Oh cyclocross, what a wicked sport you are. You are cold, you are harsh, you are fast, and unforgiving. Why do I have to show up 3 hours early in the cold for a 40 minute race? Why do I need to pack 6 suitcases for two short days of racing? Why do I have to change my clothes 4-6 times a day?? Why do I finish soaked and muddy, and have to decide between warm and dirty or cold and clean? Why can venues not offer outdoor heated hoses and shower stalls? But sometimes you are hot and dry and nasty. Why, in one weekend, did I go from racing with long sleeves, gloves, a base layer and embro to short sleeves and wishing we had feeds??

This weekend’s racing wrapped up the New England season for many. Sure there is Ice Weasels and Scrub Zone Nats, but from what I understand that is more about the atmosphere of CX than the racing. The next big races are in Hendersonville, NC and then to Texas for the Resolution Cup and Nationals.

But this weekend, racing NBX Gran Prix of Cyclocross at Goddard Park wrapped up the Verge series and my regular season. Last year I only raced on one day of this race, as I had to fly to San Francisco on Sunday for AGU (the annual meeting of the American Geological Union. It’s drunk geologists hanging out in terrible clothing). I can’t really remember the conditions of Saturday, I am guessing it was cold but otherwise uneventful. I know I was wearing a long sleeved skinsuit and a base layer. I know this, because early in the race, when we were in the woods before the first pit, my bar got tangled in some snow fencing and it pulled me across a root, causing me to go down and bring a handful of others with me. I got run over and it ripped by skinsuit, baselayer, and skin. Still have a gross scar from that. I didn’t excel that day; I got 18th and proved to myself the one time I cracked the top 15 was a fluke. I was so disappointed that my last race of the season (before nationals) was… womp womp.

Going in to this this weekend, I tried to psych myself up for the race. I imagined going so hard on the straights, running so smooth through the sand, and floating over the roots. But then I got to the venue and into my head. I am not a “floater” as they say. I have a tendency to RAM things, hard. So, roots, next to the long sand run, is maybe what this course is known best for. I remembered crashing last year, and I remembered crashing last weekend. And I remembered crashing on my training ride on Wednesday. I was tired. My leg (from Sunday’s wreck) was not an outward hindrance, though, it is still very sore and bruised (this weekend made it worse).

Saturday was rainy and not freezing. At 45F I want to say it was warm, but, the damp air and breeze off the bay never allows 45 to feel warm. I never got a full pre-ride lap in. I actually got really emotional about that. The race was running behind and they were skimming time from between the races, and the set-up of the course made it hard to get on forward of the finish. Like, I never rode the last half of the course before I raced. I rode beside it, realized there were barriers… yea. Not ideal.

We get to the grid, I am a mess, try calming down. I take a dumb spot in the grid. Second row, far left. Far left for a large, sweeping right hand turn. WHY AM I SUCH AN IDIOT!? I have taught myself, to a fault, to stage on the outside of everything to go wide around ever bottleneck, to stay clear of start grid trouble. That was a perfect idea when I was staging in the back, behind everyone, and was always trying to avoid the traffic. When you are near the front? Apparently people know how to ride and everyone falls into line safely and appropriately. Nevertheless, I staged in a way to add a solid 33% of start “straight” to my race. We get the whistle, I miss my pedal. Like, looked down because I wondered if it fell off. On top of THAT, as I rolled up to the start, I freaking shifted a cog harder. For a start on grass, I start in a harder gear. WHY!?!?! It’s weird, everyone always starts in their big ring and easier gear, and I start in my little ring. Maybe that is a part of my start troubles. But that is a fix for next year at this point. Anyways, I am staged terribly, over-geared, miss my pedal, and see everyone pass me. In the first turn I pass a few people taking a fast(ish) wide line while everyone queues up for the tight line over the roots around the tree.  But then BrittLee slides out in the wet grass in the turn following. I get spooked and brake so I can squeeze by her. I go into the woods …. not ideally. Apparently Britt is the last one in the woods. From this point on I have no real troubles, I just don’t feel it, you know? I guess I didn’t want it. I was worried about crashing, I wanted to play it safe. I was outside of the top 10. As far as I am concerned, I am done with being outside of the top 10 in C2 races. When all the top-dogs are there, Compton, Miller, Nash, Durrin, Mani, Mcfadden, Rochette… I am pleased with a top 20, stoked with a top 15, have not cracked the top 10. So, I am just sort of pedaling around the course. Fellow JAM rider Victoria Gates had a stellar start and was in the top 10 first lap. Second lap, she fades and comes back to me. Trying to make a pass, I get sent into some strange ditch-things on a pavement section and am forced to use some basic maneuvers to avoid catastrophe. A bunny hop. That’s right ladies and gents, I, Rebecca Fahringer, allowed my wheels to leave the ground while I was on the bike. At some point, BrittLee comes CHARGING up from behind. A girl on a mission if I have ever SEEN one. Not going to lie, I let her pass with no trouble. I didn’t try to race away, I didn’t try to block. She deserved to be in front of me, chasing through everyone on a course where I was unable to even maintain a position, let alone pass. Though, her passing me did inspire me to pedal a little harder, so I did. And still managed to keep it upright on the roots. I rolled across the line in 12th. In no way a blockbuster performance, everyone said they could see it out there. And by it, I mean the apathy.

