2018 Flyover Silver Creek CX

Braun Building Center puts the "Flyover" in Flyover Silver Creek CX.

In my 2018 cyclocross debut this afternoon at Manitowoc’s Silver Creek Park, I had to look for the silver lining around the big black cloud of a 15th Place finish in the 18-man Cat 3 Masters 35+ race.

I got off to a terrible start, instantly squandering my position on the first row of the starting grid. We were 8 riders wide in a space that didn’t really allow for it, and I got squeezed. By the halfway point of Lap 1, my race was effectively over. I overtook one of my rivals on Lap 2, but that was the last time I made a pass. And nobody caught me from behind after that point, so I was almost on a solo ride for the rest of the 6-lap race. I could see the Gryphon Velo Racing duo of Mike Lebeau and Nathan Phelps not too far ahead, but I couldn’t close on them. Curse that bad start!

So, let’s talk about the silver lining. In today’s race I …

• Didn’t get lapped
• Finished just high enough to earn 1 point for the series standings
• Rode up Heckle Hill every lap
• Enjoyed (believe it or not) getting splashed by Lake Michigan waves as I ran along the beach
• Enjoyed even more the performance of my new bike, which shares none of the blame for my crappy result

Both in competition and out, today was a great opportunity to see many of my friends, so it was a good day overall. But I need to race better. I wasn’t good today, obviously. Madison’s Jeffrey Bopp (Revolution Cycles) took the victory. He had several podium appearances last season, so I will expect continuing success from him. As for my place in the pecking order … hopefully today wasn’t a sign of things to come.

Yesterday should have been Opening Day of the 2018 WCA cyclocross season, but an overabundance of rain in recent weeks has left many area parks in a delicate state. Milwaukee County shut down the race at Kosciuszko Park, saying the grounds were too wet. That race may be rescheduled on a Sunday in October. There were no concerns about the grounds today in Manitowoc. Conditions were perfect and the race organizers did an outstanding job with the course layout.

If you’re coming to cyclocross practice on Tuesday at Royal Oaks Park, then expect me to go hard. I need to find whatever was missing today. The week ahead looks dry—a nice change—so opportunities for training shouldn’t be limited by bad weather. I’m looking forward to Saturday’s race at Humboldt Park in Milwaukee and I’m hoping to travel to Wausau next Sunday for Cross Of The North … but not if the rain returns.

Today wasn’t the Season Opener that I wanted, but it’s the Season Opener with which I have to live. Maybe disappointment will prove to be motivating.