Race Report: 2002 Sacramento Cyclocross #3

I woke up with the flu today. A number of people were supposed to come watch me race, so I either had to start making a lot of phone calls or just go through with racing. If you know me, you know how much I absolutely love talking on the phone. I stayed in bed until the very last moment before I needed to make the decision.

I raced.

The nausea and pounding headache left me with little motivation to eat. I skipped breakfast and threw my gear together, barely making it to Granite Bay on time. I didn't even bother warming up. There was no point. I was only there to race for my friends and hopefully grab a point or two in the series standings.

We took off and with a little effort I entered the first turn about a third of the way back. Not a great place to be. On the first road section everyone was playing cat and mouse, so I went around our group to the front and led into the headwind. I powered into the wind surprisingly well for a skinny guy. Then three guys attacked me going into the singletrack. That's racing, but I wasn't in great spirits, and I took it personally. It pissed me off enough that I attacked the next three laps on the road section and got rid of one guy each time. No free rides. Guys tend to fold pretty easily when you gap them going into a headwind.

I ended up third, but it was a real struggle.

It's shaping up to be a battle between Alex (Yelling Guy), Skyler and myself. The Team City guys are all working together and the lone Rio Strada guy is alone on an island.

Note: When it says "field of 12," that's just my class. There are other classes starting with us, and that makes it difficult at times to know who you are racing against. But from here on out, I think it's safe to say that I simply try to beat Team City jerseys.

I really suffered like a dog today, but I fought hard to keep Alex and Skyler in sight and hold off the guys behind me. I will definitely take the eight points since I wasn't sure I would get any today.

Only Jennifer showed up to watch, so I didn't really have to worry about racing for the "fans." My computer coworkers and friends are flakey by nature. Jenn is the only one who matters anyway.

Even sick, I had fun. Cyclocross is cool like that.

Later.