Hub Racing News

Arley here.  This weekend I raced Beacon CX and HPCX, held in Bridgeton and Jamesburg, NJ.  Beacon CX is famous for the "Amphitheater of Pain" which features wooden tiers that do not favor those of the "shorter" persuasion, like myself.  Other than the amphitheater, I really do like the course.  It winds through the woods, and when its dry, the surface is super fast.  Despite some drizzle on and off, the course was relatively dry.  By this point in the season, I've nearly forgotten how to ride in dry conditions.  Anyway, I had a great start, taking the holeshot, but gave it up to Laura Van Guilder and Mary McConnelog, primarily because they are faster and I'd rather chase them than be chased by them.  However, my lungs would quickly shut down and explode shortly thereafter, leaving me on the verge of hyperventilation for the duration of the race (which we later assessed was a result of the super humid conditions).  I crawled my way across the finish line in 8th place, where I then proceeded to have an asthma attack.  First one ever, yay!

 

HPCX was a better day...sort of.  It rained the entire night before, so we were once again in for a slop-fest.  The course started off through a parking lot that quickly dumped into the course.  The first grass section was dry, packed mud, so it was still pretty fast.  But then suddenly, the dry turned to swamp, and our speed dropped about 8 mph.  It was as if we suddenly rode through a big puddle of glue.  Everyone was piled up, slipping, sliding, and grinding through, trying to make it through the traffic jam.  I made it through the big swampy part with the front of the field, but then suddenly, right in front of me, Rebecca Wellons hit the deck.  There was nowhere I could go, so had to dismount and run.  This put just enough of a gap between myself and the leaders that would be impossible to make up in such muddy conditions.  I rode a smooth, clean race, which I was happy with, since I tend to make stupid mistakes in the mud.  All these muddy weekends are finally paying off!  I ended the day in 8th, once again.  I'm consistent.

 

Next up is the MAC Series race in Fair Hill, MD.