A Heckler's Guide to Go Cross

Cross is no longer coming....Cross season is here! Both the VACx and UCI seasons kick off this coming weekend in Roanoke at Virginia's Blue Ridge Go Cross Race. This GoCross' first season as a UCI event which is really exciting both for racers and for the region. While the racers are really getting stoked for the weekend, the spectators should be getting equally as excited. So, since cyclocross is relatively new to Roanoke still here are some tips to help you through the weekend...

Why should I go? Lots of reasons...unlike many other types of bike races cyclocross is on a very small & concentrated course that makes it PERFECT for spectators. You can get right up next to the fence and really make your heckling/cheering heard. There's beer. And food. Heckling and cheering always more fun with both of these things. Finally, obstacles help create at least a little carnage.

Where should I go? And now, a breakdown of the course map from the spectator's standpoint...helping you to find your optimal heckling position!

1. The Sandpit. To meet UCI standards, 2 dump trucks full of sand were added this year to make the pit both wider, longer, and deeper. As such you can expect plenty of struggles around this area. Expect to see some impressive powering through by the pros and some epic fails by others. To improve spectating options there is a raised platform as well as some ground level seating to really get you a good view of the action.

2. The Flyover. Definitely fun to check out and watch some people get some air but don't expect too much carnage, it's really not that hard. Bonus? It's right by the finish line and food/beer.

3. Unicorn Corner. Named last year for some goober in a unicorn onesie (did we mention costumes are generally encouraged?) who even made Carla crack a smile mid lap. This spot is a little tougher to get to since it's on the other side of the course, is rather small, but gets you a great view of the log rollers both up and down and is shaded most of the day.

   

  

4. Far End. Tight, twisty turns through the trees are a good option if you want to get away from the main crowd a little. The trees also provide some shade and you're right by the start to watch that. It's also further out and let's be honest, you don't want to give the racers too long of a break from heckling...

5. The Stairs. Always a good place to watch. It's shortly after the start so especially the first lap folks are usually pretty stacked up on each other. Get ready to watch the coordinated, the highly uncoordinated, and prepare to laugh at cyclists who skipped arm day all year.

If none of these options appeal to you then roll right up to any spot on the course and cheer the racers on! Check out the GoCross schedule for other events such as a running race on Saturday and the Lil' Belgians Kids' Race for fun for all ages. 

Last but not least...to all those other dirt-loving hooligans who, like me are headed up to Stokesville for the other epic dirt event this weekend, good luck and have fun!! See y'all at Shenandoah 100....20th anniversary edition!!!! Also, there's a unicorn onesie up for grabs.

I'm not promising, but if you race @go_cross you might just get a good dose of unicorn heckles.

A post shared by Chris Merriam (@mrkrys66) on Oct 1, 2017 at 7:50pm PDT

Vacation and Pierre's Hole 100

The Monday after W101, Bryan and I flew out to Jackson, WY for 10 days of vacation, Pierre's Hole 100, and meet the parents (yikes!). Let's just say that the western mountains are a serious weakness of mine and I have zero ability to control my desire to play when I get out there. Tuesday in absolutely perfect "I just did a hundo and now I'm fresh to altitude" style did a 4hr ride up Cache/Game with Bryan. Recovery for the win. Yes, that's sarcasm. We spent the next few days doing a couple mellower rides up on the Pass, some SUPing on the Snake, and actually taking it easier before heading over to Teton Valley and Targhee on Friday for Pierre's Hole 100.

The night before the race we crashed down in Tetonia with my friend, Nan, who put together a rad lasagna dinner for a whole bunch of us who were crashing there before the race. Between the group we represented all three distance options. Bryan and I were the early risers the next morning and enjoyed some early dawn views of the Tetons driving up the canyon. We dropped our coolers for shared resupply at the feed zones, got dressed and soon enough it was 7a and we were off.

Sunset in Tetonia

Lap 1: I felt good starting off and although I could feel the altitude a little at the top of Peaked it wasn't that bad and soon enough I was headed back to a little lower elevation. I knew I was in 4th and just tried not to overdo it given it was my first time racing at altitude and knew the singletrack heavy course wouldn't give me the recovery of the fireroad-heavy courses I was used to.

