Cyclocross September 2026

September flew by. Even though I didn't feel ready to race at the start of the month, I did manage to get out there and race.

This summer, a tick bite led to a babesia parasite infection that robbed me of 25% of my red blood cells and half of my fitness. See my post Summer 2026 Tick bite experience.

As a result, I skipped the early-season races: Blunt Park, Hydra Cross, and Deer Farm. Fortunately, I could use the new Vineyard Cross series on Wednesday nights as race-intensity training to accelerate my recovery. By the end of the month, I was able to race Kilowatt Cross in my regular Masters 60+ category again.

Vineyard Cross (Wednesday nights)

Vineyard cross is a revival of a midweek cross series held at Glendale vineyard in Southampton. The series is a fund raiser for More than Racing and the JAM fund. The six-week series consists of a 30-minute coed Cat 4/5 C race, followed by a 45-minute coed Cat 1–4 A/B race. The hilly course is laid out in the fields and woods behind the vineyard.

I started "easy" by racing the C-race on Augustus 26th as I was still taking medication for the babesiosis. I was going to race at endurance pace but on a course like this that is not easy, I was able to finish the race, completing 5 laps in 35 minutes.

Having finished the medication with no relapse, I decided that on September 2nd I was ready for the A/B race. That week the whole Comp-Edge racing team showed up including former US champions and current Pan-American Champion Andrew Strohmeyer. Despite being lapped by him twice was able to race 49 mins and finished 7 laps. I ended up 26th of 30, not even that far off from my regular competitors Andy, David and Chris.

The next week went even better: I finished 14th out 24, with 8 laps in 49:12. Beating Chris and Andy.

On Sept 16th I finished 16th out of 20, with 8 laps in 48:28. Faster than last week, despite crashing in the first lap and blowing up while unsuccessfully trying to catch Chris.

The last of the Vineyard series was my best result, 7th out of 20, with 8 laps in 46:39. I had an epic battle with a young rider, Anders, who kept me on my toes. I used my app Lap Track (also see blog post Lap Track: A New Way to Review Every Lap of a Cyclocross Race) to find sections on the course where I could improve on.

With the last 3 races on the same exact course layout, I saw a major time improvement from 49:12 to 46:39. An improvement of 2 minutes and 33 seconds, or 19 seconds per lap.

Kilowatt Cross (Sept 26)

Kilowatt Cross in Northfield is part of the River Valley Series. Since I missed two of the earlier races, this series isn't a priority for me this year.

I went out the day before(Friday) to pre-ride to course. Since I was testing out my new GPS gadget (Racebox) I rode the course 5 times. When I found out, the Racebox had not recorded the last 3 laps, I went out and did another lap, 6 in total. The upside was that it helped me pick up some good lines.

On race day, Paula joined me. With the 11am start, I had plenty of time to do a preride. That was a good thing, as the rain overnight had made the grass very slick. So I switched to a front wheel with a more aggressive tire tread.

With the top River Valley series riders lined up in front, I started in 4th row. Our Master 60+ field was mixed in with the 40+, and 50+ riders. As a result I was in the big bunch right after the start, trying to work my way through the opening corners.

Luckily, I wasn't involved in any crashes, but on three different occasions riders crashed right in front of me. I managed to dodge them all.

The Belgian steps were a mixed bag. I was only able to ride them once. I deliberately ran them on the first lap, rode them on the 2nd lap, and after two failed attempts, I ran them every time after that.

I really only saw three of my direct 60+ competitors during the race. First there was Rusty, who was just ahead of me at the start and slowly rode away from me. Then John, who came past me halfway through the first lap. I stayed on his wheel until he crashed out of the race in the 2nd lap. And finally a dark horse, Walter, whom I had seen behind me the last few laps and who almost caught me on the last lap.

The only real mishap happened in one of the last corners, where I rode out through the tape. As I rode back through it, I pulled a bunch of tape with me. It wrapped itself around my left pedal and into my drivetrain. Fortunately, I was able to finish before the drivetrain seized up.

I finished in 50:22 with 7 laps, 3:32 behind the winner, Paul, and 1:16 behind Rusty. To my surprise, I wasn't lapped by the 40+ riders, and I finished 5th of 22. That's a surprisingly good result given my disrupted season preparation.

Closing

Despite a bad season preparation, I was glad I could use the Vineyard series to race myself into much better shape than I started the month with.

My fitness is already halfway back to where it was before the babesiosis, and I feel ready to race some more.

October has an exciting lineup of races: BossCross, and then three double weekends at Lancaster, Treehouse, and Really Rad.