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Mt. Baker 542 Cross |
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Written by Joel Liefke
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Monday, 08 September 2008 |
Race: Cross 542
Date: September 6, 2008
Location: Mt. Baker, WA
 Ah yes, it is that wonderful time of year…cross season! The dew on the grass, the smell of mist in the air, the crunching of leaves under your tires….nothing better. This year got a 2008 Kona Major Jake so I’ve been spinning that around for a while. New to the bike drive train this year is a set of the SRAM/Avid Flak Jackets…I’ll tell you what, they sure do make a huge difference, clean/clear shifting with minimal maintenance, love it! Also, got to break out the Champion Systems Skinsuit, which as always, was up for the task and fits like a glove!
As for the race, the course was basically a pasture/field that had the course mowed out of the existing growing grass and was in a major loop, making it a roadies dream (unfortunately, I’m more the technical type, not the roadie, so from the start, I knew it was going to be a tough day). There were 3 sections of barriers and a weave section in and out of park signs, but beyond that, the course was pretty flat and all about straight away’s.
From the start, there were only 12 of us, they are building the series up, in conjunction w/the Mt. Baker Hillclimb (story to come later), so the turnout was small, but expected to grow over the next couple of years. So from the gun there were 5 of us off the front. After the first corner, there was a sand-bagger in the bunch, as he had a lead of about 200 yards after the first ½ mile…yeah, so we all were racing for 2nd. Also different, was that I’m usually used to doing 4-5 laps, this one had 7 and was 10 min longer than usual, so for 5 of those laps three of us battled it out, with another guy off the front about 25 yards. On lap 5, I hit my max fitness and started to falter, catching up in places, but losing it in the long stretches. Ended up 5th, but realizing I have a lot of work to do over the next couple of weeks to get ready for Starcrossed. All in all a good effort and good training, but was hoping to do better. Oh yeah, turned 36 today and felt every bit of that age later that night J.
Until next time….
Joel
Photo Credits: Cyclocrazed.com
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