Rockville Bridge Classic Weekend

Rockville Bridge Classic in Marysville, PA. 2 races, 2 days. Not a huge turnout but better than last year. It was a combined Masters field so I knew I was in for an azz whoopin. About 25 of us went off at the gun (ok, whistle) on Saturday. It was the "traditional loop", complete with a steep run up and stairs, more off-camber turns than I cared to count, and a fairly big power section. On the 1st trip over the barriers some relative neophyte to cross was right in back of me when I dismounted so I wound up kicking him. Apparently he was not pleased with this and let me know at the end. Not the best place to be in a cross race, dutch-bag. The really fast guys took off and I pulled away from him and 2 others. I wound up with a guy on my wheel for a while but managed to drop him with 2 to go. He eventually DNF'd. Got caught by the 2 leaders with about 1/3 lap to go, shortening my misery. 22nd of 24 (9th of 11 in my age group) but in that field I wasn't too disappointed. Mike G came out to watch and brought a few brewskies which were greatly appreciated. So much so that I spilled 1/2 of one on the back of his Land Rover... Day 2 was a smaller but still very formidable field, changed course; a bit shorter, too. Got there early and warmed up for about 45 minutes which was good since my legs were a bit sore. Got to heckle/encourage a fellow RBRer while warming up who was pleading for a beer handup. My buddy from the day before lined up next to me. After the start I hung on through most of the really twisty section (more than day 1) and decided to run a section of 2 logs and mulch into the stairs. I wound up making (or at least not losing) time by doing this. He and another guy and myself were together for about 4 laps; I led them for a couple and let my buddy go around me at one point so I could sit on his wheel for a while. Passed him on the power section and then bobbled going up a steep off camber losing my place to him and the other guy. Got back to them and again passed them at the finish line, this time for good. Wound up getting lapped by the top 5 a bit sooner but this was a shorter, faster course, so I wasn't surprised. Moved up 2 places from my Saturday finish, 6th out 0f 10, so I was happy with that and I got to beat "my buddy" who threatened "to get me" on Sunday. This was a fun, technical course on both days. I hope this race grows because it's a great venue with a fun, challenging course. Also met K-man (finally) on Saturday. Parked next to me. And beat me. Photos were free to all by Joe Mallis as a courteousy to the promotor since it was a "local" race.

Granogue, Day 2

Fall days don't get much better than Sunday was. Beautiful blue sky, cool temps. Great day for a cross race!
Had to get up at about 520am since the start was 930 rather than 10 am. Wassup wit dat? Anyway, it didn't matter; I hadn't slept much in the previous 2 nights and Sat night was no different. But once I got into race prep mode, all my tiredness just seemed to go away. Got there in time to get a decent warm up and a lap in. Really tough course. I lined up way back (as usual) and we headed of. At race speed the course seemed easier; it just kind of flowed. I saw Bob Kuhn from HUP ahead in the 1st couple of rows. The next time I would see him was when he lapped me...

I took some chances on the course and payed for it; went down 3x and lost my chain 2x. Got it back on once, but had to stop the second time right before the road section which really cost me time. Then my chain started jumping but it wasn't too bad. Since I was farther back than normal, I just kept picking guys off; my legs really felt good. Didn't matter, though. With about 1/3 lap left the 2 leaders caught me making my day shorter. At least one was a team mate :-) I wasn't paying attention on the finish road and 2-3 guys past me, which I never let happen, although, really, what's the difference between 71st and say, 68th in the grand scheme of things? At least I raced aggressive and had a good time. I also got to meet Bob Kuhn from HUP South East (?) and ran into Scott Rosenthall from HUP/Zanacato Racing; the guy you can thank/curse for my Blanco kit. I am definately making this a permanent stop on my cross racing calender.

The awesomeness of this cannot be overstated.

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