Cyclocross State Championship racing

On the way out the door this morning, for the State Championship Cyclocross race at Polk middle school, T almost didn't take his second bike. But since he's finished two races on his pit bike this year, and Murphy's law seems to be a theme for this season, he decided to bring it along.

Lucky for him, he didn't need it--except as a warm up on the mud, sand, and grass course. A clean bike is a faster bike, and when the sprinklers are on the night before (at this time of year?) it's nice to warm up on your 'other' bike, and save the real deal for the race. Apparently, the sprinkler water froze in the night, and the early racers had to race on icy grass. By the time T started, the ice had melted and the grass was wet. Riding through wet grass, then into a sand pit makes for an awfully dirty bike...

When I asked him if Murphy's Law came into effect today (since it has been a season of such) he said, "Oh no, but I over cooked a bunch of corners because I forgot my prescription glasses and I couldn't judge the distance." He ended up getting the course marking tape tangled up in his handlebars twice, lost momentum, and probably lost a couple of places, too.

In the end, he placed 5th in his Age Group.
Most of all, though, "it was just fun!"

Now it's time to put up the cyclocross bike (although sometimes it doubles as a commuter), and start studying for finals (T, not me, thank goodness!). The way law school works is that they give you a whole semester of education, then one "high stakes" test at the end, for each course. I expect T's nose will be buried in books for the next two weeks....

I, on the other had, will be writing cards, mailing out packages, and trying to think of the best present ever (!) for T and my sister.

After all the end-of-year fuss is over, we are both dreaming of a warm weather vacation...

Riding Circles in the Sand

Murphy's Law reigns again.

There was a giant hole on the left side of the start line.
It was a ditch.
Hidden by a small berm.
When the gun went off, so did T.
Full speed ahead.
Then a frantic sudden hard-as-nails braking to a sudden stop just short of the ditch.
Leaving T in last place.
Not the best way to start a race.

It was a race of ditches.
Another ditch was not quite small enough to bunny hop, but not wide enough to ride easily. One foot drop off, two foot width, one foot rise. T hit this one full speed ahead, endo'd, came out of the pedals, and somehow landed on his feet running while his bike got left in the ditch. He said later at one point he saw 3 out of 4 riders go over their bars there. Eventually people just started hopping off their bikes and running it.

On lap three T got a flat.
Kind of the theme for this years 'cross season.
He finished the lap, grabbed his pit bike, worked hard, and ended up something like 14 places out of the money.
Not even a point-is-a-point-is-a-point (thanks DC) for this race.
But, as always, he had fun, "Riding circles in the sand at the Bosque school."

Next week is San Francisco for Thanksgiving and family, then the following week is the cyclocross state championships.

Tomorrow we're taking a break for some non-aerobic fun, rock climbing and cheering on the Outlaws at IMAZ.

Go everyone!

Cyclecross and a Veterans Day Salute

Last weekend was a double header for T: A cyclocross race Saturday at Mesa Del Sol, followed on Sunday by a race in Santa Fe.
Even though it is the off-season, T puts out more excitement and verve for 'cross than he does for anything else.
As he puts it, "It's the most fun you'll ever have on a bicycle."
Although this year, his 'cross efforts are sharing the stage with our re-budding rock climbing skills, as well as jockeying side by side with school, life, and all that jazz....

Cyclocross racing is a little different than triathlon. Due to the nature of the beast, T always brings a second bicycle which he leaves in "the pit," a designated zone for changing bikes and wheels.

For the Mesa del Sol race, he pre-rode the course on his pit bike--and his pedals broke, allowing him to still clip in, but only if the pedals were in a certain position. Still, he placed the bike in the pit as a back up. On lap two of the race, he flatted and rode the entire 3rd lap with a flat. Here is the race in his own words:

"I flatted on lap two, rode the third lap with a flat, lost two positions, switched bikes in the pit, immediately made up two positions, crashed in a loose, sandy corner because my tire pressure was too high (it's the bike he uses for commuting), lost two positions, kept crashing and had a hard time clipping in while racing, barely hung on, and finished in 10th place--just inside the points."

With all of that, he actually did not finish last.
And, gained a point for the series.
Pretty big effort, if you ask me.

The next day, we drove up to Santa Fe for a late starting race at Fort Marcy.

As T was getting ready for warm up, we heard that a Veterans Day parade was about to start just up the street.

