Immediately after Utah, I had the (probably once in a lifetime) chance to experience the UCI Road World Championships that were held in Richmond, VA for 2015. I biked downtown from home each day to spectate, and almost destroyed my little road bike in the process. She was not meant for jumping curbs, dodging pedestrians, and riding down grassy medians. I needed a beater. A bike I could "play" with and not worry about destroying.
Enter Joaquin, or "the tank" as I've since been calling him. I found him on Craigslist for a few hundred bucks, and traveled down to VA Beach area (during Hurricane Joaquin) to pick him up. It's really more of a touring/commuting...slash...sure you could call it a cross bike. He had slick tires when I bought him, so I threw on some gravel tires with the intention of using him as a winter beater and gravel grinder. At that time, no intention AT ALL of actually doing cross races.
I bummed it for about a month after Utah, then met with Coach Bob to figure out what I was going to do next. He encouraged me to try a few cross races over the winter. So SO happy I gave it a shot! Wow, seriously some of the most fun you can have on a bike!
4th place at VCU CX, City Stadium, Richmond VA
 |
| What just happened?? |
2nd place VA Festival of CX, Chimborazo Park, Richmond VA
1st place Turkey Run CX, Courtland VA
I have absolutely fallen in love with this little bike, and can't stop thinking about how much stinkin' FUN we had at those cross races! I can't believe I never tried this until now, and I'm so excited about next season.
Next post about our adventure at Monster Cross 2016!
