OVCX Bloomingcross Race Report

Time for more cross. Last weekend was another OVCX race, this time in Bloomington for “Bloomingcross.” (reason for the delay was because I was waiting for photos to be posted) Since the Brookside race back in September there have been two or three other OVCX races in which I have declined to participate due to the driving distance to the venues and in the interests of marital harmony.

Bloomington on the other hand is close enough for a drive.  Prior week’s weather had been a mix of rain and mild temperatures. Saturday some showers came through Indy and Bloomington, but things seemed to be drying out nicely. Sunday dawned

Like Brookside, my call up sucked. I had registered a bit late so I ended up 66^th out of 76^th. So….yeah.

My bike was my standard set up with my Maxxis Mud Wrestler tires. While built for mud these are becoming my catch all cross tire. They seem to work well in all conditions.

So, I lined up in the second to last row. The start went along a long grassy “C” start chute before cutting into the course itself. Unfirntantely, I had lined up on the left side of my row,

The the crashes started. The first one was on the last part of the C and took down a few riders, while others got tangled in the tape.  Another happened on a tight 180 off camber hairpin just after the finish. There may have been a few more but I can’t be sure.

So, anyway, the field was still stretching out  bit and the course takes a dive into a large bowl like sink hole. And now might be time for a bit of a geology lesson. See, the course was at Karst Farm Park in Bloomington.  Karst topography is characterized by depressions and sinkholes caused when water seeps into rock, like limestone, and causes the rock to break down and collapse, thus resulting in sinkholes. Bloomington sits on top of a huge layer of limestone, and the IU campus is full of examples of the karst landscape, as is the surrounding area. 

So the course on Sunday was over this type of terrain with several bowl like sinkholes. The largest bowl was named the spiral of death. The course dropped into the sinkhole in a fast descent, and then gradually climbs out to the rim, then drops straight down tot eh center into a right turn to a tight spiral and then it spirals out. The Strava track for this section looked like this:

 

After this there were some twisty section, followed by a sandpit, which was set up at the top of a short hill and just after a hard left turn. In other words, not much momentum. More ups and downs followed, with a drop into another sink whole which had a combination of thick grass mixed mud and downright rough trail. A few gravel path sections led to a short uphill finish.

So the first lap was trying to recover from my crappy start where most people behind me passed me, and avoiding crashes. Coming into the second lap I set into a groove and began to pcik people off in ones and twos. I was feeling good and maintained a good pace, although my rear shifting began going downhill with rough shifts and skipped gears. I was forced to run the sand pit each time…just couldn’t find a good route through so I just dismounted and ran.

 

On the second to last lap I got behind a rider in black who seemed to be slowing on the hills. I called out that I was passing on the right, and the rider responded “No way are you doing that” and cut over and sped up.

Ok, no problem. I would expect this on the last lap, but maybe not now. Instead I sat on the guy’s wheel for the rest of the lap and most of the last. Admittedly I missed a few chances to pass him, but when we came to the barriers (which were incredibly high) on the last lap he remounted faster and got a gap.

Climbing the barrier. My only photo from the race.
 

I continued to chase up to a grassy downhill section. There was a Speedway Wheelmen rider and a rider  from Bicycle Outfitters just ahead of me. I closed on them on a gravel path before turning into the grass. I chose to not call out my passes and instead charged past them in a wide grassy section of the course. The rider in black was just a few seconds ahead, and when I looked up I saw him crash on a turn and take down the tape. I came around, took a wider line to avoid him, and accelerated into a tight section of trail which went between several small trees. I figured he would chase and he did, but by the time we hit 200 meters, I had a good enough gap to get across the line first,

In the end, I got 41^st out of 77 riders in the wave. I moved up 25 riders from my start and I felt very good about how I raced. For Cat 4, I ended up 14^th out of 29, solidly middle of the pack. Next up is another IndyCross event at Traders Point on November 1.  I was the third person to register so I am hoping to make better use of my potentially high call up.  Until then, this weekend will be spent riding some long miles and maybe tackling the short track at Marian University.

