Beer, Bikes, and Snow

Three years ago I signed up for Granogue as my first CX race - the first one I was racing on a CX bike.  It was the first race of the 2011 season for me.  It was a shock to the system but I loved every minute of it.  Such fond memories of Granogue.  Then the venue disappeared from the CX circuit. I saw that Granogue would happen this year and was excited about racing there.  So much I was the first female to register in my class.  I talked up the venue still knowing that it would be different promoters and the course would not be the same.  The race is held on the DuPont private estate in Wilmington, Delaware.  The tower is an icon. We arrived early as Lance's race was at 11 and we wanted to get in a few laps prior to his race.  The sun was still low and the course was wet with dew, making the off-camber sections challenging.  There were a few climbs, one which was a slick run-up.  The course definitely required some handlin...

CX is here.  The first races of the season are done and in the books.  It's taken me a week to digest what happened at Nittany last weekend. Over the summer I was on the fence about getting my UCI license.  If I wanted to race any of the big races the only option at my level/category was to race UCI.  I reached out to a few people regarding the rules and what I needed to do to get my license.  I also looked for encouragement and guidance from others.  Some told me it was a "right of passage", that I "earned this right" and it will be a "learning process". I had come off a pretty successful mountain bike season and spent August preparing for the upcoming CX season.  I knew Nittany would be here soon and I had to dust the cobwebs off my CX bike and practice all the skills required for CX.  I had the start of the school year to distract me in the upcoming days of Nittany.  The night before our races I got my stuff together and the excitemen...