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October 2002
10/17/02 - Cyclo-Cross Season Update
by Flo Queen Stover
Flo Queen-Stover took the Karen Kefauver challenge and raced in her first cyclo-cross race on Sunday at San Lorenzo High and had a great time!
I attended the Saturday clinic which provided me with a set of skills for the race:
- the moving dismount
- jumping bike mount
- bike lift and carry technique
All of these skills are used when you come upon about a two foot wood
barrier where most racers have to dismount from their bike-pick the bike up and carry it over. These barriers are located in various places on the course, believe it or not; I saw one rider do three bunny hops on their bike to get over the three consecutive barriers that were at the start of the loop! He cleared all of them, kind of like horse jumping with a bike! Now I have a skill to strive for! These skills are also used when you have to get your bike up a steep hill!
The clinic also gave me the opportunity to ride the course which gave me some confidence for the Sunday race. There will be another skills clinic at the next Surf City Cyclo-X Race/Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, Watsonville on October 26-Saturday the clinic is at noon and the race will be the next day-Sunday, October 27.
You do not have to have a cyclocross bike to race. I have a mountain bike and I was happy to have it on the downhill single track sections of the course-of course there are some beautiful cyclo-cross bikes. This might be another bike for my collection?!
I must admit I went into this thinking I would just do the clinic and that
is it-then after riding the course I decided that I would give it a
try... now I am looking forward to the next race. Check it out! It will
help your bike handling skills!
Another added bonus is: you are basically doing a loop course
in an allotted time. You are trying to do as many laps as possible, so you could be towards the back of the pack and it is your secret! This is real good for me!
It also allows for a spectator to enjoy the race viewing!
10/13/02 - Surf City Cyclo-Cross
by Jeni and Ann
Weather Mostly Sunny and damn hot!
I arrived fashionably late and nursing a mild hangover. Yes, I know, not the brightest of moves. After rushing to unload my bike, Ann was kind enough to ride a practice loop with me before it was time to line up. There were lots of Bellas there. Let's see, there was Ann, me, Karen, Jessie, Shauna, Whiz, Steve and of course, Laura, who was sporting an adorable bell on her sweet new Steelman!! The announcer, whose name I never caught, plugged Velo Bella on several occasions (yeahoo) and put the pressure on by stating that he expected to see us leading our fields!!! Geeeez... as if there werent already tons of flutterbys in our tummies!!
The A & B class women started approximately 15min before us &golly are those girls fast! Thanks to Sabine and the Surf City folks us newbees got to race in the C class which was a bit more laid back&thank you, thank you, thank you!! There was a good turn out, too. We had an awesome 15 girls in the C class. We will be short one soon though, Ann kicked butt and I am sure we will see her moving up to B class very soon!!!
When they let us loose Ann took off like a girl on a mission, I ended up
back in the field a bit, but was determined to have a good time and
hopefully pick off some girls as I went if I felt better. My head was still
at war with my body from the previous night!! Midway through the first loop adrenaline kicked in a bit, thank god. I passed one girl and started to gain on the next one. I was getting excited and in my delirium I neglected to properly maneuver around one very solid fence post. Ouch... I gave the post a dirty look, picked up my bike and undaunted continued on.
The next two laps were a blur. Ann was way ahead and doing awesome!!! I had no idea where Karen, Jessie and Laura were. I just concentrated on having fun, which was easy to do since the course was a blast! The start was on a flat dirt track with three barriers at one end. Then you scoot in between the school buildings and weave through like youre in a Pod race. Weeeee& then there was a mild hill with a short steep run up at the top followed by a tiny downhill singletrack. From there you drop down onto a flat piece which was a huge dust bowl& hack, hack is that beer I see through the haze????
Next was more woodsy single track and a fun little bonus bump where you could catch some air if you wanted. The rest of the loop was fast, flat and good for passing with some pavement and grass and one last set of barriers in some mud. Mud, you say??? Yes, there really was a patch of bona fide mud. In fact I think they designed the course around it!! After wiping the thick layer of dust off our faces and changing clothes we headed back over to the Bella tent and helped Laura hold down the chairs for a bit while we waited for the results.
Everything that Jeni has mentioned above totally describes how the course was to a tee. The three things that really stand out in my mind during the whole race were:
- wanting to hurl after the 2nd lap
- getting water from Lauras hubby, Steve (the water was a must!), and
- the most important was having a opportunity to meet other Bellas and seeing us all having a total blast (that was the highlight of the cross race!).
And if you asked me if I would do it again& you betcha! See ya at the 2nd Surf City race!
10/06/02 - 4th Annual Boulder 'Cross Series
by Adriel
I did my very first cross race yesterday - and had a blast. It was 45 minutes of self-induced misery, but I enjoyed every minute of it!
This was the first race in a local series here in Boulder put on by Boulder Racing at the Boulder Reservoir.
Since you all (or mostly all) are from the West Coast, I'll paint a picture.... The course started out on a short stretch of paved road, which quickly turns into 6 inch deep of pea gravel, then onto thick sand (with 2 sets of barriers) more sand, then along the shoreline where it's best to ride in the water (passed people this way), back through thick sand, over a dock, back along the shore, and onto a brief paved hill over a double set of barriers. (Even though I prerode the course, I missed the first time because I was so nervous and had to go back down the hill to do over.) (*!@#!) Then...more pea gravel, another uphill double set of barriers and onto the pavement to loop around to the start.
Aside from my gears not working at all the first 2 laps and hardly the for the rest, and my shoes not clipping in due to sand, and oh yeah - watching 2 girls I passed pass me as I backtracked the barriers I skipped, everything went smoothly. Covered in sand, bloodied shin, and soaked from the waist down, I took 2nd, even though there were only 6 girls in my class, it still feels good. My hubby, Dean, (5th in his race) whom I have watched race cross for 4 years now, was there cheering me on, which was great. Post race in between hacks and coughs telling him how I nearly threw up on the 2nd lap, but how oddly it passed and got much easier. He laughed and assured me that is a normal part of CX.
So, I guess I've been initiated, and am hooked. I'll miss next weekend's race to be in the 24Hrs of Moab - with Dean and "the girls" (our Aussies Sasha and Luna), but will be back on track the following weekend. I will of course be sporting my Velo Bella jersey at all events, and wear my too-cute tee to work often and hope to sign on some other Rocky Mountain Bellas to race with.
Keep those wheels spinnin'!!!
Ciao Ciao
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