Can I get a freakin race report?

hotsauce

Well-Known Member
Ok, so I wasn't going to write a race report after today but @The Squirrel was pushing for it and I think late season races could use some press (using that word as loose as possible).

I raced Kutztown 4/5 field this morning, the final MAC race of the season. Daylight savings time really seems to decimate field sizes, prereg was 31 but there were only 20 starters. The MAC series leader and 2nd place both didn't show. I thought I had this one in the bag.

The course has a ton of turns, not many places to pass as @seanrunnette commented on the podcast this week, and is THE BUMPIEST COURSE EVER. There was an interesting section with 4 mounds/berms/pumps or an alternate route with 2x log over and a set of barriers. First time I've encountered a true A and B line in a race but there was a significant time penalty to the B line and a small field so I don't think it saw any use. I thought this course suited me pretty well, not super technical and some places to put down power. Knowing the limit in each corner and being able to put down power on bumpy ground was the name of the game today.

I had the first call up and stuck myself right in the middle of the grid since there was no real benefit to where you lined up, except for one rock 15 yards after the start on the right hand side. I had an OK start but had a hard time getting my engine going in the cold. I was top 3-4 right from the whistle but faded over the first few minutes to 10th or so. The bad start most likely was what doomed my day.

As we started to settle in I could tell that I was faster and had better technical skill than most of the guys ahead of me. Gaps started to develop so I concentrated on my line choice and burned a few matches to bridge up to 4th, with 3 leaders 15 seconds or so up the course. The third place rider was falling off the back of the front two and fast coming back to me. I caught him right before a long-ish straight section of tall grass with a good line burned in. When I started to make a move to pass in the long grass the third place rider dove to the left to bock me. Not. Cool. Bro.

Now it's all coming back to me. This same thing happened to me at Whirlybird and it was the same guy. I don't see any place in the sport for chopping lines, especially in the weekend warrior fields. We should race on our skill and not use low brow tactics to gain an edge. Sure, if you beat someone to a pinch point in a corner the other person has to slow up, that's different. This was a deliberate chop, in two races, in similar circumstances.

We keep racing, whatever. I'm still sitting on his wheel in 4th position 2.5 laps in and know that I have to make a move soon to get around this guy. The leaders are continuing on at a consistent pace and I'm getting slowed down by this guy. We get ready for a sweeping left hander and he takes a poor line choice to block the apex of the turn and ends up overshooting the turn and runs into the tape. I'm close behind but take the right line and am powering through the corner, then BAM! I have a body on top of me and bikes are crunching below us.

After crashing through the tape the other rider falls to his left and directly into me. I get up to assess the situation, I'm fine but my bike is not. Handlebars are crooked and my shift lever is sticking out at at 45 degree angle. I try to twist the bars back to straight but they're not budging. Shit, race over. I look back at the other guy and he yells at me "why did you crash me out you asshole". Woah, bro. I didn't know that's how the situation went down. From my view point and broken bike I'm pretty sure its your fault. I realize this guys is a dick pretty quickly and decide to duck under the tape and call it a day. No use getting in an argument over racing which should be fun, but apparently it's this guys job.

I rolled over to the scoring trailer, let them know I'm DNFing and cheered on the rest of the racers. Jeff Johnson who won Marty and both days of Bubble in Cat 5, who I think is a NJ guy raced strong and came in 3rd.

This is a real bummer. I was hoping to finish off the MAC calendar on a high note in a race that I could have, should have won. The slow start really burned me here and it's only my fault. If I started better I wouldn't be stuck in traffic and tangled with other racers. This was an expensive lesson. On a high note, as soon as I got home I put in my upgrade request for cat 3. I've had 10 points by my calculation since HPCX so hopefully I'll be moving up to the B field shortly.

Now does anyone have an extra SRAM hydro right shifter paddle??
https://www.strava.com/activities/773501778

Next race: Supercross Sunday cat 3, contingent on an upgrade and some bike repair
 
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MadisonDan

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Ok, so I wasn't going to write a race report after today but @The Squirrel was pushing for it and I think late season races could use some press (using that word as loose as possible).

I raced Kutztown 4/5 field this morning, the final MAC race of the season. Daylight savings time really seems to decimate field sizes, prereg was 31 but there were only 20 starters. The MAC series leader and 2nd place both didn't show. I thought I had this one in the bag.

The course has a ton of turns, not many places to pass as @seanrunnette commented on the podcast this week, and is THE BUMPIEST COURSE EVER. There was an interesting section with 4 mounds/berms/pumps or an alternate route with 2x log over and a set of barriers. First time I've encountered a true A and B line in a race but there was a significant time penalty to the B line and a small field so I don't think it saw any use. I thought this course suited me pretty well, not super technical and some places to put down power. Knowing the limit in each corner and being able to put down power on bumpy ground was the name of the game today.

