Cap City #4 Lobdell Frisbee Park

Yesterday we joined the 7 Hills gang for a carpool up to Columbus for the Cap City race. WIth a majority of the crew doing the B and C races we left bright and early at 8am from the mall parking lot. This meant James and I had to get up a 6:30 that morning. Yikes!

James did the C race, flatted twice, then did pretty good in the B race and then sat in for the A race. He was certainly under the influence of "3 race" Dan Ramsey. Needless to say, he is also nuts about cyclocross. I have created a hurdling monster. The 7 hills crew faired well with numerous podium finishes from Susan, Jeni, Mike, etc.

The good news was that I had PLENTY of time to warm-up and to pre-ride the course. The course was at a frisbee golf park so there were was some good elevation change. I tend to have good races when there are some decent run-ups and some tight corners. The start was fine for me, I was riding exactly where I wanted to be, in the top 3. After the first hurdles I settled into second. At the run-up though I could really lay on the gas. I'm not quite sure why but for me the skill of running with the bike is something I can do exceptionally well. Too bad run-ups are often rare in CX races. Anyhow, so the rest of the race involved me and Julie Sroka going back and forth. She would catch me on the shorter rises, I'd catch her everytime on the run-up and in the corners. A late race acceleration by Julie and the second to last lap left me feeling a bit flat but I made up some good time and finished only 2-3 sec. down. Always a bridesmaid.

The course was fun, payouts for us ladies were pretty great, the veggie dog cart was a nice touch, so I'm super psyched for the next few races. Big time thanks to my pal Andy Johnson and crew for putting on another great race.

Cincinnati UCI CX Festival

This weekend was huge for Cincinnati with 3 UCI Cyclocross events; 2 C2 races and one C1 race. I decided I'd be doing 2/3 with a day of "rest" between the events. I was able to support my two friends doing their voluntary race promotion; Nick Tinsler (Darkhorse Cycling, Cyclostampede) and Mitch Graham (Biowheels, C1 Race). A big thanks goes out to those guys (and their entire teams) for working their butts off to get the races together. It is no small task and I'm sure all those behind it would rather be riding rather than figuring out where to lay the caution tape.

Friday's event set the tone for the weekend and was a lot of fun. I decided to forgo the $60 charge for a UCI license and raced the 3/4's instead. I am licensed as a 3 until I can get my 1/2 upgrade. With a lot of accomplished racers also signed up I was going to get some good competition. I had nearly 10 racers in my class. The start was pretty fast and I was feeling pretty sore from Thursday and I fell back to like 5th before climbing back up to 3rd. My friend Teri and I went back and forth and we finally started to make some time on 4th on the final lap when Teri surged ahead. I came up a bit short at the end of the race on the sprint and finished 3rd. The course was a bit narly. I don't mind that so much but when it is rut after rut after rut it takes a toll on the body.

Saturday my husband James & I spent our time at Harbin helping to get the course set-up. We put up a lot of steaks and caution tape. I think I picked up like 1,000 twigs and stuff off the ground up there.

Sunday was a big field for me. I started with 23 other women in my class. I got a pretty good start; in the top 5. I lost a few spots and then quickly gained them back. I at one point was riding in 2nd and saw 1st place rider Nicole starting to fade a bit. I needed another 15 min that I didn't have in the 30 min. race. I was happy to finish in the top 3 though. I'm consistent, that is for sure.

The Women's / Men's elite races were really fun to watch. The Katie Compton/Georgia Gould duel was exciting to watch. The highlight though was yesterday when it came down to a sprint finish between Powers/Bishop. Bishop, came up short with a broken chain and had to run it in. I think if not for that mechanical he would have won it.

A big thanks goes out to Lane at the Trek Store for helping me get the tubeless set-up ready. It was without a doubt VERY helpful this weekend.