Nowak Report: Busted At The Bandit Cross

Busted by the Police is a bit of an overstatement, more like a security guard. The "course" that was laid out was actually pretty nice, but not feeling my best that day I knew it would be a long day at the "Boundy and Lombardo House of Pain". I rode to Schaumburg/Hoffman Estates (who can tell these days were these town start and end) from home which took about 40 minutes. The last week was a rest week for me and Sat. was the first day in the new cycle. Anyhow, back to the action... I was able to hang with the lead group until about the end of the first lap (or was it the second?!?). There was a nice mix of pavement and grass with a baseball field crossing as well as a frosty little hill climb. I slowly kept loosing ground to the leaders but the others that were unlatched were also coming back to me. After 30 minutes, I came to the start area and there were a few people talking to a security guard. Apparently, someone called the park district and complained of people riding their bikes in the park (really!!!). He came out and was actually pretty cool about the whole thing. He really didn't have a problem with us there. So after a brief conversation, we all gathered for a 1 lap run off. Needless to say Krebs got me at the line!

Overall, it has been a good 'cross season so far for myself personally. I have been trying to double up on race weekends doing the 40+ and then mixing in either the 30+ or Cat 3. This year I'm really trying to focus on States and would like to get top 5 which is possible if I have a good day. The Bandit 'cross stuff has been really fun. The interesting thing is the except for probably 2 guys in the Cup series, most everyone that has come out to the Bandit stuff are 40+'s.

Jim