St Cloud CX

Wow, I forgot how much cross hurts. It was really nice to sleep in before heading up to St Cloud, and when I got there it was gorgeous! A lot different than last year's St Cloud race. I was there in time to see the C race (and wish that I was in it, instead of the B race). Bella Barb was out there, along with GW Sara, a couple Bettys, and some other new women - it was awesome to see! What wasn't awesome was that I noticed only about 4 women in my race - three of them were faster than me and the other one was me. Pro MTBer Jenna Zander was there, along with Kyia, and Linda Sone, so I was looking forward to a good butt-kicking. When we lined up, there were actually a total of 6 women, one of whom consistently beat me last year and Betty A, new to the cyclocross B category. The beginning of the course was quite a bit of flat, non-technical back and forth, then a fast slightly off-camber downhill onto a stretch of pavement. Then some really fun barriers - one set of double barriers, a stretch of dirt, and then another double set. There was just enough space in between them to make it worthwhile to remount between sets. Then a bit of flat, a decent climb, a bit more winding, another fast downhill, 180 turn and then two barriers on an uphill. Ugh, that part hurt a lot.

All in all, I felt...um...awful. I feel like I have zero high-end fitness right now, so every hill was pretty much a big problem. The barriers were fun though. Probably the best part of my race was when some of the guys near the front came around and lapped me on the pavement, and then I repassed them on the barriers.

But I've come to the conclusion, along with Skibby and Super-Rookie, that the track is way better. I think cross is supposed to get better from now on though...

The men's A race was pretty impressive - Aric, Dan, and Adam went off the front right in the beginning. Bjorn and a Gearwest guy were back just a bit, and then the rest of the field. In the end it was Aric and Adam for the last couple of laps together, duking it out, and it came down to a sprint. From where I was standing, no one could tell who had gotten it, but it turned out to be Adam. It was a pretty awesome race to watch.

Next Friday is my birthday, and on Saturday I'm going to have a party of sorts. I probably haven't invited you if I don't have your email, but I'd still like you to come. So email me at karlajane at gmail dot com if you want to stop by!