Tag Archives: cyclocross racing

Cross Season is Over

Posted on by Try Athlete

MTB-podium-from-ClaudioI‘ve always been fascinated by Cyclocross racing. When Stuart Beal and Carlos Iglesias asked me to go with them to a “Cross Race” in Clermont a few years ago I was curious. It’s kind of hard to figure out why it exists, really. I mean, who thought up taping off a section of a field, putting obstacles like sand pits and barriers, and adding sections called “run ups” anyway?

Whoever “They” are, I’m glad they did. It’s hard to have more fun on a bicycle. Safe too, as there are no cars on the course (well except for a van driving down the West Orange Trail today (?) Oh and except for the road section at Infinity. Oh and Lakeland. OK there aren’t many cars on the course.) OK maybe it isn’t totally safe but it’s safer than riding down a busy road any day.

Lost Van (out of state plates) driving down the West Orange Trail. Only in Florida!

Lost Van (out of state plates) driving down the West Orange Trail. Only in Florida!

It’s also very challenging. The course designers love to go out and find spots that will test you, like ditches, off camber turns, very long sandy sections and very steep hills, both up and down. I’ve never been competitive as a racer but I’ve always been excited about trying to figure out how to get around these courses without having to jump off the bike, or worse, falling off.

The 2014-15 Season

As September approached I told my coach at the time (Dave Severn) that I wanted to take a stab at a few cross races, maybe even the whole FRS series. He agreed to help me do better at the races and customized my training plan for certain cyclocross talents and strengths needed. I went in to the season expecting to be last or second to last, just like all the other races I’d been to in previous years. And of course, my first race at Wicked Awesome Race #1 (WAR) in Dade City was pretty much that. I don’t have a cross bike (yet) so I show up with my Giant aluminum 29er hard tail and do the best I can. However, the WAR series had something I liked; a mountain bike division. I raced Masters 55+ in the morning but stayed around all day to try the MB race. I know this division is somewhat controversial with the cross “purists”, but not everyone can afford to have another bike just for a few races at the end of the year. My MB is my commuter. I ride around the neighborhood with it (with my wife and kids.) I ride it to the stores, or to doctors appointments or even a few business meetings. It’s also the only bike I have that can handle “off-road” conditions, so this year anyway, it was my cross bike.

Anyway, at WAR #1 a funny thing happened in the MB race. I didn’t finish last. I didn’t even finish 2nd to last. No, I finished 4th out of 6. I actually caught someone. Huh. Maybe this training stuff works. OK I was now interested in going to a lot more races.

Progress

I raced in all three WARs, Spooky Cross in Winter Garden, Infinity Cross in Melbourne, Lakeland Cross and finally today, the final race of the season, Orlando Cross (in Clermont of course!)

No one was more surprised than me when I started doing better. At Lakeland I actually caught and passed Claudio Macieira, an A rider, during the Cat 4 race. I finished 14th out of 27, exactly mid-pack. I was still last or second to last in all the Masters races, but those are some serious riders in that group. Guys like Brian Davis, Steve Noble, Dan Sullivan, etc. In those races I just fought not to get lapped twice.

I noticed something else, too. The new USA Cycling points system rewards you for racing with people above your level. I was getting excellent points for finishing last in Masters races, even better than mid-pack in Cat 4. And then something unbelievable happened at WAR #2. On Saturday, they called me up to the podium for the Mountain Bike race. I had finished 3rd out of 7. This was a big deal for me. I had never been on a cycling podium before.

My first time on a cycling podium. Third place in the Mountain Bike division at WAR #2 on Saturday

My first time on a cycling podium. Third place in the Mountain Bike division at WAR #2 on Saturday

I was excited about the Sunday race. I didn’t expect to make a podium again (it turns out John LaManna had a mechanical on Saturday) but I thought hey, there’s always a shot. Well surprise, surprise, only three of us stayed around for the MB race. Me, Mark and Connie Schwab, and Mark was the guy I had caught and passed yesterday. Hey what can happen here? (see this story on that race) As you can see below …

Kayleigh Thornton giving me my medal for my first ever win at a cycling event

Kayleigh Thornton giving me my medal for my first ever win at a cycling event

What’s more, is that I found out later that week (when Josh posted the series standings on Facebook) that I was leading the MB division, with a 4 point lead over two guys tied for second. Series winners received a sharp looking jersey from Mumu apparel. Coach and I decided we wanted to win that jersey. He added strength training and a bunch of cross style exercises on the bike for that purpose.

Long story short, I had enough of a lead to hold off the challenges at WAR #3, even though I did not get another podium.

Winner of MB division for Wicked Awesome Race. A jersey to remember!

