2012 Southern Cross

It is hard to believe that it had been a year since we made our last trip down to Georgia when we (me & Mason) were introduced to Southern Cross.  Mason was super excited to be making the return trip and try her hand at the 50 mile course.  We loaded up the bikes and left the snow covered ground of Richmond.    

The girls played in the snow until 10pm knowing we were booking out first thing in the morning.

We did make one pit stop on the way down at Industry Nine, one of our new sponsors for 2012.  I got some new wheels for my 29er and Mason got some i25SL's for her cross bike.  Being that Mason is only 12, we left the cross bike at home and opted for her mountain bike, the Giant Anthem Advanced instead - well aware of the climbing that awaited us.

We are going to make it on time t his year!

This year we actually arrived on time and did not get turned around heading to the winery.  It was cool because at registration Namrita remembered Mason from last year.  Once we registered, we drove down to park the car and pulled up next to the default tandem winners.  They were gracious enough to take our picture and we returned the favor.

Where are your sleeves little girl???

Then we headed for the start line.  Maybe next year we will get there early enough to actually get a decent spot on the line.  We must have, once again, been one of the last five people to ride up...

End of the line for you KID!

But wait...  who do we see straight out of RVA....  METRO!  Stopped and chatted with him, never left that spot, which was good for a mid-pack start.  He was also turned into Kegman at the last run up late in the day.

Metro is a favorite at all our cross races.

Then the start was on, we were all funneled through the start chute which was like 10 feet wide.  I wanted to ride around it since I was not officially registered, just making sure Mason made her way around the course safely.  I chose not to since I figured it might freak some people out - like I was skipping the start.  We found ourselves winding through the winery in similar fashion to the previous year.  This year there was a tree down which would have been easy enough to hop over, but it would have been downright treacherous with all the people around.  As we made our way to the first run up, the hill looked crowded and I told Mason to slow a bit and create a small gap so she could shoot the bottom hill before settling in to climb rather than push.  She almost made it, put a foot down at the top of the bank and two half pedal strokes later she was riding up the hill.

This has to be my favorite picture of Mason on a bike to date.  Awesome shot Weldon!

She ended up making it around half way up before being stopped by the tufted pasture grass.  I almost ran over the camera guy on the right as I blazed a trail up the hill passing quite a few people and getting a few cheers along the way.  Unlike last year, we were not DFL by the time Mason made it to the top of the run/ride up.  We even got to ride with people on the road and take advantage of some drafting!  Then the road turned up and Mason's day started to go downhill...

So far so good...

A whole lotta climbing left...

Mason was having one of those days where she just could not get it going.  She kept saying that she knew she was going slow but there was nothing she could do about it.  Sometimes that is just how it goes.   Mason being the billy goat that she is, did ride all the way up to the aid station, though.  That was a goal set last year after she walked about 300 yards of the steepest pitch.  This year she got bucked off once, but got back on and kept riding all the way to the top.  I could not tell if it was the physical or emotional challenge that was getting to her.  I suspect it was more mental as that girl is very strong.  

Just another beautiful day riding.

Wow, I do not remember it being this difficult and by the way 'dad' stop taking pictures of me all the time...

Well we finally did make it up to the aid station, got some refills, ate a little food and went on our way.  We were immediately met by a few riders coming at us.  I was not sure if they were dropping out of the race or what.  It was a bit unnerving though.  So this is now the best part of the day for us.  We are just about to top out the climb when Mason is letting me know over and over again how cold she is.  She also informs me that she left her armwarmers in the car.  Yeah, when she aid she had her arm warmers and I said 'well then you only need your vest' it was taken as all you need is your vest so leave the arm warmers in the car.  Will not make that mistake again...  So I proceeded to give Mason my long sleeve jersey (because that is what dads do) and she gave me her vest.  Awesome trade!  So now she is nice and warm and I am riding around like Juan Luis Pedro Felipo de Juevos Epstein (yeah, sweathog Epstein) with the full on sleeveless look for the rest of the ride.  If I did not have the Verge base layer that my good friend Greg Wittwer had given me the week before, I would have really froze.  As it was, the rest of the day was pretty darn cold.  Once we had a chance to hit the descent, the day started to turn around for Mason.  We were railing it all the way down to the pavement.  It was a blast and we hit the road in the big ring and were finally nailing it trying to make up some time.  Then we started going up again, up to the aid station we had just left.  The climb was not nearly as difficult as the first climb and we knew we were home free once we hit the aid station since we covered that portion last year.  A few rollers, a couple decent pitches and some really fast downhills before hitting the pavement back to the winery.  Ahhhhhhhhhh, but I am getting ahead of myself.  About a mile from the aid station, we were greeted by the dredded sweeper car!  After a minute or two, it was decided that we would finish the climb and decide what to do at the top.  Once we got to the top, the car was already packed with no room for us so we decided to keep riding until they could come back and get us.  This worked out good since we got to go full tilt down the mountain again.  One of Mason's highlights was passing an SUV on the way down the mountain - we were screaming.  Best I can tell, we got picked up right around the 40 mile mark.  It was never a question about whether we could finish, we just did not have the legs to keep pace with the aggressive cut-off times.  At least we got to ride more while they took some other people back.  While Mason technically did not finish ahead of anyone, she did ride farther than some.  All in all it was another great day on the bike and Mason was all smiles when it was over.

How can you be happy sitting in the back of the sweeper car... really doubting whether she is my daughter... hahaha

Chillin post race at the winery.

I am still amazed at the people Mason knows through cycling.  We were hanging out waiting for food when Chris Merriam walks up and starts talking to Mason.  Seems they hung out in the pits up at Charm City Cross while Mason was with Fred Wittwer pitting for Greg.  Come to find out he also parked next to us at DCCX.  Small world when people recognize you from mid atlantic racing down in Georgia.  Of course there was Metro (aka kegman) and a couple other people who remembered Mason from last year.  It really makes her feel welcome even though she is so young.  We are already planning our trip back next year and being 13 equals not being a kid anymore.  So we will be working on our Southern Cross fitness in order to make sure we are far ahead of the sweeper car...

Thanks again to Namrita & Eddie for putting on a great event.

Special thanks to River City Womens Racing for their support of Mason as well.