Monday, September 26, 2011

Manions/1st Cross race of season...

Raced Manions on Saturday which was the first cross race of the season for me... You know what? It hurts just like I remember!! I was coughing all day Sunday....
You know.... I forget each year how seriously some folks take this riding around in the grass.... Multiple bikes, multiple wheelsets (each of which are more expensive than my whole rig), got their trainers out, hell even license plates on their cars for crying out loud.... Ain't nothing a beer and some dirt singletrack could not fix, but anyway.....
I was happy Manions was the first race for me because it is hilly and technical... This levels the playing field a little for us MTB dudes.. I got to hand it to you roadies, your bike handling might be a little lax, but your engines are large....

Just as I remember it!
I was doubling up on the day and hit up the Single Speed race at 3:00, then the 3/4's at 4:00... I have never done a back to back CX double so this was uncharted territory...

Started SS about 2 rows back but after the whistle, I passed everyone and hit the hole shot in first... I always can seem to do well at the start, I think its a combination of MTB race starts and everyone else not used to their eggbeaters...
I actually held on to first for about 1/4 a lap until I started loosing ground, Britton came by and then another Colavita dude (Kent, who won the race).. So back to 3rd real quick.... Couple min later 4th.... End of the first lap 5th.... Damn it!!!
I limited the damage after that, another Colavita dude was creeping up on me but I started taking ground later in the race and thought I was going to catch Rodger on his MTB ahead of me... Heading back in I hear the "final lap bell" where I was told 2 laps to go and 1 lap to go by two different people... HUH???? Owe well, just keep trucking, see what happens.... Finished the race in 5th.... Not great, but felt a hell of a lot better than my first race last year...
SS Results
Gettin it! See the massive dust trail in my wake? Yah, me neither....
Next up a quck nutritious drink and the 3/4's... I paid some extra cash to get a call up for this one, well, because I was smart and knew I would be racing some fresh legs on geared bikes...
So the game plan was to haul ass at the start and hold on the best I could... Started 2 rows back again, and again hit the hole shot in front of the pack (sittin 4th) and again stared to loose spots immediately...
6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, etc... Damn it again!!!!
After a couple laps, I got in a nice routine of riding the hills hard and recovering on the flats/downhills and started to pull back a couple spots and settled in and finished the race 9th....

Well, as much as I hate to admit it, Cross is a blast.... So much that I am working on a little project to get me a geared version of one of these skinny tired bikes...
Had to leave early, but looked like Ethos was killing it in the open class.... TDonn, CRex, JPBrocket and one more I have not met yet.....

Results Day One...

Results Day Two...

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