And that's a wrap

The 2010 cyclocross season has came to an end for me and much of my KC brethren, and what a great season it was.  I've learned more than I can possibly describe/list out, and I'm trying to process all of that, plus identify what my weaknesses were that I can work on starting in August.  It's best to think about what worked and what didn't following your last race, as opposed to remember back through the haze of summer into the last time you remounted a bike in a race.

Yesterday's race, the Grote Prijs, which I constantly misspell, was terrific in some ways, and humbling in others.  I had a great fan club cheering me on, despite the COLD weather.  I really can't say enough how much I enjoy having my family out there.  I hope that this helps the boys see how important it is to stay active throughout their lives, and that once high school/college is over, they don't have to go into work/eat/sleep mode.

Ok focus, Chris, back to the race report.  Ahem.

This was the first race I DFL'ed (at least I think I did, I haven't checked the results yet).  But I also finished the race, and stayed upright which a lot of people did not.  I rode pretty good, although I still have lots of core work to do, as my back got tight about lap 5 of 12.  Once my back gets tight, my hamstrings get tight, then the only way I can put power down is with my quads, and they get tired pushing me around quickly.

I felt my race performance was actually ok.  My power wasn't quite there, and I need to work on some technique on my remounts at speed.  The field slowly pulled away from me, but then again, I felt ok because it wasn't like I was way over my head either.  I think that next season, if I work hard over the next 7 months, will be a fun and successful campaign for sure.

Once I hit the last lap, and all hope had faded of bridging up to my teammate Jon Sink, I took a few beer handups and tried a pitiful bunny hop over some beer cans on the course.  Not my typical style, but it was time for some fun!  You can only be serious so long, and although I am competitive at heart, I need to relax a bit on the course and not be too hard on myself.  My team captain, Britton, is trying to beat it into my head that to be a good cyclist takes a long time.  Years. 

I know what I need to do, now I just need to do the work to reap the rewards.

Here are a few pics of my bike yesterday, and I'll have a video as soon as I get it uploaded.  Everything on my bike was frozen mud.  It was everything a cross race should be, and I hope I can get a few more races in next season in conditions like this.  It was great!