Long Story Short
- Finished 90th out of 109 riders,
- Set a pre-race goal of finishing inside the Top 50,
- Completed the full 6 laps,
- Lap times were 10:59, 11:01, 11:00, 11:08, 11:34 and 11:48,
- Official time was 1:08:42.
- Had fun,
- Re-evaluated my pre-race goal to be Top 75 for the next race.
Strava
View the ride on Strava: Fixx SuperCross Round 1: Grange Castle B-Race 90th/109.View the Course Segment: 2015 Fixx Supercross Rd 1.
View the race on Strava FlyBy. I've enabled;
- Myself, as per ús, I'm the star attraction,
- Patrick, he finished 3rd. I couldn't find the other two on Strava,
- Aidan, he was the highest placed Orwell rider, in 10th,
- Alek, he seemed to have a right ol' ding dong with Aidan, and finshed in 11th.
Short Story Long
Build Up
The Bike, or how not to order a bike.
Acquiring the bike quickly went from "I got this" to "It'll be alright on the night". Everyone knows that Canyon and Rose are the best place to buy a bike from in these modern times.
I looked at Rose first, as we've already done business. Their CX bike looked very industrial. Looking on Boards.ie, one lad ordered a CX bike from them and it took 15 weeks to come. Rose had some serious QA issues with their Quick Release Fork. I think they needed to recall some. They updated the bike to a Thru Axle fork. Rose ran out of DT Swiss R23 wheelsets. This left only the Mavic wheels, which are upwards of 2KG sans les tyres. Rose also had a very large frame size for their smallest size. CX Bikes have slightly higher Bottom Brackets. So I could be in danger of being on the wrong end of a nut cracking incident.
Next I looked at Canyon. They had sold out their entire range. They would not be getting bikes back in until the end of August. Their bikes were less industrial looking than Rose. They had QR on both axles and the Shimano/Avid single sided disc brake calipers, so not entirely ideal. The Canyons had DT Swiss R23 Wheels and a nice 11-32T cassette. Canyon was my preferred option. One evening I was scrolling my Instagram feed, I seen a post from Canyon announcing their restock of the 2016 bikes. I put in my order and they replied a few days later. Expected shipping date was Week 39. The end of Week 39 was the 27 of September. This was the date of the first race in the Fixx Series. I wanted to compete. So I was all like, "them there shipping dates are pretty conservative, right?" Someone told me that "Canyon are pretty dead on with their shipping dates". "Fuck" I thought, "I'll be alright, things always fall into place for me". I went off to Portugal for a week. I said if the bike hasn't shipped by the time I get back I'll cancel the order. A 3KG heavier, tanned Luke e-mailed them, informing them that I would like my bike to be put into a lorry by the following afternoon because shipping. I had a bloody nightmare with the Rose shipment last time, it was the slowest that the Germans had moved across Europe in the last 100 years. Canyon's reply; "Your bike is still on schedule to ship next week Mr. Potter". Then I canceled my order, their contract said that they would refund me within 14 days, at the time of writing, it's been 16 days and no sign of my €1.4k, one response to my e-mail, saying that they didn't get my BIC and IBAN from my e-mail, where I clearly stated them. But they've "sent" the payment on Wednesday the 7nd of October.
I went into the Giant Store in Dublin, as it was close to my office. They are very light on stock, of CX bikes anyway. I was interested in the lower end model the TCX SLR 2, but I wanted three things for my bike (Canyon and Rose had these, so I'm not some prima donna);
- 44cm wide bars, for my stocky build,
- Shimano Hollowtech II Crankset, so I could mount my Stages,
- An 11-32T cassette and GS derailleur, for spinning.
They wanted to charge €160 for to put the Shimano Crankset on the lower end model. The Ultegra one is €175. I had already decided that if it was too much for the change, I'd go with the higher end model, which came stock with the 105 version of the Crankset. The Giant TCX SLR 1, also has a front Thru Axle. Both models have the TRP Spire brakes. I was a size small in the bike, they didn't have one in stock. I put in my order for the bike and the parts. They ordered from England. Then said "We'll see what the bike has" in terms of parts. I just presumed that they'd had lots of spare parts in the workshop. They didn't. So 5 working days for the bike, and additional working days for the parts. I eventually got the bike on the Saturday afternoon. Had I not requested the customisations, I'd have got the bike in good time. I was sized up, by a guy who was also going to be racing the Grange Castle B race. The position felt really good. We started with my road position measurements and went upwards from there. The saddle height, from the ground, is the same as my Rose Xeon CW. I did some practice in my apartment complex. Thank you celestial being(s)/humankind for inventing Landscape Gardeners. Pretty sure that last sentence offended everyone and no one at the same time.
