WhirlyBird CX

The entire week had been a struggle...the company I work for owes me nearly $600 in back pay and is giving me the run around. I received a letter from a lawyer indicating that a long time tenant would be holding rent in lieu of repairs. She filed a complaint with L&I indicating that her heat did not work, even though I told her on numerous occasions that it did...and it does...the technician confirmed it on Friday morning in her presence. I’ve a laundry list of repairs to tackle over the next few weeks. People expect to just snap their fingers and have things done. Let me tell you, contractors are not the easiest people to pin down.

So, needless to say I was looking forward to racing this weekend. It had been three weeks since Charm City. I was on my bike three times since then and was hoping for fresh legs instead of that rusty feeling. 

I never trust the 10 day. The 5 day can be hit or miss as well. Both were forecasting rain on Saturday...and rain it did...but I didn’t even care. WhirlyBird will always be special for me because it was my first CX race...and this was my two year crossaversary. I had waited two years for a mud race. It was Saturday morning and it was here.

I arrived at Bensalem High School at 8am, walked to registration and took a look at the course. After two preview laps, I revisited the off camber sections. They were rideable, but all bets would be off at race time.

I got my useless front row call up and ten people blew by me when the whistle sounded. Going into the barriers I wasn’t in the best position. I knew that people would be riding aggressively on the first lap, making them more prone to errors and falls on the slick sections...and that’s exactly what happened. This enabled me to gain some ground on the lead group. 

My strength is endurance and the ability to pick people off as they wear down. Unfortunately, this was a short, three lap race which had me begging for one more. I crossed the line fourth, not far behind a buddy of mine who I enjoyed heckling in the final minutes of the race. I was covered in mud...I was happy...and for thirty two minutes I had forgotten about the battles I had been fighting all week.