Waterford Hills hosted the final race in the tailwind cross series. This was the first race this year to be held on a cold, snowy day. The temps were in the low 20`s, we missed out on the big snow storm that hit the west side of the state and most of the midwest for that matter. Personally I was hoping for a few inches of snow. Pine knob, which I drove past on the way over, was making snow, so at least maybe the snowboarding season will start up pretty soon here.
I have never been to waterford hills before, it was a mostly flat course, with a few sections of the race track mixed in. It seemed like most of the hills were on the pavement. There were two sets of barriers, one in the "infield" and the other at the top of hill just after jumping off the pavement. Much of the course was really quite rough, and you got bounced around a lot.
There were a lot of racers at this race, must be because the kisskross series ended already.
The race started out ok, I rode in a pack we got dropped by the lead group but about 4 of us stayed pretty close throughout the race. The first lap was the most painful for me, my calves were cramping and the cold air was really hurting my lungs. But I hung in and kept pushing.
I did a 7:33 on the first lap.
The second, and third laps are kind of a blur. Nothing much happend we all just hung together and traded a few places. The second lap was my slowest at 7:55, the third I picked it back up a little and turned in a 7:47.
The final lap the group was mostly still together. Coming into the second from last straight away on the grass before the line, I tried to put a move on and drop every one. I did manage to open up a small gap but the group reformed behind me. The last turn onto the pavement and just a sprint to the finsih was going to decide the race for me. So as soon I hit the pavement I jumped on the pedals and tried to make a run for the line. All of sudden a guy that was up in front of our pack was right in front of me. I didnt see him because I had my head down and was cranking on the pedals. I almost hit him, I had to slam on the brakes and barely missed him. By this time the other two guys that were still with me were gone and I had to settle for 12th place. It was not the finish to the season or the race that I was hoping for.
So my first year doing the entire series is now complete. I finished in 12th place. I didnt make my goal of getting a top 5 finish the best I could manage was 7th. I really learned a lot this year though, and will be doing a lot more training next year before the series starts up again.
Now there are no races for a few months. I am going to miss it that is for sure. I have been racing this year since april.
A new member to the "family" arrived yesterday. It is bright red and weighs in at 5 lbs, 8 oz. I will post some pictures as I build it up.
This is from last year after a muddy xc race.
The frame with the shock weighs in at 5 lbs, 8 oz. My goal is to build this up as light as possible, but I still want it to be a durable bike.
