The race itself started at 10am and the turn out was more than anyone would have guessed for this first year race. At the start I was off like a bullet. I was running pretty good but was still getting pasted, so I turned the pace up even higher. The fact that everyone was cheering for me helped me ride even harder. One problem though, I was riding way to hard. After two laps of a pace way above my fitness level the wheels started to come off. I went out so hard and my body was on fire. I couldn't do anything but slow down and try to keep a decent pace. I didn't and couldn't... Oh well lesson learned. Here are the results.
After the race it was fun to hang out with all my old friends and new ones. Some beer was drunk, pasta was eaten, roped was jumped and manly raking took place (don't ask). I would have loved to hung out all day but sense joining team Bi-atch it's the Pro life style from here on out, so I had to hit the road for a race in Washington D.C. the following day.
Bi-atch teammate McGill was nice enough to put me up at his D.C. bachelor pad for the night. Yes that right ladies he's single and willing. Chris is a school teacher plus a ultra mountain biking specialist, so act now!
I'd love to say that I made it to his place with no problems, but that would be a total lie. I spent an hour driving around D.C. looking for Chris's place. I once even found myself drive loops in a traffic circle which made me think about National Lampoon's European Vacation. "Look kids, Big Ben Parliament!"After a few phone calls to Chris I finally found the place. My mood improved really quick because right after getting my car unpacked we headed out for some sushi and the night life of D.C. OK that's a lie also, we had the sushi but came home right afterwards to watch Saturday night live. I was ready to wingman for my teammate but we had to rest for the morning.
The next morning we headed out the door well rested and ready. I was some what nervous do to the fact that I was racing on a brand new bike (thanks to Cannondale) that I picked up at the factory just two days before. More about the new bike tomorrow. The Kelly Benefit Strategies Cyclocross at Rockburn was also a pretty large race so that didn't help the butterflies as well. Chris and I did some laps around the course right after the C race was over. It was not a super long time to warm up but it was at least a good chance to see the course. As they were calling for the racers at the starting line I was ready to make my way to the starting area, but there was a problem. My shoe broke. I rushed back to the car to fix them, but it was unrepairable. Lucky I had my winter riding boots in the car so I throw them on.
I made it to my spot at the line just in time before we started. The start was wicked fast but at least three different crashes at the front with in the first quarter of a lap helped hold things together for a while. However I started to notice really quickly that the boots were really hurting my feet. I kinda figured the pain would go away soon once I settled into the race. However this never happened. The pain just kept getting worse. As I passed Chris he would cheer for me but all I wanted to do was quit. The pain grew to the point were I just wanted to quit. I was also getting my ass kicked in the race and my motivation was dead. However I sucked it up and told myself I had to finish. Which I did, but after the race as Gunnar and Chris warmed up I found my self laying on the ground in pain. After around 20 minutes or so I was back to normal and ready to watch the rest of the team race. Here are the results.
The event itself was kick ass and I plan to come back next year to try again. Even with all my issues I am already on board to travel to Virginia for Urban Cross. Hopefully this weekend will go a little better to plan. Gunnar crushed, Chris is riding better and better on that broken wrist and Betsy race was SUPER exciting and she won in a sprint finish. Make sure to check out Team Bi-atch's Blog for the details.
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