My first cross race was a blast. My dad drove up from Sandy to Ogden to race and his category went an hour before the single speed category. For an extra 8 dollars the race organizers let you race a 2nd category so I signed up to race with my dad. I could just take it easy and get to know the course and be all warmed up for the single speed race. The weather was a little chilly and some very light drizzling kept things a little damp, but nothing crazy. We started off with about 30 or so other C-flite riders. The course was great, we had a little 20 foot run up where you get off your bike and run up this small but steep sandy hill, then by the start/finish area they had three 1 foot tall barriers that you get off your bike and jump over. The race lasted about 40 minutes, and we both rode well with out a problem. I had gotten a little wet, so I went back to the car to change before the single speed category started. I got to the car, changed and it started to rain....quite heavily.
There were about 12 or 13 single speeders, all likely really strong so I just wanted to finish the race and not die in the process. I had ridden the course for 40 minutes just before this so I was comfortable with the terrain but the rain had brought a whole new aspect. The group started fast and I settled into my own rhythm. Our race was 45 minutes long but after about 5 minutes I had lost all feeling in both my hands. One of the good things about riding a single speed bike is that you don't have to worry about shifting. So basically all I needed to be able to do was grasp the brake levers with my frozen stumps to check my speed.....no problem. After about 25 minutes my hands regained feeling so that was nice, but it continued to rain and the course was getting very muddy. The run up was a big wet mess and it took a good minute or so riding afterwards to get my pedals and shoes cleared of muck and engaged. In reality the mud made the course completely different and quite fun actually. I was fish tailing all over the place, and actually got a good face full of mud when I crashed in a sketchy corner. I was having a blast, I could feel my hands, I was a little cold but otherwise pretty comfortable, covered in mud and just having fun. So basically I'm hooked. This was a classic Cyclocross weekend...cold, rain, and mud. I loved it.
3 comments:
Awesome pics seth! That downhill looks scary with all that mud! I may have overlooked it, but how did you finish? Looking forward to some more cx race reports!
That looks ... uh, fun? Actually, yeah, it does. Congrats on the first weekend.
You got some mud, riiight... there.
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