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Nighttime cross!

It is very late, and I've had a lonnng day. Today was all cyclocross all day for me. It was the first time the Bay Area Super Prestige series has put on a race at night. The weather could not have been better (for the night racers, at least) and I am exhausted now, but had a great day.

My day started at 9am when I arrived at the Sierra Point course to help set up. The first race was at 2pm and the last race of the night finished at 9pm. I raced at 3pm, in the heat of the unseasonably warm day. Racing at 3pm is kinda crazy on its own, but it was also HOT. Thank goodness the Women's category C races only last half an hour -- not enough time to dig oneself too deep into a dehydration/overheating hole.

My race was pretty good. There were a few extremely steep uphills and downhills, but everything on the course was rideable except for one set of barriers. (And even that was rideable for the one dude in the A race who bunny-hopped them!) While I expected the steep and rutted uphills to give me problems, my only difficulties were at the barriers. Once I dismounted too late and crashed, and on another lap, fatigue caused me to ram my bike into the first barrier, knocking my chain off. I later dropped my chain again but was able to get it back on with my shifter.

I finished once again in the exact middle, 15th out of 29. But this time 15th was AWESOME because 15th and 25th place in every race won a bottle of wine! Considering that I raced for free in exchange for volunteering, I definitely got my money's worth today.

Once I had cooled down and changed into clean clothes, the rest of the afternoon and evening were a giant party with some bike racing thrown in. The course was pretty well illuminated and all the teams had decorated their tents with lights in addition to the usual BBQs and coolers of beer. And like I said, the weather could not have been better. I think it was 68 degrees when we left right before 9pm, and perfectly clear, not a hint of wind. It was a wonderful day and night to spend outside.

November 15, 2008 10:55 PM