Gloucester, day 2

While I thoroughly enjoyed playing in the mud Saturday, I'm not going to say I wasn't pleased with the warmer, drier, conditions of Sunday. The mud had firmed up enough to be tacky, rather than peanut-butter-y, although there were definitely some sections of pure glop. The course had also changed - they sent us through the off-cambre backwards, and through a sand pit, and although I was sort of hoping they'd send us down the run-up, I can see how that would be dangerous from the race director's point of view. I snuck in most of a lap before the masters' race, and really liked how much of the course was rideable. I also really liked how there was no pavement uphill of death.

But I had a resolution. Saturday I'd let my head control me. No more. Everywhere that I wanted to whine, I planned to attack. All those straight power sections - I was going to attack. Any pavement - I was going to attack. Doesn't matter if I am riding alone or with people or my attack is pointless, I just wanted to be on, the whole time, none of this "I can't ride with her" business. Its amazing how having a race plan like this makes you feel empowered, and holy cow was I nervous on the start line. Good spot though, just behind Cathy.

The little tykes took off, some of those juniors are just so tiny. I think they should probably start them behind the women, if I were an eight-year-old I don't think I'd like getting passed by 3/4 of the women's field, but it might be empowering to pass some of the stragglers. Anyway, we went soon after, I was near the front but not quite there entering the hole shot, but its such a nice wide hole shot that nothing stopped me from continuing to pedal and thus coming to the front of the race. Why do people stop pedaling when they hit the grass?

I was neck and neck with Karin on those first grassy turns, but she (justifiably) cut me off on one of the last ones, I had forgotten that the course turned and was trying to get past her. Soon after that she was gone. We came into that little off-cambre bit by the baseball diamond, and I'd pre-ridden this, I knew it was rideable and Karin and I had spread it out enough that I wasn't in traffic. The spectators were loving that I rode it, I don't know if it was faster but it sure felt better. On the pavement, Allyson came by and opened a small gap (how do they do that so quickly??), and I hadn't pre-ridden that little bumpy bit after the pavement, so the turns took me by surprise. Stupid on my part. Anyway, I was trying to close the gap coming into the sand, and I carried way too much speed into the sand pit. Made it around the first turn, turned too much, overcorrected, overcorrected again, course tape, boom I'm down, doh. I got up and started running as Natalia caught up to me, she was shouting at me to move but its not like its singletrack through the sand, you want to get around me you go around me, I'm not ceding this nice packed line...

Anyway, she came around as I remounted, and I caught her wheel going past the pits. This was fun, I could get to liking this whole power-through-the-power-bits-instead-of-whining attitude. Anyway, just on the other side of the pits, Natalia hit a wooden post straight-on, and did a perfect cartwheel over her bars. Ouch... I hit the gas to put some time between us. Allyson was gone after my fumble in the sand, I pedaled harder, but coming across the backstretch by the water there was a girl catching up. She'd made contact by the time we were through the other side of the peanut butter mud, but I followed my race plan and stomped on it up the paved hill, so she didn't pass me. I opened up a gap again on the turns and then by riding the off-cambre, thought she might be gone but I saw her behind me as I rounded that pavement corner after the barriers. Pavement! Attack! Into the bumpy bits and I rode those turns much better this time, and managed to reign in some of my speed coming into the sand, just enough so I could control myself.

She was near but not in contact, and I was starting to think I could hold on to this third place - thanks to the length of the laps, I was on the bell lap already, and there were plenty of fun places left to make up time even if she did latch on. Then going by the pits, trying to ride a slightly drier line, I whacked into a wooden post, and did a slightly-less-spectacular cartwheel than Natalia's. The girl in red went by as I was picking myself and my bike out of the mud, and gosh did it feel like it took forever to get moving again. By the time I was rolling she was gone, and I didn't have the speed to ride the little up-down thingy. I was still super winded from landing on my back, but by the time I remounted I could breathe again. Of course, I couldn't see the girl in red, and I could see a girl in green closing, so it was back to race mode.

The girl in green came close by the backstretch, but I used my race plan to attack the uphill again and lost her for good in the corners, even though I had to run the off-cambre due to getting caught behind a junior coming in to it. Even if there were a race at stake, I would feel horrible passing one of the little juniors aggressively - totally different if its a 15-yo boy, but the little guys don't need to get elbowed around just yet. Anyway, no sign of fifth place as I came through the barriers, and I finished in fourth. Bummer about whacking the post, but not running into things is definitely part of cx racing...

I have to admit, that was an awesomely fun race. I never thought I'd say that about the Gloucester courses, but the rain and mud Saturday combined with the funness of Sunday's course just made for an awesome weekend. I hope they don't go back to the grass crit mode, because this was how it should be! My only complaint was that there wasn't a heater in the beer tent Saturday...