I Change My Mind…
…it really is about the bike. For me at least.
When I registered for the B Men’s Race at Quad Cross last weekend it was for a few simple reasons:
1. I enjoy racing my bike.
2. I wanted to see how much better my new Cannondale Super X with Zipp 303s team bike was than last year’s Ridley X Fires (Hint: A lot).
3. I knew LadyHawk was getting her training on at the Paralympic World Championships (1st in the TT/5th in the RR), so I could not sit around all weekend doing nothing…our inevitable meeting was soon to arrive.
LadyHawk.
A few short laps of the course revealed something similar to Adam Myerson’s Northampton Verge race courses. 50% fire road and single track and 50% sweeping, packed grass and tight switchbacks. Fun stuff.
I spent the better part of the morning installing the proper SwissStop Brake Pads and adjusting the brakes to work with the surprisingly wide Zipp 303s. It was easier said than done, but once this was finished the bike I had been enjoying on Mavic Ksyriums became infinitely more fun to ride.
Todd and I did some photography and video work to pass the remaining free time before our race and soon enough we were kitted up with our new teammates, Nate Morse, PJ McQuade, and Mike Sabatini.
I chose to warm up with Nate to see where his head was; to expose any weaknesses.
There were none. He loved his bike. He’s in High School - which we all know is awesome. He’s in good shape. And the Race Predictor had him winning so, according to him, “It was probably going to happen.”
Staging time and Nate and I were lucky enough to get the front row. Sabatini was second row and Todd and PJ were a few rows back.
Sabatiiiiiinnnniiiiii. And Landfried?
With a few minutes until the whistle I heard an accented voice say, “Hello, Chandler, good luck today.”
Christian Heule. “The Peacemaker.” I hoped, for Dylan McNicholas’ and Brian Wilichoski’s sake, he wasn’t here to race the Elite Race, but that would mean he was here to watch our race.
That was probably not the case.
Christian is pretty upset about me having more Twitter followers than he has, so please, to keep him from pouting all the time, give the guy a “follow.”
In the distance, behind Christian, clad in a sweet Zipp Service Course shirt, stood a smirking Stu Thorne. The walls (we were outside, but you know what I mean) began to close in and my heart began to race.
I wasn’t ready for Stu to see my skillz. Oh, he is also upset about having less Twitter followers, so…
I looked to my left and Nate appeared to be sweating on his upper lip. Was this a weakness? Was Nate nervous? Overheating?
I turned my gaze forward again and Stu had approached. What did he want?
“Nate, you only need to worry about one thing today, buddy…finish in front of that guy.” Obviously, he was pointing at me.
All of a sudden, my skinsuit didn’t seem to be fitting very well. It felt tight. I sucked in my gut and tried to pull the Chammy away from my nether region. I was falling apart.
At 150 pounds, I saw how my skinsuit I lent him was “supposed” to fit.
I am going to take Nate to Friendly’s for some Fribbles. Bulk him up.
Nate replied, “Well the Race Predictor has us finishing first and second, so it will probably happen!”
This kid was unbreakable. I had expected the pressure of racing against him to lessen once we were on the same team, but he was clearly still out to murder us all on the course, but in a happy-go-lucky kind of way that was truly psychotic. Making matters worse, he had the reassurance of the Race Predictor behind him.
Race time.
The whistle blew.
Last year, at this race, I went so hard at the start I ended up eventually losing my vision and hitting an obviously marked speed bump on a short section of road that I had ridden 3 times prior.
So this time I would start “slower.”
I watched Nate take an immediate lead and I slipped into about 5th place. 1/4 lap later, the cornering and rolling capabilities of our new team bikes assisted me in moving up to 3rd place.
Up in the lead, Nate kept looking over his shoulder. It looked like he was waiting for me.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I thought.
For a brief moment I was embarrassed that my 16 year old teammate was looking back to wait for his poor, slow, old, jealous teammate.
Then I remembered who I am and I rode up to him ditching the guy in second. I needed to draft.
Once with Nate, he proceeded to talk, comfortably, about the current situation.
“We’ve got a huge gap,” he said, “Now all we have to do is not lose it,” pause, “And see who eventually wins!”
“I will probably not win, Nate,” I said loudly enough for only my tires to hear.
Now is the part of the blog where I tell everyone that I sat behind a 16 year old for 3 laps and learned how to race cyclocross. As a teammate, who shall remain unnamed on this blog for eternity, once said, “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.”
Well, Nate Morse has this figured out, it seems. So much so, that I am convinced he was riding without effort while I struggled to keep up. Not really, Nate, I was coasting the whole time. If you’re reading this, you’re a dead man at the next race.
“Stop going so fast.”
With about three laps to go, our lead over the rest of the field had grown substantially. I suggested to Nate that the proper thing to do would be to attack me, drop me, and defeat me.
His response was, “Now?”
My response was, “Yes.”
His reply was, “Ok, I will after this little barrier.”
And like that, poof, and he was gone.
I mean, I let him go. Kids, you know, they’re fragile. I am here to build self esteem, since I have so much to spare. Take some, Nate, it’s my gift to you. I probably don’t need to mention that he was on Dugast Pipistrellos and I was on Dugast Rhinos. Clearly a rolling resistance issue there.
Nate and I had been the subjects of some heckling throughout the race, to which I usually smile but I am rarely impressed with the creativity.
That is, until after Nate dropped me and I came into the sand section at the top of the course.
I know not the person who heckled with such brilliance, but he had been offering some sarcastic comments whilst Nate and I were riding together…things like, “This isn’t a team time trial,” and “Isn’t that cute, matching kits, Cannondales, and Zipps.”
Then the heckler dropped the hammer of doom on me. As I trudged along, with Nate ahead in the distance the heckler quipped, “Oh no! What happened?! Did you guys break up? Did you catch him cheating on you?!”
For a brief second, this guy had me analyzing my relationship with Nate, looking into our past and asking myself, “Where had it gone wrong? When did it the relationship start to sour?” Then I snapped out of it and realized, “Wait, Chan, you and Nate were never in a relationship; he’s much too young for you.”
Needless to say, Nate won and I was able to hold onto second place.
Do I think our bikes and wheels were of benefit? Yes. How much? A lot.
I will hold off on a full analysis until after this weekend, the Green Mountain Verge Series Weekend, where the equipment will be tested, for the first time, against a full field.
People did noticed the bikes, though. Many drooled over them. Then I happened to stumble upon a conversation between Nate and another Junior on Nate’s Facebook page:
Speak for yourself Nate.
PS - Marty Allen is a new member of the team this year. He started last and he finished 9th. This makes me nervous…His Dad took all the pictures here, as well, so thanks to Marty’s Dad for those.
Sabatini rolled in in 7th place, and recently upgraded teammates Pj McQuade and Big Head Todd finished 25th and 47th respectively.
So this isn’t a 50 page update, I will post my Single Speed WEENAR post shortly, along with an impressive account of Dylan McNicholas’ attempt to beat the six-time Swiss Champ.
