Moorhead CX report
From: Lynne
Date: Sep 22, 2007 8:18 PM
Whew, racing is tiring (especially when you drive 4 hrs to/from!). I
placed 2/4, but that doesn’t do justice to how pleased I am with how
it went today.
This course has greasy mud (much more so than last year), grassy areas
(a nice break from the harder stuff), a sweet off camber grassy
uphill, single track, a small rideable hill in the muddy area, a
single barrier, a double barrier and a single barrier in front of the
mud runup, finishing on asphalt (not all of that is in order). So,
personally I think it’s a tough course.
C’s being first, we of course got the muddiest ride of the day. I was
sliding hither and thither, but held it and never crashed or put my
foot down (which I had to do last year, so I’m tickled pink with
making it through that). I had a huge disadvantage in that I run
really wide tires that don’t have center knobbies (they have furrows
that run perpendicular to the rims). So they fill up with the mud and
it’s like riding on slicks.
Unlike last year, I wasn’t the only woman, yay! Benita was there,
some woman I don’t know and BW Annie trying her first CX race.
I’m so happy because it was night and day from last year!! I started
at the back because I couldn’t prevent a slide and didn’t want someone
to run into me (that would SUCK if I got injured on this first race).
But thanks to practice, practice, practice at the GW clinics and then
practicing that some more by myself, I didn’t have to stop in front of
any of the barriers, I was able to hop right on after the barriers
without completely stopping, I was able to ride the mud, I rode up the
small mud hill (which I had to dismount and run last year) and I made
the off camber perfectly every time.
One time I did have to actually stop and find my pedal-the last lap
after the double barrier because I was totally exhausted. Someone
please let Jessica know that I can’t thank her enough for teaching me
to grab the bike by the downtube on a double barrier! That was sweet,
I was able to run it without slowing, that completely made my day!!
Like last year I did fine on the carry and runup (I think that’s from
the years of hiking/climbing) and this year was no different.
So while I started at the back, I stayed ahead of Benita (which
doesn’t sound like anything, but last year I always had to catch her
and a couple times I think she finished ahead of me), and I caught and
passed Annie! I actually finished at least a few minutes ahead of
her. I kept looking back for her, thinking she would put the gas on
once she had someone to chase, but I passed her and never saw her
again. SWEET! I also passed a couple of guys and a junior and none
of the juniors caught me this year (embarrassing, but getting the idea
how bad I was last year for most of the year?) I never met or saw the
woman who won our category-but there’s always next year when I run the
right PSI and the right tires.
Drove home after the race, so I am completely and utterly exhausted.
I’ll be at St. Cloud, but this being the first weekend, I’m a little
worried because I biff the technical stuff when I’m tired! That’s
racing, better get used to it 
Lynne