Told Ya

On paper, my result in yesterday’s cyclocross race was unimpressive.  But there was more to the story.  In today’s race at Sheboygan, I got the Top 5 result that I knew I had in me.  This morning was cold, windy and damp and turnout was much smaller than on Saturday, but by taking 5th place in the 11-man Masters 45+ Cat 4 field I added 14 more points to my series total.

I would love to tell you exactly where I am in the series standings, but the WCA has been slow to update its website.  I believe I’m still firmly in the Top 10.  Timm Jacobson took an easy victory today.  A couple of his main rivals for the season title didn’t line up with us.  One or two guys may be looking at category upgrades and that would clear them out of my way, but I would rather move up the standings by competition than by administration.

Today’s race followed some of the WORS mountain bike course, including the infamous “Equalizer,” an imposing climb that I was content to run up on all three laps.  In my race, I didn’t see anybody ride it and it didn’t appear to be a big factor in the final standings.  I didn’t use it to catch people and nobody used it to catch me.  I was very good on the gravel descent on the east end of the quarry lake, and on the gravel two-track that led into the woods.  The Equalizer was our exit from the short section of wooded singletrack.  Each lap began and ended with several hundred meters of bumpy, open fields.  It was hard to pedal with power over the matted grass.  There wasn’t much passing after the first lap, and I spent all of Lap 3 merely preserving my position.

So, what’s next?  Tomorrow I will be back on the job after a week of vacation.  My email inbox is ready to burst and this week could be very busy.  I should know soon when I am expected in Atlanta for a special project.  That could be a week-long commitment with weekend travel days, and obviously that would keep me from racing.  I’m probably OK for next Saturday’s cyclocross race at Estabrook Park, but anything thereafter is a big question mark.  Must keep the company happy to keep drawing the salary to pay for the cycling stuff I’ve already bought!