I HATE CROSS, I LOVE CROSS, WHAT A WEEKEND.

The picture below sums up my on bike race experience in Gunnison this weekend.

FRUSTRATION

is the word that best describes my CX race in Gunny this weekend, same might be said for JW and Court as I think it is safe to say we all struggled and spent some time in the dirt like many of the racers that day. The course was actually great, but VERY technical with crazy slippery grass corners throughout, probably close to 30 of them! I got to line up with three of my age group's (45+ open) fastest riders and near the end of the FIRST lap I ATE SHIT on one of the slick corners and spent the rest of the race chasing...not the ideal situation, but at least I broke the new Alpha fork in immediately.

On a much better note, the announcing gig was most enjoyable as I shared color commentary with Dave Ocks of Gunnison...we aint exactly Ligget and Rolle but we did keep the crowd laughing all day. Thanks to Fred Reynolds for the use of your generator...it worked like a gem.

Todd Wells outlasted the Danish National Champ Joachim Parbo in the men's elite race despite a flat and two crashes. along with the elite field was Mario Chiarani who sat in with the big heavy crew. He flatted early but got to race for 40 minutes with the real deal...he faught hard, and ran harder! Thanks to mom and dad Chiarani for the killa homemade bread!

And check out Todd Wells post race comments from Velo News

"It was also a welcome change from his performance in the Omnium Mountaineer Cross race in Gunnison the day before, a ride he called "a struggle with a flat tire and a couple of crashes in there."
"It's been so dry here that the grass can be kind of slippery," Wells said. "I ended up winning the Gunnison race, but I felt like I was riding like a beginner."

A word of advice..DO NOT eat the meat loaf at the "Gunnisac" in town. Courtnet Gregory can tell you about that, as his ass put on a fireworks display only rivaled by that at the Majic Kingdom at Disney World all night long.

But...do ask for Ange to be your waitress if you check it out...she's the bomb.

chasing the cyclocross ghosts in Gunnison, pissed and frustrated after crashing on lap 1

Sunday was another ballgame as it was going to be a day off until Burnsy called and said he was headed to Denver to race this morning, of course I could not say no, so we hopped in my Subie early and hit Denver for the 35+ Cat4 race...What a difference a day makes in the life of a bike racer....After FINALLY having a good start, Burnsy and myself battled for the 5th spot overall and had the Mountain Pedaler sandwhich working on another guy who seperated with us...and the fact that I was there at all was pretty surprising, until I ATE SHIT twice mid race and they got away from me...never to be caught again....Burnsy 5th, myself 7th....my best CX day this season. Especially since it was the 35 plus crew...I've never hated and loved cross racin so much in such a short period of time....hopefully the peak will be at Nationals next month.