Grand Ol' Time...

Yea...it was that fun. I decided on Friday that I would head out to Des Moines, IA to ride at least one race of Spooky Cross. I have been getting a little antsy for another cross race and thought that since this one isn't too far away, then I wouldn't have much to lose.

So, Saturday morning came and we were out the door by 7am. The first race, Masters 40+, was to go off at noon, and I figured this would get me there with some time to spare. I didn't head out alone, my dog was anxious to go to, so Baylee took her seat in the car and was ready as I. As you can tell in the pic above, she was very excited to be going to a cross race.

I pulled into the location around 10:30. Tom Price was the first person there and only a couple minutes after I showed up Craig Schmidt, and Troy Krause were joining the fray. The course was looking very juicy and appeared to provide hours of entertainment for spectators and riders alike. I go to get my bike off the car and notice that my rear tire was flat.....*&^#!!!! I go to get my spare tube out of the tool box, and darnit, it was my mountain bike tube. Double *&^#!!! Thankfully I had brought a spare wheel set so I wasn't in too much trouble. However, if I flatted on the course, then I would be screwed. Not wanting to chance causing a flat I just switched wheels. The one that flatted was my PowerTap wheel and I so wanted to get some hard data on a cross race. Well, there went that idea.

Here are a few shots of the course taken with my cell...

The short stretch into the finish...mmmm...juicy


A little stretch through the trees passing some cows on the left.

I felt that the course was just plain fun. It went through some bean fields, which just became a nightmare to get your bike through because it got soggier and slipperier each time through. Down through the trees and up a nice little grade with 2x4s spread out up the hill. Some people were able to ride up it, I just couldn't get the correct line and would get slogged down by the mud. Then it was back through some more trees and what I thought were a couple of compost hills you had to ride over, a set of barriers to hop over then through the juicy start finish area. Then between there and the bean fields was an open field with a couple of barriers to hop over. The open field I thought was just a little rough. Mostly because it wasn't smooth and I thought I lost all my fillings riding through there. The whole place was just dog gone beautiful, on and off the bike.

As for the race, well, when you are up against Troy and Tom, you pretty much relegate yourself to doing your best and not expecting great things because these guys are just plain incredible. Nothing seems to stop them. There were 16 of us in the Masters race and we were off. I was fifth out of the blocks and stayed that way after 2 laps. Then one guy passed me, I tried my darndest to keep up with him but just kept telling myself, "You didn't plan and prepare for this race so don't get too frustrated." Then with about 4 laps to go, Craig and another gentleman passed me. Craig was off like a screaming banshee and I just didn't think I had it in me to keep up with him, but I was able to stay right behind the other guy. We had just entered the bean field with 3 laps to go when Tom Price came by us riding like the course was flat and smooth, we thanked him as he passed because we knew we only now had one lap left after this one. Sometimes it sure feels good to get lapped. Ended up 8 out of 16 and I was extremely happy with that.

The whole thing was just a great time. I stayed around to watch some of the other races. The 3/4 race had a boat load of people racing. Looked close to 30 or 40 riders. I had thought of doing this race also, but just wasn't feeling suicidal enough. Oh well, maybe next time. Nebraska was being represented well at this race as there were several in the 3/4 too. Including Rich Anderson and Paul Eichler both on the Elkhorn Valley Cycling Team. They finished real strong, not sure where since the results hadn't been posted by the time I left, but I think they finished in the upper half.

Now it was time to decide what to do. I figured that Iowa City is only an hour and a half away and I would see what my brother and his family were up to and meet them for dinner. I get there around 5PM and realize that I am starting to slog. However, my niece and nephew were able to spur new doses of energy into me, though it was somewhat short lived. Then as I was thinking about heading back to Des Moines, get a hotel and race the next day, my niece was sort of upset that I wasn't going to be staying and wanted to know why I couldn't. Upset kids tug at my emotional strings. So I am deciding to just skip the race all together on Sunday and spend the time with them. Will I miss the glory of the race, you betcha, but it will be there next year again. Visiting with my niece and nephew is something I just don't want to miss. I hope everyone can understand.

Well, the kids will be up soon so it will be time for me to play. :) Those of you who didn't come out to race Spooky Cross, you have got to do it next year. You will have a grand old time. Here's another picture of some of the scenery out there...