Too much

So in my previous post I announced that a 'cross race in the middle of an office move would be an antidote to all that ails me lately.  I didn't pre-ride the course, as I was familiar with it from last year, but it was much muddier than last year so I really should have.  As I sat in the start grid with Jim we made small talk about how the next forty five minutes were a prime opportunity to work out a lot of pent up aggression.  Starter's whistle, and we were off.

About 4.5 minutes later I was on the ground on the back nine, doubled over and leaving my breakfast in one of the ponds.  When I flame out of races it's not this dramatic.  The current working theory is that the virus that was floating through my house (the one that cut short my son's NYC field trip last week) had settled into my small (or is it large) intestine and decided to have a good time.  Next race will be DCCX, four weeks away.

Despite driving one hour each way to ride a bike about 4 miles total, from a practical standpoint this was a complete waste of time.  The bigger picture, however, yields a different viewpoint.  The rap on cyclists who compete is that the scene is pretty uptight.  This scene, however, is not at all like this, at least not now, as the sport is still incipient in its popularity.  Our club has one of the biggest group rides in the area, with a healthy offshoot ride on Saturday mornings patterned after the 10AM, only 2 1/2 hours earlier.  Since my club has a small road racing group, it's great to see the expansion in the 'cross ranks.  Six of us (KMK, K2, Conor, T-Chad, Todd) and Jeff were there this weekend, continuing the trend we started at Charm City.  The other thing that is cool about this scene is the opportunity to meet those whose blogs I read, so it was good to put face and name together with this guy.

The weekend ended with the 'Skins sticking it the 'Boys in their last matchup at the world's dopiest stadium, a meeting with the contractor that will transform my house, and an evening at the office.  Sour stomach be damned.  At least I left all of that at the race.