CBR Rules Jersey Cross!!!

by Major Mike Reardon

(Mike is the northernmost representative of CBR. He is stationed at Ft. Dix New Jersey. Mike raced with us in GA until he was sent to Korea for several years)

I'm such a bad team member, I haven't published any of the three race reports I owe so a quick summary will have to do.


First race, lots of sandbaggers, winner got a free cross frame, bad crash on the first lap going into to first turn, I got caught behind it and had to chase the rest of the race for placings, I got tenth. My legs were not with me that day. Lesson learned, get a good starting position to avoid the inevitable first lap crashes.
Second race, lots of sandbaggers again. really rough and technical course, more like a mountain bike course without the mountains, kind of reminded me of Flatrock park a little. Once again, I got a crappy start, I took too long to warm up, and once again I got jammed up behind a big pile-up in the first turn. Because it was so rough though, there were lots of people that couldn't hold the pace so I was able to pass lots of folks on the tough parts, tubulars help, low pressure and no pinch flats. I ended up chasing a guy on the last lap and put in a strong attack on the last section of barriers then out-sprinted him for the line. I took 5th, yeah for me. Lesson learned, tubulars are great, sandbaggers suck, get a good starting position, if you're not in the top 5 on the starting grid, you're not racing to win


Third race, guess what? more sandbaggers, the top 2 riders had 2.5 minutes on the field. This weekend was hot, hot, hot, I think we topped out at 92 degrees, many people were not prepared for the heat and because real men don't carry water bottles in a cross race, we suffered badly. Once again, I got a bad start, you would think I would learn my lesson huh? apparently I like to suffer and chase the entire race because that's what I did again. Good hard course this time, three barrier sections, good singletrack sections and a few spots to really open it up and hurt yourself. Things took a little while to thin out but the last 4 laps we were all fighting for the 3rd spot as the top 2 chuckleheads were way ahead, both of them are 3's on the road. I had good legs and actually felt like I was getting stronger as the race went on. On the last two laps I started to real in the pack and moved up from 9th to 7th. On the last lap, I put in an attack on a technical section and passed a guy on a very sketchy inside move, think Robbie Mcewen in a finishing sprint. I hammered as hard as I could and won a sprint for the line to take 6th. Lesson learned, get a good start, duh. Tubulars Rock!

So after my somewhat consistent performances I am leading the C men's series by 46 points. CBR Rules Jersey Cross!!!


My pit crew and I, that would be Darsi, she has gotten really good at wheel changes, proudly display our CBR clothing, thanks for the t-shirt, she loves it.