This year I got TWO pint glasses

at Charm City Cross, my sentimental favorite race of the fall season.  This is the one I cut my teeth on a few years back, and now we witness the growth of the sport, with the numbers of BPVC participants doubled since last year.  Six of us made the trek to Druid Hill Park; 4 of us raced among other geezers in the Masters B pack, one (newbie) in the Cat 4 race, and the other (newbie) in the Women's Master's Race.  Mix in some acquaintances, friends, family, fans, and other supporters and you've got a guaranteed good time on a Sunday morning in Baltimore.  Since my family had other things to do, K asked that I bring home 2 pint glasses, as last year's is a favorite in the glassware collection, such as it is.

Unfortunately, I had to buy them.  No winnings here.  Happy to say I finished in the top 100.  76th, to be exact, and some 85 people finished out of 104 starters, so I was in McCain grad class territory.

Even though I've only managed to get in weekend rides this past month, the time spent working on technique has definitely paid off, as I had my best start ever and felt great during the first lap.  The downside is that those weekend rides don't do much for my endurance, so my performance essentially followed the same downward arc as my 15 year old Makita drill--the one with the big heavy battery that holds a solid charge for about one lap of a cyclocross race and then just whirs down steadily until the last bits of energy in the last lap are spent among the dudes warming up for the next race.  'Scuse me fellas--I'm still racing here.  As I was fading, KrossmasterK was ragin', until he rolled his tire and ended his race.  And as I was fading some more, Coppi Jim passed me with authority but I kept him in my sights to maintain a respectable finish.  So strong start, + weak finish = I've got a lot of work to do.

The bike was solid, too, as I paid some attention to it these past two weeks instead of neglecting the  machine, as has been my MO of late.  Handling on the course was definitely spot on, with no biffs or mechanicals, as sometimes unfamiliarity with the venue and lack of time on the ride breeds sketchiness. Neither was an issue today.  Only the engine was lacking.

Which will come with time.  Or not.  In any case, the sheer fun of riding a fast bike on undulating (not treacherous) terrain yields a sweet spot that has few experiences in sport that equal it.  More to come this fall, with Ed Sander next week and a three week break before DCCX.  Out of town travel will prevent the gem from last year to be repeated (Rockburn - great course), then finish up with Tacchino and Reston in late November and early December.

Icing on the cake is the buena gente that I see at all of these races--teammates, the group I train with at Takoma Park MS, the other acquaintances that I only know through bikin' and bloggin'.  Not the usual group of preening aggros that tend to define the racing culture, and that's a good thing.  I know.  I was one of them once.