With permission from Jim Bilotto - Aarons Cycling Team
Wow, now that was a 'cross race! At least that's the way it looks in the magazines......
We started off with a warning from John Johnson not to hit the first grassy hill (about 50 yards from the start) with too much speed. Apparently a couple of the Masters either hadn't preridden the course or just didn't care, but they launched off the top and hit the pavement on the other side. I think Neely was one of them but he landed it and kept on. Some other poor guy's race was ended right there....
So, after we all took heed and rolled over that hill, we quickly descended down a long gravel road. Right at the first left hander into some peanut buttery mud, so guy slid out. Wow, that was quick. So, we lost a lot of our momentum to get through said mud. I was going along just fine, though, then some guy endoed in front of me. I swerved, had no speed left, and did a slow motion endo into the peanut butter. Grrr.... Got up quick and away from all of that and on my way. It wasn't hard making a few places back up, as a lot of riders seemed hesitant in those conditions. Cue up mtb skillz... Through the singletrack, everything's going fine. Now onto the grassy switchbacks. OK, well those were rideable during warmup an hour ago.....now they're not. I tried the one foot out and keep riding trick, but I saw guys shouldering their bikes and getting through it a lot quicker. Mental note for next lap. Next up, a thick muddy corner. Easy. Descend some more singletrack, through some deep puddles and up to the first set of (uphill) barriers. Then, more grassy/muddy switchbacks. After that it was smooth sailing, through a gravely/muddy mix, then out onto the street, through a canopy, around a corner and up to another set of barriers through the beer garden. That was pretty cool, by the way.
Lap 2, pretty much same deal minus the endo. Made up some more places along the way. Saw my wife cheering at multiple points along the course; that's the nice thing about how 'cross courses are set up. Back at the beer garden, John Johnson is holding up a 1 lap to go sign. Really? Thought we'd be doing 4 laps, but OK, not complaining.
Lap 3, just held my tempo and tried to spot another rabbit to chase down. Nothing too exciting on this lap until the end. Spotted two riders ahead of me and went full throttle on the road section. Went into the final 200 meters or so and the lead guy had a few bike lengths on me, so I didn't have enough room to make it up. We ended up sprinting it out and I pipped the second guy by half a wheel length. Sweet. Who knew the sprint for 13th place would be so intense?
Great race. The best part of it all? The fact that we stayed there and I was able to take a hot shower and throw down some good grub and Belgian brew afterwards.
Until Conyers....
