Westwood Velo Paolo Zenoni Memorial CX Day 2

bigW

bigW

Well-Known Member
Don't see a thread started on this so I'll kick it off.

I entered Cat4 40+ for CX up at Harriman today. Weather was good, conditions were OK but the mud in places seemed extreme. Got to see a number of MTBNJ regulars make the podium of their efforts.

I liked the layout of the course, it had a bit of everything. The feeling was not mutual however and the course kicked my ass. Finished 18 of 22 despite putting 110%+ effort into it. Running in the deep mud drained the life out of me. Almost DNF'd on the first lap due to cardio wipe out. After that it was just a matter of hanging on as the energy was rapidly draining. After lap one I did very little in the way of passing and was slowly reeled in by another rider (Glen May?) and I almost DNF'd again due to overload but we kept it interesting in the final lap when I passed him back and fought to keep that lead until he blasted by me at the finish line. Frankly that was the most fun part of the whole painfest.

When I loaded the Garmin data I expected to see avg HR in the 170's but adjusting for late stop it looks like it was AVG 166 BPM pretty much the same as Hidden Valley that was far less painful. Not sure what to make of it except perhaps all the running was having an negative impact other than just pushing cardio up. Bike and esp my tires worked flawlessly yet again.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/128536361

- W
 
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I didn't like the course very much. It was a nice and hard race but too much running for me. I guess HPCX was muddier but at least it was rideable. I can see how running workouts would be very beneficial in a course like this.
 
Cross racing goes off in all kinds of conditions. Todays race looked to be a tough one, and many experienced racers struggled. I saw some great racing out there today from first place to last. Kudos to all that finished!


... and lets pray for a draught! :D
 
I always try to remember that everyone is fighting the same conditions, though I swear my bike picked up more mud and grass then any ones else's.. This was a tough one for sure.
 
Certainly one of the most difficult weekends of racing that I have experienced. Would have been nice to be able to ride more of it but after all it is cross. I definitely suffered through the running sections.
 
ouch. i ended up flatting into the beginning of the second lap and called it a day... just coasted around the course. easily the hardest race i was ever part of.
 
i broke my derailleur in the 1st lap of the cat 3 race.

i didnt even get any waffles.

but at least i got to go and hang out.

-gv
 
Yesterday's race was my first cross race and it beat the crap out of me. I have never ridden in that much mud in my entire life.

I raced the last race of the day (cat 4) and came in second to last since my rear derailleur broke in the middle of the first lap and I ended up borrowing someone elses bike (a woman who was 4 inches shorter than me riding a 48 Jamis, and I ride a 52 Ridley). But I finished and I guess that is what counts.
 
Guess you found your bike. I was sure Mark stole it.
Congrats to Sean Runnette on a great win except I thought he had an unfair advantage of leg length in the mud running sections. I calculate that I had to trudge 13,567 more times than he did ;)
 
RNG1 said:
I calculate that I had to trudge 13,567 more times than he did ;)
Click to expand...

Nice riding yerself, R, you big orange carrot. And about that mud, my legs were driven that much closer to the center of the earth by the weight of my giant head. It was like pulling out a bridge piling. Stacey Barbossa told me to tape my shoes. Best advice I got all weekend.
 
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