Cool pic stolen from HERE

I figured after my adrenaline filled first “real” cyclocross race ever that I would be full of an entire blog post of racing prose. Turns out I was wrong. 

The thought that rehashing a nondescript mid-pack finish of the Cat 4 race at Highland Park would be interesting to anyone other than me occurred to me.  Then it took over and I decided against it. 

I will share some thoughts I had and one or two race highlight’s in spite of myself.  (Ok just one)

First up. Why race?  My competitive urge isn’t overly strong but for some reason racing appeals to me.  Cylocross particularly interests me because I like alot of the people who race it. 

Take for instance Fat Marc.  A misnomer to be sure.  He is certainly not fat.  I hardly know Marc but his reputation precedes him. Although I was formally only introduced to Marc at a beer drinking event over the summer I like him.  He was one of the first people I saw at the race.  I went and chatted with him and his lovely bride “Monkey”.  A few tips were conveyed and off I went.

During my race I here a person yelling my name.  That always works and I dug deeper fighting harder for my mid-pack finish.  Looking at a video clip I realized it was Marc yelling for me. 

Yep that’s him yelling.

It may not seem like much but it was cool.  Maybe it was subliminal payback from last year at Wissahickon cross.  Marc was suffering and digging deep to catch the wheel in front of him.  Although I didn’t personally know him, I had been reading the exploits on his blog and knew him as FatMarc Vanderbacon.  I yelled at him and encouraged him to grab the wheel in front of him yelling/heckling that he should hurry up because the winner got bacon.  He (and my daughter) looked at me like I was a lunatic and in reality that probably cost him a place.  I apologize.

I also ran into Dan.  If you can find a guy as passionate about cross as Dan you have found a very passionate human being.  He just freakin loves it.  If you run into Dan complement his stunning sideburn’s.

I guess people like them and many more are why I am dipping my toe into the pool known as Cyclocross.

Now onto the one true race highlight and moment my mom probably wouldn’t be proud of but I was…

That momentous occasion is that I was the proud first taker of the Beer Handup offered by the fine folks at Van Dessel-Triumph Brewery Racing Team.  Gui Nelessen offered up the sudsy goodness so despite it being approximately 9:20 A.M. I took it.  It was more like throwing a half a red cup of beer directly in my face while wheezing for breath but it still tasted great and made for a tremendous belch on the back of the course.  It was a shame I couldn’t have timed that belch better then I would have two highlights.

It looked like this only less classy and Gui is slightly less endowed.

I think I’ll do that cylocross thing again this weekend.

For all you people on this side of the pond.  Tomorrow is the day to exorcise your civic duty and vote.  It also means that the sign’s, phone calls and television ad’s throwing mud at each other will stop.  So take time from your ride like Mr. Junkersson and vote.

Yes that guy is referred to as Junkersson.