NorCal CX Series #4 - The Kitten of Vallejo

[Jim Hewett]

Morning came a little too soon Sunday.  My eyes were sore and bleary from the dusty racing the night before and my arms, leg and back were a bit worked.  I ate a big breakfast with Simon, who couldn't make the kids' race due to a birthday party commitment, and loaded up for the relatively short trip to Vallejo for the fourth race in the NorCal CX Series.  The weather was beautiful, cool in the shade and warm in the sun.  This was a newer venue that was unfamiliar to me, so I suited up to pre-ride the course during the kids' race.

There was a lot of grass.  And no barriers.  Kind of different than our usual terrain.  Three run-ups (two rideable) and a loose, off-camber switchback section broke up the grass and pavement.  There was a short sand section, but very little moisture.  One steep and long (by 'cross standards) grassy climb was obviously going to hurt in the race, but the around 175' of climbing per lap would favor me.  I did my best to work out the stiffness from yesterday's racing and started to feel a little better.

The field was not as large as the BASP race, no doubt due to that popular race happening the night before.  Don Myrah, Derek Yarra, Kyle Murphy, Devon Vigus, Brue Syvertsen and a few more racers had been there with me Saturday evening.  Phillip Mooney, Andrew Juliano, Mitch Trux, Tsering Alleyne and Justin Herrell were some other familiar faces in the group of about 25 Elite Men starters.  We lined up at the base of a paved start climb that would put us on course at the grassy climb.  I am the series leader, so I started on the front row between Don Myrah and Kyle Murphy.  I had a good start and reached the top of the grassy climb in fourth.  By the start of the descent, Juliano, Vigus, Alleyne and a Mash SF rider were in front of me.  We kept this grouping for a couple of laps.  The Mash SF rider fell off a little and I came around Alleyne.  Juliano, Vigus and I built a gap, and Juliano was pushing it really hard at the front.  4 or 5 laps in, he began to feel the effort, losing focus and spinning out on the loose switchback climb and then bobbling a corner.  He dialed it back and Vigus attacked to take the lead.  I came around Juliano and we all three rode together for a lap, but I could tell Vigus was going to fight for the win.  The course became more familiar to me and I had fun on some of the long, sweeping grass descents.  There were a couple of short, steep loose ride-ups that I cleaned every lap.  There weren't as many spectators as the night before, but the vibe was very positive and you could tell everyone was enjoying the ridiculously beautiful November day.  We rode on, averaging just over 8 minutes per lap.  I gave it everything I had on the last lap, but Devon dug hard on the grass climb and blasted away on the subsequent descent, leaving me holding off Juliano for second place.

One more race in the NorCal CX Series for 2013.  I'm the series leader and you know I will be doing my best to seal the deal at the final.  Thanks to Ryan Rinn for the podium shot.