Rough race, after being Sick

 

Photo By: Joe Suzuki
Year long battle with Lee Slone continued in San Francisco  

     This week's race was BASP #5, a race weekend where all the category had their own races, ex. Elite men on Saturday, and the Mens B raced Sunday. Saturday was wet and muddy while Sunday was about as perfect of riding conditions as possible

 Most of the 1st Lap from Mens B 45+ from Kjeld Christensen (Saturday)

         The course was the almost same as BASP #1, Clark Natwick GP, just ran the other way. The two big changes were the lack of the bridge, and the setup of the barriers. In September the barriers were setup with a set before and after a u-turn, while this week all four were in a line. Also instead of being dry, dusty, and loose as is was in September, the course was moist, super tacky, and a bit
slower.

Photo By: Mark Seymour
Start of the Mens B race

         Although I received the number one call up for the race, base on winning BASP#3, the Sierra Point night race and had choice of starting spot I struggled with start. During the week between Surf City #2 and BASP#5 I had been sick, coughing a lot with a sore throat, and hadn't yet recovered enough so I took some medicine before race, the wrong medicine. Going for the whole shot I was having a hard time breathing, the medicine had dried out my throat. I came off the "dirt road" into the trail first, but would take it very easy trying to catch my breath. About half way (maybe three quarters) through the first lap while leading we went down the hill before turning left back up it, I had my chain come to the inside. I tried a few times to shift and get it back on, but could not get it and alas had to dismount and fix it by hand before struggling up the short steep hill, after getting passed by around 20 racers.

Photo By: Joe Suzuki
Working through the field

          For the middle part of the race laps 2-4 I was working back up through the field, catching people and waiting for good spots to pass, and trying to get as much water as possible to try and keep my throat moist so I could breath. I slowly caught and past people I recognized and have battled against at past races.

Photo By: Mark Seymour
Catching 4th and 3rd

         Going into the 5th lap I would catch 6th and 5th and pass them on the road before the right hand turn onto the single track. Coming out of the first section of single track onto the gravel road i caught 4th place, with 3rd insight ahead of us we worked together to bridge the gap. For the rest of the lap I would ride in the pack of 3rd, 4th and 5th judging speeds and trying to save energy for the bell lap, the next time around. After finishing the lap in the group I knew being sick and not able to sprint well that if I was in the back of the pack as we went through the barriers I would not be able to stay with them as the groups speed would increase until the end.

Photo By: Mark Seymour

           During the bell lap, I was starting to tire quick and lost the wheel of 4th a few time in the first part of the lap. As we got closer to the barriers I tried make a few moves passing 4th in a few corners, and both of them in one, but alas I could not make a short sprint coming out of any of the corners and found my self a bikes length back entering the barriers. At this point my focus was to maintain my podium spot by staying smooth and on two wheels as could see Lee Slone and Dave Mongan coming up fast. I would end up in 5th, 22 seconds back of 4th, and just 1 second ahead of Lee

Photo By: Mark Seymour

Double SIerra Point Weekend, Double Podium

         This weekend was a double weekend at the Brisbane Marina on Sierra Point, races #2, and #3 for BASP. Saturday was a late start for racing with my race, Mens Bs racing at 4:00 pm and the Elite race not starting until 8:00 pm, on a  counterclockwise course, while Sunday was a normal schedule with the Elites  racing at 1:00 pm and Mens Bs finishing off the day at 2:10 pm on a clockwise course.

Photo By: Mark Seymour
First mud pit of the year

         The two day's course were very similar; with four pavement sprints, two sets of barriers with one set before short steepish climb, a set a steps heading up what they call the "table top area," tight bumpy turns, and a mud pit at the start of the lap on Saturday and the end of the lap on Sunday. Even though Sunday was basically Saturday's course in reverse there were some differences; on Saturday after coming off the "table top" there was a bridge before a few turns leading to the second set of barriers(first set on Sunday) near the Marin Bikes pit before a sand trap, the bridge was omitted on Sunday, the other major change was the location of the first set of barriers on Saturday (second set on Sunday), they would be put on the other side of the flat u-turn, so both days you would come out of the turn before heading to the barriers.

Photo By: Mark Seymour

Check out Brian Mott's video from the 1st lap of the Mens B's race to see the course on Saturday

         The race Saturday was a large fields, 73 racers, and for me started with a pleasant surprise, of after finishing 42nd at BASP #1, enough people ahead of me weren't here allowing me to snag the last call up on the right side of row three, about 20th in the large field.

Photo By: Mark Seymour
Staging for BASP #2 Mens B

          At the whistle the guy right ahead of had a good start so I would did not get bogged down, see the above video link, Brian started just to my right. I would hit the first turn right around 15th and take the far right line through the mud before making the turns to the pavement where I made a a few quick burst to get up to 5th behind Chris Neher going into the first little off camber uphill. Chris let me pass and chase down the leader as we made it to a flat fast long dirt turn. From there I would pick off most the remaining racers ahead of me to get into 2nd place entering the pavement at the end of the first lap.

Photo By: Mark Seymour

          Going on to the pavement after the mud I would pass the last guy for the lead, and start to build a gap, riding relatively by myself for the next few laps when I would start to make small mistakes; taking a different line through the mud, grabbing a dollar hand out going into to the bridge and not being able to remount on the top, these and a few other small mistakes allowed Richard Reffner to catch up and take the lead with two to go.

