If you missed CycloCrunk, you missed 40-minutes of race in the dark madness at Tobey park. The event kicked off with a LeMans-style start that had around 50+ participants dashing for their bikes. I managed to reach mine rather quickly for a good start. However, my lighting situation was anything but optimal with a cheap Wal-Mart bike light literally duck-taped to my handlebars and a small LED headlamp I borrowed from Jon. I was fine for the first three laps, but became progressively blind as the race went on and had to slow down more times than I wanted. Try racing toward a wooden barrier you can barely see. The course featured 5 barrier groups: two double barriers (one set on a small hill), one triple barrier, a single barrier and a four barrier run with each barrier a different height. There was also a 10 yard sand pit. At some point during the race, someone smashed into the triple barrier and it was taken down because it couldn't be repaired in the dark. No one complained. The course also looped around a field, through a baseball spectator area, around an off-camber corner on grass between a chain-link fence and a metal light pole. Big fun!
I felt pretty good during the race and actually passed a lot of people in the various barrier groups. My big problem, other than not being able to see, was getting up to speed on some seriously rutted ground after one of the barriers. I really wanted my mountain bike on that section.
I asked the promoter how I placed, and he said I finished somewhere in the upper middle, probably between 15th and 18th. That's good enough for me.
