Racers young…
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and old gave it a go at Rainier.
(Photos © J. Maus) |
The Cross Crusade made it’s way north for the second race in the eight race series. After last weekend’s record-setting turnout at Alpenrose, over 1,000 racers made the one-hour drive to the small town of Rainier to continue their quest for pain, fun, and to soak up the phenomenon that is cyclocross.
Rain pelted the course for hours leading up to the races on Sunday, but thankfully most of the wet stuff subsided before the action started. This left us with perfect cross conditions — all the benefits of rain (mud, lots of it), without it actually coming down.
As I soaked up the spirit of cross — the mud, cheers and cowbells, the team tents, the nervous racers on the starting line — I was struck by the diversity of the participants (age and skill-wise, not in terms of ethnicity). Serious racers, newbies, sixty-somethings, or kids on balance bikes: There’s something about the mix of a personal accomplishment, the camaraderie, and the sheer fun of riding a bike in the mud, down hills, and over obstacles that attracts people of all ages and skill levels.
I watched the day’s fastest racers fly down the course…
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I watched kids tackle a massive climb and off-camber mud sections with a mix of reckless determination and sheer elation…
I watched this gentleman — his body covered in mud and riding a cheap department store bike — grit his teeth and finish the race…
Any bike will do.
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It’s what’s inside that counts!
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And women are turning out in record numbers this year…
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The mud is the other thing that sticks in my mind after Rainier…
It was a great day for cyclocross.
Next week the Crusade heads to Sherwood and then it comes back to Portland for week four. For more scenes from yesterday’s race, watch the slideshow below…