Cyclocross Races 2008
General note on the Google Earth files, since to get accurate lap information, I need to go to the finish line before the race starts and actually start tracking. As a result, you’ll see single lines wandering around what appears to not be the race course. The course itself is fairly obvious based on multiple overlapping lines.
October 12, 2008 – Race 3 – Almonte 1
I do not go up hills overly well. This course had a couple of major climbs, I suffered. I spent much of the race alone, wondering where everyone had gone, so that was kind of sad. The race starts with two laps around the track, then proceeds in a counter-clockwise direction from there. Of particular note, the ‘backstretch’, the long straight bit, was pretty much all uphill with a barrier in the middle to break up the monotony.
October 19, 2008 – Race 4 – Kingston
Kingston is a fairly traditional course. Certain key parts are the same every year, simply because they are so much… Fun. This race was run clockwise around the course. Particularly entertaining portions of note are a longish staircase found coming up from the beach in the bottom left portion of the course. (south west I suppose) The terraced downhill, 4 switchbacks heading back down towards the lake is the prime spectator portion as the steep, off camber corners are a regular source of crashes.
November 2, 2008 – Race 6 – Kanata 1
My ‘home’ course. This is probably the flattest of the races put on by the Ottawa Bicycle Club, there is only one substantial hill in the park, over on the eastern side of the course. Of course, with only one hill to speak of, we always have to go up it twice in a given lap… This race was run in a clockwise direction. Note the strategy with the hill as well. Straight up it, then switchbacks or a corner when you come down. There is to be no carrying of speed here! This race was also after the first snowfall of the year, while most of it had melted, the organizers made sure to run the course through virtually every remaining patch of snow.
November 9, 2008 – Race 7 – Almonte 2
Muddy, muddy, muddy. Possibly the most technical race I have done thus far, this course was run in a counter-clockwise direction. Back by popular demand was a short flight of stone stairs, only about 8 or so steps, but each one a good foot and a half high. Lots of fun running up there, let me tell you. Again, there was a muddy run up, I elected to plod up it, planting my feet into the mud. I managed to avoid wasting tons of effort slipping while I ran up the hill, but it also wasn’t very fast. So long to Almonte for this year!
November 16, 2008 – Race 8 – Kanata 2
Muddy, but nothing like Almonte. As usual, ignore the ’start’ in the google earth file, the actual start was way down at the bottom. The lap marker, red square was the actual finish line/lap point. The course was run counter clockwise around the park. Absent for the first time in this park was the gravel climb, instead, the course featured a long run up. The other entertaining feature of this race was the weather: Snow, 30+km/h winds and some mixed rain. Fun that.
November 30, 2008 – Race 10 – Mooney’s Bay 2
Snow. We skipped the big hill of the park to avoid being hit by toboggans, but that didn’t make it much easier. 4-6 inches of snow over most of the course made it a tough, touch slog. Only a couple of crashes though, so that’s good.
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