Newton Cross Race Report

Like I said earlier, two days of 'cross racing took a toll on me. But it's a good kind of tired.


Saturday was a little warm for 'cross racing, but you take whatever weather comes along this time of year. Once we got to Newton I was a little anxious to get my bike out and try my new set up on a real 'cross course. The course at Woodland park consisted of triple barrier run-up (two at the bottom, and one at the top), a sand pit, a mud pit, and a bunch on tight, twisty off-camber stuff. I did a pre-ride lap with Kyle, where he pointed out spots where roadies would go down on the first lap. He was amazingly accurate. I tried riding the sand pit during the pre-ride, and was slow, but successful.


Once the race started, I got a pretty decent start and tried to stay upright by all of the first lap carnage. I must have seen 6-7 guys on the ground in that one lap. I tried to hold my position going into the sand pit, and ride it while others ran. That was a mistake! With the traffic there was no room to float, and I had to stop riding about halfway through. I lost about 5-6 spots and was seriously red-lined. I got back on and tried to maintain my position. After a few laps I got pretty comfortable on the run-up (although nowhere near as fast as the antelopes). During the race I would gain time in the technical sections,, and give some back on the run-up. I traded spots back and forth with a few guys. Towards the end I was working to hold off one last guy when I dropped my chain carrying my bike into the sand pit. He got by me and I really had to work to get that spot back by the finish. I ended up with a solid mid-pack finish (12th of 22). It was a good hard effort, and (for me) a good result. I'll take it.


I've talked many times about burning matches during a race. You only get so many matches to burn during a race, and when they are gone you are done. Did you know that you can also burn your matches for the whole weekend in one day? I found that out on Sunday.


The course on Sunday was more roadie friendly. It was more wide open, hillier, and much less technical. On the first lap my legs felt absolutely dead. I had nothing left and I hadn't even started. I got passed by all of the guys and most of the girls in the first two laps. I did manage to hold off this one ten year old girl, but even that was work. It was still fun.

I was talking to Steve Robinson after the race about training for two day events. He said the best training is to just do some multi-day events. Eventually you body learns to recover a little quicker. I guess I'm going to have to try that.


Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend:


Bryan, "Dude, those things go a lot faster if you ride them."



Thad was a little camera shy and tried to hide when I took his picture.



Bryan wiping his ass during the race.




Marco getting some air.




Christy doing a "Water or Beer?" hand-up for Rob.



This was Rob's view (and Rob's glass) during the race on Sunday.




Rob never rode anything faster than a rake on Sunday.



Tonight I went out and did about an hour of spinning on the local dirt on my Dos Niner. After two days on the skinny tired 'cross bike, even the limited Niner suspension felt very soft and comfortable.