Ridin' Dirty

Don't know if anyone cares about my cyclocross racing, but this is how this past weekend went...

I arrived at 8:30, my typical hour and a half before my race began, registered, unloaded my bike and dressed. I was riding some borrowed wheels from my friend Brendan, which took a whole pound off the weight of my bike. Brendan happened to be there early also, and as has become our usual routine, we took a couple of laps around the course together trying to figure out the proper lines.

I knew since the race was being held in Blue Ridge that it was going to involve some sort of devilish climb...and I was not disappointed. I despise climbing. I was never a good climber when I rode a lot before, and I'm not now. There was a steep paved section that we rode on for about a quarter of a mile then a sharp left turn, over a small ditch, then up a grass hill that I would eventually run up each lap. There was a screaming downhill after that onto a gravel rode with a gnarly left hand off-camber corner. After that, the course started to suit me. Lots of flat fast corners and quick dismounts over barriers.

The race started and I screwed it up as usual. I could not get my left foot clipped into my pedal for about 50 meters. By the first turn I was sitting about 15th and got my front wheel clipped by another rider and almost went down. The hill was very early in the lap and I hit it pissed off and much farther back than I wanted to be. I stood up and passed about 6 riders in the first steep section, already into oxygen debt. I settled in with a group of about six and I watched the lead 5 riders open a gap of about 30 meters.

I survived the climb with the leaders still in sight, but concerned about what that hill would do to me if I stayed with the group I was currently with. I decided to really hammer the flat part so that I could climb the hill at my own pace - reacting to someone else's pace might send me to the edge of my lactic threshold. I managed to open a pretty good gap before we hit the climb again, with only one rider able to match my attack. About halfway up he attacked and I knew I couldn't match his effort. I let him go, content on trying to catch back up on the downhill and flats.

I spent the rest of the race riding at my limit - making up time on the rider in front of me, but not quite as much as he was gaining on the incline. I steadily put more and more distance on the guys chasing behind me so that my last lap was just a hard effort up the hill and rolling the last half to the finish. I ended up 7th, my best finish of the year. It also gave me enough points to slip into the top 10 in overall points, which is a huge accomplishment considering that I scored the absolute minimum amount of points during the first two races of the year.

Brendan won (again) and holds a pretty good hold on the series championship with one race to go. The top 5 riders are out of my league this year, but I am beginning to feel more competitive. Next weekend is the series finale in Dahlonega - with another hill, for sure. We (Peachtree Bikes) are currently third in the team standings, and barring any collapse will be on the podium next weekend. The finale offers double points, so there's a chance I could move up the individual standings as well. I'll settle for a top 10, but if I finish 6th I will consider it a major accomplishment and be very satisfied with my first season of this silly sport.