Ah, Gloucester. Day 1. It is a very important and momentous day for me, as, it is the one year anniversary of my introduction to cyclocross. Until Gloucester (Day 1) of 2013, I had never seen a CX race. On that day, I saw 2 pile-ups right on the pavement at the start, and saw some 35+ guy snap his ankle at an angle that would make gumby cringe. This is where it all began…

One year later, 19 CX races later, I am racing the Women’s Cat 3 race. This is a controversial thing, allow me to explain.

I was called a sandbagger many times over this entry. Internet heckled. This is because I “normally” ride the elite races. My third CX race I won the Canton Cup 3/4 field, upgraded to a 3 same-day, and raced the 1/2/3 field, and never went back to 3/4. UCI weekends, I still raced with “the big girls”. This came at some controversy, as some said I should podium a big race before upgrading, and I always argued that as a cat 3, I have not upgraded OUT of the 3/4 field, and felt I gained more racing with the more experienced women.

Well, one thing I have gained a lot of experience with, is chasing from the back row, through the field, and grabbing a ton of brake in corners. Have not nailed the cornering. Or the “racing”, just the chasing. Go check out my Suckerbrook post if you haven’t already. Front-row start and still spent a lot of the race chasing due to sloppy riding (warning, foreshadowing).

When Verge offered a SEPARATE cat 3 race for the women, I was pretty stoked on that idea for support of women’s CX in general. Gives some 4’s a chance to shine with those pesky 3’s out of the way, and I thought would bring some elite 3’s down for some fun. Plus, my coach and team thought it would get me some great racing, not chasing, experience. So, the decision was made that I shall race the 3’s for Gloucester. But then, at Nittany I got a UCI point, and some more questioning happened, and we changed it to Cat 3 Day 1, Elites Day 2. Compromise. I was fine with the idea, and pretty excited for the race.

So, the day came, and I was at the venue early for the non-elite race start-time. The prep went fine, and the nerves at the line were about what they always are. A notoriously bad starter, I was pleased to have very familiar, and similar sandbagger, Cathy Rowell on the line next to me. The whistle blew, and I pedaled. HOLY CRAP I AM THIRD WHEEL IN THIS FIRST TURN!!!!! I was so stoked on that. I was even more stoked to get dropped by KMS teen Turner Ramsay on early corners. Soon, Turner dropped back a little and I got to battle with new-friend Christin Christoph. Early on, she was schooling me on some turns, and at a power section sat up and looked behind at me. I laughed and said “they told you to let me pull you on the straights… didn’t they?” and laughed and said “only if you teach me how to turn”. So we played together for a while, and it was a grand time on bicycles!! There are pictures on the internet and we are smiling! I slid out at one point and went down. Christin cheerfully said “stay calm and get up!” So I did. Then, in lap 2 or so I see that we have an unwanted competitor chasing us down in 3rd. I told Christin I was gonna drop some watts to drop any chance of us not being 1/2. I don’t really know at what point CC was gone, but I do know that my race companion switched from happy, chatty Christin to huffy, puffy Clara Kelly.
Anyways, I am racing Clara, and at some point I am quite unsure of this victory I was pretty sure of. Then I realized I had no concept of how long I had been racing, or what lap I was on. I yell to spectators, “WHAT LAP ARE WE ON???” Alex Meier runs to tell me “bell lap”. Which is a very confusing thing to hear when you are 3 turns from the finish. He assures me we cross the finish one more time before it is the finish line. So, on the bell lap, I decide it is time to drop all the watts on the straights, and keep calm and collected in the turns, ride them smooth like the ones before, and keep it clean. That is what I did, and I cross the line first with a little buffer. I was even confident enough to post up!

All in all, it was a happy day, with fun racing, and great friends. Thanks to everyone who helped make it possible!