City Of Champions

There is really no point in talking about this race. Flats and mechanicals were the theme of the day, and a overall sluggishness set the dominant mood for the morning. Conditions were ideal for a fun training race. Deluge rains pounded the Brockton, MA "course" all night and morning right up until the gun went off. The course itself was a far cry from the typical Euro layouts we find at the UCI races. It was a long loop of muddy single track laced with sharp rocks camouflaged by the muck. There were two or three slick corners that required a foot out and your undivided attention and one set of make shift barriers that I was riding like a champ.The field size was small but not lacking in fast guys. Old man Hughes made his first race appearance in months (maybe even years?) The start was fast as they always are and I settled somewhere around 5th wheel coming into the single track section. Lucky me stuck behind Bobbles Maggie who couldn't keep his bike upright to save his life. I did my best to talk him through it and encourage him to just peddle, but his brain just wasn’t firing on all cylinders. Coming off the bridge onto the road we were a group of four with Mark sitting on the back in his rain coat and fender, just waiting for the right moment to make a move and collect his $500 check. After owning the barriers like Sven Nijs (on the hoods with no tap) I opened up a gap on the rest of group who had resorted to running. I pushed through the rest of lap, taking a moment to try and remember the last lime I had led a 'cross race in the Elites. The sluggishness eventually set in and my three temporary companions rode away with ease.After marching around in no mans land for a few laps, I decided It would be more fun to race with a group, so I sat up and waited for the group of five that was floundering about thirty seconds back. This is where the luck took a change for the worse. Flats, chain suck, bar problems; I did a lap on a strangers 52cm midget bike (sorry, little person bike) while both my Kona's where rendered unridable for a lap. (For the non-cycling crowd, just think of a clown car. that's me on a 52cm frame)After innumerable bike changes and adjustments, I was able to prance around like a dejected puppy for he last few laps. Small child doesn’t even begin to describe it.If your going to have a bad race, you might as well get dirty in the process. Back to class for a few days and then hitting the road all over again for the next big show. The thought of cleaning the bikes and packing them up again is one I'm trying to repress for as long as possible. For now, time to lace up the running shoes again!