The cyclocross community moved to COP this past weekend. On Saturday evening the annual Dark Knight Cross was held on a challenging course. Riding a course in daylight is pretty straight forward but it’s not always that easy in the dark. Personally I went into the fence a couple of times due to the lack of visability and I also hit a pothole which almost sent me over the steering. The course was cleverly designed by Keith Bayly, there was a sandpit with a hairpoint turn, pump track and 6″ branches on the course. It was a great turn out for the event, great costumes and lots of nice riding.
On Sunday we had the Remington’s Cross for Kids race – a fundraiser for kids with cancer. Another great Keith Bayly course and a longer race than on Saturday with a long sand pit, stairs and several 180 degree turns. Even feeling tired from the night before I felt pretty decent during this race. That might have been the problem though… Feeling OK is probably a sign for not having pushed hard enough! I was a little further back from the winner than I was hoping for.
During cx races one of the most important things to dial in is having the correct tire pressure. To get it perfect is probably not possible since the type of surface we are racing on is changing all the time. On Saturday I felt we hit it pretty good. There was a descent that required a little extra tire pressure to avoid getting a flat. During Sunday’s race we should have gone for less pressure to get better cornering, better traction and hopefully better float in the sand pit. But this variable is a part of cx that makes it interesting – sort of like waxing for a classic race. Hopefully we have learned something useful to prepare us for our upcoming races this weekend…
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