I had the first call up and stuck myself right in the middle of the grid since there was no real benefit to where you lined up, except for one rock 15 yards after the start on the right hand side. I had an OK start but had a hard time getting my engine going in the cold. I was top 3-4 right from the whistle but faded over the first few minutes to 10th or so. The bad start most likely was what doomed my day.

As we started to settle in I could tell that I was faster and had better technical skill than most of the guys ahead of me. Gaps started to develop so I concentrated on my line choice and burned a few matches to bridge up to 4th, with 3 leaders 15 seconds or so up the course. The third place rider was falling off the back of the front two and fast coming back to me. I caught him right before a long-ish straight section of tall grass with a good line burned in. When I started to make a move to pass in the long grass the third place rider dove to the left to bock me. Not. Cool. Bro.

Now it's all coming back to me. This same thing happened to me at Whirlybird and it was the same guy. I don't see any place in the sport for chopping lines, especially in the weekend warrior fields. We should race on our skill and not use low brow tactics to gain an edge. Sure, if you beat someone to a pinch point in a corner the other person has to slow up, that's different. This was a deliberate chop, in two races, in similar circumstances.

We keep racing, whatever. I'm still sitting on his wheel in 4th position 2.5 laps in and know that I have to make a move soon to get around this guy. The leaders are continuing on at a consistent pace and I'm getting slowed down by this guy. We get ready for a sweeping left hander and he takes a poor line choice to block the apex of the turn and ends up overshooting the turn and runs into the tape. I'm close behind but take the right line and am powering through the corner, then BAM! I have a body on top of me and bikes are crunching below us.

After crashing through the tape the other rider falls to his left and directly into me. I get up to assess the situation, I'm fine but my bike is not. Handlebars are crooked and my shift lever is sticking out at at 45 degree angle. I try to twist the bars back to straight but they're not budging. Shit, race over. I look back at the other guy and he yells at me "why did you crash me out you asshole". Woah, bro. I didn't know that's how the situation went down. From my view point and broken bike I'm pretty sure its your fault. I realize this guys is a dick pretty quickly and decide to duck under the tape and call it a day. No use getting in an argument over racing which should be fun, but apparently it's this guys job.

I rolled over to the scoring trailer, let them know I'm DNFing and cheered on the rest of the racers. Jeff Johnson who won Marty and both days of Bubble in Cat 5, who I think is a NJ guy raced strong and came in 3rd.

This is a real bummer. I was hoping to finish off the MAC calendar on a high note in a race that I could have, should have won. The slow start really burned me here and it's only my fault. If I started better I wouldn't be stuck in traffic and tangled with other racers. This was an expensive lesson. On a high note, as soon as I got home I put in my upgrade request for cat 3. I've had 10 points by my calculation since HPCX so hopefully I'll be moving up to the B field shortly.

Now does anyone have an extra SRAM hydro right shifter paddle??
https://www.strava.com/activities/773501778

Next race: Supercross Sunday cat 3, contingent on an upgrade and some bike repair
Good luck with the upgrade. Sucks to hear about a dude like that being such an ass.
 

MadisonDan

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Sussex....
SCCX 2016
Men's Cat 4 40+ Race

I'll keep it short....

-Hole shot.
-Dropped to second after barriers
-Dropped to third going up second set of hillz.
-Stayed close third for the next three laps.
-Final set of stairs forced dismount due to lapped rider
-Fourth place caught up to me after the stairs cause I didn't realize he was that close.
-Spin up to a sprint as fourth starts to come by with 50 yards to finish.
-Missed podium by less than half a wheel. :dead:
-Fourth place.

Race, learn, work harder.

--------------
Not from my race, but the Masters Open 40+ before me...

@Chris26er
IMG_6345.JPG

@Harry Hamilton
IMG_6358.JPG

@Superfly100guy
IMG_6338.JPG

Great win Vic!!
 

