Nittany Cross 2015

Norm's brakes were pretty epic. I'm sure some mud and water would have quieted them down.

9am race on Saturday was so unevenful. The "muddy" section wasn't even wet.

I feel jipped.
 
I couldn't figure out what worked best either. Tried riding the right side then diving to the inside of the corner, that zapped me and my bike was covered in mud for the next half lap which was even more exhausting. Tried riding the first rut then running the rest which was exhausting as well but I seemed to not loose much time that way and my bike was cleaner. Never tried the outside-outside-outside line though.
 
keithgarrison said:
I couldn't figure out what worked best either. Tried riding the right side then diving to the inside of the corner, that zapped me and my bike was covered in mud for the next half lap which was even more exhausting. Tried riding the first rut then running the rest which was exhausting as well but I seemed to not loose much time that way and my bike was cleaner. Never tried the outside-outside-outside line though.
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The only line I liked through the mud pit was outside middle outside, I found that the further right you stayed the quicker the bike got back on solid ground. still wasn't faster than running though, the bike just got too dirty.
 
keithgarrison said:
I couldn't figure out what worked best either. Tried riding the right side then diving to the inside of the corner, that zapped me and my bike was covered in mud for the next half lap which was even more exhausting. Tried riding the first rut then running the rest which was exhausting as well but I seemed to not loose much time that way and my bike was cleaner. Never tried the outside-outside-outside line though.
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We're really talking 2 different races since mine was dry but...

I tried to ride the inside line and my tires were having none of that. Slid right out which basically forced me outside. They have this in there every year but this was the trickiest of any race I've done here.
 
Norm said:
@Delish I could never figure that turn out. I ended up doing what the guy behind Bosmans was doing (out-out-out), but less fast down, less fast up, and less fast in between I'm sure. It was dry for us so traction wasn't an issue really. The squeaky brakes here were tough as the loud brake phenomenon is a distraction for me and I lose focus, so I go slower.
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When I wasn't dealing with traffic, I was doing the out-out-in line through there. Out of the saddle in 44x25.

Being a single speeder in the woods occasionally translates to cross.

On an entirely different topic: Why the hell did they take down the barriers? This is already as wide-open a course as we ever ride in this region. I miss the second set of barriers behind the drome, too.
 
ChrisG said:
When I wasn't dealing with traffic, I was doing the out-out-in line through there. Out of the saddle in 44x25.

Being a single speeder in the woods occasionally translates to cross.

On an entirely different topic: Why the hell did they take down the barriers? This is already as wide-open a course as we ever ride in this region. I miss the second set of barriers behind the drome, too.
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I was pretty bummed about no barriers saturday. I thought they are required in the UCI races. Not that it matters when you're Bossmen and bunny hop them anyway.

Sundays barriers where pretty damn tall but had a really nice run in. I like fast barriers.
 
The Heckler said:
I was pretty bummed about no barriers saturday. I thought they are required in the UCI races. Not that it matters when you're Bossmen and bunny hop them anyway.

Sundays barriers where pretty damn tall but had a really nice run in. I like fast barriers.
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First race of the day had them oddly enough. They didn't pose any sort of problem that I could see so I can't fathom why they took them out.
 
I assume they took down the barriers because they were too close to the remounting from the stairs for the UCI races.
 
The Heckler said:
I was pretty bummed about no barriers saturday. I thought they are required in the UCI races.
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They May be included...Not required. Koppenbergcross, for example, typically has no forced dismounts.

Addition of the stairs made the barriers in their normal locale on day 1 unnecessary. But I agree, I like a little more forced dismount action to break up the power sections.
 
also:

5.1.024 The course may include a single section of planks. This obstacle must consist of two planks placed minimum 4 metres and maximum 6 metres apart. The planks must be solid for their entire height, without sharp edges and not made of metal. They must have a maximum height of 40 cm and extend the entire width of the course.
In the event that the course is abnormally slippery, the plank section must be removed on the decision of the president of the commissaires' panel in consultation with the organiser and, should he be present, the UCI technical delegate or the cyclo-cross sport coordinator.
(text modified on 1.08.00;
 
I only did day 2 of the B race. I had a third row call up right behind @Chris26er on the left side. Light turns green and the guy in the front row can't clip in. We get railroaded into the barriers and the entire middle of the pack flies past us. We get to the mud and start running. The first off camber right turn after the mud some dude slips out and I get stuck behind him and end up pretty much in DFL by this point. I start picking off guys and do the best I can do with the situation.

I found riding the mud on the far far right to be fastest, I blew by a whole bunch of guys who were running, particularly by the time we got to the left at the end. They struggled to get back on the bike and I was flying past them.

At some point I passed @soulchild ... To finish 41 meh. First race is over.
 
My 2 days were pretty similar. On day 1 I lined up with 58 on my back so I was right in the middle. I got caught in the same clusterfucks in the first 2 turns. Its frustrating because I’m pretty sure I came out further back then I went in.


I feel when you start mid pack, during the first lap you need to just pass at all costs… and burn as many matches needed. Not so much with reckless abandon, but very very aggressively. There were a ton of slower guys lined up in front of me and the sooner I got them out of the way and stop them from clogging up my lines, the better. This was a blur and I don’t remember too much from the race. I did end up in 30th.


Sunday was more of the same. The course was supposed to be tackier so I left the baby limuses on front and rear. I went to reg with 26er and the lady at the reg booth was a little.. well .. not very nice. But somehow Chris came away with #17? He must know her.

