Palmer "Jungle" Cross

Race #3 of the Tobacco Valley/Accelerated Cure Series found Billy and I rolling into the parking of the Palmer High School nice and early. Complete 180 from last years downpour and mud-it was sunny and dry. It was pretty much the classic Palmer course. Fast start,on pavement this year, followed by a hard left into some rooty single track(roots are going to be a reoccurring theme in this post). Next up is a big section in a field with some pretty long wet, power sucking, grass turns. Then it is back into the woods for a short run up followed by a longer run up, before a 3 pack of low barriers in a field. Then it's back into some truly teeth rattling root sections. Be prepared to have your bike tossed around as you fail to find a clean line through this section. Last on the menu is a another quick trip into the woods, a wood bridge(big upgrade from the pallets that were spanning this stream in years past), and a long run up.
The roots were everywhere and amazing. They seemed to just reach up out of the ground like zombies trying to knock you of course.
Conditions were hot and dry. Dudes started staging 20 minutes before the start. 20 minutes? Over achievers? We staged a few rows back and sweated in out til start. The war for the hole shot was not as sketchy as past years even though a guy laid down right in front of me. Same as last weekend, Billy came past me early and I would only see him occasionally when he would drop his chain and then blast past me.
The heat and the roots made for a tough day even if this race finished up well below 40 minutes. I am not begging for more suffering, but a 40 minute race should be a lot closer to 40 minutes. I let myself get stuck in traffic too much and need to get more aggressive about passing. Could have used any kind of liquid hand up on the last lap.
Billy held on for 21st nursing a front flat through the last lap and I came in at 28th. Turns out Billy's issue was more than a flat, he dented the life out of his front rim. So even after the race the roots continued to make an impression.
No more races til Quad Cross on 09.12. Time to train.

Blunt Park

All 4 of us made it to Blunt Park on Sunday for out first chance fly the Newbury/High&Mighty banner. Nick and I were out in Western Mass already. We did the D2R2 the day before and enjoyed the hospitality of Will the man behind High&Mighty Beer. Dirty Truth is a good pub-too bad we had to race the next day.
Woke up to rain. Of course, it's cross season. First lessson learned-do not trust the weather report. Pack all your rain gear. Everytime! No exception! Thom and Billy arrived at Blunt Park(which was suffering the after effects of some major party) and it was time to go.
Nick was right up front. Thom, Billy, and I were further back. I was not too interested in the chaos of the Blunt Park hole shot so back of the bunch was not an issue. The course was basically the same as last year-so after a log dismount you head into some rooty single track. A clear high/low line was getting carved out, but I managed to clip a stump anyway. Billy rocketed past me and that was the last I would see of the team for awhile.
Billy got 14th,Thom 20th, me 28th, and Nick DNF'd after a nasty crash into the quad barrier set up. That quad barrier set up was a disaster and I could never find a good rhythm through it. There were a lot of dismounts per lap-2 logs, a low fence, and the quad barriers. Even though people were finding creative ways to avoid them.
Thom and I were reg'd for the 3/4 so that left us a few hours to hang out in the rain. Got to watch the Justin Lindine show before slithering back into my kit from race one. Gross. The course was deteriorating nicely into a super slick grass and mud fest. A lot of corners you could ride earlier had to be run.
No excuses, but my legs were shot and I road out three laps to try and improve my turning skills. Luckily Billy and Nick were ready to heckle some helpful advice.... Thom hung in. And that was that.
Race one in the books. Great weekend on the bike. Seeing all the familiar faces at Blunt and D2R2, really made it feel like the first week back at school. Can't wait for the next race.