So, I finally raced again. Madcross. Jonathan Page, Tim Johnson, the Wells brothers and more. Very exciting to watch the pros. Madison's first UCI cross race. I raced the first of the double cross weekend days. Saturday was sunny and hot.
There were about 15 gals in my race. The start was fast but not really red line, and I let everyone duke it out in front of me as I hadn't ridden the start and it was gravel with a tight blind turn. My goal was just to finish, have fun, and not get hurt. I was a bit nervous the previous day doing a pre-ride of the course. My thumb still hurts when the bike vibrates and it reminds me just how quickly one can go from "fun" to "ouch" - in a blink of the eye. So, "careful" was my middle, first and last name.
I watched a few girls ride away from the pack. I was near the back of the pack headed into the first barrier and was the first over and back on the bike. Whee. That was fun. I was just riding conservatively and trying to not get hurt. After about 2 laps, someone yelled at a girl behind me that she was in 6th place. Hmm. Must mean I'm 5th. Wow. Not bad. I kept riding hard, but not too hard. Easy around the twisty sections. Don't want to hurt myself. I was coming up on a girl wearing black and passed her. Nice long pony tail. (Random oxygen deprived thought.) My right forearm still isn't 102% so I wanted to use my left arm to pick up the bike. After a couple more laps I starting to get the hang of my drive side dismount. I also remembered what Jay said about accelerating out of turns. Okay. I'll stand. That's fun. It hurt. I pulled away. That's cool. Pedal pedal pedal.
One lap to go. I see a purple and white jersey a bit ahead of me. Hmm. "Can I get her?" I say to myself. I respond firmly "Stop that! Go easy. You don't care. You don't want to get hurt." Pedal pedal pedal and she's a bit closer. Pedal pedal pedal. Not really trying too hard. Fast pavement. Chicane. Gap closed. Had to hit the brakes behind her on the off camber s-turn. Fast downhill to an uphill tight left. Got her on the inside and stood and hammered away. She fought and wasn't too far behind me. I went all out for the rest of the lap. Started bleeding out my eyeballs. Over the barrier I go. Opened the gap even more. Took it easy through the twisty off-camber section and hammered the flats and hills to the uphill bumpy finish. Felt like I was going to puke crossing the finish. I had to stop and hang on to the fence for a while. It was awesome.
I thought I finished 5th or 6th or so and was suprised when the results showed me in 3rd! If I had been thinking I could have figured that out, but a lack of oxygen and lack of concern didn't allow that. It was a fun but bumpy race. I made $35. After paying $30 entry fee and $4 for a sandwich, I broke even. I may do that again soon.
Oh, what's up with the shorts you're asking? Very comfortable. Those are part of my Dakotech kit Dan K swagged us. JyGreen is for the company his buddy Shawn Jyawook owns called Jyco which makes environmentally friendly weather stripping for cars.
It was a nice ride. Not very many cars out. There was a nice, still, quiet feeling in the air.
It was fun riding through the really deep snow on the sidewalks, slipping and sliding and pretending it was deep sand in a Belgian 'cross race.
Passed a few runners and walkers enjoying the lazy day.
I don't like taking a half hour to get dressed. I must be getting soft.
Left the bikes in the hallway to drip dry.
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Costume falling apart. Just like the rider.
