As I looked out the window Saturday morning, I was glad I had swapped the Clement file treads for my Specialized mud tires the night before. This was gonna be fun. And cold. But mostly fun.
After a small detour, we arrived at Fulton Ravine in NW Edmonton with plenty of time to sign on and get dressed for a chilly, snowy Velocicross. Not enough time for a pre-ride, but I don't think it would have helped anyway. Racing a smaller field than I'd seen a week earlier, it was a fairly sketchy start with a few guys going hard off the front but most of us sitting back.I was hesitant to push the bike too hard given the slick conditions, and it didn't take me long before I was making my first snow angel. I went down another 4 or 5 times in those first two laps. I quickly realized three things: (1) I was running the wrong tire pressure, (2) My back tire is worn out and needs replaced, and (3) I need to stop blaming equipment and learn to ride more technically sound. The course itself was awesome and would have been pretty well suited to me had it been dry. But much like last weekend, it wasn't dry. There was one long section I could really open it up, and that's exactly where I took advantage. After settling into a rhythm, it must have worked alright. I was disappointed after my race, but was pleasantly surprised to find out I'd finished 10th, so at least I was in the points. Thanks to Dezz and Domino for keeping me going fast up that hill! (For the record, Domino LOVES the snow. Dezz, not so much).
Sunday I lined up at the start line with a practice lap under my belt. The clothing choice on Saturday was perfect, so nothing changed for Sunday. Again, poor start near the back. But I kept the rubber down all race, and half way through was feeling much more confident of a result than I had 22 hours previously. My last two laps were a good back and forth battle with another rider, and on the last lap we took a little escapade into the forest just before hitting the muddiest hill around. I came out the better of the two, with no dropped chain and just a clogged up cleat. The weather conditions made clipping into my pedals an issue all weekend, so no surprise my efforts to clip back in while trying to ride a straight line on a muddy uphill was (to quote TLC) damn unpretty. But when you're battling for position on the last lap, you find a way. I was happy to hold my position to the line for 6th place.
So overall? Yeah, neither performance will end up on a YouTube how to video, but fitness continued to be my ally. Learning what line to ride? Well, that's coming along slowly. The weekend goal was to steal a few upgrade points... mission accomplished. And I was stoked to get the email today with my upgrade. With that in mind, the goal for the last couple of races of the season has changed. Don't be DFL.
After a small detour, we arrived at Fulton Ravine in NW Edmonton with plenty of time to sign on and get dressed for a chilly, snowy Velocicross. Not enough time for a pre-ride, but I don't think it would have helped anyway. Racing a smaller field than I'd seen a week earlier, it was a fairly sketchy start with a few guys going hard off the front but most of us sitting back.I was hesitant to push the bike too hard given the slick conditions, and it didn't take me long before I was making my first snow angel. I went down another 4 or 5 times in those first two laps. I quickly realized three things: (1) I was running the wrong tire pressure, (2) My back tire is worn out and needs replaced, and (3) I need to stop blaming equipment and learn to ride more technically sound. The course itself was awesome and would have been pretty well suited to me had it been dry. But much like last weekend, it wasn't dry. There was one long section I could really open it up, and that's exactly where I took advantage. After settling into a rhythm, it must have worked alright. I was disappointed after my race, but was pleasantly surprised to find out I'd finished 10th, so at least I was in the points. Thanks to Dezz and Domino for keeping me going fast up that hill! (For the record, Domino LOVES the snow. Dezz, not so much).
Sunday I lined up at the start line with a practice lap under my belt. The clothing choice on Saturday was perfect, so nothing changed for Sunday. Again, poor start near the back. But I kept the rubber down all race, and half way through was feeling much more confident of a result than I had 22 hours previously. My last two laps were a good back and forth battle with another rider, and on the last lap we took a little escapade into the forest just before hitting the muddiest hill around. I came out the better of the two, with no dropped chain and just a clogged up cleat. The weather conditions made clipping into my pedals an issue all weekend, so no surprise my efforts to clip back in while trying to ride a straight line on a muddy uphill was (to quote TLC) damn unpretty. But when you're battling for position on the last lap, you find a way. I was happy to hold my position to the line for 6th place.
So overall? Yeah, neither performance will end up on a YouTube how to video, but fitness continued to be my ally. Learning what line to ride? Well, that's coming along slowly. The weekend goal was to steal a few upgrade points... mission accomplished. And I was stoked to get the email today with my upgrade. With that in mind, the goal for the last couple of races of the season has changed. Don't be DFL.
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