Sunday, October 12, 2008

just so we're all on the same page...

cross racing hurts. hating it is easy, racing it is miserable and you can't help but smile everytime you think about it. the fisticuff got its first taste of a true cross race today. i'm still not sold on single speed cross bikes IF you're trying to be competitive with fast geared guys. really hard to find a gear combination that will allow you to accelerate, climb, and hit a high top speed over and over again. regardless, marty and friends put together a course that can easily be described as challenging. maybe a bit longer than what some might consider traditional, but brutal climbs, a steep run-up and high speed descents into sand pits made for a good time. the temperature spiking this weekend made things a bit more difficult after getting so used to the nice cool fall. big thanks to marty and everyone involved in putting this race together. oh...i finished somewhere mid-pack in a pretty small field but was the only single speed. what that means is...um...the damn hot weather made the high life warm by the time the race was over. fisty gets another shot at cross racing next weekend down in bettendorf. gearing will be contemplated repeatedly between now and then.

6 comments:

Marlan said...

Go for the gears, Go for the High Life

MCF said...

Congrats Ben! :) Hope you had some fun out there!

Ari said...

IN the old days we ran 42x18 and that worked pretty good all around.
ari
from Sycamore,IL.

Head Honcho said...

Thanks again, ben, for coming over. After a few more beers at home I passed out at 9p. Could...not....maintain....sooo...tired.

But it was still fun. I'll do it again next year.

colin said...

42x18 & a pre-race redbull work for me.

shockstar said...

yeah...ran 42x18 and just never felt like i could stay on top of the gear. i think a combination of the number, length and steepness of the climbs surprised me.

marty-i ordered a pizza on my way into town and had two more beers with it and i don't think made it much later than you. i was toast.