First race and Reflections on Cross Camp

This Sunday we memorialized 9/11 with a cyclocross race, specifically the Colden Town Cyclocross race at Colden Town Park which was part of their weekend festival. While I wasn't quite happy with my races perse, the difference in racing with my new skills honed at the Cycle-Smart camp was remarkable. I never felt uncomfortable in any corners, remounts were faster and I consistently passed guys thru the sand pit and over barriers.

The bad news was my back seized up both races such that the power transfer slowly faded over time. I finished sixth in the 45+ and third in the 35+ and rode better in the 35+ but again the back was a factor. I'm going to alter my position on the bike and possibly my saddle and see how that works.

The biggest difference and benefit from crosscamp was in Aly. She raced during my 45+ but everytime I saw her she was railing corners like I knew she could. This translated to a win by about a minute, this despite a small crash on the first lap, which put her last but she picked the field off one by one after the crash and came up with the win. Even more interesting is that the women started at the same time as the 45+ and the S4s were 30 seconds up from us so she had to pick her way thru both groups. (I also had to move up thru 25 or so S4s as well and really felt confident doing so the whole time) Aly never would have had the confidence in her bike handling to do this before, but the camp really gave both of us a lot more confidence in our skills.

If you're even semi-serious about cross or even just want to have a less painful experience during cross then you need to go to the Cycle-Smart Cyclocross camp. Actually forget it, if you're racing against us, then the camp sucks don't go, it's a waste of time and money. :)

So a big thanks to Adam Myerson and the coaches at Cycle-Smart because even though the camp was 250 each we already made up half of that with prize money and swag. I might be exaggerating a bit but still it was worth it, just for the knowledge and confidence on cornering alone!