Two Wheel Blogs

Let's see, how can I best describe this race???

THE COURSE:
1. Zero flat sections. I'm not kidding either. None, zip, zilch, nada.

2. A LOT of off-camber.

3. Spongy and soft with a fair amount of thick-bladed grass. Can you imagine riding a bike across a water bed? If you can also imagine riding a bike across blankets wadded up on a water bed you really get the idea.

4. Climbs. Long, extended climbs. Not mountain passes, but certainly long climbs for a cx race. And not just one of them. In each lap, there were 8-9 climbs of varying length.

5. Rutted. Over the course of the day, the ruts grew and grew.

6. Awesome fans in an awesome setting. Lots and lots of cheering, jeering, and beering. Loved the horns!

7. A race I won't forget for a long, long time. The pain was deep and relentless, but I really liked it. With the singlespeed there wasn't anything to do but shut-up and take the pain. You knew everyone else was suffering, so it came down to who could be the King of Pain.

I started easy and was simply looking to finish the singlespeed race (my first ever) and not get too embarassed. I think I slotted in somewhere around 11-12th and then worked to close down as much as I could. At one point, I thought I was running 6th, but it turns out Pete Goode and I were racing for 7th. Another guy from Team Red Wheel was in the mix, but I think I dropped him on the last big climb of the race. Overall, I felt like my legs were back and had raced a slightly easier gear (I ran a 42/20) perhaps I could have moved up. In the end I was very pleased with my effort (8th place) and will take a lot of positives into next week where I plan to again run the singlespeed.