Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012
Cuba, NM
Race number 5;
half-way through the NM series. We’re sure getting spoiled: the weather has
been like eternal fall. I think of those racing in the northeast and the northwest, and think about how lucky we are.
It was chilly pulling in to Cuba, though. The thermometer on the truck
registered 35º or something, and it wasn’t particularly sunny. Although I had good layering options
for racing I was woefully underdressed for the hanging out before and after part
of the event. Luckily my travel companions were better prepared and even had
extras to loan.
We got
registered, and discovered we were an hour earlier than we needed to be; the
schedule had been delayed an hour due to the extra drive time for most racers.
That just gave us more time to relax, check out the course, and not be crazy-rushed
as we so often are. Additionally, it gave more time for the sun to do it’s work
and warm stuff up a bit!
I remembered
this course. In some respects it seems the most “Belgian” as most of it is laid
out in a pasture, complete with cow paddies. There is a stretch of road, and a couple of short but a bit
steep drops into a creek bed. Last year it had water in it; this year, the only
water was off to the right side of the first dip.
Kirk read
somewhere the statistics on gastrointestinal disorders in cross racers
following a race on a pasture. The incidence of illness was very high. We joked
about riding with our mouths shut to lower the chances of race-induced cow
paddy illness!
Most of the
course was like riding a road bike on a rumble strip: bumpy bumpy. Tove gave me
some good tips and pointers, such as riding much of it hovering over the
saddle, and rising out of the saddle coming out of the many switchbacks to
stabilize the bike as well as give a bit of power and speed out of a turn. I
was nervous about the second dip; the first one wasn’t so bad as long as you
navigated the bike to the left at the bottom. If you overshot it, you went into
the water. The second one, though, was steeper both down and back up, and had a
sweeping right turn to it as well. The first pre-ride had me walking it; Tove
and I went back shortly before race time to look at it, and I was able to ride
it. Whew!
Lining up to
race was casual beyond most races, and after the Cat 1/2/3 ladies took off we
had a very unceremonious start when someone finally said, “Are we starting?” I
wasn’t even with the Masters ladies, but was at the back of the pack. Oh well;
it’s not like I’m racing! On the other hand, I didn’t want to get caught behind
the riders who would be running the dips instead of riding them. I passed one
or two on the pavement, but was still behind most as we hit the dips.
Right in front
of me hitting them was Anne Keener, one of my co-masters racers. On the second dip, she hesitated at the
top, rode down, and got about half-way up the other side and somehow went over
the handlebars in a spectacular jumble of body and bike. I immediately put my bike
down and ran down the dip, as did the photographer that was stationed at the
top. Anne was on her back, her bike on top of her and her legs intertwined. I
think the right foot was still clipped in. One of the juniors had stopped at the top, and I asked her
to stand guard and warn any racers that came upon us that a rider was down. I
wasn’t sure yet if we could even move Anne. We got her unclipped, extracted the
left leg, and I was able to lift her bike off her. I still couldn’t determine
the extent of any injuries, but it turned out she was mostly shocked and had
the wind knocked out. I was relieved when she finally said she could get up; we
each grabbed a hand, and carefully pulled her upright. At that point she told
me to resume riding, so I left her in the hands of the photographer. I was amazed
and impressed later to learn that she resumed riding herself, determined not to
have her first DNF. Wow. What a trooper!!!
I hate the first
lap anyhow; I spend much of feeling insecure about the course, my skills and
wondering what the heck I’m doing, and is this really for fun? This one was no different. By the second lap, though, I start to
get into a groove, feel more confident, and am able to start sussing out where
I can go harder, where I need to be extra focused, what parts are more
challenging. I kept reminding myself to look through the myriad of turns, to
keep my focus out, to hover over the saddle and apply power on the rumble strip
of a race course. (Boy, had the race hosts worked hard on that course! They’d
been out there with some kind of power mower, and hours of labor had been put
in setting up and prepping that course.)
My second lap
was the only one where I successfully rode both dips. After that, I had to run
when someone in front of me did, or I didn’t have enough speed going into it to
get up the other side and had to put a foot down to get over the top on the far
side. I regained some positions, though, and eventually lapped Anne who was
bravely making her way through the race. I too was lapped by the race leaders,
cutting my race short by one lap. No complaints here!
And, thanks to
attrition, I still came in second. I’m second in the state, too, but better
start racing: the gal in third is not many points behind me.
I helped score
the men’s Cat. 1/2/3 race, and then Kirk’s Masters 50+/singlespeed/Cat. 4 race.
It’s not only nice to be able to help out, but it’s kinda neat to watch a race
from another perspective.
The men’s
Master’s 50+ race included a top racer down from Durango who gapped everyone by
quite a bit. It was the first race I recall seeing where at least four riders
were lapped twice by the leader. As always, those guys rode hard. It is impressive and inspiring to
watch them.
On the last lap,
coming in to the straightaway where the finish was Kirk clipped the last turn taking
down the post, and – since he had a gap – taking his time to get situated and
back on is bike to cross the line. Unlike most other forms of racing there is
no timing chip involved; as long as you are ahead of the guy behind you, you
are not “racing on the clock” and gain nothing by racing across the line.
However, there is the occasional sprint to the finish when two racers are
coming in at the same time, and they sprint to cross first. Those are fun to watch.
The guys
finished strong, Kirk in third and David in (I believe) fourth. We jettisoned
out of there pretty quick as I had a show that night. As always, fun was had by
all!
Post Script:
One of the
juniors sprained a shoulder at that race; we hope he is doing okay. Anne’s
tumble took more of a toll: her left shoulder is sprained, her right knee is in
a brace, and the left may have a torn meniscus. She is getting an MRI on
Monday, so we’ll know more then. Speedy recovery. Anne! All that, and she still
finished her race. And hopes to ride Night 'Cross on the 17th. . .
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