Date: October 13, 2002
Event: Surf City Cyclocross #1
Category: Senior B
Place: 25th
Field: 90+
Team mates: Brett, Cory, Dennis, Funke, Jeremy, Kenny, Matt, Mike, Page, Rick, Stephen

A spectacular day of racing! Not for my own result but simply for the overwhelming number of Sycip riders. And let’s not forget the friends and families that came along for support. Then let’s talk about the canopy, the big Sycip banner, coolers full of drinks. What an impression. It looked like a Nationals.

And to think that I woke up questioning if I really wanted to race. A long night and not enough sleep influenced me to skip the Masters A race with its 11am start time. The 1:30pm Senior B start time was more to my liking. Took my time, ate a big breakfast, got my stuff together, packed the truck, hopped in, turned the key… and presto! I was on my way to the race. (see p.s. below)

The full parking lot indicated the popularity of Surf City races. I squeezed into a parking spot and then headed over to registration. Walked up to the field and looked around for it. Which booth is it? Must be the one with the line… Amazing! No line to register with all these racers. Why can’t all races be this well managed? Grabbed my number, a free Clif Shot, then went looking for the team. Not hard finding the Sycip crew. Our own canopy, the big Sycip banner, and those red & blue jerseys shouted out “Here we are!”.

A few quick moments with everyone and then back to the truck to get the video gear ready. I got everything together and headed back to the course. This time I would be filming the women’s race. I lined up behind the first group, Woman A, and waited for the start. Hmm, I wonder if I will be able to blend in? Then a woman in the group behind me said “You don’t look like a Masters Woman”. Was that a compliment? :’)

Bang, off went the first group and I chased after. They were moving at a good pace. I guess this would be a good warm-up for my race. We got past the run-up, through the dust bowl, and started heading to the next wooded section. As I came around the corner there was Lauren, off her brand spanking just built CX bike. Chain was off and she was fixing it. Went around the corner and looked back. Uh oh, she is still having problems. Turn around and she is still trying to unjam the chain. A quick check if I can do anything and an even quicker reply “No!”. You see, Lauren always races as if she is at worlds where she is governed by UCI. The UCI rules police would have taken away her license, spanked her, and eaten her bike if she had allowed any outside assistance.

Off I went, up through the trees and then back down towards the track. On seeing Kenny I yelled to him about Lauren’s bike problem and to get her other bike ready. By the time I spotted Lauren again, she had switched bikes and Dennis was fixing the CX bike. Soon Lauren was back on the CX bike and all was good. That was team work!

I got in about three laps of filming before pulling out to get ready for my race.

Once again it was easy spotting my teammates. A group of red & blue jerseys over by the start line. I joined the pod and waited for the start. Bang, off we went, into a swirl of dust. Over the triple barriers, over to the run-up, through the woods (but not to grandmother’s house), and down to the dust bowl. That’s where I watched Kenny get bounced off of by another rider and sent into the chain link fence. The bike sticks to the fence and Kenny ejects, sails forward, and rolls in a puff of dust. Oh no they killed Kenny! (ed. sorry, I just had to say that :’)

He’s ok so I get back on the gas. Up again through the next wooded section. Then down and out of the woods to the fun jump. Catch some air then get on the brakes so I can skid around the sketchy right hand corner. Then it’s the long road around to the parking lot. Back up onto the grass, around the baseball diamond, over the double barriers and across the mud. Run or ride the mud? I tried both and riding was faster. Especially when you could keep riding farther and farther to the right by pushing against the tape. Hey, it’s legal!

Around the corner, through the gate, and left onto the sidewalk. Give it some gas and shoot up and onto the track and back through the start/finish. Repeat for a total of 50 minutes.

It was also awesome having 3 or 4 people ready to hand water bottles. Although, don’t ride by sitting up with your hands off the bars or Dave H. will yell at you! :’)

Thanks again for all the support.

Cheers!

p.s. Oh, and yes, my truck started this time ($10 for a battery charge) and I was able to drive to the race. So once again, knock on wood, I should be a reliable ride to the next race :’)