Yesterday was StarCrossed, my second race of the season, and an eye-opener! In terms of an official kick-off to the year, many people use this race (amateurs and pros) as an entrance into the fall season of cyclocross fun. With afternoon sun and humidity, the 75 degree weather felt like the sunny south, especially after a week of rain in the northwest. I was glad I had an assortment of clothing to pick from. We were called up in random order and I was within the first 15 or so called up, which is a GREAT starting position that put me on the third row of about 50 starters. A lucky break there, since it meant I wouldn’t get stuck in traffic through some of the technical parts. It ended up that I held in about the 20th spot for a good portion of the race and then started dropping back… big time. I had nearly forgotten what it was like to ride as hard as I can into the redline without throwing up! I was passed by a LOT of people and hoping that a lot of them were from the race behind me. In about the last 1/3 of the race, I started getting freaky chills, that were probably from overheating. That’s when I started getting passed and just hanging on til the finish. In the end, the main thing for me was the atmosphere of being at a big race event with plenty of supporters, lots of yelling/cowbell, and having a good time! What’s not to love? A toast to the long season ahead! CX is ON til December!
