Minuteman Road Club

Too much, too little, too late.

Too much: Benadryl. Allergies have been bad the last few days and I woke up feeling pretty dopey.

Too little: See above and resulting lack of sleep. Also, missing Blunt Park race meant I didn't get my "cyclocross is hard" wake up call which usually has me better prepared for Quad. Also, putzed around the course during warmup when I should have been doing some short hard efforts to prepare for that hole shot.

Too late: After starting 2nd row then a two lap bleeding of spots, I finally woke up and started turning and driving the bike really well. Started reeling a few people in and felt like I was in a bike race for the 2nd pair of laps. Finished 24th of 60.

Kudos to Todd Savage for starting behind me and finishing ahead. Cross Clash!

Great job by Jacob figuring out what CX is all about under race conditions. Shopping for a chain keeper today?

Thx to Mike Olbrys for encouragement on the last lap and the kind gesture of not coming around me at the finish, I KNOW you could easily have.

Thanks Russ, it was fun to finally race with you.

I had a good time at my first cross race ever. It felt like 35 minutes of chasing down the break -- hard work! As a newbie, I started at the back of the field, but I managed to pass a bunch of guys in the first lap. I also managed to have a nice little wash out on the loose gravel. I was red-lined nice and early, but with no sustained climbing the course wasn't going to allow me to let up. I was creeping my way up to Todd's back wheel on the last lap when I dropped my chain. I'm running what is basically a road setup, other than the tires -- maybe I should change that. I finished with a kick and heard the comment that I was "too strong on the flats" Bizarro!

I heard some supportive and friendly comments from my opponents during the race; the vibe was pretty nice. It was fun and I'll come back for more.

I also want to add that my 29th place finish is exactly what I did in my first road race at Hilltowns in 2010.