Dirty Double Crosser Part 1

In full Halloween spectacle, Utah Cyclocross race number 5 was a Wheeler Farm today.   This is cool for several reasons. 

First, Wheeler is by far the best venue in the series.  Singletrack, gravel, sand, grass, pavement, hell there’s even some cobbles.  And being in the middle of Salt Lake Valley it draws a big crowd.

Second, Halloween brings out the freak show.  The costume contest helped, but ‘cross has it’s fair share of “personalities” anyway, and Halloween takes it to the next level.

Met up with the rest of Team Clammy Chamois, or at least most of us.  Judas Rasmussen wasn’t there.  But luckily, our ringers Pat and Clay were.  Sandbagging is not cool, unless the guys are on your team.  Original member Ryan Hamilton finally made it to a race, and the Thurgood family were there.  Noticeably absent was Riley the sticker man, who was racing in the 25 hours of Frog Hollow.  Captain Cobourn was there with his brother-in-law and sister, and I think he phoned it in with his costume.  Cross dressing at a cross race.  Come on man, put forth a little effort.  At least he tried harder than me, I didn’t do a costume.  Yes, I wish I had. 

The field was huge.  428 people registered for the race across all categories.  There were 73 guys in the “C” flight alone.   The first lap was madness.  I was thinking I was going to kill it because I wasn’t even winded on the first lap.  Then I realized it was because the crowded course kept the speed down until we spread out.  Another flat in the third lap slowed me down a little.  I lost four spots while hitting the rear tire with Co2.  I drug in mid-pack…..again.  Our ringers did much better than me.  Clay Adair got fourth, and Patrick Davis rolled in with some gears this week, and pulled off a second place finish.  Ryan and Kerry finished respectably as well.  With the “C” Flight over, it was time to dig in to the much anticipated Team Clammy Chamois Post Race Sausage Party.  Wait, that doesn’t sound right….uh…. we cooked some Brats.

Bratwurst. Breakfast of Champions.

Champions, eaters of Brats.

 Soon after, the real show began.    The ladies were all about the costume contest.  You’ll have to take my word for it, because despite our prime vantage point for chick race viewing.  My lousy camera phone wasn’t able to catch a single decent action shot.  Or costume shot for that matter.  But suffice it to say, young fit women+excuse to dress in tight/revealing costumes+bikes= a pretty good way to spend a morning.  On the other end of the costume spectrum was this guy.

 

Pat Terry, Costume Contest winner.

 Shield your eyes kids, Pat Terry came dressed as a Triathlete.  Complete with aero bars, and a TT helmet.  The highlight? On his last lap he threw down his bike at the run-up, dove into the pond, swam a few strokes, finished the run-up, took a barley-pop hand-up, and finished the race.  He fully deserves the Cannondale Cross frame he won.

The ever present, “SlyFox Cash Zone” today became the “SlyFox Cheap Sunglasses Zone”, and then during the Juniors, it became the “SlyFox Candy Zone”.  I think he just likes to frighten small children.  Can you spot the Fox is these photo’s?

Before unsuspecting children.

In front of terrified, unsuspecting children.

Ali Goulet, bunny hopping, the barriers on the runup.  I had heard about it.  I had seen it on YouTube, but it is amazing to see.  The crowd went nuts, and each time he did it, he gained a little ground on Bart Gillespie.  Phenomenal.  I really think Bart is a little faster than Ali, but the ability to do that on each lap, gains him just enough to beat Gillespie in the end.  It was a sprint finish, and Ali took it by a nose.  Very fun to watch.

Anyway, the best part is there’s another race tomorrow.  So I better go to bed.