SpongeDad

I keep saying I like races with mud. I should be more precise. I like WATCHING races with mud. Time to break out the full finger gloves and tights.

UBUvelo

i wish this one wasn't so far from the philly area...i already hit the pa championship in allentown today...that would be a haul tomorrow

i tell you, today was insane windy. ripped the caution tape all day! stay warm and good luck

SpongeDad

turned out to be a nice day for racing. one or two muddy spots but overall firm ground. last year this course was a mud pit and not that much fun - with more speed, the turns were more challenging and engaging.

had a good first lap holding onto Racermike's wheel and then fell. Not this is funny ha ha this cross fell, but really hard. Lost a boat load of spots before I could get rolling again (including putting the chain back on). Still, I had a decent race and caught back up to my group (but not quite Mike). In an odd way, the chase to catch back up was probably the best riding I've done all year.

mzeffex 

I got 14/45 in the C men race. Then I raced juniors and had my first DNF. Slid out on mud in the first half of the first lap, and it took 10 seconds to get my shifter unhooked from a pole they use to put tape up, putting me in last. Gunned it and got myself into 3rd eventually. 3/4 of the way through the first lap I broke a chain. Ran/walked back to the start/finish area and pulled out.

Disappointing, yeah.

Britishbane

Nice work! Thats a fine way to end the MABRA series.

mzeffex 

Thanks. I was reasonably happy with it but my 19/67 last week was a higher percentage, so it was a slight decrease. I still find it a bit amusing how the numbers said MAVRA series on them.

RacerMike

I had a decent day and discovered a couple of my weaknesses, besides my general lack of fitness. Sad to see 2010 cross season end, but looking forward to starting to build a better engine for next year. Oh, and I managed to catch a couple of guys right at the end and sat on their wheels with the intention of out sprinting them, only just before we hit the final stretch I could not get in the big ring. By the time I figured out I'd just have to go with the 36/12 and started shifting down they were already well into their sprint. Almost caught them at the line, but pretty sure I'd have beaten both had I not had the shifting issue. Oh well, that's racing.

dalessit

Great job on the C race. I missed today due to going to the Redskins game (should have raced...)

UBUvelo

that's happened to me two times...fall and/or chain drop which caused me to hup it with more intention and somewhat 'catch up' !

yeah, the season is 'over' but there are more opportunities around....might hit the Horseshoe Scramble in NJ..it's a double-header; next year, i plan to hit more, esp. in the DC area...

mzeffex 

I just requested my upgrade

psuaero

In my brief CX career (5 races) I've never started so far back or been farther back going into the first turn. I think I was in the last 5-6 guys. Still nice course, no mechanicals, one quick low side/encounter with a pole, and a good race passing and moving up and I'm happy with how I finished. 38/67 (CAT 3/4 35+/45+) for me yesterday. I even out sprinted someone for 38th by just a few inches... good way to end the season.

Nice racing with you SpongeDad.

Next year I'm definitely registering earlier so I can get some better starting positions.

RacerMike

Hey psuaero, if you were at the back you probably saw me with my "Tail Gunner" cam on my helmet. Did not move up as far as you, but I started at the very, very back so good chance you got a cameo on the video when I get around to editing it.

psuaero

Cool. I did a quick look around right before the whistle and noticed a helmet cam. I was second from the right. SpongeDad was on my right. I had a white/red polka dot Adventures for the Cure jersey. Post a link when you've put some together. It's going to be a long off season and I love watching the videos. Doesn't matter if I'm in it or not but it would be cool to see myself. How'd you do?

RacerMike

You were in my sights until about 3:25 of the first lap so you got a fair amount of time on camera; I usually only post the first lap. I ended up 51st. Would have been able to outsprint the two guys I caught on the last lap but could not get in the big ring and by the time I realized it and shifted down to 36x12 they were well into their sprint. Such is life. I post all the vids to my youtube channel. Had some technical issues the first several races so the videos start with Tacchino.

mzeffex 

Passing 3rd place in the junior race before my chain died.

I'm 999.

PaMTBRider

Nah, you would have never caught me! I was also in the small chainring but managed to outsprint my buddy who was on a single speed. That was his first race and my second. I definitely learned a few things. We had a great time and are sad that we missed a good season. I had meniscus surgery to my left knee in October so that ruined my hopes of racing cross this year. Hopefully we will see you next season.

psuaero

Awesome videos, what type of camera are you using? I just watched both Schooley Mill and Rockburn. You had great starting positions for both of those, 3rd row. When did you register for the races to get that low a number. I plan to register for them as soon as I can next year.

I got some decent camera time in both races when I came by you. Schooley Mill at 02:05 (#470) and Rockburn at 4:36 (#479). I can't wait to see what I looked like at Taneytown...

Thanks for the link and video. Friends and family will love seeing the actual race I'm in for a change.

RacerMike

Awesome, you'll definitely see me next year.

RacerMike

It is a Contour HD 1080p.

SpongeDad

But will we see you in that "I'm too sexy for this skinsuit" kit?

mzeffex 

Here's my race data.. forgot the hrm.

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/58547374

RacerMike

Oh, there are photos, but I'm not going to lead you to them.

RacerMike

My average was 12.0 on every lap except the last where I chasing two guys, when it was 12.4. I suck.

psuaero

Did you forget to start your GPS at the start? Looks like you took the whistle on the back stretch almost half a lap in... In every race I tell myself that I'm going to hit my lap counter but never remember when I hit the start/finish line. I just ordered an Edge500. Next year I'll have that sucker auto-lapping on the start finish line!

My "reported" average was 12.9 mph. I say reported because I never adjusted the wheel circumference in my computer. It only has one profile and I didn't want to switch it back and forth from my road bike. I figure it's a few percent on the optimistic side. The race distance I had reported was 8.628 miles. Anyone know what the official distance should have been for 4 laps? My timer is correct so I have lap times that I picked out of the data. It's pretty easy to see the start finish line in the plots.

Total time: 39:44
Lap 1,2,3,4: 10:10, 09:48, 10:01, 09:48

mzeffex 

Yep, I forgot.