MadisonDan

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Madison, NJ, USA, Nov 17, 2016/PRNewswire/
Dan Arnstein, of Team Marty's Racing has been approved for immediate upgrade from Category 4 to Category 3 by USA Cycling in the discipline of cyclo-cross. Mr. Arnstein has had a mostly successful 2016 campaign poaching points in the NJBA Cat 4/5 40+ races, with finishes of fourth, third, three seconds, and one first. When reached for comment, Mr. Arnstein stated "What the F man? I didn't think those races meant shit. First Brexit, then Trump, now this??" He was clearly unhappy with the decision, and thought it was made with much haste. Going forward, he will be racing at SuperCross Cup this weekend in the Men's 1-4 35+ both days, and possibly Solstice Cross/Limestone weekend in the Cat 3 races before heading to Nationals in Hartford for the 40-44 1/2/3 Championship. When asked about Nationals, he simply responded with a shrug and "Well, someone's gotta be last, right?"
 

jShort

2018 Fantasy Football Toilet Bowl Lead Technician
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Madison, NJ, USA, Nov 17, 2016/PRNewswire/
Dan Arnstein, of Team Marty's Racing has been approved for immediate upgrade from Category 4 to Category 3 by USA Cycling in the discipline of cyclo-cross. Mr. Arnstein has had a mostly successful 2016 campaign poaching points in the NJBA Cat 4/5 40+ races, with finishes of fourth, third, three seconds, and one first. When reached for comment, Mr. Arnstein stated "What the F man? I didn't think those races meant shit. First Brexit, then Trump, now this??" He was clearly unhappy with the decision, and thought it was made with much haste. Going forward, he will be racing at SuperCross Cup this weekend in the Men's 1-4 35+ both days, and possibly Solstice Cross/Limestone weekend in the Cat 3 races before heading to Nationals in Hartford for the 40-44 1/2/3 Championship. When asked about Nationals, he simply responded with a shrug and "Well, someone's gotta be last, right?"

Awesome. I'll see you at Natz. Im gonna do a race Tuesday and then again on Friday. It's close enough and I have so much vacation that I took the entire week off.
I've been sick for a month and finally feeling better. Hopefully I can find a find a wave of fitness and ride into January. I am skinny as hell (166). My peak MTB races had me at like 170, so I'm not sure how I'll be at this weight. Supercross this weekend will be interesting...cross results has be 31 of 41 last I looked which is awesome. I like having a low bar. :)
 

MadisonDan

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Awesome. I'll see you at Natz. Im gonna do a race Tuesday and then again on Friday. It's close enough and I have so much vacation that I took the entire week off.
I've been sick for a month and finally feeling better. Hopefully I can find a find a wave of fitness and ride into January. I am skinny as hell (166). My peak MTB races had me at like 170, so I'm not sure how I'll be at this weight. Supercross this weekend will be interesting...cross results has be 31 of 41 last I looked which is awesome. I like having a low bar. :)
That's one way to drop some poundage. You doing 3's or a Masters race this weekend?? Thought I looked to see who was gonna be there, must have missed you since you so damn skinny now.
Natz.... only doing the 40-44 on Friday. Saw the Tuesday race, but that's too much. Already taking Xmas week off to go to Cali. Gotta lock down a bike. Maybe try to meet up with a NICA coach or something.
 

Delish

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Madison, NJ, USA, Nov 17, 2016/PRNewswire/
Dan Arnstein, of Team Marty's Racing has been approved for immediate upgrade from Category 4 to Category 3 by USA Cycling in the discipline of cyclo-cross. Mr. Arnstein has had a mostly successful 2016 campaign poaching points in the NJBA Cat 4/5 40+ races, with finishes of fourth, third, three seconds, and one first. When reached for comment, Mr. Arnstein stated "What the F man? I didn't think those races meant shit. First Brexit, then Trump, now this??" He was clearly unhappy with the decision, and thought it was made with much haste. Going forward, he will be racing at SuperCross Cup this weekend in the Men's 1-4 35+ both days, and possibly Solstice Cross/Limestone weekend in the Cat 3 races before heading to Nationals in Hartford for the 40-44 1/2/3 Championship. When asked about Nationals, he simply responded with a shrug and "Well, someone's gotta be last, right?"

Onwards and upwards
 

The Squirrel

Well-Known Member
Supercross Cup: Cat 4/5, Day 2

This will be fast. Everything went according to plan. I was out on the course early to understand the snow/mud paradigm. I had just decided to put on spikes when I got back to the car. On the next run up (by the Van Dessel bus) I slip, my head hits the handlebar just below my helmet. My glasses gash the bridge of my nose, and it won't stop bleeding. Luckily I have a first aid kit. I watch my race go off while I tend to my wound. I finally stabilized it enough to drive home.
 
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Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
Supercross Cup: Cat 4/5, Day 2

This will be fast. Everything went according to plan. I was out on the course early to understand the snow/mud paradigm. I had just decided to put on spikes when I got back to the car. On the next run up (by the Van Dessel bus) I slip, my head hits the handlebar just below my helmet. My glasses gash the bridge of my nose, and it won't stop bleeding. Luckily I have a first aid kit. I watch my race go off while I tend to my wound. I finally stabilized it enough to drive home.

oh F. - you doing ok?
you know we have a perverted desire for pics of stuff like that....
 
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