Butchlove Racing Gung-Ho Cyclocross Madcore

Pic courtesy of Craig Madsen

Despite time consuming lobbying of the UCI, the Bushlove Racing Team was not granted a Pro Tour Licence for '09 and as such was unable to prove itself eligible for a place in this years edition of the Tour De France. In many circles this has been seen as a travesty, especially considering Nick's 2nd place in the Makara Grand Loop Evening Time Trial.

So as Saturday morning dawned we were not in Monaco sipping mint julips and preparing for the opening time trial. The lucky ones were readying for Wellington's inaugural Cyclocross race whilst the less fortunte were readying for a day of work or other less worthy endeavors.

Cyclocross has come to Wellington, thanks to the enthusiasm and efforts of Yankee Mike from the Bike Hutt. It has been a long time coming it would seem, as there was a surprising number of cross bike out there, which presumably had not been used in anger in the proper manner before this day.



Our Belgian wannabees were Wonderwoman, Angry, Hinge and Davo. All racing the longer 45min + 1 lap option. we were well supported by Mrs Angry, the Bennett cheering squad of Alana and Alex and of course the lovely Mrs Hinge; who, along with Wonderwoman, showered herself with glory by bringing the baked treats.



We rocked up and customarily signed on with the surname 'Bushlove'. Hinge's handwriting was in question as they mistook him for Nick 'Butchlove'. The organisers initially believed we were all family and with genuine interest asked where our name came from.

Many of the usual suspects were there and it was clear that it was going to be very competitive. The VIC Cycles reps - Big Gav and Jordan - looked hard to beat, and were. Feisty Feist looked pretty keen on his mint Yeti crosser and Alex Revel and Jonty from Revolution Cycles were another fast pair who you'd rather had prior commitments. Tom Bradshaw and Trevor Woodward were their too and their were more than a few fast looking chaps we didn't know.

There were plenty of tasty looking bikes on display. I thought Feisty's YETI was the best, but Mike's Coconino (SS) he lent to Nicko was also very mint. There were also a few nice Surlys and MASI's which looked very stylish. Most people were on mtbs though, but I reckon more crossers will be seen as the sport takes off.

The course was a good one. Seemed like sub 5min laps around a mostly soft grass circuit with 3 or 4 small slippy rises and 3 sections with barriers to leap. A couple of practice laps shagged us severely. It was going to be a strenuous outing.

Summaries of the race itself, straight from the horse's mouths:



Wonderwoman

I find it fitting that my post is last, when i in fact did finish last, but some may say i was first in style. So here we go....arriving at California Park (how fitting) at 9am I was greeted by Hinge, the lovely Mrs Hinge (Sarah) and their asthmatic dog. I was feeling great...hey it's the 4th of July. After a few God Bless Americas and the Pledge of Allegence I was ready to go. For the first time ever i actually started in the front row- this is by no mean because of my very patriotic outfit. The first lap saw me in a demoralizing last- the crowd was ever so supportive and moral was boosted very quickly. Luckliy there were barriers that i flew over them with grace and beauty. I was also supported by some young fans that shouted things like "He likes you!" Nothing like a 5 year old thinking your'e hot... he would fit in perfectly with Bushlove.



As the 22 minute mark rolled around, i realized that by signing up for the 30 minute course i was actually tricked into the 45 minute course. This is the time when the chaffing set in and the 'push' from Davo really felt good. Although Samara was dissapointed that she didn't recieve a 'push' from Davo. Nothing like a grown man biking past you saying "My lycra is getting too tight".

Alas i withstood tough conditions, lapped Marco (he might have been running with a broken seat...) with him yelling "Oh my gosh, i've been lapped by a girl", and found myself enjoying a fabulous morning with some great folks.

Thanks so much to the awesome Americans at Bike Hutt. What a great event....what's the next theme?? I've got a sweet Pocahantas outfit that is dying to be used.

Davo

I don't have a proper CX bike so popped an old rigid on the gearie for this one. I felt good enough and the pink decals really set the fork off. Tire choice was tricky. Ended up with Medusas.



I got holeshot and steamed into the first corner in the lead. I never thought it would last long, and Ken, Jordan, Gav and others, proved me right within less than a minute. I seemed to be riding OK and spent the first half or so in 4th behind Jordan, Gav and Alex. Very close behind was a strong trio of Tom, Trevor and a fast chap on a Niner, who I forgot to say hi to after. I held them off for a few laps, then we traded positions for a few. I was weaker on the 'fitness' bits, but was making very good ground on the hurdles.



Hinge was chasing them and me and eventually all four of them got the better of me. Nick timed his take to perfection on the slippy climb where he executed his trademark "I'm coming inside of you" call, as he nimbly cut my lunch on the climb's top corner.



