Redemption

Some tripod action/hugging a rutty ledge
Photo Cred: The super amazing Meg McMahon

Cyclocross Nationals ver. 2.0

I would be lying if I didn't say that Nationals from Asheville has not been on my mind since about 10:40 am, on January 7th, 2016. I am pretty sure it was digging into my subconscious all season, that unfinished nagging feeling. 
I had the crappiest cyclocross season to date, no need to go into it any further, for I know you have all heard it before. I was ready for the season to be over with and honestly, was just hoping to come out unscathed for the three races I had on the docket, but didn't know what to expect, except one thing...

I just wanted to finish.

I like to think of myself as a technical rider, but sometimes I don't know where I fall into that category at times. I feel like sometimes, I am all talk and no show. This season was all over the map for me and at courses that I felt suited my technical skill set, I either imploded or my bike did. So I was unsure of what to expect coming into #CXNats. Videos leading up to Nationals showed that it was going to be a fast/pure power course and I was already bored with the grass crit that was potentially on the table. 
However, I am not gonna lie: I may have been more than slightly excited for the varying weather that came through last week. As it was raining and snowing, I was hoping that it would slow some of the power houses down and really highlight those with bike handling skills. Essentially racing three different courses this past week, really proved to be a dream for me. 

Tuesday was the Women’s Non-Champs 23-39 ‘race’ (or course preview at an attempt at race pace) which was a slip/slid mud-fest. It was cold and miserable off of the bike, but I found that it was fun and challenging on the bike. My first impression was witnessing cyclists waiting at the top of a levee and butts sliding all over the place, down the Bonk Breaker Hill. See: Mud Slide Madness at U.S. CX Nationals 

Ridge Supply Double Gap sock carnage from Tuesday's Race

I looked at the clusterf*ck and decided to roll to the left and let it fly. I was happy that I was able to ride the infamous slip 'n slide both times in my pre-ride, but knew it would be different come 'go time.' During the race, in the first lap I essentially surfed down the hill, due to too many butts (literally butts) in the way. The course was so muddy and long, that we only did two laps. I was happy to be able to ride the hill on the 2nd lap successfully. All in all, I was happy at where I placed, at lucky 13th, as it was just a course re-con sort of day.  

Fellow #NECX racer Jen Murphy shows you what it was like during our Non-champs race via her YouTube video: CXNats 2017 Hartford Women's 23-39 Non-Championship Race, Lap 1

Lines of frozen concrete mud were on Thursday's course menu

Thursday was concrete muddy ice ruts that could eat you in a second if you weren’t on you’re A-game the entire course and looking 20 feet ahead. They also said that due to long lap times, they would shorten the course from previous days. At this news, I was hoping for more laps then Tuesday, in order to hopefully reel some ladies in and improve upon my 13th place from Tuesday. 

I was only able to get one pre-ride lap in, but it was enough to know that the course was all about being light on the saddle/handlebars, not trying to force the bike where it didn't belong, and just steady pedaling through jarring bumps (which is pretty hard to do!). 

Once the whistle went off, I found myself in pretty darn fast company with Jenny Wojewoda and Emily Molden. However, it wasn't long before they took off up the Bonk Breaker Hill run up at breakneck speed and I found myself in about a group of 5 getting gapped, trying hard to not let the lead 10 get too far ahead. 

Slowly, but surely I felt like the roughness of the course caught ladies (and bikes) by surprise, as I passed a couple of them who were having issues. I quickly saw Jenny ahead of me on an off camber remount and moved as fast as I could to get to her wheel. All of a sudden, I felt like I was back in the game, being in her company. 

Jenny and I went back and forth for a bit, cheering each other on, being competitive, testing each other's strengths (and weaknesses) while trying to work together for a little bit to snag back on to the lead group. After a bit of this, I wanted to push myself harder and attempted to shift down to a harder gear but couldn't. I went up to an easier gear instead! I tried again and my shifter "popped," only to fall back into the gear I was at previously. I couldn't shift! I attempted to shift my front derailleur and it worked, but it only gave me a couple more teeth and I wanted have a better gear ratio put in more power, for my legs and body were feeling good. However, as it went the whole season, I was stuck with just those two gears for the remainder of the race, unable to attack or gap anyone. It stunk, for I was really hoping to pull off a top 10 result based off of conditions and how I was feeling, but it wasn't  going to be my day. I crossed the line in 14th and shrugged my shoulders; it was what it was. I had one more race to go.

