race report: Sucker Brook 'Cross, 20. September 2009

First things first: Auburn, NH is NOT off Route 95. I should have relied on MapQuest like I did last year, but unfortunately, I printed the promoter's directions (which said 95 not 93), and was halfway to Portsmouth before I realized the mistake. That's what I get for a. not MapQuesting and b. not being from here. I then proceeded to grumble and grouse my way through the back roads (thank heavens for the road atlas in my car) until I reached 93. Fortunately, I'd hit the road with time to spare, and arrived at the race at 7:48--

"7:48?!?! Where... where... WHERE IS MY CHAMOIS?!?!"

--yeah, um, sorry, where was I? Oh right, finally in Auburn, after getting lost. Reg was mercifully quick (I probably avoided the 7:30 crowds), and I pinned, stuck on the headphones, and got a good lap in. OH MY GOD I LOVE THAT COURSE. The off-camber was a bit steeper than I remembered it being last year (then again, last year I was sorta like "Whaaaa where am I?!?! hold me" for my first few races; now I'm like "oh right, I'm in the pain cave, yo").

Anyway, the start. Was stuck behind some folks--guhhhh I wish more races would stage by 'crossresults--and also, uphill starts aren't my strong suit, even when paved (seriously, give me a muddy track or flat grassy field any day of the week). Once I got to the gravel/grass, I started battling for position and taking places back. Didn't do a terrible job, either. At one point (I think lap 2?) I was battling Julie from IBC. I have NEVER fought it out with her--she is a BEAST. She ultimately passed me, but damn, that was rad. (Also glad to see her having a good race after coming back from an injury.) Also, I stayed in front of her teammate who beat me last week.

The other rad thing about the race was that, for me, it was technically pretty solid. My PSI choice (34/32 on Mud2/Jet) worked fantastically on both the grass and the doubletrack dirt/rocks. A couple other people got flats, so I was glad I stayed up in the 30s. I didn't ride the first sand pit section--I ran half and remounted on the grass area--which is what most offroad riders would consider the sissy line, but was what I knew would work for me. Yeah, I probably lost one place to Sally (I already told her I'd be out for blood next time, hehe) because she was screaming through the sand each time, but I didn't lose two or three places from crashing in it halfway through... that would have sucked more. In fact, I actually didn't crash at all. I had one minor mech issue--a shifting thing that I fixed in five seconds--and one near-miss, but I righted myself and didn't go down.

Mentally, I was also with it, though when I reached the point of nausea halfway through the last lap I may have dialed back a little more than I should have; the gap between Sally and me widened as a result. What I needed to do was catch her in the barriers and gap her BEFORE the sand, but I wasn't thinking clearly and, naturally, my dumb plan to recover on the pre-sand doubletrack and THEN attack fell through.

It was otherwise a smart race for me, though, and I snuck into 10th (out of 32 starters, including some chicks who've scored Verge podiums in the past) within 2:00 of the leader. Second top 10 3/4 finish this year--hell, EVER--so I'm delighted with the result.