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Bedford Springs Cyclocross |
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Team Bikeman -
Race Reports
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Written by Matt Hersey
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Thursday, 27 September 2007 |
Bedford Springs Cyclocross
Bedford, MA
September 23, 2007
Hey everybody, I’m finally back on the East Coast, after my extended stint in San Diego. I managed to find another contract job – this time in Massachusetts. Massachusetts is a little busy so far, but it is probably the best state in the country for cyclocross racing.
So I dusted off my Salsa cross bike and headed up to the Bedford Springs Cyclocross in Bedford, MA last weekend. It was their first time putting a race on, but they did a great job. It was at a community college, so there was lots of parking and bathrooms and stuff like that. The weather was great too – almost too hot and dry for a cross race! The field sizes were small to medium – maybe 25 guys in my masters 123 race.
Of course, it was good to see all of the friends and acquaintances that make up the New England cross scene – Brant Hornburger, Tom Stevens, Paul Curley, Pascal Bussieres, etc…. I only saw one other Bikeman guy there – Brian Pierce. I had never met him before, but had read a few of his things on the website. A good guy and a great racer – he placed top 10 in our race!
What do I say about the course and my performance? Since I was feeling a little out of shape, my goals were modest. I just wanted to finish the race without getting lapped. I felt pretty horrible on the first 4 laps, and briefly thought about quitting, but finally found my rhythym and ended up finishing strong in the middle of the pack somewhere. The most exciting part of the course was a long, steep, dusty run-up in the woods. And the U-turn and the immediate descent was just as exciting. That’s where all of the spectators and the ambulance hung out. The mountain bikers were loving the rutted descent, but many roadies went down. The trick was to take the extra time at the top to clip into your pedals. Other than that, the course was a lot of long stretches on bumpy, grassy hay fields. Some sidewalks, and a big emphasis on cornering and braking well through the chicanes. It was a short course, pretty typical of a local race. Overall, a great, local, early season race.
I’m happy to be back in New England and psyched to live in a place where I can race cross every weekend. Next weekend I will do the Amesbury cross. See you there.
Matt |
