The November winds blew in the first race of the month! Dennis Dischler, Heather Heinrich and Andrew
Webster headed to Mt. Airy, MD to compete in Patapsco Cross - Race #5 of the Sportif Cross Cup. The cold and blustery elements just added
more adversity to a tough race. It was
a fun course with a several punchy climbs, hairpin turns and a sand pit. Dennis finished 25/39 in Masters; Heather
earned the top podium spot finishing first among a class of 13 in Women’s
1/2/3; and Web, not to be outdone, matched that taking first in a tough group
of 45 racers in Men’s Cat 3/4. Awesome
way to start the month!
The next day, Wooden Wheels Racing showed up en masse to
compete in the first annual Stoudts
Cross Race on the grounds of the Stoudts Brewing Company in Adamstown,
PA. Upon hearing the team with the most
registrants won a case of Stoudts Octoberfest, the team made an eleventh hour
surge before registration closed to take the case…proving we aren’t only competitive
on the course! For many WW racers, it
was the first cross race of the season…and for some, ever…and it didn’t
disappoint. Under (again) very cold and
very windy conditions, the course was loaded with twists, turns, ups, downs,
barriers, gravel, leaves, road, a log over, and a monster climb up Goat Hill –
what more could a ‘cross racer hope for?!?
The approach to Goat Hill wasn’t more than a tacky dirt patch for the
first class of racers, but soon turned into a six-inch deep mud bath by the
time the women racers hit it. Mud,
sweat and gears! Needless to say, it
gathered the most hecklers waiting to witness the next Stoudts spa
treatment. Fortunately after the
monster run-up, once at the top the downhill switchbacks gave racers the break
they needed to re-oxygenate! The WW
racers proved their mettle and had a great finishes. Emily White, our speedy junior, started the day off great with a
win! She’s cleaning up this season. Next up, Men’s Cat 3/4 where Andrew Webster
took 2nd and Curtis Miller took 11th in a big class of
38. WW had a solid showing in the
biggest class of the day, Men’s Cat 4: Jason Temple finishing 8th,
Rob DiSibio 11th, and Justin Rogers 14th out of a huge
class of 72 – awesome finishes for a crew with only a few CX races under their
belts. Dennis Dischler closed out the
men’s racing finishing 24th (39) in Men’s Masters. Finishing out the day of racing was the WW
women: Heather Heinrich and Cati Scheifele finishing 3rd and 6th,
respectively in a class of 13 in Cat 1/2/3…and competing in their first cross
race Nancy DiSibio and Liz Jones finished 12th and 15th
out of 28 in Women’s Cat 3/4. The team
celebrated its outstanding performances, and the case of beer won, at the
post-race party the Stoudt folks put on in the beer hall. All in all, a great day! 
The following weekend brought WW racers to Fair Hill, MD to
compete in the First State Velo Sport
Xross race. Wooden Wheels was in da house with
another large group ready to race! It
was the perfect fall day for a race.
The course was contained within the horse area of the Fair Hill
fairground. It was wide open grass
areas with lots of small elevation changes, gradual climbing with lots of
berms, bumps & things that just make you want to go fast. It was another outstanding day of racing for
WW! Heather Heinrich finished a solid
13th (21) in Cat 1/2/3. Cati
Scheifele fought for a podium spot finishing 2nd (19) in Women’s Cat
3/4, followed by Kim Webster finishing 11th. Emily White rounded out the women racers
competing in Juniors finishing 6th.
Way to go ladies! On the men’s
side of race day, Andrew Webster continued his fabulous CX season finishing 10th
out of 56 in Cat 2/3/4! Curtis Miller,
competing in Masters finished a solid 14th (29). Rounding out the racing for the day, Jason
Temple took a podium spot finishing 4th in Cat 4, with Justin Rogers
and Jeff Meyer also competing in the packed Cat finishing 14th and
32nd, respectively. 
The next day, WW racers had to choose between two good
racing options. Heather Heinrich opted
to head south to compete in the Schooley
Mill Cross Race, in Highland, MD.
The site is an equestrian facility with obstacles unlike any other race
along the Mid-Atlantic… “a horse of a course!”
Racers competed through wooded and winding technical sections, requiring
several dismounts - including a horse-jump.
With the challenging barrier section strategically located right in
front of the beer tent, the racers provided good entertainment for those
working their biceps. Heather upped her
game and raced in Cat 1/2/3 finishing 10th (11). Five WW racers opted to head north to race
the Crossasaurus Awesome, in Spring
Mount, PA. Kim Webster, the sole female
WWRer finished a solid 14th (30) in Cat 3/4 (it seems Kim is liking
this ‘cross stuff!). Andrew Webster
raced Cat 1/2/3 and had a solid finish in 18th place (27). Our Cat 4 guys battled it out in a huge
class of 74 also with solid finishes: Justin Rogers 15th, Jason
Temple 24th and Earl Hunt 67th. Great way to represent!
Sunday November 18th also split the WW racers
between two fun courses. Dennis
Dischler and Curtis Miller headed north to race Kutztown Cross, in Kutztown, PA.
It was a cold day and the ground was covered in frost for the first
racers up. An interesting course…no run
ups, no elevation, but tons and tons of twisty turns with two sets of
barriers. Competing in Masters 35+,
Curtis battled it out for 11th and Dennis finished 18th
in a tough Cat of 19. To the south, the
other WW continent was crushing it in Elkridge, MD at the Rockburn Cross. A blustery
day for a challenging course of road, dirt, switchbacks and barriers…but the
WWR team rocked it with FOUR podiums and three solid finishes. First, the women…our rockstar Junior racer,
Emily White, took 2nd (7)…and more awesome swag! Stepping it up competing in Cat 1/2/3,
Heather Heinrich took 4th and Cati Scheifele battled it out for 9th. The other dynamic duo of Kim Webster and Liz
Jones raced hard to get two WWR jerseys on the Cat 4 podium finishing 1st
and 5th, respectively. Rock
on ladies!!! For the guys, Andrew
Webster – battling it out in Cat 1/2/3 – had a sprint finish taking 10th
(17); and Jason Temple – also stepping it up to Cat 3/4 - finished a solid 23rd
(59). Another great day of racing in
the books.
Ready to burn off the Thanksgiving eating bonanza, a WW
contingent headed to Taneytown, MD to race in the 2012 MidAtlantic/MABRA Cyclocross Championships – the final race in
the Sportif Cross Series at the Taneytown Memorial Park. Andrew Webster, continuing his climb up the
leader board, raced in Cat 1/2/3 with a solid 10th place (22). Heather Heinrich, continuing to challenge
herself stepped up to race Cat 1/2 open and finished 8th (10). Cati Scheifele after maintaining the lead,
got a flat & raced to the pit to grab her other bike and battled back to
finish 6th (9). Kim Webster
took another top podium spot in Cat 4 against 12 other racers. Kim…I think you are getting the hang of this
‘cross race thing! 
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