Starcrossed and Rad Racing

So....let us do some math: fit joele - training + good food in Montreal - a lot of sleep + 1 week of cramming for a race = a highly painful weekend of cyclocross racing.

I could probably stop there. No need to explain further...but that might have disappointed you after waiting for this page to load. So here is the in depth report:

Starcrossed: Wicked race near Seattle that is held every year under the lights. Definitely not a bad way to go. Hundreds of spectators cheering you on, a rowdy beer garden, and some rain mid-race just to keep things interesting.

I got a great warm up in which included a couple laps of the mostly grass, little bit of road, some logs, and some barriers. Off the line I felt strong, but apparently so did all the girls that started in front of me (day of registration means dead last for start-line call up) so I passed the ones I could and settled into a group of about 4 of us. Around a corner and one girl rolled her tubular causing the girl behind her to crash into her....thread the needle and I barely miss getting caught up in their curfuffle. Around the next corner I attack a girl to the left, but just as my bars are passing her bars she decides to break her line and shift left...bars entangle, I pray mine come out on top and suddenly she disappears. Whew, lucky so far.

Fast forward a couple more painful laps (my eyes were cross-eyed and there was a light that constantly kept exploding in my head), a Vanderkitten girl attacks me, I stick onto her wheel until the last half-lap and attack, get in front and hammer as hard as I can to stay in front to finish up in 16th place. It isn't even in sight of the podium, but it is 6 places higher than the Portland USGP's last December, so I'll take it (and use it for motivation for training!).

The rain started pouring just as I headed back to the car, a quick jacket-grab, and then to the start-line to collect all my boys' jackets. I had a great time cheering for Drew, Tyler (who ripped it up to finish in 10th!), Craig, and the Skinner brothers while trying to stay dry. Drew was riding really strong in the top 20 until he tore his rear derailleur hanger completely off the bike--what luck!

After a couple beer with the rest of the crew from Victoria and a quick car pack up, Tyler, Drew and I headed for the hotel. I promptly collapsed in a heap of exhaustion while the guys headed to Denny's for a late night snack. Next morning we got to wake up to a leisurely breakfast and pack-up before heading South to Lakewood's Steilacom Park for the Rad Racing NACT (North American Cyclocross Trophy) Race.

Steilacom Park boasts the longest run-up I've ever seen. The UCI maximum runup length is 80 meters and this guy comes pretty close, not only that, it is steep. The run up is followed by a sketchy fast downhill, a fire road climb (I thought mountain bike season was over!), another sketchy descent, some fun fast corners through some worn paths, and then a hammer session through a windy field before heading back through the start/finish, over some barriers, and back out towards the run-up.

At the start line I felt great, the bees were buzzing, the birds were chirping, my bike looked like a rocket ready to take off, a gun went off....wait...that means go! Apparently when my brain stops thinking about racing my feet shut down too, I missed my pedals and went from my sweet start position of 9th to almost last in the opening straight. Over the barriers I started to catch people, up the run up I passed a handful of girls, and then maintained the rest of the lap until I got to the windy field. Apparently my legs don't like that type of effort so I just watched girls ride away. Sweet. Back around to the run up and I could catch most of them and hold them off, but I did end up losing a couple spots to finish up 15th overall, a better day than the day before, and now I have even more motivation to go back and train....but ugh, that felt awful!

Overall, the weekend actually went fairly well. I am not far off of what I expected based on my recent lack of preparation (otherwise called "resting") and I have some time to regroup and start seriously training in the next couple weeks. Probably the most exciting part of the weekend came AFTER the racing was done--when our car headed back over the border it also marked my acceptance of Canadian Permanent Residency, which is a huge relief (and the product of hours of paperwork!)

Drew and I are now home, and this time long enough to settle in, see some friends, clean the house, and hang out with Eric the cat before our next races in Vancouver the first weekend of October. He just completed building the SpeedVagen that he won at Single Speed Cyclocross Worlds last year...it is beautiful! Photos to come!