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All week I was getting amped up for this race: after all this was the epic Euro-esque Fort Ord course I have spoken so glowingly of in the past. However, what I forgot is that the one year when I got top ten here, it had rained and the sand was a lot firmer. This time the gods of granular rock gave no quarter. From the massive sandy runup (where the races started at a full run, bike on shoulder) to the many endo sand pits, this one was all about getting those dang skinny tires to plow through sand, so you could spend a few brief moments fighting coastal headwinds before the next sandy encounter.
So, about my race.
See the title above to get an idea. On the shelf at home I
have an entertaining collection of adventure stories, I Should Have
Stayed Home: The Worst Trips of Great Writers, with ominously titled
articles like Night of the Army Ants and Donner Party.
I think I'll add a chapter
of my own; let's call it:
Sand Pits Tore My Flesh:
Ten Reasons Why I Shoulda Skipped Surf City.
Reason 1. I couldn't sleep the night before--bad omen.
2. In practice before the race I just couldn't get the sand sections right. Every sand pit started out OK, then sooner or later I just plowed to a stop, or worse...
3. Out for one last practice lap before the start, the wheel eating gremlins in the sand grabbed hard onto my front wheel and wouldn't let go. When I got up, covered in dust, the wheel was hopelessly tacoed. As I sat by the road bashing the wheel into shape against a deserted Fort Ord building, all the guys went by shaking their heads in pity at Mr. Sand Man.
4. Discarded taco wheel for my spare wheel, stored by the start line (earlier I had scouted out the course and decided the pit down the road was in the wrong place).
5. Next, I discovered my STI shifter was jammed, full of sand from the endo. With seven minutes to start, I went in desperation to the nearest mechanic available. "Can't help you, dude," he said. "Try some water." Frantically I rushed to the car and sprayed water into the shifter until it came back to life.
6. Made it to the line in time for the start, a crazed sprint up the runup in a cloud of tires, handlebars, elbows and dust. Not a bad start, but as soon as we hit the top of the hill and began to descend, my chain dropped, jammed and I had to get off and fight with it for a while. Now I'm dead last in the field, but that's OK because there's nowhere to go but up, right?
7. Wrong. After picking my way through the back 10 guys, I flatted the next lap as I was rolling into the pit--remember, the one that didn't have my wheels since I had decided I didn't like the pit location. So I run back to the start, drop flat wheel #2 next to tacoed wheel #1, pick up my team-mate's wheel and run back to the pit. On wheel #3 I head out, dead last again.
8. With all hopes of a good finish dashed, I tried to salvage what little glory was left by gunning for the King of the Hill award, given to the rider who could pedal the farthest up the dreaded sand hill. Of course I got nowhere near the mark set by Jackson Stewart--how he rode so far up that infernal hill I'll never know. At least I got my name mentioned on race PA.
9. Dropped the damn chain again. Got lapped by a bunch of guys. Time to fire my mechanic.
10. Finally turned in a good hard lap at the end--but not for any more worthy reason than to not get lapped by Dave Wierzba. At least Tom Simonson changed the scoring rules so this race can be eternally, permanently erased from my record.
Race Notes:
- After back-to-back wins by Jackson Stewart at Surf City and Central Coast, we returned to the traditional Ben-Justin hegemony this week. Justin Robinson motored away alone, but barely held off Ben Jacques-Maynes and Todd Hoefer in second and third. See Ben's report below.
- In the women's race, Rachel Lloyd took top honors, narrowly beating Kim Vandersyde. A few of the other top women were absent, as they stayed out East after last week's SuperCup to pick up a few more UCI races this weekend. Rachel's report is below as well.
- Larry Hibbard won the Masters again. I think we can now establish that he has taken over the job of winning, like Don Myrah used to do in the As in the old days. Call me when someone else wins because that will be a story for sure. Of note: Third and fourth placed Rod Hernandez and Keith DeFiebre, who run the Central Coast races but still find time to train (Ditto Dave Gill...though he hasn't cracked the podium just yet).
- I'm not the only one who suffered. The course claimed many a body and bike. There were guys by the side fixing flats, straightening handlebars, etc. My teammate Jeff Caton fell twice. John Funke told me he went down four times, once hard enough to draw blood.
