Cyclocross Big Finn Hill MFG #1 2013 Photos and Race Report

First for those of you who don't care about me, photos of EVERYONE can be found Here.

2013 is wheeling along...

I made a list of what to pack for the bike race.  It is the only reason I didn't forget my shoes.   Hottie and I arrived early and got a stellar parking spot and after a couple round trips the test was up and I was sitting and watching the fog burn off.

Damp grass leads to wet feet.

Soon there was a crowd of like-minded 20/20 Fuel riders. We cheered on Willard and Stephen early and stayed until Brad and Tim were mixing it up in the open race.

My warmup can be summed up as fun.  It was a hoot to be riding Cyclocross again.  Tire pressure was dialed in and I felt pretty good.

When it came time to line up they called us up by last digit of our race number and I got a back row position.  Oh well, no pressure.  It didn't even create an emotion, I was just glad to be racing.

I quickly moved up and was doing alright.  I was a bit behind el Jefe' but he wasn't pulling away and I wasn't fading.  The bike was doing well and I appreciated the stiffness on the climbs and accelerations. I took the off camber turns wide and was alone in doing so, but I passed people when I was in traffic and the line worked fine when I was in a gap.

As it opened up I was able to put out the power and when I came by on the third lap I really wanted to hear, "two to go."  "3 LAPS to go" read the sign.  I have get to suffer enjoy six laps today.

On the fourth lap my chain jumped off and I was stunned. I stopped and put it back on with little fuss. I was surprised and looked down and noted the whole thing had rotated a tad which was not supposed to happen.   I lost a few places and I was fighting to stay ahead of a group I had labored so hard to pass earlier.  El Jefe' had opened up a good gap now.  The Cheetah and Feral Dave passed and I was maintaining the rear guard for 20/20 Fuel.

Something STINKS ?

My chain popped off on a different spot on the fifth lap and I put it on and rotated the chain keeper with my thumb and jumped back on. I was now behind the riders I wanted to beat.  I drilled it and tried to hold on and move up on the last lap.

At the beginning of the last lap I passed the team tent and set up for the first turn and took my first last lap victim.  I rode the crazy down-off camber-steep-root-climb, downhill like a pro.  I pushed the uphill and soon was aiming downhill.  I kept pedaling to keep the chain on as much as anything.

Yeah, I know after a while all these pictures of me kind of look the same.  Deal with it.

The final half lap I held my spot and was almost pipped at the line, but alas the poor fellow was just a tad too late.  I was pleased with my race.  I beat my stalker, Spinner John, rather soundly despite not having a very good race.  It felt good to be done.  The satisfied feeling of racing hard with other fast guys.