bikelovejones

I love racing singlespeed. It's freeing, it grows strong bike-handling skills and improves both strength and finesse. I love it so much that, for the remainder of my racing career (however long that is) I will choose to race on a singlespeed bike.

The downside is that, at present, women racing singlespeed bikes have one of three choices: race in their appropriate experience group (Womens' Beginner, Womens' A or B); race in their Masters age group (if applicable); or race in the singlespeed class -- with about three hundred men. At Cross Crusade races, about half a dozen women have chosen the third option, though to my knowledge none has ever beaten all the men to win the category.

Racing a singlespeed bike requires a different approach than racing on a geared bike. With gears, you will naturally slow down as you shift into an easier gear to get up an incline. With only one gear, you must time your ascent and start accelerating from farther back in order to gain enough momentum to get up the incline.
When, on your singlespeed bike, you get "stuck" behind someone on a geared bike who is fumbling a shift, you must either pass her -- or, if there's no room to pass, you will get stuck behind her and possibly lose enough momentum that you are forced to get off your bike and run up the incline. This happened to me at Alpenrose. At Hillsboro, I looked for an opportunity to pass a rider on a geared bike so I wouldn't lose momentum -- and had my first successful experience doing just that.

That said, it would be unrealistic to expect a large field of women on singlespeeds to be truly competitive with about three hundred men on singlespeeds. Physiology is just not on our side. Testosterone really can help you go faster (or else the UCI wouldn't test for excessive testosterone levels at the Grand Tours), and most women just don't come equipped with very much of the stuff. So it makes sense for the majority of women who want to race singlespeed to do so in their own category, and see how they stack up (no pun intended) against each other.

While I would not foolishly insist on a separate race for women on singlespeeds -- there's just no time to add another race to an already packed race-day schedule -- I would love to see women on singlespeeds be recognized for their accomplishments on what is a very different sort of bike. I envision simply adding a womens' singlespeed category to the existing womens' field, and counting the singlespeed riders in a separate classification as they finish with the other women. (At Cross Crusade all womens' categories except A race together. Womens' A races with Mens' A at the end of the day.)

Not long after the conclusion of the womens' race last Sunday, I had a lovely chat with Brad Ross, the Grand Poobah of the Cross Crusade cyclocross series. I asked him what it would take to create a separate womens' classification for women who wanted to get some credit for racing singlespeed. He thought about it for a minute, and suggested that serious inquiries from at least twenty women would be a good start to the conversation.

So, in anticipation of being able to set something up like this for next year, I've invited women to contact me through the OBRA or Cross Crusade forums and let me know if they'd race in a womens' singlespeed classification. I am compiling names and contact info and will schedule a meeting with Brad Ross for sometime in late winter/early spring 2010.

If you're a woman, an OBRA member and a singlespeed fanatic, and you'd be interested in racing in a womens' singlespeed class next year, go to the Cross Crusade forum or the OBRA forum; read the message, and PM me if you want to get on the list. The list currently has eleven women on it (including me). I hope to have at least thirty women who are serious about racing singlespeed and getting credit for it at next year's Cross Crusade. Because singlespeed is simply the best!

I took it easy yesterday so I could try some colder-weather practice today.
It mostly worked, though I feel slow and vaguely out of shape. I gave it 45 challenging minutes out in the rain and mud. Woodlawn Park was basically a grassy, muddy bog, which was perfect for practicing in soggy grass and mud.

I didn't practice ANY cross techniques today. Instead, I tried to prepare for Sunday's race at the fairgrounds by aiming for mud wherever I could find it, and riding through it different speeds. There was about two inches of standing water in multiple places on the softball diamond, and the small mud puddle I'd practiced in last week had turned into a brown lake. I needed to feel the cold mud on my legs and backside, and in my face. I needed to feel what a slippy rear wheel in mud would feel like, and if I could manage to keep the bike upright. I didn't fall, but I also didn't totally conquer my fears about riding in muddy puddles too deep to see the bottom. I hear the Hillsboro course will not only run through part of the livestock area, but also does a circuit through the rodeo arena. Delightful. I hope I can keep my bike upright in it.

