feeling close to being back!!!

why?

food, appetite is back with a vengance. I ate breakfast this morning (other than race day often I'll skip it or have it late). I ate a normal person's size lunch portion at 10:30 this morning. Had a quart of soup for lunch, two apples (one just after getting in, one about an hour ago). And i'm ravenously hungry. Body must be feeling the weekend coming on. that depleted sick stage ain't gonna cut it. Must boost cellular fuel reserves. If not I'll be even slower than normal. AND that is slow.

But slow it all relative. Slow compared to Mahk and Jonny? Yeah. Getting lapped by them? Not on a normal day (for me). Not close to the middle fast guys. The guys who got their shit together and put a solid training plan in and hit their goals and are going gang busters this year are just out of reach, some times closer, some times not so much. My Crossresults numbers are not terribly surprisingly consistent. Toss out the high and the low and boom - solid average. But the coolest thing? I'm having fun. And really, that's what cross is about? no? Sure it sucks. Sure it is painful. But damn it. It is worth every second of pain out there on the course.

Someone was chiding me about the tires. Switching to tubulars. Saying that i was still slow and that someone like Page could put road slicks on and still beat me on any cross course in any conditions. Ya know. That is so true. Any Pro. Hell Bold and Mahk could probably do that as well (beat me with those things) if they had the motivation to keep racing. But all this talk about tubulars being better. There is a measure of truth, but a slope of accuracy. Certain tubular tires are actually reportedly way suckier than the better clinchers (Racing Ralphs, Mud 2, Challenge Opens). So someone who grabs just any old tubie and glues it up may find themselves dissatisfied or not realizing the full benefit. And yeah. Look at me. I've raced on a total of two different sets. Wooh. But then I raced on three different clincher treads in Michigan, a handful more clinchers here over the last 3 or so years in New England, and I was given a chance to try tubulars. I can't corner on pavement. Mental block i guess. But give me grass, mud, dirt, sand... i feel pretty confident following anyones lines at most any speed. That whole, hey if they can ride it I can to works. But then at NoHo I actually found in that first lap, and during pre-lap. I was never slowing down for the corners. I could ignore my long built up instinct to jam the brakes. I could just lean and ride right out of the turn. Tires or confidence? Both? I've been on tires that don't corner. I've been on tires that slide out if you tape the brakes. I don't like sketchy tires. I like to be glued to the ground. And for the moment I feel that level of confidence finally racing on those glued up things.

And on top of it all? if possible. The fun factor has gone up. No longer worrying about pinch flatting. Back stretch of Suckerbrook for example. In the first race all the way through there I had to allow enough room to see the line to ride. Second race I forgot about picking a line and I got on tiny Chabot's wheel and drafted his ass through there and promptly flatted. The difference in effort between riding a pressure high enough that my 200 pound self doesn't pinch and a pressure that grips the corners and takes the edge off the bumps is huge. And of all the benefits, it adds the fun factor in.

Tires are tires. The strongest legs can win the race in spite of tires. And skills can corner fast no matter what rubber is between the rim and the ground.

Maybe the sensations at NoHo weren't all about the tires. Maybe I'm neglecting the benefit of the wheels I was racing on. Maybe the added stiffness and the weight and the smooth as freaking butter bearings made a different. No sissy thin butted spokes. These have a decent weight point but all the stiffness and rigidity of a wheel much heavier. Over the years i've ridden a reasonably range. Sadly never any highzoot deep section carbon bling. But hand built stuff? I've tried most of it. One thing I personally prefer in a wheel is one that doesn't wind up under high torque loads. I want it to feel solid, not squishy. Let the tire be the suspension, not the wheel. The gluing surface was so well adhered to the tubular it took lots and lots and lots of work to get one off this week. So, if you are in the market for a decent budget set of wheels, you want something that will be more durable than the GL280s on Ebay and you missed the $100 GP4s that just sold, those grammos might be something you want to try. Certainly stronger than an Ambrosio rim (just judging by the profile at least).

Well.

that was a rambling bunch of nonsense if i do say so myself...

But that PRO bar (banana) I ate there when i started writing has filled me up and I'm no longer hunger. I'm itching to get on the bike and ride home in the rain! WHOOO.

Might just have to race both. Too bad it looks like i won't be able to beat G-ride in a sprint finish for 19th place on day one like last year.

heddwch
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