SCCX 2015

The Sussex County Fairgrounds have a special place in my heart.  As a kid, I grew up spending two weeks in August living there with my 4-H projects - goats and sheep.  So I HAVE to include SCCX on my list of places to race.

SCCX is usually very cold and includes climbing.  With my past experiences at SCCX, I decided to make this the last race for my 2015 season. To my surprise, it wasn't as frigid as previous years, although there was frost on the grass early in the morning.  And there wasn't as much climbing, or so it seemed.  My finger tips were cold but I warmed up quickly.  The sun was shining and it was going to be a great day.


Broke out the wool socks for this race
I saw the list of ladies pre-registered and had an idea what place I would be battling for.  I wanted that goat medal.  I got out for another lap one last time and saw LVG pre-riding.  While she wasn't on the pre-registration list, she had been inquiring about the course the previous day at Kutztown.  My hopes for the goat medal were now slim but I knew it would still be a good day.

We lined up for the pavement start.  It was wide enough to fit all of the ladies.  I got to line up next to LVG! I knew that she and some others would bolt up the pavement and that was ok.  I would try to get on a wheel and stay there.

The trombone blew and I watched the ladies sprint.  I was passed by three others, entering the grass in 6th position. I had an entire race to make some ground.  I passed a gal in the first portion and moved into 5th place.  I closed the gap and grabbed onto the 4th place wheel on the gravel road before the off-camber section.  I took a chance and rode a different line, moving into 4th place.

photo by E. Oishi
I knew I couldn't catch 3rd place unless she had something catastrophic happen.  But I was ok with that.  Each lap I tried to gauge my pacing based on where others were in the race.  Also, having the Master's Men racing with us provided some carrots to chase.

photo by S. Mankiw
I heard the bell for the last lap and knew I could finish in 4th place providing I didn't make any mistakes.  I had a good race and ecstatic to share the podium jump with these ladies.




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