shadows grow so long before my eyes

Great weekend of riding!

Sat got in 50 miles of gravel with KCBC and some other fellow riders. It was a beautiful, brisk fall morning. The sun sits so low in the sky this time of year that it provides the softest light and throws nice long shadows.

Sun was Boss Cross 3 on the most fun cyclocross course I've ever had the pleasure of riding. The BMX section really made me feel like a kid again. The course did have some god awful bumpy sections, but I was having way too much fun to mind those. I finished 8th in the cat 3 race and was happy with that, mostly because I felt like I rode to my potential for the first time this season, but also because I finally got the better of Joe.

Joules Cross

Due to some scheduling issues and a sick kid at home I was only able to sneak in one race at this weekends Joules cross.

I raced masters 30+ first thing Sat morning. The weather was perfect, and the course was fun if not bumpy. As a bonus I was able to land a spot on the podium. Granted there was only 8 in our Field and Adam Mills had some type of mechanical. Still it was a fun race and going home with a prize makes it that much better.

cross out cancer

Raced Cross Out Cancer this past Sunday. It was A good day of cross racing. The course was pretty similar to last years, but somehow seemed less bumpy. This year's course had a lot of pedaling as well, not a lot of recovery. It did flow really well though, and was a good course over all.

I raced twice getting 13th in the masters 35+ and 11th in the cat 3. I felt pretty tired by the end of the second race, but overall pretty pleased.

a tale of two races

Boss Cross #1 & #2

I was looking forward to these races all week for a few reasons. One, Joe and Jeremy are good guys that put on good races. Two I figured a 60 minute race would be suit me well. And three I raced pretty well here last year and figured I should be able to again this year. Well some of that came to be. I picked up a cold early in the week, but wasn't too worried. It hadn't kept me from training and the worst of the symptoms was a runny nose and some mild congestion. Saturday morning I felt pretty good, still optimistic with just a few sniffles. The plan was to mix a cocktail of pseudoephedrine and heed, to open me up and give a little boost. Warming up I could breath fine and felt good, that is until I went to shift up into my low gear and pulled the cable out of the rear der. I had a minor freak out knowing that we were only 10 minutes before the start. I hauled ass to my truck to get the bike back together. At the truck Clay Wells offered me his bike. It was a noble offer but I was able to get my bike running with just enough time to rush over to the start line and take a spot almost all the way in the back, not all the way after I snaked Mark Horn's spot ( he would easily pass me within the first lap). As the race started I got a good break, everyone seemed to shift to the right and I being on the left got a nice open line that put me in the top ten after the holeshot. As the race wore on I felt just alright. The long runs through the sand were killing me, but the cocktail was doing it's job, I could breathe... kind of. With three laps to go I puked up the cocktail. Still I was able to hang on for 9th place. I was happy with that.

Sunday didn't go nearly as well, even though I felt better before the race. I got a bad start, way in the back. I was able to move up a hand full of spots, with a shove from Lyles. Within a few laps it was clear I didn't have it in the tank, and I couldn't get enough air in my lungs. With 4 to go I checked out. I finished the rest of the race at the best pace I could muster, but there was no race in it.

In the end it was a real up and down weekend, and that's fine. I'm still really pumped about cross season, and looking forward to the rest of the season.

I also have to give it up to Brett Coppage for floating me $25 to get my registration on Saturday.