Got there before 10, got dressed, rode to registration.  Crashed on a rut.  lost glasses.  (white glasses on white snow)  

Watching the earlier races, it looked like no one could go full gas.  I figured out why later.

Crashed a few times warming up.  There didn't seem to be a good line anywhere but on the finishing straight.

For some reason, they gave out numbers by alphabetic order, not cross rankings.  

Harry was in the pit with gear for Patrick, Eloy, me.

I lined up next to Mark McCormack, former national champ, in the 12th or  13th row--we were 101st and 102nd in the starting grid.  He was a pro, he is be a bike industry sales rep, but he doesn't have fancy equipment.  A several year-old Ridley painted grey with Clif Bar stickers.  Shimano 10-speed.  regular cross shoes with the vents taped over with duct tape.  Short sleeve summer jersey over a base layer, regular shorts over leg warmers.  He asked me how I handled starting at the back.

I knew I should follow him, but he took a line right along the fencing and I was afraid he was going to get jammed against a tree at the first curve.  he didn't.  (went on to finish 27th)

I avoided the crash on the first open section, and it helped me move up quite a bit.

But when I started running up the side hill, the quick-release buckle on my left shoe somehow opened up.  My foot just about came out.  I had to stop to tighten it down.  And that was pretty much the end of my race.

I passed several people after the descent, but the last person I passed I crashed after passing him, and that was it.  

At the start of the second lap, I hit a rut I didn't see on the only open section of course.  not only crashing but losing my chain.  I crashed at least another two times, probably more.  My chain came off a second time.  The frozen muck made it impossible fore my rear wheel to spin at the end of the final lap.  I stopped and pulled it out.  My derailleurs were also jammed up.  

There was one place on the course where there was goopy mud.  It was short, it caked your bike every time.  Most of the course was pretty frozen, with ruts on all the turns and deep ruts at the bottom of steep drops.  

I agree with Eloy's contention that the side hill was ridiculous.  It looks like the promoters moved out the upper line so people can ride it.  And I'm guessing the lower line hardened up because it was nearly impossible to ride when we were there.

I've done cx nationals every time it was in the mid-atlantic and new england regions since 1991 (1991, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006).  It snowed in '95, and '05.  In 1995, it was all loose powder and between not having a real cross bike (modified road bike with 28mm tires) and no toe spikes (weren't that common on mtb shoes at the time), it was impossible.  2005 was the bombogenesis event for the masters race, and packed snow for the elite men.  The ruts this year is what made the course stand out in terms of difficulty.  The ruts were brutal.

Before cleaning the bike (two of the three power washers were broken), Harry commented 'wow, it's 28 degrees out.  I thought it was colder.'  I thought "isn't it warmer?"

Once home, the second cleanup began.  bike, both sets of wheels, both pairs of shoes, two complete sets of riding clothing, most of my casual clothing worn at the race as well.