Winner of MB division for Wicked Awesome Race. A jersey to remember!

Next to me was Dave Dixon, who came very close to catching me in points. (The 2nd place finisher had already left.)

Final Race of the Season

Orlando Cross was the final race of the year. Topview had to change the venue to Clermont which made it odd calling it Orlando Cross, but a name is a name. It was a great course. A hard course. The perfect course for the last race of the year. Even though John Paul Russo hates himself for making the course that hard I congratulate he and Tim for doing a great job.

The Masters 55+ only had 7 riders but they all looked very fit and competitive. I started out in last as I usually do but caught one guy right away. Then I caught up to another guy. Then another at 30 minutes in. “This is really amazing” I thought. The last 15 minutes were really hard on me but I held them off and finished 4th. I got an “almost podium” as Topview likes to call up the top 5 riders to encourage more people to race (which is an excellent idea.)

"Almost a podium" 4th at Masters 55+ at Cross Orlando

“Almost a podium” 4th at Masters 55+ at Cross Orlando

I was dead for the Cat 4/5 race but I finished it anyway, 16th out of 20. I have no idea how I will end up in the FRS points standing at this point.

Summary

So quite a year huh? I hit the podium, won a race, won a series, won a jersey and most of all, made many new friends and built on relationships with old friends. I even learned how to mount on the run, well at least a fast walk, as opposed to standing there and stepping on the pedal first. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun. I want to shout out to some people I haven’t mentioned yet who made this a great year:

To:
Ted Hollander thanks for your encouragement and advice.
Michael Toth for being the best heckler ever.
Layne Hampton with Hawkdancer Photography for the greatest cycling shots ever.
Team Kyle’s Bike Shop for taking us under their wing and making us feel welcome: Kyle, Christy, Mark and Lauren Chandler, Tara Smith, Rob Thwaites, you are all great people and I look forward to racing with you lots more.
Michael Ploch for trying to catch David Fleet for me so he wouldn’t catch me in the points at WAR.
Nathan Rogut for teaching me how to put on a number, for being a good ref, and for being “my dad” at the races.
Graham Partain for Cross Copter. ’nuff said.
Steve Collins, Gordon Myhre, Patrick O’Shea and all those others who hung with me at the back of the pack so I wouldn’t feel lonely.
If I forgot anyone please yell at me, I can come back and edit this, but remember I am “an old man on a mountain bike.”

So I’m exhausted, totally beat up, sore, etc from today’s race. The end of the season. I’m glad it’s over.

Wait. Is it September yet?

World WAR Three

Posted on by Try Athlete
Race Report: Wicked Awesome Race Weekend #3

World WAR ThreeOnce again the Central Florida Cyclocross gang assembled in Dade City for the third race weekend of the “Wicked Awesome Racing” series, now known as WAR. This was the third weekend of the three weekend series, hence the title “World WAR Three”.

The Venue

This weekend we went back to Stanley Park, just north of Dade City. A very nice park with convenient facilities, lots of parking and lots of space to lay out a cyclocross course.

The Course

Our hosts Josh and Kayleigh Thornton put on a splendid show, as expected. Josh and his team, true to form, had laid out an extremely challenging, technical, difficult (and in some spots down right evil) course in Stanley Park. Not one person said it was easy.

The course was different from our last visit here, although the start/finish line was in the same place. There were some new wrinkles added, such as a high banked turn with a culvert at the bottom of the banking, and no flat space at the top. Several different styles were seen in this turn throughout the weekend. See video below:

The famous “run up” was still there, from the first weekend, a very steep climb up a set of stairs built in to the side of a nearly vertical drop.

The famous "run up" in Stanley Park. It's not completely vertical, it just feels like it.

The famous “run up” in Stanley Park. It’s not completely vertical, it just feels like it.

The Weather

The weather was gloomy and threatening Saturday, but very little rain actually fell. The course was slightly damp, but not a mud fest at all. In fact, the sand pits seemed to benefit from the early showers. Sunday was mostly dry and breezy, although at one time there was an actual sun shower. A thunderstorm was predicted for late afternoon but all races were done and all awards handed out long before any serious rain arrived on the scene.

Race Reports

John Tenney
I was in the unfamiliar position of leading the mountain bike series going in to this weekend. It added a little pressure to my performance and altered my strategy. My nearest competition present was my friend David Fleet with Armed Forces Racing Team.

