HPCX

The rule for this season is no races more than an hour away from home. Charm City is one of my favorites and it was tugging at my heartstrings last weekend. I resisted the urge to travel to Baltimore. It was the right decision for both personal and financial reasons.

HPCX was new for me last year. I remember that it was brutally cold and that there was no place nearby to get coffee. 

I arrived at Thompson Park a little before 8AM and proceeded to double flat on the pre-ride. My initial instinct was to pack up and go home. After some persuasion, I headed over to the Stan’s No Tubes tent for support. The mechanic was able to seal my front tire, but couldn’t guarantee that the rear tire would hold. No pre-ride, no warm up, sealant oozing out of my back tire and my race goes off in thirty minutes. 

My pit bike is a peanut butter sandwich...let’s eat...then let’s spend $100 on new tires at the bike shop!

I can’t say that I was thrilled when the alarm went off at 6am on Sunday morning. It was dark and cold, like frost on the windshield cold. This time, I pulled out all the stops...a road bike, trainer (what?? who warms up?) and two CX bikes made the journey with me. I cannot believe how much shit one person needs for a 40 minute bike race.

The course on Sunday was new this year and it included two sand pits. I watched people ride, but I also saw some epic failures. Running would be the fastest way for me to get through this section. I committed to the run, even though most people around me would be attempting to ride.

I had a decent start and settled in somewhere around 4th or 5th. There was nowhere to recover on this course. If it wasn’t the sand it was a climb or a run up. It wore me down, but it felt good. I hung in there and battled it out for a third place finish, which was a nice turn around from the double flat on day one.

Mill Creek CX

I spent most of the night having dreams about forgetting something. The first time, I got to the race and forgot my bike. I woke up, went to the bathroom and back to sleep. Then I forgot my socks...rolled over...they were calling my race and I wasn’t dressed. I tried to put on my shorts and they were inside out...I woke up and decided to make some coffee...so much for sleeping in.

It’s been a busy week as far as bikes are concerned...a commuter cx bike and a race cx bike are in the works, along with some parts being swapped and my road bike being readied for sale...I was at the shop from early afternoon until close three days last week. As a result, my CAADX is built up for commuting and there are million bike parts in my living room. 

I’ve never done a 1/2/3 race in NJ. The start time (12:06pm) doesn’t suit me well as I am accustomed to racing in the morning. The length of the race (45 minutes) is also longer than I’m accustomed to. BUT this was less than half an hour from my house and much closer than my other options for racing this weekend. Surprisingly, only five women pre-registered. With an additional two day of registrations, the field size grew to seven. It was announced that everyone would get paid. Not a bad deal!

The sun came out for our race and it got pretty damn hot. When I passed the line and heard “three to go” I did the math in my head. This is going to be a long ass race...and it was...52 minutes (for me) which was 20 minutes longer than last weekend at Nittany. 

Lap four is where it started coming undone. The leader was well off the front and the two women I had kept close started to pull away. There I was, on a windy, open field in NJ, navigating twists and turns, a few off cambers and some barriers...no one to chase, no one pursuing me. I did my best to keep it steady and finish where I thought I would...fourth.

Those extra 20 minutes of racing gave me reason to celebrate with an excellent seasonal from Long Trail Brewing Company. Cheers! 

Nittany CX

Being even less prepared that last year, I couldn’t think of a better way to begin the cyclocross season than a double race weekend at Nittany. This year the MAC added a women’s 40+ Masters category, which I was extremely thankful for because I am FAR from UCI material.

The vibe at the starting line was much more relaxed and friendly. It made for a pleasant racing experience that did not lack competition.

Saturday was flat and fast, which played to my strengths and a third place finish. Late day rained altered the course dramatically for the second day of racing. The turns were slick and there was a large mud pit not far from the start. On the first lap I was forced to dismount and run, which put me in chase mode for a good portion of the race...but as I like to say “I’m not a starter, I’m a finisher” and my endurance enabled me to fight back to a fourth place finish. 

Overall, it was a pretty good weekend. It was nice to see everyone from the CX community, people who are like family to me for the next few months.

When I got home I took the dog to the field and drank a Pumking. Then I ate a kick ass burrito. Tomorrow won’t be very pleasant, but the bikes are clean and there’s another race to look forward to next weekend.