Uploads from mathowie, tagged cyclocross, with geodata

Wow that was ugly

nobody@flickr.com (mathowie) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:03:16 -0700

mathowie posted a photo:

Race report: There were maybe ten guys in the beginner class at the Heiser Farms Cross event. That's about the smallest field I've seen at a cx race so far (typical is 40-100)

I've been working on my starts, so I blasted out of the gate and was quickly leading the pack. I felt great, having pre-rode the course the day before as it was being setup. I lead for the first half lap or so, but coming out of the water hazard there was a short steep pitch and I was in the wrong gear, and had to clip out and run it. By the time I reached the top on feet, four guys passed on their bikes so I rejoined them in the middle of the pack.

Later on in that first lap, there was a tight turn then a quick downhill with mud before a small hill. I totally forgot about it, came around the corner too wide, and blasted at full speed into a hay bale at the bottom of the hill. I remember seeing sky, ground, then sky again as I went over the bars. Suddenly my bike landed on my back, and I was hearing "are you ok dude?!"

I got back on my feet and tried to take off but my chain was totally dumped on the rear cogs and front sprocket and a couple more guys passed as I took about a minute to remount the chain.

Then my right cleat started coming loose. A couple laps later I had to stop at the pits to borrow an allen wrench to tighten them. This took about two minutes as well.

On the last lap, coming out of the water hazard I felt a thump on my front wheel. I kept riding and noticing that my steering felt off. My front tire was flat for half a lap, but I muscled it in, passing a guy near the end.

I probably got 8th out of 10, but I'll check later. It was fun, even though something horrible happened each lap.

The lesson I took away from this race is you really, really need to be in the right gear before you jump barriers or turn a corner or ford a stream -- you basically have to see ahead of you and know what is coming up around the bend beforehand to really keep your position in the race.

Forest barrier

nobody@flickr.com (mathowie) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:44:53 -0700

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Start line, Masters A

nobody@flickr.com (mathowie) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:44:31 -0700

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Josh Berry, lapping a rider

nobody@flickr.com (mathowie) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:46:21 -0700

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Over the barriers

nobody@flickr.com (mathowie) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:45:18 -0700

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Start line, A/Pro class

nobody@flickr.com (mathowie) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:44:26 -0700

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Lap two, head of the Masters A race

nobody@flickr.com (mathowie) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:44:37 -0700

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Final barrier section

nobody@flickr.com (mathowie) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:46:13 -0700

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Pat Jackson

nobody@flickr.com (mathowie) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:45:09 -0700

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Every photo of Pat racing is of him smiling.

Firetruck rides

nobody@flickr.com (mathowie) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:45:42 -0700

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Racing for first over the barriers

nobody@flickr.com (mathowie) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:44:43 -0700

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Final straight

nobody@flickr.com (mathowie) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:45:49 -0700

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Flying by

nobody@flickr.com (mathowie) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:46:01 -0700

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Corn. Lots of it.

nobody@flickr.com (mathowie) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:46:07 -0700

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Hay rides

nobody@flickr.com (mathowie) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:45:25 -0700

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Josh Berry, followed by Brett Luelling

nobody@flickr.com (mathowie) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:45:03 -0700

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Berry murdered the field today, winning by a 2 minute gap in the end over Brett.

Josh Berry, killing it

nobody@flickr.com (mathowie) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:45:36 -0700

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Grass straightaway

nobody@flickr.com (mathowie) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:45:55 -0700

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