China, China, China!

So after riding the course Friday I was feeling pretty good about the race Saturday and Sunday. Somehow the legs were good and I was pretty relaxed about everything. It really helped having everything taken care of. No worried, no wasted energy. But the unknown side was the competition. More than a few of the riders were their national champ and there was a lot of European talent there as well. But overall I was staying calm knowing that I was there for the experience and any good results were a bonus.

Saturday morning we had a chance to ride the XCO course again and I did so trying to make sure I had lines dialed in. There were a few jump lines that I was hoping to get figured out and I wanted to burn a few matches and string some laps together to see what the altitude might do to me because we were at 1200 meters or about 4000 ft. The altitude didn’t seem to affect me much and I was feeling pretty good but on the third time around I took one of the drops too hard with not enough pressure in my tire and I hit the ground. It was a little blow to my confidence and I decided to stay off the jump lines to play it safe. We went back to the hotel and had lunch.

Chequamegon and China: 1,2 Punch

I’m a little bit behind on the race reports so I’ll hit you with a few here, and they were both big results. I’m sitting here after returning from china with a lot buzzing around in my head and having just woke from sleeping all night and most of the day, I’d say I have the energy.

Chequamegon always has a special place in my heart. If you frequent this blog you’ll know. I’ve been doing it since I was 12, haven’t missed a year. The past few years, I’ve had some success as I’ve slowly crawled up the results sheet. After a great race in Lake Geneva I knew I was in a position to do something special. For most people, Chequamegon is an all-out test of how hard you can go. But with the speed being so high, it’s a different race at the front. I know it can be a roadie course with roadie tactics. To some this means the strongest will win, to me I know that it means someone with the right move at the right time with the legs to back it up can come away with the win. I came into the race for the first time with the thought that I had a (an outside one) chance to win.

Reforestation and Treadfest: the success keeps coming.

The last few weeks have seen me shift gears a little bit from before as the focus has been on training for CX, and racing more locally. Between that, school starting up and work, I've been busy. Sometimes busy is bad, but sometimes it can be a good thing. It's been a mixed bag of rushing around and taking care of business with simply focusing in on training hard. Thats one of the nice things about cyclocross training, the workouts are never very long, so it's all about suffering.

But on some racing! a few weeks ago (i say that with an honest tone, it feels like it's been a month already) was reforestation up near Green Bay. This race is traditionally a good shakedown for Chequamegon, or at least the organizers like to make it out to be. In truth the only thing the two races share in common is that it's near impossible to get bottle feeds in both. The courses are both fast and the distance is similar, but the courses have a different feel. Plus, you can't really have another race like Chequamegon. This year will be my 11th year racing, in a row. I go back every year because it's one of a kind.

Packing

Whether is a long or short trip, if you're racing bikes you're packing a bag and gear. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but this is what I bring and why.

When I pack I try to go bag by bag. For most trips I'll take 3 bags. My gear bag has all my racing clothes, shoes, helmet, glasses and such. Then I'll have a food bag with all my bottles, gels, Mike's Mix (recovery and drink mix), and if I can fit it a jug of water in case there isn't water at the venue. Finally a third bag for my stuff. toiletries, regular clothes, and any books, homework and computer i might need for work/school.