Cx Nationals

I woke up on Saturday tired; tired of being sick and tired pretending to train. So, I was resolved as I drove out to Verona for the Cyclocross Nationals 35-39 Masters race that I was going to focus on having fun and leaving it all out on the course.

The course conditions changed for every race and for our race it was going to be a mix of peanut butter mud and slick spots. I knew the first lap was going to be chaos, especially starting 5 rows back, so I planned on being cautious so I wouldn't be taken out of the race in a crash.

Being cautious appeared to be smart and I avoided many a rider going down wildly in front of me. The conditions were challenging and there was very little where constant power wasn't being put down. I was in the groove of things and moving up when my race was cut short by the officials. The details are all a bit sketchy and I am not going to focus on what happened.

Instead, I want say how great it was to be able to hang out and race with Joe, Mike, Ron and the whole Knutowski caravan, Jeff, Travis, Eric, Chris, Andy, Heidi, Sanjay, Maciej, Kate, Marcin, and anyone I missed. Then there are the too many to list people that made the whole season as fun and successful as it was all season long. Wisconsin has a great and growing cx scene.

After having a pitiful year last year due to real health reasons (13, 23, 13, DNF, 21, DNF) my goals were simple this year. Be able to finish in the middle of the pack even when I am not feeling good. Between the on and off cold and numerous tire issues I would say I was pretty successful in reaching my goals, maybe even a little better than I expected.

My week off the bike (not counting the park bike) began with this.

That's right, Clutch beer from New Belgium. The last bottle of a delicious dark sour ale that I have been saving. I also thawed out the cookies from Christmas that I didn't eat. I pretty much took last week off because of the cold so after taking this next week off I should be about 5 lbs heavier and ready to slowly start riding again. Heck, maybe if it ever snows in WI I'll even get to ski!