When I rolled up to the Heber City Fairgrounds this past Saturday for the UTCX state championships race, winter was in the air. It had been warm and windy in the morning, but the temperature was starting to drop, and there were snow flurries just in time for my prerace routine. Lots of spectators sitting around in puffy coats. There was a tent set up in the parking lot section of the course, after exiting the dirt arena, and people were handing out bacon strips. Rev Big Ring was sitting in a lounge chair, wearing some sort of snow camo outfit that looked like half sleeping bag/half jumpsuit, like he was staked out in a snow cave waiting to shoot a polar bear.

I had been off the bike for a week, having been on a business trip in San Francisco, and was trying to get some legs back while doing a few warm-up laps, but it was hard to get warm. When we lined up for the start, I got a call-up to the front line by virtue of being top 8 in the points standings. The gun went off, and I took the holeshot ahead of John Burton, the kid who beat me at my last race at the Weber Fairgrounds race. Heber Fairgrounds, Weber Fairgrounds. I think it is a theme of sorts. I led most of the first lap and strung the field out, but as we entered the dirt track, I stuffed my front tire in a frozen rut and almost burped the tire off the rim. Damn that Stan’s, next year I am going back to tubulars. Yup, I said it. Next year.

I was demoralized that 3 riders seemed to pass me with relative ease, like the effort was harder on me than them; The Kid, Ramirez, and Brent Cannon. We entered the 2nd lap, past the bacon tent, and Cannon stuffed it in the gravel right in front of me. I didn’t panic, closed the gap, got back on the wheels ahead, but was starting to fade. 2 more riders went by, then Cannon caught me from behind. Running 6th, I was getting blown away on the power sections. Seemed like everyone in front of me had much bigger gears. The front tire was getting softer. I started to ride slower.

On lap 3, I snatched a dollar from Sly Fox by the bacon tent, but maybe should have grabbed the bacon instead. Shannon Boffeli was coming up from behind, so my goal for the next 5 laps was to not get caught. That’s always a turning point in a race, when you stop trying to catch the guys in front and instead opt for trying to not get caught by the guys behind. A surrender that still hurts just as bad. I got close to 4th and 5th place with 2 laps to go, but just didn’t have the gear. Meanwhile, The Kid was laying down another stomping, and took the win.

Not the way I wanted to end my return to cyclocross racing, but content with the closure and the mental switch to ski season. Goodbye cyclocross season. On Sunday, I skipped the Wheeler Farm race and took my daughter to Park City Mountain Resort for the first turns of the year. Hello ski season.