Adding mud-appropriate tires definitely helped. The Cross Terras were fine for dry, fast conditions but I knew they would be pointless in the bog. I sought advice from the nice folks at the Cyclocross Magazine Forums, and several folks suggested the Continental Cross Country in 26 x 1.5 as THE tire for racing 'cross on a mountain bike. So I sprang for a pair and installed them yesterday. They feel pretty darned good in the mud, though the aggressive tread does slow me down a little. I hesitate changing to a lower gear just before a race so I will live with it and see how it goes.

When I got home, I looked down at my legs. They were beautifully splattered with wet grass and watery mud droplets. My butt was covered with mud. And although I was cold, I wasn't intolerably chilled to the bone, so my clothing choices worked pretty well.





Changes for Sunday:

--knickers AND embrocation (I got the NW Kneewarmers Mild mixture, tried it today and liked it);
--wool undershirt and wool armwarmers with VB jersey;
--long wool socks;
--thin thermal cycling cap under my helmet;
--Croakies -- probably unneccessary but they did make me feel more secure about racing in my glasses.

I am still playing around with shoe choices. On Sunday I'll go with what I've been using -- they work great on my pedals -- but if the run-ups are too slick I will have to go back to the drawing board. The courses will only get colder and muddier in November.

Here we go. Bring on the mud.

I made a deal with myself that each weekend I wasn't racing 'cross, I would go somewhere and practice 'cross.

This has been relatively easy to set up. For easy or shorter practices, there's a neighborhood park blocks from my house where I can go to practice things like mounts and dismounts and off-camber riding. If I need mud and gravel and whoop-dees to play around with, I live about five miles from PIR (Portland International Raceway) and the single-track section of the course is always open during daylight hours. Sometimes the moto track gate is unlocked and them I can practice riding up the huge berms and over the rhythm section in the middle.

This morning I planned for about an hour of good, hard riding over at PIR. The sky was filled with clouds, the air was balmy-warm for mid-October, and rain was in the forecast. I desperately needed some time riding in the rain and through mud before Hillsboro. We've had a dry fall and so far the cross races in the area have all been on dusty, fast courses. My next race at the Fairgrounds will be run through part of the livestock area so there WILL be mud, and plenty of it.

I decided that it was warm enough to ride all the way to PIR, instead of taking light rail; the ride was equal parts good warmup and a little bit tiring. The raindrops started falling as soon as I'd crossed the bridge over the racetrack into the cyclocross area. I was sorry to discover that the gate to the moto track was securely locked. The fence was low enough for me to toss my bike over and then climb in after it; but I decided not to do anything that would reflect badly on OBRA (since they use the PIR facilities a lot). So I was good and stuck to the un-fenced areas, which gave me pretty much the rest of the course to play around with.

I rode a couple of laps around the far backside of the moto track where the big sandy berm is, and then I swooped in and out between the trees on the near side of the moto track, practicing sharp turns, mounts and dismounts over a fallen tree, and riding various directions over the baby-whoopdees left over from the short-track season. There wasn't a lot of mud, but I made do with a couple of fairly deep, muddy puddles that allowed me to feel what my back wheel slipping around under me might feel like in a race. The rain began to fall harder and I got a little but muddy from rolling through the deep puddle multiple times. About an hour into it, I'd had enough and headed for home. The rain was really falling when I left PIR and although it gave me a chill it felt good.

I really want to find some serious MUD before next weekend, but time is running out and I think I'll just have to be surprised by the terrain. In any case, I have a good feel for what things will be like when the Cross Crusade comes to PIR on November 8th.

I slacked off a bit on the bi-nightly curls and twice-weekly intervals during the High Holidays, and it has taken some effort to reestablish the routine. Yesterday, while most of my bikey pals were out at the Cross Crusade race in Rainier, I went out and played around on Stompy, if only to keep the feeling in my body between races. I wasn't really in the mood to race, even if transportation hadn't been an issue. As Sweetie astutely pointed out, I had spent a lot of time and emotional energy getting ready for my first race and recopvering from all that probably takes longer than a day or two. Still, she agreed that I should go out for a little Stompy-time, as she called it. I'd feel better, even if I only went out for 30 minutes.

