Pages

Sunday, February 28, 2016

MonsterCross 2016


Outcome

I started well, but did get passed by too many people in the first thirty minutes before settling into a good rhythm. Around the halfway point, the front shifting started to go bad, and soon the crankset was hitting the chain keeper. There was a lot of metal-on-metal shrieking. I think that that added resistance didn't help my time.
I rode conservatively, perhaps a bit too conservatively. Conditions were ideal: dry, and about 50F at the start.

Diagnostics

The two plots below show how badly I faded on the second lap. I suppose that could be due to the grinding crankset. 
The dashed red lines are regressions to the first sixty minutes of the race in 2016 and 2015. In 2015 I actually went faster during the middle of the race. In 2016, the wheels started to come off about an hour in. 


Heart rate was also off from previous years:


Course

The course was longer than in 2015, and some of the nastier muddy narrow-track was gone. All that made a cyclocross bike the right choice. The new section was added to the mini-loop of 2012-2015, across the pedestrian bridge near the start. 

Most of the course is fire roads:
I was near this guy for 40 of the 50 miles


About 20% is narrower track


With some stream crossings thrown in.


Gear


  • Specialized Crux
  • Stans No-Tubes alpha 340 with Challenge "Gravel Grinder" 38s @ 50psi
Nearly crashed once while plowing a furrow with the bars turned 45 degrees. I could have used more hookup in the turns. But maybe that would have been detrimental in the wide-open sections.

Results

  • 2016: 49.4 miles in 3:15:47 82/342 overall and 10/55 in 50+
  • 2015: 45.4 miles in 3:28:47 58/252 overall and 5/38 in the 50+ 
  • 2014: DNF--two flats before the 1/2-way point
  • 2013: 47.7 miles in 3:05:23  71/382 overall and  9/46 in 50+
  • 2012: 3:17:33  58/336 overall and 12/50 in 40-49

    Links to results

    Strava link

    Travel

    Less than 2 hours door to door. Got there at 8:05 in plenty of time