photo by Alan T.

I raced cross at Indian Lakes on Sunday. Damn, cross is SO MUCH FUN!!!

The South Chicago Wheelmen managed to put on an even better race than last year, somehow convincing a golf resort to let us race on their course. So mostly flat with a couple sand traps, a bit of mud and a number of long straights. A good course for a road rider with iffy cross skills like me.

First, I raced the women's cat 4 category. The woman leading the series upgraded this week, so I was bumped up to 7th in the overall series standings. I had an OK start for me, ended up knocking elbows all through the first chicane, going over the first barriers haphazardly and not being able to remount in the crush. I ran the hill instead and the crowd thinned out by the time I hit the sand traps. I was able to ride 2/3s of the first sand pit, but the exit lip was too steep and I had to dismount [with varying degrees of grace] each lap, then run to the next sand pit. I started picking off women one by one - there was always someone in sight. When one of the older juniors came by, I grabbed his wheel and drafted through the headwind. I was able to use the paved stretch to pass quite a few people. On my last lap, I had someone in sight - but she could see me gaining on her and pushed hard. I finished 10 seconds behind her in 6th place - getting closer to the top five!

AND I finished in the money! There was actual payout for the cat 4 women - THANK YOU, South Chicago Wheelmen!


photo by Liz Farina Markel

Then I raced the men's 4B race for the first time. SUCH fun. Of the 75 racers, 8 of us were women - so everybody knew our names. Along the whole course, 'Tamara! Go, Tamara! Tamara! Wheeeee!

My start wasn't fantastic, but I was aggressive. Coming to the second barrier in my first lap, I slid out, stepped onto the side of my ankle and bit it hard. I heard the ankle crack and was momentarily worried I'd actually really hurt myself. But I jumped up and nothing seemed seriously awry, so I got over the barrier, ran up the hill and forgot about the whole thing until I saw my bloody knee after the race.

Cuttin' Crew carried their couches to the top of the hill and taunted me with MGD on every lap [next week I'm going to bring Canadian Club and hand up shots. WHISKEY!] But the real action was at the sand pits - an ever narrowing alley of fans brandishing twizzlers and cupcakes and dollar bills and golf balls and cans of Fat Tire. One lap I got a cupcake - the bite I got was delicious. I grabbed a dollar bill from a woman who seemed pretty surprised - and another that was dangling in front of my face. I took a couple beers and then handed them back up the line.

And all the while I was going all out. On the last lap, I started closing in on Katie from Spidermonkey. We'd joked earlier about which one of us would win a one up sprint - I figured it would be her since she always starts better than I do. I passed her on the paved stretch and held her off through the series of chicanes. I hit the last bit of pavement and gunned it as hard as I could. I actually sprinted in the drops all the way to the line - and finished in front her. Woooo! 46th out of 75 - not terrible. And I'm definitely doing it again next week!



photo by Luke Seeman