Surf City CX #1

[Jim Hewett]

I travelled down to Aptos for the first of the Surf City races because I knew the Santa Cruz locals would be there and I had heard good things about the courses.  The weather was warm and dry, which seems to be standard for the first half of the 'cross season in Northern California, and the course was a lot of fun.

I arrived and began preriding well before my race.  The laps looked longer than our usual races, probably between 7 and 8 minutes long, and there was actually a decent amount of climbing, close to 200 feet per lap.  The course was bumpy in places and sandy in others, with some jumpable obstacles and a couple of mandatory runups.  All in all, it looked like a good course for a guy like me who likes to climb and rides a mountain bike.

The guys I have been seeing in the top 5 at most of the recent races were all there.  Aaron Bradford, Scott Chapin, and Tobin Ortenblad are all from the area and I was sure they would be gunning for a win on their home turf.  Scott and Aaron were racing their single speeds in the Elite class, which was an interesting move considering all of the climbing.  I didn't get a callup and started a few rows back, but I was able to move up to second place on the wide paved climb that was the beginning of the lap.  A Rock Lobster racer had gotten the hole shot (Ben Dodge?), and the rest of the competition was right behind me.  I was happy to be in this position, as I had seen many racers, even in my field, having issues with some of the barriers and almost mandatory jumps.  Ben fell back after the first lap and Aaron made a move up to me.  We were together on the paved climb that starts the lap and he was muscling his one gear up the hill at high speed and high effort.  I was able to gear down a little and climb it more easily, but it became apparent to me that this climb would be crucial for the win.  It was smooth, wide pavement, and kind of steep but not too long.  After it there was some narrower dirt descending with a chance to recover a little.  The single speed guys would be hammering this and the other climb on the course out of necessity, but could they keep it up for 7 laps?

Aaron and I were back and forth a little, but he made a bit of a move on lap 3 or 4.  He opened a little gap and Scott came around me.  It seemed Scott slowed just enough for some corners to let Aaron build his lead, and I passed him when I saw my chance.  From that point on Aaron was off the front and it became me against Scott and Tobin, who was not as spunky on the climbs but hanging on in fourth not far behind us.  Scott and I tested each other on the climbs, attacking and countering.  Seeing those guys really hammering the climbs made me long for my one speed, and the mixture of pain and efficiency that is a properly geared single speed bike.

With two laps to go I really kicked it in on the climb at the start of the lap.  I could see Scott chasing, but I stood and cranked over the top with a small gap.  I maintained around the baseball field and out through the sandy flats and pushed hard on the dirt climbs to the finish line.  I started the last lap with a bigger gap and stomped it on the paved climb.  Something about knowing this is the last time gives you a little extra kick.  I maintained the lead and put the muscle into the last climb to avoid any sprint situation.  I heard the cheers for local boy Aaron as he finished the race and I stayed ahead of Scott to come in second.

Seems I'll be mixing it up with these guys a lot over the next 6 weeks.  With solid results bringing me better start positions, I look forward to it!