St. Charles cross was yesterday - the day after Halloween, so costumes were mandatory. I lucked into a skirted ice skating costume, so of course I went as Tanya Harding.

Bicycle Heaven put on a great race - the course was 90% the same as last year [and last year's course ROCKED] with the addition of buckets of mud. Half a lap in, you were completely filthy. And once you went through the two ditches, each with a foot or so of watery mud, you were covered. I don't think I've ever been so muddy - certainly my bike never has.


I got a good spot on the front line and was determined to be aggressive. I never get a very good start and it hurts me. At the whistle, I jumped - but the women on either side of me jumped faster. The start was pretty narrow, both women near me, wobbled inward towards me, I had nowhere to go but too much velocity . . . I went down. Five feet from the starting line. By the time I was up and out, I was last. So my race turned into 'catch and pass.'

We only had three laps. The first took me past 15 or so racers. I finally had my HED stingers set up for cross and they just floated uphill and over grass. By the second lap I had Katie from Spidermonkey and Jamie from Cuttin' Crew in sight. I got around Katie, but Jamie is just better at the skills than I am. But each lap, I rode the mud better and faster. I chased Jamie up the hill on lap three, trailed her over the barrier and into the field - and finally managed to ride past as we crested. I concentrated on putting space between us. Unfortunately, no one else was in sight.

When the race ended, I still felt fresh. 30 minutes is just not enough. But there was nothing to do but wipe the mud off my teeth and congratulate the winners. I managed to come in 11th out of 29 - not bad considering, but still a bit of a disappointment.


I am very much looking forward to next week at Northbrook. I HOPE the stairs are part of the course again!