Backyard CX

This weekend I opted to skip the OVCX series race in Lexington, KY. It's just a little further than I want to drive. I went up to a local race instead just north of Martinsville in a not-yet-populated housing addition. A member of our team bought this big chunk of land and developed it for a housing addition, then economy tanked and there's one house on it (and I think it is probably his). So he let us host a cyclocross race on the property, in what will someday be someone's backyard. Hence the name, "Backyard Cross."

The weather was "they" call cross weather. Damp air, damp ground and 40-some-odd degrees. Cold enough that it sucks to be outside, but warm enough that you will likely overheat while racing making proper kit-picking essential and super difficult.
The course was setup w/ more "flow" than any course I've ridden. For those in the OVCX series, if King's Cross were tacky, it would flow about as good as this place did. And w/ the ground being tacky like it is right now, you barely needed brakes on your bike here; you could just let your tires do what they're made to do.

I felt really good warming up/pre-riding. And after one lap on the course I instantly loved it. I was starting to feel very confident. We had just 10 starters in the E-Lite race, so I was guaranteed a top 10, right? Sure but I wanted the win.

(riding the "run up." Oddly enough people were running down the downhill that turned into this uphill.)


We got started and I was 4th or 5th into the first turn. Riding on my confidence I stormed past people as quickly as possible and went into the barriers ~2nd. I passed who was leading then and punched it. I looked back and noticed I had a gap and thought to myself 'you're about 1min into a 60min race, you're leading w/ a small gap, keep going!' But on a long uphill section two Marion College guys came around me like I was standing still. Ouch. I clawed my onto them, but I had "burned a match" and knew I would pay. After the long uphill section was a log jump over (pic'd below) and on the log my teammate J.Prater got around me as well.

I didn't really know who the Marion guys were, but I know I've beaten one of them before. I was banking on them fading. They didn't. Turns out this race was decided in the drama of the first lap. Marion riders 1-2, JP 3 me 4th. Not where I wanted to be, but I rode very hard and left it all out there. That's all you can do.

As for the new bike (pictured), it's great. I really like the Sram stuff and the Avid Shorty Ultimate brakes are awesome. Plus I put on a Fizik Tundra seat and love it too. It's billed as a MTB seat. It's very flat and very firm. It works well for me; I can easily slide my weight around on it where I want it and because it's so flat it feels solid no matter where you're sitting on it. Thumbs up all around.
This week of course is Thanksgiving around here. Lindsay and I will make the annual trip to my parent's house and break bread (and turkey, etc). Then it's racing in Yellow Springs, OH on Sunday (the home of Dave Chapelle, yes).
Then just two more races (Dec 4, 5 is a double weekend), then it's off season training! I got a new TT bike. More on that later (it's not assembled yet).