I decided to forgo the Masters 55+ division and stick to two races, the Cat 4 and the MTB (of course). On Saturday I pushed a little too hard on the Cat 4 race and probably used up a lot of energy which would have been helpful in the important race, the MTB. Also, due to overcast skies and failing light, it was announced the MTB race would be started immediately after the Cat 4. I had to go back to the car to change my number and I ended up missing the start. The referee had me wait, along with David, who was also changing his number, and go out after the last rider crossed the S/F line and “gave” us a free lap. At first we tried our best to catch the other riders (David actually caught one) but both of us simultaneously decided that would not be fair, and we let up a bit. We ended up finishing 7th and 8th respectively, which gave us both 2 points for finishing, and did not alter the standings.

On Sunday I relaxed and just noodled around on the course in the Cat 4 race, getting heckled and conserving energy. I think it paid off. In the following MTB race (which was started on time, so had time to change my number) I managed to catch two MTB riders, and although I was gaining on David on my last lap, I didn’t get close. He finished 5th and I was 7th. A confusion on my part about bonus points led me to believe that we were now tied for first, and I would be relying on a tie breaker procedure to win the series jersey.

It turned out that I needn’t have worried. With 32 points I was 4 pts ahead of the second place rider Clint Gibbs with 28, and David ended up with 24 pts. We were surprised, because we thought we were tied for first. Oh well, it happens. A historic day for me as I won my first ever cycling series, the WAR MTB series.

Standing on the MTB series podium for my first time ever winning a series. Second place CLint Gibbs had already left.

Standing on the MTB series podium for my first time ever winning a series. Second place Clint Gibbs had already left.

The course was very challenging to me. I was not handling it well the first day but persistence paid off and by the end of the second day I was navigating it with a lot more “comfort and ease.” I’m sending a special thank you to Josh and his team for making a hard course like that, which had the effect of making me a better rider. Results from all three WARs? A trophy, a few medals, a jersey and some really nice podium “swag”, but most important, a great time over all three weekends, making new friends and sharing laughs and jokes with old ones.

I love this sport.

(Photos in this article taken by Layne Hampton of Hawkdancer Photography and Claudio Macieria of Werxx Cycling)

Wicked Awesome Race

Posted on by Try Athlete
Race Report: Wicked Awesome Cyclocross Racing Series

Mark Chandler over the barriersJosh and Kayleigh Thornton were our kind and generous hosts October 18&19 for the second of the Wicked Awesome Race Series weekends. This is a three-weekend race series for Cyclocross competitors, held under USA Cycling rules. Cyclocross, aka “CX”, is a fast growing sport in Central Florida, and throughout the country as well.

The Wicked Awesome Race (WAR) series is turning out to be a cornerstone in the Florida CX scene. With a total of six race days, and opportunities to do multiple races each day, there are a lot of USA Cycling ranking points to be had.

The Venue

All three weekend events are held in the vicinity of Dade City, FL. Weekend 1 was in Stanley Park. Weekend 2, which this report will feature, was in John S Burks Memorial Park.

The Course

It seemed Josh looked for every sandy, off camber turn he could find and put the tapes around them. Those generous with words declared it a “technical” course while others had less flattering things to say. It’s supposed to be challenging and it was. Several turns were on steep downhill sections with random piles of sand thrown in just to make it interesting.

Off Camber, Downhill Turns

The riders were challenged by the frequency of off-camber, downhill turns

The course changed during the weekend as well, getting softer and more difficult after each pass of frenetic riders. The dew on the grass early Sunday morning made the M35,45,55 class rather interesting as well, as the corners became quite slippery.

Weather

Weather was perfect for the weekend: scattered clouds, no rain and temps between 70 and 85 for all races.

Race Reports (John Tenney)

I am fairly new to cyclocross. In fact, I still use my 29er mountain bike. One of these days I will get a cross bike, if my wife will let me. I enter races with my 29er and do my best. I often get lapped but it is a fun time anyway. The cross racers are always friendly and though they may kid you a bit when they heckle you from the sidelines, they are always polite when they pass you on the course.

Saturday
I got there slightly later than I wanted so I did not have time to preview the course before my Masters 35,45,55+ race. My first lap was my preview. Wow. That was interesting. I didn’t fall but I unclipped a lot. Many narrow turns, off camber, through piles of sand, on the edge of cliffs, etc. I have to remember that the Masters races are 45 minutes long, too. It was a long time to be at or above threshold heart rate.

I kept pushing because I had a “rabbit” in front of me most of the way and caught him just before the finish. Turns out he was not in my group. I finished 7th out of 8, and 8th place had a mechanical. I was still happy I finished 5 laps in 52 minutes.

