Tuesday Night Cyclocross

So we have a sweet midweek cyclocross series here on Tuesday nights in a park right near town. $15 to race, insured and officiated, and each week the course gets changed up. Pretty sweet deal! Just like the Tuesday night crits, it's a good chance to get some practice racing in, low key, and a chance to hang out with teammates and friends and enjoy the beautiful Indian summer while it lasts!

I've done the last two, and I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised with my fitness. Normally by the second half of the race I'm gassed and riding backwards through whatever's left of the field. Now, I'm passing people and feeling good the second half. Most likely the training has finally paid off, and I'm also benefiting from not going so hard from the gun and blowing up. The technical skills are still fine, despite not really practicing. It's really like riding a bike (pun intended) - you don't forget. Nevertheless, it's hard, as cyclocross should be, and by the end I'm wiped out. There's no training like actual racing!

A big part of cyclocross racing is not crashing, not having mechanicals, and not getting caught up in pile-ups. So far that's worked out well too; probably a lot of luck involved there!

So I'm pretty pleased so far, and looking forward to the rest of the cyclocross season.