MOM Raccoon TWP cross race

today's theme song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KQCqBDCbIA

After 44 miles of XC 'racing" I decided to head on up to Beaver Country for some good olde fashion muddy fun know as cross racing.

The Month of Mud race series is Western Pas premier off road racing series. This is my 3rd year competing in it. I have done one year as a beginner, was last years Sport champion, which made me an expert this year. The first race at Bavington I finished 7th in the expert class and had the 10th fastest time overall.

So the cross race......I arrived 20 minutes before the start of my race. I love being late!! I signed up and ran back to get changed into my cycling clothes and get my sweet borrow Redline Conquest Pro cyclocross race ready. I forgot to pay my entry fee. Thanks Kent for coming back and running my money up to them. I get the bike set up and get excactly one warm lap on the tight twisty soon be slick as snot course.

Arriving at the start pack I line up solidly mid pack. I know I am tired from yesterday, and I also know I will be competive but not with the top guys. Gunnar Shogren(the premier old guy bike racer in world mulittime XC,CX, road and tandumb national champ) is here, Gerry Pflug(this years NUE SS champ) is here and he eats people apparently, plus a slew of REALLY fast local pros. I sheeplishly line up behind these guys knowing that in due time I can hopefully compete with them but right now especailly after 44 miles of WV trails I dont have stand a chance. My plan is foiled though by my own goodness at Bavington. At the MOM races they call up the 10 fastest times from last week to the front lucky me I was number 10. I know move to the front of the pack, a couple more honory call ups await. Shogren, Pflug, and Gorski . I feel like I am minor league pitcher trying to strike major league batter now but damn it I am going to try.

We start and I manage to stay top 10-15ish into the first turn. I pull some aggresive moves in the first lap to get back to top 10. I already can tell that I am not all there really but damn it I am going to try to do well anyways. First lap goes buy with no real drama but I know I am really freaking tires only 8 minutes into the race. People start to pass me and I start to make really bad mistake including a couple really sweet falls and on the super greasy ground. I know that I cant stay with these guys so I just start to run my own race to the finish line.

During the hell of fighting though this race I actually had alot of fun trying to find different lines and putting down power where I could. In this time a friend and good competior we shall call him D.C. kept catching up to me. I havent lost yet to him this year be Ill damned if I just let him pass he is going to have to earn it! At some point in time Betsy Shogren passed our little group on here SS cross bike and made it look effortless. I noticed that her SS is a huge advangate here and quickly upshift to a much higher gear and start finding my rear tire is slipping out why less. Following her and riding in higher gear lets me put a huge lead on D.C. and the Dirty Harry's rider around me. Other than that though pretty boring race due to me not being 100 percent and just not being that good at Cross yet. The top 5 lapped me including Gunnar and Gerry Pflug.

the specating for the B race was mucho fun though and I had alot of fun watching the Tandumb race with pictures here.

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