Matt, Anna, and I headed up to Portland for the last Cross Crusade race and the third running of the single speed cyclocross world championships (SSCXWC). This is an event that every avid crosser needs to take part in. The theme of this years race was "Beyond Thunderdome". A take-off of the cult classic movie. There was an actual "Thunderdome" on coarse and a ton of people showed up to both watch and race. I decided to race the in the single speed class of the Crusade. Now in years past I have had a proper single speed cross bike for this event...but not this year. I opted to put a high gear ratio on my 29r and just go to it. 136 people made for a plump field including National Champions and Kona pro's Ryan Trebon and Barry Wicks. The start was fast (no surprise) and I was one of the last to be called up due to the fact that I had o
nly raced one other Crusade race. I was able to "pounce" on the main part of the pack in the first lap and continued to move up into the top ten. It is hard to describe how bad the mud was...but most crossers call it the "peanut butter". It sticks to everything and slows......you.........dooooowwwn. There was one section in particular that made you choose the off camber peanut butter line....or the one foot deep "lake" line. Turns out the "lake" line was actually faster. I had good legs and was able to battle...but faltered a bit in the last two laps (I am blaming my 2.25 Mutano Raptors). Riding my mtb was a good choice for some parts of the race...and not so good for other parts. I ended up finishing 14th. Not t
oo bad...and I got a lot of props from other racers which always feels good. I had planned on racing the worlds at the end of the day...but opted to give my entry to a friend and watch the mayhem from the sidelines. Anna and I broke in our new Crusade pint glasses and heckled Matt W and other friends with great enjoyment. There were 250 people racing at once...most had some sort of costume on (kind of a rule in any single speed worlds race) and everyone had a blast getting muddy. Next years race is going to be held in Seattle so sign up early and come check out just how fun AND competitive Northwest cross scene has become.-Geoff
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