Within two weeks of the end of the season I lost all of my significant sponsorship. I was able to get a few discounts for the followng year, but that only goes so far. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but small discounts here and there aren't enough to overcome the financial challenges that are keeping me from Pro XCT races. I need help with travel expenses and it is clear that kind of help isn't coming. What frustrates me about it is people still argue with me that I am getting everything paid for and shouldn't get any help. I don't know how you ever convince those people otherwise. They only hear what they want to hear.
I've caught slack all year about my performances. Understandable. They were nothing like the last two years. But I didn't appreciate being told so many times that it was "time to hang it up." I felt like I woke up one day and the entire world told me time to walk away. I'm 32, not dead. I made a post on Facebook about this very thing and got mixed responses. Many were quick to offer up support and remind me not to listen to the "noise." I am all about ignoring the noise, but it's hard to ignore it all when the noise comes from those who run the teams you strive to be on or are the sponsors you need help from. Some of the public comments of support were from the very people that have accused me of cheating, booed me on the podium, suggested that my sponsors drop me and have wanted me downgraded from Pro. I hope you hypocrites are happy now.
I hear the calls for me to give up. I'm not deaf, but I'm a real bad listener. You guys that know me know it won't happen. The fire still burns and I will push on with or without sponsors. The dream of racing on the National circuit just might have to wait a little longer.
I was probably a grump at the end of November. All the above mentioned things were going on and there was nothing I could do to fix my situation just yet. I was commited to my work schedule at least until January. Cyclocross Nationals in Louisville, KY were just weeks away. I was nowhere near the fitness I had hoped to be in and there was no way to change it in time. All I could do was set up things to make for a better 2019.
When Cyclocross Nationals rolled around, I had a fresh mindset. I had set the changes in motion. I was fat and slow, but the mind was clear. A top result wasn't an option so I just set my focus on learning and having fun. I wanted to gain as much experience as I could for the next time I get to Nationals. I am a Cat. 2 in cross. With my UCI license on the mountain bike, that usually means I have to race Pro/1/2 at National events, but at Nationals it is Pro/1 only in Elite. So I had to race my age group. It was a stacked field full of quality racers. Some are Pro in other disciplines like me, others are former pros. All are fast.
Our Masters 30-34 race took place during the week. Practice was on Tuesday afternoon with the race early on Wednesday morning. Shannon and I were not able to both take off two days during the week. Obviously, I had to be off half a day on Tuesday and all day Wednesday. In the weeks leading up to the race, the MOAB CX team was gearing up to have a big showing. Many were supposed to race and the team was going to get a tent in the team area. I didn't hear from anyone the week of the race. I was hoping to be able to split rooms with other riders and have some race support, especially in the pit. Thankfully, Dina was willing to go and able to get off work. We headed up Tuesday after lunch. There were some non-championship events that afternoon. We watched a few people we know break in the course in those races before it was time for practice. I was a bit annoyed with having to pay to enter the park. I understand you need to generate money to pay for security at the park and such, but $20 per person was a bit steep in my opinion. Especially when you charged the racers as well, who already paid at least $65 to enter their race which has no payout for any category. I am all about making cycling accessible to spectators. We are a small, lesser-known sport out of the mainstream spotlight. People can't watch us on TV. For most their only chance to get exposed is by going to a local race. When you charge $20 a person you eliminate those curious spectators. To me, $5-$10 is plenty. You charge less, but get more spectators, which means similar income amounts. You can go to far more interesting events for $20. Let's be real, cross is people riding bikes around in the grass, often struggling while doing so. If you don't do it, it probably looks boring. The results of the spectator fee were easy to see. There were families of people sitting outside the fence they put up, looking through trying to catch a glimpse of the racing. I even saw people up in trees during our race. I don't know how people with two or three kids could even afford to come watch. I would make it free for spectators if I could, but we all know that's not how this cycling business works anymore.
Hanging out in the big chairs located in the middle of the park
Found an unopened bag of chips while walking around. Already got something out of this race!
Paul Carter scoping out the course during the non-championship races on Tuesday afternoon.
Adam Myerson raced the non-championship event. Jeremy Powers also made an appearance.
Frank Kenney in the flesh!
Paul was having a good time.
Still smiling after a little digger.
There were over 50 riders in the Men's 50+ non-championship race.
And the crashing begins...
