BikeRacingForDays

BikeRacingForDays

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Spooky Cross




    A quick 5 hour drive from my house and I arrived at Pomona, California for Spooky Cross. This is one of those races you can always expect to have an awesome course and an awesome experience. The hardest thing this weekend brings to the table is that you race at 8:30pm the first night, then you are quickly racing again at 4pm the next day. Your body isn’t used to racing the same time you are usually getting ready for bed.

    Personally, I have never been great at night races. It may be the fact that in Arizona you get up at the crack of dawn to ride and beat the heat, but either way, I knew I was going to give it whatever I had. I threw down a serious warm up to get my legs nice and open from a day spent in the car and settling in. I lined up second row and was ready to rock for and hour. Heart was gaining beats, and I was gaining nerves, but I took a few calming breaths and before I knew it, we we all sprinting like there was mad dog behind us. The first few laps were the worst, I had a great start, yet I was losing a place or two every few minutes. After the first lap and a half or so, my legs kicked in and so did I. I rode the rest of the race better than I have ridden any race in my life and made back some serious ground eventually finishing in 17th or 18th. I was in the money as well as taking 2nd in the U23 category. This really showed me how well my legs were coming along from all the harsh training.

    After a solid night of sleep, I was ready to do it all again. Second days of racing always sets my legs up for optimal performance and I was ready to do some work. The course didn’t change all that much, and the barriers were still very much hop-able which gave me the small advantage yet again. This year I have developed and been provided with many advantages over the competition that results in me always feeling great no matter what the day. My new 1X10 set up with my amazing Rotor Rings allows me to never drop a chain, lighten up my bike, and have the most efficient and powerful pedal stroke form the Rotor Ring which in the end, clears my head of any worries. On top of this, I’m riding my new BH RX team, with the addition of it’s new geometry, allows me to throw down the power along with shredding the corners even faster.

    I brought awesome legs to the second day of racing. I was top five in the start, but due to a crash in front of me, I was quickly sent to the back. Luckily, my legs were still ready to go and I fought all the way back to 16th or 17th place and 2nd in U23 again. I was thrilled with how the racing is going and am so ready for the biggest races ahead. Up next is the LACX races, USGP in Oregon, CX Natz, and hopefully World Champs. Now, it’s time to go home and hit up a serious block of training provided by CTS’s Jim Lehman to set me up even better for the races ahead!



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