FLCC> CX at Brewery Ommegang

[Steve Edgar]

Matt DeLisa and I traveled to event 3 of the CNY Cyclocross Series,  
Brewery Ommegang, just South of Cooperstown.  Also there were Jeremy,  
Maria and Scott, and John Compton.

I rode the Open Men category, so I could race for an hour instead of  
45 minutes.  Unsure of my fitness, I started at the back of the 44  
rider field, and tried to put in consistent and steady laps at the  
highest pace I dared.

I like to wear a watch which does split times, and highly recommend  
this to other cross racers.  It is fun to look at your lap times  
after the race, and see how fast you were going relative to how you  
were feeling.

Here are mine ...

5:37 (delayed by traffic at the start)
5:20 (rolling well)
5:17 (going hard, but feeling okay)
5:30 (oh.. maybe I was going too fast those last 2 laps)
5:26
5:28
5:36 (losing endurance)
5:43 (could be trouble)
5:35 (bouncing back a bit)
5:33
5:24 (use everything left)

The leaders had lap times around 5:00.  I got lapped by 7 riders, one  
of which was Jeremy (who I think was 6th).

I worked my way up to 17th.  Matt was 12th, several minutes ahead of me.

Promoter Greg Drumm and his crew put on quite an event.  There was a  
huge tent with tables and chairs, and a sound system.  The course had  
a hairpin corner which went through the tent, Belgian cross style.   
(This was way cool.)

The course was essentially two sections... a smooth twisty section on  
grass, and a bumpy single/double track bumpy section around the  
outside of a field.  There were two challenging uphill sections in  
the field.

It was fog and drizzle when Matt and I left Ithaca, but we raced  
under sunny skies and warm weather.  We had a great time.

Matt bought some beer after the event.  I am more tequila than beer  
connoisseur, but can attest that this upscale Belgian style brew is  
very, very good.

It is good to be racing again.  Next up is Syracuse Grand Prix.

-- Steve