and so my season...

begins. my c-cross season. it was at kirtland park in cleveland, near east fifty fifth street. near the ghetto. so if you wanted an ice cold colt forty-five, you'd get hooked up.

i rode the slider. the good news is that my solution worked. the chain didn't move during the whole race. it could use some modification, but i'm not an engineer.

the pics are not of me. i took these after i was done racing. most of them are of the a class and the lead group; which had solo goat in it. i put these in order of the course, instead of the order i took them, so you get an idea of the course.

after the start there were a couple of switchbacks, and then we have the first run up at the start...


went around a baseball field, and ran into this switchback...

yes, that's a blanket wrapped around a tree. much help. this was a very sharp one-eighty down hill turn. after our race, it got really slippery; that rear tires were falling off the course. luckily no one hit the tree. i was doing some skidding around this turn, and once i passed a racer here. they got off there bike to run it, and i grabbed the inside, and kept going. got complimented on that one, that's what cool people do.

this is the barrier right after the tree...


jump the barrier, run down and keep going...


then the next run up after the switchback section, and down the hill to the right...


around the statue, and up this little hill...

(this woman was in the b class, and i was behind her most of the time. she was riding a single speed surly cross)

and then into this open field with more switchbacks...


here are the 'standings'. i put this in quotes, because i think they screwed up the c class. the woman i was behind got in another two laps after me, and she is listed with eight, and i have five. something is not right, but i don't care. i felt really good. i should have done the b class for a better work out. i don't know what my problem is...why is it that i catch and pass people on the run ups? i started near the rear of the pack. hung on to a couple of wheels around the switchbacks, and on the run up i passed two riders, and then again on the next lap on the first run up i passed another two riders. then the single speed woman and i played cat and mouse all ride.

it was a great time. i counted about four single speed cross bikes there.