FLCC> Buck Hill Race Report (partial) or Why Matt Crashed

[john compton]

mid-race re-sculpting.  ??

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> Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007 13:33:54 -0400
> From: md255 at cornell.edu
> To: FLCC at icycle.org; Cookies at icycle.org
> Subject: FLCC> Buck Hill Race Report (partial) or Why Matt Crashed
> 
> Buck Hill Race Report (partial) or Why Matt Crashed
> 
> Summary:  for those of you who don't like having to read all the 
> long-winded details of never-ending race reports just to hear a 
> marginally interesting punch line, here's the cliff-note version of what 
> happened yesterday:  I crashed in the wood chips at yesterday's CX race 
> and was cut just below my left eye by my M-frame sunglasses - a wound 
> that resulted in some serious bleeding and 17 stitches to close.  Other 
> than my Frankenstein-like appearance, I'm doing fine and hope to be 
> racing again this weekend at the Swandrome.
> 
> Before I begin the report, I'd like to thank everyone who looked after 
> me following the accident or called/emailed to make sure I survived.  
> Specifically, I'd like thank Amanda S. and Sandy F. for taking care of 
> me following the incident up until the time I left for the ER, a 
> blond-haired guy (whose name I didn't get) who provided some make-shift 
> medical attention to keep the wound clean, Peter Ozolins for gathering 
> up my bike and Nick and Meghan Robertson for carting me to the ER and 
> hanging around while the doctor sewed me back together.  I learned 
> yesterday that our cycling community is not just comprised of a great 
> network of racers in the Ithaca area who push each other to great 
> heights (see previous write-ups by Ernie Bayles and Joe Bailey for 
> details), but more importantly, it is a great network of friends and 
> acquaintances who constantly look out for each other and give of 
> themselves when someone else is in need. I'd also like to thank Jeremy 
> Gardner and all the numerous volunteers who made such a great event 
> possible. Kudos!
> 
> -------
> 
> Now, here's the long winded details presented in the form of a 
> never-ending race report that ends with a marginally interesting punch line
> 
> As some of you may know, yesterday was the official start to the local 
> cyclocross (CX) season.  As some of you may also know, it's a time of 
> the year that I really look forward to as the technical aspects of CX 
> are well suited to my background in MTB racing and provide a sort of 
> leveling of the playing field such that I find myself (somewhat) 
> competitive with the likes of former Pink Slipper champion Glenn Swan, 
> reigning Pink Slipper champion Ernie Bayles and many other guys and 
> girls who repeatedly abuse me on the road. It's also worth mentioning 
> that coming into this CX season, I found myself carrying some of the 
> best fitness I've had in recent memory.  So with CX season upon us and 
> inspiring road race reports such as Trevor's green mountain report fresh 
> in my mind, I was optimistic that I would finally have a chance to 
> retell my own racing sagas - detailing all the thrilling exploits, mind 
> games and strategies that contributed to my latest podium or near-podium 
> finish. What you are about to read is not what I had in mind.
> 
> Nearly 100 riders converged yesterday on the Buck Hill CX course held at 
> the sprawling Mecklenberg estates of FLCC'ers Amanda, Mark and Emmanual. 
> With large fields of riders, beautiful weather and the typical 
> well-oiled race organization that has become synonymous with the FLCC, 
> great excitement filled the air and I was anxious to get racing. After 
> completing the usual pre-race ritual of registration, number pinning, 
> tire pressure checks, etc., I hopped onto my bike for some warm-up laps 
> to familiarize myself with the Ozolins-Gardner designed Buck Hill 
> course.  After just a single lap of the course, I realized a few 
> important things.  First, the dry weather combined with the long 
> stretches of road/driveway would make for a very fast course that would 
> favor those who had raced on the road all summer and would effectively 
> neutralize my technical strengths. Second, there was a man-made obstacle 
> - a pile of wood chips that presented riders with a sort of woop-de-doo 
> section - that might be tricky, especially at high speeds.  In fact, 
> during my first lap, it was all I could do to keep from going over the 
> handlebars as the first "woop" provided just enough of a ramp to cause 
> the back end of the bike to launch skywards.  Note to self:  take it 
> easy over the first hump.
> 
> Just before the start of the race, I made a quick visit to the race 
> support vehicle (a.k.a. Nick Robertson's Toyota Corrolla) for a final 
> hit of EPO, errrr, I mean powergel.  While I was refueling, I noticed my 
> "teammates", Nick R. and the Don (a.k.a. Donal Fitterer), exchanging a 
> $100 bill.  When I approached the unsuspecting "teammates", they both 
> became suspiciously quiet.  Finally, Nick admitted that the $100 was 
> part of an arrangement between he and the Don to see that I have a bad 
> day on the course. Hmmmm?
> 
> As the riders began to assemble at the start line, we were informed by 
> Central New York CX series director Stevie Moto that all ~100 riders 
> will start together en masse.  Further complicating things was the fact 
> that within 200 yards of the start, the course constricted to a narrow 
> passage that was booby-trapped with two 18"-high barriers.  So I quickly 
> formulated a strategy that would deal with this looming catastrophe and, 
> at the same time, that would cater to my cycling strengths and 
> neutralize any Fitterer-induced sabotage.  I decided to utilize my 
