It's that time again.

Racin' time. Southern Cross 2012 is a mere two weeks away. This will be my first race of the season and man has it come up quick.

I avoided the possibility of mental, physical, or emotional burnout by restricting my cyclocross season to only a couple races. Not that I had any sort of goal in mind when I kept missing races but it all makes sense now. Conservation of force was the name of the game.

Southern Cross seems to be getting a good bit of press this year:
*Namrita givin' pre ride reports.
*Bikerumor will be there.
*Colt from Cyclingdirt will be there to catch everyone at their fumbling worst pre and post race.
*Thom Parsons laid down some good prerace words.

Why the big deal? It is a badass race with strong competition and it seems to be the queen stage of the American Ultracross Series.

There are lots of questions to figure out before this race, such as:
Mountain bike or cross bike?
What tires to use?
How many extra tubes/gels/Road IDs/exhaust hangers should I bring?
Which scent of embrocation will best compliment the searing sensation in my quads?
How to pace- risk blowing up on the first climb or leave some in the tank?
What do I do if I cramp?
What beer to drink post race?

All valid questions and the wonderful thing is there is no one right answer. Part of the beauty of bike racing is the uncertainty, the sense of adventure... It is never as simple as watts/kilogram times psi divided by Endurolytes to the power of custard filled donuts. Thank God for that.

I briefly checked out the confirmed riders list on bikereg. Lots of people from Birmingham will be in attendance, a few of which I think will have a good chance at some podium spots. Hope everyone else is getting their ducks in a row. See ya in a couple weeks.

Side Note: Some of my coworkers are doing the Mercedes half marathon Sunday. Good luck to all of them, I'd be scared of getting trampled by the masses out there!