'Cross Road Trip part 1: Nittany Lion Cross

True 'cross season has arrived. Summer has ended and it was like as if someone hit a switch and cooled the temperatures. Today started out a bit brisk, close to 40° I think but gradually warmed to a beautiful and sunny 70°. While still a 'little warm' for 'cross I felt the temperatures to be just right for my 11 am race. We Are... at Penn State Lehigh for Nittany Lion Cross and the first race of the Verge Mid-Atlantic Series.

Taylor started the day off in the Cat 4 race at 9am. The course was essentially a grass carpet, generally smooth with some undulations and a few short steep banks to ride up. With the dew still lying heavy, his race started with some slick corners. I watched more than one person slide out in one sharp corner. His cornering prowess played out well, and what seemed to be a power course was not as much so. Cornering skills were good to have. Despite getting caught up by the competition on three occasions in the sand pit he still showed good form for the first race and placed an excellent 15th of 39.

At 11 am I ventured into my first race as a Cat 3 rider. I felt a bit intimidated at the starting line since the race was a combination of Cat 2 and Cat 3, Category 2 essentially supposed to be faster than us threes. However, I had a fair start from the middle of the pack and after a bit of an effort I settled into a groove, or at least as much as one can settle in a 'cross race. At only 45 minutes the intensity is high and the chance of rest is next to nothing. I found myself battling with the same 4 or so riders in the last half of the race. In the last lap it came down to 4 of us, and then essentially 3 of us. After we rounded the final hard right I though it was a sprint between 3 of us, but two other riders had charged hard and caught us, a complete surprise to me. The two I'd been battling chased the first guy in the sprint, but I wound up to slow and only contested with the last of them, taking him as we crested the final grass bank for the finish. I finished in 27th of around 50 or 60. I'm rather happy with the result as I'd though I might be in well over my head at the start.

After the race was a short stop at the Trexlertown velodrome. The temptation to grab the 'cross bike and do a lap was great, especially since the track was open for public use. But alas, I did not.
A couple hours later, and we're in Baltimore. With tired legs and a very full stomach, food coma is taking over.

Charm City Cross tomorrow.