Release the Hounds!

I officially kicked off the Voodoo/DC Cross season last Thursday by participating in the last race of the Mead cross series in Northern Colorado. It was 45 minutes of suffering the likes I cannot recall. It started with 30+ of us going into the first barrier, myself about 20th. Now, when 30 people go into a barrier, you more or less stop, step off your bike and walk over it. By the time the group came into in open road section, seven riders where essentially gone. Those where clearly the strongest and smartest of the bunch who worked for the whole shot. In the road section, I buried myself trying to bridge the gap to no avail, but ended up alone for a few laps until the group behind finally made it back up to me. The rest of the race was us chasers needlessly beating up on each other. Good times!! I think I finished somewhere around the top 10. The barriers were tall and it seemed like people were pilling into them with some frequency. Bleeding was a-plenty. I was lucky enough not to draw blood on my first competitive outing, but I suppose, it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when in cross. That was my 2005 baptism by fire and I can't wait to do it all over again this weekend.
Later, Steve