It is cyclocross season in both Queen Cities. (Charlotte is also the Queen City as is Cincinnati. Charlotte is named after King Goerge’s wife.) While I did not race at today’s cross race in Lenoir, NC- I did however go and support my significant other. While on site I noticed near the scorer’s table some of the prizes for the over 21 particpants… a very nice prize for winning indeed!

Cycling has many faces fashions tastes etc… as discussed at length on the podcast, Fredism, racing, cross, mtb… This weekend I participated in one of them, the endurance mountain bike race. Now this type of racing is a different animal from the 1-2 hour races I have done in the past. I did the 6 hour solo, but there was also a 12 hour solo event. What does it take to do the short end of one of these events? Here’s the list of my intake:
Lap 1: same bottles, food started with
Lap 2: 2 more Gu’s, 1 water, 1 energy drink, 1 ham sandwhich (small)
Lap 3: nothing
Lap 4: 2 more Gu’s, 1 water, 1 energy drink, 1 ham sandwhich (small)
Lap 5: Nothing
Lap 6: 2 more GU’s, 1 water, 1 energy drink, 1 ham sandwhich (small)
Lap 7: 2 Gu’s, couple potato chips (!?)
My goal was to stay topped with calories and fluid to do a steady ride throughout the abuse of the 9 mile course for the duration. So far the list of items needed for this competetive journey are: food, strong legs, concentration, support, a decent bike and a dose of will. I was surpised by one of these items and how to deal with it, concentration. If I were going to do a longer ride on the road- I would likely take some music to help me keep focused throughout the effort. I started the event with a music player tucked away in the event I needed some musical motivation. I tried using it once the field had thinned out and the task turned to finding a groove and staying there… oddly, the music was too much stimulus and took from my focus, picking a line etc…(go figure) so promptly dropped it off at my next feed with my super helpful CLB support. The laps ticked away. I had some really bad moments, but kept the knowledge that I would rebound and in the last lap and a half got things together to finish at a decent pace at 8th palce overall for the 6 hour soloists. This was definitly a step outside my box of cycling expereince- with a new set of lessons to learn.

Preparations for the cross race tomorrow are coming along nicely. Race report after the event…

While out training today I saw a big bird standing near the edge of the road. Typically it would be a turkey vulture gnawing on a bloated roadkill raccoon, but as I neared I realized it was a big hawk. As I got even closer I saw that it was standing on something. Just before I passed it spooked a bit a tried to fly away from the road’s edge. When it lifted off the live squirrel clamped in its talons writhed free and tried to escape coming back toward the road. The hawk went up about 10 feet then shot back down and snatched up the squirrel about a foot away from my right shoe… I could hear the feathers beating the air, the squirrel squeak its last breath, and the bones crunch…

Sometimes while racing I feel like the hawk, other times the squirrel.