Look Both Ways Before You 'Cross the Street

This was the third year of the Red Barn Classic cyclo-cross race hosted by my friend Erik Erickson. (He moonlights as a marauding viking in his spare time, frequently terrorizing Eagan and Roseville.) The course is much the same as in past years. It is flat, with many turns, several barriers and a wicked run-up (see below). The hill is about thirty feet high and extends back ten feet, a 3:1 slope for you algebra students. After two good races this year, I was looking forward to another chance to race, but a bit apprehensive to be racing a B race where I would be racing against Category 3 and 4 riders, rather than just Cat. 4. Minnesota races usually bunch riders together into A, B and C races, rather than riders racing in each category in Wisconsin.









The conditions in the morning were chilly, but the races started at 12:00, 12:45 and 1:45, so it would warm up to a great race temperature. My girlfriend Kathryn came along for the weekend, and brought her bike along, so we rode together for my warm up. I felt good warming up and rode the course a time or two before the C race started to get a feel for some of the changes to the course. The course was lengthened a bit to two kilometers per lap with the addition of two hairpin turns. This was difficult to navigate with the narrow tree farm roads, but I managed to figure out a good line.





After the C race, and a solid third place for another Concordia alum Aaron Kadera despite a broken spoke, it was my time to shine, or at least turn the light on. I lined up in front so I hopefully wouldn't get stuck behind slower traffic and have to pass the other fifty riders. It took me a bit to get clipped in and I quickly dropped to 20th. No problem, I should be faster than the rest, and I knew the course well. The course allowed for many places to pass with several straight-aways and a few wide corners. I picked off several riders on the first lap and quickly got back into the top ten. My second lap was also solid and I moved up very quickly. Maybe the field wasn't as strong as I was dreading. I think some time at the beginning of the third lap, I realized that I was second, and after passing the first-place rider, I was logically in first. I pulled the entire lap, and after deciding I didn't like riding in first in what became a pretty stiff wind, I let him pull the next lap. At the end of the lap, six laps to go, I somehow dropped my chain dismounting before the big hill. It took me only a little time to remount and get my chain back on the ring while on my bike, but I'd given a few seconds to the other rider, and I wasn't able to get those seconds back. We were even the next four laps, he didn't gain and I didn't lose time and distance. With three laps to go, I realized that I had a huge gap back to the third place rider and I wasn't gaining any time on the lead rider, so I decided to take it easy to ensure I had my second place locked up. I came in easily in second after a good 45 minute battle.



I spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying some good chili, a Red Barn CX tradition, on the roof where I was able to watch most of the A race. It was good to see Erik and Mark, another Concordia friend who has been in the Peace Corps since graduating three years ago.



We left the tree farm for a busy evening of seeing other friends and relatives. Erik's wife Shana wasn't able to make it to the farm because she is an assistant coach for women's swimming at St. Catherine's in the Cities and her team had a meet all day. We stopped by for a little while to see Shana and their daughter Anja. Next, we met Kathryn's mom, aunt and her uncle, who was in town from Texas, whom she hadn't seen for a while. It was nice for me to meet them and for her to catch up. After supper with them at Perkins', we stopped by Hudson to see Kathryn's cousin Sara, her husband Omar, and their new two-month-old Amir. We stopped in Hudson last winter after a trip to the Cities, but Omar was protecting the fine citizens of Woodbury, MN, so it was nice to meet him. At the respectable hour of 9:00p, we finally left for home. We only saw one live deer on the way and arrived home at 1:00a. Another busy trip for Kathryn and Peter.



Go to http://redbarncx.blogspot.com/ for more race coverage.