Steel City Endurance Racing

Kirtland Park Cross

Cleveland, Ohio

11/22/2009

On Sunday, November 22, SCE team members traveled to Cleveland, Ohio for one of the last weeks of cyclocross season. This week it was Rachel, Suzanne, and myself. Addtionally we had Mike Quigley and Aaron Shelmire, new members of our SCE 2010 men’s team!

The race course at Kirtland Park was interesting. Weather was crisp, sunny, and dry. The course consisted of two long staircases and a nice double bump uphill as well as a semi-tricky double bump downhill around a turn. There was also plenty of off camber stuff, and nice downhills – if you were on the sidelines when I passed on the downhill, you would have heard from my bike a “woo hoo!” like you might have called out as a kid. Technically it was a nice course, though (surprisingly) no barriers.

I have to say that I was excited to be finally racing in my first cyclocross race. Having heard so much about cyclocross, as most on the team had raced this year, and having seen photos, race reports, YouTube videos, and all the cyclocross propaganda, I felt compelled to see what this really was. I had no idea that the greatest victory that day would be in just getting to the starting line.

Suzanne, Rachel and I arrived at Kirtland Park with plenty of time. I wasn’t nervous until we rolled in and I saw the nimble cyclocross racers descending the steeper hill on the backside. Okay, I thought, maybe after only 2 cyclocross practices and only a couple of other rides, maybe I was just a little underprepared. So we got our bikes out, checked in, did all the prerequisites, and went to warm up. Rach was already off and zooming around the course with dexterity. I went to the course, ducked under the tape and entered at the top of the loop right above the off camber double bump descent. An adult and young boy passed, and my stomach sunk. I didn’t want to do it. I saw them do it, but just didn’t have the nerve.  I ducked back under the tape, and rode over to Suzanne who was waiting in line. I confessed that I was really nervous. Suzanne did what she does best, calmed me down, and then helped guide me down that first hill. Very nervously, I followed her around the course. I fell behind a bit, but did a couple of loops. The biggest problem was I could not complete this tight hairpin uphill left turn. Each of the 2 warmup laps I just could not make it. And there was another incline that I should have been able to climb, but my mind just got in the way. So again, after the 2 warmup laps, I went to find my teammates. This time I found Rachel. Convinced I wasn’t ready for this race, I was playing in my mind how should I just bow out. Maybe I should just sit it out and ring the cowbell. But Rachel, well, she wouldn’t let that happen. “We’re from Pittsburgh. We should be able to climb all of these hills, no problem.” She told me I just needed help seeing the lines through the turns and the climbs, and so she took me and we rode 2 more warmup laps together around the course. Rachel showed me the lines, and with her coaching, I got around the tricky hairpin left (and following Rachel’s line, it wasn’t that tough – momentum, momentum, momentum she said), and also climbed the hills much more deftly. Maybe just maybe I could ride this race (and survive).

The race itself was a blast. After 4 warm up laps, and with the fears abated by my teammates, I just enjoyed this bicycle obstacle course, and followed my teammates around the turns. It was a beautiful day and just a TON of fun. Now I get it. I really do. Each of us enjoyed the race. Suzanne rode strong and met her goal – finishing strong despite lack of sleep from a night shift just a few hours earlier! Rachel, in true Pittsburgher style set out to climb all the hills on her bike, and she did! She even rode up the really steep “double bump” hill that many couldn’t quite climb (I had to dismount and run up on foot each time).

Our new teammates, Shelmire and Quigley, finished really strong in the Men’s B race! In fact, Aaron won! And Quigley took 5 out of 45 riders!

It is no understatement to say that the whole reason I even got to the starting line was because of the support of Suzanne and Rachel. Had I gone to this race on my own, I’m not sure at all that I would have started it, much less finish. Suzanne’s calm coaching demeanor, and Rachel’s evangelical passion for cyclocross, combined to help their teammate in her first race. This is what I truly love about riding with Team SCE: such positive energy with teammates like Suzanne and Rachel, give you courage to do something you were not sure you could do.

Things I learned from my first cyclocross race:

• Sometimes the biggest victory is in getting to the starting line (and sometimes the only way you can get there is with people lending you a hand).
• For a cross race without barriers, I still had a huge hurdle to hop over: the mind.
• The propaganda is true. Cyclocross is really fun. My teammates were not lying. I was on cloud 9 for days after the race.
• How can one not love basking in the sun (even in chilly Fall weather), drinking a post-race beer, and enjoying the company of teammates after the race? Awesome.