Cheering Section Tent

Cross Crusade:
Washington County Fair Complex
Race Report 2010/11/07
and other love poems.
by
Csaba Kormendy


Two races in one weekend! My strategy of stretching/yoga with Vajk using me as
a jungle gym after the Apple Core race worked well and I felt really good on
Sunday morning. While the ground was good and soggy, I was glad that the sky
was dry and dare I say... sunny. It was looking like a great day for racing.

My spirits were dampened somewhat by my lottery result for starting order. I
was in the sixth group, putting something on the order of 89 riders in front of
me at the start. Disappointing, but not unexpected. I was glad that I had made
my "A" effort at the Apple Core race the day before.

It turns out that I get to line up directly on teammate Dave Wingard's wheel,
who was in the fifth group along with McPherson Beall who finished just behind
me at the Apple Core race. The start signal sounds and 30, 60, ??? seconds
later, I get to start moving forward. Before I get to the first turn, more of a
"bend" than a "turn" really, there is a pileup in front of me as a rider goes
down. I get caught behind it and hook axles/wheels with the rider in front of
me. We're not moving very fast, so this doesn't result in a major mishap, but I
as get rolling again, I see that my wheel wobbling. It's rolling though, so I
settle in for the business of racing. Dave and McPherson are nowhere in sight,
so I set a short term goal of catching them.

While there are straightaways today, there aren't as many and they are not as
fast at Apple Core. I look for drafting opportunities, but it's not working
like it was the previous day. There's just too much traffic and a lot of
variety in the speeds at which people are riding at. I weave my way through it.

The cheering section from our team tent is great. I try to hit the turbos and
pass people each time I go by to provide a bit of entertainment. The first time
through the off-camber section there's simply too much traffic to attempt riding
it. I run that whole section. On subsequent laps, I ride the skinny line at
the top each time. Great fun. It takes me two or three laps to catch Dave. In
the switchbacks I call out to him to catch me. He requests that I slow down.
Heh. No sign of McPherson.

I stay upright throughout the race and end up finishing in 94th place behind my
wife's coworker Chris Nolke. I've effectively maintained my starting position
during the race. I never ended up seeing McPherson during the race, who ended
up faring better than I, finishing in 57th place.