September 25th, 2004 by Phil Esempio
The second annual Cross on the Lake was hosted by the Honey-Stinger/Spinergy team at the small downtown Kirtland Park. Somehow, a total of about 3/4 of a mile of course was squeezed into this tiny plot of green that sits adjacent to South Marginal Road in Cleveland, overlooking the Shoreway and Burke Lakefront Airport. The center of the park is a small, Greek-style amphitheatre, with a terraced hill in front of it. The course started out on a flat by the road, turned into the park (after you dodged a storm drain and some concrete posts), over a set of barriers which conviently robbed you of all momentum prior to a steep grassy run up. At the top of the hill, you turned right along one of the terraces, back down into the park, around a 180° turn, and into another set of barriers. This set of barriers, however, were followed by a long flight of stone steps up to the top of the hill again, which meant a long carry up to the top. At the top, you followed the sidewalk back to the parking lot, took another sharp 180° turn down onto the terraces, and then went back and forth between two levels of the terracing - not easy! At the end of this segment, you turned downhill for a 25 mph bumpy descent back into the park, through the amphitheatre itself, and back out between two concrete posts to the start/finish line.
The weather on Saturday morning was perfect; 65° and somewhat hazy. The course was also bone dry; there was none of the mud which typifies Ohio cyclocross courses. As a result, the pace was very, very, fast. For this race, the "B" event was a 3/4 race, whereas other 'cross races typically make the "B" race a 4/5 race. To add insult to injury, I'd just put the GT ZRX 'cross rig back together the night before, and hadn't ridden it since the prior 'cross season ended. Needless to say, my first few dismounts were less than graceful, and on the second set of barriers, I managed to hook my toe on the barrier and took a dive into the stairs. When I got to the top and remounted, I heard this "ting-ting-ting" that signified my rear derailleur was grazing the spokes. Uh-oh, bent hangar! I had to stop and straighten it out, which took two or three tries to get right, so as not to go to far and break it off (it's a replaceable hangar). Once I got it straight, the race was about over for me, but I worked to close it up and catch a few backmarkers. At first, I accomplished this; but my heart was racing at 180+ bpm, and I took another dive on the first set of barriers when I forgot that I had by brake levers reversed cross-style, and applied full front brake approaching the barrier. Ouch.
After this, I slowed down and sought to simply finish in one piece. I gave up a few places and ended up in 19th, bruised and battered, but with my 'cross skills significantly sharper than when I'd started the day. With about 8 races to go before the OH state championships, I've still got plenty of time to be ready, and make a decent showing there.
Phil Esempio