3 hours + 30 minutes x 2?

I am talking about Walla Walla Cyclocross this past weekend. The scene was awesome, the racing was rad and the courses were sic. If you have never raced cyclocross there are still 3 weekends left, I suggest you get out there and get it done. I was told by Glen C. to not miss the Stanger farm event on Saturday, and now I know why. It was like a cyclocross carnival, stream crossings, grass, a little mud, a too steep bridge and 2 barns. And of course the beer run up! The weather held pretty well until it didn't, but no one cared because there was a huge covered fire pit in the barn with hay bale stools and a front row seat to the action. There is also a great video from last years race here .


Enter Barn 1, there's a fire in there. It felt real good after 2 stream crossings.


Exit Barn 1. Glen C. going much too fast for my camera.


Stream crossing 1, again too fast.


Stream crossing 2


And the incentive to get up that hill, from stream crossing 2.


The Grassy Death Spiral

This was a great way to start the weekend. I was unsure about staying for Sunday, but sometimes you just gotta give it up and live a little. Oh, and I had a gracious offer to crash with the Copus clan...details, and a huge thanks. So Barney, my built in dog groupie and I were in it for another day of racing Sunday.

Saturdays race was awesome, the question was, could Sundays race top it? Well, its relative of course as far as topping it. This race was held at Bennington Lake. The morning started out cloudy, but cleared to blue skies, and sunshine with a little wind for race time. Perfect!

The course was ideal if you like gravel straightaways, technical down hills, and a good grunt to get back up the hill with a couple of barriers just to keep you honest. Actually, it turned out to be a great course, and the weather was superb....no complaints here.



There are bikes down there you just have to look close.


The straightaway that you could rest a little and make up some time if needed. I needed all the rest I could get. I am maybe not the best at taking care of my equipment, I just want to ride my bike. I may have been the only one with grass, and mud from the previous days race, oh and the chain may have been a tad rusty. I ended up with about 3 working gears. Nothing like equipment that keeps on tickin with a little strong arming. My bike may have been in revolt as there were people taking excellent care of theirs with a soft scrubbing cloth, soap and probably warm water to rinse. Nothing like a follow up lube, and an air dry. If my bike could only have an owner like that, my next bike i'll take better care of, isn't that always the saying?

All in all an great weekend and totally worth the drive for 2 awesome races. Remember, there are 3 races left in this series. Get out there and try it, you won't be disappointed! If your not into the racing aspect come out scream, yell, and ring a cow bell for us. Check out Emde's site for more info. And remember its suppose to be muddy, wet and mostly crappy! That's what cross is all about.