Collegiate Racing

Dave says: Kurt and I spent the weekend at Conference Championships in Grand Junction, CO. Originally, we had a bigger group but due to illness and concerns about the weather, it turned out to just be the two of us. Saturday morning's short track was windy with some black clouds and a few sprinkles, but the weather held out long enough for Kurt to grab 3rd of 30 in B's while I got 8th of 35 in A's. The course had some steep sections and was pretty tough in the wind. After chasing the lead group for the first two minutes, I was already in the red. Afterwards, we headed over to pre-ride the XC course with some guys from Air Force and managed to get lost since it wasn't marked well yet.

The temperature dropped on Saturday night and was in the 30s when we arrived at the race site on Sunday morning. However, once the sun came out it was a great day for racing. The XC course is one of the most technical out there with several hike-a-bike sections and slickrock obstacles. Kurt destroyed the B's after taking off on the first lap and never seeing them again. After starting in the back, I slowly moved up through the A's until I ripped the sidewall of my front tire on the second lap. Thanks to some sealant, it went down to about 5 psi but not completely flat and I filled up between laps. Unfortunately, on the final lap it lost all it's pressure when I rolled it on a steep downhill switchback with about 1/2 mile to go and I rode it in flat for sixth place. (Note to self: bikes don't steer well on steep switchbacks with flat front tires). It was a fun trip that was made more entertaining by the fact that we stayed with none other than the legendary Alan Sprung.

Last night I tried out a cyclocross "race" for the first time. It was a free event with about 20 guys up in Park City on a course with some dirt, grass, pavement, and barriers (of course). For those who are not familiar with cyclocross (CX), it's basically racing road bikes with knobby tires on all types of terrain (frequently in the snow or mud) and there is a whole race series here in Utah that has become quite large in recent years. It was a fun time as I started out in the middle of the group but gradually built up my confidence and caught everyone but the front two guys by the end. I'm excited to have found a new way to spend part of my off season this year.