Amesbury?

Anyone? Wavedancer? Voodoo Sally? Tripinkgirl? Any news/reports?

SheFly

Hi!
Yup, I was there! Good race! TECHNICAL... Shefly, right up your ally. They ended up taking out one steep downhill which I didn't even see. It was too sketchy with a tree or something. Part of the course was in a wooded area with lots and lots of head bobbing tree roots. It seemed like a good course for a mountain bike with a shock! The women's 3-4 race was at 12pm.. Ohhhhhhhh what a long morning it was. Mr. Trigirlpink raced at 10am so we had to get there somewhat early.
The plus: I got to watch the other races maneuver the one steep down hill section with a stair climb following it. So I had it all figured out before a warmup on it.

The downside: There ain't a heck of a lot of warmup time on the course when your race is sandwiched in between other races.

The start was a bummer for me. I'm learning more and more how important a good start is. I got tangled up with a few women who did not make it up the first little hill right at the start. I swear I was dead last.. moaning and groaning but...
I turned things around! I just started picking off women here and there each lap. My husband said it was the first time he has actually seen me "race" at cyclocross! It was awesome! I gained a lot of confidence on that course. Yeah! :D

I did it. Trigirl, I'll have to figure out who you are so I can say hi in person :) . I also had a totally lame start and got jammed at the trees (caused some cursing behind me :eek: ), but things went well after that. I also maneuvered ahead of some people and raced pretty hard. My lungs were killing me by the end = yuk. But I dug the steep downhill and managed to ride up that little steep uphill thing, which greatly pleased the spectators there. : ), 'cause most were dismounting for it. Overall I really liked the course. It had a nice mix of woods and grass, a cool wooden bridge (that made a cool sound), some dirt road, a piece of asphalt, and some nice, fast, swoopy on-camber turns (insert dirt bike "brap brap" sounds here). I have to make an effort to line up in the front next time, which will be new for me, so that I can try having a good start for a change. I got 13th out of 32.

Wavedancer was there, too. How'd you do?

Our next Chicago-land race isn't until October 21, but I get so excited reading your race reports. Please do keep 'em coming!

Sally - 13 out of 32? That's a great finish!

Sally
I know EXACTLY who you were at the race now! Your bike color! I didn't notice the VooDoo writing on the frame that would have been the giveaway!

From here on out, I'm wearing my Team Psycho Kit at races. My husband gave me grief that I'm the "no logo girl" The only down side.. It's RED black and yellow and will clash with my pink bar tape and helmet.:eek: :eek: :eek:

I had to laugh.. right before the barrier at Amesbury, someone (most likely one of the women..I hope..;) ) had dropped their clear tube of lip gloss in the grass. You know the kind with the sponge applicator? Like a mascara tube. So funny... We gotta look good, no??


Whatz up next for folks??

Thanks, Sheesh.

LOL. Lip gloss with the sponge tip? The kind I used to try to suck on as a kid?

Trigirl, I'll look for you in the Team Psycho next time. Gloucester is next for me. That should be pretty huge. I'm kind of psyched for it. For one reason or another, I've never been able to go. Last year it was because registration filled up early and they had a field limit. I learned that lesson for this year. Funny, when I started doing 'cross 5 years ago, there were on average 8 women in the class every race. That held steady until 2 years ago, when bam, there were 32 women on average in the class. Now presigning is important if they have a field limit, and run us at the same time as the 4 men, which usually results in a ton of racers out there. Some promoters this year have seen the light and will run us with the juniors (there aren't many of them), which makes much more sense.

Clashing? Yeah, we got that. I have the red helmet, pink shirt, "citron" bike, yellow tires, blue gloves, and orange socks. :eek:

So Amesbury was my first race... it was a lot of fun but I was blown away by how exhausting the course was... I was not prepared for the level of fitness that I have to be at. I didn't finish but hopefully I will next time... the learning curve may be a little steep for me with no mountain biking experience. I'm gonna keep trying, but I had a ton of fun on Sunday! I was thinking of trying Biddeford on Saturday... is anyone going to this?

Amesbury was a blast! It was my second race and much bigger fields. I started in the front of the 3/4 women and was quickly passed by most everyone. The mass bottleneck at the first dirt hill into the woods was a little intimidating, but after that, the course opened up and was really fun.

I talked with Julie Lockhart who rode the course before the race and was one of at least two people who endoed on a nasty loose downhill off camber section with a big tree in the middle that they removed before the races started. I went back and looked at it later in the afternoon and it was nasty!

I was having fun and actually passed a couple of people on the first lap, but then hit a hidden root and went down pretty hard. After re-assembling myself, I carried on and had a pretty good ride. Can't say I "raced", but managed to finish...not quite last!

Juligirl: Doing any of the course is an accomplishment. And you're looking forward to more! Hope to see you at more races. Say hello if you see me!

Sally: Good for you for riding up the bank! I'm impressed! Here's a photo of us at the start. Sally's the one with the "race face grin", I'm the one with the bewildered "omagod" look :eek:

Congrats to all of you for doing that race! From everything I've heard both here and from the NEBC women and men who raced, this course was more of a "jungle cross" than a "cyclo cross" course! I would have LOVED it :D .

That was a HUGE field, too! 32 women starting is something we usually only see at the UCI races!

Trigirlpink - nice job on your race! Gaining confidence this early in the season will certainly help you in the future races, and if you can be confident here, some of the other courses will be cake for you!

Voodoo Sally - sounds like your type of course, what with all those BMX skills ;) . Great result!

Juligirli - sorry that I didn't get to meet you on Sunday, but I heard that you met most of the women on the team! I'm glad that you had a good time, and that you want to come out again! I don't know about the race in Biddeford on Saturday since it is new, but New Gloucester on Sunday is NOTHING as technical as this was!

Wavedancer - WOOHOO! Another convert to the dark side ;) . Sounds like you still had a good time, and that my comment about Eco Cross being the toughest race might not have been quite accurate. Love the shin pads under the tights, too :D .

OK ladies - I'll be at Biddeford on Saturday and New Gloucester on Sunday, but racing in the 1/2/3 races. I hope to see some of you there!

SheFly (I LOVE 'cross!)

Great race report! Congratulations ladies! Looks like it's a little chilly up there with the kits that everyone is wearing. Must be nice! I did a road race today in 92 degree heat with 100% humidity, ugh!