We line up and I see Bard and 26er way up front by Pearl and I’m still way back (58th).


Once off there were less turns so I was able to power by more people. The first lap was a shit show of crashes, guys arguing, and mud. I was able to latch on to @Chris26er and figured I’d stick with I’m as long as I could.. him being a green jersey recipient and all…

At the beginning of the second to last lap I feel guys coming and I check out leaving Chris behind. I was assuming he was resting for the last lap so he could blow by me.


Through the woods and flats and I have good sized gap on him and am closing fast on the next group of riders. At this point, about 1.5 laps to go on the second day, and my legs feel freaking good.. I can put power down on the straights and have no problems running up the stairs or barriers. Even the mud seemed easier.


Right before the last lap I dropped my chain. As first I thought I broke it, but and was relieved to see it just dropped. In a perfect world I would have been slow and smooth in putting it back on. But the excitement of the race and doing well had me anxious and I fought with the stupid thing while 5 guys including Chris passed me.


I spent the last lap repassing 4 guys before finally bridging back up to Chris. I tried to take him in a sprint but there wasn’t enough time and I was gassed from putting out the effort to catch, I ended up 24th.


This week I swap to 1x.
 
keithgarrison said:
@pearl - How are you feeling today? Super glad you're alright. Hope there's no hard feelings between the MTBNJ crew and KK.
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@keithgarrison thanks for checking in, a lot better than i thought i would be. theres no hard feelings from me, but some poor sportsmanship does leave a bad taste in my mouth. there was no remorse for what happened. i feel like bryan was forced to apologize because if he wasn't called over to the scoring tent, i would have never seen him. i don't know bryan well enough but he seems like a guy that is rather quiet, but didn't really want to say much while we were talking to the officials. i think you and the rest of your teammates (and even people that are closer friends with him than me) realize how shitty that was since they came over (you included) to me and profusely apologized and almost didn't want to leave because something wasn't right.

i'm over it and i'm done with it since that is my personality. i'm not one to worry about shit that was in the past and i sincerely do not care anymore what happened yesterday want t the fact that i'm addressing it here actually makes me mad, but this will be the last time i talk about it publicly, but i know a lot of other people are pretty pissed off. i could easily be getting the my face replaced at the emergency room at the moment.
 
I heard the crash but didnt see what happened. Bummed it was you but glad you didnt end up in the ER. it sounded brutal...
 
pearl said:
@keithgarrison thanks for checking in, a lot better than i thought i would be. theres no hard feelings from me, but some poor sportsmanship does leave a bad taste in my mouth. there was no remorse for what happened. i feel like bryan was forced to apologize because if he wasn't called over to the scoring tent, i would have never seen him. i don't know bryan well enough but he seems like a guy that is rather quiet, but didn't really want to say much while we were talking to the officials. i think you and the rest of your teammates (and even people that are closer friends with him than me) realize how shitty that was since they came over (you included) to me and profusely apologized and almost didn't want to leave because something wasn't right.

i'm over it and i'm done with it since that is my personality. i'm not one to worry about shit that was in the past and i sincerely do not care anymore what happened yesterday want t the fact that i'm addressing it here actually makes me mad, but this will be the last time i talk about it publicly, but i know a lot of other people are pretty pissed off. i could easily be getting the my face replaced at the emergency room at the moment.
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He is a little quiet and standoffish for sure (not his fault, he's from California... 😕) but he was legitimately concerned afterwards, I don't think he meant any unsportsmanlike conduct. He didn't know what happened at first, just heard the heinous bike on metal sound. I told him to go away because I saw how high tensions were and I've seen enough shitty situations arise from people arguing after races while heart rates are still at 180bpm to know that it would be better than if he had hovered around while you talked to the officials, so that's on me. I totally understand that people are upset over it. I'm trying to be as objective as possible because you guys are both my dudes and it's hard to know exactly what happened. Cross-eyed, anaerobic sprinting + both of you defending position + poorly laid out metal barricades is a recipe for disaster. If it was course tape all the way to the finish you would have overtaken him and everyone would've been talking about what an exciting finish it was.

Really glad you're okay and you didn't mess up the money maker.
 
I'm sure I've told this story once or thrice before but during the finish of a race a couple years back, Frank O' and I got tangled up going over the barriers. He tried to bunny hop and bumped me as I was running. I didn't even go down but he did. Yet somehow he still came back to pip me in the sprint, which was only a couple hundred yards away. He was so apologetic...I almost had to talk Frank out of going over to the officials and DQing himself. Class act right there.

I wasn't there on Sunday but I have seen some video-graphic evidence. It seems to me that regardless of whether or not dude man was in the wrong or right here you err on the side of profuse apology.

As for what USAC has to say about the matter:
1N7. No rider may make an abrupt motion so as to interfere with the forward progress of another rider, either intentionally or by accident.
-and-
1N8. Dangerous Rider. Any rider who appears to present a danger to the other competitors may be disqualified by the Chief Referee, either before, during, or after a race.

A suspension for Dangerous riding, equipment violations, or foul riding or similar offenses causing an injury to any third person: 30 days to 5 years.

As a reminder to all for future reference, speak quickly or your protests will fall on deaf ears:
"A protest of foul riding or any other irregularity taking place during the race must be made within 15 minutes after the protestor's finish time."
 
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