I hate not giving it my all, but I truly felt on Saturday that I didn’t have it in me. Let’s just say, I had no mojo. Sunday I took a new approach. I am usually better day 2, if not in performance, in mindset. I was more relaxed. And, Nick came to take some pictures and was able to pre-ride with me and show me some good lines around some of the roots. Of the lines he took me through, only one section was the most incredibly helpful: the section before the finish. Stay left, thread the needle, go wide right, cut across the rut, go wide left, exit safely. It was still not my fastest section, but I held a little more speed than was previously able. Mostly though, I had some more confidence.

Sunday, cold. I wore a long sleeved, wind-proof base layer, ski socks, toe warmers, leg warmers, and wool liners and gloves. No hat though. Cause you know, hair. I was more confident at the line, I knew it all depended on the start, but I also knew to not let it go to hell at the start. I lined up behind BrittLee, one spot in from the right side. I was maybe top 10 going into the woods, a good start for me. I got a bit gapped off over the first rooty section, having banged a rim hard and spooking myself. I held anyone off from passing, though, and was able to maintain position into the sand, where I maybe passed someone. I wanted to close the gap to BrittLee and others on the pavement stretch after the beach run, but the wind was so bad I didn’t think I would be able to. Then, on the climb after the sand, Libby White bobbled and (I think BrittLee and I both?) I was forced off my bike. I had caught on, apparently. The lap started off slow, and kept getting faster, I felt. There were a few sections I was getting gapped off, mostly anything rooty. I was gaining ground on the open sections and the runs. Going into the last half of the race I knew I was in 7th, with a gap, though not a huge one, on 8th, and a slight gap up to BrittLee and Mo Bruno Roy. I was saying to myself “I am a little sore, I might blow up… and if I get too tired I will get sloppy and crash and lose 7th… I should just work to maintain.” Because that’s how I work, why would I not want to just hang out in 7th spot? Then, I think it was the last lap, or maybe with 1.5 to go, I made contact! I kind of yo-yo’d off of them, getting gapped off in rooty sections, catching back on in the straights. Then, going passed the pits the first time on the bell lap I hear BrittLee yelling to me to go, and I do, but she passes me back before the sand. We ride into the sand together and chase down Mo. We gain on her going into the climb and I think “omg, we are going too slow, I am not going to churn up this hill”. Sure enough, the slow speed popped me off my bike as in lap one. I would rather carry momentum and ride, but if I have no speed I’d rather run than crank hard. I kind of kick myself for not going for the pass there, though I wasn’t even sure if there were good passing lines there. I think I pass Britt back and forth a little bit during this chase period, and then I remember before we hit the pits for the last time I go to make a pass on Mo, I accelerate passed her and get to the inside of the corner first, and then, I am an idiot and just don’t continue through the turn, and she drops me on the exit. I yell “I tried!”, having known I made a silly mistake sprinting in and forgetting to set up and exit. I had definitively passed BrittLee by the last time we went over the logs (I think that’s the part of the course I’m thinking of…).

I am just off of Mo’s wheel for the line parallel to the finish straight, before we go into the last turny root section before the finish. I say “I CAN GET HER HERE!”, and I know I have to because I know if she is in front of me for the woods section, she will drop me, and I knew the first one onto the pavement, of the three of us, would have the win (of our group). This did not hold true for the race, as Crystal Anthony took the pavement before Ellen Nobel, and Ellen took the sprint!! So, I pass Mo and go into the woods, I have NO idea where the other two are, and I am just thinking “keep it upright. Smooth. Stay up.” I nail the lines Nick went over with me in preride, and I come out onto the pavement and sprint hard, not looking back. I came out on top! FIFTH PLACE! I finally finished in the top 5 of a UCI race. Wow. And, after a lap of actual racing and edging out two wonderful and strong competitors. It was a cool feeling, especially after having been wanting to be there so badly at Sterling.

BrittLee gave a good interview to Dirtwire about how we are trying to work together in these races:

http://dirtwire.tv/2014/12/nbx-day-2-brittlee-bowman-becca-and-i-were-like-hey-were-not-usually-this-far-forward/