On Saturday, I spent the day at the USGP Planet Bike Cup cyclocross race. The weather was fair, sun and clouds, a few sprinkles. I was in such a rush to get out the door, I forgot my cowbell! I arrived early so I could check out the expo area. There were food samples, things to buy, and bike eye candy. I got a free bowl of oatmeal courtesy of Bob's Red Mill (no maple syrup to put on it though) and I was encouraged to "train with grain." I purchased a wonderful special edition Stanley insulated coffee mug that fits in my bike's water bottle cage. Then I was "on duty" as a course crossing guard for most of the afternoon, including both the women's and men's pro races, so I wasn't able to watch the fun parts of the course. I did have a nice front row spot, so I did cheer my favorites. As soon as the awards were presented, I motored home where Karl was packing up to go to his race, Twelve Hours of Pitch Black Singletrack. Due to an unfortunates series of events, Karl would be racing the 6 hour solo category, and I would be the support.
After a quick dinner and change of clothes (I added a couple of layers), I hopped back in to the already-packed car and followed Karl to the bustling metropolis of Rockdale, WI, population 214. We set up our headquarters, Karl got to racing, and I got to knitting (I had to keep my fingers warm somehow!). The reschedule of the race kind of weeded out the fun crowd, so it was all serious racers and Karl. Check point VictorBravoCharlie was still set up in the woods, and Karl happily took a bacon hand up ("It was really good bacon! Peppered and cooked over a campfire!" he said), a Twinkie, and a PBR. The "crowd" went wild because apparently he was the only one to take anything. A near miss with a deer and a bunny, but Karl got 5 laps in 6 hours - good enough for 2nd place! And I won a raffle prize! The few photos can be seen here.
We packed up, headed home, and crawled in to bed a 2:45 am. I had hoped to sleep really late, but the cat had other plans. He woke me up at 7 am. Karl was awake too, so we went out for breakfast. I did lounge around for a little while before I had to work my 2nd shift at the cyclocross race.
The weather was not as agreeable on Sunday. It ranged from sun and clouds to thunder and lightning and hail! Needless to say, it was muddy and I was wet. I really need to invest in better rainwear. It didn't hamper the crowds though. Quite a few people enjoying the true breakfast (or lunch) of champions - beer and oatmeal! My shift finished just before the men's pro race, so I slid down (literally) to a good spot at the bottom of the hill. I got a spot right on the barriers. And wouldn't you know, I had the "emergency back-up cowbell" but I had forgotten my camera! The mud along there was a good 4 inches deep, and riders were having a heck of a time running up the hill. They were concentrating on their footing and kept missing the dollar hand-ups! After the third lap, you could barely recognize them.
It's common in cyclocross to have pressure washers available for the riders to blast the mud off their bikes. But never before have I witnessed the riders pressure washing each other! You really have to trust someone to do that for you!
As soon as the mens race finished, I hopped in the car and headed straight to rehearsal with Ladies Must Swing. I warned everyone that I was running on 4 hours of sleep, and that I probably had mud in my hair. My fingers seemed to be working at a different speed than my brain, so I made a lot of mistakes. Those sharp accidentals started looking a lot like natural accidentals, so I took some pre-emptive Ibuprofen, got through it, and finally headed home, where Katrina greeted me, and we both went straight to bed.
I was happy to see the rain this morning, because I knew I didn't have to bike to Katrina's school and ride along with her PE class from 9-10. That's been pushed back to Thursday, and hopefully, it will be dry.
And now, I'm going to bed.
2 comments :
I'm exhausted just reading about your (muddy) adventures. But it sounds like you had fun! Sleep is overrated, right?
COMMENT! See, I'm posting a comment, just as you requested.
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