2 For 1

Race Summaries. Two races since my last post, neither of them easy. Truth be told, they couldn't have been more different from each other.

Last Sunday was the second Green Mountain Cross race which greeted us with mud. Sticky, slow, snotty, peanut butter. One lap into the warm-up and my drivetrain was caked. Two laps into the race and my entire body was caked.

Usually we get about 6 laps in but on this day we got 4; it was that slow. Every pedal stroke was an effort in itself. By the end of the race it felt like I was pedaling a singlespeed that was stuck in the big ring. It ended up not being too far from that since when I finished Ionly had two gears that worked. Mud and weeds had clogged the rest of them and if you try and force through it, there's a better than good chance that you'll knock off the rear derailleur.

I was shot out the back early on in the race, but I was fine with that this time. I knew I didn't have the leg strength to keep up with a lot of the other people out there and with these conditions, you really had to focus on your own race. In most cases you're out there to race. On this day I was 100% satisfied that I simply finished. Once across the line, it was dropping my bike and sitting down......just like everyone else did. There's usually a post-race, informal 'hey, great job out there on this part,' etc. but this time everybody was quiet in their own misery right up until we all realized we were cold, wet and covered in mud. Overall there were 42 that started, 38 that finished, and I was 29th.

No pictures from today's race, which was AlphaCross 2. I'm not sure what prompted the change of venue, but instead of the anticipated 50-minute drive, I instead only had about 15 minutes. It also made it easier for Nate, Todd, and Rick to come out and watch the race. I had no idea what to expect but when I saw an all grass course I knew it would be trouble. Riding on grass feels like velcro against your wheels. All effort and no speed to show for it. Throw in a bunch of off camber turns, some short but steep hills and a couple sand pits and we had a course. I almost missed the start because I was talking to a friend and when I got up there they were calling 30 seconds before we go. Just in time! First lap was uneventful - just fighting for position as usual and seeing who will be in your pack. It changes every week based on course and conditions. I knew a couple of people and one of the guys has been beating me all season. Once I saw he was faltering I thought today would be my day. After stopping for a dropped chain, I was able to work my way back up to him. I'm sure I burned a couple matches in the process. Once on, I settled in to see how he was riding and given the pace I figured I'd be able to make a move without him staying with. Not necessarily the case. I made my move but before I was able to see what he had in the tank, we both came around a 180* turn with me in the lead and my front wheel washed out. I hit the deck sliding, and then so did he. Another lap with him trailing and on the bell lap he came around me on a straight away. Perfect since I was always faster than him on a stretch before the finish anyway. One thing I forgot to mention was that it was windy out. The tape marking the course was blowing into the course in between each of the stakes. I knew the other rider was stronger through one of the S-turn sections so in order to get my turn right, I started wider. When I did, the tape blew up under my handlebars and somehow wrapped around them. Since it was right by the stake, it jerked my bike and I went straight over the handlebars. I landed on my right hip, got up, slowly walked the bike to top of the hill and got passed by a few people. Fixed my chain and soft-pedaled to see how things were. No problem so with only half a lap to go I sucked it up to see what I could salvage. I got two places back but lost two in the process. Out of 25 riders that started, 21 finished. I was 18th.

Even though I wasn't able to acknowledge anybody that came out to watch, it was cool to have them out there. When you're that cooked, it literally takes too much effort to even wave when you're going by. Any break in the focus is energy wasted to get it back and the way these races go, there's no energy to spare. The last two races I've come home and taken naps!

One more race weekend to go and then it'll be time to hang up the 'cross bike for the season. In the meantime Rick, Chad, Cory (Rick's brother) and I have the run challenge coming up starting on 12/1. And I also have the mountains calling for ski season to get underway!