My Coffee and Beer experiment has ran its course and I have settled into a routine of 1 small cup of coffee in the AM and no beer during the week. Sleep is better. Energy is higher. Weight is down. All good things.
Race Rap - Hippo
If every NJ Race had this vibe, the NJ numbers would be awesome. I appreciate the work these guys put into the event. They have a vision of what a race day should be and i think they executed well. The course was a little rough around the edges - literally and figuratively, but nothing i would spend too much time complaining about.
Cross results had me coming in 7th going into the race, out of 30ish or so. At the time this seemed optimistic but that’s another thing i can’t spend too much time worrying about.
Another good thing about hippo is that it’s 40 minutes from my house which fits in the plan of avoiding too many far away cross races.
I got there early enough to pre ride the course a few laps. It had some cool off camber blind turns, some power straights, a few punchy little climbs, 1 set of barriers, and one weird walk/fly/over thing which if you are reading this, i am sure you have seen pics of.
Overall i was pretty neutral on the course. I can pre ride something 20 times but until I’m at race pace i don’t know exactly how i will ride it.
I head to the start and got called up last on the second row. After some attempted shenanigans i ended up in the second row. I appreciate the try though Jim.
Once we go off it’s not too bad as far as traffic is concerned. There was a LOT of dust though which caused a few moments of low vis in the turns, but as far as i could tell, it was a clean start. I was probably 8th or so after the first few turns.
Once we got in the back of the course, the straights open up and anybody with power is using it, sometimes futility, and things mix up a bit. I may have picked up a spot or 2. I am better at holding speed (in part because of wide tires) so I attack after a turn following a straight away. Lots of guys are gassed and not in a position to challenge for the spot. This technique and just smart riding got me into 5th without burning any matches.
After the second lap I knew i had good legs. I was able to recover on the first part of the course and that charged me up enough to attack a bit on the second half. 2 guys passed me when i wasn’t expecting it, but both times i was able to get them right back.
On the third lap I was sitting in 4th and Johan was 3rd, about 10 seconds in front of me. I knew i was gaining on him so I focused on being smooth and making up more time in the turns than he did on the straights. I caught him with 1.5 laps to go. It happened on the little punchy climb in the back. So I knew this is where I would attack on the last lap.
With a plan decided, I stayed on is wheel for the entire lap until that little climb. As soon as we hit it, i stood and mashed up the hill and then kept the effort on the following straight away. When i looked back, he was 10 bike lengths back. I was in the red, but the race was almost over. I dialed it back enough to maintain the lead and stave off any attacks, but they never came. I rolled through for a 3rd place finish. Probably my best cross finish to date.
Few more thoughts:
1.
@seanrunnette on the mic is awesome. MTBNJ gets a little special treatment because he's one of us. At one point he was paying me a compliment and I lost my front wheel and almost went down right in front of him. Good timing.
Thanks Sean!
2.
@MadisonDan is developing a real talent for handing out donuts. Really, it’s a talent.
Super fun at the races.
3.
@1sh0t1b33r is always good for grabbing a few pics. Thanks.
4.
@Santapez really needs some longer shorts. There, I said it.
Steve, we love you but you got to do something about those things. Maybe put some knee warmers on underneath.
5. The kids course was super fun and E man had so much fun on it, i had to build him a little ramp yesterday.
6. And lastly, every cross races needs to have a punk cover band. God damn that was awesome. It inspired me to listen to the misfits on the way home and then try a kick flip.
Boom.. first try
