Monthly Archives: January 2016

the good, bad and ugly – Cyclocross Nationals

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I managed to make my way over to the venue yesterday to watch a few races before taking off and head to Louisville.  The weather was perfect and the venue was beautiful.

The good is that the race course was awesome.  It is super spectator friendly, easy to get around, beer for sale nearly anywhere you want, just about perfect.  The course still is a bit hard for most of the guys that are racing before Sunday, but most bike racers like challenges, so this is probably a petty concern.  They weren’t hauling people away on stretchers or anything like that.  Parking seemed to be manageable.  I have no idea how many guys were parked over at the satellite parking, but it really wasn’t an issue driving straight to the venue and finding a place.

The bad now, and I think this is terrible.  The officials were pulling riders because the scheduling didn’t allow them to finish.  It is total and complete bullshit.  I wasn’t at the start finish line for all the races yesterday, but I was there for the race I was supposed to be racing.  I was so surprised when the officials started pulling guys and the race leader was hardly half a lap into his final lap.

I made a note to look at the timing clock and they started pulling riders a full 5 minutes before the leader finished.  These are guys that had one lap to go and there was no chance they were going to be lapped.  I would love to hear an explanation from anyone how this is possible.

These guys paid at least $65 to race and they deserved to get to race their complete race.  If USAC didn’t allow enough time for them to do so, all I can say is Shame on them.   The riders from 33 place to 59 were put one lap down and all were still racing for places.  I don’t understand it.  There is no a rule in the USAC rulebook that allows this.  At least not one I know of.  I’m sending out a couple of emails to the officials and powers at USAC to try to get an explanation.  Someone 1/2 a lap down in a cross race, with one lap to go, especially the Nationals Championships, deserves to get to finish the race and not get pulled.

The ugly, well, that is weather dependent.  Like I have written the past couple days, if this course get wet, it is going to be dangerous and there is going to be a ton of running.  It is already a tad muddy from the freeze/thaw cycle, but if it rains, then watch out.  I would love to be watching on Sunday, but just couldn’t stay around.  It was hard enough watching yesterday.

I’m in Louisville Kentucky, heading up to Cable Wisconsin this morning.  I’m pretty beat up.  The main problem is my ribs.  Broken ribs are pretty painful and really get in the way of life.  I didn’t realize how violent a burp or hiccup can be. Or just laughing.  I can’t blow my nose.  And so far, the last two nights, sleep is nearly impossible.  But, I’ve went through this before and know it gets better.  The broken thumb is just inconvenient.  Having use of two hands is something you get used to and only having one is awkward.

Pete Weber and Mark Savery duked it out all day.

Pete Weber and Mark Savery duked it out all day.

Peter finally got the lead and won.

Peter finally got the lead and won.

Mark wasn't far behind.

Mark wasn’t far behind.

This section will be treacherous wet.

This section will be treacherous wet.

Tom Price finished 2nd in the 55 plus after winning last year. He was technically the best rider on the course, but has had some personal issues recently, so he had a super race.

Tom Price finished 2nd in the 55 plus after winning last year. He was technically the best rider on the course, but has had some personal issues recently, so he had a super race.

This is a pretty cool section of the course. But, once again, wet, it is going to be a completely different story.

This is a pretty cool section of the course. But, once again, wet, it is going to be a completely different story.

Random Interactions

This entry was posted in Just Life on by .

We did the 800 mile drive from Louisville to Cable yesterday.  It seemed long.  I’m not feeling all that good.  My thumb is a .5 on a 1 to 10 scale and my ribs are a 8.  Actually, if I cough or hiccup, it goes to a 15.  I somehow forgot how much ribs hurt.  Plus, the lack of sleep is killing me.  I think I’ll get used to that though.

I’ve had a bunch of time thinking about not racing.  I’m okay with it.  It would have just been a personal life experience, short term.  Wandering around the course on Wednesday, I had a few interactions that were way more memorable than the race ever could have been.

I am always surprised when people approach me and tell me their personal stories.  Real personal.  I’ve gotten much better at this, listening.  It used to make me pretty uncomfortable. And it seems, everyone has a story.  Maybe it’s an age deal, but it seems like a lot of people that are in the 40’s -50’s, have big life tragedies going on.  Parents dying, sick children, broken bones or illnesses.  And these things get them down, which is understandable.

A couple guys came up and thanked me for being so understanding, for personally taking time  to respond to them when they reached out.  That surprised me, how could you not return an email or phone call to “a stranger” that reached out?  And really, none of us, in this small community of cycling are really strangers to each other, even though most of us have never met each other.

I think people do a lot of this to try to cope with the shit that life throws at them.  I’ve found cycling to be very useful for lots of these issues.  Every once in a while, it seems, someone will see one of my public life experiences and relate to them.  For some reason, this eases their stresses, and gives them hope, or a vision to escape the mental turmoil.  It is a good thing.

People give me credit, when in reality, I don’t deserve any credit.  I’m just posting stuff I do, or feel, and some people feel something in common, which helps them deal with their situations. Sometimes I get a personal contact and I just tell them what I’d do or what I’ve done.  Seems to help sometimes, which is great.  Life sometimes throws unsolvable problems at us.  We just need a little time to figure out solutions, or how to deal with them, or just accept them.

Anyway, I ran into multiple guys, people that went out of their way and thank me for helping them out.  It is such a compliment and really is a lot better than racing a master’s race.  So, I’ve made my peace with it.  Kind of strange how it is turned around and these guys helped me deal with a problem that really didn’t have a solution.  Nice.  Thank you.

Plus, I got a chance to catch up with a ton of old friends I don't see often enough. This is Bill Elliston. We have a ton in common, think alike in many regards. Super good guy.

Plus, I got a chance to catch up with a ton of old friends I don’t see often enough. This is Bill Elliston. We have a ton in common, think alike in many regards. Super good guy.