Ik ga braken (I'm going to vomit)

Beacon 'Cross
Bridgeton, NJ


photo courtesy of Natasha Bunten. Thanks 'Tash!

Post-race interview

Me: How was your morning?
me: tranquilo...nice breakfast with the family & an easy drive. Bernie hooked me up with a good parking spot and the two of us previewed the course, figuring out the lines.

Me: Any changes to your setup?
me: An extra slathering of chamois cream & I ran the Tufos (at too high a PSI).

Me: Describe the course.
me: Fast. Hard. Not NYS.

Me: How about those stairs?
me: Screw you...First off, they're not stairs. They were brutal. Inhaling charcoal smoke at the top was helpful. Another lap and I'd have been crawling up them.

Me: How was your start?
me: I was on the 2nd row and got a decent start, but nothing special. I had to go from the far left lane and find a place to slot in after the surge went up the right side. The first two turns were a mess, but I got through without having to stop. I was top-2o, closer to the 20th.

Me: And after that?
me: I was not connected to my inner-Sven. As expected guys were going apeshit to move up. I quickly discovered that I wasn't having a good day. I was incapable of going apeshit. I couldn't close gaps and I had trouble holding wheels when guys came past me. It seemed like I had one speed and just couldn't muster up the extra gear when I needed it. I was still going pretty good and just tried to defend my position.

Me: It looked like you had some good battles out there...
me: Yup...promoter Wade Hess and I were going at it. I put him in the bushes a couple of times when he tried to pass and he ended up making the pass through the bushes. It was crazy! He had a rhododendron branch hanging from his derailleur cage. We passed and repassed each other and jockeyed for position entering the gravel descent to the beach where he shouldered me out of the way. It was awesome. We were locked in a duel of a race lap after lap. I managed to get by him on the last lap and hold it to the finish. It was really fun racing. Wade was busting out some of the moves he learned racing over in Belgium. We were laughing about it after the race ended. 8-)

Me: So, you're sprint is still MIA?
me: No kidding. I got the beat-down at Granogue and then yesterday Frank Zgoda caught me just as we hit the road finishing straight. I led it out, but he got me by a bike length. I just couldn't get that last acceleration. I think I was over-geared (or under-legged).

Me: You still got some points so the day wasn't for naught.
me: Yeah, I'm pretty happy to be in the points on a day when I didn't have good legs. I know I'm capable of a better finish in a MAC race, but at least I've been top-25 in the first 3 events and that's an improvement over last year. The guys I'm racing against are really strong and great guys taboot. Getting smacked around by them every week will make me stronger. I feel like on a good day I've got a shot at a MAC top 10...maybe Lower Allen or Reston.

Me: What will it take to get there?
me: Besides luck or a lot of guys getting flats? Hard training, good coffee, and some more intense music for the drive to the race. Listening to a guy talk about philosophy on NPR is pretty sweet, but it doesn't get one in the aggro-mode needed for going apeshit in a cyclocross race.

Me: The team looked good.
me: The killer B squad kicked ass. Morgan & JH3 are both starting to ride really well and Miles put in a big ride to move from way back to 21st. Bernie was still sick and had to dnf, but he'll be back strong at Lower Allen. The rest of the team did really well too. We have a good crew.

Me: What's next on the agenda?
me: I'm going to clean all the sand out of my drivetrain and maybe do the Race Pace 'Cross on Sunday, but my schedule is tight. If not, the next event will be Lower Allen. I'm doing a sprint workout in the morning to try to get my ass in gear.