Red Barn CX Classic

A favorite of mine is to head south for Taylors Falls around Halloween weekend each season, as Erickson Brothers Tree Farm hosts a kick-ass venue for some high octane racing! Dry sand & grass, 90-degree turns w/o berms, railroad tie climb, and a bubble machine!!! Two years ago, I was second on the podium in the singlespeed category and I showed up confident that my chances of bettering it were good....until the race started!! Holeshots are important in cyclocross, especially, when the course doesn't offer much opportunity for passing. I couldn't clip my left foot into the pedal to save my life which immediately created a lot of work for me giving chase. I really enjoy leading this race from the front as it suits my strengths but instead, I'm caught up following riders fumbling around like it was their first time on a bike. Arid conditions made a dust storm rise quickly and I'd be entering corners just praying nobody hit the deck because I coudn't see a thing. Preriding the track that was set out looked similar to previous years, so, I figured I'd stay out of the shrubs. My composure was better than usual as I resigned to wait for openings during a few early laps as it became evident that leapfrogging in traffic was taking huge chunks of energy and I wasn't too sure whether my legs were on this afternoon. I was absolutely killing the run-up and negotiating the barriers smoothly as well but my confidence maintaining momentum in the corners was kryptonite. During warmups, I had a near crash that scared the shit of me and I just don't think I got over it come showtime. However, it was obvious that I continued to grab back seconds here and there. Each time passing the start/finish I'd hear the announcer talk position but it later turned out he was speaking of the guy I was after. Catching riders to the place that I thought was 2nd, turned out I was sitting 3rd. With two to go, I punched it threw this sweeping rise & down to the twisty maze. Along the way, I glanced over at riders on a different section of the course and missed a left hand turn entirely when I rode into stakes and tape. By the time I unwrapped myself, that was it, opportunity was lost to bridge the leaders. I stood on the shortest of logs(used as podiums) to accept my bronze position(branded wooden medallion).

A perk to this event is there is always BBQ pork, baked goods, and beer. I was fortunate that TPC club members Greg & Jeanne Fleck came all the way down to Lakeside from Proctor to allow me to carpool w/them in order to share these experiences.