Cross Race

Saturday brought us another stellar day for Cyclocross racing! Weather was foggy in the morning, but it burnt off by noon and left us with temps higher then what would be expected for November 1st. This weeks course was a preview of the US National Cyclocross Championships and brought us higher turn outs.


My fist impression of the course was pretty negative, seemed like it favored the climbers and left us heavy weights longing for a steady diet of tofu. The course appeared to offer little challenges to the riders and minimized the importance of bike handling skills. Fortunately I was wrong!


While standing at the start line I swore that going for the hole shot was a bad idea; conserving my energy for the upcoming hill would give me the best chance to stay with the pack. The whistle blew and so did my strategy; I red lined my heart rate and flew down the pavement easily getting to the grass, through the chicane and around the first tight corner. The field was a few seconds behind me as I passed the wheel pit, but gaining quickly.


Not surprisingly I was passed by quite a few riders, including second time racer and teammate Larry Smith. He easily attacked me on the longer steady climb while I was recovering from my ill advised hole shot. Once I crested the top of the hill all things turned for the best. The first tight turn on the down hill I took an inside line and was easily passing my neighbor Todd when a fellow rider crashed. Instead of sliding down the hill his bike twisted up hill and into my rear wheel flipping it up on my back stopping me instantly. The rider and I quickly dislodged it from my rear wheel and resumed racing. The down hill flowed smoothly; with tight turns and quick bust of power I passed a few riders on each lap.

Todd and I traded places one more time on the up hill and down hill. On the third lap I was able to maintain my lead and pass a few more riders on the decent. The fourth lap I worked hard to keep another rider behind me. My heart rate approached 180 beats per minute well above my point of puking. Fortunately I was able to maintain the higher heart rate and started gaining on one last rider. By the time we had made our way to the final turns I was within reach. The last hairpin turn I used the last of my strength to pass him on the outside. Once on the pavement we sprinted to the line, holding him off by a half a bike length.

I finished 11th out of 45 and Larry finished 6th. Steve Kirsch made it out for his 4th race of the season and brought his own cheering squad along with Taylor, Reece and the Babe.

Another fine day of racing and hanging with the family!

Pictures were taken by Heather Taylor