It's always bittersweet to end a series as fun as the Ascent Cycling series. Throughout the summer, I've been looking forward to 6:15 on Wednesday nights. No matter how crazy the weekend before has been or how hectic the upcoming weekend will be, on Wednesday nights it's been time to race my mountain bike. I've known there will some fast women on the line, plenty of speedy juniors to chase and the possibility that Russel, Cam and the rest of the really speedy local (and national) pros will…

Okay, so technically these are crit races, but it still feels like a short track race on steroids. That's what I've jokingly called the Ascent Cycling Series in the past. A 2.5 mile lap, repeated for an hour, then the sprint to the line. All out from the gun until the finish. So much different then the cross country races of two to two and a half hours where its a hard start, then settle into a strong…