Ground Control

I never could bring myself to write a race report from the Versailles race, because I'm still upset about it. I got into a verbal spat with another competitor, and I feel like an ass for it. Not a completely unjustified ass, but an ass nonetheless. I've been struggling with how my perception of things may or may not actually line up with reality (still not sure). I've finally come to the conclusion that regardless of how the other girl's past actions have contributed to my frustration and possibly the frustrations of other riders, as well, it was ultimately my responsibility to not let myself get so upset worrying about other people's actions. It's just a damn hard thing to do.

Also, I ran out of gas mid-race and finished fourth, which I felt was pretty dumpster. I'm sure the wasted expenditure of emotional energy didn't help.

I'd still been feeling "off" since I got back from Oklahoma four weeks ago (smacked head?), so I took Friday off from work to allow a nice three-day weekend and the chance to regroup a bit. I'm not sure what the deal was. I wasn't sleeping well, and was showing physical signs of stress, although I couldn't really name any particular thing I was worried about. Regardless, I thought an extra day of sleeping in, followed by a morning of light and not mentally taxing physical activity, would do me good. So I swapped my Thursday intervals for a Friday mountain bike ride at Brown County. A couple of hours at chill-axed pace did me good.

Green Valley

Later that day, I found out that my new cyclocross wheels had arrived. They are Velocity Major Tom rims with Ultegra hubs. I apparently also have "custom" tires, although I have only seen them on Twitter. The new wheels are not super fancy, but I'm looking forward to making the jump from clinchers to tubulars. Hopefully, the "unparalleled ground control" will help me step up my game this season.

Should have taken the picture before Adam started the gluing magic.

In other 'cross news, the registration pages for some of this season's races have begun to open and it appears that the campaign to get a Cat 3 women's class for the OVCX series was mostly successful. I say mostly because, while there will be a separate Cat 3 women's class for registration and scoring, they will race at the same time and for the same prize purse as the Cat 1/2's, as well as the newly formed Elite 35+ women's class. I feel like these category changes will help create a more defined path for riders progressing through the sport, and will give everyone a place where they belong, even if we don't all get separate swag.

After obsessing over the creation of a Cat 3 women's class for the last year, I certainly would like to participate in it. However, I'm a little scared of getting in over my head for the first race. So I'm strongly leaning toward racing Cat 4 for the first race and trying to earn my upgrade. Upgrading is easier than downgrading; plus I'm a strong advocate of "the upgrade points system is in place for a reason" and feel like I should earn my spot in the next category up.