Racing.
Nov 9th 2009martyRace & cyclocross
Also known variously as Riding Around With a Number On, Embarrassing Yourself for Forty Minutes, and Showing Off Parts of Yourself In a Skinsuit That No One Should See.
However, if you’re feeling good and the course is fun, who cares what other people think. Thus were the circumstances at the Schoolyard Cross, held Saturday at Alexander Dawson School.
The course was bumpier than a teenager’s face, but I still thought it was a great time. It also suffered from Bank Teller Syndrome, with many nonsensical 180-degree turns, but hey, who doesn’t need to work on their cornering?
Of course, all this was overshadowed by the mud pit, which was created not by mother nature but by my friend Boups and a few Dawson students with a garden hose.
While it’s true that bike racers can be a whiny bunch, I had to agree with people who were a bit exasperated by this. Everyone had spent hours cleaning their bikes after the Blue Sky Velo Cup, which was the real deal where mud was concerned. To end up with the same chore the very next weekend — when all this grit does real damage to equipment — for the sake of a fake mud pit felt lame.
That said, the slop was easy enough to ride so long as you weren’t throwing elbows in a group, and I can handle the job of bike washing without much complaint. I’m a mountain biker, after all.
Aside from that, the course held some other cool bits: a funky rise up a contour trail before hitting a steep barrier run-up; a great view of the mountains while approaching said run-up; a couple of more slalom-style turns; and a short climb that for some reason was great to charge up. (I can’t believe I just said that. I hate climbing.) There was also a longer, way bumpier hill that was utterly taxing, and of course it was located in direct line of sight of almost every spectator. And finished with a set of barriers. I don’t think I need to say any more.
But I felt pretty decent, which is always a pleasant surprise, and after each grind up that hill I was able to recover and start charging again.
This must be a sign of – gasp! – fitness coming on, at least on some feeble level. Sweet.
After making some decent passes and not getting passed by anyone else, I squeeked onto the finishing straight right before the start of the men’s 4s.
But contrary to how this might look, I was not last. I was 13th out of 21, which is certainly a sign of improvement on my part.
Huge thanks to Rob for shooting these photos (his first attempt with my neck-breaking DSLR), carrying my spare wheels on his back while we rode to the racecourse, and just being rad.
You can see some more photos of the race here.
Next week’s racing brings us back to Xilinx, hopefully in drier conditions, for the next Boulder Racing event. Get there!
