Bamacross Numero Uno: Brookside

My condition after the first cyclocross race this year...

Mind: Satisfied I raced hard
Legs: Unimpressed with what the Mind requested
Stomach: Confused by today's diet of cheap beer and hot dogs

Bici Coop was the sponsor group for the first Bamacross race this year and I think we pulled it off with style to spare. A great turn out yesterday made quick work of setting up the course which everyone seemed to be pretty amped to go suffer on. The grill was going strong before noon. The new baby blue jerseys turned out quite well - thanks Paul Halupka. You da man, man.

I will let Alan do the full recap on the team site since he probably has a better grasp on how everyone ended up so I will just throw in some words on how it went down for me out there.

Something has been wrong this year. I'm not nervous on start lines any more. No extra trips to the bathroom for no reason. All vital signs stable. Perhaps being unable to focus on anything for very long is a blessing in race situations.

Brent lined up the Singlespeed people with both Masters classes and the women. Awesome, a big group start so I don't have to worry about who is ahead of me.

"First Masters 35, then Masters 45, then singlespeed, then women," Brent called out.

So much for my hide in the pack tactics, I would have to watch as the other ten one gearies rode away from me on the first straightaway. My fears came true as they started us and sure enough, most everyone rolled on past me. I was confused...no way they could go that fast for 45 minutes.

I had no tactics, no game plan, no goals. Cross is still very foreign to me. I am better at the transitional stuff this year but don't have enough time on the Nature Boy yet to be comfortable tossing it around like a mountain bike. Good thing you don't have to comfortable to go fast. About two laps in, we had established a lead pack of three including Sam, Phillip, and myself. We were right together the next twenty minutes or so, slowly picking off the Masters racers. Ah, carrots. I love carrots.

I quickly decided I would be able to speed up on the last lap and win. Nevermind that I had already attained my top speed and would not be able to speed up under any circumstances.

Awesome plan. Failed execution. Phillip and Sam put ten or fifteen seconds on me during the last lap and that was that. Third place. My eyes felt like they were bleeding, so glad to be done. Hell of a lot better than I was expecting. I got a weird Surly t shirt as a prize that says "I'm with Big Dummy." The shirt has a hand pointing directly south. I need to ride around on someones shoulders when wearing it, I suppose. Nothing wrong with that at all. Totally normal.

Bamacross has really grown the past few years and I am stoked to be a part of it. Here's to a gloriously long and painful season.