US nationals day 1

Roger Williams Park Providence RI US Cyclo-cross National Championships

and the racing begins. this is one of the coolest parks for a a cyclo-cross race.

the course was identical to last year expcept for the conditions. the same run up, the same barrier section the same everything. being a spectator last year and not a racer, i was wondering what it might have been like to race. today i had my chance in what can be argued as perfect conditions for cross. i mean totally frick'n awesome. masters 40-44 dale knapp and a trio wrecking the field.

the coolest thing about going to a national event of any kind is you know that its a place where whatever it is people from all over the country and even the world converge to do what they do best. last year i bumped into an old friend of mine i worked with when i lived in wiscosin. today we saw each other again and it was just great. he raced just before me and then it was my turn. great to see you money! always a pleasure. tomorrow we will have the end of season beers while we watch the greatest cycling discipline in the world.

so we got in to Rode Island around 9ish last night. i was surprised how nice the drive was. some small traffic sections but for the most part easy. i woud reccommend visiting here to anyone. i slept really well in the king bed i was lucky to have so i was very rested. we had breakfast at the really nice restaurant in the hotel then headed over to the course. i was excited for the pre ride when i saw the masters racing when re arrived. i knew the course was going to be really great. at 12:30 the course was open for pre ride. while steve tilford accepted his masters award again for like the 12th time i was out picking lines and seeing what this was all about. oh my god. the course was tacky and fast. i told several people it was like riding on a peice of sticky tape. a few small greasy sections but really nice. there were 4 sections where i had to get off the bike. barriers, run up with wooden steps, cement steps and another steep dirt run up with a few wooden steps. totally frick'n awesome! i did 3 warm up laps. i changed back into civies and waited for the 2 masters races to conclude. during which 2 blue wavers made their presence known. it looked as though mr jeff weinert got a great start and i think was riding in 7th for a bit. he ended 11th. very great race jeff. meanwhile old scarface himself was sitting totally pretty when we saw him pull off quickly with a chain issue. it looked like he got it fixed but becuase this is nationals guys were flying by like fighter jets and he lost some valuable spots. either way he finished a great race in 35th out of 135 guys!!!! so because i registered like 2 days after it opened i was placed in the luxery of the back row at the start. i scanned the group and noticed just up towards my right was molly cameron. ok this is good because i know molly can throw down and he was just using this race as a warm up for tomorrow. since we had to plow through such a huge field i tried to fix myself with him during the start up the pavement as long as i could through the first lap. i knew i had a lot of work to do and a lot of people to pick off if i wanted any kind of a placing. so off we go and right away i'm locked on to molly. i though i was near the middle but i was farther back than i thought. i was comfortable and riding the race just doing my thing experiencing all these people and all these racers really enjoying myself. i was passing people but at the rate i was knocking them down it would take at least 90 min to get to the front. i just rode hard and tried to be a good bike handler. i never went down. as the race wore on i started to really pick some fast lines. some really hard sections i found i had the advantage with a lot of others and made up time and ended up dropping people who were with me. the run ups got really hard towards the end and my tank was running low. i think i may have lost a bit since our last race. not a big deal though. i was loving it. so many people cheering and yelling at all sections of the course. so with 3 laps left i'm with one other guy and we just rode in together. when we got done i had no idea where i was in the field or where i was in the country. i was worked. i pedaled back to the car and recovered. i felt pretty good after i got some food and water. the 30-35 class was the last of the day. just tonight looking at the official post on cyclingnews i got the goods on the rest of the days races and of course my race. we had 70 racers and i finished 41st. i wish i could have been a little farther up at the start. at the big races its super important. i guess the small town michigan racers with 12 guys is a bit easier. 55+ degrees! it was the best cyclo-cross course i've ever riden. flying ryan leech won and molly got 4th. i'm glad i didn't get lapped. so we've got 2 more days to watch some great racing. its cool to see the rihnos and cane creekers out from the home town. the big boys will be dancing tomorrow. can't wait. i saw tristan breifly in the elevator. i'm hoping to see how hes feeling tomorrow before the race. i'm ready to pass out.