It was colder, with a breeze that compelled me to wear wool and add leg warmers and a thin winter cap under my helmet. I rode over to the park and looped around in all directions, passing over the grassy berms and taking off-camber passes at the back of the stone ampitheatre. I desperately need practice time in the mud, but there's only a couple of tiny mud puddles in the park, so I passed through them from all directions, getting the feel of my rear wheel slipping and dropping down into a seven-inch deep moat before hopping back up onto grass or pavement. There's an awful sound after my bike passes through mud -- it collects on my brake pads and when I have to apply my brakes it sounds like a thousand tiny shards of glass scraping against my rims. I try to ride through grass again after the mud to help clear some of the mud off the wheels, but it doesn't really help that much. Still, when I headed for home 40 minutes later, I did feel better, and my bike had glops of mud already beginning to dry in the late afternoon sunlight.

The fall rains are coming as soon as late tonight. Then I'll be able to go look for a muddier place to practice. I am thinking of taking my bike over to PIR on Friday morning and practicing in what will surely be some significant mud by then.


I am anticipating mud rather like THIS at the Hillsboro race:



YUMMY.

I went back to bed and got some sleep after my 2 am brain dump, and woke up at 7:30. I had a nice calm morning to gather everything up, make a few last-minute wardrobe adjustments and enjoy a simple breakfast of oatmeal, yogurt, juice and coffee before my sister came and picked me and Sweetie up at 11:30 in her truck.

Once at Alpenrose, Sis and Sweetie situated themselves in bleachers seats inside the velodrome. I alternated between checking out various parts of the course on foot and chatting with folks for the first twenty minutes or so. Sweetie and I checked out a little of the Singlespeed race. I led her around to the end of the velodrome and showed her where the sick run-up was that I had tried out at the last cross clinic. Sweetie's eyes grew big and she gasped, "You have to run up THAT?"

"Well," I replied, "I plan to walk. But yes." We stuck around and watched as the Singlespeed class (almost entirely men) made their way around the course to the run-up, and we cheered our friend Joel Metz mightily as he clambered his way up the more than 45-degree hill of clodded, hard-dried mud. Then I excused myself to go do some easy spinning as a warmup. At the conclusion of the Singlespeed race the course was opened for a very brief practice lap, so I rode the part I hadn't seen at the clinics and called it good. I didn't want to totally blow up before my race.

Twenty minutes later, I was near the back of a huge field of all the combined womens' classes (A's, B's, Masters 35's and 45's, and Beginners). We chatted amiably among ourselves while we waited to begin. I was happy to see my co-worker Hazel line up next to me on a bike she'd finished building up earlier that morning (!!). She said this was her first cross race and she wasn't seriously planning on finishing. Then, we were off.

Although it had rained overnight, the course was mostly dry by the time of the race, with only a few damp patches of something that had once been mud. This made the course fast -- and bumpy. In short, much of it was similar to the feel of the course at short-track. The primary difference was that the 'cross course was less technical and success depended more on just going hard, rather than on any special bike-handling skill. Reminding myself to stay within my own race, I tried hard to keep a steady (albeit slow) rhythm throughout the event. My goal was to finish, period. If I was able to complete three full laps, that would be bonus. If I could only complete two, well, fine.

The sick runup was about three-quarters of the way through the lap. And it was very, very hard. I treated it like a sort of rock wall and just looked for foot-holds on the way up each time. And yes, I walked. There was no way I was running up that hill or I would simply blow up. To my surprise and delight, some of my cycling friends (Joel, plus assorted folks from Team Cthulu, Team Beer, and a couple of kids from PSU Cycling -- go Vikings!) and even a co-worker of mine were at the top of the runup. When I pulled in, dismounted and appeared at the bottom they all screamed my name and shouted all kinds of encouragement, which I heard like bits of words phasing in and out, like an odd sort of petit mal seizure, between the loud clangs of dozens of cowbells. The noise was deafening, a little terrifying at first and then sort of thrilling; and I am convinced it helped me get up the hill. I made my way through the course laid out inside the velodrome, and was so happy to hear Sweetie Sis, and Lynne yelling for me as I dismounted and leapt over the barriers and completed my first lap.

