Collegiate CX Nationals

What an epic trip. My teammate, Tirrel, and I left Fort Collins around 12:00 on Friday. It had been snowing off an on all morning, but not enough to accumulate. The roads were wet all the way through Colorado. We ran into snow right around Burlington, CO. It had probably been snowing before that, but this is when it started to stick to the ground. Burlington, CO is about 10miles from the Kansas boarder. I don't remember exactly when the roads started to turn to complete crap, but they did. Eventually it turned into a blizzard. I couldn't see 20feet in front of me and was driving 30mph maximum for several miles. Finally, we decided to stop for gas in Ellis, KS, with the intentions of staying over night there. The guy at the hotel told us he was booked and that we needed to get back on I-70 quickly and head to the next town (Hays, KS) before the closed the road down. So, back to the road we went. To make things worse, my 4-wheel drive wasn't working in 4-Hi. I desperately needed 4-wheel drive to get back onto the highway, as there was probably 6inches of snow covering the on-ramp. So I threw it into 4-Lo for the rest of the way. I couldn't go any faster than 25mph. Eventually we made it to Hays, KS and stayed there for the night. There was no way we would make it to the U23 race Saturday morning at 9:00am. Hays is 4 hours from Kansas City, KS when you drive the speed limit. It took me almost 9 hours to reach Hays, KS from Fort Collins, CO.

Saturday morning we woke up and were on the road by 9:00am. The road still sucked and I was only able to drive 40mph at the maximum for 100miles (which took almost 3 hours). We saw so many cars in the ditches with people just sitting in them, waiting to be rescued by tow trucks. It was unbelieveable. My truck slipped a few times when we went up some hills. I wasn't even accelerating on the gas. Finally, the roads turned to slush and water once we reached Salina, KS. Soon after, I was able to drive the speed (and then some). It took about 3 hours to get to Kansas City from Salina. I was exhausted from the past 15 hours of driving. The drive was supposed to take only 9 hours. Once we got to Kansas City, it was snowing - go figure. We made it to the course just in time to see the 50+ race. Thought about pre-riding the course, but opted out. It was snowing and extremely cold.

Sunday morning we woke up at 5:30am. The women's collegiate race started at 9:00am. I was able to get a lap in before the race started and even got a decent warm up on a trainer in the warm-up tent. The course was slick, but manageable. The ruts were frozen with a snowy layer over top. Sketchy. Fortunantly, the single-speed race was before ours and they broke up some of the snow spots. 45 riders started the Women's Collegiate race. We raced for 40minutes - which was only 3 laps. Each lap was just about 2 miles long. No need to describe the course, because most of you reading this either saw the course yourself or have heard about it by now. It was a fun course though. I started 2nd row, but should have been 1st row. I didn't hear the guy call CSU because a gator drove by and people were talking. He needed a megaphone or something. Oh well. Up the road we went. I made up quite a few positions after getting stuck behind a very slow starter. I think I was sitting 5th place at the top of the hill. The first right turn a ton of people went down, including myself. It was a huge pile-up. I should have practiced this section a little better, but didn't. I can't really blame anyone for the wreck, as I think I avoided hitting anyone. It was a poor choice of line on my part. Anyway, my chain was off after the crash so I had to spend a few seconds getting it back on. Off I went, sitting it around 15th place. Lots of making up to do. It was hard because of the course conditions. Eventually I made my way up to the top 5. I really had no idea what place I was in until the finish though. I saw Stephanie White ahead of me the entire race. I was riding with her for quite a while, but soon slipped back after I bobbled. I didn't have the smoothest race by any means. Looking back, I see lots of places where I made mistakes that could have cost me a few spots. Anyway, I finished 3rd in the field. Not too shabby. I was shooting for podium coming into the race. But after the drive, I had lost all motivation. It took a lot out of me and made me extremely tense. Also, CSU took 3rd in the D1 omnium. Two bronze medals for the weekend. Really wish I could have made it to the U23 race. Oh well, there's always next year. Big plans for next year by the way. More to come later in the week.

The elite races looked pretty gnarly. Not sure which conditions I would have rather raced in. The course turned to mud by the end of the day. Also, congrats to John Adamson on taking 4th in his category after his race on Saturday was voided and he had to race again on Sunday. Thanks to everyone who was out on the course cheering. It was great motivation! That's all for now. Thanks for reading!! Have a good night!

-A

Representing Iowa with the Iowa beanie.