CHRISTMAS SPIRIT! I HAS IT !

Carlisle Cross Classic

Alicia and I raced at the Carlisle Cross Classic that was held December 1. It was a very cold and windy day. The race was held at the Carlisle Fairgrounds which was already decorated for the Christmas Lights they were holding that evening. It looked very festive. Alicia was racing on her new cross bike for the first time. She could hardly wait. As for me, I was not sure if I really wanted to race or not. I was feeling pretty crappy the night before. I decided to pack my clothes and bike. Alicia and I walked to registration and got Alicia registered and then handed me my number to. Well I guess that settled it I was racing. I could not back out now. I hopped on the trainer for a bit and then Alicia and I went for a pre ride of the course. It was a fairly fast course. We went up everyside of the one hill that was there. My start was not as I had wanted it to be. I has some issues clipping in with my left foot. I am not too sure if that has something to do with the fact I could barely feel my feet. Alicia and all the other women pretty much left me in dust. So I hauled butt to catch up. It was pretty tough just to finish because I still felt pretty crappy. I ended up getting 16th place and Alicia got 20th in B Women and First Place in U19 Women. This was the last race for my cross season. It was lots of fun and I am really to go again.

Iron Cross Lite - I don't totally stink at this!

Alicia and I finally get to race at the same time. I am really excited about this. She usually races about the same time as the Elite Women. Things were pretty smooth getting ready to head out to the race venue. When we were about part of the way there I ask Morgan if he packed the trainer. He didn't . My first reaction was that this just totally messes up my PLAN. I wanted to warm up for a bit and then pre-ride. It usually takes me awhile to get my legs to cooperate with me. I decided that this was not going to mess up my race. Once we got there things went pretty well. It was really chilly, which it actually felt like cross weather, Finally!!!! Alicia and I rode the course and headed down to the start line. I felt pretty good about this race. My plan was to finish and have fun. I also wanted to race along side of Alicia part of it. The race finally got started and I had a better start this time then I did as Charm City Cyclocross. My legs felt pretty good and I was pacing myself so I did not go too fast and not be able to finish. I was also taking my time so Alicia could catch up to me. That did not take to long. She was flying. There is a section of the race called the Death Spiral. It was a ton of fun. It seem like you go around and around and there is no end. Alicia and I were going back and forth. The announcer Ken was having a great time from the sounds of things was mother and daughter racing against each other. He was commenting on how everyone should cheer for Alicia if they want her to beat her mom and then cheer for her mom if you want her to show us what she has. Well I decided to kick it into a fast pact and took off. Marisa was also racing the same time. She looked awesome. At one point there Marisa, Alicia and I were right behind each other. Marisa finished 7th and I was 8th place. Alicia got second place. She was the only girl . It was a great day. I can't wait till next year.

Charm City Cyclocross

My first cyclocross ever was not what I had hoped for. Note to self, it is a really bad idea to go out the night before and eat WAY WAY too much and drink Margaritas. I got to the start line and was still pretty nervous. I felt pretty good once after my not so smooth start. I made around the course about 2 ish times and I totally bonked. I just could not go any further. I realized later in the day that I had totally forgot to eat my breakfast.

Alicia raced later in the day. She had the privilege of using a really nice cx bike from Bianci. She looked pretty awesome. She was the only girl in the U16 category.

More race reports coming soon.

New racing and riding blog

This is my first official year of racing bike. My two main goals were to finish my race and most importantly have fun. I am going to attempt to recap all the races I have done so far in the upcoming posts.