Cyclocross Continues... in the Dark.

The time change has wreaked some havoc on my training. Riding in the dark, in the cold, alone, is generally less than fun. Somehow I continue to drag myself out there, a few nights a week. The thought of taking a really long lunch during work and getting out while there is daylight has crossed my mind a few times. After two weekends without racing I was relatively psyched for the West Hill Shop race in Putney, VT. It's a course that suits me well, a fair amount of turning technique required in the first half of the lap followed by some drawn out sections requiring some 'dig in' power.

Last year's race went something like this: I started great, I was hanging with the top 4 or 5 guys for the first 2 or 3 laps, then I popped at the top of the run up. I drifted back a little until Jake caught me, passed me and dropped me. Then I caught up and dropped him with a half lap to go.

This year's race played out similarly. I wasn't quite with the top guys, but I was ahead of Jake. Then Jake caught up. Jake and I rode together for a few laps. On one lap he knocked his seat slightly crooked, but he took care of it quickly. The very next lap, in the very same place, my seat got knocked completely out of whack. The nose was pointed sky-ward. I managed to knock it down fairly far, but it was still rather uncomfortable. Jake opened a gap here, enough that I wasn't able to catch back up with my seat in such an awkward position. He took further advantage and attacked where I couldn't really tell what the gap between us was.

So Jake, I'm not going to blame my seat situation on me losing to you, because you might have beat me this time. However, I am going to blame it for not providing the opportunity for us to have a more exciting finish.

Check out the playlist of videos covering all seven laps.