I’ll write a longer post on Jingle Cross when I have a little more time. I usually just get moving after races. I usually don’t sleep much after hard efforts, so sort of wished we would have driven the 6 hours home after the race last night. I was up until 3 am anyway. We would have been back at least an hour before then.
The race yesterday for me was terrible. I really didn’t have that bad a race considering, but the result was horrible.
I was lined up on the last row, as usual. I’m not sure why I get so unlucky on the draw at UCI races. The guy ahead of me missed his pedal when I was already going, so I hesitated some and then we were at the very back.
I passed a bunch of guys hitting the first mud section and then dismounted for the 100 meter off-camber run. I maybe had 15 guys behind me, but then it went south. Someone behind me slipped and grabbed my rear wheel to steady themselves. That pushed my handlebars into the metal fencing and my bars got wedged into a small triangle in the fencing. By the time I got it out, I was in last by a mile.
I got going and sort of caught the back of the last guys and was gassed. We had to run up Mt. Krumpet super early in the lap and by the time I got to the top of it, I was hurt.
It is weird in cross, you can ride the speed of your group and if your group is going slow, then that is sort of your speed, especially early season. I had to get off my bike again and straighten my brake lever on the climb. It was twisted and was pulling my rear brake on.
Anyway, I rode 4 laps and then got pulled. I was going about a minute a lap slower than the back of the top ten. I was doing 9 minute laps and they were doing closer to 8. That didn’t seem that bad really considering how unprepared I was to do a race of this caliber. I honestly can’t say the food poisoning deal I had a couple weeks ago was an issue. I wasn’t riding all that badly, for me, I was just a bit off all around. My bike handling was super rusty, but got better.
I looked at some of the other categories and compared to all the master’s times, I was good. I was nearly 2 minutes a lap faster than my age group in masters, but that is to be expected. But really, comparing different races is just make believe. That being said, I think I would have finished 5th in the women’s race, so I could have been competitive there, if I were a girl.
Like I said above, I didn’t sleep much. We’re nearly to Des Moines, so should be back to Kansas by early afternoon. I am surprised I’m not sore from the 45 minutes I rode. I would have thought my legs and back would be wasted, but not so, which is nice.
Okay, I’m just rambling. Tucker is out on the bench seat. He isn’t used to hanging out all day at a cross race. He had a blast, but he needs to sleep some during the day. Especially three days in a row. Me neither it seems. It was a harsh was to start the cross season. It was a mildly embarrassing and enormously humbling day. I’ll figure it out soon..
Trying to keep some sort of speed going up Mt. Krumpet.
I got faster descending each lap. I put a little more air in my tires because I didn’t like how they felt folding over on this off-camber descent. This is the same corner Stephen Hyde fell on Saturday.
This is Abby Krawczyk and Sven Nys. Abbey won Chequamegon last weekend.
Women’s start run.
This is the sunset when I was riding back from the venue last night. Pretty great.
Big numbers at McDonalds. Crazy.
Tucker is out for the drive.
Not bad for a girl? C’mon man….
Selene – I didn’t say not bad for a girl. I was saying I got beaten pretty handily by the leading women. There is a big difference there.
” That being said, I think I would have finished 5th in the women’s race, so I could have been competitive there, if I were a girl.”
It just struck me as the million “for a girl” statements I’ve heard over the past 25+ years. Always being referred to as the lesser/weaker/slower. And it’s not like I’m saying the fastest men aren’t inherently faster than the fastest women; science bears that out. I’m just weary of hearing “for a girl” used in a way that feels offhanded and dismissive. Sorry if I’m coming across as overly sensitive this Monday morning…..maybe I am. But if you cycled your whole life in a pair of women’s shoes, I think you’d understand. All good.
You’d still kick the snot out of your masters peer group. We’re glad you’re still racing up! You could just sit in with us then drop us like a bad habit with 2 to go.
Thank you for not entering your (my) age category, I got killed badly enough as it was.
Samantha Tilford..kinda has a ring to it. Better than Caitlyn.
Kind of throws a bucket of ice water on the whole ‘equal prize money’ crowd. DUH!
I don’t get all the negative thumbs down … I knew exactly what you are saying. I have 3 daughters and am always amazed at the comments people make about how unfair it is that the girls get advantages … really?????? When? Where?
…but he didn’t say the words “for a girl”, or that his performance wouldn’t have been bad, “for a girl.” I think you’re seeing what you want to see, or what you’ve seen in the past. I understand the sensitivity, I just don’t think Steve was saying what you think he was saying.
If the your lap time differential to the lead racers was about 1 minute, you would have finished close to or on the lead lap. It’s strange that they pulled you with 3 laps to go.