My time on the course at Joe Creason Park Tuesday afternoon was very informative. This was not the park used for previous UCI races and World Championships in Louisville. It was very different. I really liked the layout. It was tough and quite a bit technical in places. The first half of the course was more open and had several power stretches before an off-camber left turn and short climb to pavement. The paved section was short and continued uphill to a long sand pit that was very deep. I was able to ride it, but it hurt the legs. Shortly after the sand was a flyover. It was like the infamous "Green Monster" that has been at most Louisville cross races over the years. Big stairs on the way up, ramp down the other side. You passed by the pit for the first time and then dropped off into kind of a giant hole. The start/finish area and first half of the loop were on top of a hill, while the second half of the course spent most of its time on the side of the hill and down in what riders were calling "The Bowl." There were off-camber slopes, sharp turns, difficult climbs and sketchy descents in this second half of the loop. You descended after the pit, then it got off-camber and slick before a climb. A set of limestone ledges awaited at the top before another descent. This one was steep and would have been fast, but slalom-like turns were added to bring down the speed. A layer of snotty mud made the back-and-forth corners difficult. After the corners, the descent continued with a short, steep plunge into a greasy off-camber right turn. Another brief climb awaited before the course took you down again to the bottom of "The Bowl." A steep, greasy climb was next, then a sharp right turn at the top onto more off-camber and a quick descent. You then hit the course's main climb, a long, grinding uphill from the bottom to the top of the hill, passing by the pit again at the crest. A short pavement stretch took you to the final obstacle, a pair of barriers. Once you remounted, you were quickly onto the final stretch of pavement to the finish arch.
Video: Preview of the course during Tuesday night's practice session as seen from my GoPro.
You can't ride a mountain bike at cross nationals. Cross bikes only at the big show. Fortunately, I changed my stem yet again and this time I got it right. My position was better and I felt like I could actually put down some power and still corner effectively.
It was a difficult course and got the heart rate up really high without much effort. The slick mud kept you on your toes. I really liked it and was excited for the following day when we left Joe Creason. I thought my goal of a top 20 was a real possibility on a course like this. I'm not too great at cross when the courses are super open, but this one was about as good as it could be for me.
Wednesday morning was cold. The temp was in the upper-20s as the course opened for practice at 8am. The first race was at 9:00, then my race was next at 9:55. I did most of my warm-up at the end of the practice session. I was super pleased with the course. The greasy mud was now frozen. The course was faster, with more grip in some places, less in others. One of the less grippy places was the plunge off into the bowl. The off-camber right turn at the bottom bit me my first lap. I lost front wheel traction completely and ate frozen dirt. I hit my right shoulder hard, but was ok other than a tear to my brand new jacket. The climbs that were just a little too slick to ride yesterday afternoon were perfect! I rode the entire course on my second lap. I know my clincher tires are often a disadvantage in cross races, but they were perfect in these conditions. I didn't have to run crazy-low pressures to get grip. I couldn't have been happier during the rest of my warm-up. This was going to be great!
We had 27 riders on the start line, a little less than I expected for this age group. My lack of cross racing this year gave me the starting spot of 24th on the back row. The sun was shining as we took off for 45 minutes of racing. The start was furious as expected. We flew to the first technical feature. We found the dirt to be totally different than in practice. The brief sunshine was enough to begin thawing the ground. It was now super slick, worse so than the previous day. Many crashed in the first section. I tried to go around the outside of the first off-camber turn, but ran out of room as people slid out into my path. Eventually I got completely stopped and had to dismount and run up to the pavement. I was pretty much at the very back when we hit the sand. I cleaned it and grabbed a few spots, finding myself behind a split already as we came over the flyover for the first time.
The leaders hit the first off-camber section on lap 1
Brad Perley
About to plow into the guy ahead of me who is dismounting.
Didn't want to be on my feet this early, but that's what happens in traffic.
The following descent was very slick. I let it roll and took chances to get back across to the main part of the group. I got there just in time to be cleaned out by crashing riders. I stayed upright, but got pushed right into a wooden post. The mud was bad enough that we had to run the following climb. The greasy mud was much worse than yesterday when it came to the next downhill. It was treacherous. People were going down everywhere as we slalomed back and forth through the posts. I got held up a lot before the bottom. I had no grip down in the bowl and had to run most of it, which had me gassed going into the main climb. I dropped some time to those ahead and then lost a spot before ending the lap.
I had to recover starting lap 2. I got back across to a group of riders as we enetered the bowl again. It was almost comical watching everyone slip and slide in the mud. I spent most of my time trying to stay away from crashing riders. I couldn't get through the group by the time we hit the big climb again. I dropped spots as I barely had any traction on this climb. My tires sucked. Not only was I fat and slow with climbing, but my equipment was awful. Oh well, what you have is what you have.
