Cross Crusade # 1, Portland, OR

mood: ecstatic

I had a nice calm morning to gather everything up, make a few last-minute wardrobe adjustments based on the weather report and enjoy a simple breakfast of oatmeal, yogurt, juice and coffee before my sister Sari came and picked me and Liz up at 11:30 in her truck.

Once at Alpenrose, Sari and Liz situated themselves in bleachers seats inside the velodrome. I alternated between checking out various parts of the course on foot and chatting with Liz, Sari and pal Lynne for the first twenty minutes or so. Liz and I checked out a little of the Singlespeed race and I led Liz around to the end of the velodrome and showed her where the sick run-up was that I had tried out at the last cross clinic. Liz's eyes grew big and she gasped, "You have to run up THAT?"

"Well," I replied, "I plan to walk. But yes." We stuck around and watched as the Singlespeed class (almost entirely men) made their way around the course to the run-up, and we cheered our friend Joel Metz mightily as he clambered his way up the more than 45-degree hill of clodded, hard-dried mud. Then I excused myself to go do some easy spinning as a warmup. At the conclusion of the Singlespeed race the course was opened for a very brief practice lap, so I rode the part I hadn't seen at the clinics and called it good. I didn't want to totally blow up before my race. While out on my warmups, I ran into -- gasp! -- another Bella. Kari (Carrie?) and I greeted each other and chatted briefly before wishing each other a good race and heading off to complete our respective warmups.

Twenty minutes later, I was near the back of a huge field of all the combined womens' classes (A's, B's, Masters 35's and 45's, and Beginners). We chatted amiably among ourselves while we waited to begin. I was happy to see my co-worker Hazel line up next to me on a bike she'd finished building up earlier that morning (!!). She said this was her first cross race and she wasn't seriously planning on finishing. Then, we were off.

Although it had rained overnight, the course was mostly dry by the time of the race, with only a few damp patches of something that had once been mud. This made the course fast -- and bumpy. In short, much of it was similar to the feel of the course at short-track. The primary difference was that the 'cross course was less technical and success depended more on just going hard, rather than on any special bike-handling skill. Reminding myself to stay within my own race, I tried hard to keep a steady (albeit slow) rhythm throughout the event. My goal was to finish, period. If I was able to complete three full laps, that would be bonus. If I could only complete two, well, fine.

The sick runup was about three-quarters of the way through the lap. And it was very, very hard. I treated it like a sort of rock wall and just looked for foot-holds on the way up each time. And yes, I walked. There was no way I was running up that hill or I would simply blow up. To my surprise and delight, some of my cycling friends (Joel, plus assorted folks from Team Cthulu, Team Beer, and a couple of kids from PSU Cycling -- go Vikings!) and even a co-worker of mine were at the top of the runup. When I pulled in, dismounted and appeared at the bottom they all screamed my name and shouted all kinds of encouragement, which I heard like bits of words phasing in and out, like an odd sort of petit mal seizure, between the loud clangs of dozens of cowbells. The noise was deafening, a little terrifying at first and then sort of thrilling; and I am convinced it helped me get up the hill. I made my way through the course laid out inside the velodrome, and was so happy to hear Liz, Sari and Lynne yelling for me as I dismounted and leapt over the barriers and completed my first lap.

As I began my second lap, I shouted out to a spectator, "Time?" -- he looked at his watch and yelled back, "Two-twenty-five!" That told me I could definitely do a second lap, and MIGHT be able to complete a third lap if an official didn't pull me first. All I needed to do was to keep going.

The second lap was a little harder physically, but I found better lines and was able to avoid getting hung up behind too many geared riders because the field had spread out more. Down in the turnaround at the base of the parking lot I skidded a tiny bit in some damp mud but otherwise managed to hang on. More shouts of encouragement from other members of Team Beer who had assembled in the grassy field near the pit area.
The runup was insane, and much harder the second time. This time, Liz was standing at the top of the runup and cheered me on. I didn't see her among the dozens and dozens of spectators but I definitely heard her!

And just like that I was back in the velodrome finishing a second lap. The counter at the line indicated that there was one lap to go, so I went for it. Impossibly hard! I lost momentum getting stuck behind a junior who struggled to find a working gear (note to self: race Singlespeed class next year) and had to walk a little distance up a small, off-camber incline. As I re-mounted my bike, a photographer saw my tired look and suggested with a smile, "hey, you're near the pit, maybe they can do a body swap for ya." I laughed in spite of myself as I passed the neat rows of stacked wheels in the pit.

I found my momentum again, enough to get me around the parking lot and back to the --UGH! -- runup. This time it felt impossible, and every step up was a struggle. But people were screaming and cheering me on and ringing cowbells in my ears, and somehow I made it to the top, and back into the velodrome for a final pass.

A sloppy pair of barrier hops in the velodrome, and suddenly I was using my very last bit of energy to push across the line. I had ridden the entire time, and as a bonus I had completed three laps. I was insane with delight, and exhausted by the effort. This was the sickest thing by far that I have ever done on a bicycle. And the scary part is, I want to do it again. Carrie and I met up again at the finish and congratulated each other. She said the course had been challenging and that she was feeling pretty done. I hope there will be an opportunity for me to meet other Bellas at future Cross Crusade races and actually have a little more time to talk. Today I was on a tight deadline because my sister (my ride) had to get back as soon as my race was done, so I had to leave.

Results? They'll be posted later online at the OBRA Web site. I assume I finished at the very back of the pack, and I do not care in the least. I rode the full time, I got in three full laps on a challenging course in a discipline I'd never raced before; and I am very, VERY happy.