Today, we headed up to Bellingham for "Silly Cross". Silly Cross is part of the Cascade Cyclo-Cross Series that takes place in Skagit, and Whatcom Counties. Though a much smaller series than the Seattle CX series or the MFG CX series, they do put on fun events and always seem to design great courses. Today they didn't disappoint.
The Civic Center Atheletic Fields Park was located right off I-5 and in the center of Bellingham. The course had everything. Fast rolling gravel paths, wooden bridges, muddy grass, off-camber twisty turns, paved climb, curb transitions, and some very technical riding all together. In this series, the Masters age is 40, so being a "young" 35, I had to race as a Pro/Elite rider (1/2 Elite). The field was small but had some good riders on hand including BRI's Logan Wenzel, the recent winner of the SCX #2@ Beverly Park. We also had Worlds Team Member, Steve Fischer of Rad Racing NW. I got a 3rd row start position, and we were off. The top 8 stayed together for the first lap, with a fairly mellow pace, then on lap two, $#!+ hit the fan, and things got serious. It took me a couple of laps to catch the flow of the course, but once I did, I was feeling really good and having fun. They even gave us a "approved short-cut" on the course, only you had to drink a beer and do push ups to pass. Our front group did this on the 2nd lap. I nearly puked up my Rainier as I did my push ups, and decided I would stick to the normal route on the next laps. Another added feature unique to this race was an added "snow" section. Yes, snow! These guys had snow brought in for a short 10' section that was about 12" deep, and didn't really slow any of us down.
I finished in 7th place, and was very happy with my ride on my kind of course. Kristi chose not to race today, to keep fresh legs for tomorrows SCX #4 race in Steilacoom. So instead, she worked the pits for me, which I never even needed. My bike did have a fair amount of mud on it, but everything worked great and shifting continued to stay crisp and precise. I rode really low pressure today to keep good traction on the off camber slippery grass. I ran with only 30 in the front and about 35 in the rear. Perfect amount of traction with the Hutchinson Bull Dog tires. Holden was on various portions of the course yelling "Go Dad", "Good job". Thanks buddy. It was also nice to be able to take a shower at the race venue in the atheletic locker rooms. A nice hot shower after a muddy race was top notch and made for a very "professional like" venue. Thank you Bellingham Parks Department.
Good day on a great course, and now we are headed back down the freeway towards home to get the bikes, gear, and body ready for tomorrows big race in Steilacoom. I think we will chill out and carve some pumpkins tonight.
Stay tuned for tomorrows report.
The Civic Center Atheletic Fields Park was located right off I-5 and in the center of Bellingham. The course had everything. Fast rolling gravel paths, wooden bridges, muddy grass, off-camber twisty turns, paved climb, curb transitions, and some very technical riding all together. In this series, the Masters age is 40, so being a "young" 35, I had to race as a Pro/Elite rider (1/2 Elite). The field was small but had some good riders on hand including BRI's Logan Wenzel, the recent winner of the SCX #2@ Beverly Park. We also had Worlds Team Member, Steve Fischer of Rad Racing NW. I got a 3rd row start position, and we were off. The top 8 stayed together for the first lap, with a fairly mellow pace, then on lap two, $#!+ hit the fan, and things got serious. It took me a couple of laps to catch the flow of the course, but once I did, I was feeling really good and having fun. They even gave us a "approved short-cut" on the course, only you had to drink a beer and do push ups to pass. Our front group did this on the 2nd lap. I nearly puked up my Rainier as I did my push ups, and decided I would stick to the normal route on the next laps. Another added feature unique to this race was an added "snow" section. Yes, snow! These guys had snow brought in for a short 10' section that was about 12" deep, and didn't really slow any of us down.
I finished in 7th place, and was very happy with my ride on my kind of course. Kristi chose not to race today, to keep fresh legs for tomorrows SCX #4 race in Steilacoom. So instead, she worked the pits for me, which I never even needed. My bike did have a fair amount of mud on it, but everything worked great and shifting continued to stay crisp and precise. I rode really low pressure today to keep good traction on the off camber slippery grass. I ran with only 30 in the front and about 35 in the rear. Perfect amount of traction with the Hutchinson Bull Dog tires. Holden was on various portions of the course yelling "Go Dad", "Good job". Thanks buddy. It was also nice to be able to take a shower at the race venue in the atheletic locker rooms. A nice hot shower after a muddy race was top notch and made for a very "professional like" venue. Thank you Bellingham Parks Department.
Good day on a great course, and now we are headed back down the freeway towards home to get the bikes, gear, and body ready for tomorrows big race in Steilacoom. I think we will chill out and carve some pumpkins tonight.
Stay tuned for tomorrows report.
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