Canton Cup

I was looking forward to the C-race in Canton. Had two friends coming down to leer, cheer and hang out. The field was HUGE. Since I'm just out there having fun and still learning the ropes I started in the back of the field. I had a great start, passed many guys on the slight hill before entering the first turn. The bike was cooperating with the legs. Held my position and gained some positions on the first set of barriers. Hitting the pavement behind the course, witnessed too many crashes. Remember, knobby tires and high speed damp pavement turns do not mix. I've made the mistake too many times on the MTB at other events. All guys seemed to be ok, missing some skin maybe but otherwise no medi-vac. Continueing along the 1st lap, gained a few more spots on the 2nd set of 12 inch barriers only to loose some spots on the marshy grass and some bad cornering techniques. I had a blast on the long run-up to the track, that last section of the course was pretty fun and the last set of barriers some friends had camped out and were screaming lunatics, thanks, extra motivation was good. Even saw Allison Dunlap talkin' to the Gus. NICE. 2nd lap was more of the same however I wasn't moving forward as the front group had seperated and I was riding around in no-mans land and thats when the slide started. Slipped on one turn and a few riders past me, got stuck behind a slow rider and others caught back up to me so I decided to race it hard and drop them again. 3rd lap, a fun lap for suffering. Right after the long run-up I was remounting the bike on the track and I slipped but I didn't go down, I just had a very awkward recovery, at least the Seivel was there to yell enough to get my motivation back up. The last lap my backward momentum continued as I was cooked. Nothing left in the tank, bile taste in my mouth. That had to be the longest CX race of my year, even the few MTB Races I did. I finished around 43 minutes, I think my position was 46/76. I'll take it. The wind was more of a battle than I anticipated and riding around solo in the fields and on the track with no one to draft really drained my legs. Getting a better start will surely help. It seems that the front group takes off and everybody behind them gets stuck in bottlenecks letting the leaders get a way, but I'm just stating the obvious. Still having fun, the fitness is pretty average for this late in the season (at least for me). I have to get over the stamina and endurance hurdle. Next week, Chainbiter. I should once again be gracing the tail end of the field. Gotta get the bike cleaned up and ready. Hopefully there won't be any hurricane force winds to deal with and if there is, I'm bringing a sail.