Boss Cross 1 (Saturday)

So as it turns out, my dnf last week was right about the time that separates the race from fun to holy crap why do I do this to myself.  Boss Cross 1 (Saturday) was my second race of the season but the first one I actually got to finish. And that time that separates the race is only like 1/3 into it.

EH Young Park is a pretty good venue, relatively flat but fast. OMG fast.. I usually prefer hilly and slow, so I thought this was going to be interesting to say the least.

Did some warm-ups with El Hombre Loco being very mindful to get my last pre race bathroom break in so I don’t line up in the back like I did at Manions.  Did a couple of laps got everything primed and dialed in, stopped to talk to JWill and wouldn’t you know it, they are flippen lined up. Here I am sitting 30 back. AGAIN!

Race whistle blows and were off. Well, the first 15 or so are, we just stand there for 5 to 10 seconds before were off and then bottleneck in the first turn.  Like usual there are a couple fellas falling around some of the “technical” stuff but nothing serious like this group the following day..

I work my way past 15 or so where I seemed to hit a spot where everyone is going about the same pace. Me and about 2-4 guys are playing leap frog for about 2-3 laps… Leaders are way gone at this point. I think I saw El Hombre Loco ½ a lap ahead of us already on the first or second lap. Also at this time the top 2 to 3 SS guys smoked by us.

I know I was pushing myself pretty well, I do remember thinking that this sucks. That’s my internal barometer of how much effort I am putting into the race. If I am miserable and ask myself why I do this, I am going as hard as I should. If I think to myself, wow, this is fun, then I am not going nearly as hard as I should be.

Down to about 3 laps left I am closing a gap on JWill a little bit. I caught him about the time I was riding down this stair section and dropped my chain. Man it sucks to be putting in a huge effort to see it go in a matter of seconds. Luckily I was able to put my chain back on without any trouble, so I was back in the chase.

Last lap and I get John within my sights, all while I can’t quite seem to drop the guy behind me chasing.  Once we hit the home stretch we had to go through two sand pits, one you ran (everyone did minus, Joe S and Elwell in the open race) and the second you could ride though. I hit the section as full gas but ended up about two bike lengths away from John for a mediocre 10^th out of 33(ish).

From last year, I somehow had forgotten how hard cross is. I absolutely love it for that, nice to put my body through the shock of it all. Add some fuel to the fire and start looking to the next race!

As it turns out , I have a bit of work to do this season if I even want to entertain the thought of racing open later.

RESULTS

I can’t find any pictures anywhere, will post if I do..

Check out some of the other race blogs on the left…

On a MTB note, Cameron won the 24hr national title again. From what I read, destroyed the competition.