My next race wasn’t until 5:30. I mostly rode around the park keeping my aching and lactic acid filled legs warm, but I did manage a lap just prior to the Mountain Bike / Single Speed race, and noticed that the course had changed. It was more “dug up” and even more difficult. I started out slowly, as I was pretty spent from the day. My training paid off though, as I began to pick it up. I registered my fastest lap of the weekend during this race, a 9:04, which although is not that great compared to the 6 minutes plus the guys were doing on cross bikes, it felt pretty good to me. There was another mountain biker in front of me though, and he was getting closer. I realized I had a chance to catch someone. I avoided the temptation to get excited and speed up to him. I figured (correctly) that if I was gaining on him now I would continue to do so. I kept on “racing the course” instead of racing the other rider. Eventually, I caught up to him on one of the steep downhill turns, and he let me by. Then I started worrying. Would he speed up and catch me? Short story: no. He steadily dropped back throughout the rest of the race. I crossed the finish line after my fourth lap in just about exactly 40 minutes.

Mark Schwab, a rider about the same level as me. Makes it interesting to have someone to race!

Mark Schwab, a rider about the same level as me. Makes it interesting to have someone to race!


I found him in the parking lot, introduced myself and thanked him for inspiring me. Mark Schwab turned out to be a friend of a friend, John LaManna. We stayed around John’s tent, talked and had a beer after the races. Then he informed me they were looking for me at the podium. What? I had finished third? My first ever podium in a cycling event.
My first time on a cycling podium. Third place in the Mountain Bike division

My first time on a cycling podium. Third place in the Mountain Bike division

During our post race beer and analysis, we discussed the course (of course) and both decided that it would be worth it to try using flat pedals on Sunday, as opposed to clipped in pedals. (Some people wrongly call them clipless pedals. The correct term, from the clip and strap days, would be strapless pedals!)

As you will see, it was a good call …

Sunday

My "Sanctuary" for the weekend.

My “Sanctuary” for the weekend.


Got there in plenty of time Sunday morning to not only set up my tent/pavilion/sanctuary but also to run a warmup lap. Josh had made two changes to the course, making it longer and more difficult. At least I was expecting these two changes when I got to them.

Perhaps it was the cooler, morning temperatures, but the 45 minute M35,45,55+ race seemed a little easier today. I still got lapped but I also passed many people. It was a bigger field as well. However, I still ended up 2nd to last (9th out of 10) in my division.

The dew on the grass made things interesting. One spot required traversing some tree routes as you navigated a copse of trees. The wet roots caught me, even with flat pedals, and I fell on my side, skinning both knees and my left shin. Didn’t hurt much but it bothered me all day.

Now came the long wait until the MTB race at 2:30. I had some lunch, tried to take a nap, played with my cell phone, and rode around the park some more. I even went and did a slow lap just for the heck of it, and did another right before my race.

It was starting to warm up and I noticed a lot of teams “breaking camp” and leaving. I hoped we had enough for the last race! Turns out there were only three of us on mountain bikes: Mark, his wife Connie and me. Well that guaranteed a podium anyway! Connie told right at the start that she was inexperienced and was going to go very slow and just “get around the course.” Although we both lapped her, she did very well and managed to complete 3 laps.

Connie made the race legal (need three to be scored) so thank you for that!

Connie made the race legal (need three to be scored) so thank you for that!


As I expected, Mark took off from me at the start. Same as yesterday. I kept my patience. I kept reminding myself “race the course, not the competition.” There were some new single speed people who were in the mix. Several times they had pileups in front of me that required me to walk my bike around them. (No one was hurt, they fell in the sand.) I kept patient. I would see Mark off in the distance from time to time. About halfway through the second lap I noticed he was getting closer. Ah ha! I crossed the start/finish line right behind him to start the third lap. (I expected us to get 4 laps in, even though it is only a 30 minute race.

I was not ready to pass him yet though, with 2 laps to go. I did not want to be in the lead position, worrying about him. Several times he looked back at me as if expecting me to pass and several times I slowed down and stayed where I was. There was one section of the course, about 300 yards long, that was on a steady 4 to 5% uphill grade, and through thick grass. It was a tough section that required a lot of effort, although not technical at all. It was on this section that Mark pulled up. I couldn’t stay behind him any more. I passed him, muttering to him “Oh all right, I know this is your strategy move.” But he was done, he had used up his “stuff” and had nothing left. I steadily increased the distance, and crossed the finish line a minute or two ahead of him for my first cycling win ever. Hey, there were only three riders I know, but a win is a win.

I expect Mark will be gunning for me in the next few races. He knows what he has to do now. It will probably be pretty funny to watch us, each trying to let the other one lead.

Timing chart and results for MTB race

Timing chart and results for MTB race


My first win, and it was great to share the podium with Mark and Connie, who are great people. I love cross racing!

My first win, and it was great to share the podium with Mark and Connie, who are great people. I love cross racing!