Kruger's Kermesse

Kruger's Kermesse was this weekend.  It was a cyclocross-ish race pretty much perfect for me - very flat and wide open.  The course was mostly very dusty dirt roads, along with a little grass and some gravel road as well.  I did the "Masters A" race, mainly because the regular A race is full of guys much, much faster than I.

I decided to ride my rain bike because it had road gears on it.  My cyclocross bike only has a 39 tooth sprocket up front, which wasn't enough for today.  The rain bike needs work, sporting sweet Shimano 105 8 speed shifters and occasional skipping gears.  But it was in good enough condition to race, and it had a 53 tooth chainring.

The first half of the race was on a very dusty dirt road.  It was obvious you'd be riding blind if you weren't in front.  So at the gun, I took off and got the lead, and led most of the first lap. 

We started out with a break of four guys.  We caught a couple guys from the A race, and they joined up with us.  We had some crashes, flat tires, but I just kept grinding on.  Our break stayed away for the entire race.  For the first half of the race, I tried to take my fair share of the pulls.  One little hilly spot always wore me out a bit, but there was a fast downhill gravel road that followed, so I never had a problem staying on. 

In the end, It was me, Kent Johnston and James Selman.  Selman actually got a flat mid race, dropped out, and then caught us on the next lap around.  I didn't know if crit rules were in place or not (e.g. you get a free lap if you get a flat tire), so I assumed he was still in contention (just to be safe).  The last part of the course was perfect for me to take off, so I did, on a long gravel downhill.  We got all caught up in slower A riders, and it was a good thing I was in front.  We got to the front straight and I just kept pedaling hard until I was across the line.  My first win of 2007.

Kermese Podium

Immediately after that race, I did a team relay race with my team (BBC).  It was 10 laps, and we each did two.  We won that race by a large margin, which was kinda fun.

Kermessees?  Love them!


Comments (Comment Moderation is enabled. Your comment will not appear until approved.)
Nicely done! Way to start the year with a bang. We didn't catch your race, but Joy and Xavier raced, and had a ball...

See you at Cross race #1
# Posted By Francis | 9/18/07 10:10 PM
Erik the biking Viking! What a day man congrat`s, watched you blow through the Finnish Line!
# Posted By Guy Smith | 9/19/07 9:10 PM
Thanks! See you guys out there in the fall.
# Posted By erikv | 9/19/07 9:21 PM
I think it's appropriate that the Jolly Green Giant won the race out at Kruger's Farm. Ho, ho, ho, Green Giant!
# Posted By Brooke Hoyer | 9/20/07 9:20 AM
Believe it or not, I've never heard that one before. Haha.
# Posted By erikv | 9/20/07 9:36 AM
Who did the relay with you? How did that race go?
# Posted By Richard | 9/20/07 9:57 AM
BBC guys - Richard Suditu, Lance, Greg, Mr. Big Powa, and I. We won (i wrote it up there).
# Posted By erikv | 9/20/07 10:45 AM