Cross Season Has Started

So I created this blog a few months ago. Now, I'll try and update it more often.

Well recently I have been racing off road. The 12 hour Burnin' Race was a great time as always. I had some great team members who were making their racing debuts. As a whole we did good. Didn't get last in coed, no one crashed hard, and everyone drank a lot. I had the worst luck by flatting 5 times over two days and toasting my shifty bike. Well I deserve that since I don't normally ride it and will try not to ride it much anymore. Matt laid down some great laps and put me to shame. I made a great 1st lap of 1 hr 25min, and was beginning to pick up the trail a bit more and shoot for a 1hr 20min 2nd lap when I flatted a mile 2 out of 14. So I change that, dial down my pace some so I don't get another flat and finish with a 1hr 36min. Lame. My 3rd lap was a night and was really slow since I took my time because my other teammates were done and not going out again before 9pm. It was a great time and am looking forward to next year.

Skip ahead to this past weekend. Saturday was a super fast non-technical race at Spanish Lake. I picked Matt up and he and I went racing. Our wives joined forces and went to some super huge baby garage sale to do some damage. To my surprise I saw the Bugman there. What hell? He some of the nicest and coolest road bikes around and he shows up on a sweet old school bike to race on the dirt. But hey he is fast and hell so who I am to call him out. I enter Singlespeed and Matt entered Sport. Matt and I made it around for a lap before the race started, which was good because this was a fast trail and I needed relearn how twisty the start was. So we start. Sport first, then endurance, and then finally single speed 2 minutes back of sport. I started hard so I didn't get screwed on the entry into to woods. I quickly realize the top 2 are going much harder then me. I settle in and Rich passes me early in the 1st lap. I get back around him and drop him and I'm sitting 3rd. Then I begin catching sport and endurance riders. They were cool with giving me space to pass. I was surprise to see Matt because he smoked me at the 12hr race the week before. Bad day for him. Then I pick off a few more non singlespeed riders. Caught the Bugman as we entered the woods and he let me by gracefully. Man I was surprised to catch him, but at least he is keeping it upright and riding strong. At the end of the 3rd lap a singlespeed rider catches me and we road together pretty much all the 4th lap. He ended up passing me just before the last section of woods and I tried to stay with him on the single track. No luck there, I suck. Ended up 4th by 10 seconds. Best SS result of the year.

Now Sunday. Cyclocross races start. Same single speed, new 32/13 gearing and skinny tires. I entered the B races this year after my success in the C's last year, but I never won a C race so don't call me a Sandbagger or D'Bag. I lay back at the start, which was a mistake. I got screwed by non-bike handling people in front of me. No worries, I started to repass those people. I even passed the Pfoodman which was surprising. He is fast, but was having a bad day. I did manage one massive crash at the barriers where my foot failed to unclip. After that I settled into a small group with Jose, Klages, and 2 others. We road around a few laps together, but they were riding their brakes on the fast downhill onto the pavement and that was bothering me. So I moved to the front and pushed the pace some and then got repassed on the road. I made two attacks that were useless. Then towards end of the race I made another attack and Jose followed. We dropped the others. Then Jose and I road a few laps together. Not sure if we picked it up or the others slowed down. Anyways we opened a gap, but on the last lap Jose dropped me. Really, I dropped myself. I ended up 11th out of 24 in the B race. Pretty good for me. It was great race and I even had a mini cheering section so that was cool. I'm ready for a full season of cross and hope to keep up the near top tens.