The "Barrier" O'plenty

Isn't it funny how the human mind works? I forgot, in  a week, how painful cyclocross is. That's an even faster turnaround than childbirth.

So given as I am trained as an endurance athlete I had the bright idea that I should ride to the race this week. I estimated that the distance to the park from my house would be about 20 km and I thought that would be the perfect distance for an easy warm up. This would have been a great idea on an ordinary day but this was not no ordinary day. This was a day with 35km winds straight from the south. I was heading straight south. It took me well over an hour to finish those 20-21km and it was pretty difficult to do that and keep my heart rate below 150. And to add insult to injury, I had to take a detour due to a washed out bridge but in actuality, the bridge was only washed out to cars. It would have been perfectly fine to take the bridge by bike.

So I was tired when I started the race and by about lap 4 I was wishing I could stop and have a gel. I needed a boost. This weeks race was at Labarrier Park and it was 25 minutes plus 2 laps and I don't know if they changed how they ran the race this week but I got the 2 lap sign and then I got passed by the leader in my first lap and when I finished lap one of two, my race was done. I never got the bell. I swear the leaders lapped me last week too and I still got to finish the second lap. So unless I missed this guy lapping me twice, who knows. I'll find out when they post the results which should be in a day or so unofficially. I would say that I did about the same as last week. The same girls beat me. The same girls were behind me. And it was still as much fun. I went off course at one point. I followed some other guy and it required a little bit of maneuvering to get back but ultimately I passed all the same people I had passed before and probably still finished in the same place.

My Mom and Dad came out to watch and so did Jen and I got a few good action photos to share between my Dad and Jen. And you'll notice that I still have "the bike" -- Dave is out of town this weekend and when I went to bring it back he told me to keep it since he couldn't use it anyhow. That guy, let me tell you..... You'd think he had given me a kidney the way I react.

I love this picture my Dad took of Nolan running in the wind with his too big sweatshirt. There is nothing that can put a smile on my race pained face like my kids yelling "GO MOMMY GO". I loved having them there watching.

Well I sorta look like I know how to run up a hill with a bike. There were 12 barricades in a row in only one place in this race and there was more than one 4 letter word heard on this section of the course. Most of them out of my mouth.

Fall racing is beautiful. Pushing on through the leaves.

A better view of how many barriers there actually were. My friend and co-worker Colin told me he was the one that set these buggers up. I didn't count but 10-12 of them in a row. I told him I was going to kill him at the end of the race.

And Yes, my remounts need work, so Rick, one of the Alter Ego shop boys (he'd love being called a boy.... someone told me how old he was once and he is far older than you would ever think) told me at the end of the race. He told me my dismounts weren't so hot either. He might have caught sight of me on the one where I nearly endo'd getting off my bike. That was the tired wind pushing legs at work. It was nice having Rick cheering too.  And the guy who is in the old Alter jersey up ahead is the one the went off course and caused me and several others to follow. Oh well.

An even better view of the barriers 'o' plenty (From the Woodcock Facebook Page)