Going the Distance
One of the best thing about living in Sonoma County is being close to San Francisco. I can just zip down there whenever I want to grab dinner at henry's Hunan restaurant (sansome, just north of broadway), which is the best chinese food in the world. I can also participate in the DFL Urban Outlaw CX series. Held without permit, insurance, prizes, or anything else except cyclocross action, these races cost a whopping $3 to enter, or free if you come in drag.
I think the drag thing probably relates back to the Super Cup race a few years back at the sheriff's training center in near Livermore. Some local celebrant, probably drunk, raced in a dress, and Seattle homophobe and secret roadie Dan Norton cried about it in an article written about the event. Since Dan was one of the promoters of CX nationals that year, the whole DFL crew showed up for nats in some kind of drag or another. Just in case sissy-boy Norton missed the point, they put up signs all around the course, saying things like "hey danny, why do you think they call it cross?"
Don't think that means the racing isn't serious at these events. A number of local pros have been showing up, and competition has been fierce. By the time you read this, you already missed this year's series (the last race was october 3rd), but remember it for next year. I promise that I will post info here in time that you can go if you want.
Wed Sep 16th
I didn't know what to expect when I showed up, so I was pleased to find more than 30 starters on the line. I was pretty tired from playing Ultimate frisbee and volleyball, to say nothing of being fat and out of shape, but I went out near the front anyway. The course at Mclaren park is very hilly, which combined with my out-of-shapeness to make sure I suffered. It seemed like half the course was one solid hill, with no place to recover. I was sliding back out of the top 10 when I flatted. Naturally, I was completely unprepared. This was the very first ride for my new rocklobster, and I was so busy putting it together that I neglected to set up a spare wheelset, or spare bike or anything. I didn't even have a spare tube! I finally borrowed a patch kit from another racer and attempted to patch my tube, which naturally blew up again after less than half a lap, so I pedaled very carefully and ended up getting lapped by the leader. Argh! I think Chris Greene won.
Wed Sep 23rd
The 2nd race in the series was held at Golden Gate park, on a slightly flatter course, and featured some very high-speed transitions and some sweet singletrack. We also had to dodge pedestrians on the sidewalk for 50 yards. I was much more in my element, even though I was still a little tired from ultimate frisbee on Tuesday. There was a huge field (50 guys at least), but I got a great start and got around some guys when Chris Greene stacked it in the first corner (rookie!), then just rode. As I gradually pooped out Greene, Rick Hunter, Mike Ferrentino and Dan McNally came around me, so I ended up in 5th, with Joe Blanco (another vet racer) in 6th.
Sat Sep 26th
I wasn't going to do this race because the East Bay series was supposed to start the same weekend, but Bob had to cancel his first race because the race site was pre-empted. So I went back to Mclaren park. This time I was setlling comfortably into the top 10 when I broke a spoke. Fortunately, as a tool-using primate, I had brought spare wheels, so I switched wheels, quickly readjusted my brake to compensate for the fatter rim, and kept going. I ended up around 7th-ish but never really got close to Joe Blanco. Hopefully this will be the big comeback year for the DFL patrone.
Sat Oct 3rd
The last race in the series started at 11 instead of 10. Naturally I'm too dumb to read, so I showed up an hour earlier than I needed to. Fortunately, the weather was beautiful, so I didn't mind. I got another great start in the top 3, then JP morgan, mike ferrentino and a few others sailed by. I ended up in quite a battle with Joe Blanco and Dave Carr, but I got lucky and made some sweet passes of lapped riders that gave me an edge I could just barely carry to the finish. I ended up 8th overall, and even got some prizes. Sweeeeeeet. There was beer and food and an awards ceremony afterwards, and we all paid homage to overall winner JP Morgan. Should be some killer racing at the first surf city race.
The grand daddy of cyclocross on the west coast is the Surf City Series, put on by Jeff Clark. As of October 2nd, their website isn't up yet, but it will be soon. Typically there are 5 or so separate races. Field sizes of 70 and up for A's are not unusual, and top international riders like Thomas Frischknecht, Bart Brentjens, Don Myrah and Mark Weaver have raced at Surf City in the last couple years. If you take cross seriously, this is the series to contest.
Promoted by Bob Leibold, the east bay series is grown into the #2 spot on the NorCal calendar. Last year BlackMarket team members took 2nd overall in A's and 1st in Vet. Most of these races take place somewhere along Hwy 580 near Livermore and Dublin. Bob has toned down the "Jungle Cross" aspect, and now all there is is good, hard racing. Call Velo Promo at (209) 533-4996.
Also put on by Velo Promo's Bob Leibold. The extra competition from the Central Coast series hurt participation at these races last year. There's a little less conflict this year, but now that I don't live in Sacramento, it's just too far for me to go. There are always a couple races at various apple ranches in the Sonora area, which are really fun. There's also a nice course at Jeff Rapetti's ranch near Murphy's. If you live anywhere near Sonora, these are fun races. Call Velo Promo for more info at (209) 533-4996.
I haven't done any of these races. They were way too far from sacto. This year there are some conflicts with east bay, but I'll try to do some of the central coast races. Judging by the results last year, they were drawing some good fields. Check out the Central Coast Website.
If you live in the Sierra or Reno, or you visit Reno, check out these races. Both series have excellent courses for real cyclocrossers. Plus, since everyone in Reno (except maybe Sean Kelsey) is pretty slow, they're good for the ego. I'm 4 hrs from Reno this season, so I probably won't do any of the. Call (702) 885-7352 for more info. They're putting on districts this year too (jan 3rd), so it might be worth a trip to one of their races to check out the course for districts. If I get any info, I'll post it here.
This is a one-day event put on by Dave Carr and Napa Velo. Dave's a pretty good 'crosser, so I expect the course to be a pretty good course. I don't know anything else about it, but I'll be there. It's the day before a Surf City race, but cross races are short enough that racing twice in a weekend is usually ok. Check out the Napa Velo Website for more info.
Produced by Mark Weaver
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