind Britton for the first few laps. After a few laps, I began picking off a few riders and eventually found myself in 5th place. As hard as I tried over the last three laps, I couldn't make up any time on the 4th place rider. I would seem to gain time on him through the uphill sections, but lose that time again in the loose technical section. I ended up finishing 5th overall.

Sunday
The course was reversed on Sunday, and a few additional small sections were added. No Joe Schmalz (Saturday winner) on the starting line today, but some fresh legs from Nebraska and 13 riders total. I got a miserable start, taking a couple tries to get clipped in, then halfway through the first lap I dropped my chain through the bumpy dried up pond. While I was able to get the chain on without getting off the bike, I still had to put a foot down to get up the short uphill out of the pond area. I'm glad I didn't cause a crash, as David, James, and Adam were able to maneuver past me. By this time I think I was in 11th place, so I made it my goal to ride smooth and pick off as many riders as possible.

Over the next 3 or 4 laps I caught 4 riders and began a back-and-forth battle with the guy in 6th place. With 2 to go I put in a dig, managed to pass him and created a gap. 4th and 5th were only about 10 seconds ahead of me at the time, but I burned too many matches early in the race to catch back up to them. I definitely won't complain with a 6th place finish after such a miserable start.

Overall it was a great weekend. The Colavita team put on a great race at a great location and I rode better than I was expecting I could. I know I need to work on finding the right tire pressure (this was my first race running tubulars and I know I'll be running significantly less pressure next race), but I'm hopeful that I can continue improving over the season, especially once my work schedule calms down a bit and I have time to get in some better training. Next up: Boss Cross this weekend or 360 Cup next weekend.

Start of the 1/2 race on Sunday. Photo credit: Roger Harrison

Through the back stretch of the course on Sunday. Photo credit: Roger Harrison

CX Clinics

Last weekend was the Source Endurance CX clinic featuring instruction by Zach McDonald and Steve Tilford (and few other big names in KC cross). Kelli and I drove up to KC early Saturday morning and arrived at the clinic around 9:30 to register and get the bike unloaded. The day was segmented into sections around specific CX skills - mounting/dismounting, running / hopping barriers, riding sand, cornering & choosing the best lines through back-to-back corners, and course preview. The day was capped off with 1-lap mock races.

The whole day was a lot of fun. Weather was perfect, instructors had some great tips, lots of cool people showed up, and racing at the end of the day was a great way to finish a clinic.

September 19 is the final KCOI/Boulevard CX clinic. You should definitely come check it out - it's a great way to learn some new skills (or re-learn what you forgot in the off season), it's free, and it's a ton of fun. Don't have a CX bike? No worries, bring a mountain bike (I rode a mountain bike in my first 2 CX races). I'm definitely looking forward to being back in the area for the clinic and getting the season started with Manion's that weekend.

Final race of the day. Zach leading Shad Smith and Steve Tilford through the sand.

Horrible video quality (blame the cheap phone), but Zach is once again leading Tilford and Shad through the final corner for the win.

Training in the Heat

On Labor Day, I decided to ride to Hutchinson. The ride from Hesston to Hutchinson isn't hard - it's only 35 miles and the primary road there is part of the TransAmerica bike trail. My wife was already in Hutch for the day and we wanted to spend some time at their pool before it closed for the year. It was great pool weather, with a forecasted high of 105 degrees, so I thought riding there and meeting her at the pool would be a good way to do some training in the heat. I felt like I did a good job riding in triple digit temperatures this summer, but the last couple weeks I've been spoiled by early morning and evening rides during cooler weather.

I left the house around 1:00 and the temperature was already 100. The first few miles were hot but not unbearable and I kept an average speed of around 20mph into the slight headwind. After 5 or so miles, I noticed I was having a hard time keeping myself cool and I was going through the hot water in my bottles much faster than I expected (note to self - buy insulated bottles before summer next year). By the time I was 20 miles in, I was completely out of water, I was wondering why the hell I chose to ride when it was so freaking hot, and my tempo was hovering around 15 mph.

7th column is the air temperature during the time I was riding.

After a quick stop to refill bottles and soak myself under a faucet in a park, I began the last 15 miles of the trip. I was amazed how dumping cool water on myself and refilling bottles with cold water improved the rest of the ride. Average speeds were back up around 20-22mph and mentally I felt like a new person even though the temp was now up to 106.

I know there have been quite a few studies on core body temperature and power output and I'm sure cooling off under the faucet helped bring my core temperature down and my speed up for the remainder of the ride. However, I wonder how much the mental aspect of being hot affects how well you ride. Once I got back on the bike, I actually had fun riding again; I was getting out of the saddle up hills and pushing it into the headwind, two things I definitely wasn't doing before the water stop. Granted, I also had some extra motivation knowing there was a swimming pool waiting for me at my destination.

Anyway, it looks like it's going to start cooling down next week. Wednesday night CX rides start this week in Wichita, and this weekend is the Source Endurance CX clinic led by Steve Tilford and Zach McDonald. How often do you get to participate in an all-day clinic led by a current master's world champion and the current U-23 natn'l champion? Awesome. Then only two weeks until the season starts at Manion's!

The new Tank 7 kit is here! I know I'm biased, but I definitely think this is one of the best looking kits ever.