i've figured out my off-road racing bike for this season, although i'm pretty sure my season won't start this weekend.
it's no surprise that i don't like cold, wet, or muddy conditions. primarily, i ride and race because it's fun, and i don't find those conditions fun. so with the month or so of crappy weather, it is highly doubtful in my mind that it could be anything but a slop fest. the five days of the freeze/thaw cycle that will ensue between now and then is not going to make a great course out of the muck, regardless of the amount of vigor and excitement that the race promoter will be pumping.
i've been an outstanding critic concerning the early start to the race seasons that we seem to push here in the st. louis area. there is so much good weather late in the fall, yet the road racing really comes to a halt after the gateway cup, and the mountain bike races usually end mid october...no wonder everyone is chomping at the bit to start racing in march when it's still winter and wintery. the cross races are proof to me that we stop racing other disciplines too soon...cross has thrived the last few years, and has enjoyed 4 to 5 weeks of fantastic weather most of those years as it moves into the late fall.
no one really listens to me, and i'm sure plenty of people don't care one way or another if it's cold or warm or wet or dry. that's understandable. but i've stopped feeling bad about it; no more guilt, no more worry, no pressure from those that say "you gotta race!" i've raced enough races in my life to know what gets my motor running, gets the juices flowing, gets my heart racing...and it's not what's being offered up this coming sunday.
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