Red Barn CX

Race number 5 in the books! It was at the Red Barn Tree Farm just west of Taylors Falls MN this Saturday on what was a chilly frost nipped morning that warmed into a beautiful day. It was the day after Halloween so there was a costume contest that was great. I didn't know cowboys did cross! The course was flat and very long - only three laps for the C race. I finished 48th out of 76 riders which put me at the 60th percentile, so I mostly kept the gains I made last week.

The course was almost entirely flat and bumpy with lots of twists and turns around the Christmas trees and then out into a dusty field and back. I still really need to work on my cornering, and I seemed to lose a little bit too much momentum at every turn that I had to make up in a sprint away. This left me utterly ragged by the end of the race.

The notable exception to the flat course was the "OH $#%! AHEAD" hill right at the end of the loop that shot you down a narrow track and then immediately had your run back up, and then dash to the finish line a few hundred yards away. This run-up wasn't much of a passing opportunity like last week, but did provide for a rather dramatic finish for the race!

Three riders had been trailing me the last lap but they gained on me at the end so that with just yards to go they were right on my wheel. I was spent, and hadn't saved anything for the finish! So we tore down the hill, and then I chaotically dismounted and we all tore up the hill in a frenzy. My remount was beyond awful, at that point I could hardly control my jello legs, but I managed to get back on and sprint to the finish crossing the line 1.5 seconds ahead of the guy chasing me!

Thanks to L. who was on sick rest and took lots of video of the race as well as provide tons of support and guidance as always. You can see the dramatic finish at 10:30


Red Barn C and Single Speed Race from Ladric on Vimeo.