Livermore CX - 10/11/08

(photo courtesy of the folks doing the Livermore CX)
Okay, so this was my second ever CX race - nice to do one here practically in my backyard - the organizers did a nice job. Fall has definitely arrived, with temps in the high 50's and a nasty wind blowing. On a few occasions, practically knocked me over. Tougher course than last weekend with lots of grass. Had that "flat tire" feeling a couple of times zig zagging through the course. Lots of different terrains, from fast hard pack stretches, to wood chip sections, to loose windy turns, sandy sections, etc. I thought it was a good test of one's skills. No run ups but three dismount sections.

Bob Lofland showed up and we rode several warm up laps together. Was nice hanging out with him. They started the Master A's, B's, and the 35+, 45+, and 55+ B's together. Big start line. My main goal was to not eat it at the start and my overall goal was to not be lapped. Well, I accomplished one of those goals.

At some point in the race two fast mutha Master's A's blew by me - those two were motoring, working together, and cranking out the watts. I didn't feel so badly, as one was sporting the stars and stripes National Champ jersey. Then at some point late in the race a couple of B's passed me - not sure if they were in my category or Open B's. I'm thinking Open B's, at least that's what I'm telling myself. So it was a bummer getting lapped but the good thing was I didn't have to do the extra lap... :)

Definitely pushed harder this race having that one race now under my belt. And actually I'm super pleased with my result - 11/16 in the 35+ B's. Bob got a top 10 (10th) in the 45+ B's. Saw a bunch of others TWW friends there too - Mo got a medal, Isaias was still crankin' it with the A's when I left - but looked to be about 4th or 5th on his new steed.

Wanna really race tomorrow now, but that isn't going to happen. Good times. I'm learning more and more. Lowered the tire pressure significantly and that helped (although I noticed that my tire was a bit squishy riding back to the car - there definitely is some kinda leak there). Looking forward to more CX races and hopefully more TWWers joining us.

Mike

P.S. - thanks to Seery for showing up and giving me a couple of impromptu feeds and cheering me on through the suffering.