MABRA 'Cross #4 - Wayne Scott Memorial
November 3, 2007
Fair Hill, MD

Well it’s definitely fall on the east coast!
Last weekend’s Saturday race was in Fair Hill, Maryland and was part of the MABRA cyclocross series. I had been to the exact spot before, for an annual mountain bike race, as well as for some fun group rides, but this was the first cross race I’d ever done there. Fair Hill is a beautiful equestrian center with a zooming fast trail system through the woods, as well as barns and pastures that made a great venue for a cross race.

I drove with the heat on in the car and had my legwarmers and a long sleeve ready for under my jersey. Right after grabbing my registration number I ran back to the car and sat in the warmth for a few more minutes. OK, it wasn’t frigid, but it’s all relative, and 50s with strong winds felt really cold! After getting myself together and finally emerging from the comforts of the car, I ventured out to see if I could get on course. I decided to race my new Redline…with lots of red…and new SRAM shifting that I was still getting used to, but I loved it of course. A few people told me about the huge sand pit and said protocol was to run the first length of it, hop on, and ride the last 2 sections. Luckily, I jumped on the course right behind Mike Kuhn, fellow mountain biker. Mike rode through the whole sand section and I followed. It was definitely a grind, but for my short legs, it was a much better alternative than running it every lap!

The women were called up and I had gotten in a fairly good warm up. A few MABRA and MAC series regulars were there: Betsy Shogren and Lisa Vible were among our field of 9. Unfortunately we had lost Tammy Ebersole in a pre-race crash over the barriers. She came back from the ER and looks like one tough momma right now, stitches and all! Ouch! Others were absent due to UCI races in CT and MA. Anyway, the gun went off and I led for a minute before Betsy came around. After a few turns she made an unfortunate swerve to the left, when the course opened up but actually went right… I yelled to her but it was enough for me to start a small gap and over the remaining laps the gap grew to be a comfortable one. Apparently, most were having troubles in the sand pit and that’s where I was having an advantage. Chalk that one up to sand, sand, and more sand in the training grounds of Hesperia, CA… Secret weapon, that place is!

Spring Mountain Cyclocross
November 4, 2007
Spring Mount, PA

Sunday was quite a contrast to Saturday. The weather was a bit warmer, with much less wind. This one took place at Spring Mountain, a small ski mountain about 25 miles outside of Philly. Funny to go back to the places you’ve spent a lot of time at as an itty bitty skier/snowboarder, afraid of the big bad slopes. They look so small now!

Anyway, ski sites always mean hills to me and this one was no different. There was a super steep run-up, a few off camber sections, a short but steep descent and rocks! More than the average amount of rocks. I was the only elite woman (the other women were at MABRA#5 in Virginia…too far), so I asked to run alongside the Masters men. That worked for them, but the race official told me I had to start in the back!!! Stinky! (literally, too) After some bunching up, I began passing some men and was really enjoying the features of the course. I wasn’t being extra careful on the rocks, and I suffered a flat, as did many others. Ay, them’s the breaks. I ran to the pit with a pleading face and with a little help from my friends (OK – they did everything) changed the rear wheel and I was off again. Overall, I had a great workout, loved the course, and won some prizes, including really nice gloves from Cadence, a bike shop providing prizes. Can’t ask for more!