The First Stop

September 22, 2011

I’ve worn many hats through the years as far as racing is concerned; racer, teammate, team leader, wife of racer, mother of racer.  But I think the hardest job of all is ADMIN of racer.  And with the announcement of Masters Cyclocross World Championships being held in Louisville, KY in January of 2012, this is my newest role.

Who cares about Admin?  I don’t know, but as I live each day and my memory fades over time, what better way for me to actually remember what actually is going on during this time so that at the end I can answer the question, “How in the hell did we do all of that?”

This is the story of the McShanes only.  Nothing is the right way, just our way.  Most of you who know us, know you wouldn’t want to do it our way, because it is usually chaos-filled.

As I write this we are headed to the first stop of the United States Gran Prix of Cyclocross in Sun Prairie, WI – just outside Madison.  Mike races for the Bob’s Red Mill Cyclocross Team and has won the 45+ USGP overall for the last two years and is trying to pull off the hat trick.  It is the only national-wide series of it’s kind in the country for the “old guys”. 

The USGP races are in Wisconsin, Colorado and Kentucky before wrapping up in Oregon in December.  Points are accumulated at each 2-day weekend of racing and the person with the most wins.  Last year it came down to the last race of the series in Portland and Mike was able to hold off Tom Price of KCCX for the series win.

Usually the cyclocross season ends with the US National Championships in mid-December, but EVERYTHING has changed this year.  “Natz” have been moved to the first full week in January and then the piece de resistance is that MASTERS CYCLOCROSS WORLD Championships have been awarded to Louisville, KY for 2012 AND 2013.  These will be held in the week following Natz, right down the street from our abode.

You just don’t get these opportunities every day.  Worlds – Masters Worlds in our backyard.  Well, hell yeah Mike is going for it.  What’s stopping him?

Well, life.  Life is a bitch sometimes.  Mike has been very competitive in every aged-based masters race he has done.  A podium appearance at Cyclocross Nationals has eluded him, but other than that, he is a serious contender to “do well” in every race he is in.  But let’s be honest, a lot of the big, competitive masters riders do just that.  They ride.  That’s it.  Hard to compete with that when you are working full time +, have two kids that are serious into their own sports and a junior cycling team that you help run.  I won’t even get into the fact that we are living 4 people and 2 dogs in a 1000 square foot apartment right now.  That’s another story altogether.  But I digress…

This is where Admin comes in.  Even serious amateur cyclocross racing can be a job.  Besides being on top of the equipment, which the racer does him or herself, there is some serious research:  into races, into start lists, into dates, hotels and the closest Starbucks coffee.  Admin registers their racer on opening day to get a good start position, makes airline reservations, books the hotels and gets the oil changed for long car trips.  This person makes sure all the uniforms are washed, the bags are packed, that the dogs are taken care of and that we have all the supplies we need.  On race day Admin pins numbers, works the pit, takes photos, keeps time splits and screams their head off.

Oh heavens, let’s face it.  Mike couldn’t even begin to train or hope to compete in Masters Cyclocross Worlds without me taking care of all of these elements.  At least that’s what I keep telling myself.  So, this is the story of our journey to the 2012 Championships, come hell or high water.

USGP Madison is the first stop.  Its finishes will be a big determining factor of how the year is going to go.  We are already booked to be in Colorado in 2 weeks, so we’re hoping for major points in this weekend’s races.  Mike is putting in the work with a coach for the first time and we are leaning on other things like massage, also for the first time.  Getting old sucks and every race ends for Mike with another body part hurting.

Is it worth it??  Absolutely!  Every complaint is a moment of putting someone else into the hurt locker.  And we are ruthless that way.  

Got to run.  5 hours into a 7.5- hour drive and my racer is asking for Advil already.  It’s going to be a long weekend.

UPDATE:

Mike won the first race at Sun Prairie and took the overall leaders jersey.  He finished a strong 2^nd on Sunday to retain his lead going into the second event at Fort Collins, CO October 8-9.  I’ll update on the weekend in my next entry.