Double 'cross

Race reportage from CCCX #1, Manzanita Park:

Fun course. Not rolling, but half-up and half-down, with more technical bits going down. Wide in most places, so it avoided the single-track sheep-in-a-line phenomenon.

I joined the B men for the first time, starting at 10am (a nice respite from 8.30am-9am in the C's last year). I was 2nd row, and within a few seconds of the start saw at least a dozen riders shoot off the front never to be seen again. I and others chugged away for lesser places in the back. Barriers went surprisingly smooth given the awkwardness of dismounts in practice. No major mechanicals, just a dropped chain that eventually jigged back on. No major biffs, 'cept running into two others tangled up on the whoop-te-doos at the top--that left me with a good scratch on my forearm. The dirt U-turn at the bottom confused me since dismounting left was downhill, so I ended up dismounting right every time--worked a couple times, but as I tired I never found an elegant way through. After 7 laps, I ended up about 15th out of 25, not bad and what I deserved, I think.

The question was then whther or not I should also ride the single speed A's at 1.15pm. I waffled...thought no at first...but got the bike together for a practice lap and it wasn't so bad. Morgan F. pushed me over the edge, along with the discovery that there was a discount on a second registration...

After trying to stay fed and hydrated and not sunburnt between races, we finally were off, 30 seconds behind the Men's A field. Again, I saw half the field go zooming off, never to be seen again--in the B's, I wasn't warm, and for the SS race, I think I was on my way down...It was still fun, though I didn't have the power to overtake any other racers; I could try to keep from being overtaken a couple times, but eventually lost out. Still, bouncing around on the trails was good, and I was using my brakes less and less and pedalling more and more (SS racing is probably good for that). One more biff when in the aforementioned dirt U-turn my foot hit the guy behind me while I was trying to dismount--he finished his pass on the run-up-and-out. 8 laps later, my back was screaming at me, I got lapped by part of the A field (though I'm fine with that: the first three to pass, Robinson, Snead, and Wyatt, are of course national-caliber).

Conclusion: I've got work to do if I'm going to be powerful and fit enough to give anyone a run for their money. And doing two races is probably not a bad way to get there.

Stopping at the corner grocery on the way home, that half-liter of chocolate milk tasted so good...They can keep their post-race beers.

Since getting home, I've been responsible all afternoon, and now I want to veg in my easy chair and watch Ken Burns' documentary on PBS for the evening. G'night, good luck, and I'm looking forward to seeing Morgan and Lauren's photos of the whole thing...