Quick post....I'm playing hooky from some late night work I gotta' get done. Results finally posted for Plymouth South; I guess the promoter lost them for a while. Anyhoo, a 16th in the 4's. Once again, my lack of finishing sprint (what??? Chicken legs got no juice???) put me one place down than I should have been.
This past w'end was perhaps my favorite race of the New England CX scene over at Shedd Park in Lowell. It is such an awesome race and with all the rain the days before the event, there was mud, mud, mud. I love racing in mud. I'm not really sure if it's because I have some perversion about getting dirty, but I love it.
I had a pretty good starting position in the second row. This year the good dudes at BRC wanted to wind it up and out a bit before the slingshot tree turn, hoping for a smaller amount of stacked up riders....great plan, but guys stacked just the same. I got a little caught up there, but I'm trying to learn from experience. Instead of bitching about it, I'm trying to use those situations to my advantage. Jump off and quickly get through the melee on foot and scoot further ahead. This seemed to work pretty well. The next part of the course was the wicked steep ride-up that I was forced to run because my sh*tty shifters aren't working well when they get muddy ( http://blog-o-sweeney.blogspot.com/2008/10/i-really-want-rival.html). I didn't really lose any time on that but my HR was completely pegged for a section I should have been able to ride. The twisty turny sections worked out WELL for me as a fair amount of guys were wiping out and giving me space to pass which was great. By the middle of lap 2 things had strung out a bit and the Psycho guys that I just can't catch were on the front (again). The woodsy section was dramatically different this year and was loved by all (though I wish they hadn't taken the barriers out). Trying to ride that mud bog was by FAR the most fun of the course! I was able to clear it 2 out of 4 laps (stay in ze meeedle!).
By the end of the fun I was racing with a guy from NHCC. As we came out of the woods on the last lap I jumped on his wheel onto the track. Around the last bend and I came alongside him and smiled-he smiled back. We both stomped on it....and, yep, my "sprint" proved second best again. Ah well-I'm still improving (15th out of almost 80 starters) and really, really enjoying the season.
On to Easthampton hopefully! See you there?
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