Gran Prix Beverly Cyclocross

You can tell by the fact that you can't see any 
riders behind me how far out front I am...
Thanks Jen Carter for the pic!

So there it was, my triumphant return to cyclocross racing. And, by *triumphant* I mean I didn't die. About 10 years ago I was racing quite a bit, but it's been a while since I worried about which side I needed to pin my number on or obsessed about tire pressure. Okay, I NEVER obsessed about tire pressure, but you get the point. 

With the race happening in my proverbial back yard, I had to do it, lack of training or semblance of fitness be damned. In fact, the entirety of my "training" for the race consisted of the one-lap pre-ride I did shortly before the start. 

If you want to skip past my ramblings and see some pics of my teammate/work colleague/bro, scroll below, but if you want to subject yourself to a tiresome description of the course, read on.

The race started as many races do, with a starting line. With 70 racers in my heat, we had to be staged in some order and that order was your Crossresults.com points. Better points = closer to the front, so if you've been an active racer, your chance of getting a better starting position was higher. As I mentioned, I haven't raced in years so I was pointless (something I've been told before). As the race official called out numbers to get in line, it ultimately came to "and everyone else," and I took my rightful place at the back of the pack.

The roughly 1.5 mile loop went as follows: 

• We rolled up Lothrop street, took a slight right onto the sidewalk and then grass and went up a little slope. 
• Then we took a right turn to go up a bit more and then made a hard 180 right turn to go down a bit. 
• Then, we made another hard 180 turn to the left to go back up. 
• Then another 180 turn to the right to go back down. 
• Then, another 180 turn to the left to go back up. 
• Then, another 180 turn to the right to go back down. 
• Then a 180 turn to the left to go back up. 
• We went straight for a bit and then turned right to go down a short hill. 
• We immediately turned 180 to the right to go up, only to turn 180 to the left to go down but then we turned 180 to the right to go back up but then, surprise, we turned 180 to the left to go back down when suddenly we turned 180 to the right to go back up. 
• There was a gentle swoop to the left then right, a couple of plank barriers, then a gentle 180 turn to the left, down a short hill into a very short section of sand. 
• It was then up a bit to the right, then left, and then into the first Sand Section of Despair. 
• That first sand section was about 9 miles long (give or take), uphill (not really), and was followed by a hard right and a run up 85 (3 really) stairs. 
• There was a gentle arc to the right then a log barrier with a hard left through more Sand of Sorrow, but this took you past the Beer Tent of Mockery.  
• Next, there was a right turn followed by a 180 turn to the left. 
• Right, right, left, and then another 180 turn to the left and another 180 turn to the right and some more Sand of Sadness. 
• Straight, then right, then left, then 180 to the left, then 180 to the right, then more Sand of Tsoris before a slight incline with a 180 turn to the right. 
• Straight for a bit, then 180 turn to the left, followed by--and this is a shocker--a 180 turn to the  right, then left, then right--but up over a little berm that seemed like it had plants, another 180 to the left, then a right turn up back on to Lothrop St where we went straight for a bit then took a hard right and hopped up over the curb back on to the grass, followed by a gentle 180 turn to the right, 90 turn to the left, then a 180 turn to the left, followed by a right, then a left. 
• Straight past the 2nd Pit Zone and a 180 turn to the left, and a 180 turn to the right and we're back on Lothrop again and past the Start/Finish, and back out again. 
• And again. 
• And again...

It was *fun* to be back out there and I can't believe it's been ten years since I really races lots of 'cross events. This might have been the hook I needed.