- SCCX advertised that, to improve the course, they were taking out the big downhill endo-sand-pit from previous editions. So instead, they put in...another even bigger downhill endo-sand-pit. What up?
- With the extensive boosterism by jeff & me advertising this race, we got a decent turnout. However, now they're talking of skipping this venue next year...well, OK with me. Time to go nurse my bruised ego and dream of firmer ground.
Dave Carr
Napa Valley Velo
Race Report by Ben Jacques- Maynes:
The course at Fort Ord has historically held the distinction of being the hardest course race on a 'cross bike, indeed, the most un-cross of 'cross courses. Typically, the course has involved tight turns on loose gravel, diving down iceplant-laden hillsides and, of course, endless sand. Sand uphill runs that leave the strongest panting, sand downhills that gobble wheels and force the most adept to run, and long sand pits that sap the strength from your legs by the second lap. My brother Andy put it very succinctly: "This course would be okay if there were two or three sand sections, really hard if there were half the sections, but this course, this is CRAZY!"
Choosing to ride a mountain bike on this course has benefited a great many racers; two years ago, if you remember, the top three were in a head to head battle on MTBs, with the closest "cross" racer minutes adrift. The mountain bike allows the vehicle to conquer the course as opposed to the rider's skill alone; in the hands of the proper rider a mountain bike on this course creates a clear advantage.
As the race got underway, this was put on stark display by Todd Hoefer. Justin Robinson and myself had jumped out to an early lead, with Todd, Andy J-M and Jackson Stewart, winner of round one, chasing hard. I flatted (arrgh not again), giving Justin a clear advantage. Todd and andy joined me as I received a new bike (in an ironic twist, my bike handled best in the sand with the flat front tire...). Todd went to the front and it was all I could do to stay with him, not due to the pace but because he would put ten to thirty yards on me in every sandy section.
Not only was my pace suffering, but Todd was pulling back time on Justin as well. I'm sure to many spectators it appeared that I was sitting on Todd's wheel, doing the proper team duty, but let me assure you, I was doing an all out interval five times per lap just to make up the ground that I had lost in the sand. Any time that i spent actually on Todd's wheel was literally five seconds of rest and then punch it again to catch back on.
Todd was making about ten seconds per lap on Justin, and was on schedule to catch him on the last lap. I was worried that we might actually make it up to him, and then what? I felt powerless to halt the advance, and I was not confident in my ability to escape. Up front I could see Justin digging deep, and was hoping he could hold on. We got halfway through the last lap, and I was gapped off Todd's wheel. I knew I had to make it back up, and then Justin and Todd were in the same straightaway!! It was getting very close!!
Through the sand we flew, and I was giving my all. I caught Todd on the second to last straight, and then was slightly gapped in the sand...You could reach out and touch Justin, who had been leading the entire time! NO! It was not to be, as down the final stretch, the gap hovered at about 5 seconds, and I knew Todd would not close the gap in time. I swung around him in my biggest gear and just mashed it, through the last sand section, and into the final straight with the smallest of margins. I punched it again, looked around, and was rewarded with the sight of Justin winning just in front of me and Todd just behind me as I crossed the line. A very tight finish to a very tense race!!
About a minute and a half later my brother careened across the line ahead of Jackson Stewart and Justin Morgan to round out the podium. Andy's showing was particularly impressive considering it's his first cross race of the year, and that he did TWO mountain bike races the previous day for the Cal Cycling Team. Jackson and Justin M. continue to impress with their ever-consistent form, and I feel they will prove to be worthy adversaries for years to come.
Race Report from Rachel Lloyd:
Well it was a little frustrating for me, I had to play catch up from the start. The start was tight, not much room on the front line and a little tangle up on the sandy runup. I caught the first place girl on the 2nd lap and sat on her wheel to recover from my efforts. Start of the third lap I put a gap on her on the brutal sandy runup (guess all my running is paying off!) I managed to slightly streach my gap to the finish, despite all the B women we had to pass in the 5 inch deep sand. (Passing usually ended up in running, since getting through the sand is all about momentum. this was the frustrating part.)
Although I did get a good hard race in, much needed for me since my fitness is not super great now, and I am currently getting my butt kicked in the Super Cup races. (You will notice that Carmen D'Aluisio and Gina Hall were absent from this race, they were in the East Coast racing a UCI points race that I opted not to attend.)
