true grit: manatoc cx

Big Bike Fest

The cyclocross season got started today. It was appropriate that the weather felt like autumn. Here in Chardon, it was raining all day, but down in Peninsula, the weather was cool, very dry, dusty and windy. The parking lot was full by the time I got there, about an hour before the "B" race. There was a mountain bike race/festival going on at the same time, which added to the atmosphere.

After registering, and catching up with lots of people I hadn't seen in a year, I didn't have a whole lot of time to warm-up, and only rode about 1/4 of a lap before lining up to start.

I started about three rows back. The starting chute was pretty narrow, so even though the front row went off at a hot pace, it was still pretty crowded and slow heading up into the first turn. When we got to the woods single track section, it was still packed. There wasn't much chance to pass, so I was just cruising along.

The single track section was really excellent. The trail wound through pine trees and climbed and descended a gradual slope. The main difficulty getting through there was the sections where tree roots spanned the entire trail. On the first couple of laps, I crawled through there to avoid a puncture, and to avoid crashing.

Once we got out of the single track, we hit the main part of the course which criss-crossed a big field. Eventually, the course got to another big feature, a sandpit volleyball court, which we crossed twice. The sand was at least a foot deep, but it was relatively easy to plow through, but it was a scene of much mayhem. On one lap a rider went down in front of me, and even though I heard people in the crowd urging me to ride over him, I dismounted, and carried the bike around. That emptied out to the only barriers on the course, and then it was around to the start again.

I took it way too easy on the first couple of laps. I tend to forget the feeble off road skills I have over the summer, so it's always a little bit of a shock to ride on all the cyclocross surfaces. Also, my contact lenses were close to opaque from dust even though I had shades on. I started to dial it up after that and finished strong. I'm sure I finished way down in the field, but I managed to pass at least three or four people.

I felt great at the end, well, except for my left arm which was totally numb from all the banging, and my shin which I biffed on my pedal. I should be able to do a lot better next week. I definitely need a better warm-up before that level of effort.