As I began my second lap, I shouted out to a spectator, "Time, please?" -- he looked at his watch and yelled back, "Two-twenty-five!" That told me I could definitely do a second lap, and MIGHT be able to pull off a third lap if an official didn't pull me first. All I needed to do was to keep going.

The second lap was a little harder physically, but I found better lines and was able to avoid getting hung up behind too many geared riders because the field had spread out more. Down in the turnaround at the base of the parking lot I skidded a tiny bit in some damp mud but otherwise managed to hang on. More shouts of encouragement from other members of Team Beer who had assembled in the grassy field near the pit area.
The runup was insane, and much harder the second time. This time, Sweetie was standing at the top of the runup and cheered me on. I didn't see her among the dozens and dozens of spectators but I definitely heard her! And apparently, she saw me:





And just like that I was back in the velodrome finishing a second lap. The counter at the line indicated that there was one lap to go, so I went for it. Impossibly hard! I lost momentum getting stuck behind a junior who struggled to find a working gear (note to self: race Singlespeed class next year) and had to walk a little distance up a small, off-camber incline. As I re-mounted my bike, a photographer suggested with a smile, "hey, you're near the pit, maybe they can do a body swap for ya." I laughed in spite of myself as I passed the neat rows of stacked wheels in the pit.

I found my momentum again, enough to get me around the parking lot and back to the --UGH! -- runup. This time it felt impossible, and every step up was a struggle. But people were screaming and cheering me on and ringing cowbells in my ears, and somehow I made it to the top, and back into the velodrome for final pass.





A sloppy pair of barrier hops in the velodrome, and suddenly I was using my very last bit of energy to push across the line. I had ridden the entire time, and as a bonus I had completed three laps. I was insane with delight, and exhausted by the effort. This was the sickest thing by far that I have ever done on a bicycle. And the scary part is, I want to do it again.

Results? They'll be posted later online at the OBRA Web site. I assume I finished DFL, and I do not care in the least. I finished, I did exactly what I came to do, and I am very, VERY happy.

I arrived at 4:30 to do an easy-paced pre-ride. The moto track portion had been laid out insanely; Organizers decided to throw the kitchen sink into the course design for the closing night of the series and it showed: crazy transitions at odd angles, with a lateral drop-down off a grassy strip between two parts of the track onto the next section of moto track, and across that onto some gravel and back onto the moto track. The single-track sections through the trees were equally intense: several spots where the course zigzagged wildly back and forth so as to force riders to thread the needle between two closely-space trees. To my shock and amazement, once I got the hang of it most of these posed no problem. During the pre-ride there was one particularly SICK tree-crossing where, as you passed between the two trees, you also had to negotiate a very deep, badger-sized hole; the only way to avoid getting your front wheel stuck in the hole and doing an endo was to find a narrow line around either side of the hole -- while not hitting either tree. VERY hard! And guess what? I DID it. Let me tell you that there is nothing to boost your confidence like nailing hard, technical stuff on your bike. The single-track portion of the course was actually LOTS of fun.

Itai came to watch, and we chatted briefly before I took another practice lap. It was fun watching him watch everything going on around us; he'd had no idea this activity really existed and the look on his face was priceless.

Most Surreal Moment Of The Night: minutes before I had to go line up for my race, a couple of professional salsa dancers from Caracas, Venezuela put on an amazing dance exhibition in the center lot. Riders milled around for a little while to watch them perform; several rode right past them, either oblivious, or staring, incredulous. I giggled as I watched a muscular Cat 1 rider roll by and mouth the words, "what the f**k?!"

Finally it was time to race. The Cat 3 Womens' field was quite large tonight -- no surprise as it was easily ten degrees cooler than last week, when most fields were much smaller than usual -- and very friendly and chatty. The start lap was long and tough, with the surface of the moto track mostly large chunks of sun-hardened dirt that made traction difficult and bike-handling worse. I somehow managed to stay upright as we took the first corner, and to my surprise and joy I was NOT the last one into the turn! (I got passed by everyone by the time we'd left the moto track, but whatever.) I made it through the grassy drop-down -- terrifying, but somehow I stayed upright, even though my rear had a frightening fish-taily feeling as I dropped. The only real bummer on the first lap was when I began riding the long rhythm section of rollers in the center of the moto track; I topped the first roller too fast, caught a little air and crashed when my front wheel landed first. I did a neat little part-splat, part-shoulder-roll; immediately got up to drag my bike out of the way of whomever was behind me; got on, and kept riding. I would feel the scrapes on my arm and leg later. For the time being the adrenaline was doing its job and keeping me mostly numb to the pain.