Leaders reach the sand on lap 2
The sand was tougher than it looks. It claimed several victims in our race alone.
Me winding up for the sand.
Cleaned it!
Lap 3 was much the same as lap 2. I recovered in the early part of the lap and then caught back up to the group on the big descent. I got through most of the group this time. On lap 4 I was feeling the effort, but in a better position. Then I biffed it good through the slalom poles on the muddy descent. I slid out in the front and ended up rolling down the hill still attached to my bike. It was like I went over the bars without going over the bars. I couldn't get up in the greasy mud so I did a few bench presses with my bike for the crowd and then slid my way down to a place where I could get a foot hold and get up.
Perley
This section was slick!
So slick my bike wouldn't even stay on the bank without me on it. Those solid cloth barriers were helpful. I think my bike would have slid right off the hill if it had been a single strand of course tape here.
Pole slalom
Looking like I know what I'm doing here on the barriers.
Video: My crash in the slalom section
Between the crash and time lost on the big climb again this lap, I lost that group ahead. I gave all I had, but never got back to them the remainder of the race. I got close each lap as we descended, but the climbs kept getting more muddy as the ground continued to thaw and eventually I found myself running every single climb. It was like riding a trainer as I had no grip whatsoever. Others would ride by me as I ran which was so frustrating. Obviously, there were tires that gripped in these conditions. It was mostly a disaster race, but I still almost made my goal of a top 20. I ended up 21st and had a great time. And I learned A LOT. I will get better equipment before I do another Nationals. It really does make a huge difference, more so than in any other discipline of cycling. I will show up with better tires, wheels and disc brakes next time. You need them if you want to be up front.
Coming off the flyover on lap 5.
Got a little mud on my left side after the crash
In the suffer zone
The climb I hated so much. Able to ride it this lap, but the hill won more times than I would like.
The part of the course I felt good on, the descent. Laying it over here close to those wooden stakes.
Look at the chain bouncing as I get back into the power.
Running another section where better tires would have made a HUGE difference.
Video: First 27 min of my race until my battery died. First lap was crazy at times.
Thank you Dina for coming along and helping me. She was in the pit, but thankfully I didn't need her help during the race. Afterwards, we quickly cleaned up and loaded the van so we could make it down to Mammoth Cave National Park for a cave tour. I have lived about an hour and half from this cave my whole life and have never been to visit. Today was the day. I wanted to make sure Dina got some other fun experience for her troubles. We were able to get on the Domes & Dripstones tour. It was about a two hour hike underground through the cave. They bused us to and from the entrance as we went into one of the secondary cave openings. The main "historic" entrance is located down the hill behind the Visitor Center. We walked down to it while waiting for our tour to begin.
The Historic Entrance
On the bus everyone told where they were from. We were the only "locals." The next closest was Wisconsin. We had some Aussies and Italians on board as well. I had no idea that many people travel to the middle of Kentucky to see this cave. It is the longest known cave system in the world so I guess it draws some attention. They have now mapped over 400 miles of passageways. That's hard to even fathom. More passages are being discovered all the time. The cave is so big because of how it has formed. The area is a huge hill raised up above the surrounding landscape. The top of the hill is covered by a layer of sandstone. Beneath it sits multiple layers of limestone. Water does not penetrate sandstone very well, but can erode limestone. As water flows beneath the ground, it washes away the limestone, eventually forming underground rivers. The flow of water cuts deeper into the limetsone, uncovering weaker areas. As the water drops deeper, the upper passages begin to dry as the water level of the underground river falls. The river eventually forms again in the next level if limestone and forms another passageway. This has continued for thousands of years, creating a labyrinth of passages. Many are dry, but many more are still flooded as the underground river continues to flow. New passages are always forming and currently wet passages will eventually dry and be ready for exploration in the future.
National Park Service buses ready to shuttle us to the start of our cave tour
In the cave
The flow of water has smoothed the ceiling, walls and floor through the passages. Debris piles lie in places where the roof has caved, but you don't see other common cave formations like stalactites, stalagmites and crystals that form from dripping water. The only formations you get in Mammoth Cave are where the sandstone cap has given way and more surface water has entered making flowstones and smooth domes. We were in an area where some of this occured, hence the name of our tour. We had a great time. It was a super fun little stop on our way back home.
Lots of flowstone in this area near the end of the tour
Cross Nationals continued the rest of the week and into the weekend. More from Joe Creason Park in the next post.
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