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The Night Weasels Cometh CX - 2 October 2013

Jeff, third from left


Okay, so if anyone asks you, "Hey, wanna race on a ski hill," politely decline ... it's a trap!

Only one practice lap--didn't want to leave it all on the course before hitting the course for real. Warmed up on my trainer for 20 minutes while parked next to a car with cute women getting changed for their race later in the evening--that was pretty much the pinnacle of the day for me.

Queued up for the 5:30p start--despite my decentish results at Lancaster and Gloucester (3/4 of the way back at both), the Weasel organizers saw fit to start me in the back. The 4/5 and 4/5 35+ fields were racing together, but would be scored separately.

I looked around for the usual suspects. Brad? No. Patrick? No. Bobby? No. Jon? No. Jason? No. Stan Smith? No. Bill Rieders? No. Hmm, maybe they knew something I didn't. On the plus side, my odds of finishing first amongst the 545 Velo/MacGregor/Weston Posse crowd were looking up.

The whistle blew, and we were off (video below, part of lap 1, technical difficulties on the recording). Gravel start, then mostly climbing up the first of three trails (fortunately, we didn't go all the way up):
  1. First Tracks Teaching Area
  2. Dream Maker
  3. Winter's Magic


I fell at the top of First Tracks, mostly because my forward progress wasn't equal to my sideways lean. Down to the bottom and over to Dream Maker. Sadly, the descents didn't seem to offer as much recovery as the climbs sapped energy.

Up, then down, then up, and over to Winter's Magic. Down, then up, then down, then the long straightaway across the bottom back to First Tracks to do it all over again. Five laps total.

Over the course of the race, I picked off a few riders to finish 77th of 87 overall and 49th of 57 in the 35+ field. Apparently, I climb as poorly as I descend. Also, I learned the hard way that when you get lapped, you don't need to ride your final lap (I did).

Fairly consistent splits: average speeds of 8.8 (traffic), 9.1, 9.0, 8.8, and 8.6 (traffic again--pre-riding for the later races).

The numbers
  • Distance: 7.0mi
  • Average speed: 8.8
  • Elevation: 548'
  • Average cadence: 72
Cat 4/5 lap 1 (partial)


Cat 3s on Winter's Magic