23 October 2009 | Race Reports
Last Minute ‘Cross
After some good time at home (literally hardly leaving the house for several days due to arctic conditions in Fort Collins last weekend) I started to get a little antsy. I decided at the last minute to head back east and race at Granogue and Wissahickon, which was a good excuse to go hang out with Mom and Bo (and Dusty and Ryan and Barry), and to see all the east coast ‘cross racing folks.
Of course, as soon as I left Colorado, it got nice (up into the 60s I think), and as soon as I arrived in Baltimore it got crappy (down into to 30s I think). Granogue was wet and sloppy- the muddiest I’ve ever seen it. I only had one bike (my own fault because of my last minute change of plans) and it got heavier and heavier every lap. Luckily it continued to function throughout the whole race, and I was able to finish first- in front of Mo Bruno-Roy and Laue Van Gilder. I did manage to tangle myself up in the tape a few times, but overall the race was pretty uneventful. Hats off to the promoters of Granogue who payed equal prize money to men and women (actually, I got $20 more than Ryan- a typo that they decided to go with anyway- poor Ryan, I really got to heckle him about that one…)
The next day was still chilly, but it wasn’t raining and a steady wind helped to dry the course out a lot so it was faster and less muddy. I managed to win despite trying to sabotage myself with an awkward crash that jammed up my rear brake and made my shifting all wonky. Nice move there, real pro.
Then it was back to the farm for a few more days before heading down here to Louisville for the next round of USGPs. Now is probably a good time to thank Bruce, Joan and the whole USGP for offering equal prize money to the top-3 men and women at ALL the races this year. This is a big deal. Many promoters do not do this. At a UCI C1 race, the winner of the men’s race usually makes around 10 times what the winner of the women’s race makes ($2,200 vs $250). Pretty sad. Needless to say, the whole women’s field thanks the USGP for stepping up and doing what’s right!