Video of the Cat 4 start at Melas Park Basin

Indian Lakes Resort Saturday 40+

For the second straight year at Indian Lakes i found myself running to the pit within a couple minutes of the start.  This time it was the result of being forced to take a bad line out of one of the sand traps and while it was obvious it was a steeper exit i still misjudged it and endoed over the bars and got run into from behind.  Somehow my rear wheel got dislodged from the dropouts and i couldn't get it back in so I found myself running.

Fortunately this time the pit was closer and i had a pit bike but still i was just about dead last before i got back on the course.  On the approach to the pit the second time of the first lap neutral support was there standing with my bike, rear wheel all ready to go so I swapped back to my main bike.  I spent a couple of laps trying to make up as many places as I could.  Wind was a huge factor so drafting on the stretches heading south was a must.

Then I fell victim to trying to run too low of tire pressure.  I'm still running clinchers and love the challenge Open Tubulars.  I am also trying the latex innertubes and was thinking i could get away with a little lower tire pressure with the latex tube.  I did 35psi on the rear but about lap 3 on the approach to the sand traps a section of the clincher bead came dislodged from the rear tire and I was forced to run the same section to the pit again.  Switched to my pit bike and finished the race on that, trying to catch and pass the same 10 or 15 guys i had chased the first half of the race.

I ended up 36th and actually still had a ton of fun.  The SRAM support was awesome and only today did i realize I ended up with a new skewer on my rear wheel that i need to return.  I felt better than i thought i would given that I was racing on 4 1/2hrs of sleep due to having to work really late the night before.  It was actually a nice little experiment on how to prepare myself during the week for something like this.  I just made sure i got lots of sleep during the week.  If I hadn't had the mechanicals it's hard to say wether I would have felt the same riding further up in the field but all in all it was a good race.  I also really shortened my warmup and race day prep so i could get more sleep and I think that could have contributed to the mechanicals as I didn't have the time to go over the bike as well as I normally do.

Fun in the sun, sand, and snow

Cat 3 Upgrade

Today I got upgraded to Cat 3 for Cyclocross. I could have done this long ago but because of my work schedule (working weekends) staying a 4 left me more options since I could make it to the cat 4 races after work. When I raced cat 4 I would soft pedal the start till we were thru the first turn then I'd go for it. It made for a great training race without being a total sandbagger.

I ended up only doing 1 4's race at Bartlett last year and this year I haven't done any and I think I can make 1 or 2 of the 1,2,3's races if I can get off work a bit early so that's what I will try to do going forward.  If all goes to plan the first 123 race will be at Melas in a couple weeks. 

Griffo and latex.

I used my new Challenge Griffo with a latex inner tube for the first time today. I ran a couple hot laps on my CX course near my house and I have to say it's pretty awesome. It's rained a lot the last day and a half and there was a good frost on the ground as well as tons of leaves. 

In comparison to the Fango and a butyl tube it gripped the off camber stuff really well. There's an incline we ride across and I was able to ride whatever line I wanted which in the past I haven't been able to do. I also did a lap with the pressure 3psi lower than I ever had and it felt amazing. 

I have yet to ever ride a tubular so I can't quite compare but for a clincher this is pretty amazing. I'll have to see if I can borrow a tubular wheel with a griffo to see if I'm even close to the feel of a tubular.