I then faded a bit. I got the mojo back, but got confused on which lap was last and what a bell lap actually was. I eventually finished with a legendary Superman across the line. But after a bit of chat I decided to do an extra lap on my lonesome to make sure I had not cheated. turns out I was right to finish when I did - On the same lap as the leader.

I thought the highlight of the race was the short open course, which meant you could keep tabs on everyone and cheer and jeer your mates. Cross also lends itself really well to spectating. Thanks very much to everyone who gave me a yell, it was always appreciated! I also enjoyed lapping Ash in her hotpants and loved seeing the Godfather running his laps after breaking his ultralight seatpost - What a hardout!



I enjoyed a few beers and a bit of jawboning afterwards at the Bike Hutt. Nice shop with a good selection of bikes, stock and cheese. Thanks again to Mike, wife Alison and team of helpers for a great time and your hospitality at the shop. Nice one.

The real winner today was Cyclocross.

I say that of course because I didn't frickin' win.

Angry

Knowing there were to be obstacles during a race that required leaping, I knew this race would = FAIL for me as due to knee injuries I have to be careful about things like this as my patella (knee cap for the none hinged readers) has a habit of slipping down to the side of my leg. Also having to ride on my Anthem with Crossmarks would also be an epic fail, so was pleased when Mono offered to loan me his CX bike for the race.
We arrived at the race and did a couple of test laps, was going to be a hard course so lulzzed about before the start.



BANG the race starts and FAIL I couldn't get into my SPD's damm, so most of the pack got away from me, so hammered down and picked most of them up, and was just behind Nick and Davo, I passed Davo who appeared to be asleep and came around to the first hurdle, and lost about 50 metres in my lame ass attempt to jump over it.



That was pretty much my how the rest of my race went, sprint and overtake everyone, to fail at the obstacles and have them all pass me again. That was until the last lap where I finally figured it all out and tried something a wee bit different.......



I managed to catch up to Davo and whilst he wasnt looking I bunny hopped all of the obstacles, even managing a handgrab mid air, was truly awesome I'm surprised there where no photos of this. So having left Davo behind I passed a couple of other riders sight unseen and came upon Nick again at the triple hurdles, this time I powered the shanks and popped a huge wheelie right past him again while he wasn't looking, I then Danny Mackasil style hopped the bike over all the obstacles with a backflip over the 3rd one to rub it in and smashed it home for 3rd place!!!.. wow awesome result.. maybe my CX skillz aren't so bad after all, sadly for the hinged 4 eyed one, he needs some new glasses and a re-lube of the hinge if he expects to beat me next time at a CX event.



Hinge

Awesome to see Cross racing finally come to Wellington and turned out to be a great day for a race. I’d sold my Tricross a few weeks prior (I’d like to think me selling my cross bike and cross all of a sudden becoming cool aren’t linked) but Mike AKA Yankeehotelfoxtrot AKA Crosstafarian, was kind enough to lend me his beautiful Cococino custom ss cross bike. As he is a little taller than me, I switched the stem for a shorter one but otherwise the bike was spot on. While I doubted I’d be competitive, at least I’d look good.

A really good turnout made it to the start line with at least a dozen real cross bikes coming out of the woodwork along with some handy XC racers. Right from the gun I was in a world of hurt.



Even on flat, the gearing was challenging but at least I had my dismounts and run-ups pretty sorted. In particular the hairpin run-up was my main advantage and one of the few opportunities I had for passing. After an ok start over the next 5-6 laps I put in the hard yards to catch the bunch of Davo, Tom, Trevor and Bryce while Jordon, Big Gav and Alex rode away. I finally caught the bunch half way through the race taking Davo in classic Bushlove (Butchlove?) style. From there Davo faded while Tom, Bryce and I stayed pretty close. By the end I had tears welling up and had vomited up in my mouth a few times. With only a slight exaggeration I think I can say it was the hardest 45mins racing of my life. After an epic battle Tom got the better of me on the second to last lap so (I think) I came in 5^th place. More importantly though was first Bushlover across the line despite their fancy geared bicycles. Not only were they all beaten by a four eyes, but they all got lapped too. Shame.

Spectators had a great time too. If you’re too soft to race you should at least come along to heckle. Cheers Mrs Hinge and Popster for your support and muffins. Ash even had her own support crew of young Bushlove fans who loved her costume.

Belgian beer and baguettes back at Bike Hutt (which I recommend you all czech out) finished off a cracking day. There’s talk of it becoming a series so if you didn’t make it on Saturday make sure you make the next race. To steal a quote it’s 'pure sweet hell'.

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And that was the Team's first cyclocross outing. First of many. Thanks to Tama, Oli and Colin for some of the pics from this set on Vorb.

Leonidas Of Sparta.

CX Team Manager and Head Soignuer (whatever that is).