NCCX Winter Series #1 and #2

or, Adventures in Multiple Layers

The North Carolina Cyclocross Winter Series kicked off this past weekend with a pair of races. Despite the record-setting cold snap, I entered both races in an effort to regain some fitness lost during a month of house-moving tasks. Joining me was Paul Gamewell, who was eager to give cyclocross a try.

Saturday, January 9, Salisbury

As I watched the sky come to light on Saturday morning, I checked the weather conditions. Seven degrees. Not 27, or even 17. Single digits. Facing what was certain to be a day-long Boone flashback, I scrounged up as many layers as I could find that might shield me from the arctic blast. For those of you keeping score, my outfit consisted of: one thin long-sleeve base layer, two heavyweight long-sleeve Under Armor base layers, my Velosport jersey, wool tights, wind-blocker bib tights, Velosport bib shorts, DeFeet Woolly Boolly socks, Woolrich wool socks, polypro balaclava, and neoprene paddling gloves. Bring it on. Despite feeling like the performance-fabric version of Randy in 'A Christmas Story,' my core temperature seemed to drop when we arrived at the course to find that the septic chemicals in the port-o-johns were frozen solid.

The first race of the series took place in Salisbury Community Park, featuring a very open, sweeping course. Challenges on this day included a double-obstacle section, a two-step runup, and two steep rideable hills. Of course, the primary challenge of the day was the weather, and the wind-swept course was frozen solid at the start of the race, making for a very bumpy and tiring ride. I entered the Cat 4 race, the first of the morning, and finished the 30-minute event in 19th place. Wanting to get in as much training as possible, I also entered the Masters 35+ race, coming in 22nd.

Paul captured the start of the Cat 4 race on film, below:

Negotiating the steps at the bottom of the runup.

Clearing the double-obstacles. My jersey, straining from being pulled over three base layers, ruptured while I was at the start line and my zipper separated. I was forced to start a new fashion trend by tying the bottom of my jersey together in a hip, midriff-exposing style.

Paul entered the singlespeed division, his first bike race of any kind. The learning curve was steep in the small but highly-competitive SS field, and he was further hamstrung by racing on his Redline Monocog 29er mountain bike. Nevertheless, by the second lap Paul was quickly adapting to cross racing on a mountain bike, and his dismounts and remounts became fluid. With his skills improving with each lap, he finished 6th and completed the process of getting hooked on racing.

Sprinting back up to speed after remounting at the top of the runup.

Beginning the runup. Paul was lugging 10-15 more pounds of bike compared to the rest of the field.

Hammering to the top of the hill in the wooded section of the course. This picture does not convey how steep this hill was. Paul ran a 32x18 gear.

Paul's bike was so heavy, it jumped him over the obstacles.

Everyone smiles at the end of a cross race. His first race in the bag, Paul was no exception.

Salisbury was also Addy's first chance to "race" his new Redline Conquest. Bundled by mom to the point of being able to withstand an extended Yukon expedition, he stumped the NCCX race officials by showing up for a kid's ride that they had not planned on having. In the middle of preparing for the start of the SS race, they quickly devised a kid-friendly course and took Addy on a 2-lap ride, led by NCCX team member Jason Morgan. In addition to giving Addy his first cross ride by himself, they also gave him a pair of DeFeet socks afterward. Thank you NCCX for going above and beyond.

Addy's new bike is 15 pounds lighter than his former bike, the 'Chrome Dream.' However, the challenge on this day was not the weight of his bike, but the volume of his conversation. Enjoying the one-up "race" against Jason, his conversation was in hyperdrive and he couldn't stop talking long enough lift his bike over the barriers without an assist. Nonstop talking=happiness.

We're pretty sure bbq is contraindicated as a recovery food. We cared not. We cholesterol-loaded for the following day's racing at College Barbecue in Salisbury.

Sunday, January 10, Mooresville

Sunday's racing moved to Mooresville in Stumpy Creek Park, on the shores of Lake Norman. The Stumpy Creek course was considerably more technical than the previous day, boasting a runup of 40 concrete steps shortly followed by very steep but rideable wall; a bumpy, off-camber descent; a wooded singletrack section made treacherous by slippery pine needles and cones; and, numerous other sections of climbing that were deceptively steep. Despite daybreak temperatures in the single-digits again, start-time temps were warmer, making the weather less of a factor and necessitating fewer layers. However, the course offered few sections for recovery, and a tough day lay ahead.

I again entered both the Cat 4 and Masters 35+ races. With my legs still smarting from the day before, I remained consistent and finished 21st in Cat 4 and 20th in Masters. I was spent after traversing the Stairs of Misery 11 times (440 steps) over the course of the morning.

More video footage courtesy of Paul:

The Stairs of Misery:

After his first race the day before, Paul was confident heading into the singlespeed race, and indeed, the challenging course seemed a good fit for his 29er.

Heading out at the start in good position.

Paul's rapidly improving technique was evident, and he grunted up the Stairs of Misery with a nice carry of his Monocog.

And then... those treacherous pine needles. Brimming with confidence, Paul hit the wooded singletrack and lost traction, as did numerous others over the course of the day. The resulting fall injured his left ankle and brought a premature end to his race. X-rays the following day revealed that it was worse than expected:

Fortunately, Paul suffered only a hairline fracture, although this is small consolation. It does, however, give him plenty of time to shop for a cross bike over the next six weeks.

INJURY UPDATE: speaking of breaks, Amy's collarbone is healing nicely and ahead of schedule. She is out of her sling and using her arm as much as she can tolerate, including plenty of running and cycling on her wind trainer. Everything seems to be on schedule for her to be out on the road by her team training camp at the end of January. She will be racing on the developmental squad for a new women's team this year, SpokesWomen Syndicate.