Since I had already planned on going for a short run before settling in to watch the race, I ran out to take a look.


This was the start of the parade.

I loved it's homegrown nature.

That was one heck of an organized fire crew.

The veterans bring tears to my eyes, for the stories they carry inside and the paths of their lives. Through work, I met one man who spanned 3 wars. He was 99 years old and had lied about his age as a teenager. He remembered the kindesses of an enemy boy who saved his life. Another spoke of hand to hand combat--and had bayonet scars to show for it. So many. WWII, the Bataan Death March, Vietnam, Korea, the Gulf and current war.

When T was gone, I received a home quilted Blue Star from the local chapter. For some reason it meant a lot to me, I think because of the historical context, the significance and recognition of family, as well as the link to so many others who knew what it felt like to have someone in combat. That blue star still hangs in T's study. It's a bit hidden, so I don't even know if he knows it is there...


This was my favorite. My camera stuck so, unfortunately, I didn't get the whole group.

I didn't know the police had a 'vette. Now, who do you suppose gets to drive that?

The end of the parade.

After the parade, I went for a short run, then settled in to watch T in action. This was the first cyclocross race to be hosted in Santa Fe. A lot of new and fast faces showed up. The competition was deeper than usual, the racing was hard, but the course was "really fun." This year, the race was a shot at a new venue, but, already, the Santa Fe Police Department has volunteered to sponsor the race for next year.

T leading a chase pack

Snaking through an S-curve in the dirt.

Taking it up the steps

Gaining speed and getting ready to jump onto the bike

A tired T at the finish.

T's comment at the end of the weekend was "that was an awful lot of effort for one measly point, but that was fun."

He's getting ready for another double header next week, one under the full moon in Tijeras, the other at The Academy. Meanwhile, we'll be hitting the climbing gym, and, oh yeah...more yoga!

Snow Under a Full Moon

Holy Potato--(that’s Muffin’s eruditism that I’ve pirated as mine) –it is cold out there!

Mr. T – ostensibly attracted by the siren seduction of a possible cash prize, but secretly probably just jonesing for the novelty –raced cyclocross this evening.
That’s right—
I said “THIS EVENING.”
As in night
After the sun goes down
And the light of day turns into the depths of night,
And the temperature turns itself upside down
And NO LIVING CREATURE should be stirring about.

The event was called the KHS Night Cross New Mexico.

It was held in Tijeras, a scenic little town that is at 6300’ ELEVATION (colder temps), inside a NARROW ROCKY CANYON (even colder temps), with SNOW on the ground (coldest temps of all).

Combine this with a recent cold front --28 degrees at 5:00 pm, plummeting to 16 degrees at 7:00 pm.

The race started at 6:20 pm.

Crazy-Crosser-Man-With-Gonads-Of-Pure-Ice drove out to the race before me so he would have time to “warm up.”

I got myself dressed, stepped outside, and immediately returned indoors to put on more clothes.

I layered doubley well. The whole kit and kaboodle. Wool socks, extra long underwear, sweater, fleece top and bottom, down jacket, gloves, hat, boots.

And I STILL FROZE everywhere.

The full moon, however, was not to be missed.
Nor the flat blackness of the rocks silhouetted high against the moon-lit black sky.
The crispness of the clean, still air.
The absence of light-pollution from the nearby city.
Trees lit only by moonlight.
The brightness of the snow.

Neither was the race, but I’ll let Crazy-Crosser-Man-With-Gonads-Of-Pure-Ice tell you about that.

It was amazing to see how much community support an atypical event like this could generate: 10,000 watts of flood lights donated by a local construction company, the venue donated by Los Vecinos Community Center, KHS New Mexico designed and implemented the course as well as provided a warm, heated tent, and a surprising number of spectators provided enthusiastic encouragement complete with cowbells and cameras. Cash prizes went 20 deep for the “A” race. Once the race was over, local cyclists donated plenty of hot eats: hot chocolate, hot cider, coffee, brownies, cookies and chile.

The first ten minutes of spectating were fun.

The rest was just hanging in there, while the pain of intense cold seeped into various body parts.

Still, just to be there,
Under a black sky,
Deep shadows among trees garnished with snow,
The bright light of a full moon
Set square between the tops of the canyon walls,
Luminescence.

And to breath.