22.10.06

Lacking Pazazz

Fred and I drove over to the local Cam Rock CX race on Sunday for some super-muddy cross action. On the drive there, I noticed a ton of snow on a bunch of cars going to the race....did it snow in Madtown last night? It sure as hell is cold...but the snow was just the begining.

Thanks to the Brazen Dropouts masters running the Cam Rock race, Fred and I got in for free--probably that was the best part of this weekend. Not spending a dime and racing is better than being cold, wet, muddy, bruised, tired, and broke all at the same time.

So I got to watch Fred, Bill, Sara, Waite, etc. race in the 3's race. Needless to say, I don't think I've ever seen that much mud in a race before. It wasn't the worst type of mud--that cement-like crud that sticks to your tires, frame, and body like paste--but it was everywhere. Even with the best bike setup, I'm convinced that this race would just be hellishly painfull. Fred managed to get his entire bike glued to a magnificent combination of rock, leaf, and mud. This left both his wheels unmoveable, and uncleanable without a pressure washer. Wow, what was I in for?

Our race started on some pavement, which was bomb--I can handle the pavement, no problem. I even moved up on the first lap and lead it out in the lead group of guys. Then reality set in and I took a duche through a mudhole and the man himself, Freshie Steve, passed me by, followed shortly by Cassey McCulley. I, on the other hand, was realizing yet again my lack of technical skills in the mud and such. On top of that, my legs and lungs burned, like, real bad. The "like" adjective there means, you know, a lot more than the usual pain and suffering in a CX race.

So the rest of the race was relatively uneventfull. Ron passed me with 3 laps-ish to go, and that was that. So I don't know where I ended up, but that doesn't matter--when do you get to go mud-slushing on your bike ever? Despite not having good form right now CX is a blast.

On another note--that certain Steve Scholzen continued right by me to take 2nd place. Freaking awesome ride Steve. That guy will ride himself into a top position any time, any place, any day, regardless if its road, mountain, or cross.

Time to take some time off the bike, hit the weights (my personal favorite), and recover 100% for Iceman.

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