National Cyclocross races were this weekend. The weather was typical cross weather...cold. Very cold. It snowed on Saturday for Mark's Mens 35-39 race which made it somewhat miserable to be a spectator and probably equally miserable for the racers. The sun made an appearance for Sunday's Elite Men's race which made it more pleasant for spectators, but a complete muddy mess for the guys racing. (Note the differences in the videos - first one is Saturday and second one, below, is Sunday - both in the same location on the course).
I posted earlier about how crazy this sport is, this weekend was a 'case in point'. Ice, snow, mud, muck...yuck! Riding your bike as fast as you can in extreme conditions is insane to most, but these guys know how to do it and seem to love it. The fans do too...watching this national race was really fun. Especially watching the Elite race where some of the best racers in the sport show up. Tons of people, tons of cheering and I'm guessing probably a record-breaking amount of cowbells clanking. Lots of intensity, lots of energy and lots of fun...even if it was well below the freezing point.
Mark raced great and I'm really proud of him. He placed a very respectable 16th out of 97 or so racers in the Men's 35-39 and hung in there w/ the best of them in the Elite race. He may be crazy, but he's good at 'crazy'...and I wouldn't have it any other way.
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