We all have our own ideas of fun. That idea is a bit different for those who race cyclocross. It is a sport that kicks your butt. Saturday's race was at a park by Interlocken. Driving up to it, it looked innocent enough. The course had a sort of hidden underbite, if you will. The start and much of the course was on lovely, squishy almost moss like turf. Great if you are playing soccer, but tough to ride on. This gave way to a small, muddy trickle of a stream that the kids had to cross. The sun was shining and the hills were wet with frost. The muck from the little river made its way up the steep embankment. By the end of the race kids were falling and sliding their way up the hill. No one kid could ride it. This gave way to a scenic stand of evergreen trees which laid out a carpet, about an 1" or 2" thick with pine needles. Some of those needles wanted to tag along and stayed on the bikes. Up and down a few more hills, over a thin strip of a bridge without handrails that crossed over the expanse of a concrete lined ditch. Cyclists worried that they might fall of the side due to wet, slick tires. Thankfully, it was only a threat, no actual falls. At the end of the race they declared it a lot of fun - a cyclist romp in the mud! Ellie came in second and Ethan got 8th. Ellie wished for a podium and a metal, but since it is a series, that did not happen. We will have to see how it all washes out at the end.
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