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Amesbury Cross |
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Written by Herb Taylor
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Monday, 15 September 2008 |
Amesbury Cross
Amesbury, MA
September 14, 2008
 As I woke to prepare for my 1st Cross race since Gloucester '07, my memory flashes back to the first TT race of the year, which was in May '08. The weather was heavy rains and 42 degrees. I truly had to force myself to gather up my cycling gear and get in the right mindset for that race. Upon waking this Sunday morning, I see a similar type of weather and temperature that I did for the TT race. However, I have no hesitation in getting myself together.
The evening before I checked to see the confirmed riders list and noticed there were approximately 240 riders signed up. I arrived at the course at 8:30am for a 10:00am start. It was apparent that Amesbury had received a lot of rain during the night and it wasn't going to stop. During the course inspection, I noticed that it was already getting torn up (slick). My group (Master CAT 3-4- 45+) took off at 10:01 am with a field of about 40+/-.
 The race consisted of dirt road, grass, pine needles (lots of pine needles),wet roots, tar, one set of barriers and a stone stairway that was covered in mud and pine needles. The gun went off and my main focus was to find a pace I could sustain for 40 minutes. During the course of the race, I tried to control the damage and pick-off riders. By the end of the race, I was still attacking and had lapped some of the 55+ riders that had started 1 minute after our group. My fitness level was where I was hoping it would be, but I still need to hone my skills. On to Londonderry and Sucker Brook next weekend!
Herb
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