A Good Idea at the Time: Rain and Cold

Monday, January 12, 2009

Rain and Cold

Posted by Dave Holmes at 4:53 PM

Saturday brought the Rain... The KnoxieCross series began with fitting cross weather, as 40 degree temps and pouring rain made for an epic day. I was not wearing anywhere close to warm enough gloves, and after a lap or so, my hands were so stiff that they were more claw than hand... Shifting and braking were painful, and my lap times slowed horribly as I was thinking in my head how many fingers were worth losing to finish the race. I managed to finish, and spent the next half hour in the car with the heat on full trying to convince my appendages to circulate blood again.

Deep squishy mud and pouring rain...

Sunday was the Cold... The KnoxieCross weekend continued with another race on the same course. So you've got the same muddy and waterlogged course, but now with a 10 degree or so drop in temperature. I sort of learned my lesson, and was wearing the warmest gloves I have (Windstopper with primaloft insulation.) My fingers were only numb for half the race and were then good. Toes were still frozen thanks to multiple creek crossings. The race went much better than saturday's, and I felt pretty decent. Warming up more would have been a smart idea, but I finished around where I figured I would after taking a sprint finish for 5th in the CX3. Lucky for me it was slightly uphill. KnoxieCross takes a month break before finishing up with 4 more races in February. Click Here for a gallery of pictures from the Sunday race.