Race report: Cat and Kitten Cross

By Daniel McMahon

Formerly known as HPCX, Cat and Kitten Cross is held in Jamesburg, N.J., about an hour from Brooklyn, N.Y. At 6 a.m. I headed down 95 with Dan Reiners, also of Kissena, for the Cat. 4 race, which was scheduled for 8 and suppposed to last 40 minutes. We got to the parking lot with almost an hour to spare; Dan headed immediately to find the Van Dessel truck so that he could pick up the Gin & Trombones he’d reserved to test race.

It was a tad chilly, and there was a bit of lingering rain falling on my race glasses. For shits and giggles, and with a touch of misty-eyed nostalgia, I donned my 20-year-old racing jersey from when I rode with Emyvale C.C., a little club in County Monaghan, Ireland, from my days as a junior. The jersey still fit great, amazingly, and was warmer than my usual top.

I rode the course once as part of my warm-up and made mental notes of the muddier bits and the more technical sections. There were a number of hairpin turns. I could already feel how not riding much the previous week—just one 2-hour outing—since Westwood Velo Cross would probably put me in the hurt locker on lap one. But about that same time I spied three beer kegs under a folding table near the barriers section and the Van Dessel truck. Nice! There was motivation to ride fast.

Fifty-four or so “excitable Cat. 4s” amassed at the staging area, and soon a race official did call-ups to the line based on preregistration order. I couldn’t remember when I registered—it’s been a busier-than-expected first cross season for me—so I was glad to hear my name called pretty soon after the first row of riders took their places. That put me in the second row, dead center.

My friendly rival Chris Bloome with Dan Reiners (Kissena) in Jamesburg, N.Y., at the 2009 Cat and Kitten Cross Presented by HPCX. Photo: Daniel McMahon

After Dan made good fun of my jersey being from the 1970s—he was jealous, for sure—the whistle blew and we were off. I got a killer start, moving into third or fourth wheel through the hole shot. I credit this to reacting well when I didn’t click into my right pedal on the first try; I just stood on the pedal anyway with another part of my shoe and kept sprinting to the hole shot. I’d have lost a lot of places had I stubbornly made myself click in before riding.

I held my own till we hit the first longish inclining section that was fairly sloppy with mud from the recent rainfall. Here I lost my sweet position and was going backwards, losing upwards of 10 spots. That’s what I got for taking a lot of days off the bike the past week. Yoga or no yoga, overtime or no overtime, I was feeling heavy legs turn the pedals through the mud. So now I was 15th or some such, but at least holding steady. I managed to keep my place in the next section of hairpin turns and some up-and-down bits, and passed a guy or two even.

I don’t recall where it was exactly on lap one but at some point there was a rider in front of me who went down in a muddy turn with lots of slippery tree roots. He was the wheel right in front of me and probably top 12 at that point. I had to unclip out of my pedal but was quickly around him and riding again. I think the guy’s fall created a bottleneck for the rest of the field. Good to be in front! I said to myself.

Then we hit the paved section that went straight, then left all the way up a decent enough climb that took you right passed the official start/finish. Here I lost maybe another two or three places. I sort of faded, I guess. I was breathing heavy and thought maybe I’d imploded earlier on. After a few descending bits and some off-camber sections we hit the barriers, which were a bit tough getting through fast because they came immediately after a slippery off-camber turn.

Here I am after the battle, wearing my old Emyvale C.C. jersey.

On we raced through a zigzaggy section and made our way through a sweeping right turn and back toward the start to begin lap two. I think I was about 20th at this point. A little fed up with myself for going from third to 20th in one damn lap, I was determined to grit my teeth and hold this position. That or jump off my bike and tap one of those kegs.

I rode solo more or less the next two laps and managed to pass a couple of guys. At the start of lap three I noticed Dan Reiners coming up on my wheel. He went passed me fast enough. I guess he was now making up for his less-than-stellar start and that wipe-out on lap one, which he later told me he got caught behind.

The fourth and final lap I was riding along as best I could when my “nemesis” Chris Bloome started catching up to me. Chris is a rider I met for the first time this fall at Hudson Valley Cross. On the last lap of that race he snuck up to pass me with about 100 meters to go. Granted, we were just racing for 15th or whatever. But I told him then and there that the battle had started.

So up came a charging Chris, and as he got closer I said, Are you thinking of passing me again? Sure enough, as we hit the barriers he went by me, bombing into the diving turn before the first run-up, though he did lose it in the barriers, wiping out smack in front me. I gave him a shout and a laugh, and the little crowd that had assembled around the barriers—and started drinking beer at 8:40 a.m.—cheered and jeered us on as best they knew how. Take him, dude! someone shouted in my face. I managed to get out of the barriers ahead of Chris, but he soon passed me again on the zigzaggy section after that.

I sprinted up to him right away and glued myself to his wheel and decided I’d pass him at the end. He’s a youngin and can pull me a bit, I thought. He was riding strong enough, and I never let him go more than a bike length from me.

Finally, as we hit the long paved section and the final turn, I was in the drops and standing on the pedals right on his wheel. He jumped but not too hard and I passed him just before the finish line. It was one of those slow uphill sprints. Our bikes were covered in thick, grassy mud, our faces grimacing.

Catching our breath later, we agreed to pick up the battle—now 1-1—at the next race we meet at. Probably Mercer Cup.

In the end I got 23rd. Cat and Kitten Cross is a super-fun race and great course. Definitely be back next year. In a little better shape.

Full results here. More photos here.

Chris Bloome's Specialized after Cat and Kitten Cross. Photo: Daniel McMahon

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