Cross Heaven

One man's cross heaven is most certainly another man's cross hell. For me, living in Lousiville, Colorado and racing at the Bowl of Death (aka Louisville Rec. Center or BOD ), it was cross heaven. Just so you know, in cross heaven, the course is close to your house, you never get flats or mechanicals, and you can ride faster than every body else. You are familiar with every turn and you actually help the race organizers set the course the night before. The course is long, with lots of run ups, plenty of technical stuff and some good hills too. One of your family members or friends is at virtually every turn in the course, you race with a smile on your face and it is a blast. In cross heaven, there is a rec center and playground nearby for the kids to play all day long. There is a hot grill going for bratwurst and hot dogs and the supply of Dale's Pale Ale is endless. This is what riders were presented with on Saturday at the BOD. It was a spectacular course and the day was just about perfect. Sidenote, in cross heaven it rains a lot and gives riders a wonderful muddy challenge. That did not happen on Saturday. Mike Hogan and Jamie Kilcoyne had a blast riding the 35+ race finishing 4th and 20th. Gary Thacker, Lester Pardoe, and Justin Green rode well in the 45+. I forgot to mention, that in cross heaven, you race early and can enjoy the cross spectacle all day long.

For some, it was cross hell. Gary Thacker went down hard on a difficult turn messing up his back and neck. I talked to him today and he seemed to be getting back to normal. Friend of Chiptole Titus, Zane Godby, went down in a massive pileup in the Cat 3 race. There was a huge collective ouch and oooooohhhh when they went down. It was at the start and they had achieved mach speed when some knucklehead washed out in a pea gravel section taking down 20 riders with him. There were cartwheeling bikes and bodies flying through the air and skidding in the gravel. They ended up strewn across the course, some slipped and spilled down into the Bowl of Death, others ended up in the neighbor's back yards. Zane ended up with a trip to Avista Hospital with a pretty good concussion, but is also doing well today.

Once again, the day was highlighted by our open women's rider, Karen Hogan finished 3rd. She rode a spectacular race and seems to be getting stronger every week. She continued her tradition of strong finishes and once again stole my Titus Exogrid CX Super Bike. People are saying that it fits her better than me.

For me, I prefer cross heaven over cross hell every day. Thankfully, cross heaven prevailed today and everyone will live to race another day.

Ben Hogan wrapped up the day with a stellar performance in the Jr. 10-12 category. He had a blast and loved the course. However, he did mention that it was harder to race late in the day as he had put down several hot dogs, played in the Rec. Center and spent hours on the playground. Cross Heaven.