Today was the first race of the ’07 Cross Crusade series. 1077 other racers plus quite a few spectators joined me at the Alpenrose Dairy and Velodrome in Hillsboro, Oregon for Cyclocross racing. Because of the Oregon weather (rainy and muddy, but not often icy or snowy) and the bicycle culture, this is one of the best places in the country for Cyclocross. There were six races, starting at 9:00 am. The Masters 50+ field was started first in the first race with the Beginner field started a couple minutes behind.
I left home in the dark at 6:15. Any day when you roll out of bed before dawn and then put on bike clothes is a good day. At the race site I greeted old friends and showed off my new Co-motion cross bike to the people in the Chris King tent. Chris King makes excellent headsets and hubs (many people say they’re simply the best). I equipped my white cross bike with pink Chris King components because they really are “pretty and strong”, and a cut of the profits go to breast cancer research.
I had a chance for a couple of warm up laps and then lined up at the start line with the other old farts. The start was on a wide paved road, uphill, leading to a couple of curves and then necking down to a gravel trail one bike wide. I lined up a little late, so I was near the back of the pack. Not the best place to be, because a cross race starts with a sprint from the start line, to establish a position at the front when the road narrows down to one rider wide: “the hole shot”. I’m not so interested in fighting for the hole shot because of the crashes that occasionally go with it. Cyclocross racing is definitely a race, but since it spreads out on the single track, it has an entirely different flavor from road racing. It quickly ends up being a race between you and the racer immediately ahead and the one immediately behind. The fields spread out and mingle, so after a few laps I have no idea whether I’m racing for first place or last place. I just know if I catch and pass the guy ahead, I’ve moved up one position. The race is for 40 minutes plus one lap by the leader, so you don’t even know for sure when the finish will be. During the race you’re entirely concentrated in the moment, focused on riding fast and smooth, and catching and passing the guy ahead. It has rained during the past couple of weeks, but was dry in the morning so the course was fast, sticky but not too rough. I felt good and had a good race, passing some masters and lapping a few beginners. The results will be posted in a few days, but it was a good day no matter where I placed.
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