My favorite part about your blog is reading race reports. My question to you about the start. How do you know the guy behind you slipped and grabbed your wheel to steady himself?
This argument is almost as tired as the race card. Honestly, who cares if they say “for a girl” ?? The only people who react negatively to that idea are the ones who are insecure or have some other emotional issue where they need to find fault or complain all the time. Live your life how you want, stuff like this is just so unimportant when it gets down to it. Better luck next race ST.
Not-I didn’t say the leaders. I said around top 10. More accurately would have been 10-15th. The leader was sometimes doing close to 7:30 laps. 10-15th was doing around 8. I was 9. They pulled me correctly. The Belgian guy would have lapped me on the next lap for sure.
Mike Crum, have you EVER raced a bike before? We have these things called necks. When something is “up” in the rear of the bike, we have a tendency to look back there and see what’s up. What are you seeking: Evidence? A cure for Aspergers Syndrome?
So you agree that scientifically women aren’t as strong as men, but if somebody points that out they are sexist? I’m confused. Maybe the pro women should race with the pro men? Not sure I like you referring to those shoes as women’s, either. Seems dismissive.
Get ’em next time Steve. When “the Belguim guy” happens to be the WC (or the guy ahead of the WC) I guess there is no shame in that on bad day. Love your refuse to back up attitude. Even the great had to do it at some point.
You do what you can for as long as you can, and when you finally can’t, you do the next best thing. You back up, but you don’t give up. Chuck Yeager
java ,for one thing, I’m asking steve.. i’d just love to throw you through a window of your choosing.. you’re the pussy that wont confront a guy cause he too big..hahahahaha.. a real tough guy.. pussy if i ever heard of one…if steves running up a steep hill, how would he know if the guy behind him slipped? for all you know, if you read that guys blog, maybe he is saying the guy in front of him slowed and he fell backwards.. that’s why I’m asking steve.. steves a stud, I know that.. just a legit question on how he knows what happened BEHIND HIM.. of course he has a neck and turned around, but how does steve know the guy slipped. and grabbed his wheel for balance….maybe steve slipped and fell beck into the guy and the guy was pushing steves wheel out of his way.. and java, be a man, and let steve answer questions directed to him.. wtf u always chiming in for?
It was great effort for whom ever made it and it was a great finish for ” for a girl ” Nothing sexist about that. Both statements r true. They complement each other rather than conflict. Well it’s time to pop a couple Nati-lites and c how long it’s gonna take for Trump to become unhinged.
Sillypuddy OUT!
Sillypuddy: Nati-Lites? Really?
The Mickey D bag is rather Worholesque love the fact that they keep so many people employed in sanitation industries and FDA etc!! Glad you had fun in the mud in Iowa Shitty Yooo!!
Mike Crum – If you’re carrying your bike on your shoulder running on a muddy, off-camber section and someone grabs onto your rear wheel, it’s pretty easy to deduce what happened. Steve may not have actually seen the guy slip, but it’s not a big leap to reason that is most likely what happened. It was a muddy, slippery, post-holed, off-camber section and I would virtually guarantee that almost everyone that ran it slipped at some point during their race, especially on the first lap where it is congested and you don’t necessarily get to choose your line. I ran the same stretch Steve is talking about earlier in the day and a guy pushed my bike that I was carrying because he was trying to squeeze between me and the barrier on that side. I didn’t have to see what he did, because I could feel what he did.
I watched the race while on the trainer tonight. Tucker got a nice cameo 🙂
Has anyone noticed that Steve almost never answers any of crums questions? Crum seems to think Steve is his personal trainer and it is his duty to provide him with training and racing tips.
Is it me or is abby krawczyk gettin a little bit of a gut?
Sillypuddy OUT!
It’s hard to make interesting sunset photos, your is very good, I like it, nice work!
How about Trudi and Tucker on TV! Woot!
That says a lot as Kevin is a pro photographer!
Try shooting through the polarized lens.
How about Trudi and Tucker on TV! Woot! Edit: And you Tilly!
That says a lot as Kevin is a pro photographer!
Try shooting through the polarized lens.
are you excluding steve o’s post last week responding to one of crum’s statements?
Crum, only you would question why I didn’t “keeps it real” over 30 years ago. I honestly don’t remember. Probably because I had a task at hand – a bike race. And what kind of satisfaction was I going to get out of it? Props from you 30 years later?
I just hate reading your accusatory comments. You’re always demanding some kind of egotistical satisfaction for yourself. Steve owes you an answer on the wheel grab? Are you an attorney chasing down defamation cases?
Don’t go away mad. Just go away.