Thursday, September 18, 2008

Cross season 08

It's that time of year again and while most of you are still tri training and racing, I'm thinking It's time to pull my cross bike down and get jiggy with it. I completely suck at this sport
and this is the honest truth. Just ask Kathy, or Gary, or Cort. I toe the line with 2 dozen or so other women with quads of steel and oodles of experience and massively great single track cycling skills and then there's me. The triathlete. I look like a lemon in a crate of clementines.
Riding in your areobars all summer on smooth pavement averaging a HR that is manageable enough to carry on a conversation or pop in a Clif Blok, is not conducive to cross racing.
This will be season 3 for me and I'm hoping that in the least, I remember some of my cross skills.
I will be picky about what I will sign up for being privy to most of the courses offered around here.

The goals will be simple:

Avoid any courses with pee my pants descents
Too many sand pits
No woods to go hide and cry in
Pea stone gravel

16 comments:

kerrie said...

ha ha birthday girl! i like your thinking - i think we should get together and design some courses!!

Pedergraham said...

I was wondering if you were going to race cross this year. I will live vicariously through you. (Otherwise I would be peeing my pants on the way to the race and hiding in the woods the ENTIRE time.)

Anonymous said...

Your seat is too high!

Cy said...

CX is a blast. I did it several years ago, but ended up lending my cx bike to a friend this season as I try to stay in one piece for Hawaii. If I can still walk after that race, maybe I'll jump in for some fun.

Have a blast :-)

Mel said...

I HIGHLY doubt you suck at ANYTHING:) That actually looks like fun...it is like you are a stunt girl:) DO you do wheelies too??

Marit C-L said...

I've always thought that Cross was cool! Good for you - enjoy! Uh, good luck with the descents and sand. Yep, those would be a killer for me. :)

Anonymous said...

CX season starts tomorrow here!!! Ohh.....well, not sure I will be crossing this year now, but I DO LOVE IT and if I get better, I will try to jump in and race. Here in Chicago, I am a fair -weather racer - State Championships here are ALWAYS in December under inches of ice/snow! ICK. :) JEN H.

Eileen Swanson said...

Oooo FUN! Cool pic too ;-)

BreeWee said...

I want to do that SO bad, it looks like the most fun you can have on a bike! Oh man, you have me wishing Hawaii had a cx (is that what you call it) season!

Have fun, enjoy it, keep posting photos too, I love it! It looks so much fun...

BarĂ³n de Benta'ko Erreka said...

Saddle too high¡
Cx is funny¡

Courtenay said...

woooooo cross-racing triathletes! i love it!

i was sposed to do my first cx race of the season this past weekend but i went to portland for ag nationals instead... i felt a little bit lame for that, which is funny.

have a blast this season and i can't wait to read about it. and rest assured i will be posting gory details about how i get SPANKED by the real cross-racers in my races. but it's so fun out there, i don't care if i am worst place!

nice photo.

GCDavid said...

C'mon. It's not so bad. When you suck on the bike, just think about how you'd crush them on the swim and run!

Bedford next weekend. 12 miles from home. No excuses. Suck it up.

Trigirlpink said...

Bedford has that pee your pants downhill and I saw LOTS OF GUYS rolling down that thing. Head over heels. Do I Remember Rob with a soot black face???? eeeeeeek!

GCDavid said...

I heard the downhill was taken out (seriously). Besides, you could always RUN down the hill, since that seems to be what you've spent most of your time doing.

Trigirlpink said...

since that seems to be what you've spent most of your time doing.

Nice Gary... Just echo to the world I'm a spineless wonder....
and I'll have you know I was riding in the dark with a head light in the trails at Thoreau last Oct. so I'm not a complete wuss.

GCDavid said...

Easy there sister. Let's all calm down. See you out there on Sunday!