Chickasaw Day 2!!!

Today saw another overcast, mildly cool day at in Columbia, Tennessee. The course used a lot of features from yesterday's course. We bypassed all the muddy sections, which had me pretty worried, and really focused on the grass. There was just enough undulation and just enough corners to prevent it from being a grass crit. Three mandatory dismounts - the weird barrier thing from yesterday, a ditch with a barrier just before it, and a set of traditional barriers. Well, not exactly traditional: they were half-height. We rode four laps, just like yesterday, and the course was about 1.9 miles long.

The starting straight was a little longer, wet, paved and downhill. You could really get some speed going. I had a much better start than yesterday, maybe too good, because I really pinned it for the first three minutes. I tried a new tactic today, on the suggestion of a good friend and cyclocross "mentor". I lined up in the second row, behind the fastest guy I knew. When the horn sounded, he went hard, and left a nice hole for me to jump into. I'm going to have to remember that from now on - no more lining up behind guys who can't get the jump at the horn.

We swung onto the grass and led up to the weird barrier-type thing from yesterday. Then onto a flat, grass/gravel straight, and back into the grass. One big swoopy turn later, we rode up a nice little false flat, with six or seven hairpin turns. This ended up being one of the saving graces of the course. I was really able to get out of the saddle and jump from turn to turn, and I think that's where I was really able to turn the screws on the guy behind me. I didn't get any closer to catching the guy ahead, but it gave me a little breathing room. Then we dropped into a slight downhill, into the barrier/ditch combo (not the type of ditch you jump across: more like the jump-down-into-and-run-back-out kind) and headed uphill again. A nice, long, downhill, followed by a short flat area, then a set of half-height barriers, before hitting the final straight and hairpin leading to the start/finish line.

First impressions of the course: Looks bad. I'm gonna' get shellacked.

Impressions while racing: Not straight or flat enough for the pure roadies, not twisty or technical enough for the pure mountain bikers, but pretty much a solid (though grassy) all-round course. It definitely could have been marked better. I know it's hard to set up a race course, I really do. But it sucks when the guy you're chasing is cutting the course because the boundaries are implied, (not actually marked), and you're too ethically-minded to follow him. A little extra time/help in setting up would have prevented that. All in all, it's not a big deal, it's not Nationals or the World Cup, but the more I think about it, the more it irks me...

Anyway, now the good part. I finished in the top half again! 7th out of 17 racers. Someone give me a handclap, or at least some virtual cowbell.

This is where it gets good, though. Of the 12 total dismounts (three per lap) I nailed the remount perfectly 10 times! Someone give me another handclap! I flubbed it twice on the first lap when I did that blasted stutter-step, but after that I got serious, put my game face on and just did it. It has taken me three years. I'm stoked to have finally gotten it down. I really am! I just need to keep at it and get faster and more confident, now.

So, I've got a little more training to do, and more racing January 17/18 back at Chickasaw, before the Knoxville series in February. I really feel like I'm coming into form for the final races of the season, and I'm pretty pumped. Man, I NAILED THAT REMOUNT! WHOO-HOO!!!