Glow Chester

After a huge drive across 11 states, we finally made it to the Atlantic Ocean. I've been to Gloucester 5 times for races, it was really nice to get to someplace that I recognized after being on the road for 10 days straight. Finally, we weren't lost! We arrived at the course and settled in for the weekend. The benefits of having the trailer really started to shine through, since we had hot food and comfy seats within 100yds of the finish line. Yeahh!

Gloucester is always a fast course, and I figured it would be more like a road race with some dirt. I was not disappointed. The races were blazing fast, and were actually pretty tactical. The lead group just rode me off the wheel both days, but it was embarassingly early on Saturday. The trip really took it out of me, and I felt like I was starting my first race of the year (which hurts like hell). I still have some room for improvement, obviously, and I'm still easing myself into the season. I'm not too worried. The next day I was much better, helped in part by a new runup that broke up one of the high-speed sections. I loved the change, but if you know I cut my teeth on giant runups in Watsonville Fairgrounds and Aptos High Schoool, you'd know why. I was much more in contention on Sunday, and felt like I had something to go for. I ended up 6th both days, but got there in two very different ways, so I was happy with the improvement.

In a show of solidarity, JoJo placed 6th on Sunday as well. On Saturday, however, she killed it and rode like the champ she is. We were just out of the car, and normally the course doesn't suit her, but she said she felt great and really rode well, ending up 4th. Killer!

After the races, we moved to a campground and chilled out on Cape Ann. I have an aunt that lives down the way in Manchester, so we got some visiting in also. We attended the local CX practice on Wednesday night, and then split the next morning for Philly. Next up: Granogue and Wissahickon CX Races.