I raced the Superior Cyclocross race up in Cathaprin VA on Saturday, and had, for me, a pretty good race. I was able to snag a spot on the second row at the line and was determined to have a strong start. At first, it didn’t look good as my wheel was between two other riders and I was completely boxed in. I managed to get out some sort of inarticulate grunt that may have been taken for “in between,” but in any event the rider to my left moved over just enough and I shot through, managing to be 5th wheel going into the dirt.
The course was a tough one; the only pavement was the short finishing stretch, and the remainder, mostly through open fields, was quite bumpy. The bumps I could handle; it was the numerous hills, especially 3 steep ones that required you to stand just to get up them that did me in. Several times during the race I overtook riders on the flatter or downhill sections, only to be passed in turn on the hills. After a few laps of repeating this pattern, I lost contact with them, not being able to storm up the hills again and again, and I settled into my own private pain cave for the duration.
Perhaps the most unusual feature was the pile of woodchips used as an obstacle. I was so surprised at coming upon it during warmups that I actually stopped and asked where the course went. Grinning at my confusion, the volunteers pointed straight over the pile. And over it I went. One aspect of the race I really regret, however, was not seeing if I could ride the pile. Several riders could, but by the time it occurred to me to try it, warmup was over, and I wasn’t willing to experiment once the race started. Consequently, I dismounted and clambered, stumbled, and even sunk a few times as I crossed it. Riding it would have saved a few seconds every lap, seconds that I really could have used as I finished 9th and 7th and 8th place were still within sight.
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Tags: bike racing, cyclocross