'Cross season is here. Finally.

Yesterday was the 1st race of the season. The season of mud, snow, drizzle and sweat. Cyclocross rocks!! Saturday was @ the Federal Center and the weather was not appropriate. 80* and sunny. A standard length (0.9 miles)course, but only one dismount for a steep run-up. Mostly just haulin' ass on non-technical trails. ! wasn't last. The cool thing about the Schwab Boss of Cross series is the beer prime. 1st and last on the 1st lap get a 6-pack. ! got last on the second race then hunted down the fat guy and passed him. Great Divide Denver Pale Ale. A nice hop hop hoppy brew. Yummy. ! got lapped twice in each race. Second race ! dropped my bottle so ! didn't have anything to drink the whole race. Sunday's race was part of the Boulder racing series @ the Boulder Res. Long course. 1.5 miles w/ lots of sand and bumpy. We rode through a volleyball pit and along the beach twice. And we had real 'cross weather. On the drive up it started drizzling and it was 45*. A couple warm-up laps in a sweat shirt and it was time to strip to a short sleeve jersey and knickers. After nearly an hour of punishment, ! got a rest break for almost an hour then race number two. That one went much better than the first. ! felt more powerful and had a much better idea of what the good lines were. The sandy beach sections were the hardest. You had to get your weight back and just let the front wheel float.! found the good line and could make most of it before ! bogged down. One of those times ! blew by 4 guys on that section. Next section was a sandy run-up over 3 barricades then a descent to the next beach section. It was a power grunt course and ! felt strong. ! was actually fighting guys. ! was pretty baked when ! got done so ! loaded the jackal in the monster truck, changed shoes and put on a t-shirt for a run around the Res. 5.24 miles in the heavy drizzle. Then came the very best part of the whole day. The girls race had just started when ! got back. After 2 laps Christina Begy was in third on her hot pink 'cross rig. She is the Solo 24-hour MTB World Champion. Christina raced yesterday and got 2nd. In 2nd was the super-sexy Heather Szabo just a few seconds ahead. She's a Tokyo Joes racer. !'ve watched her race for several years and only seen her lose once. That was to a pro MTB girl and she took a tumble on a barrier to lose her lead. After 2 laps Heather was 30-40 seconds behind a Pro Peloton girl who was flying. That girl was floating through the beach sections farther and faster than ! had and running fast and smooth. Time to digress. About 6 years ago, when ! was the best bike courier in Denver, there was a gal who had a big crush on me. Problem was she was a bit kooky. Skinny, unshaved legs, no self-esteem. She was really struggling mentally, emotionally and financially. There was a 'cross race in Boulder just about across the street from her apartment so ! told her to come out an try it. All she had was her road bike w/ slicks. With the warm and dry conditions that day that would be tolerable. ! was going to let her use my wheels until ! realized she had 650c rims so mine were too big. She had to make due w/ what she had. My buddy Phredx and ! got her on the start line and headed to the feed zone to hand her bottles. Off they went. We were watching for her as all the girls passed by. She had vanished. Then there she was walking up behind us, off the course, looking really disgusted w/ herself. She had gotten to the first steep run-up and hadn't been able to do it to her satisfaction so she quit. The 3 of us went to her apartment for awhile. She played her guitar and sang a song she had written for us. ! was impressed. Not long after that she disappeared. A couple years passed and ! was @ yet another 'cross race when this scruffy, skinny girl rode up to me. "You don't remember me do you" she said never once looking me in the eye. It was her and, of course, ! remembered her. She had moved to DC to be a courier and decided to try 'cross again. This time it had clicked. She had been to Nationals the year before and now she was mid-pack here. ! made a point of cheering for her @ every race. She would get really intense and start cursing @ everyone. She was even being referred to as the devil sometimes. Still she was haunted. She was getting better slowly and had started making friends w/ people who could get her sponsorship. Last year ! missed the whole season w/ a broken leg. Today Kat was that girl way off the front of the invincible Heather Szabo and destrying the rest of the field. ! didn't recognize her @ first from a distance. ! had to go see this chick who was putting the screws to Heather. ! was amazed when ! saw her. ! yelled @ her by name just to make sure. She recognized me and smiled throught the pain. ! spent the rest of the race moving between the 2 points where ! could cheer her on. She was really moving. With a lap and a half to go Heather closed the gap and got away. Kat kept trying. She didn't lose by much. ! tracked her down in the parking lot. She was smiling and talking a mile a minute. She was having fun out there. She was so cute w/ her face caked in mud. ! can say that ! introduced her to this sport. The thing that brought her out of her pit of despair to what seems like the happiest time of her life since !'ve known her. ! have changed a life. Do what you can to help someone who is struggling. Today was one of the best days !'ve had in a long time. It's worth it. Results are here. http://www.americancycling.org/results/2005/oct/oct.htm