Epic Racing around the World

Last weekend Bart and I (sager) packed up our new Cannondale Caad 9’s and headed up to Seattle, the motherland of all things ‘cross related. Bart’s kicked around on the national CX scene for years…but this would be my first outing on a ‘cross bike beyond anything regional. I can’t say how different it is racing 100 guys vs Bart and I trading licks on the local scene.

Before Saturday’s Starcrossed night race, Bart and I took a few laps to try and ease into a full speed effort. Its not so much that the work load is different in these races, but we put our bikes into situations, and at speeds, that simply don’t occur in the smaller regional events.

Laughing around the course in pairs during the twilight is one thing….big ringing into a dusty and blind turn behind, and in front of, a raging pack of ‘cross pros is another story. It probably took me at least 20mintues to figure out what these bikes can do at full speed….chasing Bart made for a good example.

The crowds are what make Starcrossed a unique experience…the energy. the heckling. the fans. the smoking??

With the race wrapping up late on Saturday night, Sunday came fairly quickly for the Rad Racing event in Tacoma.

Tacoma has the Knapp Time run-up - an 80 meter long sandy, rooty, and brutal beast of unforgiving cyclocross nastiness that shouldn’t belong anywhere near a race course, unless of course you’re Dale Knapp and have a pillar of suffering named after you. The Knapp Time was the undoing of quite a few lesser racers, myself included.

Bart rode like a machine, sticking the 1st chase group all race…recounting how the guys at the front of the race could pick their running speed on the hill. For me, it took twice as long, going half as fast, suffering twice as much. I think that’s called bike-mathmatics.

Losing 5-10 spots per run up left me behind the 8-ball…chasing. Makes for character building, no?

We’ll see if a little less character can be built this weekend and if MonaVie/Cannondale can 1/2/3 the 1st race of the Utah CX series. I can see it now…“Bart, wait up!”