1) road strength does not translate into 'cross ability - but I knew that
2) practicing on one's own does not translate to races
Practicing mounts and dismounts (a weakness I knew I needed to work on) on Wednesday I floundered mightily at both. On Friday i seemed to be doing worse on both. On Saturday I felt like I was getting both down, though I was making more progress with the remounting than the dismounting.
Lots to think about with a dismount... Move hand position off hoods and onto bar near center, swing right leg around, move right hand to top tube, weight right hand, step through or around, unclip left foot, and be running... all timed just right so you don't trip over the barriers. Remounting seems to have fewer things to think about... set bike down (don't drop it), get up to speed (though in theory since you got off at a run and you ran over the barriers or up the run-up, you are already at speed), take a stride with the left foot, extend your arms (bringing the saddle even with the hips), launch off that left foot, and land on the saddle with the feet in the pedals.
On Saturday it was taking a lot of concentration to remember to move the left hand onto the bars near the stem, and to not only move the left hand to the top tube, but to actually weight that hand. Jumping on just seemed a bit like a leap of faith. The key was to have enough momentum so when I got on and did not find the pedals I did not immediately fall off again before I had a chance to look for the pedals. Just, taking that leap of faith is a lot harder when you are moving at more than a crawl. That same commitment issue that stumps me on logs when mountain biking.
Anyway... back to Saturday... it felt like I was getting the re-mounting down while practicing on Saturday, but I was still having trouble hitting the steps in the right order on the dismount, and some issues getting that left foot unclipped. But that was Saturday.
Today.. race day... hrmm.
I got out there in time to watch the junior/masters race. They all seemed to be able to do what they needed to with getting on and off the bike. After their race, we had 45 minutes to pre-ride the course before our race began. The course started down a slight hill on a grass double track - rough mowed, that led into a slight climb with a triple barrier - so sprint at the start and then dismount - yikes!. at the top of the hill was a very twisty section - lots of tight turns, some up hills some on flat, all of it felt a little off camber. That took us into another double track that was really rough and onto a paved road for a bit. After that 90 degree turn onto a gravel road and a slight climb. That took us onto another wide double track with roots, a few whoop-de-whoops, a couple tight turns and two logs that I needed to dismount for. That took us back to a grassy double track with a few jogs to add length and slow the pace before heading back through the barriers. The finish was at the end of the twisty-turns above the barriers.
On the first lap I deliberately but myself at the back going into the barriers as I didn't want to cause a wreck should I fail to unclip the left foot. Unfortunately that put me behind someone who could not get either foot clipped back in on the tight winding section and the whole field rode away right there. I don't think I would have managed to stay with them for the whole race, and I don't think it affected the outcome, but it would have been nice to ride with people in sight for a little longer. I passed the poor person with the pedal woes, just before the paved road and stayed ahead through the first pass through the woods (rooty section with whoop-de-whoops and two logs) and right up to the barriers.
She had trouble with the pedals on the second lap as well but was able to ride through them this time and from then on she slowly crept away from me since she was doing the tight twisty sections faster than I was and was getting on the bike a lot faster too. Which brings me to the transitions on and off the bike... Dismounting I utterly failed to remember to move my hands on the bars and I can't pin point a single time I recall moving the right hand to the top tube... but i had no trouble unclipping the left foot. Getting on the bike however - I did not manage to do it at above a stand still a single time and had a lot of trouble finding the pedals (though not clipping in once my feet found them). After the second or third lap I spent the rest of the race thinking about the guys who were lapping me - thinking about staying out of their way. They all gave me fair warning they were coming and a few even took the rougher line by me. Unfortunately most of them passed me in sections I was not too comfortable and my response (from way back when I was mtb racing) was to move to the side and slow up to let them by where the passing, or as the case may be, the being passed, was easier.
I should have been thinking to the front on on my riding, but I couldn't shift the mind to that from 'worrying' about what was going on behind me. The lead three guys passed me twice during the race, and I think all of them passed me once. I did not get lapped by the lead woman, so I was able to do the full number of laps. I think the two ladies behind me did get lapped and were pulled one lap shy of the full complement.
A pretty lackluster performance on my part. but not quite DFL.
Photographers Jim Danvers and Peter Ozolins were out on the course. Peter caught me looking terrified at several spots on the course. Peter's photos can be found at Zenfolio.
