Bike Forums - Nccx #9 cx4

2009-12-06 Su, last race in the series, coldest race yet, sunny but it rained a lot the day before, held at Tanglewood Park in Winston-Salem, NC which is a private recreational facility; cold weather seemed to hold down the spirit and size of the crowds even through there was beer and food available; course was generally flat and fast; there was a stepped run-up and a set of barriers; plenty of 180 turns with sticky mud to test the handling skills

as usual the CX4 was the biggest race of the day with 40-50 riders (estimated); there was a call-up of the series leaders; i ended up in the second row; the holeshot race was into a right turn into a 180 with a muddy dip that emptied into a long paved stretch; i had to foot-down to get through while waiting for the traffic jam to clear; i passed 10 or so on the pave stretch; i hard to ride hard to make it up to the fron t 20; things were stretching out fast; at the end of the paved section there was right turn up a muddy bump; i had to foot-down again because of the traffic; i touched a wheel in front but we both stayed up; bad on me; a short muddy charge led to a deep mud downhill left turn that led to more turns; another short fast section with a paved surface the ended with a left 180 into a short muddy bump up that caught a few riders throughout the race; fast grass section into the muddy stepped run-up; at the top it's a muddy run into the woods; the woods is fast twisting course with a footbridge; had to pass in this section but not impossible; woods section ends with a fine gravel downhill into a series of wide flat S curves in short brown grass; next the course takes you to another run through the woods where there's some mud but it doesn't come into play; there's a left 180 up a short steep hill and a run in the grass that takes you back to the flat brown grass section and into the barriers where the crowd is huddled around a beer keg; out of the barriers and a couple more S's and we've finished the first lap; things have stretched out and i'm starting to catch rabbits one by one; i'm getting good at catching the rabbits but executing the pass is still a problem; the next lap is not too bad; on the third and bell lap i'm picking up the pace and looking for more passes; i pass a guy; he passes me; i get stuck behind him in the woods; my teammate pases me at a blistering pace; i jump, chase, reattach; teammate has a follower; we're a threesome; teammate gaps away; it's me and the other guy going into the barriers; the other guy practically stops cold in the barriers; he's out of my way and come in one behind my teammate; no idea of placing; results will be posted later this week; i'll up date here when they are out

can't wait for the winter series; might cat up to cx3 for a real a$$-whooping; or i might stay in cx4 and do masters so i can get in two races (depends on how the masters,cx3, cx4 races are scheduled)