Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Ending on a high note
(Photo from Amy)
I, finally, started getting excited about Montrose on Saturday evening. I got there bright and early on Sunday and it was cold but there was no snow. I prerode the course and was more excited. There were some technical aspects, a load of sand that was pretty rideable. You also had to go up the sled hill twice but it still seemed like it would suit some of my strengths. I was going to try to improve my overall standings in the series from sixth to fifth. It wasn't likely but it was possible.
I didn't have an outstanding start but I was doing good. I noticed Pamela Loebig ahead of me and thought I might have a chance to pass her. I noticed her getting up in the rocks under the viaduct and I was soon able to pass her right before the hill. I managed to keep her behind me and not let anyone else pass me for the race. I tend to start good but then get passed in later laps so I was considering this a small victory as was beating Pam. The Cat. 3 men kept passing me, though, and then crashing in front of me. By the end of the race, I was really getting annoyed by this. I ended up 10th out of 15. Tenth is lower than normal but we also had some fast girls show up for the race like Holly and Megan Korol. I beat Lara from MOX but there wasn't enough people in between us for me to take fifth in the series. She beat me by three points, which sucked a little but oh well. I still did a lot better this season in the series than I have in previous years so I can't really complain.
I was also signed up for the 4B race. I'm sorry to say that I was pretty unsocial in between races and spent quite a bit of time sitting in the car with the heat on. I was fine, temperature-wise, when I was riding but really fricken cold when I was just standing around. I did do one lap in between the Mens 123 and the 4A races but that was really it for my warm-up. Still, I lined up second row behind the series winner and was excited to get to do the last Chicago Cross Cup race of the season. And, holy cow, did I have a good race. At the end of the race, I knew I did good but really had no idea where I ended up. Some guys would pass me in the big sand pit -- they were running and I was riding. But, with my short legs, I think I may have ended up slower running. And, I would usually be able to get back past the guys later on. I waited for results. People would come up to me and tell me I did great or I rode the sandpit great and I would thank them but was a little confused. Then, they posted results. Holy crap, I was 14th!!! I had no idea I did so well. It was an awesome way to end the season.
I didn't have an outstanding start but I was doing good. I noticed Pamela Loebig ahead of me and thought I might have a chance to pass her. I noticed her getting up in the rocks under the viaduct and I was soon able to pass her right before the hill. I managed to keep her behind me and not let anyone else pass me for the race. I tend to start good but then get passed in later laps so I was considering this a small victory as was beating Pam. The Cat. 3 men kept passing me, though, and then crashing in front of me. By the end of the race, I was really getting annoyed by this. I ended up 10th out of 15. Tenth is lower than normal but we also had some fast girls show up for the race like Holly and Megan Korol. I beat Lara from MOX but there wasn't enough people in between us for me to take fifth in the series. She beat me by three points, which sucked a little but oh well. I still did a lot better this season in the series than I have in previous years so I can't really complain.
I was also signed up for the 4B race. I'm sorry to say that I was pretty unsocial in between races and spent quite a bit of time sitting in the car with the heat on. I was fine, temperature-wise, when I was riding but really fricken cold when I was just standing around. I did do one lap in between the Mens 123 and the 4A races but that was really it for my warm-up. Still, I lined up second row behind the series winner and was excited to get to do the last Chicago Cross Cup race of the season. And, holy cow, did I have a good race. At the end of the race, I knew I did good but really had no idea where I ended up. Some guys would pass me in the big sand pit -- they were running and I was riding. But, with my short legs, I think I may have ended up slower running. And, I would usually be able to get back past the guys later on. I waited for results. People would come up to me and tell me I did great or I rode the sandpit great and I would thank them but was a little confused. Then, they posted results. Holy crap, I was 14th!!! I had no idea I did so well. It was an awesome way to end the season.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Jingle CX
(Middle photo of Christopher from Nikki Cyp with other two from Tom)Tom and I registered for Jingle Cross a really long time ago so I didn't have to feel too guilty about us taking a trip with our dismal finances. The trip part went really well -- we had heat for the whole trip as opposed to last year when we ran out of LP gas on Saturday night.
Unfortuantely, Christopher gave me a cold so I wasn't feeling real hot. I didn't have as much energy and it was effecting my technical skills a little. Still, I did better than last year. I wasn't DFL once in the five races I did. Tom was signed up to race on both Saturday and Sunday. He didn't even make a full lap on Saturday before his rear derailleur and hanger broke. On a good note, we just need a new hanger as we had switched my stuff from Shimano to SRAM last year. But, no bike for him for Sunday.
However, it did let us sign Christopher up for the kids race on Sunday. He had such a fun time riding around with all the kids before the race. He did one lap -- with a guy picking him up on his bike to carry him over the barriers. I asked him if he wanted to be done or do another lap. He says he wants to do another lap and then a kid ended up hitting Christopher's wheel and taking him down as the kid was trying to sprint past him. Christopher was crying. He didn't seem to be hurt so I asked held him and asked him if he was hurt or just scared. After a little bit, he told me he was scared and he wanted to do another lap. = ) He got loads of cheers the whole time. Probably because he was the littlest one out there -- the race was supposed to be for five and up, but they told us he could race. I was so excited for him to do his first CX race! And, he won a teddy bear. Pretty cool and definitely one of the highlights of the trip.
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