pay day @ BAYCROSS

I recall it was a week ago Monday, two days after the 50K and feeling 75% recovered. There's was no doubt in my mind that this would be the opening 'cross weekend for me. Residual soreness & fatigue were present but that is expected. However, on Wednesday I went for a run on the COGGS loop and there was hardly a sign of what I did only a handful of days earlier! Recovery is definitely the key factor I base how well everything is going for me and my knowledge is apparently improving each year because I would have never dreamed of racing cyclocross the following Saturday/Sunday of Wild Duluth!! This was the perfect double-header to open at too as they are low-key events, unsanctioned, AND CHEAP($25 both days). Hell, you can't even do one at that price in the TC at some venues anymore. Plus, Ashland is easier on the gas tank to go back-n-forth.

On Saturday, I was fortunate enough to have Tony come along for company as he wanted to experience his first cyclocross race and shoot some video of the action. Prentice Park would be the site and the course was not looking to suit the strengths of a singlespeeder. Many long, flat, and straight pieces had me spinning really high RPMs to stay in contact between the lesser portions of rutted doubletrack and greasy singletrack. Only a pair of barriers & taped 180s, a tiny run-up, and a sandbox didn't forced people off their bikes often. Midway thru our 60 minutes I became surprised w/the depth I had in my legs. I was counterattacking every move and even throwing in some of my own. Full throttle mentality of these races came to me immediately and it hurt so good. Mechanicals and crashs would put riders up & down in rank. My afternoon was clean and finished w/perhaps the best sprint I've ever found myself in. I was drilling the sand every lap, floating thru it effortlessly, which is the card I played entering one final time. Bridging up to a guy I'd been dueling w/since the early going, I swung wide and we sprayed granules of sand simultaneously but I made it out sooner and over the roots at the base of a tree where we'd hand a 90-degree right into the line. That effort got me 4th place which is far better than anticipated. Tasty food in beans & rice, salsa, desserts, etc. closed a beautiful installment and had me pumped to return for another hour of power!!!

The next morning, Sunday would have me going over solo as Jen is busy w/the Haunted Ship. Arriving to see Bayview Park and the features it had to offer sent positive vibes immediately. It was most certainly a power course where a lot of course marking tape was used to create many S-turns in the trees, out-n-back on a wooden pier before rolling down from it on a sheet of plywood to the beach where a hill awaits on the other side, triple barrier section, off camber, very little straight, and gentle rolling. Knowing all of this, I decided to go for the holeshot and won it to set pace in the race and establish rhythm w/o following a wheel. I led the whole first lap and then local fast guy, Aaron Swanson, pulled near my side gesturing, "are you on?" So much variety made it difficult to roll together as no single rider was identical in skills. He went ahead which put myself in no man's land for the remainder of the race. There was a pair of riders chasing me about eight seconds back and figured they might be working in shifts to pull me in(later I'd find out that wasn't the case). Nothing changed beyond that and my gap was maxed out. Second step on the podium is where I ended up. Combined scoring of both races also put me in 2nd place overall for $75 cash! I only spent forty bucks on fuel, so, I came out ahead. Don't we wish they could all be like that.?! Local farms supplied grilling items and mother nature let us get out of there just before the rain.