It's always a shock to the system when I show up for my first Cyclo-cross race of the season. My stomach starts to get a little knot in it as the start time draws nearer and nearer. I start running through my pre-race checklist in my head making sure that my bike is ready for the brutal pounding it's about to receive due to one simple fact; my lack of skill racing on the dirt. This year was no different then any other as I kicked off my Cyclo-cross season in my hometown of Long Beach.

I took my place on the start line with about a minute to go. I gave the field a quick once over to see who my key competitors were for the day and who I was going to be chasing. A moment later the start gun went off and I was flying through the air shoulder to shoulder with the area’s best cyclo-cross racers. Two hairpins later, I nailed a tree root leading into the turn and my handlebars rotated down from the impact......so much for my pre-race check list! The course was full of tough chicanes, run ups, barriers, and zig zagging caution tape outlining the course.

I settled into a rhythm after the 2nd of 6 laps and did my best to stay balanced over my bicycle while negotiating the bumpy terrain filled with dips and sand pits that were occasionally intersected by cement walking paths just to add another element of challenge to my already questionable style of off-road bike handling. By the mid-point of the race, I figured out the fastest lines on the course and was able to slam the door on a few guys trying to advance position on me through the turns....it's a real battle on wheels out there.

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