Groundhog CX

They filmed the movie Groundhog Day in Woodstock, IL so that is where this race gets its name.

We had a smaller crew than usual with Bob (and sons) and Bryan (and son) up at Iceman this weekend.  Fran, George and I along with Mark in his Intent kit made the trek to Woodstock.  

Since there is no CCC (Chicago Cyclocross Cup) this year and the races are all on their own the PSIMET team decided to shake it up a little.  So, instead of the bulk 55+ and 45+ races that we do they created sub-categories of each.  There was a 55+ cat 1/2/3 race and then starting 30 seconds later the 55+ cat 4/5.  The same for me in the 45+.  As someone who finishes mid pack at best it was kind of exciting.  A chance to find a higher number... maybe even single digits (foreshadowing).  

The course this year was fast as it has been dry.  It has a number of technical features including off camber u-turns, barriers, and some climbing in the woods.  None of it was too complicated but stringing it all together made for a good course.

For some extra racing I went to Waukesha, WI on Saturday and did a couple races.  The Wisc CX series splits the categories regularly like we did on Sunday.  I started with the 50+ cat 4/5 and then did the open 4/5 an hour later.  I had a good finish in the first one (12/46) and an ok finish in the second one (34/75).  I wasn't sure how racing on Saturday was going to affect my legs on Sunday but it turned out pretty good.

Admittedly, on the second of 5 laps Sunday I was worried about having to keep going but the legs woke up.  Some of it was adrenaline I'm sure.  The pain may also have been numbed from the work on Saturday.  But what was really cool - and really the fun in cyclocross - is that I found myself in a group of guys.  We weren't leading the race but we were all challenging each other.  A guy from The Pony Shop was in front of me and he usually beats me.  I pushed to keep up.  My goal in the race the week before was to keep up with him but he sailed away from me.  This time I found some strength and passed him on the bike path right after the woods climbs.  2 laps to go and he passed me back.  On the bike path I found my way past him again, this time for good.  Seeing him 5-10 seconds back really put some wind in my sails.  

Next, I found myself with a guy on a mountain bike from the cat 1/2/3 group.  On the last lap he blew past me on the last woods climb using a match.  My CX bike had a little better rolling resistance than his MTB so by the end of the bike path and up the next grassy rise I caught back up to him.  We flowed along the rest of the course until the barriers.  In the straight right before the barriers I pushed it and moved in front of him.  As I hopped off and cleared both barriers he flew past me again.  It was like I was standing still.  There was one more U turn and then a downhill sprint to the finish.

Before we hit the straight I was already in the drops and clicking up the gears.  I have confidence in my sprint and that my bike would sprint better than his.  I hit a whopping 24.7 miles an hour (LOL) but I beat him.  Since he was in a different category we weren't really racing against each other but it was really fun.  (I lost a sprint in the second race Saturday but it was still a blast).

I ended up 9th out of 30.  My first top ten and I am excited.  I fully understand that if it was a normal race with the cat 1/2/3 guys I'd have finished around 30th but that feeling of your first single digit result still gets the blood flowing.

Fran got his second podium in a row for the 65+ group even though he was grumpy about his performance and George was on the wide angle podium in 4th (55+).  

Wheeling is next and with the rain expected Thursday and 30 degree temps it is promising to be slick as usual.  Until then...

First Lap video:  https://youtu.be/2tJB_7TL0Q0