“They put poets in prison?” ” No.” “Too bad.” Alright, fair warning: this is going to be a long one. So get a drink and a snack. I’ll wait…still waiting…ok?…time for me now?…Thanks.
The USAC Cyclocross National Championships are finally over. I will not lie to you, my faithful readers, it was chaos. A repeat thumbs up to Kevin and Ralf, great showing Finkrafters! Yesterday was the “elite” race. It was incredibly fast; those guys are on top of their game and it was very impressive. It was also cool to see the nice guys from New England bring it hard to Treefarm and Mr “Rude” JP. Nicely done gents.
Our own Justin Lindine is ranked 11th in the country, so he got a sweat call up spot. He handled the start well and was going strong. However, on the back side of the course, the sun had set behind the hills and some water froze on a short section of pavement. He, and most of the field (including then leader J-Pow) fell hard. Justin carved himself up and ripped his only long sleeve skinsuit. He was able to catch back on and moved up to 13th overall when he flatted just beyond the pit. Crap. By the time he ran all around the muddy course, the officials pulled him and all the other riders. A bit disappointing. Unfortunately, the nature of cyclocross is that sometimes it happens. We put him on a plane this morning in Boise, ID to go home early so he can heal and get ready for Belgium. We went to a meeting on Saturday evening and the schedule will be awesome. They even gave him cards to hand out to the fans at the races. So freakin’ cool. He will write some blogs for us to tell about the adventures over there.
Ok, now I get to vent a little. This weekend’s event was a joke. Normally when we go to bike races, the promoter is a club or a rider or a fan. However, when the USAC puts on their events, they use a large scale promoter who is there to make a profit. For all we know, when the guys that put on Natz finish, they have to prep for the Bon Jovi concert next. With fees at least at $70, we should have been able to count on course marshalls, pit passes, or at least the same course every day. Instead, it was chaos, and with fields over 190 riders; people were getting lapped and pulled within a two laps. Crazy.
Then there was the venue: a lovely mountain town, sure. But this town is 3 hours from the nearest airport and as far as I can tell, the course was held at a toxic waste dump.
Then, this other picture is a view from the spoils piles over towards the lovely mud slop called the service pits. It was disgusting. Then there is this picture a pile of garbage on the far side of the course. If you look carefully, you can see the course tape in the background. You don’t see those pictures on the internet!!!
Ok, I feel better. Now, you ask: Kyle, from where are you typing this lovely note? Well, I am stranded in Rawlins, Wyoming. Yup, they have closed I-80 Eastbound due to high winds. Apparently my car and trailer (with 25 bicycles) will blow over. No snow, but wind. Ugh.
However, this part of the country is stunning. That’s it for now. I am hoping that the wind will stop so I can get the heck out of here and back east. I don’t like beards. If you have been to Oregon, you would understand.
Train hard, race harder.