Rome Winter Cyclocross Series Race #1

The cold only lasts the first 15 minutes, so basically it is all mental. At 11am in Eden Valley, site of the 2010 Rome, GA winter cyclocross series presented by Cycle Therapy, it was probably around 26 degrees with a wind chill of 17 degrees. The ground was frozen but the sun was shining. The pond was frozen over, but the heaters under the tent and in the RV were toasty.

The course included a short paved section, a short dirt steep run up the dam, lots of dirt track, some fields with chicanes, 3 dismounts and a nice section of whoops/bermed s curve to round it out. At first it was slow going because of the course but it loosened up over the hour to be a slushy mud in some places. I was using Challenge Fango 34's on box rims and they hooked up nicely.

Going for an hour in any condition is tough but you have to stay focused on the effort and course.

In the end, the soup was good and the race felty great. It is such a delight to still be racing cross in January.

I hope we have lots of like minded folks who want to get out of the base training rut, or who want to have a bunch of fun on a Sunday. Come on out, it is a cross celebration!