OH-THIS IS WAY THE WORSTHATE WHEN THIS HAPPENS
THERE ARE TIMES WHEN I HAVE TEXT ON THE PAGE AND I ADD IMAGES
WHEN THE IMAGES ARE ADDED THE TEXT BECOMES ONE LONG PARAGRAPH
TOUGH TO CLEAN UP WHEN THERE IS NO PUNCTUATION OR CAPITALIZATION MARKING THE BEGINNING OR END OF A SENTENCE
OH MAN! THIS IS WAY THE WORST
trying to write RACE REPORT: Tacchino Ciclocross 2008
in an effort to get some recall and relive some choice moments of the race I am scanning the web for images and stories only there is one problem slow connection well... two problems slow connection and slow blogger I am a few beers down after an exhausting drive from from DC to Pittsburgh the traffic was not bad but the weather sucked which leaves me depleted yet... I stumble on scanning some blogs and scanning some images to refresh my memory of the dayhttp://www.fatmarc.blogspot.com/
http://bassadventures.blogspot.com/
http://team-bi-atch.blogspot.com/
those three racers were in the Elite Masters Category each and every one of them took a few hits out there had any one of these guys been a boxer on that day they would have been that boxer who was bleeding real bad but refused to go down that guy who was not going to get knocked out and was not going to give up even if winning was not part of his reality that sort of spirit is a pleasure to watch well... minus the bleeding checked the results as posted on CX MAG's page... still no grand inspiration the images start the gestation process but no propagation is visible it is morning perhaps I will have better luck... unlikely cause the day is about to start RACE REPORT: Tacchino Ciclocross 2008 the cross season started without me the early cyclocross races and the weekly cyclocross practices occurred without my attendance there was the involvement in hosting the DCMTB-City Bikes Cyclocross practices at Fort Reno but I was caught up in the momentum like so many in the Mid-Atlantic Charm City happened without me when Ed Sander's came along I signed up and lined up I was reminded what all the buzz is about it was a day of riding, racing, and gathering with friends but there was not much cyclocross for me until the DCCX event my cyclocross bike was still caked with mud and clogged with grass and hay the night before DCCX again I rode... I raced... and I gathered with friends again I was reminded of the pleasures of cyclocross racing yet again I failed to get caught up in the momentum the burn out on the mountain bike had faded and I was using my bicycle time to hit the local trails on my single speed a glance at the calend
ar had me realize that cyclocross season was reaching for its finish so I decided that I had to be pro-active if I wanted to get some cyclocross racing before the season ends and the cross bikes get hung up until next year I had a mental note drifting through my head telling me to get involved in the action of Coppi's Tacchino Ciclocross in Leesburg I had raced this course before and enjoyed the venue so the week before the race with my permission slip signed I got online and registered to line up with the Men's Masters B at Tacchino Cyclocross in the days leading up to the race I tinkered with my Jamis Nova pulled the Salsa Bell Lap bars with their road shifters and Paul's levers and swapped things out for a Salsa mountain bike bar with mountain bike shifters and mountain bike levers by the time Saturday had arrived I had replaced the spoke that had broken at DCCX, swapped out the bars and broke in the new brake and deraileur cables, and packed my bags for what was expected to be a cold day on the cyclocross bike Sunday morning came without the sound of the alarm clock I woke to a quiet house after a night on the town the boys must have been tired from staying up late with the babysitter I got out of bed and walked the dog allowing the house to sleep just a little bit longer back with the dog I entered the house which had the smell of fresh brewing coffee Lisa was awake and coffee had been made... bonus I fueled up with some coffee as I loaded up my car with directions in hand I drove across town with my bike ontop of the Element and multiple bags of gear tossed in the back seat when I pulled up to Cargo Mike's place I was pleased to see that he had bought some bagels bagels were a good morning option t
o my pieces of cold pizza Cargo Mike and I got some extra time to catch up when the Google Maps directions sent us the wrong way on Route 15 a few minutes later than planned did not effect things too much getting suited up and lining up with nothing more than a one lap pre-ride was not too different than my usual routine sitting on the bicycle trainer for 30 minutes before the race has never been part of my routine although I am curious if that would change my performance with a release from the officials my race started with a cluster of cyclists packed on a narrow paved path entering the course at a parade lap pace but accelerating and thinning out rather quickly racers tried to power to the front there were mulitple crashes which I was pleased not to be involved in it is true... I rode cautiously on my one lap pre-ride warm up I was warned of the danger of various turns by watching friend and superior rider Family Bike Shop Jonathan go down hard on one of the slick transitions Squadro Coppi had done an excellent job of 
designing this course this may be my third time in four years that I have raced at this venue each year they have done a great job of fine tunning the course the course made great use of the variables provided there were fast transitions from pavement to grass wide sections where racers could pass and select their lines the fast sections fed into tight turns and some short steep climbs which forced riders to weigh the risks between riding smart and racing hard nothing ventured nothing gained or something to that effect in my race I watched the racers crash in front of me as much as I wanted to race hard I did not want to crash hard so I took many of these technical turns that grew more technical as the earth thawed with caution tried to power where I could while being cautious not to blow up gone and back again wrote the abo
ve non-bold/n0n-italic the night prior if only I knew what to say it would be said already let me see if I can wind this up it is thanksgiving morning and I have tried to jot down a report on several attempts no luck the race is a blur hard to recall the specific events of the day I will put a few images to go with this and then maybe call it a day RACE REPORT FINALLY.... 
Photos by Bruce Bruce of METROSPORTS
