2009 Campton Cross – St. Charles

I know, I know.  I’m late.  I’m sorry.  Really, I am.  I know, you don’t want to hear my excuses, but I promise you that I’ve got lots of them.  Anyways.  Here you go.

 

Fun…found!

My head, and heart, haven’t really been into cross season this year.  I’ve never been very good at cross (let’s face it, I do NO training), but I’ve always enjoyed the races and racing gave me an excuse/ the motivation to get on my bike and get a little exercise outdoors as the weather started turning cold and dark.  This year, though, the weather has turned not only cold and dark, but also quite rainy.  I have a hard enough time getting out of bed when the weather turns gray and gloomy, but I absolutely do not ride in the rain.  No way, no how.  So, that’s really limited my exercise this year.  I know, I’ve heard it all before, but really, I just lose all energy and motivation when the clouds roll in and the rain begins.

Today, however, the fun returned!  A teammate received a Gumby costume in the mail and dared anyone on his team to race in it at Campton Park.  I was the first to respond that I’d do it (I have no idea what I was thinking at the time), but I don’t think anyone actually expected me to do it.  When Eric brought out the costume, I was happy to put it on and “tailor” it to make it possible to ride in it (with the help of Roman’s pocket knife and Lou’s duct tape!).  I was the hit of the race today!  Every time I turned a corner, I could hear spectators yelling for GUMBY!  Even as the younger juniors passed me, they would call out “passing, Gumby!” or “hey, nice costume!”

No, I wasn’t really “racing”, but I did finish the race with the Gumby head in place.  Sure, I finished DFL, but I felt like I’d won first place!  I slapped a ton of high fives and took as many hands up as I could (the hand-eye coordination was a bit difficult with a mask over my face).  In all, I took: a piece of cake, a candy bar, a dollar bill, and I could have taken a muffin, but I knew that wasn’t a good idea after eating the cake.

Maybe I should race as Gumby every week?

Gumby Cross

Gumby gets a call up

Gumby loves mud – Who knew?!

Gumby in action

Gumby is a hit with the guys

Umm… help?!

2009 OktoberCross – Carpentersville

Main Street Bikes created a kick ass course that was interesting enough to keep my attention!  Normally, I kind of space out while riding.  To quote Mel, “I’m just doin’ my ride.”

Leading into the race yesterday, I was immensely scared of the “pump” section.  I knew it would be a spot for great pictures, but I had no idea that so many people would crash or nearly crash there.  When I saw one rider face plant on the pump section, landing on his cheek, that’s when my anxiety level increased.  The first two times that I went through that section, I took a big breath at the top of the hill and then just went for it.  By the last two times through,  I was actually enjoying that section the most and had fun going through there!

Photos are posted on picasa. I had trouble uploading them to dotphoto (kept getting stupid error messages), so I finally gave up and put them on picasa instead.  Enjoy!

2009 Dekalb Cross

Photos are posted.  It’s homecoming week at school, so I don’t have time for much of anything this week.  But, hopefully I’ll find time to post a few pictures on my sorely neglected blog later this week.

Jackson Park Cross

I’m having a little trouble focusing on work today.  I’m tired.  My body aches.  Yesterday was a blast and it was exactly what I needed to get excited for cross season.  I don’t know why, but even with a snazzy new team bike, and some fun new teammates, I was not really looking forward to cross season.  I think I’ve just had too many other things going on in life this summer to really spend much time on the bike or even thinking about riding.  But, once our races started yesterday, I found that excitement that I’d been lacking.

It’s hard to take as many photos during cross season because I’m more interested in screaming and cheering on teammates.  I managed to get a few sots of the 30/40+ race, but I think that’s it.  And, of course, I’m focusing on Pony Shop racers for now.  I’ll post links once I get around to editing and posting online.

Congratulations to Bryan Rheude and Jessica Hill for winning their races!  And congrats to everyone else for their great placings: Lou, Brian, Luca… anyone else?

2008 Illinois State Cyclocross Championships – Montrose

Today’s race was hard.  Really hard.  I crashed.  A lot.  Hell, I even crashed twice before we even lined up.  I guess that was just practice for the rest of the race for me.  In the end, I was going back and forth with another woman, and I joked that it was a race to see who could crash the most.  I won that race, but lost the overall race by coming in dead last.  Ugh.  That really sucked.  

The season is now over, and I am pretty happy to say that.  I had a good time and really enjoyed getting out there most weekends, but I’m tired.  And, it’s getting cold outside.  I’m looking forward to spring and summer racing where my only job is to sit on the sidelines and try and get some good pictures.  Anyone else dreaming of 80 degree weather?!  🙂  Though, I’ve committed to trying harder this summer to prepare for the next season of cross.  I’m tired of sucking at this and need to work harder to get better.  

I was really happy to see so many people out for today’s race!  The atmosphere was very festive with SRAM guy (sorry, but I don’t know your real name!) serving up hot dogs and hot apple cider by the registration tent!  And, of course, the Cutting Crew bus of cheering fans was in top form on the bridge.  

Pictures are posted here.  Enjoy! 

Banquet!

This weekend is the last opportunity to get the early bird discount for the End of the Year Cross Banquet. 

Registrations postmarked prior to December 7 are just $15 per adult.  After December 7, the price goes up to $20 per adult.

2008 Woodstock Cross

Pictures from today are posted here.

Today’s course was awesome!  I was a bit worried about the part through the woods, but after the first time through, it was a breeze.  

As I was going through the pictures tonight, I was struck by the different faces people make when they’re racing.  Check them out below.

End of the Year Cross Banquet

I kept putting it off, but I finally registered today for the End of the Year Cross Banquet.  I’ve heard that attendance has been pretty poor in the past, so hopefully people will get excited and come out this year.  If nothing else, let’s support EJ’s Place (owner, EJ Lenzi, sponsors many teams as well as the junior cross entry fees).

Don’t delay… sign up today.  Registrations postmarked prior to December 7 are just $15 per adult.  After December 7, the price goes up to $20 per adult.  You can even register online!

Woodstock.

Chicrosscup website: Course map now posted, as well as a prize list!

And, info about Montrose and chip timing.