For both of those days, I didn’t have the results I wanted, but I was okay with it, for me and my bike (for the most part), finished in one piece and on the lead lap each day. That was an improvement over last year’s derailleur debacle in Asheville and quite longer then 6 minutes and 23 seconds. 

Trying to smile in the Champs race w/only two gears.
Photo Cred: Jim Murphy

While Tuesday and Thursday were hard, each lap you kinda knew what to expect on the next lap; where there were “clean-ish” lines and where you could snag an inch of traction or where the exact frozen rut line was; Saturday was its own animal.  

With it being January in New England, even with climate change, we managed to get a snowstorm during our race. Due to the ever falling snow, as well as bike/person eating ruts, and permafrost corners; each lap of icy concrete lines was different, as I found out in my snowy pre-ride. 

Snowy SS Start Photo Cred: Rena Schild photography

As my first official SingleSpeed race , I honestly didn't know what to expect. After the whistle blew, I surprised that I was already passing ladies on the pit straightaway, due to just the right gearing for me (44t x 20t) and the course. I felt great and slowly made my way up the Bonk Breaker Hill and then over to the Cannondale hairpin corner of ice/snow. 

Bonk Breaker Hill Ice-Snowy Run
Photo Cred: Kristen Lukach

On this specific corner, there were flailing limbs and bikes everywhere, causing many bike to bike/person to person/bike to person crashes. It was complete mayhem! After navigating through the corner insanity, I went flying down the snowy hill, as ladies were surfing (or sliding down). Sadly, as I reached the bottom, I heard a clanking noise that resonated throughout my body. I looked down towards my chain, only to see it floundering all over my crank-arm. I literally said out loud “You have got to be kidding me! I can’t even escape a mechanical with one gear!” I pulled over to the side of the course, struggled as fast as frozen fingers could get the chain back on, as the entire field passed me. I was DFL and so mad. I felt like the season of nonsense was continuing and this was how it was going to end!

As I got back on my bike, chain intact, I had one girl in front of me that I could see. So naturally in crazy bike racing induced stupor, I started hammering and pushing my bike in icy places it didn’t belong, as I tried desperately to not be last. As a result, I was getting more and more mad at myself as the seconds went by and the flopping continued all over the place. At one point, during a run/remount, I gave myself a 2.2 second pep talk; I told myself to calm down, race my race, and go from there. 
And I did.

From the latter half of lap 1, all the way to the end of the super snowy 4th, I raced my race. I used body english and technical know how to navigate corners ladies were running.

Snowy SingleSpeed Redemption #CXNats Smiles...
Photo Cred: Brought to you by the insanely talented and gracious Meg McMahon

I wiggled and bounced lightly through straightaway snowy frozen ruts and just kept pedaling through, as the saying of “slow is smooth and smooth is fast” went through my head. With all the ladies being on an even playing ground with just one gear, I slowly starting picking them off with that mantra. I also knew as I kept passing one to the next, if I kept it smooth, I could keep them at bay. Slowly and surely, I was starting to have fun, and Meg captured it. 

As I crossed the finish line, the totality of a season of training and crap results behind me, I was euphoric to be done and have that “finally finished” feeling, one that I had not experienced after last year’s Nationals. I was so happy to see Kristen there at the end, smiling. It made it complete.

In the end, I am proud of my 15th place finish in one of the most technical days of racing that I have ever experienced. I managed to pass half of the field coming back from last and I think that Saturday provided me with the positive assurance that I needed to restart 2017. I needed to know that when most things are equal, that it it not just talk and bull$hit to make myself feel better, in that I consider myself a technical rider, but that I proved it to myself. 
Now I am finished for the season and I can start afresh for the next!

To finish it off:
Thank you to Kristen who supported/cheered for me in one of the coldest/snowiest days of racing (and all season)! Thank you to all whom I heard out there cheering on the other side of the tape through the snowflakes! It was like a hometown race! Thank you to our friends/teammates/#NECX peeps for the hugs and support, all week and all season. Thank you to Meg McMahon (and the tons of other photographers) for standing out in the cold for the entire week/weekend (and season), snapping pictures of all of us either running, riding, or crashing! Thank you to the entire #CXNats crew/volunteers for putting on a great show in some serious New Englandahhhh weather! 

I had fun (and finished) at CXNats!
Photo Cred: Kristen Lukach

Thank you all for a great Redemption #CXNats!