Most you know that last weekend Louisville, KY hosted the world championship cyclocross race. John, Todd and I drove down to see the activities. The ride down was challenging as we drove through a snow squall and the "southern" DOTs were not exactly ready for the snow. We left at 6am, expected to arrive at 9:30 but didn't make it till 11am.
We caught the second half of the women's championship race. Vos was already well out front, but we got to see Compton make her run from 7th up to 2nd. And some last lap theatrics between 3rd and 4th places. We then saw the U23 men and finally the big men's race.
The course was awesome. And hard! I would have struggled on this course. Lots of mud but lots of steep hills and off-camber type stuff. Mix in some runups and it was a challenging, slippery course. And there was snow on the ground in the morning that eventually melted away. It was cold, it snowed some more, and it was generally nasty conditions. In other words, perfect.
That other thing that was evident is exactly how good these guys (and gals) really are. They are FAST. I think you develop a whole other appreciation for their skill and talent by seeing them in person. Sven Nys won the men's race. Belgiums and Dutch dominated the front of the field. The crowd was rowdy but respectful. Most were cyclists themselves. The food line was impossibly long. And this event was special since the Ohio river was threatening to flood the course; events on Sunday had to be compressed on Saturday since the course wouldn't have lasted that long.
Overall the experience was a total blast. I am still just giddy. It will be one of those special experiences I'll remember my whole life.
On the flip side, my own riding is going miserably. This has been the winter from hell. We've basically had snow on the ground since Dec 22 with maybe only 2-3 days of clear, dry roads in between. We had a stretch where it snowed 14 of 16 consecutive days. Each day bringing 1" or 2" -- not much, but enough to mess up the roads. And it has been unusually cold and windy. I like snow/winter riding, but this is too much. My body is tired of being cold and pushing through snow. I'm ready for warm sunshine.
This weekend the roads were finally clear. Sun but chilly 30deg on Saturday and a slightly cloudier but warmer Sunday. I should have logged 6 hrs on one day and 3hrs on the other. But I'm stuck inside saddled with a cold. I tried riding yesterday and just didn't have the energy to go more than an hour. I'll rest up today.
I had a slight hamstring pull while trying to lift. I slipped on an icy sidewalk and tweaked my knee. We've had 3 interview candidates and a big guest speaker and a trustee dinner over the last two weeks. So I am out late many nights eating too much food and not riding. And my return to teaching has left me scrambling to stay up with grading -- working weekends and late at night. I just can't seem to get my training program on track. 11 weeks away till Cohutta ... I've got to get hammering.
Two weeks ago I took Eli to Ray's Indoor Mountain Bike park. It was lots of fun. Challenging to stay on all the skinnies, but lots of fun. I had to drag Eli out the door after 4 hours of riding. Glad we did that.
