Click that for a great example of the work they are doing. If you are racing CX or road in MN you will want to check out their site for photo coverage!
That one is from Jackson Meadow on Sunday. Saturday was Green Acres which is the best venue/event on our local schedule. Here are a few pictures-
They don't do a good job of showing the scope of the hill or the venue- but they show me!
There are literally thousands at the prenzlowperspective link above.
This race is great because spectators can see almost the entire race from a central location, the course has a great mix of terrain, it has downhill switchbacks and goes straight up the hill, it has an appropriate feeling run-up etc. etc..
I learned something on Saturday that I probably should have learned the week before (and maybe countless times before that)... You may as well go as hard as you can in a CX race when you can. Without the benefit of drafting and with the addition of all technical features etc., busting your ass to get a little bit ahead might, probably will, be worth it. If you play any games and get to the finish and it looks like the one above, and you wind up the loser... you'll be disappointed. I have no idea if I could have held the gap I had developed after the climb on the last lap, or if Dom would have countered up top and totally kicked my ass? I do know that looking back I would have felt better about trying, than I felt about riding all weasel-like and then losing by inches.
I learned another thing Saturday too... CX is fun even when you totally suck! The SS race was tons of fun for me even though my back hurt and I was literally walking the hill. The run-up with people screaming, beer etc. and riding the little stair steps while everyone else ran were both just totally fun.
Sunday at Jackson Meadows I was able to more or less ride away from the field at the end of the 2nd lap. By the middle of the fourth I knew I wouldn't be caught unless I fell or something ridiculous happened and was able to win by riding conservatively and hammering the road section and the gradual grassy rise. It felt good to make a move on/over the top of a run-up. Hope that is a good sign with regards to my weight loss.
I put my upgrade request in yesterday. That had been the plan since I looked at the season schedule and at the non-CX stuff I was going to be involved in. I figured these last two weekends would make a good block of training to use for the rest of the season (after a weeks hiatus to race the dirtbag and rest). I'm pleased with how things have gone so far, but need to improve quite a bit over the next few weeks/month if possible. The cat 2 racing at Jinglecross will be very fast.
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