Cross Racing

   Despite me previous thoughts on 'the noble sport' I entered my first cyclocross race the other day. I have to say, this was a lot of fun! I have never raced cross before, but it was pretty much what I expected: a bit of a free-for-all at the beginning, a lot of grunting and a crash in the middle and then a sufferfest at the end. This race was at the Valmont Bike Park, and they did a great job of laying out a fun and challenging course. Here is a little map of what we did:

Race course by spaghetti

   The race was pretty relaxed, no timing chips and acasual atmosphere. Here our hero battles for a 12th place finish for the day:

Rocking the new Vork kit

AND even more exciting, here's a video of the stair section:

Greenbird's first video! 

   I really liked the format of multiple laps rather than one long loop like mtn biking. I was telling my cycling friends that this is probably the best mixture of all kinds of racing. For everyone who rides a cyclocross as a commuter but has never raced, I recommend jumping in sometime. Get your shoes muddy!