OVCX #6 - Bloomington, Indiana Cross - I cooked marshmellows with Barry Wicks

Kenny Powers - yes the man does not believe (2:18) in the art of triathletes, swimming, cycling or running. But he does believe that a man with a great sense of badass-ery, a great haircut and some nice clothes can be good at anything. Well, a good set of cowboy boots and a sweat suit helps as well.

I would say Kenny certainly would have approved of the OVCX #5 stop in Bloomington Indiana. It was badass and required a set of speed skills, jewels and pedal power to keep the tires rolling on the concrete grass = ground. The location of the race was at Karst Farms, a very amazing park on the southwestern side of Bloomington.


I kind of wish I would have a a big ring like this guy; for the race, but my 40 tooth Thorne ring worked out fine.



This course was long, did I mention long, I think I heard someone say it was just under 2 miles for one lap. There is a ton of really cool terrain here, that went unused I think. Messer, Knapp and Sherer worked really hard I am sure making this new location epic. It was I think a course for someone who can keep on the gas at a steady pace throughout the entire loop. There was a double sided sandpit (vollyball court), some limestone gravel paths that I think were a factor, coming out of some other HR raising sections, that required you to just stay on the gas and suffer. There was a pavement section (where we started the race), that I used to suck in some oxygen and grab my bottle each lap. -  - - - Jen's Photos of the Start and some sand pit
I chased hard after Corey, Collier, Nalley Biven and Millard to close the gaps and keep them to a minimum. Corey, Collier, Nalley and Biven all had a good front row starting position, but also managed to fight their way through a large group of the open 3 field, early in the first lap - after that they were almost un-catchable unless they had mechanical issues. Matt Stierwalt and Jeff Schoeny gave it their all, I just kept on their wheels and found a few places on the course each lap to put in a few digs to try to widen the gaps once I got passed them. All these guys racing in the top 10 of the 35+ are super strong riders, so I was super stoked to have gotten around two of them and almost (almost in horse shoes and hand grenades right?) caught Biven and Millard who passed me at some point when I was drooling all over my top tube and didn't pay enough attention if they were in the Open 3 race or in my race. Well, now I know I guess.

Highlight of this weekend was BWE and I drove over on Saturday, just in time for the Barry Wicks cross clinic (thanks Messer). There was a small turnout of about 15 or less and he actually spent time watching us run barriers, ride the sand and corner through a difficult turn, and provided individual suggestions of our form and areas we could improve.

:Photos Here:

I learned quite a bit from Barry regarding how to ride one section of this course and some great tips about riding sand. BWE has photos of the clinic as well and Barry pounding stakes into the ground for the barriers (Knapp needs to get to the gym for some upper body strength :)

Even better was the dinner BWE and I had downtown Bloomington (What a great town), then we made a short drive back to race venue to hang out with some cool folks around a giant bonfire (thanks Messer) and hang out again with Barry Wicks. He was sportin' his flannel and cooking some marshmallows and hot dogs (turkey?) and just chillin' with some folks around the fire. Certainly a down to earth guy. Knapp, Sherer, A.Messer and anyone else that was around to help with this race, thanks and thanks for the fire and hospitality.
I am enjoying myself this year in the 35+, here's a cheers to more races where I felt this good, 6th Place is two up from my best result this year.
     This weekend begins non-stop races each weekend till December 12.

• Louisville this weekend - last years location for USGP
• Gun Club Nov7 in cincy
• Nov 14 - Infirmary Mound -newark ohio - combo CapCity/OVCX event
• Lexington KY - KY state championships
  Nov 28 (Gobble Gobble) John Bryan SP - Yellow Springs, Ohio - OHIO State Championships