Cross Crusade

I did the Cross Crusade race yesterday at Ranier Oregon. It was a great course. Mostly on grass and dirt paths. Lots of climbing but with long sections of downhill to recover. Check out the photos on http://pdxcross.com/?p=284 to get a good feel for what it was like.

The race started on an uphill section and I took it kind of easy so I wouldn't blow up right at the start. Once we started downhill the guy in front of me was going too slow so I passed him. I continued to take it easy because I hadn't pre-ridden the course and had only walked part of it. The course was over two miles. I went back and forth a couple of times with the guy I had passed but eventually I got ahead for good. I held on but couldn't pass anybody else. There was a steep uphill section of hard gravel with some loose stuff on it. I must have had too much air in my tires because I couldn't get traction near the top and had to get off and run up. Well, I didn't really run. The Masters 50+ class had 48 starters. I finished 42nd. Maybe I need to push harder at the start. The other age 60+ guys didn't finish very far ahead of me.
Here's my heart rate with elevation. I guess I'm more fit than last year. Some times I wonder about that but I don't ever feel like quiting during a race like I did last year. It was a tough race though.

Next week is the start of the Southern Oregon Outlaw Cyclocross series. That's my favorite series racing with the people from Southern Oregon who have become my good friends.