From the mind of CLP: National Cyclocross Series

An event that I had been looking forward to for ages, and yet was concerned that I wouldn't be able to take part in, due to a nagging knee issue from the Outback Odyssey. Thankfully, all went well during the weekend. The atmosphere around the circuits on both days was awesome thanks to the masses of spectators and competitors cheering everyone on and the running commentary from the announcers.

Round 1 - Mulch Hill - B Grade

We'd raced of this circuit (or something extremely similar!) before, so I knew what to expect. Two climbs of mulch hill plus some long fast straights. A thoughtfully placed barrier at the base of the first mulch hill climb, and stairs on the second meant that I was destined to be running up both.

Heading up Mulch Hill (Photo c/ K. Riches)

Lining up on the start line, I looked around and saw a few regular A grade riders. Nice of them to come and support us I was thinking. Until I saw that they were on the wrong side of the tape to be merely spectating! A huge field for B grade, but clearly I was going to be out of my depth (more so than usual!)

The whistle went for the start and we were all off. Guys from behind rocketed forward while I tried to keep up with the pack on the first straight, if for no other reason than to get some good footage on the bar mounted camera :D Not far after the start and the bulk of the field when through the few puddles of mud that were on the course, and I was greeted with a wall of mud spray.. Nice..

Overtaking Paul Z (photo c/ M. Young)

Approaching the tennis courts I found myself behind Paul Z, who I see as a bit of a benchmark. If I can keep up with him, I'm probably having a good day, If he's sailing away from me, I'm having a bad day. This time around, I kept with him during the first lap, and into the start of the second. I managed to close up the gap over mulch hill for the first time. Second time up mulch hill and I had lost a bit of that time, but was still within contact. I had managed to close the gap up to the mulch covered hairpins under the trees. Fortunately for me Paul chose the wider lines, while I took the inside lines. So managed to overtake someone (woot!). It was all for nothing though as Paul's superior speed saw him pass me on the next long straight. He was within sight for the remainder of the second lap, but slowly pulling away.

The rest of the race I was pretty much on my own. I was aware of one rider that was a few hundred metres behind me, but didn't seem to be catching. So I just tried to keep a steady pace until the chequered flag. Thankfully I managed my goal of finishing on the lead lap, but only just! :)

Strava Data

Best news of all, no apparent issue with the knee!

Video of my race

Round 2 - Zombie Park - B Grade

Round 2 saw us heading to Zombie Park, near the cemetery. This venue (I think) provides a better atmosphere due to the more compact layout, with the event village centrally located.

The course for this round was apparently similar to the last club race which Miss V and I had missed due to us being on the Outback Odyssey. The course layout is what we've come to expect at Zombie Park though with generally flowing corners with something nasty in one of the far corners of the park. What I wasn't really expecting was the sheer number of corners with a series of 12 hairpin bends!

Start positions were determined by yesterdays results, so I waited patiently while everyone else got called up. If nothing else, a start position at the back of the field might give me some good video :)

The whistle went and we were off. Perhaps it was my imagination, but it felt like the start was slightly slower than in Round 1 as I seemed to be able to keep up for the most part, which is unusual for me! The first fast flowing section ended at the nasty bit of the course which consisted of a series of tight downhill hairpins on loose dirt. During practise I hadn't been able to ride them, so I knew I had to run this section. On reaching this section for the first time there was a mass bottle neck and the whole pack slowed while people tried to ride through. Knowing I couldn't, I just got off the bike and ran around them all! :D yay me! :)

Piloting carefully around the tricky section (photo c/ V. Riches)

Sadly, those places that I made up didn't last too long and I soon had a steady stream of riders come past me, including Paul Z. I never really had the power to catch back up and stay on their tail, though managed to catch glimpses of where the guys ahead of me where at due to the wide open nature of the course.

My first approach to the fallen log obstacle took me by surprise having arrived a lot hotter than in practice. I dismounted only to find that I was travelling a lot faster than expected. Thankfully my legs were able to keep up and launch me over the log without an embarrassing face plant.

In the closing stages I knew there was one guy behind me, though he didn't appear to be gaining, so I just needed to maintain my pace. I think I finished second last in this one, though once again I achieved my goal of finishing on the lead lap. hurrah!