mid-season

It's been a crazy few weeks since I last had a chance to post here. The crusade series wrapped up, there was the state championship cx race, and I made a swing out to the east coast for Thanksgiving and managed to jump in a race there.

Cross Crusade #8 out at PIR didn't end up being as muddy as I had hoped, but it was slick in spots and the course was excellent, I really like this venue that usually hosts the USGP's. I had a horrible start position and some bottlenecks early on in the race set my position that was hard to make up. I realized I had a pretty good race, I raced well, I had some battles that I won, and I was moving up most of the time, but when you lose a minute or two on the first lap it's really hard to make that up unless folks in front of you are screwing up...You'd just have to be going much faster than the folks up front to catch up and I was racing fast, but not enough to close any gaps. So I wasn't disappointed with how I raced, but I had been hoping for a better result. Regardless, it was a fun day of racing and I felt strong.

(Photo Will Sullivan)

State CX. We made our way over to Eugene in a snowstorm on Fri night. Sat started with some showers and the promise of mud. It was cold and slick out on the course. The singletrack section out at the back of the course suited me well with some tight slick corners and some slog sections of mud. I had a better start with the smaller group and stayed in a decent position through the first laps. I was losing some ground on the wide open power sections, but then making a lot of it back up in the woods and single track. I went back and forth with a lot of folks and managed to stay ahead of a few before I settled into a good battle with Alex Wentz. We went back and forth a few times before we managed to separate ourselves from others and it came down to the two of us. He would open it up on me as we came out of the woods towards the start/finish and I would get back on his wheel as we went through the corners in the woods. It went this way for 3-4 laps and with one to go he led through the single track with me on his wheel and I knew what to expect as we came out, he hit the gas and I did my best to stay with him, we went through the mud together with him a couple bike lengths in front of me, we hit the barriers nearly back together, but he was on his bike first and across the line a few seconds in front of me. It made for a good race and certainly made me push myself.


The high school kids I have been working with and coaching finished up their season with a strong second place, the boys had been dominant all season, but the final total is based on the co-ed results and we didn't quite pull it off. Regardless of result, the team had some really strong races and it has been super fun and motivating to work with these young athletes. Though the HS series is over, many of them will keep racing through the USGP's here in Bend and even on to Nationals.

We took off for the east coast on Mon night and I got to sneak in some amazing rides. I love riding around New England when the weather is nice. It was great to have a week of to just focus on riding, resting, and catching up with family and of course some eating. The racing kicked my ass and I didn't do as well as I would have liked. A tough first lap and just not stellar legs, but it was a solid effort and I am glad to have been able to get in the race. A much tougher course than we are used to out here, twisty, technical, and lots of up and down. A solid race that I would love to jump in again.

East Coast Phone Photos


The next couple weeks I will focus on getting in some solid training leading up the the USGP races and then buckle down for the last few weeks leading up to cyclocross nationals in Madison. It's still a ways away, but I am psyched to keep riding and training.