Lansing Cross

I was the only Get a Gripper to make the trek to the south side for the Lansing cross race this weekend. It was a pretty basic course with sweeping turns and 0 feet of elevation change per lap.

The best part of the course was the sandpit. The cuttin crew, half acre crew, and xxx crew were hanging out there acting loud and rowdy offering encouragement and mockery every time someone came through. Their mockery motivated me to ride the sand pit the second half of the race rather than run it. Once I found the line and the technique, it was the only part of the course where I felt like I did fairly well.

The 1/2 field would have been small but they added a collegiate field to the race. I also noticed a lot of the guys who did the masters race were lining up for this race to pull off a double.

I tried out a new strategy of going all out at the beginning of the race rather than my traditional way of racing by putting out even splits. The first lap turned out pretty good and the leaders were actually still in sight. On the second lap gaps were starting to grow but I was still going pretty fast but wondering if how long it would be before I blow. Third lap I crash and once I gathered myself I found out I had nothing left in the tank. I wish I had brought some Gu's and Gatorade with me. I shifted down to my small ring and did lap after lap wondering when I would finally recover. 3 or 4 laps to go and I am able to put in a few hard efforts but still not feeling great and finish mid pack.

Collegiates from Lindsey Wilson College came out to the race in full force today and took the overall in the men's race and the woman's race. It's a small college but they have a stacked cycling team.

Next week I'm considering racing Woodstock, or a double race weekend in eastern IA or a 2/3 race in Michigan. The season is getting short so I might as well take advantage of any opportunities left to race and start chasing upgrade points.