I ventured into the world of ‘cross this weekend. I have been meaning to try cross this year and when Brian asked me to ride stoker on the back of the tandem it was easy to say yes after all who doesn’t want all the thinking taken out of their first ‘cross race. At to the mix a showdown of epic proportions with a second tandem toeing the line and it made for a great day. We lined up at the back of the C race and quickly made our way to the front riding in second position for the majority of the race. At some point near the end of the last lap we fell back to third place, which coincidently netted us a sixer of Founder’s IPA, we held our place while enjoying the optional stream crossing and handily beat the other tandem in the race.
Despite it being a “fun” race I can say that I had a bit of the scorched lung cough going after not warming up and pushing it most of the race. I am hooked and if I hadn’t torn my shorts on the tandems kickstand on a clumsy barrier jump I would have hopped right back into the action but instead choose to enjoy my winnings and encourage others to take the wet option, even if it was a touch longer. Two weeks until the next cross race and I can’t wait. A big gear on one of my rigs and some skinny little knobbies and I will be set, hopefully.
