Karen, Jeff and AndrewT are seriously bitten by the ‘Cross bug and made their racing debuts this past weekend.
Canton is a wide open, non-technical course. Somehow it provided more crashing than Gloucester and Providence combined (the late October cocktail of snow & rain did the trick). Apparently the race organizer wanted to get out of the cold and beat the snow – announcing the races would be only 3 laps.
Karen was first off in the women’s race at 9a. Her throng of fans surrounded the start line and began to chant, “KP. KP. KP.” The whistle went off and she took off like a shot. She crashed, she smiled, she even responded to our heckling on the course. She finished strong, not last, not in the hospital. Check all three boxes.
Next up in the 150 man-strong Cat4 field were BBQ Billy Reiders, Freddy the Assasin Hoff, yours truly, Jeff the attack man Packman and Andrew all smiles Tappe.
We lined up by prior race points. I somehow ended up being called up a row behind Billy Reiders. Wait a minute...until this point, I had no idea that bribery had reached this level of the sport.
At the hole-shot, I moved up behind Billy. We flew through the fields towards the first barriers and just as the guy beside me was hopping off his bike, he swung his leg wide, fast and right into my, uh, well…a part not designed to stop a flying shoe.
I went over like a ton of bricks. Fought the urge to lose my breakfast and just stood in front of the barriers leaning against my bike while the race passed by. Nuts!
Sorry, couldn't resist the pun.
Back on the bike, Freddy hopped a log that I decided to run. Wham, now he was in front of me. I’d reached the painful point where the students were surpassing the teacher. This was no good. No good!
Billy dropped a chain, so I passed him. Now only Freddy left. Problem was, I typically wait until the 4th lap to make a move and this was a 3 lap race. Not a lot of time. Double problem was every time I called to the engine room for more, Scotty was not answering the phone.
Now Billy passes me again and I’m chasing like crazy. Too crazy. Hit the first run up and miss the remount (queue replay of the barrier kick). Stan was belly laughing. I’m now firmly in the soprano section of the chorus.
Two turns later, I manage to crash in a corner. This is definitely not going well. 2 laps to go and I’m a mess. Finally catch Fred again and we trade places (was a blast Fred) and then Freddy goes flying off the course.
And so what began in April at Battenkill comes to an end – the 2011 season was amazing. 99% of the amazing part is driven by the great people I get to hang out with as part of this crew.
Now time for a break from the bike and time to start getting ready for the snow. Can’t wait to glide on the skis in a few weeks.
