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The first race of the season was held today at North Seatac Park. It was a fundraiser put on by A.S.C. Racing.
The weather conditions were great for a cyclocross race. It had been raining on and off for the last 24 hours and overnight there was even a tornado reported in Enumclaw. I was expecting the worst, the Indie Series opener was held at this same venue and it was a major mudfest. Today the course held up very well, for at least the first two races.
I wasn't very prepared for the race ahead of time. We had just returned from spending the weekend in Spokane on Sunday night. I pretty much threw everything into the car this morning and headed out, I even almost forgot the bike. I pulled into the parking lot and was surprised to see how many people were there. I went to sign up for two races, Masters Cat 4 35+ at 9:00 and Cat 4 at 10:00. By the time I pinned my number on, racers were beginning to line up for the start. I went out and rode a quick half lap and went to get lined up. There were 37 racers in my group, I lined up at the back. I was fine with that because I wasn't expecting to do very well. I have not been training much for Cyclocross as I have been spending most of my time doing high mileage road rides. This was going to be a shock to the body. We were told that we would be riding 4 laps. I looked around and didn't see anybody else on the team.
The start was on a slight hill that lasted for about 100 yards and then took a right turn. By the time we reached the turn, I had been able to get past about 15 riders. Just after the turn, we passed the finish line. After the finish line, we entered a grass section that zig-zagged a couple of times and then came to the barriers. The barriers were unusual because they were located on a sharp corner. After the barriers, the course used part of the running track and then back out to some more grass. After a couple more zig-zags through the grass, you came to a large sandy run-up with railroad ties for steps. During the first two laps, the run-ups were a bottle neck and you were running them nut-to-butt with the guys in front and behind you. After the run-up, there was a short paved, slightly downhill section. This ended with a hard right into some muddy single-track. The single-track was pretty tame with the exception of a six inch log across the trail in one spot. I was amazed to see a couple of roadies get off of their bikes and run over it. Someone needs to teach those guys to bunny-hop. The remainder of the course was typical North Seatac. Lap times were around 8 minutes. It was a fun, not very technical course. Passing was easy except in a couple of places in the single-track.
Now back to the racing..... I was able to pick off another 5 or 6 riders before the run-up on the first lap. Things got pretty congested at the run-up. It stayed this way through the single-track. I kept it on cruise control for a while because I had not been able to pre-ride the course. When we crossed the finish line, the announcer said "two laps to go". They had dropped a lap. At this point, I was starting to get warmed up and feeling pretty good. The riders were starting to string out and we could pick up more speed now. I was able to make a few more passes and dodged a couple of crashed riders on the second lap. I was surprised to hear that I was in 14th place with one lap to go. I kicked up the speed to pass a couple more riders before we reached the run up again. I think that I made my best time up the run up on the last lap. By the time that I crossed the finish line I had worked my way up to 8th place. I had done much better than I expected.
I lined up in the third row for the Cat 4 race. I'm not sure how many riders were in our group. We were told that there would be 4 laps. It seemed like I was moving backwards for the first few minutes after the start. My plan for this race was to let the riders string out and get in some good anaerobic interval training. The riders started to string out and I started to push hard on the second lap. Half way through the third lap, I was huffing & puffing, seeing stars, ears were ringing, nose was pouring and I was drooling to top it off. At this point, I typically end up losing control of my bike and falling, and I did just as predicted. I lost the front wheel while braking in some soft dirt in a slow corner and went down. I picked my bike up and caught my breath for a minute and then started riding again. I was passed by four riders while I caught my breath. When I came to the finish line with one lap to go, the announcer said that I was in 18th place. My legs were noodles for the final lap, however, I was still able to catch two of the guys that passed me during my crash and two other riders before the finish line. I ended up in 14th place.
Only 28 more races to go..... It's going to be a great season.
-Bob McGee
Race Results:
Master Men4 35+
8 Bob McGee
Master Men4 45+
5 Dan DeYoung (His first cross race ever!)
Men4
13 Bob McGee (second race of the day)
Jr 13/14 Boy
1 Derek DeYoung (His first cross race ever!)
Women3
15 Jenn Sinclair
Master Men1/2 45+
1 Jim Albright
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