If you’re sick of my monster long posts, this one will be as short as short as the 2024 cyclocross season, a quick “one and done”. I saved the best race on the calendar for my one opportunity to race this year.
For a variety of reasons, mostly due to a niggling shoulder issue (self diagnosis, muscular imbalance with nerve impingement) I believe that harks back a whole year to the two races in 2023 at Hyattsville and exacerbated all summer from the sailing season (which I may still summarize) I did not want to race this year. I was very circumspect about the jerky forces on the body during a cross race so decided to sit the season out and let the shoulder issue resolve, which gave me the time to do some other really fun sailing and bikepacking.
I really love the Capital ‘Cross Classic held at Lake Fairfax in northern Virginia. It’s a great course, great vibe and really, really well run by legend Bruce Buckley. It is always a must do. After a week of cold weather, it broke and we had a 60+ degree race day. Racing in cold rain and mud might make you feel a little bit Belgian, but it’s pretty nice to race in the summer kit especially when you have not yet adjusted to winter. Plus with so little rain all fall, it was bone dry (dusty!) and the course was wicked fast. Wheeee!
I raced in the 60+ field mostly because it’s a later start which would be warmer and I carpooled with a teamie who was racing in the 50+ (they have the same start). I did not think I would do particularly well because that field is open (including often Cat 1/2 which are way better than I). Surprisingly, I ended up my usual mid pack, 16/30, but with a 458 point score; for me anything under 500 is good and this was lower than from any race last year. If I look at my lap times and project them onto the 40+ 3/4/5 field (the one I typically like to race for reasons I’ve mentioned) I would have been ~40/50, a very lackluster performance. So I’m not really sure why I had such a good point score. The points calculation is a bit of mystery to me, but it is very much like high point scoring for a long series in sailing where the points are weighted by the “quality” of the field (total numbers and their respective prior points). But meh, doesn’t matter, I was just in it for the fun and to hang out with fellow ABRTers, and it did not disappoint. Too hot for the Elf Suit this year though!
Like the spring, the fall is packed with so many interesting opportunities, my dream of a “full on” cyclocross season will just have to wait yet another year.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/13074381321
