USGP 2/2

Today was the second and final race of the national USGP Cyclocross series.  It was also my final race for the year; I'm done until next spring. 

While yesterday was muddy, today was REALLY muddy.  I fell asleep and woke up to the sound of pouring rain, which is always a good thing with cyclocross.  I prefer the course to be super muddy, well saturated, and rain coming down the entire race.  That's what we had today, and it was great. 

The course was similar to yesterday, with some extra twists and turns thrown in this time around.  There were huge puddles of water, which grew significantly throughout the race.  They made the race a little more fun, and helped keep the bikes clean, too.

My bike worked great today, no problems at all.  Things didn't quite feel right yesterday, so I made some changes today.  I put on a shorter stem, and moved the seat position forward a centimeter or so.  Though that's only an inch of change, it made a big difference.  My tubeless Michelin Muds were sticking with incredible traction.  I was shocked with how well they hooked up.

As for the race, I got number 88 today, so I again lined up in the back.  There were a lot of crashes in yesterday's start, so I didn't want to get too crazy with passing.  If someone went down in front of me in these conditions, I probably would have plowed right into them.  Not only would that hurt the fallen rider, but it'd probably take me down hard into the pavement and we'd both be starting our off-season with a nasty injury.  I'm all for bumping through riders, but I won't risk my neck for it.  This is just for fun!

I was able to move up a bit in the start.  The first lap saw all the slow parts of the course jam up with riders, while the leaders were uninhibited in the front.  I kept trying to work my way up, marking someone and then looking for another body when I made the pass.  Often, someone I got by would come around me shortly thereafter. 

The strong part of the course (for me) was a very long, paved road that included the finishing straight.  This was where I either made up ground, or opened up gaps on some of those guys who I was going back and forth with.  If I've got roadie skills, I might as well use them!

I tried to do more standing up and accelerating today, but it got harder as the race went on.  My feet were pretty frozen, and I could feel my legs starting to get numb from the cold as well.  My hands got pretty cold, too, and I had to actually look down to shift gears near the end, because I couldn't feel the lever very well.  I figured everyone else was in the same boat, so I just did the best I could.

With a couple laps remaining, I realized this was my last race of the season, and this was it.  If I had a disappointing race, it'd probably stick with me for quite some time.  So I just tried to enjoy myself, have a good time, and soak it all in.  After the race, about a dozen of us grouped up, shook hands, and congratulated each other on a job well done.  The crowds were great, and I heard a lot of folks yelling for me.  That was absolutely wonderful.  Special thanks to Tim Smith for all the post-race support.

So that's it - no more racing for a while.  I'm happy to have ended it on a high note.  I don't know how I placed in the race, but I actually felt like I was racing instead of flailing today, and that makes things a whole lot more enjoyable.  This was a great race, great experience, and a great way to end the season.  While I'm sure my wife Donna dreads to hear it, I think I'll very much be looking forward to next year's cyclocross season.  Thanks to everyone for your support, I really appreciate it!