The first day of my two days of ‘cross racing at Troy’s, Prospect Park is complete. Today was the NYS Cyclocross Championship, although my Cat 4 race was not a championship race. Not that I had a plan of winning, but I did have a plan of continuing to improve in my ‘cross racing. And improve I did.
Today’s race went off with a temperature of 35 degrees. This may have been the coldest race I’ve ever done. During my pre-ride, my fingers were so cold that I could barely squeeze the brake levers. After my pre-ride I had to warm up my fingers and put in my winter riding gloves.
This race course was the most technically challenging ‘cross course I’ve ridden yet. There were more transitions from dirt to pavement to dirt, more soft ground, steep run-ups and the “spiral of despair” as I heard someone call it. The spiral is a tight 360 degree spiral that then turns sharp 180 degrees and out of the spiral. I’m glad I didn’t have to do it in a crowd. I’m definitely getting better at the barriers, but my remount on the bike is still a little clumsy.
I had a 17th place finish and finished on the same lap as the winner. I see that as a huge improvement for me. Sunday’s course will be slightly different and I hope to again improve over this race too.
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