Cyclocross Racing At Riverside State Park

It was a gorgeous day for racing. A shining sun barely made headway against the cool weather that frosted us up overnight. And although it was such a pleasant day I have to say I really miss the slop. Without any rain the courses have been dry and dusty. What's the use of acting younger than your age if you don't have mud and water to play in, right?

I only did one race today, the men's category 4. Instead of back-to-back races where I'm dying and out of gas in the second race, I decided to go all out for just one. It was fun and I thought I did well. I started in the back of the pack but managed to get by a couple guys before we headed into the trees. I passed a couple more during the race and a couple passed me as well. I didn't crash nor did I knock the chain off the chain ring. I took it easy on the dismounts but I could still feel a twinge in the ACL in my right knee. Even so, I had no knee pain after the race or for the rest of the day so I'm both relieved and pleased.

The course was very different than two weeks ago. With all the twisty turns in the trees marked with red tape it was worth your while to go through it a couple of times to get the layout down. Even so, if you allowed your mind to wander for even a moment (guilty) you'd find yourself putting the binders on and frantically looking for the direction you're supposed to go. I think it's a given that you are supposed to focus, right? Even with my moment of day dreaming the course was just as fun as it was challenging.

I shot video of the first three races and here's the compilation of that. The picture quality is disappointing. If I ever win the lottery I'll get a camera that shoots HD.



I took stills of the last race, men category 1-3 and men collegiate.