West Chester Cross Classic

I probably should play the lottery tomorrow...either that or we'll be getting a foot of snow some time this week.

Last weekend I raced a double...Saturday was early and Sunday was late (and shorter). This weekend, Saturday was late and Sunday was early. I arrived at Bayard Rustin High School to preview the course before the 9AM race. After doing more climbing in 8 miles than on a 40 mile ride in South Jersey at Star Rock CX, my legs were not happy...but they had no other choice.

When we lined up, I noticed that a few of the ladies that I usually battle with had moved into the 1/2/3 field. This increased my chances of doing well, but there was still some strong competition in the 3/4 race. 

I got a decent start (for me) which meant that ten people didn't fly past me and stayed in the lead group for the first lap. Mid-way through the second lap I took the lead, but there were still two ladies close by...too close for my comfort. On the third lap I got some breathing room thanks to smooth transitions and a few short, hard efforts on the straightaways.  One last technical section through a rock bed and I was home free for my second win of the weekend. I still can't believe it.

We waited around for a long time, but they finally called us up for the podium and I was handed a bag of goodies...so much stuff that I still haven't finished sorting through it. The best part of all of this was sharing the podium with four other great ladies. I look forward to seeing them every weekend from September to November. I love CX.

West Chester Cross Classic Post Race Beer: Southern Tier Pumking

Hell yeah! I bought two bottles of this last month and was saving it for a special occasion.  It is my favorite pumpkin beer...cheers!

West Chester Cross Classic

My next race report was supposed to be from Independence Cross on October 27th in Bridgeton, NJ...but something happened the day after Cooper River Cross...I couldn't wait to do it again...two days later, I woke up and thought to myself "I really want a mountain bike so I can get some more time in the woods to work on bike handling skills." By Thursday evening I was registered for the West Chester Cross Classic.

I arrived early to pre-ride the course. It was more challenging than the previous two (WhirlyBird and Cooper River) and I conceded to the fact that this may well be the race that I would go down on one of those off-camber sections...but I didn't...in fact, I started to feel more comfortable as the race went on and turned in my best finish so far...sixth place in the Cat 3/4 field.

At the beginning of cross season, I identified three local races that I wanted to do. It was an attempt to get a taste of the action without having to wake up at the crack of dawn and drive an hour or two, like I did during road season. By the end of November I will most likely have completed double that number of races. My experience over the past month has definitely changed the way I am going to approach winter training and the next road season.