CavaNero Goes Racing, Ep. 1: Sandbagging or Meathucking?
A borrowed Commencal FRS. 27.5” wheels. Single speed. Sloppy conditions. All-white kit. Last-minute BOQS prototype for a previous-gen BOXXER fork. What could go right, right?
Day 1: Friday Practice
A five-hour drive westward across rural Pennsylvania saw the crew (three Hawaiian Shirt Mafia Racing and one CavaNero rider) arrive at a race track hammered by incessant rain, creating pools of water, deep mud, and unpredicatble ruts…
A slippery track walk preceeded Friday’s 3-hour practice, as every crevice of every bike and rider became caked with oily mud, and temperatures hovered in the low 40s but felt more like the low 30s…
The AirBnB stockpiled with all kinds of breakfast foods and snacks was a welcome conclusion to day one in Oil City, PA.
Day 2: Saturday Practice and Seeding
SHOQSSER (prototype), BOQS Z, and BOQSSER equipped on our bikes, trying their best to keep mud out of our eyes, as goggles became useless in these conditions…
Although the rain stopped and temperatures warmed, track conditions continued to worsen, as ruts continuously changed, mud continued to impose itself on every conceivable surface, and our unpreparedness for the conditions meant we had to wear muddy, soaked clothing and gear from the previous day…
Saturday concluded with Cole Miller (@coleridesbike) seeding 3rd in the Pro category, Davey (@davidzmontreal) set to drop first in Cat 1 (to then get set up for some race photography), and Gus (@augustusstach) and Sandro (@cavanero_) to proceed with voluntary seeding in Cat 3 for Sunday.
Race Day
Above: Pre-run chilling, including a successful ‘Tossie’: when you set the phone’s camera timer and then throw it up in the air to capture an aerial selfie.
Sunday’s weather was the best of the weekend, with temperatures settling in at around 70 degrees and some mild wind at the start tower. The upper part of the track was considerably drier, while the lower half continued to be swamped with water pooling in spots and running in others, and mud ranging from peanut butter to thin and sloppy. After four or five practice runs, some Monnies, and some down time to rest, it was time to go racing.
Results:
With an unlucky off that looked to be about 12 or more lost seconds, Cole still managed 3rd with a 2:08.29.
Davey slotted into 4th, just missing out on the podium, with a 2:04.37 and looking his quickest all weekend.
Gus taught some trees some lessons on his way down, while still grabbing 7th out of 13, at 2:28.44.
Sandro, who dropped first in his men’s 17-39 Cat 3, put together his cleanest top to bottom run of the weekend, landing himself in 1st place with a 2:00.22, six seconds clear of the next rider.
