The first thing everyone probably noticed after they parked in the Disney sized parking lot was the hardcourt bike polo antics on the way into the venue. There were people doing things on bikes that were quite a spectacle. A mix of thunderdome style polo battles, style and attitude all it's own. You could not find a starker contrast between a dude rocking a denim vest filled with patches and the lycra clad racers. It looked like a crazy amount of fun and skill although I would suspect they don't require drug testing at these events as the air had a certain flavor to it.
The course for the cyclocross race was flat, fast and felt like an amusement park ride. It started on pavement and then wound it's way to the inside of the venue. From there, it circled around the track before it took to the infield. Once there there was an off camber turn and then a cute stair run up before there were more turns up and down the grass sections, a double barrier that I thought I would try to bunny hop but chickened out at the last second and then the flyover to BMX section. Once there there were a few berms and some big jumps and some whoops for good measure before it finished on the long straight away. You could theoretically pump that section and not pedal of you have good BMX fundamentals. It was also a great place to watch like a vulture all the thrills and spills as you could heckle and cheer from the infield. Arguably the most tricky section was the berm right after the flyover. People were carrying so much speed on the ramp down, many had to brake and then go over a hump and lean it hard right on the berm to make it and carry the speed. This may have not been the most tough or gritty course but it could be argued that it was the most fun so far.
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To make things festive there were plenty of gravestones, ghosts and goblins and even a severed head hanging under the flyover. I didn't notice most of these things until after the race due to suffering and tunnel vision but it was quite macabre. The only things spooky about my race was how fast it was going to be. I thought about wearing a costume but was relieved when no one else dressed up in my category. I ended up getting a terrible place in staging. Third row back and on the inside. When the race began I had to fight hard to move up and burned a lot of energy as the first lap was going warp 2. For the first half of the race I was up there and the grouping was tight enough you could throw a blanket over us. It felt like a crit for the first part of the race where finding a wheel was key. When it got technical, I started to lose spots and was getting frustrated. For a flat course, I was shifting more than usual to find the right gear. When things got separated I got complacent hanging onto a wheel rather than trying to pass it and it cost me precious time. Lesson learned. I finished mid pack two minutes behind the winner. Not that terrible considering there were a few pro mountain bikers and Cat 2's in the mix.
Instead of packing up and going home right away, feeling frisky I went to the infield, bought a nine dollar beer and ten dollar sliders from a food truck and watched the other races go down. I did not offer any handouts though as I was at that point broke. My race was merely the opening act of the main event later that night which was the UCI pro women's race followed by the pro mens race. I sadly did not stick around to watch as I had a good two hour drive home and I was feeling pretty grimy and a tad slimy. I did watch the pro event live online and it is always a treat to see just how slow you really are when the pro's take their turn at making their race look like they have motors in their bikes. Also the night races under the glow of lights always make things seem cooler. Next week is the San Diego weekend and I could not be more excited to finally race in my own backyard! See you out there.
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