Even though I'd geared down for tonight's race, putting on a larger cog at work, I still could not work up the momentum I needed to top most of the steepest berms on the moto track without getting off and running or walking up. I wasn't worried about walking up, as I'd set a goal for myself of finishing three laps by any means possible; even crawling was a viable option. Still, the moto section took a toll on me. As we entered the single-track part of the course I was able to breathe a little bit. I could see Sweetie and Itai standing near the baby-whoops, waiting for me to come around. I noticed with an odd disappointment that someone had filled in the badger-hole (for safety, presumably), and now it was just a little dip in the track. My lungs burned from the heat and dust and exertion; on a short straightaway here and there I managed to sip some water on the fly but it was never enough to really help. I made it through the baby-whoops, heard Sweetie and Itai both yell my name, and perked up; someone was here rooting for ME and boy did that feel nice. I blew through the singletrack section, getting hung up once as I tried to thread between two trees and again when I had to do a run-up to the back bleachers behind the moto track. I panted my way back onto the moto course for another lap.

I made it through the moto section a second time -- the drop-down onto the grass was still JUST as scary, and the crunchy, chunky terrain just as hard to negotiate -- and gasped my way back into the singletrack again. The second time I left the singletrack, I powered up the path to the back bleachers, not wanting to do another run-up and this time having no geared bike in front of me to kill my momentum. YESSS!

By the time I left the singletrack section I could hear the bell ringing the final lap for the leaders. I huffed and puffed my way onto the center rhythm section (where I'd crashed the first time), and remembered to watch my speed this time. But as I topped the first berm, my left calf seized up -- CRAMP! OUCH! -- and I nearly fell off my bike again from the pain. A course marshal down on the ground asked if I was okay. I yelled back, "yeah, it's just a cramp." He yelled back at me to stretch it and ride it out if I could. I got on my bike, tentatively stretched the calf, winced in pain and resumed riding. I made it through the rhythm section, hit the banked turn and gritted my teeth as the pain returned. Coming out of the banked turn I could see them waving the checkered flag at the finish. I could also see the Singlespeed/Cat 2 field anxious for the last Cat 3 riders to finish so they could start. I looked ahead of me to one more set of rollers and another couple of hard banked turns before I'd have to top the final berm and roll to the finish. I was most of the way through a third lap. And then, as I headed into the last set of rollers, my calf screamed. And I screamed. Out loud. People stared as I nearly fell over from the pain. And that's when I knew I could not ride anymore. I pulled off after the second roller and hobbled off the course. I haven't seen results yet but I'm sure I won't get credit for a third lap. I MAY even get DNF'd. No matter. I rode nearly all of it and I'm happy that I pushed myself.

This just in: I finished 23rd out of 24 riders and (drum roll) I got credit for 3 laps! Not sure how they did the math but I am STOKED! Yippee!

After the cold chicken dinner, a ton of water and some beer, the crazy team relay and the raffle and the podium ceremonies, when I finally got home at 10:45 pm, Sweetie told me how proud of me she was. "You're a rock star," she told me over and over. "You did something really amazing and you looked so strong out there!" She was proud of me for trying for a third lap. I have to admit that I'm a little proud of me, too.

This morning I am a little stiff and sore where I fell. The scrapes are not so bad, except the two biggest ones on my forearm and elbow. I'm not too sad about crashing; it was my first crash in four races and the law of averages dictated that sooner or later I'd have to have the experience. What I'm proud of is that I got back up quickly and kept going. That felt good.

