I'm sure I'll Change the title before the week is out. Saturday, 6am is when my race really started. The race to get the car packed, the bike dialed in, to escape any escapades with my awake 4month old (at least he waited till I left the house before he pooped...its was huge, so I was told), all wondering if I would even be able to race due to my delayed registration. C-race...8:35am I was in, the numbers were pinned to my jersey, #437...and interesting number. Rode most of the course when I heard the call up for staging. By the time I got to the "line", I was about 80 riders deep. Stuck in the back, no biggie, it was my first Cross race ever, so I just wanted to have fun and not destroy the bike (as it is not mine). The whistle blew and we were off, after we had to wait a few seconds for the other 79 people in front of me to start rolling, a few bottle necks on the first lap allowed the leaders to get the gap and just take off. I rode in the middle or what seemed like the middle of the pack. Handling the bike on the s-turns and the twistys was relatively easy, I was able to push through the turns and pick good lines most of the time, it was the sand and the long straight aways that kicked my ass, repeatedly, not to mention the part of the course that led to the run up, that sucked my strength as well and i just plain sucked at it. Oh yeah, running, I sucked at that too. I rode with the same group of riders for most of the race, just holding their wheels and occasionally swapping positions. The things I remember during the race were strange. I remember a green surly cross-check bike and the rider kept hitting the dirt on any sharp turn, but he would always catch back up on the straight-aways....the thank you I got for setting a good tempo on the final lap for this woman rider and giving her a good draft (I think she got 3rd..yes...she started 30 seconds behind me, she was good), a girl on a Salsa bike that could really get some distance on her snot shots and dish out the smack talk to a slower rider blocking her, some guys rear leg was all carved up and bleeding everywhere...and finally this one guy right before the run-up, every lap he had a good cheer "If you aren't feeling the pain, you are not going hard enough"..another "Welcome to the pain cave" and something along those lines, he had others but the brain is just not working. Overall, I got 37th in the c-men (my number...437..coincidence. I learned alot, didn't get lapped, bike / rider left without any severe damage or trauma, just left gloucester wanting more. I immeadiately went home, stopped a the half-way cafe for some recovery food essentials, Stone coast brews, wings and other fine culinary creations from the frielator.
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