This weekend was supposed to be a double-header with the Fear The Forest Cyclocross race on Saturday at the Ziegler Action Sport complex and the RunUp Milwood Park Cyclocross race at Milham Park. On Friday afternoon, saw a post on the Fear The Forest Facebook page that they were cancelling due to predicted severe weather and low pre-registrations. I gave them a little heat posting a pic of what a real cyclocross looks like in Europe. As Saturday came around, I could see why they would have cancelled, but I would have been there without a moment’s hesitation. Fortunately, The RunUp guys and Pedal Bikes stood strong and ran the race.
I raced both the C and B races. I finished C’s 3 lap race 5th out of 22. I did not pre ride the course and was learning the turns and obstacles as I went. With that said, I was pretty wasted after the race. I finished B’s 7 laps 22 out of 24! What the hell happened there?!?! I started at the back because I missed the line up call. Through the first lap, I thought I worked my way up to around close to halfway through the pack. I conserved energy since I had a couple dudes in sight and hoped many behind me. I finished less wasted than the C race. I only found out my results later in the evening on Facebook. The only thing I could think of is that there were a few DNF’s, but who knows.
It was windy and rainy for both races. Every lap that went by, the course got less and less ride-able. Fast lines that I found in the C and beginning of B were quickly transformed into mud bogs. Traction was good throughout but there were sections with standing water under grass that zapped speed and energy and then some wonderful mud pits to run and ride through. I am glad I finally got a CX experience that I only read about and have seen pictures of. I’ll also chalk this up to another preparations for a potentially messy Iceman in 3 weeks.
~Jeff C
