Battle At Barlow v.2009 by Greg

I won't be as long winded this time. The length of my race report will be in proportion to my placing. Since I came in 16th, I'll keep it short.

Naiqwan and Marquell joined in with DeyShaun to race the Juniors field. I don't have photos, but you should all be proud of how these 3 represented b.i.k.e. and Cyclisme. They are courteous, competitive, fun loving, and hungry teens. Naiqwan took 5th in his first cyclocross race ever, DeyShaun came in 6th after another dropped chain incident, and Marquell finished in 8th place.

All 3 of them worked hard, and were thoroughly exhausted when done.

Jeff, Eric and I raced in the Masters B race, which is neat because we're on the course at the same time as the juniors. We all had great line ups, and I got off well and was in 4th for a while, then really faded the last 2 laps. Jeff pulled out with 1 lap to go with breathing trouble in the windy, dusty air. Eric also had a bit of a cold and had a terrible start putting him at the back of the field.

With 2 laps to go Eric passed me asking "how many in front?" I answered that I though about 6 or 8 were ahead of me, and off he went. I tried to stay with him so we could work together but I was gassed. In reality I think more were ahead of me than that, but Eric's strength in getting through most of the field and finishing in 6th was very impressive.

Dave was in the crowded Master's C field, and seemed to pick up the pace each time we would all yell and cheer him on.

2 more smaller races (1 here and another here) before the Cross Crusade starts on Sunday with a hopefully muddy Alpenrose.

Greg