ChiCrossCup #2: DeKalb

Picture by Amy, from here.

Today was the cyclocross race that my team, Half Acre Cycling, volunteered to work with North Central Cyclery, out in DeKalb about 65 miles due west from Chicago. The amount of work that went into putting this race together was immense. The logistics of planning is easy to underestimate – the legwork with which we were tasked kept all of us busy for the past couple of months. I have a renewed appreciation for the work that those people who love cycling do so that we all can race.

Last night, when I went to bed later than intended at 11:10 PM, with the alarm set for 5:00 AM, I thought that it all was set up as well as I, and the rest of the team, could make it. We had food to sell, prizes to give out, permits paid for. This morning at 6, with Curtis and Allison in the car, with rain in the forecast, and the air cool, it was looking to be a good day for a CX race. We got to DeKalb, found the park and got to work setting up registration. I sat down at the table and didn't get back up until about two hours later.

I'd gone into today wanting to race, but willing to give up the chance to race in order to facilitate the operations of the race itself. At 10:25, just a few minutes before registration for the Cat. 3s was to close, Naz came up and said, "Why are you still in your street clothes?" I said something about "Well, if I got changed, I wouldn't even have a chance to warm up and I haven't even seen the course." As it were, I was cold and sore – not exactly race-ready condition.

Then Allison came up and hassled me, too. Said something like "What the hell?! This is your team's race; you're going to race!" So, I thought of it for a moment and went to the bathroom to change into my race kit. Then went to my bike, let some air out of the tires and went to get warmed-up. A few minutes later, it was at the line, making jokes with Adrian and Kevin, and shaking with the pre-race jitters. I kinda knew I was going to end up racing, just needed a kick in the ass to get there.

At the whistle, it was clip-in, sprint and get lined-up behind the really fast guys (and girl!) for the fracturing of the peloton that occurs so quickly in CX racing. This never goes according to plan, especially not today. In the first fifteen feet, I was squeezed into the tape by some rider whose team I cannot remember – then, about thirty feet later, Kevin squeezed me into the tape again, leaving me to chase back on to the leaders. As I was going into the course blind, I was watching the wheels ahead of me to see what was going on, where the traction was bad and where the terrain was rutted. So, I played it cool and traded places back and forth with Adrian for the first two laps. The off-camber descent after the run up, which plagued the later races with some of the best crashes I've seen in a while, was dry and could be taken at speed.

For the most part, the race was uneventful – I didn't lay the bike down, I felt decent once the first lap was over, and I had a great cheering section. For six laps, I pushed it hard, kept my heart rate at about 188 BPM. I wasn't gaining ground, but besides being passed by Luke Seeman of xXx, I didn't fall backwards in the standing. At the final lap, I worked it harder in the corners, and came in by myself, 21 of 29. Not great, but I can't complain considering the circumstances.

The rest of the day was just fantastic. A good rain came down on the Pro/1/2/3 race, and Mike Hemme, who is part of my circle of friends who makes me feel so, so slow, and who won the 3 race, took 6th, being bested by Kevin Klug, who crushed it for 3rd. In the 4's races, the men of HACT kept it together and looked great out there in the massive fields. Due to a bad alternator, Ben and Julie were unable to make it out – and they were sorely missed today. Being broken down on the side of the highway is hardly an enviable position, especially on race day.

As I find pictures, I'll add them.