Since it's almost time for race #2 of the cyclocross season, I figured I'd better at least take a stab at a race report for #1. It was last Sunday at Druid Hill Park in Baltimore and it was the third annual and third time I've raced at Charm City Cross. As always, the event was one of the finest around and the course is usually one that suits me well--fast and dry. I knew that this time would be a lot different than the previous two, however.

The first time I raced at Charm City, it was my first time ever racing a bike. That's right, I lined up on my Specialized Sirrus with knobby tires and clipless pedals literally purchased a day before and gave it my all. It was a rude awakening. Last season, my second go at the race, was equally exciting and I was lucky enough to come away with the Men's B victory--easily the highlight of my brief cyclocross career. I followed that up with a solid season and a second place in the B series, which brings me to this year . . .

Somehow, early registration I guess, I ended up with #7 in the race, which put me on the front row--of the A race. Insane. I lined up on the far left, next to Andrew Wulfkuhle of C3. But more scary was that a few riders over from him were Davide Frattini and Luca Damiani. They're both Italian pros. Needless to say I was a bit intimidated, especially since I knew I was out of shape and hadn't been expecting to do much other than get my feet wet with 'cross again.

Anyhow, the officials gave us the whistle and we were off. I clipped in quickly and smoothly and started sprinting for the first turn. I didn't sprint all out because I was worried about taking the first turn at full speed, but I made it there soon enough and the race was on. Dust was flying everywhere and it was the epic chaos that cyclocross brings.

I don't remember much about the first lap other than I was getting passed a lot. Considering my fitness level, I knew this was going to be a theme of the day, but even so, it's depressing to feel like you're going backwards so early in the race. Halfway through that lap, when we hit the barriers out in the field, I found myself somewhere in the mid-twenties. The bleeding continued through the remainder of the lap, but after that I tried to settle in to my pace and race against the guys around me.

The rest of the race was a blur. I did battle with Erik Leaver, Chad Totaro, and Adam Szczepanski, which put me in fine company, but certainly I don't think any of them were in top form. I thought I'd finished ahead of all three, but the results are a bit funky and so is my memory, so who knows? What I do remember was the incredible encouragement I got from the Coppis on the course and how that sustained me each lap as I started to wonder how in the world I was going to finish. I was reminded that racing an hour is a lot longer than racing 45 minutes. It hurts so much in that final quarter of racing and my pace was pretty slow. My dismounts and remounts were surprisingly good for having done more during this race than I did total in preparation. Mainly it felt good to suffer again and to be a part of another 'cross season. My passions were renewed.

Things to note from the results? Wes Schempf is going to be awesome this year it appears. Props go to Todd Hesel (last year's B champ, hence the sweet skinsuit) and Jared Nieters (another B) for finishing a lot higher than I did.



The more interesting thing (at least for mechanic wannabes) were the problems I had pre-race. It had to do with my single ring setup and I have no idea as to the real cause of the problem. Last season, I raced on the Javelin Primitivo and this year I switched to the Kona Major Major. On both rigs I was running a single ring setup which consists of a 42t chain ring surrounded by double guards and chained to a 12-27 cassette in the rear.

All of last season, there was rattling from the chain guards. They were slightly too thin and so when I tightened down the long chainring bolts, they bottomed out rather on themselves rather than flush against the guards. Well, this season, I bought some small washers to add that missing thickness. Putting them on was a challenge because of all the Loctite I'd used to keep the bolts tight. But eventually, with Jess' help, I got the bolts off. I soaked them overnight in Acetone and then installed the washers on the crank along with the chainring, guards, and bolts. By all accounts, it was an immediate success. The rattling was gone and it looked quite sturdy.

That was until last Wednesday morning when I met the guys at Bluemont for morning 'cross practice. As I was descending a hill and applying full gas (42x12) to my horror the chain became lodged on the outside of the chainring to the inside of the guard. Basically the chain wedged itself and bent the Carbon guards enough to get in there. It was a catastrophic problem that I was very worried about.

Luckily, when I took time to check it out once I got home, I found that the chainring bolts had all loosened up a lot. I figured that I hadn't used enough Loctite this time or that I hadn't let it dry and so because the bolts loosened up that's why the chain had lodged in the now-bigger gap. I tightened the bolts back down and liberally applied Loctite.

That theory lasted until I was warming up in Baltimore and it happened again. At this point, I trying to get some time on on the actual course and I started freaking out. How could this happen? I'd have to forgo the race if I couldn't find a solution. So I coasted back to the car and started talking it over as calmly as I could with Jess. Neither one of us could figure out why it was happening since none of the bolts seemed all that loose. Worse yet, Jess noticed that the Carbon guards had hairline fractures now from being bent.

My only solution was to make my 10 speed 12-27 into a 9 speed 13-27 and hope that the chain wouldn't find its way off the chainring. So I tightened down the H limit screw and said a quick prayer. I rode it around once and it seemed like it might work, so I hopped on the trainer and spent the rest of the time warming up.

So, solution? Well, I don't know yet, but I've placed an order for the Spot Brand 42t guards in the hopes that a metal guard won't flex and allow the chain in. I'm not 100% sure that will save the day, but at this point it's my only hope. We'll see, the order should be in from Bikeman on Friday--just in time to hopefully get things right for Sunday's race. If all goes well, I'll need to do another 'My Ride' post to document all the changes to this years race rig.