Mile High Urban Cross Chaos

Mile High Urban Cross Chaos

    Last weekend was the first inaugural Mile High Urban Cross Chaos, and I am super happy I got to race on this totally different course. I had never heard of urban cross before this, and couldn’t find much information about it, so I didn’t know what to expect. I thought it would be on all road and maybe have a flyover or a restaurant to go through. It was almost the opposite of what I expected. It had a challenging rock garden, dirt jumps, wood chips, logs, two run ups, a sand pit, and barriers all in one of the two small dirt sections halfway through the course. The best part of this course was that registration was in a small bar so we could get out of the 28 degree weather. Sitting in the bar eating some french fries, thawing out after my race was icing on the cake to a great course.
    My teammate Stuart and I got to the course two hours before my start, and the second we opened the car doors we knew it was going to be a very cold race. We both registered, got our timing chips, and went back to the car to get dressed. It was so cold out that I had to wear arm warmers under my long sleeve skinsuit along with my base layer, leg warmers, and my warmest gloves with liners underneath. When we finally got dressed, we went to pre ride the course. The first thing I noticed was the long straight sections of road. I wasn’t exactly excited to ride up and down the same street, but the other sections of the course would make up for it. The first section of dirt was a couple of U turns through some eight foot tall bulldozer tires. It was fairly muddy, especially where the dirt gave way to pavement. I knew the pavement would be extra slick from the mud so I went well within my limits around it. Next there were two more switchbacks on the pavement, and like the transition from mud to sidewalk they were muddy. Around a building we came to another mud section. I was surprised it they were able to pack eight features into an area that was so small. I really like this section because it was very technical, and required a lot of running. That was where all the time would be gained or lost in the race. After that mud section it was just a two straight aways linked by a switch back, so there was plenty of place to sprint.
    After the pre ride I put on more clothes for warm up and set up the trainer. It was still around 30 degrees, and our hands were freezing mostly because it took 20 minutes just to get the bike onto the stupid trainer. That was was the last straw and my dad finally gave in and decided it was a good idea to get a new trainer. Once we finally got the bike on I started my warm up, and with my dad timing I got a perfect warm up. The only problem was that the category four race was behind schedule so I had to wait for ten extra minutes, which let me cool down almost completely. When we did start I could tell I had lost a lot of my warm up, but it didn’t matter because of the large amount of road at the start. When we got to the section with all of the features I was around tenth place. But in a matter of seconds there was a pile up, and because I chose a different line I got around it. The next time I passed my dad he just yelled “What happened to everyone else?” I just smiled and stayed steady.
    The next two laps were uneventful, and I was just cruising along at a fairly high pace. I was barely feeling any pain, and was not thinking about anything. I felt like a machine, and felt like I could hold the pace forever, but then I saw that I had seven more laps to go. I didn’t know if I could stay on that pace, but I had faith in my training and pushed on. I was slowly gaining time, but only about a second every lap. By the fifth lap I had about 20 seconds on the rest of the field. My lungs and legs still were almost painless, but my arms felt like noodles from carrying my bike through the long running section. Because my arms were so tired, I rolled it through the runups. It was a big mistake, and I dropped my chain. The 20 second gap I had built up turned into a three second gap. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get another gap, but before I made finished the lap I looked back and saw an eight second gap. I was pulling away without giving away any more energy than before. Soon enough I had another 20 second gap, and slowed down to have a little fun and be safe through the technical section.
    On the ninth lap I was surprised to see someone passing me. But I didn’t have to pursue, because he was in the single speed category. Every time I see the singlespeed races I get blown away at how fast they go. At this race they started 30 seconds behind, and  the first place racer finished 30 seconds ahead of me. I tried to hold one of the single speeders wheel, but could only do it for about 100 yards before he dropped me. As I started my last lap I was passed by two more single speeders, but this time I was able to hold their wheel for half a lap. They dropped me just before the section full of features. This time when I looked back I saw the second place rider in my category. He was only about ten seconds back, so I buried myself on the run ups. I hit the road for the last time, and hammered my way toward the finish. I went around the last switch back, and could see how far back second was. I got out of the saddle and sprinted toward the line. I looked back to see him about fifteen seconds back, and crossed the finish line with my hands up.
    I was pretty excited to win my second race in a row, and got some pretty awesome prizes. I got a jersey, a handmade sculpture made out of bike parts, a jar, a certificate to say I won, and a six pack. My dad was pretty happy that I won a six pack. I almost didn’t get it cause I was underage, but they let my dad have it. This race was the second race where I was off the front the whole time, and I am believing in myself a lot more because of it. I have had so many problems with mechanicals, injuries, and asthma attacks that I stop believing I could even stay with the leaders of a race. I am starting to race smarter, and am learning my limits. Knowing my limits and lack experience was the biggest thing I was missing, but now that I have some more experience on the front I think I can win more races.