Lap 2: I felt good starting the lap and then about halfway up Peaked I fell apart. My legs felt so heavy and I realized that this was about to be a VERY long day for me. At the second pass of Aid 2, I reached into the cooler to grab a refill of Infinit...only to find it had been stolen (accidentally) by a certain boy way up front of the men's pack... Oh well, I grabbed some water, some solid calories to make up for my lack of mix, and kept moving. (Note: we learned to better label our bottles to distinguish them for aid helpers next time.) I passed Nan out in Rick's Basin and although I was really starting to suffer was stoked to hear that Bryan had been in second when he passed her.

Women's Open Podium

Lap 3: Oh yeah, I'm definitely going to be way over 10 hours...probably real close to 11. I hurt. A lot. OK yup that hard Tuesday ride was dumb. Back-to-back hundos also probably dumb. Ah well. At least I was in one of my favorite places in the world with beautiful views that made the suffering better. Legs never did recover on this one and I finally crossed the finish in 11:02 in 4th. Long day. Bryan had crushed it and won in seconds over 8hrs. He was nice though and held the "I told you so" on my poor recovery behavior for about an hour....maybe 45 mins. ;)

Post-race: Turns out wildfire smoke and some dusty trails coupled with hours of exertion don't get along well with my asthma. Hadn't used my inhaler in over 2 years so I hadn't even brought it out with me. Took me a couple hours to realize that I really couldn't breathe and that was the reason I felt so bad even a while after. Thanks to the Gundersons, after some problem solving and huffing albuterol out of a cleaned out oil diffuser (no tubing for the nebulizer) and my airways relaxed.

The next few days we pretty much stayed off bikes. We hung out with my parents, Bryan played on the tractor, we hit up the hot springs (not quite at winter size but the river was juuuuust low enough for a solid pool for two), did some fishing, and checked out some alpine lakes on-foot in GTNP.

 

 

Wilderness 101

The final weekend in July marked both the end of a busy ED stretch, the start of 12 days of vacation, and the return to NUE races for me after a hiatus since April (thanks, residency). I made the trek up to Pennsylvania for my first crack at Shenandoah Mountain Touring's famous Wilderness 101. Lucky for me, I had company as Bryan came up with me. He wasn't racing having just done (and won) High Cascades the weekend before and clearly was smarter than me and taking it easy knowing Pierre's Hole was the following weekend.

Leading up to the race that area of PA was SUPER wet with something like 14" of rain over the preceding two weeks. Chris showed us some pictures of the race start and camping area fully underwater the day before. Pre-race night was a bit stressful as we swapped out my worn tires for fresh ones and definitely had some difficulty getting them to seat. Last time I ever switch tires right before a race. Lesson #1 learned. Fortunately, Bryan was a rockstar and finally got them seated and sealed. Huge thanks to Chris Scott for hooking us up with a little extra Stans because we definitely had to do a couple re-dos during the process. The AirBnB hosts made a super awesome dinner which they invited us to. 

Carla gave me some good beta regarding the start and I managed to stay with the lead group most of the way up the first climb until Bryan's glasses which I was borrowing due to the anticipated wet conditions fell off my helmet. Not wanting to lose his glasses I stopped and got them. Burnt several extra matches trying to catch back up which fortunately I was eventually able to once I hooked up with a couple of other racers but I suffered for it later. Lesson # 2: Leave your boyfriend's glasses and apologize later.
  

During the first 30mi rode with Vicki Barclay in the group and it was great catching up with her since I hadn't seen her since Tour de Burg last year.  Once we hit singletrack (her home trails) though she put time on me easily and I didn't see her again. By about mile 40 I was starting to feel my early hard effort and the next 30ish miles were a bit rough. Not terrible but also just didn't feel my normal. Bryan was cruising around the course on his gravel bike taking pictures (all pics here courtesy of him) and met up with and rode with me a couple times. No, no drafting....he just rode next to me.

 

At Aid 4, Bryan headed back to the start. I headed out onto the next climb and my legs started to come back. By the top I felt stronger and actually cruised for the next 30 miles with a brief stop at Aid 5 where I pounded like 3 PB&J after suddenly becoming really hungry coming down the descent into it. I caught and passed several riders who had dropped me earlier in the race and felt really strong all the way to the finish. I crossed the line at 8:21:21 in second place after making up significant time in the last third. Vicki won the women's race and Lindsey Carpenter took 5th taking a ton of time off her time from last year! Tons of TdB representation on the podium either full-pull or poachers :)
 

Thanks to Chris Scott and Shenandoah Mountain Touring for putting on such a great event....sooooo stoked for Shenandoah 100 in just a couple of weeks!!! 20th anniversary!