Bicycle Races Are Coming Your Way

• 10/7/2008

  
  I’m not one to embarass myself publicly, but there’s something about cyclocross that just makes you want to don a skinsuit (whether you should or not is another question entirely).

  Dressing properly for a ‘cross race is important. since racing is in the fall, you’re subject to extreme temperatures and elements; ranging from rain, mud, sleet, sand, snow,hail, dead cats, baby vomit, peanut butter, packing peanuts, and broken beer bottles. All the while, you’re running through different environs, sometimes with your bike on your shoulder. You don’t want to wear anything loose, and you need to stay warm.

  So what’s the answer, CJ?

  I’m glad you asked!

  Skin. Suits.

  

  Sure, they may leave little/nothing to the imagination, but it really is the best thing to wear. Most ‘cross racers are perfectly content with the standard jersey and bibs/knickers, but that’s not very “pro” now is it? you don’t see Erwin Vervecken wearing a two-piece, do you?

  Once just the fancy of TT geeks and Cher, Skinsuits are ideal because you can’t get them caught on anything- branches, your bike, a spectator, etc. A “time trial” skinsuit will work just fine, but some clothing manufacturers (Champsys is coming to mind) make cyclocross-specific skinsuits. they’re made of “roubaix” material and are long-sleeved. that’s about as pro as you can get in a cross race…

  
  And don’t let anyone tell you that wearing a skinsuit in the company of other men is “embarassing” or “makes you a Kylie Minogue fan.” They’re just upset that they can see your junk, that’s all.

  
  and don’t worry, they make them for women, too!

  
  Saturday was the Westwood Velo’s Annual ‘cross race. It’s a pretty small local race, but its fun, and the guys at Westwood Velo put on a great event. It was held at Campgaw Park’s ski slope in Mahwah, NJ. It’s about an hour by car from Manhattan, which in cyclocross terms isn’t far at all. I’ve been known to drive 4 hrs in one each way for a 30 minute race. smart? not really. fun? you betcha!

  Tony Slokar, Colin Prensky and I drove over to Mahwah to get our ‘cross on. the Westwood race had been my very first race two season ago, and it hold a special place in the cockles of my heart. The course is pretty compact- at under 2km- and is as technical as they could have made it given the terrain. The course is riddled with turns, and there’s never really an opportunity to let loose on a long, straight section with too much speed. A course like that would favor people with big engines and poor handling. The course at Westwood made sure that picking a good line was what would set you apart from the field.

  
  all three of us signed up for the C race. As I said before, the “C” field was the Sandbaggiest field I have ever seen at a cross race. a ton of cat 3’s on the road, along with a cat 1 or 2. nobody seemed to mind, and everyone was ready to have some fun (you can be sure that that wouldn’t fly in a road race- just imagine a cat 1 trying to jump in on a cat 4 race…)

  Usually the start of a cross race has a fairly significant flat section leading into the “hole shot”. The hole shot is extremely strategic in a ‘cross race- it’s the section of the course that gets narrow right after the starting sprint. The entire field sprints from the get go to snatch the 1st position into the hole shot. It’s a huge advantage to not have to try and pass someone in front of you in a cross race, and grabbing the hole shot is a great way to do just that. The key to getting the hole shot is to have a good starting position, clip in quickly, and sprint as hard as you can.

  That’s one reason why cross is so hard- You shock your cardiovascular system right from the start, and don’t let up for 40 minutes. I remember seeing someone vomit right after a race and though “that’s romantic.”

  Westwood’s hole shot was a pretty short distance from the start, so it wasn’t a very hard or long sprint. the field funneled into the course, and we were off. i had a decent top 20 position going into the first lap, and concentrated on picking people off one by one. with a course this full of tight turns, i was going to concentrate on finding the best lines and always accelerating hard out of the turns.

  
  The course had two sets of double barriers- one set wast right after a pair of short, sharp 180 degree turns, so it was impossible to hit it with speed. The second set was a more standard set up, and it allowed for you to hit them with a good bit of velocity.

  
  By the way, I’d like to mention that ‘cross barriers are harder to hit when you’ve got short legs. me and my treestumps have to full-on leap over the barriers. I’m going to demand lower barriers for short people. or taller barriers for taller people. whichever is funnier.

  The hardest and most painful part of the course had to be the two sections of washboard terrain. the ground was so bumpy and divoted that there was no way to pedal through it- you just had to let your body take a pounding (make your jokes), and it definitely wore people out as the race went on. The run up was a section of tall log steps that ended on a slight incline, which made re-mounting the bike a bit more challenging.

  
  As the race went on, i started picking people off here and there. I ended up in a small three man gruppo with Tony and my friend Sam. They kept screaming at me to catch up to them, and i eventually did.

  It’s a bit of a departure from road racing to have people on other teams encouraging you to catch up with them and race well. all around me people are cheering for one another and pushing them to keep going. It’s a positive atmosphere that’s devoid of the insularity, elitism, and negativity that can sometimes afflict the amateur road racing scene. The first few times i raced cross i was caught off guard by it. maybe it’s because the ‘cross scene is more similar to mountain biking. people are more laid back and more centered around having fun. People don’t freak out when they have a mechanical and start screaming about how they were “peaking for this race” and that it’s the most important thing they’ve ever trained for. at the end of the day, we’re all paying to play and have some fun. it’s so easy for some people to take amateur racing too seriously, and sometimes it kills the fun.

  Aside from a quick dropped chain, my race was thankfully devoid of mechanicals. I didn’t slide out, didn’t make out with gravel, and didn’t have to buy a new pair of carbon bars. Any race that doesn’t necessitate me buying tegaderm can effectively be labelled as a success!

  I ended up finishing 11th out of about 56 starters, and was pretty happy with it. This year I’m actually starting to train for cross- incorporating running, plyometrics, and some light interval work. I think it’ll give me a better chance to do well in races without getting burnt out on overtraining in the fall.

  Once the race was over i learned that my friend Colin had won the race. Did I mention it was his first ‘cross race ever? I know it’s cliche to make “sandbagger!” jokes, but it’s too easy with this guy. Colin Prensky is such a sandbagger that FEMA should hire him the next time a hurricane rolls into New Orleans. Zing!

  
  kidding aside, he rode a great race and had a ton of fun with it. He was also wearing a skinsuit. coincidence? i think not. He also has a mean victory dance.

  

  Tony and I had signed up to do the “B” race as well, but after having having our bodies battered by the washboard sections in the course, we opted for a less painful alternative:

  
  Drinking!

  There’s really nothing more satisfying than drinking some kick-ass beer in your skinsuit after having ridden your bike so hard that you can’t see straight or do simple math anymore. We spent the rest of the day cheering on the other fields and hanging out with friends we had made from prior ‘cross seasons.

  
  One of my favorite parts of ‘cross racing is that you’re forced to leave the city every weekend if you want to race. it lets you decompress and take in some new scenery. I’m definitely happy to do that given what’s been going on at work in the past few weeks. Apparently every NYC bike racer is a “wall street type” so I’m sure you can relate….

  Next Weekend is the Erdinger Gran Prix of Gloucester in Massachussetts. It’s a two-day cross race, and one of the biggest in the northeast. I’ve never done it before, but I heard that its a fast, fast course with lots of long, flat sections. This’ll be a complete departure from Westwood, and will probably favor guys with big engines. I’m just looking forward to getting up there and eating lobster rolls until i look like I’m pregnant.

  Rumor also has it that Lancey Pants is racing Gloucester. I think it’s great that he’s trying it out, but it also looks like he’s going to get housed by Trebon and Wicks. anyone want to place some bets?

  

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