I toed the line with 20+ Master 35+. Not a great start, but hit the run-up in 6th place, and picked off a few on the first lap. Lap #2, I'm the tail of the leading trifecta. I'm thinking about attacking the other 2 when the leader goes down on the grass and I have to lock it up to avoid riding right into him. I'm up quickly, but my front brake quick release is off. Crap. As I stop to fix it I give up 3rd place. Shortly thereafter, it's a new leading trifecta with me about 10 seconds back trying to get on. I stayed there for several laps, but never closed the gap. Two to go...and 3rd place is laying on the greasy bridge; yard sale. "Do you need help?" "Do you need a medic?" yeah. It's like DejaVue all over again... Only this guy is coherent. I ride a hundred meters to the climb and yell at the Hill People to go help him; they do. Next lap, and yard sale is laying off to the side of the trail surrounded by people. By the time I finished comfortably in 3rd, the sirens were sounding and an ambulance was on-site. No chance for second, and 4th was way back...so I sat up on the last lap to save a little for later. $20 and a big bag of swag. Sweet.
I rode the trainer in an attempt to stay warm for an hour, to be ready for the Single Speed race. I feel wrecked though, and my back is stiff. Not many SS racers, but we managed to convince the official and the start guy to let us go in front of the Cat 4 field. Praise Allah! 8 guys toe the line, 4 on mountain bikes; and a few serious looking guys. Whistle. 2 guys on 29ers take off like they're on fire. They led up the run up with me on their wheel, through the singletrack, but they were obviously undergeared for this event. When we finally hit the grass on the first lap, I dispatched of second place right away and quickly caught onto the leader's wheel. Into the sand, I jumped off and attacked on foot around a 180 turn....and had 3 bike lengths as a reward. Lots of grass ahead and they're undergeared...so I drilled it. I never saw them again. Instead, Scott Rosenthal (Zanconato) was about 10 seconds behind me as we crossed the line the first time. (Rosie was doubling down too, with his 2nd race the P123 after the SS.) On the run-ups, he closed the gap a bit, but on the singletrack and the twisties I totally had my A game and gapped him. The official and the "lap girl" at the finish line were totally confused as we came through the second time, I think because Rosie and I were killing it and were already lapping the Cat 4's. After 2 laps, no lap card. "how many laps?" no response; blank look. After 3 laps, no lap card. I yelled "How many laps?" Blank look. WTF? Rosie is still pressuring me. I race on. After 4 laps, the girl had a clipboard with a "2" on it but she wasn't showing it to me. I did 6 in the Masters, so I figured I had 2 more. I kept the pressure on and I built a comfortable gap on Rosie on this lap, still riding like I'm on a rail and him not attacking on the run-ups. (He's probably saving it for the P123 at this point.) I came through the finish for the 5th time with about 30-45 seconds on Rosie; the girl has a 1 on the clip board, but she's not showing it to me. "ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE ME THE BELL?" Blank look. Around a few turns, then past the scoring table on the backside...and the official jumps in front of me and says "You're done". "You won." No shit. thanks.
I got another pile of swag. I bought a Belgain Delerium Noel with my $20 and have a comfortable buzz now as I relive my first career 'Cross victory. Before this year, the last time I won a race of any kind was 1998 when I was an up-and-coming Sport racer; I won 3 in a row then upgraded to Expert. This year, I won a road race and a 'cross race! Life is GOOD! Forgive me if I gloat...and drink. (I'm now into the Stellas...)