Upon reflection, I should've taken one look at the Canyon order date and not trusted ze Germans. But then again, for the price I paid, I'm pretty heartbroken with what I could've gotten from Canyon. Maybe one day when I make it big in this Blogging Game, I can buy something ridiculous.
Skills Session with Robin
Stephen from Orwell organised a skills session with Robin Seymour. This was really good. I used my old road bike. I had been practicing my mounts and dismounts and tight turns. But performing these skills in close quarters was an eye opener. Siobhan did tell me that I am very slow to get off the bike. I tried to improve this by cycling at a step up in my complex. I awoke the next morning to discover a bruise on the inside of my thigh from remounting. "I'm in the club now, initiation complete", is what I thought as I used my housemate's fancy shampoo on my manscaped nether regions. I've heard of other CX riders having to kill Triathletes to gain acceptance on the scene.
The morning after the Curry Before.
I planned backwards from the start time and calculated that I needed to be there at 10am. I had a large veggie rice curry for dinner and a bowl of porridge, with lots of Maple Syrup and breakfast. I then had my usual performance anxiety strike a few times, the medical definition for the result is an "Ice Berg" (happy Brian?, Also don't click the link.).Pre-Riding the Course
I got there slightly after 10am. I unpacked the bike and cycled over to the sign on. I was about seventh in the queue. I was waiting ages, I reckon about fifteen minutes, in the queue to sign on. When it was my turn, it took a maximum of thirty seconds to recite my name and get my number and timing chip. I do practice saying my name in my head a lot, so maybe I'm more efficient than others. I already had the moral victory. Both the number and timing chip were to be placed on the left arm. When I was in the queue, I noticed a bike I had seen on Boards.ie, I met it's owner Alek, he seemed like an OK dude. I'm not sure if I happened across the other Boards users, they could be anyone, anywhere.I dropped the numbers back to the car, picked up a bottle and some food. I went for a recon of the course. I had 50psi in both tyres, I didn't want to pinch flat. A tubeless system will most likely be next month's investment, the stock wheels are "Tubeless Compatible".
Alek let me use his footage for this post.
Nice Smooth Tarmac. Then a tiny gravel ramp. We were then onto the grass. The first bit of grass covered a shoulder wrenching bump. A small bit more gravel and we were onto the grass proper.
This was a technical section, which weaved through the trees. It opened up into another slightly bumpy straight. On the turn to the next section there was two tyre tracks that could kill momentum, requiring a wide entry and an apex kiss. There was some off camber sections containing corners. Another bumpy straight with a ramp at the end. There was an equally bump straight ending with a kicker. We were back onto the smoothness, as we skirted the Transformers. A steep stair section followed, too steep for my little legs, I regretted not putting the studs onto my shoes. There was this really cool steep descent that followed the next few corners. Another slightly bumpy straight, brought up the boards. I was really relieved that I had my 36-32 ratio for the next technical section. From here we started the run for home. Just a few more twists and turns and we were popping wheelies onto the path and starting a new lap. I actually found the section from the mounting the path to the start line, the hardest.
I went back to the car and sank 750ml of water, you're not allowed feeding during the race. I met Richard. I stripped down to just a short sleeve jersey, shorts and black ankle socks. It was really warm. I pinned on my shoulder number and wrist timing chip. I couldn't remove the pedals the evening before to put my Power Meter on the bike, so I went with my Heart Rate Monitor. My Garmin couldn't pick up the signal, so I ended up not using it. I would have no data to evaluate after the race, no input into my training intervals.
