Racing in the Keystone State

My residence was temporarily relocated to Philadephia, PA for a poop conference this weekend. Luckily my bike was able to join me. Its been 3 years since I raced my bike in Pennsylvania, and I'm continuing a streak of having a good time. Saturday didn't offer any gastrointestinal learning of interest, so I headed 2.5 hours west of Philly to Pine Grove Furnace State Park for the Iron Cross Lite CX race. I would have preferred to race the 62 mile suffer-fest, Iron Cross V, that's going on today, but instead, I'm stuck inside babysitting my poster about fiber. Such is life.

The Iron Cross Lite race proved to be a good use of time and resources. Wait, when is bike racing not a good use of time? The women's elite field was only 6 riders strong, but they were strong riders, alright. I could really feel the effects of the racing format we have in MN- women 1/2/3 + Men 3/4 and 45+. Usually I start in the back of the men's pack, start out pretty slow, have to stop at the first barrier or where the course narrows, rarely see any of my female competitors... When there's only 6 women and the top rider sprints off the line, you sprint too. So that's how it started- Maria riding as fast as she could right off the line.

I settled in fighting for 3rd place and reeling in 2nd place. This turned out to be the most tactical race I have ever experienced. I didn't know you could (or were supposed to) attack in CX racing! My strengths and weaknesses were evident on this course. I rocked out my technical riding skillz (I could stay on my bike and hop a log in the woods, railed through the downhill single track, and took the tight corners faster than my competitors) and my barrier jumping/bike carrying was in good form. Unfortunately, my weakness was pedaling. Pedaling is pretty important. I think my pedaling woes stemmed from my saddle being too high. I taped my seatpost when I packed my bike, so I didn't think it was too high until my lower back informed me that there was something extremely wrong. Maybe the TSA had something to do with it...

Needless to say with pedaling being a weakness, my position slowly dropped to fourth and then fifth, but not without a hard fight. I think if I had one more lap (that's always the story, right?) I could have re-caught the 4th place woman. I actually don't know what would have happened if I rode one more lap since I was dry heaving after the finish. I have spent the last 24 hours (and counting) hacking up yellow stuff from my lungs. Guess I raced pretty hard.

I met some PA Bellas who were helpful with a tire pump, pit wheels, and, most importantly, cheering. There's nothing like racing a gazillion miles from home and having some scream your name while your barreling through a turn. Thanks!

Next up- Twine Ball CX in Darwin, MN, and Mill City CX at Powderhorn Park. It'll be good to be home!