UTCX #2 Weber Fairgrounds Report

Cyclocross is a special kind of fun for me in which training is a blast and the actual race itself usually stinks.  UTCX#2 at the Weber County Fairgrounds could be easily summarized as follows: 

• Great Venue and Organization
• Great Course (see the map)
• Great Weather (not typical for CX)
• REALLY fast field

Dave and I did our best to keep up with the Masters 35+ B Field.  We actually started a minute behind the B entrants and 2 minutes behind the 45+ entrants.  According to Dave, as opposed to previous years when the horse track was a major part of the course itself, this year most of the action was on the rolling grass in and around the track.  Generally it felt fast, and during the cool down one of our fellow racers commented that this didn't provide many chances for rest during the race.

My biggest bobble of the day was not getting off the bike quick enough on a big hop up a couple of railroad ties and so I ended up hitting it at speed with my front tire. This ultimately ended up flatting the tubular (though I was able to ride it out), but the more immediate trouble was that it also knocked my chain off. 

Fortunately, Tim had forewarned us that a couple of the 45+ guys would lap us, and that they certainly did do.  Otherwise I felt like Dave and I had a pretty good day in a very strong field where it's no shame to count up to our names from the bottom of the finisher list rather than from the top.

A special thanks to my son Oliver for providing the pictures.