Vaulting the barriers on the upper section of the course, right next to the crowded dining area. The other set of barriers were bunny-hopable if you had the balls to do it, I did not.
After a summer plagued with injuries; my neck, back and hip issues are finally on the mend. I was able to string together a couple solid weeks of training with the idea of salvaging my season via cyclocross.
The Folsom Cyclebration is weekend long event offering road, mountain and cyclocross racing. The events sprawls across several places in Folsom and offers a carnival-type atmosphere with vendor tents and barbecues. It’s something anyone interested in bike racing should check out and support in the future.
The cyclocross race took place on the Folsom Rodeo and Zoo grounds. Oddly right down the street from Folsom Prison. Folsom must like to keep their caged animals and criminals in the same place. However there were loose chickens running all over the course. Not a good sign for keeping things “caged” in Folsom.
Check out the dude with the sweet disc wheel. Only in a single speed race!
The course was mostly flat, with a great mix of grass, rodeo dirt, pavement and a very technical, downhill loose-loamy section. There were two places with barriers. The only thing missing was a run-up section. I was doing the Single Speed race and ran a 38×17, but in hind-sight could have run a 38×16 or even harder. However, the easy gear was nice for blasting out of the slow corners all-over course.
Since I haven’t raced my cross bike in a couple years and hadn’t raced my bike period in couple months, my plan was just to sit in and let the race unfold. I marked the leaders early on and then just hung-out in 3rd position for most of the race, sorta re-acclimatizing with cyclocross racing. I rested up on the final lap with a plan to attack on the pavement leading into the finish. However bikes got tangled up with fellow racer Sage Bauers (Team Beer) in the dash for line. Sage took 1st and I took 2nd.
I was happy with my form with only a few weeks under my belt, and I still had enough in the tank to race the P1/2 Crit in Folsom a few hours later. Justin Rossi will follow up soon with all the gritty details on that race.
2 comments
Nice work, Nick!
That was a great race… never saw you comming. Good Job!