Indy Cross #2 Traders Point Race Report

Ok, second cross race of the year is in the books. And, the result was a bit better than Brookside two weeks ago.

Before the race report, I have decided that while I enjoy cross and want to do well, my focus for the fall will be preparing for the Gravel Grovel at the end of November to try to garner the best possible result in that race.  This means a focus on progressively longer rides over the course of the next few weeks, along with hill repeats. But the cross races will still remain on the menu.

This weekend was the second race of the new Indy Cross series. This replaced the now defunct Indiana Cyclocross Cup, but is focused on having races in and around Indianapolis. Four of the races are held at the Traders Point Hunt Club (different course each time) which is a large venue with plenty of room for a variety of course types. The fifth race is held at the Indianapolis Cycloplex. 

I missed the first race of the series due to the trial, but immediately signed up for the second. Saturday dawned windy and cool, with a race time temp in the mid 40’s.

There had been a bit of rain in the preceding few days, so I tossed on some mud tires as a precaution.

 

As it turns out, there was no mud, and at worst, the course had a few tacky spots.   Thanks to my early registration, I got a call up in the 2^nd row, one of the first 16 riders.  I was in good company. Immediately to my right was Aaron Lifford, and in front of me were Paul Gilson and Cary Schein, to 40+ mountain bike regulars in the DINO series.

At the whistle, we took off and I immediately lost some ground. I’m just not a huge fan of the fast group starts like that.  The field spread out and I began to set into a decent pace.

Fantastic start photo provided by Dark Eagle Studios.



And a view from the pack at the start thanks to my bar cam.

The course itself was fun. The start was flat and actually went through an open horse barn (although called the Hunt Club, the venue is actually a huge horse riding facility) and then into a twisty section around some trees which lead to a fast decent and more twisties, including several tight off camber turns and straights, which led to the barriers. After the barriers was a grass climb to the top of a low ridge, then a fast descent down the same ridge, and then (surprise) we climbed the ridge again.

Photo: Dark Eagle Studios

The course then bombed down a long gravel road straightaway (down the ridge line again), a few twisties and then a nasty steep climb up a ridiculously steep hill. A few more off camber sections and a short climb before dropping below the ridge line and then a long straight away up the ridge line to the finish. So lots of climbs, which suited me just fine.

The climb to the finish.
Photo: Dark Eagle Studios.

 Anyway, the first lap was rough. Heart rate soaring (Garmin said 196 which is the highest it has ever recorded), dealing with traffic, and the steep hill at the end was a run up due to traffic. I had no doubt lost some places, but it was still early. Late in the first lap I found myself going back and fourth with Adrian F., a soon to be DINO Cat 1 rider and another DINO rider named Greg. We went back and fourth for most of the rest of the race, with the two of them getting gaps on the descents (Adrian was on his mtb) and then me catching up on the climbs.  In the meantime, we all continued to pass riders.

The steep hill mentioned above  was mostly being run.  I almost rode to the top twice, but spun out near the summit. The other times I hoofed it up.

Bar cam still of the climb up the big  hill. Most opted to walk.

The last lap I finally got by Adrian, and set my sights on Greg. On the last climb up the ridge, he was going slower than I wanted (the course had been narrowed by some Shamrock Cycles shenanigans, so there was little room to pass) and I yelled out some encouragement, namely how I have seen him in the DINO races and I know he is faster than that.

Probably should have kept my mouth shut, because he picked up the pace, and despite my best efforts I could not get past him before the end of the race.

In the end I finished 21^st out of 57, following a nice charge up the final hill which saw me pass a few riders. I was hoping for top 20, and as it turned out, I missed that goal by a matter of feet:

 

So close....another 20 feet and I would have been top 20.

 Still, I felt good about the race. The early call up certainly helped, and I think if I had been a bit more aggressive at the start, I would have gained a few places.  Also, there were instances where I was a bit too conservative, i.e. not passing someone and opting to sit on their wheel for longer than I should have.

LATE BREAKING NEWS (10/8/14, 3:10 pm): I checked the results which were posted on USA Cycling and Cross Results and it looks like I was bumped up to 19th in the wave. So top 20 goal accomplished. Time to retire.