JingleCross Rocks!!

Wow! I did not know what to expect heading up to the middle of Iowa to catch a cross race. I am rather sheltered in attending, well... Any race within a 2 hour drive from MO. I am also a little biased in I love Cross over other bike racing.

With that being said...JingleCross was the coolest bike event that I have ever been to!!! Between racing on the coolest course I have ever raced, to the atmosphere and the pros, it was worth the 4+ hour drive.

Saw some folks I know from the local races, and met some cool folks (Some of the T6 crew) up Mt. Krumpit. It was a blast!

Saw TDonn kill it in the 35+ and take 2nd. Then it was time to warm up. I think it took me longer to pin my arm/shoulder numbers on than actually warm up.

I only made it up for Sundays race and decided way late that I was going. They lined up based on the pre-registration date, which put me waaaaay back in the 7th row (50+ people back). It took the entire first lap for things to spread out a bit and find the room to stretch your legs out a bit. We were lucky enough to have the sloppiest race on the day with it raining the first couple of laps. I ended up moving up to 18th with gas still in the tank.

Here is my GoPro video of the first lap + 1/3 of the second (I apologize in advance for some of the language in the music. By the time it took to download I was fed up with editing as I don't have skills or decent software)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeVrhzmdhgc&feature=youtu.be

JingleCross FB

PICTURES

RESULTS

Here are some more picks/videos I took.

Looking across from the finishline

Vendors

Wheel Pit

Beer man on top of Mt. Krumpit

Top of Mt. Krumpit

This Guy

Course from top of Krumpit

The green thing. I don't know what they call it. 

The run up Mt. Krumpit

The Pros running up Krumpit

Check back tomorrow, I have some videos I am going to post. Ran out of time....

Boulevard Cup Cyclocross

Headed out to Shawnee KS for the Boulevard Cup!

I had to miss out last weeks races so I was eager to get back at it, especially when Boulevard Brewery  is the key sponsor!

During my warm up I noticed the usual suspects plus Mark came out to play with us today. I guess him and G & TDonn ran out of MTB races to dominate once BTE is over. 

The Boulevard guys laid out one hell of a nice course, had literally a bit of everything, sand, pavement a little bit of climbing and a bunch of switchbacks. I usually do well on courses like this. Well any course that does not have long power straights on them anyway. 

Started in the front row and had two to three guys picked out on which wheel I wanted to follow given how the race plays out. I don't like taking the hole shot, I can't pace myself properly and I don't want to blow myself up. 

So once were off I was sitting about 4 to 5 back when Mark who was looking to take the hole shot, blew straight by the turn in to get onto the course from the pavement and took the next 3 guys behind him. So I ended up second just like that. Fast forward a min later (its on the GoPro video, I don't want to spoil it for ya) and I find myself in the lead, exactly where I did not want to be. 

Click here and go to the video of the first lap. 

(You tube upload so slow with blogger it will take a day or so to get the actual video on the blog.)

The rest of the race would prove to be somewhat uneventful. I put the bike down a couple of times on the corners trying to be super cross man and rail them. I guess I got a little overconfident in my tires a couple of times.  Basically the whole race I wold take time on Andrew on the sand section and he would make it back on me during the pavement climb on the back side. We would yo-yo like this for the duration of the race. 

And just like that, I got my fist win ever as a Cat 3!!

RESULTS

TWIN SIX REPORT

On another note and even more important than my first win... Took my boy on his first MTB ride on his stryder bike and he LOVED IT!! He yelled either, come on dad or faster dad the entire time!!