China CX Part 3: The Afterparty

The Qiansen Trophy Series is China's first-ever UCI cyclocross race. Sponsored by the Qiansen Engineering Corporation all riders were provided round-trip airfare and a week's worth of transportation, food and lodging at one of Yanqing's premier spa and resort. This post is the third in a series that attempts to relay just a few of the incredible moments we, as riders, were blessed to experience.

Foreword: You've seen The Hangover movies, right?  This night could have easily turned into The Hangover Part IV.  Luckily, we all made it out in one piece, no one went to jail and everyone made it to their plane/shuttle on time, even if just barely.
China CX Part 2

Post closing-ceremony everyone was pretty amped up and with some riders with shuttle rides to the airport at 3:30 am the choice was either go the bed at 9pm and get a few hours of fitful sleep or see what kind of trouble we can get ourselves into.  The Americans obviously chose the latter option.

massage receipt

With the race effort still in our legs we decided to start off at the pyramid of spa/massage awesomeness.  I know the US Dollar is pretty strong against the Chinese Yuan but a 50 minute foot/lower leg massage for $22 and then another 4 hours in the hot spring resort for a grand total of $43?  Pretty tough to complain about that.

China CX Part 2: Race Day

The Qiansen Trophy Series is China's first-ever UCI cyclocross race. Sponsored by the Qiansen Engineering Corporation all riders were provided round-trip airfare and a week's worth of transportation, food and lodging at one of Yanqing's premier spa and resort. This post is the second in a series that attempts to relay just a few of the incredible moments we, as riders, were blessed to experience.
China CX Part 1
So by now you know that we haven't been sold into white slavery and that this race is actually happening.
Over the previous days we had ample opportunity to ride the course and familiarize ourselves with all the little quirks. Good thing too because this definitely isn't one of those courses you show up an hour beforehand, spin two laps and then go race (at least for me anyway). According to others, this was a full-Euro course complete with steep and slick drop offs, a sharp turns onto pavement and then another sharp turn to go right back up. We got our first ride on the course Thursday, after a few days of rain earlier in the week. Seems like half of us hit the ground at least one. Yeah, one of those kind of courses.

Beligian U23 bike after first course preview
those two black lines aren't supposed to be there
"added vertical compliance"

China CX Part 1: Pre-Race

The Qiansen Trophy Series is China's first-ever UCI cyclocross race.  Sponsored by the Qiansen Engineering Corporation all riders were provided round-trip airfare and a week's worth of transportation, food and lodging at one of Yanqing's premier spa and resort.  This post is the first in a series that attempts to relay just a few of the incredible moments we, as riders, were blessed to experience.

Hood River Double Cross

one of my new favorite pictures
(photo courtesy of David Mackintosh)

Ok, I let this one get away from me so please forgive the brevity.

I went into this race with legs already loaded up with the intention of getting one final effort in them before heading off to China where my training would inevitably be interrupted.  Not that I head much of a plan anyway...

Het Meer: Gets me every time

into the sand
(photo courtesy of Matt Haughey)

This race is always kind of a grab bag for me.  Two years ago I crashed in the first quarter of a lap and last year I managed to ride a steady, uneventful race.  This year was kind of a cross between the two.

I lined up right next to Trebon on the start line because that seemed to work well last week but unlike last week we had 200m+ of gravel before the course narrowed down.  Looks like no sneaking off the front by sitting on Trebon's wheel this week.

Trying this again

Alright, so I was a little absent as of last season and I'm going to make an effort to put together a few words about the races I compete in this season but no promises; We're all busy and there's no use in filling up the internet with useless words unless there's something worth reading.

As of late there's been a whole lot of working and not a whole lot of training but it seems like that's always the case, regardless of how much time I actually spend riding.

Kruger's Kermesse
(photo courtesy of Nita Galambos and Craig Ruby)

Last week I raced Kruger's Kermesse with zero expectations and somehow wound up crossing the line third.  I gained a place due to a guy flatting out of the lead group but apart from that I rode a solid race. I'm actually beginning to get a decent start and learning how to hold my position in the first lap.  About time, it only took two years...  Anyway, third place netted a whole basket full of farm goodies (do people still use that word anymore?) and a sizable gift certificate to Bike n' Hike.  Not bad for a 50 minute training race.  A special thanks to Kris Schamp, Kruger's Farms, Bike n Hike and all the sponsors that made the encore edition of this race happen this year.

Today's race was the first "real" cx race of the year.  And yes, it's finally crept into August, le sigh...  Again, no expectations, just show up, race hard and hurt the legs.  Rumor had it Trebon would be there and sure enough there he was, right next to me on the start line.  Well, guess I'm not winning today's race.

David Douglas start line
(photo courtesy of Mattew Haughey)

Something really funny happened the first lap.  1. My legs didn't suck.  2. I just sat on Trebon's wheel and let him pull me around for an entire lap.  Starting the second lap I looked back and realized we had a 10 second gap.  "Dear legs, what the hell do you think you're doing?  This was fun and all but you're going to pay for that."  I settled into a more manageable pace and went to work not losing too many spots.  A 75 minute race in 90* heat kind of takes its toll so I had to settle for 5th but I will definitely take that.  Looking at it now it was probably one of the best races I've ever had from a results perspective.  I beat some guys I've never beaten before and I only felt limited by the heat, not lungs or legs.  Hopefully there's more of this to come.

over the barrier
(photo courtesy of Matthew Haughey)

Oh, and one last parting note I've been selected to go race China's first UCI cyclocross race in September!  More details to come but tentative plan is I fly out 9/17 and return 9/23.  11,000 miles for an hour race?  Why not.

We put so much into it

As athletes we put so much into our chosen discipline.  Time, energy, money.  We train in the freezing rain while our friends are at happy hour only so we can come home, clean a bike, grab a quick bite to eat and hop in bed so we can do it all over again.  We sacrifice time with loved ones yet they understand this is important to us so we try to make the most of the time we have together.  They even put up with us dragging them to races and stand in the rain for hours while we completely ignore them while we obsess over tire pressure and the perfect line, all so they can watch us ride by eight times before we get back into the car and go home.  As athletes we put an incredible amount of pressure on ourselves.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a 500+ lbs. man trying to lose weight, a seasoned PRO or an amateur balancing a career and engagement with just a dream of one day being called “pro,” we all put an enormous amount of pressure on ourselves to perform and make our team, friends, family and even sponsors proud to say “I know that guy.”