Whiskey Island CX 2009

Cleveland was buzzing this morning. It was a perfect fall day, and the stadium parking lots were overflowing with Browns fans, soap box derby racers were staging their cars, and giant kites were flying at Edgewater park. But the main event was at Whiskey Island--the opener for the 2009 Team Lake Effect CX Series.

Whiskey Island is a perfect venue for a 'cross race. It's got great views of the city and the river and lakefront, and different types of terrain. Lake Effect and the volunteers put together a fun and challenging course. The course included a gravel drive with coarse limestone chunks, grassy hills with lots of winding off camber sections, and steep climbs and descents, plus the long paved drag strip out to the coast guard station. The weather was dry leading up to the race, and perfectly cool and dry on the day of the race, which left the field as hard as concrete, and made the gravel sections dusty.

The fields for the races were huge! I won't be surprised if the total number of racers tops 200. Lots more roadies joined the 'cross fun this year, including Chris. I also saw lots of new faces. Hopefully there will be some 'cross riders who find their way into the road racing scene next season.

When we staged for the "B" race, riders packed the gravel road shoulder to shoulder, probably 6-8 ranks deep. I lined up at the end of an abbreviated warm-up lap, so I was stuck in the last rank of riders.

The start was fast. I picked a good line. On the left of the gravel road, there was some hard packed dirt that was mostly free of rocks, and was practically like pavement. I had the novel (for me) experience of passing most of the field. In fact, I was going way too fast and flew up on the traffic jam of riders navigating the turns. My cantilever (as in can't stop me) brakes squealed as I pressed the levers against the bars. Luckily, I was on the outside of the field, and I shot around the turn just off the marked course and passed more people.

I sprinted up the hill into the winding section that was marked by tape and stakes. There was a more serious traffic jam. The field came to a dead stop. My track stand skills came in handy as I waited for a line to clear.

A third traffic jam formed on the "hump". That one was the worst. Again, the track stand skills were handy. I stopped twice on the way up. Finally, on the way down the hill, the field strung out and it was possible to maneuver.

On the pavement I was able to haul ass, and was actually drafting off a small group on the way out to the Coast Guard Station. When we got to the top of the hill, Chris caught up with me and passed me.

I am baffled at how slow I ride on flat bumpy grass. I wasn't near my limit, but just wasn't able to get any power to the wheel. Several riders slowly moved ahead of me as I crept along.

For the remainder of the race, I chased down and passed lots of people. A handful passed me. I got stronger as the race went on and noticed I was considerably faster than many of the riders on the paved section of the course and on the climbs. The flat bumpy sections kicked my ass. I was also a little too wimpy on the corners and touched the brakes when I really didn't need to.

I have no idea where I finished. Probably in the bottom 1/4 of the field. I'm in much better shape than last season. My right leg is pretty close to 100% strength, last year it was still only about 60%. The dismounts were pretty smooth. I actually passed people through the running section.

Overall, it was a good race for me. I finished strong, and kept it shiny side up and nothing fell off the bike.