10 December 2007  |  Race Reports

Lyons ‘Cross

Yesterday we headed down to Lyons for the Colorado State Championships. We had gotten about 4 inches of snow in the last few days, so that promised to make things interesting. The high for the day was predicted to be about 22 degrees, so I made sure to pack plenty of warm jackets (I did however forget to pack any leg-warmers or tights- luckily I was able to use Dusty’s). It was sunny and beautiful out with all the snow, and there wasn’t much wind (it would have been brutal out if it was windy).

Dusty and Waldek raced first, so my job was to take jackets at the start line, cheer and heckle. Waldek got a great start (he always manages to weasel his way up to the front somehow) and was 7th coming into the barriers the first time. Dusty was 5th from last at the start, but he was moving up fast, despite there being very few places to pass. Both guys fought hard and I think Dusty ended up 6th and Waldek was right there in 7th.

Then came my race. I decided to race in the open men’s race again because the competition is tough, and the race is a little bit longer (1 hour vs. 40 mins). I started in the very back of the field and managed to get around a little pile-up at the start. After that I just tried to keep moving up. Overall, I was pleased with my race- I moved up more places than I lost, and I felt smooth riding in the snow and ice. It was tough though, there were only a few places where there were two lines and you could pass, so if you got stuck behind someone you would have to wait until you got to one of those spots to get around. I ended up 17th or somewhere in the latter part of the top-20. After the race, Dusty and Waldek and I went to get Thai food and then we headed back up to Fort Collins.

After being out in the cold all day, I was so excited to get home and get in the hot tub! It really is the only thing that can warm you up to your core.

Hot tub time!