Photo By: Mark Seymour
Battling with Richard Reffner

         I would battle with Richard for the last two laps, and watch little Ben Gomez Villafane, who started on the 6th row, make a hard attack where the course past close to previous spots. Richard and I stayed close with him having a slight lead going barriers before the "table top" area. As we made it to the two steps I dismounted and pinched him into the tape as he tried to ride the steps. From there I would use all I had left, through the bridge, and last two barriers to the finish to take the win by 4 seconds, slowing just enough not to lap Scott Lappe.

Photo By: Mark Seymour

Photo By: Mark Seymour
BASP #2 Mens B podium

         After winning the day before, I would have the number one call up, little Ben the third, and Eric Stocker the forth. I would take the far left spot, which if I had a good start would of set me up nicely for the first right hand turn over the curb.

Photo By: Mark Seymour
Start of BASP #3

         I would go over the curb around 12th, but would go wide and pass 5 people up to around 7th on outside before falling in line going into the sand box. Ben Gomez-Villafane would already be out of the sand and hopping the barriers before I i got through the sand. For first lap I would ride in traffic; going up the relocated two steps someone would try and fail to ride them causing a bottle neck, later in the lap on one of the short but loose climbs two guys on mountain bikes would come together and both crash causing a second pile up.

Photo By: Mark Seymour
Riding behind Chris Neher on lap two

         These pile ups would cause me to enter the second lap around 5th. On this lap I was still in traffic, but no one crashed or had issues with any of the climbs and I slowly made my way up to second by mid lap. The rest of the race was spent riding at the front of a three person chase group, trying to remain smooth, and erase a 25 second gap Ben had formed. With three to go I would miss the frame as I tried to grab my bike while running a set of barriers. Causing me to hit the barrier with my back wheel shooting the bike into the air and making me come to a stop to get my bike under control.

Photo By: Mark Seymour
Leading the chase group of Myself, Miles Stepto, and Eric Stocker

         The three of us in the chase group would battle and switch spots over the last three lap. I would lead going into two to go, but Miles saw a few openings and would take the lead going into bell lap, with me on his wheel and Eric on my own. After we passed the first set of barriers I attacked hard going into the "table top" and would take over second place and hold it until the end of the three pavement straights. I would take too much speed exiting the pavement and go wide into the turn allowing Eric to pass on the inside. After he passed, I again took too much speed into a turn this time the right hander with woodchips and would have to unclip to stay on two wheel before the mud pit. I couldn't get my cleat to clip back in until just after the mud pit, allow as Eric build a just enough of a gap as turned over the curb on to the last pavement sprint to hold onto second place, leaving me in third, not what I wanted but a second podium for the weekend.

Photo By: Mark Seymour
BASP #3 Podium

          Next week I stay local and head up to the Cal Fire training ground on Empire Grade for Surf City CX  #2.

CCCX #3 CSUMB, BASP #1 Clark Natwick @ CandlestickPoint

This was the first double weekend of the year. On Saturday the 3^rd Central Coast Cyclcocross (CCCX) race was at California State University Monterey Bay.

 The CSUMB course on Saturday was relatively flat compared to the past two weeks at Fort Ord, with only one small climb that was about 10 seconds, and a gradual gravel road climb, and one barrier in a U-turn. The rest of the course was quite pedally, with a few sandy turns and a high speed step down into a sand pit.

Photo By: Samantha Smallwood

The race field for Mens Bs was quite small, but fast. I had a decent race, went out with the lead group of four of us, until three quarters of the first lap when I dropped my chain coming out of the a high speed sandy corner and took a few pedal stokes to get it back on letting the front three break away. The rest of the race I riding by myself trying to catch the lead group, and cheering on friends as we went by on parts of the course next to each other. I finished on the forth step of the podium

Photo By: Samantha Smallwood

            The Bay Area Super Prestige held their first face of the year at Candlestick, in San Francisco this year the race was a USA cycling race in hopes of hosting a UCI race next year. When I remembered about preregistering for the race it was already closed, and had 99 racers registered, so I had to make sure to get to the race early to get a spot in the 125 rider limit field. When I got to the venue and registered I received the number #680, the 105^th register rider, and being the first race of the series call ups were base on resignation order, I would start on the last row of the 100+ racer field.

            The course was again pretty flat like the CCCX race the day before, but it did have a few little climbs through out the course, and a lot loose deep dirt turns, the TRP brake zone quite long with two U-turns and five barriers, and there was also a bridge 100 yards before the start finish line.

Photo By: Mark Seymour

Knowing the field and would be slow through the turns decided to sacrifice some turning ability and run a little higher pressure for less rolling resistance on the pedaling section to pass as many people as possible. At the start of the race I was on the out side of the first few turns, passing around twenty racers before getting taken out in the third turn as the guy on my inside had his front wheel slide out in the loose dirt, I quickly got up and tried to sprint ahead in the pack, but their was a large bottle neck of people. As the race went on I slowly picked people off, mostly on the barriers, bridge, and the gravel flat section, lost a few spots from a dropped chain around the 3^rd lap. 

Photo By: Jeff Namba, fixing a dropped chain

I caught Lee Slone and a racer from Go Pro near the end of the 2^nd to last lap, Lee let me pass, but the other racer tried to sprint ahead when I closing on his wheel, and took a turn in the gravel too fast, and slide his back wheel out, causing me almost crash after running over his rear wheel and steeping on his front stay up, for the rest of the lap and most of the bell lap Lee and  I worked together passing three or four racers, but I took off on back stretch and opened a 11 second gap on him, and passed four more racers in a sprint from top of the bridge to the line.

Photo By Jeff Namba, catching Lee Slone

 

Chainring wound from the crash on the first lap