I have two cross races under my belt so far this season. The first was weekend before last at the Juvenile Correction Facility in Golden. I kid you not, there is such a facility, and it has a sweet cross course made of mostly singletrack, and hella bumpy. I missed racing the weekend before that due to sickness, so I didn't get a call up. It didn't go as well as I had hoped. I ended up second to last in the 1-2s. I think I was 14th. Of course it was the first race I've done for a while due to work commitments, so I was happy to get back into the swing of it.
I also raced last weekend at Interlocken in Broomfield, a 10 min drive or so from my apartment in Boulder. I love this course. It's mostly grass, some pavement, two barrier sections back to back, and is basically not really technical. Last weekend there was one muddy section, that was ridable without much trouble. I, again, didn't get a call up. Too bad, because now they're calling up the top 20 in the Best All Around Rider... and I guess I didn't make the cut. I don't think it mattered too much. I got off to a pretty good start from the third row back, and just kept passing people as I went, lap by lap. I was feeling good with only three to go, thinking to myself about how I planned to get ahead of the next rider up ahead, when all of a sudden I felt my breaks slack. I had them pretty tight, and I was like, sure that I was without brakes. This took me back to my messenger days, when, yes... I submitted to riding around without my brakes in DC traffic once or twice. It never lasted long to tell you the truth. Once I carried a package down M St. that way... but I had trouble turning without causing a scene... ANYWAYS! So I was like, well, hell yeah! I'm gonna ride wid out the breaks, and see how long I can get away with it for. It seemed possible.
It turns out I was a bad ass for no real reason, although they were really slacked out... but they did work. Thank God, or I'd be currently part of a concrete ravine. It changed my cornering approach a bit. Probably for the best, really. I ended up 10th overall, and 8th in the 1-2s. The other two people.... who snuck in were a pro roadie and a pro mtn biker. So, that was fun. I'm heading up to Frisco this weekend for some more cross racing! It really feels like Fall in Colorado, and it's so great!