Eric gave me some last minute advice, mainly to get into the grid as soon as it opens and hold position at the start. I was in there pretty quickly after the grid area opened. I could see Aidan a few rows of me. I relaxed during the countdown. I had my bike in the 46-28, pedal entry position set for the 11 O'Clock position, ready to roll. With ten seconds to go I clipped in my drive side foot, got onto the saddle and used my tippy toes to balance on the road. The MC initiated the countdown, five, four, three, two, one and...
The Race, or how not to race CycloCross
I waited, waited for the others to get out of my way. Then I lit it up. Perfect entry on my non-driveside pedal. I went up through the gears. I passed a few people and stayed at the back on the front group. Some of the other strong started from behind caught up. I was overgeared for the grass section and lost a lot of places. At the turns, I lost even more places as I didn't have the bravery to dive down the inside. The tyres looked like buzz saws, Wacky Races type shit here. With my inability to sprint out of the corners, I soon found myself alone.
I got passed by the first lady, who started with a two minute deficit, on the second lap. She zipped by me. Two others soon caught me. I at least tried to put up a fight to Michelle. She made the pass just before the stairs. I remounted faster than her. She passed me after the hill. I hoped I could overtake her as she struggled to remount at the boards, but this didn't happen. She sailed off.
On the third lap, I seen Sandra getting some medical attention, race over situation. I seen her walking later, so hopefully she's OK.
I was able to keep pace with two young lads for a lap. I was making a meter through the corner, as my entry lines were great. My acceleration out of the corner was very poor. The MC called out my name, but not my position thankfully, as I passed. I waved to him. I also said "hi" to Robin, as he maintained the course. There was a sizable Orwell support contingent present. They gave me lots of morale boosting support.
Being unable to keep up with the big boys was a massive kick in the dick compared to my last road race. Gone were the days of chasing down young lads, demon descending, attacking scratch riders and Top 11 finishes. Here to stay was this square pedaling Luke. I decided to just relax and enjoy it. The bumpy sections had lead to my lower back getting sore. I kept going as it was not as painful as sitting through an episode of "Fear the Walking Dead". My back wasn't the only thing that was going to be sore by the end.
On the fourth lap, I was getting passed by another guy. Maybe he stopped off for a coffee and a dump during the race and was just passing me again. He went under the Willow tree, I ducked to avoid the back-swinging branches. I looked up to see a thin tree moving towards me. Tree Beard struggled with the fame from The Lord of the Rings movies. I had heard rumors that he was lurking around Dublin, but that he was strung out and not looking the best. I almost crashed into Tree Beard. After blurting out "shit, shit, shit" I used my hand to deflect Tree Beard out of my way, or me out of his way. It was pretty hazy. Tree Beard cut me between my thumb and index finder on my left hand. My rear braking and front shifting performance went south pretty quick. It started to get raw on the bumpy sections. I should've worn some gloves. Rookie mistakes were made in the B race. Despite this catastrophic injury, I carried on. I was really enjoying the up and down nature of the lakeside section.
Monica was passing me, I didn't put up a fight, as not to impede her. I got lapped near the end of my fifth lap. These three lads whooshed by me. I did move off the racing line to accommodate their space requirements. I thought that that was the end of the race, as did many others. I was waved on. Monica stopped. I was on the back bumpy straight, and I seen a guy with a puncture. "Yeah, I'm not last" I celebrated. The A riders were warming up on the course as I finished. I dropped back my timing chip.
 |
| From Adrian McLeavey's Album 2015 Fixx Coffee Rnd 1 Grange Castle. |
I got passed by the first lady, who started with a two minute deficit, on the second lap. She zipped by me. Two others soon caught me. I at least tried to put up a fight to Michelle. She made the pass just before the stairs. I remounted faster than her. She passed me after the hill. I hoped I could overtake her as she struggled to remount at the boards, but this didn't happen. She sailed off.
 |
| From Adrian McLeavey's Album 2015 Fixx Coffee Rnd 1 Grange Castle. |
On the third lap, I seen Sandra getting some medical attention, race over situation. I seen her walking later, so hopefully she's OK.
I was able to keep pace with two young lads for a lap. I was making a meter through the corner, as my entry lines were great. My acceleration out of the corner was very poor. The MC called out my name, but not my position thankfully, as I passed. I waved to him. I also said "hi" to Robin, as he maintained the course. There was a sizable Orwell support contingent present. They gave me lots of morale boosting support.