> strong sprint to get the hole shot - this would ensure clear sailing for 
> much of the first lap without having to negotiate crashes, 3-wide racing 
> and other slower traffic.  I would then spend the rest of the race 
> defending my position, trying to lose as few positions as possible as 
> faster riders tried to make their way to the front. Following the 
> command to start, I found myself accelerating towards the barriers with 
> only 3 riders in front of me.  As we negotiated the barriers at 
> break-neck speed, one of the riders in front of me tripped on the first 
> barrier and caught his bike on the second (see Buck Hill photos - the 
> 4-shot series shows exactly what happened to this guy).  That could have 
> spelled disaster for him and me, but instead I found myself in 3rd 
> position!  We turned out of the driveway and onto the road and I managed 
> to stay with the leading duo for the entire first lap.  Now, if I could 
> just hang on for another 52 minutes, I'd be on the podium!
> 
> This wasn't meant to be as 2 riders including race director Jeremy 
> Gardner came by me on lap 2.  I was eventually able to settle in with a 
> group comprised of Glenn S., Peter O. and I rider I didn't know.  We 
> rode for much of the second lap together but eventually Glenn found 
> another gear (or another lung) and ripped our legs off.  On lap 3 or 4, 
> Peter pulled off to the side of the course with a flat tire.  Too bad 
> for Peter, but I was now one position closer to the front.  However, I 
> noticed that a Cookies-clad rider seemed to be closing the gap with each 
> passing lap.  It was none other than my "teammate" Nick R.  I spent the 
> next lap going back and forth with a guy in a red jersey, trying 
> desperately to keep the gap over Nick.  As we turned into the woods on 
> lap 5, I came up to a pair of lapped Cookies racers that I recognized as 
> the Prez and the Don.  Normally, this would not require much thought - 
> just shout out "on your left" and cruise by.  But as I approached the 
> Don, I recalled the $100 pre-race exchange.  I also recalled that the 
> Don was clinically adept at using his shoulders to force passing riders 
> into ditches and trees or using his hands to grab jersey pockets during 
> town-line sprints.  Would he crash me so that Nick could catch up?  Not 
> willing to risk it, I decided to pass cautiously at a point where the 
> course became expanded so that I could give the Don a wide berth.  While 
> this proved successful, the time I lost negotiating the Don allowed Nick 
> to get uncomfortably close.  We turned onto the road at the start of lap 
> 6 (roughly 40 minutes into the race), and a red/orange blur screamed by 
> on my right side. I knew immediately that Nick had caught up; I also 
> realized that he was passing me with an incredible surge in order to 
> demoralize me and prevent a response - a standard tactic used when 
> passing a rider during a time trial.  The guy in red that I had been 
> riding with did not respond.  So I jumped out of the saddle and closed 
> onto Nick's rear wheel as we turned onto the dirt road driveway that 
> would lead us into the woods.  I knew if I could stay close, I would 
> have the advantage in the woods.  Indeed, as we navigated the twisting, 
> rooted single-track sections, it was effortless to stay on Nick's 
> wheel.  We exited the woods single-file and entered a large open field 
> where riding in Nick's draft would be advantageous, especially with a 
> fairly strong wind blowing across that part of the course.  As we 
> approached the man-made wood chip woop-de-doos, I was nicely tucked in 
> behind Nick's much larger frame which was allowing me to recover from 
> the harder efforts I made earlier in the lap.
> 
> Now comes the problem.  After nearly 40 minutes of racing, the 
> woop-de-doos had been significantly flattened by the continual passage 
> of riders.  Thus, with each passing lap, I was able to clear this 
> obstacle with more and more speed without concern for crashing.  
> However, on this fateful lap in which I was tucked in behind Nick, I was 
> blocked from seeing that the first hump of the woop-de-doos had 
> undergone some mid-race re-sculpting.  Nick entered the wood chips hot 
> and I saw his rear end kick high in the air.  Unable to respond to what 
> I had just seen, I hit the first hump just as hot.  My rear end kicked 
> high in the air just as my front wheel was hitting the frontside of the 
> second hump.  I went hard over the bars and as I compressed, my helmet 
> forced the underside of M-frame lens into my face and created a 2-inch 
> laceration just below my eye.  Not sure if I was hurt or not, I reached 
> my hands to my face, and when I pulled them away, they were covered in 
> dark red blood.  Fortunately, Amanda S. and Sandy F. and others, got me 
> out of the way of oncoming riders.  Being a die-hard (or is it 
> blow-hard?) competitor, I immediately began bitching about the change to 
> the course and how could somebody do something so stupid. Once my anger 
> settled, I become immediately depressed that my hard-fought effort for 
> what might have been a high finish (Nick would go on to finish in 8th 
> place within 1 minute of the winner, even after his seat came loose on 
> the last lap causing him to get passed by 3 guys), resulted instead in a 
> trip to the ER and 17 stitches. Not exactly the kind of write-up I 
> envisioned, but that's racing!  Or was it diabolical 
> Fitterer-Robertson-induced sabotage?  You be the judge.  I'd bet $100 
> bucks on the latter!
> 
> Matt
> 
> -- 
> Assistant Professor
> Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
> Cornell University
> 254 Olin Hall
> Ithaca, NY 14853
> Phone:  607-254-8560
> Fax:  607-255-9166
> 
> 
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