Alright, back for more....the second race of the weekend was held at Harbin Park in Cincinnati and again, weather conditions were perfect - sunny skies, upper 70s, fast, dry course. My legs and my (lizard)race-brain were both feeling better after taking an ass-whuppin' yesterday so I was hoping to post a better performance on a course much more suited to my strengths as a rider. Again, not much sleep but I got there in time to pre-ride and inspect the course before it was closed and racing started for other categories. Things were much more spread out today on a course that had some uphill pavement, a few off-camber sections, one set of barriers, some single track, a rideable sand pit and a rideable run-up - nothing like yesterday's course, much to my suprise and pleasure.
Melissa was racing the B Women's event so I found a few places to run between in order to catch her as she passed on each lap. She was sitting in second position coming into the last part of the final lap and looking good to hold it to the line. I ran over to the sand pit to see her one last time before the finish....and....she.....never......came.....through!! I looked over and saw her running into the neutral pit area with her bike, taking some 6 foot 6 guy's mountain bike and finishing the race in something like fifth place!! Apparently she ripped her rear derailleur out of the dropout right after I told her to hammer into the finish (wish I had that kind of power). It was great to see her do well. Melissa, I'm pretty sure that it's time for a new bike.
Okay, as if that wasn't enough excitement for the day, I still had to race. Catherine was also representing along with a familiar contingent of elite women. Again, being the mediocre no-name that I am, I got a back/second row position and got pinched off in the first turn/hairpin combination. Mediocrity sucks. Having to hear wise-ass call me Debbie "eat my" Dust also sucks. Three girls almost hosed me when they got together and nearly wrecked within seconds of the start but I fortunately avoided the mess and basically settled into a group of 4 with a group of 5 up the road. Things had gotten so strung out early that it was damage control at that point. I pretty much just dug in and totally cooked myself for about 40 minutes and ended up in 8th position. I think that I would have been able to do better had I made it through the first section with the leaders but it was so tight that I just couldn't get the position I needed to make that happen.
I was definitely more satisfied with my effort today as compared to yesterday. While my finishing position wasn't great, the race itself went much better and I was much more "connected" today than I was yesterday. I surely performed in a way that better represents what I am truly capable of and so for that alone I have some degree of satisfaction. That, and the fact that I again escaped with all fingernails intact, some points, some money and no new bruises. I even made cyclingnews.com again here and here. Maybe they just like my name. Someone told me the other day that I have the name of a porn star. Nice.
My trip down to Cincinnati was made even better by being able to visit with my teammates Sherry (who raced on Saturday and finished 3rd with the B Women - way to go!!), Mary and Mary's husband Jay. We were able to all get together on Saturday night and Sherry and Mary came out to spectate at Sunday's race - thanks for your cheers! So great to see you all, it had been much too long since we'd last visited.
Almost forgot - to all my Kenda teammates who raced in the cold, wet, muddy Wisco races over the weekend...nice job!! That said, Cincinnati was surely a better choice for the weekend...see you all soon!
Next up: Carpenter Park, race 2 of the Chicago Cyclocross Cup...maybe I'll race with the guys...
