I must race better when I don't have any expectations. I showed up at Riverside Park yesterday just planning to do the race and have some fun, and I ended up in 4th place.
Since I had no clue about race tactics, I was planning to just hang back and watch what everyone else was doing. Well, you know what they say about the best-laid plans. I came out of the first turn in 2nd place, and held it for the first 3 laps. When I came through the the Start/Finish and saw 2 laps to go, I kind of lost my motivation (everyone told me it would end up being 4 laps total). My 4th lap was pretty slow because I was totally gassed, and a couple guys caught and passed me. I kicked it down for the bell lap. It's really hard to jump over 18" barriers when you can't feel your legs! The guy in 3rd fumbled his dismount before the final barriers, and I almost caught him. He decided to mount his bike and ride up the final hill, and I tried to run up. We were neck-and-neck at the top of the hill, but I still had to mount my bike and I lost too much time too close to the finish line and came across in 4th place. Fellow Loony Charlie finished 5th on his mountain bike, and Ted got 7th.
When I finished, I found out that my front brake was dragging BAD. I couldn't even get the front wheel to do a complete revolution! I guess that's what I get for using cheapo e-bay wheels for cyclocross.
My main focus will still be on track racing, but 'cross is definitely a lot of fun! Especially the beer and pork chops.
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