Last night was the 2nd race of the local Cyclocrunk series (didn’t go to the first one). I finally had a chance to try out my SS Surly Crosscheck!

The LeMans-style start was fun. I didn’t have any problems finding my bike in the mass of over 40 others because of my spiffy white handlebar tape! The course itself was really tough- not because of terrain, but because there were soooo many barriers- a single at the start, followed by a triple and three more doubles spread out across the park. Oh yeah- and all of the barriers except for the triple were more than regulation height. I felt really good about my dismounts. They were all fast and at the absolute last possible second. The place where I lost the most time was re-mounting- my inexperience combined with the height of most of the barriers made it difficult for me to maintain momentum and get a good remount. I also managed to jab my forearm with the nose of my saddle every time I lifted it over a barrier. Today I’ve got a pretty impressive bruise, and my forearm is remeniscent of Popyeye’s. I definitely need to work on my off-bike handling & remounting technique.

All in all, it was fun. I feel a little bit like I’ve been run over by a bus, but it’s OK. I did manage to finish ahead of the few other ladies that showed up, which is cool. Hopefully some photos will be up soon… Hopefully they aren’t the ones where I’m walking over barriers, either!