BA Cross Race #2, Lake Front Park

As I lay in bed napping I tried to think of a clever way to start off this race report. A unique and fun way to say that I got my derrier handed to me today. I am not bitter, not at all in fact I am happy for those young whipper snappers who have won the last two B races. Tony in week 1 and now Cameron Jackson in week 2. Congrats Cameron!! Hmmmm...nothing inspriring is coming....

I am also in perfect understanding in what went oh so wrong today. Plain and simple I didnt know how to ride in sand and it cost me 30 seconds on lap 2 or 3 at least and easily massive chunks of time every other lap. I am also still slow as dirt in the technical riding sections. I am getting faster and braver, but basically as I have said before i am not wired for this stuff. Show me and I can start to work it out for myself. Problem areas as they appeared on the course were the right handed steeper descent followed by the sand dune and the brief, but deep sand run back to the parking lot. And not to be outdone the long sand run that finished with the logs. But hey I was pretty good through the barriers and I handled the tight 180 at the top of the hill and the following left hander donwhill pretty well.

So again I dont have a great start, but I am hanging top 10 as we make the run upthe hill and I make up some positions. I lose precious time in the right hander as I would every lap and play catch up on the short run to the crazy convuluted rythm section. The A boys are great and are shouting gaps and they say 15 seconds to the leaders I think. A lot, but doable. I am accelerating and going fast where I can to make ground up.

But on lap 2 or 3 I blow everything. I make a mess of the deep sand after the dune and have to get off from a dead stop. Then I stop twice or more times almost falling over on the beach and end up running to the logs and remounting. That right there was basically race over for another top3.

I get passed by 3 or more guys and spend the next two laps (along with Brett Davis) tracking them back down and slowly dropping them one by one. I got to thank Brett because without his help, I wouldnt have finished anywhere near as high as I did. He says to keep my weight back on the sand and I do and it helps...kind of a LOT!! I am still slow in the sand, but now I am staying pedaling. I am pretty clean in the sand the last two laps. Brett and a UPMC rider gap me and I dont have the HP to chase them down.

A rider with a Camba outfit on and I have a good race. I blow by him like hes standing still and he is so much better than me that he passses me back anywhere theres sand. I mean he is making up a lot of ground quickly-poor poor me!! We go back and forth and its fun, but he blows the line as we go through the deep sand and we go off course and we both do a 2' stright drop down onto the sidewalk. I am amazed the fork and wheel on my CSK bike withstood that and I ride away clean. He hurt himself-I am guessing where-you can too!! But I take off. He again gets me in the sand on the beach and for the last time I drop him on the bell lap.

I run clean the last lap all the way around and I finish a very dissapointing 7th. But again its not all bad. I did get better in the sand and its the truth, I have never raced or ridden in sand before. Well sure maybe across a volleyball pit, but thats a whole lot different then 200' or a deep sand dune. OK, I am making excuses so I'll stop!! I ran hard the whole race too and I am kind of sick right now from the effort. Ughh...morr meds please.

After the race I go do a lap with Brett who does his best to show me how to descend the right hander. I get faster, a lot faster, but now I miss the barrier and go off course to the left. Did I mention I was losing a ton of time at this one point too? Yeah-wheels locked up skiddering down the hill every lap, but I never crashed. I thought I worked out those bugs at Edgewater!! Hey practice makes for more practice-I said it and now I am living it.

So maybe racing on the beach at Lakefront is a game for kids. Yeah thats it. Let the young guns play on the beach, next time I'll kick my flip flops up and down a tasty Pina Colada!!! And get this, my daughters friend brings over her Magic 8 ball. I ask it "Will I win the next BA CX Race??" I give it a shake and wait for the answer.....It says "dont bet on it" OUCH!!! Any other little whipper snappers want a piece of me next race?