Red line Rampage...

Cyclocross. A race one does not expect.

From the outside it looks easy. A combination of road and mountain biking, in the grass, up and down hills, across roads, over obstacles for several laps. Watching the participants race one gets the impression of a well choreographed ballet as lines of riders flow seamlessly through the course. It looks easy and fun.

From the inside it sure is fun, but easy is so far from the truth. The lungs are on fire, the legs are burning, the hear is on the verge of detonation, and what little breakfast one had earlier is yearning to see day light one more time. It is wonderful.

My first foray into cyclocross was this pas weekends two day event at Swanson Park in Omaha, NE. There were some preconceived ideas that fluttered around the neurons about what to expect and they were no where near close enough to what it truly was.

Saturday presented itself with 70 plus temperatures and a sunny skies. I felt in the mood for a race and set down some personal goals for myself. During the race I set a couple more, but I am getting ahead of myself. After arriving in plenty of time it was time to do a couple of laps before the races started. It was quite fun. I could tell my heart rate had gotten up there; this gave me a little apprehension, considering I wasn't really pushing myself. I'm not sure how high it went, I was going by my perceived exertion.

The first race was off, and I watched and cheered everyone on. These people made the whole thing looks easy. Then again, perception is mostly deception. There was a section of about 5 switchbacks, and watching a long line of people traversing it, was like watching a ballet. To put it simply, it was neat.

Forty-five minutes later, it was my turn. We lined up, and the race was off. The heart rate red lined rather quickly and never went down the whole time. The plan was to get a rhythm going and find spot where I can go quick and get a quick breath. There was no place for that. Climb, turn, climb, turn, was the course. There were two spots where we had to jump off the bike, traverse a sand pit, jump back on the bike and crank it out. I dropped my chain once after going through one of the sand pits. Then another time on one of the switchbacks, I went over the bars. Once thing about cyclocross, if you crash it's a hell of a lot softer than smacking into a tree. Trust me, I know. I was quickly back on the bike and back to it. The people who passed me because of those two incidents were in my sights. I was going to pass them and get back to where I was and I did it. On the last lap, it was time for the final sprint, someones wheel was in front of me. I reached deep inside, beyond the burning and found that last little bit of energy and funneled it out and over took him at the finish. I finished 9th out of 17. My main goal was a top 10 finish and I did it. I kept pedaling afterward because my breakfast and lunch were vying for a quick exit but I was able to keep it under control.

After relaxing a little, I began to ponder the whole thing and came to the conclusion that this cyclocross thing is fun. I couldn't wait until the next days race.

Sunday was completely opposite of Saturday. Not only did we have to ride the course in the opposite direction this time, the weather was the opposite too. High was 55, the sun never made an appearance, and the wind was 20 plus MPH.

After a couple of warm up laps, I watched and cheered the first race on. Then I rode two more times at a real leisurely pace and was ready for one more race. I felt I had it in me and was ready to go. This time I wanted to push myself even harder, and if I had to chum the field, then it would be something everyone would talk about. The first time through the sand pit was good, taking the switchbacks in the opposite direction wasn't too bad, felt my tires slip a couple of times but I kept it upright. I came upon the second san d pit crossing, my left foot had a little trouble unclipping but I was able to salvage it and not fall down. After getting to the other side I mounted my bike and my pedals just spun. The cursed chain came off. DAMN! Got it back on and got back in the game. Came upon the backside switchbacks. Took one of the turns a little too fast and it was tumble time for me. Once again, the chain came back off. This was not turning out to be my day. How many more of these mechanicals was I do suffer?

Time to push it a little harder now and get back to where I was before. It took me a couple of more laps, and I was back. I was on the wheels of Aaron and Ken. It was the final stretch of the last lap. I found the sweet spot on the trail and decided to just pour it on. I overtook both of them. As I rounded the final turn, there was Aaron sucking my wheel. I feel like I burned my last match, I didn't want him to overtake me, but he did and I stayed on his six the rest of the way. I ended this race like I did Saturday, 9th out of 15, another top 10 finish. It felt great, I think I even pushed myself harder this day than on Saturday. Breakfast was even closer to making an appearance.

Kudos and congratulations go out to everyone who raced this weekend. Everyone did an incredible job out there. I may have to do the full season next year. This may mean another bike. Is this bike buying ever going to stop? hehe