I finally had my first race of the season! Woohoo and it was a big deal right in my back yard Rainier High School Jesse and I have been working on this one for quite some time and I was jacked, the day was perfect 1180 racers showed up, I would have preferred some rain but this way we did not tear up the school property and make a mess of the grounds and the booster club made out real good so for sure we will be back next year!

I was set to race C`s and found out we were going to be using a new starting system assort of lottery based on your number, mine not so good three rows off the back and a long uphill start in a field of 148! sucks to be less than three months out on heart surgery today! We started and it was a mess from the get go more like a charity ride than a race, Will and I rode together for awhile until I popped and just found my pace and settled in and just tried to pass as many as I could and have a great ride, the course was awesome the crowd was great and I was able to top my my heart rate out at 189…..I can`t wait till next week!   

I think I did win the stache contest though?

Guy Smith

Looks like I have to catch-up blogging to do.

Wirth Classic Oct 12th. They finally posted the results. I did not have a good starting position, probably around 5 rows back. The course had one open stretch that allowed riders to pass, and one place just before the finish that had a short open space.
I did what I could to push myself forward. Looks like I placed 11th in the Men’s B race and 3rd in my age group.

Hudson Oct 19^th.

It was nice to have the B race split into age groups. There were 13 riders and I was able to get a front row at the start. The start was a little odd. The woman went first then two minutes after that the official just blew the whistle (no ready, set or even a count down). I found myself in 3^rd place going into the second half of the first lap behind Bill K. Moved into 2nd at the first barrier and then into first exiting the first set of chicane. Paul McKinney was a favorite to win the race but luckily for me he had chosen to ride his single speed with to small a gear and was spinning out. I passed him about 10 yards before the pit area where he had a team mate waiting with a bike with gears. At the moment I just sprinted to get a gap and rode like a mad man to keep the gap until the finish. On each lap I got to look back in several places to see if my gap was holding, and it was great to have all the Crossnicas and family cheering me on.

It was great to win a race again.

I will post some video of the C and B race soon. Ladric

As much as I would love to brag about how Guy Smith is up and racing after heart surgery, Jesse is tearin up the Master C’s and I’m realizing I’m a solid Cat C rider…the following is a sample of why Jesse, Guy and I stay for most of the day’s races…enjoy…

Stay tuned for actual pics of the Pac NW: All Stars racing!

-will aka buddhabelly

Pretty much a dirt crit today…road and super fast double track and one set of barriers. I pumped the tires up a little more and when the gun went off it was 100mph roadie central. It was a nice change of pace and the legs felt good. The A+ 1/2s got in a group up the road of around 7 guys..untouchable to me these days..But, what I love about cross is that there is racing no matter what group you are in. We formed a chase group of 8. It was awesome. Attacking and teamwork tactics all race. Somehow me and another guy got away from the 8 mid-way through the race and killed it for 3-4 laps, but we couldn’t hold it off with 6 charging maniacs behind us, especially Cat 1 extraordinaire Dale Sedgewick. We were caught and the attacks starting flying and teams were blocking. Crossniacs had 3 guys and we were ready to rumble. My chain started to skip violently and I sat in for 2 laps and grabbed the B bike in the pits..SuperStar slowed up and waited for me and pulled me back to the group. Thanks brother..if anyone doesn’t understand teammates and selfless riding, watch that guy. He will kill himself for ya. 3 laps to go and we are all together and SuperStar goes down in front of me and a huge pileup as 4 guys slip away. I avoid the carnage but the group is gone and I roll in solo for 12th overall and 3rd in 35+.

Wah

Race #2 out here in the great NW (Oregon anyway) was a good time as always.  The course was something new this year, but probably won’t be available next season since it was at the edge (literally) of a new housing project.  It was a rock pit sort of.   I started maybe mid pack but finished a little better than that, even though it was rougher than hell.  Still I was able to finish 6 or 7 places higher than the week previous .  Looking forward to the racing at home this weekend as race #3 comes to town. Good times!  Jesse.

6:00pm Kenwood Park, Minneapolis

The syndicate took control:  Guy A. rolls in and fixes my bike in 2 mintues after I couldn’t for 40.  Thanks dude, you saved my race.  Highlight of the day was the backside barrier fans.  They were so loud and obnoxious.  I loved it more every time around.  30 minutes in I spotted a buddy from a different team just ahead me.  I slowly crept on him but he wasn’t going to let me latch.  Cross is like that.  Something takes you out, but then there’s  something grips you back in.  Fun course, great fans, and good times. Taylor

P.S. The wifey is going to attempt her 1rst cross at Ham Lake.  Be sure to cheer her on.

I second CJ.  It was a nice course with a little bit for everyone.  Nice short laps kept the motivation (and tempo) high.  My only complaint is riding with CJ!  Man, does EVERYONE know you?  I am still hearing the “go CJ, go” chant in my head.  I am going to change my jersey to something like “Hey, I know CJ so yell for me too”.  Seriously, thanks for putting the hurt on.  To bad I bit it on the last lap, on an uphill corner no less.  Great job to the rest of the Crossniacs.  Pete, another awesome showing.  Way to drop the hammer.  The expression on CJ’s face made all the pain worth it.

 http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/orderpage.aspx?pi=0C2K001Y020164&po=164

  MNGuy

Gnarly.

Round #3 was at Laguna Seca, and it was HARD. The venue was dry as a bone and most of the course was hardpack covered with a thin layer of sand and/or gravel; we apparently ran on a few parts of the Sea Otter short track XC course. Add in what seemed like miles of off-cambers and you got Fishtail City.

I got a call up and the hole shot and was able to stay close the eventual winner for a few laps, but I just couldn’t keep up with him on the climbs with my 42×25 (he was running a double; my next cassette will definitely have a 27). At one point I was able to catch up to him and lead for a bit on the flats, but in doing so I thoroughly gassed myself and once we hit the next climb he was gone for good.  I hung on to finish 2nd and almost barfed on my shoes immediately after crossing the finish line. Good times.

-Nick in SF