I'm out here in Louisville, KY for 3days after I pulled the trigger and registered for my first ever Master's race - the 2012 UCI Master Cyclocross Worlds. I thought I'd never do a Master's race and probably retire before doing some local 40+ race in Texas but since UCI Master's includes 30-year-old's like me I might as well, right?
Steve Tilford put it nice when he said to me re: entering my 1st Master's race: "It happens to the best of us." He's right. But he's a so much better CX racer, too ;-)
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| Wednesday evening forecast: winter! |
Anyways, Texas CX races don't compare to what you see up here in the Midwest right now on the Kentucky/Indiana border. It's muddy-messy. It's Thursday afternoon and so far I've ridden 30minutes on the course yesterday (when it was raining), then this morning the
Bicycle Outback guys and I rode out on the road for an hour or so and tomorrow is already the 30-34 Men's Final. Comparing to most other age-groups, our "kiddie" group has no "seeding heats" (to determine starting order) since we only got ~35 guys racing so I drew start # 17 out of the bag. 3rd row, on the outside - not great but I also could have drawn # 32 and be OTB.
It snowed during the qualifying heats this early afternoon. We rode at 9am and it was 49F. Now it's 3pm and barely 30F. Forecast is more snow tonight and high teens as a low. Will be an interesting day/race tomorrow. The last (and only) time I did a cyclocross race with rain & mud was probably around 1996 back home in Heidenau, near Dresden. My ride? A old
Diamant steel-frame with "maybe" 14-gears. But it had tubulars at least!
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| Wednesday, 1:30pm: first & last time this rig is so clean... |
We're trying to stay warm here and luckily I packed enough clothes for the few days in the cold. Just needed to buy some super-warm and waterproof for the race-site which is a mix of mud, water and just overall a messy place. But that's cross and everyone has to deal with it here. The only thing I didn't bring is a spare/pit-bike and if the mud will be similar tomorrow then those 4 laps will be gnarly without pitting. But oh well, let's see what happens. A lot can happen in 45minutes. The reigning 30-34 World Champ from Belgium is racing tomorrow but besides him and me, that race is pretty much a copy of the US Master Nationals last weekend in "warm" Madison with 99% US riders lined up. Brad Cole raced well there in 5th and he'll be lining up tomorrow, too. I think the cost of coming over to the US, bringing bikes, extra wheels, renting cars, hotels and stuff is just too expensive for more Europeans coming over here. Oh, and there are a few other Texans up here who can do very well: Jimmie Vaughn, Paul "5 races in a row" Bonds, and Ian & Catherine Moore from Waco. There are more, but I already forgot. Looks like more Texans here than at Nationals a week ago.
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| photo taken by Trudi, with Steve riding on rideable part yesterday. Now it's all mud. |
With those extreme conditions the roadie in me is be pretty "unexcited" but still I'm looking forward to race and go all out. I'll try to post some update tomorrow after the race and hopefully some more muddy pics.
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| Thursday, 3pm: 2 laps in... |
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| Wednesday, 2pm: 30minutes on the course and my tights are "done" |
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| Ian found a sweet spot inside the our downtown Hyatt to wash bikes. Hot water, too! |
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| Thursday, 12pm. there was grass 2 days ago... |
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| Thursday, 1pm: trying to stay warm while heats are going on. Notice: it's snowing |
Hey Stefan, looks like you did pretty dang good for a roadie! For those of us who live vicariously through you, thanks for the report. Proud of you!
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