January 'cross fix

Just when you thought cyclocross season was over, another one sneaks on in. Local junior racer Skyler Trujillo was selected to represent the United States in the World Cyclocross championships later this month. Unsurprisingly, USA Cycling doesn't do much to offset the costs so a fundraiser was held yesterday to raise some money. Getting to the Czech Republic ain't cheap.

One of the great things about this race is that it was done with little notice so nobody was in race shape. Most people had to dig their bikes out of cryogenic storage and make sure everything still functioned before they could even ride. It was fun to have people out there pretty much messing around on their bikes.

It wasn't a super large affair with only 10-15 racers in most classes. I was happy to see 7 more of my Blue Sky teammates made the drive up to Fort Collins to contribute to the cause. In my race, Blue Sky was off the front immediately. I swear Bill and Rob have been doing some secret training. I got caught up behind a couple early crashes, but I was having a good time chugging along. As we got to the last couple laps, I noticed that I was in forth, with 2 teammates taking the top 2 spots. I decided to bury myself and see if I could catch the 3rd place guy and have a Blue Sky podium sweep. I made several mistakes, crashed badly a couple times, but I eventually passed him on the last lap and finished 3rd. It's not a real resume builder, but it was still fun to make a strong finish and get in a good day of training. Later in the day, the course became a real mud fest. It was a lot of fun to watch the fast guys really rock that course and also have some fun getting muddy. There were a lot of on-course shenanigans that made things even more entertaining.

Following the racing, there was an after-party at the New Belgium tasting room. They were able to pull together some great donations for a silent auction and raffle. We drank plenty of beer, snacked, and even got some cool stuff. Best of all, Christine ended up getting a mountain bike. Soon we'll be able to go play around on some trails together.





New favorite pre-race ritual: the swig of beer