FLCC> Panella 'Cross Race, Masters

[Swancycles at aol.com]

Karl Faruzel has long been an inspiration for  'cross. His creativity and his 
dedication have made the Greene race an  annual part of even my limited 
'cross schedule. If I only do one race all  season, it is Karl's race. Now there's 
a problem. My 'cross calendar  just became twice as long ! Karl and his 
growing crew of race promoting  aficionados squeezed every ounce of challenge and 
enjoyment out of the driving  range of the Ely Park Golf Course with an 
amusement park ride of a course  that threw everything at the racers. 
    Chilly, and with a mist in the air is not weather  that makes most of us 
want to go out and race. 'Cross riders though, know that  they will be putting 
forth a lot of effort, and thus produce plenty of  warmth.  An important 
question before every race is "what to wear". An  important piece of advice for 
cold weather is "I never dropped out of a race  because I was too warm..."Just 
get out the door and do it.
    We blasted off at the start and Karl got the  hole-shot while I was back 
in 4th or 5th through the zig-zag start/finish area.  It was just as well, 
since nobody ever would have thought to go as fast down the  power line section 
and around the greasy hairpin turns as Karl did. Only  when we started to do 
some uphills did I move up and close the gap to him. We  opened a small gap on a 
group that included Greg Drum and Ernie Bayles and Nick  Suozzo. On the 
second lap I looked back (or across on the death spiral section)  and saw that 
Ernie had separated himself from the others and was surely coming  up to us. Lap 3 
I didn't see Ernie. Hmmmmm....I expect his race report will  elucidate, but 
from what I heard, his worn tires may have lacked proper grip in  the difficult 
corners, leading him to explore places the rest of us never went. 
    Karl and I rode a steady effort at the front. He  roasted me in certain 
sections, showing that he is a master of technique, has  good bike handling 
skills, and that he has much longer legs than I. He bunny  hopped a triple 
barrier section. He outran me up a double barrier run-up, and he  almost always got 
a bike length or two on the sharpest hairpins in the death  spirals. But I 
could always close it back up on the rideable uphills. We were in  it to the 
finish as long as neither of us made any big mistakes and crashed or  broke bike 
parts. Alas, the finish was a series of sharp hairpins and Karl was  not to be 
passed. Home course advantage ? Maybe. Worthy winner ? Definitely. 
    There were numerous Ithacans in all categories. I  hope they write 
reports. They all have stories. Let's hear.
    And by the way, Thanks to Matt Howey and Steve  Edgar for making the 
'Cross Series happen. We're pretty lucky to have had races  close to home every 
weekend. Thanks to Louis Garneau for helping to support  a grass roots series.
 
Glenn
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