I am nervous about cyclocross. Mostly nervous about learning to mount and dismount on the fly. Extending the pins in my pedals and switching to my touring shoes seemed okay; I had a stiffer shoe for this race, but with still plenty of grip, and I didn't slip off my pedals once (hah!). Plus, the extra traction on the soles helped me do the run-ups without feeling like I was going to slide back down the berms. There are free clinics on Wednesday nights at Alpenrose in September and I hope to make at least three of them before 'cross season starts in October.

I am really, really glad I gave this a go! I'd like to come back and do it next year, and hopefully do more of the races in the series if possible. The nicest part of this whole thing, besides pushing myself to do crazy-hard stuff and surviving, is rediscovering bike-handling skills I hadn't used since the earth cooled. I am IN LOVE with the single-track, technical stuff and would like to find opportunities to try more of it.

Photos of my first season of short-track can be found here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bethness/sets/72157620387114768/

Confidential to M: Um, well, the lycra thing? Maybe not so bad. I wore a lycra jersey yesterday (gasp!) and it kept me cooler than a cotton tee-shirt. Thought you'd like to know.

The Tour de France ended today with the traditional sprint at the Champs Elysees. Hot young sprint sensation Mark Cavendish won the stage, his sixth of the tour, while the gifted climbing specialist Alberto Contador wore the yellow jersey into Paris and was crowned the overall winner.

Pictures and commentary of the 21-stage Grand Tour showed it to be fast and furious. I would have liked to be more excited. I really enjoy bike racing and would have liked a really good show. But I also like my sports pure, free from stain and controversy and full of honest human achievement. The Tour just didn't add up for me.

Lance Armstrong, who ultimately finished the Tour in third place, announced that he would leave the Astana team and form his own team for next year, before the Tour he was riding in was over! At the same time, directeur sportif (manager) Johan Bruyneel announced that HE would end his association with Astana; it's assumed he will go with Armstrong, since the two appear to be surgically joined at the hip.

Meanwhile, climbing sensation and Tour champion Alberto Contador was asked about doping and gave only vague, evasive answers. Sweetie asked me if I thought that Lance was doping. I thought for a moment and answered that at this level of professional racing, if you're not getting chemical help, you won't be able to keep up with everyone who is for very long. Amazing physical specimen that he is, Lance Armstrong is also 37, an old guy in this sport. For me, his third-place finish is equal parts sweet, pathetic and yes, slightly suspect.

I'll go out on a limb here: I believe that the majority of racers on the ProTour teams ARE getting some kind of chemical help. Is it a big majority? I don't know. I have no access to the scientific proof. But any notions I had about professional bike racing being truly clean were pretty thoroughly shattered when Tyler Hamilton tested positive for doping. Like other racers, he learned quickly that if you don't produce results in Europe, you get sent home; racing in the domestic scene simply wasn't enough for him, so he enhanced his natural gifts with some chemicals and gained an unfair -- and I believe an unethical -- advantage. Never mind that lots of other racers were doing the same thing. It's all about staying in the game for as long as you can. When sponsors are paying millions of dollars to fund a team, they demand a return on their investment. They want their racers to win so that the brand can be seen front and center at the finish line.

I love the Spring Classics for their tradition, the Grand Tours for the epic climbs, and the Belgian 'cross scene for the insane, beautiful suffering that at times is nearly operatic. That's why I still follow professional bike racing. Because there is still poetry in it, even if that poetry has been diluted by doping and an emphasis on technological innovation at some expense of the triumph of the human body.

But when I want to see REAL bike racing, all I have to do is ride over to PIR, or up to Mount Tabor; and watch the locals. At the amateur level, I cannot imagine that ANYone is having anything much stronger than a cup of coffee (or perhaps some of that horrid goo-gel) before they race. It's all for bragging rights, and for the random bike shop gift certificate tossed out at the primes, like hot dogs to a tank of piranhas. Racing at this level is slower, to be sure, but it's no less exciting than what's being shown on cable TV. And now that I've done it myself, I can say it's also more real. I don't need a yellow jersey. I need to see and imagine the impossibility of lungs about to burst as a rider tops the summit of Mount Tabor, or feel the scary exhilaration of scurrying over the last set of whoops with a rear wheel skidding in a slippery arc across the dirt. THAT is bicycle racing, and that is what I love about it more than anything.

See you at the races.