Being unable to keep up with the big boys was a massive kick in the dick compared to my last road race. Gone were the days of chasing down young lads, demon descending, attacking scratch riders and Top 11 finishes. Here to stay was this square pedaling Luke. I decided to just relax and enjoy it. The bumpy sections had lead to my lower back getting sore. I kept going as it was not as painful as sitting through an episode of "Fear the Walking Dead". My back wasn't the only thing that was going to be sore by the end.
On the fourth lap, I was getting passed by another guy. Maybe he stopped off for a coffee and a dump during the race and was just passing me again. He went under the Willow tree, I ducked to avoid the back-swinging branches. I looked up to see a thin tree moving towards me. Tree Beard struggled with the fame from The Lord of the Rings movies. I had heard rumors that he was lurking around Dublin, but that he was strung out and not looking the best. I almost crashed into Tree Beard. After blurting out "shit, shit, shit" I used my hand to deflect Tree Beard out of my way, or me out of his way. It was pretty hazy. Tree Beard cut me between my thumb and index finder on my left hand. My rear braking and front shifting performance went south pretty quick. It started to get raw on the bumpy sections. I should've worn some gloves. Rookie mistakes were made in the B race. Despite this catastrophic injury, I carried on. I was really enjoying the up and down nature of the lakeside section.
 |
| From DC Images' album Fixx Supercross Cup. DC did a great job with the Greens in this image. |
Monica was passing me, I didn't put up a fight, as not to impede her. I got lapped near the end of my fifth lap. These three lads whooshed by me. I did move off the racing line to accommodate their space requirements. I thought that that was the end of the race, as did many others. I was waved on. Monica stopped. I was on the back bumpy straight, and I seen a guy with a puncture. "Yeah, I'm not last" I celebrated. The A riders were warming up on the course as I finished. I dropped back my timing chip.
Post Race
I went back to the car and had a scumbag shower. A little toweling down and some deodorant. I was able to get my hair under control, so I didn't need to wear my hat. The Evade gives me a series of mohawks. I watched the A race and talked with Eugene. He was right in saying that I shouldn't be too disappointed as it was my first race. I seen how fast that the A riders were racing the course. This was educational. There was one guy trying to ride the stairs, let's be honest here, this was a Darwin Award level of faggotry on his part. He kept falling off and disrupting the other racers. I'm all for flamboyancy and needless risk taking, but not at the risk of harming other humans. A lad from UCD crashed at the foot of the stairs. He had a sizable gash just below his knee. Blood was streaming down his leg, it was hard to look, and to look away. Is this what Renaissance med students felt like? Luckily there was a guy with a phone who called the MC and a medical car arrived. Hope he's recovering well.
After the A race, we went to Avoca... where I paid €10.50 for a roll and a fucking cappuccino. I paid by card, as I don't carry that much cash on my person. One of the lads in the office is always banging on about Avoca. How we should go to Avoca and get Sushi. He got an earful as soon as he sat down at his desk on Monday. I'll stick to the free canteen food, bud. I gotta make rent this month.
The results were published the following day. I had finished 90th. This was more disappointing than an episode of "The Walking Dead" where Rick doesn't say "CORAL". I was about eight minutes off my pre-race target of 50th place. My bruised ego will be aiming for a Top 75 placing in the next race. Looking at the names further up the placings, some guys are racing A3. A Cinderella performance finishing in a podium might not be happening any time soon, unless...
After the A race, we went to Avoca... where I paid €10.50 for a roll and a fucking cappuccino. I paid by card, as I don't carry that much cash on my person. One of the lads in the office is always banging on about Avoca. How we should go to Avoca and get Sushi. He got an earful as soon as he sat down at his desk on Monday. I'll stick to the free canteen food, bud. I gotta make rent this month.
The results were published the following day. I had finished 90th. This was more disappointing than an episode of "The Walking Dead" where Rick doesn't say "CORAL". I was about eight minutes off my pre-race target of 50th place. My bruised ego will be aiming for a Top 75 placing in the next race. Looking at the names further up the placings, some guys are racing A3. A Cinderella performance finishing in a podium might not be happening any time soon, unless...
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